To Cross The River Styx
by Chazzman
Chap 3
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"Whaaaahooooo!" Willow screamed with delight as she flew through the air at approximately 60-70 miles an hour. She was trailing about 30 yards behind Angel's car as Doyle drove Buffy back home to Sunnydale. She was also about a quarter mile above the ground. It was easier to fly up here than along the ground where she kept on passing though cars and people. She hated passing through people and took pains to avoid it when she could. It was more fun too, spinning, swooping and diving towards the ground only to abruptly rise again at the last moment.
Willow had not intended to go with Buffy to LA. In fact, she had wanted to spend some time with Giles. She had realized after Buffy had dispatched the Native American vengeance spirit that she had not spent any time with anyone other than Buffy since she had died. So when Buffy had headed off to LA with Angel late Friday night, Willow had proceeded to head over to Giles' place with every intention of spending some quality time being unseen by her favorite ex-Watcher.
Minutes later she had suddenly felt herself being yanked to her right and was pulled relentlessly through several houses before stopping briefly. A few seconds later she was moving again with no means of stopping herself. After panicking for several minutes, Willow urged herself upwards until she was flying above Sunnydale, instead of through it. Abruptly she realized that she was being pulled towards LA. The only thing that she could figure out was that somehow she was bound to Buffy by some sort of 'spirit link-leash'. When Buffy had gotten to far away from Willow, Willow had been pulled along. After some experimentation and concentration, she found that she was able to catch up with Buffy and Angel in the car. Willow decided to ride the rest of the way with them in the car, rather than floating along behind with cars running through her.
So she ended up going to LA with Buffy and Angel instead of relaxing with Giles. It wasn't that she dislike spending time with them, it was more that she felt like some type of voyeur when she watched them not be able to interact. The stymied passion. The heartbreaking yearning.
She did not feel sorry for herself that she would never again experience the feelings she saw in others. In fact, when she thought about it, she realized that she no longer felt sad about Oz's departure, either. She was where she wanted to be. At Buffy's side, fighting the forces of evil.
"Well, watching Buffy fight the forces of evil," Willow thought to herself. "But I'm doing my best to root her on. I can't help it if she isn't able to hear me, and, oh god, I just channeled Cordelia!" She giggled at the thought of wearing a Sunnydale High cheerleader outfit, complete with pom-poms, and doing cheers for Buffy in the cemetery. "Stake-A-Vamp-Stake-A-Vamp. GO. GO. GO. Yeeeaaah Buffy!" It was silly, and if anyone had been able to see her, Willow would have died of embarrassment. But she was all ready dead and she felt a need to be silly.
The day in LA had been interesting. Arriving at Angel's at 2 AM, Buffy had gone right to sleep in Angel's bed, too exhausted to protest Angel's insistence on sleeping on the couch. Willow caught Angel mutter something about Buffy at least 'not leaving peanut butter on the sheets'.
The next morning started off with a bang when a Morah demon leapt through the window of Angel's office. Angel spun about and threw his clock at the crystal in the demon's head, where upon the demon vanished. Buffy had been somewhat stunned, but Angel simply shrugged it off as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. Angel then called over a Detective Lockley and Buffy spoke with her for about half and hour. She had seemed sympathetic enough if a bit blunt in her honesty. There was little she could do beyond getting word out on the streets, especially since the actual kidnapping had taken place outside the LAPD jurisdiction. Angel stayed strangely quiet the entire time.
Buffy then spent the remainder of the day posting Willow's flyer about town. Doyle would drive to an area then he and Buffy would spend the next 30 minutes posting flyers. A few of the areas were rather seedy, but Doyle had pointed out the people there were more likely to actually look for her in hopes of getting a reward.
Willow had spent the day wandering through nearby stores. She drifted through a few mystical supply stores before becoming bored and decided to check out some of the many clothing boutiques. That only served to depress her as she was stuck in the clothing she had died in. Out of the blue, it occurred to her, "Hey! Why am I wearing clothes? They didn't get killed, I did."
Pondering this thought for a while, she decided that the only thing that made sense was that her clothes appeared because she thought of herself wearing them. Therefor she should be able to change what she appeared to be wearing by changing her mental image of herself. She decided to experiment. Starting simple she decided to try and change the color of her pants. Ito her surprise and delight it was remarkably easy. Next she began to visualize herself wearing an outfit that she was looking at. Soon she was able to switch the clothing she appeared to be wearing in a snap. Of course, with no one there who was able to look at her she was able to be less self-conscious and try out much more daring outfits, and after a while found herself in an erotic clothing store.
It was definitely an eye-opening experience gazing at clothing she could not imagine herself wearing. There were a number of other items there, some of which she could not identify despite her knowledge via a few of her late night 'accidental' perusals of the net's steamier 'adult' sites. Purely educational she had told herself at the time. "Guess I had some more learning to do," she thought as a sudden wave of depression hit her. Being able to really learn about things that interested her had been one of the great joys that going to college had exposed her to. Now, however, she would never be able to study what she wanted to again. She could never explore the Internet because she could not touch a keyboard. Never read a book that someone else wasn't reading. And only watch a program on TV that someone else was already watching.
