AN: Hey everyone, I'm back! So sorry for the lengthy delay -I've had major computer issues, and after sending for repairs twice, I eventually received a whole new one, which then had to be set up and have all my files transferred over (thank goodness for back ups!) And then it took a bit to get back into writing, but I'm here now. So, without further ado, the chapter you've all been waiting for...
Xander slowed to turn off the main road into the industrial estate. His thoughts were in turmoil, as they had been for the last few days -so many different emotions, some conflicting, all vying for his attention. It was all he could do to try and focus on the situation at hand, and wait until the danger was over so he could collapse under the weight of it all.
It was bittersweet to see his Sunnydale family again. Particularly when it came at a time when he was just beginning to feel like he had a new family -something he certainly hadn't been expecting when he started at NCIS. It was great to see Buffy and Willow and Giles again -and even Spike and Angel -but it was awkward too. They'd grown apart, and they were working on different teams now. It was just that little bit weird.
Xander was afraid things might get weird with the new family too, depending on how this rescue plan went. He'd been immensely relieved that telling Gibbs about demons wasn't quite the revelation he feared it would be, but he didn't expect the same of Tony or Ziva. If anything happened during this fight that he couldn't explain away... what would they think of the truth? He was afraid they would question his sanity.
Still, there was nothing much he could do about it now but hope for the best. At least the demons in question looked human. If they had been any sort of horned or green type, Xander would have counselled against having NCIS involved at all.
He parked his car behind the one from the NCIS motor pool and jumped out. He walked round to the trunk and waved his teammates over. They were meeting a few blocks from the warehouse, and thanks to Gibbs' desire to get moving, they were early.
Xander had stopped by his apartment on the way, and now he surveyed the array of weapons he had grabbed. Tony whistled as he looked over Xander's shoulder.
"This is what she meant?" asked Gibbs.
"Yeah. Armed, but not with guns," Xander confirmed.
Ziva grabbed a long sword and tested it's edge. "Very sharp," she observed. She balanced it on her finger, finding the fulcrum quite close to the pommel. "And well made."
"Where did you get these?" asked Tony, grabbing a short sword for himself and examining it with fascination.
"They're mine," Xander answered.
"You just keep sharp swords around the place?"
"I've seen these," remarked Ziva. "They were hanging on the walls in your living room. I thought they were just ornamental."
"Wait, you've been to Probie's new apartment?" Tony exclaimed. "When? How come I haven't been invited over? Unless there's something going on I should know about?" he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
"She dropped me home a few weeks ago, Tony," Xander replied patiently. He grabbed a short sword and handed to Gibbs. Gibbs held it up, adjusted his grip and waved it around a bit before handing it back.
"I'll make do with this, Harris," he said, pulling out a KA-BAR marine fighting knife. Xander nodded and returned the short sword to the trunk.
"Can I have the big one?" Tony took the long sword from Ziva and waved it around. "Whoa, it's heavy!"
"No, you can't Tony," said Xander, holding out a hand for it. "You keep the other short sword. Ziva, I figure you've probably used a curved blade like this before?"
She examined the one he had had given her. It was a bit longer than the short swords, with a wide curved blade.
"I have used something similar, yes. This is a bit heavier than the ones I have used, but I will adapt."
"Hopefully you won't need to, love," said Spike. Tony jumped.
"Sheesh, a bit of warning next time!" he frowned as the two vampires and Illyria emerged from the darkness.
"There wouldn't be any fun in that now, would there?" Spike grinned.
Angel watched as Tony mimed some inexpert attacks with the short sword. "We'll have you covered. Even if one somehow gets away from Buffy's teams, you shouldn't need to use that."
Gibbs just grunted.
There was the sound of vehicles approaching. Two rental cars pulled up, and a moment later their contents had spilled out. Buffy, Willow, Giles, Vi, and four other girls climbed out. Xander knew the other four by name -they'd all been at the school in Europe when he'd left, but he didn't know them well. Tony whistled appreciatively and Xander heard Gibbs mutter something in disbelief.
