FIC: Untitled (4/?)

[~~Kimber <kacoe@xxxxxxx>]

Title: Untitled (4/?)
Author: Kimber (kacoe@xxxxxxx)
Disclaimer: All BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Summary: (No summary yet.)
Spoilers: Everything is fair game. This is set three years or more after Buffy and
Willow graduate college.
Distribution: Pat Kelly, Rodrigo, Gary Thompson, Syrenslure and Serendipity. Anyone
else, e-mail me please.
Author's Notes: The more feedback I get the more fic I write?.nuff said.
Thoughts are enclosed in < > and flashbacks are enclosed in <<< >>>
-----------

?I still don?t understand. What are we waiting for, Giles??

He sipped his tea and joined her at the window. ?Word from Richard or Quentin. James has
shown me the records they?ve kept in the past three or four years.? He looked down at her
and smiled. ?I assure you, they can be trusted. You should look at the journals,
though. They explain quite a lot.?

She shifted and leaned her head against his arm. ?I?ll get to it. Right now we have a
brooding slayer on our hands.?

He nodded his head. ?How is she, uh, dealing with these changes??

I don?t think she is.? She turned to him. ?I don?t know what to do, Giles. Day after
day she goes out there, sits on that bench and doesn?t move until dark. She comes in,
eats, and retreats to her room . . .just to start the whole process over again the next
day.? She ran her hands through her hair. ?It?s been a week . . .she can?t go on like
this.?

?Do you want me to try and talk to her??

?We both know she won?t listen to you, Giles. Vampire or not . . .she?s still Buffy.?
She waited a moment then left the room.

-------------------

?Hey.? She walked around and sat on the bench.

Nothing.

She inhaled deeply. ?Nice night. You can still smell the warmth.? She turned and
brought her feet up on the bench. ?I have a few things to say to you, and I?d like it of
you?d give me some indication that you?re listening.?

Her head dropped a bit and she exhaled needlessly.

?Good. Buffy, I . . .I am so sorry that this has been done to you. . .if I had any
control over it you know I would have stopped it, but I didn?t so that?s kind of a moot
point. I don?t know what your thinking, or feeling, or what you want to do. . .even now
it looks like you?re ready to bolt, and I know I have no control over that. I can?t make
you stay. After everything I?ve involved you in, I wouldn?t blame you if you took off and
never came back. . . but I don?t want you to. I want you here with me, so we can fight
this thing together.?

She got up and walked a few feet away.

Willow got up and continued to talk to her back. ?First and foremost you?re the slayer.
You?re a slayer with slayer powers and with a two hundred forty-six year old vampire?s
blood coursing through your veins. Do you know what that means? Even without the ring,
you can?t die that easily. Not only did Angel give you his blood, he gave you your own
back . . .from when you cured him from Faith?s poison arrow. You are now one of the most
powerful vampires if not THE most powerful walking this earth.? She stepped closer so
they were inches away. ?Do you know what that means to me?? She reached up and turned
the slayer to face her. ?NOTHING. It means absolutely nothing to me. . .because to me,
you?re Buffy. You?re still just Buffy. My best friend, my roommate from college, my best
bud. . . things may seem all upside down and ruiny now, but if you can find it in yourself
to trust me, to trust us . . we?ll be okay.?

It was a low whisper. ?I?m a demon.? She looked her in the eyes. ?Buffy?s dead. I?m
just an demon animating her dead body.? Her eyes filled up with tears threatening to
spill over.

She grabbed her by the shoulders. Buffy looked at her with menacing eyes, but she pressed
on. ?Don?t even try to give me the slayer-eyes now. You are Buffy. You?re my best
friend. Whether there?s a demon inside you or not, that?s who you are and not even death
can change it. . . not even death can change the way I feel, the way I love you.? She
pulled her closer and pressed her lips violently against the blonde?s.

She resisted at first. . .she knew she could kill her in an instant if she wanted to, but
she didn?t. Something welled inside of her, something familiar and unfamiliar at the same
time. She returned the kiss with equal passion, equal yearning. She backed the redhead
up against the house and continued the assault on her mouth. Her lips parted and without
invitation she invaded her mouth with a hunger she?d never known before.

