Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story)

Chapter Fifteen-Beta

One moment, Buffy was looking at Sir Reilly as he quietly aimed the Meggido glove in her direction. The next, she was leaping to the side in order to avoid the blast that Sir Reilly fired in her direction.

The blast, of course, missed her but it took out the side of the inn Buffy had been standing in front of. Moreover, it provoked Lady Sherwood to start shouting, "Stand down, Sir Reilly! Stand down!"

Sir Reilly ignored her, of course, and instead turned to aim the glove in her direction. Buffy took advantage of this by leaping on Sir Reilly's back and again aiming his glove upwards.

"Get off of me, Slayer!" cried Sir Reilly.

"Slayer!" cried a blonde woman in a white dress who had just entered the inn. "Did someone mention a Slayer?"

"Yes," cried Fae Lahane, pointing to Magdalena Walsh. "She's a Slayer!"

The blonde woman smiled and then ran across the inn with incredible speed, surprising Magdalena Walsh before she could even say a word.

Not that it mattered. Soon after that, the blonde woman repeatedly stabbed Magdalena Walsh with a pointed stake until it became obvious to everyone in the room that she was dead.

Buffy's jaw dropped. If not for Fae's obvious untruth, that could have been her. And while Buffy had had little reason to like Magdalena Walsh while she was alive, she could not help feeling that even Miss Walsh deserved a better death.

Then a second woman entered the inn. This woman was a brunette dressed in a harem outfit.

She looked around the inn and said, "I'm looking for a dragon slayer."

"It's okay," said the blonde. "I already killed her."

The brunette smiled. "In that case, our mission has been accomplished."

"No, it isn't, you bloody maniacs!" cried Sir Reilly. "I don't know who sent you here but your partner over there killed the wrong woman."

"Oh, really?" asked the brunette. "Do you happen to know where the dragon slayer is?"

Sir Reilly smiled a cold smile. "Sure, I do. But first I'm sending you two to the Promised Land."

And with that, he took advantage of Buffy's lack of attention to again raise the Meggido glove, this time aiming it in the direction of the brunette.

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story)

Chapter Fifteen-Alpha

Laurel glanced at Tierra and asked, "You're a witch?"

"Yes," said Tierra.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Laurel.

"What?" asked Tierra. "Me? Confess to being a witch? To a representative of the same Watchers Council that executed Jamie's mother? Are you crazy? More importantly, do you think I'm crazy?"

"Well, you saved Jamie so I'm grateful for that," said Laurel. "And don't worry. I'll keep your secret. Of course, if I had known that Jamie was your girlfriend --"

"She's not my girlfriend, Laurel," said Tierra. "That's just an expression."

"Oh," said Laurel.

"Come on, Tierra," said Jamie, brushing the dust off her dress. "Let's go inside and get you fully dressed before you catch your death."

"Well, if I had stopped to get fully dressed before I came out here," said Tierra, "I would not have had time to cast the protection spell that saved your life, Jamie."

"And I'm grateful for that, but still," said Jamie.

xxx

Meanwhile, down the street, Erasmus Rayne and Brother Linden were observing the women outside the Violet Moon.

"So we apparently have two witches to get rid of," said Brother Linden. "I suppose we might as well get rid of the redhead too while we're at it."

"All in good time," said Erasmus. "All in good time."

xxx

"So how long does it take to get out of these woods?" asked Buffy. "I could swear we passed the same tree three times in a row."

"We'll get there," said the mysterious damsel who called herself Eve as she swung from branch to branch. "We just have to keep going in our present direction."

"And what's with all the stuff that comes out of those things on your wrists?" asked Buffy. "If I didn't know better, I'd say it was spider webbing."

"It is spider webbing," said Eve.

"Don't be silly," said Buffy. "You're human. How could you be producing spider webbing?"

"Easy," said Eve. "When I was living in London, I got bit by a witch-cursed spider."

"A witch-cursed spider?" asked Buffy.

"Yes," said Eve. "And it transformed me into the being that I am today: the Amazing Spider-Eve."

"Spider-Eve?" asked Buffy.

"Well, I could use my last name and call myself Spider-Vi but Spider-Eve sounds better to my ears," said Eve.

"Why not call yourself Spider-Girl?" asked Buffy.

