TITLE: Alive But Barely Kickin'
AUTHOR: corrupt-blondie
E-MAIL: queenMISFIT@hotmail.com
SUMMARY: Anya is alive, lying underneath all of Sunnydale.
DISCLAIMER: Duh! If I did own any of this, I wouldn't consider a dollar big money.
ARCHIVING: Just let me know where.
FEEDBACK: Any would be fine by me. Just be nice if it's a flame... I'm fragile. lol
A/N: I just couldn't let Anya die. So here is my story. I know it would be impossible to climb to the surface after being buried underneath a whole town. Hey, a girl can dream ya know?
~*~
First thing she realized when she woke up was the searing pain all over her body. She inhaled deeply, like she was coming to life. All she breathed in was dust. Immediately coughing in response, she realized she was pinned down by something of enormous weight. It was crushing her body at a sickening slow pace.
She wondered what happened and how she got here. All she remembered was darkness. Opening her eyes, all she saw was black. It seemed like she was trapped under concrete rubble. She attempted to move a rock aside only to find more blocking her way. She sighed forlornly before setting to work on her task of getting out her stone imprisonment, trying to ignore the pain coursing through her body with each movement.
~*~
Giles sat at his desk reading up on some new material. He, Willow, Xander, and some potentials were in Cleveland. He and the others were stepping up shop for Faith to protect the Hellmouth in the city before finding all the Slayers activated around the world. Buffy and Dawn were off on their own, starting a new normal life in Florida.
The ex-watcher turned the page and realized it was an excerpt on Vengeance Demons. He, having always wanted to know about Anya, being one herself, was interested and began reading. A couple minutes into his reading, he gasped in shock. No, he thought, it can't be true.
~*~
She opened her eyes again to more rubble surrounding her. Having passed out from some blood loss and starvation hours before. Her stomach growled at the absence of food, but the woman ignored it. She touched her hand to her wound on her chest, still revealing fresh blood. She went about picking at more concrete blocks in her way. Her desire for freedom and determination to follow through being her only motivation.
~*~
Willow walked into Giles' office with concern marring her features. She was met with a pacing ex-librarian, "What's wrong?"
"I read up on Vengeance Demons," Giles replied, "I came across something rather disturbing."
"What about?" The witch inquired softly, her mind flashing back to her friend that always got on her nerves with her bluntness and navieté.
Giles sighed before answering, "It turns out that Vengeance Demons could never be turned human again. Only their powers are taken away and they could only be killed by their bosses."
Willow offered, "Like D'Hoffryn?"
"Precisely," Gile agreed, "so when Anya turned back that wish on the fraternity and Halfrek was killed instead of Anya, she only had her powers taken away... not her immortality."
Willow gasped, "Are you saying...?"
The former watcher nodded sadly, "That we may have left Anya in Sunnydale... alive when the town collapsed."
"No," The redhead countered, "she can't be. The town came down on her, Giles, and with that wound Andrew told us about..."
"It only means that she's down there, buried under Sunnydale, in agony," Giles argued.
Willow gasped, finally coming to grasps of the situation, "Oh Goddess."
~*~
She was starting to see light peak through the wreckage that was her temporary tomb. Almost there, she thought happily. She pushed some more debris aside and the sun's rays blasted on her face, warming her cold skin. She held up her arm to protect her eyes because of how delicate they were from being in the dark for so long.
Climbing to the surface, she immediately crumbled to the ground, her whole body exhausted from her climb up. She looking around the perimeter and realized one thing... she was lying in a crater of the remains of a town.
Tears started to well in her eyes as she saw the destruction around her. She wondered what happened here and how she survived. All the questions floating in her head crashed into each other and she winced as her head throbbed in protest to the sudden mental activity. She was frightened and confused.
One question had plagued her mind since she first awoke.
Who was she?
Her exhaustion had caught up with her eventually, so she tried to find comfort resting on top of the 'Sunnydale High School' sign.
~*~
"How are we going to tell Xander?" Willow asked worriedly.
Giles emitted a long breath, "I don't know. It might take weeks to find her. I don't want to give his hopes up."
"Giles," Willow reasoned, "he needs this. It's like I'm seeing my best friend dying more each day. He needs to know that Anya is alive."
Her mentor pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off a stress-induced headache, "You go to Sunnydale. I'll deal with Xander."
Willow nodded before leaving his office.
~*~
It was night as she limped towards the border of the wreckage. She could feel her wound slowly healing. Her bones melding together and tissue slowly knitted itself at a lethargic pace. She paid keen attention as to where her feet went as she walked, having tripped over some debris three times so far. All nearly making her pass out from the wave of pain shooting all over body like electricity bolts.
She was so tired and completely lost. Having no idea what happened before she woke up, or relocation of anything for that matter.
She idly pondered how long she was knocked out. Days? Weeks? Months even?
Her stomach rumbled for what seemed like the hundredth time since she started walking this afternoon. She sighed in frustration, not knowing how long it's been since she last ate. How was she going to find food in this dump?
It seemed like the Gods were showing sympathy on her situation as she gazed on a refrigerator like it was the Holy Grail. She quickly moved toward the appliance as fast as her feet could possibly take her.
When she opened the door, all she saw was a half empty bottle of water, moldy cheese, and one cup of yogurt. To the woman, it was like a banquet.
