Chapter 8
Willow didn't know that Angel and Faith had had a conversation about how to handle Cooper/Bob. Neither had thought to tell her. And they might have been right not too. As recently as two years ago if she had heard anyone talking about murder she would have been sick at the concept. Of course back then the idea that she might flay a man alive was as foreign to her as Cartesian dualism.
Had she known that Angel and Faith were considering taking Cooper out of the picture totally, she would have probably made the same argument that she had thought about on considering the same idea. Willow would have said that, while she had not taken a human life yet, Buffy was a certainly a big enough girl to deal with the ramifications. She would have said that taking a human life was wrong under all but the most extraneous circumstances, and that Buffy knew that. Then again, Willow had seen through Buffy's declarations that this wasn't bothering her and would have known that someone might have to intercede if Buffy was going to encounter Bob. But Willow still thought that she could take it.
Then they had gone to the motel. The seconds after Giles had been shot had been some of the worst in her life. For an instant she wasn't there, she was back in Sunnydale, and Tara had just fallen to the ground. It had taken almost all of her will to suppress the urge to revert and go screaming into the night. Being around Buffy had probably saved her from going to that dark place.
For the next ten hours she had stood watch over Giles' bed. Part of her reasons were wanting to be there to make sure he came through it all right, but a lot of it was to keep herself from doing anything that might be self-destructive. Xander, as was almost always the case, understood her and helped her stay focused. Not even the appearance of Earle seemed to shake her out of it.
It was when Wesley and the others had reappeared that she had managed to shake herself out of her near catatonia. Finally realizing that someone had to find a way to fight these monsters no matter how human they were, she had left the calm of Giles' bedside to try and help Buffy. Unfortunately Buffy was continuing her single-minded focus on stopping Bob and really wasn't listening to anybody -- something that would get her into trouble even if Cooper hadn't abducted Dawn.
Even though Willow was concerned about whether Buffy was up for it, Willow knew better than to suggest that she sit this out. But apparently some part of her was still thinking rationally because before they began the hunt Buffy pulled her aside. "This could get ugly, Will," she said bluntly.
"Yeah." No point denying it.
"I will not let him kill her."
"I know."
Buffy paused. "If it comes to that, don't try to stop me." Another pause. "I need to do this."
Willow knew that, if she had to, she could stop Buffy. And as someone who understood first-hand the destructive nature of grief, she knew that Buffy shouldn't do this. But she also knew that Buffy would never let her come if she thought Willow was going to be a problem, so she nodded.
All of which passed through Willow's head as they walked towards the back of the warehouse, simultaneously hoping for the best and expecting the worst.
The warehouse's interior was dark with spots of light coming from the lamps aligning the wall. Some of them flickered but Willow could still see -- barely.
"So the rabbits have been brought to ground," Dale Cooper's voice echoed through the warehouse. Willow blinked. About twenty feet in the distance she could a figure in the distance. Somehow Cooper had spotted them from in the murky light. Either Cooper had really great vision or this was yet another perk of being possessed by an evil demon: reason number 4,578 as to why demon possession is creepy.
Buffy and the others continued to walk towards Cooper/Bob. When they had closed the distance to ten feet, he spoke again: "That's close enough."
The light was still bad but Willow could see why Cooper/Bob was being firm. He was standing right behind Dawn with a butcher knife over her jugular. Angel moved an inch forward, testing the villain.
"If you want to kill her, by all means keep moving." Cooper/Bob pressed the knife tighter against her neck.
"Angel. Stay back." Buffy shoved him to the side.
"Ah, Anne. Here we are together at last." There was a horrible happiness in the man's voice.
"That's not my name," she said firmly.
"I'm pretty sure that the guy with the big knife makes the rules." He gave her a smile that would make a stronger person cave. "Besides, what's in a name? That which we will call a corpse by any other name would still be dead."
Buffy kept her eyes locked on her sister. "Are youâ Has he hurt you?"
Dawn focused on her sister's eyes.. She seemed to be holding on to her control by a thread but Willow could see the determination in her face. "I'll be fine as soon as you kick this guys ass."
