Sorry for the delay in posting. First it was severe writers block.
I rewrote this chapter three times. Then I had some personal issues to
deal with. This isn't my best work but I wanted to get another chapter
out. I'm hoping to wrap this story up in the next couple of chapters, but
it all depends on where the words take me. It's already longer than
originally planned. Enjoy.
~~ * ~~
Tyler and Buffy made it back in record time. They arrived to see the others emerging from the underground tunnel.
Angel looked at Buffy and immediately knew it wasn't good news.
"So, what did fish boy have to say?" Angel asked.
"Did you guys find any MREs?" Buffy asked ignoring the reference to Riley.
"Yeah. The screechers ate them all and later we found about ten screechers twice their normal size." Angel answered.
"Shit! This isn't good." Buffy said.
"What's going on, B?" Faith asked.
Buffy explained about the phone call from Riley and the experimental drug in the MREs. She also explained that it would wear off when the drug gets out of their system.
"So, Burt," Buffy began. "You know more about these things than anyone. How fast is their metabolism?"
"I don't know. It's not something I've ever had to find out before." Burt answered.
"So, what's the plan?" Tyler asked.
Everyone turned expectant eyes to Burt and Buffy. They looked as lost as everyone else.
"First things first." Buffy began. "These things are bigger and stronger than any before them. We probably need to upgrade our weapons to something bigger and stronger."
"I agree, but we still need to remember that they may change. The drug may stop the metamorphous or it may not. We don't know. And what about the second group from the other graboid?"
"You don't have to worry about that. Tyler and I took care of them. They attacked us on the way to town, but we got all of them." Buffy interrupted.
"Good. Now we can concentrate on this one group." Angel said.
So, the five of them sat down to make a plan. Burt had larger and more powerful weapons at his house. They decided to go for the bigger screechers first. Obviously they had separated into two groups, strong and stronger. Burt would take Tyler and Faith and go back to his place for supplies. Maybe they could just blow up the screechers while they were still underground. Buffy and Angel would try to track the normal screechers and try to get to them before they changed to ass blasters. Buffy argued that they had no clue where to look for the normal screechers until a single blimp appeared on Burt's screen. A single screecher had emerged about a mile from their present location. It was their first break.
After checking their equipment Angel and Buffy headed off, on foot to find the screechers. Burt, Tyler, and Faith set off in Burt's half-eaten SUV to his house for supplies.
~~ * ~~
Buffy and Angel walked in comfortable silence. For Buffy it was a lot like old times. For Angel it was sweet torture. He loved being this close to her but it was torture because of all the things that had been said and done.
"Buffy." Angel said breaking the silence. "I'm sorry."
Buffy looked at him quizzically. "What for?" she asked.
"For everything." He answered simply. "For hurting you, for treating you like you break, for being so jealous about Spike, for everything."
"It's all right, Angel. I'm coming to terms with everything that's happened in the past."
"And heading for your future?"
"Yes. I can't change the past. I can just try to make the future better."
As much as Angel knew his next comment would piss her off, he couldn't help himself. "Will Tyler be part of that future?"
"No. I don't think so." Buffy answered, shocking Angel and causing him to stop walking.
"Really?" Angel tried to sound casual but failed.
"I do like Tyler, just not that way. I only went out with him to get him off my back. He knows I don't have feelings for him."
"Then, who do you see in your future?"
"Right now, I only see myself."
"Buffy." Angel began but was cut off by Buffy.
"Look. I came here to get away from everyone who associates me with the slayer. I need to find myself. The girl you fell in love with no longer exists."
"No, she doesn't. But the woman she has become is more than I ever imagined." Angel answered.
~~ * ~~
Burt, Faith, and Tyler were anything but silent on the trip back to his house. They discussed their plan and made sure everyone knew what to do.
"Anyone have any questions?" Burt asked.
They nodded in the negative. "Good." Burt continued. "We just need to get out supplies and back to the underground we go."
"I can't wait until everything gets back to normal around here." Tyler sighed wistfully.
"In my experience, there is no normal. You deal with one thing just to have to deal with something new. That's normal." Faith said.
"Your life is not normal." Tyler argued.
"Neither is yours. How many other people do you know live with the threat of a giant worm?" Faith argued back.
"Good point." Tyler agreed.
"So, what's a 'normal' day around here?" Faith asked.
"El Blanco comes into town about twice. I go out with my tour. Burt scares all his students in survival school. That's normal."
