Author's notes: Thanks as always to Sethoz and levi for their input, and thanks to all who have reviewed. You make this even more fun. Sorry this chapter's a little short, but it was a natural ending spot.
Summary: Previously – Xander brought his orb to the gang who discovered some of its abilities. Angelus was hungry. Gnash gloated (as usual). Xander got abducted by Gnash who thought Angelus might like some company in his exile, even though the vampire would rather have eaten him.
Chapter 6: Annoyances
The chair cracked and partially splintered against the floor, because the demon it was intended for had vanished. Dropping the damaged chair, Spike growled his fury at being left with nothing to fight. Beside him, Buffy looked similarly pissed off. The horror of the situation hadn't sunken in for her yet; she was still running on pure instinct. The rest of the Scoobies looked similarly shocked, especially Anya, who after screaming Xander's name now looked as if she couldn't believe what she'd seen. Even after countless years of wreaking vengeance and horror, it never prepared you for the time when it was someone you cared about. Spike knew that particular lesson all too well.
"H-how did that happen?" Anya asked in disbelief.
"The demon was powerful," Tara answered. "And it seemed to know just where to materialize. It didn't hesitate."
"Are you saying it purposely wanted Xander?" Anya asked in alarm. "Why would it want Xander? I'm supposed to be the only one who wants Xander!"
"He had the orb," Willow said suddenly. She raised it, holding it tightly with both hands. "Maybe it wanted the orb."
Angel surfaced again now that there was no immediate need for his vampire counterpart, though he had to fight a little to get forward because of Spike's anxiety over the situation. "It was a Vishnak demon," he told everyone. "They are already fairly powerful with magic. And they know what they want. I've never known them to use any type of enhancements, though I'll admit to little experience. Vishnaks rarely show up here."
"They feel that this dimension is beneath them," Anya said, her gaze on nothing in particular. "And he didn't seem to be looking for the orb." She looked at everyone again pleadingly. "We have to find him. He can't be dead. Do a spell Willow. Find him."
"But if they aren't that common here, Xander may not even be here anymore," Willow protested. "I'm not sure I can find him in another dimension."
"Well use that," Anya said as she pointed to the orb in Willow's hands. "You said it enhances magical powers. Well, do it! Get powerful and find Xander before he gets used in some awful ceremony or something."
"Anya, we can't be sure of what this will do," Tara said. "We'll find another way."
"There's no time," Anya protested.
"There might be some time," Angel said. "If it wanted to kill him, it probably would have done so as soon as it…."
"Probably?" Anya interrupted. "You have to be more certain than probably." She seemed to be on the verge of losing what little remained of her composure.
"I don't think it wants to kill Xander," Buffy said suddenly. She held a piece of paper in her hand and now lifted it for everyone else to see. "This writing is weird and… magic." She wrinkled her forehead and her mouth in confusion. "I only seem to understand it when I read it, otherwise it looks like gibberish if I'm just glancing at it."
"Okay, okay we get it. Magic writing," Anya said impatiently. "Some demons are actually clever. What does the damn thing say?"
Buffy took a breath as if trying to reign in her temper. Angel noticed and put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
"It says that they have Xander and we'll get him back when they get what they want from us."
"And what do they want?" Willow asked.
"It doesn't say exactly. Only that they'll let us know soon and that they need the witches to get it."
"But w-why would they need us?" Tara asked. "They are already powerful. We saw that. Their magic is more advanced than ours."
"I don't know," Buffy replied. "Maybe only a human or non-demon can get whatever it is."
"Like if there is a protection spell," Anya said. "But that could be dangerous. What if they want something demons shouldn't have? I don't trust this. I still say we find him."
"I don't know what choice we have," Willow said. "My power can't defeat theirs. And we have to get Xander from them. Did it mention when we'll know what they want?"
"We have two days," Buffy answered solemnly. "If we don't find an alternate solution by then, we'll have to consider their offer."
"Then we do what we can until then," Willow said
"And rest," Buffy said. "That's the P.S. That we should rest, because we're gonna need all our strength."
"But we can't stop looking," Anya pleaded.
"And we can't go without sleep. If we need to fight…" Buffy began.
"We'll take turns," Angel said, though he sounded doubtful. He couldn't imagine anyone would be getting much sleep.
"I need to kill something first," Buffy said. "Sorry guys, but maybe I can beat some info out of something."
"Yes, go Buffy," Willow said with an understanding nod. "We know it's what you have to do. And if you find something out…"
"You'll be the first to know." Buffy turned to Angel. "You wanna come?"
"Don't think I could say no if I wanted to," Angel answered.
Buffy reached up and rubbed his head soothingly. "The demons restless up there?"
"That's putting it mildly," Angel answered. He checked his pockets for weapons while Buffy armed herself from the stash in the shop.
"You guys be careful," Buffy warned. "Maybe put up a protection spell that specifically blocks these guys out or something so they don't get anyone else."
"Good idea," Tara said. "And maybe some kind of warning spell in case they've got other demons working for them."
Buffy's head suddenly shot up from her search in the weapons chest. "Could these be the demons who might bring back Angelus?"
"And what if that's what they want us to do?" Willow asked in alarm. "What if what we do to save Xander causes Angelus to return?"
"Shit," Buffy swore uncharacteristically. "There better be some demons out there with info tonight or I swear they'll be making it up by the time the morning comes." Without another word, she stormed out of the magic box, Angel following right behind her.
He almost felt sorry for whatever demons lay in Buffy's path tonight.
...
