It was the day after the spell that Buffy, Oz and Xander had cast when all hell broke loose. Cordelia and Willow had not returned home from school and hadn’t called saying they would be late like they usually do. Night had fallen, finally allowing two extremely worried vampires to search for their mates. They started with the library, hoping that they might have gone there to do some more research on the prophecy, but neither Giles nor Faith had seen the two girls. Angel and Spike decided to separate, figuring that they could cover more. Angel hadn’t gotten very far before he felt something hit him on the back of the head and darkness overtake him.

 Angel awoke to find himself in a windowless room that he didn’t recognize. He looked around trying to see anyway of escaping and discovered that there was only one door. He was alone in the room and he wondered who had captured him. Then he smelled her. Buffy. He should have known that she hadn’t accepted the fact that he was over her. That she would try something, although he hadn’t expected her to kidnap him. He wondered if that is what happened to Willow and Cordelia. If they had been taken by their jealous exes. Angel’s musing were cut short when the door to the room opened, allowing the blonde slayer to enter the room.

 "Buffy," Angel spat angrily as he restrained himself from attacking the girl.

 "Hello Angel," Buffy said, ignoring the anger that was in his voice. She had expected it. Expected him to fight her, at least at first. But she was confident that he would eventually he would realize that what she did, she did for them.

"What do you think you are doing?"

 "I think I am waiting for you to realize that you and I are meant to be together," Buffy explained as she walked closer to the angry vampire. She was surprised when he grabbed her forcefully by her arms. "Angel, you’re hurting me."

 "I’m not even using any real pressure yet, Buffy," Angel told her, hatred in his voice. "If I was, your arms would be broken."

 "Angel let me go," Buffy whined, becoming a little afraid of her love. "Why are you doing this?"

 "Why am I doing this?" Angel shouted as he threw Buffy down on the floor. "You kidnap me and ask me why I’m doing this? What are you, stupid?"

"No. I’m just waiting for the spell to take affect. Just like Xander and Oz."

 Understanding dawned on Angel as he took in what Buffy was telling him. The three of them must have done some kind of love spell and were waiting for it to take effect. "They have Cordelia and Willow. That’s why they haven’t come home yet."

 "Yes. Oz took Willow to his place, while Xander has Cordelia in his home. Neither of their parents are home."

 "What is this spell you are talking about? What does it do?" Angel was worried for his mate. Afraid of what the wolf may do to her. He was also worried because he knew that Spike had no way of knowing what was going on and Angel didn’t know what his childe would do if something happened to Cordelia.

 "It was a spell to help you find your true soul mate. To link our lives together," Buffy explained to the stunned vampire.

"What."

 "What?" Willow shouted at the blue haired boy in front of her. She had been walking to Cordelia’s car when she had been knocked unconscious only to find herself in Oz’s basement cage, listening to him babble about love spells and soulmates.

 "It was a spell to link our lives together. Because we are true soulmates," Oz told the woman in the cage. "It’s only the prophecy that has you and Angel together."

 "Oh yeah, that’s it. It’s only the prophecy," Willow replied sarcastically. "It had nothing to do with the fact you were screwing Buffy. That never even entered the equation."

 "We’ve explained that to you. We did that so that we didn’t pressure you or Angel. You’re the ones that overreacted." Willow found herself having to count from 100 to lower her blood pressure, she was so angry. She couldn’t believe that she had ever cared for the boy that was busy proclaiming his love for her. At this moment, she had never hated anyone as much as she did Oz.

 "We didn’t overreact. If anything, we didn’t react enough. We didn’t say anything until two weeks later. No confrontations, nothing," Willow replied. "Other than the songs. That was it. You are the ones who continue to push at this, insisting that we belong together. I’ve already found my soul mate and his name is Angel."

 Oz shook his head. "No, you only think that because of the prophecy. We were the ones meant to be and we will be together."

 "How," Willow shouted, "by you holding me hostage. That’s not love, that’s obsession. This is kidnapping. It this how you really want me to love you? Against my will? How can you be happy with that?"

 "Because I love you and I will take you anyway I can get you."

 "Angel will find me, you know that don’t you?" Willow said, calming down. Her voice was full of malice. "And when he does, he will destroy you."

 "I don’t think so. At this very moment, Buffy is telling him the same things I am telling you," Oz informed the witch. "About the spell and how it will bring us together." Willow shook her head, refusing to believe what Oz was telling her. Not about the spell of Buffy having Angel, but because she knew that she and Angel were meant to be. She had had that feeling for the past couple of weeks, ever since they got together, but this morning, when she woke up, she could feel the connection deep with in her soul. That’s when she realized that they spell that the others had done had worked, just not the way that they had hoped. She had found her true soul mate, but it was Angel, not Oz. She smiled at Oz, making him squirm a bit.

