Disclaimer: I've run out of creative sayings to put here, so I'm just
going to say if you want to sue me, go ahead, but honestly I have 3 dollars
in the bank so have fun with that.
Rating: R
Secrets Revealed
Whiz. That was the sound the bullet made as it flew past Xander's ear. "How come in the movies the bad guys shooting at the good guys are always such lousy shots? They seem to be damn good shots to me," he called out as he ducked from a flying bullet.
"Xander, I hate to break it to you, but we are the bad guys," Buffy said and leapt away from her own bullet. "I mean we are stealing the military's weapons."
"Maybe we could explain, SON OF A BITCH!" he cried as a bullet grazed his shoulder. His hand shot up to his now gushing wound. It was all he could do to keep on his feet.
Buffy wanted to run to him. She wanted to hold him, tend to his wound, and do something cute like kiss it to make it all better. She didn't have that kind of time. "Xander, are you okay?" she asked as concerned as slayerly possible.
"I've been shot! Do you think I'm okay?" Xander cried. The alarm that had announced their presence was rising in tone.
"That's not usually a good thing," Willow said. Xander's screech along with the alarm had cut into her trance. She had managed to keep all the distractions out of her mind and concentrate on just boxes. Now, they teetered but she still held them up.
Xander clutched his shoulder but kept on running. That's gonna leave a mark, he thought. He looked over and caught Buffy's eyes. The concern they radiated almost made the pain stop. Her love could almost heal him. Almost. The sound of bullets hitting the pavement broke their moment of silent love.
"How the hell did they figure out we were here anyway?" Buffy demanded. Her anger at the situation was growing. They may be the "bad guys," but Xander was right, they were actually the good guys. And no one hurt her Xander. She wasn't about to let some military men with big guns and little brains or a psycho vampire witch tear her boyfriend to pieces.
Suddenly, armed men stepped out in front of the trio, blocking their path. Shit, Buffy cursed silently.
"Hold your fire!" an authoritative voice called. "And get the medical team here NOW!" There was a great deal of movement among the troops. Soon a group of white-coated individuals stepped out with first aid kits.
Buffy was preparing to stop them from getting to Xander but she noticed that the soldiers in front of them still had their guns aimed at the trio. The medics reached Xander and pulled out a knife. Again, Buffy prepared to make a move. Again, she stopped. The medic cut the arm off of Xander's fake military garb and began attending to him.
Willow let the boxes drop. She knew they weren't going anywhere, so she decided to rest. Just in case she needed to use magic to help them escape later.
"Just a surface wound sir," the lead medic called.
"JUST!" Xander demanded. Xander couldn't make up his mind whether the medical attention was a good sign or a bad sign for the group. His memory of military protocol couldn't come up with anything enlightening on the situation. And the rest of his brain was drowned out in waves of pain.
"Good," the authoritative voice called again, ignoring Xander. He stepped out from the background. "Please escort our guests to the holding cell, tend to the wounded, and await my arrival. Oh, and take the stolen weapons to the cell as well." he ordered.
"Yes sir," the group called out.
Buffy, Xander, and Willow were taken, at gunpoint, on their way.
TRAIN STATION
"You know, you're the second person I've had to correct since I came back to this hellhole. My name is Angel," he told Amy coldly.
She smiled. "Glad to see you have so much spunk left in you. I wouldn't want you to just give in to the hopelessness of your situation. It's much more fun this way," she laughed. "You like fun, don't you Angelus."
"Sorry, been there, done that," Angel spat out tersely.
"So be it," she shrugged. She waved her hands around the train station. "Like what I've done with the place?" The vampire army, who Angel estimated to be at least a hundred in number, grinned in response.
"How did we get here?" Angel demanded. His eyes scanned the station for an easy entrance or hopefully an exit in his case. He could find nothing. He cursed himself for being stupid enough to follow the demons. Amy probably had the whole thing rigged. Maybe she even made the whole story up because she knew Spike wouldn't be at the house to object.
"Shadow travel. It's the way of the future," Amy replied. "Or, more precisely, my future." Amy laughed again. She had almost given up on Angel coming to her. But when her demon minions had reported to her about their encounter she had new hope. The house may have been empty on their second attack run, but that didn't mean they were all gone. The empty house trick was just like Angel. And he had indeed followed them. Without either Slayer. This was going better than planned.
"Shadow travel?" Angel questioned.
"My mistress' own invention," Tara told him. She stepped up from Amy's side and glared at him.
"Tara," Angel said sadly.
"Fuck you and shove your pity up your ass! I will bring my mistress her ascension. That's more that the sniveling bitch I was could ever have done!" She shouted. Whenever any doubt sacrificing her life for Amy's was presented, Tara's mind repeated that phrase. She wasn't sure why, but it always calmed her drive for self-preservation. The mistress above all, she told herself.
"Hush my pet," Amy soothed, placing her hands on Tara's shoulders. Tara instantly backed down and relented to her mistress.
Angel tried to speak up, but Amy caught his eyes. He fought her presence in his mind and eventually won. He tried to speak again, but he couldn't remember what he had wanted to say. Damn her, he cursed.
"Now, now Angel, play nice," Amy commanded. "Although, I'm not planning to," she laughed. Angel glared at her. At least she didn't give Angelus control again, he consoled himself.
Amy clapped her hands and a new figure came forward. He was dressed in black with a cross hanging around his neck. The feature that would have given him away fully was missing, but Angel recognized what he was immediately.
"That's low Amy. Even for scum like you. Turning a priest."
"Oh, but I haven't turned him. Father, please hold your cross," Amy asked. He obeyed. Angel watched. Nothing. No smoke or pain. "Now show Angelus your palm." He did. No scar.
"So, you've enslaved a priest, congrats," Angel said. What the hell is this about, he wondered.
"Not just any priest my dear," Amy told him. She was clearly reveling in revealing her plan to Angel. "This is Father Daniel O'Leary. I brought him all the way from Ireland. He's a specialist."
She wants me to ask in what, Angel thought. I won't give her the satisfaction.
Amy smiled at his silence. "I was hoping that would be your reaction. I wanted you to find out first hand. Father O'Leary has quite a knack for his trade."
Something in Angel's mind perked up. He had heard that name before. When she had first told him he hadn't been paying full attention, but O'Leary sounded so familiar.
"Okay, I give. What's his specialty?" Angel asked.
"You just don't want to be any fun at all, do you?" Amy pouted. "But, since you asked," she went on, her ego getting the better of her, "his specialty is: exorcism."
MAGIC BOX
Cordelia's scream snapped Faith fully aware. She sprung up from William's shoulder and bolted into the back. Faith grabbed for a weapon at her belt and pulled a dagger out. She reached the back room and yelled, "Get down Cordy!"
"Down girl," Cordelia called.
Faith stopped and saw Cordelia turning to help Oz and Anya. "What the hell's wrong with the front door? And why aren't you in the damn hospital?" Faith demanded, putting her weapon away.
"Good questions," Cordelia replied as she and Oz each took a shoulder of the obviously still weakened Anya.
"Because I gave the front door key to Xander and I still had a backdoor one," Anya said tiredly. "And we left the hospital because the Magic Box's insurance won't cover it. If we live through this I want a shop to come back to."
Faith had to roll her eyes at the girl. The girl was more concerned about saving money then resting. Especially considering the chance that Amy would kill them all. Still, Faith had to admire Anya's faith in the Scooby group. Anya had seen them go up against some of the most powerful evils known to man and they just kept on going. Faith prayed that this wouldn't be the time Anya's faith died.
Cordelia and Oz placed Anya on the training room mats. Giles and William brought in pillows and blankets, trying to make her as comfortable as possible.
"You children are so insufferable sometimes, so damn stubborn!" Giles exclaimed.
"Okay, first I'm not a child. I've lived your lifetime many times over," Anya said weakly. "And second, I blame you anyway. You left me the damn shop with no medical insurance. And the kind of 'business' we do. Really," she finished in a huff then began to cough. Giles looked down in shame.
"Don't take it personally mate," William offered. "She's a partner and she never added insurance either."
William had to chuckle inside at Giles and Anya's relationship. They were business partners who could barely stand each other. Then again, they made a cute couple, Spike piped up. He was referring to Willow's failed spell in which she had tried to erase Tara and Buffy's memory. It had backfired and they had all temporarily lost their memory. Giles and Anya had thought they were engaged.
"Still, I suppose she's right," Giles said dejectedly.
William could tell Giles was having a tough time of things. He was taking too much of the blame for their situations onto his own shoulders. Yeah, but Buffy wouldn't have fallen for us if Giles had stuck around, Spike said. Then we wouldn't have gotten our bloody redemption and Xander and Buffy would never have gotten together.
"Giles, you did the right thing," William said. "I admire you and I know that I wouldn't have had the strength to leave, even though it was the best for everyone."
"How can this be the best?" Giles demanded. "If I had stayed I could have seen what was going on and done something about it."
"Mate, I was here," William replied, letting a bit of Spike come across. "If you had stayed here, Buffy and I would never have gotten together. Which means she and Xander would never have gotten together. Which MEANS she would never have gotten out of her funk. You couldn't have stopped Amy from being turned or Tara. So stop with the self-pity crap. You're here when it counts."
Giles stood stunned for a few moments. Finally, he regained his composure. He was still managing to be upset. "I suppose my leaving was for the best. But what about my return? I haven't been able to help Dawn or protect anyone. What is the point?"
William grabbed Giles shirt collar and looked him in the eye. "They may not be high school kids anymore. They may have grown up. But they still look to you when they can't come up with the answers themselves. And you may not always have the answers, but you can still offer them something they need, your wisdom and advice. Since you've been back I've seen Buffy relax. She knows that she has someone to back her up and guide her. She's not alone with the decisions anymore. She may have looked to me, but she never truly trusted me. Not like she trusts you. That's why you're back."
Giles nodded. He didn't want to leave again, but he hadn't known if they would want him to stay this time. He hoped he had his answer now.
HOLDING CELL AT SUNNYDALE MILITARY BASE
Xander rubbed his bandaged shoulder. He was sitting next to Buffy and Willow in a small metal room. There was a large table with a big overhead light above it. Xander knew that it was used for interrogations. How fun, he thought.
Buffy held his free hand and Willow's rested on his knee. They had discussed what they thought was going to happen to them. They agreed it was a good sign that they had bandaged Xander and allowed the three of them to stay together. They also agreed that in their a case a good sign might be that they were going to ask questions first, then shoot second.
The hidden door to the room opened and the authoritative man stepped through. Two armed men were about to follow but he stopped them. "Stay outside men. That's an order," he added when they hesitated. They left the room and closed the door. It was built to open from the outside only.
Xander decided that he would be noble for his friends. "Sir," he said standing up. "I'm to blame. I dragged my friends with me. It started out as just a prank and it got out of hand. I just wanted to do some damage and instead I decided to steal the weapons. It's entirely my fault. My real name is Private."
