Title: State of Mind Part 3
Author: Jeffrey Patrick
Description: Angel returns to Sunnydale to warn Buffy of impending danger. When things go awry, he and Xander find themselves having to come to Buffy's rescue by entering her thoughts.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but a sense of adventure and some stale cheese puffs. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own Buffy and all related characters. It's their playground. I just like to slide!
*******************************************************************************
Giles was weak, but he knew he had to act. He ran toward Angelus, only to have his face pummeled by a fist that easily could have broken his jaw. He went sprawling backward over the couch. Angelus laughed and made his way toward the fallen Watcher.
Willow and Tara joined hands and sent Angelus flying backward so hard that he knocked down the door to Giles' home. Angelus stood up and dusted himself off. He walked in slowly and calmly. "I always thought you were a witch, Willow. I just never meant it literally."
Willow and Tara turned to run, hoping they could barricade themselves in the bathroom. But Angelus leapt over the couch and knocked them both to the ground, causing Tara to strike her head on the wall. He picked Willow up by her throat, even as Tara lost consciousness. Gasping for air, Willow did her best to focus on a spell, but she was blacking out. Then the unthinkable happened.
A baseball bat came crashing down between Angelus' shoulders and he loosened his grip. She fell to the floor with and was only able to focus on the bat crashing again and again into the vampire's back. She didn't need to see his face to know who had saved her. The room was spinning and she couldn't hold it off any longer. She only managed a few words before she passed out. "Don't... kill him... Spike."
Xander convulsed and fell to the floor screaming. The pain was almost unbearable, but he focused on it. Angel had disappeared. He had to focus on something to keep his mind from what he saw around him. If even for a second he excepted it as real, he would be lost. He closed his eyes and imagined himself walking around in Buffy's brain. It was gross, but more real than what he could see. The pain began to subside. He was just attempting to stand up, when he felt her hands on his back.
"Xander, what happened? Were you attacked?"
"I don't know for sure. I was just standing here with Angel, when...."
"Where is he? Where is Angel?"
"He disappeared. It's a long story. Can you take me in side?"
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I can't open my eyes. I'll explain when we get inside."
"Okay then. Take my hand."
"Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you're okay."
Willow woke to the sound of cursing. Tara was next to her on the couch holding a cold compress to the back of her head. Giles and Spike were on the stairs carrying the possessed Buffy upstairs to Giles' room. Angelus was nowhere to be seen. As if reading her mind, Tara said, "They carried Angel upstairs already. They chained him up, too. Strange that Giles has so many chains, but handy."
"What about Xander?" She asked, realizing for the first time that she had watched him slump to the floor. "Is he?"
"He's alive. But Giles said he's just barely holding on. When he lost the anchor, he got trapped in Buffy's mind along with Angel. Except..."
"Except what? No except. I hate except."
"Except that, we don't really know what would have happened to Angel. Giles thinks there may still be hope, but... I don't know how we could get them back. I mean, if Xander believes what he sees there, he'll be lost. And Angel... I don't know what would have happened to him."
"Well, there's got to be something we can do. Maybe I could go in after Xander and Buffy... and... and Angel, if he's still... you know."
"Giles said that it wouldn't be possible to send anyone else."
"Why? I'm sure we could find another caster to help with the spell."
"No... There are three people roaming Buffy's mind... well, at least two, plus Acricon. Giles thinks we could cause permanent damage to Buffy by sending someone else in."
"So what's the plan then? Wait? Because waiting is a bad plan. The worst plan. Waiting is...."
"The only option we have at the moment." Giles was standing at the bottom of the stairs. He looked at her with kind eyes. "I'm worried too, Willow. But this situation is dire enough as it is without acting rashly. That's what got us into this in the first place. Buffy and Xander run off with Angel with no back-up. I get us involved in this stupid spell not realizing that with Angel's will out of his body, Angelus would be unleashed. No. I believe now, more than ever, we must think things through."
Willow knew Giles was right, but she didn't like it.
