Seven Days in Hell Chapter Two

["Christeen Demons" <Shyfox30@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Disclaimer: Posted in prologue, you'll just have to trust me on
that...borrowed liberally from the Buffy episodes Intervention through the
body.


Chapter Two: First impressions aren't always everything.

'Old people.' Anya sniffed, from a corner, eyeing suspiciously the elderly
couple that were peering through the contents of the magic shop. 'They
never buy, they always just 'look', putting their dirty old fingerprints
over everything.' She watched their meanderings,
with a proprietal air, vowing to charge them expediantly if they broke
anything.

Xander watched his girlfriend, watching the elderly pair like a hawk, and
sighed. "Honey." He spoke up, clearing his throat, then waited as Anya
turned to look at him. "Old saying...'A watched customer never buys'."

"They would if they were patriotic." Anya replied, quite seriously.

Xander and Willow exchanged quizzical glances, then looked back at Anya as
if the answer to her strange remark would be written on her face. "Okay."
Xander muttered to his best friend, seated at the table beside him. "I'm
goin' in." Raising his eyebrow as he questioned his girlfriend, Xander
asked. "Patriotic?"

"Yes." Anya replied, a beaming smile splashed colorfully across her face.
"I've recently come to realize there's more to me than just being
human...I'm also an American." And there was no mistaking the pride in that
tone.

Giles, sipping thoughtfully from his cup of tea, considers the remark before
replying. "Yes, I suppose you are, in a manner of speaking. You were born
here -- your mortal self."

"Well, that's right, foreigner." Anya replied, completely missing Giles
baleful look. "So, I've been reading a lot about the good ol' us of A,
embracing the extraordinarily precious ideology that's helped to shape and
define it."

"Democracy?" Willow asked, for once impressed by Anya's apparent thirst for
knowledge, her quest to mold herself into at least a semi-normal human
being.

"Capitalism. The free market depends on the profitable exchange of goods for
currency." Anya said, warming to her topic, missing the look of utter
amusement shared by Xander and Willow. "It's a system of symbiotic beauty
apparently lost on these old people." She continued, turning to stare
accusingly at them. "Look at 'em. Perusing the shelves. Undressing the
merchandise with their eyeballs all ogle, no cash. It's not just annoying,
it's unAmerican." Anya said, working herself up into a fine righteous
indignation.

Giles in an attempt to humor her, though he was never quite sure why he ever
bothered to attempt in the first place, came over to her and peered past her
at the customers. "Appalling. Almost as if they no longer think money can
buy happiness." He replied, biting the inside of his lip to hold back a
smile as he wandered back behind the counter.

"Totally unAmerican. Oh, and you know what else is unAmerican? French
people." Now Anya was off and on a roll.

"You don't say." Willow said seriously, though inside she was busting a
gut.

"From what I hear, they don't tip. Now, French old people? That's *really*
the bottom of the barrel, you know?" Now that she had warmed to the topic,
they weren't sure if she could stop.

"Ahn, how's about we try being a bit less prejudiced, and a bit more
inclusive? Not us," He said, indicating himself and Willow, then pointing
at Anya. "...just you."

"Fine." Anya sniffed, with a frown. "I'm gonna make those fogeys buy
things." She said, then turned, walking toward the customers, determination
in every step.

Willow and Xander grinned at each other, then looked over as the door opened
and Buffy entered the shop, followed by a subdued looking Dawn. Buffy waved
at Anya before heading toward the table. "Hey, what's up? It's Dawn Giovanni
and the Buffster." Xander said with his usual exuberance, noticing the lack
of said exuberance in his friends.

"Hi." Dawn said, sullenly, staring at the hard wood table, not meeting the
other's eyes.

"Hey everybody." Buffy greeted, trying not to sound as defeated as she
felt. After having just dropped out of college and having to bail her
little sister out of the trouble she was in at school, this was not turning
out to be her day. Well, actually, she'd lost track of just
when her day was. It had been a long time since she'd felt things going her
way, and she couldn't help wondering if things would ever be 'right' again.

"I trust everything went well at the university?" Giles asked, trying to be
supportive.

"Yep, I'm, uh, all dropped out." Even saying the words made her cringe.

"Good on you. Welcome to the real world. Lot of fun to be had on the
outside." Xander said enthusiastically, glancing at Willow, who was, still
in college. "You'll see." He muttered in aside.

"Well, it's just for now. I mean, I'm thinking that I'm probably gonna go
back next semester." Buffy said, feeling the words pull at her tongue like
hard taffy. 'Yeah, right. That's if you're alive next semester, right
Slayer?' She asked herself cynically.

"And that's cool too. Whatever you choose, you've got my support. Just think
of me as ..." Xander chuckled nervously as he thought of a way to get out of
this bumbling statement. "...as your ..." He stopped, frowning as Buffy
looked at him curiously. "You know, I'm searching for supportive things,
and I'm comin' up all bras, so...something slightly more manly, think of me
as that." Buffy smiled at him, thankful for his support, in whatever form
it took.

Xander took a breath, then added more seriously. "Whatever you need."

