Switcheroony
by alicorn
Chapter 35
[reviews]
Hyatt Ramu recalled watching with fear as Maclay had walked towards Holland Manners. His stomach already in knots, he wondered why he had thought following his boss was a good idea. His grandmother had always said that those who eavesdrop never hear well of themselves.
His natural distrust and curiosity had taken over when he'd seen the senior partner come out of "Recent Acquisitions". Years of training, years of knowing what not to see, what not to acknowledge as a junior had fallen away in response to the trepidation, self-preservation and doubt his boss had recently instilled into him. He'd been so confident of his success, so certain that his careful planning would bear fruit. But Holland's calm, matter-of-fact statements, knowledge and questions had shaken his world. All thoughts of becoming a partner by carefully moving up the ladder via detailed planning and eventually taking Holland's post seemed to drift from his mind, replaced by the opportunity to gaze into the world and mind of the senior partner.
Maclay was a small weasel of a man whose company he had found less than appealing. Carrying himself with an overwhelming sense of his own importance, the man had reacted to Hyatt's job offer with the air of one being inconvenienced. The junior associate was used to people falling all over themselves to be of use to the firm. But he had finally found the mage's price and that had changed his manner quickly enough. Everyone has his price. It had just been a matter of finding it.
But he was worried. What had the senior partner been up to -- meeting a non-player like Maclay? Was Holland following up on his project? Had he made a mistake?
When he saw Manners reach into his jacket and pause, he had hoped the action would prove harmful to the loathsome little man. He suddenly had unrealistic hopes that he was about to see the senior partner kill someone by his own hand. Maclay had appeared perturbed and impatient. Finally Holland passed him a small envelope, holding onto it despite Maclay's eager hands. He had leaned towards the weasel of a man and, smiling as he did so, said something ... no ... he had asked a question and only released his hold on the envelope once Maclay had nodded.
Now sitting at his desk eight hours later, Hyatt tried to piece together all that had happened with everything else he had recently learned about Holland Manners and Angel. But he couldn't believe what he thought it meant. 'The senior partner would never ... Why would he do something so opposed to the policy of the firm?'
Hyatt reached out for the telephone, not at all sure if what he was about to do was such a good idea. But he shook his doubts aside. He'd been the one to bring this project to near completion with no support, no guiding hand but his own. Hadn't he earned a little autonomy?
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"Are you sure you wanna try this?" Xander asked, his concern obvious.
"I have to. I need to know she's okay," Willow explained, "And she needs to know we're coming." She could feel something close to desperation building within her. She needed to reach out and feel her beloved. It was as if her heart was hungry for any small part of Buffy it could have.
Taking a look at her face Xander sighed. "Okay, Will. I get where you're coming from," he replied before voicing in his own fears. "But what if it doesn't work? What if she can't answer to let you know she's okay, that she heard you? You're gonna get wigged. Your head will be full of doubt. The last thing we need is our Wiccan Slayer with a mind full of holes. Stuff falls through them. Not a good thing while you're trying to control new magics, especially with the new temporary magic partner you have. General Swiss Cheese at the Little Big Horn - not an appealing image."
"I will not. I know what I have to do," Willow declared, annoyed by her oldest friend's negativity. She knew she could do this. And so should he! "I can control how I feel. I've been doing that for years," she reminded him. "When we get this rescue going, there will be no holes in my cheese," she stated with such determination that her choice of words took a moment to sink in.
Xander bit the inside of his lip, determined not to give into the mental picture of Willow's body with a big lump of Swiss cheese as her head and a confederate hat set at a rakish tilt.
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Wesley wallowed in mounting frustration. He was unable to do anything but watch as Angel was held securely inside the globe of blue light. It was so bright that he could only just make out the two figures within it.
Why hadn't he stopped Angel from getting so close to a man versed in the dark magics? 'I should have warned him. As if he would have listened,' he thought to himself, well aware that Angel's eyes normally glazed over whenever he tried to explain the results and hypotheses gleaned from his research or ex-watcher based instincts.
And so he stood feeling useless and ineffectual as his anger rose and his patience waned. 'Surely it has to collapse soon. This can't be how the man intends to escape.' But just as he was about to scream in frustration at the world, the glow seemed to shift from blue to a pale green.
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Buffy could hear the faint sounds of raised voices. But without her slayer hearing she had little hope of making out what her captors were arguing about.
This whole "you're a normal girl" thing was really starting to tick her off. Okay maybe she had once ... okay, more than once ... wished she was just a normal girl. But that thought had long ago been replaced with the internal promise she had made to stop people from dying at the hands of vampires and demons. Then she'd had to tell her mother. Somehow that had made it more permanent and real than it had been before. She no longer fostered the illusion of growing old. She just didn't think about it. Most of the time she didn't think more than one month ahead; she had become the poster girl for — "one day at a time".
