Chapter 6 – It Started With A Boom
Just as Linpuy was about to make contact with the switch, Buffy pulled his arm out of the basin at the elbow.
"Do you not have a sense of self-preservation, Lin? A trick like this requires strategy." She explained, letting his arm go slowly.
Buffy pulled a stake from her coat and dunked it into the second basin. Knowing this would merely have alcohol in it, she measured the distance to the bottom, just next to the switch. In doing so, she realised that it would need to be held below the water's surface, still risking loss of limb.
Buffy and Linpuy examined the console, searching for something removable to extend the stake. A cabinet below the sinks revealed a pocket knife. Linpuy retrieved it and showed Buffy with a very self-satisfied grin on his features.
"I suppose you want a gold star? You'll have to wait till we defeat some witches." Buffy quipped. Linpuy flashed a flirtatious pout.
Buffy jammed the blade from the knife into the shaft of the stake extending it to a length that was reasonably comfortable to grip above the basins surface. Linpuy gestured to Buffy, who then gave him the stake-knife, and plunged it in the first basin, hitting the switch at speed.
The plate that severed the surface hit the center of the drawn blade, lodging it from both the stake and knife casing. The blade sliced through the air and met Buffy's upper-arm. She groaned in pain and ripped it out of her flesh, throwing it on the floor. Buffy turned to Linpuy who had gone decidedly green from the sight of Buffy's arm, which was still bleeding profusely. Fighting his urge to vomit, he ripped part of his shirt and wrapped it tightly around Buffy's arm.
"Are…are you OK?" Linpuy managed before the sick scent of bile invaded his throat. He turned then and heaved violently. He returned to her, looking slightly better, and examined the second basin now.
"This one must be safe. Buffy, perhaps you should…"
"I know, perhaps I should press the button. The alcohol will sterilize the wound and the door will be unlocked, right?"
"Right," Linpuy replied, half-heartedly.
Tzirkos joined them then. "I'll attend to the door, to ensure it stays unlocked."
He rushed over to the lair's entrance, trying not to show how shaken he was by the sight of Buffy's bleeding bandage.
Buffy hesitated, unsure if she was being led to a trap or helping out a peaceful demon clan. It had seemed more likely earlier, but now Linpuy had offered to sever his arm for the cause and had been very close to success in this case before Buffy had saved him. The thought that this was all a ruse to trap her in a demons lair left her somewhat unsettled. Despite these feelings, Lin's squeamish reaction to her wound had heartened her slightly, and gave her the confidence to proceed.
She plunged her hand into the volatile basin and pressed the switch. No plate ejected from the walls, no limbs were lost, and the door that Tzirkos was guarding unlocked. A faintly audible click reached Buffy and Lin's ears. Buffy pulled her hand out of the basin and kept it at her side.
"Well, that went unremarkably well," Buffy said as she followed him to the door, patting his shoulder with her still damp hand.
Sunnydale, CA:
The ring of the phone seemed shrill, a stark contrast to an entirely silent night at Giles' home. Giles picked up his receiver, suspecting he heard a similar click as he picked it up.
"He-hello." Giles asked in a half-asleep state.
"Giles!" A voice whispered at the other end.
"Faith? Is that you?" Giles asked, still unsure of the caller's identity.
"Yes, listen very carefully, I was jumped at the grand mausoleum by a little girl, earlier tonight."
"A little girl? Was she a vampire?" Giles sounded appalled at the very notion.
"No, she faked me out. It was a witch or something in disguise. Anyway, I came to in this dungeon, but she wasn't all careful or nothing, cause I still have all my stuff, and I've been here a couple of hours now and she hasn't checked on me. I guess she's busy or something."
"Are there any windows, any noises that you can describe clearly Faith?"
"Uh, yeah, there's bars on the windows, and I'm definitely above ground. I can hear water rushing, but I'm not near the ocean. The water and the air has no discernable smell to it, it's neither fresh nor stale, constantly moving. The lights flicker sometimes when the water slows."
"The dam," Giles thought aloud. He heard that same clicking noise he'd heard earlier, shortly followed by a door opening. He rushed downstairs to see his front door wide open. He called once for Kendra, but knew there'd be no answer. He called Willow before grabbing his coat and slamming the door behind him.
LA:
The effect of Buffy's touch was instantly visible on Linpuy's calloused shoulder. He shrieked in pain as his skin bubbled. The alcohol residue burned a hole through his shoulder blade and into his chest. A hand-shaped hole illustrated his torment as he turned and glared disdainfully at Buffy.
