Parts: 11 - 20
// indicates flashback
<> indicates thought
** indicates emphasis
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Part 11- Twisted
"But you're- you're dead!" Willow exclaimed, then paused for a moment and thought about how stupid that sounded, "I mean- I know you're already dead- I just meant that you're dust- poof- as in gone" she blinked her eyes again, "Why are you not dust?" then her eyes widened as she realized how *that* sounded, "Not that I want you to be dust or anything because you haven't really done anything to hurt me.. in fact you're rescuing me- why is that? You're not going to take me and go off and torture me- are you?" Willow paused for a moment <why the hell are you giving her ideas?? Shut up- shut up *now*> "And I'm rambling so I'm just gonna be quiet now"
Drusilla giggled for a moment before brushing a strand of hair from Willow's face. The redhead backed away for a second, still unsure of what was going on.
"Don't be worried, little tree. All will be unveiled in due time."
Before she could put any more thought to the cryptic answer a shocked voice called out, "Dru?"
Willow's gaze shifted from the insane vampiress to the bewildered bleached blonde demon.
~^~**~^~
Faith leaned back against the headboard and brought a hand up to her neck. She slowly massaged the bruises that Buffy's gripping fingers had made. <Why is he here? Why did he just have to be here.. now?> She let out a sigh as her thoughts continued to be focused on the souled vampire, <Does he understand? Does he know why I'm doing this? I had to get revenge, after all that B put me through, I just had to> Her expression hardened as her thoughts continued in that direction <If he doesn't get it then it's over, whatever the hell we had> She sighed as she realized how much she was lying to herself. She could never let him go, no matter what she convinced herself to believe in.
// "Are you leaving?"
"Don't look at me like that- I have to Angel."
"Why Faith? I thought you.. I thought we had something here."
"We do, but I just can't deal with all this right now. I just need time to think about it all. It's too confusing- me and you."
"It doesn't have to be." Angel walked over to the brunette slayer and moved to hug her but she backed away. His eyes flashed with pain.
"It's the way things are, we just gotta deal with it." She walked to the door and put her hand on the knob. She stiffened a little as she heard Angel's next words.
"Will you be coming back?"
She let out a big sigh, "Maybe.. I'll keep in touch"
~*~ 2 weeks later ~*~
"Hello?"
"Angel?" Faith asked nervously, her mind still trying to process the reasons as to why she decided to make this phone call.
"Faith? Is that you?"
"Umm.. yeah." She paused a moment, "So- how've you been?"
"Great- um.. just great- and you?"
"5 by 5"
They were both silent for a long moment before Angel finally broke the awkward silence, "Why'd you call Faith?"
"I just wanted to see how you were doing and to tell you that I won't be coming back, at least not anytime soon. Please don't be mad at me. Just trust me when I say I need to do this. Goodbye Angel." She hung up the phone softly before he could get any words in and got back into the cold bed of the empty and dreary hotel room. //
~^~**~^~
"Buffy, calm down and sit." Angel suggested, he was a bit emotionally tired from all the events of the evening and the blonde's continuous pacing didn't help the matter.
"No Angel, I will not just sit down and act calm. They should be back now. Something happened to them, I can feel it. I knew we shouldn't have sent them alone to distract that damn demon." Buffy continued her nervous pacing, her emotions running on high. She jumped when she heard the door open forcefully. Xander stumbled in with Giles in tow. They were both a bit bloody and it was obvious the fight didn't go in the direction they wanted it to.
Buffy looked them over and suddenly a question came to mind, "Where's Anya?'
~^~**~^~
Xander cringed as he fell into the seat, he was sore all over. He never realized he was capable of feeling this much pain physically, "She was gone when we woke up. I figured she came back here." His brown eyes looked around the room, "Where is she?"
"That's what I'm asking you!" Buffy nearly shrieked, her emotions on overload.
"She's not here?" Xander got up despite his muscles protests and began to search the apartment, "Anya!" he shouted, "Anya! Where are you?" his voice raising up an octave from fear, "She's not here Buffy." He turned around to face Giles, "Where is she G-man? Where is she??" he asked again. Suddenly realization dawned on him, "He took her didn't he?" He put his head in his hands, "Fuck- Fuck- Fuck!! He took her. Oh god" his fingers began to grip the hair on his head tightly, "What are we going to do? What are we going to do?" He looked up at Buffy frantically, "What are we going to do Buff? I can't lose her- I can't. Not her."
"Xander, calm down. It'll be ok, she's probably just lost or something" Even as the words came out of her mouth, she knew they weren't true. <This whole thing just got so much worse> "Let's just wait until Spike and Willow get back."
"Willow?" Xander's head popped up, "Where is she?"
"Spike was getting her. They'll probably be back soon." As soon as Buffy said those words she heard someone clear their throat and looked up to see Willow standing in the doorframe. "Oh god Will, you're ok" Buffy breathed, immediately moving to hug the redhead when Willow halted her with a hand held up, signaling for her to stop.
"Hold on Buffy- there's someone I need to show you first."
"Is it Anya?" Xander asked hopefully from behind Buffy.
"No umm, come here" Willow waved her hand in a "come to me" way but the stubborn vampiress wasn't budging. Spike ended up pushing her towards Willow direction. When Drusilla came into the view of the others the only one that spoke was Giles as the other inhabitants of the room were stunned into disbelief.
"Oh lord" Giles began to clean his glasses furiously before putting them back on and blinking a few times, trying to figure out if his imagination was getting the best of him. When he realized that it wasn't he repeated his previous words, "Oh lord."
~^~**~^~
The demon smiled evilly as he shifted Anyanka's body into a more comfortable position for the currently unconscious blonde. He finally got what he was after. After all this time, after all the lies, the deceit- he finally got her. It was worth it though. Ok- yeah- he had to follow the orders of a slayer and do what she asked for a while but in the end it was worth it. Without that damned slayer there was no way he could've gotten to his precious Anyanka. He couldn't wait until she awoke.
Part 12- Clarity
"I-I-Is that *Drusilla*?" Xander managed to stutter out.
"umm.. yeah" Willow said with a nervous grin.
"I thought she was dust!" Buffy stated bluntly.
"Yeah, that's what *I* thought too," the confused redhead turned to Spike, "I mean that's what Spike thinks he saw."
"That *is* what I saw, luv. It happened right in front of my face and it wasn't exactly something that I would just forget."
"Ok, this isn't helping us" the blonde slayer began to massage her forehead, <this is just too much for one night> She motioned for Willow to bring Drusilla in.
"Umm.. Buff- kinda need a little more than that here"
"huh? Oh yeah- Drusilla, come in" Buffy walked towards Angel, who at the moment was still stunned. She walked up to him and snapped her fingers in front of his face. The movement finally got his attention as he snapped back to reality. When she turned around she saw that Drusilla, Willow, and Spike were all already seated and waiting for the interrogation to begin.
"Ok- do you guys know anything about this yet?" Buffy waved a finger at Willow and Spike.
"Nope, she refused to tell us anything until we got here" Willow sighed out.
"Drusilla," Giles cut in, afraid that Buffy would do something not so smart in her current condition, "Will you explain to us now?"
The vampiress nodded calmly and began, "The bad man played with my Spikey and my Angel." She held her hand to her head and closed her eyes and began to sway, "I see the lies that he pushed into your minds, my poor darlings."
"What? Is this helping us?" Buffy asked annoyed at the confusing answers they were getting.