"Brave words from such a little girl," Cooper/Bob said. "You know, for someone who really isn't your sister I can see a lot of her in you, Anne."
"Stop calling me that." Buffy didn't raise her voice but the menace was still there.
"Come on, what difference does the name make? Buffy or Anne, Angel or Angelus--"
"Dale or Bob," said Wesley. For a moment Willow thought that Cooper had winced, but he recovered very quickly.
"You know when I moved out of Leland I figured it would be years before I got another host that would be as much fun. Then Cooper" He laughed. "He tried to keep me down. Even thought that he was doing it for a while. But I work in mysterious ways. I struck from within. Getting past those lily-white morals, those protocols, all his beliefs in good. It wasn't easy but after a year of inward assault and all the drugs in his system." He laughed again, a little more maniacally." I just wore him down .By the time that idiot Earle came, he was ready for a spree."
"That's not the way I heard it." Willow looked at Angel in surprise. The vampire had a pensive look on his face. "I hear Earle did all the hard work. He pointed and you followed like a lapdog."
For a moment it seemed like this might have actually struck a nerve. But it was there and gone in a second. "Dear Windom. When I stole his soul and left him there, I figured we'd never meet again. He was more resilient than I gave him credit for."
His predator's grin resurfaced. "The man was an amateur at murder. He had no spirit for it. Right Angelus?"
Now it looked as if Cooper/Bob had rattled the vampire, but it was gone as quick. "You're talking to the wrong man if you want to compare yourself to me. You think that torturing and killing women makes you some kind of artist? You're just a pretentious hack with no skill at"
It happened so fast that Willow didn't even realize what had happened. All she knew was that Angel was holding Cooper's knife in his hand. She felt a certain amount of fear when she looked back and saw that he was still poised and ready to kill. In the space of a few seconds, Bob had thrown his knife at Angel, taken out another and was poised over Dawn. He had moved with a speed Willow wasn't sure Buffy could match.
"You'd do well to make your beau shut up." There was no sign that anything had changed in his demeanor or speech but Willow knew that Bob was pissed. "You don't want to anger a man who has a knife at your sister's throat."
Buffy stood firm. "You wouldn't dare end your fun so soon."
"I have a pretty good background in anatomy. It's relatively easy to cut someone's throat and still be kept alive. Isn't that right Wes?"
Wes gritted his teeth but said nothing.
"What? Not even a, 'Get away from her you bloody bastard?'" Bob laughed. "I've really got you cowed. A Slayer, a killer vampire and the world's most powerful witch. And none of you is moving."
"How do you know so much about us?" Angel asked.
"You're never going to know. The police might pry, you might put bamboo under my fingernails but I am never going to tell my secrets." Bob looked around. "And why should I? I've got you on the ropes."
"Maybe them. But not me."
Everyone turned towards the voice. Willow felt a hand pushing her aside as Mike -- who had been standing in the shadows since they had arrived -- walked towards the being that had once enslaved him.
This time there was no doubt about it. the expression on Cooper/Bob's face definitely showed surprise. And something else. Since they had arrived Bob had had a look of certainty that things were going to go his way. Now it looked that Bob was beginning to have doubts that he was going to win
"Hello old timer. Come to join the tea party?" Bob's voice was still cocky but not as sure as it had been a moment ago
"That's no way to talk to someone you once called your child."
This was new. Willow had thought that parent-child relationships in the demon world only occurred among vampires. Clearly this wasn't the case.
"That's old news. You lost the faith long ago. We have nothing in common now."
"I had hoped that when I freed myself from your influence I would be free of you." Mike's voice was strong, not raspy or wavering in the slightest. "But despite my best efforts, our paths have continually crossed. I realize now that there is a reason for this."
"And I suppose you're going to say that it's to stop me. News flash, old man, you couldn't stop me when you had both arms. What makes you so sure that you can do it now?"
"You are an offense to the White and must be blotted out."
Without any warning, the doors to the warehouse slammed shut. Willow would have thought that there had been a strong breeze but the night had been windless. She turned to the confrontation. Then she blinked as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Cooper was standing beside Dawn. But he wasn't the only one. The image of a man with white hair with madness in his eyes was overlapping him. Coming off him was the sensation of evil. Willow wasn't sure but she thought that this was Bob in his real form.