"Yeah, and how often does that happen?"
"I don't know. About three times a week. The other times, we have something to track down and stop from destroying the valley."
"Sounds like a slayer's life." Faith mused.
They lapsed into silence until they arrived at Burt's place.
Faith looked around at the bare walls and equipment. "Nice decorating." Faith commented sarcastically.
"It works for what I need." Was Burt's reply. He wasted no time but moved quickly to gather what they would need.
Faith followed Burt into the weapons room. Lining the walls of the room were weapons of all shapes and sizes along with explosives and materials.
"Like what you see?" Burt asked grinning.
Faith looked back at him. "As a matter of fact, yeah."
"Good. Let's gather what we need and get moving."
Faith and Burt gathered all the materials they needed and set them outside the room. Tyler was loading it all in Burt's SUV.
~~ * ~~
Angel and Buffy moved toward the screechers. There were about 10 in the group.
"This shouldn't be too hard." Buffy commented.
"I don't like it." Angel commented. "It seems too easy."
"Angel, these things aren't demons. They don't plan like demons do."
"No, but Burt said they do get smarter."
"So, what do we do?" Buffy asked, slightly annoyed.
"We go to our thing and keep our eyes open for anything wrong."
Angel explained his plan to Buffy and they moved swiftly and silently toward the screechers.
When they were within distance, Buffy and Angel stopped and pulled out their artillery.
"I hate guns." Buffy commented as the readied the semi automatic gun for firing with the ease of an expert.
"I know. I'm not crazy about them either." Angel said as the readied his weapon. "But, sometimes they are necessary."
"Are we ready to do this?" Buffy asked.
"As ready as we'll ever be." Angel replied.
The two of them edged closer and took a screecher into their sights.
They fired together and watched two screechers fall.
Unseen by them, one screecher was watching. He couldn't see the intruders but did see the heat that shot out from their weapons and the slight heat signature left on the rifles. The screecher let out a cry to summon the others just as the rifles fires again, taking out two more screechers.
The screechers rallied at the cry and together they charged Buffy and Angel.
"What the hell?" Angel yelled. "How do they see us?"
"We'll have to figure that out later." Buffy yelled back as she fired again.
When she fired two screechers that were headed for Angel changed direction and started toward her.
"It's the gun! They're following the heat from the gun!" Angel yelled at Buffy as he fired again.
Buffy looked at the weapon in her hand and tossed it away. "Guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way."
Buffy pulled her short sword from the holster between her shoulder blades. She looked at Angel and saw he was doing the same thing.
There were six screechers left.
Without the guns giving away their presence Buffy and Angel were able to finish off the remaining screechers quickly.
Angel's sword took one through the gut and he withdrew it only to immediately slice through the throat of another one.
Buffy completely took the head off one screecher and gutted the other as it approached its fallen comrade.
The last two were completely beheaded at almost the exact same time.
Buffy and Angel grinned at each other and sheathed their weapons.
"Well, one part of this mission is done." Buffy commented.
"Yeah. Let's go find the others. They may need some help."
They moved to gather their discarded weapons.
Angel picked up his rifle and noted it was still kind of warm. He started to turn toward Buffy when he heard her yell a warning.
Before he had time to react, a screecher landed on his back almost knocking him down.
The screecher opened its mouth and moved to take a bite of Angel's head. Before it could a sword moved through the open mouth and out the back of the creature.
Buffy moved the sword to the left, cutting through the creature and knocking it off Angel's back.
Angel stood up and looked at the dead screecher and then back at Buffy.
Buffy threw her arms around Angel. When she saw that screecher jump on Angel she had never known such heart stopping fear. Now that she had him in her arms, she let her emotions out.
Angel wasn't about to pry Buffy away from him. The feel of her in his arms was something he had dreamed about since he left her. He wrapped his arms around her and they just stood there, together.
Finally, Buffy pulled away and Angel felt a deep sense of loss.
Buffy looked up at him, embarrassed. "Sorry. I don't know." Buffy began only to be cut off by Angel's lips on hers.
Buffy eagerly accepted his lips and began to reciprocate the kiss. It had been so long since she felt this way. She didn't want this to ever end.
With regret, Angel ended the kiss. He didn't want to push Buffy. He just wanted to let her know how he felt.
Buffy whimpered softly at the loss of contact, which made Angel smile. At least he knew he still had an effect on her.
"Buffy." Angel began. "I know you want time to become the person you want to be. I just want you to know, I'll be there."