Angel nodded, understanding what she was saying, "Yeah, it does. The reason why I was so shocked when she came in was because I felt something, like a cut off of connection with her when the Bakape supposedly killed her. It always felt.. wrong but I never really questioned it."
"In other words, you were too busy brooding" Xander added. He immediately clamped his mouth shut when he saw the glares that were directed at him.
"Bloody hell! That means he's been messing with me too, ever since the beginning. He made me see an illusion. That was the revenge- that was the ultimate revenge. To know that I couldn't save you and that I was too late."
There was a silence then until Willow looked up and around, "Where's Anya?"
~^~**~^~
<This is all his fault.. this is all *his* fault> Faith decided as she walked into the room where Willow was held captive. <She's gone and it's because of *him*> "Shit!" she yelled out to the empty room. <When did this all get so confusing?> She sat down dejectedly and put her head in her hands, <It was all so clear before- get revenge on Buffy- forget about Angel but no, he has to just come back into my life> She groaned at the headache that was forming. Her head popped up as she heard the front door slam shut. She got up and walked towards the direction of the sound, her guard up. She relaxed a little when she saw that it was only the demon and apparently he had a body in his arms.
"Who's that?" She asked curiously as she walked over to where he was standing.
"Someone I've waited so long for." He answered cryptically. "I have no more use for you Slayer, you may leave."
"Excuse me?" She looked at him like he had gone insane, "You have no more use for me? I am not some little-"
Before she could finish the Bakape backhanded her right across the face and she fell to the ground clutching at her injured face. The demon kicked her in the ribs, hard. He lifted her unmoving body and threw her against the door with force. She bit back a painful groan as she refused to let him win. When he walked over to her once again, her foot shot out but he caught it and twisted it. This time, she did scream and she blacked out from the pain.
~^~**~^~
"Oh god, Anya- I can't believe I forgot about her!" Xander put his head in his hands again. "We have to find her- we have to find her *now*"
"The bad man has the poor girl. She is not hurting though, pet." Drusilla walked over to Xander and gently patted his head as if she did it everyday, "No worries." Surprisingly, he calmed down a bit and he gave Drusilla a small smile before pushing her away, gently. "Thanks"
Nothing more was said as there was an urgent knock at the door. Everyone started to shoot each other nervous glances as no one knew who was at the door. Buffy got up, having already decided beforehand that she would not let this whole situation get the best of her, walked over to the door and flung it open. Who she saw, was the last person she expected.
"Faith?"
Part 13- Confrontations
"Why are you here?" Buffy asked coldly, her hazel eyes sweeping over the injured slayer, taking note of all the bruises and cuts.
"I" she began and then looked down, "I need your help"
The blonde slayer scoffed, "You think after all that you've done- we would help you?" She turned around and faced Angel, already knowing what he was going to say, "I can accept it Angel but that doesn't mean that I have to like it. It also doesn't mean that I have to be all friendly with her, especially considering how she's the one that got us into this whole mess in the first place." She turned back around and glared at Faith who was leaning against the doorframe. The brunette slayer's brown eyes looked to Willow, pleading for her to do something.
Willow looked down uncomfortably, not knowing what to do.
"What is she talking about?" Xander asked curiously.
Angel looked away and judging by his manner it was obvious that he wasn't going to say anything without some force.
"Look- this isn't helping us." Willow said decidedly as she looked up meeting Faith's gaze, "We can't keep lying to each other like this- we have to be completely honest now and just let everything out- no matter *how* hard it is." The redhead walked up to Faith, gently pushing Buffy aside.
The blonde slayer looked on in shock as Willow helped Faith in through the door and onto a chair, "Willow- what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Luv, are you sure that's wise?" Spike asked as he watched Faith closely, his eyes narrowing and observing every move that she made. He didn't trust her. She took his Red away from him and *that* was definitely something that could not be forgotten.
"Spike- Buffy, everyone- there's no point in ignoring her. We can either treat this like adults, help her, and get some information in return," her green eyes landed on Faith, questioning if that much was ok with her, at the brunette's nod she continued on, "or we can hold grudges and try to save Anya with nothing to go on." She walked over to the closet, grabbed a first aid box and began to clean up Faith's cuts, "So why don't we all just put aside our differences for now and focus on how to get Anya back. We can worry about our *many* issues later."
Buffy let out a sigh and walked over to Giles who was standing at the back of the room, observing the scene that was playing out in front of him with a watchful eye. The blonde crossed her arms, "You better start explaining- *now*"
~^~**~^~
"Where do you want me to start?" Faith cringed when she felt the sting from the alcohol that Willow was putting on her cuts. She looked to the kneeling redhead and gave her a small smile.
Giles cut in before Buffy could reply with a smart remark, "Why don't we leave the personal information for later. Now is not the time to delve into that sort of thing, not when Anya's life is at stake. Faith- do you know anything at all about if the demon might have Anya?"
"Anya?" The brunette's brow furrowed in confusion, "Who's Anya?"
"The woman I love" Xander replied absently, still in deep thought.
"Ex-demon, about so tall, blonde hair, brown eyes, quirky, loves Xapper" Spike bit off his sarcastic remark when he saw the warning look that Willow gave him.
"The Bakape was holding a body when I last saw him. He seemed to be treating whoever he had with a lot of caution, as if he was afraid she would break or something. I couldn't see her face though, she was blonde" Faith looked down as she racked through the rest of her memories, trying to remember if there was anything else, "Oh yeah- he also said something about how she was someone that he had waited a long time for."
Giles pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to process all the information, "Do you know why he suddenly decided to go against you?"
"I don't know- it was like all of a sudden he just did a major 180. I don't know how he managed to gain all that strength though. He was never that strong before. I mean the reason why I could control him so easily was because *I* could beat the shit out of him instead of the other way around."
Giles got a thoughtful look on his face when Faith said those words, "Anya said something before about how the last Bakape demon she met refused to be controlled. Maybe he deceived you."
"But why would he do that?"
The watcher shrugged, when suddenly a thought came to mind, "Why did he agree to help you so easily though? I am assuming you went to him for help."
"Actually he came to me- he said something about wanting to help me get my revenge on the other slayer," she looked to Buffy.
"Stupid bint. Didn't you ever wonder why that damned demon would help you so bloody easily, voluntarily not to mention. You're a bleedin slayer- demons don't exactly go out of their way to help them get revenge."
"Look Blondie- I was just happy that something out there would help me. The reasons as to why weren't exactly important to me."
He scoffed, "Well, they should've been."
Before Faith could get out another remark, Willow stopped them, "Will you two please stop? This isn't helping"
Faith sat up suddenly as she remembered something, "He did say something about he had no more use for me."
"He was using you?" Xander asked confused, "Wait- I get it now!" The others looked at him expectantly and he continued on, "The Bakape agreed to help you because he used you to get to us. That's the only logical reason I can think of as of now. But what I don't get is how did he know that you knew us?"
"Mind control- remember that?" Spike stated, "He probably went into your mind and looked through your memories and thoughts."
"He can do that?" Faith asked shocked.
"You *really* don't know a damn thing about this demon do you, Slayer?"
"Don't start Spike, please" Willow looked at the blonde demon pleadingly and he quieted down, not wanting to upset her.
Unable to stay quiet any longer, Buffy spoke up, "So- what are we going to do now? I mean we have the information but we're not one step closer as to *how* to save Anya."
"This demon is tough- I'll tell you that much. I can barely walk now because of that damned thing" Faith was nearly seething as she said the words.
