With the sun high overhead, traveling about in broad daylight was very much
a hazard to his health. His undead health, that is. It was also hazardous
to others of his kind, but Angel was rarely ever concerned about his own
kind. He was uniquely different from them for he was cursed with a soul,
and he was forced to live every day with the memories of every living soul
he had tormented. And every day he wished he could take it all back.
He wished he had never met Darla.
But wishing was not going to make any of it go away. It never did. All it
really did was to force him to think about his past more. It just made the
pain worst. The pain would never go away, but he knew that he could at
least make it so that it was bearable. He had made a vow to help the
innocent as long as he was able to do so. Whether it was saving them from
demons of the night, or maybe even an ear to listen, he would be there for
them. He would be there for the living.
And he wanted to be there for Willow.
He couldn't imagine anyone wanting to hurt Willow. Willow was special.
Willow was the most sweetest girl he had ever known. She was so caring and
understanding of people, even if she didn't know them. She gave him a
chance to be a friend and she had even let him in...Not just to her home,
but to her heart as well. She trusted him. Angel had to find her.
Using the numerous undeground tunnels and sewer systems beneath Sunnydale,
he made his way to the old abandoned factory where he knew the enemy would
be. He gained himself entrance, kept out of sight from the minions, and
found his way up to the catwalks above the main warehouse of the factory.
Below him, he found what he was looking for. But it wasn't exactly like he
had expected.
Drusilla, and Dalton were at the table. Dru was sitting at the head of the
table with her head tilted and she had her hands over her cards. She was
whispering to herself with her eyes half closed. Dalton was sitting still
in his own chair, and he had been looking at books, but the meeting
commencing around him made studying quite difficult.
"You are OUT of your BLOODY mind!!" Spike shouted dramatically as he stood
with his arms outstretched above him as if beckoning unto the heavens for
some bloody common sense.
Angel shook his head at the scene. Spike was always one to dramatize. The
vampire whom had killed two slayers just loved to do that. He so much
enjoyed to hear his own voice come back at him from the echoes caused by the
spacious room of the factory.
Angel again looked down at Drusilla. She had that familiar dazed look on
her face of serenity...calm...peace. Angel knew better. As beautiful as
Dru was, she was the most evil vampire Angel had ever met. But that was
another fault of his. If she ever regained her full strength, Sunnydale was
in a lot of trouble.
As far as Dalton was concerned, he was just a lackey. Another minion who
had better do what he was told at the snap of a finger or become dust. Just
like that.
There were three other vampires milling about, and Angel was certain that
they were there just for show. They looked tough and imposing, but that was
the odd thing. No matter that the factory was crawling with vampires, the
three human visitors standing in front of Spike did not even appear to be
intimidated in the slightest bit.
"We cannot make a pact with you," Spike told the humans. He regarded them
one by one. "It's really quite simple, even you blokes ought to get the
hint. Vampires do not make a pact of any kind with a food resource. Isn't
that right, pet?" He tilted back toward Dru.
Dru looked away from her cards and she fixed a gaze upon Abhar Jhamel and
smiled seductively. "Yes, luv...you are so right."
Angel had seen many whither under that look. Dru had a special ability not
like any vampire. She could look into the eyes of her victim and make them
do anything she wanted. This was the first time Angel had seen that look
have absolutely no affect.
Jhamel returned the gaze. Then he leaned forward and said, "Your witchcraft
will NOT work on me, demon!"
Dru sat back and hissed.
Spike grabbed Jhamel by the throat and lifted him up off the floor. "Where
the hell are your bloody manners? You don't become a guest in my house, and
then insult the hostess! Apologize!"
Jhamel managed to hiss a command in his native tongue.
His two human companions sprang into action. They opened their coats and
revealed explosives that were strapped to their torso's. Spike took one
look. Then he set Jhamel down and laughed.
"Oh, bloody hell!! You blokes would come into my home and blow yourselves
up?" He slapped Jhamel on the back. "I'll say this for you, chap. You've
got balls. But we don't die so easily, as you well know. Your explosives
may hurt us, but--"
"These bombs will incinerate your flesh and turn you to dust!" Jhamel
shouted. "Can vampires survive that?"
Spike frowned at him. Then, he shrugged. "Well...I guess you have a point
there." He regarded the terrorist warily. "So what the hell do you want?"
Jhamel paused for affect. "We want your people to leave us be! Let us move
about as we will throughout Sunnydale. Let us have access to all of your
tunnels. Do not hinder us from our task in any way. If you allow us this,
we will do something for you."
Spike looked at him with interest. "And what will you do for us?"
"We will give you the Slayer!"
Spike took in a breath. Behind him, Dru smiled and purred. "Oh, luv...I
want the Slayer!"
Dalton himself was now paying rapt attention to the meeting.
Spike raised a hand up. "Wait a moment, my precious one. We have tried to
get the Slayer for you many times and we know from experience that this is
no easy task." He fixed his gaze upon Jhamel. "How do you propose to get
us the Slayer?"
Jhamel shrugged. "It is easy. We possess something she wants."
"And that would be?"
"We have Willow Rosenberg."
Spike stared at him.
Dalton dropped his glasses as he tried to wipe off a smudge print.
Dru was so stunned by this that she got out of her seat inspite of her weak
condition. She also stared at Jhamel, but a smile began to touch her face.
The three vampires who were there for show looked at each other. They
didn't voice their thoughts, but they did wonder to themselves why no one
else had thought of that.
Spike took a step closer to Jhamel. "You have Willow? How the hell did you
bloody pull that one off?!"
"I went into her home," Jhamel explained, "and simply shot her parents, and
another woman who was there. Then I shot Willow and simply took her away."
"You shot them?" Spike looked disappointed. "You killed them?! Willow
isn't any good to us if she's dead!"
Jhamel scowled. "Do not take me for a fool, demon! I have not killed any
of them. I have simply tranquilized them." He paused for affect. "Dead
people cannot suffer on this earth."
On the catwalk, Angel sofly commented, "Speak for yourself."
Spike tilted his head back and he laughed. "This is incredible!" He turned
and looked at Dru and Dalton. "Isn't it, baby? I mean can you bloody
believe this?"
Dalton wondered if that was a trick question so he didn't know whether to
nod or shake his head. Finally, he just shrugged.
"Aren't you supposed to be looking at a book...for a bloody ritual?" Spike
asked him.
"Uh...Yes, but--" Dalton began.
"Oh, don't be so hard on him, dear." Dru smiled. "He's excited about the
company we are having."
Spike laughed again. He shook his head in amazement. "I must say, I had
found it difficult to believe that there were actually humans out there who
were capable of far more acts of evil than we are. I guess I don't find
that hard to believe any more." He turned to look at Jhamel. "Though, I
would like a LITTLE respect, if you please! I do have this thing about
being called a demon. Try 'Spike'."
Jhamel just looked at him.
Dru sidled up close to Spike and rubbed his shoulders. "Luv, I'm hungry.
I...want...a...snack..." She purred in his ear and peered at Jhamel.
Spike glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Then he looked at Jhamel.
"Tell you what, Mr. Speaker. Bring us Willow Rosenberg...and I mean right
now, and we'll give you access to the sewer systems. Give us the Slayer,
you can have all of the tunnels."
Jhamel scowled at him. "We must have Willow to lure the Slayer."
"Did you not just hear my lady say she was hungry?"
"Your appetites mean nothing to me, demon!"
Spike rolled his eyes. "Again with the bloody name calling!"
Jhamel pointed at him. "I am giving you an opportunity to become allies
with us instead of enemies! You give me nothing!"
"You're a bleeding terrorist, for pity's sake!" Spike shouted back. "You
bloody bitch and moan about the wrong done to your own people and so you
plant bombs and cry out against America! I don't have to give you
anything!" He paused as he regarded Jhamel. Then he took a deep breath and
he let it out. "You're a dangerous bastard, Speaker. I've no doubt of
that. I have seen your kind before. You could be trouble if we don't come
to some kind of agreement. So...tell me something then. Tell me what you
are doing here in Sunnydale, and perhaps we can work this out to where we
both get what we want."
Jhamel took a step toward him. "I will tell you. But you must first agree
to give me and my men complete access to all of the tunnels. All of them!"
"You will tell me...and I will grant you that access. I'll even see to it
that if anyone gives you trouble, we'll give it right back. In other words,
we'll watch your back."
Jhamel appeared to be thinking about that. Finally, he nodded. "I have a
device...a very special device...that has the power to open the Hellmouth,
thereby releasing the demons from beyond."
If Spike had been surprised about Willow's kidnapping, this secret revealed
to him literally left him speechless. Finally, his mouth dropped open.
"What?!" He stammered. "Are you bloody serious?!"
"Very serious, I assure you."
Spike shook his head. "No human weapon or device is capable of opening the
Hellmouth."
"You underestimate the power of nuclear fusion."
Spike couldn't believe what he was hearing. He turned his head to look at
Dru and Dalton. "Do you bloody believe this? He wants to bloody open the
Hellmouth with a bloody nuclear bomb!"
Dalton looked thoughtful.
Spike scowled. "Don't tell me you think that could work?!"
"Well, I would need to look up some things, but--"
"You already have a bloody ritual to study up on," Spike shot back. Then he
turned, looked at Jhamel, and shook his head. "And YOU are bloody mad! You
want to open the Hellmouth by destroying Sunnydale? This just happens to be
my home! My shopping center encompasses the whole bleeding town! I want to
open the portal, but certainly not in that way. Besides, nuclear fusion
is--"
"Nuclear fusion is the power of God!" Jhamel exclaimed. "Who do you think
created such power?"
"Oh, please! Don't bring Him into this!"
"I will! Because it is Allah that brings us here to do his bidding and to
destroy the enemies of his people!"
"I thought you were the bloody enemies of His people."
Jhamel ignored him. "With the device, I can open the portal!"
Spike frowned. "Even if you survive the blast, and even if the portal
opens...you will be dead! The demons that come out of there won't like for
you to call them names. They will come after you and every living being on
this planet! They'll eventually go around the world until they get to your
people, too."
"We are prepared to die." Jhamel folded his arms. "No more talk. Decide
now. Cooperate or become enemies."
Dru pouted. "I'm still hungry, luv."
Spike sighed. He looked at the Speaker. "You will bring us both Willow and
the Slayer?"
Jhamel nodded. "When we have the Slayer, we will bring them both. Besides,
we believe that Xander himself will come to us. If he does, we shall take
him and he will lead us to the Hellmouth."
Spike blinked. "Because...?"
"He knows where it is."
Dalton let out a nervous chuckle. "Of course, he knows where it is. The
Hellmouth--"
"--has NOT been seen by many. But we do know that Xander was there." Spike
shot Dalton a warning look. He wanted to laugh, but he didn't. So the
Speaker and his minions didn't have a clue as to where the Hellmouth was.
Every vampire is Sunnydale knew where it was, but why spoil all the fun.
"Very well, then. We shall be your allies."
Dru pouted some more. "Luv...I want a snack."
Spike sighed yet again. "I will get you something, baby. Just give me a
minute." He sat down is his chair and put his feet up on the table.
"Before you go, Mr. Speaker, I'm curious. How is Willow? Are your men
hurting her or are they sworn to celibacy and all that?"
"We are not tempted by the flesh," Jhamel snapped.
Spike regarded him. "My baby girl doesn't like damaged goods, incase you're
wondering why I'm asking."
Jhamel looked at him. "We do not hurt her body except to keep her tied in
place. We restrict her movement. It is her mind that we do the most damage
to. We weaken her will. We break her spirit. We tell her lies instead of
truths." He shrugged. "We give her hope, then we crush it before her." He
waved his hands in the air. "She is already broken." He leaned against the
table and looked into Spike's eyes. "When we give her to you, her mind will
be completely gone. And you can do with her as you will."
Spike looked at him for a long time. Finally, he nodded his head. "I was
right about you. For a human..." he pointed at him, "you're a cold-hearted
bastard."
When the three terrorists had finally left, Dru wrapped her arms around
Spike's neck and moaned. "Oh, my luv...I'm so hungry." She closed her eyes
and danced seductively against him.
Dalton pretended to be busy looking elsewhere.
Spike held her with one arm around her. With his other hand, he snapped his
fingers at the three minions. "Get us some food. Now!" Then he pointed at
Dalton. "And you find a bloody hole to crawl into! Take your books, and
read! I don't want to see your bloody face until you have the ritual!"
Dalton took his books and ran off.
But the three minions were still there. They looked at each other
nervously.
"Why are you idiots still standing there?" Spike demanded. "Aren't you
supposed to be shopping?"
"But..." one of them dared to say, "it's daylight."
"Then keep to the shadows."
"But...we'll have to--"
Spike glared at them. "Go! Now!"
The three vampires took off at a run. Dru continued to dance against Spike
and as much as he was enjoying it...there was something else he had to
attend to. He guided Dru to her chair and he gently eased her back into it.
Dru wanted to protest. "But I want to dance, luv."
He took her hands in his as she sat back in the chair, clearly exhausted.
"You need to rest, baby." Spike looked at her with concern. "We'll dance
after you've had a snack. All right?" He kissed her hands. "Now be a good
girl and wait right here. Okay?"
"Okay, darling." She leaned back and closed her eyes.
Spike looked at her lovingly, and caressed her cheek. He turned to go when
she said softly, "He's coming...I saw him..."
Puzzled, Spike turned to look at Dru closely. "Who's coming, luv?"
"He who was but is no more...He who is, yet still not sure..." She trailed
off, and then appeared to be sleeping.
Spike frowned. "Luv...? Dru?" When there was no response, he turned and
suddenly leapt upwards. Within seconds, he was on the catwalk face to face
with Angel. "Heard enough?" he demanded.
Angel let out a sigh. "Get out of my way, Spike."
