"Aw!! Cordelia?!"
"Buffy! Oh! I'm sorry- I didn't even see you standing there. You okay?" Taking a step back to let her into the mansion, Buffy gives her friend a quick once over before answering. "Cordelia Chase...up at sevenand ready for classes? Something's not right here."
"Trust me- if I wasn't desperate I wouldn't be doing any of this. Where were you headed out the door anyway?"
"To pick up Willow from mom's."
"Oh, that's right. Today's her first day back, huh?" A week had passed since the loss of Oz, and although Joyce had done a wonderful job of consoling Willow, keeping her from spiraling into despair, the redhead had already lost so much of herself, it was a surprise that she was dealing as well as she was.
"Yeah. Angel and I were gonna take her to breakfast before heading to campus. We didn't think you'd be up so early, but why don't you come?"
"Yeah, sure. Speaking of Angel though, where is he?" "
In the dining room with Doyle and Gunn." With Cordy following behind, the slayer makes her way down the hall over to where the others were hovering over a mess of papers.
"I wanna know all investors, any contributors, associates, former employees- anyone in Sunnydale who's had anything to do with Wolfram and Hart," Angel says, looking across to Doyle and Gunn.
"You really think they're still somewhere in Sunnydale?" Gunn asks, taking a few sheets of paper from his new boss.
"They wouldn't leave yet," Angel answers.
"At least not until they've finished what they came here for," Doyle adds, looking up as he suddenly catches a glimpse of Cordelia from the corner of his eye. " 'Delia. You're up early."
"Hey Cordy," Angel greets her, stacking his paperwork back into order. "We were just about to leave for breakfast."
"Yeah, that's what Buffy said. But, umI was wondering if maybewe could talk first?"
"Uhhsure." While clearing off the rest of the table, Angel can't help but feel a deep, glassy fright creep along his skin. He'd rarely seen the brunette so serious, let alone wish to speak with him about what sounded to be a serious matter. Following Buffy into the great hall, Cordy takes a seat on one of the couches, twisting her wrists back and forth as Angel takes a seat across from her, pulling Buffy down onto his lap. "So what's up?"
"WellI know this is gonna sound sooo ridiculous, especially coming from me. See, my father, the moronic simpleton that he is, made a few tiny mistakes on his income taxes, and as a result, we're kinda lacking in the money department. Meaning, I now have to pay for my own tuition. So I sortaneed ajob." There- she'd said it. All her preparations, all of Doyle's encouragement had finally been put into action and she'd made her announcement. Although, the reaction she got was far different than the one she'd expected.
"You?" Buffy scoffs, letting out a cute snicker. "Cordelia Chase, *heh heh*, wants a, *ha ha ha*, job?!" Burying her face into Angel's chest, Buffy begins laughing hysterically, smiling even more once she can feel Angel's own laughter beneath her. When she finally lifts her head, she's met with Queen C's heated stare. "Oh godyou're serious?"
"Wait a minute," Angel cuts in, "Cordelia what does any of this have to do with me?"
"I was hoping that maybe you couldya know, help me?"
"Oh. Umm okay, sure. I think the bakery on Pine Street is hiring. Other than that, maybe you could get a job on campus, or-"
"Angel," Cordelia stops him, letting out a loud, frustrated sigh. "Please tell me that you're not this dense!"
"He is," Doyle chimes in, earning a quiet giggle from Buffy in agreement.
"Am I missing something?" he looks down to where Buffy was still trying to mute her laughter against his gray silk shirt, though she knew the task would be impossible.
"I'm asking *you* to let me work for *you*," Cordy finally blurts out.
"Me?" Now it was Angel's turn to let out his own scoff. "Doing what? I don't have a business or anything."
"That's not what this card says." Stretching an arm across the coffee table, Cordelia hands him a small business card with what looked to be a tiny angel etched into the top corner. WIth a puzzled grimace, Angel reads it aloud. "Angel Investigations? We Help The Hopeless? What is this?"
Looking no further than to the half-demon sipping away at his personal *mix* of orange juice, Angel flips the white card onto the table before him. "This is your doing I take it?"
"Oh, come on, Angel. Look, it's a great idea. And everyone's really excited about it." Tearing his eyes away from Doyle, the former vampire lifts a hand to his girlfriend's chin, bringing her eyes up to meet his. "By everyone, I'm assuming that includes you too?"
"Oooo- I think I left my psychology book upstairs," Buffy grins, trying to hop out of his lap to race up the stairs, but finds herself being easily held in his grasp before she can even make a move. "Okay, okay. I just think it would be a good idea. A great opportunity even."
"A detective agency?"
"Angel, you and Buffy have been helping people for years," Cordy tries reasoning with him. "You might as well make a career out of it, right? And I'm just saying that if you're going to be helping people out, maybe a small charge would be in order. A fee. You know, something to help pay for daily necessities. And...my salary. You need someone to organize things."
"You want to charge people?" Angel quirks an eye at her, still trying to digest everything.
"Well not everybody, but sooner or later we're going to have to help some rich people, right?" Grabbing her purse, she pulls herself to her feet, flipping her hair off to one side. "Of course this would just be temporary, until my inevitable stardom takes effect!"
"In other words," Buffy hops down from Angel's lap, grabbing her own bag for classes, "you'll be employing the lovely Miss Chase until she's eligible for retirement."
"Cute," Cordy smirks back at her. "So how 'bout it, Angel? We could set up an office right here in the mansion-"
"Hold it!" Buffy stops in her tracks, spinning around on her heel upon hearing this latest development. "The mansion? As in, our *home*? I don't want a bunch of strangers coming in and out of here at all hours of the day. I mean, aside from the whole idea of us having our privacy, what would clients say if they saw some of our weapons here? Swords, axes, maces-"
"They'd think it's Thursday and you two are playing mistress of pain," Gunn adds his own insight.
"And besides," Doyle finally finds his voice after shaking his head from the mental picture Gunn had just instilled, "I don't think *our* kind of clients would really be surprised by anything you have here."
"Look-" Gunn says, "I'll back you up a hundred percent on this, Angel. Personally, I think it'd be great."
"You know, there's a lot of people in this city that need helping," Doyle adds.
"So I noticed," Angel sighs. With a final look to Buffy, seeing everyone else's determination
reflected in her gleaming hazel eyes, Angel's trademark half-smile
returns to his face as he leads them out of the mansion. "I'm game."
******
As they'd expected, the whole student body was abuzz with the news of
the mysterious cave-in of Lowell House. The students were all shocked at
the various rumors going around about secret labs, government agents,
and savage creatures being involved. For their part, the Scoobs had
managed to keep a low profile as they made their way across campus,
Buffy and Angel forming a protective shield around Willow, floating by
her side at all times.
"Okay" Buffy spins around, grabbing Angel around the waist. "Psych
class is gonna start soon."
"And?"
"And what?" She stares up at him suspiciously, wondering just why he
wasn't giving her his usual good-bye and goodluck kiss. "Don't tell me
you're coming to classes with us *again*?"
"It's a crime to want to spend time with you?" he lets out a small chuckle.
"Of course not," she assures him, leaning up to capture his lips. "But
pretty soon they're gonna start charging you by the hour to take classes
with us."
"I just want to make sure you're all safe. Especially since today's your
first day back in Psychology."
"Wonder who they got to replace Walsh?" Cordy ponders aloud, sliding her
head to the side to peer into the lecture hall. "So long as they've got
someone new to replace Fish Boy too, I'll be set. Come on, Will." She
links an arm with the redhead, walking alongside her into class before
calling back to Buffy and Angel. "We'll save you two some seats."
"Gunn and I are gonna do some searching," Doyle speaks up. "Check into a
few places where our refugees may be holdin' up base."
"Great," Angel gives them both a quick nod in approval. "We'll meet you
back at the mansion at two."
Linking hands with Angel, resting her head against his arm, Buffy's
slightly startled when she feels a soft tapping on her shoulder.
"B-Buffy?"
At first only turning her head over her shoulder, the petite blonde
turns completely around once she sees who was approaching her. "Oh- hi,
umm" Her eyes trail upwards, searching for a name. "Tara, right?"
"Yeah," the young, visibly timid young woman smiles back. "Hi."
"Hi. Oh-" she suddenly notices the girl's eyes drift over to the solid
mass she'd been resting against. "Sorry. Tara, this is Angel. Angel, Tara."
"Hi," she gives him a friendly nod. "I- I was just wondering if Wil-
Willow's okay. I haven't seen her in classes for awhile, and she hasn't
been to many of our wiccan meetings. I- is everything okay?"
"Oh. We, ummlost someone close to us last week. I'm not suredid you
ever meet Oz?"
"Willow's boyfriend?" A gasp leaves Tara's mouth slightly open as she
takes a small step forward. "Oh godI'm sorry. H- how did it happen?"
"Uh we're still not really sure," Buffy sighs, still not sure as to just
how much Willow may have told her about the friends' evening activities.
"How's Willow?"
"She's still pretty shaken up, but" she casts a sidelong glance inside
the room, glad to see Cordelia had obviously said something to make
Willow laugh. "she's in class today though, if you wanted to talk to
her." Waiting for her to step past them through the doorframe, Buffy and
Angel stand watch as the young girl slowly makes her way up to where
Willow was sitting. Nervously tucking a few strands of loose hair behind
her ear, she greets the redhead with a smile. "Hey, Willow."
"Tara," she sits up a bit in her seat to face her more fully. "Hi."
"I just- I just wanted to say, h-how sorry I am about Oz."
"Thanks," Willow manages a faint smile before motioning for her to have
a seat alongside them.
With most of the lecture hall filled, Cordelia spots a young woman
walking in, slinging her bag onto the front desk, her glasses falling
from her face in the process. She tries surpressing her laugh at the
girl's awkwardness, nudging Buffy softly to get her attention.
"I'm guessing she's the new TA," Buffy observes as she retrieves her
notebook from her bag.
"Already a vast improvement over Finn, in my opinion," Cordy grins, once
again looking down to the front of the hall.
The young girl couldn't have been much older or taller than Buffy. Her
long, chestnut hair flowed evenly down the back of her tiny frame as if
somehow trying to compensate for her small stature. As she slides her
glasses back on, her lips curve in a welcoming smile that lights up her
eyes as she adresses the class.
"Morning everyone. I'm sure you've all noticed that I'm not Professor
Walsh- at least, I hope you've all noticed," she laughs softly to
herself, relieved when she hears a few other voices join her own. "I'm
going to be taking over her class for the rest of the semester. My
name's Winifred Burkle- you can all just call me Fred though.
Unfortunately, Professor Walsh's TA seemed to vanish with her, so you're
all pretty much stuck dealing with only me for the next few months."
Part 2
Though young herself, a bit uneasy about being thrust into such a
position at a virtual last minute's notice, the dynamic grad student
found her new class hanging on her every word right until the last
minute of class. "Alright then- just finish up reading chapters eight
and nine, and I'll see you on Wednesday."
"So what's the verdict?" Cordy turns to the others, anxious to hear
their own assessments of Walsh's replacement.
"She's cute," Buffy grins, immediately turning to Angel. "Don't you
think she's cute?"
"Hmm? OhI didn't notice" he answers truthfully, reaching for her hand
as they make their way down front.
"Course not," Cordy smiles back. "Your eyes were too busy roaming all over-"
"Buffy!" Fred waves a hand, calling the slayer over to her desk. "HiI
just wanted to tell you I loved your comments during lecture today."
"Oh thanks. Thanks a lot."
"I never thought that I'd have such a huge response from everyone on my
first day," Fred shyly admits.
"Please- after all the hell Walsh put us through?" Cordy speaks up in
typical fashion. "You're gonna have this class eating out of your hands."
"I'll keep that in mind. And you" her eyes trail over to the slightly
intimidating figure Buffy had been leaning on. "are you a grad student?
I- I haven't seen you around campus much, but you look a little older"
"Oh" Angel hesitates, mulling over just how to respond. "I was just
sitting in on class today," he finally smiles back.
"Sorta bring-your-boyfriend-to-work-day," Buffy adds. She wasn't
necessarily trying to project a defensive manner, but if that's what
came across, she wouldn't have been too apologetic.
" 'Bring-your-boyfriend-to-work-day?' " Cordy finally snips out once
they head towards the library. "Can we say lame?"
"Can we say jealous?" Buffy smirks back. "Just because you're currently
lacking in the department doesn't mean I can't proudly show-off my own."
"Cordy- what about Doyle?" Angel tries tossing the attention away from
himself. "You two have been getting pretty friendly over the past few
weeks."
"And? In case you all haven't noticed, I've been warding off guys of any
kind since the Harris-hysteria."
"Harris?" Tara whispers to Willow as they finally reach the library.
"Wh- who's Harris?"
******
"Harris!"
Lilah Morgan was waiting. Outwardly patient and relaxed, she was
enjoying the headline that adorned the morning's paper, holding it out
before her with a promising smile as she relaxes back into her chair.
"Finn! Harris!" Hearing footsteps approach, she carelessly throws her
copy of the morning edition onto her desk. "Where's Xander?"
"Not in yet," Riley sighs, taking a seat across from her.
"Care to tell me why?"
"Said he had something important to do. I think it was with his
girlfriend." Muttering unappreciatively at such a total display of
irresponsibility, the young woman merely points to the paper lying
before them. "Take a look at that-" she smiles, her eyes peering up at
him. "Tell me what you think."