"Well, it doesn't help to just sit here and do nothing. We have to figure out a way, no matter what it takes- and it better be soon!" Xander stated, getting up and pacing.
"It's alright lovey. Shhhh- you must be calm or else you will disturb the stars." Drusilla said, speaking for the first time in a long while.
"Oh my god- what are you doing here?" Faith asked confused, finally noticing the insane vampiress for the first time.
"She's not dust, she never was-" Buffy began, but stopped when Faith cut her off.
"You were dust? What- What are you talking about? I mean- how are you here? I thought the Bakape had you locked up."
"Locked up- what?" Willow asked, now it was her turn to be thoroughly confused. She turned to Drusilla, "You never told us that"
"Don't worry little tree, he didn't harm me. It was my time to leave though, the stars were whispering. They told me that there was another in his heart."
"Again with the what?" the blonde slayer was getting aggravated with all the half answers that Drusilla was giving.
"She's talking about how if she had left before the Bakape would have found her, capture her again, and then put her through more torture then before. But now he has other things in his mind that are more important to him- apparently a new love." Spike said, clearing things up for everyone.
"Oh my god- you don't think?" Willow's hand flew to her mouth as the thought came to mind.
"What?" Xander turned to his best friend, confused. The look on her face made everything fall into place, "Oh god- Anya"
Part 14 - Rest
"This is bad.. this is bad" Xander turned to Giles, "this *is* bad right?"
Giles cleared his throat, a look of extreme concentration on his face, "Not exactly- if Anya truly is this demon's new love then it means that he won't hurt her but if Anya does matter a lot to the Bakape then that means that it will be harder to get her back."
"That's not comforting me G-man!" Xander began to pace again.
"This is just one demon though- we can take him" Buffy said, determined.
"Are you sure Buffy? I mean would you actually want to take that risk? Look at Faith- she nearly kicked your butt the last time," Willow clamped her mouth shut as she realized she was bringing back bad memories, "I mean- she's a slayer- and a very strong one at that and the Bakape did all this" she waved her hand over all the injuries, "to her without a second thought."
"We have no other choice" Buffy spoke forcefully, "And like Xander said, we're wasting time."
The tension was thick in the room as no one was sure what was going to happen next. Finally Giles broke the silence, "It's nearing dawn. Why don't we all go home and get some rest- even if it is only a few hours. Be back here by sun down and we'll go and fight this thing. Buffy is right- we really don't have any other options. If we all get some rest, it will help us in the fight that is to come."
"Where are you staying Faith?" Willow asked as she got up.
"Not with us, Red" Spike stated, his voice daring anybody to make an objection.
"I understand- it's cool- I'll just get a motel or something"
"You can stay with me" Angel said calmly, finally speaking, the first time since the brunette slayer showed up.
"You sure you want that Deadboy? I mean she'll probably end up staking you in your sleep." Xander added as an after thought, "Not that I'd mind"
"Ok- all of you- out *now*" Giles started his way up the stairs, hoping that the rest of them would get the signal.
"What about Drusilla?" Buffy asked, still not budging from her spot.
The rest of them looked away, "Oh- no you don't! I'm not letting her stay in *my* house!!!!" the blonde slayer nearly screeched but already knowing there really wasn't much of a choice. Xander couldn't protect himself from her if she decided to go skitzo on him and the rest of the two couples had their own issues to get through. "Fine, whatever- but we're doing the de-invite spell as soon as she gets her ass out of my house"
Willow nodded as she realized that Buffy was talking to her. "So- leaving now?"
"Yeah, pet." Spike wrapped an arm around the petite redhead's waist tightly, as if afraid she would be taken away if he held on too loose.
"Nasty slayer, must I, little tree? I do not wish to stay with her." Drusilla pouted.
"I'm sorry Dru, but you're going to have to"
"Hey- this isn't exactly all peachy for me ya know?!" Buffy began to walk out the door. "Come on Drusilla, get your undead ass over here."
"Buffy- Drusilla- please- be nice." Willow begged, <Goddess- I hope they don't kill each other>
"Whatever" Buffy grumbled as she started her walk home with Drusilla in tow.
"Goodnight dearies" Drusilla addressed the rest of the room as she walked out, following Buffy.
"Night Willster, Fang" Xander nodded towards Willow and Spike, "Deadboy- umm.. Faith"
"We'll be leaving now too" Willow dragged Spike along and left Faith and Angel to talk about.. whatever.
~^~**~^~
"Lying, hypocritical poof" Spike declared as soon as they were farther away from Giles's apartment.
"What are you talking about?" Willow asked confused as she leaned against him, she missed this- she missed *him* so much.
"He was on *my* case for not telling *him* things when he's been hiding all that." His look was a face of disgust as he said the next words, "still has horrible taste in women, he does- another slayer- does he ever learn?"
"Faith? Wait- you mean- as in Angel and Faith?"
Spike smiled slightly at her naivety. "Yeah luv, that's why the room was so full of tension when we left."
"I thought- oh- this all makes sense now." Willow giggled at her stupidity, "Poor Angel."
"Don't know why you feel bad for Peaches, luv. It's probably all his damn fault as it is."
"Spike, that's mean." She reprimanded but she couldn't help but let a small smile slip out.
"Evil, pet- did you happen to forget that?"
"Oh no, of course not" she pretended to shiver.
"You mocking me, Red?" He rose an eyebrow.
"No- what is this mocking you speak of?"
"Red.." he warned.
"Yes Spike" she looked up at him innocently.
"We're getting home, *now*" Spike began to quicken his steps and latched onto Willow's arm as he began to drag her back to the apartment.
"Spike!" she laughed, "Wait up!"
"You're taking too slow" he decided and scooped her up into his arms.
"Spike!" she squealed again, "I can walk you know. That's what legs are for."
"Pet, now is not the time to talk about your gorgeous body parts."
"You have a sick mind, you know that?" She kissed him gently, "But I love you anyway"
"I love you too, pet. And when we finally get home, I'm going to prove to you just exactly how much." He waggled his eyebrows and the redhead couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
~^~**~^~
Faith tried to stand up but it just hurt too much, she gripped the side of the table and bit her lip <Get a hold of yourself> She leaned her weight on her other foot and looked up to see Angel hovering over her, a worried look on his handsome face. She smiled slightly, "I know- We need to talk"
Part 15- Decisions
When Spike finally got back to the apartment, he nearly tripped over himself in anticipation. He dropped Willow onto the bed and she bounced a few times on it. A few giggles slipped out of her mouth and before she could make a comment he pounced on her mouth.. and the rest of her body for that matter.
She reluctantly pushed him away when she broke the kiss, `Need.. to.. breathe" Her chest heaved as she sucked in lungfuls of breath.
"Pesky human need" Spike muttered as he unbuttoned his shirt. When Willow's breathing returned to normal he attacked her mouth again with a hungry kiss. The redhead pushed the silk shirt off his shoulders and it fell to the floor, forgotten as the couple traveled further onto the bed, never breaking the kiss. The blonde demon moved his mouth over to her ear and began to nibble on her ear lobe as his fingers began to unbutton and unzip her jeans. Spike kissed his way down her neck until he reached her shirt. He frowned, then deciding to go with instinct, and ripped her shirt in half.
"I liked that shirt!" Spike merely shot her a sexy grin and threw the tattered material over the edge of the bed. He pulled off her jeans and threw that away as well. Willow's hands weren't idle as she fumbled with the zipper and button of his black jeans, mentally cursing Levi's. When she finally got them past his hip, the clever hacker used her feet to push them off of him and he kicked them off the bed.
