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Chapter 23

Spike had planned on confronting Beth with his newfound speculations, but a trio of baddies by the name of The Gentlemen came to town. What no one realized, except Beth, was that all three of the resident Slayers had dreamed about these nasty fellows. Beth had so few Slayer dreams since being called that the dream had freaked her out. Beth had always hated weird dreams even before she had been a Slayer.

It was during this time of silence that the Initiative had a confinement breach. Practically every soldier and scientist was killed in the breakout. The only exceptions were Riley Finn’s company who had been out on maneuvers in the nearby desert area. Anya kept it to herself that she was the cause of the said breach.

After Cassie and Faith had slayed the voice stealing Gentlemen, there was no time again for Spike to confront Beth. In the aftermath of the Initiative disaster, there was a surplus of demons to slay for the Scoobies and their allies.

Willow went to a Wicca meeting at the U.C. Sunnydale campus where she met a nice girl. She didn’t tell the other Scoobies about Tara Maclay, but she suspected that Spike and Beth knew she was getting closer and closer to the girl. Tara and she had been together when the Gentlemen struck and again during the next incident where a trio of demons tried to open the Hellmouth that still resided under the burned out skeleton of the high school.

When Willow introduced Tara as her girlfriend, Anya and Beth were the first two to welcome Tara with open arms. Of course, Willow did the whole thing at the Bronze where she knew there would be less likely to be a public reaction to her news. The get together was interrupted by a girl named April looking for her boyfriend Warren.

Beth tilted her head as she studied the strange woman. “It’s another robot. You don’t think it’s another Ted do you? Looking to kill this Warren guy?”

Xander turned to look at the newest robot girl. “Well, there’s one way to find out.” He walked over to April. “Hey, ma’am, are you planning on hurting this Warren guy?”

“I love Warren. I would never hurt him,” April said matter-of-factly. “Do you know where Warren is?”

Xander shook his head. “Have you looked him up in the phone book?”

April shook her head. “That wasn’t part of my education. Nowhere in my sex files does using the telephone apply.”

“Guess Warren doesn’t like phone sex, huh?” Xander chuckled. He waved at the group of friends. “How about we help you find this Warren guy?”

“I must find him soon. My battery needs to be recharged.” April looked at the group of friends. “Your help would be acceptable, but I need to find Warren Meers right now. He is my boyfriend.”

“Gotcha.” Xander led April over to the Scoobies. “Cordelia, honey, why don’t you call information and see if you can find Warren?”

“Thank you.” April looked around. She tilted her head when she got to Spike and Beth. “These two are different than the rest of you. Are they like me?”

“No, they’re vampires,” Cassie replied. “You know, the undead animated by a demon.”

“Oh, okay, that’s nice.” April got a faraway look on her face. “Have you seen Warren? I really miss him, you know. He’s so good in bed.”

“Sounds a bit like Anya,” Spike whispered to Beth. He hadn’t forgotten the conversation that had gone on at their house during Thanksgiving. He had never realized how raunchy females could be as he was a Victorian gentleman when he was alive, and back then, sex just wasn’t talked about.

“Yeah, she does,” Beth giggled. She was glad Spike was talking to her again. He had been so distant since Thanksgiving, and she had no idea why. She hoped he was feeling better now. After all, Christmas was only a week away. Beth had a really nice gift for him to unwrap.

“Two robots in just over two years. Wonder if Sunnydale attracts geniuses or something,” Willow mused. “I’d love to get into her circuits. Ted’s were quite advanced considering how old he was.”

“There’s no Warren Meers,” Cordelia said. “There is however a Betty Meers over on Winchester Street.”

“Betty is the name of Warren’s mother,” April said happily. “She is a very nice lady. She will know where Warren is.” She rose to her feet.

The Scoobies watched as the robot hurried across the Bronze.

“You think we should follow her?” Beth asked.

Just then April picked up a large man who had tried to pinch her butt, and she threw him through a paint covered window.

“Oh, yeah,” Cassie replied. “This could be bad. Faith, Riley, Spike, you come with me. The rest of you make sure that guy is okay.” She and Faith went towards the door, with Riley trailing behind.