Opening the cup of yogurt, she was assaulted by the sickly aroma of rotten food. Staring at the dairy product, the woman shrugged her shoulders before drinking the yogurt greedily. Once it was ingested in her stomach, she tried to keep it down when the urge to throw up came across her. She washed the horrible flavor down with the warm water before cleaning up the cup with her finger. Once the cup was stripped, she discarded it easily before gazing at the green cheese.
She grabbed it and the water bottle before setting off to the sandy cliff about fifty feet away. She took a quick sip of the water as she continued her walk.
~*~
Willow was boarding a plane to Los Angeles. It will only take a couple hours until she reaches LAX and then she could rent a car to drive to the remains of Sunnydale. She was worried about how Xander will take the news. No doubt he will be guilty and blame himself for leaving Anya to her suffering. The redhead knew what the construction worker went through the the two weeks after Sunnydale fell. She felt the same pain when Tara died. Now, unlike her, he will have some hope that his love is alive.
~*~
"Xander," Giles called to the young man softly, "I need to talk to you."
The former Zeppo didn't acknowledge him, all his attention was on the small wallet-sized picture of Anya. He lovingly traced over his love's face. He looked like death personified. His unwashed hair matted together to go with his unruly beard. His clothes were from last week and Giles could tell they were now too big for Xander.
"Xander," Giles repeated more loudly.
The young man finally looked at Giles with hollow eyes, "Yeah?"
Giles studied Xander's gaunt facial features. There were bags under his eyes and his jaw bone was sharp like Spike's. His face was pale and had a grayish tinge to it. Xander was truly cadaverous.
"I... I came across some information that may be... useful for you," Giles stuttered slightly, trying to find the words to break it to Xander.
"What about?" Xander inquired monotonously.
The former librarian inhaled deeply, preparing himself for his next words, "It's about Anya."
~*~
She reached the base of the cliff finally. However, she looked up and she wondered if the escarpment grew taller. It didn't seem as big when she first saw it. Perspective. You dumbass, she thought angrily.
"Crap," she grumbled, her voice brittle and dry.
Her whole body ached now. She ignored it this whole time because of her determination and endurance. However, now with nothing to do, it was like the dam broke and everything came crashing down on her. She collapsed to the ground as her legs gave out and she dropped her cheese and water bottle. Curling up in ball, the woman tried to control her sobs.
~*~
It seemed like life flickered in Xander's eyes, but it was so tiny that it could have missed. He asked hoarsely, "What about her?"
"I have reason to believe," Giles paused briefly, "that she is alive."
Xander's eyes widened in disbelief, "What? How?"
"Apparently," the ex-watcher explained, "Vengeance Demons can't become human if a wish goes awry. They simply lose their powers and they continue out their life... as immortals." Giles sighed before adding, "they can only die if higher demons like D'Hoffryn kill them, like Halfrek."
If it was possible, Xander paled even more, "You mean. that we left her there... alive?"
Giles nodded solemnly.
"I have to go save her," Xander stated as he quickly got up. He was stopped by Giles holding him back.
The older man said, "I've already sent Willow to get her."
Xander pushed against Giles to break through. He, however, was too weak to even put up a fight.
"I have to be there, Giles," Xander pleaded, his voice breaking.
"I'm sorry, Xander," Giles responded regretfully, "I can't let you go."
~*~
It was nearing noon as Willow drove down the highway to Sunnydale. The redhead was hesitant to see her hometown in shambles again, but she had to. For both Xander and Anya's sake. She saw the huge chasm a couple yards away, so she stopped the car and put it in park.
The redhead slowly walked closer to the edge, glancing at the 'Entering Sunnydale' sign just over the peak of the cliff. Willow looked down at the destruction and quickly began calculating how she was going to find Anya in this mess.
She began to chant some words as she closed her eyes.
"Expiscor," Willow finished before opening her eyes. There was a floating yellow light dancing in front of her. It quickly dropped down into the crater that once was Sunnydale. A couple minutes passed by before the yellow light turned orange and grew larger. Willow focused where the tracer stopped and began chanting again.
"Subsequor," the witch commanded as she felt her body disintegrate and follow the tracer.
~*~
She was using a sharp edge of a stone to scrap off the mold of the cheese. Her stomach had woken her up an hour ago. After that, she spent thirty minutes trying to find something sharp enough to cut the mold off the cheese because she was in no way eating that crap, no matter how hungry she was.
As she was grating the putrescent material, the woman observed a yellow sphere coming closer to her. Fear consumed her because she didn't know what it was. She grabbed her now yellow cheese and nearly empty water bottle and limped for somewhere to hide. She saw a wall of a destroyed house and figured she could get some cover there.
She hobbled her way over to the partial building before crawling in the shadow. Her whole body shaking in dread.
~*~
Willow materialized right behind the house where the tracer was now glowing red. With a wave of her hand, it vanished.
"Hello?" Willow called out cautiously. "Anya?"
She took a couple steps forward, wary of the safety of the debris.
Taking a few steps toward the house, Willow called again, "Hello?"
She heard something move underneath the house and she saw a flash of hair. The woman turned to face Willow, cheese in one hand and a water bottle in the other.
Willow took in the other woman's appearance. Her face brown from dirt except twin lines over the cheeks from tears. Once blonde hair was dark and coated in ash. There was dried up blood on the ex-demon's shirt that practically covered the whole garment. The shirt itself was torn and dirty and Anya's pants were ripped with some cuts showing through. Her feet here bare except for the caked blood flaking of like dead skin.