It was surprising but not shocking. What stopped her in her tracks was Gerard. The same thing had happened to him. Only the man overlying Gerard was tall with jet hair and a barrel chest, like a lumberjack softening into retirement. And like Bob, Mike (she knew that was who she was looking it) had an aura too -- one that radiated good. But Willow knew how to measure these things and she could tell that Mike's aura was less powerful than Bob's.
Then the overlays were gone and it was only Bob and Mike facing each other.
"The only person whose end you will bring about is your own," said Bob.
"The black will fall to the white," Mike replied.
There was a moment of silence. Willow did not think that the tension could get any thicker. Then Bob let out a piercing yell, raised the knife and charged Mike. Mike walked up to Angel, took the knife that Bob had thrown at Angel, raised it and ran at Bob.
The second that Bob left her side Buffy ran to Dawn and untied her. Willow noticed this out of the corner of her eye but most of her attention was focused on Mike and Bob.
The two men--- no one could think what else to call them--- were circling like predators trying to find a chink in the other's armor. Bob made the first move running up to him and thrusting the blade forward. Mike retaliated by dodging and swinging at Bob's head, missing his forehead by an inch.
It took a few seconds for Willow to realize why this didn't seem ridiculous, unlike the knife scene in West Side Story. It was because you knew that was a fake -- it seemed choreographed. This close, however, you could almost smell the hatred and desperations. This was mortal combat, a duel to the death -- even if that death didn't necessarily mean the end of the fighters.
It soon became very clear to everybody, however, that Bob had the advantage. And it had nothing to do with good versus evil. It had to do with the hosts the spirits were inhabiting. Cooper was twenty years younger than Gerard and had FBI training. He would have been dangerous without being possessed. The being inhabiting Gerard could not make up for the fact that he was older, sick and had only one arm. It was taking all his strength just to hold on to the knife.
Willow looked around the room. Buffy was off to one side holding Dawn, who seemed scared but otherwise unhurt. On the other side were Wesley and Angel.
The absurdity of what was happening finally overwhelmed her. She ran to the guys
"Maybe this is a stupid question, but why aren't we helping Mike?"
For a moment Wesley's face reflected the stuck up Watcher that he had once been. "This is one-on-one fighting. It goes against all rules of combat."
"Oh, so its okay to let a being that has killed at least a dozen people to fight against a one-armed old man?"
"It's more than that. Whatever Bob is, Mike is some version of it as well. Maybe they're supposed to settle this." Wesley reasoned.
"Even if it's going like this?" asked Angel. Everyone looked toward the front. Mike was on the floor with his knife fallen by his side. Bob stood over him, triumphant.
"Foolish little man. Did you really think that cutting your arm off would really set you free of me ? I could have crushed you any time had I chosen to. " Bob put the knife to Mike's throat . "Now I will see that you trouble me no longer."
"Why are you wasting your time on him?" Everyone turned to the source of the voice. Buffy was standing across from him, alone. Only now did Willow realize that Dawn was with the rest of them. "Your business has been with me from the start." She began walking towards him.
Bob looked up. "Yes. Yes it has." In one swift motion, he slashed Mike's throat. By the time Buffy screamed "No!" Mike was lying on the ground bleeding from the neck.
"Amazing. You have known this man less than twelve hours, yet you care for him as if he fought beside you for years" Bob lifted the knife with the old man's blood still on it.
"I protect the innocent. Something you could never comprehend." said Buffy.
"Yes." He paused. "I see my attempts to break your spirit were useless." The insane grin appeared again. "I'll have to settle for breaking every bone in your body."
He threw the knife at Buffy. She dodged it easily but before she could react Bob had begun to charge her. Less than six inches away from her, he stopped. He threw the first punch. To Willow's surprise, he knocked her back a couple of inches.
"What? You thought that my skills stopped at murder?" He didn't wait for an answer before they began to fight.