Buffy took off her blouse and double checked to make sure Xander still had his eyes closed. She took some scissors and cut a four inch strip from the bottom of the blouse and then put it back on. Her midriff was exposed, but it wasn't too bad. She walked over to Xander and tied the strip around his eyes. "Okay," she said. "I've been Trust Girl so far, but I just ruined my favorite shirt to make a blindfold. It's explanation time and guess who's in the hot seat?"
"Okay. It's like this... You aren't really in Sunnydale. Well, you are, but you're possessed. Not here. There. In the real Sunnydale. I'm in your head, trying to bring you out and Angel was around to remind me that this isn't Sunnydale. Only, now, he's disappeared."
Buffy stared at her blindfolded friend.
"That didn't make much sense did it?" He had just realized how it all sounded and that his job would probably be much harder than he had originally thought.
"No. It doesn't." She looked at the ridiculous picture before her. She reached out and put her hand on his cheek. "But that means it's probably true; especially since I've been having this weird feeling that things weren't right somehow. Start from the beginning this time and go slow."
Xander took his time, though he felt as if they were probably out of it, and explained to Buffy the whole story, including why he had to wear the blindfold.
"Okay. So you can't see things for long without buying the fantasy version. I obviously am not immune to this. But if I blindfold myself, we'll never find Angel and get out of here."
"If Vamp-Guy is still with us. He just blinked out, like someone flipped a switch or something. What if something happened to him on the other side? It would explain the soul wrenching pain I felt when he went hasta. That would mean I'm stuck here."
She smiled at him, though he couldn't see it. "No way am I going to have you crawling around my thoughts for the rest of my life. We'll have to try to find him."
"But wouldn't beating Acricon here straighten everything out? If Angel is here and trapped somewhere, he should be released when Acricon is defeated." Xander wished desperately that he could afford to see.
"Now I'm worried."
"Why?"
"You actually made sense."
"Great. You know, when I daydream about you blindfolding and teasing me, this isn't what I have in mind."
"Off topic much?"
"Sorry."
Spike plopped down on the couch next to Willow. "Well, Red... How about that thank you?"
Willow looked at him strangely. "Well, sure. I mean, thanks. But I'm just wondering... Why? I could've sworn you...."
"Hate you and want you dead? I do. It would have been a jolly, old time of torture and violence if I would have left you with Angel. It's just that, as much as I hate you lot, I hate Angel that much more. It did my heart good to pummel him a bit."
"Well, uh, that's... I'm sorry but I have to take back that thank you." She got up and went upstairs to check on Buffy's body.
"Typical," was Spike's reply.
"So where do you think Agricorn is holing up?" Buffy asked as she armed herself from Angel's weapons chest.
"Acricon," Xander corrected. "And I have no idea. This is your mind. Where does the evil dwell?"
"I don't know. This is too surreal. You didn't think to ask Giles before you slid into my brain?"
"Well, no. I mean, we just thought..."
"You'd play it by ear? Good plan, Xand."
"Maybe it was. Maybe we just have to figure it out, and then we're halfway home. Maybe knowing is half the battle."
"Sage advise from G.I. Joe?"
"Exactly. Let's think about this. We're in your mind, so you should be able to do just about anything."
"Such as..."
"Taking us to the bad, post haste. Do not pass go. Do not collect the two C-notes."
"You're talking teleportation?"
"Nothing so sci-fi. I just mean that, technically, we aren't occupying any space. We're pure thought. Well,.., okay... I'm impure thought, but you should be able to move us to the evil dude before he gets squatter's rights on your mind and soul."
"It's worth a shot, since it's all we have to start with. What should I do? And why am I asking you?"
"Giles withdrawal?"
"Of the worst kind."
"Then let's plant this creep and blow your mind."
Willow looked at him. He still looked like Angel, but what she had faced, she remembered all too well. Angelus might as well have been the Devil, himself. Suddenly, he stirred. Acricon hissed through Buffy's clenched teeth.
"Giles!" She called. "He's waking up."
Giles bounded up the stairs with Spike on his heels. "Do I get to beat him some more, Rupert?"
"Not just yet," Giles responded calmly. He stepped over to Angel's body and jumped back when the eyes opened suddenly.
"Giles? Willow? It's okay. It's me. It's Angel."