Leaning over the desk, Riley narrows his eyes as he reads aloud. "Local
museum to present Polaris Exhibit until end of the month." Casting it
aside, Finn can only manage a shrug in response. "So what?"
"What did you major in again?"
"Psychology."
"One of the more *effortless* sciences, I'm sure," she makes a quick
roll of her eyes, reaching for a notepad off to the side. "In any event,
this is our new focus. What museum-goers and the rest of this town's
mindless twits think to be a simple stone is going to be the key to
Angel's undoing. Oh speaking of undoing" she folds her hands in front
of her, leaning over with a devious smile. "How goes our little project?"
"Slow, but sure. Walsh is almost done with the final stages. He should
be completely rehabilitated by tomorrow night."
"Good to hear. Our dear friends' poor, poor *loss* is going to work to
our gain after all. And won't they just be thrilled to see the finished
product."
"What about McDonald?" Finn raises the issue, untrusting of the sly
lawyer by nature, still unsure of where his allegiances would fall.
"Let me worry about Lindsey. Right now, your only concern should be to
find your partner and organize yourselves to get us this stone."
Standing to his feet, he rolls the newspaper into a bundle, tucking it
under his arm. "And just what's so special about this Polaris Stone?"
"I'll give you your history lesson once you retrieve it. It arrives at
the museum this Friday. I *want* this stone, Finn," she says in no
uncertain terms, snatching the paper back from him.
"Little short notice, don't you think?"
"I'm sure that along with our newly aquired help, you and Xander will be
able to take care of things," she smiles back, calling out to him a
final time before he can shut her door. "And Riley if you don't come
back to the lab with the stone don't bother coming back."
Thinking she was alone, Lilah spins around in her seat, allowing her
gaze to stray to the row of windows behind her desk. "Little risky to be
threatening the only help you've got, isn't it Lilah?" comes a familiar
voice from the shadows. Quickly snapping back around, Lilah lets out a
slightly annoyed laugh. "Why worry about losing help when I've got you
around, McDonald. You're always so much fun to screw around with."
"I'm hardly your personal lackey, *dear*."
"Then why are you always showing up meddling in *my* business-"
" *Our* business," he's quick to correct her, flopping back onto one of
her leather couches. "I've got a personal claim in this too."
"Please," she lets out an angry huff. "The only thing you're looking to
claim is little Miss Summers, and, no offense, but I really don't see
you lasting a minute against Angel to even get within three feet of her."
Ignoring her berading, for now, the cunning young lawyer jumps from his
seat, walking slowly over to her desk. Reaching over, he lifts the
discarded newspaper from the surface. "Polaris Stone, huh? That should
work nicely." He tosses it at her, causing her to flinch backwards. "And
you're trusting your boys to get it for you?"
"Well tell me, *dear*, who else can I trust to go and get it. You?" she
trails off with a laugh.
With a careful smile, Lindsey straightens his tie a bit, buttoning up
his suit jacket as he heads towards the door. "No" he says with an
utterly predatory smile. "I wouldn't trust me either"
******
Cordelia had taken it upon herself to recount her traumatic foray into
the craziness known as dating Xander Harris. It had taken her all of
five minutes to explain everything to a more than astounded Tara, who
found it near impossible to believe that a person would be capable of
causing so much pain for the obviously close circle of friends, let
alone Willow herself.
From time to time, the redhead would look up from her notes with a
small smile to the others as they were doing their research for their
upcoming Psychology project. For the most part, she reserved herself to
silence, but would occasionally murmur her agreement with Buffy's
findings or sigh at Cordelia's random curt remarks of people walking
past their table.
During one of her quick glances up, she spots Tara nervously looking at
her, as if wanting to pose a question. Capturing her gaze, she raises
her eyebrows a bit, a smile forming at the corner of her mouth to
welcome her.
"H- have you started studying for our literature test yet?"
"No" she sighs, mentally kicking herself. "I forgot all about it."
"Well, you still have until three. I- I could help you if you want?" she
offers, absentmindedly tucking a loose strand of hair from the side of
her face.
"Sure I'd like that. Umm I'm pretty sure my book is back in our dorm.
Are you busy now?
"N- no. Do you wanna"
"Sure"
"Oho-okay," Tara grabs her bag, flashing the friends a warm smile
before standing to her feet alongside her fellow wiccan.
"We'll catch up with you tonight, Will?" Buffy asks hopefully. "We're
still all going to the Bronze, right?"
"Uh sure. Yeah, sounds good."
"Tara, why don't you come with us?" Buffy offers, already having taken a
keen liking to the shy and quiet girl.
"O-okay. Thanks. I- I'll see you all tonight then."
Buffy grins, thrilled to see her best friend showing signs of her old
self, as she gives them a quick wave, watching them round the corner out
of the massive library. Before she returns to studying, her eyes catch
glimpse of Fred brushing past the two as she approaches the large
corridor. Matching her gaze, Fred gives a big wave, unfortunately losing
her grip on her load of books in the process. As she sidesteps to reach
down and grab them, her bag catches on the handle of the library's
doors, its contents spilling out onto the tiled floor. "Perfect"
"Lemme give you a hand." Looking over her shoulder, she sees the owner
of the generous voice, slightly blushing at his eagerness to help her.
Casting their own glances over to where their new teacher was having her
share of problems, the Scoobs have a slightly different response to the
new face.
"Hey guys," Graham greets them all with an earnest smile as he follows
Fred over to where they were gathered.
"Graham," Angel nods, hoping Cordelia would follow his lead and maintain
a civil atmosphere.
"Willow" Graham breathes out, not really sure of how to proceed.
"Howhow's she been?"
"Dealing" Buffy replies, managing a friendly smile at his concern.
"Thanks to some" Cordy wasn't expecting the room to light up at her low
mumble, but she wasn't expecting the not too subtle jab that Buffy
offered her leg in response.
"Okay I'm sensing a lil' tension here," Fred says, feeling slightly
awkward at the situation among the friends. "I think I'll just" she
points towards a row of shelves, slowly beginning to back away from
them, until her back comes into contact with a hard, broad surface.
Craning her neck, she goes to look behind her, immediately wishing that
she hadn't.
It was the young girl's shrill yell that finally caught the friends'
attentions, only to see Fred being lifted by her throat by the snarling,
horned demon that had suddenly emerged. Sprinting over to her, making
their way through the wildly scattering crowd of terrified students,
Angel and Buffy are the first to her aid, the slayer snapping the
creature's head back with a sharp side kick. Still held in a fierce
grasp, Fred winces, tightly shutting her eyes as Angel's fist flies out,
landing with a hard right to the demon's head, narrowly missing Fred's own.
"Stay here!" Graham yells back over his shoulder at Cordy as he races
over, reaching down to his pant leg, extracting a gleaming blade.
Keeping a few steps back, waiting until Buffy and Angel cleared him for
a direct hit, he makes his dive, driving the knife into the creature's
chest. With a screeching cry, it topples forward, thick, blue blood
pooling around the prone figure as it's gasping finally comes to a halt.
Grabbing the knife from him, Angel hurries over to where Fred was laid
out as well, her neck still held within the creature's gnarled claw.
With a quick slice at its wrist, he frees her, prying off its hand,
finally freeing the terrified young girl. "Are you alright? Fred??"
After a few strained breathes, she's finally able to cough out a
response. "Yeah f- fine"
"You guys okay?" Graham checks as he steps away from the demon's
lifeless body.
"If we could manage to go one day without a close encounter of the demon
kind, we'd be just peachy," Buffy smirks. "What the hell was that?"
"Trouble," comes Angel's worried reply before he turns to the others.
"Come on. Let's get back to the mansionsee if Giles knows anything"
Part 3
Once again, Cordelia found herself playing storyteller as she filled in
a surprisingly accepting Fred on the friends' unusual extracurricular
activities. The endearingly sweet girl had suspected that Sunnydale had
its share of strange occurances. She'd seen and studied her own fair
share of vicious fiends in LA- both of the human and not-so-human kind-
and was quickly learning to prepare herself for the worst sort of
situations.
"So you two are sorta like" her eyes fixed on her saviors, though more
intently focused on Angel's towering frame, she searches for the most
appropriate term, finding herself at a loss for a better word,
"superheroes, right?"
"Well, I wouldn't quite put it like that&" Moving instinctively closer to
Angel on the couch, Buffy quirks a cute smile at her new teacher, at the
same time wrapping an arm around Angel's waist, her subconscious senses
kicking into gear. "We deal with some pretty hardcore stuff, today's
little incident being a perfect example," she adds in Giles' direction.
"Any theories yet?"
"Just one," the englishman sighs in typical form, returning to the great
hall with a book under his arm. "and I'm hoping that it's wrong"
"But then, when do *we* ever get off so lucky?" Cordy chirps, earning a
small chuckle from Doyle as he goes to stand behind her seat.
"Demons typically don't make daytime attacks," Giles begins, "I mean,
there are such instances, but in general, they prefer the cloak of night
in their excursions. However, if a force or power were to draw them
out&" he hands the book over to Buffy, pointing out a picture in the
upper right corner.
"Oooo- shiny" she notes of the illustration of an oval-shaped black
stone. Appearing polished and smooth, the marblized artifact held a
burgundy-red tint in the small indecipherable design etched in its center.
"The Stone of Polaris" Fred recognizes it instantly as she leans over
to take a look.
"You know of it?" Giles looks to her with a smile of admiration.
"I'd been researching it in LA before I transferred to UC Sunnydale a
few years ago. You think this is what drew out that thingy?"
Walking over to the dining room table, Giles retrieves the morning's
paper. "I'm afraid so" He holds open the front page for the group to
see. "As of this morning, it's already on its way to Sunnydale."
Disgusted and concerned at the possibilities that came with the stone's
appearance, Giles tosses the paper aside, sending its sheets flying.
"So what's this rock do?" Gunn asks.
"It has the power to summon any demon, any spirit- and not just in form.
It can bring forth a person's inner demon"
******
"bringing to the surface a level of evil in a person that would
normally never exist in their nature"
Slowly closing the book's cover, her eyes lingering for a few minutes on
the picture of the stone, Willow's tension shows in the way her eyes
turn to aimlessly wander around the walls of hers and Cordelia's dorm
room. Her hands slowly trailing over the felt binding, she wonders for a
moment whether Giles would even notice she'd taken the book from his
collection.
As Tara continued going over her notes, reciting various key phrases and
definitions in an attempt to help the redhead, Willow found she couldn't
focus, her mind too set in the developing details of her preparations
for Friday evening. Her intentions would play out through her mind-
always in the same manner: with the Polaris Stone to help her, she'd
finally be able to carry through with the behavior others would find
untypical of her; all the others would disapprove, unable to fully
understand what needed to be done- what she needed to take into her own
hands. At indiscrete moments, she found herself feeling uneasy about her
sudden burst of rage and fury- the only emotions she found herself
capable of as of late. All the same, she found it difficult to stop from
plotting.
"Willow? Ar- are you okay? You look like you zoned out for a minute."
"Huh?" Her line of sight finally makes its way back to her friend as she
shrugs in response. "Oh, sorry. Guess it's just a little overload- you
know, cramming."
"But you're okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."
"You think you're ready for the test?" Tara smiles, grabbing her bag as
she walks alongside Willow towards the door.
"Thanks to you, I think I'm up to it," she manages her own warm smile,
shutting the door behind them as they make their way into the hall. They
walk together down the hall, silently descending the few flights of
stairs before Willow's eyes focus on something. The awareness quickly
sinks in as her gaze falls upon Anya, lingering in the campus lounge.
The wiccan could sense, almost see, that Xander was not far- most likely
on his way to come and get her. The wrath that the treacherous bastard
had sent seething into her very being was now twisting and twitching,
slithering its way to fully overtake her.
For a moment, as they continue their walk past her, she debates whether
or not to alert the others, on the chance that the ex-vengeance demon
could lead them to where Lilah and her new team had setup their base,
but her flow of rational thought quickly shuts off. Now, her thoughts
drifted to a nearby table, spotting a lone pencil that was slowly
rolling across the wooden surface. < I could catch it before it hits the
floor. Keep it in the air drive the point straight at her>
She slows in her pace, eventually coming to a total stop, much to Tara's
surprise. She thinks for a brief second of how easy it would be. Float
the pencil from the table- use it to stab her, straight through the eye.
Or perhaps she would drive the pencil's point deep into her ear,
rupturing the eardrum, digging for the soft tissue of the brain beyond.
She could almost hear Anya's scream. "Willow? You okay?"
Then she stopped. She didn't want Anya dead.
"Come on, Will, class is gonna start."
At least not until she had Xander there to see it.
******
"Angel? Can I ask you something? Angel??"
Hearing Doyle's voice laced with a seriousness he wasn't used to
hearing, Angel cranes his head into the master bathroom, searching for
Buffy. "Honey? I'll be downstairs."
Reaching a hand out, Buffy slides the frosted shower door open a bit.
"Come 'ere a minute," she calls over to him sweetly, a huge smile
breaking out across her face as he makes his way over to her. With a
laugh she throws her arms around his neck, pulling him to her for a
kiss, drenching him in the process.
"I already took a shower," he reminds her, unable to resist trailing a
hand along her soapy bare arm.
"Mmm should've thought about conserving water and waited for me to take
one with you," she giggles against his lips.
"Angel??"
Groaning at Doyle's third yell upstairs, Angel breaks their embrace,
stepping back from the steaming mist of the shower. "We'll be waiting
downstairs."
