Part 11: Beneath the Surface
She felt like a puppet, with Willow pulling the strings. Her body only moving upon the witch's command. She had no free will of her own to run even if she wished to do so. Now she knew how minions felt.
Dawn walked into the principal's office behind the red head, faithfully following her mistress like a puppy on a leash. She couldn't think of this…thing as Willow anymore because she couldn't hate Willow, but she hated this woman with every fiber in her body. This witch hurt people, and did it with a song in her heart and a smile on her lips. She was easy to hate, even if she wore one of Dawn's best friend's bodies.
Dawn stopped just a few feet from the door by an invisible barrier as Willow continued on towards the large desk. The witch flicked her wrist, sending the desk crashing off to the side like it had been a beach ball some kid had decided to kick around. Dawn flinched from the impact, her mind momentarily wondering back to the wounded Connor downstairs beside the pool. He was so much stronger than Dawn and Willow took care of him like he had been nothing. How could the teen ever think that she would be able to do something to save her niece? She wouldn't even be able to save herself.
Willow's eyes were locked on something that had been behind the desk, and that was when Dawn noticed the play pen with the little child standing inside of it. The baby's eyes were locked on the red-headed woman that was walking towards her, but the child didn't seem afraid, just curious.
"Dylan?" Dawn whispered upon seeing her niece alive and well.
The baby looked past the woman before her and finally saw the teenager that had entered with her. The child's face lit up when she saw that it was her aunt.
"Dawn!" she cried happily, holding out her arms to be picked up by the family member.
The teenager fruitlessly jerked at her body, trying to make it move, but finding that she still had no control over it. Willow laughed softly.
"Sorry, my little kitten," she told the baby. "But Auntie Dawn is going to do a little something for me before I even let her think about coming near you."
She reached over to touch the side of Dylan's soft head, but the child drew back as if her hand were on fire. That just caused Willow to smirk even more. "Just goes to prove that babies aren't as dumb as people think they are," she snorted before turning away and heading over to a black bag that she had stashed in a corner.
Willow took the bag and went to the center of the room, then began to empty it on the floor. A large book fell to the ground with a loud bang, and Dawn recognized it as the one that had been responsible for sending Glory and Willow to that awful Shadow World. The teen felt her stomach drop as Willow picked it up, and began to flip through the pages.
"So many memories," the witch said wistfully. "So few good ones."
She sighed as she closed the book and put it over on top of the file cabinet. Willow then walked back over to the items the still laid on the ground, and picked up a much shinier object. The room's artificial light danced off the blade of the odd dagger as the witch held it up high and close to her face to inspect it. The menacing looking weapon sent chills down Dawn's spin from the knowledge of what her one-time friend intended to use it for.
"He had such great plans for this weapon. Did you know that?" Willow said as if Dawn understood what she was talking about. "He told me that he was going to use this to cut into your tender flesh and give the world a light show like it had never seen before. He really was a silly, arrogant little puppy. Only talked about wanting to be with the Beast, so I was more than happy to send him to hell with her. That was such great fun, Dawnie. You should have heard the way he screamed."
"Willow, please, if you're somewhere in there, don't do this," the teen begged.
The red head brought the blade away from her face and looked at the young girl strangely before she started to laugh.
"Oh, Dawnie, you really are good for a laugh." The witch walked calmly over to the teen, the dagger swinging at her side before she locked her arms behind her back and leaned in close to the Key's face. "I am Willow, the real Willow. That other one was a pathetic weakling that I needed to be rid of to embrace my real destiny. This is who I am meant to be. I knew that when I met the other me, the vampire me. I didn't think so then, but now I know why she loved this so much." Dawn shuttered slightly as her old friend moved in close to whisper in her ear, rubbing her cheek against the girl's and pressing close. Willow whispered, "Because hate is so much fun."
The teenager squeezed her eyes shut trying to hold in the tears that came from both knowing that her friend really was gone, and the fear that was building inside of her. This caused Willow's mirth to grow as she turned away from the girl and began to play with the knife's sharp edge.
"Now, let's see," she thought aloud. "Do I want to go ahead and send you to hell, or do I want to kill that little bastard niece of yours first? Hum? Which do I choose? On the one hand, I've been waiting to get rid of the Key since…well, forever. On the other, it would be kind of fun to make you watch my little kitten being skinned. What do you say, Dawn? Want to see me flay the little precious like an animal?"