"Anya," Willow breathed out in relief.
The blonde took a huge bite of her cheese before quirking her head to the side. She spoke in a cracked voice, like it hasn't been used in a while, "Anya? Is that what I'm called?"
The witch gasped, "Yes. You are Anya Jenkins. Don't you remember anything?"
"Anya," Xander's ex-fiancee tested out the name before taking another bite of her cheese and followed it with some water. "What's your name?"
"Willow," the redhead answered worriedly, "I'm your friend."
Anya was quiet for a moment, it looked she was racking her brain for any memory of the redhead, "I'm sorry, Willow. It's all fuzzy."
Willow mentally sighed her vexation, Great! How am I supposed to teleport her and me back to the car?
She pulled out her cellphone and prayed she got a signal. If not, then she'd had to do so magically. Willow risked a glance at the woman before her and saw how innocent she looked when she was eating the cheese. She sighed before dialing Giles' number.
"Hello?" A British voice greeted her.
Willow got right to it, "Giles, we got a problem."
"What? You find Anya?" The ex-watcher responded hastily.
"Yes," Willow answered as she looked as the former demon, "but she has no memory. I can't teleport her out of here."
Giles exhaled, "Oh dear."
"I'm going to have to wait until she sleeps or something," Willow whispered so Anya wouldn't hear, "I just wanted to let you know it will take longer than I expected."
"Okay, just hurry though," Giles replied somberly, "Xander is becoming more difficult to deal with by the hour."
The witch questioned, "How did he take it?"
"Like life was shoved back into his body," the older man answered truthfully.
Willow smiled, "I'll call you when the situation is changed."
"Got it," Giles agreed, "bye, Willow."
"See you soon, Giles," the redhead responded before hanging up.
"Who was that?" Anya asked curiously as she finished the last piece of her cheese.
Willow walked closer to her friend, "Someone else you know."
Anya looked around, "Where's the rest of the rescue team?"
"I came alone," the witch stated.
"Alone?" Anya repeated confused, "the how did you get down the ledge?"
Willow lied, "I climbed down."
The blonde was quiet a moment before she said, "You have any food? I'm starved."
"All I have is gum," the witch answered regretfully.
Anya's face fell, "It's okay. My stomach can wait."
~*~
Giles knocked on Xander's door before the young man invited him in
"Any news?" The construction worker asked, practically jumping in excitement.
Giles smiled, "Yes. Willow has found her."
"Well?" Xander pushed, "Is she okay?"
"She's a bit traumatized as you could guess," the ex-watcher told the half- truth.
Xander deflated a bit, "So she's on her way? Right?"
"Yes," Giles answered.
~*~
Anya finally passed out an hour after Willow's arrival. The redhead gave a sigh of relief before saying a teleportation spell. Willow honed the spell that the two women materialized in the rental car. Anya rested in the back seat as Willow turned the ignition of the car.
~*~
Willow parked the car in front of a motel. The earliest time she could plane tickets was tomorrow afternoon. She glanced in the back seat of the car and found out Anya was still sleeping, she hadn't woken up the whole trip.
After paying the manager the money, the redhead trying waking the former demon. She gently nudged Anya as she called her name. A couple minutes past before the blonde began to rouse. Anya looked around in confusion, her surroundings unfamiliar to the barren wasteland she spent a few days in.
"Where are we?" Anya asked, "How did we get here?"
Willow helped the blonde up before guiding both of them to their room, "At a motel and I got you out."
"How?" Anya pushed, her eyebrows knitted together to show her disorientation.
The redhead opened the door as she replied, "You're tired. You need your rest."
Willow laid Anya down on the bed as the ex-demon spoke, "But- oh, comfy."
As soon as the blonde's head touched the pillow, she was out.
Willow took this time to assess Anya's wounds. The ragged cloth that once was the blonde's shirt showed enough of the wound that the Bringer left. It was long enough to have practically cut Anya in half. It sliced all the way through shoulder blade to past the spine. Willow wondered how Anya even got out of the rubble.
Part of the gash near the spine was closed off, leaving only a scarlet thick scar. Willow moved the cloth aside look at all of the wound. The skin near the shoulder was melded together with scar tissue and if Willow remembered correctly, Anya was using both her arms, so the bones were connected together. The laceration was surrounded by a light brown bruise with hints of green. Willow looked at the center of the long cut and noticed that it wasn't fully healed there. Blood trickled out with each breath.
Willow decided to move it along a bit as she hoved her hands over to reconstruct Anya's broken body. The redhead mumbled some words before a candescent glow emitted from her hands. Slowly, skin began to knit itself together. The muscle tissue underneath intertwined as one again while the bones fused together. Once the nerve endings connected, Willow stopped.
The redhead opened her eyes and saw that Anya was still sleeping like a baby. Her torso was only marred by two scars, separated by soft, milky skin where Willow healed. Willow adjusted Anya's shirt a little for some modesty on the blonde's behalf before heading to her own bed. She was exhausted from expelling most of her energy to heal Anya.
~*~
Anya opened her eyes groggily, wondering how she got on this bed. She turned over and saw Willow sitting on a chair facing her. The blonde jumped a little before shielding her eyes from the sunlight.
"What time is it?" Anya mumbled.
Willow answered after looking at her watch, "Eight roughly."
The ex-demon looked around as her mind clicked into place. Willow got her out of the crater and took her to a motel for the night. "Where's a bathroom? I need to clean up."