The slam against the house was a surprise, but her reaction was even more so. Everything
in her life, in her world, narrowed down to the woman in front of her. When her tongue
first invaded her mouth, she let out a little sob but continued to match her stroke for
stroke. She reached up and grabbed a handful of hair, trying to pull her even closer, if
that was at all possible.

They broke away at the same time and Willow pulled her into a fierce hug. She struggled
to catch her breath, and Buffy struggled to regain some composure. . .breath was a
non-issue.

The slayer pulled away a little so they were nose to nose. ?It takes my un-dead status
for you to tell me you love me?? She dead-panned.

Willow chuckled a bit and lowered her eyes. ?I?ve told you hundred?s of times that I love
you . . .I guess it took your un-dead status for it to sink in just how much.?

Buffy took a step back and Willow groaned a bit from the loss of contact. ?Come on, we?ve
got work to do.?

They walked into the house hand in hand.

---------------

They worked well into the night and the silence was broken by the phone ringing. They all
sat still for a moment until Giles rose to answer it.

?Hello? . . yes, yes, I see. . .when? . . .are you sure?. . .yes, we?ll leave at first
light. . .yes, it?s been done. She has the ring, there?s no danger. . . Dear, God. . .
.how much blood did he . . .he?s resting then. Good. . . just keep him strapped down,
he?s our best shot. Yes, see you in the morning.? He hung up the phone and turned to
them.

?Giles?? Willow was the first to speak.

?Richard and Quentin have cleared the mansion. They found Ethan almost drained on the
front steps, he was carved up pretty badly, but he?s still alive. They have him in the
basement but they don?t know how long he?ll last. We must leave in the morning.?

James stepped up next to him. ?How did it happen, Rupert? Ethan was our greatest barrier
in this entire fight, with him incapacitated, then. . .?

Giles looked up at him and answered dryly. ?Angelus has taken his place. Ethan is no
longer a threat.?

?Are you sure?? It was Cordelia.

Giles turned to her. ?I?m afraid so. He had small crosses carved into both his cheeks.?

Cordelia looked over to Buffy and Willow. ?Angelus? calling card. Great.? She got up
and moved to the window. ?I say we pack and leave now. If we drive fast enough we can
get there before first light.? She didn?t wait for an answer. She walked out of the
room.

Giles spoke. ?Well, I guess that settles it. Let?s go.?

------------------

?Cordelia??

She turned around and wiped her eyes with a tissue. ?Hey, you ready??

Willow crossed the room and stood in front of her. ?Yeah. Are you okay??

She chuckled. ?Fine, fine . . I mean just because my boyfriend?s turned back into the
murdering nightmare of a vampire that almost killed us all a few years ago. . .why
wouldn?t I be??

Willow looked at her with sympathy in her eyes. She remembered all too well how he
tortured all of them. She took her hand and placed something in it. ?Here. I think you
need this now more than I do. He won?t get to you, he won?t be able to send you over the
edge with this. If you wear it, and we all make it through. . .there?s still hope left
that you can get him back.?

Cordelia opened her hand and saw it was Willow?s ring. ?I wish I could say I don?t want
it, but I do. I?d do anything to get him back, Red. Anything.? She reached over and
pulled her into a hug.

Buffy walked in and the hug was cut short by a low growl emitted from her throat.

Willow looked up. ?Buffy.? She crossed the room and put herself between the growling
slayer and Cordelia. ?I gave Cordelia my ring. She was thanking me.? She looked into
her eyes hoping that she got through.

Her gaze never left the brunette?s. ?I see. And we wouldn?t be trying to cop a cheap
feel here, would we?? She passed by Willow and approached her. ?After all, you?ve tried
to put yourself in my shoes before. . .?

?Buffy,? Willow cut her off. ?Cordelia and I are friends. She loves Angel.?

She turned to face Willow. ?I don?t trust her.? She turned back to Cordelia and began to
approach. ?I can smell the arousal on you. Just being in the same room with her gets you
hot. Doesn?t it??

