Switcheroony
by alicorn
Chapter 37
[reviews]
Chapter 33
Wesley made no attempt to hide his eagerness to leave and get on with his research. But Angel didn't take it personally. Instead he had encouraged him. The vampire had other things on his mind and at this moment solitude was what he needed. A plan ... no ... more of an instinctual desire had been forming ever since he had regained consciousness, maybe even before. Grabbing his keys he had headed for the rear of the hotel and the underground bay that held the means to his plan.
Angel knew he shouldn't be heading where he was going. Willow had refused his offer of help; but his failure to capture Maclay had shaken him and something had happened while he was under the man's control. Even after resting, during the drive back to their base of operations, he still felt as if something had been removed, something he needed to get back. And he knew that there was only one place he could recapture it.
His desire to regain whatever that was, to fill the hollow that now resided within him; the unexplainably unnerving need to contact Buffy had simply kept growing. It was almost like a hunger, a craving, greater than any he had previously known. It was all too overwhelming for him to ignore. He could feel it calling him, beckoning him back to where he felt his life had begun again.
Heading down the highway he tried to reason with the need, the calling. Why was he so driven to return? Something had happened to him ... Had changed things. Was he only doing this because he needed to or were his strings being pulled by Maclay? A part of him suspected that he was walking into a trap and yet he couldn't do anything to avoid it.
************************************BtVS******************************
Giles saw the lights go out and swallowed hard, as he realized exactly what that meant. The girls were about to attempt their rescue of Buffy. His stomach tightened as he glanced through the shattered window of his cab towards Xander, hoping to see the same look of realization on the young man's face. He knew that he was not alone in his concern. This was the moment when everything rested on Willow and Faith.
Out here he could do nothing but keep the remaining three men in front of them busy, hopefully so busy that there would be no chance for them to attempt to retreat and add to the difficulties he was sure his young charges were facing.
It was a little strange that all his years of training as a watcher never truly prepared him to just watch. His natural instincts still pulled at him, urging him to get in there and help. Maybe his father had been right; maybe he didn't have what it took to be a proficient watcher; at least the Council's definition of a watcher. He cared too much.
******************************BtVS********************************
The darkness really shouldn't have been so much of a surprise but it was. All of her senses scrambled to adjust to the sudden pitch-blackness. She froze, taking in her surroundings and allowing her memory of where they were to settle within her mind. Willow's hand was still within hers and she instinctively squeezed reassuringly. "This way," Faith stated before leading Willow along the wall towards the sounds of gunfire.
The muzzle flashes stood out in the darkness, like a grisly fireworks display. But never the less, they continued towards them. She mentally paced out how far from Buffy's cage they were and in her gut she prayed that she was right. If they went too far before turning right, they'd walk straight into the firefight.
She could feel the tension within Willow as they moved forward and it was obvious that the Wiccan was struggling to handle having one of her major senses removed. Faith threw aside the instant desire to comfort her. They didn't have time for the touchy feely stuff right now. They had to get to Buffy before the guards realized that they were firing at each other.
*****************************BtVS************************************
Giles would have preferred to move his rig closer. He felt so very far away from the action. Maybe it was just the darkness that made sounds seem closer and the distances greater. The last he'd seen of Anya, her rig was almost halfway into the warehouse but now he could hardly make it out at all.
Glancing at his watch, he realized that it was almost time to make their final move. "X-a-n-d-e-r" he called out, hopeful that the two young people were still unhurt despite the plethora of shots that had been launched at them.
"I k-n-o-w. Can —y-o-u s-e-e A-nya?" Xander replied over the din of machinery and gunfire.
Casting a quick look, Giles found himself seeking out a flash of the lime green top that she had chosen to wear but he could not make it out. "N-o I c-a-n n-o-t," he responded, more than a little unnerved at not being able to reassure himself and Xander that she was all right.
"O-k-a-y. W-e'-ll w-a-i-t f-o-r t-h-e s-i-g-n-a-l f-r-o-m C-o-r-d-y," the young man yelled, "T-h-e-n m-o-v-e t-o-w-a-r-d-s A-n-y-a."
"O-k-ay," he replied, wondering if Xander could hear the hesitation in his voice. The thought of leaving the cab that had been his only protection for the last twenty minutes went totally against his better judgment but he just had to hope that the darkness that now engulfed the warehouse would be enough to secure their escape.
************************************BtVS******************************
As she was striding forward, blindly following Faith and allowing herself to trust that the dark Slayer knew where she was going, Willow acknowledged that this was like nothing she had ever experienced before, or had ever expected that she would experience. She momentarily wondered when it was that she had allowed her life to be changed so completely. What was it that had stopped her from being happy to just live in denial like most of her classmates, happy to doubt that there was anything different about Sunnydale? She smiled recalling the first occasion when she'd let her curiosity loose and asked her father why there was a light in their fridge, but not in their freezer. His answer 'because that's the way it is' had convinced her that she hadn't gotten her inquisitive nature from him. Although she'd laughed at Xander's explanation that frozen food was 'harder' and therefore not afraid of the dark, she'd investigated the matter for several months before resigning herself to the fact that no one really knew why.