"They are all women?" asked Ziva. "Impressive."
"Women? They're just girls!" Tony exclaimed. Buffy turned her head, as though she had heard from where she was. Tony obviously didn't think that was possible, so he went on. "Little girls with big, scary knives and lithe, strong-"
Xander kicked Tony before he could say something that could get him hurt, but from the knowing grins and giggles amongst the Slayers, they could definitely hear and guess what he was going to say anyway.
Buffy spoke to Willow and Giles, and two of the girls, who then left in the direction of the warehouse, and headed over to them.
"Problem?" she asked, hands on hips.
"This is your best team?" Gibbs queried.
"Absolutely. You have nothing to worry about. Just focus on your part -getting those men out."
"Right," Gibbs replied grimly.
"And leave your gun in your vehicle," Buffy added. She turned to Ziva. "You too."
There was a momentary stand-off between Xander's teammates and the Slayer. Then Gibbs grudgingly braced one leg on the car and removed the backup gun from his ankle holster.
"Ziva," he stated.
Seeing that Gibbs had given in, Ziva glared unhappily but followed suit. They secured their weapons amongst the other gear being left in the car. Xander wondered how long Gibbs' unhappy obedience would last. His boss could take orders when he had to, but each new development seemed to stretch his acceptance a bit more.
Buffy turned to Tony. "And you don't go near any of my girls, or you'll regret it, understand?"
Tony's jaw dropped and he struggled for something to say. "I never -I wouldn't.."
Buffy just rolled her eyes. "Let's get moving," she announced. She and the other Slayers walked away.
Xander slid the long sword into it's scabbard and belted it around his waist, then fell in beside Gibbs, with Tony and Ziva right behind them. Spike and Angel could be heard bickering even further back, but their voices trailed off as they approached the warehouse. They met in the same alley where Xander and Ziva had staked it out the night before.
The two girls Buffy had sent ahead as scouts were returning just as they reached the spot where Willow and Giles waited. They spoke to Buffy briefly, before she turned to address them all.
"There's now nine guards in the building, and six marines. Willow has confirmed the guards are definitely Felkor."
"Makes sense," Spike commented. "The extra guards must have been out abducting the two new captives when we were here last night."
"Sorry, what does 'Felkor' mean?" asked Ziva.
"Uh..." Buffy looked to Xander.
"It's means they're part of the cult," Xander supplied, falling back on the cover story they'd told them earlier.
"Nine guards means your team is outnumbered, Buffy," Angel put in. "Are you sure you don't want us with you?"
She shook her head. "The six of us should be more than enough. And I'd feel much better if you were with the-" Buffy caught herself. Xander suspected she had been going to say 'humans' or 'civilians'. "The NCIS team," she continued. "They don't have as much experience with, er, cults."
Angel wasn't satisfied by her confidence. "At least take Illyria with you. Even up the odds a bit," he suggested.
"It can't hurt," Willow said.
Buffy sighed. "Fine." She turned to Illyria. "You stay with me at all times, got it?"
"Understood," Illyria agreed.
Angel visibly relaxed -whether due to Buffy agreeing to take an extra fighter, or Illyria's acceptance of Buffy as a leader, Xander couldn't be sure. Possibly both.
The Slayers left, two girls following Vi whilst Illyria and the other two girls followed Buffy. They disappeared silently into the darkness moments later.
"They are young, but appear to be very experienced," Ziva commented.
"They are," Willow agreed. "Now, Xander, can you hear me?"
Xander jumped as her voice suddenly boomed inside his head. "Ow! Willow! Turn down the volume!"
"Oops, sorry. How's this?" She smiled guiltily.
"Better," he confirmed. He noticed Tony looking at him in confusion.
"Where's your earpiece?" Tony asked.
"Uh..." Crap, how to explain this one?
"He has an implant," said Willow smoothly. She pointed out an old scar above Xander's left ear, hidden just inside the hairline. "See, just there."
She grinned at Xander, and he grinned back, remembering that it had been Willow that had given him that scar -a clichéd lesson in not running with sharp objects. It was one of the few scars he had which pre-dated the arrival of the supernatural in their lives.
