The Two
by acs
Season Opener
[reviews]
TITLE: The Two (12/24)
AUTHOR: -Andy- (see2go4me@yahoo.com)
RATING: R (For future violence and Adult situations) - (though Parts 1 thru 12 just barely make it to a PG-13)
DISCLAIMER: This is a derivative work. All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox Television, and others. I don't own any of this, just the words and plot.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
[1] Feedback welcome/desired. Especially the kind that helps me write better.
[2] A note about reviews for this fic on ikoly - I do appreciate the feedback but since I don't respond to reviews in my posted fics (sorry) and (unlike TtH) Ikoly doesn't have the ability to respond directly to a specific review, I only respond directly to fic reviews/feedback e-mailed to me at the above address or thru my blog.
[3] [Revised: 11-Dec-2005][Minor revisions: 26-Jan-2006]
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Part XII - "Season Opener"
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The pressure was very faint. Like something pressing at the back of her throat or that tickle of an almost sneeze. It drew her out of her apartment into the street, early on Sunday evening, almost an hour before sunset. It felt nothing like the charged atmosphere from the previous night, when she'd been following Dawn on patrol. This feeling, while familiar in an old way, was somehow very disturbing.
She stood on the sidewalk below her living room window for several minutes, slowly turning in a circle while she tried to figure out where the feeling was coming from. There was a definite direction to it, leading away from downtown towards the outskirts of Sunnydale.
Satisfied that she could follow it, Buffy rushed back up to her apartment. She changed out of the sweats she'd been lounging in, pulling out of her small closet more durable clothes, better suited for what she suspected she would find. She grabbed several slim stakes, her knife, a small penlight, and several small bottles of holy water. Pulling on her leather jacket and stashing her things in assorted pockets, Buffy walked back out of her apartment and down to the sidewalk below.
Standing there, ignoring the curious looks of her neighbors, she once more tried to locate the thing that was disturbing enough to cause her to arm herself. It took several long moments of intense concentration before her innate slayer senses could again single out the thread of the something from among the currents of energy generated by Sunnydale's normal inhabitants.
She subconsciously wet her lips, as if trying to catch a taste. It was on the tip of her tongue, an almost familiar tang to it that triggered one of those fleeting, almost memories that seemed slightly unreal, verging on a sense of deja-vu. She breathed deeply, almost trancelike, as she stood there. A slow breath, in and out in the cooling air.
This allowed the part of her subconscious that was in tune with the mystical world, the non-physical part of herself she most heavily associated with being the slayer, to guide her and point her in the correct direction. Buffy could feel other things, other creatures, out at the edge of her awareness as she did so. Things she hadn't felt before in Sunnydale. But investigating them would have to wait until later. Tracking down this thing, whatever it was, felt more important.
She walked quickly and surely down the almost deserted sidewalk. Her stride was deceptive for someone her size as she quickly traveled towards the edge of town. As her unease increased she assumed that she was getting closer to whatever it was. The street she was now on, Heisenberg Street, didn't look familiar, which struck her as odd. She'd thought she'd covered the entire town at some point during the last month while shadowing Dawn on her nightly patrols. She wondered how they'd missed it.
Looking around she couldn't see any landmarks that would indicate where it was in relation to the Sunnydale she'd spent such an important part of her life in. She'd gotten used to the major differences between the two Sunnydales but she was occasionally thrown off, especially at night, by the small things - how an alley might be longer or the street lights brighter or an abandoned building she could remember fighting some demon or vampire in not being abandoned or even there at all.
For some inexplicable reason, she hadn't gotten around to mapping out the locations of places in her lost Sunnydale in relation to this one yet. There'd seemed to be no point to the exercise. She had a general idea where everything was without going to that much trouble. And now, as she strode up the unfamiliar street, she was beginning to regret it.
Suddenly losing contact with whatever caused the feeling she'd been using to track this thing, Buffy stopped and found herself standing in front of an old stone building. Very unhouse-like, the three story edifice looked out of place on the residential street. She couldn't quite tell what its purpose was but now that the pressure that had guided her to this spot was gone she felt something else. Something in the building was attempting to pull her towards it. She resisted its attraction and stood there, trying to figure it out. It didn't feel evil but it wasn't necessarily something she wanted to jump right into.
As she involuntarily took a step forward, a blast of icy cold air caused her to shiver. Unlike the earlier force she had felt across town and the feeling now pulling her towards the building, this was definitely caused by something distinctly evil. It seemed to be pushing her back from the building, away from whatever was attempting to pull her in.
