Chapter 6
« Uhu. Uhu. Okay, thanks, » I said into the phone, and hung up.
« Okay, some people are coming over who will probably be able to help us out. They said they could be here in two hours, so... what do we do in the mean time ? »
« Well, » Charles said, « we could go grab a bite to eat. I don't know 'bout you, but I haven't eaten in days and honestly, I'm starving ! »
I grinned and nodded. After shrugging off most of the dust from our clothes, we walked into the nearest diner. We went straight into the restrooms and washed off most of the blood and dirt, and then ordered a huge breakfast. For a while we were both quiet. I was thinking about Wesley and felt horribly guilty. Here we were, having a big stack of pancakes, while Wesley was probably badly hurt –at best. I tried to shake some scary thoughts from my mind, and looked at the clock. It was only 11AM, we still had more than seven hours before sunset.
« So... » Charles said finally, in between two bites from his pancakes, « are you gonna tell me who you called ? »
« What ? » I said, distractedly, brushing sugar from my lips with the back of my hand. « Oh, right. Short version ? Well, before he moved to L.A., Wesley used to be a Watcher. You know, the guy that trains the Slayer ? »
Charles frowned. « The Slayer ? You mean she's not just a ghost story for the dearly departed ? »
« No, she's real and she lives in Sunnydale. Well, at least she did. She, uhm, she died of couple of months ago. But her Wacher is coming, along with a witch who's supposed to be really powerful. Pus, they've both faced Angelus and Drusilla before, so that could be very useful, » I said. Then I fell silent and continued eating.
« Hey, » Charles said softly, lifting up my chin, « I know you're worried about Wesley. But don't worry okay, coz we're gonna get him out of there. I promise. »
A short while later, me and Charles were waiting by the side of a deserted road, a little south of the city.
« I wonder why they asked us to meet them here ? » I wondered.
« Maybe they figured they wouldn't be able to find a parking space in the city, » Charles said with a grin. I giggled, and had to stop myself from kissing him.
Suddenly, a car with black painted windows screeched to a halt right next to us. I let out a yelp before a realized that it was Mr. Giles and the witch.
« Hi. Get in the back with Spike, hurry, » the young woman said. I nodded and opened the back door wide. Immediately there was a cry on te backseat, and someone pulled me inside, nudging Charles to hurry up and get in as well.
« Do you mind ? If you want me to turn into a smoldering pile of ashes, you can just say so ! » a bleach blonde guy, who I assumed was Spike, muttered.
« Y-you're a vampire ? » I said, trying not to sound terrified. It was a trap, I knew it. My heart started beating wildly and in a reflex, I grabbed Charles's arm.
The young woman looked over her shoulder and grinned. « Don't worry, he's on our side. Well, more or less. Well, he's neutered, » she said cheerfully, and immediately received an angry glare from the vampire. « I'm Willow by the way, and this is Giles, » she added, and the Watcher smiled in the rear view mirror. « You must be Fred, » he said.
« Oh. Yes I am, and this is Charles Gunn. H-hi, » I stammered, still a bit shaken. Blushing, I quickly let go of Charles's arm and leaned back. I watched Willow, who was looking in an ancient spellbook and muttering to herself.
« So... where exactly are we going ? 'Cause, you know, Wesley's not in the desert, » I said after we'd been driving for a while.
« Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry, I should've told you. We're going to get a Slayer, » Giles said almost casually.
I frowned. « Uhm, isn't she dead ? » Willow looked over her shoulder and smiled, even though I could see the hurt in her eyes. « Yes, Buffy's dead. But there's another Slayer... It's a long story. To sum it up, when a Slayer dies, another one is called. But Buffy died and was revived a couple of years back, so from then on there have been two Slayers. It's a thing. Faith's the latest. » She paused and glanced at Giles, then she turned back to us.
« Well, she went all crazy and homicidal, so she's in jail now. But, uhm, we're going to bust her out, because she's the best chance we've got against Angel. »
Charles pulled up an eyebrow and glanced at me. « So, lemme get this straight. You're gonna use a criminally insane psychopath... to stop a criminally insane psychopath ? » he said.
« Yup, » Willow said distractedly, as she was leafing through her book again.
« Huh, » Charles said, and gave me a meaningful look. We both kept quiet, feeling that this really hadn't improved our situation. After some time, I took a deep breath and spoke up. « So... how did you guys face Angelus before ? How can you help us save Wesley ? »
« I gave him his soul back last time –not that it helped much, apparently, » Willow said, muttering the last bit to herself. « I'm sure I can do it again. He's really very nice when you get to know him when he's all soulful. Like a big cuddly teddybear. » I didn't even have to look at Charles to know the look on his face, and I stifled a laugh.
« Hm. So how about you two ? » I said, looking from Giles to Spike.
Giles glanced into the rear view mirror. « He tortured me. For hours on end. It seems his manners haven't improved since then »
« O-oh, » I stammered. Wow, that was helpful, I thought. And motivating. « What about you... Spike, is it ? »
The vampire looked at me with an almost bored expression on his face. « Actually, I was helping Angel and Dru. Before they stuck this bleedin' chip in my head, » he said. Willow looked at me and grinned. « And before Drusilla dumped him. »
Spike just glared and went on with a nostalgic look in his eyes. « Ah, the fun we had. Torturing pretty young things like yourself, killing, maiming,... She's such a spirited lil' thing, my Dru. I dunno why she always let Angel wrap her around his... finger, when there was so much more I could offer her, « he went on, daydreaming and shaking his head.
« Hey, do you maybe wanna switch seats ? » Charles said abruptly to Willow. I grinned. It was pretty disturbing to hear vampires talk about their love life.
« No need, we're here, » Giles said, as the car halted in front of the Californian Women's Facility. « Now comes the hard part. »
« Uhu. Uhu. Okay, thanks, » I said into the phone, and hung up.