Spike pretended to be hurt. "Angel! You pierce my heart! I only wanted to
pick your brain about the meeting you just attended. There's really no need
to get defensive. This is my home, after all!"
"Spike, I don't have time for this."
Spike nodded his head. "Yes, you do. Where do you think you're going off
to anyway? Did you really think you were going to follow them in broad
daylight hoping they would lead you to Willow?" He laughed. "It's daylight
hours, sunshine. Wake up and smell the roses."
Angel frowned. But he realized that Spike was right. "Where is she,
Spike?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"Do you even know?"
Spike leaned against the railings, folded his arms across his chest and
sighed. "I'm afraid I don't know...But it's only a matter of time before
one of us finds out where they're keeping her." He regarded Angel
thoughtfully. "We could join forces and work together on this."
Angel looked at him suspiciously. "Join forces? You and me?"
He nodded. "And the Slayer, though I'd rather not."
Angel looked stunned. "Am I hearing you right, Spike? I just heard you
make new allies with terrorists!"
Spike shrugged. "They didn't know I was lying to them."
"Well, how do I know that you're not lying to me?"
Spike let out a weary sigh of frustration. "Oh, for pity's sake, Angel!
These mad terrorists want to nuke the whole damn town!! Do you really think
I want that? Of course, I don't! I happen to like my bloody humble home.
Yes, I want the Hellmouth open, but I don't believe for a moment that a
nuclear device will do the trick." He paused as he looked at Angel. "I'm
asking for a truce." He held out his hand.
Angel seemed to think about it. "What about Willow?"
Spike rolled his eyes. "Forget Willow. She's too thin for a snack anyway.
More like a crumb and you can't really get full on that, can you?"
"If you get to her, you won't harm her in any way?"
"You have my bleeding word." Spike hesitated, "You know my word is good.
Have I ever broken my word with you inspite of our differences?"
Angel shook his head. "I believe you, Spike. But you have to keep the
others from her, and you can't give her to Dru."
"She'll be safer with me than where she is right now." Spike let out a
sigh. "Angel, we have to stop these damn terrorists and I'm willing to do
everything in my power to do so." He held his hand out again. "Truce?"
Angel looked at Spike's hand...and then he shook it. "Truce."
They shook. But when this was over, Angel had to find out what this ritual
was that Dalton was looking into and...who was this person that Dru saw in a
vision?
"He who was but is no more...
He who is, yet still not sure."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
They ate their breakfast in silence.
Mulder had given up on talking any further about what had happened during
the night. He should have known that Scully would have seen something else.
He could only swear that the girl was extremely dense at times. What
would it take to convince her that the truth really was out there?
He sipped his coffee and watched the traffic below the second floor patio of
Motel 6. Scully was reading the paper.
"Mulder...listen to this." She read part of an article. "'Willow Rosenberg
disappeared from her home Thursday afternoon under bizarre circumstances.
Burglary was not suspected because the parents, Ire and Sheila Rosenberg
were only sedated and their daughter was apparently taken.'"
Mulder frowned. "What kind of journalists do they have in this town?
'Burglary not suspected'? Sounds like Willow Rosenberg was burglarized to
me."
"The address of the Rosenberg home is not far from here. I passed the
street they live on lastnight." She smiled teasingly at him. "Do you think
it was vampires?"
He shrugged. "Only if they were wrapped from head to toe with a dark drape
and wearing dark sunglasses. The afternoon when the disappearance occurred
is not a good time for them to come out." He paused in thought. "But there
has been some instances where some humans would do their bidding during the
day."
She frowned. "Why don't we just go and take a look? That would give me a
good excuse for me being here with you."
Mulder hid a grin. "What's the matter, Scully? You don't like my company?"
"No, Mulder...I don't. Did you take a shower? You stink." She got up to
go. "Are you coming?"
Mulder got up from the table. "Sure, but you're driving. I'd rather stink
up your rental than mine."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
|
Chapter 4
Mulder and Scully arrived at the Rosenberg Residence early that morning.
They rang the doorbell and the door was opened by a man in his late
thirty's.
Mulder and Scully flashed their badges.
"Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully with the FBI," Mulder said by way
of greeting. "Are you Ira Rosenberg?"
Barrington shook his head. "No. My name is Albert Barrington." He flashed
his own badge. "I'm also FBI, but no one has ever called me special."
Being in the FBI was only a cover for what he truly was. He worked for the
government, but the outfit he was in-codenamed the Hunters-was secretly
sanctioned. The Hunters was a strike force against acts of terrorism.
"What's so special about you two?"
Mulder and Scully looked at each other. Then they looked at Barrington and
saw that he was grinning at them. Mulder returned the grin, but the
red-haired lady was all business.
"You're working on the case of Willow Rosenberg's disappearance?" Scully
wanted to know, always going for the obvious.
Barrington looked at her. "How do you know Willow Rosenberg is missing?"
Mulder held up the paper and he showed him the article. There was even a
picture of Willow in the article. Barrington took the paper and scowled.
"How did the press get this?"
Mulder and Scully again looked at each other. "This was supposed to be kept
secret?" Mulder wanted to know.
Barrington let out a sigh. "C'mon in," he said, not answering the question.
The FBI agents followed Barrington in through the front door.
"Where are the Rosenberg's?" Scully asked.
"They're at a safehouse," Barrington responded. "They're out of danger and
we'd like to keep them that way."
The agents followed Barrington through the living room and the kitchen.
Eventually they wound up in Willow's room where Billy "Crazy Man" Fronk was
sitting at Willow's computer. Pieces of it was scattered about the room.
He had on a pair of headphones, a mouthpiece with a microphone, and there
was even a gadget over his left eye that made him look like the Borg. He
had three different keyboards and a toggle stick hooked up to the computer.
There was also a stack of papers on the floor at his feet.
Barrington waved at the man. "This is William Fronk, otherwise known as
Crazy Man." Hr turned to the Hunters computer expert. "Bill, I'd like to
introduce--"
Fronk cut him off with a cackle and he waved at the newcomers. "We-ell!!
I'll be a sonofabitch! Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully!" He let
out a Pop-eye laugh. "Well, shiver me timbers, and look outs be-loooooow!"
Suddenly, he switched to valley-dude mode. "Oh, sorry, ma-an,
but...uh...I'd really like to get up and like shake your hands and all, you
know, dude and dudette...but...uh...like I'm really kind of buried
underneath all this stuff right now...Bummer, huh? You know?"
Mulder and Scully looked at each other.
"How did you know who we were?" Scully demanded.
Fronk grinned and turned on his John Wayne. "Hell, pretty lady." He winked
at her. "Im what you would call a subscriber."
"To what?"
He laughed an evil laugh, playing the villain. "The Lone Gunmen, of
course." He leered at the two agents with his one visible eye. "Now I know
all your dirty little secrets, too. Nyay!"
Barrington saw the look that Scully shot at Mulder and he wished him well.
He tried to keep himself from grinning...too much.
"Mulder...did they write an article about us?" Scully demanded.
Mulder did the only thing he could think of in a circumstance like this one.
He completely ignored the question. "So, Crazy Man...you like the Lone
Gunmen subscription?"
Fronk nodded his head. "But I'm not the only one who likes them," he said
knowingly.
Mulder looked at Barrington. "You?"
Barrington shook his head. "No. Actually it looks like Willow has a
subscription as well." He indicated the stack of papers at Fronk's feet.
Mulder saw the magazines and flipped through them. "Interesting." He
looked at Fronk and knew that the man was some kind of genius with the
computer. "So...who exactly is this Willow Rosenberg, and why is she
missing?"
"We don't have all the answers yet," Barrington began, "but we do know that
Willow was kidnapped by terrorists from the Iranian Liberation Front. We
don't know why yet, except that these terrorists had tapped into her
computer."
"But you know that they have kidnapped her for certain?" Scully asked.
He nodded grimly. "I received a call from my partner just before you
arrived. One of Willow's friends had recieved a video tape this morning.
They viewed it in the school's library."
"What was on the tape?"
"An iterrogation."
Scully looked at him incredulous. "Are you saying that terrorists
interrogated a young girl and they recorded it?"
"What else was on the tape?" Mulder asked.
Barrington shrugged. "I don't know. My partners are bringing the tape with
them. They'll be here shortly. The school's not far from here."
Mulder paused in thought. He was thinking of the Hellmouth. "I wonder why
terrorists want to come here to Sunnydale, California."
Scully shot him a look.
Fronk tapped on Mulder's arm.
Mulder looked at him.
Fronk grinned. "Saaaaaaaay! Do ya think the Lone Gunmen would write an
article about me?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Stacy was amazed that Xander's hand was not damaged. There wasn't a scratch
or a bruise from when his fist had gone through the televion set. The VCR,
of course, was unharmed and Lenox extracted the video from it.
Buffy and Cordelia were almost in a state of shock. Giles himself was at a
total loss of words and Jenny was trying to offer some comfort. Lenox moved
to Giles office where he used the phone to call Barrington as Stacy made
certain that Xander was all right.
Xander was not all right. His cool demeanor was almost shaken to the core
and as Buffy watched him, she could recall another time when he had acted
this way. It was when she had returned with Xander from the Power Plant,
escaping from vampires with their lives intact. That day, both Willow and
Xander had lost a friend...Jesse.
"It's all my fault," Xander retorted angrily. "I should have gone with her
to her house after school. I should have..." He stopped. He looked over
and saw that Cordelia was watching him. He hadn't gone to Willow's house
after school because he had been in a closet with Cordelia, and they had
been into some serious kissing. He looked away. "I'm the one to blame."
Stacy shook her head and put her hands on his shoulder, trying to get him to
look at her. "No, Xander. No one is to blame for this except those who
were responsible in taking Willow away."
He looked at her. Then he shook his head. "Oh, God...I've been such a damn
fool."
"Hey, we will get her back."
He paused. He could see through the window into Giles office where Lenox
was talking onto the phone. Xander nodded his head toward him. "You think
he can really find Willow?"
Stacy nodded, looking toward her husband. "Yes."
Buffy and Cordelia got up from where they were and they joined them. Giles
and Jenny were close by and before any one knew it, a hug exchanging and
back patting had begun.
Xander regained some of his lost composure as he looked at Buffy and
Cordelia. "You know...Willow is very smart when it comes to computers." He
regarded Stacy. "Did you know that before your wedding, she wanted to make
certain that you were marrying the right guy."
Stacy looked at him. "Really? No. I didn't know that."
Buffy smiled wryly as she recalled. "Yeah, I remeber that. Super
Hacker-Girl hacked into some files and she went-a searching for anything she
could find about Michael Lenox. For at least four days, that's all she
would talk about! Then she found out that he was some kind of secret agent
sanctioned by the government."
Xander let out a chuckle. "Willow thought that word was cool. 'Sanction'."
Stacy tried not to look so alarmed. But the thought of Willow hacking into
files to learn about Lenox was distressing to her. It meant that she must
have gone into government files. Could that be...? Her thoughts trailed
off as Cordelia jumped into the conversation.
"You'll be happy to know,'" Cordelia began with a friendly smile, "that
Willow decided that Michael Lenox was good for you. After all, he was
fighting to save the world...just like Buffy!" She suddenly frowned when
both Xander and Buffy gave her warning looks. "What? It's what Willow
said!"
Stacy placed a reassuring hand on Buffy's arm. "It's okay, Buffy. We know
that you're the Slayer. We've known that since you've been here."
Buffy looked at her in surprise.
Giles cleared his throat. "Uhm...E-excuse me for just a...a moment, won't
you?" He waited as Stacy turned to look at him and he tried to gather his
thoughts. "You know...about the Slayer?"
"Yes, we do," Lenox responded as he re-entered the room with the video tape
in his hand. "We know a lot about Sunnydale and it's history. Not as much
as you know about it, but enough." Solemnly, he turned to regard Xander and
Buffy. "You guys are right. Willow is good with the computer...but there
are others out there who are better. Willow got careless."
Xander frowned. He was prepared to defend Willow at any cost. "What do you
mean, she was careless?"
Lenox glanced at his wife. "Willow broke into some files that she wasn't
supposed to. Government files. She went in and then when she backed out,
I'm sure she must have thought that she was covering her tracks.
Unfortunately, she left a trail that led right back to her. That's how the
terrorists discovered her. That's how they learned about Sunnydale." He
paused as he gathered his thoughts. Then he looked at Xander. "I heard you
out here blaming yourself. If you want to blame someone, Xander, don't
blame yourself. Blame me."
"You?"
"If there is blame to give, then I'm the one who's at fault. She went into
the net looking for information about me, and that's how they found her."
Silence filled the room.
"We have to find her," Buffy said. She was tired of talking about blame.
She wanted action.
Lenox nodded his head. "We will. But we need to work together."
"Wait a minute! You're actually going to let us help you?" Cordelia was
incredulous. "But...in all the movies, the agents always want to do it
themselves, and there's usually a big fight!"
"Well, our situation is somewhat unique," Giles pointed out. "For one,
Buffy fights vampires."
"And I fight terrorists," Lenox said. He looked at Buffy. "And they're
both out there waiting for us."
Buffy shrugged. "Oh, great. I get it! This is like a Marvel-Teamup.
Spider-Girl teams up with the Punisher to fight against Dr. Doom and
Morbius!"
Giles took off his glasses as he tried to gather his thoughts. "He's...he's
right, Buffy. You know plenty about vampires and demons...a-and such, but
you don't know a thing about terrorists. I must admit, I myself am at a
loss. They don't appear to even act with rational thought, and
yet...they're obviously rather clever. Almost too clever. The most
unpredictable enemy ever encountered."
"Yeah, well..." Xander began, thinking only of Willow, "I don't care how
unpredictable these bastards are. Willow shouldn't be in their clutches
alone. I have to go to her."
Buffy looked at him in alarm. "Xander, what...what are you saying?"