Shoeless and jacketless, but otherwise neat in a darkblue silk shirt and
black slacks, Angel finally makes his way down the staircase, meeting
Doyle halfway in the great hall. "What's wrong?" Doyle was beginning to
pace in front of him, idly fiddling around with his watch as he lets out
a deep sigh.
"I'm just a little worried 'ere. I mean, what if there's just no way of
doing this? Then what?"
"Doyle, relax," Angel places a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder,
trying to calm him. "Giles is at home doing research. And now that Fred
knows everything, we've got her help too. We'll take care of this
Polaris Stone before anything can happen."
"Uh that's good to know but, umm" he lets out a small laugh before
looking back up at him, "actually I was talkin' about my date with
Cordelia tonight."
"Oh" As his brow furrows, slightly taken back by just what the
half-demon's priorities were focused on, Angel takes a seat on one of
the couches, leaning over to put on his shoes. "So, what exactly did you
want to ask *me* about?"
"Well, you know dating," he admits, taking a seat beside him. "Can't say
I've had much experience in the department as of late. Unless you count
those years of wedded hell-"
"Wait- you're married?"
" *Was* married. But aside from that, being half-demon hasn't exactly
been such a turn-on when it comes to relationships. So what's your advice?"
Stretching a bit as he stands back up, walking over to grab his duster,
Angel lets out a confused chuckle. "Doyle, I think you'd better talk to
Gunn about this."
"Why's that?"
"I don't know the first thing about dating," Angel quickly laughs back.
"Uh-huh," Doyle grins as he chews on his bottom lip. "And, uh just how
would you define yours and the missus relationship then?"
"Buffy and I never really *dated*, per se. We were already in love from
the beginning. In case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly your
everyday couple, so dating's not really my area."
"Okay!" Buffy's voice breaks up their little chat as the radiant beauty
appears at the foot of the stairs. "How do I look?"
Swift in his walk over to her, Angel grabs her hands as his gaze lingers
on her. Admiring her simple, light blue dress that stopped just above
her knees, he places a kiss over the thin strap resting on her shoulder.
"You look heavenly," he whispers, welcoming her response as she leans
into his embrace, forgetting for a moment that Doyle was still standing
behind them. "H- hey Doyle"
"Buffy" he replies in turn, admittedly taken back by her appearance as
well. He gives her a quick nod as she strolls past him towards the front
door. Waiting for Angel to join him, Doyle grabs him by the arm, pulling
him aside before they follow her out. "You don't know anything about
datin', huh? And what *area*, exactly, would you consider *her* to be?"
Part 4
No one can hear The week dragged on, the days passing by in an unusual peacefullness;
the calm before the storm. By Thursday night, the Scoobs were finally
able to spend another night out relaxing. Willow seemed to be getting
better by the day, Tara's almost-constant presence seeming to help more
and more, and Graham had even begun to find acceptance among the
friends, finding himself among their company on present evening.
Although slightly hesistant, the slayer left Giles on research duty,
still trying to find out just which museum he'd be sending his former
slayer to tomorrow night to retrieve the latest item of danger being
thrown at them.
From his position above the immense crowd of people gathered inside the
Bronze, Xander stares unblinkingly at the sight directly below him. His
face takes on a spiteful appearance as he watches Angel lay his hand
along Buffy's cheek, leaning across the gang's table to give her a quick
kiss. After another minute or two of watching, Xander follows along from
above, trailing Angel as he walks over from their table, stopping to
talk to Cordelia in the middle of the dancefloor. Having to shift his
position, trying to get a clear view as to the third figure standing
between them, the young man's face flashes with a twinge of jealousy as
he spots Doyle wrapping his arm back around his ex-girlfriend's
shoulders, leading her back out to dance.
Let me run away It wasn't fair. In all the time they'd been together, he'd never seen
her smiling as much, seemingly having a great time with Angel's new
demon cohort. < It's Deadboy's fault anyway. He's the one who's ruined
all of them. Cordelia, Willow, even Joyce and that traitor, Graham. And
Buffy> His eyes return up from watching the scene below, washing over
briefly with a pang of guilt at almost getting Buffy killed. His face
goes numb and pale in an instant as the image from a few weeks back
flashes before him. Somehow he'd ended up doing what he'd sworn he'd
never do- hurt Buffy Summers. Is everything I want to be He didn't have to say he was sorry Buffy and the others would be able to
see it all over him. Just give me my indifference "I can't believe you've never been here before this week, Tara," Buffy
smiles over at the shy wiccan.
"I- I guess I don't really get out much. But, Willow's mentioned it a
few times. I've always wanted to come."
"Yeah" Willow smiles in agreement. "It's nice here. Always has been."
"Until it came under new management," Buffy groans, throwing a glance to
where Lindsey was busy "talking" with some ditzy blonde over by the
stage. "Gunn- have you and Doyle found out anything about where Lilah
and Walsh may be?"
"Nothing," he sighs. "We checked out three more places today- not a
trace of Lilah or her crew. Doyle's calling in a few favors from LA,
though- some background on Lilah. Said he'd have something by this weekend."
"I hope so. With the Stone of Polaris arriving tomorrow night, you're
all gonna wanna keep it as far away from these creeps from Wolfram and
Hart as possible," Fred chimes in, surprising the group at her eagerness.
"You're really into this stuff, aren't you?" Gunn flashes her a warm
smile, having already taken a keen interest in the lovely young girl.
"It's nice knowing that I'm not the only one who deals with this sorta
stuff."
The table's conversation begins to drift into silence for Willow as her
eyes bulge at the sight of Xander, leading Anya by the hand behind him
up the stairs, slipping into what she assumed was Lindsey's office. She
lets her gaze stray only for a moment, watching as Buffy, Graham, Gunn
and Fred try pulling Tara out onto the dancefloor. She knew she
should've told the others that she'd spotted Xander. She knew it
would've been, more likely than not, their only lead as of yet to
finding Lilah.
Uncomfortably clear But now everything had changed, forcing her from her usual stoic
position among the friends. < I wonder if they'll see it coming? I wonder
if they've even noticed anything at all?> she lets out a cynical laugh
as she gives a small wave to Tara. < She's the only one who's noticed
anything. And Oz> a small sob escapes her before she can regain her
composure. Let me run away "Will," Buffy saunters back over to their table with open arms, yanking
the redhead to her feet and into the dancing crowd. "Come on." So caught
up in trying to bring out the "old Willow" in her best friend, Buffy's
slightly startled when she feels two strong arms encircle her waist from
behind. "Hey" Angel smiles against her cheek before placing a gentle
kiss to the side of her head.
"Would you two please get a room-" Graham speaks up over the blaring music.
"And stop embarrassing the rest of us in public?" Cordy adds with a
grimace, though finds her smile quickly resurfacing as Doyle laughs,
pulling him even closer in their embrace. She couldn't explain it- the
total lack of fashion sense, the at-times annoying evasiveness when
dealing with the others, not to mention the whole half-demon
aspect...and that simply ridiculous first name of Francis. Everything
about him went against all that Queen C stood for. And yet somehow,
everything about him only endeared him to her more and more.
"Have I told you how beautiful you are in that dress?" Angel leans his
head on Buffy's shoulder, tucking back a few strands of her hair, his
lips seeking the warm skin of her neck.
"Mmm" she sighs, turning around in his arms to face him. "Once or
twice. But maybe it would be more convincing with drinks," she gives him
her best smile before sending him off to the bar.
"Anyone else want something?" Before turning back around, he looks up
with a smile to where Doyle was trying to keep up with his new
'secretary'. "The usual?" Doyle merely nods in response, too wrapped up
in his date to really care at the moment.
"Can I have two iced teas and a shot of scotch?"
"Can I see some ID?" Casting a dismissive glance over his shoulder from
where he was leaning against the counter, Angel can't help but let out a
groan as he sees the Bronze's new owner grinning back at him.
"What's the matter, McDonald?" Little short on help these days?"
"Aw, come on, Angel. I'm just messin' with ya. I guess I can let you get
away without ID just this once. You'll be, what? Two-hundred and
forty-four? Forty-five?" Quickly spinning around, he reaches for Lindsey
with his left arm, pulling him by his shirt until his smirking face was
just inches from his own.
"I would've thought you'd be smart enough to head back to LA."
"What and miss all the fun here?" Lindsey manages to chuckle from under
Angel's tight grip.
"What do you know about the Stone of Polaris?"
"Supposed to be pretty old and powerful. Can't say I've had the pleasure
of ever using it. "
"Funny" Angel finally releases him, pushing him back against one of the
tables. "Why don't I believe you?"
"You can believe what you want," he says, straightening out his shirt
before approaching him once more. "It's not gonna change the fact that I
may be the only person you've got to keep you up on things with Lilah
and the others. Not to mention" he grabs Angel by the arm, turning him
towards the sight of Buffy waiting for him back at their table, "help
protect her."
Is everything I want to be "Ya know, if you really wanna get some information on your stone, maybe
Joyce Summers would be able to help. She runs one of the museums in
town, doesn't she?" he asks with a sly grin. "And doesn't she also
happen to be your girlfr- oh," he stops himself, pausing to look
directly over to Angel. "SorryI mean, your *wife's* mother? I
wonder have you told her about the marriage yet, 'cause I think she'd
love to kn-"
In an instant, the young lawyer finds himself with his head pressed
against the nearby empty table, Angel's hand firmly planted behind the
base of his neck as he leans over his helpless form to speak into his
ear. "You think I haven't noticed your little fixation on Buffy? A bit
of advice stay as far away from her as possible or I promise that you're
not going to find yourself in any condition to be a help to anyone," he
emphasizes his last word with a shove, slamming Lindsey's head against
the hard surface before making his way back over to Buffy.
"You two looked like you were playing nice," the slayer lets out a small
chuckle. "What's up? What did Lindsey have to say?"
Grabbing his jacket from where he'd lain it over the back of his chair,
Angel's eyes sweep the crowd, stopping as he sees Lindsey being
approached by two of his club workers. He watches as the gracious owner
gestures dramatically towards their table, and makes a gentle grab of
Buffy's arm, pulling her up to him. "Let's go."
"Angel, what's wrong? What happened?"
"Let's just go," he repeats, a pleading in his voice that didn't go
unnoticed by his lover. With a simple nod, deciding to wait until they'd
gotten back to the mansion to press the matter any further, Buffy takes
the hand he offers as they head out onto the dance floor to tell the
others goodbye.
The sight that awaited Lindsey in his office was met with an irritated
glare. With his feet stretched out across his desk, his paperwork
crumbling and curling underneath them, Xander was leaning back in chair,
a guitar resting clumsily in his lap. "Would you kindly put my guitar
down," the young lawyer snaps, shoving Xander's feet off of his desk as
he makes his way over to reclaim his chair. "Don't you have your own
*playthings* around here," he nods in Anya's direction, offering her a
quick smirk as Xander goes over to join her on the couch.
"What was the deal with you and Deadboy? Make fun of his hair or
something?"
"Or something" Reaching into a drawer, Lindsey extracts a bottle of
aspirin, the force of Angel's grip still playing hell on his head.
"Overprotective, isn't he?"
"Like a little lost puppy you just can't shake," Xander's quick to agree.
"I could say the same about *some* people," he gets out in between his
sips of water.
"Well at least I've always just wanted what was best for her. Not to
mention the whole issue of me being human coming into matters."
"True- but now, so is he." Xander's eyes cast to the floor before he
stands to his feet again, walking over to peer through the blinds of the
office. His gaze intently focused through the crowd, watching with a
careful eye as his former circle of friends head for the back doors. "He
won't be for long. Once we get hold of the stone we'll show Buffy just
what lurks beneath her little boy-toy." Slowly closing the blinds, he
turns slightly to face Lindsey. "We're clear on tomorrow night?"
"Of course can't let anything happen to Buffy's mom, now can we?
Wouldn't exactly help me win Miss Summers' favor-"
"Just make sure nothing happens to either one of them," Xander instantly
snaps back, not really caring for the lawyer's sudden interest in his
friend, but knowing that he had not other choice if he wanted his help
protecting her from Lilah. "In the midst of your little 'dance' with
Angel down there, did you manage to warn him about tomorrow?"
Just give me my indifference Leaning his head off to the side, he chuckles, smiling for a moment
before leaning back further into his comfortable leather chair. "He's
got all the information now let's just see what he does with it."
Part 5
Angel tossed and turned all night, waking on every hour to check on
Buffy. He would tighten his hold on her as Buffy would reach for his hand, placing it along with her own over her heartbeat. He would allow
himself a few minutes of contentment as he buried his head into the
curve of her neck from behind, reassuring himself that the two of them
had a long future ahead of them. When the sun finally crept up above the
horizon, he was almost glad. Being awake meant work, and work meant not
being able to lie around and think morbid thoughts. He quickly and
carefully crawls out of bed without waking his beloved and slips into
the bathroom.
Noticing the sudden lack of warmth and hearing the familiar sounds of
the sink, Buffy figures she might as well drag herself out of bed too.
The drawstring of her gray cotton pants swings loosely around as she
races around their bed, peering her head into their bathroom where she
spots him in the middle of his early-morning routine. She gazes at him
appreciatively before hopping up onto the marble counter beside him,
dangling her legs over the edge as she leans to her side, giving him a
quick peck on the cheek. "Morning."
"Mmm."
"How long have you been up?"
"ittle 'it"
"Ya know, you're cute when you're brushing your teeth," she nudges him
playfully with her shoulder.
