Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy!
"Tara!" Joyce called out in tears when she saw the shy witch. She looked up and moved to hug her mother figure. "I'm so glad you're okay. You are okay, aren't you?" She pulled back enough to give Tara the once over.
"I'm fine," she said, turning back to the table. "I'm just really tired, physically and emotionally."
"The locator spell?" Joyce asked, recognizing the set up. Tara nodded.
"We're just waiting for Andrew to get back with a bigger map," she said. "And for Willow to call."
"Will it work with you two so far apart?" Joyce asked. Tara nodded.
"As long as the map is big enough to show both of our locations the magic should connect. We're hoping if we combine our magic it should be strong enough to get a general area that we can start searching. If we're really lucky we'll get an exact area on the Sunnydale map, but that probably is just wishful thinking at this point. When Willow gets back we can do a more specific search if we haven't found them."
"Thank you," she said just as Andrew ran in with a map. Giles ran in right after him.
"I got it," he said, handing the map to Tara. It was a generic map of California. She laid it right next to the Sunnydale map. "Ooff," he exclaimed as Joyce threw her arms around him too.
"The others?" Giles asked as he also indulged in a rare hug for Andrew.
"Anya took a pretty big hit," Andrew told them while Tara finished preparing. "She was awake but groggy when we left. Faith and Ethan stayed with her."
"And how are they?" Joyce asked concernedly.
"Banged up but alive," Tara answered, "but we don't know about Daniel, Spike, or Riley and his men."
"They're starting triage," Giles said solemnly. "They'll let us know when they know more." A heavy silence steeled over the group, everyone lost in their own thoughts until the phone rang.
"Willow?" Joyce asked, almost in tears.
"Joyce?" Willow cries out in relief. Joyce let her tears fall. "I'm so glad to hear your voice."
"Me too," Joyce admitted. "Rupert says we need to put this thing on speakerphone, whatever that is, to do the spell."
"Right," Willow agreed. "The speaker is in the base part. You need to bring the base out far enough for Tara and I to talk and hear each other freely, but make sure you don't put it in the casting circle. Who knows what could happen then."
"Got it," Joyce said as she handed the phone off. Willow could hear the general murmur of people trying to get modern technology to work for them before a new voice came on.
"Willow, this is Albert Giles," the authoritative voice started. Willow instinctively straightened her back.
"Yes Sir," she stammered.
"The Watcher's Council is arranging transportation home for you," he told her. "Once the spell is complete, I need you to lock the doors and stay inside. Watchers have already been dispatched to bring you home. They should be arriving within the hour. "
"Thank you," she said in relief. All she wanted to do was go home.
"It looks like they're almost ready," he told her. "How do we put you on speaker?"
"I got it," Tara said. Suddenly everything in the background became clear. "I'm all ready. You?"
"I'm just finishing laying out the map pieces," Willow said. "All I could find was a driving Atlas, so California is in a few pieces. It might take a while for it to track through my map, but it should be super accurate. What kind of map do you have?"
"The Sunnydale city one we always use," Tara told her, "and a state map it looks like Andrew pulled from one of the twins' workbooks."
"It was all I could think of," Andrew defended himself.
"As long as it shows San Diego and Sunnydale it should be fine," Willow reassured him. "Ready?" Willow asked.
"Ready," Tara responded. The rest of the room quieted down as the witches cast their spell. It took much longer than it usually did, to the point Joyce was almost ready to give up when a faint light finally appeared on the state map in front of Tara. Willow's voice got more excited, which they knew meant she had a light too.
The light manifested roughly in the middle of the two witches. That is what Giles guessed it would do with Willow and Tara being so far apart, but they were surprised when the light started moving south towards Willow. After a few minutes it settled over the dot depicting the Southern California town. It hovered there for a few more minutes, showing something more on Willow's end before flaring and going out. Tara slumped in exhaustion, the spell taking more energy than she had to give, but Joyce couldn't take her eyes off the map.
"Willow?"
Xander jerked awake as the cold water slapped his face. "What the…"he mumbled under his breath as he looked around him in confusion. Reality came crashing back when he saw Buffy floating behind him. "Buffy!" he cried out as he turned toward her. The arm he had wrapped around her chest had stiffened up but he forced it to move until he was untangled. It took him a minute to position himself to where he could check her pulse. It was weak, but steady. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's add this to our list of things to never do again," he said to her unconscious form as he tried to loosen his muscles. He hadn't been unconscious very long, the smoke hadn't even cleared yet. "Okay, a few miles to shore. I can do this. But which way is shore?" He circled around until he saw something in the distance. "I guess that way," he said as he started pulling Buffy toward what he hoped was safety.
Willow was frozen in shock, staring at the place where the light finally faded. Three miles off the coast of San Diego.
"Willow?" She heard Joyce calling out to her.
"I don't," she started, but her mind was racing. Her first thought was something had gone wrong with the spell, but she knew that wasn't the case. The spell worked as it always did when she and Tara joined together. She was looking around the room, trying to work out what was going on when her gaze landed on the TV. She kept it on as a form of background noise but was immediately drawn to the story. She searched for the remote and unmuted it.