Xander turned to look at her. He suddenly realized that all eyes were upon
him. He decided that he couldn't let them know what he was thinking, that
he fully intended to give himself over to the terrorists at the first
opportunity so that Willow wouldn't be going through this ordeal alone. He
faked a smile and a shrug. "Nothing, Buffy. I'm just talking crazy talk
because I'm scared for Willow."
She shook her head and moved to stand in front of him, looking into his
eyes. "No, you're not, Xander! I know you better than you realize. You're
talking crazy talk because you're thinking about doing something crazy. You
can't do it! We can't lose you, too. I can't lose both of you!" Her lower
lip began to quiver. "I've thrown a desk at you before, dammit! Please
don't make me do it again."
Xander took a deep breath. "Stop saying that 'we can't lose you, too' bit.
We haven't lost Willow and we're not going to."
"If you go to them, they won't need her," she said softly. "Do you think
they'll let her go?"
Lenox nodded his head grimly. "Buffy's right, Xander. If you give yourself
up to them, they may kill Willow."
Xander shook his head in anger. "No, they wouldn't. I don't believe that
for a minute. They might use her against me, but they wouldn't kill her!"
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Why the hell are we talking about
this?! Isn't there something we should be doing? Like LOOKING FOR
WILLOW?!"
Giles turned to Lenox. "What is the plan?"
"I need to get this tape to Willow's house." Lenox let out a weary sigh as
he glanced with concern at Xander. "We'll watch it again and see if there's
anything in there that might indicate where the terrorists are holding
Willow. We'll also be able to identify the terrorists. We've seen some of
their faces so we might be able to get a profile on them if they're in the
FBI terrorist database."
Cordelia raised a hand as if she were in a class. "Oh...what do we do?"
Stacy glanced at Lenox. "We should all stay at Willow's house. Not one of
you should be alone. They may come after you."
"Let them come," Xander replied softly.
Buffy shot him a worried look. "Uhm...I have to run home," she said. "My
Mom is away on a business trip, but she might have called and left messages
for me. And I really have to check them." As if she had just thought of
the idea, she smiled brightly. "I know! Xander should come with me! We'll
go in, check for messages real quick...and then meet everybody back at
Willow's for a real Terrorist-Bashing Pre-Party!" She smiled at the others.
"Okay? All right with you guys?" She nodded quickly, and spoke again
before anyone could respond. "Good! Then that's settled." She grabbed
Xander's arm and began to guide him toward the door. "Let's go,
Xander-Man."
"Wait a minure..." Lenox stopped them. "Someone else should go with you."
Buffy shook her head. "No need for that. Really! I am the Slayer. I know
how to defend myself." Silently, she added,
Xander so butt out!>
Stacy moved toward them. "Why don't I drive you there?"
Buffy opened her mouth to respond.
Stacy seemed to understand why Buffy wanted to go alone with Xander. "I'll
take you to your house and wait in the car while you check for your mothers
messages."
"Oh..." Buffy shrugged. "Okay. Then...let's go."
Cordelia headed for them. "Hey! Wait for me!"
Buffy looked at her, but she didn't know how to tell Cordelia to bug off
without being polite about it. So the foursome left together. Lenox went
back to the Rosenberg Residence with Giles and Jenny.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
During the drive to Buffy's house, hardly a word was spoken at first. Stacy
understood what was going on through their minds. She could tell that
Xander and Cordelia had been having an "experimental" fling. There was or
had been something there between Xander and Buffy as well, she thought, only
Buffy clearly just wanted to be friends.
However, something was happening to Xander. Stacy had seen his face when he
watched the tape. Something happened within him as he had watched Willow's
confession of her feelings for him. It was as if he came to a realization
that was always there, but just under the surface. He was dealing with
emotions he had not wanted to face.
Xander was riding in the front seat with Stacy, and as she drove, she kept
watch of him with concern. "Xander...are you okay?"
Xander let out a sigh. He turned his head to glance in the back seat at
Buffy and Cordelia, who were also watching him with worry in their eyes. He
sat back, looked out the window, and took a deep breath. "No, Mrs. Lenox.
I am not okay. Nowhere near it." He threw his hands up dramatically.
"This is the worst day of my life." He shook his head. "And the worst
thing of it is...I can't get Willow out of my mind."
"Are you trying to get Willow out of your mind?"
"No...I'm not trying to get Willow out!" He suddenly felt a little choked
up. "I'm trying to block out those images on the tape." He looked out the
window. "Willow's my best friend. She's my...she's my girl. And I'm
scared...and a little messed up right now like I've never been so messed up
before."
Stacy glanced in the rearview mirror at the two quiet girls in the back
seat. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked Xander.
Xander glanced at her. "Do you work for the government, too...or are you
some kind of shrink?"
She favored him with a smile.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Well...it's like this. 'She likes him...but he
likes her...and she likes somebody else...you just can't win.'" He looked
at Stacy and shook his head. "The bottem line is that J. Giels is right.
Love stinks!"
"I'm sorry, Xander," Cordelia said softly from the back seat.
He spun around to face her, ready to chew her out even if she didn't really
deserve it, but he stopped short. He was surprised to find tears in
Cordelia's eyes. He couldn't remember ever seeing tears there before. She
did have a reputation for being an Ice Queen so this new image of her wasn't
something he was accustomed to.
Xander hesitated, "You have nothing to be sorry for, Cordy."
"I'm sorry about Willow, and everything we've done to hurt her,
and...and..." She shook her head. "I'm just sorry!"
Buffy put her arms around her and the next thing Xander knew, both girls
were crying. He didn't know what to do, so he reached back there with a
hand on Buffy's shoulder and a hand on Cordelia's shoulder and he shook them
gently. "Okay...enough of that! I don't know how much more of this I can
stand. I...I..." He sighed. "Aw, hell! I'll just spit it out...okay?"
Buffy and Cordelia looked at him.
He sighed heavily. "All right...Here goes. Buffy...I have always wanted to
go out with you since day one. From the first time I saw you...up until I
saw that tape. Besides, you do have Angel." He looked at Cordelia. "And
you! You are one heluva kisser, but...I think my feelings for you are from
my out-of-control hormones that simply refuse to behave every time I see a
pretty face and a curvy..." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Cordy. I know
we have something, but I don't think it's love. I--"
Cordelia shook her head and raised a hand toward him to shush him. "It's
okay. I know." She paused. "You know, Xander, you're just like every guy
out there."
He looked at her suspiciously. "Cordy...I'm not sure if that's a
compliment."
"It's the truth. You just don't get it, do you? You just don't know what
you have until it's been taken away from you. I use to watch the way you
and Willow acted whenever you were together, and I always thought that you
would have made the perfect couple."
Xander looked surprised. "You did?"
Buffy agreed. "So did I. You and Willow do make a nice couple."
"Why didn't you say something?"
"Xander, Willow was giving you every signal in the book! You were just so
blind to every one of those signals. You were too busy looking at other
things. Things you couldn't have!"
Stacy drove into Buffy's driveway. "The grass is always greener on the
other side," she commented.
Xander paused in thought. "Yeah...but when you get to the other side, you
discover that the grass is just turf and underneath is is nothing but dirt."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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|
Chapter 5
"So you are the Slayer's friend."
Willow was as far back into the corner of her cot as far as she could go.
Her wrists were still bound together with the rope at the headboard. She
was also still trapped in this nightmare without a ray of hope. Her friends
were nowhere nearby, her parents were not with her, and Xander was all she
could think about when she was not being tormented. She tried to keep
Xander deep in her thoughts because it helped to pass the time.
She was terrified that something was going to happen to her every time that
door opened. They never gave her a moment of rest. They were always
keeping her off balance. But no matter what they did to her, nothing
terrified her more than when the terrorist known as the Knife dropped by for
a visit.
Whenever he entered into her tiny cell, she could feel the presence of evil.
She wished that only the Speaker would see her for even though he was
mean, she didn't sense evil like she did with the Knife.
And here the Knife had decided to visit her once more, taunting her with
cruel words and waving his knife menacingly through the air. Sometimes, he
would come dangerously close to her with that knife.
Rueben Julius scowled at her as if he were disgusted. "You chase vampires
with the Slayer, do you? You like vampires. Is this true?" He shook his
head at her. "Look at you! You are just a scrap of food not even fit for
one single vampire! You are just a tiny morsel!" He tipped his head back
and roared, "Hah! What would a vampire want with the likes of you?!"
Willow didn't answer. She didn't dare. She had decided that it would be
safer to answer only when he made it clear that he wanted her to respond.
So these questions he was throwing at her were only rhetorical ones, not
truly meant for answering...At least she hoped that was the case.
Julius glared at her thoughtfully for a long time.
Willow hated when he did that. It made her feel like he could see her
innermost thoughts. That everything about her was being revealed to him.
She felt so small and yet there was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
Finally, he spoke again. "If I were a vampire, I know what I would do with
you." He leaned menacingly over her, glaring into her face. "I would put a
leash around your throat and keep you as a pet!"
Willow flinched, new tears rolling down her cheeks.
But Julius was down with his tirade...for the moment. He abruptly spun on
his heel and left her alone to cry in her despair.
She put her face in her hands and did the only thing that was left to do.
She had only one option.
She prayed. "Please...help me...I'm so scared...so alone...please..." She
closed her eyes and prayed silently.
Jeremiah was suddenly there beside her. He put his hand on her head and
said softly, "Rest, child. Sleep."
Since her captivity, which was nineteen hours ago, she had not been able to
sleep. They wouldn't let her. But suddenly, she fell into a deep, restful
sleep.
And Willow dreamed...
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
{Willow was lying on the grass beneath a bright, blue sky. She looked
around her and she smiled. She was free. She looked happily at her wrists
which were no longer bound by ropes. There was no musty, old, filthy cot
for her to lie on. There were no terrorists.
But there was a man.
She looked up at him and decided that whoever he was, he looked just like
Christopher Walken. "Hello."
The man smiled down at her. "Hello, Willow."
"Who are you? Did...did you free me from the terrorists?"
"I am an angel of the Lord of Hosts, Willow. I have been sent to protect
you." He smiled warmly. "You can call me Jeremiah. As for freeing you
from your enemies...I am afraid that I did not. I brought you here to
rest."
Willow looked sad for a moment as she realized that she must be dreaming.
"Oh...Well...it is nice here. I-I like it better than my old cell." She
regarded Jeremiah. She rose to her feet and still, she had to tilt her head
to look up at him. "Well...you're really tall for Cristopher Walken. You
must be an angel. Uh...are you a real angel?"
"I am."
"You don't have any wings," she pointed out.
"I am revealed to you as your mind percieves me."
She looked at him. Then she giggled. "I saw Prophecy with Xander! That
must be why I see you as...!" she trailed off as she realized something.
"Uh...He was a bad angel in that movie. Um...you're not...?"
Jeremiah smiled reassuringly at her. "I am not a bad angel. Truthfully,
Willow, a bad angel is nothing more than a demon."
She regarded him once more, thinking to herself about her situation. "Why
am I here in this dream, Jeremiah? Are you supposed to show me something?"
"Perhaps you will show something to yourself."
She began to think about Xander and Julius threat about what he intended to
do to him. She had to talk about what it was doing to her inside.
"Jeremiah...I'm afraid."
Jeremiah misunderstood her fear. "Willow, you must have faith. Faith is
the only thing that will save you. Without it, you will not be able to
stand against what you will face."
"I-I don't care about what I will face!" she exclaimed. "I'm afraid that
X-Xander will do something crazy, Jeremiah! If...if he tries to find me,
they'll hurt him." There were tears in her eyes. "The Knife will kill him.
Please...please don't let that happen!"
"Willow, I am amazed at you. I thought you were afraid for yourself, but
your love is clearly strong for Xander." He smiled at her warmly. "You
truly do love him, don't you?"
She nodded. "I do."
"Do you think he loves you?"
She looked up at the blue sky and focused her thoughts on Xander. "I-I
don't know," she said quietly, in hushed tones. "I mean, he-he likes me..."
She trailed off. She remembered what Julius had said about making Xander
confess that he felt nothing for her. "I just don't want him to hate me."
"Willow...look out there..." He pointed. "What do you see?"
Willow looked off in the distance and she thought she could see a tower of
some kind. Then her eyes widened. "I...I know that tower..." Suddenly,
she took off at a run and ran through a meadow. The meadow eventually
stopped and she found herself on top of a cliff that overlooked a quarry. A
huge, metallic frame structure formed a tower in the center of the quarry.
Looking down into the quarry, Willow saw an amazing site. A little girl was
running as fast as her legs would allow her toward that huge tower.
Her breath caught in her throat, and Willow gasped.
"What is it, Willow?" Jeremiah asked her. He was standing beside her.
She pointed excitedly. "Th-that...that girl down there! Uh-th-that's me!
Me, Jeremiah, when I was seven years old!"
"Where are you going?"
The memory of that day flooded into her mind and she stared at the running
girl below. "I-I was going into the tower to be rescued by the knight from
the evil dragon." She paused as she realized..."We've been here before..."
And there behind the running girl, but a bit further away, was a running
boy.
"Willow!!" the boy called. "Stop running!!"
From the cliff, Willow stared. It was Xander.
Again, Willow began to point and wave excitedly. "That-that-that's Xander!"
She looked at Jeremiah and it seemed that she couldn't stand still for the
excitement she felt. "It's Xander, Jeremiah!!" She looked down into the
quarry. "Xander...Xander!" she called.
Jeremiah shook his head. "They cannot hear you, Willow."
Willow looked at him. "Oh...They can't?"
He shook his head again.
"Oh..." She thought about that. "It's because this is a dream...right?"
"Yes...and no."
She tilted her head and looked puzzled. "You're beginning to sound like a
certain librarian. Giles can get pretty confusing at times."
Jeremiah smiled. "This is a dream, yes. But what you are seeing here is
also a memory."
