Notes: I'm setting goals for myself. My goal is two chapters a week. I can't guarantee I'll make it, but I do guarantee to try.
Chapter 5: Into the Fog
This was bad.
It was so very, very bad that Giles didn't have words strong enough to express it.
Xander hadn't spoken one intelligible word in three hours. Tara, who had been deeply shocked at Xander's disappearance, was completely overwhelmed by his reappearance. So much so that Willow, who had remained the calmest by far, offered to take her home to rest. And Buffy, Buffy was very, very angry. Mostly with Giles.
At the moment he couldn't blame her. She had every right to be, Giles was angry with himself as well.
He hadn't counted on it happening so fast. He had hoped they'd have time to find something to ground him here. Something to keep Constance from pulling him over.
There was nothing for him to do now but keep researching. There had to be a way. Over and over he kept telling himself that. And he knew they would because he had caught hold of one small shred of hope.
While Willow and Tara had spent large amounts of time pouring through information on the Furies, Giles had spent his free hours looking up Constance. Just the other night he had re-finished the council's papers for a third time. It's what had first given him the hope.
The more he read the more he became convinced that Constance was a very powerful Wicca, perhaps even a sorceress, and had been one even before being called as a slayer. She certainly knew enough about spells and magic. At first he'd doubted it given the animosity she showed Willow and Tara and the general way she'd spoken of witches. But the more Giles thought it through the more he saw her attitude as more of a ruse. And the further he thought on it, it wasn't really Tara so much as Willow she seemed to have a grudge with.
Possibly she envied Willow.
Constance in her own way had shown Buffy a bit of respect since they had both been slayers, but she really never considered her an equal. Constance thought much to highly of herself to consider anyone an equal. She had obviously taken a bizarre interest in Xander, Giles didn't dare delve deeper into that. As for Tara, Anya and himself, well she had hardly noticed our presence except when our grief provided her amusement.
But Constance had never let an opportunity slip when she could take a jab at Willow. It was almost personal. She'd even gone out of her way to purposely weaken her before she demanded the binding ritual; maybe in an effort to stop Willow from trying anything.
Possibly she feared Willow.
Fear would be better then envy. Because if Constance did fear Willow then that meant she had to have a weakness and Giles liked that thought.
It let him hope.
****
After a few hours when everyone was calmer, they all sat around Giles' table. Almost all, Xander choose the living room couch. It was a rarity for the four of them to be alone anymore. For it just to be the four of them. Not that this was anything like the old days.
Xander didn't participate at all in their discussions. For a few minutes there was no discussion as no one spoke. No one knew where to begin.
"I think it's the Furies," Willow said suddenly breaking the silence.
Buffy and Giles turned to her.
"I don't think Constance is doing this," she continued.
"Go on," Giles urged.
"Okay. It's just,
Tara and I have been reading a lot about them.
This is something they would do.
They punish and torment. No one
except their victims really know how, but the do drive them insane. Maybe this is it."
"So fast?" Buffy asked clearly shocked.
She hadn't counted on it being so fast, in a way it almost made her wish
it was Constance. They could probably
fix that.
Willow just kind of shrugged.
"I don't know for certain," she explained, "but I did talk with Anya today."
Buffy rolled her eyes dismissively. Even Giles didn't seem pleased to hear that name.
"I know," Willow acknowledged, "I know. But she was helpful. The way she explains it is that the Furies can't just be unleashed on anyone. That person has to do something really horrible first. The Furies are impartial, they don't judge the way vengeance demons do."
"But Xander…"
"I know," Willow said cutting Buffy off, "he hasn't done anything that bad. Ever.
Then I started thinking about it some more. About that bond stuff.
Furies specialize in betrayal.
Righting wrongs that go unpunished by traditional laws. Wouldn't they have sensed the bond? And technically, Xander did get rid of
her. Knowingly or not, he tricked her
and because of it she died, sort of."
"Yes," Giles began nodding his head, "that makes sense. They could have seen the bond as a deeper connection, possibly even as a blood relative. They wouldn't have cared that it was only a temporary death, all they care for is the act not the outcome."
"So now what?" Buffy asked.
"We still do the linking spell," Giles answered, "We need to
be certain these bonds exist. We'll
need Xander to be present, but he won't have to do anything really. You too Buffy. Willow and I can perform the spell, it's fairly simple. We'll use this table here…."
"Willow needs to sit here."
Xander's voice had startled them. No one had noticed him approach the table and he was now standing directly behind Giles.
"She needs to be east."
They were all staring at him. It was the most he'd spoken to anyone besides Buffy.
"East is more powerful then north," he continued completely ignoring the looks he was receiving. "Common mistake. Most people think north is stronger. It isn't, but it is better for pure spells. South is the best for dark spells. Never sit west. West is the weakest spot. East is where the sunrises, the power begins. West is where it sets."
Xander sat in the only available seat at the table, south, and said nothing more.
"How did he…" Willow started to say, staring at Xander as if he'd grown a second head. Giles too looked stunned.
"Is he right?" Buffy asked. She knew better then the rest that Xander had very lucid moments, but she'd never seen him act this way. He seemed himself but didn't seem himself all at the same time.
Willow nodded yes to Buffy.
Xander had already buried his head back into his arms.