Taking a deep breath, Buffy concentrated for a moment in an attempt to ground herself firmly in the physical world and shield herself from the malevolent presence she could now feel. She reached deep within herself while simultaneously reaching out, using a part of herself she normally kept hidden.
She'd never really attempted to develop her ability to sense the dark aura given off by evil beings. There were so many abilities that made up what she'd taken to calling her slayer senses that she'd only spent time developing those she thought she really needed. On an active Hellmouth sensing evil hadn't required much work so she'd rarely needed to use this particular slayer ability. She'd actually had to bury it as deeply as possible to avoid being driven mad, almost like the one time she'd accidentally become telepathic. She wasn't sure if even Giles was aware of how sensitive she'd become to evil, though she was certain there was probably something somewhere in a musty old Council book that described the ability.
Buffy shivered. The presence radiating from the building, trying to keep her away, was almost too much for her untrained senses to withstand. But now that she'd had a chance to stop and think instead of relying on instinct, she thought she knew what she was dealing with. The dormant Hellmouth that she'd been lax in finding was beginning to wake up. And it was somewhere nearby.
She knew she didn't have any chance of closing it on her own but she could at least make sure no-one was actively trying to open it. An awakening Hellmouth was certainly bad enough, especially if its evil was spilling out into an unsuspecting town unchecked, but an open one, allowing demons into the world, would be cataclysmic.
She hesitated only briefly, still fighting whatever was pressuring her to run away and cautiously drawing on the other presence that seemed to want her there, before walking up onto the small porch shielding the front entrance. She pulled and twisted the doorknob, stopping when she reached the conclusion that the door was locked. While she could always resort to her old standby, brute force, she preferred to find another way in that wouldn't alert the neighborhood or any possible building residents to her presence.
Stepping off of the porch into the surrounding high grass, Buffy had the feeling that the building had been abandoned a long time ago. But from the solid looking door and the intact windows she could see from her position, she assumed it was not as neglected as it initially looked and that someone or something took care of it. Staring up at it, she also noticed that the building was larger than she'd originally assumed.
Twisting around nervously, Buffy could feel something watching her from a nearby stand of trees. Exploring the grounds and finding out what it was would have to wait for another day, she thought. Now that she was aware of it she could return in the morning if necessary. But right now, the inside of the building was more important. She didn't have much time to get in and take a quick look around before the sun went down.
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Gingerly walking through the high grass around to the back of the building, Buffy tried the rear entrance with little success. The locked door at the top of a flight of cement stairs looked impervious even to her enhanced slayer strength. Not ready to give up, Buffy had just started walking back down the steps in search of another way in when she heard a sharp metallic click. Cautiously turning around, she saw the heavy door slowly start to open. She quickly stepped to the side, off of the steps and out of sight of the opening door. If something was going to come out she didn't want to get in its way.
Several tense minutes later, when it looked like nothing further was going to happen, Buffy walked back up the steps to the door. She cautiously looked around the door before pushing it open wider and entering the building. The subtle background noises of nature and the town that she'd barely noticed seemed to disappear completely. She felt like she was walking into a soundproofed room, her footsteps echoing as if she'd stepped into a large empty space. Hoping this wasn't going to turn into a big mistake she warily closed the door behind her.
Straining her hearing, she couldn't detect any signs of anything moving in the building. Examining the door from the inside, Buffy couldn't find any reason for it to have opened on its own. It looked like an ordinary wooden door. But now that the door was open she couldn't think of a good reason not to take advantage of the opportunity and look for the source of the earlier evil presence.
Looking around in the dim light, Buffy found a stairway to her right, behind a door near the entrance she'd come in. The hallway she was standing in seemed to extend the length of the building. Skipping the stairway for now, she quickly searched the ground floor, noticing several empty rooms along the hallway. Nothing in the bare rooms gave her any clues about their intended purpose.
With the exception of several large windows in each room, none of them seemed to have light switches or any other form of light. As good as her night vision was, even with the penlight she'd grabbed before leaving her apartment, once the sun went down there wouldn't be enough light to see by and she had no plans to stay in the building at that point if she could help it. Wandering around an unknown building in the dark wasn't one of her favorite activities, no mater how often she did it.