Willow giggled when Dawn looked like she was going to be sick, making the decision for her. Yeah, the Key suffering like she did was just what she wanted.
"Flay it-"
A strange, powerful sensation came over her, causing the witch to stop in mid-sentence and look over her shoulder and out the window. They were coming; she could feel them as they approached. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice screamed in relief that she might actually be stopped, but she ignored that and latched onto another voice that was telling her that this might prove to be more interesting than she thought.
Rolling her head lazily back over to Dawn, she said, "Well, looks like there's going to be more of a pre-show than I thought. But five against one doesn't sound really that fair. Does it? Let's just even up those odds, shall we."
The witch's eyes became jet black while she chanted. Oh, yes. This was going to be great fun.
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Xander and Cordy struggled to keep up with the group of determined parents as they marched towards the newly rebuilt high school. He noticed the three parents walk in-step with each other, and Xander could almost hear a drill sergeant yelling at him for not keeping formation with them. Clinching his teeth together a little tighter, he hurried to get in line and unconsciously went to keeping in step with them. So solider boy still lives after all.
They slowed to a stop in front of the school and looked up at the large building. It didn't matter what the school looked like in the light of day, seeing one after dark, when all life has deserted it, always gave the building a strange yet fascinating energy. It was true that he had spent more than his fair share of nights in the old school, researching in the library until dawn some days, or preparing with Buffy for a great battle when the Scoobies themselves were just trying to make it through high school; literally and figuratively. But he had never been in this school after dark, not even when he was helping in its construction at the beginning of this year. In all honesty, he had hoped he would never have to step foot on the grounds after dark ever again. Well, he had hoped to be a multibillionaire by the time he was twenty-one and be dating Kirsten Dunst who would always wear that sexy little cheerleading outfit from 'Bring It On.' Funny how things never turned out like he hoped.
Buffy, who was standing in the middle of the group, took a deep breath, then said, "Angel, you take Cordy and Xander and check out the south end. Me and Spike will go check out the north."
"Wait, why do we get to baby-sit Zippo down there?" Cordy asked rather annoyed at the suggestion.
The slayer glared at the seer, having no patience for arguments this night. "Xander helped build the place, so he knows the layout better than you two. It just makes more sense for him to go with you."
Angel nodded his head in agreement. He reached over and touched her arm, earning a glare from Spike which both the older vampire and the slayer ignored. "Just be careful, okay?"
Buffy gave weary smile. Maybe their friendship would be salvageable. "We will," she assured him, before following Spike up the stairs and going inside.
"Hey!" Xander called. "How do we let them know if we find Willow?"
"Don't worry. I'm sure they'll be able to follow your manly screams of terror," Cordy said sarcastically before charging up the stairs and heading into the school. Xander scolded at her as he heard Angel chuckle lightly before heading after Cordelia. Rolling his eyes, the carpenter did the same.
The three snuck along the dark hallway, cautiously checking each classroom they passed. So far, everything had turned up empty. Xander couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. It would be good if he didn't have to face off against Willow, but it was a bad thing if she had hurt the kids, or worse.
They reached the end of the corridor, and came to a large pair of doors. Angel studied it for a moment, then jerked his head over to Xander. "What's in here?"
"The gym," he answered after confirming it with the mental blue prints in his mind.
Cordy's body tightened at that as she marched over to the door and jerked them open forcefully. An empty basketball court greeted her.
"Where's the pool?" she demanded.
"Um, through there and down the stairs," Xander answered, pointing to a door on the other end of the court.
The seer took off across the court, the two men following close behind. She jerked open the door that lead to the pool below, the overpowering sent of chlorine hitting Xander hard in the face as they raced behind Cordy down the stairs. With the way their footsteps where echoing up the stairwell, there would be no way they would get the element of surprise if Willow was waiting for them.
Cordelia jogged inside of the large room that held the indoor pool, and let her eyes scan over the eerily still room. The pool seemed to glow from the lights placed inside, which cast a pale blue shine onto the white walls and pillars. The room was also chilly from someone having left the large windows at the top of the walls open, letting the night air drop the room temperature about ten degrees.
"Connor?" she said lowly before running over to broken wall where a body laid.