"An implant?" Tony echoed. "That must be some pretty fancy tech."
Willow looked towards the warehouse.
"Loud and clear Buffy. Sending them in now." She glanced back to wave them forward. "Your way is clear, go get those men back!"
Gibbs had been restless since the Slayers left, and immediately set off at a jog. Everyone hurried to catch up to him, and moments later they approached the building. Gibbs slowed by the door to check the way was clear, and Angel moved himself to second in line. Glancing back, Xander saw that Spike was bringing up the rear. Regardless of how much they grumbled, it seemed the vampires were taking their mission to protect the NCIS team seriously.
There was the sound of distant yelling and movement, but nothing nearby. They slipped inside in single file.
"Left," Angel murmured, and Gibbs headed down the hall. These rooms near the front seemed to be empty offices. They moved quickly, ears pricked for any sudden noise.
Angel kept giving soft directions and soon they were emerging into open space near the rear of the main warehouse. He pointed to a set of steps leading down nearby, and Gibbs hurried towards them.
Heading down after Ziva, Xander turned the corner at the bottom to find a basic concrete basement, with six wary looking marines standing opposite. They were standing tall, looking grim and taut, ready to attack.
"Alright men, we're here to get you out," said Gibbs. "Anyone need any help with that?"
The marines didn't answer. One or two looked briefly confused, then returned to their grimly determined stance. Spike, last to arrive down the stairs, started to wander around the room.
"Nice place you got here. Could use a bit more furniture, but hey, you can go back to your real homes now, right? None of this camping in the basement stuff."
The nearest Marine pulled back his arm and punched Spike hard in the face.
"Ow! Why you-!"
"Spike! Don't!" Angel yelled, before Spike could retaliate. Spike pulled his punch and grabbed the man's arm instead. Then he twisted him round and grabbed his other arm, adjusting his hold so that he could restrain both the Marine's hands with just one of his own.
"I wasn't gonna hurt him," Spike grumbled. "Least, not permanently."
The other marines had backed off a step and were watching cautiously, still apparently ready to attack any moment. Gibbs had walked up to the man Spike was holding and was searching his face. "Marine! What the hell do you think you're doing!"
There was no trouble getting an answer now. "Protecting the subject as ordered, Sir!"
"Who is the subject?"
"Mr Fox, Sir!"
"And who gave these orders?"
The marine's certainty seemed to stumble, and a look of confusion crossed his face.
Angel turned to Xander. "I think it's a mesmer," he hissed. With twelve people in the small concrete room, there was enough other noise to prevent anyone else hearing them.
"Okay... what do we do about it?" Xander asked.
Angel looked at him in surprise. "Tell Willow!"
Oh. Right. Xander turned back towards the doorway and told Willow what had happened.
"A mesmer?" she replied directly into Xander's head. "Give me a minute." Xander looked back; Gibbs was still holding everyone's attention with his interrogation, though there wasn't much more information forthcoming. Xander recognised the marine as Private First Class Drummond, one who had been taken a week ago. Willow's voice returned.
"Xander? You're right, it is a mesmer. Just another second, and I'll..." she trailed off.
Suddenly, all the marines seemed to sag, as though whatever motivation had been holding them to attention had suddenly disappeared. More than one stumbled forward, their confusion and bewilderment plain to see. After a moment, Drummond fainted, and a split second later Spike had caught him. Another fell to his knees, holding his head.
"Whoa, okay, what was that?" exclaimed Tony.
"Xander? Did it work? Please tell me it worked, and I didn't turn them into rabid warriors or something," came Willow's worried voice.
"No, we're fine Willow. On our way out now," he replied.
Gibbs and Angel were moving through the marines, checking they were okay and coherent. They mostly seemed confused and disoriented, and didn't understand what was going on, but were otherwise unharmed. The one who had fallen to his knees -Private Taylor -couldn't seem to get his balance. Gibbs helped him up, and Tony moved in to help support him on the other side. Angel and Ziva moved to assist a marine each. Spike was now carrying Drummond, who didn't look like he would be waking any time soon. Xander looked at the last two, concluding that they must be the men who had only been taken the night before. They seemed to be the most alert.
