Ghost Stories
Part 1
Walking through the forest, she closed her eyes, listening to the brook
babbling to her right, whispering to her its secrets. The petite brunette felt
the setting sun play across her face as it danced through the tree branches.
Stopping, she inhaled deeply, breathing it all in. Taking another deep breath,
she began a silent meditation to her goddess. She felt the wind blow across her
face like a gentle caress, tossing her long, dark curls around her tanned face.
Hearing a twig snap behind her, the witch jumped and turned. Her heart was
racing as her eyes searched the area. Finally, they settled on a small rabbit,
as it scampered away, and she let out a deep breath that she hadn’t realized
she was holding.
“A little jumpy there.”
Again, her heart began to pound at the startling voice, and she turned around,
before once again smiling in relief, seeing the park ranger. He was young, and
very good looking, though she got a vibe from him that just wasn’t quite right.
“Getting a little late to be out here alone, Miss,” he told her gruffly. “Sun
will be setting. Woods aren’t exactly safe for a woman like yourself.”
She smiled knowingly. “I’m sure I’ll be just fine. These woods are a part of
us. We have a connection,” she tells him with a soft smile, her southern accent
thick.
The ranger frowned and rolled his eyes. Just what he needed, another hippie
dancing around the forest.
“Just the same,” he told her, “wouldn’t want to see anyone get hurt.”
“I appreciate your concern,” she replied, “but I’ll be fine.”
She turned and wandered away, heading down the path, the brook still talking at
her right. Not too far ahead, she reached a small clearing and stopped. The
girl saw a small stone temple and approached, kneeling down before it and
placing the sacred stone on top. This was what she had been looking for. Again,
she closed her eyes, and chanted softly. The winds began to pick up, shifting
directions and her hair flowed wildly.
Her eyes opened wide and she turned, a look of horror on her face, before
suddenly jumping up and running, the protective stone forgotten. She was moving
fast, but it was dark and trees seemed to be everywhere. She knew she was not
fast enough. She could feel it, just at her heels, like the wind licking at her
face. Turning, she let out a scream as she stumbled and fell forward.
Everything went dark.
~*~
“Are you completely insane? You simply can not do this. Do you understand? Do
you even realize how dangerous it could be? The lives you might possibly be
leaving in peril? You can not entertain every little notion that flitters
through your head.” Giles removed his glasses and began cleaning them
feverishly.
“Don’t you love how he always has to use big words to say little things?” Buffy
said with a smirk.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I don’t know, I kind of like it,”
“I do NOT sound uppity!”
“Plus, I’m not the only one around here using big words anymore. I bet he even
knows more words than I do. Hey, Giles, how many synonyms do you know for the
word scared?”
“
“Giles! Camping is hardly a new craze. I’m pretty sure it isn’t even considered
cool these days,” Buffy told him. “This really isn’t the travesty that you’re
making it out to be.”
“Wow. I could only come up with 46,”
“And anyway,” Buffy continued, looking back to her watcher, “it isn’t like I’m
all impulsive-girl. I’m an overly responsible college student who needs to go
out and have a little fun with her friends every once in a while. You’re
completely exaggerating my ‘spur-of-the-moment notions,’ Giles.”
“Buffy, the other day you were going on about wanting to be the first female
football player for the University,” he reminded her.
“Well, I mean, come on. I could totally kick every butt on that team, and how
cool would it be to see a girl beat all those macho, tough-guy jocks, huh?”
“And just last week, you wanted to be on the cheerleading squad.”
“That was FOUR years ago, Giles, and anyone else remember the mean, old witch
flaying the rest of the squad?” She said indignantly, raising her hand and
looking toward
“The last thing you tried to plan was a Thanksgiving Day Feast, and not only
did we find ourselves under siege, but we ended up with a neutered pet vampire
as well.”
“Hey!” Spike yelled from the bathroom. “I heard that!”
“This is not the time to go gallivanting off, what with the Initiative in
operation and all. We still don’t even know exactly what their agenda is, and
until we do, I really don’t think this is the time to be shirking your duties.”
“I’m not shirking! I never shirk!” She shouted. Giles gave her a pointed look,
and she turned toward
“Uh, well, you sometimes do, on occasion, shirk. But, uh, not in a, uh bad way,
so much, but more of a needing a break from slayer life kinda way, and, um, I’m
not helping, am I?”
“Not so much,” Buffy replied.
“Sorry. I mean, Giles, come on! Its five days. What could possibly happen?”
“You’ve been living on the hell mouth for your entire life,
“Well, it’s just, you know, we all did okay, before Buffy was here. I’m sure
one weekend won’t kill anyone- er, poor choice of words, maybe, but I’m sure
that if we’re gone for a few days, the world want just stop spinning.”