The redhead pointed to a door, "Right there. I left some of my cloths to change in once you are done. I'll get some food while you're occupied."
"Okay," Anya responded before shuffling her feet towards the bathroom.
~*~
The blonde stared at herself in the mirror, as if by looking at face would give her memories back. Finding it pointless, Anya began peeling her clothes off with great caution, not wanting to startle her nerves.
Once nude, Anya traced her dirt-encrusted nails over her torso, tracing over the scar. Her eyes narrowed in confusion at the break in the red line, right over the center of her ribcage. She paid no attention to the little scrapes on her legs and feet, mixing with the dirt like a second skin. All that mattered at the moment was the absence of a scar that was supposed to connect the two red lines.
She decided that she would ask that Willow girl after she took a shower. Turning the knob, the water shot out from the faucet. She pulled the tab and the water transferred to the shower head above her. Anya tested the temperature before getting in.
Water cascaded down her body, blending with dried up blood and dirt on its way down. Anya let the water fall over face, wetting her hair down. She let herself relish this occasion for the time being.
One thing was for sure though, she never felt so good in the past couple days.
~*~
Willow walked into the motel room carrying two bags of food from the nearest fast food restaurant. Anya was lying on the bed flicking through the channels of the television. The other woman was sporting an emerald baby tee shirt and gray pajama pants. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and if Willow didn't know any better, she'd think she was looking at a ghost. The woman she saw down in the Sunnydale ruins wasn't Anya, this was her friend lying on the bed.
Anya turned her head when she heard the door close, "Hey."
"Hey," the witch replied, "I figured you'd be starved, so I got you two meals."
"Thanks," the blonde said as Willow handed her the food.
As Anya began chowing down, Willow took a seat on the chair near the window.
Anya finished one meal before she asked, "What happened to the cut on my chest?"
Willow figured this was coming, "I can heal."
The blonde looked interested by that statement, "Really? That's cool."
Willow watched as Anya began eating the second meal.
~*~
"Where are they?" Xander asked impatiently.
Giles pinched the bridge of his nose for the third that day before answering, "Willow said she was getting some food for Anya. They are both fine."
The young man pushed, "Where, Giles?"
"They stayed the night at a motel in LA," Giles replied, "their flight leaves in the early afternoon Pacific time."
Xander looked giddy at the possibility of Anya on her way to Cleveland. His appearance drastically changed to what it once looked like. His hair was freshly cleaned and cut and a goatee replaced his mangy beard. Xander was smiling a lot more now a days, ever since he found out that his ex-fiancee was alive.
"I can't wait," Xander smiled before skipping off.
Giles returned the sentiment to the construction worker's retreating back.
~*~
"Anya," Willow said cautiously, "do you want your memories back?"
"Of course," the blonde responded as if any other answer would sound ludicrous.
The witch stated softly, "I can get them back for you."
"How?" Anya inquired.
"All I have to do is go into your mind and unlock areas that were closed off after you fell," Willow explained, "I just have to touch your head. Can you trust me?"
The former demon nodded her head.
Willow placed her fingers on each temple of Anya's head, "Okay, now look at me. Never take your eyes off of me until I say so."
Anya complied mutely before the redhead concentrated.
"Let your mind be open, Anya," Willow commanded in a whisper.
The witch took in deep breath, "Close your eyes."
Anya did as she was told and Willow followed suit. The redhead focused on Anya's mind and a few seconds past before she gasped. The blonde's mind was cluttered and Willow had to work hard to find the right gate.
She chanted mentally, "Pateo lente."
Willow repeated it twice more before exiting Anya's mind.
After a couple minutes, Anya blinked, "I don't feel any different."
"It will come slowly," Willow offered, "if I were to open them immediately, your memories would have flooded your mind like a tidal wave. As a result, you would have either went insane, into a coma, or possibly die from your brain being overwhelmed."
"The mind is a delicate thing," the blonde agreed.
Willow smiled in return, "Bits and pieces will come to you as time passes by."
The witch got up and headed to the door, "I'll give the manager the keys before we can go to the airport."
Anya nodded before she yelped.
"What?" The redhead asked in concern.
Anya shook her head, "I just thought of bunnies." She shivered before narrowing her eyes in contempt, "Evil little creatures."
Willow chuckled before heading out to the manager's office.
~*~
Later that day, Willow was walking up to a house with Anya trailing behind her hesitantly. The blonde gained only a few memories on the plane ride to Cleveland. Names of people she had no faces to attach to, and her fear of the fuzzy little demon creatures humans called rabbits. Anya twitched at the mere thought of the horrid things.
Willow opened the front door with a key and walked in. She held Anya's hand as they walked down the hallway to Giles' office.
The door a few feet away from them opened and a young man walked out. The young man stared at the two women before his eyes rested on Anya.
Anya stared at him for a moment as everything settled into place. His face was added with a name from her partial memories.
"Xander," the blonde breathed.
"Anya," Xander returned huskily.
The ex-demon ran to Xander and the young man met her halfway. He engulfed her in his arms as he buried his face in her neck.
Anya felt hot tears trickling down her neck. She heard Xander's soft cries and it only made her hug him tighter into her arms.
Xander whispered throatily, "I missed you so much."
Willow watched the emotional scene, her eyes watering a bit out of happiness. The embrace lost but now found lovers was possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever witnessed in her entire life.