The last time Buffy had fought someone who was basically human, it had taken her three tries and a weapon of extraordinary power for her to emerge victorious. This battle wasn't going nearly as bad, but Buffy did not seem to be at the top of her game. A lot of her punches just missed and she wasn't dodging nearly as quickly as she could.
"You know â I must say I expectedâ. a lot more from you." Bob was doing a good job of talking between jabs. he didn't even seem to be out of breath. "I expected
you to be Mohammed Ali, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Catwoman all rolled into one.
And look at you, you're barely" Buffy kicked him in the stomach but this only winded him. "â worth the trouble."
Buffy seemed a little rattled but she wasn't showing it. "Well I've fought hundreds of creatures â demonsâvampiresâand undead" she rolled to the side. "I never got an ideaâ how well I didâ because they allâ died before they could criticize me."
"Well, now's your chance." Bob said, bobbing and weaving.. "Even if you beat Cooperâ I'll be back in some form or the otherâ so I'll tell you whereâ you screwed up."
"I findâ when demons talk trashâ they don't have crapâto back it up."
Buffy punctuated the last words with a roundhouse to the jaw. -- a blow hard enough to draw blood.
Cooper stopped talking then, but didn't stop smiling or throwing punches.
Then suddenly he hit her with a one-two combination that staggered her. Buffy didn't fall, but she did say, "Anybody who has an idea how to stop this guy might want to jump--"
Before Buffy could finish her sentence, Angel leapt into the fray.
"So you're fighting with the amateur," said Bob, not the least disconcerted.
Angel put on his vampire face. "I'm gonna show you what a real demon can do"
"Fine. "Once again the true face of Bob overlaid that of Cooper. "Game on." The two of them went at it.
Wesley moved closer to Willow. "All of this fighting is going to be moot if we don't find a way to destroy Bob."
"Well if we could get him to leave Cooper's body, I might be able destroy it."
"Do you know a spell that would act as an exorcism?" Wesley talked faster. Bob was now fighting Angel and Buffy with no sign that he was tiring.
"I can try one." Willow quickly chanted in Latin: "Cast this evil out from this place. Set free the evils one true face!."
She knew even before the blast of energy left her body that it was the correct spell. The magic wave hit Cooper in the chest -- and stayed there.
Bob laughed. "Silly girl. Did you really think that your puny magic could defeat me?"
"He's right." Everyone turned towards Angel. Willow sensed something in his tone. An idea? "The spell only works if you say the magic words." Angel smiled. "The real magic words."
Willow looked at Bob's face and saw something she had hoped she would see long ago: Fear.
"No! Don't you dare!"
Hoping his hunch would work he said, "Fire, walk with me."
The second that Angel finished the phrase, the sparks that should have appeared when she had cast the spell arrived. Cooper began to writhe in pain. The image of Bob rose from the body of the former FBI agent and along with a scream that was equal parts fury, anguish and dismay. The image of the man turned into an owl.
Then it was gone.
Cooper fell to the floor, moaning in a kind of anguish that was deeper then the pain that he was feeling. Willow could see that Buffy and Angel had Cooper -- and that's who it was, she could sense that Bob wasn't there anymore -- under control, so she ran over to the other injured man.
Gerard lay gasping in pain. Willow tried to stop the bleeding but they could both tell that it would be futile.
"Iâ I didn't thinkâthat it could be done." The voice was raspy and was getting weaker. Soon both host and spirit would be gone.
"Try not to talk. We can get you to a hospital"
Mike shook his head. "This host has served me well but it -- it is as tired as I am. I think that it is time for us both to rest."
Willow shook her head "It's not right."
Mike lifted his hand and put it on her wrist, holding on with surprising strength. "This body has not had any real peace for decades. Let us go."
Willow found that for some reason she was crying. There was no reason for it, it wasn't a deep agonizing loss, but her eyes were wet all the same.
"Youâ you and your friendsâ are true champions of the white lodge. I was --proud to be able to fight along side you."
The grip on Willow's wrist went limp. Gently Wesley took his hand off her wrist and placed it at his side. The two of them went to Dale Cooper to make sure that he didn't try to run. Not that he would. Whatever power that had been killing young women for years was gone.
The nightmare was over.
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