Cornered
A/N:
July 18th. Happy birthday to Nelson Mandela. Mr. Mandela, I look up to you and am so grateful to what you have done for the world. and I wish you a very merry birthday! And to Van Diesel, even if you aren't my hero. Also to Dick Button whom I desperately want to meet. Your skating ability is...beyond words, thank you for being so incredibly dedicated to your passion.
July 19th. Happy birthday to Brian May, lead guitarist in the band "Queen."
Hullo, Hullo, Hullo. So Blue Neutrino, you wanted some spice, yes? I hope this fills your need. I'm excited...I'm just worried that this chapter is going to be really long...But really epic. Insane. Also, I won't spend a lot of time editing this chapter before put it up, so I forewarn you now, this chapter will be in a very very rough-draft form.
Random thought: I was filing something away and came across the name, "Sybil Luck." I'm not even joking, but the person's parents might have been when they named her...I now want to use that name for a character now...Anyway, here's our chapter! Reviewers, thank you very much for your insight!
In five minutes, everything was straightened up. Crumbs were in the waste paper bin, dishes and silverware had been cleared off and laid outside so she could take them to the kitchen, small pieces of flint from clothing was scrunched up in a ball and thrown away, and stray parchments lay on the middle of the table in a neat pile. For the remainder of the five minutes, Silwen pulled out a chair and sat on it, resting her bloated feet. Just as her eyes closed, the doors swung open.
"You are dismissed from my side. Get out," hissed Voldemort taking her elbow forcing her to her feet and dragging her into the hallway. Letting go of her, he sent Silwen crashing into the dishes. He ordered her to clean that mess up then returned to the Dining Hall. Carefully, so as not to cut herself, Silwen started to gather the pieces up from the ground, holding them delicately. Seconds later, she dropped them, fearfully. Every shard, every piece was levitating, even the ones she had been holding, and flew repaired into the kitchen, landing neatly in the sink. She spun around and almost fell on the ground herself, going week in the knees when she saw the caster. Rushing to her, a figure in black caught her just before she reached the floor.
"Draco," breathed Silwen in his arms.
"I thought you might want some company," said her perfect surprise.
"So, where are we going?" he asked. He rose, carrying her like a princess carried by a knight in shining armor.
"Someplace private. ...You can put me down now, thank you," she whispered, leaning up to his ear. However, Draco continued to hold her. "The Dark Lord told me to 'get out', so why don't we?"
"You mean... Out out?" he clarified. Silwen nodded solemnly, but her eyes were bright. "If they catch us..."
"We'll have to make sure they don't catch us then. Let's go."
"Sil, we can't risk this. It's too dangerous if they catch us again!"
Stubbornly, she replied, "I'm going even if you aren't. Now put me down please so I can use my legs." Obligingly, Draco carefully set her down, not letting go fully until she was stable. Even then, he held her hand, interweaving his fingers through hers.
"Can I use your wand for a moment?" she asked. Draco nodded and gave it to her. Pointing the wand first at him then at her she whispered twice, "Dissilusio!" Both of them disappeared from view. That done, Silwen handed Draco back his mother's wand.
"Wait Sil-" but he was cut off as Silwen started to run almost silently through the manor, dragging him with her, and outside to freedom.
It was chilly outside but the cold seemed to waken Silwen's excitement and she nearly shouted except Draco put a hand over her mouth and pointed to a small congregation of people standing a small ways off. Three people. Two in black coats, leather and an expensive winter one, the other in a beautiful red lace dress. Angel's gang. Silwen let go of Draco and crept to where she could hear their voices.
"The stone holding Acathla is at Hogwarts. Most likely on the grounds," said Angel, faceless in the night.
"So what's our excellent plan going to be?" sniffed Spike disinterestedly.
"Go to the school with Voldemort's army then break off when the chaos starts. After that, we find the stone, get Acathla out of it, awaken him and let the world go to hell. Good?"
"Almost mate, but what about the Slayer? Thanks to Voldemort's brat, the Slayer knows some of our plan."
A laugh erupted from Angel. "I'll distract her. We still have Mr. Giles locked up in our room. Thanks to him, we know how to wake Acathla. Also, I invited someone to agree to make a disturbance. He'll be here-"
"Now," called a new voice rapidly. Tick-Tock. Naturally. He would be used to start chaos.