Willow looked down once again and was just in time to watch herself as a
child of seven begin to climb the tower.
"You said that you wanted to climb the tower to be rescued by a
knight...from a dragon?" Jeremiah watcher her with a bemused smile.
"Oh...well...uh...not a real real dragon," Willow replied, looking slightly
embarrassed. "Uh...you know, from a pretend dragon. And Xander...well, he
was my pretend knight." She looked down as the child Willow was already
high into the tower and the child Xander was standing nervously at the
bottem of the steps. He was quite hesitant.
Jeremiah glanced at Willow. "The young girl seems to have no fear about
climbing on such a dangerous, unstable structure."
She nodded in agreement. "I wanted to see Sunnydale from the top. But,
Xander...he was afraid of heights."
"But he followed you up, didn't he?"
She nodded again, just as the boy below mustered his courage and began the
long climb. "I-I did'nt know that he was afraid. I found out years later
that he only went up because..." Tears welled in her eyes.
"Because...?" Jeremiah gently prodded.
She looked at him. "Because he didn't want me to go alone." She returned
her attention to the tower, and she saw the child Willow step onto a
makeshift catwalk. The rotting wood burst apart beneath her feet and she
fell through, screaming. Somehow, the little girl managed to grab at the
metal edge and she hung on for dear life.
"Xander!! Xander!!" the girl screamed.
Willow was rooted to the spot. She couldn't move. She could hardly
breathe. Her eyes were fixed on the scene. The child Xander seemed to have
immediately overcome his fear of heights and he shouted, "Hold on!" He
climbed as fast as he could.
The child Willow's fingers were bleeding. The metal she had a grip on was
sharp. She was starting to slip. "Help!! Help!! Help!!" Just as her
fingers slipped free, Xander dove onto the very edge and grabbed her
outstretched hand. He pulled her to safety and for the longest time, he
held her trembling body close to his, stroking her hair.
"I won't let you go, Willow," the boy said softly to her. "I promise
you...I will never let you go."
Willow felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. And then she realized
something...She realized what Jeremiah was doing. She turned to look at
him. "We've been here before...And he did save me then...Xander did save my
life."
Jeremiah nodded. "And now...?"
She stared down at the quarry and immediatley saw the change. The children
of Xander and Willow were gone. In their place, she saw two black vans with
men hanging around them. She saw Jhamel, the Speaker shouting out orders.
She looked at the tower. She had the strangest impression that where her
life had once been saved was now going to be where her life would end.
She fell on her knees. "Oh, Xander...I-I miss you so much."}
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
The dream was over.
Her faith, just when it had begun was now put to the test.
Willow opened her eyes only to find Julius screaming at her in his language,
and roughly shaking her awake. She cried out and when he was satisfied that
he had her full attention, he showed her his knife.
It was stained with blood.
"Do you know what this is?" he demanded. "Tell me!!"
She swallowed nervously, although her mouth and throat were so dry.
"B-blood."
Julius nodded his head once. "Yes! It is blood." He leaned closer to her,
glaring into her eyes. "But now the question is...who's blood is it?" He
studied her closely.
Willow kept eye contact with him. She dared not risk looking away. But how
was she to know who's blood was on that knife...She saw him begin to grin,
and it was an evil grin. That's when she recalled the threat he had
initiated earlier about...
"No..." It came out as a hoarse whisper.
Julius looked at her. "What did you say, girl?"
The tears began to blur her vision. "No," she said, more forcefully for she
felt constricted in her breathing. "Please...don't do this..."
He stepped back. Then without warning, he grabbed her leg and pulled her
leg out straight. He wiped the blood on her pant leg and moved back. "You
can wear his blood," he snarled. "Call it his last parting gift to you."
"X-Xander...?"
"Xander." Julius tossed his head back and laughed. He was still laughing
as he left her cell.
Willow fell back into her corner in shock. Then she screamed out Xander's
name and wept bitterly.
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
|
|
Chapter 6
Cordelia decided to stay in the car with Stacy as Xander and Buffy went into
Buffy's house. Once they were inside and alone, Buffy closed the door and
immediately turned to Xander.
"I need to know that you're okay, Xander!" she exclaimed in a rush. "I know
you! I have to know you're not going to do anything stupid like try to go
after Willow on your own."
"Buffy..." Xander began calmly, "I came here with you, didn't I? I could
have ducked out on everybody back at the school." He paused. "But I
realize that I won't be any good to Willow if I do something...Oh, I don't
know...Xanderish!"
Buffy looked at him suspiciously. "Then you aren't going to do anything
stupid or crazy? You're okay?"
"I'm not going to do anything stupid or crazy." He looked at her and a
serious expression crossed his face. "But I won't tell you that I'm okay
when I'm not. I will never be okay until Willow is by my side again." As
he spoke, he seemed to realize that what he was saying was something he
should have been saying long before now. "...Where she belongs. And I
belong..." He let out a sigh. "Why do things like this take such a long
time for me to grasp?" Suddenly, he stood up straight and wiped at his eyes
in astonishment. "Hey, what...what is this? I'm...I'm crying?" He looked
at Buffy and tried to stop himself. "No! I won't...I can't...THERE'S NO
CRYING IN XANDER LAND!!"
Buffy threw her arms around her friend and hugged him. Xander returned the
hug, and together they cried. When they finally managed to stop, they
backed off and nervously tried to regain their composure.
Xander let out a chuckle.
Buffy looked at him curiously. "What?"
"You know...that's the first time I hugged you without thinking about being
in a closet or a storage shed with you."
Buffy looked at him blankly. "What?" she repeated.
"Nothing. Forget I ever said that."
She nodded. "Okay. I will." She shrugged and said, "Well, let me check
the phone messages and if my Mom called, i'll have to call her back."
Xander hesitated, "Are you going to tell her about..."
Buffy shook her head. "No. I can't."
"Buffy, your Mom is going to find out sooner or later."
She made a face. "Later...I think. I can't tell her now."
Xander leaned against the kitchen counter and regarded Buffy for a moment.
She remained still because she had the sudden impression that he had
something to say.
"Buffy," he began casually, "Willow and I grew up since we were toddlers.
We went to the same church, the same grade school...We did everything
together."
Buffy nodded encouragingly. "I know," she said softly.
"Did Willow ever mention to you about the time I saved her life?"
She shook her head. "No." She paused. "Well, sometimes she refers to you
as her hero or her knight in shining armor, but...I took that as she likes
you more than you thought she did and she wanted you to wake up. And be her
white knight for real." She regarded him. "How did you save Willow's life,
Xander?"
"We climbed up this old rickety tower when we were just kids. At the time,
she didn't know it but I was afraid of heights." He smiled fondly at the
memeory. "I'm not now. At least I don't think I am. I have Willow to
thank for that. But...up on that tower, she fell and I caught her. I kept
her from falling and for the longest time, we just stayed up there." He was
caught in the memory. "We were just kids. We had no idea about the birds
and the bees, so we were just so happy and content to be holding each other.
Like best friends...Do you know something?" He smiled. "That was the
happiest day of my life, just being able to hold her and know that she was
safe...that she was still with me. And...I think she saved me that day from
myself."
Buffy paused to think about what he had just told her. "Do you know what I
think you should do when we get Willow back?"
He didn't answer, but he waited for her to continue.
"You should grab a hold of her, hug her tightly to you, and never let her
go."
Xander nodded thoughtfully. "I will, Buffy."
"Now just give me a minute or two. If I do have to call my Mom, I'll be a
bit longer."
He shrugged. "I'll wait."
Buffy nodded. Then she disappeared into the other room.
Xander looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep breath. He was thinking
of Willow and trying to guess where she could possibly be. Unfortunately,
he had no idea where the terrorists had taken her.
He brought down his head and was looking into the living room where he could
see the sofa, the lounge chair and tha coffee table. He couldn't believe
his eyes. There on the coffee table was another video.
Shivers actually ran up and down his spine as he moved into the living room
and picked up the tape. He thought about calling out to Buffy but then he
thought he heard her talking on the phone upstairs. So he looked at the
tape in his hand, and then he looked at the television set against the wall.
The VCR was beneath it on a shelf.
He hesitated, but gathering up his courage, he turned on the TV and the VCR
and he popped in the tape.
Kneeling in front of the TV, he prayed that God would give him the strength
not to hurl his fist through Buffy's television set.
He picked up the remote, grabbed a chair and pulled it right up close to the
TV. He sat in it, leaned forward, and pushed play on the remote.
There was a terrorist glaring at him from the screen, but it wasn't the one
who called himself the Speaker. It was the one who enjoyed tormenting
Willow with taunts and his knife.
*"Infidels of Satan!!" the terrorist screamed, his veins literally bulging
in his neck. "I will remind you of what your friend is facing only because
you are too cowardly to bring yourself to her aid! Make no mistake! I, the
Knife, will kill her myself, and I will do it slowly!"*
The scene switched to Willow in her prison, huddled in the corner on her bed
as the noise bombarded her from outside her cell. Then the Knife entered
after the noise had stopped and told her what he would do to her if he had
been a vampire. Xander almost put his fist through the TV right then and
there but he managed to stop himself.
Then a strange thing happened.
It got quiet in the cell.
He stared at Willow intently because he couldn't be sure if she were
sleeping or dead. He brought his hand up to the screen and touched the
image of Willow.
"Willow..." he said softly.
As if in response, Willow said just as softly, *"Xander..."*
Xander blinked and jerked back. He stared at the image on the screen, but
Willow's eyes were closed. Maybe she was sleeping...and she was talking in
her sleep. He smiled warmly. "She's dreaming about me." He kept watching.
"Willow..."
He waited.
*"Xander..."*
The chills in his spine were back, but he felt daring now. True it probably
wasn't going to work. Who was he kidding? He knew it wouldn't work...But
he was going crazy. He touched the screen again, watching his girl
intently. "Willow...please...I want to help you so badly...Tell me, Willow.
Where are you?"
Murmuring in her sleep, Willow responded. *"I-I was going into the tower to
be rescued by the knight from the evil dragon."*
Xander did a double take. "What?!"
*"We've been here before..."
Xander rose to his feet and stared. This was not possible, but it all came
to him. The tower. The quarry. His eyes widened. The quarry!! "That's
it!" he exclaimed. "I know where Willow is! I have to tell the others!
I--"
That's when his eyes were drawn to the new scene on the screen. The Knife
stormed in and shook Willow out of her sleep. He showed her his knife that
he held in his hand, and it clearly had blood on it.
*"B-blood."*
*"Yes! It is blood. But now the question is...who's blood is it?"*
A look of understanding and fear crossed Willow's face. New tears began to
form. *"No..."*
*"What did you say, girl?"*
"You bastard!" Xander retorted under his breath, clenching his fists in
anger.
*"No...please...don't do this..."*
Xander himself flinched when he saw the terrorist wipe the blood on Willow's
pant leg. *"You can wear his blood. Call it his last parting gift to
you."*
The Knife left the room roaring in laughter and Willow cried out Xander's
name.
It was too much for him...and it was the last straw.
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
"Sorry I took so long," Buffy said as she entered the kitchen. "My Mom just
loves to get chatty on the..." She stopped when she realized that no one
was in the kitchen. "Xander?"
She stepped into the living room and there was no sign of him anywhere. The
television set was on, however, and the screen displayed snow. Not real
snow, but the screen showed black and white scribbles, and there was the
sound of static coming from the TV. Buffy did not believe that this was a
good sign.
She picked up the remote and rewound the tape. She stopped and played it at
a scene where the Knife had convinced Willow that he had killed Xander.
Buffy choked up and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn't help
it. The terrorists had Willow, and now Xander was gone.
"I've lost them both."
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
|
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Chapter 7
Barrington, Mulder, Scully, and Fronk had watched the tape that Buffy had
found early that morning. It was the tape the others had already viewed at
the library. For those who had watched it once, they-Giles, Jenny, and
Lenox-watched it a second time and it was not any easier to watch than
before. In fact, it was harder. But it was necessary. They were trying to
look for clues as to where the tape was recorded.
"My God, that poor child!" Scully finally managed to exclaimed after she
witnessed what Willow was made to suffer through.
"The 'child's' name is Willow," Giles retorted, somewhat defensively. For
some reason he couldn't explain, he had found Scully's comment distasteful.
"A-and it has been my experience to-to be able to watch Willow grow as a
most resourceful member of...of the Slayerette's, as she calls us. I
strongly believe that she will come out of this in one piece..." He
suddenly frowned. "I-I just don't know how this is going to be accomplished
exactly."
Jenny put her hand on his back reassuringly. Giles wasn't good at
expressing his true feelings for those he cared about, unless there was
extreme pressure put upon him. It was evidently clear that he was afraid
for Willow. They all were.
"That has to be some kind of factory," Barrington replied as he had the tape
paused at the scene where two terrorists were banging on large barrels.
"Look at those drums. They seem old and rusted through in spots."
Fronk rose an eyebrow, imitating Spock. "Fascinating!"
Mulder shrugged his shoulders. "Factories make great hiding places if
you're looking for a place to hide. I saw three of them on my way into
town. One of them seemed occupied, but the other two looked barren."
"Then we should check those other two factories out," Lenox replied. He
turned to Giles. "Are there any other factories around Sunnydale?"
Giles glanced at Jenny, thinking about the layout of the town in his mind.
He could recall all of the displays and schematics that amazing Willow was
able to get onto the computer, and they had always been extremely detailed.
"I-I believe the three factories that Agent Mulder refers to are right at
the borders of Sunnydale. Er, one of them indeed is occupied and there are
quite a bit of Sunnydalers that have jobs there. We can definitely count
that one out. The other two are somewhat empty, however, one of them is
presently occupied by...shall we say troublesome people." He shook his
head. "Trust me, we do not want to disturb them." He didn't want to
mention vampires because he didn't want to discuss that particular topic
with Mulder and Scully.
