Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series and all the characters that appear on the show are the exclusive property of Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt, The WB, UPN, Mutant Enemy, Inc. and any one else with a legal binding claim to the shows and/or characters. No copyright infringement is intended.
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"Willow?"
The crackle of static made Willow pull the receiver away from her ear for a second. She looked at it for a second in a annoyance before pressing it to her ear hard, putting her finger in her other ear to block out the nonexistent noise in the empty room.
"Buffy? I can barely hear you. Where are you?"
The hissing pause was long enough that Willow worried that she had lost her friend.
"I'm with Spike. He knows where Xander and his little horde of in-laws are going."
Willow sagged with relief.
"That's great!"
"They left Sunnydale. Apparently they mean to sack San Geraldo."
"That's bad."
"Yeah. But I think I have a plan."
"That's great!"
"But I'm going to need a little magic to pull it off."
"That's bad."
"You need to get Tara."
"That's great!"
"The two of you need to get to San Geraldo stat."
"That's bad."
"Why is that bad?"
"Oh...sorry...got into a groove. I'll call Tara, I'm sure she'll come. We'll be there as soon as we can."
"Ummm...Will? I need you guys there when I get there if this is gonna work."
Willow exhaled sharply and stared at her computer morosely.
"Oh. Buffy?"
"What?"
"That's bad. The only way to get there before you is a translocation spell. It takes a lot of power. Tara can't...not alone."
"I know what I'm asking, Will. You know I wouldn't if there was any other choice. But if I try to do this alone..." Willow distinctly heard a cry of indignation from a certain British vampire, "someone's going to end up getting hurt. You know me; my solutions tend to be violent."
"Buffy..."
"You can do this, Will. I believe in you. Get back on the horse. For Xander's sake."
"Okay. I can do it. For Xander."
"Atta-girl. We need someplace to meet, somewhere easy to find."
"On it," Willow said, typing on her keyboard in earnest. A few seconds later she said, "I think City Hall's our best bet. Right in the center of town, can't miss it."
"You're the best. Get Tara and meet us there and I'll explain what I have in mind."
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"Gardar, get off of me!" Xander snapped as the Viking half-climbed into the front seat to look out the driver's side window in amazement. "Put your seat belt back on!"
"It is miraculous magic, Alexander," Erik said reverently, his own gaze glued out the window on the passenger side. The others had been quiet since the trip had begun other than occasional gasps, except for Gardar, who had been stuck with the center seat and had been bitterly complaining since they had started. Xander was driving as slowly as possible, hoping to delay their travel long enough for Spike to contact Buffy. So far none of his passengers had seemed to notice.
"So...what was Anya like as a girl? I mean Anyanka, of course," Xander offered conversationally.
"We are Vikings, Alexander. We do not waste time in women's business," Svein said haughtily.
"Anyanka did not like women's business either, brother," Erik reminded his brother with a gentle chuckle.
"True. Our sister received many thrashings from Father for trying to join the raids," Leif reminisced. Xander's knuckles tightened on the wheel.
"He hit her?"
"She is but a woman, Alexander. Of course he would thrash her if she needed-" All four Vikings cried out as Xander swerved onto the shoulder and screeched to a stop. He turned to them angrily, all thoughts of their superior size and strength forgotten.
"Anya is not 'but' anything! She's the woman I am going to marry, the woman I love more than my own life. And she is funny and kind and gentle and, okay, occasionally scary, and if anyone lays a finger on her to harm her I will personally be the one making with the thrashing. Understand?" To Xander's surprise, Anya's brothers nodded almost meekly in response. Xander took a deep breath. "Okay then."
"You care deeply for Anyanka," Erik said softly.
"She's my life," Xander answered without taking his eyes off the road.
"It is good. We will not fail you, our new brother," Gardar said with near religious fervor.
"You will make our sister proud and bring honor to our family," Erik added happily. "And your wedding will be remembered in song for ages."
"So long as it's not the Theme from Ice Castles, because I just got Anya talked out of that."
"Where is this 'Ice Castle'? We shall burn it to the ground and bring home its wealth to Anyanka!" Leif cried enthusiastically.
"Ummm, no, that's not-"
"I see it! The Ice Castle!" Svein crowed, and the other Vikings hooted approval. Xander fought the urge to beat his head against the steering wheel as he beheld the sprawling steel and frosted Plexiglas structure that was more commonly known as the Val-U-Land Mall.
"I really, really hate the Hellmouth," the dark-haired youth muttered as his future brothers-in-law crowed in amazement.
"What magicks make it sparkle so?" Leif wondered.
"Pretty sure that track lighting," Xander's wry response was drowned out by Gardar's enthusiasm.
"It matters not. We shall burn it to the ground and return with its treasures in our magick car. Alexander, steer us to the Castle gates!"
Xander wished he had driven faster.
*******
When Buffy and Spike pulled up in front of San Geraldo City Hall, Willow and Tara were standing at the ready. The two witches were wearing matching frowns, but Buffy had the distinct feeling that it was for two different reasons. She hopped off the bike almost before it stopped, not wanting her friends to see her cozying up to Spike even if she had a good reason.
"Any sign of them?" she asked a bit breathlessly.
"No, and no unusual police activity either," Willow said in a matching tone. Buffy noticed she was holding a police scanner and grinned in approval.
"Good thinking, Will. Where'd you get it?"
"I kind of conjured it," Willow said, not meeting Tara's gaze. She looked at Buffy pleadingly. "I had to. Because it's Xander. We needed a way to find him...and you said I should get on the horse!"
"It's all good, Will. Don't sweat it."
"Think you could conjure some more stolen goods, pet?" Spike drawled, earning himself three glares much to his satisfaction. Buffy rolled her eyes.
"Ignore Spike," she said before launching into her plan. When she was finished she eyed the witches questioningly. "What do you think? Is it doable?"
"I know some spells," Tara said slowly. "I've never tried them before because normally there'd be an ethical problem...they're pretty simple, though. The problem is doing something on this scale is gonna take a lot of power. More than anything...well, almost anything else we've done."
"Will?" Buffy asked her friend, who was staring into space. For a moment Willow’s eyes shone in a way that made Buffy’s heart drop to her shoes, but then the witch nodded slowly.
"We can do it," she said soberly but confidently, and Tara took hold her hand, interlocking her fingers. Tara nodded at her and smiled, and Willow returned the smile gratefully. Buffy exhaled a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding.
"Great. That's what I want to hear. Now it's just a matter of waiting for Xander and the others to show. Which they kind of should’ve done by now, I think. Spike."
"What? Not my fault Harris drives like a bleedin old bird. He said San Geraldo."
The police radio that Willow was holding suddenly came to life, and an urgent voice began calling all units in the vicinity to a disturbance at Val-U-Land. The four exchanged disbelieving glances.
"You don't think..." Tara said slowly.
"Change of plans?" Willow spoke aloud what they all were wondering.
"They could do better," Spike observed.
"Buffy?" Willow said, seeing her friend's frown of concentration. The Slayer made a decision.
"Same plan, new location. Can you guys get us all there?" At Willow's enthusiastic thumbs up, Buffy nodded grimly. "Let's ride." As Willow and Tara began tracing sigils in the air, Spike chuckled to himself. Buffy glared at him. "What's so funny?"
"Harris' face when this is all over." Despite her annoyance Buffy had to smile.
"If all goes well, he'll be alive and walking down the aisle. And he may not have had a bachelor's party, but something tells me Xander's never gonna forget the night before his wedding."
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To be continued...But feedback for this section would certainly be appreciated.