Fic: Graile Chapter 2

[Jack Xavier Warriner <connor_macbeth@xxxxxxxxx>]

Author?s Note: The computer is purely wishful
thinking.
Disclaimers: Joss owns what he owns. I own what I own.
All copyrights are protected by the moogle with the
kilt and Claymore

Graile 
Chapter Two
By: Macbeth
Timeline: Set after ?I Robot, You Jane?.
Sunnydale, California

Willow Rosenburg considered herself relatively
normal. Disregarding the fact that she
almost became a vampire, helped defeat a Demon
infected robot, hangs out with the school
librarian, who just happens to be a member of an
ancient society who trains warriors to fight the
forces of darkness, she also has had a crush on her
best friend in the entire world... until
recently. That is to say until Buffy Summers
transferred to Sunnydale High.
Willow shifted in her seat as she watched Buffy train
with her Watcher, Giles. Willow
knew that Buffy was special, Even without being a
Slayer, she was special. Buffy had taken the
time to get to know Willow and her best friend Xander,
even at the cost of earning the wrath of
Cordelia "Queen C" Chase. "Willow...?" She shook her
head and turned to her friend Xander. 
"Huh? I, I was thinking about, uh, Biology. All those
frogs we get to cut up this year."
Xander nodded absently, taking up Willow's hobby of
Buffy ogling.
Buffy rolled away from Giles' padded spear and shot
her left foot up in a snap kick to
his abdomen thereby ending the training sequence.
Giles looked up from the floor at the
smirking blonde and promptly swept her feet out form
under her. Giles got to his feet and
offered a hand to Buffy. "Always consider an opponent
dangerous until they are completely
dead." Giles pulled Buffy to her feet and they both
walked to the other's table, picking up towels
to wipe away the sweat from their exercises. Willow
suddenly found herself mesmerized by a
single bead of sweat trickling down Buffy's temple,
along her neck and into the cleavage
peeking from the top of her sports bra.
Buffy turned to Willow and grinned. "Hey Wills,
what's up?" 
"Uh, nothing, we just came in to pass the time.
Patrol tonight?" Willow asked, looking
for all the world like an excited puppy.
"There will be patrolling, yes. Me, alone. You have
more important things to do than to
wander around vampire infested graveyards at night,
like sleep." Buffy said turning a blind eye to
Willow's pouting lip. "Giles? How about some crossbow
practice, Please?" Buffy begged.
"Alright, I believe you've earned it." The now
depadded Watcher stated as he headed
to the weapon locker. "Try to hit a star pattern at
twelve, three, five, seven, and nine o'clock."
He said, handing her the crossbow.
Willow stage whispered to Xander, ?Ten bucks says she
misses every shot.?
Xander grinned. ?You?re on.?
?I heard that.? Buffy turned on them with a mock
glare.
Willow ducked her shoulders and settled down in her
chair to cheer good shots and
ogle Buffy's tensed arm and shoulder muscles.

*	*	*

As silent as a wraith, a jet black convertible pulled
into Sunnydale High's parking lot.
Turning smoothly, the nearly three decade old vehicle
slid into the spot in front of the school?s
courtyard. The driver's door opened, and a handsome,
muscular, young man stepped from the
vehicle. Turning his head, he plucked a cigarette from
his lips and dropped it to the ground,
extinguishing it with the toe of his black leather
Prada shoes. Absently, he adjusted the gold and
emerald ring on his finger and looked around at the
campus. 
Cordelia Chase was in love, "He's perfect." She
thought. "Tall, handsome, obviously
wealthy, has a car, God please tell me he's
transferring in..." she mentally prayed as she
sauntered over to the newcomer. She quickly adopted
her ?Social Goddess? facade.
"Hi, If you're a new student, I can show you to the
office." Cordelia stated in her most
hinting tone. she stepped a little closer. ?I know
just about everyone here.?
"Actually, I'm not a student," came the Irish
accented reply. "I'm looking for an old
friend of mine. Maybe you could help me?" he asked,
giving her a very charming half grin.
Shouldering his knapsack, he beckoned for her to lead.