But now there was Willow. Her dear sweet, sexy, loyal Willow. And she had, indeed, begun to think ahead, planning, worrying and doubting their future. She had now been considering a future, not alone, but with someone. The last time she'd done that Angel had left and shattered her fragile dreams.
Smiling, she realized that she didn't need to worry that Willow would ever leave her. They might end up forever friends, with an awkward moment in their past that they didn't talk about. But Willow would always be there for her - that she knew for sure. This knowledge filled her with strength and amusement. She'd always known who she would spend her life with. She just hadn't realized the circumstances. Maybe Faith hadn't been that far off the mark.
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Reviewing the details of the prophecy, Hyatt's mind went into meltdown. 'What the hell is he up to?' he asked himself, almost missing the next part of Kelly's impromptu history of the Amulet that Holland Manners had removed from "Recent Acquisitions".
"Fine. They're linking this thing to Angel just as we predicted they would," he stated impatiently, only to have Kelly hesitate and extrapolate rather than simply confirm his statement. He hated theories and the indecision they produced. He wanted cold hard facts, something he could rely on, not the interpretations of some tealeaf reader covering his or her own back. But Kelly wasn't any more willing to put her head on the proverbial chopping block than the historians had obviously been.
"Okay, okay. He's the odds-on favorite. No one else appears to fit the prophecy now that I've knocked the bleached blond vampire out of the game," he stated. But something gnawed at him, the sudden feeling that all his plans were being undermined coursing through his veins. His whole plan B was focused on Angel getting this Amulet and then being forced to make the ultimate sacrifice to stop the apocalypse. But Holland Manners had just taken the Amulet and given it away. If this ruined his back-up plan, then keeping the sun from rising and causing the apocalypse would depend completely on the Witch and the Slayer not being able to break the spell in time.
Something Kelly said caught his attention. "What?"
"As I said, there has been a new development. When the group gathered to review Vijay's findings, they ... well they interpreted the final part of the prophecy somewhat differently," she stated, pausing before delivering what she obviously viewed as bad news. "They now think that if the one described in the prophecy succeeds in using the Amulet to stop the apocalypse he wouldn't die. Instead he could become mortal again and walk in the sunlight," Kelly informed him, her voice trailing off.
"What???" Hyatt exclaimed, as he mentally let his jaw drop.
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Willow began to focus her mind on the woman that now fully occupied the center of her heart. She needed to know that Buffy was okay. But most of all, she needed to know that she was still alive. Even though she hoped and believed that she would instinctively know if anything ever happened to Buffy, self-doubt still forced her to accept the possibility that this might not be the case. She, therefore, had to remove all doubt before starting the rescue attempt.
She had locked herself in the bathroom in the hope of having some peace and quiet. But she could still hear the rest of the gang moving around the apartment and talking. Certain that she was the main topic of their conversation she fought the urge to retreat into her shell and block out all that meant. Over the last few days she had been the center of attention in a way that she wasn't at all that comfortable with. She could feel her old demons — low esteem, uncertainty, self-doubt, panic and paranoia rearing their ugly heads. She had thought those were gone forever; Buffy had helped her get through them. She wasn't designed to have everyone peeking into her life and second-guessing her every move. How on earth did Buffy cope?
Sorrow filled her as she realized that the one person she wanted to talk to and share all of this with was the one person not here. Gulping, she refused to let either the anger or the fear grab hold of her. 'Concentrate,' she ordered herself and closing her eyes she began to focus herself.
Drawing just enough mystical energy together into a core around her heart, she mentally lifted it towards the location of her third eye, allowing only one word to enter her mind - 'Buffy.'
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Holland Manners gazed at the entrance to Remal's vault. He really hated this place. Even though he knew he was still in the firm's building, he always felt as if he was about to use a portal and jump dimensions. Laughing at himself, he reached out and pushed open the door.
The room before him was dimly lit by candles and its hanging fabrics created large shadowy nooks and corners like something from a poorly lit black and white desert movie. But the man that came from the shadows was no Rudolph Valentino. He was a fully grown demon of the second order.
"Holland? So soon?" Remal queried, his pitch black eyebrow rising and his sharpened horns glinting in the candle light.
"Remal, you look well rested," Holland stated, forcing a friendly smile.
"Thank you. Yes, I am," the demon replied and gesturing towards a pile of scattered cushions, he beckoned the senior partner into his abode. "How may I be of assistance?"
Moving towards the cushions, Manners felt the door close behind him. Glancing at the cushions he located one he thought he'd be able to rise from after their discussion had ended. Lowering himself he began, "Events have unfolded much as you said they would. Please pass my thanks on to your sister. Her foresight has proved invaluable."