The man cut him off. "Sit down Mr. Harris." Xander couldn't hide his shock and fell into his seat. The man shook his head. "My name is Colonel Chad Mix. I apologize for the wound we inflicted. When our scouts detected you and the alarm was sounded I didn't have a chance to see who you were until it was too late."
"And who are we?" Buffy asked, challengingly.
"If you'd let me continue Miss Summers," he smirked at her shock. "I am the only man on the base who has any knowledge of what this town truly is. When I came to be in charge of this base it was about the same time of the Initiative's failure. I was briefed on the project. I was also briefed on you three. They strongly urged me that if you interfered with me in anyway, to have a talk with you and release you. In repayment for your help in stopping the demons," he chuckled. "That's the bureaucracy for you. But, fortunately, it was an urge and not an order."
"What does that mean?" Willow asked, swallowing. Her imagination was running wild. He could certainly be anxious to imprison them all for breaking into a military base. Or maybe he got off on killing.
"It means, that I don't have to get you off the base."
Buffy had recovered from her shock and started to object. "Look, if you know who we are then you know that we're the good guys."
"Good guys don't break into military installations and steal weapons," Mix returned.
"Sure we do," Xander said. "We stole a bazooka do destroy the Judge. I mean we borrowed it, we returned it later."
Mix laughed. "Well, you're not borrowing these weapons."
"It's a matter of life or death," Buffy replied. She silently urged Willow to snap out of her trance. Buffy was great at fighting their way out of situations, but talking their way out had always belonged to Willow.
"I'm sure it is, but you're still not borrowing military weapons," Mix said.
"Why not?" Xander asked, making the same silent wish his lover had.
"Because," Mix said, still smiling, "I can say missing weapons were destroyed due to damage. Borrowed weapons are hard to explain when they magically reappear."
"Wait," Willow said, her mind coming back to her. "Did you just say what I think you did?"
Mix was still smiling. "I've seen what this town is up against. And I've seen what happens when the military tries to stop it. Like it or not, you three are basically the world's last line of defense against evil. So, I'm happy to offer any help I can give. That's why it's fortunate they only urged me to ban you from the base."
"So, not only do we get to leave, but we get the weapons too?" Buffy asked in shock.
Mix nodded. He pushed a button on his belt and the door sprang open. Mix then escorted the three of them to his private jeep, which he had loaded with the weapons they had been trying to steal. He drove them to Buffy's SUV and helped them load the weapons into her car. When they were finished he smiled at them.
"Miss Summers, Miss Rosenburg, Mister Harris, I'm not sure I want to know what it is you're facing. But, I'm sure the fate of the world hangs in the balance." They nodded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. "Oh, by the way, next time you need something, ask. This is my private number. If I can help in any other way please let me know. Good luck to you folks." He saluted them, handed Buffy his card and left.
The three looked at each other, then back at Mix. They could only shake their heads and pile back into the SUV.
SEWERS
Dawn couldn't call any power to her. The fire got closer and closer but there was nothing she could do about it. She had sat for as long as she could, but the flames had now forced her to stand. Damnit, a little help here would be nice, she thought. All that training and I can't even put out a little magical ring of fire, she cursed. Get your butt here she called with her mind. She waited for a response, but none came.
Dawn was proud that she had been able to stop Amy from taking her mind over. Granted, only his presence had given her the strength, but she was willing to take any victory she could get. She sighed.
Come get me, she tried again. She couldn't make contact. I can't even contact the person I love the most, Dawn lamented, how the hell do I think I can raise Buffy from the dead? The flames nipped her arms. "OW!" she cried. The vampire guards snickered.
GET ME OUTTA HERE NOW!
SUNNYDALE HIGH RUINS
All he could think about was his mission. Had he already failed? The demons were clearly staking out the hellmouth for whatever was going to take place here involving Dawn. His Dawn. Would whatever took her think that one of the famed Scooby Gang killed the demons? Or would it suspect something? Did it already know he was here?
"Damnit, I should have let him come along like he wanted to. At least then I'd have some company," he whined aloud.
"Guess you got your wish," a voice called from the rubble.
"Xander!" he exclaimed and got to his feet to met his friend.
"That's me," Xander replied. The younger man threw his arms around Xander. Xander couldn't help but look around at his former high school. He hadn't been back since Riley had been hiding there. This isn't my Sunnydale, Xander had to remind himself.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Just thought you might need some company or a hand," Xander replied as he returned the hug.
"Xander," the boy said as he pulled away. "I think I may have screwed up already."
"What happened?" Xander asked concerned. Dawn. She's all I have left. I can't let her die too.
"Well, my sword came to life," he muttered.
"So you went to go investigate and of course ran into the demons it detected," Xander reprimanded him. Sometimes he was so rash and stupid, Xander thought, like I had been at that age.
"Or I was exploring and then it came to life," he said, eyes downcast. He told Xander the story.
"Well, let's hope that won't be enough to tip whoever's in control here off." Xander had become so jaded and cynical. For all he knew Glory had won and had control of this dimension. Though, he thought, it didn't appear that way when he had come through the portal.
"Xander, it's not the same here. I can feel it. I think she's alive." Xander had to know, he thought.
"Who's alive?" Xander asked. Don't tell me things like that kid I won't want to leave, he thought.
"The slayer," he said, staring at the ground.
"Don't," Xander told him. "If she is, well, I can't know. I need to focus on living my own life, not some other random Xander's life."
"Look, Xan," he started but stopped mid-sentence. GET ME OUTTA HERE NOW!
"What is it?" Xander asked him.
"Dawn needs help. She's calling me, I have to go."
"NO!" Xander shouted. "You've done enough in this world. If she needs help I'll go. If you mess with this world you'll screw everything up. If I go and someone sees me I'm just Xander. Where is she?"
"You'd do that for me?" he asked. I wish there was something I could do to help him, he thought. His life has been so empty since Glory. I just wish I could give him something to live for.
"For you and Dawn. Where is she?" Xander asked again.
TRAIN STATION
"Exorcism?" Angel asked incredulously. What the hell is she planning, he wondered.
"Yup," Amy smiled at him. "I've had this in mind for you since the moment I knew my destiny. I knew the big bad Scooby gang would call you in. So, why not give myself an advantage?"
"If you know them so well, you know that if you exorcise my soul they'll just curse me again," Angel told her. I need to get out of here, NOW.
"Of course they will, silly," she purred and moved towards him. Angel backed away. "I know you're scared Angelus. But I promise, it won't hurt. Much." He continued to back away. "You see I'm not exorcising your soul. I'm going to have good old Father O'Leary release Angelus. Then, you'll be free."
"Why would you want that?" Angel asked. Okay Angel, he thought, time to get as much out of her as you can and test her weakness out.
"Oh, you'll see. But I suppose you have it in your head that you want to test my strength out. Let's on with it then," she said bored.
Angel was happy to oblige. He charged Amy, swinging his fist in a haymaker. Amy easily dodged his blow and backhanded him in the face. He fell backwards. She brought her foot down towards his head. Angel just managed to roll away as her foot connected with the concrete leaving a hole.
Weak huh, he thought to himself as he dodged a roundhouse kick from Amy's other foot. Angel crouched down and when Amy went to plant her foot through his chest, he leapt towards her. He was able to avoid her kick, but Amy's reflexes allowed her to land a fist on the top of his head. He dropped to the pavement and felt Amy grab him by the neck and fling him like he was a bag of garbage. Angel hit the wall and fell to the ground with a thud.
He staggered back to his feet and went at Amy again. He was able to dodge Amy's barrage of blows and slammed both his fists into her head. She fell back a little. Angel went to make another move, but Amy's hand shot out and grabbed his neck. She squeezed it and then threw him backwards. He fell on his back and slammed his head against the floor.
That was all he could take. The edges of his vision began to turn black and it took every ounce of his will power to stay conscious. Amy brought her foot down on his stomach, then again on his manly parts. The world blanked out on Angel a bit as the pain coursed up and down his body. He thought he was vomiting, but he couldn't really tell. She yanked him to his feet but he couldn't keep his balance and fell back down again. She delivered a roundhouse kick to his face and Angel was sure he heard bones crack.
"Mistress?" Tara asked hesitantly from her side.
Amy favored Tara with a smile and said, "Just making sure. Vampires have a tendency to heal very quickly. Isn't that right Angelus?"
Angel knew the bones in his jaw were definitely broken. He tried to respond but pain seared through him and he spat out blood instead of words.
"See pet," Amy purred at Tara. "A blow like that would have killed a normal human. Angel's just going to be in extreme pain for a while. Isn't that right?"
Angel glared at her. Even that hurts, he thought.
"Tara, take our guest and Father O'Leary to the room. I want our dear priest to have plenty of time to work on him before he regains any strength."
"Yes mistress," Tara replied. She yanked Angel to his feet and led him towards a shadowy corner. Amy told Father O'Leary to follow and the three disappeared from sight.
Amy turned to look at her army. She looked and saw her vampires standing in rows, just like a real army. She was disturbed by the fact that none of the demons seemed to care about their appearance at all. They also seemed to be avoiding the vampires. She wondered if something was going on.
Then there was the issue of Tara. She may have sired her and taken control of her mind, but Tara was not to be taken lightly, especially if she was repeating one of Amy's hypnotic messages aloud. If Tara's need for survival won out over her hypnotic control, Amy would have to get violent with her. And it would certainly delay the ritual.
Don't worry yourself with it, she decided. Once I set Angelus loose on the slayers they'll have so much to deal with they won't stand a chance.
SEWERS
Tara dragged Angel into the sewers again. Shadow travel really is the way of the future, he thought. The priest and Tara led the way and Angel struggled to stay on his feet, even with Tara tightly gripping his left arm.
Angel couldn't help but wonder how Xander stood any chance against Amy once she became the vessel. If she didn't want to free Angelus she could easily have killed him. Hopefully the chaos that happened when the vampire/demon war starts will allow Buffy and Faith to take Amy out before she completes the ritual, he hoped.
Tara brought him into a new room. Angel looked around and saw two beds. One had a large cross above it. The other was a hospital bed. On the bed was a strong looking man who was asleep.
"What the hell is this all about?" Angel tried to ask. "Wha t el iz al ut," was closer to what actually escaped his broken jaw.
"Sit," Tara commanded and threw Angel onto the bed. She and O'Leary quickly strapped the weakened vampire down. He struggled as much as he could, but when Tara slapped him across the face he relented.
"Do your worst Father," Tara told him and slipped through the shadows again.
"Son, you must relax," O'Leary said in a thick Irish accent. "I'll do the best that I can, but you must sit still."
Angel continued to struggle against his restraints, but to no avail. His already battered body began to be attacked again. "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," O'Leary began, making the sign of the cross over Angel. He's good for a reason, Angel thought. I never thought I'd want to keep Angelus inside me, but whatever they have in mind I can't let them win.
Angel's eyes strayed around the room as he tried to fight the pain. They landed on the sleeping boy. Angel noticed that there were machines hooked up to him. What does he have to do with any of this, he wondered. The pain overtook any more thoughts as he felt Angelus come to the front of his mind. He and the priest were going to have quite a battle.