"Thank you." Buffy said, truly appreciating the gesture. "Actually..."
She looked toward Giles, who was busy pretending to read his newspaper,
while sipping his tea. "I need to
talk to Giles alone for a minute." Giles raised his head at the comment,
nodding slightly at the Slayer.

"Cool, that's cool." Xander replied, trying not to feel as if he was being
brushed off.

"Uh, Dawn, why don't you get started on your homework? Uh, if you need
help...Will, could you?" Buffy turned beseaching eyes to her best friend,
profoundly grateful when she nodded her head. "Thanks."

Willow watched her go, worry building in her stomach like a knot. Her
friend had already been through so much, how much more was she expected to
take. Shaking off her worries, she put on a friendly face for the younger
sister, before turning warm green eyes her way. "So...math? What exactly
are you having trouble with?" She asked, feeling a
faint twinge of nostalgia at the whole homework thing.

"Geometry." Dawn grumbled, kicking a table leg. "I mean...how am I
supposed to remember the difference between an Isosoles, and an Isosolene?"

"Geometry? But that's easy." Dawn cast her an incredulous look.
"Well...it is for me...but...hey...I have an idea." Willow said, rising
from the table. Dawn looked at her doubtfully. "Come on...it'll be fun."
Willow promised, as she led her friends into a circle telling them what she
wanted them to do.

*****

Frank scratched his head as he looked up at the sign above the building he
was about to enter. 'The Magic Box. Now there's an interesting name for a
magic shop.' Frank chuckled ruefully, to himself. 'Go figure.' The
information Agent Riley Finn had provided had been amazingly helpful,
considering Frank had at his disposal the address of
Buffy Summers as well as those of all of her close friends, not to mention
this very quaint forum of business, which he had decided to use to get his
first view of his assignment.

Actually, his assignment had entered just a few minutes earlier, nearly
running into him in her haste to get into the store. He had ducked into an
alley just in time, thinking that now wasn't exactly the right time for
introductions, but he couldn't help thinking that it was a
wasted effort. With the cloud blondie was walking under, Parker doubted
very much that she'd even notice if the sky was falling, she wasn't likely
to notice an inconspicious looking customer. At any case, it wasn't as if he
could just go in there, pull out his badge and say 'I'm from the government.
I'm here to protect you.' From what he had read in the file, and seen on
that tape, Buffy Summers wasn't likely to think that she needed any
protection. Actually, she'd probably laugh in his face...or tell him to get
lost. In either
case, he wouldn't be around to protect her when the time came. No.
Subtlety wasn't exactly a part of his make up, but he thought in this case
discretion might just be the better part of valor. He'd just have to mix
and mingle, see what he could find out. As quietly as possible.

Giggling could be heard as he entered the shop, and upon looking around, he
spotted three people lying in the shape of a triangle, with a girl that
didn't look much older than twelve standing in the middle. The strange
sight brough a quick grin to Parker's lips, right before
the slamming open of a door was heard throughout the shop and his head
darted up, towards the sound, his eyes immediately drawn to the stern
looking young woman standing in the doorway. The tension in the air was
palpable, as the giggling immediately stopped, all heads turned toward the
furious blonde. 'Whoops.' Frank thought, pulling
behind a shelf, hoping to remain out of the storms path. 'Someone's not
happy. Definitely not the moment for introductions.' He thought as he
watched Buffy lay into her younger sister.

"What is this? I thought I told you to do your homework!" Buffy's voice was
tinged with anger as she looked at the people around her, especially at her
sister, who looked like she wanted to dig a hole at the moment and jump in
it.

"I was." Dawn defended herself, wincing as Buffy's eyes darkened in anger.

"Please don't lie to me." Buffy said, feeling disoriented as memories of
arguments had with her mother came rushing back to her. 'My god, I'm
turning into my mother.' A cold chill chased the thought, adding fuel to her
anger.

"I'm not." Dawn answered, her eyes wide at the accusation. How could her
sister not believe her?

Anya, bored with the conversation, it wasn't like she had wanted to be part
of a triangle anyway, she had participated after much protest, looked around
for customers and spotted Frank watching the argument, curiously. 'Great,
one eligible looking customer comes in here today, and Buffy's going to
scare him away with her little 'parent' thing.' Anya thought, noticing that
the guy hadn't even started looking at the inventory yet. 'Maybe I should
help him. Yes...I definitely should.' Anya thought, making her way to
where Frank was 'hiding'.

Willow, not liking where the sister's argument was heading, attempted to
jump into the fray. "We were acting out a geometry problem, 'cause I read
this really neat article that said kids learn math better if you, you
stimulate their, uh, visual learning pattern. You know, using the right side
of the brain instead of just the left?" She looked into Buffy's unsmiling
face and gulped. She'd never been afraid of her best friend, but at the
moment was feeling definitely...uh...uncertain. "Stuff like that."

"Uh-huh." She felt hard, resolute, she had a duty to do and she was going
to do it. No matter who tried to get in her way.