"That was…" Giles started, but didn't know where to go with it.
"Yeah," Buffy agreed.
"Has he…"
"No," she answered not needing the rest of the question, "he's never said anything like that before."
"Well then," he said standing, "I'll get the things."
Willow slid into his chair as he left. He was back in no time.
"Okay then," Giles said opening a book. "Buffy if you'll light these candles and place one in front of each of us. Willow this incantation should do."
Willow looked over the spell as Buffy lit the candles.
"Well," Giles said after a moment, "we'll all just join hands…"
"What's this going to do exactly?" Buffy asked.
"First, we'll need to focus on Xander since it's his bonds
we want to view. Then, well, how to
explain this…"
"It'll get foggy," Willow cut in.
Giles reluctantly agreed. Buffy, still a bit skeptical took hold of Giles' and Xander's hands. Xander sat up and looked at her when she did this. He looked equal parts surprised and confused as he turned to each of them. Ultimately he ended up looking back to Buffy for some kind of answer.
"We just need to check a few things out," she said to him and squeezed his hand once.
Xander nodded a bit then looked down at the table.
Willow, not thinking to warn him first, grabbed his right hand best as she could with the cast, causing him to jump.
"Sorry," she said quickly letting go. "Can I? It's important Xand."
Again he looked back to Buffy for reassurance. She just nodded and again he seemed okay.
Willow took his hand again and couldn't help but think how cold it felt.
"Here we go," she said as she began.
****
It felt like falling.
Buffy felt like she was falling through darkness and fog. Endlessly falling but she wasn't afraid. She knew inside herself that she wouldn't be hurt. There was no explaining that knowledge, but it did exist.
And then just as suddenly as she had fell, she had stopped.
It took her a minute for her to realize she wasn't alone. Giles was to the left of her, Willow in front of her and Xander to her right. All as they had been at the table. Except not exactly. Willow and Giles were facing her; Xander had his back to them all.
"Xander?" she started to say, but Giles held up his hand to her. Silencing the words she hadn't quite formed. Willow was the only one speaking. She stood reciting the incantation over and over, but her eyes were elsewhere. That's when Buffy noticed that whatever Xander was facing, Giles and Willow were looking at too. And the expression on their faces was something like shock.
For a split second she hesitated but then curiosity won out. She had to look.
As Buffy turned to face in the same direction as the others she was bathed in a brilliant white light. Buffy tried to shield her eyes but it made no difference.
Everything was lost in the light.
Then slowly, as her eyes adjusted, she made out three figures. Three figures stood before Xander. Loomed over him. She couldn't make out their features only their outline. Then there was movement. The figure in the middle was reaching out, reaching out to touch Xander.
Buffy looked to Giles and then to Willow, neither of them seemed alarmed. But she was.
Buffy started to go to him. To do something. Get between him and those things if she had too, but she found she couldn't move. She had to do something. Now.
So she screamed.
As she did it she felt herself being pulled upward. Yanked back through the darkness and fog until she found herself back at the table. Giles, Willow and Xander all looking at her with intent eyes.
"Buffy, what happened?" Willow asked worriedly.
"Why weren't you doing anything?" she asked Willow and
Giles.
"What do you mean?" Giles asked. Now he sounded worried too.
Buffy looked between the two. Each confused. Each worried. Then she looked at Xander. And she could tell that he knew what she was talking about.
"You saw them," he said to her as their eyes met.
"Saw who?" Giles asked. Neither of them paid him any attention they just continued staring at each other.
"Wait a minute," Willow cut in, "you saw them? Them, them?"
"Sort of," Buffy answered finally looking away from Xander. "Mostly I saw light. I yelled because they were reaching…."
Giles just nodded and Willow sat back and shut the book.
"What did you both see?" Buffy asked suddenly as she realized they must not have seen the same things she had.
Willow looked at Giles a moment, unsure.
"Well," Giles said, "not the Furies."
"Then what?"
"Constance."
Buffy didn't now what to say. Xander didn't seem at all surprised by the news, or if he was he didn't show it.
Giles and Willow exchanged looks again.
"There's more?" Buffy asked.
"Possibly," Giles answered, "but we really should talk about it later."
This seemed to pull Xander out of whatever stupor he'd been in.
"I already know," he said turning to Giles, "you can tell her."
"Tell me," Buffy implored, completely ignoring Xander's increasingly odd behavior.
"Xander," Giles said holding his eyes for a moment before turning to Buffy, "wasn't facing the rest of us. Did you notice that we all appeared as we had around the table?"
Buffy nodded.
"He should have been facing us as he is now."
"I don't understand why that's so important."
"It doesn't necessarily mean anything," Willow put in. She sounded more as if she wanted to believe then as if she actually did.
"It means I shouldn't be here now," Xander broke in. "Buffy, it's what I've been trying to get across to you but you don't want to hear it."
"Because I don't believe it," she snapped back.
"I've told you again and again you're not doing anything but delaying the inevitable. They know that, why don't you?"
She didn't know what to say. Buffy knew he was right but she couldn't admit it. She couldn't give up on him like he'd already given up on himself.
Xander could see she wasn't going to give an inch. Frustrated, he got up to leave. He stopped suddenly as he reached the hallway but did not turn back around.
"The dead don't face the living."