"Minutes ago the US Navy detonated the charges placed on the aging destroyer," a reporter announced on location from the wharf. "We were able to see a small fireball from the shore. The Navy's detonation team announced a perfect detonation. They say the ship is sinking uniformly as hoped and that very little shrapnel was ejected from the ship. There is still the possibility of pieces shearing off due to the tremendous pressure the hull will be under as it sinks so they are still asking people to steer clear of the area for the rest of the night. They will be monitoring the sinking very carefully, but overall they are very pleased with the newest edition to the man-made reef. Back to the studio."
The special report ended with a cloud of smoke hovering over the water. "No," Willow exclaimed as she checked the map. She knew where Buffy was, Xander too more than likely. She heard Joyce demanding to get to San Diego so she knew they knew as well, but they were too far away. "Please, please, please," she muttered as she raced out the door.
She ran toward her destination. Though she had never gone there before, she was familiar enough with the area that she was sure she would be able to find it. "Please be here," she prayed as she knocked on the door to the modest home. She almost wept in relief when the door opened. "Hi," she began uncertainly, "you might not remember me, but I'm…"
"Willow," she was cut off. "I might not remember what I had for breakfast this morning, but I will always remember you and your friends." Nancy smiled wildly as she held the door open wider in invitation. Willow hesitated only for a second before going inside.
"I'm sorry to show up unannounced but I need your help." She hesitated when she saw Hank sitting in the recliner, watching her keenly. She took a deep breath. "Buffy needs your help."
"What can I do?" Nancy asked immediately.
"I need to borrow your boat."
"Just hold on Buff," Xander kept repeating to himself over and over. He didn't know how long he had been swimming, but it seemed like he had been swimming forever. His arms and legs alternated between feeling like wet noodles and being on fire. But he didn't dare stop. He knew if he stopped he wouldn't be able to start again. He promised Buffy he would get her out of this and fully intended to keep his promise. "Just keep swimming," he repeated to himself as he pulled them through the water.
"Do I want to know how you know I have a boat?" Nancy asked as she drove her car to the marina. She looked sideways. Willow suddenly looked guilty.
"At the risk of you not helping me, probably not." Nancy laughed. Hank just looked down in shame.
"I promise I won't hate you," she reassured the red head. "I'm just curious."
"I hacked you," Willow admitted, glancing in the back seat. Willow didn't want Hank to come, but he insisted. She gave in knowing time was of the essence, as long as he promised to do what she told him. She glanced back at Nancy. "I promise I will never use any of the stuff I found out against you, but if there was someone who had the power to destroy your family, wouldn't you want to know everything about them?" Nancy glanced in her rear view mirror at her brother. She still wasn't exactly sure what happened between Hank and his family, and a small part of her never wanted to know, but she could sense it was bad. She nodded.
She turned off the main road down to the marina parking lot. A few words with the attendant and they were parking the car. They detoured to the harbormaster to inform him they were taking the boat out. He reminded them to stay away from the area the Navy was occupying and to have fun. Willow followed Nancy to her boat with Hank trailing along behind them. "Here we are," Nancy pointed out her watercraft. It was obviously meant as a relaxing pleasure craft, there were no rod holders for fishermen and no ledge for water skiers, but it looked comfortable enough. It was big enough to hold a dozen people comfortably and had a small kitchen area below deck along with a small restroom.
"Nice," Willow commented, carefully climbing onboard. "Do you have first aid kits?"
"A few," Nancy told her as she started the boat. Hank untied it, pushed off, and jumped in. Willow tried to hide her shivers when he passed her and took the seat next to Nancy. "Where to?"
"Remember where the harbormaster told us not to go?" Willow asked. Nancy nodded her head. "We need to go there."
"We'll never make it past the Navy blockade," Nancy commented as she steered the boat out of the marina and towards open water.
"Leave that to me," Willow said, opening up the shopping bag she got from the local magic shop. She began preparing her magic.
"What can I do to help?" Hank asked. Willow looked at him sympathetically.
"Break out all the first aid kits you have on board," she told him, "along with all the water and blankets you can find. Then pray we're not too late." Hank did as he was told. A few minutes later Willow handed Nancy a homemade compass. "This will lead us to them."
"Okay." Nancy didn't bat an eyelash at following the compass and quickly adjusted their course. "We'll be coming up to the blockade line any minute now. They're going to see us and make us turn around."
"No they won't." Nancy looked up, shocked to find Willow's eyes had turned black as she chanted under her breath. The next second she felt a static charge passing through her. Hank's gasp told her he felt it too. She looked back at Willow. Her eyes were slowly turning normal again.
"I shielded the boat," willow explained. "They'll never see us." Nancy nodded and kept going, though she half expected to be caught. They went right between two Navy vessels. They were so close she could hear the excitement in the crew's voices as they documented and discussed the sinking ship. But Willow was right. They never saw the boat passing through their safety perimeter.
"I'll admit, I'm impressed."