MAGIC BOX
Giles tended to Anya. He changed her dressings. Helped her take her pain medication. Soothed her after her terrible nightmares. They were all taking their toll on the watcher. He wanted to do something more to help her. He wanted to feel more needed. What you want Rupert, he thought, is an excuse to stay.
Which was true. He wanted to feel needed. But it wasn't solely because of his own personal needs. He didn't 't want to leave Sunnydale again. He loved these people. He had missed them. He had built a small life for himself in England, but it had been quite a shock to his system. He may have been stuck up, stick in the mud, fuddy duddy Giles here in Sunnydale. In England, however, he had become the outsider. I've spent too long living with them, he had thought at first. I'll fit right in soon.
But it hadn't happened. He felt out of place there. Similar to how he was feeling back at Sunnydale. He felt out of place. Giles wanted to stay in Sunnydale, but so much had changed. He couldn't just slip back into their lives like he had before. The only reason he left in the first place was because the "Scooby" gang just reminded him too much of his fallen slayer.
"Giles," Anya muttered.
"Yes, Anya," he said, glad to have a distraction from his brooding.
"Do you like what I did with the shop? Have I done all right?"
"What?' Giles responded, stunned. He recovered quickly. "Oh, I, well, yes actually. You've done quite well. I knew that you would."
"I just wanted to make as much money for us as I could," she said weakly.
"You did wonderfully Anya," he said and kissed her forehead. His mind involuntarily brought back the memories of their brief time as an engaged couple. There had been too much else going on during that time for him to dwell on it, but it had felt, rather, nice. Stop that Rupert, he demanded. She's half your age. More precisely, he mused, she's actually many times my own age. Still, stop it. She's half your age physically.
Giles pulled his lips, which he noticed he had let linger far too long on Anya's forehead, away. He stared at the sleeping girl for a few more moments then got up and went into the store area.
He found Faith and William sleeping together in the chair they were sharing. Giles still had to laugh whenever he saw Spike in tweed. Xander had told him earlier that during their strange dreams, right after they defeated Adam, Spike had become a watcher and was wearing tweed. Xander assured Giles that it was even funnier in person.
Cordelia had returned to the space in the back. Giles assumed it was to resume her nap. At least he hoped so, because Oz had accompanied her.
Giles was not surprised to come across a wide-awake Dawn Summers. She looked up and offered him a weak smile. "Hey Giles."
"Dawn," Giles replied, returning her weak smile with one of his own. Giles had grown very worried about her. She was shutting down and closing herself off from any help. Blaming herself for everything that had gone wrong since she had arrived. Giles knew he was running out of time to reach her.
"Giles, I don't want to talk about it," she said before he got a chance.
"Dawn, you must," Giles insisted. I have to reach her, he thought.
"Just leave me alone," she whined and turned away from him.
"That's what you want, isn't it?" Giles asked. "You want to be left alone. You think that if we leave you, we'll be safe?"
How does he know that, Dawn wondered. "So," she spouted off.
"Look around Dawn," Giles said softly. "Our lives are in danger every minute of everyday. Not because of you, but because of what we do. We fight demons. And you were sent to us because you need to be protected. Pushing us away isn't going to help. Not you and most certainly not us. I failed in my duties as a watcher to be prepared for your arrival. That's why Buffy died. And like it or not, it isn't your fault. No one would trade you back if we could."
Giles though he was reaching her. She looked up at him with her big eyes. He was so close to breaking down her walls. Then, just like that, she closed off again.
"Whatever. You left when things started to get tough. You didn't have to stay and deal with it, why should I?" Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. Now what Rupert?
The door flew open and a set of boxes floated down into the store. Following behind them were Willow, Buffy, and Xander.
"Oh, the goodies are here," Faith said sleepily from William's lap. She hopped down, waking William from his own slumber.
"What's that?' he mumbled.
"Toys," she replied and pulled him out of the chair.
"Did you have any, my God your arm Xander," Giles said, coming over to greet them.
"Trouble?" Buffy finished for her watcher. "A little. Actually, things worked out pretty well."
"Yeah," Willow replied. "I mean they shot at us and stuff, but we got his card and the weapons and."
"Willow," Xander stopped her ramble. "I got shot, I get to tell the story."
"Fine, play the I got shot I get to tell the story card," Buffy pouted. Xander chuckled.
"Don't worry, I will," he smiled and planted a kiss on her check.
"On with the gory details," Faith demanded. She did, however, pull William into her arms when she saw Xander kiss Buffy. We'll see who the PDA slayer is, Faith thought.
"Okay, it went like this…" Xander began.
STREETS
It took all of the will power Xander had not to go past the Magic Box. Not to go and see if she really was alive. What good will that do, he wondered. I see her, I get depressed, I fail Dawn. Not what I'm here for.
Xander followed his own memories to the sewer entrance. Just like always, he thought. He dropped down into the sewer system and pulled his sword out. Then, he pulled some powder he had been given and threw it into the stream of sewer water. It seemed to go downstream for a while and Xander wondered if it was working. He had his answer when the powder took a sharp left hand turn down a tube.
He followed the powder for a long time. He was surprised and quite uneasy about the lack of trouble he had come across. The sewers were always a hideout for vamps. The quiet was especially disturbing since there was a pretty powerful evil holding Dawn.
Xander continued for while in the silence. Then, he heard a blood- curdling scream. He recognized the voice. It wasn't who he had been expecting. He stopped for a moment and watched the powder. It was continuing on a different path. He thought for a few seconds, then reached down and scooped the powder back into his bag. He closed it up and turned to the sound of the scream.
Xander felt the door. It appeared to only open from the inside. Again, he heard the scream. Xander slashed with his sword and it torn a small scratch on the think metal. Wonderful, he thought. He repeated the pattern a few more times. A hand grabbed him from behind and threw him to the ground. Xander looked up and felt relieved.
"Tara. It's great to see you," he started but stopped when she swung a kick at his head. "What was that for? Did I do something?"
"You were really stupid to come here for him. And you came alone. You just keep getting dumber." She let another kick fly at him. He rolled away and looked up to see her vampire face in place of the radiant face he had come to know and love.
"Oh, Tara, no," he cried. Insane Tara had been hard to deal with in his dimension. Here she was insane vampire Tara.
"I've heard all about how sorry you all are. You, Willow, Buffy, Angel. You can shove your pity up your ass, and kiss mine while you're at it!"
"Willow?" Xander's voice faltered. Then, it hit him. Tara wasn't acting insane like Druscilla. This dimension was completely different. Willow and Buffy were alive. Hell, I have no idea what else is different in this dimension, Xander thought. For all I know Glory never existed and that's why Buffy and Willow are alive.
Tara looked at Xander. He was near tears. She looked him over closely. He was strong. Battle weary. Not her Xander. "Here for Dawnie, aren't you?" They understood each other and knew it. He nodded.
"What are you doing here then?"
"Heard Angel, thought I'd see what I could do," he offered.
The door Xander had been trying to cut through opened. "It is done," a voice called. Xander sprung to his face and waited. A priest came through and stood next to Tara. Then, something followed him. When he caught a glimpse of the creature the first thought that came to Xander's mind was the Master. The face was distorted, permanently twisted into its vampire face. Decay had already begun to eat away at him. His skin had turned a grayish color. And there was something else. There was something very familiar about him.
"Xander Harris," it growled.
"And you are?" he asked the creature.
Its face contorted into what Xander assumed was its attempt at a smile. "Something you know very well." Its voice was eerily familiar as well.
"Xander, get away," another voice called feebly from the room.
"Angel," Xander called. "Are you okay?"
"No," he said, sounding weaker than Xander had ever heard him.
"Do you recognize me yet? I'll give you a hint," the creature growled and slammed his fist into Xander's face. "Bring back any memories? When I had my chances I never made enough of them. Should have pummeled you more before the big sissy took over again. Though, I have to say that time he and Faith got you was great."
Xander rubbed his face and stared at the creature towering above him. "Angelus?"
"Very good. Now, you get to die," Tara replied. "Finish him," she ordered Angelus.
"For freeing me from that prison, your wish is my command," he told her. Xander swallowed. Not good, he thought as Angelus made another move.
MAGIC BOX
"Wow," Faith said on behalf of the group. Even Oz and Cordelia had wandered in to hear the trio's story.
"Always a good card to have in our back pocket," William said.
"So why not just have them come in and blow Amy to hell," Dawn muttered bitterly.
Buffy was taken aback by her sister's anger. "We can't just do that."
"Why not? The army's full of normal guys. Let them blow Amy to bits. We can just sit around and watch TV!" Dawn stormed out of the room, leaving the rest of them stunned.
"Should I go after her?" Buffy asked. She looked from Xander to Giles. She was looking for guidance.
"I have been unable to reach her," Giles admitted, sighing heavily.
"Buff," Xander said softly. "Maybe she just needs some time."
"I just don't want to lose her. I don't want her to do something stupid. I mean, she is my sister. We all know what happened when I closed off to everyone. I mean I really hit rock bottom."
"Hey, I resent that," William said. Faith shot him a glare. "Sorry, Spike part of me," he blushed.
"Buffy," Giles said, "I think perhaps, Xander is right. If we push her too hard, she may pull away from all of us. We must remember, she is only 15."
"So was I when I had to start slaying," Buffy said quietly. "I just," she couldn't talk anymore. Xander threw an arm around her and pulled her close. He pulled them up and went into a back room. Xander caught Giles eyes and motioned with his head for him to follow. Giles nodded and went with the couple.
"Well Red," Faith turned to Willow. "Let's see what we got." Faith wasn't trying to be callous, but they needed to plan for Amy. They only had twenty-four hours left.
Willow nodded and cracked open the cases. "Grenades. Flame throwers. And this," Willow beamed and handed Faith a long metal gun. "Automatic cross bow."
"Niiiceee," Faith cooed.
"These should prove most effective," William conceded.
"Light enough for you to handle," Willow said to Cordelia, "If you want to. I'm not going to force you."
"I'll take one," Oz said quietly. Willow nodded. He shouldn't be here, she thought. He was only here because of the containment spell they had tried. Which failed, she reminded herself.
"You can go back to Dingos," she told her ex.
He shook his head. "If I can help stop the end of the world, kinda figure that's more important than a couple gigs." His look told her so much. She knew he was there if she needed to talk.
"Okay," Willow replied. Oz nodded. He too was able to interpret more than what her words were saying. Not yet, her voice told him.
"Will it leave smoke marks?" Cordelia asked, breaking the former couple's moment.
"I'll buy you a new dress Cordy," Faith said and slapped her on the shoulder.
Xander sat Buffy down in a chair in the back. Giles stepped in a moment later. Buffy was already in tears.
"Giles, I don't want to lose her," she sobbed.
"Buffy, you aren't going to lose her. She just needs sometime to come to terms with Tara's death. The important thing is for us to be here, waiting, when she is ready to come to us," Giles told her. He squeezed her shoulder and she looked up at him.
