Part 12
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Willow whispered, fear and nervousness mixing in her voice. "I mean, what happens if we get caught again, or something happens to you. I don’t think I would be able to handle it."
Angel placed a light kiss on Willow’s lips, "It will work. It has to. And nothing will happen to us. I promise, little one."
"Well, I for one can’t wait to get out of here. We’ve been here too bloody long already," Spike told the group.
"Yeah, but at least their not drugging our food anymore. That has to be a good thing," Willow pointed out. The day Spike and Anya had been captured was the same day that Angel and Willow had discovered that the people that held them had decided to no longer drug their food. They all figured it was because they were worried that their little lab rats would die of starvation before they could do any tests on them.
"That’s lucky for us because that means that we can keep our strength up. We’re going to need it," Angel told everyone. "Especially since Spike and I can’t fight without having some major pain in our heads." It had been four days since Willow and Anya had been joined with Angel and Spike. They had discovered, when Spike went to hit Riley for insulting Anya, that whatever had been done to Angel to make him harmless, had also been done to Spike.
"Actually, I was thinking about that," Willow said, a slight blush coming to her cheeks.
"What are you talking about, Red?" Spike asked.
"Well, what if, maybe, Anya and I do a little magick to help undo whatever the implants have done to you. I don’t think it should be too difficult to mute their effects, at least temporarily. We already know that there are instances when they don’t work." As Willow continued to talk, she got a little more courage. "And, then if you and Spike can fight, it will make it easier to get us all out of here."
"So you think you can do it?" Angel asked his mate.
"We can," Anya answered for the both of them. "We’ve already talked about it. I mean, granted there is no way to know for sure until you hit someone, but it should work out."
"Then let’s do it. It won’t be too long before Riley and his buddies come back," Angel said.
Willow and Anya went to the middle of the room, signaling for Angel and Spike to sit in front of them. The two girls placed their hands above the area where the implant was and began chanting. Both felt a power sweep through them and felt as the vampires stiffened and then quickly relaxed.
"Wow," Anya said.
"Oh yeah," Willow agreed. She watched as Angel and Spike slowly recovered from the power that had washed over them. Both men reaching and feeling their necks. "So, how do you feel?"
"No differently," Angel answered. "I did feel something though. That should be a good sign."
"Well, it won’t be long until we find out." Just as Willow finished her statement, she heard the door open and turned to see Riley and his friends enter the room.
"Hello," Riley said stiffly. He had seen the show that the four had just put on, but didn’t know what it was for. "So, what did the two of you do to the hostiles?" Angel and Spike stood, helping Willow and Anya to their feet. All four approached Riley, Graham and Forrest who stood their ground, only raising their guns. Riley chuckled. "Please, you have already discovered that you can’t harm us, so why do you continue to persist in your futile attempts."
"Because, eventually, they’re going to work," Angel said as he hit Riley right across the jaw, sending the other man flying. Quickly Spike and Angel took out Graham and Forrest, grabbing the pairs’ guns and giving them to Anya and Willow. "Well, boys, it’s been a pleasure, but we really must be going."
With a jaunty wave, Angel led the foursome out of their prison, quickly scanning the hall to see if anyone was there. When they saw that the coast was clear, they quickly headed towards where they believed where the exit was, knowing that it wouldn’t be that long before their escape was noticed.
"And that’s where we run some of more benign tests on the hostiles," Professor Walsh explained to Buffy as she pointed to a lab area. Buffy had found the whole idea of the Initiative and what they were doing fascinating. The fact that they were actually helping her with her slaying duties made it easier for her to trust them and she was hoping that maybe she would get to play with some of the great toys that Riley had told her about.
"So what kind of experiments do you run on them?" Buffy asked.
"Different things. What harms them? How they can be killed. Things like that," Walsh told her. "And, with the vampires, we implant them with a device that makes it impossible for them to hurt a living being."
"Really?" Buffy was intrigued by that. Hell, if every vampire had one of those implants she would practically be out of a job. A notion not completely unpleasant to her. "Cool. Could have used something like that back in high school. Would have made the prom way more fun." Walsh was once again amazed at the girl beside her. She had always known of the slayer, but she had never actually believed in her existence. That fact that the girl was also one of her students, not to mention dating one of her soldiers, made it all the more pleasant for her. Buffy and Walsh were startled when they heard an alarm go off in the building. Buffy watched as she grabbed a soldier that was running by.
"Report," She ordered.
"Hostiles 13 and 17 escaped with their consorts," the soldier reported.