"Thanks," Willow grinned before turning serious. "They should be here somewhere." She carefully climbed onto the front of the boar. Hank joined her a minute later. He passed her a pair of binoculars before claiming the right side of the boat and starting to search. Willow copied his actions on the left side, after she firmly anchored herself so she wouldn't fall overboard accidentally. Nancy reduced the speed, still following the makeshift compass's directions in between searching for herself.
"We're starting to see debris," Hank called out, more composed then Willow has ever seen him. "We must be getting close to the site."
"Do you see anything?" Nancy asked as she slowed down even more. Willow and Hank both shook their heads, desperately search the ocean's surface for any trace of Buffy or Xander.
"Wait a minute," Hank called out, focusing on an area out in the ocean. "I think I see something." He scanned the area intently with his binoculars. "Hard to starboard!" Nancy immediately complied, causing Willow to stumble a bit. When she regained her footing she moved over to join Hank.
"Oh my God!" Nancy exclaimed as they drew nearer and could see clearly. Two bodies were floating the waves. At first glance it looked like Buffy was clutching a piece of driftwood while Xander pulled her to safety. Xander was trying his best, but he was well past the point of exhaustion. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't making any progress.
"Xander!" Willow cried out, trying to get his attention as the boat inched closer and closer. "Oh Goddess!" she cried when they were close enough to see Buffy's wasn't clutching the wood, but was tied to it. Nancy gasped but Hank ran to the rear of the boat, grabbed a life saver, and dove into the ocean. Nancy was gasping incoherently, but she was still masterfully getting the boat closer and closer. Hank quickly swam the distance between them. He tried getting Xander to release Buffy, but it was clear nothing was getting through to the young man. He wasn't tied up, but he wasn't letting go either. Eventually Hank shoved the life ring under Xander's arms and started pulling both of them toward the boat.
"Here." Nancy killed the motor and let the boat drift amongst the waves. She went to the back and reached out a pole with a loop on the end. Hank caught the loop and secured both his passengers as Nancy started to pull them closer. Willow ran back and helped as much as she could. They pulled them closer and closer until they were almost touching. Xander was continuing to fight, trying to pull Buffy away no matter what Hank was telling him.
"Xander!" Willow screeched. That finally broke through his mind. He stopped struggling, gazing up as he struggled to focus on his friend's face.
"Will?" he asked in disbelief.
"It's me," she cried, tears coming down her cheeks. "I'm here." She reached out and grabbed his hand, willing some of her strength into him. "Leaks get you onboard."
"No," he shook his head violently. "Buffy first. I promised I would get her out of this." He squeezed Willow's hand before releasing it. He grabbed onto the side of the boat.
"Okay," Nancy said. She threw the pole to the side and instead reached overboard. Willow was right there to help. Hank hoisted Buffy's frail form up from the water. They each grabbed a side of the board and lifted. "I'm gonna be sick," Nancy said when she realized Buffy wasn't just tied to the board, she was nailed to it. As soon as Buffy was safely on board she ran to the other side and violently started heaving while Willow examined her best friend.
A quick spell severed the board down the center, letting Buffy's arms fall to her side. She untied her, but didn't dare touch the spikes that went through her wrists. She shortened the board as much as she dared and disinfected and wrapped the wounds. "That's all I'm comfortable doing," she spoke out loud before realizing nobody was listening. Nancy was still hanging over the other side of the boat, and from the sounds coming from the water, Hank was doing the same thing his sister was doing. "I remember when we had those reactions," Willow said as she swaddled Buffy up in a blanket. Then she leaned back over the edge.
Xander was clinging onto the edge with everything he had left, his eyes staring sightlessly before him. He focused a little bit when Willow grabbed his hand. "Will?" he croaked.
"I'm right here," she promised as she tried to haul him on board. Hank and Nancy recovered enough to help and he was soon sitting next to Buffy.
"Will," he cried out again, refusing to release her hand. Nancy was helping Hank back into the boat and they were alone for a moment.
"It's okay," she soothed, draping a blanket around him but he just shook his head and squeezed tighter.
"Will," he started, trying to stave off unconsciousness as long as possible. "Buffy! She walked!" He registered Willow's shocked face before the world came crashing down around him.
The End.
AN: So ends the fifth piece of my series. What started out as a third act turned into another monster story, but I think it worked. For everyone who will want some sort of resolution, instead of "She Walked", it goes something like this. They get back to shore. The family reunites. Everyone gets healthy again. And they all live happily ever after.
Yeah Right. Nothing is ever so simple with this group. I will say this, the next story, which I am working on right now, will pick up a few weeks after this ending scene. I really want the ending to focus on "She Walked" because that's a key point in the start of the next story. We will also get more into the Watchers Council. I did a brief glance in this one as to how I think the Watchers Council is. I don't think it is an evil organization, like it's often portrayed to be, but I do think it's an old organization subject to corruption from within.
So thank you to everyone for reading. I hope it had enough twists and turns and tender moments to keep everyone engaged. And I hope you stick around for the next one, which hopefully won't take quite so long to write. Thank you again.