Chapter Seven: To the Rescue

As soon as they watched Giles get chained and dragged off, Ethan had terminated the scrying spell and everyone had armed themselves heavily. They were obviously going into a vampire stronghold and it wasn't possible to have too many weapons for that. Then they all headed out. Xander and Buffy led the way, knowing the shopping plaza they were headed for. Willow and Tara were in the center of the group, partially as a protection for the two with the least physical power in a fight. Ethan and Spike brought up the rear, Spike walking eagerly yet seemingly unconcerned, and Ethan stalking dangerously with a ferocious scowl on his face. Everyone was glad that they weren't the ones who had upset him.

It took about a half hour to walk across town from Giles' apartment complex to the plaza they'd recognized in the water bowl. The time at just a little past sunset, it was dark, the moon playing hide and seek behind clouds. At first there hadn't been many people out. Residents of Sunnydale learned quickly that going out alone in the residential areas was a fast way to a funeral. But as the Scoobies got closer to downtown, there were better lit streets and more people, most smart enough to be in groups. Still, all six of them knew that there were demons in the shadows, waiting to pick off a meal from the pack. On a normal patrol, Buffy would have been going after them, but this wasn't a normal night. Right now, there was a Watcher to rescue.

By the time they reached the shopping plaza, Buffy had been looking around her with confusion in her eyes. "Guys, for the past block or so, I haven't noticed any demons or vamps or anything. There's no hunting going on."

Xander frowned, "But on the way over, it was just normal. I mean, I even saw a few fledglings try to hide when they spotted you."

Buffy nodded, her face showing her worry, "I know, but in this one area. . .nothing."

Spike rolled his eyes and flicked another of his smokes through the air to land somewhere in a pool of shadow. "Just proves this vamp's smarter than most."

Ethan nodded to himself as the teenagers all stared at the bleached blonde. Spike smirked and nodded at them. "What better way to keep the Slayer off your back and away from your hideout? Don't let anyone be killed near it. That way," and he looked at Buffy, "you'll concentrate on places where people are dying and stay away from him completely. This git's brilliant, you ask me. Wish I'd thought of it."

Xander snorted, "Yeah, you would."

Ethan sighed and put a hand to the bridge of his nose, looking remarkably like Giles when he was exasperated. "Children, please. Now, which building around here would give us the view we're looking for?" Everyone nodded, dropped the bickering that had barely begun, and started to look around, trying to calculate angles in their heads. Not surprisingly, it was Willow who first figured it out.

She pointed to a rather plain, three-story building that was across the street and about half a block away. "That must be it. The third floor is high enough to account to the height difference we saw and it's situated the right way. It's between the plaza and all the other high buildings on that side so it's blocking their view." Tara smiled at her girlfriend's wits and squeezed Willow's hand.

Buffy started moving immediately. "So let's go kick some demon butt!" The group hefted their weapons and followed her.

"W-wait." Tara's voice was soft but everyone stopped and turned to her. She flushed under the attention but Willow's silent encouragement helped her continue. "The bottom floor's a store, see? A-and Mr. Giles must be on the third floor. If we go in and fight our way to the top wouldn't they know we're here? They m-might hurt him more, maybe even k-kill him."

Buffy bit her lip, now unsure of what to do. "So, we have to get to the top floor and surprise them. We can't climb the wall and I don't see a fire escape. Any suggestions?"

Spike chuckled, "You could always learn to fly, Slayer."

Buffy slapped the back of his head but Ethan looked thoughtful. "That might possibly work." He looked at Willow and Tara. "I know a levitation spell but it takes quite a bit of energy. If I use it on all of us, I'll be worthless. However, perhaps if we three cast it together, we'd have enough power leftover to help the fight afterwards."

The two witches looked at each other for a moment and then Tara nodded. Willow followed suit, "Shouldn't be a problem."