Willow walked over and reached out to grab her shoulder. ?Buffy. . .we don?t have time
for this.?

She stopped at the touch and smiled. ?No. I guess we don?t . . .RED.? She turned on her
heel and walked out.

Cordelia let out her breath. ?God . . what is her deal??

?She?s dead, Cordelia. She?s having a hard time adjusting.? Willow shrugged.

?Yeah, no kidding. Just keep your psycho girlfriend-slayer-vampire-whatever she is, away
from me. Can?t you put her on a leash or something??

?Cordy. . .that wasn?t very nice.?

?Neither was her little territorial display. She?s got some serious issues to work out.?
She closed her suitcase and placed it on the floor in front of her. ?I just hope she can
work them out before someone gets hurt. . .namely you.?

?It?ll be alright. I promise.? She said it more for herself than for Cordelia.

----------------

They arrived at the mansion a little before dawn. As soon as they walked in, Richard
appeared from a corridor and led them to the basement. There in the corner of the room,
strapped to the bed, was Ethan Rayne. Or what was left of him, anyway.

Giles crossed the room and sat down in a chair. He leaned in and whispered. ?You
bastard.?

He stirred and was barely able to open his eyes. ?Such drama, Ripper. Don?t waste my
time.? He managed to turn his face away from him.

He stood and grabbed Ethan by the collar. ?You don?t have much TIME left.?

Richard rushed over and pulled Giles off of him. ?Rupert, you?re not helping.?

?I?m not helping? I?m not helping!? Don?t you think it would have helped, Richard, if
you had told us about the prophesy three years ago!?? He walked away from them both and
noted that Buffy and Willow were watching. ?Look at them, Richard. Look at them
closely. My slayer is a bloody vampire and Willow is the Immortal Watcher! I have a girl
upstairs who is ready to fall apart at the seams because the man she loves is now the
demon who will be the death of us all!? He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes.
?You?re priceless, really. Bloody well priceless.?

Ethan gave a little chuckle and whispered. ?So she?s ascended then. Isn?t that
wonderful??

Giles looked at him with venom in his eyes. ?Fag off you limey bastard! That?s no
concern of yours anymore. If I were you I?d be wondering when my last breath was coming,
not the end of the world.?

Willow walked past all of them and approached Ethan. ?Tell me what?s going to happen.?
She leaned down closer to him. ?Then you?ll tell me how we stop it.?

Giles walked up behind her. ?Willow, be careful . . .?

?I know what I?m doing, Giles.?

Ethan smiled. ?You?ve got to be kidding me.?

?I?m afraid not.? She reached down and put her hand on his chest. ?I can heal you . . .?

A blue-green glow emitted from her hand. Within ten seconds, all of his wounds
disappeared and he looked at her with wide-eyed wonder.

?How did you do that? It doesn?t hurt anymore, it doesn?t . . .?

?Or I can kill you.? She placed her other hand on his chest and a red-orange light
emitted from it. His featured contorted and all the scars re-appeared.

He screamed in agony. ?Ahh! No . . NOOOOOOOO!? He panted, unable to catch his breath.
He glared at her with a mixture of blind terror and respect.

Richard huffed from behind her. ?Someone?s been practicing.?

Giles looked down at her. ?You?re not kidding.? He shook his head, still unable to grasp
what he?d seen.

She stood and smiled, quite pleased with herself. She turned to say something but was
stopped by the confused, hurt look on the slayer?s face.

Willow knew what she was thinking. Quickly she walked up to Buffy and whispered in her
ear. ?Only because I?m the Immortal Watcher. . .I couldn?t do it before. . .I can now
because you.?

?Will, I get it. I almost didn?t get it, but I got it.?

A look of relief washed across her face and she brushed the slayer?s face with her hand.
?Good.? She turned back and spoke to Ethan. ?Tell them everything or you?ll deal with
me.? She grabbed Buffy?s hand and walked out the door.

---------------

They were ascending the stairs when a thought crossed Buffy?s mind. ?That was pretty
cool, Will, but how did you do it when you knew you couldn?t do it until you were the big
IW??