"Well, that would be silly," said Eve. "Plus, um, I didn't think of it."

"Well, Spider-Eve, what made you come here from London?" asked Buffy.

"My master died," said Eve.

"Your master?" asked Buffy. "You were a slave?"

"No," said Eve. "A servant. My master rescued me from a group of corrupt high sheriffs and let me stay at his residence rent-free."

"Sounds like a nice man," said Buffy.

"Oh, he was," said Eve. "They say a lot of bad things about Master A but that's because they never knew him like I did."

"Master A?" asked Buffy.

"A for Anarchy," said Eve. "He was the man who helped take down Baron Alan Susan when he tried to take over the government."

"I'm not sure I've heard of him, but then I've been on the road a lot and I don't always have time to follow local politics," said Buffy.

"Oh, you would have heard of Master A," said Eve. "He scared the bejibbers out of a lot of people. Usually nogoodniks like the Dark Brotherhood of Rossum and the Dark Brotherhood of the Wolf, the Ram and the Stag. Plus private individuals like Baron William Fisk and that doctor from Latveria who fancies himself a philosopher-king."

"So what made you come here?" asked Buffy.

"I got tired of the city and for some reason, it seemed more fitting for me to come here and play the part of a jungle girl than to go anywhere else," said Eve.

"But this isn't really a jungle," said Buffy.

"It's close enough," said Eve.

"Still..." said Buffy.

Buffy started to say more but she found herself covered in some type of white webbing. She managed to get out of it but then another strand was sprayed right at her.

Buffy hurriedly flew away and turned toward Eve.

"Hey, what's with all the webbing?" asked Buffy. "I didn't do anything to you."

"Oh, it's not me doing it," said Eve. "It's two giant caterpillars down there on the forest floor. Apparently they don't like dragons."

"Well, they need to stop doing it," said Buffy. "After all, if I wasn't so small and fast, I'd be in big trouble."

And then Buffy paused a moment and got an idea.

Now I know how I'm going to defeat the big dragon, she thought.

Then Buffy turned again to Eve. "Oh, Eve..." she said.

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story)

Chapter Fourteen-Gamma

As Messalina walked away from the fallen dragon and down the middle of the street, she noticed Buffy standing in her path. The rain was still falling and the Slayer's hair was obviously wet yet she stood there in front of Messalina nonetheless.

"Oh, my, Buffy,"said Messalina. "You really should go back inside before you catch your death. All this dampness can't be good for your lungs."

"Don't talk to me like that, Messalina," said Buffy, an angry look on her face. "I saw what you did to Faith."

"What I did?" asked Messalina. "Hey, I made her a hero. If I had done nothing, she might have killed you and earned herself quite a bad reputation but instead she ended up saving the whole village and dying a hero."

"She didn't choose to die a hero," said Buffy. "You pushed her into it. Just like you were going to push me into making a suicide attack on the big dragon just before Faith came along."

"What makes you say that?" asked Messalina.

"Oh, Messalina," said Buffy, "Please don't talk to me as if I were an idiot. Like I said before, I saw what you did to Faith."

"And what exactly did I do to Faith that was so bad?" asked Messalina. "Before I intervened, she was all set to kill you, Buffy. Hey, she even tried to kill me. Should I feel bad because I supposedly killed someone who would have been quite happy killing me? I mean, you were all prepared to kill her yourself. Why do you get to feel morally good while I have to feel morally bad?"

"Well, you did not defeat her in an honorable way," said Buffy.

Messalina snorted. "Faith wasn't interested in being honorable. So why should I play by rules that Faith was quite happy to ignore?"

"Well, then answer me this," said Buffy. "Why were you so nice to me this evening? Was it all a trick?"

"Hey, I allegedly killed someone who was trying to kill you," said Messalina. "Does that say 'trick' to you? Or would you rather I had done nothing?"

"So why were you so nice to me?" asked Buffy.

"Why do you keep asking me that question?" asked Messalina.

"Why won't you give me an honest answer?" asked Buffy.

"Do you consider yourself that unlikable, Buffy?" asked Messalina.

"Answer the question, Messalina," said Buffy. "Please."

"Okay," said Messalina. "I could say 'because you amused me' but that would only annoy you and besides, it's not quite true. The truth is... you confuse me. I thought I knew what Slayers were like before you came along. But after tonight... you confuse me."