FIN
AUTHOR: corrupt-blondie
E-MAIL: queenMISFIT@hotmail.com
SUMMARY: Anya is alive, lying underneath all of Sunnydale.
DISCLAIMER: Duh! If I did own any of this, I wouldn't consider a dollar big money.
ARCHIVING: Just let me know where.
FEEDBACK: Any would be fine by me. Just be nice if it's a flame... I'm fragile. lol
A/N: I just couldn't let Anya die. So here is my story. I know it would be impossible to climb to the surface after being buried underneath a whole town. Hey, a girl can dream ya know?
~*~
First thing she realized when she woke up was the searing pain all over her body. She inhaled deeply, like she was coming to life. All she breathed in was dust. Immediately coughing in response, she realized she was pinned down by something of enormous weight. It was crushing her body at a sickening slow pace.
She wondered what happened and how she got here. All she remembered was darkness. Opening her eyes, all she saw was black. It seemed like she was trapped under concrete rubble. She attempted to move a rock aside only to find more blocking her way. She sighed forlornly before setting to work on her task of getting out her stone imprisonment, trying to ignore the pain coursing through her body with each movement.
~*~
Giles sat at his desk reading up on some new material. He, Willow, Xander, and some potentials were in Cleveland. He and the others were stepping up shop for Faith to protect the Hellmouth in the city before finding all the Slayers activated around the world. Buffy and Dawn were off on their own, starting a new normal life in Florida.
The ex-watcher turned the page and realized it was an excerpt on Vengeance Demons. He, having always wanted to know about Anya, being one herself, was interested and began reading. A couple minutes into his reading, he gasped in shock. No, he thought, it can't be true.
~*~
She opened her eyes again to more rubble surrounding her. Having passed out from some blood loss and starvation hours before. Her stomach growled at the absence of food, but the woman ignored it. She touched her hand to her wound on her chest, still revealing fresh blood. She went about picking at more concrete blocks in her way. Her desire for freedom and determination to follow through being her only motivation.
~*~
Willow walked into Giles' office with concern marring her features. She was met with a pacing ex-librarian, "What's wrong?"
"I read up on Vengeance Demons," Giles replied, "I came across something rather disturbing."
"What about?" The witch inquired softly, her mind flashing back to her friend that always got on her nerves with her bluntness and navieté.
Giles sighed before answering, "It turns out that Vengeance Demons could never be turned human again. Only their powers are taken away and they could only be killed by their bosses."
Willow offered, "Like D'Hoffryn?"
"Precisely," Gile agreed, "so when Anya turned back that wish on the fraternity and Halfrek was killed instead of Anya, she only had her powers taken away... not her immortality."
Willow gasped, "Are you saying...?"
The former watcher nodded sadly, "That we may have left Anya in Sunnydale... alive when the town collapsed."
"No," The redhead countered, "she can't be. The town came down on her, Giles, and with that wound Andrew told us about..."
"It only means that she's down there, buried under Sunnydale, in agony," Giles argued.
Willow gasped, finally coming to grasps of the situation, "Oh Goddess."
~*~
She was starting to see light peak through the wreckage that was her temporary tomb. Almost there, she thought happily. She pushed some more debris aside and the sun's rays blasted on her face, warming her cold skin. She held up her arm to protect her eyes because of how delicate they were from being in the dark for so long.
Climbing to the surface, she immediately crumbled to the ground, her whole body exhausted from her climb up. She looking around the perimeter and realized one thing... she was lying in a crater of the remains of a town.
Tears started to well in her eyes as she saw the destruction around her. She wondered what happened here and how she survived. All the questions floating in her head crashed into each other and she winced as her head throbbed in protest to the sudden mental activity. She was frightened and confused.
One question had plagued her mind since she first awoke.
Who was she?
Her exhaustion had caught up with her eventually, so she tried to find comfort resting on top of the 'Sunnydale High School' sign.
~*~
"How are we going to tell Xander?" Willow asked worriedly.
Giles emitted a long breath, "I don't know. It might take weeks to find her. I don't want to give his hopes up."
"Giles," Willow reasoned, "he needs this. It's like I'm seeing my best friend dying more each day. He needs to know that Anya is alive."
Her mentor pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off a stress-induced headache, "You go to Sunnydale. I'll deal with Xander."
Willow nodded before leaving his office.
~*~
It was night as she limped towards the border of the wreckage. She could feel her wound slowly healing. Her bones melding together and tissue slowly knitted itself at a lethargic pace. She paid keen attention as to where her feet went as she walked, having tripped over some debris three times so far. All nearly making her pass out from the wave of pain shooting all over body like electricity bolts.
She was so tired and completely lost. Having no idea what happened before she woke up, or relocation of anything for that matter.
She idly pondered how long she was knocked out. Days? Weeks? Months even?
Her stomach rumbled for what seemed like the hundredth time since she started walking this afternoon. She sighed in frustration, not knowing how long it's been since she last ate. How was she going to find food in this dump?
It seemed like the Gods were showing sympathy on her situation as she gazed on a refrigerator like it was the Holy Grail. She quickly moved toward the appliance as fast as her feet could possibly take her.
When she opened the door, all she saw was a half empty bottle of water, moldy cheese, and one cup of yogurt. To the woman, it was like a banquet.
