Energy (A Buffy fanfic)

Chapter 5: Taken

I must have been unconscious for only a few seconds - my feet were still smoking. I felt like swearing, because the mighty Slayer had been saved by a change of mind from one of the enemy. There is no doubt that Dave's timely intervention had saved my life - that and my Slayer reflexes. I need to go and find Giles, tell him about what happened. Just as soon as I muster the energy to get up of the floor. Guess we won't be raiding CRD this evening after all. Well, I've just got to hope that Willow doesn't do anything stupid and Malcolm, whoever he might be, doesn't try anything until tomorrow anyway. It's nice to hope. Sometimes, it's all I have.

Giles

Not even Buffy's rapid exit with Xander and Theo would've stopped me from calling after them in an attempt to convince them of the sheer lunacy of their plan, had I not seen something that I abhor to the very depths of my being. An empty book. I've never been able to keep a diary, just the mere sight of all those pages with nothing on them sends shivers up my spine. So I couldn't understand why, in my library, a large, thick book would just lie there open, with nothing in it. I steel myself to go and pick it up (you see how deep my abhorrence runs? I don't even want to touch it!).

Blank. All the way through, and without there being any trace that anything had ever been written in it. I look at the front cover, and shiver with horror. This is no ordinary book - the cover shows the demon Moloch, known as The Corruptor. Renowned for his almost hypnotic power to convince anyone to serve him, he had been the scourge of Italy for decades before a group of monks had found a way to trap him - in the very book that I was now holding in my hands.

If there was no longer any writing in it, then he must have escaped somehow. But how? The book hadn't been written in English, and I doubt that anyone else in the school but me would've been able to read it - and I hadn't. So how had he gotten loose? I'm beginning to give credence to Buffy's insane idea that there's a demon in the Internet, and I know which one. Unfortunately, the only spells I know that could bind him again would only work if he had flesh, not if he was trapped in one of those Infernal computers. I knew I was right to dislike them!

Anyway, I needed to speak to someone who knew something about computers. Normally, that would've been Willow, but she might be involved somehow with Malcolm, or Moloch. Therefore I had to speak to that blasted Calendar woman. No doubt I'll come across as a madman, raving about Internet-demons, and suffer all sorts of jibes, but think of all the damage a demon could do with access to the Internet! He must be stopped, whatever the cost!

Now I just have to work up the courage to talk to her...

Buffy

After spending a good 15 minutes sprawled on the floor aching, I finally convinced my body that the right thing to do would be to get up and speak to Giles. Even then, it took a while to work up the momentum to get up, but once I managed I felt alright. Well, aching and sore and tingly and hot, but as long as I didn't have to stop moving I should be able to get to the library. Nevertheless, it looked as though our raid of CRD would have to be delayed at leat until tomorrow. Being electrocted is a bummer - and I shudder to imagine what would have happened if Dave hadn't had a change of heart and told me to jump, and if I had been just a little bit slower...

I walk slowly, every step agony to my burned feet, when suddenly I hear a voice call my name. Not feeling up to just turning my head, I move my whole body round slowly to see who it is. Xander and Theo, wheeling some kind of ancient, massive TV. They must need it for class.

In a heartbeat, Theo's by my side, holding my arm and gently leading me to library, saying "Xander, you go and tell Ms. Thorne (Our replacement Biology teacher for Bug-Lady) that Buffy's taken ill and we're taking her to the nurse." Where does he get off, making decisions like that and treating me like an invalid? Well, okay, I can barely walk, and there's not much point kicking up a fuss about it when Xander's already gone of to obey his instructions.