ultimate sacrifice

Chapter 25

What did I do? I put her...in danger...I didn't mean...oh no...Xander shighed. I think I just made things worse, should I have trusted her I mean...it sounded but maybe she's right.

"Cordelia wait," called Willow again.

This time she answered her. "Why should I," she swirled around, to face Willow. "Willow, look out, Duck!"

Willow and Cordelia ducked as something flew over them. Nice move, see that's why she's still needed. Willow thought.
She's not all that bad but sometimes...um maybe her ideas...well...

What is that flying dogs? Now I think I have seen it all. What else am I going to see if I stay with these people...Cordelia shook her head. But isn't that what I like about them...different yet dangerious...maybe...could it be this is why I hang out with them?

"We didn't mean it." Willow swallowed. "We are just upset about all of this. We want to help Buffy and..."

"And save the day, I get that! But I have good ideas too, and you treat me like it's all about me. well, he..." A long black whipping tail came sweeping by. "Jump!" they both yelled at the same time. Both did and avoided yet another disaster.

What was that? I'm getting the feeling I should have stayed where I was... with Spike. Cordelia took a deep breath as they both made it back to the side tunnel before something else could atack them.

"That was too close," Willow said, as she leaned with her back against the wall. "We need a plan." She swaollow, "I mean we can't just walk out there and attack these things, what ever they are. There's at least four of then, and now we know that they fly." That was not good, um...if they fly how are we to see them coming. We can't be reckless about this, it has to be thought out carefully. beating a demon is hard stuff we...she wished that Buffy was here, well helping them. She just felt better with the whole gang together. How are we going to get to her...um...let me think.

After seeing Cordelia and Willow's run in with the flying thing, Xander got thinking. Maybe we could we outrun them, if we all ran in a different direction that way we could trap them one by one. A way to seperate them. but would that work...um... I'll
throw it out there, there's only one way, but the hard part is to get Giles to promise...but how...sometimes he dosen't
take me too serious...just like I did with Cordelia...I...um... No one said anything for a moment thenXander spoke,
"I have a plan."

"Well what is the plan?" Giles asked, when Xander did not immediately speak back. Instead he glanced at Giles then to Willow then to Cordelia who wasn't really paying attention he thought.

I think that she's still mad at me and this ...this plan could make her even madder but I don't care. My gut is calling me to this plan and I'm sticking to it, now how to get them to go along...

With the longer then normal pause, the more nervous Giles became if that was even possible. But he had to hear him out since he was the only one so far to come up with something. Giles let out a soft sigh.

"Do I get to do it, if I speak it?" Xander wanted to make sure that he got to do this before he told Giles and the others
what it was that he was thinking.

Giles knew by that comment that what he was about to say, no one was going to like, something that would involve...what a semi-bad idea attached to it.

"Well, uh...um...what is it?" Giles' full attention, even though he wasn't staring into Xander's eyes, was now focused on him waiting to hear this great idea he came up with.

"You promise..." the men meet eyes. Giles nodds yes. I don't want to argue again. I don't think that I could take it but then again...I don't know what he has up his sleeve it might do more harm then what we are already facing. which is what really? sitting here doing nothing.

"As you know I'm the fastest runner." Willow wouldn't argue that. She had seen him in action. "So, I'll run and drop off the keys to her before..."

"To risky." Giles interrupted him.

"You promised," Xander shot his mouth off in retalleation.

"That's before I knew what it was." Giles responded with a little anger, how could he think that I would go along with an idea like that.

"Then don't promise," Xander had him there and Giles knew it.

"I..." Xander smiled, he knew that he had won this time. He could hear Giles' sigh.

That sneaky...ah... there's nothing that I can do now.
Sure there is, just tell him no,
don't do that, you have to keep with what you said. You have...
"I did promise, so I..." he answered, knowing that he might regret alot of things.

"So it's ago?" Giles didn't answer. He didn't want to admit the truth. He didn't want to say yes. That this might be the only thing that saves his beloved Buffy. Xander is right though he is the fastest one here, but how will she react to all of this? I mean...she might not be able to... Giles sighed, I'm not sure he's ready for this. I'm not sure I'm ready to risk... we all might end up dead, but... he readied himself.

"You're not seriously considering this...Giles!" Willow said, eyeing her...ok the Slayer's watcher. He's supposed to protect...us...well he did take on all three...now with Cordelia and Spike and then there's Angel too, all of us as...his own.

"I...I..." He swallowed, "I have no choise, I promised him..." He hated himself for being so rash but...time was waisting and now that this situation came out he had to run with it.

"If this works," Willow laid heavy emphasis on the "if". "Then what?" she asked.

"B's free." Xander commented.

"And that's means we get to get out of here," Cordelia added. She knew that that was not the end of things it never was.

"And What if..." Willow started off again, she was trying to make him look at all angles of this...so called plan. She wasn't sure that it would really work and like Giles said it might be to risky. what if the demons get to him first are they going to...I don't want to be part of that...she started to get upset. Not just about the plan but everything, why do I feel so helpless. I have to think of some magic that I can use. um... her mind woundered into her world.

"It seems to me that if there is the slightest chance that this might work, that I... we can free Buffy then the risk is one
that I...we must take. What other choises do we..." Giles glanced at Willow who had that stare. "Have? We have to
get her those keys for her to free."

"I'll do it. I can run the fastest. I can get it to her. You know that I can! This will work, trust me...have I ever let you guys down." Giles had to think about that one, but he knew that he was the best one to get the keys to her.

"When I say the word," Giles glanced over at Xander and noticed a blank gaze. "Pay attention Xander," Xander swallowed. "Now, when I give the word...run to her, hand her the keys then keep running. Don't look behind you. No matter, what you hear, don't look. Just run to safty."

"You are serious...I have a bad feeling about this..." Willow knew there was no way to change Giles' or Xander's mind
about doing this but what if something terrible happened to them...I have to be ready to have a back up plan. She reached in her pocket.

I can do this, I can do this, I have to do this...she's counting on me...I must not fail her. We have one shot and it's up to me. Adrenaline was pumping through Xander, he was ready. He was about to go off on the mission impossible of getting the keys to Buffy and getting her out of those chains. He liked the idea, of maybe having some part of being a hero.

Cordelia who stayed out of the descustion , stook her head. She didn't want Xander to do this, but reallize that this is that danger he gets into all the time. I just have to let him do things, I knew...I have to wish him good luck... She grabbed him by the arm. I'm going to try to confince him not to just one more time, what kind of girlfriend whould I be if I didn't. Not a good one. She knew that he had to prove it himself, he did it all the time but he didn't have to... I...love him anyway. "I can't let you."

"Cordie," she liked that nick name, one Buffy gave her. Buffy, she sighed. He's doing this for you.

"This is not up for debate." Still holding on to him, she pulled him in to a hug. Which, suprised all of them equally.

"I love you," she whispered in his ear. There I said it to him. But what if it's too late, what if he dosen't make it back. He turned to open his mouth to say something back to her. Words are just words, this is my chance to prove it to him. She took the oppertinity to kiss him. Kiss him and it mean something something more.

"ut...um..." Giles broke this...meeting up. I still don't understand those to, one minute they're at each other's throats then the next...he shook his head. At least he...hold on to that, he could feel tears coming again. "We..."

Cordelia broke the embrace and wiped the lipstick from his lips. She knew that it was time for him to go.

"I'll be fine." he gave a thumbs up and had a goofy grin on his face. "I'll be back in no time." He winked at Willow, then nodded at Giles to tell him that he was ready to do this...

tbc...