FIC: The Rocky Road Chapter 12: Downward Spiral (13/?)

[~~Kimber <kacoe@xxxxxxx>]

Title: The Rocky Road Chapter 12: Downward Spiral (13/?)
Author: Kimber (kacoe@xxxxxxx)
Disclaimer: All BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Summary: Fourth in the Road Series
Spoilers: Everything is fair game.
Distribution: Pat Kelly, Rodrigo, Gary Thompson, Syrenslure and Serendipity. Anyone
else, e-mail me please.
Author's Notes: I hate complaining but I?m starving for feedback. FEED ME!
Thoughts are enclosed in < >
Flashback are enclosed in <<<< >>>>
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?there is a place in the heart that?
?will never be filled?

?a space?

?and even during the?
?best moments?
?and?
?the greatest?
?times?

?we will know it?

?we will know it?
?more than?
?ever?

?there is a place in the heart that?
?will never be filled?

?and?

?we will wait?
?and wait?

?in that?
?space.?

?No help For That.? Poem by Charles Bukowski found in the book ?You Get So Alone Sometimes
That It Just Make Sense.? Published 1994

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

She?s in there. In there all alone and he had to get her out. He was looking at her
maybe ten feet away and he couldn?t reach her. Two men were sitting at a table playing
cards. She was tied to a pipe moaning softly and swinging her head back and forth. He
could swear she was whispering his name.

He leaned back against the cold wall and took a deep breath. It had been a long time
since he?d used his strength ? possibly over a year ? and he wasn?t sure if he?d be able
to muster enough to get her out of there and dispatch of them.

He closed his eyes and began to concentrate just like she?d taught him. He clenched his
fists and after a few moments, he could feel his temperature begin to rise. He was
burning blood, her blood, and the power in it began to fuse his muscles and tendons with
almost inhuman strength. He felt his shirt begin to rip and knew it would be a matter of
seconds before he could be fully charged.

He let out a blood curdling scream and the two men at the table looked over at him in
shock. Drusilla?s head snapped up at the sound and she cackled wildly. He rushed them
with his arms open wide and sent them crashing into the wall. They both laid there
stunned.

?You dare take her away from me?!? His voice took on an eerie timber and it echoed
against the walls of the long forgotten church. He was breathing heavily and his eyes
took on a blue glow. ?You?ll pay, you?ll pay for all of it!? He stalked around the
trembling men. ?Seven years of my life you bastard! You took it away and for what? You
used me, used my friends all for the sake of a damn prophesy. Well you know what? To
hell with your prophesy and to hell with you!?

He grabbed the shorter man by his collar and yanked him to his feet. ?I know the outcome,
I know what has to be done and what you are trying to prevent.? His voice had taken on an
eerie softness, though his actions told them he was anything but calm. ?You won?t stop
it. If I have to die to make this prophesy happen, I will. I?ll die first before I let
your kind get the better of me or my friends.? He threw the man against the wall again.

He lost all control finally. He began beating on them unmercifully. He didn?t know what
he was hitting or who, he just knew that flesh was coming in contact with flesh and it
felt good. He grabbed the shorter man again and put him into a choke hold. ?I?ve read
the prophesy and I know what I need to do.? He was about to snap his neck. . . .

?No my pet. It is done now. They can never hurt me again.? She yanked on the chains
that held her to the wall and they came free. ?Come now, we have work to do. It?s been
so long since I?ve fed.?

Xander regarded her, looked at the man who?s life he held literally in his hands, and let
him drop to the floor. He wasn?t ready for this. . .wasn?t ready to take a life, no
matter how disgusting it was. As soon as the ritual was complete, well, then he?d be
ready.

He walked over to Dru, kissed her lightly on the forehead, and led her out of the room.
He figured that the sun must have gone down by now. They would be safe.

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

?So where?s Will?? Buffy asked.

?She?s um, out with Angel looking for Xander. Since she healed him, she was able to do a
tracking spell. I tried to get her to wait, but. . .? Giles trailed off.

?It?s okay Giles, once she sets her mind there?s no stopping her. I know she?s safe with
Angel.?

?You need to know something Buffy. I haven?t told Willow yet, I haven?t been able to find
the right time.? Giles removed his glasses and rubbed his temples. He motioned for all
of them to gather around the dining room table.

Buffy regarded him with interest. He looked so tired, so old and possibly even defeated.
Something was terribly wrong and Buffy knew in the pit of her stomach that if they got out
of this alive, none of them would ever be the same. She put her hand on his and
whispered. ?Giles, what is it??

He took a moment then looked up at her. ?Oh, dear. How do I tell you this?? He shook
his head. ?It?s Quentin, Buffy. He?s the one that gave Xander the crystal. Xander
picked him out of the Council records I had him go through the first night he got here.?