"I'd love to help you with anything. I'm Cordelia
Chase." she said, offering her hand.
He took the hand with gentle grace. "Jack Covington,
and I'm trying to find Elizabeth
Summers. Though she probably goes by Buffy". He said
with his half grin, seemingly oblivious to
Cordelia's now forced smiles. 
"Buffy...? Sure, I know where she is. She's in the
library." she said, abruptly pulling her
hand to her side. She nodded in the Library?s general
direction, Cordelia then turned and
walked away. "Damn her! Why does she get all the hot
ones?" she grumbled to herself as she
headed to her locker.
Jack just grinned at the retreating angered brunette
and headed directly for the library.
"That was almost too easy." 
Peeking through the door window, Jack spied Buffy
clutching a crossbow and loading a
bolt into place. Turning his head, he saw the backs of
Xander and Willow. His eyes lingered on
Willow's profile briefly before he silently slipped
into the room, ignoring the "Closed for
Reshelving" signpost in front of the doors. 
Buffy turned her head from the sight in sudden
distraction. For some reason, she felt
better than she had in a long time. An overwhelming
sense of the warm fuzzies. A feeling of
wholeness she hadn't felt since...
Feigning a neck roll, she looked towards the library
entrance. Buffy locked eyes with
Jack and winked, amused that none of her friends
noticed the sharply dressed young man who
was standing behind them. Turning and refocusing her
aim, she fired, reloaded, and fired again.
Every shot she fired was perfectly placed on the man
shaped target. Follow Giles' directive, the
target soon had a star pattern dead center on the
torso, with one final bolt placed exactly where
the vampire's heart would be. 
She handed the Crossbow to Giles and spoke out loud.
"So Jack, are you going to
come closer or are you going to stand behind my
friends all day?" She said, crossing her arms
over her chest.
Her friends whirled around in shocked confusion to
face the young man. Willow's
glance shot between Buffy and Jack. Something about
him felt off to the young hacker, like he?s
more than he appears to be. Shaking her head from
these bizarre thoughts, she turned to
Xander for his thoughts and was taken back by the look
of jealousy she saw there. 
"Jack. Good to see you! What brings you to
Sunnydale?" Buffy asked, before wrapping
him in a tight hug. ?Not that I?m completely against
it.? The old connecting feeling came back in
full force and she lingered in the hug. Jack welcomed
the hug and squeezed slightly. In her ear
he whispered, ?It?s been a long time Elizabeth. You
look well." Willow suppressed an incredible
rush of jealousy and settled for analyzing every
detail of the newcomer. ?His clothing is perfect,
he?s very handsome, muscular, and Buffy seems to trust
him completely.? she thought to herself,
?I hate him already.?
Releasing her to arms length, Jack eyed her closely.
"You've actually gotten taller. I
guess I owe Pike twenty." He said with a grin.
Turning, he noticed the others' blank stares. "I
think introductions are in order or they?ll think
you?ve gotten a new boyfriend." He said with a
wry grin.
"Right, Jack. Meet Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris,
and my Watcher, Rupert Giles.?
She said gesturing to each. ?Guys, this is Jack
Covington." Seeing Giles? frown at this breach of
security, she and Jack shared a grin. "He's an old
friend from Hemry, he helped Merrick and I.?
Jack turned and shook hands with each. ?B?s told me
about each of you. She drops me a line
every season.? Setting his knapsack on the table, he
hopped up on top and crossed his arms.
?So.... Any big bad evils I can help you get rid of??
Buffy smacked him on the upper arm. ?Where were you
when Moloch was
moonwalking around in a robocop rip off??
Willow winced internally at the mention of her latest
fuck up and watched the
camaraderie with barely contained jealousy. ?Yet
another thing I can never have. He knows
things about her I could never even ask about.? Her
thoughts turned dark. ?I wonder how
Angel?s going to react to their intimacy?? 
Xander?s jealousy was not as well concealed. ?There?s
gotta be something wrong with
him, he can?t be perfect.? he thought, ?Angel?s gonna
kick his ass.? Xander grinned darkly. 
Giles, meanwhile, was fascinated with Jack?s
knapsack. It looked exactly like his
grandfather?s British Air Force Pack. ?My father would
riot over that pack, even the patches
are exactly the same... Wait, that can?t possibly be
right.? he thought, resolving to make a few
phone calls.
?When was this?? Jack said with raised eyebrows.
?Last week.?
?Oh... well, I just got back to the states. Aki and I
were in the catacombs of Notre
Dame, We were commissioned by the Vatican to
investigate rumors of a Necromancer
reanimating heretics.? Jack said opening the knapsack
and pulling out two books and handing
them to Giles. ?Speaking of which, here. Buffy heard
you say you needed these. Call them
Spoils of War.?
Giles took the tomes and checked the spines. ?Copies
of ?Van Loften?s Arcane
Compendium? and ?The Shadowstone Tome?, these are
very, very rare. Thank you, thank you
very much. These will be extremely useful.? Giles
rambled off, while trying to simultaneously
pore over both tomes.
Jack turned to Xander, ?Here,? he pulled a sheathed
kukri and a black leather vest out
and tossed them to him. ?Buffy said you are pretty
hard to shop for.? Xander grinned and
slipped the vest on over his blue palm leaf Hawaiian
shirt. Jack winced. ?You might want to
wear that over something else.? 
Xander looked at the kukri and looked to Jack. ?It?s
not everyday someone gives me
weapons.?
?I think Giles can hold onto that until after
school.? Jack nodded to the oblivious Brit.
Willow coughed none too subtly. Jack rolled his eyes
and pulled out a slim laptop. His
grin widened as her eyes bugged out and her hands
started to shake. Jack handed it to her and
stifled laughter as she took it reverently. ?It?s a
customized job. That?s a Triton 5800 with a Pen
five chip, 184 GB Hard Drive, Multi Disc RW drive,
three external penvaults with 1 GB of
memory each, needless to say, it?s a prototype.? He
slowly backed away from the almost
vibrating Willow. ?Breathe Willow.? he said and slowly
backed away.
Buffy pulled him away from her severely distracted
friends ?Why exactly are you buying
off my friends??
?This way, they won?t see me as a mystery man from
your past so much as a mystery
man who brought them cool toys. And I didn?t hear you
complaining over the bracer.? He said
with a disarming grin.
?Oh, and this had absolutely nothing to do with your
insecurity over meeting my
friends.? She said raising an eyebrow.
?Nothing whatsoever.? Came his reply.
?Right.?

