Hey everyone! This is my first round robin chapter. On neopets I am harmony910, on I'm known as Tara Summers. Well, here goes nothing!

Chapter 9

Willow sighed. "Great. I guess we'll be going to the mattresses now." Everyone stared at her, no idea what she was talking about. "What? Hasn't anyone seen 'The Godfather'? It means we'll be going to war, and…oh, forget it. I'll shut up now." Tara slipped her hand into Willow's, smiling at her girlfriend.

Connor nodded. "Right then. We should get weapons, go help Buffy, Da-Angel, and Faith totally kick this thing's ass. Whatever Willow just said, she's right. This is war." He began searching through the weapons cabinet for anything he could use that would kill easily. Dawn came over and began doing the same. Wes stood up, clearing his throat.

"Yeah, yeah, I know you guys don't want us to get hurt. Connor and I could be your backup," Dawn said for him. Wes nodded and sat back down. Dawn looked into Connor's dark eyes to make sure it was okay with him. He nodded slightly, making Dawn smile. Her eyes drifted from his eyes to his lips-his luscious lips that just awhile ago had been locked with hers. She blinked and came back to the real world. Everyone was getting ready to leave.

"Alright, well, if Willow contacts you telepathically, then you know that we need help," Wes explained to the three staying behind. Everyone-except Dawn-had agreed that Illyria should also be backup since she was a powerful demon. Illyria also seemed to dislike this suggestion.

"I refuse to stay," she had said. Wes had explained why she should stay, but she would never acknowledge that Wes had changed her mind. "I stay because it suits me." She sulked at having to stay behind.

"So, umm…Connor. Are you ever going to tell me about your past? I told you about me. Now it's time to reverse; you tell me about you. Other than being Angel's son, I mean," Dawn said. Connor looked down at the asphalt. No way. You can't tell her! Not yet at least.

"Dawn. Listen, when we get out of this alive, I'll tell you. Okay? That way you can't die: you'll never know about me." Illyria scoffed. "What?" Connor asked.

"What reason would she possibly want to know about you? You humans aren't interesting," she answered. She was investigating a small fern in a nearby window, occasionally nodding and saying random things as if she were talking to it. Dawn stared at her menacingly. With a gentle touch of Connor's hand on her shoulder-which almost took her breath away-her anger was gone. Her faced moved closer to his, her lips like a beacon, searching for his. They kissed lightly at first, the light kiss soon turning into a heavier kiss.

"Buffy, look out!" Angel yelled as the vampire attacked from behind her. Sure, she could take care of herself, but he always worried about her. Buffy spun around, stabbing her stake into its heart. As she spun back around, the dust from the vampire swirled about her head. Angel wished he could pause that moment forever. The roar of the oncoming vampire snapped him back. As he raised his sword to fight the vamp off, his features changed to his demonic face. The demon always seemed to make him stronger, this proven by the savage attack he made on the opponent. With a single blow of the sword's broadside, it broke the vampire's nose, sending him backwards, howling and holding his blood-gushing nose. As soon as that vampire fell back, another one took his place.

"Angel!" Willow's voice rang out in the warehouse's storage room. He didn't look, lest he become dusted, but instead only called out, "Kinda busy here Will!" Another sweep of his blade beheaded the second vampire, reducing him to a pile of ash. The first vampire seemed to have caught his second wind, and was taking the place of the dusted vampire before him. It didn't take long to dust him either. Angel turned to Willow. She, the rest of the Scoobies, and his gang were there to help. Already Gunn was going for the vamp pulling on Buffy's hair, yanking her neck back to drain her blood.

"Where's-?" Angel began. Willow held up her hand to stop him. "Don't worry, Connor and Dawnie are outside. They're our backup. And Illyria is with 'em. They'll be fine," she assured him.

"Yeah Angel, don't get all weepy on us. Need you to kill the bad guys, not cry a river," Spike stated as he strode up, hands in the pockets of his leather duster. "And, no, I don't count as a bad guy. I got me a soul, can't be a Black Hat," he bragged. Angel rolled his eyes.

Soon, all seven vampires were dusted. It had seemed easy; too easy. Buffy was prepared for an ambush. Anything of that nature would ease her tense feeling. Kinda weird, a tense feeling over something that was so easy. Buffy shook her head, ridding her mind of the thoughts in her mind. They had split up into two teams, kept in touch by Willow's telepathic calls every so often. You're right, it is weird. Willow's voice suddenly filled Buffy's head, causing her to jump a little. Jeez Will! Gimme a little privacy would you! Buffy screamed back at her. Sorry Buffy. Just wanted to say that we haven't found anything. Have you? Buffy almost shook her head, then thought better of it. No, not yet. I'll contact you if we do though, okay? Willow's voice came back, almost sad. Yeah, okay. Ten-four good-buddy. Buffy rolled her eyes. No more CB radio contact for her.

"Well?" Tara asked. Willow shook her head. "Okay, well, they'll be fine. Probably nothing here at all." Willow gave her a half smile. Tara was right; nothing was here at all. That's what she thought before the huge door behind them slammed shut, trapping Giles, Xander, Faith, Tara, and herself in the pitch black room.