"Damn it," Walsh growled, releasing the soldier, who quickly hurried away. Walsh was not happy. She did not want Buffy to know what had really happened to her missing friends. She didn’t know where her loyalties would lie. She had heard all about the history of Buffy and the hostile known as Angel from Riley. And, unlike Agent Finn, she had believed the group. She turned to face the confused blonde.
"You’ll have to leave," she told her. Buffy shook her head.
"No way. You have trouble and I can help. That’s what I do."
"Not this time. I really must insist that you go," Walsh said
as she turned to issue commands to the soldiers around her, trying to ascertain
exactly what had happened. When she turned back to face Buffy, she found
the slayer had disappeared.
"Which way now?" Anya asked, grasping Spike’s hand in a vice like grip. She reached over trying to comfort her, knowing that it was a pointless gesture. Their escape had been noticed much sooner than any of them would have liked and they knew it was only a matter of time before they were found.
"This way," Angel said, leading the four towards the area where he had smelled fresh air coming from. He didn’t know if it lead to a door or even just a vent, but either possibility would suit him. They all stopped as they saw what appeared to be a lab. Soldiers were running around everywhere, while others were issuing orders to them.
"Bloody hell Peaches," Spike swore. "You led us right to them."
"Not if we keep in the shadows. They aren’t the Slayer, they shouldn’t be able to sense us."
Angel led the other three as they hugged the wall, trying to stay out of the light as much as possible. It wasn’t as difficult as they had thought it would be. The commandos were so busy trying to find them through out the rest of the compound, they never even thought that the four of them had actually entered their presence. Angel saw the exit and the four quickly headed over towards it. They were surprised to see the person blocking it when she suddenly came into view.
"Buffy," Willow cried, happy to see her best friend. No matter what Riley had said to her, she didn’t want to believe that her friend would have just forgotten about her.
"Willow, Angel, what are you doing here?" Buffy asked, confused. She didn’t like the way that Angel possessively held Willow near him. She didn’t like it at all.
"We’ve been here for over a week Buffy," Angel explained. "What are you doing here?"
"I work with them", Buffy said pointing over towards the masses of soldiers lining the floor below them. "They help me with the slayage and I help them when they need it."
"And did you know that they had captured the four of us?" Anya asked the blonde slayer.
Buffy shook her head at the former demon. "No. From what I had heard, you had been taken out by Spike over there. And I didn’t even know Angel was in town until Cordelia and Doyle showed up wondering where he was."
"Delia and Doyle are here?" Angel asked. "Where are they?"
"I don’t know," Buffy shrugged. "Haven’t seen them since we told them that Willow had left town. Guess they went back to LA." Angel doubted that. He knew that something had to have brought his partners to Sunnydale and that they wouldn’t have left without knowing where he was.
"So what are you going to do now, slayer?" Spike asked, getting anxious about the time that was being spent talking to the annoying chit that had been a thorn in his side for two years. Buffy looked over at him, remembering what Professor Walsh had said about the implant.
"Now, I take you out. If you were captured and held, there must have been a reason, although I don’t know why Anya and Willow were considered your consorts."
"That’s because they are, Buffy," Angel told his former love, hating the look of pain that the information put into her eyes.
"In that case, instead of me just taking back Spike, I guess it will be all of you." Willow gasped at her best friend’s words and looked into Buffy eyes. She shivered as she saw the hate that was being directed at her over Angel’s statement. Angel grabbed the gun out of Buffy’s hands, and hit her upside her head, sending her flying into a wall. The four former captives watched as she sank to the ground, unconscious.
"Let’s go." Angel grabbed Willow’s hand again, dragging her away from the girl that she had called friend for over three years. They reached the top of the stairs and broke open the door that was locked due to the escape with no problem. The girls went out first, making sure that it was night time and safe for Angel and Spike. When they saw that it was, the four quickly ran from the headquarters, not even pausing to truly take in their surroundings, until a gentle Irish voice broke over them.
"About time that ya show up."
"Doyle, Cordelia," Angel said as he saw his two assistants standing by a van. "How did you know?"
"Let’s just say that we need to stock back up on the whiskey back at the office," Cordelia said, glad to see her friends safe. Even Spike and Anya. "What say we get out of here. Don’t think it will be too long before they realize that you aren’t underground anymore."
"Especially with Buffy working with them," Willow pointed out.
"Buffy?" Cordelia exclaimed. "Damn, that was one part of the vision I had hoped was wrong."
"No," Angel shook his head, upset, hurt and angry at his former love for what she had intended to do. "She’s one of them. She even tried to recapture us."
"In that case, everyone in. It is time to leave this town." The
six people piled into the van, and quickly left behind Sunnydale University,
not sure what to do next.