"I am glad we could be of help. Our exchanges have benefited us well over the years, have they not?" Remal questioned.
Recognizing his question as nothing more than the need to ratify the contract he had signed so many decades ago, Holland smiled, "Indeed they have."
Remal nodded and, taking a cushion himself, he smiled - his shark like teeth almost glowing in the candlelight. "His Sire's remains have been relocated and soon the death killer will be tempted to break the bonds of her creators. Has the Amulet been dealt with?"
"Yes and it will soon be destroyed," Holland affirmed, unable to help the small shiver of uncertainty from crossing his mind.
"You have reservations?" the demon asked, staring questioningly at the senior partner. Sometimes these humans amused him. "Do you wish my sister had not told you of what was to come, of your own demise at the hands of his Sire?" he asked unable to keep the frustration from his voice.
"No reservations! Just the caution of mortality. As an immortal, caution may mean nothing to you but, then again, had I been immortal you would have killed me at birth," Holland stated in a matter of fact tone showing no resentment.
Remal simply nodded.
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Her eyelids were so heavy. Maybe if she just closed them for a moment. 'No!' She had to be ready ... ready for what? While trying to reposition herself, she had managed to loosen the rope around her wrists but in doing so she had simply tightened the ropes around her ankles to the point where she began to wonder if she would be able to walk.
A buzzing noise seemed to invade her aching temples and she shook her head, momentarily closing her eyes against the sound. 'No! I gotta stay awake.' But the noise came back and this time louder, pounding against her forehead. She allowed her head to drop, screwing her eyes up and wishing she was able to cover her ears.
Slowly she began to imagine the buzzing was familiar, that it made sense somehow. Were there words hidden in it? Straining her tired mind, she tried to filter out the buzzing sound.
[B---- --'re co---- -o ge- --o. Can --o -ear me]
'There, that was ... what?'
[Bu--- we'-- -oming —o ge- -ou. Ar- --o —ay..........]
'Concentrate, it's almost ... Willow?'
[Buff- can —o —ear m-?]
'Willow? Yes, yes I can hear you,' she almost screamed with her mind as her heart nearly exploded and fresh tears, this time of joy, began to form in her eyes. 'Oh Willow, are you okay? Where are they holding you?'
[Buffy can you hear me? We're coming to get you. Are you okay?]
'Willow?'
[Buffy can you hear me?]
"WILLOW!" Buffy screamed out loud, as she realized that although she could hear her true love, she could not reply. Her momentary joy fell to earth, crashing about her.
[Buffy, if you can hear me - the answer is -YES.]
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"How's she doing?" Cordelia asked sitting down next to Faith.
"She'll cope. There are issues," Faith laughed, "like that's news! But she's got it under control. Red's tougher than she looks."
"Good," Cordelia affirmed quickly setting that aside before she added, "And you?"
"I'm five by five," Faith assured her.
"Oh yeah. The infamous 'five by five' mega cool Faith statement. And who the hell is ever gonna ask you what it means? Oh duh — that would be me," Cordelia declared sending Faith her best blinding smile, eyes wide open in expectation.
The Dark Slayer was speechless for a moment; entranced by the sheer power of the smile she was being offered. 'Damn, has she got any idea how stunning that thing is?' Leaning back as casually as she could manage, she laughed before recovering from her silence and offering Cordy what she hoped was a smile of mystery. "But honey, I thought you liked a little mystery?"
"I get enough of that day to day. Seriously, what does five by five mean? Aside from like how to make a square," the Seer asked grinning.
"See, first I lose my mystery and now I'm a square. That's why a girl should always keep her mystery," Faith stated, throwing Cordelia a suggestive wink.
"Don't you trust me?" Cordelia asked in all seriousness. "I thought that by now, you know, after all we've been through ... all that's about to happen ..." she paused remembering that tonight Faith was going to put herself in harm's way.
Thrown by Cordelia's sudden change in mood, Faith found herself staring into the depths of those chestnut brown eyes. She could read the sudden sincere concern filling them directed at her and she could almost feel her heart stop.
"Afraid I'll betray you somehow, huh? I guess you've had some major letdowns on the friend front ... but I thought that we'd moved passed that?" Cordelia explained, as her throat began to go dry under the heat of Faith's gaze. She needed to know that she meant something more to Faith than just another acquaintance, just another chapter in her life. She needed to know that the friendship they had built was more than just a passing thing.
"We have. It's not that," Faith assured her. "I do trust you ... I mean I want to. I just didn't think it mattered to you if I ..."
"It matters. It more than matters, actually," Cordelia interrupted. "Who knows why considering how 'valley girl' you can sometimes be. Hey, it's not like I'm after your fashion secrets," she blurted out brashly, unnerved to find herself stumbling over her words and breaking eye contact. Gathering her thoughts, she made the decision to say what she meant. "I like knowing things about you that no one else does. It's kind of cool. It makes me feel like we ... like we have something ... you know ... a special friendship. I've never had someone who ... but it's no big. If you don't want to let me in ... I mean, just tell me."
