“Is anyone else expecting to hear the theme music from 'Alien'?” Xander asked nervously, crawling behind Spike and getting very up close and personal with a male friend's behind.
The ventilation shafts were large enough to accommodate anything vaguely human-sized and Xander suspected that they were not the first to go through them.
“Well, we could sure use that Ripley woman right about now.” Willow whispered from behind him.
“Hey, I'm as good as Ripley-“ Buffy began in a normal voice but was interrupted by shushing, “I'm better even. Let me at those creepy, acid-bleeding… O.K, maybe I better not say things like that on the Hellmouth.”
Xander was glad she didn't continue. For all they knew they'd meet up with something worse on the next group patrol.
“Do you smell him yet?” Buffy whispered loudly.
“No.” Spike replied.
“Aren't you supposed to have some weird sire/childe bond thing?” Xander asked.
“ For the last time, Angel is not my bloody sire and there are quite a few interfering smells in between. Give us a bit more time. Maybe another mile or two.” Spike slinked through the crawlspace as though he were born to it, of course.
“MILES?”
“Sssshhhh!”
* * *
Spike's head swam with the smells, actually. He could smell hundreds of demons, all with the stink of the same despair and starvation that the camps had had in Germany. They all smelled so strongly of pain that Spike could practically feel it.
The truth was, even though he couldn't smell Angel yet, he could sense his presence, even through miles of steel and rock.
The call of family was always strong and Angel's pain was demanding retribution. His blood was starting to throb with it.
The trouble was, they might not be able to get him out without any human casualties.
There was a part of Spike that was very excited about this prospect. The demon surged forward in his bloodlust. He wanted to rip them apart for their arrogance and feast on their blood ripe with terror.
But the part of Spike that had spent almost two years with someone as sweet and pure as Tara drew back from these thoughts in horror. It was the part that said, just because these people are in the wrong, doesn't mean they're not someone else's Tara, or Buffy, or even Xander.
Spike tried to shut off his senses entirely for a few moments to get himself under control. He focused on Buffy scent ahead of him and realized that he would have to follow her lead. He would trust her to draw the line because Tara was not here to do so.
* * *
When they slipped through the maintenance entrance of the elevator shaft, Xander realized how easy it was to crack his homeland's security. He figured they weren't concerned with someone trying to break in and that they might have a much harder time getting out again.
Xander genuinely disliked Angel. No. Hate. Hate was a good word. He was risking his life right now on Buffy's say so, and while that it self was not unusual, the thought of doing it for Angel made him grit his teeth.
But how must Spike feel then? He was the current boyfriend getting shafted in favor of the former. But then Spike had a weird relationship with Angel that was Pre-Buffy. And from Willow vague comments, it wasn't really a good one at all.
But it had been Spike that had come running to Buffy with the news that Angel had been captured.
It all made Xander's head hurt and he decided to stop thinking about it until they were out of this place.
* * *
Willow was preparing to cast the glamours that Tara had so carefully instructed her in. They weren't really that difficult on the scale of magic and Willow had been a little embarrassed at not having mastered them before.
Spike and Xander would be soldiers, she and Buffy would be doctors and Angel would be a Fyarl demon once they got him out. Spike had suggested Fyarl because they were easily led and responded well to pain as an inhibitor. Therefore, they would be easily controlled and could be led about more freely then something as tricky as a vampire.
It was actually quite exciting, Willow was eager to prove herself and this was the perfect opportunity.
* * *
Buffy was consciously making herself not think, as they slipped through the hatch into the engineering room. On one hand, she had someone she used to love very much in danger. On the other, she had someone she was growing to love very much who had suffered at his hands. And she was placing them all in a very dangerous position to save said former love.
But the fact that Spike had come to her with the information must mean that he wanted to help, too, right?
But that wasn't necessarily true. It wasn't the soldier guys that had Spike all decked out in the Big Bad wardrobe and 'tude. It was the Angel-factor.
They all took a deep breath and Willow put the glamours in place before they stepped out into the hall. Buffy felt her stomach twist as they approached a group of men in camoflauge gear.
And they passed without even a glance in their direction. Buffy smiled over at an ecstatic Willow. And she turned to Spike.
Her smile faded, he was inhaling deeply and she could see his nostrils flare.
He smelled Angel.
* * *
There had been times when the scent of Angelus had made Spike want to vomit in a combination of fear and hatred. But that had been before there was even a Spike. That had been William, because Spike refused to let Angelus make him afraid.
There had been times when Angelus' scent had been a comfort, the smell of family and familiarity and of knowing the lesser of two evils, those being the evil of solitude and the evil of Angelus himself.
Now Angel's smell was thick with pain and Spike surprised himself with the anger it inspired. His grandsire's pain did not please him for once. Maybe it had more to do with the violation of these humans pursuming to injure his family. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Spike wasn't the one responsible for his pain.
He didn't know, and he didn't really care.
* * *
Xander knew the 'I smell something' face and he tensed. Maybe it was just some demon poo and they could go home? He suspected Angel might smell a bit like demon poo.
No? Damn it.
Xander shouldered the weapons they had 'liberated' from the army reserve base and followed at the heels of his friends.
The things he did for these people!
* * *
The cage didn't look like a cage. It was transparent with some sort of force field running electric charges through it. The static from the walls made the tiny hairs on Buffy's neck stand on end.
Angel was curled on the floor unconscious. Her first thought was that he was dead. Which was ridiculous. Of course he was dead.
He wasn't dust. She supposed that's what really mattered.
“Drugged.” Spike whispered, “I can smell it.”
Willow began searching the wall from a control panel, “Reveal!”
A hidden door in the wall popped open and she ran to it.
“That was easier than I thought.” Willow exclaimed, hitting a few buttons.
All the cages promptly flickered open.
“O.K, beginning to think I should have thought that one through a bit more.” Willow shouted through the resounding chaos.
Spike and Buffy wasted no time picking Angel up between them and heading to a vent opening.
* * *
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