“Did anyone realize that Spike never asked us what we wanted to eat?” Methos asked Giles quietly.

“He went to Cho’s” was Giles response and when Methos looked at him with a quizzical expression he clarified, “Cho always gives Spike exactly what everyone wants. Do not ask, because I’m not sure how he does it, but Cho is never wrong.”

“I see. I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.” Methos said with a small frown.

Xander slapped Methos on the back as he passed him. “Smile! We are gonna have a feast provided by the wizard of Chinese food.” Xander rubbed his hands together. “I can hardly wait!”

Dawn suddenly appeared in the hallway, making a mad dash for the door. Methos immediately went on alert and started towards the kitchen, which was were Dawn had been. He abruptly clapped both hands over his ears as Dawn started bouncing and squealing in what appeared to be delight. The reason for her actions was soon apparent as she flung open the door to reveal a box-ladened Spike.

Xander rushed over to the door and took the topmost box from Spike. “Its about time you got here fang face, I’m starved.”

“Harris, you are always starving. Nothing new there.” Spike said as he entered the house and kicked the door shut behind him. “Oi Rupes! Willy said he’ll keep his eyes and ears open and let us know if anything suspicious comes up.”

“Wonderful.” Giles said with a wry grimace. “A seedy bartender as our means of information.” Shaking his head, he started towards the dining room.

Spike and Methos shared a glance and retorted, as one, “Bartenders can be a damned good source of information.” They both cracked up laughing at the look of indignation on Giles’ face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

With a smirk on her face that eerily reminded Angel of Spike, Buffy grabbed him and shoved him against the tree. “Firstly, we must secure the target,” she said in a conversational tone to Irnhe. Taking the rope from Mordecai, she proceeded to bind Angel’s wrists to the two horizontal branches just above his head, as far apart as possible. She then secured his ankles to two large roots that curled up out of the ground, just over shoulder-width apart.

Irnhe watched Buffy tie the vampire up, the expression on her face was one of studious concentration. “Will the rope be able to withstand his vampiric strength?” she queried.

Buffy shot her a look of exasperation, but it was Mordecai who answered. “The vampire will not be able to break this rope; it was spelled to be able to restrain titans. It will withstand his best efforts.” He raised one hand to forestall the question he could see brimming on Irnhe’s lips. “The tree as well, being a construct of the Chamber, is created to withstand any amount of pressure the vampire can bring to bear.”

Buffy rose to her feet and smirked at Angel. “Feeling comfortable I trust?”

Angel adopted what he thought was a bored look, but was in reality a constipated expression. “I’ve been in worse circumstances. And I really do need to thank you for the vampire-friendly sunshine, it’s quite… stimulating.”

Buffy laughed and shook her head. “Trust a vampire to find something positive about this whole situation.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Everyone gathered in the dining room and filled their plates with the delicious food Cho had provided them. As they sat and began to eat, Giles posed a question. “So, what is the mystery surrounding the word Kronos?”

Willow and Tara shared a look and giggled. “Wasn’t he the father of the Greek god Zeus,” Willow inquired.

“Wrong spelling,” Methos muttered around a mouthful of almond gai ding. “That’s with a CH; the other is with a K… 2 totally different people…” He swallowed and continued, “Kronos was one of the original 4 horsemen, and Mother’s student.” He paused to pluck a chicken ball from his plate and chewed on it thoughtfully. “In some ways, the vampire; what is his name anyway?”

“Name’s Angelus. He’s m’grandsire and a right wanker.” Spike said as he munched happily on some spicy ginger beef.

Methos nodded in thanks to Spike. “As I was saying, in some ways Angelus reminds me of Kronos. They have the same arrogance and inflated sense of self-importance. And apparently the same taste in diversions.”

“Why was ‘Kronos’ your response to Buffy’s request for punishment ideas?” Harris asked as he shoved a forkful of chow mien into his mouth.

“Buffy caught Kronos in the act… with a 10 year old girl.” Methos said with a look of disgust on his face. “She had warned him previously about his predilections, but he apparently thought he could do as he wanted, as long as she didn’t catch him.” Methos shook his head as he munched thoughtfully on a spring roll. “She punished him in a rather… unique way. One that had lasting consequences for Kronos.”

“How exactly did she punish him,” Giles asked with a look of intense interest on his face.

“Well, we were camped near to where the Gobi Desert is now. Even then, it was a hot, dry and very desolate place. She bound him to a tree, cut away all his clothing and left him to bake in the sun for 2 days without food or water. And that was just the start.” Methos said, falling into story-telling mode.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Irnhe giggled at the look on the trussed-up vampire’s face. “Are you sure vampires don’t have bodily functions? He looks like he has to take a shit!”

Mordecai sighed in feigned irritation, “Please my child, keep your mind on the task at hand.” He turned away in order to hide the smile that danced on his lips, for he had been thinking much the same thing.

Irnhe turned to Buffy and inquired, “What do we do next Milady?”

In reply, Buffy slipped a wicked-looking dagger from her right boot. “Next we remove every last stitch of clothing he is wearing. But be careful, we don’t want to cut him…yet.” So saying, she proceeded to slice off Angel’s clothing, leaving his pale flesh exposed to the relentless rays of the sun.

Angel squirmed as the holy water in the ropes began to burn into his flesh, and the sun beat down on him, turning his skin a pale pink, which gradually deepened.

“Now that he is no long encumbered with the useless rags he was wearing, his true punishment can begin.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“After two days of baking in the sun during the day, and enduring 2 nights of freezing temperatures, Buffy used a whip to circumcise Kronos.” Methos said with a mirthless grin. “I don’t know if it was deliberate or not, but she ended up castrating him as well.”

Spike, Giles and Xander all shared a look at grimaced in sympathetic pain while the girls giggled and clapped at the justice brought on Kronos.

“She then proceeded to flay the skin off his entire body with the same whip, until not even an inch of skin remained intact.” Methos shook his head at the memory of Kronos’ screams. “She was ruthless and immovable. No matter how much he screamed, she refused to stop.”

“How long did it take before he, you know, died?” Xander asked in a squeaky voice.

Anya glared at Xander and snorted in derision. “Havent you been paying attention? Kronos was an immortal, just like Methos and Buffy are. Meaning he couldn’t be killed like that.”

Methos raised a hand and motioned Anya to silence. “its an honest question, and one that does deserve an answer.” He chuckled wryly. “Fact is, he died 32 times before she was finished with him. And she only finished his punishment after he begged her for 3 days to end it.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Now, normally I would leave you here to contemplate what is to come, but I neither have the time nor inclination to drag this out. So we shall begin forthwith.” Buffy turned to Mordecai and accepted the coiled whip he held out to her. Grasping the handle, she shook the whip out, letting its length snake on the ground. “Any last words before I make you scream?”

“Untie me you bitch, or you’ll be the one screaming.” Angel said with a sneer.

Buffy simply laughed and snapped the whip just above Angel’s head, getting a feel for the weight and reach of the whip. “I can guarantee you; I won’t be the one screaming.