Maybe it was just in her nature, she'd always wanted to know why things were the way they were. It had seemed to annoy most of her early teachers, but eventually even they had finally just accepted her thirst and need to know. She'd imagined herself working in some research capacity, maybe in a large university or government facility. But this ... No. She had never imagined this.
She'd never imagined that her curiosity about the limits of so-called Wiccan magics would lead her to this. Or that when a pretty newcomer to Sunnydale had been nice to her, for no other reason than it was how you should behave ... that this time and this place was where that first meeting would eventually lead them both.
No one would have ever believed her if she'd told them that one day she would be so in love with a woman that she would risk her life and the lives of just about everyone she cared about to rescue that very woman. "Old Reliable, Wall-Flower, Nerdy, Nose-Always-In Her-Books, Geeky" Willow play the heroine, saving her love, helping to save the world? No one would have believed it. She wasn't even sure that, right at this very minute, she believed it as she felt the cold beads of perspiration building on her brow.
As they rushed towards the exchange of gunfire, she tightened her grip on Faith's hand and swallowed. No! She would soon need to form the shield, the only protection they would have from the countless bullets flying about the warehouse. "Faith, slow down a bit."
********************************BtVS****************************
Cordelia glanced at her watch for probably the thirtieth time. 'Almost there.' Nodding to herself she checked up and down the road, not at all sure what she was looking for. Or what she could do if she did see something.
She'd been sitting here for what seemed like ... forever. No one who knew Cordelia Chase, would have hesitated in telling you that she hated waiting for anything. Her need to move, to do something was like an itch she had been unable to scratch for the past three quarters of an hour, while Xander and his rejects from the Goonies had headed off to collect what was probably just a load of scrap metal by now. And all she'd done was watch time slowly move on and wait.
She'd heard the sounds of metal on metal and of gunfire. IT had begun and she'd felt her pulse increase in anticipation. She felt the perspiration. Her head felt like it was going to explode. Somewhere out there ... Faith was risking her life, putting herself in harm's way and that thought worried her more than she cared to admit. The sick feeling in her stomach and the dryness in her throat were physical signs she couldn't dismiss — she was worried, she was afraid. And not for herself ... but for someone else. Someone who had, unexpectedly, become very important to her.
************************************BtVS****************************
Buffy had never felt so afraid. It was as if her throat was being constricted. She gulped for air as her eyes fought to see something, anything in the pitch darkness, through the hail of bullets and muzzle flashes. Willow, her Willow was out there and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't protect her. She had never felt so powerless, so helpless. It made her sick.
There was nothing that could describe the sheer black hole of terror and despair that filled Buffy, as she lay bound in the darkness unable to stop the nightmare visions running through her mind. She wanted to scream. She wanted her slayer senses back, her slayer hearing. Damn it, she wanted, needed her slayer strength; anything that would stop the sickening feeling in her stomach as it clenched and unclenched. Buffy yanked angrily at her restraints. She was the slayer, damn it. She should be doing the rescuing not being rescued.
This couldn't be happening to them. It was so unfair ... after all they'd been through, after all they had discovered. How could she be allowed to have just a glimpse of how wonderful her life could be and then have it taken away? To know how she felt, how she smelled. Well okay, there was the whole body switching freaky thing but she knew who was who, she had felt what was what. She had understood, hadn't she?
To never hold Willow again, to never hear her breathing so close and, oh, those stifled sighs. She couldn't believe it. Willow was the soul mate she had been longing for all of her life. But instead of that making her safe, it had put her true love in danger, the kind of danger that no one but Buffy should ever have to face. What had she done? What had Faith done? She felt the anger rising within her. She had a target for the rage and despair — Faith. And she was going to make her pay.
Just as she began to let her imagination run wild, she felt it, a touch. No, it was a hand, a warm reassuring hand, a familiar hand — "Willow?"
*******************************BtVS******************************
Xander couldn't hear anything but gunfire as he drove his machine back towards the warehouse, towards the muzzle flashes he had seen just moments ago. The warehouse wall was beginning to resemble a tin can, squashed, buckled and creased by the continual bombardment and impacts of their battle.
Glancing at his watch he cursed. It was too dark and he couldn't even see the face let alone the hands. 'Mental note — get a watch with a luminous dial.' Cordelia had to be on her way. They needed to get moving.
The last collision sent him tumbling into the back of his cab, wedging his shoulder into the side of the driver's seat. The old plastic bucket seat had been replaced and Xander found himself thanking the Powers That Be for the original driver who obviously liked his comforts. Jumping down from the cab he headed towards the outline of the wrecking ball, hopeful that his collision and the darkness of the compound would provide him with the cover he needed to make it safely to Giles.