Reaching the front of the building, she noticed a large curved stairway to the right of the hallway, leading upward. Giving the ground floor one last glance, she climbed the stairs, not stopping until she reached the top landing. She found herself in another hallway, also with two doors on either side. Checking each door she found that, with the exception of the door leading to the back stairs, they all opened on empty rooms with tall skinny windows. And only one of them seemed to give any indication of having a purpose. The large blackboard on one wall of that room reminded her of a classroom.
Going downward using the smaller back stairs, Buffy noticed that the next floor appeared to be identical to the floor above it, down to the location of the room with a blackboard. And like the rest of the building she'd explored so far, there was no furniture to be seen. The rooms seemed to be waiting for something. For some unknown purpose to fill them with life.
Puzzled by what she'd seen, Buffy once more took the back stairs down another flight, ending up on the ground floor. Even after a second look around she no clear idea about the building's purpose. With the light outside quickly fading, she decided to check out the basement while she had a chance.
Reaching the basement landing, she was surprised when she saw that the stairs continued downward past it. Deciding to leave exploring any lower basement levels for last, Buffy opened the basement landing door and walked through it into an almost empty room. It was lit by a faint light coming from a number of small windows just above eye level. In the center of the room was a large contraption she assumed was the furnace. She didn't know much about such things but the basement seemed too clean to have been used recently. Opposite the entrance was an empty shelf covering the entire wall. There also seemed to be some kind of small door or entrance in the back wall, but she couldn't remember seeing anything like it when she was outside.
Having gotten her fill of empty basement Buffy decided to follow the stairs the rest of the way down. Arriving at the bottom, combined with her enhanced vision, the penlight she'd hurriedly fished out of a pocket gave her just enough light to see with. The door at the bottom was a lot heavier than any of the other she'd yet seen in the building, even the ones in the two entrances. This was a door that clearly said 'beware.' Surprised that it was unlocked, she pushed it open with slayer bravado.
Entering the room she noticed that it seemed much smaller than the basement above it. Something in the room reeked of darkness. Along one wall were three small locked and chained doors. The rest of the area was empty but something drew her to one corner. It seemed to be empty but her senses were screaming at her. As she got closer to it something started pushing her back. Whatever was there was protected by some force she couldn't get past. And since she hadn't found anything resembling an entrance to the Hellmouth yet, even though she was sure it was close by, she had a strong suspicion that it was there.
But it was getting late and would be dark in a few minutes. Buffy decided to let the room and its secrets wait until she'd had time to research the building. She looked around intently, trying to imprint an image of the room on her mind. If she needed magic to get past whatever was in the corner she knew where to find a hopefully willing witch. Retracing her steps Buffy went back up to the ground floor.
Standing just inside the back entrance, she took one last look around. The only things disturbing the thick, dusty film covering the floor were her own footprints, charting her exploration of the building. Closing the door behind her, Buffy quickly headed across town towards the Coven House. She needed to ask Willow a few questions.
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Buffy arrived at the Coven House just after sunset. Unfortunately, Willow wasn't home. Except for a dim light on the porch and one above the garage, the yard and house were dark and lifeless. She'd spent enough time sitting on the porch with Willow in the past few weeks that she had no qualms about making herself comfortable while she waited. She consciously picked a place where she could see anyone approaching the house from the street but they couldn't see her.
Even though she knew that Willow and Dawn had both been training to deal with mystical evil, Buffy wasn't sure they were ready yet to deal with something as dangerous as a Hellmouth. And even she wasn't foolish enough to think she could handle it by herself. She would certainly need their help at some point but since they'd had little experience with that level of demonic influence and evil she hoped to keep them out of it as long as possible.
Finding out everything she could about the building on Heisenberg Street seemed like a good way to start involving Willow without putting her in any danger. Dawn's involvement would follow quickly after.
While she waited in the dim light, Buffy ticked off in her mind the things she'd learned while in Sunnydale that seemed to be related:
One - the Hellmouth was becoming active for the first time in almost a century. She wasn't sure if that was what was behind whatever had brought her to this Sunnydale, but she knew she couldn't leave until it was dealt with in some way.
Two - Something had kept her from even thinking about it until now. But she wasn't sure if it was the same force protecting the Hellmouth.
Three - The mysterious building on Heisenberg Street was connected in some way to the Hellmouth.
Four - Madeline had, more than once, indicated that she knew something was going on. And then there were the books she'd given her.
Five - Something magical had attacked Dawn the night before.
Six - Vampires seemed very interested in Dawn's activities but were showing unnatural restraint. Other than her first night in Sunnydale, they hadn't tried to attack Dawn.