Opening the cup of yogurt, she was assaulted by the sickly aroma of rotten food. Staring at the dairy product, the woman shrugged her shoulders before drinking the yogurt greedily. Once it was ingested in her stomach, she tried to keep it down when the urge to throw up came across her. She washed the horrible flavor down with the warm water before cleaning up the cup with her finger. Once the cup was stripped, she discarded it easily before gazing at the green cheese.
She grabbed it and the water bottle before setting off to the sandy cliff about fifty feet away. She took a quick sip of the water as she continued her walk.
~*~
Willow was boarding a plane to Los Angeles. It will only take a couple hours until she reaches LAX and then she could rent a car to drive to the remains of Sunnydale. She was worried about how Xander will take the news. No doubt he will be guilty and blame himself for leaving Anya to her suffering. The redhead knew what the construction worker went through the the two weeks after Sunnydale fell. She felt the same pain when Tara died. Now, unlike her, he will have some hope that his love is alive.
~*~
"Xander," Giles called to the young man softly, "I need to talk to you."
The former Zeppo didn't acknowledge him, all his attention was on the small wallet-sized picture of Anya. He lovingly traced over his love's face. He looked like death personified. His unwashed hair matted together to go with his unruly beard. His clothes were from last week and Giles could tell they were now too big for Xander.
"Xander," Giles repeated more loudly.
The young man finally looked at Giles with hollow eyes, "Yeah?"
Giles studied Xander's gaunt facial features. There were bags under his eyes and his jaw bone was sharp like Spike's. His face was pale and had a grayish tinge to it. Xander was truly cadaverous.
"I... I came across some information that may be... useful for you," Giles stuttered slightly, trying to find the words to break it to Xander.
"What about?" Xander inquired monotonously.
The former librarian inhaled deeply, preparing himself for his next words, "It's about Anya."
~*~
She reached the base of the cliff finally. However, she looked up and she wondered if the escarpment grew taller. It didn't seem as big when she first saw it. Perspective. You dumbass, she thought angrily.
"Crap," she grumbled, her voice brittle and dry.
Her whole body ached now. She ignored it this whole time because of her determination and endurance. However, now with nothing to do, it was like the dam broke and everything came crashing down on her. She collapsed to the ground as her legs gave out and she dropped her cheese and water bottle. Curling up in ball, the woman tried to control her sobs.
~*~
It seemed like life flickered in Xander's eyes, but it was so tiny that it could have missed. He asked hoarsely, "What about her?"
"I have reason to believe," Giles paused briefly, "that she is alive."
Xander's eyes widened in disbelief, "What? How?"
"Apparently," the ex-watcher explained, "Vengeance Demons can't become human if a wish goes awry. They simply lose their powers and they continue out their life... as immortals." Giles sighed before adding, "they can only die if higher demons like D'Hoffryn kill them, like Halfrek."
If it was possible, Xander paled even more, "You mean. that we left her there... alive?"
Giles nodded solemnly.
"I have to go save her," Xander stated as he quickly got up. He was stopped by Giles holding him back.
The older man said, "I've already sent Willow to get her."
Xander pushed against Giles to break through. He, however, was too weak to even put up a fight.
"I have to be there, Giles," Xander pleaded, his voice breaking.
"I'm sorry, Xander," Giles responded regretfully, "I can't let you go."
~*~
It was nearing noon as Willow drove down the highway to Sunnydale. The redhead was hesitant to see her hometown in shambles again, but she had to. For both Xander and Anya's sake. She saw the huge chasm a couple yards away, so she stopped the car and put it in park.
The redhead slowly walked closer to the edge, glancing at the 'Entering Sunnydale' sign just over the peak of the cliff. Willow looked down at the destruction and quickly began calculating how she was going to find Anya in this mess.
She began to chant some words as she closed her eyes.
"Expiscor," Willow finished before opening her eyes. There was a floating yellow light dancing in front of her. It quickly dropped down into the crater that once was Sunnydale. A couple minutes passed by before the yellow light turned orange and grew larger. Willow focused where the tracer stopped and began chanting again.
"Subsequor," the witch commanded as she felt her body disintegrate and follow the tracer.
~*~
She was using a sharp edge of a stone to scrap off the mold of the cheese. Her stomach had woken her up an hour ago. After that, she spent thirty minutes trying to find something sharp enough to cut the mold off the cheese because she was in no way eating that crap, no matter how hungry she was.
As she was grating the putrescent material, the woman observed a yellow sphere coming closer to her. Fear consumed her because she didn't know what it was. She grabbed her now yellow cheese and nearly empty water bottle and limped for somewhere to hide. She saw a wall of a destroyed house and figured she could get some cover there.
She hobbled her way over to the partial building before crawling in the shadow. Her whole body shaking in dread.
~*~
Willow materialized right behind the house where the tracer was now glowing red. With a wave of her hand, it vanished.
"Hello?" Willow called out cautiously. "Anya?"
She took a couple steps forward, wary of the safety of the debris.
Taking a few steps toward the house, Willow called again, "Hello?"
She heard something move underneath the house and she saw a flash of hair. The woman turned to face Willow, cheese in one hand and a water bottle in the other.
Willow took in the other woman's appearance. Her face brown from dirt except twin lines over the cheeks from tears. Once blonde hair was dark and coated in ash. There was dried up blood on the ex-demon's shirt that practically covered the whole garment. The shirt itself was torn and dirty and Anya's pants were ripped with some cuts showing through. Her feet here bare except for the caked blood flaking of like dead skin.