 "Oz, let me out of here now and I promise to not let Angel hurt you, much," Willow told him.

"Xander Harris, untie me right this minute," Cordelia demanded of her ex boyfriend.

 "Not until you realize that you and I were meant to be together," he replied.

 "The only thing you and I were ever meant to be were enemies. It was a mistake for us to even think otherwise," she spat at him. Xander looked wounded by her words, but walked over and knelt by the chair were she was bound.

 "How can you say that, Cordy. I love you. It was always you, even when I was with Faith, it was your face I saw," he explained as he pushed a lock of her hair out of her eyes. She moved her head, trying to bite his hand.

 "And that’s supposed to make me feel what? Loved," she asked him.

 "All I’m asking for is another chance. Is that too much to ask?"

 "I’m involved with someone, remember? Goes by the name of Spike," she taunted him.

 "I know that was just to get back at me," Xander whispered. "But that will all end as soon as the spell takes effect."

 "What makes you so sure that it hasn’t already taken effect?" Cordelia asked. "I mean, what makes you so sure that you are my true soul mate, not Spike. He makes me a hell of a lot happier than you ever did and he treats me with a lot more respect."

 "Respect?" Xander shouted, standing and pacing the room. "What does he know about respect? He’s a soulless monster."

 "I will not have you talk about my mate like that."

 "Your mate?" Xander stared at the girl in front of him, perplexed as to why she was still insisting that she and Spike were meant to be together. Then it hit him. The spell had worked, but it wasn’t the way that he had wanted. He realized that Spike and Cordelia, his Cordelia, were soulmates and his heart broke.

"I’m sorry, Cordelia. Forgive me," he told the brunette with tears in his eyes. She looked at him in confusion as he walked behind her and untied the ropes that held her. She stood, trying to restore circulation to her limbs as she stared at her former boyfriend.

 "Why?" She asked him, wondering at his sudden change in demeanor.

 "Because I love you," he told her simply, "and because I know that he is the one you were meant to be with. So I wish you happiness." Xander started toward the stairs, Cordelia watching him leave. Before he reached them he turned to her one last time. "Oz has Willow at his place. Buffy has Angel holed up at the old candy factory outside of town." With that last sentence, Xander went upstairs and packed a suitcase, intending to leave town.

 Cordelia ran out of Xander’s house, racing to the library. She slammed open the doors. "Giles."

 "Cordelia, where have you been?" Giles answered from the table. He looked over as his office door was thrown open and a very relieved blonde vampire rushed out, grabbing Cordelia and kissing her deeply.

 "Where have you been? I’ve been so worried," Spike said when he finally released Cordelia’s lips from his own so that she could breathe.

 "Xander," Cordelia told him. She rushed to explain when she saw the look of anger cross Spike’s face. "It’s okay. He understands that we were meant to be. He won’t cause anymore trouble, but Willow and Angel need our help."

 "What wrong?" Giles asked as he came over to assure himself the Cordelia was indeed okay.

 "Buffy, Oz and Xander did a spell that was supposed to make us find out true soul mates. Then they decided to kidnap us until the spell took effect. That’s why Xander let me go. He realized that it had worked but that he wasn’t the one that I was meant for," Cordelia finished as she looked over the man who refused to let her go, afraid she would disappear again. "He realized that Spike was my soul mate. But he told me where Willow and Angel were being held."

 "Where?" Faith asked as she came to join the group.

 "Oz had Willow at his place and Angel is being held at the old candy factory." Once Cordelia had told the others everything Xander had relayed to her, they got down to making plans to help the other couple. Spike and Cordelia were to head to Oz’s to get Willow, while Faith and Giles would rescue Angel. Once the decision was made, it was relatively easy to accomplish. Neither Buffy or Oz resisted the attempts to rescue Willow or Angel, both assured that the spell just hadn’t worked.

 That night three couples sat around the fireplace holding each other. Angel and Willow sat on one chair, while Spike and Cordelia sat in the other. Faith and Giles were on the couch, holding each trying to comfort one another over the fact that the people that they had trusted could be so cruel. The first two couples were happy with the knowledge that they had finally found something that had been missing, all because of a spell that had backfired on its casters. The third discovering feelings that had been so far buried that it would take a little digging before truly realizing what they were.
 
 
 

Next