"I guess you would know" he smiles, looking over to her after finally
rinsing out his mouth. "since you seem to like watching me all the time."
"Hey- can I help it if I like watching you do anything?"
"I'm just as guilty of watching you," he chuckles, running his hand
through his toussled hair as he stares up at the mirror.
"You sleep okay? You seemed pretty restless all night."
"I'm fine" comes his automatic response.
At least he was talking more than he would last night when they'd
returned home. He'd hurried back to the mansion so fast, Buffy never had
a chance to protest his not wanting to discuss what had caused him to
want to leave the Bronze in such a frenzy. He'd seemed preoccupied when
they'd finally covered up in bed, his hold around her waist seemingly
one out of fear and desperation instead of his usual comforted embrace.
He could be so damn maddening when he got like this, but she was
determined to get something out of him right now. "You feel fine enough
to tell me what happened last night between you and Lindsey?"
"It was nothing," he mumbles, making a move towards the door, but soon
feels her grip around his waist, drawing him back over to her. Holding
him firmly in place as her legs straddle either side of him from where
she was sitting on the counter, she lowers her voice to a whisper.
"Angel, please just tell me"
Realizing that he wouldn't be able to keep his fears from her forever,
Angel finally concedes with a heavy sigh. "Lindsey's taken quite a
liking to you" Pulling him closer, linking her arms under his, Buffy
urges him to continue. "I tried getting any information out of him that
could help us, but" he begins shaking his head, trying to clear the
memory, "he just got to me talking about you" He lifts his head as he
shrugs, idly gazing into the mirror. "I guess I just lost it- and
probably blew any chance of finding out anything about Lilah and Walsh."
"Angel" She reaches out to caress his face, tracing her fingers over
his lips before capturing them in a gentle, reassuring kiss. "I'm right
here- and I'm *fine*," she stresses with another kiss. "We all knew we
couldn't trust Lindsey. I doubt if he'd even be a help if we *could*
trust him. But we'll all be fine. Giles said he should know where the
stone is being delivered by this afternoon, so once we get a hold of it,
we'll figure out our next move to find Lilah, okay?"
Angel still harbored his doubts, but it was clear that he was feeling
better when he grabs her, pulling her to him as she wraps herself around
him, sharing a tender kiss as he carries her back into the bedroom.
Buffy manages to extricate herself after several highly pleasurable
minutes, hopping down from her comfy spot.
"Much more of that and I'm really going to be late for classes," she laughs.
"I'm going with you today," he calls after her, as more of a determined,
no-nonsense statement than anything, still trying to shake the
foreboding anxiety swarming through his mind.
******
With Angel tightly clutched to her side, Buffy wound up being only ten
minutes late for Psychology- a slip she was sure Fred would overlook.
Expecting to see her best friend studiously taking notes for her as
always, she was shocked to sit down beside a Willow-less Cordelia.
"Cordy? Where's Will?"
"No clue."
"Aren't you two roomates?" Angel ponders aloud.
"She never came in last night. I think she was spending the night in
Tara's room." Frustrated by the clock's sudden slowness, the brunette
begins tapping her pen wildly, anxious to meet Doyle at the Espresso
Pump. The more time she spent with him, the more determined she became
to draw him towards a more favorable drink of choice, figuring her best
place to start would be with coffee.
"Tara's?" Buffy raises an eyebrow. "Again? And missing class because of
it??" Watching her facial expressions shift along with her silent
musing, Angel cranes his head, leaning in to whisper to her. "What's
going on?"
"Have you noticed how close Will and Tara have gotten over the past week
or so?"
"Tara's really great," Angel replies. "She and Willow have a lot in
common- they've been friends since you all came to college, right? Plus
she'd be a great help to us on the magic front."
"Yeah, I know, but" she leans over on her elbow, narrowing her eyes as
she makes her implied observation, "have you noticed how *close*
they've gotten?"
"No," Angel smiles, oblivious to what had been transpiring between the
two wiccans. With an amused sigh, Buffy tries again, this time grabbing
his hand in an effort to draw his complete and focused attention. "I
don't think I've seen the two of them leave each other's side since
Willow came back to school. They've been pretty *cozy* whenever they're
at the Bronze. And I think Will's spent at least three nights in Tara's
room this week-"
"Four," Cordy's quick to correct her, her eyes still glued to the
painstakingly slow clock.
"So what are you saying?" Angel finally asks.
"I think that Willow and Tara are*Willow and Tara*," Buffy smiles, a
certain uneasiness washing over her with the thought, but still, her
face displays a sweet and appreciative grin.
"What?"
"Ugh-" Cordy moans, stretching a hand across Buffy's desk to grab hold
of Angel's, "Sweetie- get a clue. Willow and Tara are as together as you
and Buffy."
"They're togwait a minute" The realization finally begins to dawn in
Angel's mind.
"Mmm-hmm. Our innocent and naïve Willow has become a lesbian," Cordy
confirms.
"Cordelia!" Buffy shouts, forgetting for a moment where they were as
half the class stares at her.
"A lesbian?!" Angel's shout follows, drawing the remainder of the class'
attention, including Fred.
"Uh, guys? Is there a problem?"
"Uh- no, Fred," Cordy flashes her a smile. "We're fine. Sorry about
that- really sorry." The class returns their collective focus to the
front until Cordy's voice draws them again. "Oh- and by no means were
their little outbursts in reference to me. Cause I'm no lesbian," she
proudly states, noticing Buffy and Angel turning slightly away from her,
rolling their eyes. "What? Well, I'm *not*! I happen to be dating a very
hot guy, thank you very much!"
******
"Anything yet?" Graham takes a seat beside the elder man, reaching over
to grab one of the papers strewn about the mansion's lengthy dining room
table.
"Not a blasted thing."
Evening was fast approaching, and the usually annoyingly resourceful
Giles still had no word from any of his sources as to where and when the
Polaris Stone was going to be delivered. Mulling over his notes, trying
to formulate a list of every known museum and gallery close by, the
englishman looks up to see Angel and Buffy sitting apart from the rest
of the Scoobs, a somewhat shocked look plastered across the former
vampire's face as he finally takes notice of Giles watching him. "I
can't believe it. I mean- I just can't believe it. You know how it is
when you can't believe something?" he asks of his friend.
"Angel, I know. I thought we would've found something by now, butstill
no clue as to where the stone is."
"Stone?" Angel looks over to him, casting a sidelong glance over Buffy's
shoulder. "I was talking about Willow and Tara."
"Honey-" Buffy cuts him off before he can go into a lengthy discussion
about their suspicions. "Let's spare Giles the details until later."
Quickly hopping down from his lap, the slayer hurries over to grab the
cordless. "Speaking of Will, I'm gonna see where she and Tara are. She
said they'd be here for research duty tonight."
******
"No sorry Buffy, butI- I haven't seen her since she left. A- a little
while agoI- I didn't know if you'd all still want me to come by if I
wasn't with Willow Oho- okayI'll be around in a little bit. Bye."
Slowly placing the phone back onto its receiver, Tara turns around,
offerring a smile to her dorm room's second occupant at the moment. "Was
that okay?"
"Yeah" Willow smiles back, standing to her feet to take Tara's hand.
"Thanks for that. I- I just didn't feel like doing the whole 'research
and patrol' double feature tonight."
"I understand," Tara nods, following the redhead as she leads them back
over to sit on the bed.
"I was hoping maybe we could work on some new spells tonight? Maybe take
a look at some of your older books?"
She watches with a pleased smile as Tara crawls over to the edge of the
bed, reaching over the end to unlock the small trunk resting in front of
it. With a few swift movements, she retrieves a book she thought Willow
would find interesting. "How about this one?"
"Actually I was thinking more along the lines of something from the book
of Signut. Do you have it?" she asks, a certain desperate pleading in
her voice. Returning to the trunk, Tara reaches over, lifting the fairly
small, black felt covered spellbook. "Are you sure you want this one,
Will. I- I mean it has some pretty powerful stuff in it?" she worries
for a moment, until she feels a sudden warmth, a forced sleep overcoming
her.
Lifting the book from her hands, Willow tucks it under her arm as she
sits up from the bed. She tucks aside a strand of hair from Tara's face,
hoping the spell she'd just cast over her would keep her asleep for
awhile. "I'm sorry" she whispers before leaning down to brush a gentle
kiss across Tara's lips. "I hope you'll understand"
******
"Tara said she left a little while ago," Buffy returns to the great
hall, letting the others know her news. "I hope she's okay."
"I'm sure she's fine," Doyle tries calming her, placing a mug before her
on the dining room table. "Ya know- this coffee stuff ain't half-bad"
he muses, taking a quick sip. "Ain't half-good either, but-"
The sudden ringing cuts him off as he watches Buffy reach out a hand to
grab the cordless. "Willow?"
"Hi honey," comes Joyce's cheerful tone.
"Mom! Hi- how are things going in Burbank?"
"Well that's why I'm calling. I just got home this afternoon. I've got
everything we need for the new exhibits this month and next month. In
fact, I'm at the museum now. I just wanted to finish up a few things,
but I wanted to see if everyone would be up for some dinner back at the
house after I'm done closing up."
"We'd love to, mom. But tonight's no good. Big evil lurking on the horizon. You know the drill."
"Of course," Joyce sighs, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"I'm glad you're home though," Buffy adds as an afterthought. "I really
missed you this week-"
"Well look here!" a voice echos over the line, causing Buffy to flinch
at its familiarity. "Aren't we in luck, guys! It's Buffy's mom," Xander
laughs, his gun stretched out before him as he and his two teammates
approach a terrified Joyce from behind. "Hi Buffy's mom"
Part 6
Joyce finds her hand slightly shaking as she sets down the phone, her
eyes coming to rest on the three darkly clad young men holding her at
gunpoint. Her heart sank as she was faced with the sight- Xander had
trangressed far worse than Buffy's descriptions. His usually playfully
toussled hair was slicked back, revealing his dead-set, cold stare. His
black attire, a reinforced vest resting underneath, seemed to be an
extension of his new persona, shadowing his movements in an attempt to
hide the wickedness that had risen to the surface so quickly.
She could only assume the young man to his right was Riley- he fit her
daughter's less-than appreciative report perfectly. A sneer forms upon
his lips as he shifts a few steps, obviously amused at her current
position of terror.
With equal amounts of joy and disbelief, Joyce's awe struck gaze finally
falls upon the young man accompanying them.
"Oz?" Seeing him give no response but to lift his own weapon a few
inches higher, she takes a careful step towards him. "Oz, you're- you're
alive. Oh my god"
"This the slayer's mother?" he acknowledges her with a nod as he turns
to face a smiling Xander.
"What did you do to him?" Joyce demands, attempting to take another step
forward but finds Riley's gun closing in on her.
"He's no longer any of your concern, Joyce," he replies. "We've helped him-"
"More like brainwashed him!"
"That all depends on who you ask, " Xander protests. "Come on, Joyce.
We're all friends here, right? Well- except for Riley- you two haven't
really had the chance to bond, but once you get to know him, he's a
great guy."
With a determined glare, Joyce leans in closer to face him, her face
intent. "I wish I had a mirror with me so that I could show you just
what you've turned into, Xander or do you prefer Agent Harris now?"
"Lemme point something out to ya, *Joyce*," he begins coldly,
maintaining a tight grip on his gun as he backs her into the nearby
wall. "You're not dealing with the same kid who you always made take off
his sneaks after you'd waxed your kitchen floor! So we've got two
options here- you either give us the stone the easy way, or the hard way."
"What stone?"
"Stone of Polaris," Riley answers. "Supposed to be in tonight- where is it?"
"I- I don't know. I haven't unloaded all of the boxes yet," she answers
truthfully, though reluctant to tell them anything else. She knew Buffy
and the others would be coming, she just had to buy some time. "All of
the boxes are in the back," she stretches an arm down along the hall.
Xander nods for Oz to keep watch over Joyce as he and Riley begin their
search. After a few minutes of heavy silence, the young man lets out a
small chuckle, turning to face her with a smirk. "How do you know me
anyway?"
The blast and accompanying flying razor-edged shards of glass that
followed his question send the two of them sprawled out to the floor.
Quickly scampering to his feet, ignoring a knocked-out Joyce for the
moment, Oz looks over to see Riley and Xander seemingly being thrown out
of the storage room, landing them halfway across the room. "What's going
on?!"
With the Stone of Polaris raised in one arm, Willow's attention is too
focused on the two men still layed out on the floor to even notice the
familiar face watching her. Too stunned and confused to do much else, Oz
can only stare in disbelief at the stone's power. Radiating from its
crimson red center, beginning to sear up through her arm, the red hue of
dark energy finally finds residence in Willow's eyes as she begins the
spell's chant. "I take the power in my hands, from air and fire, water
and land. Power of the angels and divinity, moves and pulsates, the
energy in me-"
"Willow! What are you doing?!" Xander desperately cries, trying to bring
himself to stand but feels an invisible force drag him back down as
Willow continues.
"I build, I birth, I bring form, I raise with might and energy storm. I
shape, I build the ultimate power, from me blooman evil to devour."
With a slow, sickening twist, the black stone seeps through the
red-head's chest, no signs of pain across her face as the object is
completely absorbed. With a sharp turn, she throws a quick glance to
Buffy's mother, slowly beginning to regain consciousness. With a final
pointed and disdainful look to Xander, she allows herself a sly grin as
she leaves the massive building in search of her first intended prey.