"I confuse you?" asked Buffy.

"Pardon me," said Messalina. "Did I stutter? Yes, you confuse me, Buffy. I have every reason in the world to hate Slayers -- but you... you confuse me."

"Is that your way of saying that you like me?" asked Buffy.

At this point, Messalina looked at Buffy and smiled.

Then she giggled.

Then she began to laugh. A lot. Almost continuously.

After a few minutes of listening to Messalina laugh, Buffy realized that she was never going to get a proper answer to her question. Unless she considered the laughter itself to be a proper answer. So she turned around and walked off.

When Buffy got to the front door of the Violet Moon, she turned around and looked back at Messalina to see if anything has changed. But nothing was different. Messalina was still standing in the middle of the street. And of course, she was still laughing like crazy.

The end?

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story)

Chapter Fourteen-Beta

The minute Buffy saw the flames on Lady Isabel's hands, she cried, "Laurel! Go upstairs and fetch me my weapons."

"But, Buffy..." said Laurel.

"Do it -- now!" cried Buffy.

Laurel shrugged and ran upstairs. As she did, Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. Not that she believed that Laurel was likely to return in time to be of any help but at least for now she was out of harm's way.

Speaking of which...

"Lady Isabel," said Buffy. "Surely there's a way to settle this."

"I'm sure there is," said Lady Isabel. "But I gave them their opportunity to do that and they just laughed in my face. So now I'm forced to do things the hard way."

"Oh, no, you don't, you freak," said Querida.

Buffy saw Querida start to squeeze the trigger on her crossbow and instantly grabbed her arm so that the crossbow bolt was fired over Lady Isabel's head.

"Geez, Querida," said Buffy. "Are you trying to commit suicide?"

"You idiot," said Querida. "That was my big chance."

"Well, here's another," said Buffy.

And with that, she knocked Querida unconscious with her fist.

Buffy started to say, "I hated to do that but I had to --"

Then she broke off when she noticed Sir Reilly staring at her. And then aiming the Meggido glove in her direction.

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story)

Chapter Fourteen-Alpha

When Buffy first opened her eyes, she was a bit surprised to realize she was still alive. She ached all over but she was still alive.

And she was still a dragon. Okay.

And there was an upside-down woman staring at her. A woman who was roughly her age but wore a mask and two odd things on her wrists that looked like bracelets or something. The woman was hanging from a tree branch and staring at Buffy in the oddest way. Though considering the way she was dressed, it would have been quite hard for her to stare at Buffy in a normal way.

"Where am I?" asked Buffy, seeing nothing around her except for trees and bushes.

"It talks," said the upside-down woman.

"Of course, I talk," said Buffy. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Because you're a dragon, silly," said the woman.

"No, I'm not," said Buffy. "I'm -- Oh, right. I am a dragon. But only temporarily."

"Sure, sure," said the woman. "What brings you here, Miss Dragon?"

"My name is not Miss Dragon," said Buffy. "It's Buffy."

"Buffy's a weird name for a dragon," said the woman.

"I'm not really a drag -- Hey, what's your name?" asked Buffy.

"Eve!" exclaimed the woman.

"Okay," said Buffy. "How did you get here?"

"Easy," said Eve. "I live here."

"Why are you living in the woods?" asked Buffy.

"Why shouldn't I live in the woods?" asked Eve.

"Well, it just seems a bit unusual," said Buffy,

"Says the talking dragon," said Eve.

"Okay, I deserve that," said Buffy. "Anyway, I need to get out of here. Is there any chance you can show me the way out of these woods?"

"I suppose so," said Eve. "But why the hurry?"

"I have to go rescue a village from a great big dragon," said Buffy.

"Isn't that kind of a weird thing for a dragon to do?" asked Eve.

"I'm not really a dragon," said Buffy. "I'm really a dragon slayer. But some witch turned me into a dragon so that I could fight a bigger dragon."

"I get the feeling that plan did not work out all that well,"said Eve.

"That's a good way to put it," said Buffy. "Now can you help me?"

xxx

Laurel had no idea how long she had been sleeping but she suddenly found herself waking up in the middle of the evening in a strange bedroom. Judging from the figure lying beside her, it was Tierra's bedroom and they had apparently done far more than gather up lost towels.