Mulder regarded him. "There shouldn't be one stone unturned."
"Well...a gang of a sort has moved in and-and taken up residence there since
the beginning of the year, Mr. Mulder. They have made it very clear that
they do not want any visitors." He was thinking of Spike and Druscilla, and
any of their minions that now resided there at the old factory.
Scully glanced at Mulder. "What about the third factory?"
"That might actually be our best place to begin our search. However, I must
point out that on the other side of town there is an old abandoned quarry.
It is approximately five miles, perhaps more, out of town. It has been
deserted for twenty years or so."
"Why is that?" Barrington asked.
"Well...er, there had been some kind of explosion and...and a poisonous gas
had spread throughout the quarry. The gas had been so deadly that it had
actually killed most of the workers almost instantaneously." He looked at
Barrington. "It has been condemned since then, and certainly by now, it is
most unsafe. I-I find it highly unlikely that the terrorists would be
there."
Lenox opened his mouth to say something, but the door opened and in walked
Buffy, Cordelia, and Stacy. They were agitated.
And Xander was not with them.
"He's gone!" Buffy exclaimed. "H-he must have left when he saw this!" She
held up another tape.
Barrington took it and he switched tapes with the VCR.
"I was talking with my Mom on the phone, and Xander must have been watching
that tape! When I returned to get him, the television was on, but he was
gone." Buffy turned to Giles with worry in her eyes. "I just knew he was
going to do something stupid! Giles, he's going to get himself killed!"
"Buffy, we will go after him," Giles said reassuringly.
Cordelia looked at Mulder and Scully with a puzzled look. She also took in
Barrington and Fronk. "Hey...who are these guys? The A-Team?"
Lenox introduced his partners, and Barrington introduced Mulder and Scully.
Buffy leaned close to Giles and pointed at Mulder and Scully. "Do they know
about...?" she trailed off and looked at the Watcher questioningly.
Giles shook his head. "No, Buffy. Of course not."
But Mulder moved toward them with a knowing grin. "Actually, Giles, I do
know. Only at first, I was thinking that it was Willow because they
kidnapped her." He looked at Buffy closely. "But you're the one they
want."
Buffy tried to look blank. "Me? Why would you think that the terrorists
would want me?"
Mulder grinned. "It's on the tape, Buffy. But even if it wasn't, I could
figure it out." He paused for affect. "You're the Slayer, aren't you?"
Buffy's mouth dropped open.
Scully shook her head and raised her arms in supplication. "Mulder..."
Mulder ignored her. He kept his attention focused on Buffy. "'Into each
generation a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. One
born with the strength and skill to fight the vampires-'"
Scully tossed up her hands. "Not the vampires again, Mulder!"
"'-to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers.'"
Buffy regarded Mulder for a moment, and then she turned to Giles. "Can't
secrets still be secrets any more? W-was I-I on Oprah sleep walking or
something, because how is it that I keep running into people who know who I
am?"
"Don't take him seriously," Scully told Buffy. "Agent Mulder has a lot of
theories. I don't know why he believes that you're some kind of vampire
hunter, but it's clear to me that this isn't about vampires." She looked
sternly at Mulder. "It's about terrorists."
Mulder nodded. "I agree with that, Scully. But somehow, these terrorists
have discovered what Buffy is and they've also discovered that the Hellmouth
is real. Don't you see? They want to open the Hellmouth and destroy the
world!"
"Mulder! We don't have time for this! There is an innocent child out there
suffering at the hands of terrorists!"
Giles frowned. "That 'child' has a name."
The agents either ignored him or they didn't hear him so intent were they on
each other.
"No, we don't have time," Mulder snapped back at Scully. "And just once,
I'd like for you to put away your damn science and your close-minded
disbelief and open up your eyes." He pointed at Buffy. "For every vampire
in this world, there is a Slayer. There is a Slayer Code, Scully. Do you
want to hear it?"
"No!" Scully exclaimed.
"Too bad. That code is this...Destroy all vampires with the obligatory aid
of super strength, fighting ability and an acute and intense gift of timing.
Think of it as being bitten by a radioactive spider minus the leotard."
Scully shook her head. "Mulder--"
"It's not only vampires, Scully, that a Slayer has chosen the responsibility
to annihilate. They also have to time-out demons, monsters and just about
every other kind of nasty that can come to mind. And when a Slayer times a
monster out, it doesn't involve making them stand in a corner. Usually the
end result is a heinously bloody slaughter, sometimes accompanied by one of
today's hottest bands." He looked at Buffy. "Am I right?"
"Uh..." Buffy shrugged. "Yeah...I guess."
Mulder fixed his gaze on Scully. "With the aid of a Watcher--who I am
certain is Mr. Giles who trains and looks out for Buffy--these superhuman
do-gooders have been mostly known to lurk in the shadows alone, following
their prey...the blood-sucking undead."
Scully rolled her eyes. "Mulder...enough already. That little girl--"
"Wait, Scully, there's more." He turned to look at Buffy. "Because as you
can imagine," he said to Scully, "these heroes have an unhealthy expiration
date...most don't live to see past 20."
Buffy let out a sigh. "Thanks for that little tidbit. That was something I
really DIDN'T want to hear."
"Sorry."
Scully was disgusted. "Mulder...sometimes you are just too much."
Mulder shrugged. "Maybe for you, I am too much, Scully. But I do have one
more thing to say to you."
"What's that, Mulder?"
"The 'child's' name is Willow." He let out a sigh. "Why don't we look at
the other tape now? Maybe there will be something on it to help us find
Willow."
Giles suddenly had a thought. "Wait a moment! This new tape..." He looked
at Buffy. "You say that Xander watched it?"
She nodded. "Why?"
"P-perhaps Xander saw something on it that may have suggested to him where
the terrorists were holding Willow." He looked at Stacy, Cordelia, and
Buffy. "Did any of you watch this tape?"
Barrington had the tape playing on the VCR and the Knife was beginning his
tirade.
Stacy nodded once. "We saw it."
Giles looked at Buffy. "Think, Buffy. Was there anything you saw that
might have prompted Xander to leave?"
Buffy was frustrated. "God! I...I don't know, Giles! All I saw was Willow
and that terrorist!" She sighed as she tried to think about the tape.
"It-it was almost like watching the first one."
"Except in this tape, Willow actually looked like she was sleeping,"
Cordelia replied. "She was even talking in her sleep."
Everyone looked at her.
Stacy nodded her head. "Yes. That's right. Willow was talking in her
sleep."
"What was she saying?" Mulder asked.
"She was repeating Xander's name..." Stacy looked at Buffy and Cordelia as
if to receive confirmation. "And she said something about a dragon."
Jenny frowned. "A dragon?"
"What could Willow have meant by that?" Giles asked, deep in thought.
Stacy shrugged. "I don't know."
"Well," Cordelia began, "I just think Willow was having a nice dream because
she was talking in her sleep about being rescued from a dragon by a knight."
She paused in thought. "I think there was something about a tower."
Buffy froze. "Oh, God! Xander told me something about a tower. There was
a tower that he and Willow had climbed on when they were kids!"
Lenox turned to Giles. He had been listening in on them. "What about it,
Giles? Does any one of those factories we've already discussed have a tower
of some kind?"
Giles shook his head. "No, Mr' Lenox...they do not." He took off his
glasses and looked at Lenox with fierce determination. "But the quarry
does."
XWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXW
Willow had decided that she had had enough suffering.
Xander's death had been the last straw.
She withdrew deep within herself, so far, in fact that she did not even hear
any of the loud racket that her enemies continued to cause. She closed her
eyes and thought of Xander, knowing that he was surely in heaven and that he
was waiting for her.
The door to her cell slammed open and in walked both Jhamel and Julius.
Jhamel had a tray with a bottle of water and a few pieces of stale bread.
He put it down onto the bed beside her.
"You must eat," he ordered. "Drink."
She did so, but automatically. They watched her until the bread was gone
and the water as well. When she was done, she looked helplessly at the
floor. "I...I have to go."
Julius scowled at her. "You are not going anywhere!"
Jhamel looked at him. "She means she has to use the toilet, Rueben." He
untied the rope from the headboard, but he kept her wrists bound together.
He tugged on the rope and she followed them out of her cell.
She was led to a small bathroom which was across a huge open area. There
were three terrorists spreading out weapons on a table, but she barely
noticed. Once in the bathroom, they closed the door and left her alone.
However, they had given her orders not to lock the door.
She looked around the bathroom.
There was a toilet, a sink, and a mirror. But that was all. There was
nothing she could use to take her own life. If she attempted to break the
mirror, they would be in to stop her in seconds. She bowed her head and
cried softly for a moment...and when she raised her head, she saw something
behind the toilet. It was a hole in the wall...and it was just big enough
for her to crawl into.
XWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXW
"OPEN THE DOOR!!" Julius demanded angrily.
From the table of weaponry, Jhamel turned his head to look at his right hand
man, expecting the girl to immediatley obey. After all, to disobey would
only incur his wrath. Surely she did not want that.
But the door did not open.
Furius, Julius swung the door open and he stormed in. Willow, however, was
nowhere in sight. Julius scowled as he looked around in confusion. Then he
looked at the toilet. He was standing there, looking into it when Jhamel
entered.
"Where is she?" he demanded.
Julius did not answer. Because in his rage, he wrapped his arms around the
base of the toilet and he tore it loose from the floor. He then flung the
toilet from it where it hit the wall, breaking the mirror, and then it
crashed to the floor. Having tossed the toilet aside, Julius glared at the
small hole in the corner where it had been behind the toilet. Two other
terrorists came in behind Jhamel as Julius tore at the wall near the hole.
Suddenly, he broke through the wall and stepped out into the sunlight. He
was just outside the warehouse now and he looked furiously around the
quarry...until he saw Willow.
The girl was climbing up the tower and she was already more than half way up
it.
Jhamel saw this and he called an alarm. He barked out orders to his men.
Soon, nine terrorists were gathered around at the bottem of the tower, and
one of them was about to climb it. Jhamel cursed himself, knowing that the
man would never reach her in time.
She was at the very top, standing precariously at the ledge.
The wind caused her hair to sway about her face, and for one precious
moment, she enjoyed the caress of the wind as she resolved in her mind what
she was about to do. She was going to be with him and no one was going to
stop her.
"Xander..." she whispered. She closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her
cheek. "I love you so much."
"WILLOW!!"
Willow opened her eyes. Far below, she saw a boy running toward the tower.
She blinked. No...not a boy. A young hero!
"X-Xander?" she whispered.
Xander ran as fast as he could and he carried with him a very big stick.
Julius got right in his path fully believing that he would intimidate the
foolish hero-wanna-be. He was wrong. Like a baseball bat, Xander swung and
connected the stick to Julius' head. The terrorist staggered and fell to
one knee.
Xander stopped in front of him. "This one's for Willow, you
son-of-a-bitch!"
Xander hit him again and the stick broke as Julius fell. Xander dropped the
remains of the stick and ran past the terrorist. As he began to make the
climb up the tower, Julius whipped out his knife and got to his feet. His
face was red with rage as he began to give chase.
"Rueben!" Jhamel shouted. "Stop!!"
Julius did, but he was not happy with the order. He glared at Jhamel.
Jhamel approached him. "Let him get to the girl and when he brings her
down, you may hurt him." He held up a warning finger. "But we need them
both alive."
Julius glared up at the tower.
On the precarious ledge, Willow's eyes were fixed on Xander. She still
couldn't make up her mind if this was a dream or if it was a twisted trick
the terrorists were playing on her...or if it truly were Xander. Xander
made it to the ledge and he grabbed her and pulled her close to him.
"X-Xander...?" Willow raised her bound hands to touch his face. Her eyes
looked into his, her eyes looked at his mouth, his chin...his face. "Oh,
p-please tell me...I-is it really you?"
Xander nodded his head as he held her to him. "Yes, Willow. It's really
me." He looked into her eyes. "He didn't kill me. That blood was...it was
probably blood from a rat or something, Will...But it wasn't mine."
"You-you're alive..." She put her head on his shoulder and cried.
He hugged her tight. "I won't let you go, Willow. I promise you...I will
never let you go."
"XANDER!!" Jhamel shouted from below. "YOU WILL BRING HER DOWN NOW! OR WE
WILL COME UP AND GET YOU BOTH!"
Xander glared down at the terrorists. Where else could they possibly go but
down? They had no choice. They had to climb back down into the waiting
hands of the enemy.
Suddenly, his eyes spotted something. Below, standing next to what appeared
to be a boarded-up hole in the ground was a man. For some reason he
couldn't explain, Xander knew that the man wasn't a terrorist. Actually,
the man looked a lot like Christopher Walken...Xander frowned. Xander then
noticed that there was a rope hanging above the boarded-up hole and that
rope went all the way up to the top of the tower, hanging from a pulley.
Xander looked toward the hole again, but the man was no longer there.
"No way," he said to himself as a crazy idea struck him.
He looked down at the terrorists. "WE'RE COMING DOWN!" he shouted. Then he
took Willow's face in his hands. "Willow...I'm taking you away from
here...at least I hope this works. But no matter what we do in the next
minute or so, you have to trust me."
She looked into his eyes. "I trust you, Xander. I-Im okay...as long as I'm
with you."
He took her arms and made her loop them around his head. He promised to
untie them as soon as he could. "You just hang onto me," he told her.
She nodded.
"Willow..."
She looked at him. "W-what, Xander?"
He paused. "Trust me...you might want to close your eyes for this."
"Okay..." She closed her eyes.
Xander picked her up and then he leapt from the ledge. Below, the
terrorists watched in complete astonishment. Jhamel's mouth dropped open.
Xander grabbed the rope and like a rocket, he and Willow were falling fast.
The fell through the boards that had covered the hole in the ground and they
disappeared from sight.
