My Life is Different Ch. 12

The guy with the tusks, seemed to be incapable of human speech. He just grunted and growled a lot. The woman with the sledgehammer was much more articulate.

"Hey, I don't want to fight you," I called out to the bald woman as she advanced upon me. I vigorously backed away from her, however, she had much longer legs than I did, so she didn't really need to work hard to catch up with me. She just advanced on me at a healthy walking speed, and she closed the distance between us pretty rapidly with her long strides.

"There won't be much in the way of fighting," the bald woman assured me, "I'm a blood-drenched warrior with an unbroken string of sixty-five victories. In the arena, I could usually kill my opponents with just one blow to the head."

I didn't like the sound of that, so I just kept backing up.

When the FBI agent's car got wrecked, one of the wheels got forced off the road, and onto the lawn of somebody's home. As I backed away, I made my way across their lawn, and further away from Buffy. I dodged a few swipes of the warrior-woman's hammer and thought about casting a shield spell, but the last time I had done that, the impacts to the shield had resonated inside my skull, and I ended up passing out. I really didn't want to do that again. Passing out right now seemed like a really bad idea.

"You can't back away from me forever, little red-headed courtesan," the warrior woman taunted me, "This field is very small. What will you do when you reach its limit?"

She had a very good point. I couldn't evade her forever, but I had no weapons, and no offensive spells. And my shield spell had a very huge drawback, so what was I going to do?

The bald woman was getting better at reading my moves, and she was altering her attacks to better counter my evasions. Her forward lunges were getting faster, and she was just barely missing her target. I needed to come up with a new strategy soon, or else she was going to crush my skull with that damn hammer of hers.

I was scared and desperate, and almost completely out of options, so I tried something that probably wouldn't work. Of course, if I did nothing, I was going to die, so it was better to try something crazy and untested than to keep using the same ineffective evasion maneuvers...besides I was getting tired, and wouldn't be able to keep dodging her attacks for much longer.

I took another step back from my muscular opponent, raised a shaky hand and shouted, "Effugio!"

Instantly a portal opened up in the fabric of reality, directly in between me and my antagonist. I had no idea where the portal would lead, but wherever it led, it almost certainly would be far away from Sunnydale. The bald warrior woman lunged forward, with her hammer violently surging forwards at a death-dealing velocity.

She might have seen the trap I set for her, or she might not have, however, her forward momentum was such that it didn't seem to matter either way. She basically lunged into the portal I had created, and then I shut the spell down before she had an opportunity to dart back out. With any luck, she was thousands of miles away.

"Woo-hoo," I taunted the empty yard, as I did an improvised victory dance, "And the blood-drenched warrior gets her ass kicked by the little, red-headed courtesan!"

I would have enjoyed about five or ten minutes to savor my victory over a larger and stronger opponent, however a quick look out into the street revealed the sad news that my problems were not over.

Buffy's massive opponent hadn't been defeated yet,

I saw Buffy kick her large opponent in the abdomen, then she hit him in the face with a powerful right jab. Buffy's massive opponent was too slow to block any of her attacks, however he also seemed too resilient to be overcome by her rapid assault. From his reactions, it was almost as if he didn't even feel any pain.

Then I saw Buffy catch him in the solar plexus with a front snap kick. It was a powerful kick, but Buffy's foe barely even flinched at the blow. Immediately after she kicked him in the guts, she rammed her fist into his face with a powerful left jab.

The massive creature with the tusks was slow to counterattack, but when he did, his attacks were powerful. Buffy artfully ducked under his first blow, however, his second blow came in low and tagged Buffy on the chin.

It was an uppercut, and he must have hit her with superhuman strength. It hit Buffy with such an extraordinary amount of force, she was knocked into the air. Her body didn't come crashing down until she had traveled about sixty feet through the air.

She landed on somebody's lawn, just a few inches away from where I was standing. And I heard Buffy let out a pained grunt when she slammed back to Earth.

"Oh," Buffy complained, "the bigger they are, the harder they hit."

Just then I heard a sound behind me. An elderly-looking man with bifocals came out of the front door of the house. He was brandishing a walking cane, which he waved threateningly at Buffy and me and he yelled, "You damn kids! Get off my lawn!"

I swear, he actually said that.