Willow stopped and had to dissect the sentence before responding. ?The big?. . .Oh, I get
it. Quentin and I used a controlled study. He conjured the effects of each of the spells
I was studying and when I did them right, I knew because I saw the objects I used change,
but I wasn?t really doing the spells.?

Buffy gave her a confused look. ?In English, oh Great One??

Willow thought for a second. ?Kinda like with Star Trek. You know . . the Holo-deck.
The places they go aren?t real, but they think they are. . .and the actions they take in
the not-real world have specific reactions. Like if you build a fire. . you feel the
warmth, but it?s only the computer program making you think it?s warm. When I did a spell
right, Quentin make me think I was giving the right, or wrong, effect. I guess you can
call me the first Holo-pagan.? She smiled. Suddenly, she felt dizzy and took a step
backwards.

Buffy grabbed her and held her steady. ?Whoa there. . .you?re brain hurt from that big
ol? explanation??

?It?s the spells. It takes a lot out of me.? She righted herself and tried to shake it
off. ?I?ll be okay. I just need to re-charge.?

?So where do I plug you in?? Buffy stepped closer and kissed her earlobe. ?Here??

She giggled. ?Buffy! I mean rest. I?ll feel better after I rest.? Suddenly, Willow
found herself about four feet off the ground and face to face with a very amused slayer.

?By all means, then. Let?s get you upstairs.?

?Buffy, put me down!?

?Sorry, little one, time to put this slayer-vampiric strength to some use.? She started
to walk up the stairs.

--------------------

?I was rather bitter after I was refused admittance to the Watcher?s Council. It?s what
I?d worked for all my life. After Rupert and I parted ways, after that whole Ehgon mess,
I became entangled in the underworld. I had the costume shop, we know how that turned
out, then there was the deal with Trick. That was a mess if I?d ever been in one. I know
you probably won?t believe me, but I didn?t know that the sacrifice was to be infants. I
swear.?

?I came back to England after the slayer stopped the ascension. I was in a bar on the
outskirts of town, quite hammered I must say. I was on my way home when I was attacked by
a fire-demon half-breed. He and his little troupe beat me to within an inch of my life.
I was on the ground, in an ally, when suddenly it all stopped. I thought I had died quite
honestly.?

?I looked up and standing in front of me was a Mohra demon. He said he knew things about
me, knew my potential, and wanted to strike a deal. The apocalypse was to occur in six
years time and there was a way I could both help and repay his saving my life.?

?Of course I agreed. . .I?d be a fool not to. The details aren?t that important, but
suffice it to say that I?ve met some very interesting creatures in the past six years.
You wouldn?t believe the stamina of a vengeance demon after she?s given an aphrodisiac. .
.but I digress.?

?My basic mission was to muster all the force I could. Every race of demon, every age of
vampire, succubus, incubus, burrowers, creatures of hell. . .you name it, I met it. The
basic principle is this: to create a creature unlike any other. To join all the
strengths of each creature into one. Once perfected, the male and female creature would
mate, creating more creatures. I don?t even know what to call it.?

?It?s amazing Rupert, you should see it! The strength of a thousand year old vampire, the
blood of a Mohra demon, the breath of a fire-demon, the ability to shape-shift, it can?t
be harmed by the sun, yet it can feed like a vampire, resistant to heat that would melt
steel, yet it can breath underwater. Truly amazing. It has the gestation period of a fly
. . .just 24 hours and it can give birth to a litter of six at a time. It takes one month
for it to grow to maturity, then it goes on to breed and the process is started all over
again.?

?The shape shifting ability is it?s greatest asset. . .but from the way you cleared out
this mansion, you must have had some idea, Richard. Didn?t you? Yes, it lives among you,
among us. It could be the banker working from 9 to 5 or the grocer on the corner. .
.right down to the little boy playing cricket in the park with his friends. That?s the
beauty and the horror of it. You don?t know where they are. You don?t know . . .you
don?t know. . . .the horror. . .?

Richard reached over and checked his pulse. ?He?s still there. Must have passed out.?