« Okay, some people are coming over who will probably be able to help us out. They said they could be here in two hours, so... what do we do in the mean time ? »
« Well, » Charles said, « we could go grab a bite to eat. I don't know 'bout you, but I haven't eaten in days and honestly, I'm starving ! »
I grinned and nodded. After shrugging off most of the dust from our clothes, we walked into the nearest diner. We went straight into the restrooms and washed off most of the blood and dirt, and then ordered a huge breakfast. For a while we were both quiet. I was thinking about Wesley and felt horribly guilty. Here we were, having a big stack of pancakes, while Wesley was probably badly hurt –at best. I tried to shake some scary thoughts from my mind, and looked at the clock. It was only 11AM, we still had more than seven hours before sunset.
« So... » Charles said finally, in between two bites from his pancakes, « are you gonna tell me who you called ? »
« What ? » I said, distractedly, brushing sugar from my lips with the back of my hand. « Oh, right. Short version ? Well, before he moved to L.A., Wesley used to be a Watcher. You know, the guy that trains the Slayer ? »
Charles frowned. « The Slayer ? You mean she's not just a ghost story for the dearly departed ? »
« No, she's real and she lives in Sunnydale. Well, at least she did. She, uhm, she died of couple of months ago. But her Wacher is coming, along with a witch who's supposed to be really powerful. Pus, they've both faced Angelus and Drusilla before, so that could be very useful, » I said. Then I fell silent and continued eating.
« Hey, » Charles said softly, lifting up my chin, « I know you're worried about Wesley. But don't worry okay, coz we're gonna get him out of there. I promise. »
A short while later, me and Charles were waiting by the side of a deserted road, a little south of the city.
« I wonder why they asked us to meet them here ? » I wondered.
« Maybe they figured they wouldn't be able to find a parking space in the city, » Charles said with a grin. I giggled, and had to stop myself from kissing him.
Suddenly, a car with black painted windows screeched to a halt right next to us. I let out a yelp before a realized that it was Mr. Giles and the witch.
« Hi. Get in the back with Spike, hurry, » the young woman said. I nodded and opened the back door wide. Immediately there was a cry on te backseat, and someone pulled me inside, nudging Charles to hurry up and get in as well.
« Do you mind ? If you want me to turn into a smoldering pile of ashes, you can just say so ! » a bleach blonde guy, who I assumed was Spike, muttered.
« Y-you're a vampire ? » I said, trying not to sound terrified. It was a trap, I knew it. My heart started beating wildly and in a reflex, I grabbed Charles's arm.
The young woman looked over her shoulder and grinned. « Don't worry, he's on our side. Well, more or less. Well, he's neutered, » she said cheerfully, and immediately received an angry glare from the vampire. « I'm Willow by the way, and this is Giles, » she added, and the Watcher smiled in the rear view mirror. « You must be Fred, » he said.
« Oh. Yes I am, and this is Charles Gunn. H-hi, » I stammered, still a bit shaken. Blushing, I quickly let go of Charles's arm and leaned back. I watched Willow, who was looking in an ancient spellbook and muttering to herself.
« So... where exactly are we going ? 'Cause, you know, Wesley's not in the desert, » I said after we'd been driving for a while.
« Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry, I should've told you. We're going to get a Slayer, » Giles said almost casually.
I frowned. « Uhm, isn't she dead ? » Willow looked over her shoulder and smiled, even though I could see the hurt in her eyes. « Yes, Buffy's dead. But there's another Slayer... It's a long story. To sum it up, when a Slayer dies, another one is called. But Buffy died and was revived a couple of years back, so from then on there have been two Slayers. It's a thing. Faith's the latest. » She paused and glanced at Giles, then she turned back to us.
« Well, she went all crazy and homicidal, so she's in jail now. But, uhm, we're going to bust her out, because she's the best chance we've got against Angel. »
Charles pulled up an eyebrow and glanced at me. « So, lemme get this straight. You're gonna use a criminally insane psychopath... to stop a criminally insane psychopath ? » he said.
« Yup, » Willow said distractedly, as she was leafing through her book again.
« Huh, » Charles said, and gave me a meaningful look. We both kept quiet, feeling that this really hadn't improved our situation. After some time, I took a deep breath and spoke up. « So... how did you guys face Angelus before ? How can you help us save Wesley ? »
« I gave him his soul back last time –not that it helped much, apparently, » Willow said, muttering the last bit to herself. « I'm sure I can do it again. He's really very nice when you get to know him when he's all soulful. Like a big cuddly teddybear. » I didn't even have to look at Charles to know the look on his face, and I stifled a laugh.
« Hm. So how about you two ? » I said, looking from Giles to Spike.
Giles glanced into the rear view mirror. « He tortured me. For hours on end. It seems his manners haven't improved since then »
« O-oh, » I stammered. Wow, that was helpful, I thought. And motivating. « What about you... Spike, is it ? »
The vampire looked at me with an almost bored expression on his face. « Actually, I was helping Angel and Dru. Before they stuck this bleedin' chip in my head, » he said. Willow looked at me and grinned. « And before Drusilla dumped him. »
Spike just glared and went on with a nostalgic look in his eyes. « Ah, the fun we had. Torturing pretty young things like yourself, killing, maiming,... She's such a spirited lil' thing, my Dru. I dunno why she always let Angel wrap her around his... finger, when there was so much more I could offer her, « he went on, daydreaming and shaking his head.
« Hey, do you maybe wanna switch seats ? » Charles said abruptly to Willow. I grinned. It was pretty disturbing to hear vampires talk about their love life.
« No need, we're here, » Giles said, as the car halted in front of the Californian Women's Facility. « Now comes the hard part. »