Willow was eager to get him inside of her but Spike wasn't having any of it. He crawled on top of her and held both her hands together above her head with one hand.
"Spike" she whined, but seeing the look he had on his face she knew she was going to get nowhere that way. So in all fairness, she did the only thing that she could think of to distract him. Willow wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed the lower half of his body down, the head of his cock coming in contact with her clit. Using the moment of surprise she flipped them, with the help of Spike, proving he was no longer interested in foreplay. The redhead lifted herself above him, positioned him, then lowered herself onto him with a hiss.
"Oh gods, oh gods- Spike- oh" She moaned out in between thrusts, driving herself harder onto him each time.
Spike gripped her hips tightly and rolled them over so she was on her back. As he felt himself getting closer and closer to the edge he gritted out, "Come for me baby. Come on."
Willow's head fell backwards as she arched her body up, her orgasm ripping through her. The feel of her muscles contracting around him sent him over the edge and he grunted as his release was shot into her quaking womb. Spike remained inside her, their foreheads touching, as they both were still recovering from the intense coupling. Finally, he pulled out of her and both the pixie and the demon drifted off to sleep- wrapped in each other's arms.
~^~**~^~
Faith got as far as five steps from Giles's door before she let out a groan. She bit her lip as she realized what a mistake that was because the next second, Angel was all over her.
"You can't walk, Faith. You're having enough trouble standing." He reasoned trying to get through her stubbornness.
"I'm ok- I'll be fine. It's just gonna.. take me awhile- but I'll get there."
"At this rate by the time we make it to the suite it's going to be sunrise."
The pretty brunette cocked her head to the side, "Why did you rent out a suite?"
"I like having my own personal space" the older vampire defended. He shook his head when he saw the pained expression covering her face, <Screw it> Angel lifted her up into his arms, "I'm only doing this because I don't want to be dust" She merely smiled back, appreciation shown in her eyes.
The rest of the walk was made in silence until they arrived at the hotel. It was the only high class hotel in Sunnydale and because the Hellmouth wasn't a very popular tourist location the guests were scarce. Angel walked in through the doors, Faith still in his arms- neither caring about the confused and amused looks that were shot at them by the hotel employees.
When they finally reached the room, Angel insisted on carrying her through the door and into the room, despite her many protests. After another half hour, both were finally settled in. Faith smoothed out the covers that were now wrapped around the lower half of her body as she was sitting up, leaning against the headboard. Across the room from her was Angel who was resting on a plush chair, his eyes unreadable. Both were waiting for the other to make a move. The brunette slayer looked up at the ceiling to gather her thoughts and finally, she spoke up.
"I really don't know where to start."
"Why did you attack them, even after.. everything" Angel silently hoped his vague question included enough details for her to understand what he was talking about.
"They're not my friends, Angel. Ever since the beginning of this whole thing I've been against Buffy and the rest of her precious Scooby Gang. The only reason why I'm helping them fight right now is because I need their help and because I want to kick some demon ass. But when this is over, I'm gone."
"Why do you do that? Why do you always leave just when things are starting to change for the better?"
"They won't change. I know they won't. Don't you remember all the shit that I've put every one of them through- and vice versa. I fucked B's boyfriend among other things, I used Xander like a sex toy, I kidnapped Red, and I helped an insane mayor on his plan to become a demon. I've already lost track how many times I've tried to kill them all. You don't just forget those kinds of things overnight, no matter how much you want to." Faith's tone was resolved.
"I was there Faith, I know what you did. I killed Willow's fish, I punched Xander- hard in the face, I killed Giles's only love and then proceeded to torture him for hours, and don't even get me started on all that I did to Buffy. We've all made our.. mistakes to put it very lightly but they can be forgiven. If they can forgive me for all that I put them through, then they can forgive you." Angel reasoned, still not willing to give up on her.
"How do you know I want them to forgive me? Maybe I like being the way I am."
"If you did, then you wouldn't be arguing with me- You wouldn't actually be listening to the words that are coming out of my mouth. Because inside, you know they're true. You still have a chance, Faith. And I'll be here for you if you need my help."
The brunette slayer looked down and began to wring her hands together. Her nervousness and worry getting the best of her, making her feel foolish. She looked up, her decision made, "I can't stay here- after this whole thing ends, I have to leave."
Angel's face dropped and he looked at her with a sad expression until he heard her next words, "I was hoping that I could go to LA with you- fully for my own benefit of course."
The teasing tone in her last words brought a smile to his face, which was a rarity at that.
~^~**~^~
"Do I have to invite you in?" Buffy asked the pointless question in annoyance.
Drusilla stood on the porch, waiting for the words to be said. No words coming from her own mouth, as she decided against speaking with the nasty tart.
"I mean maybe it won't be that bad to sleep on the porch. Willow didn't exactly specify that you had to be indoors." The blonde slayer rambled on. "But if you turn into dust she won't be all that happy with me, and an unhappy Willow is not of the good." She let out a sigh and said reluctantly, "Come in Drusilla."
~^~**~^~
"Your home sings. It's singing to me" Drusilla commented as she stepped through the threshold, speaking as if it were completely normal to say that someone's house was singing.
"Really.. now?" Buffy began slowly, "I knew this was a mistake" she muttered before walking to the guest room, "Ok, follow me- guest room is here. Bathroom is there. Here are some blankets for the windows so you won't turn crispy in the morning."
Buffy left her standing there to go into her own room. After she finished changing, the slayer stepped back out into the hallway to head to the bathroom when she saw Drusilla still standing there, unmoving. "Do you plan to move anytime soon?"
"I'm a princess"
<I feel a headache coming on> "That's *great* Drusilla. Now get your royal ass into bed or at least get out of my way!"
"Princesses don't do work. They are to be served."
"Is there a point to this?" Buffy asked as she massaged her forehead.
Drusilla held out the blankets and Buffy stared at her absently. When she finally got it she shook her head with a laugh, "Oh- no- I don't think so. I am *not* your freaking servant!" Seeing as to how the vampiress wasn't budging, Buffy gave up and snatched the blankets from her. After setting everything up Buffy went into her room and grabbed a night shirt and then threw it at Drusilla, "I don't think you're gonna wanna sleep in that so change."
She turned around and headed off to the bathroom, searching desperately for an Advil. When she got out she saw that Drusilla was indeed in the shirt but she wasn't in bed. "What is it now?"
"I want a story" her tone and words made her sound a lot like a 3-year-old.
"You have got to be kidding me" After a few more moments of just staring at each other Buffy threw up her hands and pushed Drusilla into the guestroom, <I can't believe I'm actually going to do this!> The blonde managed to get her into the bed and she had her hand on the light switch. "Ok- once upon a time there was this sl- umm.. warrior. This warrior was special because she was a woman. Except she had extremely bad luck because the powers that be liked to screw with her life every chance they could get. They seem to find amusement in her frustrations. So anyhow one day the ultimate challenge was set in front of the warrior when an annoying ass princess comes to stay with her, by force I might add. However because the warrior is such a giving and wonderful character they managed to make it through. Moral of the story- if you want to stay solid and not turn into dust particles by morning- don't piss me off." Buffy turned off the light and added with a sweet smile and fake enthusiasm, "Night!"