Then the massive thing with the tusks uprooted a no-parking sign, and began to menacingly advance on all three of us.

The man with the walking cane made a hasty retreat, disappearing back inside his house and slamming the door, loudly behind himself. Buffy got back on her feet and charged forward, towards the tusk-thing. Then she grappled with her large opponent before he had a chance to bludgeon Buffy with his street sign.

The two of them grappled with street sign. They both seemed to have a really strong grip, and neither seemed to be able to wrest it from the others grasp. From where I was standing, I could hear both Buffy and the tusk-thing grunting with effort.

I wasn't sure what (if anything) I could do to help, but then aid came from a very unexpected quarter.

"Federal agent," I heard a very commanding voice call out, "Drop your weapon!"

Apparently, Agent Mulder turned his car around and came back for us. He must have noticed when Agent Scully's car was no longer behind him and got worried. He was standing in a firing stance, with a handgun pointed directly at the tusk-thing's head.

The tusk-thing let out a disturbing sound that was somewhere between a bellow and a roar, and with one mighty effort, he finally wrested the street-sign away from Buffy's grasp.

Then he charged forward, his focus now on Agent Mulder. As he rushed towards the federal agent, he brandished the street-sign like a club. Agent Mulder didn't hesitate. He already had his weapon drawn and aimed, and when the tusk-thing charged at him, Agent Mulder fired three shots into the thing's head.

Wow.

I'd never seen anyone shot in the head before, but there was a huge amount of blood when Agent Mulder shot the tusk-thing. It just sprayed everywhere.

And then the tusk-thing fell to the ground with a thundering impact. It was almost the sound of a huge oak tree hitting the ground after being cut down by a lumberjack.

Agent Mulder remained in his firing stance for a few seconds after the tusk-thing hit the ground. It appeared as if her was hyperalert and scanning the street for new threats.

Then he glared at Buffy and me, and said, "Would somebody like to explain what the hell just happened here?"

"That guy drove his truck into Agent Scully's car," Buffy accused, as she pointed at the corpse of the tusk-thing.

Agent Mulder holstered his weapon, and then he asked, "Where are Agent Scully and Agent Stonecypher?"

Buffy pointed to Scully's rental car. The federal agents were still behind the wheel of her vehicle, and hadn't moved once since that truck crashed into the car. Agent Mulder rushed over to the car to see if the two FBI agents were alright.

"Scully," he called out to his unconscious partner.

"Mulder, what?" I heard Agent Scully mutter weakly. She was alive, but she sounded disoriented.

"You were in a car crash," Agent Mulder explained, "I think you may have a concussion."

Agent Mulder called for a tow-truck to take away Agent Scully's wrecked car, and another tow truck to take away the vehicle that had slammed into her. He also called for an ambulance to take Agent Scully and Agent Stonecypher to the hospital. They'd both been knocked unconscious, and Mulder was worried that they both may have sustained serious head injuries.

Agent Mulder had also called for an ambulance to cart away the tusk-thing's body, but by the time the ambulances had arrived, the corpse was gone.

"Will, did you do something to dispose of the body?" Buffy asked me, very discretely, when none of the federal agents were paying attention to us.

"I'm just as mystified by this as you are," I confided to my girlfriend, "That guy must have weighed over four-hundred pounds. Something that big shouldn't be able to just go poof."

There was plenty of blood splatter staining the sidewalk and the curb, near were the tusk-thing had been shot, however his huge corpse was missing.

Agent Mulder argued very loudly with Agent Scully, Agent Stonecypher and the paramedics about the missing corpse. Eventually Buffy and I were called upon to bear witness to the fact that we had seen the corpse lying in the street as well.

"He was there," Buffy insisted, "He was right there."

"Well, where did he go?" Agent Scully demanded, but nobody had any answers for her.

I got the sense that the missing corpse was going to end up causing problems for Agent Mulder, but there was nothing I could do to help him. I was just as much in the dark as he was.

When the paramedics and the other federal agents were gone, Agent Mulder just stared at me, and said, "What aren't you telling me, Willow?"

"Me?" I protested, "What makes you think I know anything?"

"This isn't the first time something weird has happened in this town," Agent Mulder accused, "When your high school blew up, there were corpses that went missing too. And about two years back your high school swim coach disappeared along with about half the swim team."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that. All of the things Agent Mulder was saying were true, but they were also things that most of the residents of Sunnydale were willing to overlook. I suppose the major problem here was that Agent Mulder wasn't from Sunnydale.