"What if something bad happens tomorrow? I mean it's not a what if, something is going to happen. Someone's going to get hurt," she squeaked out. She looked over at Xander, and a fresh set of tears streamed down her face.
"I'm not going anywhere," Xander said determinedly.
"Promise me. Both of you promise me we'll win and everyone will be okay," she pleaded with them.
"Of course," Giles said and hugged her. "We won't let anything bad happen."
"I can't go through this again. I just can't," Buffy sobbed.
"You won't have to," Giles assured her. Giles was close to tears as well. He felt so helpless. He couldn't guarantee anything. It had been a long time since Giles had actually felt he could protect his slayer from anything. Now, she was longing for his comfort and he had nothing to offer her.
"Giles, you have no idea how much it means to me that you're here," she mumbled.
Xander kissed her forehead and hugged her. It had turned into a group hug, which managed to calm Buffy some.
"We stop Amy we have all the time in the world to help Dawn," Xander assured her.
"Thank you. Both of you, I couldn't make it without you guys," Buffy said gratefully.
"We'll always be here for you Buffy," Giles told her and broke from the group hug. Don't make promises you can't keep, he told himself. At least he felt that he was offering something to Buffy. Even if it was only empty promises.
SEWERS
Xander slashed Angelus across the knee with his sword. The creature, it was neither a true vampire nor a demon, groaned it pain but kept coming. Xander thrust his sword at the creatures stomach, but Angelus moved out of the way and slammed his fist against the back of Xander's head. He stumbled foreword and knocked into Tara. They both fell the ground. Before Xander could inflict any damage on Tara, she hurled him away and was on her feet.
Xander barely had a chance to get his bearings when Angelus grabbed his hair and tossed him into the room he had just come from. A hospital bed broke Xander's fall. Or his back, he couldn't decide.
"Xander, get out of here," Angel whispered. Xander looked over and saw that Angel still had his vampire face on.
"What happened?" Xander asked when his breathe had returned. He didn't have time to hear the vampire's response as Angelus came into the room and delivered a swift kick to Xander's midsection. For the second time in a matter of minutes Xander had the wind knocked out of him. He could barely move when he felt Angelus grab his head. Shit, he thought, he's going to snap my neck.
"Wait," Tara called as she entered the room.
"You wanted the whelp finished," Angelus growled.
"Yes, but I have a plan," she said. She came over to Xander and stroked his neck with her index finger. Even in his battered state Xander knew what she was getting at. He decided he had one chance left. He had been saving it for freeing Dawn, but a dead Xander couldn't save Dawn.
Angelus tilted his head and Tara vamped out and descended upon him. Xander fiddled with his belt until he got free a small bottle of purple liquid. He flung it on the ground, shattering the bottle. The liquid reached Angelus and Tara. Tara stopped dead in her path, as did Angelus.
Xander squirmed from the creature's grip and, careful not to step in the liquid, grabbed his sword and moved to Angel.
"What was that?" Angel muttered, his jaw still sore.
"No time to explain," Xander said. He cut the bonds lose and helped the weakened vampire to his feet. "Of course, I could ask you the same question. We'll exchange war stories later. I still need to find Dawn."
Angel looked at Xander curiously. When he caught sight of the belt he recognized some of the bags he was carrying. "That's some pretty powerful magic," he said as they left the room. With his free hand Xander tossed his pink powder back into the water.
"Yeah, it is," Xander muttered and they followed after the powder.
"Wait, Tara and Angelus," Angel said suddenly. "We can stop them. Kill them. The ritual."
"Sorry," Xander cut him off. "That liquid displaced them in time for a while. When it wears off they get returned exactly where they were before the liquid touched them. I could chop them into little pieces but when the spell ends they'll be back there, very much alive. Or undead, whatever."
"That's gypsy magic," Angel stated. Xander avoided his stare and they continued to follow the powder. "You're from that Dawn's dimension."
Xander nodded. "The others can't know. Especially about the gypsy stuff. I can't change the path of this dimension. But my dimension needs Dawn, so I'm here. Along with a friend. He could feel Dawn in danger, but if you guys discovered him it would change things. I can at least pretend to be Xander. Although, that hasn't gone real well for me lately. Anyway, I came here for Dawn and heard you. So here we are," he finished.
"I won't tell them. I don't want to change things," Angel said quietly.
"Your turn," Xander told him as they limped into a right turn.
"That priest was an expert on exorcism. They kept telling me they were going to free Angelus. I thought they'd take my soul. He actually took Angelus out of me and put him into that body. I figured out that the guy was in a coma, so no soul to contend with or be cursed with. I'm free of Angelus, but I'm still a vampire. I can't explain it."
Xander examined Angel for a moment. "Angel, you're getting old," Xander exclaimed. "You're aging."
"Impossible," Angel retorted, though he was far from convinced of anything at this point.
"Whatever he did to you, you're still a vampire, but you're getting old."
Angel felt his face and was shocked by the wrinkles he felt there.
"We have to undo it," Angel said.
Xander eyed the powder. "I can't. I'm here for Dawn. I thought I could help you too, but she's first in line." There was a long silence between them. Finally, Xander decided to ask. "She's alive here, isn't she?"
"Buffy?" Angel asked, though he knew that was who he meant. Xander nodded weakly. "Yeah. She died, but Willow brought her back."
"I have to save Dawn. She's all I have left," Xander looked at Angel. He was losing his grip on reality. Get a grip, Xander told himself.
"You want to stay," Angel said. It wasn't a question.
"The place I came from is hell. However, if I fail to save Dawn or if she stays in this dimension, then my world will become a demon playground. I can't let that happen."
"I guess we go our separate ways then," Angel offered.
"Guess so," Xander replied softly. He took out a small bottle from his belt. "If you need to buy some time, drink this. It can slow the aging process. I don't have a use for it, but they gave it to me anyhow."
"Thank you," Angel told him and turned to go back up to the surface.
"Your world really is a hell, isn't it?" Angel called.
"You have no idea."
"Try me," Angel challenged.
"Another time," Xander whispered and vanished out of sight, following his powder.
Angel tried to block out images of what Xander's world was like. And he had to block out the part about the gypsies. The way Xander carried himself, Angel was sure that his warning was not without merit. He owed his freedom to the man. At the least he owed him his silence.
Angel reached the surface and nearly collapsed from exhaustion. With every step he took, Angel was sure he could feel himself age a year. He was about a block away from the Magic Box when he collapsed. He tried to make his body work, but it wouldn't respond. As he slipped into blackness he glanced up to see the horizon becoming lighter.
Xander's encounter with Angel had hurt him more than he had expected. Angel had told him what he already knew, what he had known the moment he had stepped out of the portal. It still hurt, knowing that the woman he loved was alive in this dimension. Probably with Spike, but a messed up Buffy was still better than no Buffy at all.
And then Xander had revealed far too much to Angel. His only hope was that Angel could keep his mouth shut. Dawn was so important. Which brought Xander back to the matter at hand, saving Dawn so he could go "home."
Dawn cried in pain. The flames were on her clothes now. She was crying. She was also praying that someone was coming for her. She had felt the connection she had made. He knew she needed him. Now it was just a waiting game. The flames caught her hair and she screamed out.
MAGIC BOX
Dawn stomped into the training room and threw herself on the floor. Why does it always have to be us, she complained to herself.
"I hate my life," she whined aloud.
"Dawn," Anya said weakly. Dawn gasped. She had forgotten she was in here.
"Sorry, I can leave," she said and started to get up.
"Come here, please," Anya whispered.
Dawn looked around nervously but went to sit next to the injured girl. "Dawn," she began, "life is a gift. I used to think like you are now. I went from being the scourge of the betrayed to just a, a, a teenager. And if it hadn't been for Xander, I wouldn't have made it through. In fact, after we broke up, I went back to wanting to die. But when you come face to face with death, it really makes you appreciate how great it is to be alive. So, the important thing is just to go on. It gets better."
Dawn looked deeply at Anya. Anya had it so much worse then Dawn did. All of them had been trying to help Dawn and kept telling her how much she was loved. Anya had no one and nothing. But she managed to go on. Dawn felt very small and selfish.
"You're right," Dawn sighed.
"Good," Anya coughed. "So if I hear anymore of this 'I hate life' crap, I'll curse you with a second head. I still have connections, I can do it."
Dawn laughed and gave Anya a hug.
Later, they all set up for the night. Xander and Buffy slept in the backroom. Cordelia and Oz slept in the little back hallway. Faith, William, and Willow slept in sleeping bags in the main storefront. Giles kept a watch over Anya and Dawn in the training room. It was not a peaceful sleep for anyone. Each was afraid that night's sleep would be their last.
As the sunrise approached, Dawn woke with a start, clutching her hair. "Aaaaa!" she screamed. She had a vivid dream of herself surrounded by a ring of fire. When she realized where she was she let out a breath. It was so real, she thought. Not like a dream. It was almost like an out of body experience. The other Dawn, she thought suddenly.
Without any further thought or a plan, she bolted out of the store and ran.
SEWERS
Xander heard her scream and the powder stopped by a large downward drop. What happened to the good old factory, he wondered. He dropped down the fall and landed, somehow, on his feet. God must be with me, he thought.
He came face to face with three well-armed vampire guards. Xander lashed out with his sword before they had a chance to react. One of the vamps heads fell off leaving a pile of dust in its place. Xander moved quickly and decapitated the other two guards without much trouble. After Angelus and Tara ordinary vamps are going to be cake, he thought.
He entered the room they were guarding and found himself outnumbered six to one. Xander clutched the last bottle of the time liquid he had and waited for the vamps to advance.
"Xander," Dawn yelled excitedly as the she saw he friend. "Mine of theirs?" she asked as a secondary thought.
"What do you think," he quipped and flung the bottle at the vamps. Four of them froze in place. Two to one, he thought, much better odds.
Xander's presence had allowed Dawn to channel just a bit of her power and she pushed the flames back. "A little help here," she called.
"In a minute, a little busy here," he muttered as he exchanged sword blows with the two vamps. These guards had been trained much better.
MY LOVE.
Dawn heard him call to her. YES.
IS HE THERE?
YES.
COME HOME TO ME.
YES. Their connection gave Dawn incredible strength. She put the fire around her out and blew off the bars of her cage. She ran out of the box and grabbed a sword from one of the frozen guards. She swung it and lopped off one very surprised vampire's head.
Dawn was enough of a distraction to allow Xander to finish his own kill. Dawn threw her arms around Xander. "You guys came for me. I knew you would."
"Later Sunshine," Xander said, even though he knew that he was holding on just as tight as she was.
"Say goodbye," a voice called. Suddenly thirty vampires surrounded the two, lead by Tara and Angelus.
"Never," Dawn spat out at Tara. She was preparing to launch a volley of magic at her, but Amy appeared and ripped Dawn from Xander's grasp. Amy took her away through the shadows.
"DAWN!" Xander screamed. No, this can't be happening. I was so close.
"You have much bigger problems now," Tara growled.