Part 16- Taken
Buffy woke to the sound of whimpering. Her eyes shot open and when her mind processed who it was she dropped her arms onto the covers deflatedly and let out a groan. "What now?" She moved into the hallway and knocked on the door to the guest room insistently, "Drusilla, are you ok?" <Note to self- make Willow buy me those boots that I saw at DKNY- she owes me after this!>
The blonde slayer opened the door and turned on the light. She saw Drusilla curled up into a feral position, her whimpers getting louder. Buffy's caring instincts kicked in and she walked to the bed and wrapped her arms around the shivering vampiress. After a few minutes, Buffy finally let go- convinced that she was asleep. <Ok- now.. let's just pretend that never happened> But before she could make it to the door, a feminine voice spoke, "Dear girl- sweet and sour- like strawberries"
<Damn.. no such luck> Buffy turned around and looked at the hazy eyes of the raven haired vampire, "I just came in to check up on you, why- is beyond me. But now that I know that you're ok- I'm gonna leave."
"No worries, dear strawberry- the wounds will close. Do not pour the salt though dearie, or old ones will re-open."
Deciding to ignore Drusilla's cryptic response, Buffy let out a small smile and closed the door.
~^~**~^~
"When are we going?" Xander asked, tapping his fingers impatiently against the table.
"After we all get our weapons." Buffy stated, then rolled her eyes when nobody got up, "As in now people"
While everyone moved to grab their preferred weapon, Willow and Buffy stood off to the side.
"You didn't kill her, I'm proud of you" The redhead said with a laugh.
"It was one of the toughest obstacles that I've ever had to go through- and I'm a Slayer." The blonde shuddered as she stuffed a knife into her boot, "cruel and unusual torture I tell you. She made me tell her a bedtime story!"
"Did you?"
Buffy held her head down in shame and muttered, "sorta"
Willow burst out into laughter but managed to control it when the blonde slapped her in the stomach, "It's *not* funny!"
"Yes, it is. I'm sorry- but the image of you telling a story to Dru is just.. too funny"
"Glad you're finding this so amusing" She retorted dryly before moving to join the others.
The redhead cleared her throat, "Sorry- sorry- I'm done. I promise"
"Uh huh" Buffy replied, not believing a word that Willow was saying.
"Is Faith coming with us?" Willow asked, blatantly ignoring the looks that Buffy was shooting at her.
The brunette nodded affirmatively, "I wanna kick some demon ass"
Giles looked around the room, "Is everyone ready then? Alright, let's go"
~^~**~^~
"Are we going for the sneaky approach or are we just gonna go in there.. and umm.. save her?" Willow asked, her grip tightening on the axe she was holding.
"We don't have time for sneakiness- enough of the waiting. We are going in there and saving her!" Xander said firmly.
"The odds are on our side if we use the element of surprise so I suppose Xander is correct in saying that we should just attack. He is correct- time is running out." Giles replied before quieting down as they were nearing the mansion.
"Here we are." Buffy looked around at the rest of the group, "Ready?" She nodded towards Willow and the witch acknowledged her by directing her powers toward the seemingly weak wooden door.
"It's guarded by magic- I can feel it." The redhead said and rubbed her hands together, gathering her powers. "Attenuo" A bolt of red swirling lights was thrown at the door and Willow could feel its magic wearing off, "Buffy, now!"
Buffy looked to Angel and the vampire immediately knew what she was thinking. Together they both ran at the door, ramming their sides into it and they fell through, landing onto the wooden pieces. The others quickly rushed in behind the two. While the vampire and slayer dusted themselves off they heard a voice call out, "I knew you were to come. Now it's time for some fun."
Suddenly, Xander turned to Angel, the young brunette's eyes unexpectedly losing the clarity they had only seconds before and began to attack the confused vampire. Before any of the others could make a move the demon appeared in front of them and smirked. The Bakape held out one hand and a blue ball was formed, levitating above the palm. He whipped his hand back and threw it towards Giles, Buffy, Spike, and Faith. 5 angry and muscular demons appeared after the blue smoke faded away.
"It's just an illusion!" Spike yelled over the fighting as he began to block and attack.
"Illusion, my ass!" Buffy kicked one of the demons in the stomach and it merely stumbled back a few inches. <This can't be good>
"Fight it! Believe it's not real!" The bleached blonde demon suggested as he decapitated one with a swish of an axe. He turned away to help a struggling Giles but when he turned back he saw that the demon he beheaded only moments earlier, had grown a new head. "Oh- bloody hell."
~^~**~^~
"Xander- snap out of it! I really don't want to hurt you!" Angel twisted Xander's arm back, effectively stopping him without hurting him, "I can't believe I just said that" The older vampire was having a hard time controlling the squirming brunette and opted for an easier method, <You leave me no choice> he threw Xander's body against the wall. The young brunette's unmoving body slumped to the ground, "Sorry"
~^~**~^~
Willow held out both her hands, her mind struggling to keep up the dome of protection that was currently formed around her and Drusilla. <Little tree- can you hear me?> A confused look covered the pretty redhead's face as she tried to figure out if it was really Drusilla's voice in her head.
<Drusilla?>
<Yes, little one. Go look for the other- I will keep him at bay.>
<Are you sure you can handle it?>
<Go>
Without any more further urging Willow ran out of the circle and followed her instinct and ran up the stairs, searching for Anya.
~^~**~^~
<Shit! Shit!> Faith was on the ground and the demon was closing in on her. She looked frantically to the others. Angel was struggling with Xander. Willow and Drusilla were using their magics to fight the Bakape. The rest of the group was having trouble with the unkillable demons. Her brown eyes looked into the empty and blank eyes of the demon, <You're not real.. you're not real> And for a moment, she actually believed it. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for it to strike but it never came. She opened her eyes again and saw that in place of the demon was a cloud of blue smoke. <Holy shit- Blondie was right!>
Excited with the new found information she ran to the others and yelled out Spike's name to get his attention. He whipped around, knowing exactly who it was, and kicked her in her midsection. She stumbled backwards with an "oof" Her eyes flashed with anger, "Dumbass! It's me!"
"My mistake" he replied with fake sincerity.
~^~**~^~
<They're not real. They're not real. They're not real.> Faith repeated the mantra over and over in her head and soon, one by one- each of the demons disappeared into blue clouds of smoke. Buffy had a confused look on her face but didn't have time to comment when she saw what was happening to Drusilla. It looked as if the energy and power was being slowly sucked out of her. Before the enraged slayer could make a move, Angel attacked him with a beastly growl. He pounced on the Bakape, sending it flying onto the ground with Angel right above him. The older vampire continued to punch the demon, harder and harder each time. "*Do* *not* *touch* *my* *childe*!"
The demon was weak from it all, the casting of the spells, the mind control- and he hadn't even begun to suck the energy from Drusilla. Understanding his fate he looked up at the pissed off vampire above him and with a smirk he placed his hand on Angel's unbeating heart, putting all his leftover energy into this one last task. There was an unnatural yellow glow appearing in Angel's eyes and in the palm of the Bakape demon. After it disappeared, the vampire twisted the Bakape's neck and the sickening crack echoed through the room that was now silent.
Drusilla's hazy eyes opened and suddenly she scampered back against Spike, whimpering. "Daddy's back"
Part 17- Gone
"What?!" Buffy screeched, her eyes desperately searching for a weapon <Great! One evil demon down- another to go!>
"Shit!" Spike cursed and did the only sensible thing he could think of. He ran up to his sire who was still kneeling on the ground and kicked him hard in the back of the head. The older vampire's body slumped onto the ground, knocked unconscious.