Willow began to move back towards Buffy. After a few minutes, she was shocked to discover Buffy crying as she stapled flyer after flyer to telephone poles lining the street. Willow was startled when a hand passed through her chest as Doyle reached out to squeeze Buffy's shoulder.
"Hey, hey. What's wrong?" he asked in concern.
"I...I don't know," Buffy sniffed and rubbed her nose. "I just...I was putting up these when I looked at the picture and I remember how happy she was about going to college, and she had all these great opportunities to go study at other places like Oxford and MIT. Places not so hellmouthy, where she would have been so much safer and able to study anything. Only she wanted to stay to help me fight evil. But I wasn't there when she needed me, and ... I just... I got this feeling like I'm never gonna see her again..."
Doyle pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. Buffy blew her nose. "Thank you. I...I'm sorry. I'm normally not so... It was just so out of the blue that it caught me by surprise. I usually have better control."
"Maybe, that's your problem," Doyle told her gently. "Maybe you've been keepin' so many things 'under control' that you need to have a good cry. Get some release. In fact, I think you're a needin' a break from all of this," he said taking the fliers from her and guiding her back towards the car.
Buffy looked at Doyle for a moment. "But-"
"No," Doyle cut her off. "Look, I can post these tomorrow. Right now, you are in serious need of a mental break. Let's find someplace we can talk, or would you rather talk with Angel? I know the Boss and you are trying to stay apart but..."
Buffy allowed Doyle to lead her off while Willow stood there stunned. It was too much to chalk it up to coincidence. Buffy had in some way felt Willow's feeling.
She had an empathic link with Buffy!
Oh yes sure it was pretty tenuous right now, but with time and practice maybe she could make her presence known to Buffy. And if Buffy knew that Willow was haunting her, Willow had no doubt that she would get Giles to find some way to open a line of communication. It might take a while but at least she had a goal that looked achievable.
Things were looking up.
"Nope, I'm not as out of the game as I thought. Forces of Darkness beware. Wicca girl is comin' back at ya."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours later, as Doyle drove back towards Sunnydale, Willow trailed along behind thinking happy thoughts, trying to boost Buffy's morale. She had an image of herself as Buffy's 'Spirit-kite'. While in the car, Buffy slept and dreamed she was riding an incredibly sleek dragon, which swooped and dove and frolicked in the sky as they made their way toward some unknown destination.
~~~~~~~
Meanwhile in the Initiative's headquarters, the three officials had reached a decision.
"Professor Walsh," said the female official. "After consultations with Washington, we have decided to accept your proposal on how to minimize the damage from this 'accident'. Additionally, you will be allowed to continue work on the 314 project."
Professor Walsh contained her relief as she awaited the proverbial catch. There was always a catch.
"However," said the dark haired man, "because of the damage potential should another 'accident' occur, it has been decided that someone with a more detached outlook be given command over this facility, taking command over the soldiers and directly oversee your scientific work."
"Who? You can't just expect anyone to understand and accept what we are trying to do here." Walsh asked with obvious annoyance.
The white haired official spoke up. "This is not a negotiable point. Jude Law is all ready on his way, and he will be here soon. Rest assured you will still do the work, and, if you are successful, you will receive the full credit due to you, Professor. However, Mr. Law is to be advised of every aspect of the Initiative's work, and he will have final say over every action. If you feel you will be unable to work under these conditions, this project is terminated. Do you understand?"
Walsh slowly nodded her head and softly said, "Yes, I understand."
"One further thing. Make no mistake about our trust in Mr. Law. He is not an accountant or a bureaucrat. He is here to make certain this project succeeds and does not become a public scandal. To that end, he has full authorization to use whatever means he deems necessary."
Walsh nodded in acceptance. It didn't really matter. She was being allowed to continue work on 314 as well as start the second. Miss Rosenberg's death while tragic was turning out to have a silver lining after all.
~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, at Sunnydale airport, Jude Law stepped out of the private jet that had just arrived. Six feet tall, he had black hair and a thick mustache. He paused to look around before heading down the ramp. A green Cadillac was waiting at the base of the ramp the driver at attention holding the door open. His bags were already being transferred into the trunk by the ground crew.
"Welcome to Sunnydale, Mr. Law," said the driver. "You have a reservation at the Sunnydale Plaza. Would you like me to take you there first, or are you hungry?"
Jude did not smile. He took out a cigar and lit it up in spite of the many signs nearby warning 'No Smoking. Danger Jet Fuel'. He the looked at the driver, "Neither. Take me to HQ. I want to meet Dr. Frankenstein."
****
End Chap 3