TO BE CONTINUED
Feedback is what keeps me going, so please, please keep me going. I'm not ashamed to beg. Pretty Please??? (
Rating: R
Secrets Revealed
Whiz. That was the sound the bullet made as it flew past Xander's ear. "How come in the movies the bad guys shooting at the good guys are always such lousy shots? They seem to be damn good shots to me," he called out as he ducked from a flying bullet.
"Xander, I hate to break it to you, but we are the bad guys," Buffy said and leapt away from her own bullet. "I mean we are stealing the military's weapons."
"Maybe we could explain, SON OF A BITCH!" he cried as a bullet grazed his shoulder. His hand shot up to his now gushing wound. It was all he could do to keep on his feet.
Buffy wanted to run to him. She wanted to hold him, tend to his wound, and do something cute like kiss it to make it all better. She didn't have that kind of time. "Xander, are you okay?" she asked as concerned as slayerly possible.
"I've been shot! Do you think I'm okay?" Xander cried. The alarm that had announced their presence was rising in tone.
"That's not usually a good thing," Willow said. Xander's screech along with the alarm had cut into her trance. She had managed to keep all the distractions out of her mind and concentrate on just boxes. Now, they teetered but she still held them up.
Xander clutched his shoulder but kept on running. That's gonna leave a mark, he thought. He looked over and caught Buffy's eyes. The concern they radiated almost made the pain stop. Her love could almost heal him. Almost. The sound of bullets hitting the pavement broke their moment of silent love.
"How the hell did they figure out we were here anyway?" Buffy demanded. Her anger at the situation was growing. They may be the "bad guys," but Xander was right, they were actually the good guys. And no one hurt her Xander. She wasn't about to let some military men with big guns and little brains or a psycho vampire witch tear her boyfriend to pieces.
Suddenly, armed men stepped out in front of the trio, blocking their path. Shit, Buffy cursed silently.
"Hold your fire!" an authoritative voice called. "And get the medical team here NOW!" There was a great deal of movement among the troops. Soon a group of white-coated individuals stepped out with first aid kits.
Buffy was preparing to stop them from getting to Xander but she noticed that the soldiers in front of them still had their guns aimed at the trio. The medics reached Xander and pulled out a knife. Again, Buffy prepared to make a move. Again, she stopped. The medic cut the arm off of Xander's fake military garb and began attending to him.
Willow let the boxes drop. She knew they weren't going anywhere, so she decided to rest. Just in case she needed to use magic to help them escape later.
"Just a surface wound sir," the lead medic called.
"JUST!" Xander demanded. Xander couldn't make up his mind whether the medical attention was a good sign or a bad sign for the group. His memory of military protocol couldn't come up with anything enlightening on the situation. And the rest of his brain was drowned out in waves of pain.
"Good," the authoritative voice called again, ignoring Xander. He stepped out from the background. "Please escort our guests to the holding cell, tend to the wounded, and await my arrival. Oh, and take the stolen weapons to the cell as well." he ordered.
"Yes sir," the group called out.
Buffy, Xander, and Willow were taken, at gunpoint, on their way.
TRAIN STATION
"You know, you're the second person I've had to correct since I came back to this hellhole. My name is Angel," he told Amy coldly.
She smiled. "Glad to see you have so much spunk left in you. I wouldn't want you to just give in to the hopelessness of your situation. It's much more fun this way," she laughed. "You like fun, don't you Angelus."
"Sorry, been there, done that," Angel spat out tersely.
"So be it," she shrugged. She waved her hands around the train station. "Like what I've done with the place?" The vampire army, who Angel estimated to be at least a hundred in number, grinned in response.
"How did we get here?" Angel demanded. His eyes scanned the station for an easy entrance or hopefully an exit in his case. He could find nothing. He cursed himself for being stupid enough to follow the demons. Amy probably had the whole thing rigged. Maybe she even made the whole story up because she knew Spike wouldn't be at the house to object.
"Shadow travel. It's the way of the future," Amy replied. "Or, more precisely, my future." Amy laughed again. She had almost given up on Angel coming to her. But when her demon minions had reported to her about their encounter she had new hope. The house may have been empty on their second attack run, but that didn't mean they were all gone. The empty house trick was just like Angel. And he had indeed followed them. Without either Slayer. This was going better than planned.
"Shadow travel?" Angel questioned.
"My mistress' own invention," Tara told him. She stepped up from Amy's side and glared at him.
"Tara," Angel said sadly.
"Fuck you and shove your pity up your ass! I will bring my mistress her ascension. That's more that the sniveling bitch I was could ever have done!" She shouted. Whenever any doubt sacrificing her life for Amy's was presented, Tara's mind repeated that phrase. She wasn't sure why, but it always calmed her drive for self-preservation. The mistress above all, she told herself.
"Hush my pet," Amy soothed, placing her hands on Tara's shoulders. Tara instantly backed down and relented to her mistress.
Angel tried to speak up, but Amy caught his eyes. He fought her presence in his mind and eventually won. He tried to speak again, but he couldn't remember what he had wanted to say. Damn her, he cursed.
"Now, now Angel, play nice," Amy commanded. "Although, I'm not planning to," she laughed. Angel glared at her. At least she didn't give Angelus control again, he consoled himself.
Amy clapped her hands and a new figure came forward. He was dressed in black with a cross hanging around his neck. The feature that would have given him away fully was missing, but Angel recognized what he was immediately.
"That's low Amy. Even for scum like you. Turning a priest."
"Oh, but I haven't turned him. Father, please hold your cross," Amy asked. He obeyed. Angel watched. Nothing. No smoke or pain. "Now show Angelus your palm." He did. No scar.
"So, you've enslaved a priest, congrats," Angel said. What the hell is this about, he wondered.
"Not just any priest my dear," Amy told him. She was clearly reveling in revealing her plan to Angel. "This is Father Daniel O'Leary. I brought him all the way from Ireland. He's a specialist."
She wants me to ask in what, Angel thought. I won't give her the satisfaction.
Amy smiled at his silence. "I was hoping that would be your reaction. I wanted you to find out first hand. Father O'Leary has quite a knack for his trade."
Something in Angel's mind perked up. He had heard that name before. When she had first told him he hadn't been paying full attention, but O'Leary sounded so familiar.
"Okay, I give. What's his specialty?" Angel asked.
"You just don't want to be any fun at all, do you?" Amy pouted. "But, since you asked," she went on, her ego getting the better of her, "his specialty is: exorcism."
MAGIC BOX
Cordelia's scream snapped Faith fully aware. She sprung up from William's shoulder and bolted into the back. Faith grabbed for a weapon at her belt and pulled a dagger out. She reached the back room and yelled, "Get down Cordy!"
"Down girl," Cordelia called.
Faith stopped and saw Cordelia turning to help Oz and Anya. "What the hell's wrong with the front door? And why aren't you in the damn hospital?" Faith demanded, putting her weapon away.
"Good questions," Cordelia replied as she and Oz each took a shoulder of the obviously still weakened Anya.
"Because I gave the front door key to Xander and I still had a backdoor one," Anya said tiredly. "And we left the hospital because the Magic Box's insurance won't cover it. If we live through this I want a shop to come back to."
Faith had to roll her eyes at the girl. The girl was more concerned about saving money then resting. Especially considering the chance that Amy would kill them all. Still, Faith had to admire Anya's faith in the Scooby group. Anya had seen them go up against some of the most powerful evils known to man and they just kept on going. Faith prayed that this wouldn't be the time Anya's faith died.
Cordelia and Oz placed Anya on the training room mats. Giles and William brought in pillows and blankets, trying to make her as comfortable as possible.
"You children are so insufferable sometimes, so damn stubborn!" Giles exclaimed.
"Okay, first I'm not a child. I've lived your lifetime many times over," Anya said weakly. "And second, I blame you anyway. You left me the damn shop with no medical insurance. And the kind of 'business' we do. Really," she finished in a huff then began to cough. Giles looked down in shame.
"Don't take it personally mate," William offered. "She's a partner and she never added insurance either."
William had to chuckle inside at Giles and Anya's relationship. They were business partners who could barely stand each other. Then again, they made a cute couple, Spike piped up. He was referring to Willow's failed spell in which she had tried to erase Tara and Buffy's memory. It had backfired and they had all temporarily lost their memory. Giles and Anya had thought they were engaged.
"Still, I suppose she's right," Giles said dejectedly.
William could tell Giles was having a tough time of things. He was taking too much of the blame for their situations onto his own shoulders. Yeah, but Buffy wouldn't have fallen for us if Giles had stuck around, Spike said. Then we wouldn't have gotten our bloody redemption and Xander and Buffy would never have gotten together.
"Giles, you did the right thing," William said. "I admire you and I know that I wouldn't have had the strength to leave, even though it was the best for everyone."
"How can this be the best?" Giles demanded. "If I had stayed I could have seen what was going on and done something about it."
"Mate, I was here," William replied, letting a bit of Spike come across. "If you had stayed here, Buffy and I would never have gotten together. Which means she and Xander would never have gotten together. Which MEANS she would never have gotten out of her funk. You couldn't have stopped Amy from being turned or Tara. So stop with the self-pity crap. You're here when it counts."
Giles stood stunned for a few moments. Finally, he regained his composure. He was still managing to be upset. "I suppose my leaving was for the best. But what about my return? I haven't been able to help Dawn or protect anyone. What is the point?"
William grabbed Giles shirt collar and looked him in the eye. "They may not be high school kids anymore. They may have grown up. But they still look to you when they can't come up with the answers themselves. And you may not always have the answers, but you can still offer them something they need, your wisdom and advice. Since you've been back I've seen Buffy relax. She knows that she has someone to back her up and guide her. She's not alone with the decisions anymore. She may have looked to me, but she never truly trusted me. Not like she trusts you. That's why you're back."
Giles nodded. He didn't want to leave again, but he hadn't known if they would want him to stay this time. He hoped he had his answer now.
HOLDING CELL AT SUNNYDALE MILITARY BASE
Xander rubbed his bandaged shoulder. He was sitting next to Buffy and Willow in a small metal room. There was a large table with a big overhead light above it. Xander knew that it was used for interrogations. How fun, he thought.
Buffy held his free hand and Willow's rested on his knee. They had discussed what they thought was going to happen to them. They agreed it was a good sign that they had bandaged Xander and allowed the three of them to stay together. They also agreed that in their a case a good sign might be that they were going to ask questions first, then shoot second.
The hidden door to the room opened and the authoritative man stepped through. Two armed men were about to follow but he stopped them. "Stay outside men. That's an order," he added when they hesitated. They left the room and closed the door. It was built to open from the outside only.
Xander decided that he would be noble for his friends. "Sir," he said standing up. "I'm to blame. I dragged my friends with me. It started out as just a prank and it got out of hand. I just wanted to do some damage and instead I decided to steal the weapons. It's entirely my fault. My real name is Private."