Julius roared in anger. Then before anyone could stop him, he ran for the
hole and dove in after Xander and Willow, his prey. He intended to make
certain they never left that hole alive.
XWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXWXW
|
|
Chapter 8
The Hunters were on the move. Lenox, Barrington, and Stacy were on their
way to the Sunnydale Airport with Buffy Summers accompanying them. A
helecoptor was there waiting for them. The Hunters pilots, Keith "Ace"
LeBeau and Kevin "Birdman" Vogel were preparing the chopper for flight as
they arrived.
Mulder, Scully, and Giles were riding in Scully's rental. Mulder had
suggested to the Hunters that he, Scully, and Giles could provide a
distraction for the terrorists which could help the Hunters make their move.
Jenny and Cordelia stayed at the Rosenberg home with Fronk, who was pulling
up vital information from the bowels of the computer. Jenny was watching
the second tape...and she realized that there was something on it that every
one else had missed. What became apparent to her was that the terrorist who
had made the recording abruptly ended the tape. A series of snow and static
commenced, but as Jenny went to stop the tape she pressed fast-forward
instead. The tape quickly moved ahead to a scene that the others had
missed. This scene was, whatever it was, had been added in.
In the scene, the Knife was standing behind a table. There were candles lit
and spread out. The terrorist was speaking in his own language, and Jenny
got the strangest impression that the man was performing some kind of
ceremony...or ritual.
"Guys?" Jenny called. "Cordelia! Mr. Fronk! Come and see this!"
Fronk and Cordelia came out into the living room. Fronk was adjusting his
head set as he spoke into the microphone. "Testing...testing...May
day...May day..." He blew into the mike.
"Yeow!" Barrington's voice exclaimed. "Crazy Man, what the hell are you
doing?"
"Blowing you a kiss, big daddy!" Fronk was looking at the television
screen. The terrorist was holding some kind of ceremonial jar in front of
him. "Whoa! Puffer fish on tv!!"
"What?" Barrington asked.
"Puffer fish! Them there slimy critters that live in the sea with Charlie
Tuna! They puff themselves out to make themselves bigger but everybody
knows it's just fer show!" He squinted at the tv. "Apparently, the
Calender girl found another scene on the tape. It's that Knife guy...and
he's puffing out his chest, man! Hey, can Knox do that?"
There was a pause. Barrington could be heard saying something to Lenox.
Then Barrington's voice came over Fronk's head set. "Knox says he isn't the
Puff-Man, Bill. What are you watching?"
"Sh-yucks, girls!" Fronk exclaimed as he grinned at Jenny and Cordelia.
"Daddy wants to know what we're watching. And he says if it's-a got-a any
nudity in it, we're-a gonna get us a spanking fer shore." He said "sure"
like "shore".
Cordelia shot him a look. "Hullu? Get out much? Pervert!"
Jenny had her eyes glued to the screen. She was watching everything
intently. "Tell him that it looks like the terrorist is performing some
kind of ritual. But he's speaking in a different tongue...I don't
understand what he is saying." She watched the Knife place the ceremonial
jar onto the center of the table, and he did it reverently. "God, I don't
like this. I wish Rupert were here. I'm certain he would know what this is
about."
Cordelia looked at Jenny with concern. "Huh? This thing that the terrorist
is doing...This is bad?"
Jenny looked at her. "Yes, Cordelia. This is bad."
"But...but it's just a terrorist thing, right? Maybe it's some kind of
thing they do for their religion."
"Cordelia, this has nothing to do with religion. And I'm almost positive
that it has nothing to do with terrorists eithor." She looked at the Knife
on the screen. "I think it's something that this terrorist is doing for
himself." She glanced at Fronk. "Tell Albert that he needs to tell Buffy
what we're seeing. Maybe this will sound familiar to her. She's been with
Rupert enough to pick up on a few things."
Fronk relayed the message.
Jenny returned her attention to the screen. The terrorist was pouring
something into the jar from a basin.
Cordelia stared in horror as she literally became pale. "Oh, God...Is
that...That looks like blood!"
Jenny couldn't take her eyes away. "It is," she said hoarsely.
"What...what's he doing with blood? And...and not that I really want to
know, but...who's blood is that?" As soon as she said it, there was only
one person she could think of to whom the blood belonged. She brought a
hand to her mouth. "Oh, no...Willow."
Fronk was relaying what he saw and heard to Barrington, and this time, he
didn't crack any witticism's. He had his eyes on the screen as well.
Barrington's voice came to him from the head set. "Bill, Buffy needs to
know what he's doing with the blood."
Fronk didn't answer.
"Bill!"
Finally, Fronk responded, "The son-of-a-bitch is drinking it, Bear. He's
drinking the blood from the ceremonial jar."
They watched the tape in silence as Julius held the jar to his mouth and
drank from it. When he was done, he set the jar down and looked right into
the camera lense. He spoke in his tongue.
Then he lapsed into silence. He continued to glare at the camera.
"I'm getting goosebumps," Cordelia whispered. "It's like he's looking right
at us."
Jenny nodded in agreement, but she didn't say anything.
"He-he can't really see us, can he?" Cordelia asked, glancing nervously at
Jenny.
Suddenly, the terrorist spoke. And he spoke in English this time.
*"Do not be deceived. You believe you are safe? I tell you...you are not
safe! You believe you are secure? You are weak!! And you will suffer
great and terrible things, for this is only the beginning! Go to your homes
and lock your doors. Run as far as you can...and run further still! But
the end is near and there is nowhere you can hide. Soon, the dead shall
rise up and will destroy the living. Creatures of the night shall heed the
Call."* He paused as he rose his hands before him. *"The Sleeper shall
waken within. The Heir shall come, leading them all to glorious reckoning!
Leading them all to the destruction of the earth!"* He pointed at the
camera. *"Think upon that and be dismayed! Your days are numbered!"*
Then the tape ended.
Jenny looked at Fronk who had been repeating what he had heard to
Barrington. "Did you get all that?" he asked Barrington.
"Yeah, I got all that." Barrington paused. "I don't know what it means,
but...Is that all?"
Fronk nodded. "No. I managed to get their profiles and most of it we had
already guessed on our own. But we do have confirmation. The Speaker is
one Abhar Jhamel. The Knife is his right hands man and his sorry ass is
named Reuben Julius." He paused for affect. "In case you didn't know, this
Julius is evidently a freakin' basket case."
"Yeah...thanks."
xsgxsgxsgxsgxsgxsgxsgxsgxsgxsgxsgxsgxsgxsg
Giles had chosen to ride with Mulder and Scully only because he hadn't
really had a desire to ride in a helecoptor. Planes was one thing to be
riding in, but he didn't trust choppers. They just weren't to his liking at
all. However, with Mulder's erratic driving skill, Giles realized too late
the error he had just made.
"Mulder, slow down!" Scully shouted.
"C'mon, Scully!" Mulder grinned at her. He winked at Giles in the rearview
mirror, but the Watcher didn't really notice because he was too busy trying
not to be sick. "Live a little, girlfriend! Have some fun!"
"I'm not here for fun, Mulder! We're on a case!"
Mulder shrugged. "You're on a case, Scully. I'm on vacation. And on
vacation, you're supposed to have fun."
Giles cleared his throat from the back seat as he tried to get their
attention. "Er, excuse me, Mr. Mulder..."
"Yeah?" Mulder glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "You're not going to
hurl, are you?"
Scully looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "'Hurl', Mulder?"
Giles shook his head. "I-I intend to do no such thing...inspite of your
d-driving skills...or lack thereof." He let out a sigh. "I would really
like to know, however, just what it is you plan to do to distract the
terrorists."
Mulder grinned. "That's easy."
He pulled into a parking lot of a convenience store and before anyone could
say anything, he was out of the car. He went into the store and was only
inside for five minutes or so. He came out carrying a brown paper bag. He
got into the car, put the bag inbetween himself and Scully, and then he
reached inside to pull out a cold can of Bud. Grinning like a madman, he
popped the tab and took a swig.
Scully stared at him incredulously. "Mulder! What the hell are you doing?"
"Distracting," he answered. He took another mouth full, tilted his head
back and began to gargle the beer in his throat. Then he swallow and
grinned once again at Scully. He poured a bit of beer into his hand and
handed the can to Scully who took it reluctantly. Slapping his hands
together, he rubbed them. Then he splashed the beer about his face, neck,
and shirt.
Giles looked at Scully dubiously. "Er...I-I don't think I really approve of
Mr. Mulder's plan."
Scully frowned at Mulder. "What are you doing?"
He reached over and before she could stop him, he unbuttoned the top button
of her blouse.
"MULDER!!" She slapped at his hands.
"C'mon, Scully! Look a little loose, will you?" He took the beer from her,
put more in his hands and then flicked it at her. "We're going to distract
the terrorists with a little trip to Lovers Lane, if you know what I mean."
He pointed at her. "Do you get wild, Scully? I want to see your wild side.
So it would be very convincing if you would undo a few more buttons." He
grinned.
"Excuse me..." Giles began, frowning, "but how convincing do you think your
Lovers Lane distraction will look with a third person in the back seat? Two
is company, after all...Even terrorists must know that."
Mulder turned to look at him. "Well...actually, I have thought of that."
"You-you have?" Giles frowned. "And?"
"And you won't exactly be in the back seat." Mulder paused. "You'll be in
the trunk."
Giles stared at him as if he were mad. "I was right...I don't approve of
this plan at all."
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
"I do NOT like this," Buffy said with a quiver in her voice. "It sounds
like...it sounds like Xander will get there ahead of all of us...But he'll
only find..." She closed her eyes and turned her head. She couldn't bring
herself to say it. Just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach.
Barrington shook his head as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey,
Buffy...We don't really know that it was Willow's blood the terrorist was
drinking."
She spun her head around to face him. "How do we know it wasn't?!"
They were in the chopper and the pilots were running a last check before
they lifted off from the lot.
"We're not going to know until we get there," Lenox commented as he loaded a
clip into an Uzi. "You can't afford to think about it right now, Buffy. It
will only distract you once we hit the ground and the bullets begin to fly."
Stacy glanced at Lenox with concern. She knew him well enough to know that
he was just as concerned for Willow as they all were. But at that moment,
he suddenly seemed insensitive to Buffy. Stacy saw the look of shock on
Buffy's face and then she saw the anger.
Buffy glared at Lenox. "I can't afford to think about it?!" she snapped.
"Willow's my friend! If anything happens to her, and I mean ANYTHING, I
will hunt down every one of those bastards myself and I will kill every one
of them!"
"They're not vampires, Buffy," Lenox replied calmly.
Buffy glared at him.
"They don't think like vampires," he continued. "They don't act like
vampires. They're really a lot worst when you think about it. Whether the
sun is shining, or the moon is out, they're there. Terrorism is the worst
threat to mankind on this planet. Terrorists train their children to wear
bombs and send them off to school. They kidnap innocent people, brainwash
them to wear bombs, and send them out to go shopping. You can't reason with
them, and you can't invite them over for a spot of tea or a cup of joe to
sort things out." He regarded Buffy closely. "That's where we come in."
She hesitated, "The Hunters."
He nodded. "Yes. The bottem line is that terrorism is a disease...and we
are the cure."
"That's what you do? You hunt terrorists down and you..." she trailed off
as she was looking for a word.
"We slay them." Lenox paused. "Not exactly the way you slay vampires, but
we get the job done."
She thought about that. "How long have you guys been doing this?"
Barrington shrugged. "About nine years."
Buffy frowned. She wondered what she would be doing in nine years. Would
she be the Slayer then...or the Slayee?
Lenox hesitated as he cast a glance in Stacy's direction. "Buffy...I don't
know Willow as well as you do. I don't know her as well as my wife knows
her. But I do care for her and I will do everything in my power to bring
her home." Then he said, "However, even when we do get her back alive and
well, I'm still going to kill every one of those bastards. Okay?"
She smiled wryly. "Okay." She watched as Barrington checked his weapons
over. "Do I get a gun?"
"Have you fired one before?" Barrington asked.
She shrugged. "Does a crossbow count?"
Barrington handed her a 9mm pistol and showed her how to work it.
"Don't I get a big gun?" she asked.
"No. You'll be fine with this. Besides, you are not really going down
there for combat." Barrington aimed a thumb at Lenox. "You'll stay right
behind Knox and keep your head down. He'll lead you into the building where
we believe they're holding Willow, and when you get to her, your job is to
help her out."
She nodded. "Okay...What about Xander?"
"We'll keep a watch for him," Stacy assured her.
Buffy nodded and she took a deep breath as she felt the chopper lift off.
"I've never rode in one of these things before. They're safe, aren't they?"
She laughed nervously. "Of course, they're safe. You use them all the
time." She looked around. "Don't you have any really big guns? The kind
that fires missiles and rockets?"
Lenox nodded his head. "We do, but we can't use them."
"Why not?"
"We don't want to risk blowing up Willow."
"Oh." Buffy nodded her head. "Right. Oh...I think I'll just shut up now."
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Chapter 9
Abhar Jhamel the Speaker was utterly speechless. He had not expected such a
foolhardy, yet daring rescue from an American teenager. An American boy
with raging hormones, no less! And yet what had surprised him the most was
when his most trusted warrior abandoned his duty to chase after the foolish
American teenagers. Jhamel ran up to the hole where his hostages had
disappeared into and he glared down it in a vain attempt to see them.
WHY had Rueben gone after them?! he asked himself angrily.
He was more than certain that they had all fallen to their deaths. They had
fallen through the loose covering and they would have continued to fall from
the rope as it had pulled taught. The worst of it was that Rueben Julius
would die in vain with them. This enraged Jhamel for the stupidity of his
right hand man, so he grabbed a hold of the rope and he cut it.
The rope disappeared into the hole.
He screamed into the hole, "INFIDELS! FOOLS!" He glared as if expecting a
response. "YOU COULD HAVE DIED HONORABLY, MY BROTHER! NOW YOU DIE WITH NO
GLORY!!"