"Okay" Xander gets out in between groans, steadying himself on his feet
before crossing the room to reach Oz, "what the hell was that about?!"
"Who was that?" Oz raises an eyebrow, still in disbelief of what forces
had just been at work.
"Never mind!" Riley snaps. "We've got to find her and get that stone!"
"We don't even know what it does," Oz reminds him.
"Look- right now I'm more concerned about why Willow was so hot to get a
hold of it!" Xander speaks up, earning a sour glance from Riley.
"I thought none of them were any of your concern anymore, Harris! What's
the matter- having a sudden stream of guilt?" he accuses him with a shove.
"Back off Finn-" Xander returns his push in full. "You want an up-close
view of those iron sculptures over there?!"
"Allow me-" At the sound of Joyce's voice, Riley turns around just in
time to see a carefully sculpted face come crashing down across his own,
knocking him backwards. As he braces himself against the wall, shaking
his head to return his senses, he can't help but smile as he sees Xander
receive Joyce's next blow, getting knocked to the side as well by the
sculpture.
Seeing her chance, she goes to make a dive for the back storage room,
but feels the sudden grip of Oz's hand wrap around her arm, yanking her
back into a tight and painfull hold. In an instant, the cold barrel of
his handgun presses against her temple as he lets out a laugh. "Leaving
so soon? We could still use you- uggh!"
Oz was launched backwards as Buffy's kick landed squarely against his
face. Glancing up in wounded disbelief, he feels her follow-up punch
strike him from the side, nearly knocking his head off as he rolls onto
his stomach. "I've had enough of this, XanOz??!" Buffy flinches back as
she grabs him by his shirt, pulling him up to face her. "Oh my g- umph!!"
"Little late, aren't we, slayer?" Riley taunts, firmly gripping the gun
that he'd just knocked her to the wall with.
"Buffy!" Joyce calls out in desperation, slightly startled when she
feels another arm grab her around the waist, pulling her back.
"You alright?" Graham checks, receiving a quick nod from the mother
before he and the others begin their attack.
"You three stay back with Joyce!" Gunn yells to Giles, Fred, and
Cordelia over his shoulder, racing over with Doyle, a solid punch
already formed in his hand. "Find the stone!"
Making a direct path to Xander, Angel snaps his head back with a sharp
fist, grabbing his dazed form and hurling him to the ground. Before he
can take a step to continue his pursuit, Riley's charging shoulder slams
him from the side, sending the two crashing into one of the glass
displays, giving Xander a chance to collect himself and head after Buffy
and Graham.
Admittedly, Xander managed to hold his own against them, giving the
slayer and his former teammate quite a fight as they came charging after
him. "I may not be some freak like you, Buff," he scoffs at her after
landing a kick to her stomach, "but I can keep this up just as long as
you can!" A hard shove from Graham leaves Xander open for Buffy's fierce
knee as she strikes him right in the ribs. "Xander- don't call me Buff!"
With Oz's weapon firmly outstretched before them, Doyle and Gunn were
finding it more than impossible to believe that their friend was alive,
let alone staring at them from behind a gun. "Oz" Doyle tries his hand
at reaching him, "I can't believe it. Look- I don't know what they've
done to you-"
"Why the hell do all of you creeps know me?" he shakily yells, his
finger softly squeezing the gun's trigger.
"We're you're friends," Gunn cuts in, receiving only a wicked scoff from
a now black-haired Oz. "You've gotta believe us. We can help you!"
"I've got all the help I need," he replies, mistakingly throwing a
glance over his shoulder towards his two teammates, giving Gunn enough
time to knock the gun from his hands. Making a dive for him, he lands
him on his back, rolling with him across the floor as Fred and the
others helplessly look on.
"Joyce," Giles grabs her by the shoulders, leaning further towards her
on his knees. "Where's the Stone of Polaris?"
"I don't know. Th- they were looking for it too. But something came
in there was a big blast."
"Where?" Cordy asks. "What was it?"
"In the back room. I- I couldn't see what it was," she immediately
reaches a hand to her still-throbbing head. Allowing Giles to help her
to her feet, she takes his hand as he leads Cordy and Fred along the
back hall to the storage room in hopes of finding their missing
artifact. But as she approaches the corridor, Fred spots Gunn being
overpowered by Oz as he's tossed to the side, landing beside where Doyle
had been knocked just moments ago by their friend. A gleam of terror
washes over her face as Oz's gun goes off, striking Gunn right in the chest.
"Gunn!!" Ignoring Giles' warnings, Fred races over to where he lay,
stumbling a bit on her feet as she crosses the room. Making a valiant
effort to stop her from getting too close, Doyle staggers to his feet,
making a mad dash to grab her but falls short about half way as another
two shots ring out, striking him in the back.
Frozen in fear and panic, Fred watches, completely bewildered, as the
gun slips from Oz's trembling hands, landing at his feet with an
amplified resonance. The young man feels himself staggering backwards in
confusion at what he'd just done, feeling a sudden surge of memories and
emotion run through him.
Seeing a perfect opportunity before him, Xander manages to overpower
Buffy, tossing her into Graham, effectively eliminating the two fighters
long enough to take aim at the still-frozen Fred. His sight cleary set,
his finger already steady on the trigger, he sends a shot speeding
across the museum.
"Fred!" Angel calls out as he shoves her out of the way, her intended
bullet sinking into his shoulder. The two land in a heap by a nearby
marble display, Fred instantly grabbing Angel to check for his safety.
"Angel! Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine- I'm fine," he winces, making a move to stand to his feet. His
head turns to glance over his shoulder just in time to see the blinding
gleam of Riley's blade strike him in the back, agonizingly tearing his
flesh from his already-shot shoulder to his waist.
Emerging from the back corridor, Joyce instinctively rushes to his side,
tears nearly springing to her eyes as she sees his blood beginning to
pool on the wooden floor. As he takes a step back to admire his work,
Riley catches sight of her approaching. Turning his knife in his hand,
he lunges for her until a new figure knocks him from his path, tackling
him to the ground.
He twists around under Lindsey's grip as they rolls across the floor,
coming up against the wall with a deafening thump. Wasting no time, the
lawyer catches Finn's hand and squeezes, unerringly hitting the nerve,
and the knife falls from his hand. He knocks it away and punches him
with a severe right cross, knocking his head back onto the floor. Not
giving him a moment to recover, Lindsey twists his arm, flipping Riley
over onto his face and puts him into an arm lock. He twists and yelps in
the painful hold as McDonald holds his arms tight. "Sorry Finn- can't
have you ruining everything. It's nothing person alI'd just prefer to
see Buffy's sweet mother as alive as her lovely daughter."
Seeing Buffy swiftly approaching, Lindsey pulls Riley to his feet,
hurling him a few good feet into Xander and Oz. "Buffy" he breathes
out, plastering a sudden look of worry across his face. "Thank god
you're alright. For a minute there I thought-"
Almost effortlessly, her natural slayer strength giving her punch a look
of ease, Buffy sends Lindsey to the floor as she marches past him
towards her friends. Surprising even herself, she casts him a quick
glance, finding him knocked out.
"Let's go!" Riley takes charge of his team, grabbing hold of a still
stunned Oz, leading him towards the front doors. "Back to the lab!"
"What about the stone?" Xander yells, picking up his own weapon as he
heads after them.
"We'll find it! Now let's go!"
Part 7
"I still say the three of you should be in the hospital," Giles frowns,
placing another stitch in Doyle's back, closing up his second bullet wound.
"I- I can help a little with their wounds," Tara volunteers. "A healing
spell. It should help with the pain."
The group had made their retreat back to the mansion, only to find a
dazed Tara awaiting them in the great hall. Besides Doyle, Gunn, and
Angel, they'd managed to get out with only some minor cuts and bruises.
Momentarily pausing in his work, Giles looks over Doyle's shoulder,
peering down at a small book he'd been reading. "What do you have there?"
"Nothing...just tryin' to find a place in my little demon's guide where it
says I have to get beat up, shot, stabbed, thrown around, or any of the
other painful experiences I've had to endure from the fightin' that I'm
*not* supposed to be doing."
"Doyle," Angel manages a small chuckle, wincing slightly from his own
first aid from Fred.
"See- says it right here..." he stretches the book to the former vampire,
holding open a page. "I just have to *guide* you, not help in the actual
brutality."
"I'm just glad you're alright," Cordy links an arm with his, fearing any
other form of contact would induce more pain for him, but just needing
to assure herself of his safety. Feeling that Giles had finished, the
half-demon slides his shirt back on, taking the brunette's hand as they
make their way over to where Joyce, Graham, and Tara were busy patching
up Gunn in the kitchen.
"I still can't believe any of this has happened," Joyce finally voices
the friends' collective disbelief. "And Oz..." she sighs, shaking her head
slightly. "Thank god he's alive..."
"They must've found him after the cave-in," Buffy surmises, standing
from her seat beside Angel to join her mother. "They did something to
him...brainwashed him. We've got to get a hold of Will. Tara-" she turns
towards the wiccan, drawing her attention, "are you sure you don't
remember anything from tonight?"
"No...I'm sorry...a- and I'm sorry I lied to all of you about Willow already
going home when you called earlier. She said she just didn't feel like
seeing anyone t- tonight."
"And the last time you saw her was in your dorm room?" Graham asks.
"Mmm-hmm...we were going to do some meditating. Go over a few spells,
but...I just blacked out...I- I don't remember much of anything."
"You don't think Lilah and her crew have Willow?" Buffy's voice begins
to show traces of panic as she walks back over to where Angel was siting
with Fred.
"I hope not," comes her lover's response, wishing he could come up with
something more comforting to say to reassure her.
"How did they know where the stone would be?" Cordy's voice grabs hold
of their conversation. "I mean- we should've stopped Xander and his new
freak squad before any of this could've happened."
"Cordelia, nobody could've known this was going to happen," Buffy sighs.
Letting out another wince in pain under Fred's steady hand, Angel shoots
a disgusted glare to where Lindsey lay, still unconscious, across one of
the couches. "He did."
"Who?"
"Lindsey. He knew. He warned me..." He pauses, his face a dark and
complicated study. Buffy, realizing just what he was talking about,
watches his expressions sort through regret, fear, and determination.
"The bastard warned me right to my damn face! I just didn't know it."
"Angel-" Fred grabs hold of his shoulders, trying to calm him. "You're
gonna pop a stitch." Buffy's close presence, as well as Fred's
comforting touch, work to help his sudden anger subside as he glances up
to face the young girl tending to him. "Wouldn't want to ruin your
work," he mumbles, a small grin escaping his lips.
"Ya know- this is the second time you've saved my life," she widely
beams at him, unable to hide her blush at seeing him offer her a smile
in return as he raises a hand to come rest on her arm. "Anytime. Happy
to be of service."
She regretted it the instance it rose in her, but Buffy couldn't help
the twinge of jealousy work its way through her. She knew she had
nothing to be getting upset over. She'd seen Angel be comforting to her
friends before on numerous occassions- most of which, she'd encouraged,
in a hope to make him feel more like a part of their group. And she
liked Fred- she truly enjoyed her new TA as the latest member of their
family. But knowing that Fred had taken more than a liking to her lover,
combined with the fact that the young girl was the one tending to
Angel's deep wounds, having more skill and knowledge than her in such
precise care, left her in a slightly hurt and upset state.
"How 'bout a little help over here?" Lindsey's groggy voice breaks Buffy
from her thoughts as he brings a hand to his forehead, sitting up on the
couch. Blinking his eyes, still trying to gather his bearings, he finds
himself being yanked up by Angel's fierce grip. "I'm going to tell you
something now-" he gives him a shove, the pain radiating across his back
going unnoticed for the moment, "I'm going to tell you something, and
for your sake, I hope you listen for once. If you don't get your act
together-"
"Why do you think I was at the museum to begin with?" he protests,
giving a quick push to free himself from Angel's hold. "Just to watch
you all get your sorry asses kicked?"
"Remind me again why I helped drag you back here?" Graham raises a hand,
throwing him a disdainful look. Ignoring his piercing eyes to reach into
his jacket's inside pocket, Lindsey produces a video tape. He takes it
upon himself to pop it into the vcr, a careful smile upon his face as he
sees all the others joining him in front of the tv. "Before I got to the
museum, I was still at my office when *this* happened-" he gestures to
the screen, now filled with the image of two familiar faces. "Good thing
I managed to get out before I got caught up in any of it. I figured none
of you would believe me if I told you this, so I thought I'd bring you
the security tape for you to enjoy."
The friends stood silent as they watched the scene play out. The desk
hit by the red energy beam had shattered, sending vicious splinters
flying everywhere. The computer on the desk had exploded, adding glass,
hot metal and molten plastic to the debris in the spacious office. A few
of the chairs and cabinets were on fire. The scream that escaped from
Anya mingled with the roar of the fire, the hiss and crackle of the
destroyed or damaged electrical equipment, the sound of the sprinkler
system coming on, and the clamour of the fire alarm to form a truly
hellish dissonance.
"Time to go, Anya..."
The second voice was somewhat muffled by the sounds of destruction
coming from within, but Buffy winces unconsciously as her ears
painstakingly pick up on its familiarity. "Willow..."
Part 8
"Alone at last"
Anya's world suddenly began to swim back into focus as her eyes lifted
open, her head slowly rising to face her captor. There was an instant
tug of pain when she tried to shift her position, finding it impossible
to move from behind the heavy chain restraining her to the chair. She
sat there looking at her, her own heart pounding too fast, too loud,
wondering just what the redhead's plans were. "Willow? What is this?