Author: Jeffrey Patrick
Description: Angel returns to Sunnydale to warn Buffy of impending danger. When things go awry, he and Xander find themselves having to come to Buffy's rescue by entering her thoughts.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but a sense of adventure and some stale cheese puffs. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own Buffy and all related characters. It's their playground. I just like to slide!
*******************************************************************************
Giles was weak, but he knew he had to act. He ran toward Angelus, only to have his face pummeled by a fist that easily could have broken his jaw. He went sprawling backward over the couch. Angelus laughed and made his way toward the fallen Watcher.
Willow and Tara joined hands and sent Angelus flying backward so hard that he knocked down the door to Giles' home. Angelus stood up and dusted himself off. He walked in slowly and calmly. "I always thought you were a witch, Willow. I just never meant it literally."
Willow and Tara turned to run, hoping they could barricade themselves in the bathroom. But Angelus leapt over the couch and knocked them both to the ground, causing Tara to strike her head on the wall. He picked Willow up by her throat, even as Tara lost consciousness. Gasping for air, Willow did her best to focus on a spell, but she was blacking out. Then the unthinkable happened.
A baseball bat came crashing down between Angelus' shoulders and he loosened his grip. She fell to the floor with and was only able to focus on the bat crashing again and again into the vampire's back. She didn't need to see his face to know who had saved her. The room was spinning and she couldn't hold it off any longer. She only managed a few words before she passed out. "Don't... kill him... Spike."
Xander convulsed and fell to the floor screaming. The pain was almost unbearable, but he focused on it. Angel had disappeared. He had to focus on something to keep his mind from what he saw around him. If even for a second he excepted it as real, he would be lost. He closed his eyes and imagined himself walking around in Buffy's brain. It was gross, but more real than what he could see. The pain began to subside. He was just attempting to stand up, when he felt her hands on his back.
"Xander, what happened? Were you attacked?"
"I don't know for sure. I was just standing here with Angel, when...."
"Where is he? Where is Angel?"
"He disappeared. It's a long story. Can you take me in side?"
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I can't open my eyes. I'll explain when we get inside."
"Okay then. Take my hand."
"Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you're okay."
Willow woke to the sound of cursing. Tara was next to her on the couch holding a cold compress to the back of her head. Giles and Spike were on the stairs carrying the possessed Buffy upstairs to Giles' room. Angelus was nowhere to be seen. As if reading her mind, Tara said, "They carried Angel upstairs already. They chained him up, too. Strange that Giles has so many chains, but handy."
"What about Xander?" She asked, realizing for the first time that she had watched him slump to the floor. "Is he?"
"He's alive. But Giles said he's just barely holding on. When he lost the anchor, he got trapped in Buffy's mind along with Angel. Except..."
"Except what? No except. I hate except."
"Except that, we don't really know what would have happened to Angel. Giles thinks there may still be hope, but... I don't know how we could get them back. I mean, if Xander believes what he sees there, he'll be lost. And Angel... I don't know what would have happened to him."
"Well, there's got to be something we can do. Maybe I could go in after Xander and Buffy... and... and Angel, if he's still... you know."
"Giles said that it wouldn't be possible to send anyone else."
"Why? I'm sure we could find another caster to help with the spell."
"No... There are three people roaming Buffy's mind... well, at least two, plus Acricon. Giles thinks we could cause permanent damage to Buffy by sending someone else in."
"So what's the plan then? Wait? Because waiting is a bad plan. The worst plan. Waiting is...."
"The only option we have at the moment." Giles was standing at the bottom of the stairs. He looked at her with kind eyes. "I'm worried too, Willow. But this situation is dire enough as it is without acting rashly. That's what got us into this in the first place. Buffy and Xander run off with Angel with no back-up. I get us involved in this stupid spell not realizing that with Angel's will out of his body, Angelus would be unleashed. No. I believe now, more than ever, we must think things through."
Willow knew Giles was right, but she didn't like it.