One of his men ran up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
Jhamel spun around and he punched the man in the jaw. The man fell,
dropping his AK-47, and lay on his back looking up at Jhamel.
"What is it?!" Jhamel demanded.
Rubbing his jaw, the man pointed.
Jhamel turned his head. There he saw a car driving toward them. "What the
hell...?" He was about to order his men to open fire when he noticed that
the car was swerving about. He brought his hand up to shade the sun from
his eyes and he could make out two passengers in the car. A man, and a
woman. And the man, he was certain, was drunk.
In the car, Mulder was singing a little diddy.
"'oh, bring me a home
where those buffalo roam
and the deer and the antelope play...'"
Scully glanced over at him as he continued with another verse.
"'and I'll give you a knee
it would bring me much glee
in the crotch just to ma-ake you pay...'"
Suddenly, he swerved the car into a wall and he stepped on the accelerator.
The car went through the wall of the old shed and it came crashing down upon
them. Giles was in the trunk and he had been trying to keep the trunk from
closing all the way. However, when the car went through the shed, a part of
it slammed the trunk shut and then fell to the ground.
Giles let out a weary sigh. "Oh, isn't that just lovely?"
Three terrorists were leveling their weapons at the car from behind it as
they approached. Mulder saw them coming and he threw his arms around
Scully. "Kiss me, baby! Gotta make this look good."
Before Scully could respond, he pressed his lips to hers.
She was staring at him with her eyes wide open as they kissed.
One of the terrorists happened to see what they were doing, and he turned to
his companions, laughing. In his native tongue, he told them all what he
saw. Jhamel was heading for them, and he didn't look amused.
"Get out of the way!" Jhamel shouted. He passed them and moved toward the
car. As he got close, he was able to see into the car through the back
window. The closer he got, the slower he walked. Finally, he stopped. The
side car door was open and there was no one there. He shouted out orders,
and his men spread out to look for the two "lovebirds".
On the other side of the quarry, a helicopter was keeping behind the high
structures.
Vogel was talking into his headset. "Bear! We don't think they've spotted
us, so we're going to get low enough for you to bail!"
"They don't hear us coming?" Barrington asked.
LeBeau snarled and shook his head. "Nah. With these old structures about,
and most of them being empty, our rotors will be muffled. Our only way of
being discovered right now is if somebody sees us."
"Or smells us, in your case," Vogel told him.
LeBeau shot a look at him. "You wanna fly...without the chopper?!"
Vogel grinned. "Bear...time to go. We're setting down!"
Barrington looked at Stacy, Lenox, and Buffy. "Saddle up! Lock and load!"
Lenox opened the door and jumped out. The others followed behind him and it
was then that Buffy noticed that Stacy wasn't carrying a gun. When they
were all on the ground, Buffy stayed low and followed behind Lenox.
Barrington and stacy had gone off in the other direction. They headed for
the terrorists and when the enemy was in their sights, they opened fire.
Barrington fired from one angle, and Lenox from another angle. Three
terrorist who were caught out in the open from the unexpected ambush danced
as the bullets tore into them. As their bodies hit the ground, two other
terrorists ran into one of the many structures. Barrington went in after
them with Stacy following behind.
Lenox and Buffy would have gone in after them, but Lenox just happened to
see Jhamel. Jhamel took one look at him, then he turned and he ran. He was
heading for a warehouse.
"That's got to be their lair!" Lenox exclaimed to Buffy. "Willow's bound to
be in there. Stay close! We're goin in!"
They broke into a run and heade for the warehouse. Buffy held her gun aimed
at the ground, but she held it awkwardly. She was not used to carrying a
gun and it felt oddly out of place for her.
Just as Lenox went inside the warehouse, a terrorist came out of hiding and
grabbed Buffy in a bear hug from behind, causing her to drop her gun. He
began to drag her out into the dirt road, but suddenly she rammed the back
of her head into his face. Stunned, he let go of her and stepped back. She
spun around and kicked the side of his face. He fell back into a pole and
leaned on it for support.
He looked up and Buffy was spinning around once more, intending to kick him
again. Without warning, he caught her leg and pushed her off balance. She
fell backward, but turned her fall into a roll and was back on her feet in
an instant. However, the terrorist had grabbed a chain and he threw one end
of it with deadly accuracy. The end of the chain wrapped around her throat,
then he used the pole to vault himself over a low beam. Using his weight,
Buffy found herself hanging inches from the ground.
Meanwhile, in the trunk of the car, which was behind the terrorist, Giles
had finally managed to break open the trunk. He was also in time to see
what was happening to his Slayer. He climbed out of the trunk, walked over
to the terrorist, and tapped him on the shoulder.
Startled, the man turned his head and looked at Giles.
"Do you like tire irons?" Giles asked him. Then he struck the man full in
the face with a tire iron. "I happen to like them very much."
The men fell unconscious to the ground, releasing his hold on the chain.
Buffy collapsed to the ground herself and Giles hurried to her side to help
her get the chain off from around her neck. She was gasping for breath.
"God, I...I didn't...see that...coming..."
He helped her to her feet. "Have no fear, Buffy. I am already designing a
method with terrorists in mind for your next training session."
"Great!" Buffy said with a false smile. "Something to look forward
to...like having my fingernails removed."
He looked at her with a puzzled frown. "Er...I'm sorry, b-but what...?"
"Forget it."
Mulder and Scully ran up to them from around the shed. Buffy saw them and
waved them forward. "C'mon!" she exclaimed. "Lenox ran inside after
Jhamel!"
They all headed for the warehouse.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Lenox saw Jhamel just as he entered the building. The Speaker had run up to
a table and he had snatched up something that had looked like a thermostat.
Lenox leveled his Uzi and he was about to fire when something hard slammed
into his back. He fell to the ground, dropped his weapon, and rolled onto
his back in an attempt to see what had struck him. A terrorist was holding
up a two-by-four over his head, preparing to bring it down again to stike at
his enemy.
Lenox would have laughed at that moment if the danger hadn't been real.
The man had hit him with a rotten piece of wood, only he didn't know it was
rotten. The two-by-four had broken apart as it had struck Lenox, and the
piece that remained in the terrorists hands was too small to be any threat
if he swung it down as he intended to do. But because the raving terrorist
loony was holding it far above his head, he hadn't noticed that it was
broken.
So Lenox simply waited.
The man swung his arms down, fully expecting to hit Lenox, unfortunately, he
swung too fast and too hard. As his arms came down, he did not see the
two-by-four he had seen before when he had first picked it up. In
astonishment, he wound up not stiking Lenox his enemy, but he ended up
striking himself right between the legs. He howled in agony as he fell to
his knees. Lenox calmly got to his feet and then he introduced his foot
into the mans face. The man fell unconscious to the ground.
Lenox turned around and glared at his surroundings.
Abhar Jhamel was nowhere in sight.
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
It was a small structure, and Barrington was certain that Willow was not in
it. The two terrorists he had chased inside, however, were in hiding.
Suddenly, they opened fire on him from above. He ran and dove behind a
tractor. They fired at him and yelled obscenities in their native tongue,
but they soon realized that they couldn't hit him. So they were simply
content to yell at him and wait for their compatriots to come to their aid.
While they waited, Barrington looked frantically around for Stacy. But he
couldn't see her anywhere. He couldn't call for her either for then the
terrorists would know where she was and they might be able to be in a
position to hit her.
If anything ever happened to her, Lenox would kill him for certain.
Suddenly, he had an idea.
He climbed into the tractor and he hot-wired it. He wasn't certain how the
thing's engine actually turned over, but the sound of the engine roaring to
life was like music in his ears. As he revved the tractor up and brought up
the heavy shovel to protect him like a shield, the terrorists up on the
balcony above him looked down and they began to worry.
Their worry was short-lived, however. Barrington simply drove the tractor
directly beneath them. The tractor knocked down the beams that held up the
balcony, and continued on through the wall. The entire structure came
crashing down. He hadn't expected that but he realized that the structures
were old and unsafe. He stopped the tractor, climbed out and he looked at
the mess he had made. If the terrorists were still alive, it would
definitely take some time to dig them out.
He had to find Stacy before he did anything else. He left the tractor
behind and found himself moving toward the tower at the center of the
quarry. He found Stacy standing beside a large hole in the ground, and she
was looking into it.
He approached her. "What is it, Stacy?"
Stacy looked at him and there was hope in her eyes. "They're in there, Al."
"Who is?"
"Willow and Xander! They're both down there somewhere...But so is Julius,
the Knife."
Barrington moved carefully to the edge and he looked down into the hole. He
could see only as far as the sun would allow. Then there was a dark hole
that seemed to go on. But something was wrong. He could feel it and it
gave him goosebumps.
He looked at Stacy. "Do you feel that?"
Stacy nodded her head, her eyes wide with fear. "I do..." she said. "I
feel it." She looked at Barrington with concern. "It's...it's evil that I
feel."
Barrington regarded her. "Stacy, how do you know that Xander and Willow are
down there?"
"Jeremiah told me."
"Who's Jeremiah?"
"Well, he's right over--" She stopped as she pointed at...no one. She
frowned. "He was...he was just there...Before you came over."
Barrington hesitated. "Stacy...I know that you have something going
on...Some ability that we can't understand...But if you say that they're
down there, then I believe you."
She nodded. "So what do we do now?"
He looked down the hole. "Go in after them."
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Lenox, Buffy, Giles, Mulder, and Scully went through the warehouse. They
found the cell that had been Willow's but she wasn't in it. Their search
did not turn up either Willow, Jhamel, or Julius. But it did turn up a room
in which had been on the tape they were told about by Jenny and Fronk. It
was the room where Julius had been drinking blood.
Buffy was telling Giles about it as he looked at the ceremonial jar.
"That's all of what Mr. Fronk had told Barrington over that radio thingy
over his head, Giles. This Julius guy was performing some kind of a ritual!
And he said something about an Heir that was coming to lead the dead to
glory!" She paused. "Does that sound familiar to you?"
Giles picked up the ceremonial jar and frowned in concentration. He was
thinking about the volumes of books he had at the library, most of which he
had memorized. Was there some prophecy that told of this ritual the
terrorist had been performing? "Er...Heir, you say?"
"Well...I didn't say. That Crazy Man guy did."
"What are you thinking, Giles?" Mulder asked as he and Scully moved toward
him. "Do you think this is some kind of prophecy?"
Giles nodded grimly. "Th-that is precisely what I am thinking, Mr. Mulder."
"Willow is nowhere to be found," Lenox growled. "I would not want to think
otherwise, Giles...but do you think that this blood was hers?"
Buffy held her breath in fear for her friend.
Giles slowly shook his head. "No," he said softly. "This blood is not
Willow's."
Buffy was relieved, but she also recognized the sudden countenence of the
Watcher. That far away look in his eyes, the slow motions, the soft tone.
When he acted in this way, Buffy began to worry. The room itself got real
quiet, as if sensing some unforeseen doom.
Giles slowly took off his glasses and he took out a handkerchief to wipe at
them...whether they needed it or not.
Buffy was getting scared. "Giles...?"
He didn't respond. At least not right away. But when he did speak, he had
everyone's attention, and what he said caused chills.
"As I said..." he began, "th-this is not...nor was it Willow's blood. For
which I am immensely grateful. However, this b-blood is unclean for it
reeks of the rotten decay of the undead."
"Don't you mean 'the dead'?" Scully inquired, feeling a chill inspite of
herself.
Giles looked at her harshly. "No, Miss Scully, I don't mean 'the dead.' I
mean that this blood reeks of the unholy undead!" He took a deep breath.
"I don't know how I can tell you this, but I can feel something horribly
evil when I hold that ceremonial jar. I feel the presence of an evil even
now that I had not felt since the Hellmouth did open and the Master was
free."
Buffy looked at him with dread. "Wh-what are you saying, Giles?"
"This blood is evil, and the one who drinks it must therefore himself be
evil. You said that Mr. Fronk had mentioned an Heir?" He took a breath as
he returned his glasses to his head. "If I am not mistaken, then I will
tell you what this means. Julius has drank from this blood and he has
proclaimed himself as the Heir which can only mean one thing...although
I-I'm not certain yet how this is possible. But I believe he wants to
become the Heir to the Master."
Buffy stared at the ceremonial jar in horror. "Then this blood is...?"
Giles looked at her. "The Master's blood."
Silence fell upon the room.
Mulder finally broke the silence. "So we've got a terrorist who wants to
become a new undead Master, and another terrorist out there with a possible
nuke. Is that what you're saying?"
Lenox let out a sigh. "I believe that's the gist of it."
Mulder looked at everyone of them. Finally, he shook his head, looked at
Scully, and snorted. "And you call me paronoid."
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Chapter 10
Buffy, Giles, Mulder, and Scully were approaching Barrington and Stacy who
were beside the hole in the ground. Stacy was kneeling beside the hole and
Barrington was standing away from her, as if he were giving her space. She
seemed to be concentrating all of her attention and focus on the hole in the
ground.
Lenox was approaching from behind the group and he was dragging the
terrorist he had captured alive. The man's hands were handcuffed behind his
back and a rag was stuffed in his mouth. He glared at every one around him.
Lenox shoved the terrorist down onto the ground as he adjusted his head set.
"Ace...Birdman. Come on down and make a pickup." He looked over at his
wife kneeling beside the hole. "Looks like we'll need the gear you brought
along after all."
"We're on our way," Vogel responded through the head set.
Giles looked at Lenox. "Er...Mr. Lenox...th-there's another terrorist in
the trunk of the car. I hit him with a tire iron, and...well, I'm fairly
confident that the man is still unconscious."
Lenox held up a hand and nodded. Into his microphone, he said, "Birdman,
there's another pickup for you not far from where you dropped us. There's a
terrorist in the trunk of a car...the one Mulder drove. You can't miss it.
