Title: Inverted Triangle (6/?)
Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at http://fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=62966
Rating: I'm gonna go say PG-13.
Spoilers: Up to Help and diverges after it.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to the almighty Joss. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: Love on the Hellmouth is never as easy as it seems.
Author's Note: This fanfic includes B/X, W/X, B/W, and a sprinkling of T/X. Oh, and some B/X/W too. What can I say? I like love triangles.
* * *
Xander swung the torch at the floating suit of plate mail, which was remarkably unfazed by the fiery brand. It lashed out at him with the mace it clutched in its gauntlet, and he ducked and backed away.
Which proved to be a mistake, as his right foot encountered one of the many skeletal remains of the dungeon's former occupants. With his foot stuck in the still-intact ribcage, he stumbled back, dropping the torch he had taken from the wall as a makeshift weapon.
He freed his foot looked up just in time to see the animated suit of armor swing its arm back for a killing blow.
"Fulmenos venite!"
Electricity leaped from Rose's fingertips to the empty armor, blasting it and causing it to tumble apart. Xander snatched the mace and swung hard at the other animated armor, knocking its helmet off. The rest of the armor clattered harmlessly to the hewn stone floor.
"You have _got_ to teach me that trick," he declared.
She blushed.
* * *
As they continued walking down the corridor, Xander considered just how lucky they had been. After falling into the moat, the two of them had had to swim hard to avoid becoming lunch meat -- the big snake thing had apparently _not_ been the moat's only occupant -- and it was by pure chance that they'd managed to find what must have once been a sewer outlet.
He'd lost his sword somewhere in the moat, so he had taken one of the torches hanging on the wall as a weapon. Now, he hefted the mace he had appropriated from the animated plate mail, taking comfort in its hefty weight as they continued down the corridor.
Xander jerked his head up and paled when he heard the muffled explosion that shook dust down on top of him and Rose.
"Oh, no." He turned to look at her, "You don't think..."
She shook her head, "I-I hope not." Her eyes widened, "Look out!"
He turned and found himself facing a quartet of skeletons. "When did this turn into a Dungeons and Dragons game?" he asked in disbelief.
He didn't have any more time to wonder about it further as the undead creatures advanced on him and Rose.
* * *
Willow cried into Anne's shoulder, and the blonde held her and stroked her hair soothingly.
"I-I'm sorry, Anne, but..."
"Shh," Anne rocked the witch comfortingly, "I know. It's okay. I understand."
"But..."
Willow's further protests were cut off when Anne kissed her.
When the Slayer broke the kiss, all Willow could do was blink and muttered, "Huh? Wha-?"
"Sorry," Anne blushed. "I just... it's not a crime to grieve, Willow. I-I had to get your mind off it somehow."
"Well," Willow nodded breathlessly, "it worked."
Anne smiled, and Willow's eyes were drawn to her lips.
She really wanted to kiss those lips again.
"Are you going to seduce me now?" Anne asked innocently.
Willow blinked, her face matching her hair, and sputtered, "Wh-what?!"
Anne stuck her tongue out at the witch and said, "Hey, I recognize that look, you wicked witch. Don't try to fool me. To be honest, I'm flattered."
"Really?" the redhead asked, her voice small and tremulous.
"Really," Anne assured her. "And you know how hot we Slayers get."
Willow shook her head, "No, I don't."
"Well," Anne smiled, "let me show you." She leaned in for another kiss.
* * *
Willow was still depressed. Though the sex certainly helped, that didn't change the fact that she _had_ just lost the two people she loved the most.
Anne was trying. She really was. One of Willow's concerns was that she was trying too hard. She had her own Willow back in her own world, but she seemed to have latched onto her as a replacement. Willow herself had almost done that, forgetting for brief moments that Anne was _not_ her Buffy.
If Willow didn't figure out a way to send Anne back soon, she might not want to. And that would hurt Anne's Willow. She didn't want to do that, and she knew, deep down, neither did Anne.
While she was mulling that over, her eyes caught movement in the distance, and she looked up... and relief flooded through her.
"Buffy!" she called, waving frantically. "Alex!"
Buffy turned and saw her, then waved back, clearly relieved, "Anne! Willow!"
In a moment, the four of them were together in a massive group hug, crying and babbling.
"Oh, Buffy," she sobbed, "I thought... I thought..."
