If Wishes Were Horses…

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, I'm just using them for my own amusement.

Chapter Five

Three heads whipped around at the sound of a knock on the door.

'Still daylight,' Oz said.

'Only just,' Nancy replied.

Oz stood, grabbed the crossbow and went to the door. He opened the hatch and peered out into the fading light. A small blond woman glared back at him, eyes hard and cold.

'Rupert Giles?' she asked.

'No, I'm Oz. Buffy Summers?'

She nodded tightly. 'You gonna let me in?'

'Sure,' Oz said, sliding back the bolts to open the door.

Buffy strolled in, dumping her backpack by the coat rack. She looked around, a faint sneer lifting her scarred lip.

'Buffy?' said Cordelia, getting slowly to her feet. 'Is that you? I mean, it looks like you… but boy, I thought my Buffy was lacking a fashion clue…'

'Who the hell are you?' Buffy asked, looking her over.

'It's me, Cordelia.'

'Which should mean something to me because…?'

'Oh wait, of course…technically, we've never met.'

'Well, I'm sure you're used to people pretending not to know you,' Buffy said cruelly.

'Hey, idea,' Oz said. 'How 'bout we all drop our weapons and sit down for a sec?'

'Weapons?' Cordelia frowned.

Buffy threw her hands up. 'All I want is a straight answer. What's so urgent that I had to drop everything and come all the way out here to the ass end of nowhere?'

'It's a pretty long story,' Cordelia began.

'We need you to save the world,' Nancy interrupted.

'Or, okay, apparently quite short…'

'Right, great, why not?' Buffy said sarcastically. 'Wanna make that a little more vague and unhelpful for me?'

'Please, guys,' Oz said, 'can we pretend we're on the same side?'

Buffy threw her leather jacket onto the kitchen hatch and leaned against it with her arms folded. 'Fine, we're all bonding. So what's the sitch?'

Oz and Nancy glanced at each other, wondering where to start.

'Okay, let me,' Cordelia said. 'I made this wish; only, I didn't know I was even making a wish really…but that's not important…so, this demon appeared and granted the wish, and now the Master's all 'rise and shine, let's rule the world with an iron claw'. But it's not meant to be this way. I know you, in the world I come from, and you killed him before things got like this.'

Silence. 'Did you pick up a head injury along with those bites?' Buffy snipped.

'No, it's true,' Oz said. 'Giles found the demon – name's Anyanka.'

'Whatever,' Buffy said, standing straight and planting her fists on her hips. 'I can't say I care too much who she is. Just point me at her and watch me go.'

They heard footsteps, then the front door opened. Giles came in, saying over his shoulder, 'Here we are. Please, come on in.'

Nancy stood and went to help Giles with his bulging courier bag. 'Giles, your face – are you okay?' She looked out through the doorway and asked, 'Larry?'

Giles shook his head. 'I'm sorry. We stopped to help some people who were under attack, and he…'

'Oh, Larry, no,' Nancy breathed, eyes filling with tears. 'But thank God that you got away.'

'I have this fellow to thank for that,' Giles said, gesturing to the man behind him.

'Angel!' Cordelia exclaimed, wishing she was wearing her turquoise dress – now ruined with her own blood – rather than Nancy's too-big jeans and sweater. 'Oh my God, it's good to see you! Wait - you are still good here, right?'

'Do we know each other?' Angel frowned.

'What is it with you?' Buffy snorted. 'Does everyone you meet want to wipe you from their memory?'

'I told you already, I'm not from this world.'

Buffy opened her mouth, paused, then smirked and said, 'Nah, too easy.'

'Buffy?' Angel said softly. 'You're Buffy Summers.'

'How come everybody suddenly knows who I am?'

'I waited for you – I was supposed to help you.'

'Help me what – audition for Homeless of the Year?'

'Miss Summers,' Giles cut in, 'my name is Rupert Giles, I'm the one who called you here.' He glanced over at Angel, who was holding his side, eyes closed. 'Angel, you should sit down, you're injured.'

'I'm fine,' Angel insisted. 'We don't have time for a rest break, we need to find the Master and shut him down.'

'The Master?' Buffy frowned. 'I thought I was killing some betty named Anyanka?'

'We talked about this,' Giles said to Angel. 'If we can reverse Cordelia's wish, the Master will cease to exist. Our energies are much better directed to summoning Anyanka than to a…a suicidal wild goose chase.'

'And what if you fail, or the spell can't be undone?' Angel persisted. 'We need to go after the Master now, while we have a chance of stopping him.'

'Guys?' Buffy said, holding up a hand. 'Not following ya – who am I killing?'

'The Master,' Angel said.

'Nobody!' Giles exclaimed.

'Are you always this cautious?' Angel asked him.