Buffy took off her blouse and double checked to make sure Xander still had his eyes closed. She took some scissors and cut a four inch strip from the bottom of the blouse and then put it back on. Her midriff was exposed, but it wasn't too bad. She walked over to Xander and tied the strip around his eyes. "Okay," she said. "I've been Trust Girl so far, but I just ruined my favorite shirt to make a blindfold. It's explanation time and guess who's in the hot seat?"
"Okay. It's like this... You aren't really in Sunnydale. Well, you are, but you're possessed. Not here. There. In the real Sunnydale. I'm in your head, trying to bring you out and Angel was around to remind me that this isn't Sunnydale. Only, now, he's disappeared."
Buffy stared at her blindfolded friend.
"That didn't make much sense did it?" He had just realized how it all sounded and that his job would probably be much harder than he had originally thought.
"No. It doesn't." She looked at the ridiculous picture before her. She reached out and put her hand on his cheek. "But that means it's probably true; especially since I've been having this weird feeling that things weren't right somehow. Start from the beginning this time and go slow."
Xander took his time, though he felt as if they were probably out of it, and explained to Buffy the whole story, including why he had to wear the blindfold.
"Okay. So you can't see things for long without buying the fantasy version. I obviously am not immune to this. But if I blindfold myself, we'll never find Angel and get out of here."
"If Vamp-Guy is still with us. He just blinked out, like someone flipped a switch or something. What if something happened to him on the other side? It would explain the soul wrenching pain I felt when he went hasta. That would mean I'm stuck here."
She smiled at him, though he couldn't see it. "No way am I going to have you crawling around my thoughts for the rest of my life. We'll have to try to find him."
"But wouldn't beating Acricon here straighten everything out? If Angel is here and trapped somewhere, he should be released when Acricon is defeated." Xander wished desperately that he could afford to see.
"Now I'm worried."
"Why?"
"You actually made sense."
"Great. You know, when I daydream about you blindfolding and teasing me, this isn't what I have in mind."
"Off topic much?"
"Sorry."
Spike plopped down on the couch next to Willow. "Well, Red... How about that thank you?"
Willow looked at him strangely. "Well, sure. I mean, thanks. But I'm just wondering... Why? I could've sworn you...."
"Hate you and want you dead? I do. It would have been a jolly, old time of torture and violence if I would have left you with Angel. It's just that, as much as I hate you lot, I hate Angel that much more. It did my heart good to pummel him a bit."
"Well, uh, that's... I'm sorry but I have to take back that thank you." She got up and went upstairs to check on Buffy's body.
"Typical," was Spike's reply.
"So where do you think Agricorn is holing up?" Buffy asked as she armed herself from Angel's weapons chest.
"Acricon," Xander corrected. "And I have no idea. This is your mind. Where does the evil dwell?"
"I don't know. This is too surreal. You didn't think to ask Giles before you slid into my brain?"
"Well, no. I mean, we just thought..."
"You'd play it by ear? Good plan, Xand."
"Maybe it was. Maybe we just have to figure it out, and then we're halfway home. Maybe knowing is half the battle."
"Sage advise from G.I. Joe?"
"Exactly. Let's think about this. We're in your mind, so you should be able to do just about anything."
"Such as..."
"Taking us to the bad, post haste. Do not pass go. Do not collect the two C-notes."
"You're talking teleportation?"
"Nothing so sci-fi. I just mean that, technically, we aren't occupying any space. We're pure thought. Well,.., okay... I'm impure thought, but you should be able to move us to the evil dude before he gets squatter's rights on your mind and soul."
"It's worth a shot, since it's all we have to start with. What should I do? And why am I asking you?"
"Giles withdrawal?"
"Of the worst kind."
"Then let's plant this creep and blow your mind."
Willow looked at him. He still looked like Angel, but what she had faced, she remembered all too well. Angelus might as well have been the Devil, himself. Suddenly, he stirred. Acricon hissed through Buffy's clenched teeth.
"Giles!" She called. "He's waking up."
Giles bounded up the stairs with Spike on his heels. "Do I get to beat him some more, Rupert?"
"Not just yet," Giles responded calmly. He stepped over to Angel's body and jumped back when the eyes opened suddenly.
"Giles? Willow? It's okay. It's me. It's Angel."