?No, it can?t be. He?s dead.?

?He?s not, I can assure you. He and Ethan were the ones that beat Xander and took
Drucilla. They?re not. . .? He struggled with the words. ?They?re not human, Buffy.
They must have been infected somehow by the remains of the hybrids we fought against.
Xander says they are half-demon and very strong.?

?Willow. Does Willow know??

He shook his head. ?No, not yet. I wanted to tell you together but now I think it?s best
if you let her know. At least now we know some of what we?re up against.? He rose from
his chair and looked at all of them. ?It is imperative that we find that book. Volume
six of the Garzian texts. It?s a black book with gold script on the cover and spine.
Buffy and Faith go through those boxes over there. Cordelia, Spike and I will go through
the books on the table again.? He nodded his head and they all went to their assigned
posts.

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

Buffy and Faith had been back at the house and were filled in on the current situation.
Xander was gone, and so was the one book that could explain the prophesy and Quentin and
Ethan were on the loose again. It was a tense situation and all of them could feel it in
the air. Buffy and Faith were huddled together looking through Giles? old boxes.
Cordelia was watching them with sudden interest and it wasn?t lost on Faith.

?You know Queenie, if you take a picture it?ll last longer.? Faith quipped.

Cordelia widened her eyes. ?What?s going on between you two? You?ve been huddled
together since you got here and you?ve been whispering like two cats that shared a
canary.?

?Nothing is going on, Cordy.? Buffy answered.

Cordelia sat up and looked between them. ?Something is going on!? She got up off the
couch and stood over them. ?You look guilty as hell.?

Faith stood. ?You?ll just drop it if you know what?s good for you.?

?No, I won?t drop it. You two were out on patrol an awfully long time.? Cordelia
narrowed her eyes at Faith. ?And you forgot to put your lipstick back on after you were
done doing what ever you were doing.?

Buffy looked stricken. Damn Cordelia and her sense of fashion. Only she would notice the
one time Faith wasn?t wearing lipstick and make a federal case out of it. Buffy stood up
next to Faith. ?Cordy. . .?

?No. I?m right, aren?t I? You two were lip-locked somewhere and all of us are here
breaking our asses looking through these smelly books.?

Buffy looked over at Faith and back to Cordelia. ?I remember. Not everything, but most
of it. I?m starting to remember everything that Xander took away from us.?

?How?? Cordelia pressed on.

?What does it matter? Especially to you Cordy. She remembers the whole year she spent
cuddled up next to you, but she can?t remember anything with me. Why do you care??

?Oh, so it finally comes out now. The perfect Buffy Summers is jealous of the
relationship I had with Willow. You know what Buffy? It doesn?t matter. She came to
Angel and I, she lived in my house, she slept in my bed, I held her when she cried until
she fell asleep from exhaustion. Then we did it all over again the next day. I made love
to her, I love her and a part of me still does. But none of it matters because whether
she remembers anything with you or not she still went back to you! You won! You beat
Cordelia Chase in the one thing that mattered and you?re still not satisfied! You want
more. Well now you?ve got it. You rekindled what ever sick little flame you and Faith
had between you years ago *and* you have Willow. Don?t try to deny it either, I know all
about your little patrols with her back in high school. Making out in a graveyard? How
sick is that!?

?Cordelia you are way over the line here!? Buffy felt hot tears of anger forming in her
eyes. ?You have no idea what your talking about.?

Faith grabbed her arm. ?Knock it of Cor. I didn?t tell you that stuff to use against
her.?

?No, Faith, let her go. Now you?ve seen the real Cordelia Chase. Always thinking about
herself and what she can gain from the situation. You never change, Cordy.?

?You know what Slayer? I have changed. I changed a long time ago and it was because of
Willow. And if you think for one minute that I?m enjoying this then you have another
thing coming. How could you do this? You have her, she loves you and it?s still not good
enough. How could you risk it all to be with her!?? She pointed to Faith.

?Answer her Buffy.? Came softly from behind them.

The three of them turned around and saw Angel and Willow standing in the doorway. Willow
was leaning against Angel and he had his arms wrapped around her.

Buffy took a step forward. ?Will.? She whispered.

Willow wiped a fresh tear from her eye. ?Answer her!? She yelled and Angel pulled her in
closer.

Buffy swallowed and walked towards her a bit. ?Faith told me that when she first came to
town, we had something together that you guys didn?t know about.? She looked at Angel.
?She told me about that recent case you had, the one with the kidnapped boy. She thought
that if I put myself into a situation that I can?t remember being in, then. . .?