'You have no idea,' Cordelia interjected. 'Angel, are you sure you're okay? Only, you look pretty beat up. I mean, I know you'll heal quickly, vampire special bonus and all, but - '

'You're a vampire?' Giles squeaked, leaping away from him. 'You never said!'

'Good job, Jeeves,' Buffy said, pulling a stake from some hidden pocket. 'What exactly were you Watching, your own heinie?'

'No, wait!' Cordelia protested, standing in front of Angel. 'He's got a soul, he's one of the good guys.' She turned her head to whisper over her shoulder, 'Right?'

'Yes,' Angel said. 'How did you know that?'

'Oh, we're really good friends where I come from,' Cordelia smiled, batting her eyelashes.

'What is this, a singles bar?' Buffy said. 'Soul or not, my job description's pretty clear on this one.'

'Now wait just a moment,' Giles said, 'this is fascinating, unprecedented! Besides which, this man saved my life - we can't just kill him out of hand.'

'So I should, what, take him out on a date?' Buffy sassed, glaring at Cordelia's stifled giggle.

'Guys,' Oz said, quiet authority radiating. 'Larksome though this is, we have a world to put right.'

'Right. So here's the plan,' Buffy said. 'Jeeves, you - '

'Giles,' he corrected her firmly.

'Yeah, you,' Buffy said. 'Seems to me like you're Book Guy, so you stay here and work on summoning the Demon Bride. Meantime, I'm gonna find this Master and take him out.'

'I'll come with you,' Angel said.

'Thanks, but I prefer flying solo.'

'Fine,' Angel shrugged. 'But I know where his factory is, how to get in, what security he's likely to have in place…plus I'm still strong enough to take out anyone who gets in our way.'

Buffy gave him a long, cold, considering stare. Cordelia couldn't get over how different she was to the sunny, good-natured Buffy she knew.

Finally, Buffy said, 'Fine. You come with me. I'm going to accept that you're on the level, but you put one foot outta line, I'll be bringing you home in a paper bag.'

'Understood,' Angel said. 'Giles, I hate to ask…do you have any clothes I could wear?' He held out the tattered edges of his shirt, showing the rips and bloodstains.

'Of course,' Giles said. 'Follow me.'

'It's all bloody GIBBERISH!' Spike snarled, hurling the book against the wall. His minions flinched, edging towards the doorway before he turned his wrath on them. 'Bloody Angel, I should have sodding known I couldn't trust the weasel!'

'Angel?' Drusilla said plaintively from the end of the huge banqueting table.

Spike clenched his jaw. Nice going, genius, he said to himself. 'Dru, sweet, I'm sorry I didn't tell you,' he said, crouching beside her chair. 'I thought I'd keep it as a surprise, invite him to your coming out party.'

'Spider webs,' Drusilla hissed, 'all made of pretty lies to catch me and snatch me.' She grasped at the air with her fingertips. 'You know something about him, something you're not telling.'

'I thought you were better off not knowing,' Spike said gently. 'He's not the monster we knew, not any more.'

'They've taken away my Angel,' Drusilla moaned, clasping Spike's shoulder with one hand and pressing the other to her eyes. 'All gone away where I can't see him.'

'Yeah,' Spike said, humouring her. 'But listen, luv, we're better off without him anyway, right? You're my girl, I'll look after you. See how much bother I'm going to, to get this cure for you?'

Drusilla lowered her hands, laying her palms flat on the table. 'Yeah,' she said, 'I see. But the book's no good, my pet, not without…' She closed her eyes, swaying in her seat.

'Without what?' Spike asked. 'What d'you see, pet?'

Drusilla raised her right hand, fist clenched. 'All that glitters…is a key.' Her hand opened, palm flat, facing upwards.

'Right,' Spike said slowly, 'that makes sense – the book's not gibberish, it's code, innit? So c'mon, Dru, where's this key?'

'In the dark,' Drusilla whispered, 'with the bones and spiders.'

'A crypt, you mean?'

'Yeah…'

'But where, ducks?' Spike's voice was tinged with frustration. 'Lot of crypts in dear old Sunnyhell.'

'I don't know, I don't know,' Drusilla groaned, hands clasped over her ears.

'Shh,' Spike soothed, taking her in his arms and stroking her hair. 'It's alright, pet, don't take on so. I'll find it.'

Drusilla calmed a little, walking her fingers up Spike's lapel. 'You always make it right, my love. Always take care of Princess.'

'Too right,' Spike said distractedly. His mind whirled, weighing and dismissing options for what to do next. Way I see it, I can either find this Slayer and take her to the Master as a peace offering, hope he doesn't want my guts for garters for letting Puppy out of his cage and that he wasn't lying about knowing Dru's cure…or I find Angel and torture him until he tells me everything he so conveniently left out before.

Resolution made, Spike smiled. 'Right then – torture it is.'

Drusilla's eyes lit up.