Oh no. I have enough information. Time to go before they find me. She moved back to Draco when a wrong-placed foot snapped a very dry twig. Holding her breath, feeling five pairs of eyes bore into her, she waited until they decided it was an animal who had made the noise. The silence lengthened the Master walked to where the noise had originated, over to Silwen. Fifteen centimeters away from her he stopped, staring into empty space, then turned around. Silwen sighed and continued to get back to Draco when suddenly the Master turned around, lashed out an arm, found her hair, gripped it-and yanked her towards him. Instinctively, she cried out in pain. In the distance, she heard Draco's voice curse. Spike shot towards Draco, but returned quickly, empty handed. Draco must have managed to get away. I'm an idiot. An idiot to forget about him, to forget that even if I'm invisible, people can still hear me. Idiot! Well, I know I'll never make the same mistake again...
The Master dragged her by the hair until they both were at the circle of vampires. "Look who I found," smirked the Master, switching to carrying her much like Draco had, except for the intensely tight grip.
"Tick-Tock found our little bird," whispered Drusilla making room for him, staring directly at Silwen and smiling, showing her ivory teeth. Can she see through the Disillusionment Charm? wondered Silwen.
"Yeah, well I found her boyfriend but figured he'd be too much trouble here so I let him off," snapped Spike.
Angel glared at him then said to the Master, "Good. She can't be allowed to escape."
Eyes narrowing, Angelus said, "Master, drop her on the ground in the middle of us. I think we should figure out exactly how much she knows." The Master's scowl deepened, but he dropped Silwen, who was now entirely visible, and looked at Angelus.
"You're outside of the gate, little bird. How did you manage that?" asked Angel, squatting down next to her. He reached out to her hair and pushed it gently to one side of her neck. Spooked, she crawled away from him, running into Spike's knees. Viciously, Spike kicked her forwards to Angel, who caught her and pinned her to the ground.
"I-I was told to get out by Voldemort," she whispered.
Chuckling, he said, "Tom Riddle let you go? Really?"
Silwen shook her head a smidge. "No, he meant for me to get out of the Dining Hall, not the house. But 'get out' can mean so many things..."
"So you decided to leave, clever girl. But not that clever. You forgot about being quiet," he said tracing her face, grinning at the her tremors. "What did you hear us say?" he murmured in her ear, bending over her.
"I heard about Acathla, where and what he is, what your plan is, that you have your own prisoner in your room."
Angel tsked and lightly pressed his face onto her cheek like a distorted lover's caress. When she began to scream, a hand covered her mouth. "Shhh, you can scream later, I promise. But we have to get you where no one will hear you first. Silly girl, what did you think you'd do with what you heard?" he asked, his face lowering to her neck. Angel's hand left Silwen's mouth, allowing her to answer.
"I-I was g-going to alert the resistance in Sunnydale. Specifically the Slayer," she stuttered through frightened tears. A new hand lowered down to her face, tenderly wiping her tears off, making Silwen start to scream again, only to be cut off by the same hand of the Master's. Desperately, she spat at and licked the Master's hand. The hand drew away instantly, wiping itself on the ground. She smiled and softly, slowly, started to move towards a space between Drusilla's and Spike's legs. If she could get in between them and out, she might be able to start running and make a lot of ruckus to sound an alert someone. Anyone.
"Let me take her for you," persuaded the the Master, level with Angel. "You don't want the girl."
"As right as you may be mate, you're wrong," said Spike from above. "I think that Voldy, here, would pay dearly to get his girl back. Or perhaps our real Master would like a little play-thing too. New blood, you know."
"Good boy, Spike," said Angel, standing. "Sorry, Tick-Tock, I think we'll keep her."
Glaring, the Master snapped, "You will not. At least let me come with her and have her until you hand her over to your vampire ruler. I'll keep her contained for you..." Silwen shuddered as she kept silent and moving, unnoticed by the four non-humans.
"What if we took her to the Master in Sunnydale until Voldy sees her absence?" debated Spike.
"Ohh, I like it, Spike," responded Drusilla, standing to the side and widening the gap.
"Then that's what we will do and then return to finish off with Acathla," decided Angel. "Master, you'll travel with us. Silwen is under your care and I want her in perfect health for our boss."
Smirking delightly, the Master said, "Of course!"
Crawling a few more steps, Silwen broke through. She stayed low and slunk slowly away from them towards the manor.
"Silwen, we are-" began the Master looking down then stopping when she wasn't there.
