"Do the Snoopy Dance," Spike requested, as soon as Hunter had entered the room, softer than Willow could remember seeing from him except in the presence of Dawn, but with a mischievous light in his eye.
         Her friend froze entirely, blinking at the two of them without comprehension.  Then he laughed, an embarrassed grin on his face that was so the Xander-shaped friend she'd known.  "Valen help me, you two are up to no good in the Conspiring Corner, aren't you?"  Still, he did what was requested, the movements somehow a little more assured, confident, graceful than she could remember.  Though not too much.  That wasn't the point of the dance, after all.
         She couldn't help it.  She got up and hugged him tightly, crying.

            Hunter let a grin promising pain and death to any unfortunate enough to get in his way spread across his face as he viewed the army of demons headed their way. He'd come decked out for the party, even though it had been a while. The two swords at his sides, the one slung across his back, and of course a gun on either hip. Slowly he pulled the sword from his back, reveling in the feeling of danger after so long. "Kryvi," he almost sung, caressing the blade. The absolute longing and joy was like seeing an old friend again. Demon or not, he'd missed the spirit. "Kryvi, it's time to wake again."
            He heard a sound approaching on his right, and swung the blade into a ready stance. Not that he'd stab first and ask questions later.  The footsteps didn't sound like the kind of person he'd be fighting anyway.
            "What are you doing, Mr. Hunter?" Ah, he'd recognize that wary voice anywhere.
            "Librarian. You're just in time for the show." He swung the sword back to casually rest across his shoulders, felt it begin to stir and the shiver of pleasure that ran through him. A shared experience. "Just don't get in the way, and make sure you tell Xena that too. This group is all for me."
            "You plan on taking them all on yourself?" Well, wasn't that nice. Despite the hostility, the guy was actually a little concerned for his safety. "That's suicide!"
            "That's a warm-up," he corrected, grin remaining on his face. "You lot can't take stuff of this caliber yet."
            "...And...you can?" Giles clearly didn't believe him. Not entirely surprising.
            "Look up 'hunter' in Taras. Yeah, I'm a half demon devil hunter. And I'm not about to let an army of demons eat Sunnydale and all of the people I care about." He stretched, and then started to walk away.
            It's been a while, hasn't it? He felt the caress in his mind, and began to grin again, this time showing his teeth.
            Yeah, it has. May I have this dance, Kryvi?
            You sure may. Let's put on a show, luv. He pulled out Shiva, holding Kryvi Kala in one hand.

( Chapter II: In Tomorrow's News )