Giles was standing behind him. ?Hmm, too bad.?

?Do you think that?s everything?? He reached over and pressed stop on the tape recorder.

?For his sake, I hope so.?

They walked out of the room and locked the door behind them. They began to walk upstairs,
but Richard stopped and turned to Giles. ?You know why I had to do it. Don?t you,
Rupert??

Giles nodded his head. ?I know your position, Richard. Being the head of the Council
can?t be easy and I must say, I?ve never wished for your job, ever. James explained
everything.? He smiled at the older man. ?You knew I?d leave. Am I really that
predictable??

Richard placed a hand on his shoulder. ?Thankfully so, Rupert. Like a lion protecting
his young.?

---------------------

?Demon??

?Check.?

Vampire??

?Check.?

?Succubus??

?Check.?

?Incubus??

?Check.?

?Burrowers??

?Check.?

?Creatures of hell??

No answer.

?I said, creatures of hell.?

Buffy looked over at Giles from the whiteboard she was writing on. ?Creatures of hell?
That?s a bit non-committal, don?t cha think? Care to vague it up for me a little more??

?I?m afraid that?s all I got out of him. . .before he passed out. That?s all we?re going
to get, at least for now. And before you suggest it, it?s much to taxing on Willow to
heal him. We have him at a disadvantage if we keep him in the state he?s in now.? He
looked at her from over the top of his glasses. That usually meant ?end of discussion?.

?Something?s not right here.? Willow got up and paced back and forth for a moment. ?When
he said breeding. . . did he mean the offspring grow up and breed or the two original
creatures continue to breed??

?Either way it?s a big screw-fest down there in the sewers. Demonstock ?06.?

?Buffy!? Willow almost looked embarrassed. ?That was a very un-Buffy like comment.?

?Yeah, well, I?m not really feeling like myself these days. Hmm, could it be because I?m
dead?? She was dripping with sarcasm.

Giles saw the discussion going nowhere. ?Girls, if we could just focus on the problem at
hand, please.?

?I for one have had it with talk.? Buffy moved from the whiteboard and stood in front of
the watcher. ?Too much talk, too little action. Why can?t I just go down there and kill
it??

?Charging in much like John Wayne isn?t going to get you very far I?m afraid.? Ethan was
leaning against the doorway.

Giles stood at the sound of his voice. ?Ethan . . .what the hell??

Richard came up behind him. ?It?s alright, Rupert. I had Quentin heal him. He?s willing
to help.?

?Are you out of your mind, man?!?

?Giles.? Willow came up next to him. ?It?s the only way we can do this.?

Ethan limped into the room. ?Ah, yes. . .words of wisdom from the Immortal one. How does
it feel, luv? To know you have to power to kill with a thought, to set a city block
ablaze the movement of your finger?? He move up so that they were face to face.
?Intoxicating, isn?t it??

She turned her head to him and blew into his face.

He reeled back and fell to his knees, grabbing his heart in pain. As quickly as the
attack came, it left. . .and he was kneeling on the floor in front of her. ?Tell me you
don?t get off on that.?

She raised her eyebrows. ?Hardly.? She raised her arms and at the same time he was
raised off the ground. Swinging her arms to the left she placed him in the closest chair
with a thud. She raised her arms in front of her and made a quick beckoning motion. His
chair slid forward and pushed him into the table. He tried to move, but was unable to.
She gave him a look of amusement. ?Now, that, I enjoyed.?

They all remained still as she leaned over the table to leer at him. She reached out and
pressed her palms against his temples. She looked into his eyes and used her thumbs to
force him to look into hers. He began to squirm and choked sobs began to come from his
throat. After about two minutes she pulled away and slumped over on the table. ?He?s
telling the truth. . .(pants). . .he?ll help.?

?I don?t care if you?re the bloody Queen of England. . .don?t ever do that again!? He
leered at her.

She placed her head in her hands. ?Believe me, it wasn?t a trip to Disneyland for me
either.?

Giles reached out and touched her shoulder. ?Willow? Are you alright??

There was no answer. He turned her over and saw that she was passed out.