*****************************BtVS******************************
Angel gazed down into the warehouse although at first he could see nothing, as it was pitch black. Adjusting to the lack of light he tried to make out the shapes he knew would correspond to the muzzle flashes. There was a fight going on below and from up here it looked like the small explosions from sparklers but down there he knew it probably didn't look at all pretty. Although guns were not weapons he feared, he knew slayers were never trained to face them.
Buffy was somewhere down there, somewhere within that hail of bullets. Throwing aside his promise to Willow and his intention to keep his presence unknown, he leapt onto the rafters of the warehouse, traveling quickly along the underside of the roof, using his speed and strength to take advantage of every hand and foothold that the ceiling allowed him. He rushed forward, swinging onto the crossbeams occasionally before leaping up again onto the unforgiving underside of the roof in his eagerness to reach Buffy.
Decades ago he had returned to Romania, the supposed homeland of all his kind, in the hope of finding his origins, of connecting with his roots. He had left disappointed, though not at all surprised at finding nothing extraordinary. But today he was heading towards the woman who had become the root of who he now was, the reason he had opened his doors to humanity despite all his misgivings.
********************************BtVS*****************************
Cordelia started the engine and pulled forward, relieved to be doing something. Now all that concerned her was that she had timed it right; otherwise the car would quickly become Swiss cheese and so would her intended passengers. Then something caught her eye, a movement on the warehouse roof. Were they out already?
Glancing into the darkness, which was only occasionally pierced by the moon as it poked out from behind a cloud, she couldn't quite make out what was happening. The engines of Xander's uber large Tonka toys were still running. They couldn't be out already. It must have been one of the guards.
Glancing around for some reason, she looked down the alley to her right as she passed and there parked in the shadows of yet another warehouse was a car that she knew far to well. "Figures," she muttered. "She's gonna be mega pissed."
**********************************BtVS****************************
Willow didn't want to admit it out loud, but she never thought they'd get this far. She had doubted that she'd ever be able to touch her beloved again. But that wasn't what sent her heart soaring; it was the realization that Buffy had recognized her touch. "Yes, baby. Hush. We're here," she assured her beloved as joy exploded from within her. She pulled Faith to her side. "If I spring that lock, can you lift her out?" she asked.
"Can do," Faith responded.
Upon hearing the voice of the woman that she believed had caused all this, Buffy desperately wanted to ask Willow what the hell she was doing here. But she bit her tongue. Her Willow was safe and appeared unhurt. And that was all that really mattered but confusion took over as she tried to figure out what exactly was happening. There had been the sound of running footsteps, then the lights had gone out, the shooting continued, the loud thundering noises, the violent shuddering of the building, and ... No, she didn't have a clue as to what was going on.
For the first time Faith could feel Willow drawing energy from her. She'd never felt anything like it before. It was like a punch in her gut, she winced at the sensations but upon hearing the padlock release and open, the pain was gone. 'Rocking wicked. Red's really got a handle on this Hocus Pocus stuff.'
Reaching up she pulled the cage door open, cringing and freezing as the hinges creaked. The sound seemed to travel through the darkness like a cannon shot. A cold chill ran down her spine but realizing that it was now too late; she opened the door completely and began to reach inside.
**********************************BtVS****************************
Landing by the back wall, Angel observed all that he could before moving forward to pick off the closest of Buffy's attackers. He could feel the heat of the hunt rising within him, as it always did before a fight. As he had a thousand times before, he instinctively balanced his inner demons, setting aside the ever-present hunger. This wasn't about feeding. Why did he always have to feel that urge? Even after all these years, he couldn't just dismiss it or ignore it. When would it ever end? Would he ever truly be free?
Reaching out he vented his frustrations by grabbing the attacker's gun. He used the rifle butt to knock the guy out. The thud of contact followed by the sound of a crumpling body falling to the ground did nothing to subdue his internal rage and exasperation. Then hearing creaking metal, he froze.
***************************BtVS************************************
Buffy recognized the voice of her guard as he yelled. "S-o-m-e-o-n-e's b-y t-h-e c-a-g-e."
"Willow?" Faith questioned, as a bullet zipped past her ear and into the cage. "Buffy? Red, turn on the lights so I can get her or they're going to hit her!"
Grasping Faith's hand, Willow released her hold on the lights and the sudden blinding brightness momentarily halted the hail of bullets. "Don't let go of me. You'll have to get her out with one hand. Let me know when you've got hold of her," Willow instructed, as she turned to face their attackers.
Transferring the energy from their bond, she raised her free hand and muttered "Compello Contego." A faint light blue shield began to form in front of her, spreading with speed to surround her, Faith and the cage within which Buffy was still trapped. But as the shield increased in size, she allowed herself a momentary look at the two groups of armed men. And for that moment Willow thought she'd lost hold of that charm in her rush to protect them, as a bullet seemed to almost drill its way through the shield before dropping harmlessly to the floor.