"Connor!" Angel exclaimed, hurrying after her.
The boy groaned lowly from within as the two skidded to a stop next to him, Cordy gathering the boy into her arms as Angel looked him over. The kid was in pretty bad shape from what Xander could see, with a least a broken arm and a concussion from that glassy look in his eyes. Plus there was the fact that he looked like someone had decided to through his clothes in the washer with him still in them.
"Connor," Cordy said gently while the teenager started to come to. "Connor, are you okay?"
"What happened?" Angel demanded.
"Willow," he answered lowly. "She has Dawn. We got to help her."
Connor tried to lift himself from the floor, only to fall back down with a loud thud. "Hey, you're out of this," Angel told him, moving to help the boy up. "We need to get him out of here."
Cordy nodded her head in agreement, while Xander went to the kid's side to help his father lift him. Connor groaned from being touched, and lifted his head to say something to Angel when he saw something behind his father. "Look out!"
Angel turned just as a large, slimy hand smacked him hard across the face. The force of the blow sent the Master vampire rolling away from the group. Cordy and Xander's heads shot up at the move, and they found an ugly, green Swamp Thing look-a-like demon standing over them. Connor growled as the creature leapt after his father.
"Angel!" Cordy yelled, scrambling to her feet to try and help the vampire, only to have another one of the creatures plow into her and cause them to both go crashing into the pool.
"Cordelia!" Connor yelled as the young woman and creature disappeared into the deep end of the pool.
Xander wasn't sure what was going through his mind, but what he did know was that he got to his feet, ran to the edge of the swimming pool, and dove in after his ex. Okay, that just confirms the fact that he has been hanging out with Buffy for way too long. It was odd, almost like he was watching a movie of himself while the action was going on; not even the bitterly cold water changed that. Everything about the night had just felt so surreal, and this was no different.
He swam as fast as he could towards the young woman who was floating just above the bottom the pool, her hair flowing out around her like a halo. Her eyes were closed, and Xander could detect a faint trickle of red coming from a small cut on her forehead. He had almost reached her when something swam into his side, knocking him hard to the pool's bottom with a heavy weight on top of him. Though his vision that was blurry from the water, Xander could clearly see it was the demon that had knocked Cordelia into the pool.
The creature bent down close to him, and revealed its razor sharp teeth. Xander open his mouth to yelp, but ended up taking in a mouth full of pool water which was effectively choking him. He struggled with the demon, but the creature seemed to be at home in the water. Swinging his arm as fast as he could, Xander hit the demon across the face, but he knew it could only do minimal damage at best. The punch, however, did lift the creature up enough to where he could squirm out from under him, and the carpenter started to kick for the surface, his lungs begging for some air.
The demon wrapped its arms around his waist halfway up, and Xander began to kick for all he was worth. He nailed the creature in the stomach, but it still held on tight; almost as tight as his lungs were filling at the moment. Xander began to pound the creature in the head the best he could, but the punches were slowed by the water. He had to get air, he couldn't live without, and that was his only concern at the moment. The creature loosened its grip a little, and Xander kicked it in the head on his way up, then used it as a springboard to shoot upwards towards the surface.
He gasped desperately for air when his head broke through, and he began to cough up water. His mind had barely registered that Angel was still trying to battle the other creature, and that the injured Connor was trying to help the best he could, before Xander felt a hand around his ankle and pull him back under.
Xander fought the creature the best he could, but the demon had learned from the last time and chose to hang back, but keep him pulled down until simple biology took over and he would die from suffocation. The carpenter struggled in the grip as he was pulled farther below towards Cordy's body that still hung suspended in the water.
A cold realization washed over him as he realized that he was going to die there in that pool. Well, he always knew he would die in high school. No, he couldn't die now. Anya needed him! Jessie needed him!
He began to fight even harder, but with the creature so far away from him, there was little he could do. His lungs were hurting again, and he was vaguely aware that small air bubbles were escaping from his mouth. The pool was growing darker and his head was hurting so badly. Oh, God, he was about to die.
He was barely aware that something else had jumped into the pool. Probably the other demon joining his friend to make sure that the job was done. Xander's tired body began to still and he would swear that the demon smiled when it saw this. The Scooby's head dropped as he felt the darkness coming on strong, and then the demon did something strange. Its grip on his ankle loosened and then completely let go. The carpenter managed to open his eyes and saw that it had been Angel who had joined them in the pool, and had broken the demon's neck.