Richard spoke up. ?It?s exhaustion, Rupert. She?ll be fine.? He turned to the slayer
who was observing everything from the corner of the room. ?Uh, Buffy, would you??

She nodded and walked over to pick her up. Giles held the door open for her and she
disappeared through it.

----------------

?How can they be destroyed? Where are they? Are they always together or is it possible
to destroy them one at a time??

He laughed. ?So inquisitive, Rupert. . .you never stop in your thirst for knowledge, do
you??

?Just answer the bloody questions, would you??

He exhaled. ?Not without a deal.?

Richard approached from behind. ?I should have known. What do you want, Rayne??

He smiled. ?My freedom when. . .if you win. If you don?t I won?t have to worry about it,
because you?ll all be dead.?

Giles shook his head. ?No way, Ethan. I?ve let you go twice already. The third time
will not be the charm in this case.?

?Ah, yes . . .I was prepared for that response.? He closed his eyes in thought for a
moment. ?Then all I ask of you is this: Place me with a new identity in one of the
remote holdings of the Council?s. I enjoy what I do, you can?t argue that I?m not good at
it. Why not put it to some use??

?Absolutely n. . .?

?It?s a deal.? Richard cut him off.

?Richard, you must be mad? We can?t have him working for the Council.?

?I see it as the only way, Rupert. At least this way we can keep tabs on him. No one is
incorrigible. . .I believe you were the case study in point. . .or do I need to remind
you, Ripper??

Giles stammered a bit. ?N-no, I suppose not.? He shook his head. ?I can?t believe I?m
agreeing to this. Fine. I?m sure you?ll do quiet well in Siberia or Belgium or some
other third world country, God help them.? He pushed play on the tape recorder. ?Now
talk.?

-------------

?It?s like a mother animal and her young. If you take the offspring away from the mother
too soon, the offspring will die from starvation?It?s the same principle, only after you
destroy the father AND mother, the offspring cease to exist. The mother and father are
the direct lifeline to all they?ve produced. If you pull the plug, so to speak, it?s
over. . .death is inevitable and instant.?

?How do they cease to exist??

?I don?t know. The mother and father haven?t been killed, yet, now have they? They are
mostly a mixed race of demon, so it would be safe to assume they won?t explode into dust.
The second most prominent characteristic is the ability to shape shift. I killed one once
for trying to pilfer my lair. . .it simply melted down to this oozing, smelly mass of
Jell-O and slithered off back to the parents. I?ll assume it was absorbed and used
again. I saw it burrow into the mother?s stomach.?

?How did you kill it??

?Now that?s interesting. They wear helmets. This one had it?s helmet off and was placing
my things in it. I put a dagger through it?s skull. You see, even though it was at full
adult size, it still retains the soft spot found on most infants. As with most infants,
it doesn?t entirely close up until reaching the age of three or four. As I said, it
turned to slime and slinked away. Quite disgusting actually.?

?Then how do you kill the adults??

?In much the same way your mythical modern fairytales tell you how to kill a vampire.
Their hearts must be ripped from their chests. It?s quite difficult considering they wear
breastplates, but I assure you it can be done.?

?Is there any particular way to kill the mother and father??

?The female is the strongest link. Many mythical legends and fantasies point to the fact
that behind a great man, you?ll find and even greater woman. It can ?t be described as
anything other than a feeding tube. There is a tube, about three feet wide, attached to
the back of the female. The female has burrowed into the ground with the tube and is
feeding off of something. Before you ask, I don?t know what. Nor do I know how deep it
goes. It?s my belief that if you destroy the tube the female will begin to die. Adults
don?t ooze, they shrivel. You must wait for the right moment when the female has
shriveled just enough . . .then you remove the breastplate and rip the heart out from the
chest. After the female has died, the male will begin to shrivel. Do the same and I
believe all the offspring will follow suite. Without the female to return to, the
slithering masses will be looking for anything to borrow through. My only suggestion
would be to torch the place. Burn it further into the ground than it already is.?