Ethan took each of their hands so they formed a small circle. "It's mostly a mental spell, so just concentrate on supplying the power, I'll say the words." Then they all went into a light trance as Ethan chanted in Sumerian. Buffy, Xander, and Spike simply watched, Spike with a bored look on his face. That changed to surprise when he suddenly found himself rising into the air. "Oi, what's this then?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Hello? Levitation spell? What did you think would happen?"

Spike shrugged, "Didn't actually think about it, ducks. Figured we'd have some kind of warning though."

The three spell-casters still had their hands clasped together but now their eyes were open as they willed the group to a window on the third floor. Xander raised the ax he'd brought and shattered the glass. The group then levitated through the now-open window and came to stand on the floor of a hallway. Luckily, no one had as yet seen them. Ethan and the two witches breathed deeply and then released hands, coming out of their trance, only slightly winded. The took up their weapons and looked around. It was then that they realized they had no idea where in the maze of halls Giles was being held.

Buffy turned to Ethan, "Can't you cast another spell or something?" Ethan shook his head. "A locator spell takes ingredients I don't have. It's why I used the scrying spell back at Ripper's flat."

"Then how do we find him?!" Xander's voice raised sharply in worry.

Spike sniffed the air a few times and everyone turned to him, wondering what he was doing. He smiled at them, a slow, feral expression. His eyes were turning gold and his fangs were dropping down as he shifted into game-face. "I can find the Watcher. I can smell him. Just follow me."

The group took off after the vampire, running down hallways and taking what seemed to be indiscriminate turns. As they ran, they were spotted and had to slow down to fight the various vampires and demons who tried to defend their master's home. Buffy waded in easily, wielding a stake in one hand and a crossbow in the other. Spike just grinned and went after the minions with his bare hands, enjoying the carnage he caused. Willow and Tara were using small combat magics and Xander was defending them with his ax. Ethan had a look of pure rage on his face as he dusted the vampires with both a stake and magic spells. More enemies kept coming as the alarm was raised, but the group was steadily making their way through the halls, getting closer to their goal.

Then Spike threw another demon into the wall and knocked down the door it had been in front of. The rest followed him in and were shocked at what they saw. The Faerie they knew as Giles was kneeling on a thin pallet, his hands stretched behind him, chained to the wall. There was blood all over him as he was covered with scratches and welts. The Nathlar, the blue-skinned demon they'd seen in the scrying bowl, was bent over a table, writing something. His talons were bright red with Giles' blood.

The Watcher was naked and trembling. He'd been speaking but as the door burst open, his voice, rough from screaming, trailed away and he stared in shock at his rescuers. The Nathlar whirled around, showing that his pants were still open and giving clear evidence of what he'd been doing to his captive. He didn't get a chance for anything more than knock his notebook to the floor in surprise as Ethan, his eyes blazing with anger, raised his hand, spoke three words, and then pointed at the Nathlar, who very spectacularly turned into a flaming pillar. Giles' eyes grew wide as he stared at the sorcerer. Then Buffy was at his side, easily breaking the chains.

Xander clutched has ax, standing in the doorway, keeping watch. They'd finished with the demons who'd come against them but no one doubted that there'd be more. Buffy helped Giles to his feet, grabbing a ratty blanket that had been on the pallet and throwing it around his shoulders. He swayed, but stayed upright. She started planning on how to get everyone out of the building.

"Willow, Tara, you help Giles. The rest of us will keep you safe and get us out of here." The group nodded, not wasting words. The young couple moved quickly to either side of Giles and started escorting him out of the room. The others all formed a circle around them. Giles shook his head, "No, wait." His voice creaked and everyone stared at him. They were understandably confused. Didn't he want to get out as soon as possible? Giles made a move towards the small table, but stumbled and almost fell. His eyes fell on Ethan, pleading. "The prophecy. We need to take to it with us."

Ethan nodded and quickly grabbed the small computer printout and stuffed it into his pocket. No one noticed the notebook that lay on the floor. Buffy nodded, "Fine, let's get out of here."