She backed away in horror, not of the gory scene in front of her but of her own mistrusting actions.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she murmured to Linpuy.
"That's all well and good Slayer, but this hole doesn't seem to be disappearing now, does it?" He spat back at her.
She ran back to the basin and hid behind the alcohol filled tub.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't trust you, you knew too much about the whole situation, I had to make sure." She babbled, trying to explain her actions in what came out as one shrill unintelligible slur. Linpuy seemed to understand well enough. Tzirkos took his position in front of Linpuy and addressed the slayer.
"And I guess you decided to use my right-hand man as litmus paper. Did your little experiment work, bitch? We explained very clearly that we lost men, good men, trying to pass these tests. If we wanted to kill you, we would've done it by now."
Tzirkos examined Lin's wounds. He cut a rough slit on his own forearm, and wiped some of the translucent blood on his finger. He went to approach Linpuy, who shied away from the unconventional treatment that was about to take place.
"It stings, boss," Linpuy winced. "Can't you just use her blood?" He pleaded, motioning to Buffy. "It's more potent anyway," he explained.
Tzirkos turned to Buffy."It would be just, you wouldn't lose a limb or have a gaping hole in your torso, but I think Linpuy would accept it as a very gracious apology."
Buffy stopped him at this point, knowing full well how inappropriate it would be now for him to drop to his knees again. "Of course I'll he- help," she choked out, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.
Tzirkos approached Buffy slowly, rubbing his index finger along Buffy's still open arm wound.
"Here friend, this shouldn't sting." He said to Lin in a soothing tone. Lin was fighting tears at this point, grasping onto the last iota of pride he still owned.
As Tzirkos massaged the warm slayer blood into Lin's open wound, the healing effects were miraculously instant. Flesh, sinew, muscle and bone reformed in front of their very eyes. Once he was complete again, he shot the Slayer a furtive glance before reconsidering and smiling gratefully as a single tear rolled and burnt to ash on his cheek.
Lin turned to Tzirkos."I believe I myself now have what it takes to defeat the witches myself. The slayers blood has enhanced my senses and given me new strength. It is not much more than I already had, but it may very well be enough."
Buffy interceded, "We'll see who bags the most wicked Wicca in a sec, but first I have to rub some of that toxic stuff into this wound. It should sterilize it for now, and I should be fine to continue," she concluded.
"Very well, we will ascend the stairs and assess the door." Tzirkos replied, gesturing for Linpuy to proceed first.
Buffy dipped a finger in the solution and rubbed the makeshift salve into her open cut. She fashioned a new bandage from an offcut of her denim shorts and rushed over to Tzirkos and Linpuy.
"OK, on three we barge the door and emaciate some mages." Buffy quipped harshly.
"One, two, three…"
Sunnydale, CA
The din from the rushing water made it hard for Giles to concentrate. Willow wasn't here yet and he wasn't entirely sure that she would be able to wake up Xander either. Xander wouldn't contribute too much, but Giles believed in the whole 'strength in numbers' mantra. He occupied himself calling out futilely for Kendra, who hadn't made an appearance as yet. Frustration had made Giles violently bad-tempered by the time Oz and Willow were within sight.
"It's about bloody time, you two. Where the hell is Xander?" Giles spat in a Ripper-like manner.
"Um, Xander wouldn't wake up, freaky man whom resembles our mild mannered librarian. Hey, speaking of him, where'd he go?" Willow asked timidly.
"Not where, when. I thought I stressed that time is of the essence. My patience wore unnaturally thin 15 minutes after I arrived here. Having to wait another half an hour made me decidedly grumpy. Have either of you caught wind of Kendra?" Giles asked, slowly getting calmer and more like the Minister of Tweed by the second.
Oz shook his head. "I tried to track her, her scent led us to the motel Faith's staying at, which I do not recommend by the way." He stopped there, feeling further explanation would seem exhaustive. Willow picked it up from there.
"From the motel, we tracked her back here, hence the delay, opposite ends of town and the like." Willow explained smugly.
"Very well," a more subdued Giles replied. "I suggest we focus our energies on entering this facility and re-ascertaining our lost slayer."
They searched the grounds thoroughly and agreed on a point of entry towards the rear. Oz popped a vent and Willow crawled in first. Oz started to follow, before recoiling and taking in a deep breath.
"I know that smell." He said wistfully. The realization hit him and he reached for Willow just as the southside of the dam exploded sending a rain of fire and debris through the offices, the grounds and the vents.
A/N: Dun dun dun. Honk if you like cliffhangers! Thanks for reading, please review if you have any comments or questions.