*	*	*

Buffy held Angel close, kissing him passionately. The
muscles of his back rippled under
her hand. She broke off and rested her forehead
against his. ?God, this is driving me crazy.? she
moaned as fingertips slipped slowly up her waist and
under her shirt to trace the underside of
her breast. Buffy froze as she felt the heat of
smaller fingertips. She looked up into eyes the
color of emeralds framed by deep red hair. A smile
crept into those eyes and they fluttered
closed before her soft lips met Buffy?s. Buffy clamped
her own eyes shut and reveled in the
feelings.
Buffy awoke with deep shuddering breaths. ?This is
getting ridiculous.? Buffy sat up and
heard a tapping at her window. Throwing back her
covers, Buffy rubbed her eyes and pulled
the top of her Sushi pajamas on. Shambling over to her
window, she lifted it open and grinned
as Angel leaned in over the sill. ?Hi. Did I wake
you?? he asked softly.
?Would you feel guilty if I said yes?? She smiled and
kissed him gently.
?Only a little.? he replied after the kiss.
?Then yeah, you did... Meanie.? She smirked and
pulled him close for another kiss,
?But I don?t mind.? Throughout the kissing session
that night, Buffy kept flashing back to her
dream, and guiltily wished that it was Willow in her
arms.

*	*	*

Jack stepped out from behind the tree in front of
Buffy?s house, having watched Angel
leap to her windowsill. He grinned and walked to his
car, lighting a cigarette in mid stride. Jack
put the hood down and felt in the mood to cruise
beneath the moonlight. A thought crossed his
mind and he laughed. ?Cadillac indeed.? he turned the
radio to a classic rock station and Pink
Floyd?s ?Comfortably Numb? playing off the speakers.
Jack grinned and headed outwards on a
random direction. 

*	*	*

Willow tossed and turned in her bed, Her brow was
beaded with sweat as she sat up,
panting. A devilish grin crept across her features.
Turning her head to the left, she picked up her
new laptop and booted it up. A wave of giddy
excitement coursed through her at how fast it ran
through it?s start up program. Hitting the web browser
on the Keyboard, she logged into her
E-mail address. ?Ooh. I?ve got Mail.? she opened the
letter and grinned at the sender. She
opened the letter and began to read.

Hey,
Vasha Here. I clicked on and thought I?d send you a
line. I did some digging, that
Moloch Demon is one tough hombre?. Be Careful. He?s
known as ?The Corruptor?. Just from
the name alone you should keep an eye on any and all
virgins. 
Oh, thanks for that cantrip you sent me, it removed a
tiny mole whose location doesn?t
bare discussing. And speaking of secrets best kept
hidden... Have you told her yet? The longer
you put it off the more likely this Angel bloke will
bring her even closer, and you?ll lose any
chance you may have with her. 
Give me a yell when you can.

Vasha_NYC

Willow grinned and clicked on the compose option. 

Hi, Red here. Read your note. Thanks for the info on
Moloch... it?s about a day late.
It?s not your fault. He was scanned into the computer
and had servants build a robotic body.
Otherwise it was just another Tuesday night in
Sunnydale. 
A friend of Buffy?s arrived today, I?ve got an odd
feeling about him. Like not
everything?s completely kosher with him. He just feels
off to me. Know what I mean? Maybe
I?m just imagining it. Or maybe I?m just jealous. I
mean c?mon, He shows up and she just
brightens up. GRRR.... :(
Sad, depressing thoughts aside, Happy to hear about
the mystery mole. I should warn
you, don?t substitute button mushroom for the chicken
bone. It doesn?t exactly work right.
Write me.