Seven - The green demon in LA seemed to know something was up.
She wasn't sure how long she could keep Willow from becoming directly involved. But asking for her help with the mysterious building should be safe she thought. More than that and the curious witch could get hurt. She didn't pause to think why she was so interested in shielding Willow from the danger. She was effectively Dawn's Watcher, even if she called herself something else, and that wasn't the safest occupation for anyone.
That was as far as she'd gotten when she saw Willow's car pull into the driveway and disappear into the garage. Several minutes later, preceded by that warm internal glow Buffy had noticed she would occasionally get in her presence, Willow appeared at the foot of the steps looking up at her curiously.
"I need to talk with you about something." Buffy said brusquely to the tired looking woman.
"Okay." Willow gave her a nervous look. "Why don't we take this inside?" she suggested. "We can go up to my apartment. It's been a really long day and I need some place more comfortable than here to relax."
"Sure, that's fine." Buffy stood up and followed her around the porch to the back entrance and up several flights of stairs to her apartment. Willow unlocked the door and tiredly waved her in. Buffy looked around curiously before removing her coat.
"I'll take that." Willow told her when she saw Buffy standing in the entryway with her coat in her hands. Buffy watched her put it in a closet near the door before turning back to examining what she could see of the apartment. Small and plain, it wasn't quite what she'd expected when she'd actually thought about where Willow lived.
"You haven't been here before, have you?" Willow mused. "There's not much to it but let me give you a really quick tour." She walked into the center of the apartment. "Over there is the bedroom and bath." She pointed down a short hallway. "We're almost in the kitchen. My office is over there. And you can see my living room from here." She pointed to several other parts of the apartment as she talked. "It would be cozy for two people. With just me it seems a bit large at times. Of course, add the occasional slayer visit to the mix and it starts to feel cramped. Fortunately there's plenty of room downstairs for meetings if we need the space."
"It doesn't seem too bad." Buffy told her with a small smile. "It is certainly larger than my loft."
"Why don't you have a seat on the couch?" Willow suggested. "I'll get us something to drink. Coffee, tea, or...?" she trailed off, turning faintly red.
Buffy wondered what had caused Willow to blush at her own comment. "Tea is fine."
"Great! I've got the real thing." Willow went into the kitchen, leaving Buffy in the living room. Looking around she spotted the couch Willow had mentioned and made herself comfortable on one end.
"Go ahead and take your shoes off," Willow ordered with a smile as she brought a tray with a teapot and two cups into the room. Setting it on the coffee table in front of the couch, she kicked off her own shoes before sitting at the other end of the couch herself. "We're friends. It's allowed."
Following her example Buffy gave Willow another quick smile and curled her now shoeless feet underneath herself on the couch. Taking a sip of the tea Willow had just handed her, Buffy sighed in appreciation. "It's been a long time since I've had tea made that way." she told Willow. "Reminds me of home."
"Really?" Willow gave her another small smile. "I spent a year at Oxford and my advisor insisted that this was the only way to make it. Most people around here don't seem to notice the difference."
"Oh? What did you study there?" Buffy asked her. She'd wondered if Willow had pursued any of the opportunities her own Willow had turned down to stay and help her with her destiny. "An old family friend went there but the closest I've ever gotten was a summer hunting vampires nearby."
"Ancient languages." Willow shrugged. "A lot of the older slayer lore is contained in old manuscripts that are in several obscure dialects of Sumerian and Greek. My advisor was one of the few experts in those dialects. He occasionally does work for us. The Elders recommended that I study with him when I joined the coven."
"So, if I have a book or two in some obscure language you might be able to help me translate it?" Buffy asked half seriously.
"Sure. If I know it. Do you have it with you?" Willow asked with a slight frown. "Is that why you're here?"
Wondering why Willow seemed disappointed, Buffy shook her head. "No, it was just a thought. But I do have a mystery that I thought you might be able to help me with."
"What?" Buffy noticed a faint sheen of excitement in Willow's eyes, like a small child given a surprise gift. She smiled at Willow's enthusiasm, causing her to blush faintly from the attention.
"What's the mystery?" Willow asked, recovering quickly.
"Well, it is actually several things." Buffy replied.
"Just a minute." Willow got up from the couch and left the room. Returning, she sat back down on the couch, a pad of paper and a pen in hand. "Okay. Go ahead." Taking a sip of tea she motioned for Buffy to continue.