It's in the side of a shed."
"We'll get him first," Vogel responded through the head set. "We'll be
there before you know it."
Buffy glanced with concern at Stacy. "What is she doing?"
Lenox looked over at Stacy. "She's praying."
"She's religious?" Scully asked.
Lenox shrugged. "Stacy tells me that it isn't a religion but a
relationship."
"With God?" Mulder asked. He glanced at his partner. "This sounds like
something right up your alley, Scully."
"Prayer is good if you really have that kind of power," Scully said. "But
what is she praying for?"
Lenox paused. "I don't know...Yet."
Buffy looked confused. "Wait a minute...Why aren't you praying with her? I
mean...do you believe as Stacy does?"
"I believe...but I haven't fully accepted." Lenox glanced at her. "I take
care of things my own way. I don't rely on help from heavenly sources."
"What do you mean, 'heavenly sources'?" Giles asked.
"Stacy has a Guardian Angel. Or something guides her to safety when safety
is not there." He shrugged. "I've seen her walk away from harm with out a
scratch when others would either perish or be harmed in some way. I can't
explain it. It's...it's not for me to say."
"What exactly does your wife believe?" Mulder asked.
"She believes that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
powers...against the rulers of the darkness of this world."
Giles was intrigued. "What precisely does that mean?"
"It means that what we are fighting against is something that we cannot see
with our eyes. The real battle is around us, and if our eyes were truly
open to see it, we would not be able to stand." He shrugged again. "And
that may be so. But, all I can do is fight what I can see. I can tell you
this...if Xander and Willow are down in that hole, we'll find them. Stacy
will take us right to them."
The helecopter was settling down to make the pick-up.
Something else was happening. Something they could not see. A host of
angelic beings flew down from the heavens and soared right into the mouth of
the hole. A host of demons were on the walls of the hole as the angels
entered. The angels swung their mighty swords and many demons were cut in
half. The demons that had been slain were swallowed up by the earth.
The angels continued until they reached the bottem of the hole. A tunnel
was at the very bottem and it branch off in two directions. There was also
another hole, but smaller...and some of the angels went into that hole,
slaying demons as they went. Other angels went down one way of the tunnel,
and others still went the other way where they passed over Rueben Julius,
the Knife, who was facing three vampires.
The angels that had gone into the smaller hole found it to be steep and it
led into a cavern. In this cavern in the dark, two teenagers were laying on
the ground. Jeremiah was standing over them.
He looked at the angels. "She is the one," he said with his hand over the
girl. "She must be protected at all cost. They both must be."
The angels took up a postion around the teenagers to protect them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Xander remembered only one thought as he had grabbed a hold of the rope that
began the quick descent into darkness. *I have either got to be the
craziest guy around to pull a stunt like this, or I am so much in love that
I just can't stop myself from being crazy!* Then he thought, *That was the
craziest thought I ever had.*
As he and Willow dropped, he focused his thoughts on her and he tried to
position himself to take the brunt of the fall.
His feet crashed through the rotten wood that covered the hole as they fell
through. Suddenly, it got pitch black and Xander couldn't see a thing. The
rope pulled tight, ending the rapid descent and he hung onto the rope as
tightly as he could. For a brief time, he and Willow dangled with her arms
still looped about his neck. But it happened. Xander's hands felt numb and
he loosened his hold. They began to plummet downward once again into the
blackness that was all around them. The second fall, however, was not a
long one, but because they were falling blind, it was unexpected. They hit
the ground and fell down a steep decline.
Finally, they hit the ground and Xander waited for everything to stop
spinning.
He found himself laying on his back with Willow's arms around his neck and
she was laying on top of him. He groaned. At least he had somehow managed
to take the brunt of the fall. His eyes were wide open, but all he could
see was blackness. It was so dark, he could cut it with a knife...if he had
one.
He was suddenly quite scared. What scared him the most was that Willow
wasn't moving. He put his arms around her.
"Willow?" His hands were on her back. "Willow!"
He managed to sit up and he listened as he held her. He brought his face to
hers and was very much relieved to hear her breathing. That had to have
been a good sign, he decided. He moved her arms over his head and placed
her hands in her lap. Then he reached into his pocket for something
resourceful.
"C'mon, Mr. Zippo...where are you?"
Finding his lighter, he pulled it out and flicked it. He found himself
sitting against a rock wall with Willow leaning against him, her eyes
closed. He looked at her face closely, wishing he knew how to diagnos what
was wrong and if there was anything wrong to begin with. All he saw was
that she looked peaceful...and *God, she is beautiful.* he thought. He saw
that her face had been stained by her tears.
"Willow," he said softly. He kissed her on the forehead.
Xander looked around to see where they had fallen. His eyes did not see the
angels that were standing guard around them, but they did see some kind of
work station. He used one hand to try to make Willow comfortable, and then
he went over to the old work station to see if there was something useful to
find. Perhaps something even better than Mr. Zippo.
He saw something at once that made him blink. "Well...we must have a
guardian angel, Will." He picked up a lantern, and to his surprise, it was
full of oil. He set it down and went about the task of lighting the
lantern. Once he managed to light the lantern, he put away his lighter and
looked around. A tunnel branched out of the cavern they were in and it
appeared to be the only way out. The hole above he realized was where they
had fallen into and he could see no way of climbing out that way.
He set the lantern down onto the ground and sat beside Willow. He gently
took her hands and untied her wrists. He almost wanted to cry when he saw
how tight the ropes had been. Willow had rope burns and dried blood around
her wrists. Xander suddenly remembered that he was a guy and guys did NOT
cry...but they did beat up terrorists who bullied their girl friends!
He looked at her wrists as he held her hands in his. Then he looked at her
face. He wondered not for the first time why it had taken him so long to
see her in this way. To see her not as just his friend...but as his girl.
What had he been afraid of? He knew that Willow already felt strongly for
him. He knew that she cared for him and loved him.
She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed, he couldn't bear to wake her.
He sat back and held her with her head on his shoulder. For what seemed
like a long time, they sat together alone and Xander thought about Willow,
and Willow slept. What she had gone through in the past day and a half had
clearly exhausted her, and there was no way Xander was going to move her
until she was ready to move.
It was some time later when Willow moaned.
"Willow?" he inquired softly with concern.
There was no response.
He sat back and listened to her breathing. He didn't understand why, but it
was the most wonderful sound he had ever heard.
Minutes went by, and still he listened.
"X-Xander...?"
He gently squeezed her to let her know that he had her. "I'm here, Willow."
There was a pause. Then, softly, "Xander...?"
"Yes, Will. What is it?"
There was another pause. Then... "You stole my Barbie."
Xander blinked. Did he just hear her say what he thought she said? He
looked down and with his hand, brushed aside Willow's hair so he could see
her face. Her eyes were still closed, her breathing even.
"Willow...? Are you talking in your sleep?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes...but you still stole my Barbie."
He smiled at the memory. "Yes, Will. I did."
There was silence. "Xander...?"
"Yes, Willow?"
"What did you do to Barbie?"
Xander frowned in thought. Was she actually still talking about her Barbie?
"Oh, Willow...you know. We were kids. We were only five. I was--"
"We broke up."
He regarded her. "We were kids," he repeated. Why wouldn't she open her
eyes? Was she really still sleeping?
"Xander...is Barbie okay?"
He shrugged and hesitated. "Yeah, Will. Barbie is fine."
"Fibber."
He looked aghast. "What makes you say that?"
"Because you always shrug and you always hesitate and you always say, 'Yeah'
when you fib."
Xander looked at her closely. "Willow..."
She didn't respond.
"Willow?"
She kept herself quiet.
"Willow!"
"I am still sleeping," she insisted.
"Willow, you are carrying on a conversation with me. You are not sleeping."
He paused. "Open your eyes."
She kept her eyes closed and she frowned. "I-I can carry on a conversation
in my sleep. I'm sure I-I've done it before."
"Open your eyes and look at me, Will."
She pursed her lips. "No."
"Why not?"
In a small voice, she answered, "I-it's a trick."
Xander looked at her with concern. "What's a trick?" He saw a tear form at
the corner of her eye as she kept her eyes closed and it tore at his heart.
"They...they p-probably drugged me and-and now they're trying to trick me
that you're here when you're probably really a-at school..." She paused.
"With Buffy or C-Cordelia. They like to play tricks. They...th-they made
me think you were d-dead." The tears flowed more freely now as she couldn't
stop. She trembled and buried her face on his chest.
He held her and stroked her hair. "Oh, Willow! I'm so sorry!"
"I-if I open my eyes...you won't be here." She sounded so scared.
He held her tight. "Listen to me, Willow. Hear my voice. Feel my arms
around you. I swear to you that I am right here with you. I'm not a trick.
And I'm not with Cordelia or Buffy, because I am here with you...right
where I want to be. I want to be with you, Will." He tilted her head up
and looked at her face. "Please...open your eyes."
At first she didn't move. Finally, slowly, Willow opened her eyes. Her
eyes met his and she didn't look away. She never wanted to look away from
Xander's eyes again. She brought her hands to his face. "You're alive,"
she whispered. "You're safe. You really are?"
"I am." Xander found that he couldn't look away either.
"Th-that terrorist...he-he wiped blood on my leg...he-he told me that it was
your blood, Xander."
"But it wasn't my blood. He lied to you." He looked deeply into her eyes.
"We're together, Will. And I am so glad that I have you now."
"Me...me, too."
He took a deep breath. "I-I can't belive what a fool I've been. Willow, I
have this overpowering urge to kiss you right now!"
A smile...a real smile began to touch her lips. Her eyes lit up.
"R-really?"
He nodded. "Yes."
"You...you really want to kiss me, Xander? Me?"
"Yes, Willow. I do."
"I-I have always had this fantasy where-where you do, you know, press your
lips to mine, Xander. Once, I even thought of your tongue in my mouth, you
know, l-like I've heard the French people do, but...I'm not sure I'm ready
for that." She shook her head. "Besides, we're really not French anyway.
Uh, even though, I'd like to be ready for that, but I'm not 'cause we
haven't actually kissed yet, except in my dreams, and-and I don't know how
that will be, a-and--"
Xander smiled. "Willow, you're babbling. Stop talking and let me kiss
you."
She put a finger to his lips as she studied his face intently. "Uh, no."
He stared at Willow in astonishment. "No?" He frowned. "You don't want to
kiss me?"
"Oh, I do, Xander," she assured him. "I do want to kiss you, and...I-I
can't think clearly right now 'cause I feel so tingly...It's that Xander
thing you do...always does that to me." She took a deep breath. "Besides,
I-I can't kiss you 'cause we haven't officially gone out on a date yet
either and I thought that once we went on a date, then you could kiss me
like maybe on the second or-or maybe the third date. A-and even then, the
first kiss should be like when you're taking me to my front door. You
know..." She looked at him. "You've just taken me out on a third or fourth
date, a-and we're on my doorstep and...and then we kiss."
Xander shook his head as if to clear it. "Willow, we've gone out lots of
times. Doesn't any of that count?"
"We hung out lots of times, Xander. That's not really dating." She
shrugged. "We...we didn't hold hands when we hung out together. Or-or we
didn't do any dating things that people get to do when they go out
on...dates." She looked at him as if that explained everything.
"What dating things are we talking about, Willow?"
She hesitated, "Well...dating things like...like..." She pursed her lips in
thought. Then, she said, "Well, I-I don't really know 'cause I've never
really been on a date date, as you well know. But I know that there are
dating things that need to be done before there's any real kissing involved.
Okay, Mr. Xander-Better-Behave-Himself?"
Xander regarded her for awhile. Then he chuckled. And then he laughed and
hugged her. "That's my Willow." He ran his hand through her hair. "Well,
then I'd better get you out of here so I can take you out on a date and we
can begin doing...'dating things'." He paused as he realized something.
"Are you saying I have to take you on a fourth date before I can kiss you?"
"Uh huh." She nodded. "Maybe five. Uh, b-but four if you behave yourself
and act like the perfect gentleman I know you to be."
He paused. "Does this count as a first date?"
"No, Xander. 'Cause this isn't very much fun and you aren't spending any
money on me."
He nodded. "Oh, I see. You're trying to train me, aren't you?"
She smiled. "Yep, I sure am."
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
The entrance of the tunnel led to the cavern where Xander and Willow rested.
Standing at that very entrance, unseen by the naked eye, were Jeremiah and
several other angels. Jeremiah was standing right in front of a vampire
that was not like any other vampire he had ever encountered, but that
vampire did not see him.
However, Angel sensed that there was a powerful presence right in front of
him.
Spike was standing beside Angel and he was impatient as he ever was. "Why
the bloody hell do you keep stopping?" he asked Angel.
Angel shook his head. "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
Angel turned to look at him. "There are other forces at work here, Spike.
There is a powerful presence that I can feel...as if God--"
Spike recoiled. "Are you mad?! Don't use that name around me! He is the
enemy!"
"Look, Spike. All I'm trying to say is that there are other forces of good
and evil in this world besides Vampires and Vampires Slayers. Something is
going on here. Something powerful. Like there is some kind of guiding
force that is leading us all."
"Leading us where?"
Angel shrugged. "That's what we have to find out."
Spike looked at his in disgust. "What makes you so sure this guiding force
is leading us all on a bloody date with some unknown blind fate?"
"I told you...you wouldn't understand."
"Why? Because you have a soul?"
"I can sense a powerful presence in front of us, Spike." He looked at the
entrance, unaware that Jeremiah was standing right in front of him. "And it
isn't evil. I'm going in. You coming with me or are you backing out of our
truce?"
Spike growled, "As long as you don't say THAT name around me, I'll follow
you in there with bells on if we can just get these bloody bastards and
their bomb."
They moved forward. And Jeremiah-knowing that this was a part of the
plan-moved aside to let them pass.
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