“Come on, Giles. I’m an adult now, you know. I don’t need your permission to go
away for a weekend,” Buffy told him. “I’ll just up and go, and you won’t even
know where I am.”
“Ah, I see we’ve resorted to threats now. I think bribery comes next.”
The three turned toward the front door, seeing Xander walk in.
“Giles, man, come on. Every slayer needs a break now and again,” he reasoned.
Giles let out a deep sigh, knowing that they would not let up until he gave in.
“I’m not your watcher anymore, Buffy. You may do as you like, and clearly you
don’t think you need to heed my advice.”
“Aw, come on Giles, a weekend in the woods is good for anyone. Makes you all
strong and more man-like, or woman-like, as the case may be,” Xander stated.
“Think of it as a sort of spiritual retreat, Giles,” Buffy tried to reason.
“Out in the woods, one with nature and all that.”
“Yeah,”
Giles began to smile at the thought and suddenly seemed to perk up. “Perhaps
you’re right. Camping may be just the thing. It may be just the little vacation
I need.”
Everyone’s smile faded and they all looked away awkwardly, no one willing to
tell him that he hadn’t really been invited.
“Great,” Anya said sarcastically. “Now our dorky little trip is complete.”
Part 2
"Got everything I need," Willow announced happily, as she tried to
come into the dorm room, the extremely large pack on her back
getting stuck in the door frame. After pushing and pulling back and
forth several times, she finally burst through, nearly falling over
and catching herself at the last minute.
"
eyeing the large pack.
"I know, but you never know what you might need, out in the
wilderness, combating the elements, fighting the very forces of
nature, just you and the Earth."
"We're staying in a two story cabin," Buffy reminded her.
"Yeah, I know, but still."
"Well, I'm glad to see you're getting excited about something," the
blonde told her. "Seems like since Oz left, you haven't really been
up for much fun having."
"Yeah, I think I'm finally starting to bounce back,"
with a somewhat forced smile, her voice just a little too perky.
Buffy stuffed the last item into her bag and zipped it shut. "All
ready," she announced, slinging the bag over her shoulder.
"You know, I still can't believe that we have to take Spike camping
with us,"
to their site at night? Plus, camping, not really a vampire
activity."
"Yeah, well, I'm certainly not looking forward to bleach-boy coming
along with us, believe me, but at least we have the cabin, so he has
a place to be during the day. And, you know, if he accidentally
happens to end up outside before the sunsets, well, not really my
problem, now is it? But Giles refused to let Spike stay at his
apartment unsupervised, and apparently is all super gung-ho about
the trip."
"Well, he hasn't really had a whole lot to be gung-ho about lately,"
"I know, but I was just hoping for a nice, fun filled, non-slayery
weekend, you know? And now I've got the former watcher tagging
along, and bringing his little pet vampire with him…"
"Plus, now we have to keep Riley from figuring out who Spike is. How
are we going to explain his inability to go into sunlight? Riley's
never going to believe that..."
"Believe what?" Riley asked, walking into the room. Both girls' eyes
widened nervously.
"Uh, just that
pack," Buffy said, gesturing toward the large pack on the floor.
"Wow, that's a lot of stuff you got there, Willow," Riley replied,
eyeing the gear.
"Well, you know me. Always be prepared, that's my motto. I'm like a
boy scout. Except I'm a girl, a-and not 12 years old, and much more
with the demony research and killing, as opposed to collecting
badges and singing songs by the fire," she told him.
Both Buffy and Riley gave her a strange look.
"Where's your stuff?" Buffy asked, only noticing a tiny little
knapsack.
"This is it. This is all I need. Just me, my trusty knife, a change
of clothes, and my girl in the woods. What else could I ask for?" He
said, giving her a tight hug.
"Maybe a bar of soap or some toilet paper?" Buffy replied with a
grin.
"Now, why again are we hiking at night? Wouldn't it have been easier
to go in the daylight?"
"Uh, well,"
wanting to walk at night and being all spiritual, and.."
"It's a thing," Buffy summarized, giving him a bright smile and
leading him toward the door.
~*~
"How much longer do we have to go?" Anya whined.
"We've been walking for less than a half hour," Buffy told her.
"I know, but my feet are killing me," the brunette retorted. "I
mean, isn't this what cars and buses and trains are for? So that
people don't have to walk anymore?"
"Well, An, hun, maybe you should have worn shoes with a little less
heel. Sneakers, or hiking boots maybe," Xander told her.
"Yeah, right. I remember the days when I could just snap my fingers
and poof, teleport to wherever I wanted to be," she said under her
breath. "Besides, the boots didn't match any of my clothes."