"I know," Buffy nodded. "Me too."
"Look out!" Anne suddenly cried.
Willow turned in Buffy's arms and suddenly couldn't move when the Slayer shifted her grip into a pin. Alex twirled his axe and swung it toward her, but Anne tackled him aside and wrested the axe from his hands.
Willow twisted and rammed her elbow into Buffy's ribs, driving her back and freeing herself. She spun and kicked at the Slayer's legs, but she easily danced out of range.
Suddenly, the axe Alex had been carrying flew over her shoulder and buried itself in Buffy's chest. Instead of the bright crimson of blood, a thick bluish slime oozed out of the wound, and Fake Buffy collapsed.
"Wh-wh-what was that?" Willow demanded shakily.
"Some kind of doppelganger," Anne said grimly. "Same thing happened with Alex... or Fake Alex, I guess I should say."
Willow shuddered and fell into Anne's arms again. Losing them was bad enough, but for them to give her this moment of hope and take it away from her...
Well, she'd know better next time.
* * *
Buffy sent her sword through an elaborate series of thrusts and swings, pressing the attack on Pseudo-Willow, who was holding her own. This fake was a lot better than the ones she and Alex had killed earlier, but that didn't matter.
She had promised to find whatever sick bastard had done this and give him, her, or it the maiming he/she/it deserved, and she wasn't about to break that promise.
* * *
Willow backed away as the Fake Buffy pressed the attack. This Fake Buffy was a lot faster and a lot more skilled than the one that had nearly killed her, and it was showing.
Her heel caught on something, and she stumbled.
"Ahh!" she cried out as she felt the blade slice into her forearm. She lost her balance and fell on her rear. Willow clamped her eyes shut, waiting for the killing blow to end her life.
"W-Willow?"
* * *
Buffy stared down at Pseudo-Willow... no, at Willow. More precisely, she stared at the blood that flowed out of the cut in her arm.
"B-Buffy?" Willow opened her eyes and looked up.
"Oh, God," Buffy said. "Willow, I'm so sorry. I thought... I thought you were..."
* * *
Willow stared and scrambled to her feet. This could still be another trick, and she didn't want to fall for it if it was. Her back to the wall, she held a hand over the cut in her arm, trying to slow the bleeding. "H-how do I know you're not one of them?" she demanded.
Buffy -- if it _was_ Buffy -- paused, then held up her sword, running her finger across the blade. A small trickle of scarlet blood dribbled down and dripped to the floor.
Relief once again flooded through her, and she threw her arms around the Slayer. "Oh, God, Buffy..."
"Well, that's too bad," Alex said.
They turned toward Alex and Anne, confused. They had almost forgotten about them in the erroneous battle.
"What?" Buffy asked.
Then they moved.
Alex tackled Buffy, but Willow couldn't see what became of them as Anne shoved her back.
"Hey!" she yelled as she began to struggle, but the floor suddenly opened up beneath them, and they fell.
Willow muttered in Latin, but though the spell should have allowed her to fly, it did no such thing, instead merely slowing her fall.
"What the hell's going on, Anne?" she demanded.
Anne had her back to her and was untying her hair, letting it hang loose, but she did not respond.
"Well?" she asked. "At least tell me if you're okay."
Buffy's duplicate turned, and Willow gasped. A long scar now ran down the side of Anne's face, and she clutched...
Faith's knife. The one Buffy had gutted the rogue Slayer with.
Anne smirked, "I'm five by five."
* * *
Buffy shook her head and stood from where she had fallen down the hole Alex had pushed her into.
"Okay, Alex, what the hell was that all about?" she snarled.
His back was to her, but his clothing appeared to have changed. She could barely make out his dark form, clothed as he now was in a great deal of black leather.
He turned, and she felt her heart sink.
His face twisting into the all-too-familiar visage of a vampire, he smiled cruelly, "Hello, lover."
* * *
"Damn."
Xander looked up at Rose, "What's wrong?" They still hadn't found a way up, and she looked like she was examining the wall.
"Looks like your friends aren't as gullible as they should be."
"What?"
She turned, and he froze. Her eyes and hair were black, and her sadistic smile was one he had only ever seen twice before on Willow's face, and the first hadn't even been his Willow.
"Bored now."
* * *
Author's Postscript:
Bwahahahaha! The plot thickens.
Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at http://fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=62966
Rating: I'm gonna go say PG-13.
Spoilers: Up to Help and diverges after it.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to the almighty Joss. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: Love on the Hellmouth is never as easy as it seems.
Author's Note: This fanfic includes B/X, W/X, B/W, and a sprinkling of T/X. Oh, and some B/X/W too. What can I say? I like love triangles.
* * *
Xander swung the torch at the floating suit of plate mail, which was remarkably unfazed by the fiery brand. It lashed out at him with the mace it clutched in its gauntlet, and he ducked and backed away.
Which proved to be a mistake, as his right foot encountered one of the many skeletal remains of the dungeon's former occupants. With his foot stuck in the still-intact ribcage, he stumbled back, dropping the torch he had taken from the wall as a makeshift weapon.
He freed his foot looked up just in time to see the animated suit of armor swing its arm back for a killing blow.
"Fulmenos venite!"
Electricity leaped from Rose's fingertips to the empty armor, blasting it and causing it to tumble apart. Xander snatched the mace and swung hard at the other animated armor, knocking its helmet off. The rest of the armor clattered harmlessly to the hewn stone floor.
"You have _got_ to teach me that trick," he declared.
She blushed.
* * *
As they continued walking down the corridor, Xander considered just how lucky they had been. After falling into the moat, the two of them had had to swim hard to avoid becoming lunch meat -- the big snake thing had apparently _not_ been the moat's only occupant -- and it was by pure chance that they'd managed to find what must have once been a sewer outlet.
He'd lost his sword somewhere in the moat, so he had taken one of the torches hanging on the wall as a weapon. Now, he hefted the mace he had appropriated from the animated plate mail, taking comfort in its hefty weight as they continued down the corridor.
Xander jerked his head up and paled when he heard the muffled explosion that shook dust down on top of him and Rose.
"Oh, no." He turned to look at her, "You don't think..."
She shook her head, "I-I hope not." Her eyes widened, "Look out!"
He turned and found himself facing a quartet of skeletons. "When did this turn into a Dungeons and Dragons game?" he asked in disbelief.
He didn't have any more time to wonder about it further as the undead creatures advanced on him and Rose.
* * *
Willow cried into Anne's shoulder, and the blonde held her and stroked her hair soothingly.
"I-I'm sorry, Anne, but..."
"Shh," Anne rocked the witch comfortingly, "I know. It's okay. I understand."
"But..."
Willow's further protests were cut off when Anne kissed her.
When the Slayer broke the kiss, all Willow could do was blink and muttered, "Huh? Wha-?"
"Sorry," Anne blushed. "I just... it's not a crime to grieve, Willow. I-I had to get your mind off it somehow."
"Well," Willow nodded breathlessly, "it worked."
Anne smiled, and Willow's eyes were drawn to her lips.
She really wanted to kiss those lips again.
"Are you going to seduce me now?" Anne asked innocently.
Willow blinked, her face matching her hair, and sputtered, "Wh-what?!"
Anne stuck her tongue out at the witch and said, "Hey, I recognize that look, you wicked witch. Don't try to fool me. To be honest, I'm flattered."
"Really?" the redhead asked, her voice small and tremulous.
"Really," Anne assured her. "And you know how hot we Slayers get."
Willow shook her head, "No, I don't."
"Well," Anne smiled, "let me show you." She leaned in for another kiss.
* * *
Willow was still depressed. Though the sex certainly helped, that didn't change the fact that she _had_ just lost the two people she loved the most.
Anne was trying. She really was. One of Willow's concerns was that she was trying too hard. She had her own Willow back in her own world, but she seemed to have latched onto her as a replacement. Willow herself had almost done that, forgetting for brief moments that Anne was _not_ her Buffy.
If Willow didn't figure out a way to send Anne back soon, she might not want to. And that would hurt Anne's Willow. She didn't want to do that, and she knew, deep down, neither did Anne.
While she was mulling that over, her eyes caught movement in the distance, and she looked up... and relief flooded through her.
"Buffy!" she called, waving frantically. "Alex!"
Buffy turned and saw her, then waved back, clearly relieved, "Anne! Willow!"
In a moment, the four of them were together in a massive group hug, crying and babbling.
"Oh, Buffy," she sobbed, "I thought... I thought..."