"I found her!" Willow yelled from the top of the stairs, appearing with a limping Anya. The redhead had her arms wrapped around the ex-demon as they made their way down the stairs. She sensed the discomfort in the group and asked, "What happened?"
~^~**~^~
"It's all wrong! All wrong!" Drusilla was now in a sitting position, her back against the stone wall.
"Dru, luv? What's all wrong?" Spike's tone was soothing, at times like this only him and Angel could get her to calm down.
"It's gone. He took it away. All gone."
The blonde demon turned back to the rest of the group, "You guys go on ahead- I'll deal with her."
"What are we going to do about Angelus?" Willow asked, still holding onto Anya.
"Chain him up- only option we have left until you can do the spell." Buffy turned her head and finally noticed Xander's unmoving body. "Shit- Xander!"
"What? Xander- oh god- is he ok?" Anya asked frantically. Willow rubbed her back comfortingly, trying to calm her down.
"Xander! Xander!" Buffy continued to shake him until his eyes reopened and he asked shakily, "huh? What happened?"
"You were knocked unconscious. You ok?"
"Yea- I'm just a bit dizzy."
Buffy helped him up and he managed to regain balance, "Can you walk?" At his reassuring nod she let him go gently and moved to Angelus.
"There's no way I can move him. And I'm not risking the chance that he might wake up." The slayer said decidedly.
"I'll run to the van to get some chains." Faith offered and at Buffy's nod she was on her way.
"Spike- any luck with Drusilla?" the blonde slayer asked, turning her focus to the two vampires.
"She's really out of it. Something's worrying her." He answered without turning around.
With worried eyes Buffy turned to her Watcher, "What are we going to do Giles?"
"Stay calm, Buffy. We'll get through this. We always do."
~^~**~^~
The Orb of Thesulah began to glow as Willow continued to chant. Angelus started to laugh as he felt the power surge through him.
"Little one- stop trying. It's not going to work!"
The witch ignored his words and continued with the spell. Buffy looked worriedly to Giles, "Isn't it supposed to be working now?"
Suddenly, the power of possession left Willow and the redhead fell weakly onto the floor of the mansion. Spike hurried to her side and whispered words of comfort as he rocked her back and forth. He looked up and turned to Buffy, "It didn't work. Something doesn't feel right."
"How could it *not* work?" The Slayer looked at her Watcher confused, "It worked last time!"
"I don't know. This whole situation is quite odd as it is." Giles stated as he continued to think of what could have gone wrong.
"Giles, that's not helping me!" The blonde slayer began to pace hurriedly and then looked to Angelus who had a self satisfied smirk on his face. She brought her foot back and kicked him hard in the upper thigh section. "Next time I won't miss" she hissed out threateningly. "Now- tell me what you know."
~^~**~^~
"It's gone- all gone." Drusilla repeated again as she rocked back and forth on the chair. Xander unwrapped his arms around Anya and moved in front of Drusilla, kneeling in front of her. While the rest of the group remained at the mansion to deal with Angelus and cursing him with a soul again, Faith, Xander, Anya and Drusilla were sent back to Giles's apartment to try to calm the vampiress down.
"Why aren't you more afraid of her?" Anya asked as she joined Xander on the floor.
"I honestly don't know, especially considering how she's tried to kill me before.. a couple of times actually. But she comforted me when you were gone and it helped me get through it all; only fair for me to do the same for her when she needs it." The young brunette gave his girlfriend a loving hug before returning his focuses onto Drusilla.
"Well, it seems little ol' Xander is all growed up now" Faith quipped from her seat on the couch.
Before Xander could make a remark, Drusilla shot out of the chair and began to swirl in circles around Giles's living room, "It's all changing- the spark- it's moving."
~^~**~^~
"Nothing, absolutely *nothing* at *all*, *Buffy*" Angelus replied, the smirk still on his face.
A flash of annoyance passed onto Buffy's face and, fed up, she kicked him hard in the area where she had threatened before, but he never thought she would.
"Maybe I didn't make myself clear," her tone took up one of promise and was icy, "Now tell me what you know, or else you won't like the results of what is going to happen to you."
Groaning slightly, Angelus regained control of his demon, disgusted at having to cooperate with a slayer. Yea, ok, not exactly the first thing he wanted to do when he just got back but, hell, he liked his cock right where it was- attached to his body. "You can't curse me again."
"Yea, we kinda figured that out dumbass. Give me a little something more!" The annoyance and weariness was obvious in Buffy's voice.
"I thought I was always what you wanted, *slayer*" He retorted, though knowing better. Honestly, he wasn't exactly in a position to taunt.
"Past tense, lover. Well, ex- get over it sweetcakes- I've moved on." Buffy's eyes turned hard again, "Now tell me what you know"
~^~**~^~
Xander, Anya, and Faith all stood back and watched Drusilla dance around in circles.
"She's been going at it for, like, 15 minutes. I'm surprised she hasn't passed out from all the spinning." Faith commented as she looked to Xander, "You plan to stop her anytime soon?"
"Well," Xander began unsurely, "Spike said that when she gets like this it's best to let her go through with it and that she should stop on her own."
"And you believe the bleached idiot?" The slayer asked skeptically.
"You got any better ideas?"
She paused for a moment, "Well, we could always restrain her."
"I'm always up for a little bondage fun but even I'm agreeing with Xander on this one. She's not doing anything to hurt us or herself so we should just leave her be." Anya suggested as she went into the kitchen, determined to go about their normal routine.
Drusilla stopped in mid-spin, "It's all changing. Everything's different. I feel it in the air. The moon, it whispers such wonderful things." She held a hand to her ear and leaned upwards, "pss.. pss.. pss.. Do you hear it?"
"Well, at least she stopped." Faith went back to reading her magazine.
The vampiress went on as if Faith never even spoke. "She will find the spark. The sweet strawberry will change it all." Drusilla looked around the room, deciding that none of them would help her in her mission. She sprinted out the door and in the direction towards where the others were.
~^~**~^~
"The soul, it's gone."
Buffy raised an eyebrow, "What in the *hell* are you talking about?"
Angelus opened his hands as he continued to explain, "When the demon died, it took it with him. And when I killed it, the soul went with the power of the demon. And now that the demon is dead, there's no way to get the soul back."
"I don't believe you"
"Well, slayer, tough luck because that's the truth."
"I-" Buffy stopped herself and turned around to face Giles, the distress clear on her face. She walked up to him and spoke in a hushed tone, "What do you think?"
Giles led her out of the room and when they were a safe distance away from their captive he spoke his opinion, "I think he speaks the truth, to a certain extent at least."
"What are you talking about, Giles? What did he mean by the soul went with the power of the demon?"
"The Bakape is a special breed of demon, highly powerful and very rare. When one is killed the power is divided among the rest of the living demons. The only exception to the rule is if you destroy the power source, in the form of a gem, on the demon's head before you exterminate it. If you recall, Angelus didn't do that before he killed it."
"So where did the soul go?"
"One of the remaining demons must have it."
"Well, how do we get it back?"
"You have to find the demon that has it."
Part 18- Prepare
"And how, exactly, do you propose we do that?" Buffy asked, her nerves on the edge from the events of the evening.
"Willow should be able to do a simple locator spell to locate the demon." Giles rubbed his forehead, "I'm not positive on the exact details, but after that we should be able to get Angel's soul back." He paused, "Perhaps a transition spell to put the soul into the proper body."
Before Buffy could reply, Drusilla suddenly burst through the door. "Drusilla! What are you doing here?" Buffy looked behind the vampiress, expecting the others to be joining her, "And where are the others?"
