Finding Her Way Home
by rebelrsr
Chapter 44
[reviews]
Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.
Spoilers, etc.: Pretty much everything after the Gift.
A/N: Character thoughts are enclosed by **. Flashbacks are enclosed by //. Thanks to Ivy for the preread and Zigpal and Lilly for the beta and encouragement! I couldn't do it without you.
Archiving: By permission only.
A/N2: I'm mixing parts of S6 and S7 with very little regard to canon. For purposes of the fic, Dawn is over the age of consent *wink*.
The Master? Wasn't that the vamp who'd killed Buffy? Keeping her eyes locked on the staring match across the room, Faith tried to figure out why the tension in the room had jumped up a notch.
"Oh, shit," Dawn whispered. She pressed back into Faith.
"D? What the hell is going on?" Faith breathed the words in Dawn's ear. This wasn't the time to interrupt, not with Buffy and Angel nearly toe to toe.
Buffy broke the tableau herself. Growling and knocking over an end table with a hard thrust, she announced, "I'm not killing you again!"
Eyebrows rising, Faith tried to remember if anyone had mentioned killing Angel.
"You couldn't, Buffy, even if you wanted to." Cordelia didn't seem impressed by the show of force. Head resting against Angel's arm, she narrowed her eyes at Buffy. "If you'd stop acting like a jealous bitch for a minute, Angel could explain things."
The sheer shock value of Cordelia lecturing anyone on behavior had Faith biting back a chuckle. She'd certainly pegged Buffy's actions. Now all they needed was Willow jumping in with a little firepower and it would be the Scooby Soap Opera - live and in color.
***
Only Willow's grip on her arm kept Buffy from responding violently to Cordelia's taunt. "It isn't about your new boyfriend," she spit out. "It's about having to stick sharp and deadly objects into my former lovers."
"Oh, so you slept with Spike, too?" Cordelia shook her head. "Really, Buffy. At least Angel has a soul." She looked up at Angel while Buffy ground her teeth. "And a sexy smile."
Angel showed off the smile.
Willow added a second hand in an attempt to hold Buffy in place.
"But Spike? He's just an evil demon." Cordelia pulled Angel to one of the couches and sat down.
"Cordy," Buffy warned. She'd had enough. "Get to the point." Her nails dug into her palms as she fought the need to smack the smirk off Cordy's face. She'd always hated that expression. It reminded her too much of her first day at Sunnydale when Queen C had made fun of Willow.
Pouting slightly, Cordelia relented. "Go ahead, Angel. Explain the whole Champion thing. I still get confused with how it works."
Arm resting on Cordelia's shoulders, Angel nodded. "You don't have to worry about me, Buffy. The First can't touch me — at least, not for the ritual. I'm protected by the PtB."
The Powers were protecting someone? Since when? And why Angel? "That doesn't make sense, Angel. How? Why?" Buffy fired off. "They sure as hell haven't been big with the protections before." Her dive off the tower came to mind.
"It's complicated." Same old Angel. He cocked his head and frowned. "How much do you know about a law firm called Wolfram and Hart?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy caught Faith's flinch. "Never heard of them," she said before turning to Faith. "You have, though. Spill." Buffy didn't bother asking. She needed to know, and she wasn't wasting time with niceties.
Faith moved away from Dawn, stopping midway between their position and Buffy's. "Don't know much, B. They ah...they hired me to kill Fang when I first hit LA a few years ago. I met three of their employees. Hot shot lawyers with big plans."
"Why would a law firm want Angel dead?" How did they even know about him? Buffy was confused and not happy about it. Glaring at Faith then Angel, she tried to make sense of everything going on.
A throat cleared behind her, breaking her concentration.
"Can we get back to the vision and Spike?" Jennifer asked. "I think it's more important than Buffy's love life and Faith's checkered employment history."
A flush crawled up Buffy's cheeks. "Sorry," she mumbled. Laser-like green eyes bore into her. "Got sidetracked for a minute." Turning to Angel and Cordelia, Buffy asked flatly, "Why are the PtB protecting you? And is there anyway to get Spike out of Sunnydale without a dustpan?"
"The PtB have plans for me that don't include being a sacrifice to open the Seal, Buffy." Angel stood and paced restlessly across the room.