****************************BtVS***************************
Giles made room for Xander as the young man climbed up beside him, making the cab feel even more like a sardine can than it had before. Drawing the wrecking ball back and securing it, Giles altered the trajectory, using his best guess for the location of the various muzzle shots he had seen but ignored until now. "Ready?" he asked.
"Whenever you are," Xander responded, just before being blinded. "What the he ..."
Giles instinctively shut his eyes against the sudden explosion of lights going on within the building and let go of the wrecking ball. "Now! We have to go now! With any luck they're just as blind as we are." Grabbing Xander by the scruff of the neck he essentially dragged the confused young man toward Anya, heads down as they tried to regain their sight.
********************************BtVS*******************************
As Faith tried to pull Buffy's dead weight out, she suddenly met resistance. Something was holding Buffy securely. "What the ...?" She pulled harder, only to elicit a grunt and mumbled curse from Buffy. Without thinking, she let go of Willow's hand and reached into the cage with both hands.
"Faith!" Willow screamed as their shield dissolved and a bullet flew past her ear. However what she didn't see were the two other bullets that struck the rope from which the cage was suspended, splitting its fibers.
Realizing what she had just done, Faith quickly fumbled to recapture Willow's hand as they both instinctively ducked the hail of bullets. She felt so stupid and now she'd lost track of where Willow's hand was. Suddenly she felt it graze hers and latched onto it.
Willow threw the shield flew back into life, her remaining frustrated anger pushed her to take the lights back too and somehow she knew that Faith knew she was sending her a murderous look.
"Sorry. But she's stuck," Faith offered by way of explanation.
"Stuck?"
"Yeah, she won't budge. Something's got hold of her," Faith went on. Desperate to make up for her lapse, she followed her explanation with another attempt, oblivious to the fact that Willow had no way of seeing that she was again pulling at Buffy's bound form.
"Hey!" Buffy complained.
"Sorry," Faith pleaded, letting go of the tethered woman she was supposed to be helping to rescue. Her frustration building, she thought 'Give me a break; even the Mayor wasn't this much trouble. But — this — this I can't afford to screw up.'
Bending down to look under the cage, a flash of moonlight briefly gave Willow the light she needed to discover the problem. "One of the ropes is caught around some kinda hook under the cage."
Buffy internally cursed, knowing that her earlier wriggling had probably caused this. 'Great if I'd just stayed put instead of trying to get a better look at that ugly butt-faced guard ...'
"Can you get to it?" Faith asked.
"I think so," Willow replied, leaning out over the ceiling to reach under the cage. As she did so, there was a deafening creak and crack as the splintered ropes stretched and broke. For a moment Willow thought a bullet had made it through the shield, but then she realized that she still had hold of Faith's hand.
"Willow!" Faith yelled as she felt the cage begin to drop, instinctively pulling back the Wiccan with all her might resulting in Willow only just avoiding being hit by the cage as it plunged downwards. Faith, unable to reach Buffy, grabbed for one of the cage bars, missing at first but then grasping another securely. "Brace yourself!" she shouted at Willow.
"What?" Willow questioned, only just realizing what was happening and reaching out as the first few bars slipped through her hand. Her heart sank until she too was able to get hold of one of the bars just as base of the cage crashed into the suspended ceiling. "Buffy?!??"
**********************************BtVS******************************
Angel couldn't believe what he was seeing. Suddenly all his concern that Willow shouldn't know he was here flew out the window as he sprang over their attackers and toward the struggling duo, only to collide with the shield. "Uhhhgggg!!" He fell to his knees, glaring at the shield. He could only stare as the cage plunged through the ceiling, while Willow and Faith tried desperately to halt its fall.
"Willow?" he called out as he watched. Despite having braced their legs, the two young women were pulled to their knees just before the cage was halted by their sheer strength and determination.
The two women strained to hold their ground and in doing so something had to give. Willow released the lights again, resulting in their plight being illuminated for all to see.
"WILLOW!" Angel yelled in frustration, as his body was pelted with bullets.
When Willow was finally able to steal a quick look behind her, Angel could see that her face was filled with shock, confusion, stress and momentary fear. "Let me through. Now!!!" he insisted
Now besides physically struggling with Faith to hold on to Buffy's cage, Willow tried desperately to understand what else was happening. She threw confused and baffled glances from Angel to Faith to Buffy in the desperate hope that one of them, any of them would just take over. But they all seemed to be looking at her, all with looks of anticipation and she realized that they were expecting her to know what to do. When had she become the decision maker? But with one more glance at the pleading yet trusting eyes of her beloved, she recovered.
As yet another bullet struck Angel, throwing his shoulders forward, she made her choice. "Faith?" she asked, realizing that if she let Angel through the shield Faith would be the most likely to catch a stray bullet. Receiving an understanding nod from the other Slayer, she turned and concentrated on the shield, opening a doorway.