"Anya," Willow breathed out in relief.
The blonde took a huge bite of her cheese before quirking her head to the side. She spoke in a cracked voice, like it hasn't been used in a while, "Anya? Is that what I'm called?"
The witch gasped, "Yes. You are Anya Jenkins. Don't you remember anything?"
"Anya," Xander's ex-fiancee tested out the name before taking another bite of her cheese and followed it with some water. "What's your name?"
"Willow," the redhead answered worriedly, "I'm your friend."
Anya was quiet for a moment, it looked she was racking her brain for any memory of the redhead, "I'm sorry, Willow. It's all fuzzy."
Willow mentally sighed her vexation, Great! How am I supposed to teleport her and me back to the car?
She pulled out her cellphone and prayed she got a signal. If not, then she'd had to do so magically. Willow risked a glance at the woman before her and saw how innocent she looked when she was eating the cheese. She sighed before dialing Giles' number.
"Hello?" A British voice greeted her.
Willow got right to it, "Giles, we got a problem."
"What? You find Anya?" The ex-watcher responded hastily.
"Yes," Willow answered as she looked as the former demon, "but she has no memory. I can't teleport her out of here."
Giles exhaled, "Oh dear."
"I'm going to have to wait until she sleeps or something," Willow whispered so Anya wouldn't hear, "I just wanted to let you know it will take longer than I expected."
"Okay, just hurry though," Giles replied somberly, "Xander is becoming more difficult to deal with by the hour."
The witch questioned, "How did he take it?"
"Like life was shoved back into his body," the older man answered truthfully.
Willow smiled, "I'll call you when the situation is changed."
"Got it," Giles agreed, "bye, Willow."
"See you soon, Giles," the redhead responded before hanging up.
"Who was that?" Anya asked curiously as she finished the last piece of her cheese.
Willow walked closer to her friend, "Someone else you know."
Anya looked around, "Where's the rest of the rescue team?"
"I came alone," the witch stated.
"Alone?" Anya repeated confused, "the how did you get down the ledge?"
Willow lied, "I climbed down."
The blonde was quiet a moment before she said, "You have any food? I'm starved."
"All I have is gum," the witch answered regretfully.
Anya's face fell, "It's okay. My stomach can wait."
~*~
Giles knocked on Xander's door before the young man invited him in
"Any news?" The construction worker asked, practically jumping in excitement.
Giles smiled, "Yes. Willow has found her."
"Well?" Xander pushed, "Is she okay?"
"She's a bit traumatized as you could guess," the ex-watcher told the half- truth.
Xander deflated a bit, "So she's on her way? Right?"
"Yes," Giles answered.
~*~
Anya finally passed out an hour after Willow's arrival. The redhead gave a sigh of relief before saying a teleportation spell. Willow honed the spell that the two women materialized in the rental car. Anya rested in the back seat as Willow turned the ignition of the car.
~*~
Willow parked the car in front of a motel. The earliest time she could plane tickets was tomorrow afternoon. She glanced in the back seat of the car and found out Anya was still sleeping, she hadn't woken up the whole trip.
After paying the manager the money, the redhead trying waking the former demon. She gently nudged Anya as she called her name. A couple minutes past before the blonde began to rouse. Anya looked around in confusion, her surroundings unfamiliar to the barren wasteland she spent a few days in.
"Where are we?" Anya asked, "How did we get here?"
Willow helped the blonde up before guiding both of them to their room, "At a motel and I got you out."
"How?" Anya pushed, her eyebrows knitted together to show her disorientation.
The redhead opened the door as she replied, "You're tired. You need your rest."
Willow laid Anya down on the bed as the ex-demon spoke, "But- oh, comfy."
As soon as the blonde's head touched the pillow, she was out.
Willow took this time to assess Anya's wounds. The ragged cloth that once was the blonde's shirt showed enough of the wound that the Bringer left. It was long enough to have practically cut Anya in half. It sliced all the way through shoulder blade to past the spine. Willow wondered how Anya even got out of the rubble.
Part of the gash near the spine was closed off, leaving only a scarlet thick scar. Willow moved the cloth aside look at all of the wound. The skin near the shoulder was melded together with scar tissue and if Willow remembered correctly, Anya was using both her arms, so the bones were connected together. The laceration was surrounded by a light brown bruise with hints of green. Willow looked at the center of the long cut and noticed that it wasn't fully healed there. Blood trickled out with each breath.
Willow decided to move it along a bit as she hoved her hands over to reconstruct Anya's broken body. The redhead mumbled some words before a candescent glow emitted from her hands. Slowly, skin began to knit itself together. The muscle tissue underneath intertwined as one again while the bones fused together. Once the nerve endings connected, Willow stopped.
The redhead opened her eyes and saw that Anya was still sleeping like a baby. Her torso was only marred by two scars, separated by soft, milky skin where Willow healed. Willow adjusted Anya's shirt a little for some modesty on the blonde's behalf before heading to her own bed. She was exhausted from expelling most of her energy to heal Anya.
~*~
Anya opened her eyes groggily, wondering how she got on this bed. She turned over and saw Willow sitting on a chair facing her. The blonde jumped a little before shielding her eyes from the sunlight.
"What time is it?" Anya mumbled.
Willow answered after looking at her watch, "Eight roughly."
The ex-demon looked around as her mind clicked into place. Willow got her out of the crater and took her to a motel for the night. "Where's a bathroom? I need to clean up."