The man cut him off. "Sit down Mr. Harris." Xander couldn't hide his shock and fell into his seat. The man shook his head. "My name is Colonel Chad Mix. I apologize for the wound we inflicted. When our scouts detected you and the alarm was sounded I didn't have a chance to see who you were until it was too late."
"And who are we?" Buffy asked, challengingly.
"If you'd let me continue Miss Summers," he smirked at her shock. "I am the only man on the base who has any knowledge of what this town truly is. When I came to be in charge of this base it was about the same time of the Initiative's failure. I was briefed on the project. I was also briefed on you three. They strongly urged me that if you interfered with me in anyway, to have a talk with you and release you. In repayment for your help in stopping the demons," he chuckled. "That's the bureaucracy for you. But, fortunately, it was an urge and not an order."
"What does that mean?" Willow asked, swallowing. Her imagination was running wild. He could certainly be anxious to imprison them all for breaking into a military base. Or maybe he got off on killing.
"It means, that I don't have to get you off the base."
Buffy had recovered from her shock and started to object. "Look, if you know who we are then you know that we're the good guys."
"Good guys don't break into military installations and steal weapons," Mix returned.
"Sure we do," Xander said. "We stole a bazooka do destroy the Judge. I mean we borrowed it, we returned it later."
Mix laughed. "Well, you're not borrowing these weapons."
"It's a matter of life or death," Buffy replied. She silently urged Willow to snap out of her trance. Buffy was great at fighting their way out of situations, but talking their way out had always belonged to Willow.
"I'm sure it is, but you're still not borrowing military weapons," Mix said.
"Why not?" Xander asked, making the same silent wish his lover had.
"Because," Mix said, still smiling, "I can say missing weapons were destroyed due to damage. Borrowed weapons are hard to explain when they magically reappear."
"Wait," Willow said, her mind coming back to her. "Did you just say what I think you did?"
Mix was still smiling. "I've seen what this town is up against. And I've seen what happens when the military tries to stop it. Like it or not, you three are basically the world's last line of defense against evil. So, I'm happy to offer any help I can give. That's why it's fortunate they only urged me to ban you from the base."
"So, not only do we get to leave, but we get the weapons too?" Buffy asked in shock.
Mix nodded. He pushed a button on his belt and the door sprang open. Mix then escorted the three of them to his private jeep, which he had loaded with the weapons they had been trying to steal. He drove them to Buffy's SUV and helped them load the weapons into her car. When they were finished he smiled at them.
"Miss Summers, Miss Rosenburg, Mister Harris, I'm not sure I want to know what it is you're facing. But, I'm sure the fate of the world hangs in the balance." They nodded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. "Oh, by the way, next time you need something, ask. This is my private number. If I can help in any other way please let me know. Good luck to you folks." He saluted them, handed Buffy his card and left.
The three looked at each other, then back at Mix. They could only shake their heads and pile back into the SUV.
SEWERS
Dawn couldn't call any power to her. The fire got closer and closer but there was nothing she could do about it. She had sat for as long as she could, but the flames had now forced her to stand. Damnit, a little help here would be nice, she thought. All that training and I can't even put out a little magical ring of fire, she cursed. Get your butt here she called with her mind. She waited for a response, but none came.
Dawn was proud that she had been able to stop Amy from taking her mind over. Granted, only his presence had given her the strength, but she was willing to take any victory she could get. She sighed.
Come get me, she tried again. She couldn't make contact. I can't even contact the person I love the most, Dawn lamented, how the hell do I think I can raise Buffy from the dead? The flames nipped her arms. "OW!" she cried. The vampire guards snickered.
GET ME OUTTA HERE NOW!
SUNNYDALE HIGH RUINS
All he could think about was his mission. Had he already failed? The demons were clearly staking out the hellmouth for whatever was going to take place here involving Dawn. His Dawn. Would whatever took her think that one of the famed Scooby Gang killed the demons? Or would it suspect something? Did it already know he was here?
"Damnit, I should have let him come along like he wanted to. At least then I'd have some company," he whined aloud.
"Guess you got your wish," a voice called from the rubble.
"Xander!" he exclaimed and got to his feet to met his friend.
"That's me," Xander replied. The younger man threw his arms around Xander. Xander couldn't help but look around at his former high school. He hadn't been back since Riley had been hiding there. This isn't my Sunnydale, Xander had to remind himself.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Just thought you might need some company or a hand," Xander replied as he returned the hug.
"Xander," the boy said as he pulled away. "I think I may have screwed up already."
"What happened?" Xander asked concerned. Dawn. She's all I have left. I can't let her die too.
"Well, my sword came to life," he muttered.
"So you went to go investigate and of course ran into the demons it detected," Xander reprimanded him. Sometimes he was so rash and stupid, Xander thought, like I had been at that age.
"Or I was exploring and then it came to life," he said, eyes downcast. He told Xander the story.
"Well, let's hope that won't be enough to tip whoever's in control here off." Xander had become so jaded and cynical. For all he knew Glory had won and had control of this dimension. Though, he thought, it didn't appear that way when he had come through the portal.
"Xander, it's not the same here. I can feel it. I think she's alive." Xander had to know, he thought.
"Who's alive?" Xander asked. Don't tell me things like that kid I won't want to leave, he thought.
"The slayer," he said, staring at the ground.
"Don't," Xander told him. "If she is, well, I can't know. I need to focus on living my own life, not some other random Xander's life."
"Look, Xan," he started but stopped mid-sentence. GET ME OUTTA HERE NOW!
"What is it?" Xander asked him.
"Dawn needs help. She's calling me, I have to go."
"NO!" Xander shouted. "You've done enough in this world. If she needs help I'll go. If you mess with this world you'll screw everything up. If I go and someone sees me I'm just Xander. Where is she?"
"You'd do that for me?" he asked. I wish there was something I could do to help him, he thought. His life has been so empty since Glory. I just wish I could give him something to live for.
"For you and Dawn. Where is she?" Xander asked again.
TRAIN STATION
"Exorcism?" Angel asked incredulously. What the hell is she planning, he wondered.
"Yup," Amy smiled at him. "I've had this in mind for you since the moment I knew my destiny. I knew the big bad Scooby gang would call you in. So, why not give myself an advantage?"
"If you know them so well, you know that if you exorcise my soul they'll just curse me again," Angel told her. I need to get out of here, NOW.
"Of course they will, silly," she purred and moved towards him. Angel backed away. "I know you're scared Angelus. But I promise, it won't hurt. Much." He continued to back away. "You see I'm not exorcising your soul. I'm going to have good old Father O'Leary release Angelus. Then, you'll be free."
"Why would you want that?" Angel asked. Okay Angel, he thought, time to get as much out of her as you can and test her weakness out.
"Oh, you'll see. But I suppose you have it in your head that you want to test my strength out. Let's on with it then," she said bored.
Angel was happy to oblige. He charged Amy, swinging his fist in a haymaker. Amy easily dodged his blow and backhanded him in the face. He fell backwards. She brought her foot down towards his head. Angel just managed to roll away as her foot connected with the concrete leaving a hole.
Weak huh, he thought to himself as he dodged a roundhouse kick from Amy's other foot. Angel crouched down and when Amy went to plant her foot through his chest, he leapt towards her. He was able to avoid her kick, but Amy's reflexes allowed her to land a fist on the top of his head. He dropped to the pavement and felt Amy grab him by the neck and fling him like he was a bag of garbage. Angel hit the wall and fell to the ground with a thud.
He staggered back to his feet and went at Amy again. He was able to dodge Amy's barrage of blows and slammed both his fists into her head. She fell back a little. Angel went to make another move, but Amy's hand shot out and grabbed his neck. She squeezed it and then threw him backwards. He fell on his back and slammed his head against the floor.
That was all he could take. The edges of his vision began to turn black and it took every ounce of his will power to stay conscious. Amy brought her foot down on his stomach, then again on his manly parts. The world blanked out on Angel a bit as the pain coursed up and down his body. He thought he was vomiting, but he couldn't really tell. She yanked him to his feet but he couldn't keep his balance and fell back down again. She delivered a roundhouse kick to his face and Angel was sure he heard bones crack.
"Mistress?" Tara asked hesitantly from her side.
Amy favored Tara with a smile and said, "Just making sure. Vampires have a tendency to heal very quickly. Isn't that right Angelus?"
Angel knew the bones in his jaw were definitely broken. He tried to respond but pain seared through him and he spat out blood instead of words.
"See pet," Amy purred at Tara. "A blow like that would have killed a normal human. Angel's just going to be in extreme pain for a while. Isn't that right?"
Angel glared at her. Even that hurts, he thought.
"Tara, take our guest and Father O'Leary to the room. I want our dear priest to have plenty of time to work on him before he regains any strength."
"Yes mistress," Tara replied. She yanked Angel to his feet and led him towards a shadowy corner. Amy told Father O'Leary to follow and the three disappeared from sight.
Amy turned to look at her army. She looked and saw her vampires standing in rows, just like a real army. She was disturbed by the fact that none of the demons seemed to care about their appearance at all. They also seemed to be avoiding the vampires. She wondered if something was going on.
Then there was the issue of Tara. She may have sired her and taken control of her mind, but Tara was not to be taken lightly, especially if she was repeating one of Amy's hypnotic messages aloud. If Tara's need for survival won out over her hypnotic control, Amy would have to get violent with her. And it would certainly delay the ritual.
Don't worry yourself with it, she decided. Once I set Angelus loose on the slayers they'll have so much to deal with they won't stand a chance.
SEWERS
Tara dragged Angel into the sewers again. Shadow travel really is the way of the future, he thought. The priest and Tara led the way and Angel struggled to stay on his feet, even with Tara tightly gripping his left arm.
Angel couldn't help but wonder how Xander stood any chance against Amy once she became the vessel. If she didn't want to free Angelus she could easily have killed him. Hopefully the chaos that happened when the vampire/demon war starts will allow Buffy and Faith to take Amy out before she completes the ritual, he hoped.
Tara brought him into a new room. Angel looked around and saw two beds. One had a large cross above it. The other was a hospital bed. On the bed was a strong looking man who was asleep.
"What the hell is this all about?" Angel tried to ask. "Wha t el iz al ut," was closer to what actually escaped his broken jaw.
"Sit," Tara commanded and threw Angel onto the bed. She and O'Leary quickly strapped the weakened vampire down. He struggled as much as he could, but when Tara slapped him across the face he relented.
"Do your worst Father," Tara told him and slipped through the shadows again.
"Son, you must relax," O'Leary said in a thick Irish accent. "I'll do the best that I can, but you must sit still."
Angel continued to struggle against his restraints, but to no avail. His already battered body began to be attacked again. "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," O'Leary began, making the sign of the cross over Angel. He's good for a reason, Angel thought. I never thought I'd want to keep Angelus inside me, but whatever they have in mind I can't let them win.
Angel's eyes strayed around the room as he tried to fight the pain. They landed on the sleeping boy. Angel noticed that there were machines hooked up to him. What does he have to do with any of this, he wondered. The pain overtook any more thoughts as he felt Angelus come to the front of his mind. He and the priest were going to have quite a battle.