Angel fell through the door and Willow closed it as quickly as she could. Glancing back at Faith, she sighed as the dark slayer winked "Not a scratch."
Within seconds Angel was beside them, reaching over to grab onto the cage. "We have to pull it up," he stated unnecessarily, staring down at the bound form of Buffy ... no Willow ... no Buffy.
"On three," yelled Faith.
*********************************BtVS*****************************
As Cordelia drove towards the corner of the yard, the sound of gunfire became clearer. She couldn't quite get over just how loud gunfire really was. Most of the time the battles that she was part of were fought with close range weaponry. Thankfully twentieth century man-made weapons were something that most demons and nether-world types seemed to avoid.
She'd expected to see the terribly terrific trio waiting for her signal, but there was no sign of Anya's vehicle. Concern filled her as she slowed the car, flashing on and off the headlights as she approached the corner of the yard. She held her breath.
'Where the hell are they? What's been happening? Why are the lights back on? What's gone wrong?' Her mind swung from one unexpected and unwelcome thought to another and the last picture to form in her mind was the image of Faith running from a hail of bullets. Cordelia felt sick and, for a moment, she thought she was going to be physically ill. But suddenly a movement caught her eye.
Three figures were moving towards her. 'Why aren't they running?' she wondered as one of them gestured to her, beckoning her to join them. One of the others was carrying a gun! The larger figure appeared to be limping ... no ... they were dragging him. OH GOD! They were dragging Giles, trying to carry him.
**********************************BtVS********************************
Buffy stared up at her ever-increasing group of rescuers. Here were the two people who had caused her more pain and heartache than possibly anyone or anything else in her life, more than all the demons and monsters she had faced, more than her father. Actually, him she'd kinda understood. He couldn't deal with her being different, but then he probably wouldn't have been able to deal with her as a regular girl for much longer than he had either. For a long time she'd given herself the label of 'Distructo girl', pretty certain she'd been the cause of the implosion of her relationships with both Angel and Faith, as well as her parents' break-up.
But here and now with these two, was the one person she never wanted to feel that way about and knew she never would. Yes, SHE was the one. Buffy knew that now, everything she was feeling, having her so close, was so sharp, so real, so raw and that it frightened her. How could she not have known it, not have realized it before?
Shaking her fears aside, she recognized the fact that getting out of here anytime soon was quickly becoming less of a given and more a matter of keeping everything crossed, hoping for some good luck and maybe even getting a little into that religion thingy. She'd never been big on the whole Powers That Be, supreme deity/god fest, but right now she'd consider just about anything if it would guarantee that Willow and she made it out of here alive.
The determination on her true love's face was just so glorious to see, even if it was like looking in a mirror. It almost made her forget the fact that she'd brought Faith with her. But then she remembered and confusion reigned again. Did Willow really believe they might have a future together or was she only here to get their body switch thing sorted out? NO! She'd asked Willow for a date and Willow had said yes, hadn't she?
**********************************BtVS******************************
Angel glanced down at the fragile and bound woman below him. He was more than a little thrown by the reality of it all as well as his reaction to it. It had been one thing to know that they had swapped bodies but it was quite another to actually see the evidence right in front of him. He couldn't quite identify or reconcile what had been wrong about her stance, her posture, her actions. Plus she smelled all wrong. Even though he knew that he was dealing with Willow/Buffy and Buffy/Willow.
But below him were the eyes of the woman he knew and loved staring up at them in complete confusion and ... could it be fear? This wasn't what he had expected to find, then again he wasn't sure exactly what he had expected. He wasn't even sure why he was here.
********************************BtVS****************************
Giles stared at his watch for the third time in as many minutes as he tried to ignore the numbness in his lower leg. Damn, that tourniquet was tight. Xander was headed back towards the warehouse with Cordelia in tow. He hadn't even tried to stop them.
Maybe because after what Xander had just done, he didn't feel he had the right to interfere with the young man.
Killing the man would have been easy but not killing him, even though he had the young man's girlfriend in his gun sights --- that took something beyond the normal human response and reaction. Giles had suddenly realized that he was watching them all grow up before his eyes. He truly hoped that he would have the opportunity to watch them all continue to grow and mature for many more years to come.
True that man with the gun wouldn't be walking or breeding anytime soon, but he was still alive. The sudden illumination and then loss of light had been all that Xander had needed.
Anya was still a wreck, so much so that against all of his expectations she was actually sitting in silence, allowing his thoughts to continue to wander.
Giles had almost missed the clue that Xander was about to take drastic action but as he suddenly saw that unmistakable look of determination cross the young man's face; that same look that he had seen so many times on Buffy's face and occasionally on Willow's ... oh, what did they call it ... oh, yes ... on Willow's 'Resolve Face'. He'd quickly moved to drag Anya away. That's when he'd finally been caught by one of those infernal projectiles. 'Bullets and guns! Where's the honor in a gun? Now, fencing --- that was a duel of skill ... for gentlemen.' Where the second man had come from, he had no idea.