Gnash chuckled, glad that he'd been able to witness that last little bit of the human gang's misery. Oh what interesting conclusions they came to: in some ways wrong, but in others right, and just enough of both to make their task almost impossible without using his little gift. The demon they saw would cause Angelus to return, just as they'd concluded, but only because it was him. They thought it was a Vishnak though, because that's what his disguise told them, so they'd be blocking the wrong type of demon.
Gnash knew he was safe for now. And the note he'd left them had been a last minute idea, but surprisingly, a good one. He wanted to let them know Xander was still alive so they wouldn't give up. Now they had enough hope to keep trying, and eventually someone was going to cave in and use the power they had in their hands as long as they thought they had a chance to save him. And if they thought cooperating with the Vishnak would bring back Angelus… Gnash smiled. Now they had even more reason to need the power the orb could provide. Soon it would seem to be the only way to find their friend before their forty-eight hours were up and they'd have to make a deal. It was too bad for them Angelus would be coming back anyway, and too bad for them that once the orb was activated, whoever got the orb's power would also get it's darkness.
Gnash couldn't wait.
...
Angelus snarled as another rock smacked into him, this one hitting his arm. He'd learned hours ago that he couldn't retaliate, at least not physically. Anything he held or threw wouldn't pass through the protective barrier surrounding Xander. Even hitting a rock towards the boy using something else didn't work. It seemed that his essence traveled with whatever projectile he tried and set the magic off, causing an annoying sound as the barrier deflected it. He was seriously considering wringing Gnash's neck when the demon next arrived.
As another rock bounced off his head, he decided it was time to retaliate again in the only way he could. His last attack, describing Angel's first night with Buffy in exquisite detail, had been quite satisfying. He turned gold eyes on the man.
"If I were you, I'd be thinking of ways to save her rather than getting me pissed off, because when I get pissed off, I'll have to take it out on someone, and if not you…" He smiled then. So what if he planned on playing with his food no matter what Xander did? The boy didn't have to know that.
"Buffy can take care of herself," Xander said. He stuck his chin up, looking confident in that assessment.
"I wasn't referring to Buff. I was referring to the tasty morsel that should be arriving fairly soon."
"How would a 'tasty morsel' get here?" Xander asked, using air quotes to surround the quoted words.
"Same way you did. I figure it'll be a young gal this time." He stood up and sauntered over to Xander. "I suppose you could throw your body over hers, use your barrier to protect her. That is if she'd let you." He gave him a doubtful, mocking expression. "Of course that might get uncomfortable after a while, for her as well as you. She being all suffocated beneath your weight, and you having to be pressed up against all that young flesh. You'll probably get a…"
"Shut up!" Xander snapped.
Angelus chuckled, enjoying himself.
"Well, I'm not the one stuck here in this Hell dimension." Xander trailed off as Angelus raised his eyebrows and gestured around dramatically, his face amused. He seemed to reconsider. "Well, all right, I guess I am, but you've been here longer, and I'll be out of here in no time."
"Because you think your little gang of do-gooders will come to the rescue?"
"Oh, I know they will." The boy actually managed a defiant glare.
Angelus chuckled again. "Once I'm back home, and I expect that'll be soon, getting you back will be way down on their list of priorities, boy. They'll have other problems. Would you like me to tell you what I plan to do?"
Xander snorted. "No, because I'm sure it would bore me to death. You evil dead types always have the same plans. 'I'm going to destroy the world.' As if that one's never been tried before."
"Nah, I did that one already. This time I'd rather just destroy all of you instead and leave the world annihilation to someone else." Angelus looked absently at his fingernails. "It'll be nice to get my bare hands on them, but since I'll be here a little longer, I'll settle for getting my hands on my next meal." He looked at Xander again with an evil smile. "I do hope she's pretty."
"No, that's not gonna happen. I won't let it."
The boy looked worried, and Angelus gave himself a moment to gloat. "You can't stop me forever. All I'll need is time." He leaned close. "You'll have to fall asleep eventually. I'll just need one small opening to grab her."
"No!" Xander yelled. "I'll figure something out."
"Oh I'm sure you will," he mocked. "Better get to thinking then. Who knows how much time you'll have before she arrives?"
"You just wait. I'll find a way so you can't get her! That is if there is even a 'her'. You're probably making it all up…" he heard Xander protest as he turned his back on the young man and walked away. He didn't expect any more rocks thrown at him for quite a while.
...
The bus pulled into Sunnydale well after midnight, the vehicle's lurching halt jostling awake any passengers who had been exhausted enough or crazy enough to fall asleep during the ride. With a surreptitious sweep of his eyes, one young man checked to see if any other passengers planned to disembark, but no one seemed to be doing more than shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
"Sunnydale Station," the driver announced. Anyone listening hard enough might have thought his tone uncertain. The initiated ones, the ones who were familiar with this town, knew it should be.
The young man rose and lugged the large pack from the seat beside him. When he'd boarded, the driver had insisted it go below with the luggage, assuring him that he'd personally make sure he got it out for him when they reached his stop. Upon hearing his destination, however, the man had suddenly recanted and let him keep the bag instead. It had been just as well, because the boy hadn't been about to part with it. Now he slung the pack over his shoulder and walked down the narrow aisle without making eye contact with any of the other passengers. The driver opened the door for him without a word.
The street was deserted as the bus pulled away, but that didn't surprise the young man. No one knew he was here, not yet anyway. Soon enough that would change. He looked up and down the street, instinctively making a mental note of all the shadows and hiding places before he started off down the pavement without a second glance. He knew what monsters lurked in the dark shadows, but he wasn't afraid of them. Shaking his long hair from his eyes, Connor shifted his pack, and a contemptuous, almost feral smile crossed his lips. Soon enough the things in the dark would be afraid of him.
TBC