Buffy turned slightly so she could follow his progress. She felt Willow move with her, pressing into her and wrapping an arm around her stomach. Buffy's head automatically dropped back to rest on Willow's chest, her breathing slowing and deepening as the contact calmed her.
"So they've what? Granted you immunity or something?" Willow's question vibrated through Buffy's body.
"Yes." Angel didn't seem inclined to offer more. He went on, changing the subject. "That leaves Spike as the only surviving descendant of the Master. Without him, the First can't complete the ritual."
Buffy frowned. "Aren't you missing someone? What about Dru?"
Eyes cold, Angel answered tightly, "Gone. Permanently."
Cordy sat forward before Buffy could comment. This time, Buffy didn't see any signs of the former Queen C. She was all business. "If my vision is correct — and the PtB don't usually waste time on jokes — we don't have a lot of time. It was hard to piece together, but I thought I caught a glimpse of the full moon."
"Precisely." Feeling like a spectator at a tennis match, Buffy looked from Cordelia to Wesley. "I was able to do some research on the trip here," Wesley continued. "The First has only a small window in which to complete the ritual. There is a lot of very complex magic involved; he will have to expend huge amounts of his personal energy stores to open the Seal, even with Spike's aid."
Buffy stiffened. "His aid? You make it sound like Spike is volunteering to give up his blood."
Her words rang in the quiet room.
"Forgive me, Buffy. However, that is an irrelevant detail," Wesley told her bluntly. "Our only concern at the moment must be to keep the Seal from opening...no matter the cost."
***
This was getting them nowhere. Too many old wounds and not enough clear heads. Awash in the anger and bitterness rising in the link, Willow stepped in. "Sweetie, why don't you take Faith and a few of the new faces into the den. We need information on the Scythe and how to find it. I can work with the LA crew on Spike and the Seal." She didn't wait for Buffy to argue. "You said it yourself, Buffy. You're too close to this."
It didn't seem to be enough at first. Buffy remained stiff and still against her.
Maybe it was time to show Buffy, too, that she wasn't the same old Willow. Starting to pull in power, Willow thought about what to do. Fireballs were out. That was for Faith — and it was overkill. After all, she didn't want to hurt Buffy, just motivate her a little.
She'd forgotten that her wife could sense the energy surge through their conduit. *Chest beating and now spousal abuse?* Willow might have worried about that internal comment if she couldn't also hear the laughter in Buffy's mental voice. "Right. I did." Buffy's regular voice was clipped and angry.
The dichotomy confused Willow for a moment.... Until a warm invisible hand stroked her cheek.
"Thanks, sweetie." She left it open to interpretation whether that was for the agreement or the caress. "I'd take a minimum of one Watcher. You'll need at least one person dedicated to research."
There were grumbles from Potentials and Slayers alike at that.
Willow smiled to herself as the mood in the room shifted, the earlier aggression now gone. "Mama," she asked, looking at Jennifer, "can you and Tara give us a hand with the Seal problem? I'd like some more witchy experience on the team when we get to the blowing up of the 'Bringers part of the plan."
Jennifer nodded while Tara simply moved closer and dropped onto the floor below Angel and Cordy.
People were streaming out of the room or finding places to sit. The research teams had been chosen. Willow made sure Buffy was out of the room and did her best to filter the entrance to their bond. "OK, Angel. Spill. What's the deal with Spike and the First?"
"I don't know everything, Willow," he said earnestly. "Between Cordy's vision and some rushed bookwork by Wes, we know that the Master's descendants carry some kind of key to the Seal. Exactly what or how it works..." Angel grimaced. "That we didn't find."
Tara quietly held up her hand. "We can worry about that later," she said. "Cordy mentioned the full moon. That's only a couple of days away."
"Two days?" Willow tried to sound confident. Inside, she was screaming, Two days? That's all they had? "That's a lifetime in Scooby years."
Blonde hair drifted forward in a familiar gesture. "Maybe, but you've forgotten all of the Wiccan training I tried to give you." Although Tara's voice was soft, the reproof was evident. "In spell casting, the three days just before the full moon carry almost as much power as the actual night itself. We may not have as long as you think — especially if the First finds out we know about the link to Spike."