"Why are you harassing Willow?" Buffy testily inquired of Agent Mulder, "That guy you shot had to weigh four-hundred pounds or more. Willow weighs one-hundred-and-seventeen pounds when she's soaking wet. There's no way she could have moved the body."

"Miss Summers, this isn't harassment," Agent Mulder said defiantly, with his hands resting on his hips, "Willow has already told me about Ethan Rayne, and the Gauntlets of the Huntsman. I'm not really sure what those gauntlets are, or why they're so valuable, but I think it's a pretty safe bet the two of you were attacked because of them."

Then, Buffy gave me an accusatory glare and said, "You told him about Ethan Rayne?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," I responded, "Besides, it could be to our advantage to have a friend at the FBI. He was a big help when that tusk-thing attacked you with a No-Parking sign."

Buffy took a few seconds to think about that. I could nearly hear the wheels turning in her head as she considered my argument.

"Miss Summers," Agent Mulder broke in, "I can understand how you might think Miss Rosenburg violated a confidence, however, she did the right thing by confiding in me. I can help you. I've been with the FBI for thirteen years. I've got the training and the experience. Whatever it is that you and Willow are afraid of, I can handle it."

"No, Agent Mulder," Buffy replied sternly, "You can't."

"What?" Agent Mulder exclaimed, sounding offended, "Didn't you hear anything I just said?"

"Yeah, I heard," Buffy responded argumentatively, "You've got your gun, and your badge, and your thirteen years of casework with the FBI, and you think Sunnydale is just another town, just another place to shoot the bad guys, make some arrests, and everything will be just fine and dandy."

"What about that guy that was going to bludgeon you with the street sign?" Agent Mulder demanded, "Are you saying I wasn't able to handle him?"

Buffy took a deep breath, and visibly calmed down somewhat. She seemed less combative when she spoke next.

"Actually, you were a really big help with that guy," Buffy conceded, "And I'm really grateful that you showed up, and blew a big hole in his head, but you're just a tourist here. I live in this town! I've seen things in this town that you could pump a dozen rounds of ammo into, and it'd just make them angry! This is the Hellmouth! Do you have any idea what that means?"

Agent Mulder didn't have a ready response for that. He just looked over at me, as if he expected me to help him.

"The town was built on a semi-stable barrier, between our world and a hell dimension," I explained, "That makes this area a magnet for demons, vampires, and other very dangerous things that are very hard to kill."

"Things that your FBI training didn't cover," Buffy added.

"So, you think you should just withhold information from me?" Agent Mulder asked, "Look I might not live in this town, but I've dealt with paranormal things before, and I have a history of thinking outside the box. My superiors at the FBI hate me for that. Take me into your confidence, and I promise I'll find a way to help."

* * *

Buffy didn't like the idea of confiding in an FBI agent, but Agent Mulder was an excellent debater, and eventually he wore down Buffy's resistance, and Buffy started telling him everything.

Instead of taking us to the safehouse, Agent Mulder took Buffy and me to Giles's apartment.

"Ethan Rayne gets a perverse thrill out of making trouble for Giles," Buffy explained from the back seat, as Agent Mulder drove, "Every time he comes to town, it's all like drama, drama, drama, and Giles is always Ethan's main target."

"It would be just Ethan's style to break into Giles's house and then hide the gauntlets there," I added.

"The bad guys are willing to perpetrate all kinds of murder and property damage to get those damn things," Buffy continued, "If they break into Giles's house, his place will be destroyed, and Giles could end up dead."

"And, what if they're not there?" Agent Mulder asked, "What's your backup plan?"

"Oh, they'll be there," I insisted.

* * *

We got to Giles's apartment, and Buffy and I came charging in at heroic speed. I had a pretty good idea where Ethan would have hidden the gauntlets, and figured I'd grab them as quickly as I could.

"Hey," Agent Mulder yelled from behind me as I rushed past Giles and Elisedd. I stopped in mid-stride and looked back, eyes questioning.

"Do you always come barging into other people's homes without knocking?" Agent Mulder asked.