Red_One

*	*	*

Manhattan, New York 

Aki leaned back from her laptop and smiled. ?Odd
Feeling... That?s our boy.? Turning
her head slightly, she yelled across the living room
in the kitchen?s direction ?Jack?s in the Dale!? 
Pike walked out of the kitchen and tossed his apron
back into the face of the tall black
man standing over a cutting board. ?Here.? he said,
coming over to read over Aki?s shoulder.
?Thank you...? Lucius answered before turning back to
the prosciutto and rye he was
slicing for lunch. 
Aki frowned as Pike peered over her shoulder to read
Willow?s E-mail. ?Ok... I still
have absolutely no idea what Jack?s plan is.? 
Aki rolled her eyes and shooed him away from her
computer. ?Jack?s had this plan for
a LONG time. He?s been planning this. he knows what
he?s doing, and he?ll let us know what
we?re to do when we?re supposed to know. We each owe
him that. I owe him more.? she said,
feeling very very old. 
Pike set a hand on her shoulder. ?You?re in love
him.? he said with a sympathetic grin.
Aki turned to look at him like she was addressing an
idiot. ?That?s not exactly a big
secret Pike.? 
Pike rolled his eyes. ?He DOES know, right?? 
Aki smacked him on the stomach. ?I said it wasn?t
that big of a secret.?
?What he did to keep you around is what I?d like to
know.? he said with a devilish grin.
?That, Pike, is not for me to tell.? Aki said, in a
voice that sent a chill down his spine.
?Sandwiches?? Lucius asked, holding out a platter of
prosciutto and rye sandwiches,
inadvertently interrupting a potentially disturbing
conversation.

*	*	*

The Master reclined on his throne and looked down at
the Anointed one who sat
perched above the Hellmouth entrance. ?Tell me
Anointed. How long until your power is
restored?? 
The young boy turned chilling eyes to his master and
grinned. ?Soon, my master. Soon.?
A voice sounded from the shadows to the Master?s
right. ?You had better wait on that
while I am here, Hienrich.? 
The Master nearly fell from his seat in surprise.
?Who are you to enter my Lair
uninvited!? he demanded, reclaiming his dignity from
the hidden speaker.
As the intruder stepped into the candle light
provided by the multitude of lit candelabra,
the Master felt something he hadn?t felt in over four
centuries. Pure terror. ?You... You?re
dead...? the Stranger turned his head at a sudden
movement all around him as the Master?s
servants closed off all the exits.
?If you value your servants, call them off. Now.? he
said, almost bored. 
The Master nodded and his vampire minions fled the
chamber. The anointed One?s
eyes narrowed and he stood before the older vampire.
?Who is he Master? That he frightens
you so??
?His name is Graile, he?s an Elder.? the Master said,
with a hint of reverence and fear. 
?What brings you to Sunnydale?? He asked, turning his
attention back to Graile.
?That is my business. However, There is a Hunter
here, He?s a friend of the Slayer?s,
and he?s Mine. Steer clear of him, the Slayer, and her
people until I return here. Disobey me,
and I will make your torment Eternal, Heinrich Joseph
Nest.? he stated before turning and
walking back into the shadows. 
A few minutes passed in silence until the Master and
his Chosen were certain the Elder
Vampire had left. The Master turned to the little boy
before him. ?I honestly thought he was
dead.? He sighed heavily. ?I guess my plans will have
to wait.

*	*	*

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England.
January 1st, 1907, 12:01 am

A verdant spark erupted from the center of the
ancient stone circle. It expanded slowly
to form a green column of fire, a five hundred foot
pillar that could be seen for miles in the
twilight. A bright flash burst from the fire and a
battered duffle flew from the inferno and tumbled
to the ground. Another flash and a rapier flew out to
land point first in a plinth, a third flash, and
a black leather swordbelt and scabbard tumbled down
beside the duffle. The column flared one
final time as a human shape took form and crumpled to
the ground. 
Turning his head to the fire, he watched the column
dwindle to the light of a match head
ember, then vanish completely. Rolling over, the young
man stared up at the stars in shock. 
He stood, gazed up into the stars, and brushed the
dirt from his white silk shirt,
scorched black leather duster, and black leather vest.
He then leaned down to pick up the
battered leather duffle bag, and looked back once more
to watch a tiny wisp of smoke fade in
the night breeze.
Clutching the dufflebag, the devastated young man
stepped through the upright stones
and leaned against one, a tear glinting darkly on his
cheek in the moonlight. He looked back
over his shoulders at the scorch mark on the ground, a
Fire burning in his eyes that made the
column pale in comparison. Using the stars to gain his
bearings, he headed for the nearest town,
looking for a bottle to crawl into.

TBC



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