Story: Walking After Midnight (chapter 4)

Authors: Janine

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Chapter 4

Part Three

Shortly after arriving at the Oasis nightclub I came to the conclusion that a club was a club no matter what continent you were on. Sure the furniture was in a different spot, and the D.J's looked goofy in different-though not necessary worse ways-but when all was considered a club was a club no matter where you were, and just like back home the bartender spotted as a minors a mile away, so we were left cradling our cokes as we waited for a song to come on that would allow us to get our groove on.

When a song with the right beat finally came on, no communication was needed. We all knew it was time to dance. As we made our way out onto the floor I could feel the vibrations start to move their way through me. When we found a spot big enough for the three of us, we just started moving, the rhythm of the music, letting it dictate our motions. As we continued to move I started to migrate over towards Willow. It wasn't a conscious motion, something that I was even aware I was doing, she just called to me, and I answered. This was why I loved Bronzing, why I loved dancing. For a moment, whether it be a second or an hour, I could let go. I could forget I was the Slayer, forget that I had a world to save, because all that mattered was the music pulsing through my veins, taking me over, consuming me. There was no thought involved, only instinct, only feeling.

By the time we finally got off the dance floor we were all sweaty, but we were energized. As we headed over to the spot we had occupied before I felt a familiar presence.

"You looked good out there. What was that, the jitter bug?" Lia asked sliding up beside me with that lopsided grin on her face.

"Yeah, you want to see The Twist next?" I asked her making a strangling motion with my hands. She raised her hands up before responding.

"I think I'll pass," she said glancing behind us to the bar.

"Lyndon here?" I asked. He was probably hidden in a swarm of girls.

"Yeah, he's getting the goods," she responded happily.

"Are we talking carbonated goods, or goods with a capital 'G' and a lemon spritzer?" Xander asked squeezing his way in between Lia and I.

"Capital 'G' baby, all the way," she said grinning at him. "According to the state of Wisconsin he's twenty-one years old, and so am I. Of course we've never been to Wisconsin…actually, I'm not even sure if it is a state," she continued.

* * * * * *

"Do you think he has a chance with her? I mean, he does have a chance I guess, but do you think the odds are in the millions?" Willow asked turning her attention to the dance floor. Lia and Xander were out there dancing up a storm.

"I think he may," I said smiling

"What about the soothsayer?" she asked. She was referring to Lyndon who was somewhere in the club trying to separate a fool from his money.

"He's her brother. Skies are clear on that front," I responded as Xander and Lia made their way over to the table.

"Come on Wills, it's your turn to take a ride on the roller-coaster ride that is I," Xander said taking her hand and pulling her up. She looked back at me for a moment with trepidation before they disappeared into the crowd.

"The man's a machine," Lia commented sitting down. "What are you feeding him?"

"The usual grubs and berries," I responded.

"Where's asswipe?" she asked looking around. I guess that really was her nickname for him.

"Over by the bar trying to predict the future. Of course inflation has caused him to have to introduce a little non-refundable fee," I responded.

"One of these days his dumbass ideas are gonna get his dumb ass thrown in jail," she said finally spotting him.

"Where's your watcher?" I asked once she had turned back around. I hadn't seen her with one which was odd to the say the least.

"Sweden. Stock holders meeting," she responded.

"Sweden?" I asked.

"You'd be surprised by the number of financial holdings the council has," she responded. "Tim's always been a book man," she added. I assumed that Tim was the watcher in question. "Here, let me do your palm," she continued a moment later.

"Wha…what?" I asked.

"Let me read your palm," she explained smiling.

"What is it? A family pass-time?" I asked giving her my hand nonetheless.

"We come from a long line of thieving seducers. We start with palm readings, then a little wink wink here, and a little nudge nudge there, and next thing you know we're inheriting estates," she said moving her finger along my palm before looking up at me and winking.

"Are you hitting on me?" I asked only semi-jokingly. "No," she answered smiling. "I come from a long line of terrific flirters, it's encoded in my DNA."

"I thought you came from a long time of thieving seducers?" I asked noticing she was still playing with my hand.

"The two go hand and hand, like Sigfreud and Roy," she responded. "Don't worry I would never make a pass at you with your S.O dancing mere meters away. It would be impolite," she continued looking out onto the dance floor.

"Xander isn't my significant other," I said.