"As a matter of fact, she does. It's one of her least endearing habits," Giles said to Agent Mulder, and then he added, "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Special Agent Fox Mulder, FBI," Mulder replied, holding up a flip wallet with his FBI badge and ID, "Sir, is this your apartment?"

"Yes, it is," Giles said, sounding somewhat rigid and confused, "I'm sorry, FBI? What would the federal bureau of investigation want with me?"

"The FBI has reason to believe that there may be stolen property somewhere in this apartment," Mulder said in that dispassionate tone he has, "We have reason to believe that it was planted by an individual by the name of Ethan Rayne."

"Ethan Rayne?" Giles asked, suddenly looking much more relaxed, "Is the FBI interested in arresting him?"

I could hear the hopeful optimism in Giles's voice and I saw Buffy smirk. Giles would be about as happy as a little kid on a shopping spree to Toys R Us, if the feds arrested Ethan.

"Not at this time," Agent Mulder replied, "however, our investigation is ongoing. Depending on what evidence the FBI uncovers, the FBI might become very interested in arresting him."

"I think Ethan might have stashed the Gauntlets of the Huntsman here," I told Giles excitedly, "I'll just go upstairs and check your bedroom."

"In my apartment?" Giles inquired, "Why on Earth would Ethan hide the Gauntlets- "Giles began, but then he froze in mid-sentence.

"Actually, that is exactly the sort of thing Ethan would do," Giles declared with conviction, "He's trying to create more chaos in my life."

"I should go up and help her search," Elisedd suggested, but Giles rejected that idea. He told me to go upstairs and search for the Gauntlets, and he told Elisedd to stay downstairs with Buffy and Agent Mulder.

My heart was beating faster as I stepped into Giles's room. I was on the verge of having the Gauntlets in my hands, and it seemed like every bad guy in town wanted them. Once I had them in my hands, how long would it be before one of them jumped me?

As I suspected, the Gauntlets were tucked in between the first and second mattresses of Giles's bed. They were hidden well enough that Giles wouldn't have spotted them in the normal course of events, but if bad guys searched the place, they would have found them quickly.

I held the gloves up and examined them closely. They were large, made of very high-quality leather, and they looked very old. They reminded me a lot of falconer's gloves.

They didn't immediately seem magical, however some magical items kept their power hidden, and remained dormant until they were exposed to proper environment. Maybe these Gauntlets needed something or someone special to trigger them.

"I found 'em," I announced triumphantly, and held the Gauntlets up high, as I came down the stairs, "At least I think these are them. I'm not picking up any strong mystical aura, but they were hidden in Giles's bed, so what else could they be?"

"Ethan stole those from my queen," Elisedd interjected passionately, "They must be returned to her as quickly as possible."

"This is Elisedd," Giles explained, "An agent of Queen Titania."

"Queen Titania," Mulder said, "Like the Titania from William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream?"

Elisedd let out a noise somewhere between a grunt and a sigh and said, "William Shakespeare knew very little about Queen Titania, or the people she rules over. If all you know about her, is what William Shakespeare wrote, then you know nothing."

"I apologize for my lack of knowledge," Mulder replied, "However, before the FBI can turn these over to anyone, we have to establish proof of ownership. And we haven't done that yet."

"If Titania's rivals take possession of the Gauntlets of the Huntsman, it could mean the deaths of millions," Elisedd warned passionately, "You look at that girl-child, and your eyes see her holding two leather gloves, however, what she's truly holding is a weapon far more deadly than any siege weapon."

"If that's the case, than it's the FBI's responsibility to make sure the gauntlets don't fall into the wrong hands," Mulder said dispassionately, "The FBI takes a dim view of dangerous people getting their hands on deadly weapons."

Mulder's voice was devoid of emotion, however I somehow got the idea that he didn't trust Elisedd. It was like he thought Elisedd was dangerous, and thought that Elisedd might end up committing horrible crimes if he got his hands on the Gauntlets.

"I'm going to take the Gauntlets someplace safe," Agent Mulder assured everyone in the room, "When this is all over, they'll be turned over to their rightful owner."

I noticed that Agent Mulder didn't identify Queen Titania (or any of her agents) as the proper owner of the Gauntlets, but I kept my mouth shut about that. Things in Sunnydale had been volatile enough. I didn't want to make things even worse, by inciting Elisedd into more anger or panic.