His memory of what had followed was a blur. He was almost certain that there had been biting involved from the gunman's screams of protest and Anya's bruised jaw. He recalled swinging a pipe and Xander telling him to duck, but the rest was terribly foggy. But they had survived, to emerge with two semi-automatic weapons and a hand grenade. And it took quite a bit of persuading to convince Anya to give up the weapons to the others.
*******************************BtVS*****************************
Watching the tied and bound figure below her, Willow swallowed her fear. "Buffy, oh Buffy, I'm so sorry," Willow exclaimed as she looked at the confused and frightened face of her beloved. Straining to keep hold of not only the cage but also of Faith's hand, she solemnly swore "We'll get you out of there, I promise" as she held back the tears of frustration she could feel building; not realizing that Buffy's look of confusion was more because of Faith and Angel's presence, as well as the possibility of her soul mate being injured during this rescue attempt than the partial dropping of her cage.
Seeing the sheer emotion in Willow's eyes and hearing her voice almost crack, Buffy was momentarily lost. How could she ever be mad or doubt her wonderful sweet darling Willow? Drawing on all her years of waiting, she threw her true love a brilliant and encouraging smile, "Any time your ready."
"On three," Angel reminded them, ignoring the annoyed look that Faith was throwing him. "One — Two — Three," he called and heaved with all his might, pulling the cage up. Elation filled him as he saw it rise, but the feeling was short-lived as the cage caught on part of the suspended ceiling it had crashed through.
******************************BtVs*************************
As Xander moved stealthily toward the front of the warehouse, Cordelia was close on his heels. Glancing over his shoulder he took note of the car's location. "Keep it low, Chase. I'm sorta figurin' whoever's left in there ... they're either trapped in the part we tin canned or they're part of the AK49 show going on in the back. So we're taking the front door option," he stated, cocking the semi he had recently acquired. "I can't believe he's here. She specifically told him to stay away. So I suppose dead equals deaf now - huh? It's no secret - Angel may technically be our friend, but I don't like the guy. If he's in there messing with the Wiffy smooches — I may need to plead the 5th later."
"Keep your dislike under wraps, Xander. I'm sure he's just here to help," Cordelia asserted, although she was more than a little unsure that this was actually true. What came as less of a surprise to her was that Angel wasn't really her main worry right now; concern for the dark haired slayer was at the front of her thoughts. "We're just going in there to do the same — Okay?"
"I'm big with the seventh cavalry theme. But let's go more with the Johnny Wayne, not the General Custer! Okay?" Xander stated, as he blew off the lock. Pulling Cordelia behind him, he stepped to one side before throwing open the door.
*****************************BtVS**********************************
Faith could feel the muscles in her arms beginning to stretch, strain and tear under the weight of the cage. They weren't going to be able to hold this much longer. "Willow, can you do that 'light as a feather' thing again?" she asked.
"What?" Angel asked, glancing at the inappropriate person beside him. He couldn't help feeling that neither this dark-haired former failure of a slayer nor the false temporary slayer should be here rescuing the woman he loved, the only real slayer in his mind. This should be his job and his job only. He was trying to lift the cage, but these two didn't seem interested in helping him.
"Maybe. But I'm not sure I could hold it for long without you," she honestly replied, assuming that Faith wanted her to float down and release Buffy.
Seeing Willow glance down at Buffy, Faith realized she had been misunderstood. "Not us — the cage!"
"What — oh — uhh ... Yes ... yes. I could do that. But - the shield?"
"Oh? Not enough juice for both?" Faith stated answering her own question. Then she glanced at Angel. "What about dead boy?"
Angel glanced at Faith, for once allowing that infernal nickname to get under his skin. He gave her his best glare of annoyance.
"You wanna be useful or what?" Faith asked, with barefaced bravado.
Glancing at Angel, Willow let Faith's idea sink in. Releasing her bar of the cage, she quickly moved her hand to overlap one of Angel's. "Don't move your hand," she ordered, switching her attention to the cage below them.
*****************************BtVS*****************************
Buffy so wanted to be up there, not down here. She wanted to be holding Willow, whispering, telling her everything that she felt, risking all that she had, all that she was. She wanted to shower her lovely brave witch with kisses, smooth her deeply frowning brow and make life simple again. Had their lives ever been simple? But instead she was down here, tied up like some sacrificial offering, being stared at with looks of concern by her ex-lover and the woman who had caused all this to happen.
Somewhere deep inside she realized that this, here and now, was when it would have to happen. She was going to have to open her mouth, speak up and let out the scream of truth that had been building within her for so long.