MAGIC BOX
Giles tended to Anya. He changed her dressings. Helped her take her pain medication. Soothed her after her terrible nightmares. They were all taking their toll on the watcher. He wanted to do something more to help her. He wanted to feel more needed. What you want Rupert, he thought, is an excuse to stay.
Which was true. He wanted to feel needed. But it wasn't solely because of his own personal needs. He didn't 't want to leave Sunnydale again. He loved these people. He had missed them. He had built a small life for himself in England, but it had been quite a shock to his system. He may have been stuck up, stick in the mud, fuddy duddy Giles here in Sunnydale. In England, however, he had become the outsider. I've spent too long living with them, he had thought at first. I'll fit right in soon.
But it hadn't happened. He felt out of place there. Similar to how he was feeling back at Sunnydale. He felt out of place. Giles wanted to stay in Sunnydale, but so much had changed. He couldn't just slip back into their lives like he had before. The only reason he left in the first place was because the "Scooby" gang just reminded him too much of his fallen slayer.
"Giles," Anya muttered.
"Yes, Anya," he said, glad to have a distraction from his brooding.
"Do you like what I did with the shop? Have I done all right?"
"What?' Giles responded, stunned. He recovered quickly. "Oh, I, well, yes actually. You've done quite well. I knew that you would."
"I just wanted to make as much money for us as I could," she said weakly.
"You did wonderfully Anya," he said and kissed her forehead. His mind involuntarily brought back the memories of their brief time as an engaged couple. There had been too much else going on during that time for him to dwell on it, but it had felt, rather, nice. Stop that Rupert, he demanded. She's half your age. More precisely, he mused, she's actually many times my own age. Still, stop it. She's half your age physically.
Giles pulled his lips, which he noticed he had let linger far too long on Anya's forehead, away. He stared at the sleeping girl for a few more moments then got up and went into the store area.
He found Faith and William sleeping together in the chair they were sharing. Giles still had to laugh whenever he saw Spike in tweed. Xander had told him earlier that during their strange dreams, right after they defeated Adam, Spike had become a watcher and was wearing tweed. Xander assured Giles that it was even funnier in person.
Cordelia had returned to the space in the back. Giles assumed it was to resume her nap. At least he hoped so, because Oz had accompanied her.
Giles was not surprised to come across a wide-awake Dawn Summers. She looked up and offered him a weak smile. "Hey Giles."
"Dawn," Giles replied, returning her weak smile with one of his own. Giles had grown very worried about her. She was shutting down and closing herself off from any help. Blaming herself for everything that had gone wrong since she had arrived. Giles knew he was running out of time to reach her.
"Giles, I don't want to talk about it," she said before he got a chance.
"Dawn, you must," Giles insisted. I have to reach her, he thought.
"Just leave me alone," she whined and turned away from him.
"That's what you want, isn't it?" Giles asked. "You want to be left alone. You think that if we leave you, we'll be safe?"
How does he know that, Dawn wondered. "So," she spouted off.
"Look around Dawn," Giles said softly. "Our lives are in danger every minute of everyday. Not because of you, but because of what we do. We fight demons. And you were sent to us because you need to be protected. Pushing us away isn't going to help. Not you and most certainly not us. I failed in my duties as a watcher to be prepared for your arrival. That's why Buffy died. And like it or not, it isn't your fault. No one would trade you back if we could."
Giles though he was reaching her. She looked up at him with her big eyes. He was so close to breaking down her walls. Then, just like that, she closed off again.
"Whatever. You left when things started to get tough. You didn't have to stay and deal with it, why should I?" Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. Now what Rupert?
The door flew open and a set of boxes floated down into the store. Following behind them were Willow, Buffy, and Xander.
"Oh, the goodies are here," Faith said sleepily from William's lap. She hopped down, waking William from his own slumber.
"What's that?' he mumbled.
"Toys," she replied and pulled him out of the chair.
"Did you have any, my God your arm Xander," Giles said, coming over to greet them.
"Trouble?" Buffy finished for her watcher. "A little. Actually, things worked out pretty well."
"Yeah," Willow replied. "I mean they shot at us and stuff, but we got his card and the weapons and."
"Willow," Xander stopped her ramble. "I got shot, I get to tell the story."
"Fine, play the I got shot I get to tell the story card," Buffy pouted. Xander chuckled.
"Don't worry, I will," he smiled and planted a kiss on her check.
"On with the gory details," Faith demanded. She did, however, pull William into her arms when she saw Xander kiss Buffy. We'll see who the PDA slayer is, Faith thought.
"Okay, it went like this…" Xander began.
STREETS
It took all of the will power Xander had not to go past the Magic Box. Not to go and see if she really was alive. What good will that do, he wondered. I see her, I get depressed, I fail Dawn. Not what I'm here for.
Xander followed his own memories to the sewer entrance. Just like always, he thought. He dropped down into the sewer system and pulled his sword out. Then, he pulled some powder he had been given and threw it into the stream of sewer water. It seemed to go downstream for a while and Xander wondered if it was working. He had his answer when the powder took a sharp left hand turn down a tube.
He followed the powder for a long time. He was surprised and quite uneasy about the lack of trouble he had come across. The sewers were always a hideout for vamps. The quiet was especially disturbing since there was a pretty powerful evil holding Dawn.
Xander continued for while in the silence. Then, he heard a blood- curdling scream. He recognized the voice. It wasn't who he had been expecting. He stopped for a moment and watched the powder. It was continuing on a different path. He thought for a few seconds, then reached down and scooped the powder back into his bag. He closed it up and turned to the sound of the scream.
Xander felt the door. It appeared to only open from the inside. Again, he heard the scream. Xander slashed with his sword and it torn a small scratch on the think metal. Wonderful, he thought. He repeated the pattern a few more times. A hand grabbed him from behind and threw him to the ground. Xander looked up and felt relieved.
"Tara. It's great to see you," he started but stopped when she swung a kick at his head. "What was that for? Did I do something?"
"You were really stupid to come here for him. And you came alone. You just keep getting dumber." She let another kick fly at him. He rolled away and looked up to see her vampire face in place of the radiant face he had come to know and love.
"Oh, Tara, no," he cried. Insane Tara had been hard to deal with in his dimension. Here she was insane vampire Tara.
"I've heard all about how sorry you all are. You, Willow, Buffy, Angel. You can shove your pity up your ass, and kiss mine while you're at it!"
"Willow?" Xander's voice faltered. Then, it hit him. Tara wasn't acting insane like Druscilla. This dimension was completely different. Willow and Buffy were alive. Hell, I have no idea what else is different in this dimension, Xander thought. For all I know Glory never existed and that's why Buffy and Willow are alive.
Tara looked at Xander. He was near tears. She looked him over closely. He was strong. Battle weary. Not her Xander. "Here for Dawnie, aren't you?" They understood each other and knew it. He nodded.
"What are you doing here then?"
"Heard Angel, thought I'd see what I could do," he offered.
The door Xander had been trying to cut through opened. "It is done," a voice called. Xander sprung to his face and waited. A priest came through and stood next to Tara. Then, something followed him. When he caught a glimpse of the creature the first thought that came to Xander's mind was the Master. The face was distorted, permanently twisted into its vampire face. Decay had already begun to eat away at him. His skin had turned a grayish color. And there was something else. There was something very familiar about him.
"Xander Harris," it growled.
"And you are?" he asked the creature.
Its face contorted into what Xander assumed was its attempt at a smile. "Something you know very well." Its voice was eerily familiar as well.
"Xander, get away," another voice called feebly from the room.
"Angel," Xander called. "Are you okay?"
"No," he said, sounding weaker than Xander had ever heard him.
"Do you recognize me yet? I'll give you a hint," the creature growled and slammed his fist into Xander's face. "Bring back any memories? When I had my chances I never made enough of them. Should have pummeled you more before the big sissy took over again. Though, I have to say that time he and Faith got you was great."
Xander rubbed his face and stared at the creature towering above him. "Angelus?"
"Very good. Now, you get to die," Tara replied. "Finish him," she ordered Angelus.
"For freeing me from that prison, your wish is my command," he told her. Xander swallowed. Not good, he thought as Angelus made another move.
MAGIC BOX
"Wow," Faith said on behalf of the group. Even Oz and Cordelia had wandered in to hear the trio's story.
"Always a good card to have in our back pocket," William said.
"So why not just have them come in and blow Amy to hell," Dawn muttered bitterly.
Buffy was taken aback by her sister's anger. "We can't just do that."
"Why not? The army's full of normal guys. Let them blow Amy to bits. We can just sit around and watch TV!" Dawn stormed out of the room, leaving the rest of them stunned.
"Should I go after her?" Buffy asked. She looked from Xander to Giles. She was looking for guidance.
"I have been unable to reach her," Giles admitted, sighing heavily.
"Buff," Xander said softly. "Maybe she just needs some time."
"I just don't want to lose her. I don't want her to do something stupid. I mean, she is my sister. We all know what happened when I closed off to everyone. I mean I really hit rock bottom."
"Hey, I resent that," William said. Faith shot him a glare. "Sorry, Spike part of me," he blushed.
"Buffy," Giles said, "I think perhaps, Xander is right. If we push her too hard, she may pull away from all of us. We must remember, she is only 15."
"So was I when I had to start slaying," Buffy said quietly. "I just," she couldn't talk anymore. Xander threw an arm around her and pulled her close. He pulled them up and went into a back room. Xander caught Giles eyes and motioned with his head for him to follow. Giles nodded and went with the couple.
"Well Red," Faith turned to Willow. "Let's see what we got." Faith wasn't trying to be callous, but they needed to plan for Amy. They only had twenty-four hours left.
Willow nodded and cracked open the cases. "Grenades. Flame throwers. And this," Willow beamed and handed Faith a long metal gun. "Automatic cross bow."
"Niiiceee," Faith cooed.
"These should prove most effective," William conceded.
"Light enough for you to handle," Willow said to Cordelia, "If you want to. I'm not going to force you."
"I'll take one," Oz said quietly. Willow nodded. He shouldn't be here, she thought. He was only here because of the containment spell they had tried. Which failed, she reminded herself.
"You can go back to Dingos," she told her ex.
He shook his head. "If I can help stop the end of the world, kinda figure that's more important than a couple gigs." His look told her so much. She knew he was there if she needed to talk.
"Okay," Willow replied. Oz nodded. He too was able to interpret more than what her words were saying. Not yet, her voice told him.
"Will it leave smoke marks?" Cordelia asked, breaking the former couple's moment.
"I'll buy you a new dress Cordy," Faith said and slapped her on the shoulder.
Xander sat Buffy down in a chair in the back. Giles stepped in a moment later. Buffy was already in tears.
"Giles, I don't want to lose her," she sobbed.
"Buffy, you aren't going to lose her. She just needs sometime to come to terms with Tara's death. The important thing is for us to be here, waiting, when she is ready to come to us," Giles told her. He squeezed her shoulder and she looked up at him.