-------------------

Buffy walked into Cordelia?s room and found it empty. There were signs of a struggle.
Tacked with a dagger to the wall was a drawing. Definitely Angel?s doing. It was of
Cordelia tied to a bed, knocked out, in a small cell. She removed it and noted the blood
on the blade . . .uncharacteristic to Buffy, but second nature to her vampire self, she
licked the blade and tried to discern the taste. <Definitely female.> An image flashed
in her mind. Cold. . musty smell. . .dark corridor. . .leather straps. . .a door. . .
torches lighting a room. She took a few steps backwards from the reality she felt as the
images past. <Now that was interesting. . . totally frickin creepy, but interesting.>

?What did you see??

She turned around and saw Willow standing in the doorway. ?What? I don?t know what
you?re talking about.?

?Angel took her. . .I felt it.? She walked up to her and took the dagger and drawing from
her hand. ?This is her blood. What did you see??

?You felt him take her? What, are you two connected or something?? Buffy walked away a
few steps trying to wrap her mind around this new development. Willow, her Willow, had a
connection with Cordelia that not even she had. She turned around and looked at her
accusingly. ?What the hell happened in LA anyway??

?Buffy, we don?t have time for these jealous games! We have to help her. . .if this
drawing is true. . .Angel doesn?t have her, Angelus does. Please, tell me what you saw. .
.?

She ignored her pleas. ?The entrance is under the mansion. Isn?t it??

?Buffy. . .?

?Just answer me Will!?

?Yes.? She whispered. <I hate it when we fight, I hate it.> She tried to form the words
that would appeal to her reason, but, before she knew what was happening, Willow was
thrown against the wall as a blur that was distinctly not human ran past her. <Damn it
Buffy.> She took a moment to right herself and ran to get Giles.

-------------

She rushed through the door and noted that Ethan, Giles and Richard were huddled up at the
table.

?Giles.?

He looked up. ?Ah, yes. . .Willow. Ethan was just mapping out the lair. . .it?s located
in the sewer.?

?In the sewer system, I know. Giles, Cordelia?s gone. Angelus took her.? She placed the
drawing and dagger on the table.

?Oh, as always, dear.?

?That?s not all. Buffy. . .I think she had a vision of where Cordelia?s been taken. I
tried to talk to her, but she took off. I think she went after them.?

Richard looked at her quizzically. ?A vision? I don?t understand.?

Willow was impatient. ?It?s a long story, Richard. Doyle, a half-breed demon, worked
with Angel and Cordelia. He was Angel?s direct connection to the Oracles. Doyle died
fighting The Scourge, but not before he kissed Cordelia and passed his gift on to her.
She?s not half-demon, but she does have the gift. It?s connected to her fluids. Buffy
licked the blade and. . .? She shuddered at the imagery the last comment presented.

?Not such a long story then. Very well, we don?t have any time to waste. We?ll muster
our weapons at once. Willow and I will be one team. . .Giles, Ethan and Quentin the
other.?

?No way, Richard. He?s not going, we can?t trust him.?

?We don?t have time to argue about this. Quentin will be with them. . .he can keep a
leash on Ethan if need be.?

She looked torn but finally agreed. ?Fine. Lets just go. Let?s kill these things and
get them out of there.?

That settled, they all filed out of the room to prepare for the battle ahead.


--
Visit Me!! http://go.to/KimsCorner
****************
Willow: It's horrible! That's me as a vampire? I'm so evil and... skanky. (aside to
Buffy, worried) And I think I'm kinda gay.
Buffy: Willow, just remember, a vampire's personality has nothing to do with the person
it was.
Angel: Well, actually... (gets a look from Buffy) uh, That's a good point.
****************
Joss: Sure Willow is bi! And she's getting it on with a man! To all you fanboys out there:
Damn, I am an *evil bastard* ain't I?
****************
Willow to Riley - Funny is good, but don't be glib. And remember, if you hurt her, I will
beat you to death with a shovel. A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend. Have fun.
****************
Riley: so far, well, the only thing that I know she likes is you.
****************
Willow: It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in.
Buffy: I kinda love you.
****************
Buffy: This thing . . .it scares me. I need my Willow.
Willow: Awww.
****************