Buffy smiled up at him. "Thank you. That means a lot."
"Good. Now, let's find the others and finish off the giant screechers."
~~ * ~~
Tyler and Buffy made it back in record time. They arrived to see the others emerging from the underground tunnel.
Angel looked at Buffy and immediately knew it wasn't good news.
"So, what did fish boy have to say?" Angel asked.
"Did you guys find any MREs?" Buffy asked ignoring the reference to Riley.
"Yeah. The screechers ate them all and later we found about ten screechers twice their normal size." Angel answered.
"Shit! This isn't good." Buffy said.
"What's going on, B?" Faith asked.
Buffy explained about the phone call from Riley and the experimental drug in the MREs. She also explained that it would wear off when the drug gets out of their system.
"So, Burt," Buffy began. "You know more about these things than anyone. How fast is their metabolism?"
"I don't know. It's not something I've ever had to find out before." Burt answered.
"So, what's the plan?" Tyler asked.
Everyone turned expectant eyes to Burt and Buffy. They looked as lost as everyone else.
"First things first." Buffy began. "These things are bigger and stronger than any before them. We probably need to upgrade our weapons to something bigger and stronger."
"I agree, but we still need to remember that they may change. The drug may stop the metamorphous or it may not. We don't know. And what about the second group from the other graboid?"
"You don't have to worry about that. Tyler and I took care of them. They attacked us on the way to town, but we got all of them." Buffy interrupted.
"Good. Now we can concentrate on this one group." Angel said.
So, the five of them sat down to make a plan. Burt had larger and more powerful weapons at his house. They decided to go for the bigger screechers first. Obviously they had separated into two groups, strong and stronger. Burt would take Tyler and Faith and go back to his place for supplies. Maybe they could just blow up the screechers while they were still underground. Buffy and Angel would try to track the normal screechers and try to get to them before they changed to ass blasters. Buffy argued that they had no clue where to look for the normal screechers until a single blimp appeared on Burt's screen. A single screecher had emerged about a mile from their present location. It was their first break.
After checking their equipment Angel and Buffy headed off, on foot to find the screechers. Burt, Tyler, and Faith set off in Burt's half-eaten SUV to his house for supplies.
~~ * ~~
Buffy and Angel walked in comfortable silence. For Buffy it was a lot like old times. For Angel it was sweet torture. He loved being this close to her but it was torture because of all the things that had been said and done.
"Buffy." Angel said breaking the silence. "I'm sorry."
Buffy looked at him quizzically. "What for?" she asked.
"For everything." He answered simply. "For hurting you, for treating you like you break, for being so jealous about Spike, for everything."
"It's all right, Angel. I'm coming to terms with everything that's happened in the past."
"And heading for your future?"
"Yes. I can't change the past. I can just try to make the future better."
As much as Angel knew his next comment would piss her off, he couldn't help himself. "Will Tyler be part of that future?"
"No. I don't think so." Buffy answered, shocking Angel and causing him to stop walking.
"Really?" Angel tried to sound casual but failed.
"I do like Tyler, just not that way. I only went out with him to get him off my back. He knows I don't have feelings for him."
"Then, who do you see in your future?"
"Right now, I only see myself."
"Buffy." Angel began but was cut off by Buffy.
"Look. I came here to get away from everyone who associates me with the slayer. I need to find myself. The girl you fell in love with no longer exists."
"No, she doesn't. But the woman she has become is more than I ever imagined." Angel answered.
~~ * ~~
Burt, Faith, and Tyler were anything but silent on the trip back to his house. They discussed their plan and made sure everyone knew what to do.
"Anyone have any questions?" Burt asked.
They nodded in the negative. "Good." Burt continued. "We just need to get out supplies and back to the underground we go."
"I can't wait until everything gets back to normal around here." Tyler sighed wistfully.
"In my experience, there is no normal. You deal with one thing just to have to deal with something new. That's normal." Faith said.
"Your life is not normal." Tyler argued.
"Neither is yours. How many other people do you know live with the threat of a giant worm?" Faith argued back.
"Good point." Tyler agreed.
"So, what's a 'normal' day around here?" Faith asked.
"El Blanco comes into town about twice. I go out with my tour. Burt scares all his students in survival school. That's normal."
"Yeah, and how often does that happen?"
"I don't know. About three times a week. The other times, we have something to track down and stop from destroying the valley."
"Sounds like a slayer's life." Faith mused.
