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Buffy woke in an instant, conscious of Willow's hand clutching her arm. Gently she removed Willow's hand to signal she was awake. It felt as if she'd been asleep for a couple of hours, not enough to really make a dent in her exhaustion. She sat up, shaking off her weariness.

The car had stopped. And in her blood she felt the approach of night, the slight adrenaline rush chasing away the lethargy in her muscles. It was still light but sunset wasn't far off. Golden light illuminated a suburban street lined with apartment blocks, but vacant of people. Through the windscreen, she saw a man in a uniform marching towards them. Three more were propped against a jeep parked in the middle of the road.

All four were armed.

"Where are we?"

"Somewhere near Washington Boulevard," Willow said, her voice tense. "The interstate was blocked and we had to get off." She slid her window down and flashed a smile. "Hi!"

The soldier remained stonefaced. "Sorry, ma'am, you're gonna have to turn around."

Buffy leaned forward. "We have friends in L.A."

His expression softened a little, but he shook his head. "You can't go into the city."

"But-" Buffy broke off as she spotted three people round a corner further down the road and race towards them. Fifty metres beyond the jeep the woman and two little girls stopped as abruptly as if they'd run into a brick wall and fell backwards. Cold needles prickled the back of Buffy's neck as she watched the woman yank the crying children to their feet and begin flinging herself at some kind of invisible barrier.

"What..." Buffy swallowed, "what the hell is that?"

The soldier glanced back, and said matter-of-factly, "People trying to leave the city - happens every day."

"So maybe you should let 'em out," she said in a low, dangerous voice. He was unmoved.

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

Willow closed her eyes, muttering, "Our tax dollars at work."

Buffy felt as if she'd swallowed an iceblock; it was the Initiative all over again. She didn't know the exact details of what had gone down in the city, but the seers had said it was bad, maybe even apocalyptic in scale, and the government was doing what it did best - covering it up and acting like it never happened. She grit her teeth.

"Look, whatever's going on in there, sealing off the city and pretending it doesn't exist is not a solution."

"It's not my decision, ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am," she snapped.

"Whatever you say, ma'am."

Glaring at the soldier, Buffy said, "Will?"

"Energy barrier, a powerful one," she said, eyes still closed.

"Can you take it down?"

"Not sure...give me a second."

The soldier blinked, and shifted his gaze to Willow. "Hey, what-"

Willow's eyes popped open, and she looked at Buffy. "I could maybe punch a hole in it, but that'd leave a permanent weakness..." She looked thoughtful. "Kinda like a bald patch. Without knowing what's in there, I don't think we should risk it."

Buffy bit her lip. She couldn't help being disappointed by her friend's pragmatic response, and she had to fight her own instinct to pull down the barrier no matter what the consequences. Responsibility sucks, she thought.

"On the other hand," Willow said, "we don't have to." She pointed to a spot directly behind the jeep. "The barrier's thinner over there - I think we can get through but we won't be able to come out again."

The soldier's eyes were wide. "Who are you?"

They ignored him.

"You sure we're not just gonna go splat?" Buffy said. "Cause that'd really put a dampener on my day."

Willow shrugged. "Well, either we make it or..."

"Or?"

"Let's just say that insurance will come in handy," Willow said with a crooked grin.

"You really know how to inspire confidence, Will," Buffy said, grimacing. She shot the soldier a challenging stare. "So, cadet, you wanna move that jeep or shall I move it for you?"

He responded to her insult by backing up and reaching for his sidearm.

Willow gestured, and he froze. The other soldiers leapt into action, bringing their weapons to bear. Another gesture and they became as still as their colleague.

"Oh great," Buffy said, slapping the dashboard. "Now what am I gonna do with all this pent-up aggression?" She needed to hit something, damn it.

Grinning, Willow popped the car door. "How about driving through a magical barrier? Doing your Mad Max thing?"

"It's not the same," Buffy said, pouting.

"Come on, you know you want to."

Buffy's pout dissolved into a smile; Willow knew her too well.

"Is the gap big enough for the car?" Buffy asked.

"Oh yeah, in fact you could probably drive a truck through it."

"Huh." Buffy considered that as they got out to switch seats. She wasn't sure she wanted to know why the military had left a one-way entrance in the shield.

As Willow passed the soldier she patted his shoulder. "I'm really sorry, but it'll wear off soon." A mosquito landed on his nose, and his eyes boggled. Buffy snickered as she unceremoniously dragged the soldiers off the road and dumped them on the sidewalk. She hopped into the jeep, drove it into a driveway with a flourish, and returned to the car.

Strapping herself into the driver's seat, Buffy glanced over.

"So, one way ticket, huh?"

"I guess kamikaze missions have become our specialty," Willow said with a shrug.

Grinning, Buffy floored the accelerator.