Buffy grinned slightly at the picture Willow made sitting there, trying to keep her excitement under control and look serious at the same time. It was so much like the reaction her Willow would have had that she had to consciously suppress the nostalgic feelings the sight gave her.
"Well, you know I've been following Dawn almost every night for the past few weeks. I think we've covered most of Sunnydale in the process." Willow nodded. "Well, tonight I felt something strange, some sort of unusual vibe in the air. Not quite evil but really close. So I thought I would follow it and check it out."
"You can sense if something is evil?" Willow looked at her, surprise evident on her face.
"Yes. It's a useful ability in my profession." Willow nodded in agreement. "I usually have to be within several feet of something to feel anything." Buffy said, shrugging. "But whatever it was tonight I could feel it from a good distance, so I followed it. Sort of like you would follow a smell with your nose."
"Oh." Willow wrote something down after Buffy's explanation.
"Anyway, I ended up on some street I don't recall seeing before. It wasn't one I recognized from observing Dawn's patrols." Buffy paused to take a sip of tea. "I was wondering if she intentionally skips it."
"What's the name of the street?" Willow asked.
"It's Heisenberg Street."
"I've lived here all my life and that name doesn't sound familiar." Willow got back up and left the room again, returning with a map of Sunnydale that she laid out on the coffee table, Buffy just moving fast enough to prevent the tea pot from ending up on the floor. Willow gave her a sheepish look before looking at the map.
"Hmmm..." she murmured, Buffy gazing at her expectantly. Looking up she said "I recognize the streets on either side but not that one."
"That's strange." Buffy muttered. "Sunnydale isn't that big of a town."
"No, it isn't." Willow frowned. "That certainly is a mystery. As far as I know we don't have any streets she doesn't patrol. She's not patrolling tonight but I can ask her about it tomorrow. What else did you have questions about?"
"Well, I was wondering about one of the buildings on that street." Buffy shifted back on the couch and rubbed her forehead. "But if you've never heard of the street I'm assuming you don't know anything about what is on it."
"No." Willow thought for a minute. "But we do have extensive historical archives about Sunnydale in the Coven library. If you don't mind waiting until tomorrow I can show you where they are before I head to school." Willow yawned. "Was there anything else?" she asked sleepily.
Buffy grinned at her. "Just something simple and then I'll get you into bed." Willow blushed again and Buffy wondered what had caused that reaction before realizing what she'd said and blushed herself. "By yourself." she corrected, embarrassed.
"I wouldn't mind." Buffy heard Willow say under her breath. At Buffy's raised eyebrow, Willow blushed even darker. Otherwise acting as if Buffy hadn't heard her she asked "What was your last question?"
"I've been here a month and I haven't found the Hellmouth yet." Buffy decided to not mentioned that she'd actually been in no hurry to find it. "Where is it?"
Willow abruptly sat up at the question, suddenly all business. "Why do you want to know? It isn't active."
"I think it's connected to that street somehow." Buffy told her. "I also think it isn't quite as inactive as you think."
"Dawn and I can show you if you really want to see it." Willow admitted. "But can it wait until next weekend? It's in a cavern deep underneath Sunnydale and getting there can take a whole morning."
"I'm not sure if it can wait that long. I think it is starting to become active. Waking up." Buffy told her. "I think that is part of what I sensed tonight but I want to double check."
"Waking up?" Willow paled.
"Yes. I don't think it is dangerous yet." Buffy reassured her. "But if it is becoming active it'll start attracting all sorts of evil creatures to Sunnydale, unless something is done about it."
Willow visibly shivered. "That isn't good!"
"No it isn't" Buffy told her glumly. She put down her cup and reached for her shoes. "I should get going so you can get to bed."
"Why?" Willow pouted, something Buffy hadn't seen her do before.
"Because you aren't the only one who needs to get some sleep." Buffy looked away from Willow before she could give in to her unspoken request that she stay. "If Dawn isn't going out later I should head home."
"Okay." Willow yawned again and leaned back. "Can you show yourself out?"
"Sure." She told her. Rising from the couch, Buffy headed to the closet to get her coat. Noticing a small blanket on the shelf above it, she grabbed it and walked back into the living room. Giving Willow a quick smile, she tucked her in. With a quiet 'Goodnight' she left the surprised woman staring at her as she let herself out.
Standing in front of the Coven House for a minute, Buffy looked wistfully up at the light she could see coming from a window in Willow's apartment. Sighing, she turned and headed across town towards her lonely loft.
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Continued in The Apocalypse Blues
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