Title: The Sacrifices
Author: mispel
E-mail: Willow remembers crucial information. Buffy tries to get help from Anya and Halfrek.
Spoilers: Early season 7
Disclaimer: I own no one and nothing
Feedback: Any comments would be welcome.
A/N: Takes place in early season 7, not long after Beneath You and Same Time, Same Place.
Previously: Spike made a wish and got buried in a cave in. Anya and Buffy barely escaped with the baby. Willow rescued Xander and Dawn. Despite vengeful influences, Buffy decided to dig out Spike.
The Sacrifices
Chapter 19: Instigation
Anya watched Buffy dig stubbornly. She had made a wide dip in the ground so it would be more stable and wouldn't bury her again. But there was a long way to go, and without help, she would never get it done. Anya didn't move. It would be interfering with vengeance, and she had already made that mistake.
Looking away from Buffy, Anya saw that the baby didn't seem happy. In fact, she looked like she was going to cry and make Buffy come over to her again. Those babies were clever little things, alternately cute and insufferable. If you wanted them to go back to cute again, you better do their bidding, feed them, and change them, and do other unpleasant chores.
Halfrek stepped forward and stood over Buffy. A breeze kicked up some dirt and pressed Helfreck's clothes against her body. Buffy's hair flew into her eyes and she pushed it off with a dirt covered hand.
"You can't hide it from us," Halfrek said, and Buffy looked up at her noticing the change of tone. Anya recognized it as the voice Hallie used when she was talking to one of the wronged - sort of hushed and hypnotic.
"At least half of you wants to leave him right where he is," Halfrek told Buffy in her professional, vengeance demon voice.
"That half doesn't get to vote," Buffy said quietly. Buffy had that self-righteous look on her face. Anya knew she wouldn't budge.
"I'll never understand this drive to do good at all costs. It's completely irrational. It flies in the face of all vengeance," Halfrek said turning her back on Buffy, her voice high and flippant again.
Anya wished that she didn't, but she remembered that nagging need to do the right thing. She didn't know where it came from, but the longer she was human, the more it grew inside her. She hated how vivid the memories of her human days were. The neediness, the fear, and pain, and other more pleasant things, a little further back. They would all fade in a few hundred years, though.
Anya watched Buffy still digging. Complaining sounds came from the baby who looked around as if wondering if anyone was going to stop the crazy lady. But Anya knew Buffy wasn't one for listening to reason and good advice. Anya went over and started to dig. If you can't beat them, join them was a philosophy she had already adopted once before. There were so many bad habits of which she had to break herself.
Xander's nerves hadn't settled yet from the hospital caper as he drove Willow and Dawn to Buffy's house. Instead of the contained but terrified feeling, now he felt his nerves let lose some of that stored up tension. He felt like going for a pizza, or to a late movie, or maybe putting together a small bookshelf. He didn't think the girls would go for that though, especially the bookshelf idea.
"So what's the deal with Giles. You were over there. So what's so great about England?" Dawn asked Willow from the back seat.
"It's the pubs, I bet it's the pubs," Xander guessed. Pub had a nice sound to it. More cheerful than a bar. You go there with you mates you have an ale or laugher or stout or something. In fact Xander wanted to go to one right now.
"It's not the food. I can tell you that," Willow said.
"Blood Pudding, Bubble and Squeak, Shepherd's Pie. Do they really eat that stuff?" Dawn asked.
"Some of it. Some of it is just to scare the tourists," Willow told her with a smile.
"And Toad in the Hole. What is that? Sounds like something you'd eat on a bet," Xander wondered.
"Not me. And I'm never putting anything called Spotted Dick in my mouth either," Dawn volunteered.
Xander didn't swerve, or drive into a light pole, or even have a coughing fit. He was very proud of himself.
"A sound policy," he said calmly. "And never say any of those words ever again," Xander ordered while next to him Willow struggled not to choke. Amateur.