'My life stinks. And not just with that "milk gone past its best by date" smell. Oh no. This is the "stinky week-old rotting fish" smell especially reserved for slayers who try to have a life. Why couldn't we have like a balcony moment or a romantic dinner and moonlit walk? Would that be too run-of-the-mill? Okay, what about a beautiful ring in a glass of lemonade or would that be too corny? I guess even a "hey babe, what about it?" written on a dirty napkin's probably more than I could hope for.' Buffy laughed to herself at the sheer predictability that was the high drama of her life.
Willow, her dear shy Willow would never do it first. She would never be the one to put herself out there and risk everything, risk their current relationship, their bestest friendship status. It had to be Buffy and she knew that. In the twisted script that was her life, she was going to have to declare her feelings first. And she was going to have to do it now. Only that, would un-switch this weirdness and end this Freudian nightmare. But to get everything back as it should be; she was going to have to do it with an audience!
******************************BtVS*****************************
Cordelia followed Xander down the corridor, testing each door as they passed. But they were all locked, which seemed to be unnerving Xander, who kept throwing her confused glances like she had a clue what he was on about.
'Not cool. Why would they lock doors? They'd want access, free and easy access,' Xander fumed in his head. 'Forget it!! We need to get to the back of the building. That's where the action is,' he thought, listening to the distant rattle of gunfire.
Reaching the end of the corridor, he tested the last door and the handle moved. He froze!
He could hear movement; no - voices from behind it and he threw Cordelia a warning look. She dutifully stepped back, bracing herself against the opposite wall, and hesitantly raised her weapon.
Looking at her, he mouthed 'one — two — three' before turning the handle and throwing the door open.
*******************************BtVs**********************************
Watching the scene below him unfold, Angel caught the look in Buffy's very new and different eyes. She was staring with hope and ... longing ... at ... at Willow. It was a look that he had never seen aimed at him. He didn't fully grasp what a shock to his system it was until his sixth sense forced him to look at Willow, only to see the same shy hope in her eyes.
'Damn it, you knew this!' his demon reminded him. 'Cordelia told you. Did you honestly believe it wasn't true? What kind of fool are you?' He could almost hear the laughter. 'But it doesn't have to matter. Feelings just get in the way. You could take her. She could be yours forever ... until the end of time,' the demon suggested, calling on the memories of loss that flew back into Angel's mind as he recalled having to leave her.
Angel shook the thought away, guilt-ridden that it had somehow been possible for the darkness that haunted him to draw on even his most sincere feelings and memories, and turn them against him, against her.
*****************************BtVS***************************
Willow began to concentrate on the cage when suddenly the door of the room below them burst open. Her heart leapt into her mouth and she held her breath. She could feel Angel and Faith tense in anticipation of the worst. But then Angel strangely relaxed, causing Willow to throw him a questioning glance.
The muzzle of a gun peeped into the room, doing nothing to lower her blood pressure. But then a familiar figure came into view and looked at up at them with a stupidly grinning face.
"Gee, Will. Extreme dating or what?" Xander smirked.
As Cordelia followed him into the room, she elbowed him in the ribs and muttered under her breath, "This from Mr. 'Anya Honey, I can beg if you need me to'."
"Hey!" he protested half-heartedly, before moving towards Buffy's cage. Looking up at her, he asked anxiously "You still with us?"
Buffy simply nodded, a lump forming in her throat as she realized that almost everyone was here. 'Is this how it will always be? Is this what Willow would, hopefully, be saying yes to? Never having complete privacy, everyone assuming they know our business, because they feel like they know everything about us.' She looked up at Willow, only to see a combination of amusement and annoyance on her face.
Angel coughed, finding it almost impossible to hide the discomfort at the emotions he could feel flowing between them. "Willow?" he questioned looking at their joined hands.
"Oh ... yes ... Yes. Xander, Cordelia, please stand back," Willow instructed as she tapped into her physical connection with Faith and Angel, preparing for whatever energy she could draw. But she was caught unawares by the darkness and sheer force of the power from the vampire that charged at her, not into her as much as at her. It was so base, so nether-worldly, so ferocious. 'What the...?' It was too much for her to take. It seemed to batter down her controls, her center vanished and then she was flying.
"Willow?" Faith called as their hands were torn apart.
Away from Faith and Angel, she flew towards the cage, which also seemed to be dropping. Towards its open door and down inside it, towards ... Buffy! 'Oh no, I'm going to crush her!' was all she had time to think of as she threw her hands out in front of her. Maybe if she could just support her fall, cushion the landing ...
"Uuuuugggghhhhhhhmmmmmmmffff!!!" was all that Willow managed as every last ounce of air was forced from her lungs by the impact, first into Buffy and, then mere seconds later, as the cage hit the ground. The matching grunts of protest that escaped her beloved did nothing to make matters any better.
"Buffy? Willow?" Xander yelled, as he hurled himself towards the plummeting cage and his two oldest friends. But something caught him and pulled him back.
"Whoa there, cowboy," Cordelia exclaimed, as she pulled him back, pretty certain that Anya would skin her alive if she let Xander get crushed. But as soon as she had stopped him, she threw a concerned look up at one of the two figures standing over the hole in the ceiling.
******************************BtVS****************************
Through his confusion at what had just happened, Angel realized that the shield had fallen as a bullet whistled past his ear. Reaching out he grabbed Faith and pulled her in front of him, using himself as a bulletproof vest to absorb the hail of bullets that flew at them. "You've got to get out of here," he stated, as his body shook in response to the bullets peppering his body.
"No kiddin'," Faith stated, glancing down into the room below. Seeing Cordelia's concerned face, she grinned and forced her way out of the vampire's embrace, stepping over the edge and launching herself to land just clear of the cage. As she plunged through the plume of dust thrown up by the cage's landing, she yelled. "Geronimo."
Angel huffed at the infantile approach Faith had to fighting and just about all threats to her mortality. Then another bullet pieced his back and he felt it tickle its way into his body, causing him annoyance. Growling, he turned to face the men who just didn't seem to understand that they couldn't kill him. The best they could manage was to piss him off and, boy, were they doing a good job of that.
**************************BtVS*****************************
Buffy tried to regain her breath despite the weight pressing down on her. Gasping, she couldn't help feel emotions building at the closeness of her precious witch. She was here, they were together, well kinda. All her wishing, all her hoping that Willow was still alive, that she could finally tell her how she felt was almost a reality. She'd been hoping she would have the chance to speak to Willow, to admit all that she had in her heart, but now that she was finally here ... Buffy just couldn't seem to gather her thoughts, let alone find the perfect words. It was like an impulsive reaction as forced out the first thing that popped into her head, between gulps for air, "So ... did ya' ... miss me?" Buffy managed with a desperate grin.
The sound of her own voice threw Willow for a split second but the sympathetic panting from the body below her left her in no doubt where the question had come from. Willow laughed nervously, feeling Buffy gasping for air below her, before realizing the truth of the question. Raising herself up she stared at the woman she loved. Looking sincerely into her beloved's eyes she responded "More than you'll ever know."
The look of hope and joy that appeared in Buffy's eyes ... her own eyes ... Buffy's eyes was all that she needed. Finally giving in to the longing and the relief at being this close to the only person she had ever truly loved, Willow leaned down, her eyes wide open. Their eyes locked, Buffy was staring deep into her very soul as Willow repeated "More than you'll ever know." Throwing all that she felt, all that she'd prayed for into it, she placed the most heartfelt and sincere kiss she had ever attempted onto the lips that visibly shook as she approached.
Buffy was lost in that moment, her surroundings disappeared and all she could feel was Willow, her dear sweet Willow. Truth flowing into her, filling her up, warming her and dispelling her fears. But it was so much, almost too much and a sob broke from her throat as she kissed her back, with every bit of longing, every dream she'd never dared dream, all of it. As they both closed their eyes, the sound of gunfire vanished and even breathing was forgotten, as they poured themselves into the kiss.
Neither one seemed able to pull back or stop. It was as if they were joined, as if they were one, as if they had finally and truly found each other. Barriers fell, emotions took flight, questions silently asked and answered. Without words they had the conversation that fueled the kiss. The honesty and truth released left them feeling like they were
rushing towards a canyon. Willow sensed the edge as they approached it and only her natural instinct to protect the woman she loved allowed her to pull away.
Buffy opened her eyes to protest the interruption but the look of genuine care and concern from Willow relieved her frustration. Buffy's heart seemed to lift into her throat as she attempted to voice her feelings. "I ... I kinda ... no, I absolutely ... I mean I think I always kinda knew that I ... This is always so easy in the movies. Babbling? I'm babbling!" Buffy realized, as she looked at Willow's patient face. "Is it still cute ... when I do it?" she asked nervously.
"Unh huh," Willow admitted, blushing as a lump grew in her throat.
"What I'm trying to say ... and doing a pretty crappy job of it, is ... I think I ... No, ... I know that I do ... I mean I didn't know, but I do know now. Damn it, Willow! I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!" Buffy declared loudly for all to hear, her heart and soul wide open.
Willow caught her breath before releasing a heart-bursting sob and beaming a smile of disbelief and relief. Leaning forward she kissed Buffy's nose. "I ... I know ..." and then moving on to her lips before adding "I love you too. I always have."
Above them, below them, all around them a light began to build, a glowing intense amber as if from their hearts, growing until it was blinding and Willow, still in slayer mode, threw herself back on top of Buffy, shielding her newly-admitted love's face with her free arm. But even through her closed eyelids Willow could still see the bright, strangely familiar amber light that had suddenly appeared around them.
*********************BtVS**************************
Much thanks to Lilly the Treasure