One noticed him looking, and Xander recognised him as Hunter. "We're okay, sir. I don't understand what's going on here, but Michaels and I will help however we can." Michaels nodded.
"Okay, you two take over from Ziva there," said Xander. "I'll lead the way, Ziva, you bring up the rear."
"Of course." Ziva passed the marine she was supporting to the two men.
Gibbs motioned for Xander to get moving. "Let's go," he ordered.
Xander cautiously climbed the stairs, listening for any noise for above. The echo of distant fighting reached his ears a moment before the sound of movement beside his head. He ducked instinctively.
The battle axe hit the side of the stairs beside him. Xander looked up to see a man -no, a Felkor demon. He scrambled up the last few stairs and drew his long sword.
"Harris?" called Gibbs, concern in his voice.
"Just a minute, Boss," Xander replied breathlessly. He raised his sword as the Felkor demon lifted the battle axe again. "Willow, we could use a Slayer down here!" He barely heard her acknowledgement. The axe swung and Xander dodged it with a quick half-step. He took a few steps sideways, and the demon followed, moving away from the stairs.
"Now, Boss! Go!" Xander called, ducking under another swing. He countered with his own attack, driving the demon back another step.
The first head to appear up the stairs was actually Angel, half-carrying, half-dragging his dazed marine with him.
"Xander!"
"Keep going Angel! They'll need you if you encounter any more on the way out. So go!" Xander barely dodged the next swing. He cursed the distraction but thankfully Angel didn't argue. He parried the next swing efficiently, grateful for the sound of footsteps hurrying behind him. The demon was stronger by far, but the battle axe was a slow and heavy weapon. Xander was quicker and able to meet each new swing, but he knew he could only last so long.
"Wow, Probie can really use that thing," muttered Tony, sounding awed. Xander stepped back, parried the next swing, pushed forward again.
"Keep moving DiNozzo," Gibbs ground out.
Xander misjudged the next dodge and yelped as the axe grazed his shoulder. "Willow!" he cried, desperation starting to show in his voice.
"They're on their way Xander!" she assured him, though she sounded worried.
He parried another swing but lost ground. The demon took another step. Xander stepped back mid-parry but lost his footing, landing heavily on his back. His sword slashed the demon's shin, tearing and getting caught in the loose pants. The axe swung round again and Xander couldn't bring his sword up quickly enough. He tried to twist aside and braced for the impact.
There was a clang and he saw that a curved blade had caught the axe handle. Ziva, Xander noticed with relief. The Felkor demon yanked the axe back and Ziva's curved blade went flying. But the interruption was more than enough opportunity for Xander to get back on his feet.
"Ziva, get back to the others!"
The demon lifted the axe, readying the next blow.
"Not without you, Xander," she objected.
"I'm fine, go to-" Suddenly, a knife flew past them and embedded itself in the demon's arm. It yelled in pain, and almost dropped the axe.
"Actually, you can both go," came Violet's calm voice. "We'll take it from here."
The demon paused to pull the knife out, and Xander took the opportunity to back away. Violet and one of the other girls -Madison, if he remembered rightly, moved forward. He grabbed Ziva's arm.
"Time to go."
"But we can't just leave two girls-"
"Yes we can, Ziva." He turned down the hall they'd come down originally, dragging her with him.
They caught up to the others just outside the building and hurried back to the meeting point where Giles and Willow waited. Xander didn't allow himself to drop his guard at all until they were all safely there. The group spread out, the marines choosing to sag tiredly against the walls of the buildings either side of the alley. Spike placed the unconscious marine on the ground and slapped his face, but he didn't wake. Gibbs looked on grimly.
"DiNozzo."
Tony followed his gaze and pulled out his phone. "Ambulance, got it."
"Make it two, I want all these men checked out," Gibbs replied.
Xander leaned over, catching his breath and trying to ignore the growing pain from his shoulder. The marines were safe.