"Hey, you are ... special ... I mean we do have ... at least I thought we ... I'd like to think we've ... become ... friends," Faith finally managed, reaching forward to gently place a reassuring hand on Cordelia's arm. "All this new stuff gets me a bit turned around ... you know?" she asked, not really expecting a response. "Five by five - you wanna know what it means? Fine. But it's gonna be a letdown," she warned, knitting her eyebrows together in mock distress.
"You haven't let me down yet," Cordelia stated, throwing her a shy smile. "I like the idea of sharing a secret with you."
Faith couldn't help laughing, "You, me and half the armed forces."
"What?"
"Five by Five is a military radio term. It means that the signal strength and clarity have both scored five out of a possible five; so 'five by five'," Faith paused to take in the disbelieving look on Cordelia's face. "Okay, so the whole cruising navy bars is now out of my system," she assured her before adding, "it's like saying — loud & clear or A-Okay."
Cordelia stared at her. "Seriously? That's all it means?"
"Yep. Kinda square, huh?" she asked, pulling a childish grin across her features. "Guess it loses the cool in translation."
"Yeah!" Cordelia laughed. "Kinda. What were you - a radio ham groupie? Okay, now I get the secret. SO not going tell anyone that I know someone who knows radio geeks. Yeeeck. So NOT cool," she stated in mock horror.
"Happy now?" Faith asked, not sure why it was that this gorgeous person could get her to talk about ... well ... just about anything.
"Trust me sweetheart, I'm taking that one to the grave," Cordelia assured her placing her hand upon Faith's and squeezing gently before breaking into a similarly childish grin.
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Wesley moved forward in anticipation. The glow was definitely changing color. It was almost all green and he thought he could see a faint whisp of yellow now beginning to form at the base of the gleaming globe.
Then he saw Angel's head move as if he was about to fall backwards and concern filled him. He moved closer again, positioning himself behind Angel's attacker. Careful to stay away from the apparent faded edge of the globe, he wondered if it would simply shrink or evaporate. He was pretty sure Angel was going to fall once released but the fall wouldn't hurt the vampire. So he wanted to be ready to take this guy by surprise as soon as the globe allowed him to.
Unexpectedly, the globe began to move quickly towards him. Caught in it, his motions became lethargic and pained. He tried to move backwards to escape its influence to no avail. Before he had the opportunity to see that it had split in two, the short man had simply stepped from it, turning to smile at Wesley's predicament before disappearing. One minute he was there, the next he was gone.
The sound of Angel's body falling to the alley's floor broke Wesley's vacant gaze of surprise as the globe dissipated around them. Pulling himself together and realizing he too had been released, he rushed to Angel's side.
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Buffy gulped, her mind reeling from 'now I'm having waking dreams' to 'Jeez, she said Yes!' Her mind exploded with joy and confusion. It had sounded like Willow — but had she wanted it to be Willow? Maybe she was just having a sleep-deprived illusion? 'How could Willow send me a message? ... Of course ... MAGIC?'
Her mind went blank as her heart felt like it was bursting. The sudden influx of hope and joy was too much for her mind to take. Willow had said Yes. She had actually said yes ... and they were coming to save her. 'Hold on! If they're coming to save me and Willow knows ... that means she's safe. She wasn't taken. OK, but why wasn't she taken? Why was I taken ... Oh Wow - she said yes ... YES!' A silly grin spread its childlike happiness across her face.
Had one of her guards looked in at that moment, they would have thought the girl had gone mad because she was smiling, laughing and crying all at the same time.
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Giles couldn't help smiling as Anya and Xander attempted to make his toolbox fit into the now completely jammed trunk of his car. They had now tried it at least six different ways but none of these had allowed the trunk to close.
"Move that over there," Xander instructed as he pulled out a sword.
"It won't work. The axe sticks out too far," Anya responded, placing her hands on her hips.
Giles was reminded of the time he watched his two great aunts packing for a long weekend in the Lake District. As had occurred every Easter, he had watched as they attempted to pack every thing including the kitchen sink - Aunty Mary adding more and more, Aunty Maud tut-tutting but making no attempt to stop her. The final task of sitting on the suitcase lid and bouncing, in the often vain hope that his weight would help to close the case, had become a childish sense of joy back then. But right now he was quickly replacing amusement with disbelief. 'Didn't they have a clue when to give up?'
"Well, just wiggle it up and down a bit. We only need a little more room," Xander sighed in exasperation.
"Wiggling won't do any good. The box is too wide," Anya informed him, her tone becoming sharper with each response.
Standing upright Xander glared at the offending box. "Well it has to. We can't leave it behind. I need it to jerry rig the equipment."
Giles couldn't stand it any longer. He stepped forward, reached into the trunk of the car and removed the toolbox. "One can't help but wonder why, if all empirical evidence shows that this won't fit into the trunk, why you haven't considered just placing it on someone's lap?"
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Willow stood slowly, shaken and drained by the emotions she had picked up from Buffy. She had used telepathy before. She'd been able to hear Xander and Anya. Why couldn't she hear Buffy? She'd tried refocusing, shifting her center. Nothing seemed to help.
Maybe she'd been foolish to hope that her beloved would be able to respond. She could tell that Buffy's emotional state was pretty stressed and shaky. What if she hadn't allowed Buffy time to acquire the focus that would have been needed? She should have factored that in. She felt frustration building within her. Goddess, how she wanted her skills back and her talents, not these borrowed ones.
Glancing at the mirror at the face of the woman she loved, a feeling of sadness and loss came over her. 'Oh Buffy, I tried.' Buffy's emotions had been so stretched, it was as if she had been refusing to let go, as if something was holding her. 'She's kept herself awake,' Willow realized, 'But why? There was nothing she could do. She had to know we'd come for her.'
Uncertainty flew into her mind, coupled with the terrifying thought that Buffy had doubted her; that she had somehow accepted that she was alone, that no help was coming. What if she'd been staying awake so that she didn't miss an opening, a way out? 'How could she think I wouldn't ... that we wouldn't come for her ... find her? No way' she rebuked herself, 'Buffy would never leave us and we would never leave her. She knows that.' It was like a Scooby rule or something.
Leaving the bathroom, Willow set her chin allowing her determination to rescue Buffy to become her only focus. The apartment door opened and Giles, Xander and Anya walked in. Glancing first at them and then at Cordelia and Faith, she nodded. "So, are we ready?"
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Holland Manners wasn't at all sure if Ramal had accepted the importance of his warning. That was the problem with non-human business associates — differing frames of reference. Absently he wondered if he should schedule a short workshop on interspecies relations.
Glancing at his watch, he smiled. By now Angel would be minus a very powerful tool intended for his use only. Despite what that silly love struck vampire had assumed, he would never be allowed to use it. Angel's use of the Amulet would have eventually caused this branch of the firm to be transferred to the vampire. No matter who used it, there were two things Holland intended to avoid - Angel getting his hands on Wolfram and Hart was one; the other being his own early demise at the hands of Angel's sire, Darla.
By removing the magic from the Amulet and giving it to that little worm Maclay, he had removed the focal point for a whole chain of events. It often amazed him that so many of his junior colleagues still persisted in seeing things in a two-dimensional cause and effect manner. This was multi-dimensional; it involved ripples. Angel's effect on the firm was like a multi-layered cake. And he had just removed the raising agent that would have allowed this to happen.
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Xander reviewed the layout he had seen earlier when doing reconnaissance with Faith, trying to recall as many details of the hideout as he could. He was aware that timing would be essential. He just hoped that Willow could keep up with the pace Faith had set when she'd tried a partial dry run against his advice. The area didn't have much cover, and distraction and diversion were going to be their greatest weapons.
He'd given Anya a big hug before guiding her into the back seat with Faith, Cordelia and Willow. Boy, had that been a tight fit. He'd almost made a wisecrack at the sight of Cordelia trying not to end up sitting in Faith's lap while the Dark Slayer just grinned, but had wisely thought better of it.
Giles had been quieter than he'd expected. Not that the watcher was normally a chatterbox but he usually kicked off something like this with one of his 'oh so very British' speeches; like he was channeling that Winston Churchill guy.
Pulling away from the apartment, he couldn't help giving their apartment a quick glance. Whenever they set off on a mission he always wondered if they would all be coming back. Their luck had been just too good so far. He always feared that one day they would run out of luck and it wouldn't be the bad guy who didn't come back — It would be one of them.
While Xander wallowed in the pessimistic world of what might happen, Giles was finding the silence in the car as uncomfortable as the weight of Xander's toolbox that he was holding across his knees.
They made their way towards the docks in silence with only one interruption from Anya to check that everyone had been to the bathroom. She had then informed them that there had been some great battle that Alexander the Great had won only because the opposing troops had poor bladder control.
He had been tempted to go back over the plan but a warning look from Cordelia told him that to do so with bring down her wrath. One look at Willow's determined features had assured him that her mind was on mission. He couldn't be so sure of his own mind however, as his ever-present concern for Buffy flooded back.
Entering the main storage area of the docks, Xander had parked the car a good two blocks away from the warehouse. As everyone unloaded and assembled at the rear of the car, Giles was filled with the need to say something to Willow but nothing came to mind. So he reached over to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Willow spun around at him and for a moment he thought he was about to be attacked. The look on her face was only thinly concealed and he recognized it easily — Slayer Rage! He had seen it before — in Buffy and, especially, in Faith. "Willow?"
"I'm okay," she responded quickly, turning away from him.
"Willow, you need to center yourself. If you let that anger and rage rule you, I am certain that there will be a loss of control, a loss of focus," Giles instructed her, shifting back into his Watcher role with comfortable ease.
"I'll be fine," she assured him, taking a deep breath and becoming more than a little annoyed with herself for letting Giles know just how tightly strung she really was.
"I'm glad you feel confident. One would be even more concerned if you did not but Willow, you really must take some time to focus," he advised, turning to place the toolbox on the roof of the car.
Irritated, Willow snapped, "We don't have time for chanting, crystals and Kumbaya. We need to get Buffy out of there."
"And unless pasty white is going to become next season's new formal black I vote we do just that before sunrise," Cordelia interjected, stepping forward to stand beside Willow. "So let's skip the 'wise old man' speech and get on with it. OK?"
Realizing that Cordelia was right, Xander stepped forward. "I think I speak for everyone when I say that I've had enough of the planning. We all know what we have to do. So let's get on with the doing. Will knows what she needs to do and she'll do it. Now grab that toolbox and follow me."
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Buffy closed her eyes and smiled. Somehow the fear of falling asleep was now gone. She was more awake than she'd been in ages. Her mind felt like a night at the bronze; so many conversations, she almost couldn't listen to just the one thought.
'They were coming to get her. How exactly were they planning to do that? Did Faith have anything to do with it?'
Then she froze at the sound of footsteps. 'So soon?' But they passed by her. 'Just a guard.'
'Willow said yes!' They were going to date. But they couldn't date; they were running out of time. But the 'yes' was a good sign. That meant she really cared for her, didn't it? That they had a chance. That she wanted her. That she wanted more that just friendship. 'Didn't it?'
The footsteps were back. 'Seems like I've got my own personal guard. Oh, how sweet.'
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As Xander took possession of his toolbox, Giles glanced over at the machinery - a bulldozer, a dump truck, an earth digger. Then he saw it — a wrecking ball. A flood of childhood memories overwhelmed him. He'd watched builders demolish his school's old gymnasium when he should have been paying attention to a series of lectures on post-modern art. And all he had thought was how satisfying it must be to vent all your anger in such an accepted and legal but destructive act.
Turning to Xander, he paused 'I can't ask. What will he think?' Blinking slightly he turned away again.
"Okay, Anya I need you to take this and wait for me by that earth digger. Giles take this and head over to the..."
Giles mentally crossed his fingers.
"Dump truck and wait for me. I'm going to sort out that bulldozer."
Ignoring the disappointment he felt, Giles couldn't help asking, "What about that wrecking ball? Surely that could do a lot of damage?"
"Naah. No good. It takes too long to set up and move into position," Xander advised him, smirking. "We're after speed and surprise here, G-man. So it's big wheels and tonnage."
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Wesley cradled the limp figure of Angel in his arms and wondered if he'd be able to drag the vampire to the car by himself. Then again maybe if he just waited long enough, the big guy would come to. It had taken quite sometime for the last of the globe to dissipate and release him. By that time Wesley knew that he had no chance of catching the little worm of a man who had been responsible for all this.
Glancing up and down the alley he realized that he had spent one too many evenings in the back alleys of LA. 'I really need to visit a park or the ocean.' Shrugging aside his internal reflections at the path his life had taken, he looked back down at Angel. 'Oh well.'
Raising his hand he landed a well-placed slap onto his colleague's right cheek. Having braced himself for a reaction, he exhaled when nothing happened. Raising his hand again, he wondered how long this was going to take.
Seven or eight slaps later, he gave up and bent over to grab Angel under his arms. He took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Uhhhh!" Angel muttered.
"What?" Wesley blurted, as relief washed over him.
"You work with me and you eat garlic?" Angel asked, slowly opening his eyes to throw Wesley an accusing look.
Instinctively searching his memory, Wesley nodded apologetically, "Must have been that pizza last night."
"Ahh ... the dangers of fast food," Angel commented looking around. "Okay, why am I still on the ground?"
Standing up Wesley smiled. "Long story," he replied, not sure how to begin.
"I'm guessing it involved that short guy," Angel stated as he tried to turn over.
Wesley nodded, "Mostly."
"So, and I'm just continuing the guessing here, would that also be why I can't seem to move?" Angel asked, his annoyance very evident.
"That would probably be the blue globe thing he threw around the two of you," Wesley advised him.
"Great. Assuming mini-Merlin is long gone, am I staying here until I can walk or did you have a plan?"
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Willow followed Faith, her heart thumping so loudly in anticipation that it resounded in her ears. 'We're coming, my darling,' she telepathically shouted, desperate to make contact despite the fact that she would be seeing Buffy very soon. She could feel the power building as she gave her borrowed slayer powers free reign.
"Keep low," Faith instructed her as they reached a low cement bank topped by a wire fence. "There's not much cover from this point on but we can get closer if we're careful. Then it's up to the X-man and his ego-sized toys."
Crouching down low, Willow tried to run but the position was so unfamiliar and uncomfortable that the best she could manage was a loping trot. She could see Faith pulling away from her and disappointment filled her but shaking her head, she refused to allow it to stay. 'Why should I be able to keep up with her? She's a real slayer. I'm just some 'G I Jane Slayer' wannabe without the years of experience she and Buffy have had. I've only been doing this for a week, for goodness sake. I mean, you need years of experience, don't you? Slayers are like the Special Ops of the Hellmouth and all things dark and scary. That's why they do all that one-on-one training, learning how to build a bridge from six egg cartons and a box of matches or how to slay a demon with a cotton ball and four Barbie pins if they had to. I'm just a witch with some borrowed powers and a couple of training sessions. Gotta keep it real. So I can't keep up with Faith - Big Deal!! As Anya would say - I have other skills. Damn it, Giles was right. I need to focus.'
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Buffy remained alert while waiting for Willow, the others and her rescue. She tried to relax as much as possible considering the discomfort of the restraints on her hands and feet. If only she had her slayer strength, she could have easily gotten out of them.
'I don't understand how Willow can have my slayer abilities and still be able to use her magical powers to speak to me but I can't do anything. Why can't I use her magic to make her hear me ... to help with my rescue? I know I'm nowhere near as smart as she is but ... I mean ... I used to help her with her spells ... at the beginning.' She tried to calm down. She couldn't afford to miss anything.
Then she remembered something. 'Wait a sec. Didn't I already use magic? After Willow and the gang rescued me from Dracula ... I am so getting tired of having to be rescued. Faith was there too, even though we didn't see her ... she dusted him for us ... she ...' Closing her eyes, she shook her head trying to clear it so that she could get back to the elusive memory. 'When those three crazy girl vamps attacked us ... Willow was down, hurt ... they were trying to kill her. Something happened ... but what exactly?' She paused for a moment trying to remember.
'They caught fire. Did I ... could I have done that? And then ... then ... Willow was carrying me back to the dorms and taking care of me ... like she always does.' She smiled at the thought for a moment, but soon started to think back about that night again. She remembered the heat; it had been inside her. And somehow ... somehow she'd let it out — How? The Sirens had burst into flame. She had done it. She knew she had. But how? If she could do that, surely she should be able to answer Willow's call.
She was furious with herself, frustrated that she couldn't remember ... that she couldn't make herself heard by Willow.
*****************************BtVS********************************
Xander worked his way across the now dark building site to the dump truck where Giles awaited him. Setting Anya up with the earth digger had taken longer than he'd expected despite his belief that it was the easiest of all the machines to operate. Damn it, why hadn't he moved the machines closer when he'd had the chance? 'Because I'm so not suicidal boy. The guys with guns gave me the scaredy shakes.'
The resigned look on Giles' face confused him for a moment, but then he saw the wistful glance at the wrecking ball and he allowed himself a little smile, amused that the G-man had apparently hoped to get something a bit more ... macho. Who would have guessed? Shrugging aside his amusement, he swung his tool kit onto the waist high cab step and removing the pliers and wire cutters, he closed the box and placed it below the cab step. Then he made his way towards the rear of the vehicle.
"Okay, Anya's all set. If you could get yourself into the cab, I'll be up in a minute to give you one-on-one instruction. Should be easy considering the stick shift you're used to."
******************************BtVS**********************************
Slim hated this waiting. It was always the worst part of any job or battle. Nothing prepared you for the strain on your nerves, the temptation of paranoia. And nighttime just intensified these feelings - the seemingly whispering gusts of wind and moving shadows filling your mind with dread, anticipation and false starts.
He'd seen a few guys lose it in Senegal, and one rookie had set off a firefight with a colleague who had repositioned. Waiting was almost as dangerous as fighting because you don't have a focus, a target, something to release all your anticipation and adrenalin at.
Dorgan might be a dork but at least he knew that he gave the guys someone to vent their frustrations at. Slim had been with some commanders who didn't have a clue what their men were going through, let alone care. It was clear that Dorgan fixated on the little things as if knowing that if he did his job well, his men would allow their pent-up frustrations to be directed toward his obsessions. But Slim wasn't about to thank him for his efforts. He had the guys' back and that was enough.