"So we made a triangle with our bodies, and that's when I called Xander
obtuse, and he got really grumpy..." Willow smiled, trying to break the
tension, hearing Dawn giggling behind her. Buffy still, however looked
unimpressed, much to Willow's chagrin.
"..and...and then Dawn said we were "acute" triangle, and, well, hilarity
ensued."

'Acute triangle...that's cute.' Parker grinned, so focused on the argument
taking place that he never even heard Anya coming up behind him.

"Can I help you?" Parker nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice coming
over his left shoulder and he turned to stare at the blond, his mouth gaping
like a codfish.

"Um...uh...are these really eyes of Newt?" Parker asked, picking up a jar
on the nearby shelf, not bothering to read the label.

Anya looked closely at the jar clutched tightly in Parker's hand, and
frowned. "No, those are frogs legs." she said, calmly, wondering if maybe
he wasn't just a window shopper after all. "The eyes of Newt are over
there." She said, pointing across the room at another shelf.

Frank flashed her a charming grin, nearly causing Anya to swoon. "Thanks."
he replied, as he put the jar of frog's legs back on the shelf, resisting
the urge to wipe his hand on his jacket.

"You're welcome." Anya grinned, patting the guy on the arm. "Anything else
I can help you with?" She asked, determined to make a sale today.

"Uh..no..thanks. Would it be all right if I just looked around?" Frank
asked, throwing another charming smile in for good measure.

Anya sighed disappointedly. 'Just another window shopper.' She grumbled
internally. 'I should have known.' "Sure." She sighed resignedly. "Just
try not to break anything."

Frank nodded, looking around at the items on the shelf until she was gone.
Looking around to make sure she wasn't watching him, he turned his attention
back to the two sisters, who appeared to have stopped their arguing, the
younger of the two apparently gathering her books. Buffy Summers was still
talking to her redheaded friend.

"Look, Willow, I know that you mean well, but you just don't understand, and
there's no way that you could." Buffy's voice was strained, Parker could
hear that much from where he stood.

Willow could also hear the stress in her best friend's voice. That
understood, she tried to help her out of it. That and the fact that Buffy
said that she couldn't understand what she was going through kind of got
under her skin. "I do so understand, it ... you're stressed
out."

"I'm more than stressed out." Buffy hadn't intended to shout, quickly
lowered her voice. "I'm freaked out."

"Yeah, well, maybe you need a break to de-freak." Willow thought for a
moment, then came up with a wonderful idea. "Hey, you could go to the
World's Culture fair if you want to, with me and Tara."

Buffy was tempted, she really was, it had been a long time since just the
two of them had gotten together to do anything fun, but then again Tara
would be there, she so didn't want to be the third wheel, and then there was
Dawn to consider. "I don't think so."

Willow was disappointed, but she wasn't ready to give up yet. "Come on. You
can bring Dawn." She said, attempting to allieviate her worries. "It'll be
fun. Good, educational-type fun in a discipline-y sort of way." She knew
she was stumbling over her words, but she was desperate. Desperate to get
Buffy to relax and have some fun.

Buffy shook her head stubbornly. "I can't do it, Will." At the heart-sick
look in Willow's eyes, Buffy shrugged. "Don't worry. It's not like I don't
have a life. I do. I have Dawn's life."

"Whoa." Parker breathed as he watched Buffy and her sister march out of the
Magic Box. "That is one mixed up, stressed out girl." Parker looked at the
door the sisters had just walked out of thoughtfully, then turned his
attention to the consternated looking redhead
by the counter. "A culture fair, huh? Guess I'm going to have to check
that out."

*****

"Xander." Anya whispered, hoping not to attract any attention, especially
from the rugged, handsome looking guy in the corner that had made her knees
quiver.

"What is it, ahn?" Xander asked, looking up from the comic book he was
reading.

"There's this really bizarre guy over there...don't look..." Anya
chastized, bringing Xander's brown eyes away from the corner they had darted
to, back to her own.

"What's so strange about him?" Xander asked, although from the quick
glimpse he had gotten, he did look kinda out of place. Actually, he kind of
reminded him of Riley, although he couldn't put his finger on why.

"He's been in here for half an hour and he hasn't bought anything." Anya
told him in a whisper.

"Ahn." Xander protested, thinking she was back on that old age, french
kick.

"Also...he hasn't exactly moved around a whole lot. He's been in that same
corner since he came in." Xander rolled his eyes, and tried to go back to
reading his comic book.

"Xander!"

"What?!"

"When I went over to see if I could help him with anything, he asked me if
those were really eyes of Newt he was holding."

"So?" Xander asked, dubiously. Not that he really wanted to know where
Anya was going with this.

"He was holding a jar of frog legs."

"Maybe he's just a casual customer. It's not illegal to window shop."

"Also, he's carrying a gun." That stopped Xander cold.

"How do you know?"

"I saw it peeking out from under his jacket when he was showing me the frog
legs."

"And you're just saying this now?" Xander asked her, incredulously, casting
his eyes frantically back to the corner the guy had been in before...only
now, he had disappeared.

to be continued...



_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp