Chapter 26
Countdown: 60
Hours
Angel sat hunched over on the bed, face buried in his hands. He
could sense Buffy, could feel the pain wracking her body… but he could also
feel her joy.
He had no idea how long he’d been out. As a vampire he’d never
really needed a watch before, he could sense the coming sunsets and sunrises
long before the actual event took place, and was normally either under cover or
ready to go out within seconds of the event occurring.
For the first time since the sole day that wasn’t he couldn’t feel
the heavy press of the sun on his skin, he couldn’t feel the call of the night.
He couldn’t quite tell if he was happy or sad about that.
The good news was that he was no longer confined to darkness while
the sun blared outside… the bad news was that he at this very moment had no
clue what time it was, couldn’t tell how long he’d been unconscious at the feet
of his new compatriots.
How long Buffy had been being tortured and he was still unable to
help her.
The only thing he did
know was that he’d woken on a bed within the very well equipped
He hated being in the dark about anything… even if it was just the
time.
For just a moment as he’d clawed his way to consciousness, for
once not having to drag himself from a
vision of himself and Buffy during a happier time, he’d wondered why they
hadn’t just taken him back to Buffy’s room… of course then he’d realized that
he was joined to these Warriors.
They now had access to his most private thoughts and feelings; he
didn’t think he was going to like that aspect of being a Warrior. He was so
used to hiding his emotions under a veil of broodiness that to have that
stripped from him…
Well he felt almost bare. Nude. Exposed.
“Good you’re awake,” Jade’s cheerful voice cut through his inner
turmoil and he raised his head, focusing bleary eyes on his fellow Warrior.
“How do you feel?”
Angel arched an eyebrow at her. “You should know that already.”
“We try not to infringe on each others privacy to much,” she
grinned impishly at him.
“Right,” he muttered in disbelief.
She just smiled reassuringly at him before slowly walking towards
him a serious expression settling on her features as she studied him. “Can I
ask you something? I mean I’ll understand if you don’t want to talk about it…”
“Go ahead,” Angel sighed, a pang of joy flitting through him at
the actual sigh, breath, needed, exhaling from his lungs… he was really human.
“Is the bond that we share that different from the mated bond that
you share with Buffy?”
“Why didn’t you ask her?” he frowned, puzzled at the question when
she would have had Buffy willing to answer any and all question about it
before.
“I have… I just wanted your opinion.”
“It’s… different,” he glanced away, Jade not missing the anguish
in the chocolate brown eyes before he averted them from her gaze. “Clearer…
stronger….” His eyes once more rose to meet hers and she nearly moved the
necessary few feet to wrap her arms around him
Because those eyes were filled with sadness and despair and she knew
that he was now questioning the strength of the mated bond between the two, but
at least in this she could quell that belief.
“Angel…” she shook her head. “It’s not what you’re thinking…”
“And how do you know what I’m thinking,” he scowled at her.
“Calm down,” Jade rushed forward touching his arm as he made to
stand. “I’m just saying that its what I expected.”
“What you expected? How is the fact that this new Warrior bond
between Buffy and I is stronger than our mated bond expected?”
“Because its not,” she stated simply.
“What?”
“The strength of the bond… it’s only that strong between you and
Buffy… the rest of us,” Jade shook her head. “Well that’s nearly here nor
there. Wesley and Buffy talked about it before…”
“Before she was captured.”
“Yes… Buffy has always had the strongest links to the rest of us,
can sense things more easily, that’s why we shield as tightly as we do, so she
doesn’t pick up stray emotions, thoughts. It’s also one of the reasons why we
moved so quickly to bind Connor in her place, to try and alleviate some of the
stress from her… so she only has to concentrate on us as opposed to the entire
group.”
“So why…?” Angel started, eyes widening as the answer came to him
abruptly. “It’s because of the mated bond… isn’t it?”
“We think that the two bonds strengthen each other, support each
other. It allows the two of you to feel things even deeper than you already
do.”
He closed his eyes momentarily, a feeling of relief settling over
him. She loved him, and he couldn’t believe he had even questioned the validity
of the bond between them. When had he become so insecure that he questioned her
love for him?
Jade watched him for a moment, allowing him time to revel in the
bond between Buffy and himself before she glanced at her watch and noticed that
if she didn’t get him moving they were going to be late.
“So… are you ready to plan rescue strategies? We don’t have much
time left.”
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Xander shoved the only extra pair of jeans into the small duffel
bag that he’d acquired, studiously ignoring the brunette standing at the door
glaring at him.
Cordy was pissed. He knew she was pissed, knew she didn’t
understand why he needed to do this.
But he did. For the first time ever he understood the constant
turmoil that must have been Buffy’s life. Her desire to be ‘normal’ always
warring with her sacred duty. A duty that he now had to uphold as well.
He glanced down at the bag, not even half full and wondered when
he’d become Spike. That had been the one thing they had always joked about, the
fact that Spike could carry all his belongings in a small brown paper bag.
“Are you even going to talk to me about this?” Cordy muttered
harshly.
Xander turned, fixing his eyes on her over his shoulder. “There’s
nothing to talk about Cor,” he sighed turning back to his minimal packing.
“Yes there is,” she said angrily, stalking across the room she
snatched the bag from his hands holding it firmly within her grasp.
“Cordy…”
“This isn’t your job…
they don’t need you Xander. Not like
I do,” she said desperately tears filling her eyes but not falling.
“Yes it is.”
“No it isn’t. These Indaran are going, Riley’s Initiative buddies
are going… why do they need you? I mean you’re not even all the way healed
yet.”
“Cor…” he said softly. Stroking her cheek softly he stared into
her eyes. So many times he had envisioned her, the memories that he had of her
had so often played through his mind that if they had been on an actual
filmstrip they would have been worn out. “This is my job now…”
“You’re not a Warrior,” she cried.
“No I’m not, but I am a Hunter now, I may not have the same
calling as Buffy, or even Angel… but I do have one now.”
“Xander…”
“I understand now Cordy… I never did before. Never wanted to
understand what it cost Buffy to do her job. I pushed her to be normal, pushed
her to be the Slayer… I never cared what it cost her to try and be those
things.”
“What Buffy did or didn’t do was not your fault.”
“But I was her friend Cordy, one of her best friends. That’s what
best friends do… they support each other, they understand each other. I hated
Angel, after I found out he was a vampire I hated him more. After he went all
psycho on us and killed Ms. Calendar I hated him. When he came back from Hell…”
“You hated him,” Cordy finished. “So you didn’t like Angel back
then, you didn’t trust them to not get groiny and cause the end of the world
again, none of us did.”
“But I should have… I knew that Buffy wouldn’t do that again, no
matter what the temptation but I still hated Angel and made sure Buffy knew
that. I never once tried to understand how hard it was for her… to be in love
with something that she was supposed to kill… I never tried to understand how
much she loved him, how much she needed his love to be able to go on… because
frankly I thought she was better off without him.”
“But if I had to be honest with myself, the Buffy that was my best
friend… she ceased to be after Angel left, after there was no hope. It was like
she just gave up and was waiting for the end of the tale and I didn’t care
because she was free of Angel so it was all good… I never even tried to
understand until Anya became a Vengeance Demon again… and then it was to late…”
“So what? Now you feel like you owe her because you were
prejudiced against vampires… guess what? Most of the population is,” Cordy
scowled, she had known that Xander had been with Anya, but hearing confirmation
that he had indeed loved the Demon caused jealousy to surge through her.
“I’m not going because I feel like owe Buffy. I’m going because
it’s my job… I have to go Cordy… I
don’t even know how I know that, I just know that I have to be there. That if I’m not…” he trailed off, his eyes distant
and faraway. “Anyway,” he shook his head, clearing it of dangerously
pessimistic thoughts.
“I don’t want to lose you again,” she whispered lowering her eyes.
“Not after I just got you back.”
“I’m going to be fine,” he murmured his fingers smoothing her
hair. “I’ll be fine, Angel’ll be fine, Connor will be fine… we’ll rescue Buffy
and things can go back to normal.”
To that Cordy snorted… had their lives ever been normal?
“Well as normal as they can get with Angel being human, and Buffy
having a son almost the same age as her… Jerry Springer here we come.”
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The room was somehow exactly the type of room he envisioned the
President and his aids meeting in to plan all their top secret events.
Long thin table, 4 chairs on one side, 5 chairs on the other side.
Folders in front of each spot. Chairs at either end, thicker folders in front
of those.
TV Screen in the front of the room.
Lighting within the room dim, so as to add a flare of ambience to
the room.
Connor sat in one of those chairs, a position that from the
expression on Damon’s face indicated that it normally was occupied by his
mother. The two chairs on the other side of Damon were empty. Chairs normally
belonging to Colin and Jade, now they belonged to his father and Jade.
On the other side of the table all five chairs were occupied, all
five occupants had their eyes affixed to Connor and he would have squirmed
under the pressure of those eyes if it wouldn’t have been a sign of weakness.
Wesley who sat at the end, right next to Connor alternated between
glancing at his watch and tapping his fingers on the folder before him.
The sound of the door opening drew all eyes to the two entering
and Jade stopped suddenly, Angel running into her at her abrupt halt. With a
frown their eyes flickered between the nine sets of eyes watching them.
“Are we that late?” Jade asked lightly attempting to lighten the
mood within the room.
The anxiety level was so high it was enough to have her skin
crawling, she didn’t know how Carmen had stood sitting in the room with them
the whole time.
“Good we can get started then,” Wesley stated by way of answering.
Flipping open his folder he stood, waiting the necessary few seconds for the
two Warriors to take their seats before beginning.
Pointing the slim remote in his hand at the screen all eyes were
drawn forward, Susanne swiveling in her chair so that she could see as well.
“As many of you know this is Senville Prison Camp,” Wes started,
his voice cool and collected there was no hint of emotion within this carefully
prepared speech.
As he pressed buttons pictures flew past, so fast that Connor was
sure that he missed some.
“Photo copies of the surveillance photos are included within your
folders…” he halted, drawing a deep breath as Buffy’s picture flashed up on the
screen and held, the silence in the room overwhelming. Not a breath could be
held and through the bond Connor could feel the thinly constrained anger,
worry.
“Buffy Summers,” he said softly, the first hint of emotion in his
voice… sadness, anger. “Formerly the Vampire Slayer, now Warrior is being held
within the compound at this time.”
The next set of photos had the room even more silent and Connor
drew a deep breath his eyes widening. For they were photos of his mother,
strapped to a table, blood staining her entire body… eyes closed, Connor prayed
that she had been unconscious and had not been awake through the torture.
For the first time he felt his fathers presence in the bond, fury
flaring through him so strongly that his eyes flew to his fathers still, pale
form. Angel’s hands were clenched tightly over his unopened folder, his face
drawn into an angry façade… and Connor was thankful for the moment that he had
never had the opportunity to meet Angelus first hand.
Because if this fury, this anger was so strong coming from the
ex-vampire, now Warrior what would it have been like coming from the demon.
The strength of Angel’s anger diminished and Connor was surprised
to see Jade laying her hand over Angel’s closed fist… blocking him from the
rest of the group.
Wesley waited for a moment, allowing the pictures to sink in
before allowing the next set to be seen.
“Daniel Osborne, nickname Oz…. Werewolf. He was taken with several
member of his pack… he is the only survivor at this time,” Wes continued, the
photos passed quickly, but the blood, the torture that the wolf had been
subjected to was still visible.
And Connor was thankful that none of the former Scoobies were in
this meeting.
For a moment he wished that he didn’t have to see these pictures.
“Our sources within Senville indicate that there are plans being
made to move either both or at least one of the two within the next 60 hours…”
the Watcher allowed the screen to go black, his eyes glancing around the room
Connor wondered why he had not noticed the Watcher’s appearance before that
moment.
Red-rimmed, puffy, bruised looking eyes. A tired, haggard
expression on his face… and the boy knew that whatever the Watcher might say,
he was as affected by Buffy and Colin’s loss as the rest of the group.
“
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Buffy laid curled in a fetal position back pressed to the wall,
violent tremors wracking her entire body.
Eyes closed, tears streaked down her face unheeded as she sobbed
trying to push herself even further into the shadows.
She could never remember feeling this scared, this weak, this
horribly alone ever. Oz had been taken away hours before, they still hadn’t
returned him to their shared cell and she prayed that he was still alive.
Snorting at that thought, because when had her prayers been answered recently?
Dru had entered the cell minutes before and was even now pacing
the length of it in agitation. Even without opening her eyes Buffy could tell
the vampiress was furious, although about what the Warrior couldn’t even begin
to understand.
The touch of a cool hand had her eyes snapping open and she almost
laughed at the worry that was evident in Dru’s eyes.
“Mummy’s in pain,” Dru murmured fingers wiping away the tears that
had been staining Buffy’s face.
“Ya think,” Buffy muttered sarcastically, her body still shook and
she wondered over her lack of muscle control. Had the last hit on the wall
damaged something internally?
“It’s done… Daddy’s tasks are complete,” she whispered her eyes
distant and hazy.
“I felt it,” Buffy closed her eyes, remembering the exact moment
when Angel had joined the Web, the jolt of power… eyes snapping open they fixed
on Dru.
“They’ll be coming soon,” Dru smiled. “Are you ready?”
“Will we still be alive when they get here?”
The vampiress smiled enigmatically. “Some of us more than others.”
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