They lapsed into silence until they arrived at Burt's place.
Faith looked around at the bare walls and equipment. "Nice decorating." Faith commented sarcastically.
"It works for what I need." Was Burt's reply. He wasted no time but moved quickly to gather what they would need.
Faith followed Burt into the weapons room. Lining the walls of the room were weapons of all shapes and sizes along with explosives and materials.
"Like what you see?" Burt asked grinning.
Faith looked back at him. "As a matter of fact, yeah."
"Good. Let's gather what we need and get moving."
Faith and Burt gathered all the materials they needed and set them outside the room. Tyler was loading it all in Burt's SUV.
~~ * ~~
Angel and Buffy moved toward the screechers. There were about 10 in the group.
"This shouldn't be too hard." Buffy commented.
"I don't like it." Angel commented. "It seems too easy."
"Angel, these things aren't demons. They don't plan like demons do."
"No, but Burt said they do get smarter."
"So, what do we do?" Buffy asked, slightly annoyed.
"We go to our thing and keep our eyes open for anything wrong."
Angel explained his plan to Buffy and they moved swiftly and silently toward the screechers.
When they were within distance, Buffy and Angel stopped and pulled out their artillery.
"I hate guns." Buffy commented as the readied the semi automatic gun for firing with the ease of an expert.
"I know. I'm not crazy about them either." Angel said as the readied his weapon. "But, sometimes they are necessary."
"Are we ready to do this?" Buffy asked.
"As ready as we'll ever be." Angel replied.
The two of them edged closer and took a screecher into their sights.
They fired together and watched two screechers fall.
Unseen by them, one screecher was watching. He couldn't see the intruders but did see the heat that shot out from their weapons and the slight heat signature left on the rifles. The screecher let out a cry to summon the others just as the rifles fires again, taking out two more screechers.
The screechers rallied at the cry and together they charged Buffy and Angel.
"What the hell?" Angel yelled. "How do they see us?"
"We'll have to figure that out later." Buffy yelled back as she fired again.
When she fired two screechers that were headed for Angel changed direction and started toward her.
"It's the gun! They're following the heat from the gun!" Angel yelled at Buffy as he fired again.
Buffy looked at the weapon in her hand and tossed it away. "Guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way."
Buffy pulled her short sword from the holster between her shoulder blades. She looked at Angel and saw he was doing the same thing.
There were six screechers left.
Without the guns giving away their presence Buffy and Angel were able to finish off the remaining screechers quickly.
Angel's sword took one through the gut and he withdrew it only to immediately slice through the throat of another one.
Buffy completely took the head off one screecher and gutted the other as it approached its fallen comrade.
The last two were completely beheaded at almost the exact same time.
Buffy and Angel grinned at each other and sheathed their weapons.
"Well, one part of this mission is done." Buffy commented.
"Yeah. Let's go find the others. They may need some help."
They moved to gather their discarded weapons.
Angel picked up his rifle and noted it was still kind of warm. He started to turn toward Buffy when he heard her yell a warning.
Before he had time to react, a screecher landed on his back almost knocking him down.
The screecher opened its mouth and moved to take a bite of Angel's head. Before it could a sword moved through the open mouth and out the back of the creature.
Buffy moved the sword to the left, cutting through the creature and knocking it off Angel's back.
Angel stood up and looked at the dead screecher and then back at Buffy.
Buffy threw her arms around Angel. When she saw that screecher jump on Angel she had never known such heart stopping fear. Now that she had him in her arms, she let her emotions out.
Angel wasn't about to pry Buffy away from him. The feel of her in his arms was something he had dreamed about since he left her. He wrapped his arms around her and they just stood there, together.
Finally, Buffy pulled away and Angel felt a deep sense of loss.
Buffy looked up at him, embarrassed. "Sorry. I don't know." Buffy began only to be cut off by Angel's lips on hers.
Buffy eagerly accepted his lips and began to reciprocate the kiss. It had been so long since she felt this way. She didn't want this to ever end.
With regret, Angel ended the kiss. He didn't want to push Buffy. He just wanted to let her know how he felt.
Buffy whimpered softly at the loss of contact, which made Angel smile. At least he knew he still had an effect on her.
"Buffy." Angel began. "I know you want time to become the person you want to be. I just want you to know, I'll be there."
Buffy smiled up at him. "Thank you. That means a lot."
"Good. Now, let's find the others and finish off the giant screechers."