A smaller, weaker arm began to drag him to the surface as Angel dove deeper for Cordelia. When his head broke the surface for the second time, Xander was literally sick with water. He would have sworn that he coughed up a couple of gallons before the weak arm laid him to rest against concrete side. Xander continued to cough before he turned his head weakly and saw Connor bobbing beside him, looking a bit stronger than he had a moment before. Still, the arm Xander thought the kid had broken hung useless at his side and the boy stared down into the water where his father and seer still were.
The two bobbed there in the water for a moment, waiting for the other two to come up. Cordy had to have drowned. He had almost drowned and he hadn't been under as long as she had.
The vampire broke the surface a moment later, dragging the seer up with him. She hung loosely in his grip as he swam over to the two at the side of the pool. Xander managed to push himself up onto the side, helped Connor up, then the two of them dragged Cordelia up with them. Her lips were blue and Xander had a sudden flash back to his sophomore year with Buffy and the Master.
Temporarily forgetting his own brush with death, he found that she did have a heartbeat, though a faint one, but what she needed was air. Xander went to work. He pinched her nose before blowing his precious oxygen into her water-filled lungs. When he had done this several times, and she had not started to breath on her own, he mumbled, "Come on, Cordy. You have to breathe if you're going to yell at us for not saving you sooner."
Angel was kneeling at her other side, holding her hand in his as Connor stood over the group, watching in an odd fascination at what the dark-haired man was doing to his friend.
"Cordy, you have to wake up," Angel told her, as if that would make her do it. "You can't die on me now. I won't let you."
Xander blew into her mouth again and felt her body tense under him. That awful gurgling sound he had made himself a few minutes ago rose from throat before she began to spit out water. Xander moved away to allow her room to get rid of the liquid, but Angel leaned in closer as she coughed.
"Cordelia?" he said.
"Angel?" the seer said as she rolled her head towards the vampire, and blinked in confusion. "Did we win?"
Angel smiled; Xander winced. Since when did he smile like that? Angel pulled Cordy close and kissed her. Connor smiled at the action, but Xander felt his face scrunch up.
"Oh, man. I didn't want to see you macking on Buffy in high school, and I really don't want to see you macking on my ex-girlfriend!"
Cordy broke the kiss and turned to her old flame. "Emphasis on the ex part, Xander."
"Are we going to have to worry about him going all Angelus on us?" he demanded, crossing his arms.
She turned back Angel, who just smiled and shrugged. "Maybe," she grinned, knowing full well that neither one of them would let that happen, but it was fun to watch Xander sweat.
"Oh, this just great," the young man said; throwing his arms in the air before he stood up and looked up at the ceiling. "Could my night get any better?"
"Um, guys," Connor broke in, looking at the emergency exit door that was now opened. The rest of the group turned to see what he was looking at and found several different demons were standing there, ready for a fight.
Cordy and Angel scrambled to their feet before the group took off for the door they had come in through. "It was a rhetorical question!" Xander exclaimed, cursing himself for jinxing them like that as the demons began to chase them.
The group charged up the stairs and back into the gym, slamming the metal door behind them as they exited. Angel leaned against the door while the others went in search of something to barricade the door that was threatening to open at any second. The other three found the crate that held the basketballs nearby and began to push it towards Angel.
"You just had to say that, didn't you?!" Cordy spat at him angrily as they placed the bin in front of the door. "God, you really are Zippo!"
"Hey, you better be glad this Zippo came along with you or you'd be annoying the hell out of some angel instead of us!" He bit back as they started to the main entrance once they were satisfied that the crate would hold back the demons for the time being.
Angel rolled his eyes. It was like being with two small children who didn't like each other. He might love Cordy, but this really was getting on his nerves. "Guys, would you please just-"
The group froze when they walked into the main entrance where they had split up with Buffy and Spike and found that more demons were making their way towards the school. What? Did someone ring the dinner bell or something? Calling all demons, we have an injured miracle child of two vamps, a seer who almost drown, a carpenter who almost drown, and a vampire who saved them from the frying pan only to lead them into the fire.
Connor fell back into a fighting stance along with his father, and both Cordy and Xander instinctively lifted their fists. Yeah, this was going to be fun.
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