"What if something bad happens tomorrow? I mean it's not a what if, something is going to happen. Someone's going to get hurt," she squeaked out. She looked over at Xander, and a fresh set of tears streamed down her face.
"I'm not going anywhere," Xander said determinedly.
"Promise me. Both of you promise me we'll win and everyone will be okay," she pleaded with them.
"Of course," Giles said and hugged her. "We won't let anything bad happen."
"I can't go through this again. I just can't," Buffy sobbed.
"You won't have to," Giles assured her. Giles was close to tears as well. He felt so helpless. He couldn't guarantee anything. It had been a long time since Giles had actually felt he could protect his slayer from anything. Now, she was longing for his comfort and he had nothing to offer her.
"Giles, you have no idea how much it means to me that you're here," she mumbled.
Xander kissed her forehead and hugged her. It had turned into a group hug, which managed to calm Buffy some.
"We stop Amy we have all the time in the world to help Dawn," Xander assured her.
"Thank you. Both of you, I couldn't make it without you guys," Buffy said gratefully.
"We'll always be here for you Buffy," Giles told her and broke from the group hug. Don't make promises you can't keep, he told himself. At least he felt that he was offering something to Buffy. Even if it was only empty promises.
SEWERS
Xander slashed Angelus across the knee with his sword. The creature, it was neither a true vampire nor a demon, groaned it pain but kept coming. Xander thrust his sword at the creatures stomach, but Angelus moved out of the way and slammed his fist against the back of Xander's head. He stumbled foreword and knocked into Tara. They both fell the ground. Before Xander could inflict any damage on Tara, she hurled him away and was on her feet.
Xander barely had a chance to get his bearings when Angelus grabbed his hair and tossed him into the room he had just come from. A hospital bed broke Xander's fall. Or his back, he couldn't decide.
"Xander, get out of here," Angel whispered. Xander looked over and saw that Angel still had his vampire face on.
"What happened?" Xander asked when his breathe had returned. He didn't have time to hear the vampire's response as Angelus came into the room and delivered a swift kick to Xander's midsection. For the second time in a matter of minutes Xander had the wind knocked out of him. He could barely move when he felt Angelus grab his head. Shit, he thought, he's going to snap my neck.
"Wait," Tara called as she entered the room.
"You wanted the whelp finished," Angelus growled.
"Yes, but I have a plan," she said. She came over to Xander and stroked his neck with her index finger. Even in his battered state Xander knew what she was getting at. He decided he had one chance left. He had been saving it for freeing Dawn, but a dead Xander couldn't save Dawn.
Angelus tilted his head and Tara vamped out and descended upon him. Xander fiddled with his belt until he got free a small bottle of purple liquid. He flung it on the ground, shattering the bottle. The liquid reached Angelus and Tara. Tara stopped dead in her path, as did Angelus.
Xander squirmed from the creature's grip and, careful not to step in the liquid, grabbed his sword and moved to Angel.
"What was that?" Angel muttered, his jaw still sore.
"No time to explain," Xander said. He cut the bonds lose and helped the weakened vampire to his feet. "Of course, I could ask you the same question. We'll exchange war stories later. I still need to find Dawn."
Angel looked at Xander curiously. When he caught sight of the belt he recognized some of the bags he was carrying. "That's some pretty powerful magic," he said as they left the room. With his free hand Xander tossed his pink powder back into the water.
"Yeah, it is," Xander muttered and they followed after the powder.
"Wait, Tara and Angelus," Angel said suddenly. "We can stop them. Kill them. The ritual."
"Sorry," Xander cut him off. "That liquid displaced them in time for a while. When it wears off they get returned exactly where they were before the liquid touched them. I could chop them into little pieces but when the spell ends they'll be back there, very much alive. Or undead, whatever."
"That's gypsy magic," Angel stated. Xander avoided his stare and they continued to follow the powder. "You're from that Dawn's dimension."
Xander nodded. "The others can't know. Especially about the gypsy stuff. I can't change the path of this dimension. But my dimension needs Dawn, so I'm here. Along with a friend. He could feel Dawn in danger, but if you guys discovered him it would change things. I can at least pretend to be Xander. Although, that hasn't gone real well for me lately. Anyway, I came here for Dawn and heard you. So here we are," he finished.
"I won't tell them. I don't want to change things," Angel said quietly.
"Your turn," Xander told him as they limped into a right turn.
"That priest was an expert on exorcism. They kept telling me they were going to free Angelus. I thought they'd take my soul. He actually took Angelus out of me and put him into that body. I figured out that the guy was in a coma, so no soul to contend with or be cursed with. I'm free of Angelus, but I'm still a vampire. I can't explain it."
Xander examined Angel for a moment. "Angel, you're getting old," Xander exclaimed. "You're aging."
"Impossible," Angel retorted, though he was far from convinced of anything at this point.
"Whatever he did to you, you're still a vampire, but you're getting old."
Angel felt his face and was shocked by the wrinkles he felt there.
"We have to undo it," Angel said.
Xander eyed the powder. "I can't. I'm here for Dawn. I thought I could help you too, but she's first in line." There was a long silence between them. Finally, Xander decided to ask. "She's alive here, isn't she?"
"Buffy?" Angel asked, though he knew that was who he meant. Xander nodded weakly. "Yeah. She died, but Willow brought her back."
"I have to save Dawn. She's all I have left," Xander looked at Angel. He was losing his grip on reality. Get a grip, Xander told himself.
"You want to stay," Angel said. It wasn't a question.
"The place I came from is hell. However, if I fail to save Dawn or if she stays in this dimension, then my world will become a demon playground. I can't let that happen."
"I guess we go our separate ways then," Angel offered.
"Guess so," Xander replied softly. He took out a small bottle from his belt. "If you need to buy some time, drink this. It can slow the aging process. I don't have a use for it, but they gave it to me anyhow."
"Thank you," Angel told him and turned to go back up to the surface.
"Your world really is a hell, isn't it?" Angel called.
"You have no idea."
"Try me," Angel challenged.
"Another time," Xander whispered and vanished out of sight, following his powder.
Angel tried to block out images of what Xander's world was like. And he had to block out the part about the gypsies. The way Xander carried himself, Angel was sure that his warning was not without merit. He owed his freedom to the man. At the least he owed him his silence.
Angel reached the surface and nearly collapsed from exhaustion. With every step he took, Angel was sure he could feel himself age a year. He was about a block away from the Magic Box when he collapsed. He tried to make his body work, but it wouldn't respond. As he slipped into blackness he glanced up to see the horizon becoming lighter.
Xander's encounter with Angel had hurt him more than he had expected. Angel had told him what he already knew, what he had known the moment he had stepped out of the portal. It still hurt, knowing that the woman he loved was alive in this dimension. Probably with Spike, but a messed up Buffy was still better than no Buffy at all.
And then Xander had revealed far too much to Angel. His only hope was that Angel could keep his mouth shut. Dawn was so important. Which brought Xander back to the matter at hand, saving Dawn so he could go "home."
Dawn cried in pain. The flames were on her clothes now. She was crying. She was also praying that someone was coming for her. She had felt the connection she had made. He knew she needed him. Now it was just a waiting game. The flames caught her hair and she screamed out.
MAGIC BOX
Dawn stomped into the training room and threw herself on the floor. Why does it always have to be us, she complained to herself.
"I hate my life," she whined aloud.
"Dawn," Anya said weakly. Dawn gasped. She had forgotten she was in here.
"Sorry, I can leave," she said and started to get up.
"Come here, please," Anya whispered.
Dawn looked around nervously but went to sit next to the injured girl. "Dawn," she began, "life is a gift. I used to think like you are now. I went from being the scourge of the betrayed to just a, a, a teenager. And if it hadn't been for Xander, I wouldn't have made it through. In fact, after we broke up, I went back to wanting to die. But when you come face to face with death, it really makes you appreciate how great it is to be alive. So, the important thing is just to go on. It gets better."
Dawn looked deeply at Anya. Anya had it so much worse then Dawn did. All of them had been trying to help Dawn and kept telling her how much she was loved. Anya had no one and nothing. But she managed to go on. Dawn felt very small and selfish.
"You're right," Dawn sighed.
"Good," Anya coughed. "So if I hear anymore of this 'I hate life' crap, I'll curse you with a second head. I still have connections, I can do it."
Dawn laughed and gave Anya a hug.
Later, they all set up for the night. Xander and Buffy slept in the backroom. Cordelia and Oz slept in the little back hallway. Faith, William, and Willow slept in sleeping bags in the main storefront. Giles kept a watch over Anya and Dawn in the training room. It was not a peaceful sleep for anyone. Each was afraid that night's sleep would be their last.
As the sunrise approached, Dawn woke with a start, clutching her hair. "Aaaaa!" she screamed. She had a vivid dream of herself surrounded by a ring of fire. When she realized where she was she let out a breath. It was so real, she thought. Not like a dream. It was almost like an out of body experience. The other Dawn, she thought suddenly.
Without any further thought or a plan, she bolted out of the store and ran.
SEWERS
Xander heard her scream and the powder stopped by a large downward drop. What happened to the good old factory, he wondered. He dropped down the fall and landed, somehow, on his feet. God must be with me, he thought.
He came face to face with three well-armed vampire guards. Xander lashed out with his sword before they had a chance to react. One of the vamps heads fell off leaving a pile of dust in its place. Xander moved quickly and decapitated the other two guards without much trouble. After Angelus and Tara ordinary vamps are going to be cake, he thought.
He entered the room they were guarding and found himself outnumbered six to one. Xander clutched the last bottle of the time liquid he had and waited for the vamps to advance.
"Xander," Dawn yelled excitedly as the she saw he friend. "Mine of theirs?" she asked as a secondary thought.
"What do you think," he quipped and flung the bottle at the vamps. Four of them froze in place. Two to one, he thought, much better odds.
Xander's presence had allowed Dawn to channel just a bit of her power and she pushed the flames back. "A little help here," she called.
"In a minute, a little busy here," he muttered as he exchanged sword blows with the two vamps. These guards had been trained much better.
MY LOVE.
Dawn heard him call to her. YES.
IS HE THERE?
YES.
COME HOME TO ME.
YES. Their connection gave Dawn incredible strength. She put the fire around her out and blew off the bars of her cage. She ran out of the box and grabbed a sword from one of the frozen guards. She swung it and lopped off one very surprised vampire's head.
Dawn was enough of a distraction to allow Xander to finish his own kill. Dawn threw her arms around Xander. "You guys came for me. I knew you would."
"Later Sunshine," Xander said, even though he knew that he was holding on just as tight as she was.
"Say goodbye," a voice called. Suddenly thirty vampires surrounded the two, lead by Tara and Angelus.
"Never," Dawn spat out at Tara. She was preparing to launch a volley of magic at her, but Amy appeared and ripped Dawn from Xander's grasp. Amy took her away through the shadows.
"DAWN!" Xander screamed. No, this can't be happening. I was so close.
"You have much bigger problems now," Tara growled.
TO BE CONTINUED
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