Where are we?"
Stepping to the side a bit, she kneels down before the ex-demon, leaning
in to whisper in her ear. "I wouldn't worry about that right now. You've
got some time left" Swiflty rising to her feet, Willow turns in the
opposite direction, idly kicking a few pieces of debris from her path as
she approches one of the few remaining pillars of the ruins once known
as Initiative headquarters. "How long do you think it'll take him?"
"Who?"
"Do you think he'll come alone?"
"Willow-" Anya watches with a desperate stare as Willow begins pacing
wildly, an anxious smile playing across her lips as her plan begins to
play out in her mind once more. "What the hell is going on? Why are you
doing this?!"
"You know Xander was right about being able to see things more clearly-"
"Xander?"
"And with the stone" she pauses for a moment, glancing down at her
hands, the sight of the red energy humming beneath her skin giving her
yet another reason to smile, "I'm more aware of things than ever.
Everything that he's done to us" her gaze travels up, her eyes finding
Anya's with an intense hatred, "to Oz"
"Oz" Willow's desperation suddenly became clear to the young girl as
her mind begins to sort through recent events, impossibly trying to find
a way of stopping Willow's rampage before it could begin. "Oh
god Willow- Oz is alive! Xander and Riley they found him after the
cave-in. Walsh injected him with this blue stuff. He's-"
She found herself being sent reeling unceremoniously into the nearby
pillar as Willow stretched out an arm, an invisible force radiating out,
striking Anya squarely in the chest. Willow's face contorts into a sly
grin as she takes a few steps towards where Anya had landed. "You're
lying"
"No. Willow- listen to me! Oz is-"
"You can't protect him, Anya! He murdered Oz! He's responsible- just
like he's responsible for all the hell he's put us through for the past
six months! He poisoned Buffyhe tried turning Angelhe doesn't have any
soul left! He doesn't deserve to live. When it comes down to ityou're
the only thing he has left to lose"
Anya's eyes follow the wiccan helplessly as an almost inaudible mumble
rises from her throat. "You're cr-"
"Crazy? I know. That's really sweet of you, Anya. But we'll have to
defer your opinions on my sanity until later. Too much happening right now."
******
"She what??!!"
Standing in the middle of the wreckage, Xander finds himself having to
exert a considerable amount of will power to keep himself from lunging
for his new boss. "How could you let this happen?!"
"I didn't really have much choice in the matter," Lilah bitterly snaps
back, still trying to recover from the shock of returning to Corielle
labs only to find a warzone where her office should've been. "And if I
were you, I'd keep my temper in check! None of this would've happened
had the three of you managed to do something right for a change!"
"What?!" Riley turns to her, his temper flaring at her accusations.
"How do you think she was able to do any of this?! She has my stone,"
she wrenches in disgust. "The little bitch has my stone! The stone you
three were supposed to bring back!"
"The slayer showed up," Oz offers as an excuse, one that didn't go over
so well with either Lilah or Walsh.
"And as of right now," Maggie steps among them, trying to bring them
back to their focus, "she's the least of our worries."
"Where's Anya?!" Xander demands, hurling his bag at a defenseless,
charred wall. "What'd Will do to her?!"
"How the hell am I supposed to know where your little nympho is?!" Lilah
responds.
"The security tapes," Riley suggests, though his thought is quickly shut
down by his mentor.
"Already checked. The tape for the office is gone. Seems our friend
Lindsey took it upon himself to notify the slayer of her friend's little
stunt." She turns her head slightly, a mocking grin breaking out across
her face. "I'd consider myself lucky, Harris."
"Okay- bring me up to speed and tell me just *how* am I lucky?! My best
friend since the third grade just kidnapped my girlfriend and I'm
supposed to be thrilled over here?!"
Furious beyond reason at the young man's disrespect and insolence, Lilah
steps past her associate, a contemptuous rage lacing her words. "Wake
up, kid! Willow's coming after your ass, so I'd be welcoming any help I
could get to keep myself alive. You think the slayer's gonna let her
hurt you?" Brushing off her momentary lack of restraint, she
frustratingly tucks a few loose strands of hair from her face as she
makes her way past them towards the remnants of her door. "I told you,
Finn if you didn't bring me the stone, you shouldn't have even bothered
to show your face back here. Here's my last warning- you three don't get
that stone back, don't even waste your time trying to save yourselves
from Willow, because if you come back here without itI will do *far*
worse than you're witchy friend."
******
Unable to move, a nightmare quickly beginning to shadow their collective
thoughts, the friends sit in stunned silence in the mansion's great
hall, trying to make sense of what Lindsey had just shown them. Only
slightly comforted by Angel's steady hand in her own shaking one, Buffy
gazes reproachfully at her former watcher, thinking he should've somehow
prepared her in advance for something like this. First Xander, and now
Will. Malice begetting malice, revenge building upon hatred, and now
threatening to destroy even more lives in the process.
"We have to find her before" The others slowly turn towards the sound
of the slayer's soft voice. With her head still turned down, her voice
barely above a whisper, Angel finds himself having to crane his own head
to see just when she started talking again. "We have to stop her." She
said this dry-eyed, with not a tear in sight, but somewhere deep inside
her she was crying, screaming. He could tell by her tone, by the very
bleakness that had sunk deeper into her eyes.
"I'm afraid it's not going to be that easy, Buffy," Giles regretfully
tells her. "From the looks of things, Willow's completely harnessed the
Stone of Polaris' energy. So long as her energy is feeding off of it,
stopping her is going to be extremely difficult perhaps impossible."
"But why would Willow do this?" Joyce sighs. "Why would she go so far?
This sort of thing isn't in her."
"We didn't think it was in Xander either," Buffy reminds her.
"She blames Xander," Gunn answers.
"She must not have seen Oz when she attacked them at the museum," Angel
adds, standing from his seat with a hard-pressed stare as he marches
over to Lindsey. "Do you know where she took Anya?"
"You're guess is as good as mine," the young lawyer replies with an
unintentional smirk. In an instant, Angel yanks him to his feet grabbing
him roughly by his jacket. He pulls him just inches away from his face
as he gets out his threat through gritted teeth, wishing for that brief
moment he could slip into game face one final time. "I've had enough of
your games, McDonald. So from this point on, you either help us, or you
stay the hell away from this family, understood?"
"Angel-" Buffy grabs her lover's attention, watching with a careful eye
as he sets Lindsey back down in his chair none too gently.
"Look" Adjusting his tie, smoothing out the mess Angel had made of his
attire, Lindsey turns with, for the first time, an apologetic look
towards the friends. "I can take you to where Lilah and Walsh have set
up shop, but that's probably not where Willow's got Xander's girl."
"They're probably all looking for Willow too," Doyle speaks up. "By now
Xander has to realize she's after him."
"So where do we start looking?" Cordy asks.
"Lilah set up office above Walsh's new labs," Lindsey offers. "The
Corielle building- but I doubt Willow would take 'er there."
"The labs" Looking up with his sudden thought, Graham rises from his
seat, already grabbing his jacket to head out. "The labs under Lowell
house"
"It would make sense," Giles agrees. "Willow wants to finish things just
where they started."
"And what about Oz?" asks Doyle. "How're we supposed to-" Without
warning, the half-demons voice escapes him as his latest vision takes
over. As the striking images flood his mind, his entire body jerks
backwards on the couch. In an instant, Angel was by his side, along with
Cordelia, trying to help him work through it. "What do you see?"
"Graham's right- Willow's underground with Anya in the labs under the
campus" His head winces suddenly as another seering onslaught blurs his
sight. "Finnhe's strung upbetween some trees Willow's with him. A- and
Buffyon the groundthere's blood all around 'er"
"Are you sure?" Cordelia asks, grabbing him by the arm to help him up.
One look at his stern face was enough of an answer for her, as well as
the others. "Right, rightdumb question to ask around here" she sighs,
heading for the door right behind them.
Part 9
Former Agent Miller looks on through the shattered remnants of what once
served as a place of refuge for him and the rest of the Initiative. The
once-elegant hallways of Lowell House leading to the underground labs
were now nothing more than smoldering rubble. Not that he was paying
much attention to the opening that gaped at his feet and arched over his
head; for the moment he was looking down into the black depths of the
huge sinkhole, his flashlight shining from overhead, trying to see where
there was a big enough path for them to follow below.
"See anything?" Angel's voice breaks him from his thoughts of regret,
snapping him to attention as he stretches a hand out down the corridor.
"Along there. Looks like it's pretty clear along this way. If Willow's
in the central lab, this is our fastest way there."
"Then let's go," Buffy pushes past them, taking the lead as the others
quickly follow her down the makeshift tunnel. Wearily, Graham takes up
the end of their search party, carefully making his way through the
facility with all its disturbing memories and images beginning to play
through his mind. Suddenly, he calls the others to a halt, his hand
going to his gun as he senses that they were being followed. But his gun
points at nothing but empty air as the others continue on.
Quickly he turns, straining to see back along the dim corridor, and for
just a moment he thought he glimpsed a leather-jacketed figure with dark
hair rush towards them. His suspicions were put to rest as he felt the
blunt strike of Xander's fist knock him backwards. Hearing the clutter
of noise, the slayer is the first to come to his aid, brushing past
Graham to land a direct kick to Xander's stomach, the force of her
impact knocking him back into Riley and Oz, trailing only slightly behind.
"You!" Cordy's shout echos throughout the maze of ruins. "What the hell
are you doing?"
"Stopping Willow before she does anything stupid," Riley answers for his
teammate.
"I think you've pretty much got that area covered," Lindsey snaps back,
taking a step towards them.
"I wouldn't be one to talk, McDonald," Xander responds. "If we didn't
have to worry about your little random moments of conscience, maybe we'd
be able to get some actual work done-"
"As what- Lilah and Maggie's two prized bitches?" the young lawyer
smirks back. Before he can go much further, Angel steps in between them,
preventing any sudden altercations from erupting, distracting them from
their plans.
"We don't have time for this! If you're here to help Anya that's fine-"
With a swift motion, he's grabbing Xander into a tight hold, watching as
a glimmer of fear washes over the young man's face. "You hurt
WillowI'll make sure you don't get out of here a second time around."
******
Willow rages through the lab, her mood changing from bitter scorn to
something much deadlier. "Warmer?" she shouts, her tone more threat than
question.
"What're you doing?" Anya wails, now pinned to the nearby pillar by an
invisible force.
"Don't you know this game?" the wiccan asks harshly, leaving a trail of
destruction behind her as she continues pacing in front of her first
victim, another shot of energy radiating from her hand.
"What game??" a pleading Anya shrieks, gaping at the burns now gracing
her arms.
"Hot and cold" A sick smile plastered across her face, she shoots out
another jolt of light, this time directed at her legs, freezing them in
place before sending another blast of fire to blaze up Anya's left arm.
"See, I'm gonna keep guessing how long it'll take Xander or the others
to find us, and you tell me how right I am. Right about now, I'd say at
least another hour-"
"Colder-" comes Doyle's voice, a huge lunge towards his friend coming
soon after. "Much, much colder, Will." The debris littering the filthy
ground sprayed outward from their skidding bodies as they hit the floor,
the half-demon pinning the young girl down, grabbing her flailing hands,
holding them above her head. "Get the girl!" he shouts over his
shoulder, only to return his gaze to the redhead's flaming red eyes, a
sudden rush of energy blasting him off of her, sending him flying
backwards across the lab.
Xander and Riley had managed to grab Anya, amazed at the damage Willow
had inflicted on her. Quickly handing her over to Giles and Graham,
Xander turns his attentions to his former best friend. WIthout a
moment's hesitation, he jerks Willow to her feet, throwing her casually
into one of the crushed lab tables. He had never moved with such brutal
savagery, and it filled him with fiery exultation- this violent killing
rage of a grown man who'd turned his back on everything and everyone
that he loved.
He threw a fist at Willow's head, a terrible blow that should have
shattered her skull, but all she did was shake it off and dive back at
him with a leer. Again and again the young man struck crippling blows
that the powerful wiccan shrugged off with little more than shouts of
passing pain- even a vicious kick that landed to her stomach did no more
than double her over for a few seconds.
She quickly grew tired of toying with him, swiflty bouncing him against
the crumbling wall with punishing backhand smacks that left him stunned
but still fighting. With one careless energized blow, she knocks Xander
over, sending him tumbling through the air to land amongst the hissing
pile of spilled fire.
"Murderer! Murderer!!" she yells, as, with a fierce irresistible
strength, she flings Xander twenty feet across the lab where he slammed
against the broken wall and lay stunned at its base. Willow followed
with a quick leap and immobilized him with a gleaming shot of blood red
radiance from her hand.
The blast of energy slams into Xander full in the chest, inches away
from his heart, exiting his back in an explosive mist of blood. The
sheer force of it drives him backwards while a flash of white-hot agony
lances through him. She restrains him with pitiless hands, one fist
drawn back for a killing blow. But she didn't deliver it. No...that
would be too quick, too easy- Xander was going to have to die knowing
why he died. "Ozyou killed Oz"
"Will, no! He's here! He's right there!!" Xander gasped, shaken as he'd
never been shaken in his life- the Polaris Stone was having so deep an
effect on her, and nothing he did seemed to derail it's power.
"Liar!"