"I know," she said smirking again. "I was talking about Velma." She continued to trace the lines of my palm as I stared at her blankly for a moment. Finally regaining some of my motor skills I pulled my hand back and looked at her.

"How'd you know? I mean is it that obvious?" I asked.

"No," she responded. "Only to a disciple of the human condition like myself."

"The…" I started making a swishy hand movement. "What was it?" I asked. I was curious to know. It wasn't that I was ashamed of being with Willow, or that I didn't want anyone to know, that was never and would never be a problem. I was just concerned about the fact that the depth of my feeling were displayed out there for everyone-good or bad-to see, especially those who would use it against us. In my profession I didn't exactly deal with the most upstanding of individuals, and I didn't want my feeling for Willow to place her in anymore danger than they already did. Being the friend of a Slayer was enough to put her in danger, but to be the lover of one, that just added to it.

"Narrow your inquiry, please?" Lia responded.

"What gave it away?" I asked, this time coherently.

"It's nothing obvious, nothing that I think you can even help," she responded thoughtfully. "Someone would really have to be looking. Like I said that night on the beach, you're kind of like our Captain Kirk, you know. The Slayer of Slayers, so I've kind of been watching you trying to perhaps pick up some skills," she continued. "I just ended up picking up on something else too. It's…well I believe it would be best articulated in the words of the great philosopher Bonnie Raitt." I raised my eyebrows at that one, but didn't say anything. "You laugh just a little too loud, you stand just a little too close, you stare just a little too long," she singsonged. "Does that help?"

"I see," I responded. I couldn't really help any of those things.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Demons aren't notoriously perceptive, and neither are most people," she responded. "You're completely forgetting the most important question."

"Which is?"

"Do you think I'm sexy? Cause I usually get cute, people like to call me cute. Do you think I'm cute?" she asked so seriously you knew she couldn't actually be serious.

"Not at the moment I don't," I responded trying to hide a smile.

"I'll take that as a yes then," she responded pleased. "I'll be back, I'm going to try and stop that Neanderthal man from pummeling my brother into the stone age," she continued noticing the walking wall closing in on Lyndon.

* * * * * *

"All I'm saying is that being an oracle can be very, very stressful. It's only fair that those of us with the gift are compensated for our time and effort. I mean if I read one of the cards wrong, or misinterpret one symbol I could ruin someone's whole life. Very few people understand what it's like to be responsible for a burden like that," Lyndon said as we walked down the street. It was probably the longest I had ever heard him speak for at one time. Usually he spoke in clipped, non-committal sentences.

"Despite the loads of crap that are flowing out of his mouth, the truly frightening thing about his diatribe is that his 'predictions' are usually semi-correct," Lia said when her brother had stopped talking.

"The words of a higher wisdom are not, I repeat not flowing crap, you blasphemer," Lyndon shot back.

"Was it that higher power that told you to introduce a service charge, too? What's next shipping and handling fees for the supreme amount of effort it'll take you to pull your head out of your ass?" Lia asked mockingly. I was almost certain that she was actually going to stick her tongue out. Lyndon for his part just looked over at her for a moment before then trying to punch her on the arm. She caught his hand however, then jumped up and gave him a noogie. Willow and I exchanged amused looks at this latest development. They had been fighting over one thing or another since we left the club. I was beginning to think that they spent so much time around each other not because they were terribly fond of each other, but because they enjoyed fighting with each other so very much.

As we turned onto the street where the stop for the bus we had to take get back to the colony was, a young woman jumped out from one of the alley ways and grabbed Willow by shoulders shaking her.

"What's my name?" she demanded over and over again until I stepped in between them and freed Willow bringing her into a loose embrace while giving the woman a look that clearly said 'back off'. Even in her somewhat frenzied state she realized that it would be best for her to find a new person to question so she turned to Lia who was the next person closest to her. "What's my name? What's my name? What's my name?" she asked getting increasingly frustrated each time she spoke.

"Do I know you?" Lia asked not moving from the spot she had stopped in a moment ago even though the woman started to approach her.

"Do I know you? Do I know you? Do I know you?" she replied closing her eyes for a moment before looking at Lia again. "Do I know you?" this time it sounded like an actual question.

"Okay," Lia said holding up her hand. "First of all, stop walking, you're already within a sufficient distance to carry on a civil conversation. Secondly, you have to stop repeating everything we say. Not only is it irritating, it's also a sign of below average intelligence. Thirdly, who are you?" she continued.

