Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire
Chp.48
The Search is on
Disclaimer and all the other crap is in the first chapter
Having divided up into four groups, the twelve people broke
into them, each group taking two floors of the main building.
Buffy's group also gets to check out the basement. Angels
group got the big, twelve-car garage. The other groups only
got the two floors they had been appointed.
Having their assignments the groups broke off, heading for the
office door. Buffy's group follows closely on her heels as she
leaves the room.
The trio of Buffy, Dawn and Xander, had checked one of their
floors, and ended up empty handed. Well in all actuality Spike
less. No one on the floor had seen him for at least a few
days. They now headed to floor number one, since it they had
to check the basement, also, they'd decided to take the first
two floors instead of having to make the long elevator ride
down to it if they had to check higher up floors.
Buffy walks along with the two Scoobies at her back, as they
all look in doors or windows for the incorporeal vampire. Yet
again they've come up empty handed, not even finding one
bleached hair. Although in all respects they probably wouldn't
find a hair, since Spike is all ghost like.
Xander, who'd been looking in windows, is brought out of his
thoughts by the voice of the blonde slayer. They'd been
wondering around the pit of hell in complete silence for the
last ten minutes or so, and he'd been letting his mind wander,
thinking about Anya.
"This is the longest he's been gone." Buffy and Dawn had been
having a conversation, and he'd missed half of it.
Xander glances over to the brunette head in front of him,
waiting for a reply to what Buffy had just stated.
"What," Dawn asks with a bit of surprise in her voice at the
revelation. She turns her head quickly as she drags the word
out, her hair nearly slapping the guy behind her in his one
good eye.
Xander comes to a halt when he realizes what Buffy had just
told Dawn. "I second that what, and raise you a big, ole HUH."
He shakes his head in bewilderment, glancing from the back of
Dawns head to her sisters on the right.
The two continue with their conversation, ignoring the
outburst of the man now standing dumbfounded in the middle of
the hallway behind them.
"Buffy? You knew this was happening to him?" Dawn sounds
pissed, her words coming out through clenched teeth, and her
hands coming up in front of her to wave erratically at her
sister. "Why didn't you tell us? We could've done something
sooner." The anger seems to have ebbed a little on the last
few uttered words.
Buffy looks over at her little sister, tears glisten
in the corners of her eyes. "He made me promise not
to say anything." Her eyes plead with Dawns, as she
looks directly into the dark blue pools. "I'm so
sorry, Dawnie. I wanted to tell all of you, but he
flat out refused. I even tried to make him tell, or
at the least let me tell someone who could help him.
He wouldn't listen and just kept telling me no, that
we'd figure something out." Her voice becomes almost
inaudible as she answers her younger sibling.
Xander watches as Dawns shoulders visibly slump. "How
long has this been happening, Buff?" He finally says
something that could be considered an intelligent
question. He walks a bit faster and prouder to catch
up with the two girls.
Buffy turns to the dark haired man that is one of her
best friends, tears threatening to fall endlessly
from her eyes. "A few days after we came back," she
states as bluntly as possible.
"That's another thing I don't get, and that I've been
wondering about." Dawn blurts out as her inner
watcher shows through. A glint settles in her eyes at
the prospect of unraveling the mystery of the whole
Spike dead, Buffy comatose scenario.
Buffy sighs heavily and rakes her hands through her
loose hair. "Dawn."
"I know, I know." Dawn waves a hand through the air
in front of her face. "Moot subject, right?" Her hand
comes to rest on her hip. "We find Spike, make him
non-go-through-able, and then you'll give us all the
whole what's the up with Buffy being comatose
sitch."Dawn rolls her eyes at them, and starts
walking away at a faster pace.
Xander and Buffy watch slack jawed as the brunette
makes her way to another hallway and enters it
unheeded.
Having decided as they'd come down to the first floor
that it'd be best if they split up and searched.
Xander was gonna go back up to the second floor, and
make sure that they had covered the whole thing
thoroughly, Dawn is supposed to check the first floor
over again, and Buffy had decided to take the
basement.
"Guess this is where we split," Xander says, stuffing
his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans, giving
Buffy a lop-sided smile.
Buffy sighs. "Yeah, I think if we recheck and make
sure he isn't just slipping past us, we'll be able to
find him quicker. You know." Her green eyes find the
ones of the dark man in front of her.
She really doesn't want to go down in that basement,
not that she's scared of anything. It's just that
strange stuff seems to happen in this building all of
the time. She doesn't want to get caught up in any
freaky stuff, she just wants to find Spike. She'd
also figured that if it happened it'd start in the
basement and for all involved it'd be a lot safer for
her to go down there instead of one of the others. "I
guess it's down into the bowels of hell for me." She
quips with a smile, making the situation seem lighter
than it really is.
Xander having the protective older brother syndrome
really doesn't want her going down there, and had
protested to it profusely. He'd been listening
intently to Angel as he'd been telling everyone about
this hellhole, and what he'd heard didn't make Xander
like doing the Snoopy dance.
"Be careful," He warns her as he pats her on the
shoulder, and takes a tight turn into another
adjoining hallway to make his way back up to the
floor he'd been told to check again.
"Always, Xan. And..."
"Yeah, I know." He stops turning back to her. "If I
find his incorporeal, annoyingness."
Buffy throws a scathing glare in his direction.
He waves the cell phone, which had been in his
pocket, in the air. "Call you, A.S.A.P," he yells,
making people stick their heads out of office doors
at the racket. He smiles shyly. "Sorry." He
apologizes to the office workers, as they stare at
him.
Buffy can't help to smile, turning on her heel, she
continues down the hallway where the group had been
walking a few minutes, ago. She heads to the elevator
that will give her the ride to hell.
If only she were expecting the goings on that she was
about to enter into.
Thanks you guys, you rock. To Kari, Spuffyfan4eva and all of the others that review quite frequently, or in some cases every chapter. You guys are the ones that keep me writing this, keep it up. I love to hear what you think. It just makes my day.)