Buffy looked at her group-Angel, Spike, Gunn, Wes, and herself-and smiled. She knew they would win, especially with the Scoobies and Angel's group working on it. Willow? You found anything yet? Buffy asked telepathically. Willow didn't answer. "Uh-oh. That can't be good," Buffy muttered, her upper lip curling back in disgust. She faced her group, eyes filled with worry. "Willow's not answering."

"Eh, she probably ran into some busy signal. Try again," Spike told her. "What can be so important that she ignores you?" He shrugged. All of a sudden the lights died, only a single fluorescent bulb at the end of the rectangular room. The huge door at the other end of the room screeched shut. "Okay. Maybe that was it."

Connor stretched his neck, trying to see into the warehouse window. "How do you think they're doing in there?" he asked Dawn. She shrugged. They looked at Illyria to make sure she hadn't wandered off. She was starring off into space, possibly sleeping, maybe studying the air molecules around her, or something completely random. It was hard to tell with her.

Dawn yawned. "Well, if they need us, I hope they contact us soon. I'm kinda bored." The expression on Connor's face made her wish she could kick herself. "Not of you! Just of sitting here and waiting!" she quickly added. He nodded, his somber expression lost. Dawn let out a sigh; couldn't let him think she didn't like him anymore. Then he'd never want to be with me.

Buffy, can you hear me? Willow tried to contact Buffy telepathically. She shook her head. "No use guys. I think there's a spell on this place that doesn't enable me to contact them. If I really wanted to reach her, I'd have to completely use all of my magick, maybe even Tara's. And I'm thinkin' that's not a good idea with our predicament."

Giles's voice rang out from the darkness, "Yes, well, I-I believe that's not a good idea, using all of your magick. Do conserve it for something…else." Willow giggled. "What?"

"I bet you're cleaning your glasses, aren't you?" He didn't answer; she knew she was right.

"Yeah, well, whatever he's doing, it's not gonna help us get out of here. I say we just bust the damn door down. After we find it, of course." Willow jumped slightly when Faith spoke. It had been a few months, and Willow had forgotten all about the other Slayer. "I just hope that blonde chick got Oz the hell out of here. I mean…what did they do to him that left him like that?"

"I don't really want to find out. Especially if it involves watching the Evita movie, the one with Madonna. I shudder to think of the pain," Xander kidded. No one laughed; it wasn't a time to really be laughing. "Okay then. Let's just find a way out of here then."

"Come on Slayer. You're the git who's always getting us out of everything. What you gonna do now?" Spike said. His voice sounded different; like he had a cigarette between his lips. Buffy's thought was confirmed when she saw the flickering light of his silver lighter, and a dim lighting of his face when he inhaled. "So, this big bad trapped us in. We find the door, smash it down, simple as that." He turned around, heading back to where the door had been. A bluish light sizzled through the air; a crackling sound rang out, followed by the sound of Spike's body hitting the ground. "Bugger! That bloody hurt!"

"It's gonna be simple, huh?" Wes mocked. If looks could kill, Wes would've been lying on the floor, dead.

"So, how was life in Sunnydale? I mean, I know it's a crater now, but then," Connor asked, trying to spark a conversation. "Los Angeles isn't that great, but it's better than…never mind."

"Better than what?" Dawn asked. Connor pursed his lips together, and then opened his mouth. He's gonna tell me! Just before he started talking, Anya came out of the warehouse.

"Good! We finally made it!" She was supporting Oz, who was wrapped in a blanket and starring into the great beyond. Dawn shot her a pissed off stare, but Anya didn't see it. "You know, you could've at least walked on your own." She shook her head, blonde curls bouncing about her face.

Connor rushed over to help Oz out, ushering him to the nearby car so he could get warm from the few blankets that were stored in the trunk. "What happened to him?" he asked Anya. She shrugged.

"No clue. He was like that when Faith found him." Anya turned around to leave. "Uh, guys? What happened to the door?"

Illyria stood up, the first time she had moved in a while. She strode over to where the door had been, putting her hand up as if parting the Red Sea. She turned to the small group. "Strong magicks were used to close this entrance. I can sense it with what little power they didn't suck from me." She sneered as she thought of what Wesley had done to her. "They leave me nearly powerless in this shell. I was once an almighty god king. Have they no respect?" she asked herself more than them.

"Well, whatever they did, we've gotta get inside. Buffy-and everyone else-could be in trouble!" Dawn stated the obvious. She sauntered off to find another entrance. "Hey guys! I found one!" Connor and Anya ran to her, Illyria following more slowly. They arrived in time to see Dawn struggling to open the door. "Uh, little help here?"

Illyria shoved Dawn out of the way. With a single tug she yanked the door off of its hinges. A strange squeaking came from the dark. The group leaned in, peering into the darkness. Anya was the first to cry out as a pair of strong arms grabbed her, dragging her into the dark. Three more pairs of arms followed suit, grabbing Connor, Dawn, and Illyria and dragging them to an unknown fate.