After sending out Anya with Fred, Graham, and Cordelia, Giles, along
with Tara, races over to his former slayer, grabbing her and Angel
aside, a small book encased underneath his arm. "You've got to distract
her. Get her away from Xander while we perform the spell to remove the
stone from her."
"Willow!" Buffy shouts, her voice desperate as she holds a fierce grasp
around a dazed and confused Oz. "He's telling the truth! Oz is alive!
They found him after the cave-in! He doesn't remember anything, but he's
alive!!"
"Non- no, no, no" she began mumbling, her grip on Xander loosening as
she brought herself to her feet, frightened and relieved by the sight of
Oz. "Oz? Are you really" She faltered to a halt, her face crumpling
with compassion when Oz froze in his struggling against the slayer's
arms, his eyes going wide as the recognition of Willow's voice brought
with it a flood of memories.
He thought he'd borne all he could earlier, at the museum after having
shot the two men he knew deep down he'd once called friends. But to hear
Willow's voice made all the returning memories so real again that he
almost couldn't stand it. "Willow"
With one eye fixed on a slightly shaking Willow making her way across
the room, Giles and Tara flip through his book to the marked page, the
shy blonde eagerly reading from the spell's lines of print. "The
piercing cry that feeds on pain, and leaves more sorrow than it gains.
Now be heard by one who seeks, to stop the havoc that it wreaks."
The wiccan's voice sends shock waves through Willow's consciousness as
the seering pain of the stone pierces through her chest, landing at her
feet. She recoils violently, crashing blindly against Oz, sending the
two slamming into the metal framework all the way across the lab. Seeing
Oz had been knocked unconscious by the sudden blow, she collapses by his
side on the floor in front of a table and huddles there, her whole body
racked with ugly, choking sobs as she wraps herself around him,
murmuring his name.
Xander felt a wave of uneasiness when he saw Willow being flung across
the room, now emptied of any powers from the Polaris Stone the same
stone that now layed within arm's length of where he was helplessly
sitting against a crumbled mound of cement. His gaze fixed on his
target, he stumbles to his feet, making a mad dash for the black orb.
"Harris!" Riley helplessly shouts, trying to reach him in time. "Don't!"
Already halfway through his memorized version of its incantation, Xander
grabs the stone in one hand, watching with a wicked smile as it slowly
works its way into his own system, seeping through his skin overtop of
his heart.
"Dear god" Giles' voice rises amidst the terror, prompting Buffy to
take immediate action. "All of you get out. Angel and I can handle him."
"But the stone-" Doyle tries arguing, only to find his efforts being
shut down.
"We'll get it," Angel assures him, urging him to help Willow gather up
Oz. "Doyle, please take the others and get up top. Now!"
Knowing by now not to argue with either one of the headstrong fighters,
Doyle slings Oz over his shoudler, hurrying with Willow to follow Giles
and the others back along their path of entrance. Without really
thinking, he passes a quick glance to Riley over his shoulder. "You comin'?"
"Get out, Riley!" Buffy follows up with a shout.
"I'm not leaving here without that stone!" Before he could make much
more of an argument, Riley's reasoning was brought to a halt as Xander
turned to face him, his lips curling into a cruel smile. "I wouldn't
count on that, Riley."
"Look, man you don't wanna do this Lilah's gonna have a fit," Finn
whimpers, desperate and confused at seeing the stone's power now
ramapaging through his partner, instantly closing up the deep chest
wound its previous user had inflicted on the young man only minutes ago.
"Try and stop me," Xander lifts his head, laughing with a dark
bemusement at his new boost of power. Shaken out of his stupor, Riley
gapes at him in astonishment before finally deciding to let the freaks
have it out, quickly making his departure following the trail of the others.
Not wanting to give him the first chance to attack, Buffy launches
herself at Xander, only to be caught in midair, carelessly being tossed
a few yards away among the debris. "Oooo, goody," he chuckles, his
stride increasing towards her. "I get to go one on one with Super Bitch."
"You've really got a problem with strong women, don't you?" the slayer
snaps back, clammering to her feet as she sees Angel beginning his own
attack. He makes a leap for him, finding himself being slammed to the
ground as well. With a new level of determination, Buffy charges for him
again, ducking his first punch, but her face recoils as his second lands
across her jaw. Xander grins as he swats away her next punch, capturing
her arm and backhanding her to the ground once more.
"Gee Buff- you seem a little off. This a bad day?"
The agile blonde brings herself back to her feet, landing a solid kick
to his stomach. "It's getting better." After landing a few more
devastating kicks, Buffy sidesteps, allowing a path for Angel. Making a
quick grab of his shoulders, he yanks Xander off of his feet, tossing
him across the room, surprised to see him instantly roll back to his feet.
Taking advantage of her momentary stretch of distance, Buffy makes a
grab for one of the lab's mangled doors, easily lifting it into the air,
smashing it over Xander's head. Stunned by the blow, he staggers
backwards into the nearby pillar. "That all you got?" His mood quickly
turns somber as the few remaining chunks of plaster crumble against his
weight, crumbling onto his head, completely engulfing him.
"There's two ways this can end, Xander," Angel yells to him, certain
that with the stone's power raging through him, the young man was still
very much alive.
"And right now," Buffy adds, "I'm thinking they're both gonna hurt."
Taking a few steps towards the pile, the slayer stops dead in her tracks
as she sees him effortlessly emerge from the rubble, looking none the
worse for wear as he lets out a proud laugh. "I think you're right.
What's the matter, Buffster? You never fight a real man before?"
"You could say the same about yourself," Angel smirks, crouching and
rushing after him again. He catches Xander around the waist, and the two
tumble end-over-end in the refuse of building materials. Instantly
they're both back on their feet, nimbly circling each other, studying
and evaluating their opponent.
Seeing a clear shot, Buffy dives for him, a harsh punch striking him
fully across the face, her follow-up kick even more forceful, knocking
him into one of the lab tables, tumbling backwards over its surface. The
slayer's triumph lasted only a moment before Xander easily pulled
himself back up, his smile stretching even further as he approaches
them. "Wow that almost hurt"
Ignoring her for the time being, he focuses all his energy on taking
Angel out of the picture, striking him with a flash of red energy
squarely in the chest. Angel gasps as his torso suddenly begins to feel
as though it were on fire. His face distorted in pain, he stumbles
backwards, landing in a dejected heap in the corner. He could feel the
searing heat of the torrent of energy that was overpowering him and his
eyes close while he struggles to resist the awful pain. He drops to his
knees, but the beam of radiance follows him, and the pain only spread to
other parts of his body.
Buffy, her eyes bright with sudden, panicky tears, gasps at the sight of
him visibly weakening. She goes to take a step towards him, but finds
her path being quickly blocked. "Now that we've got some time to
ourselves" comes Xander's sick laugh, the sound being the last Buffy
hears before her head is snapped back by his fierce punch. The two
exchange a series of blows, Buffy's having little or no effect other
than driving his rage further. With a final low kick, Xander succeeds in
taking her off of her feet once more.
"You know who I am, Buffy? Huh?"
"A complete psycho?" she offers, pushing herself up on the palms of her
hands.
"Well, that too," Xander agrees. "But, more to the point-" He's cut off
for a moment as she takes a fervent swing at him, her fist being swiflty
caught, her face feeling the seering sting of his backhand. "I'm the guy
that beat you."
Again Buffy swings, shocked when her punch is caught yet again and she's
sent sprawling backwards by his counterattack. "And it's not just the
muscles," the young man grins, kicking her backwards. "It's the brains."
He steals a quick glance at where Angel was slowly recovering.
"Something your little boy toy wouldn't know anything about."
"Brains, huh?" Buffy smirks. "I'll remember that when I knock 'em clean
out of your-"
Not giving her a chance to finish, Xander attacks again, a few punches
to her stomach making the slayer double over in pain. Grabbing her
hunched-over frame, he slams her face-first through the nearby wooden
table, cracking it into planks surrounding the carcass of the bruised
and bloodied slayer.
A tired Buffy rolls over and grabs the side of her ribs in utter pain.
But as she rolls, she spots the small leather-bound book that had
somehow been tossed aside during their scuffle. Reaching into herself,
draining her last remnants of strength and will, she makes a desperate
stretch for it, a deep sigh escaping her lips as her hand finally comes
to rest on its pages. "The piercing cry that feeds on pain, and leaves
more sorrow than it gains"
Stepping around the pile of debris, Xander's too overcome in confidence
to pay much attention to the slayer's new objective. "Say goodnight, bitch."
"now be heard by one who seeks, to stop the havoc that it wreaks."
With the final words of the spell, Xander feels himself jerk back in
pain, the stone piercing out through his chest with a hideous wet sound
as he slides back into the wall, instantly drained of the artifact's
immense power. "Oh no" his lips shape the words, but his lungs were too
paralyzed to give him breath enough to do more than gasp as he sees
Angel's fist come flying at his face.
The former vampire carefully eyes the young man lying dazed, finally
rendered powerless, at his feet. He couldnt help but smirk. "Goodnight,
bitch." His eyes dart to the side, his body quickly following as he
catches sight of his beloved starting to pull herself to her feet. "Buffy"
Momentarily dazed by what had just transpired, Xander musters all of his
strength to stand to his feet slowly. He'd barely pulled himself to one
knee when Buffy's leg shoots out, knocking him back even further with a
sharp spinning kick. The pain of the blow on his still-tender jaw made
him stagger, but somehow he manages to fully rise to his feet, a look of
fright replacing his previous stance of confidence as Buffy advances on
him. "You're nothing but a sad little boy, Xander. But it's time you
grow up and pay for what you've done."
"Get away from me!" he makes a desperate plea, knowing full well what
torment was surely awaiting him.
"Too late, Xander," Angel stares fixedly at him, taking a step in front
of Buffy in an effort to make a quick grab of him. But as his arms reach
out, his body arches suddenly as a shot strikes him in the back, the
scorching bullet penetrating his stomach from behind.
"I disagree." Lowering his gun to take in the full site of the towering
stature being brought to his knees in agony, collapsing in Buffy's arms,
Riley calls out to his partner, finally jolting him back to his senses.
"Xander- come on! Let's go!!"
Xander stumbles a bit as he hurries over to where Riley stood, anxiously
waiting to make their retreat. He slants a quick look to where Buffy was
bearing Angel's weight on her shoulders, trying to get the two of them
safely out as well. After one last glance, he turns to follow his
teammate out of the wreckage in suffering bewilderment. As he makes his
way up the tunnel, for the first time since beginning all of this havoc,
he allows his mind to truly take everything in, shuddering in primeval
terror as an ominous flash of impending horror sears his mind.
Part 10
Three weeks passed before the Bronze's new owner finally returned to
overseeing the nightclub's activities. For a Tuesday night, it was
surprisingly packed. Hundreds of young people were swaying to the new
band on stage. The group's sound was a far departure from the usual
tunes of the Dingoes, but Lindsey reminded himself of Oz's talk of them
possibly playing on Friday, so he wasn't worried. Passing a glance to
where the guitarist was busy dancing with his girlfriend, the young
owner can't help but smile. It was good to see things brighten up a
little. The walls were lined with help, the majority of them new
workers, and lost among them was Charles Gunn.
"How's it feel being back to work, Linds?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he smiles back.
"Need the money, man."
"I thought you were workin' for Angel now?" Lindsey lets out a small
chuckle as he and his returning bouncer make their way through the
dancing masses, finally making their ascent up the stairway. "What's the
matter- he fire ya already?"
"No- just evicted me and Doyle." Seeing Lindsey's confusion, he explains
as he holds open the office door. "Doyle and I figured we'd crashed at
the mansion long enough, so we just got an apartment together. Rent's
pretty high though. I could use all the money I can get."
Lindsey's mood quickly turns somber as he takes a seat behind his desk.
His eyes focus on the little crystal globe he holds pensively in one
hand, watching the tiny snowflakes swirl around the miniature replica of
his home state enclosed within it. When he finally speaks again, his
voice holds an uncertain note. "H- how's Willow doing? I mean, I just
saw her downstairs with Oz, but..."
"Good..." Gunn eventually returns, his voice barely above a whisper.
"She's doing good. Giles and her...well, they talked...about the magic..."
"She's gonna lay off it for awhile?"
"Yeah. And with Oz back, and Tara...shouldn't be too hard for her. She's
got a lot of support from everyone." Standing from the couch, Gunn turns
to head back downstairs to keep an eye on things. "You oughta stop by
tomorrow morning. We're starting a new case which is actually only our
second case per se, but still...I'll catch ya later, Linds."
The few minutes of idle chatter he'd just shared with his friend did
little to dissipate the chill that had been running down his spine ever
since managing to get out of Initiative labs, escaping death a second
time. Not that he really understood just why he was letting things get
to him so bad. He'd seen his share of death over the years, and his time
spent with Wolfram and Hart had let him take a hand in some of the most
malicious plots and plans he thought were ever possible. Even so, his
usual equanimity was shaken when he saw the horror play out among the
friends. Calm and quiet Willow, desperate in her attempts to kill
Xander; Harris' seemingly endless, sick pursuit of Angel. It was
something he'd never seen before, and still unwilling to believe.
He was snapped back to reality as a ringing started coming from his
jacket. Leaning back in his chair, he reaches a hand in, only to see an
all too familiar number pop up on the screen.
"Busy night, dear?"