After a few more moments, Faith, Xander, and Anya ran through the door.
"Drusilla.. ran.. away.. crazy," Xander panted out, putting his hands on his knees.
"Drusilla ran away right after this crazy outburst of hers." Anya clarified, "Like now."
She pointed to the spinning vampiress who was yelling out, "I feel it all in my head. Calling." Drusilla stopped her spinning and walked gracefully over to Buffy, "Dear strawberry, you shall change it all."
"What the hell is she talking about?" Faith demanded.
~^~**~^~
"The soul is in one of the remaining demons?" Faith repeated, bewildered.
"Correct," Giles answered.
"As in Deadboy's soul?" Xander asked, trying to comprehend everything. At Giles's nod he asked, "Are you sure Will can do the spell? And speaking of which, where is she?"
"Somebody ask for me?" Willow asked as she walked into the room with Spike behind her. "I got the extra chains you wanted, Buffy." She walked over to the slayer and handed the restraints over to her.
"Will, umm.. you kinda missed a few things." Buffy started.
"Again? Why do I always leave the room when the important stuff is happening?" She asked to nobody in particular.
"Well, you see- we need you to do a spell, a couple actually."
Willow raised an eyebrow and leaned back into Spike's embrace, "Ok- explain."
~^~**~^~
Willow sat in the center of the circle with a candle placed in front of her. A map was positioned beyond the circle and, after making sure everything was in place, she lit the candle and began the spell. Tightly clutching the crystal in hand, she said the words. "Aperio," she sprinkled the herbs onto the map. "Detectum," she held the crystal over the map, "Invenio." The crystal moved on it's own accord over the map and pointed to the city of, "Venice, Italy," Willow said audibly.
"Venice?" Buffy repeated, then wondered aloud, "Why would a demon be in Venice?"
"Maybe it likes Italian culture?" Xander joked. At the dirty looks he got from most of the group he quieted down. "Yeah, ok- being quiet now."
Anya gave her boyfriend a comforting pat on the shoulder and said reassuringly, "I thought it was funny, sweetie."
"Actually, the spell I did tells us where the soul is, not the demon. When we actually get to Venice, I'll have to do a more complicated spell to find the demon."
Faith looked to Buffy, "We going to Venice then, B?"
"I guess"
~^~**~^~
Buffy stuffed the last shirt into her suitcase, zipped it up, and then sat her on her bed with a defeated sigh. It was decided that she, Faith, and Willow were to go to Venice, find the demon, kick the demon's ass if it wouldn't cooperate, then retrieve Angel's soul.
Originally, she didn't want to go, thinking Faith and Willow could handle it. After all- Faith was the one Angel loved now. But, Drusilla kept on insisting that her "dear strawberry" would be the one to change it all. The blonde slayer rolled her eyes at that thought and fell back onto her bed that bounced a few times after the action.
Sometimes all she wanted to do was just fade into the background and not be the center of attention. To just be able to live out her day in peace instead of being bombarded by all these life-threatening tasks. It got tiring after awhile, and she just wanted her rest. Getting up and dragging her suitcase to the door, she sighed and shook the wistful thoughts out of her mind. Now was not the time to dream about a hopeless future, now was the time to focus.
~^~**~^~
"Luv, do you have to leave?" Spike whined as he threw the shirt that Willow had previously put in the suitcase back into the closet.
"Yes, Spike, I do," she replied, folding up a pair of jeans and putting it into the suitcase. She turned around and grabbed a few more shirts, not noticing that Spike was throwing the jeans that she had just folded back into the closet, too.
"I don't see why the two half-wit slayers can't figure out the damn spell by themselves."
"Spike, they need me for the spell. You know I wouldn't be going unless I really had to." Her brow furrowed in confusion when she realized all her previously packed clothes were gone. "Ok," she put her hands on her hips, "What'd you do with my clothing?"
"Don't know *what* you're talking bout, pet" he replied innocently.
"Spike," she warned.
"Yes, pet?" he replied, his eyes wide with supposed innocence.
The redhead pounced onto him and pulled him up, inches away from her face by his collar, "Give me back my clothes."
"Make me," he countered challengingly.
Willow pretended to think about it then attacked his mouth. When she pulled back to breathe, she teased, "You asked for it."
Spike ignored her teasing tone and pulled her back down for another kiss, among other things.
~^~**~^~
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Xander asked.
Giles walked out of his kitchen with a raised eyebrow, "A bit late to be asking that, isn't it?" He paused, "I already sent them all home to pack. They'll be back here within the next half hour."
The brunette shook his head. "Ok, we've got Buffy and then we've got Faith," he used his hands to further express his point, "Are you not seeing my point here G-man?"
"Please don't call me that horrid name, and Buffy is mature enough to get along with her."
"And what makes you think Faith will play nice?"
"Angel."
~^~**~^~
Buffy dragged her suitcase into Giles' apartment with a groan, "How much is this costing me?"
"Nothing actually. Well, except for gas and hotel money," Giles said as he helped Willow with her bags.
"What do you mean nothing?" The blonde asked in confusion. She expected the trip to cost her at least $700. Airline tickets were getting pricey these days.
"Spike is going to drive you all to LA. I called one of my friends for a favor. He has a private plane that he's letting us borrow. He just happened to be going to Venice for a business trip and he didn't mind bringing along a few female passengers." Giles clarified.
"In other words, the old guy wants to gawk and stare at you for payment." Anya said with a smirk.
"Thank you, Anya, for that lovely imagery," Buffy said with a fake smile. She looked to Giles, "You guys can take care of Angelus?"
"We'll be fine Buffster. Deadboy is all nice and chained up in G- man's basement." Xander reassured, "Try to have fun, well.. as much fun as you can have."
Faith walked in through the door with a duffle bag and asked, "Ready? Blondie's already got the car all set up."
Part 19 - Mixed Up
Buffy settled into her seat, shifting several times, trying to find a comfortable position. She hated flying. Ok, yes, it was better that they were on a private plane and *not* an overcrowded public one filled with creepy people that she didn't know. She closed her eyes as she felt the plane travel faster, almost ready to take off. Her hazel eyes shot open when she felt a gentle tapping on her forearm.
Willow was looking at her best friend with kind eyes. She fished through her purse for a few seconds and then took out a piece of gum and handed it to the blonde. Buffy gave her a weak smile and began to chew vigorously on the sweetened treat. After seeing that the Slayer had visibly relaxed when they were finally in the air, the redhead turned the other way to look out the window.
Her green eyes were directed towards the view of the outside but she wasn't processing any of the images. The redhead let out a sigh as she turned her head away and leaned on the side of the chair. She closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift off. No more thinking or worrying for today. All she wanted to do right now was just to rest and maybe gain some peace of mind.
<This sucks. I hate flying.> The thought flashed through Faith's mind as she tapped her fingers against her thigh. It wasn't the whole jet lag issue that bothered her the most, not that it *didn't* bother her. It was the whole solitude and silence that drove her crazy. A whole day wasted on traveling and only her thoughts to keep her company. The slayer cringed and shifted in her seat, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. So much had changed within a matter of days. She had no idea what was going to happen after everything was solved. Would everyone *really* forgive her as easily as Angel said? Or would she become the outcast, yet again? The pretty brunette shook away her plaguing thoughts and cleared her mind. As her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep, one last thought remained in her head. <Whatever I have to deal with up ahead, I can get through it. I won't give up, especially not after I've gotten so far.>
~^~**~^~
Buffy groaned as she plopped onto the bed, her arms stretched out. "Have I mentioned before how much I *hate* flying?"