No matter. One thought kept racing through her mind and it had nothing to do with Tierra: What about Jamie?

Laurel had promised Buffy that she would look after Jamie and here she was, literally sleeping on the job. Granted, you don't meet a girl like Tierra every day and if things had been less serious, Laurel liked to think that Buffy would understand.

But, no, Laurel had to check on Jamie. Now. If it was not too late.

Then she heard the sound of a dragon's roar outside the window of the room -- and Laurel realized that it might already be too late.

"Please let Jamie be okay," she chanted as she hurriedly dressed. "Please let Jamie be okay."

Just then Tierra woke up. "Jamie!" she exclaimed.

Before Laurel could say anything, Tierra was already running out of her bedroom and heading for the stairs.

Laurel just shrugged and followed, hoping against hope that it was not too late to help Jamie.

When she walked out the front door of the Violet Moon, she saw Jamie standing out in the street, staring at the sky with a frozen expression. Laurel turned to see what Jamie was looking at and noticed a small dragon flying toward them at ever-increasing speed. A dragon that looked like Buffy -- but obviously wasn't Buffy. Buffy's dragon skin was not that color and her wings were not that large and -- Oh, Great Goddess! It looked like this dragon was going to kill Jamie!

Laurel immediately leaped upon Jamie and brought her down to the ground just as the dragon let loose a torrent of flame in Jamie's direction. Laurel closed her eyes and prayed to every entity she could think of.

Buffy, she thought, I know I fucked up. But I did try my best to save Jamie. It's not my fault I failed.

Then Laurel realized that neither she nor Jamie was on fire. That they both had somehow been spared from the flames and that right then the dragon who had attacked them was flying off to seek new prey.

"Get off of me, Laurel," said Jamie, and Laurel hurriedly got off Jamie, still wondering how the heck they got spared from death.

Then she heard Tierra's voice speak from behind her, "I'm flattered that you trust me to always have your back, Jamie, but Good Goddess, girlfriend! You really do like to cut things close!"

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story)

Chapter Thirteen-Gamma

Faith Rappaccini stepped outside the front entrance of the Violet Moon and exclaimed, "Give me my swords!"

"Your swords?" asked Brother Linden.

"Yes," said Faith, glaring at Brother Linden. "Did I stutter?"

"No, but I thought the crossbows --" Brother Linden started to say.

"I don't care what you thought," said Faith. "I want my swords. Now. Or would you prefer that I breathe on you?"

"Hand her her swords, you idiot," said Sister Lilith. "She wouldn't ask for them if she didn't need them."

xxx

Meanwhile, inside the Violet Moon, Buffy said to Laurel, "Please get me my spear and shield. Now."

"Right away, Buffy," said Laurel. "But shouldn't you be going out the back so that you can go take care of the big drag--"

"I can't take care of anything as long as Faith is out there," said Buffy. "So go get me my spear and shield. Please."

"Okay," said Laurel.

Sir Roderick blinked and said, "You know, Buffy. You and I have never been really close but it seems to me --"

"I don't have time for any of your lectures right now, Sir Roderick," said Buffy. "Faith hasn't given me a lot of options and right now I'm playing the best hand that I got. Either I kill her or she kills me. There's not a whole lot you or Laurel could do about that right now."

Laurel returned with Buffy's spear and shield, and then said a brief prayer over her that Buffy hoped was a good sign.

In the meantime, Messalina just stood by the wall and watched the Slayer prepare for battle.

"Stake," she said, "I think the two human girls are going to fight."

"Of course they are, luv," said Stake.

"I suppose someone should do something about that," said Messalina.

"Yes, I suppose someone should," said Stake. "But you know these humans..."

"Yes, I do," said Messalina. "Still watching the Slayer prepare for battle like this makes me feel funny."

"You mean funny peculiar or funny ha-ha?" asked Stake.

"Both, I think," said Messalina. "I mean, the Slayer actually saved my life. I never imagined a Slayer doing that before. And I've been around a good long number of years."

"So you sympathize with her, I take it?" asked Stake.

"Well, ordinarily you'd think so but er, no," said Messalina.

Just then Faith Rappaccini re-entered the inn, this time holding two big swords -- one in each hand.

