“Necro-what?” Xander asked, brows drawing together in confusion.

“Necrotizing fasciitis,” Willow repeated; she stopped in the hallway and rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Xander, did you even read the chapter?”

Xander ducked his head and sidled up next to Willow, casually slinging an arm around her shoulder. “That’s what I have you for, Willow,” he replied, gifting her with a wide smile and puppy dog eyes that never failed to get what he wanted from his friend. For added measure, Xander gave Willow a one-armed hug as the two started walking down the hallway again, weaving through the other students as they headed to the library.

Buffy met the pair just as they reached the swinging double doors.

“Hey, guys.”

“Hey, Buff.”

“Buffy! Hi!” Willow’s greeting was the most exuberant of the three.

As they walked into the library, Giles’ voice rang out from the stacks.

“Ah… good. You’re all here.”

Buffy quirked a brow at her friends; together they moved forward and set their books down on the table. From Giles’ tone, they were in for a long – boring – study session.

“All present and accounted for,” Buffy quipped as she took a seat.

“Hmm… yes, I see,” Giles murmured distractedly, his attention on the book he held in his hand. He paused on the landing and reread the passage he’d just skimmed. “Ah. Of course.”

“What?” Xander called out, curiosity getting the better of him.

Giles marked the page with his finger and removed his glasses. “I’ve found the information on the demon Buffy and I encountered the previous night. I knew it looked familiar; I just couldn’t place it before. I’ve also discovered the means of destroying the creature.”

“Great! So no need to make with the research,” Buffy concluded as she stood. “I’ll go slay the thing and for once I’ll have an early night.”

“Uh, not exactly, Buffy.”

“What do you mean?” Buffy pouted.

“Killing a Plockschardt demon—well, it takes time. A spell is needed to weaken the creature before it can be destroyed, and for that I’ll need ingredients. The local magic shop should have everything.”

“Great,” Buffy muttered. Her sarcastic tone was drowned out by Xander’s confused, “Plocks what?”

“Plockschardt,” Willow reiterated, reading from the leather-bound text Giles had set before her on the table. She continued reading, though halfway through the page her nose crinkled in distaste. “Ewww, they really do that?” she asked, lifting questioning eyes to Giles, frowning when Xander crowded over her shoulder to read.

“I’m afraid so. Which is why I must leave immediately for the magic shop,” Giles informed them then turned to Buffy. “Patrol as you normally would. If you find the Plockschardt, don’t engage it. Come to my flat. I should have the spell ready by then.”

Buffy nodded and turned to her friends. “So, who’s up for patrol tonight?”

~*~*~*~*~

The smell reached them first.

“Ugh! That’s just—” Xander floundered for the right word as he waved a hand in front of his face in an attempt to fan away the smell; it didn’t work.

“Pee eww?”

Xander smiled at Willow. “I was going to say disgusting, but ‘pee eww’ works too.”

Buffy shushed them. “I think I hear something. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Willow and Xander looked at each other as Buffy walked off into the dark. A minute later they were following her; no way were they being left behind.

Xander nearly gave their position away when they caught up with Buffy. Willow’s hand over his mouth, and Buffy’s evil glare reduced his exclamation to a mere peep.

“Sorry,” he mouthed when Willow eventually removed her hand.

Buffy nodded at his blunder and turned around to survey the scene. Five charred bodies were laid out on the ground in some macabre design. The Plockschardt was walking back and forth, muttering, its jowls leaking spittle onto the corpses.

“I’ve seen enough,” Buffy announced, her voice low so it wouldn’t carry. “Let’s go get Giles. That thing is so dead – or it will be once Giles does the spell so I can kill it. Come on.”

~*~*~*~*~

Xander had just come out of his health science class and was leaning against the wall waiting for Willow to finish talking with the teacher. The hallway was deserted because classes had ended for the day, the students having made a beeline for the exit in their eagerness to get a jump start on the weekend.

“So? Buff?” Xander looked at her quizzically as she approached, curious about what had happened after he and Willow had left Buffy at Giles’ house; Giles had flatly refused to allow them to come along when they went to deal with the Plockschardt.

“Giles spelled. I slayed. No more Plocksi-whatever.”

“What did you do with the… you know?” he whispered.

Buffy grimaced. “Giles took care of it. Where’s Willow?”

“Probably asking Miss Nash for extra credit. Why settle for an A- when you can get an A?”

Buffy and Xander shared a smile. As much as they loved their friend, they couldn’t understand her strange fascination with school, and by extension homework. Weekends were made for sleeping in and partying at the Bronze, not hunched over a book.

Just then, Willow joined them.

“Hey, Xander, how did you do on your quiz?”

“Are you kidding? I think I got my first A.”

“Really?” Willow couldn’t contain her surprise.

“Uh huh. After I got home, I spent the rest of the night studying. Couldn’t sleep after what I’d seen.” He didn’t mention how the picture of the people with necrotizing fasciitis were similar to the charred bodies in the cemetery and how he’d sat staring at it for several minutes before concentrating on the words printed on the page.

“That’s great! I’m mean, yay for the studying, because, you know, studying equals knowledge, which equals good grades. But, not yay for those people. I feel bad for them, because—” Willow shivered, remembering as well. “It’s just—”

“Yeah,” Xander agreed quietly before resolutely pasting a bright smile on his face. He linked his arms with Buffy and Willow and steered them towards the library. “Come on. Let’s go see what disaster Giles is trying to avert now.”

The End  

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