Willow let out a smile as she took out some of her clean clothes from her suitcase, "I call bathroom."
The blonde slayer held up a hand in protest, too tired to do any more. "Not fair," she whined.
The redhead gave her one of those `oh well, too bad' looks and closed the bathroom door.
Faith kicked off her boots and turned off the light. When they were immersed in the darkness, Buffy asked in an annoyed tone, "What do you think you're doing?" The blonde reached over and turned the light back on.
"Going to sleep," she replied and then reached to turn the light off again.
"Well, I'm still awake so if you really wanna sleep then turn the other way."
"Come on B, don't be a bitch. We've been on a plane for half a day and I just want to get some hours in before we go demon hunting."
Unaware of the caring and understanding look that was on her face, Buffy relented, "Alright, off with the light then."
~^~**~^~
"So, how long before we know this spell works?" Faith asked as she continued to set up the stuff needed for Willow's upcoming spell.
"Well, the locator spell I did before was a simple one and it gave me a vague location of where the soul was. The one I'm doing right now is a bit more complicated. It'll give me the exact location where the demon is."
"Wait, are you tracking the soul or the demon?"
"Both, it's complicated."
The brunette slayer nodded, then moved out of the way as Willow began to chant.
"Aperio Hodie
Aperio Conficio Meton
Comperio
Coarguo Fidelis Adsecula Autem
Develo"
A flash of light shot out of Willow's hands as she held them out in front of her. It hovered above the map of Venice, glowing but not moving.
"Will, why isn't it moving? Did the spell not work?" Buffy asked confused.
"I.. don't know," Willow replied studying the light as it floated in the air. "It worked because it's still there which means the soul is in Venice but for some reason it can't find the demon."
"That's odd."
Willow nodded briefly at Buffy, the look of confusion still on her face before she finally gave up and brought her palms together and said, "Desino."
After the spell had been ended, Willow sat back against the foot of the bed, still trying to figure out what could've gone wrong. She looked up when Faith began to speak.
"So, whatcha gonna do now?"
She paused for a moment before answering, "Call Giles."
~^~**~^~
"I'm telling you, Giles," the redhead paused and twisted the phone cord around her finger, "it didn't work. I did everything right and it didn't work. Well, it did but it didn't." She rolled her eyes at the response that she got, "I told you already. The ball of light just floated above the map signaling that the soul is in fact in the city but for some reason it didn't track down the demon." Willow let out an unbelieving laugh, "That's not possible! What? Giles, there's no way. It's a demon, you said it yourself. What?! There are spells that could do that? It can't be."
She plopped herself down onto the bed, "Yes, I do realize that it's the only plausible explanation but I just.. I don't know." She sighed, "Are you *sure*? Ok, ok- alright- I believe you. So how am I supposed to find the soul now? Ok, alright- wait, hold on, let me write that down." Willow grabbed a pen and a pad of paper off the night table and scribbled something down, "Alright, I got it. Ok, I'll try and find it then." She nodded, "Yes, Giles. I know. It's still kind of hard to believe though. I mean- the demon used to be human? I've never actually heard of that before. Yeah, ok, I got it. Alright, bye."
Part 20- Give & Take
"You're shitting me!" Buffy exclaimed as the words came out of Willow's mouth.
The redhead shook her head negatively, "I found it hard to believe too, but Giles seems concrete about this. I got this spell book that he asked me to get to track down this guy and I should be able to get it set up by tonight."
Faith looked at Willow skeptically, "I don't get it- how can a human be turned into a demon?"
Buffy snorted, "And I thought I had a bad memory- does the mayor come to mind?"
Willow intervened before the argument could progress, "Actually, it's a bit different from that."
The brunette shot Buffy a `what now' look.
"Giles is convinced that this demon man was a result of a spell."
The blonde slayer ran a hand through her hair, "Alright, so when do we get started on this spell so we can get this demon man thingy?"
"Well, I found another locator spell that works on humans and demons alike so it'll lead us right to him. Giles thinks that the best way to solve this problem is to strip the demon man thingy of everything that's on him that's a result of a spell. It'll get the soul back, but it will also remove the spell that was put on him previously."
"Meaning?" Faith did a go on gesture with her hands.
"Meaning that it'll turn him back into a human."
~^~**~^~
"B, will you please hurry your ass up?" Faith complained as she walked behind Willow, who was staring intensely at the glowing light that was leading them.
"What? It's not like we're going any faster as it is!"
Willow rolled her eyes and turned around to face the two Slayers, "Can it! If you guys want to fight then do it later. If you haven't noticed, we're kind of in the middle of something!"
"Shit, we got company!" Faith pointed her axe to the demon standing before them. The glowing light hovered above the demon and then shrunk to nothing.
"Ok, you guys know what to do. Keep him busy while I'm doing the power stripping spell."
Willow tried to clear her mind of her surroundings and focused her powers and energies on the task at hand.
"Abduco Aboleo Ducere
Admitto Ablegatio Conficio"
As the witch chanted the phrase, a red light began to swirl in a circular motion above her outspread hands. "Abeo"
The next few seconds were pure chaos. The two slayers, seeing the light headed toward the demon beforehand, ducked out of the way. The red light hit the demon straight in the chest and a crimson smoke began to cloud the area surrounding them. Seconds later, a flash of yellow light flew out of the demon and shot straight at Willow. Buffy reacted on instinct and dove in front of her best friend, the light hitting her instead. The blonde slayer screamed out in obvious pain and collapsed to the ground clutching at her chest.
Willow and Faith rushed to her side, momentarily forgetting about the demon.
"Oh Goddess, Buffy, are you ok?" the redhead asked frantically as she scooped the upper half of the blonde slayer's body up to rest on her thighs.
"Will, I feel him."
"Honey, it's ok. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Willow repeated over and over, not hearing Buffy's response.
"Red, I think she's trying to say something." Faith pointed out.
"What?" The redhead blinked back tears and looked down at Buffy's pale face.
"I feel him."
"Feel who?"
"Angel."
~^~**~^~
"Wha- how?" A look of realization crossed the redhead's face as she understood what Buffy meant. "The soul."
"So much," Buffy whispered out weakly. Her head rolled to side as the blonde slipped into unconsciousness.
"Oh Goddess!" Willow said worriedly, "Buffy, come back! Come back!" The tears were streaming down her face as the redhead clutched the blonde's body tightly. "Please!"
Faith rushed to Willow's side, giving her a comforting hug, "Calm down, Red. She's just unconscious. She's gonna be fine." The brunette slayer continued to soothe the redhead's nerves, whispering in her ear, "She's gonna be ok."
~^~**~^~
Eventually Willow calmed herself and managed to let go of her best friend's body, carefully moving it to the side before standing up on trembling feet with the help of Faith.
"Thank you," the redhead said quietly as she tried to regain her balance.
Faith merely nodded and then pointed towards the other unmoving body. "I think your spell worked."
The quivering witch gave the slayer a weak smile. Willow's eyes focused onto the still and naked body that was covered with slime.
She turned to Faith, "Good thing we decided to bring a blanket for the spell. Can you get it?"
Willow kneeled down and turned the body around. A shocked gasp spilled from her lips as she realized who it was.
"What is it, Red?" Faith asked as she handed Willow the blanket.
She hurriedly threw the blanket over the body and turned her dazed eyes to the questioning slayer. "I know him."