Suddenly he thought he spotted something moving over to the left and ... a flash of ... skin? His changed his focus and repositioned his night vision goggles in the hope that a small adjustment would somehow help. But he couldn't see anything. The shadow by that loading bay was pitch black and so far from any street light that nothing seemed able to penetrate its depths.
******************************BtVS******************************
Faith stood on the loading bay, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling that she was out in the open. She'd realized during her earlier visit that this bay was in dark shadows and that you'd have to be less than twenty feet from it before you'd be able to make out anything on it.
Glancing behind her, she noticed Willow, who was crouched down at the back of the bay peering out into the night, with the unmistakable anticipation and tingling nerves that Faith knew so well.
"Well, that was the easy part. Now it's up to the diversionary crew," she stated.
"What time is it?" Willow asked.
"I dunno," Faith said glancing at her wrist before remembering that she didn't have a watch. "Why?"
"Because Xander said three o'clock," Willow reminded her.
"I'm kinda guessing that once Xander kicks off we're gonna know about it," the Dark Slayer observed. "It's like a library out here. Someone drops a pin and we're gonna hear it."
Willow smiled and nodded, somewhat strangely amused at having the site of her first real test as a temporary slayer described as a library. Recalling the early years and the many hours they had spent in the school library. Little had she imagined back then that what they had begun in those early days would be the backbone of their current lives.
Standing before her was the woman she had once thought of as a possible new part of the group, then as a mortal enemy and, if she was honest, as the one she viewed as the only real competition for her place in Buffy's affections. And now they were together, trusting each other, needing to work together to save the woman they had once competed for and who was still so important to both of them.
"Faith?" Willow called, not at all certain of what she really wanted to say.
"Yeah," Faith responded, turning back from the intense lookout she had taken up.
Pausing in her scramble for the right words that would sum up how she was feeling, Willow gave up and allowed her scrambled mind free reign. "I'm glad you're here. It seems right somehow that we do this together," she said simply.
Faith dropped her eyes despite the fact that Willow probably couldn't see them and, rather emotionally, was barely able to speak. "Oh hell, Red ... Newsflash - I'm not much good at this stuff. And let's face it, most of the time whatever I do want to say only comes out half right or totally wrong. So can we leave it at — Ditto?"
Affected more than she wanted to admit, Willow simply nodded and offered a succinct "Sure."
They both understood.
************************************BtVS***********************
"Oh you've got to be joking!" Xander exclaimed under his breath, throwing his pliers to the ground and then, bending down to rescue them.
"Excuse me?" Giles questioned, poking his head out from inside the cab.
"What kinda paranoid freak takes the ignition leads home at night?" Xander grumbled, pointing at the engine housing as if Giles could see just what he was talking about. Sighing in exaggerated frustration, he glanced back at Anya and then at Giles. "Okay, okay we improvise. That's what we do. I'm good with the off-the-cuff stuff."
"You are?" Giles muttered before he could help himself.
"Snide quips - Not helping," Xander advised the watcher, who was now getting down from the cab, having realized his vehicle wasn't going anywhere, least of all to war. "Okay. Anya has the earth digger. No way I'm re-educating this 'Rita' now. I'm on the bull — which has a tow bar!" Xander realized. "Brilliant! A little clumsy but brilliant," he asserted before throwing Giles what appeared a slightly insane smile.
Giles stared at the young man in complete confusion. He knew that what he was listening to was pretty much a verbal expression of Xander's thought pattern but, none the less, it reminded him of his first Latin lesson. Totally unintelligible.
************************************BtVS**************************
It had to have been almost half an hour since they'd left Xander, but they were still sitting here, waiting, stinking of these damn spice bags. Sugar and spice, everything nice - NOT. 'What the hell did she put in here?' Faith wondered as her patience began to wear thin. "How long has it been?" Faith asked irritably, "What's he doing? Building a rocket?"
"Xander will get here. He won't let us down," Willow declared, despite feeling a little less confident than she knew she sounded.
"Yeah, yeah ... I know," Faith assured her, kicking at thin air. "I just hate the waiting ... you know?"
"Believe me when I say — getting there," Willow agreed with her. Then a soft rumbling came to their ears. "Listen," she exclaimed, pointing out into the darkness and in the general direction of the building site. She could almost make out the movement of the sound ... east to west.
Then Faith saw it. "You've gotta be kidding me!" she exclaimed.
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Much thanks to Lilly the Treasure
NB: I would like to take this opportunity to Sincerely Thank, whichever of our wonderful readers it was, that nominated Switcheroony for Best Slash & Best Unfinished Fanfiction in this round of the 'Sunnydale Memorial Fanfiction Awards'. Voting Ends on the 25th August 2007: http://sunnydawards.dragonydreams.com/vote.html