The redhead pointed to a door, "Right there. I left some of my cloths to change in once you are done. I'll get some food while you're occupied."
"Okay," Anya responded before shuffling her feet towards the bathroom.
~*~
The blonde stared at herself in the mirror, as if by looking at face would give her memories back. Finding it pointless, Anya began peeling her clothes off with great caution, not wanting to startle her nerves.
Once nude, Anya traced her dirt-encrusted nails over her torso, tracing over the scar. Her eyes narrowed in confusion at the break in the red line, right over the center of her ribcage. She paid no attention to the little scrapes on her legs and feet, mixing with the dirt like a second skin. All that mattered at the moment was the absence of a scar that was supposed to connect the two red lines.
She decided that she would ask that Willow girl after she took a shower. Turning the knob, the water shot out from the faucet. She pulled the tab and the water transferred to the shower head above her. Anya tested the temperature before getting in.
Water cascaded down her body, blending with dried up blood and dirt on its way down. Anya let the water fall over face, wetting her hair down. She let herself relish this occasion for the time being.
One thing was for sure though, she never felt so good in the past couple days.
~*~
Willow walked into the motel room carrying two bags of food from the nearest fast food restaurant. Anya was lying on the bed flicking through the channels of the television. The other woman was sporting an emerald baby tee shirt and gray pajama pants. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and if Willow didn't know any better, she'd think she was looking at a ghost. The woman she saw down in the Sunnydale ruins wasn't Anya, this was her friend lying on the bed.
Anya turned her head when she heard the door close, "Hey."
"Hey," the witch replied, "I figured you'd be starved, so I got you two meals."
"Thanks," the blonde said as Willow handed her the food.
As Anya began chowing down, Willow took a seat on the chair near the window.
Anya finished one meal before she asked, "What happened to the cut on my chest?"
Willow figured this was coming, "I can heal."
The blonde looked interested by that statement, "Really? That's cool."
Willow watched as Anya began eating the second meal.
~*~
"Where are they?" Xander asked impatiently.
Giles pinched the bridge of his nose for the third that day before answering, "Willow said she was getting some food for Anya. They are both fine."
The young man pushed, "Where, Giles?"
"They stayed the night at a motel in LA," Giles replied, "their flight leaves in the early afternoon Pacific time."
Xander looked giddy at the possibility of Anya on her way to Cleveland. His appearance drastically changed to what it once looked like. His hair was freshly cleaned and cut and a goatee replaced his mangy beard. Xander was smiling a lot more now a days, ever since he found out that his ex-fiancee was alive.
"I can't wait," Xander smiled before skipping off.
Giles returned the sentiment to the construction worker's retreating back.
~*~
"Anya," Willow said cautiously, "do you want your memories back?"
"Of course," the blonde responded as if any other answer would sound ludicrous.
The witch stated softly, "I can get them back for you."
"How?" Anya inquired.
"All I have to do is go into your mind and unlock areas that were closed off after you fell," Willow explained, "I just have to touch your head. Can you trust me?"
The former demon nodded her head.
Willow placed her fingers on each temple of Anya's head, "Okay, now look at me. Never take your eyes off of me until I say so."
Anya complied mutely before the redhead concentrated.
"Let your mind be open, Anya," Willow commanded in a whisper.
The witch took in deep breath, "Close your eyes."
Anya did as she was told and Willow followed suit. The redhead focused on Anya's mind and a few seconds past before she gasped. The blonde's mind was cluttered and Willow had to work hard to find the right gate.
She chanted mentally, "Pateo lente."
Willow repeated it twice more before exiting Anya's mind.
After a couple minutes, Anya blinked, "I don't feel any different."
"It will come slowly," Willow offered, "if I were to open them immediately, your memories would have flooded your mind like a tidal wave. As a result, you would have either went insane, into a coma, or possibly die from your brain being overwhelmed."
"The mind is a delicate thing," the blonde agreed.
Willow smiled in return, "Bits and pieces will come to you as time passes by."
The witch got up and headed to the door, "I'll give the manager the keys before we can go to the airport."
Anya nodded before she yelped.
"What?" The redhead asked in concern.
Anya shook her head, "I just thought of bunnies." She shivered before narrowing her eyes in contempt, "Evil little creatures."
Willow chuckled before heading out to the manager's office.
~*~
Later that day, Willow was walking up to a house with Anya trailing behind her hesitantly. The blonde gained only a few memories on the plane ride to Cleveland. Names of people she had no faces to attach to, and her fear of the fuzzy little demon creatures humans called rabbits. Anya twitched at the mere thought of the horrid things.
Willow opened the front door with a key and walked in. She held Anya's hand as they walked down the hallway to Giles' office.
The door a few feet away from them opened and a young man walked out. The young man stared at the two women before his eyes rested on Anya.
Anya stared at him for a moment as everything settled into place. His face was added with a name from her partial memories.
"Xander," the blonde breathed.
"Anya," Xander returned huskily.
The ex-demon ran to Xander and the young man met her halfway. He engulfed her in his arms as he buried his face in her neck.
Anya felt hot tears trickling down her neck. She heard Xander's soft cries and it only made her hug him tighter into her arms.
Xander whispered throatily, "I missed you so much."
Willow watched the emotional scene, her eyes watering a bit out of happiness. The embrace lost but now found lovers was possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever witnessed in her entire life.
FIN