"I know," Buffy nodded. "Me too."
"Look out!" Anne suddenly cried.
Willow turned in Buffy's arms and suddenly couldn't move when the Slayer shifted her grip into a pin. Alex twirled his axe and swung it toward her, but Anne tackled him aside and wrested the axe from his hands.
Willow twisted and rammed her elbow into Buffy's ribs, driving her back and freeing herself. She spun and kicked at the Slayer's legs, but she easily danced out of range.
Suddenly, the axe Alex had been carrying flew over her shoulder and buried itself in Buffy's chest. Instead of the bright crimson of blood, a thick bluish slime oozed out of the wound, and Fake Buffy collapsed.
"Wh-wh-what was that?" Willow demanded shakily.
"Some kind of doppelganger," Anne said grimly. "Same thing happened with Alex... or Fake Alex, I guess I should say."
Willow shuddered and fell into Anne's arms again. Losing them was bad enough, but for them to give her this moment of hope and take it away from her...
Well, she'd know better next time.
* * *
Buffy sent her sword through an elaborate series of thrusts and swings, pressing the attack on Pseudo-Willow, who was holding her own. This fake was a lot better than the ones she and Alex had killed earlier, but that didn't matter.
She had promised to find whatever sick bastard had done this and give him, her, or it the maiming he/she/it deserved, and she wasn't about to break that promise.
* * *
Willow backed away as the Fake Buffy pressed the attack. This Fake Buffy was a lot faster and a lot more skilled than the one that had nearly killed her, and it was showing.
Her heel caught on something, and she stumbled.
"Ahh!" she cried out as she felt the blade slice into her forearm. She lost her balance and fell on her rear. Willow clamped her eyes shut, waiting for the killing blow to end her life.
"W-Willow?"
* * *
Buffy stared down at Pseudo-Willow... no, at Willow. More precisely, she stared at the blood that flowed out of the cut in her arm.
"B-Buffy?" Willow opened her eyes and looked up.
"Oh, God," Buffy said. "Willow, I'm so sorry. I thought... I thought you were..."
* * *
Willow stared and scrambled to her feet. This could still be another trick, and she didn't want to fall for it if it was. Her back to the wall, she held a hand over the cut in her arm, trying to slow the bleeding. "H-how do I know you're not one of them?" she demanded.
Buffy -- if it _was_ Buffy -- paused, then held up her sword, running her finger across the blade. A small trickle of scarlet blood dribbled down and dripped to the floor.
Relief once again flooded through her, and she threw her arms around the Slayer. "Oh, God, Buffy..."
"Well, that's too bad," Alex said.
They turned toward Alex and Anne, confused. They had almost forgotten about them in the erroneous battle.
"What?" Buffy asked.
Then they moved.
Alex tackled Buffy, but Willow couldn't see what became of them as Anne shoved her back.
"Hey!" she yelled as she began to struggle, but the floor suddenly opened up beneath them, and they fell.
Willow muttered in Latin, but though the spell should have allowed her to fly, it did no such thing, instead merely slowing her fall.
"What the hell's going on, Anne?" she demanded.
Anne had her back to her and was untying her hair, letting it hang loose, but she did not respond.
"Well?" she asked. "At least tell me if you're okay."
Buffy's duplicate turned, and Willow gasped. A long scar now ran down the side of Anne's face, and she clutched...
Faith's knife. The one Buffy had gutted the rogue Slayer with.
Anne smirked, "I'm five by five."
* * *
Buffy shook her head and stood from where she had fallen down the hole Alex had pushed her into.
"Okay, Alex, what the hell was that all about?" she snarled.
His back was to her, but his clothing appeared to have changed. She could barely make out his dark form, clothed as he now was in a great deal of black leather.
He turned, and she felt her heart sink.
His face twisting into the all-too-familiar visage of a vampire, he smiled cruelly, "Hello, lover."
* * *
"Damn."
Xander looked up at Rose, "What's wrong?" They still hadn't found a way up, and she looked like she was examining the wall.
"Looks like your friends aren't as gullible as they should be."
"What?"
She turned, and he froze. Her eyes and hair were black, and her sadistic smile was one he had only ever seen twice before on Willow's face, and the first hadn't even been his Willow.
"Bored now."
* * *
Author's Postscript:
Bwahahahaha! The plot thickens.