Meanwhile Buffy held up her spear and shield and scowled at her would-be attacker.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Faith," Buffy said. "Just stand down and I'll go out and kill the big dragon for you. Afterwards, I'll leave town and you never have to see me again."

"The only way you're leaving this inn is in a pine box, Slayer," said Faith.

"The graveyards are full of people who have said the same thing to me in the past," said Buffy. "So for the sake of your father and your village, you'd best stand down while you still have a chance."

"You have some nerve, Slayer," said Faith. "I'm not scared of you. Nor am I scared of your pet vampires."

"Oh, yeah," said Buffy. "Well, they aren't my pets.They're just people who helped me when almost no one else wou -- Hey! Where did Messalina go?"

"Is this the part where you go on about how loyal your vampires are?" asked Faith. "Because it doesn't look that way from here."

"No, it isn't, Faith," said Buffy. "Look, can't we just call this stupid thing off before one of us gets hurt? I don't want to have to kill you."

"It's not necessarily a matter of you killing me," said Faith. "It's a matter of me killing you. And quite frankly, I've waited long enough."

Faith raised her two swords even higher and smiled. "Goodbye, Slayer. See you in He -- Hey!"

As Buffy watched in bemusement, a mysterious masked figure threw a black cloak over Faith and grabbed her around the torso so that she could not use her arms. Then the figure pulled Faith outside so fast that by the time Buffy thought to react, Faith and her mysterious captor were already out the door.

xxx

One moment Faith Rappaccini was all set to kill the Slayer; the next she was struggling to get a cloak off of her. She tried to use her swords but both of her sword arms were being held in a tight embrace by someone clever enough to avoid direct skin contact with Faith yet strong enough to hold both her arms while dragging her backwards at the same time. And that someone was doing all this to her while she was outside in the rain.

"I don't know who you are," she said, "but I'm going to kill you."

"That's not very nice," said the voice. "All I want to do right now is make you a hero."

"I don't want to be a hero," said Faith. "I wanna kill the Slayer."

"Well, let's make you a hero first," said the voice. "Then you can go kill the Slayer."

"No, you idiot," said Faith. "Let me go."

"You didn't say 'please'," said the voice.

"Please let me go or I'll kill you!" exclaimed Faith.

"Not good enough," said the voice. "My, my. What would your mummy think of your manners?"

"I know that voice," said Faith. "You're the vampire. The lady vampire, that is."

"Am I?" asked the voice. "Will wonders never cease?"

"Stop fooling around and let me go, vampire," said Faith. "Or I'll have my minions kill you."

"Your 'minions' have been both rendered unconscious," said the voice. "But hey, nice try with that threat."

"I'll kill you!" exclaimed Faith.

"You're welcome to try," said the voice. "But not until after I make you a hero."

"I said, let me go," said Faith.

"Okay," said the voice. "You'll get your wish."

Just like that, the embrace ended and the cloak was taken off of Faith. And before her stood the big two-legged dragon that had been intent on destroying the town.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Faith, forgetting about the swords in her hands. "Look at the size of that thing!"

"You look!" exclaimed the voice. "In fact, I insist that you get a closer look."

And just like that, two gloved hands pressed on Faith's back and pushed her so close to the big dragon that Faith could not help but touch it. Whereupon the poison in her body immediately began to work upon the creature.

"Oh, no!" Faith exclaimed. "I killed it!"

Then she thought, hey, I killed it. I killed the big dragon. That makes me a hero. Now I can go kill the Slayer. And the lady vampire.

With that, Faith turned to face Messalina who was rapidly running away from the big dragon.

Faith smiled. You can run but you can't hide, vampire, she thought.

Then Faith heard a noise and looked up in time to see the rapidly dying dragon looking down upon her.

The last thing she saw after that was the dying dragon's one last torrent of flame which just happened to be aimed in her direction.

After that, Faith had no more thoughts.

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story)

Chapter Thirteen-Beta

Just before the Meggido glove went off, Buffy rushed forward and immediately pulled Sir Reilly's hand upwards, ensuring the burst of magical energy that came out of the glove went harmlessly into the night sky instead of into Fae Lahane's chest.

"Are you crazy!" cried Buffy to Sir Reilly.

"Stand down, Slayer!" cried Sir Reilly. "You just interfered with my termination of a viable target."

"She's not a target," said Buffy. "She's a human being!"