"Ya know Lilah, I'm touched. They allow you phone call in jail, and you
decided to call me. How sweet." Thanks in part to his own statements and
conferences with the police, both his former associate and Walsh had
been taken in for questioning, and a hearing had been scheduled for
Monday morning.
"Jail? Oh- you mean that little thing in court yesterday morning?" From
her own seat inside Wolfram & Hart's offices, she stretches out
languidly, a huge grin forming on her face.
"I can feel your smirk from here, Lilah."
"Hmm...I wonder if poor Maggie would be able to feel it in her nice
little cell. I don't think they'd let her have visitors so soon, but
maybe they'd allow just one call."
"You let Walsh take the fall," he mutters, hardly disillusioned by her
callous nature.
"She's outgrown her usefulness. At least for the time being. So...how
are things in Sunnydale?"
"Helluva lot better now that you're back in LA."
"I'm a little hurt you didn't come back with me," she jokes, though
half-sincere in her remarks. "Everyone at the office really misses you.
Just this afternoon Riley was saying-"
"So that's where your boys have been," he leans forward on his desk,
becoming more interested in their conversation. "No wonder things have
been pretty quiet around here."
"They just needed a little 'vacation time' shall we say. Wouldn't worry
though- Xander's already dragged Riley out with him tonight to take care
of something. If I were you...I'd keep an eye out for them."
******
Can't hold you down "Yo! Anyone up yet?"
Standing in front of her mirror, buttoning her blouse, Willow rolls her
eyes as she hears Gunn's voice echoing from downstairs. It felt good to
be able to laugh at something as mundane and ordinary as her friend's
typical entrance. And with Joyce's offer to let her stay in Buffy's old
room for as long as she liked, for the first time in as many months as
she could remember, things were beginning to feel normal again. "Hey," Tara's voice startles her slightly as she creeps up on her from
behind, wrapping her arms around her waist.
"Hey. Clothes," the redhead grins.
"Better not get used to 'em."
"Hmm, yes ma'am." Grabbing onto her belt loops, Tara pulls her in for a
quick kiss. As she rests her head on Willow's shoulder, the shy wiccan
hears Gunn call out again downstairs. "Mmm...Gunn."
"Okay-" Willow pulls out of their embrace. "Not quite the response I was
fishing for."
"No- Gunn and the others must be here."
"Oh, right. Think we should head downstairs?"
"Not yet..." Willow beams, pulling Tara back into a warm embrace. "Oz
said he'd be by in an hour. He's still trying to convince Devon and the
rest of the Dingoes that he's alive."
"Oh...well, we can wait it out up here."
"Tara..." Willow looks over to her, a shy, timid smile tugging at the
corners of her mouth. "A- are you sure you're okay with
this...everything?" The two wiccans had to admit, the new situation
Willow had been put into with Oz's return was full of awkward silences
as she clumsily felt her way into a new relationship- one with Oz, the
other with Tara. But by the time Giles had helped her through her
recovery from the Stone of Polaris, the three of them were becoming more
at ease with how she was handling it.
"I know how much Oz means to you," the blonde smiles. "And I'm so glad
that he's alright. And as long as you're happy," she laughs, tugging her
into a tighter hug, "everything's wonderful."
Climb up above Considering it was eight in the morning, the rest of the Summers'
household was pretty busy. Emerging from the kitchen, Joyce is the first
to greet Gunn, Fred, Lindsey, and Angel as they make their way inside.
"Morning. You're just in time for breakfast. Everyone's in the kitchen,"
she smiles, linking an arm with Angel as she leads them all down the
hallway. "How's your shoulder feeling?"
"Still a little sore, Joyce. But it's healing pretty fast."
"Figured everyone would be here," Gunn says, placing down the small
cardboard carrier he held, supporting a few cups of coffee. "Maybe we
can get started on the case. Here..."
"You didn't have to do that," Cordy looks at him as she walks over to
the table proudly with a pot of her own brew. "I already made some. Part
of my job description as a secretary."
"No offense," Gunn shrugs, "but I've already tasted your mix, and I
don't trust that toxic sludge you call coffee."
"Doyle-" she looks to her practically-public boyfriend for support.
"Isn't my coffee good?"
"Uh...sure, Delia. It's great," he nervously smiles. "Best I've ever had."
"That's only because you always put five shots of whisky in it," Fred
gives away his secret, much to Cordy's immediate disapproval.
"You do what?!" she gives him a quick smack across the chest. "What
happened to not drinking so much anymore, huh?!"
Deciding to make his escape before the couple's fight could break out,
Angel pulls Joyce aside for a moment. "Is Buffy upstairs?"
"No, no. But Willow and Tara are. They just woke up. Buffy's been here
since last night though..." she trails off, hoping that nothing was
wrong between her daughter and Angel.
"All night? I know she wasn't home when Fred and I came in a little
after midnight, but..."
"She's in the backyard," Joyce nods, watching with a bright smile as he
heads out the back door, carefully shutting it behind him.
Where did you go? From her seat on one of the marble benches strewn about the backyard,
Buffy sits, staring off into the new morning's sky, though her eyelids
had been fluttering closed every so often. She was just so tired. Worn
out and stressed, she'd barely gotten any sleep last night, sitting up
wondering what Angel was doing and if he was safe. "I'll be home at
eleven," she whispers his last words to her before leaving with Fred
last night, as a single tear threatens to trickle its way down her cheek.
"Buffy?"
She never saw the slender figure, all in his typical black, walk as
silently as moonlight from the porch and hesitate, seeing her before
him- only a few steps between him and his heart's desire. The fond
quirking of his lips as he reaches for her arm brings a smile back to
her face, watching him intently as he sits beside her on the bench,
reaching over to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. She pulls back
slightly, looking up at him smiling at her with a sweet gaze. "Hey," she
finally manages to breathe out.
"Hey. I missed you this morning."
"Yeah...I, uh...came over here last night. Around twelve-"
"Mmm. Your mom told me. Oh- remind me to thank her again for those
tickets to the exhibit." Angel noticed her eyes dart away at his last
remark, tense with emotion.
"Did you and Fred have a good time?" she asks, not intending to sound
bitter or hurt that the two of them had gone out together, by
themselves, without her- though she knew that's exactly how she sounded,
and had every right to sound in her opinion.
"It was nice. The exhibit was really interesting...and it was nice
company...Fred..."
"Fred," she quizzically chuckles, uncomfortably shifting her position
next to him. "Yep. Fred's great. Can't say enough great things about Fred."
"Buffy-" Before he can begin to assuage the fears and insecurities he
had an inkling had been building for quite some time, Buffy raises a
hand to him, beginning her own rant.
"Look Angel- I know...and I understand- really, I do. I mean, Fred is
really a great girl. She's beautiful, and funny, and really, *really*
smart. You two have so much more in common than we do, and I know you
always have a great time with her when we all hang out. Fred's great."
"Mmm...you're right."
Climb up above To say Buffy was stunned would've been a supreme understatement. Her
fear and panic begin to rise to the surface once more as she hears him
agree with everything she'd just painfully admitted- much to her dismay
and bewilderment. "Fred's a really nice, really sweet girl...but she's not you..." With
one swift movement, he turns to face her fully, reaching out gently to
take her hand in his. "Buffy, do you wanna know why I asked Fred to go
with me to that art show last night?" At her pouty nod, he continues.
"Because I needed someone to talk to...someone to give me some advice on
something."
"Advice on what?"
"At first, I wanted to ask Willow, but with everything that's been going
on...I didn’t want to bother her with anything-"
"With what?" Buffy prods, now more curious and confused than before.
"And Cordelia's a little too...blunt," he finally decides on as gentle a
word as possible, "to ask her advice on anything like this-"
"Angel- like what??"
In an instant, her eyes shift to where Angel was slowly reaching into
his back pocket to retrieve a small black jewelry box. He lifts the lid
to reveal the exquisite engagement ring he'd been holding onto for so
long. He'd worked out a beautiful speech, long before he'd even sought
Fred's advice on when to finally give it. But at present moment, upon
hearing Buffy's startled, tear-filled gasp, he was reduced to only three
words. "I love you."
In the end, that was all he'd ever really needed. The delicately
beautiful ring said everything that he needed to say, and the look on
Buffy's face told him everything he needed to hear. "I know we're
already sort of 'technically' married, but..." he reaches up with his
free hand, gently caressing her cheek, "...I want to make it official. I
want to give you everything that goes along with it, because you've
already given me so much, Buffy. You've given me everything...more than
I deserve. You've given me trust...love...you've given me life. You
*are* my life, Buffy. Will you marry me?"
"Yes..." she breathes out in between a few sobs, launching herself into
his arms. With a gesture of aching tenderness, he slips the ring onto
her finger, nestling it above her claddagh ring before touching it
briefly to his lips. Cradling his face in her hands, she draws him
closer, capturing his lips, trying to make as much contact with him as
possible.
Everytime I try to take it back From his solitude behind the bushes, Xander winces in disgust, raising
his head to see the lovers embrace once more. It was almost too much to
bear witness to, but there was no point in turning away now. No more
games now, no more mockery...it was time to end the farce.
Too tired to go the other way Even if Riley wouldn't accompany him, he would end things now. As much
as he would've liked to, as desperate as he was to return to the
peaceful life he'd once enjoyed with his friends, he knew it was too
late for any of that. As much as he wanted to take things back, he knew
he'd never be able to live that way again; they'd never let him.
Letting his eyes linger for a brief moment before the couple in front of
him separated, the iron mask of his purpose clamps down on his mind
again and he marches through the gate like a primal force of nature,
prepared to take what he needed and leave ruin in his wake.
"You didn't really think anything was going on with Fred and I, did
you?" asks Angel when the lovers finally pull away.
"Well...maybe a little..." Buffy shyly admits. She couldn't help the
embarrassed laugh that accompanied Angel's at her confession.
"Buffy, Fred likes Gunn. That's another reason we were out last night.
She wanted to ask me about...Buffy..." His eyes widening at the figure
approaching them, Angel pulls Buffy to her feet. The slayer quickly
spins around to see just what had caused his face to wash over with fear.
"You think you can just do that to me? You think I'd let you get away
with that??" Xander lets out a frantic laugh. "Think again." In one
fluid motion, his gun raises in the air. Before he can make a move,
Angel finds himself being shoved backwards to the ground at the hands of
his lover as Buffy leaps in front of him. Without hesitation, Xander
lets out his first few shots. As he rolled on the ground, Angel could
hear a few bullets hammer off the side of the house, at least one
breaking a window, while Xander races off, still firing over his
shoulder as he goes.
Climb up above The smile that had seemed permanently plastered across Willow's face as
of late turns into a confused glare as she watches the red splatter
across her white blouse. With her back to the window, Tara remains
standing long enough to see her lover's freshly cleaned shirt become
stained in what she could feel was her own blood. "Your shirt..." she
whimpers apologetically before falling to the floor.
"Tara?!"
For a second, Angel stands, rendered unmoving and passive by what had
just happened. "Where the hell did he-" Looking to the left as he
brushes himself off, he finally spots Buffy, layed out on her back, her
eyes staring upward in panic. "Oh god!"
Clinging to her lifeless body, Willow tries desperately to rouse Tara.
"Tara?! Baby?" In what she knew was a futile attempt, she pulls her into
her lap, gently cradling her head. "Baby, come on!" she frantically
sobs. "Get up!"
Angel tenses in disbelief as he kneels down beside Buffy, terror and
disbelief etching over his face. He makes a desperate grab of her
shoulders as he sees her eyes begin to close, but manages to cling to
some hope as her green orbs slowly flutter open. "Oh god! Buffy? Buffy!
Buffy!!" He reaches out a hand, blinking back tears as he sees the
damage that's been done. The blood was seeping through her shirt, the
deep wound right over her heart.
With a convulsive effort, Willow rocks Tara's limp body in her arms, her
voice hoarse and breathless as she begged. "No...no..."
By now both Buffy's and Angel's faces were twisted with pain and a
terrible fear. "Buffy..." a desperate Angel whispers, sobbing in agony,
as he watches her strength slowly fade away with her blank stare above.
He could only sit stricken, paralyzed by the suddenness of it all, as he
tried to somehow slow the bleeding. While he watches her hand slowly
come up to her wound, covering his own hand already bathed in blood, the
new diamond ring she wore was soon glazed over in the steadily flowing
crimson fluid as well.
The blood profusely seeped out of the bullet hole above Tara's heart,
spilling onto the rest of Willow's clothes. With her arms still wrapped
tightly around her lover, her whimpering stills for a moment as her head
raises. Her face is wet with tears as her eyes, at first completely
black, fly open, the orbs finally turning completely red with her cry of
anguish.
Don't hurry your time The End!
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All that's been said
You're feeding me useless lines
Of nothingness
Don't keep me here
I can't stay around
And take this fear
A disgrace to my identity?
I don't mind
No, I don't mind
Stop questioning my reasons
I don't mind
No, I don't mind
All is the same now
I'm adapting to this
No I'm not afraid now
Don't keep me here
I can't stay around
And take this fear
A disgrace to my identity?
I don't mind
No, I don't mind
Stop questioning my reasons
I don't mind
No, I don't mind
Can't hurry you up
There's nothing I can do
A slave to your hands
Your precious time
Don't hurry your time
Don't worry your mind
Where did you hide?
All I can do
Is watch you pass by
Your precious time
Don't hurry your time
Don't worry your mind
I know I don't want to live like that
I'll wait for tomorrow
Too late to wait another day
I'm going down
Your precious time
Don't worry your mind
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