?Memory trigger. Interesting. I don?t know why I didn?t think of it before.? Giles
commented from behind her.

?Yeah, that. So Faith and I went to the Restfield cemetery. . .that?s where we, I, broke
it off with her. She kissed me and I fought her off, believe me. . .she has probably has
the bruises to prove it. . . but I remember. Not everything, but I remember us Will.?
She continued her slow approach of the hacker. ?Our first kiss. Jeff and his buddy?s
were spreading rumors about us. . .you wouldn?t talk to me. Finally we went slaying and I
got hurt. You took real good care of me that night. We poured our hearts out and I told
you all about. . . ? She trailed off, wondering if this conversation would have been
better without the company, but there was no ideal situation. If she was going to get
Willow to understand, she?d have to do it here and now. There was no other way. ?I told
you that Angelus knew how I felt about you. . .that you were the most important person in
my life and that?s why he went after you.? She glanced up at Angel and he had a sad
expression on his face. She continued walking and she was now inches away from him and
Willow. ?I kissed you and you told me that it?s what you were afraid of all along, you
were afraid of. . . .?

?How I felt about you. . .and if you felt the same way.? Willow whispered. ?Then you
took me on the roof and we watched the sun rise.? Willow?s head shot up with the
realization of what she just said.

Buffy?s eyes went wide and she looked between Angel and Willow. Angel placed a soft kiss
on the top of her head and walked into the back room. Buffy watched him and realized that
the others were gone too. They were alone. <Will. Say something.>

?Faith. . .? She whispered.

?Helped in her own twisted little Faith way.? Buffy responded.

<You know it wouldn?t hurt so much if I didn?t love you. But I do.>

<I know Will. And I know that the first thing you thought about when you heard us arguing
was Oz. . .that Oz had done the same thing.> ?But I?m not Oz, Will. You have to know
that I would never jeopardize us.? Buffy finished out loud.

Willow nodded and wiped a tear away. ?I know.?

Buffy put her hand out and touched her cheek. ?Does this mean I?m forgiven??

Willow looked up at her. ?No.? She sighed. ?But I can understand why you did it.?

Buffy closed her eyes. ?I?m so sorry Will. You don?t know how much. . .? Buffy didn?t
finish. She felt Willows arms go around her waist and there were no words left. She put
her own arms around the girl in front of her and rubbed her back as she cried.

?Buffy. Why don?t you take Willow upstairs, we?ll continue to research.? Giles spoke
softly from behind them.

She nodded her head and led Willow upstairs to Giles? bedroom and quietly shut the door.

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

They had been researching for over an hour. The last of the boxes were being gone through
by Faith and Anya when Cordelia stood up with a book in her hand. ?Black book, gold
writing, right?? She handed it to Giles.

He looked at it. ?Very good. I don?t remember putting it in there. . .Damn! Xander must
have found it and hid it. Which means that he?s already read the prophesy.? Giles began
flipping through the book. He finally stopped half way through and began to read to
himself. He placed the book on the table and looked up at all of them.

Angel stepped up next to him. ?What is it??

Giles shook his head. ?I don?t know why I didn?t see it before.?

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*crawling into a corner* please don't hurt me. . .but I had to end it there. More soon,
I promise *grin*
~~Kimber

--
"Seduce my mind and you can have my body. . .find my soul and I'm yours forever."

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http://www.Kimbers-Corner.net
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BTVS QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Buffy: Mm-hmm. Post-midterm frenzy. And the holiday. Everyone's going home.
Willow: It looks like a lot of lucky moms are gonna be getting brimming baskets of dirty
laundry.
Buffy: It's so not fair. I mean, they all get a family holiday just because they can go
home to their families.
Willow: Hmm, it's a turvy-topsy world.
Buffy: You know what? I should have my own thanksgiving. I can cook the meal, just like
my mom does, Have all you guys over. It'll be great.
Willow: Buffy, earlier you agreed with me about Thanksgiving. It's a sham. It's all about
death.
Buffy: It is a sham, but it's a sham with yams. It's a yam sham.
Willow: You're not gonna jokey-rhyme your way out of this one.
Buffy: I know... But I want it. It's like professor Walsh was saying about sense memory.
I smell a roasting turkey, and I'm 8 years old. I liked having that to look forward to.
Everything's different now.
Willow: Well, I suppose there could be slight yams.
Buffy: I mean, we could definitely use a little comfort food. I bet giles doesn't have
any plans. And Xander always tries to avoid all of his family gatherings.
Willow: Ooh. We could not invite Anya.
Buffy: I don't know. She and Xander seem pretty tight lately. Look, pilgrims aside, isn't
that the whole point of thanksgiving-- Everybody has a place to go?
Willow: Grumble, grumble.

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