"Hey!" cried Fae. "I resent that!"

"I mean she's a supernatural being who deserves to be treated like a human being," said Buffy.

"That's better," said Fae.

"You heard her, Slayer," said Sir Reilly. "She threatened my life first. I was well within my rights to execute her."

"With a magic glove that capable of killing a dragon?" asked Buffy. "Isn't that overkill?"

"No such thing as overkill," said Sir Reilly. "Make too many polite distinctions in the field and you end up six feet under -- if you're lucky."

Buffy turned toward Fae and said, "There's no chance we can't compromise on this whole glove thing, is there? Like maybe wait until after Sir Reilly has killed the big dragon outside and then taking the glove back to your mistress?"

"Not a chance, Slayer," said Fae. "Orders are orders. Besides, I don't just answer to Mistress Post. I also answer to her mistress, Queen Mab the Winter Monarch of Faerie. Not quite as charming as Queen Elsa but still not anyone whom you really want to disappoint unless you have a death wish."

"I'm not asking you to disobey her," said Buffy. "Just give us a little time."

"I don't see why you're bothering to negotiate with her," said Sir Reilly. "I have a sworn duty to the king to not hand over to the enemy any weapons that have been gathered in his name."

"Fae Lahane is not the enemy," said Buffy. "At least she doesn't have to be. And there has to be a nonviolent solution to this. There just has to be."

"Let go of my arm, Slayer," said Sir Reilly. "That's an order."

"I don't need you to fight my battles, Slayer," said Fae. "I can take care of Sir Reilly myself."

Oh, great, thought Buffy. Now look what I got myself into. I'm in the middle of one big fight and neither side is likely to back down. And they're both mad at me. I can't imagine how anything can be worse.

Then she felt something sharp and pointed being pressed to the side of her head.

Before Buffy could turn, she heard Querida's voice say, "I'd listen to my boyfriend Sir Reilly if I were you, Slayer. I know you Slayers have remarkable healing powers but even they can't heal the effects of having a crossbow bolt being fired directly into your skull."

xxx

"Boyfriend?" asked Buffy. "I thought Sir Reilly was just a customer."

"Boyfriend, customer, it doesn't matter," said Querida. "He's still pretty special to me. So let him go or I'll be forced to shoot you."

"If I were you, I'd let her go right now, Mistress Querida," said Sir Roderick. "Otherwise, the full force of the Watchers Council will come down upon you."

Querida just smiled. "The Watchers Council bother with a vampire? Don't make me laugh. Even if I went ahead and killed the Slayer, there's no way they could punish me. Thanks to Madame Cornelia, I have friends in high places. For that matter, I also have friends in low places as well but enough about He of the Demonic Countenance."

"I don't suppose you'd care to help, Fae?" asked Buffy.

"Hey, it's your mess," said Fae. "Anyway, all I care about is the glove."

"Well, you're not getting it," said Sir Reilly.

"What the hell is going on here?" asked a voice from behind Fae Lehane.

Everyone turned to look at the new arrival, a pale, black-haired woman in a black dress and cloak whose outfit was still damp from the outside rain. On her hands were two gloves that she kept touching over and over again.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Sir Reilly.

"Lady Isabel Sherwood of the Royal er-something-or-other," said the lady. "We've heard reports of a dragon in this area and I can see outside that they are obviously true. What I don't understand is why you all are standing around here quarreling instead of doing something about that dragon?"

"Mind your own business," said Fae Lahane.

"May I remind you," said Lady Isabel, "that I am under direct orders of the --"

"Go away," said Sir Reilly.

Lady Isabel replied, "Kind sir, I really must insist --"

"Sir Reilly just told you to 'go away'," said Querida, aiming her crossbow away from Buffy and toward the newcomer. "What part of 'go away' don't you understand?"

Lady Isabel just stood there and calmly took off her gloves. Then she held up her hands palm up and closed her eyes.

After a while, her hands began to glow with a white light.

"I see you have the Meggido glove," she said to Sir Reilly when she finally opened her eyes. "Very interesting. Personally, I don't like to rely on that type of technology to perform certain tasks."

At this point, white flames started to appear on her palms.

"You see, Sir Reilly," said Lady Isabel as the flames on her hands grew larger, "I prefer to do certain things old school."

To be continued...