Buffy hardly remembered digging herself out of her grave. Except in nightmares. She remembered a suffocating feeling and the weight of the dirt on top of her after she broke through the coffin. She wasn't sure how far down Spike was buried. But she didn't expect to see his hand rising out of the dirt like in some horror movie. If she left him there, he would stay there. But then the suffocating feeling would never be gone.
Anya got down to help her. Buffy tried not to make a big deal of it, but Halfrek stared at her in astonishment.
"I am starting to think that you, Anyanka, are hopeless. I can't watch this." Halfrek threw up her hands and turned away.
"It will go faster if you dig too." Buffy told Halfrek, probably pushing her luck. But she wasn't too proud to ask for help when digging a big hole in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere was involved. Until Anya started helping her, Buffy had considered leaving and coming back later, maybe with a rented backhoe, or Ditch Witch, or one of those other things Xander was always talking about.
She hadn't gotten very far down with two vengeance demons pecking at her and trying to distract her. Well, she was distracted already, afraid that, while her eyes were on shoveling, something would happen to the baby. The kid was supposed to be snug in her bed, with stuffed toys for company and maybe a musical mobile. Definitely not plunked down on the dirt next to a cave in. Buffy knew she had to get her home soon.
As Buffy tried to tune out Halfrek, she hoped Anya was doing the same. She didn't know what Anya would do or which way she would go any more. Anya wasn't supposed to be helping, Buffy was pretty sure of that. It was probably in some vengeance demon handbook or something. But sooner or later Buffy was afraid whatever leftover loyalties were driving her would wear out, and she wouldn't be able to count on Anya any more. Especially with Halfrek giving her a verbal working over.
"I am as morbidly curious as the next demon to find out what hellateous damage that unfortunate vampire has done to himself, but..." Halfrek paused and turned back, looking thoughtful for a second. "Actually, my curiosity is peaked. I've never seen Denekari's cluster in action. This could be wonderful!"
Halfrek joined them in digging. Buffy wondered if it was the Tom Sawyer effect - make it look like fun and everyone will be painting the fence. Moving dirt with both hands, Halfrek outmatched Anya. The sight of her digging with gusto, throwing stones over her shoulder, troubled Buffy. Maybe it was a sight of a demon enjoying herself – that was never a good sign. While Anya doubled her effort getting into a competition with Halfrek, Buffy kept one eye on the baby as she dug knowing that she wasn't even in the running.
Willow watched the lights lined up along the streets. There was hardly anyone around, and the lights shone down on empty sidewalks. Pointless spotlights saying, 'look there's no one here'. The street lights changed even though Xander's was the only car in the intersection most of the time. It was far into the night, and all these unneeded things just kept going mindlessly.
Willow let the motion of the car lull her into a dull daze. Like those babies who wouldn't sleep so their parents had to take them on midnight car rides. Willow wondered if Buffy had the luxury of half closing her eyes and letting streetlights wash over her hypnotically as she drove under them. Then Willow was wide awake, sitting up in her seat making Xander look at her funny.
"Ooh, cellphone, cellphone!" Willow called out as she stuck out her hand. Xander managed to fish it out of his pocket, and she grabbed it.
"Buffy has hers, right?" Willow asked as she dialed. Xander shrugged.
"Hi, Buffy!" Willow exclaimed relieved. "I just remembered something. Hatching rituals. Do you have the printouts I gave you?"
"In my jacket. Why... " Buffy asked sounding puzzled. Then she was screaming in Willow's ear, "Hey! Oh, no. Get away from her!" Buffy's voice started out painfully loud but then got fainter.
"Buffy?" Willow asked. There were muffled sounds Willow couldn't decipher as she yelled Buffy's name into the phone without getting an answer.
Xander pulled over and Dawn clutched the back of her seat. Then Willow heard a voice calmly say, "Buffy can't come to the phone right now."
to be continued