Silwen got to her feet and ran, screaming about Angelus on the top of her lungs when-Crash! Angel had jumped, pouncing on her back, sending them both to the dirt. "Brat!" he said, shallowly biting the nape of her neck. He watched the blood flow, timing how long he could restrain himself. The moment he bit her, Silwen became silent and immobile. If she stayed still, would her blood flow less. Angelus got off her back and forced her back on her feet. He shoved her in front of him and walked her back to the others, her hands stuck behind her held by him.
"What if we broke the little bird's wings? Our boss wouldn't care about that," mused Spike, irritated.
"If that happens again, Tick-Tock, both of you will lose your sight," snapped Angelus, thrusting Silwen at the Master.
"You bit her!" reviled the Master, holding Silwen like she was a hostage. He pressed one thumb against her wound to stop the bleeding, pushing harder when she winced.
Suddenly, the Master and Silwen stiffened, the vampires warily watching them. Close by, a metallic throbbing echoed across the field surrounding the manor.
The Master moved his hand from his neck to his pocket and brought out a knife. Genially, like it was a joke of some sort, he pressed the dull side to her throat. "He came much sooner than I expected. Well, this could be better...No bodies to walk over, or to trip over than if it had happened at the Hogwarts battle."
"What is going on?" asked Angelus with deadly calm.
"I-er..the Doctor has arrived," whispered Silwen staring at thin air that was quickly hardening.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock, he doesn't have much time here, he does," murmured Drusilla dancing now in a circle.
Soon, the throbbing hum faded with a large, blue, wooden box appeared and solidified in front of them. The door creaked open and a man stepped out, dressed in a brown pinstripe suit, etched in blue. Glasses threatened to tip off his sharp nose as he evaluated the people in front of him. "What?" he spluttered, raising an eyebrow.
"Who are you? I-I wanted the Doctor." whispered Silwen.
The Master cackled behind her. "This is the Doctor, Silly!"
Shaking her head, wincing as her skin moved across the metal she retorted, "He doesn't have a white shirt underneath, he's not wearing a light brown suit, his hair is reasonable, he isn't wearing a bow tie and his light is blue. When I saw him, the light was green."
"Ah, you've seen me in my future. ... I wear a bow tie?" asked the Doctor. Silwen nodded.
"Time Lords regenerate, Silly," snapped the Master, turning the knife so the sharp side pressed against her skin. A couple crimson beads appeared in a thin necklace drooping down her neck. To avoid the knife, Silwen pressed herself closer to the Master, making him chuckle. The hand circling around her middle tightened. She jumped, trying to regain the distance, suddenly preferring the knife to him. But the Master wouldn't let her and simply held her closer with more force.
"And who are you?" he said worriedly looking at her. "Master what's going on?"
"I-I'm-"
"My new pet, Silwen Snape. Don't you recognize her from the video, Doctor?"
The Doctor's eyes grew wide as he stared at Silwen. "Silwen Snape...You sent me the message about Arkangel, which by the way was really helpful, you saved the world."
Spike's eyes glinted angrily; he didn't like being in the dark. So he started with the first question that he thought of. "What is that blue box?"
"The TARDIS," said the Doctor absently as gears spun inside his mind.
Spike looked at Silwen. "Tell me, pet, what is a TARDIS?"
"It's a time travel box," said Silwen, a tear on her cheek.
"Wait. Angel. Vampire. You had a soul, last time we met," said the Doctor.
Smiling, Angel said, "So you do remember me from the Boxer Rebellion. It's been a long time, Doctor. You almost had me there, offering for me to...travel with you. Oh, my soul, it's gone."
Pity swept into the Doctor's eyes, looking at both Silwen and Angelus. "I'm so sorry."
"Tick-tock, tick-tock goes the clock..." chanted Drusilla, having stopped dancing.
"Well. It was nice meeting another Time Lord. But Angel, I think it's time to go," said Spike.
"I'm afraid you can't do that just yet," said the Doctor. "Leave Silwen here, Master."
The Master laughed, thickening Silwen's necklace, making her whimper. "You three go. I need to finish something," he said, his lips curling back into a sneer.
"Three hours. If you aren't in Sunnydale by then, the Hogwarts Battle will end with you," threatened Angel. "Spike, Dru? Let's go get our package and go home." He turned around swiftly, with Spike and Drusilla following, arms linked around the others' waist.