"Who…" the woman started then stopped. She had stopped walking like Lia had told her to and was apparently working on number two. "I don't know who," she said finally.

"You don't know who you are?" Willow asked stepping out of the loose circle of my arms. "Not even your name?"

"No," the woman said shaking her head and looking down at the ground.

"Riddle me this Batman," Lia started a moment later while looking at the woman. "What steals a persons memories leaving them disoriented, and alone?"

"What?" Willow asked turning to look at her.

"I don't know, but whatever it is we've got a case of it on our hands," Lia responded stepping towards the woman.

"Who am I?" the woman asked again as Lia approached her.

"We don't know, but we'll find out," Lia said placing a hand on her back to motion her down the street. "Don't worry."

"Jane?" I whispered to Lia once we were on the move again. It looked like it was time to play the name once again.

"No," she responded thoughtfully. "Elizabeth. Yeah, Elizabeth I think," she said finally.

"Why, Elizabeth?" I asked not understanding the correlation.

"I've always liked the name Elizabeth. It's very aristocratic, I think she would like it," Lia responded shrugging. Whatever.

* * * * * *

We took Elizabeth to the police station and once there we informed them of her condition when we found her, and told them what little information we had been able to gather about how long she had been out there for. After that we then headed back to colony to consult with Giles, and if he was around, Wesley. We decided it would be best to try and keep things quiet for now since we weren't certain that anything was actually going on.

Presently we were all gathered in the lounge of the central compound. There was a table in front of us and two couches, and two chairs surrounding it. Willow, Xander and I were on the couch to the south, while Lia and Lyndon occupied the couch to the north, and Giles and Wesley were seated in the chairs to the east and west respectively.

"How long had her memory been gone for when you found her?" Giles asked after we finished our recount of happened when we left the club.

"A week, maybe a week and a half. She wasn't exactly keeping detailed notes," I responded.

"Well, where did it happen? Does she remember where she woke up?" Wesley asked as he adjusted his glasses.

"She said she woke up in the woods," Willow responded. "In a cave."

"Did she give you any other information? Was there anything else of interest?" Giles asked looking at each of us individually.

"Numbers," Lia said quietly. "She said that at the end of a winding trail ahead of the cave mouth she saw a bronze plaque with numbers on it."

"What were the numbers?" Wesley asked leaning forward slightly.

"She didn't say. She just said that they were real G.I Joe-ish, you know looked like a military code or something," Lia responded.

"Hey," Willow said suddenly. "Wasn't there something about that in the brochure?"

"Will, you and my Uncle Morty are the only two people in the world who actually read the brochures," Xander said in response. Willow gave him a look then continued with whatever it was she was going to say.

"It's called Spanish Rock. The plaque is just a copy of some inscription that was found carved into stonewall," she said.

"Spanish Rock. That's near where we found Johnny," I said remembering the map. We were right around that area.

"Hmmm," Giles commented as he removed his glasses and proceed to clean the lenses. I knew what that meant.

"Let me guess," I started. "Tomorrow we're taking a field trip Spittle Pond?"

Giles confirmed that that would be indeed be what we were going to do. First thing in the morning Wesley would talk to those in charge and try to get the five of out of whatever activities we were scheduled into so that we could investigate.

* * * * * *

I was lying on the bed facing the ceiling with my arm draped over my eyes when I felt the bed shake.

"Lyndon thinks you're after his job," she commented moving until she was lying next to me. Fortune-telling was his arena, and I had foretold what we would be doing tomorrow pretty accurately.

"I wouldn't mind swapping. The pay is much better on his side of fence," I responded taking my arm from over my face and sighing.

"Do you think it's a demon that's stealing these peoples memories?" she asked.

"It's always a demon," I responded wearily.

"Yeah," she agreed softly.

"This was suppose to be a vacation," I said. "There was suppose to be sand, and limbo contests, and tequila shooter competitions."

"Don't forget volley-ball, there was suppose to be volley-ball," Willow added.

"And volley-ball," I added. "I could've stayed at home for this," I continued a second later.

"If you did then whatever's doing this would just keep on doing it," Willow pointed out.

"The island's full of demon fighting people," I responded. There was a Slayer's convention in town, if they were missing one little me it wouldn't have mattered.

"But you're the one," she said raising onto her elbows so that she was looking down at me.