“Meet us at the Magic Box when you’re done,” Xander told the blond Slayer.

“Right. You be careful, luv.” Spike gave Beth a small nod before he followed the Slayers and Captain Cardboard. He knew she could take care of herself if what he suspected was true, but he still felt the need to keep her safe.

Xander herded the remaining Scooby women towards the injured idiot. He refused their help of course, but at least they tried. After a few minutes, they left the Bronze too. Willow and Tara walked in front holding hands, while Xander had both Cordelia and Beth on his arms. Xander saw the envious looks from several men as the group strolled down the sidewalk towards the Magic Box.

“Xander’s going to get a big head over this,” Cordelia observed.

“I guess it’ll be your job to pop it then,” Beth giggled. She playfully hit Xander’s arm with her hand when he let out an indignant gasp. “We love you, you know that right?”

“I suppose.” Xander rolled his eyes at Willow and Tara when they glanced back over their shoulders at him.

It didn’t take the group long to make it to Anya’s shop. They slipped inside and spread out as they waited for her to complete a sale. Anya followed the customer to the front door, and she turned the open sign to closed.

“Where are the Slayer’s?” Anya looked the group over. “And Spike and the soldier?”

“There’s another robot in Sunnydale,” Willow said quietly. “She was looking for some guy named Warren.”

“Warren Meers sounds so familiar,” Cordelia said. “Now where have I heard that name before?”

“Spike and the Slayers went after the robot,” Beth said with a shrug. “While we’re waiting why don’t we have look over the books for the businesses?”

“That sounds good.” Anya nodded. She went to the counter where she kept the books on the demon parts business. “Just today I received a request for Far’nik testicles. This will be a job for Spike and Beth, of course.” She placed the book on the counter.

“Why is that?” Xander asked.

“Far’nik demons live in the sewers because they breathe methane gas.” Anya wrote some information down on a piece of paper which she then handed to Beth. “This is the address of the manhole closest to their lair.”

Beth looked at the paper for a moment before she put it in her purse. She dipped her head in thanks to the shopkeeper.

“The kitten breeding business is going really well,” Cordelia replied. “We will have to expand very shortly. We’re running out of room, and we need some employees.”

“Well, Dalton is hopelessly bored,” Beth said. “We could ask him if he wants to help.”

“Good idea,” Cordelia replied. She grabbed some paper and a pencil to take notes. “Can you talk to him, Beth?”

“Sure thing.” Beth nodded. “It would be my pleasure.”

“No one is using the Initiative area,” Xander said. “We could convert that for kitten breeding and demon parts storage. I haven’t seen the inside, but I bet Riley could help.”

“It’s worth looking at, but I think I’d much prefer working above ground.” Cordelia wrinkled her nose.

“It was just an idea, sweetie.” Xander gave Cordelia a smile.

The group continued to brainstorm for ideas of where to place their expanded business. They decided to explore the abandoned Initiative area along with several other vacant buildings. They had plenty of capital in which to invest in the expansion.


The door of the shop swung open and Spike limped in. He was followed by Cassie and Faith, who had Riley between them.

“What happened?” Beth rushed to Spike’s side. She helped him down the stairs, and she helped him sit down.

“We found out why that git Warren abandoned robot-girl,” Spike replied. “It seems he found himself a real live girl to shag.”

“How did you get hurt, baby?” Beth asked. She went for the first aid kit.

“April, that’s the robot’s name, by the way, wasn’t too happy to find that out.” Cassie crossed to Beth, and she took a few first aid items from the other woman. “She tried to kill both Warren and the new girl. We got beat up stopping her.”

“Did you remember to hit her with a fire extinguisher?” Beth asked in a serious voice.

Cassie chuckled. She remembered Beth’s tale of hitting Ted with an extinguisher. “No, I hit her with a Spike though.”

“Is that why he looks so thrashed?” Beth glanced at Spike.

“Unfortunately, but we did win in the end. Thank God!” Faith dropped into a chair beside Riley. “I think I need a vacation.”

“You and me both, sister,” Cassie replied. She went to Riley and started to clean him up.

After the injuries were fixed up, the business discussion started anew.





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