"Lia could have done it. Lia or that Austrian girl, Greta. Greta looks pretty tough, I bet she could do it. It would have given them something to put on their résumés," I responded avoiding her gaze. I was acting babyish and I knew it, I just didn't want to see it reflected back at me.

"You are the one," Willow repeated this time stressing each and every word.

"I know," I said a closing my eyes momentarily before finally opening them to meet her gaze. "Sometimes…sometimes being the one is lonely," I said finally.

"You're not alone," she responded before leaning down and kissing my lightly.

"No, I'm not, am I?" I asked reaching up and bringing her lips back down to mine. She was mine, and I was hers. As long as we were one, we would never be alone.

* * * * * *

We were in the park for about fifteen minutes before we located the bronze plaque Elizabeth had mentioned. Inscribed on it was: TF 1543. Giles and Wesley poured over the demonic almanacs they had brought with them while the rest of us looked around to see if we could find anything else that could be of use. Xander found the original carving, but it was exactly the same thing as what was on the plaque.

"I believe I've found something," Wesley called out about half an hour after we arrived at Spanish Rock. He had two books spread out in front of him, one was a book about the history of Bermuda, and the other was one of the almanacs. "It says here," he continued pointing to the history book, once we had all gathered around, "that many believe the inscription was carved by an early Portuguese 'discoverer'. I believe the discoverer they are referring to is Renaldo Falcon," he said now pointing to the almanac. "In here it says that while Falcon was on a trip to La Bermudas his crew started disappearing and suffering from memory loss while they were out gathering supplies. Falcon then goes on to recount an encounter he had with a terrible beast, saying that he barely escaped with his life. It goes on to say that he carved a warning into stone near the beasts lair to warn others of the danger, and spare them the horror that befell his crew," Wesley concluded looking up. "Sounds much like our culprit to me."

"He doesn't give any suggestions about how to kill this beast does he?" I asked from my spot in the grass. All the good sitting rocks were taken. Wesley merely shook his head. "Didn't think so," I muttered. Everybody had seen a demon and wrote about how scary they were, but nobody seemed to have any ideas about how to kill them.

I looked down the path that lead to the opening to the cave, then I looked over at Giles.

"Is it in there?" I asked, even though I was fairly certain what the answer would be.

"Most likely," Giles answered. I could tell he already knew where I was going with this. I nodded, then got up and swung my pack over my shoulder.

"You coming?" I asked turning to Lia.

"Where?" she asked. She had been playing with a twig. "Oh, the cave," she said catching up. "Yeah," she answered jumping up and swinging her bag over her shoulder. "We gonna kick some ass?" she asked walking over to me. "That's why we're going in there," I responded.

"No," Wesley said standing up. "Absolutely not. I do not give you leave to go in there. I forbid it."

"You forbid it?" I asked looking at him. "I'm a Slayer. I slay things, bad things. That's my job, and if I do it well I sometimes get cookies. The thing in there is bad, and I'm gonna kill it. What's the problem?" I continued.

"She," he said pointing to Lia, "is not an active Slayer. If she is injured…"

"What are you afraid of? A lawsuit?" Lia asked interrupting. "Somebody has to go in there with her, I mean you're not suggesting she go up against this thing alone are you?" she asked looking at him. "I'm the closest thing to another Slayer that you've got, and I'm going in."

"I forb…"

"You forbid it. I heard you, I just don't care," Lia responded. "Is he always this anal?" she asked turning to face me. I nodded and she made a face.

"We have to formulate a course of action," Wesley responded not ready to admit defeat.

"We have a course of action," I responded. "We go in there and we kill it."

"I would suggest you put a little more thought into it than that," Wesley continued.

"It's a very simple concept. The thing is bad, we kill it. It doesn't exactly require a Ph.D." I responded. "Do you know how to kill it?" I asked him.

"No…"

"That's what I thought. If we sit around on our asses for a few more hours will you know how to kill it then?" I asked building up momentum.

"No…"

"That's what I thought. So we can go in there and try to kill it now, or we can go in there and try to kill it tomorrow. Since we're here already, I say we go ahead and just kill it already," I finished.

"I'll second that," Lia piped up. Wesley's posture got even more rigid than it had been before and he looked over at Giles in an attempt for support.

"Be careful," Giles said turning to face us. "Don't try anything overly heroic, if you run into trouble, leave. For once we've got plenty of trained back up. There's no need to take any unnecessary risks."

"Will do," I responded, then I looked over at Lia and we headed for the cave.

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