"You could what?" Riley asked, not catching the last part.
"I-I said I could snap my fingers and-and then walk easily to where
ever I wanted to be," she said more nervously. "You know, it's the
American way."
Everyone gave her a confused look as she tried to act as "normal"
around the commando as possible.
"Yeah, you know, us British, we just sprout wings and fly," Spike
said sarcastically.
"I thought you said you were from the south," Riley said.
"Uh, right," Spike responded in a bad southern accent, his darting
around nervously. "I was just, er, practicing for a play I'm in."
"Oh, what play?"
"Er, uh, Phantom of-"
Riley. "My Fair Lady," she told him. "He's playing Professor
Higgins."
"Aren't you a little young to play that part?" Riley asked
suspiciously.
"I'm older than I look," Spike said, trying to remember to do the
southern accent.
"We're in the middle of the woods, Anya. I don't think it matters if
we see you in footwear that doesn't match," Buffy stated, trying to
end the conversation between Spike and Riley.
"Well, obviously I don't care what YOU people think, but you never
know if you're going to run into a ruggedly handsome ranger on the
trail."
"Uh, hello! Boyfriend, walking right here," Xander reminded her.
"Oh, Xander, don't worry," Anya reassured him. "I still think
that
you are the sexiest. I'm just talking about looking at other men. I
still want to have sex with only you though."
"Aww, now that's sweet," Riley said, not entirely sure if he himself
was being sarcastic or not.
"Maybe we should stop for five minutes, and, uh, catch our breath,"
Giles interjected, breathing heavily.
"Fabulous idea," Anya chimed in. "Where's the nearest little
girls
room?" Everyone rolled their eyes and ignored her.
"Feeling a little winded, Rupert?" Spike asked with a smirk, not
bothering with the fake accent anymore.
"Uh, no, not at all. I just thought that maybe the rest of you…"
Giles struggled between gasps of breath.
"Seriously, guys, restroom?" Anya asked again. "Anyone?"
"Camp should only be another mile or so up," Xander told them,
looking at the map and compass. "Half hour more, tops."
"Camp IS a big, log cabin with running water and electricity,
right?" Anya asked. "I mean, I just want to be sure. Plus couches,
room service and all that, right?"
"Anya, I told you, no running water and no electricity," Xander
reminded her.
"I thought you were just kidding about that," she told him. "I
was
looking at some brochures for woodland getaways, and they had spas
and stores and restaurants and room service. Are you telling me
there isn't going to be any of those things?"
"Anya, we're going camping, not to a five star hotel," Xander told
her, trying his best to be patient.
"Well that really bites," she muttered.
"Alright then. Let's keep going," Buffy responded.
"Hey! Anyone going to point me in the direction of the restrooms or
not?" Anya demanded. Willow walked over and whispered something in
her ear, and everyone else watched as the brunette paled. "No
restrooms?! Whose idea was the stupid trip anyways?"
Part 3
"Rooms are all set up in the cabin," Xander announced walking out the
front door.
"Buffy and Riley in one room, me and Anya in another, Giles, you get
to share with Spike, since you insisted on bringing him along, and
Will, you get your very own room."
"Gee, great," Willow said quietly. "The only one without a
bedmate."
"Well you can be sure I don't plan on being bedmates with old Rupert
over there!" Spike said indignantly.
"Oh, believe me, Spike, I don't like the idea any better than you,"
Giles replied, looking out the screened window from inside the door.
"This all used to be tribal land, you know," Giles told them, walking
out, a book in hand and an excited smile on his face. "It's very
interesting, really, to see how they used to live."
"Giles, you brought books camping?" Buffy complained. "I refuse
to do
any research out here."
"Yes, well, it's just a little light reading, really. Anyway, it's
very fascinating the way they lived off of the land, hunting and
gathering, building shelter, creating fire…"
"Uh, we aren't going to have to do any of that, are we?" Anya
asked? "Because, you know, they have stores and money for just such
an occasion."
"Oh come on, that's half the fun," Riley told her.
"Right. Nothing I like better than building a fire with a few twigs
and my bare hands," Spike said sarcastically.
"Oh! I know this spell that creates fire out of…" Willow stopped as
she saw Giles glaring at her. "I-I mean, I heard that there was one,
but I wouldn't know anything about that, or um…"
"No need to fear. I have my trusty box of matches, and a Zippo, just
in case," Xander told them.
"It seems that this is also the sight of several witch trials in the
seventeen hundreds," the former watcher explained. Willow shivered
slightly at the thought. "Many of the accused women were buried in a
nearby cemetery."
"Buried, huh? Guess they didn't make it through the trials then,"
Buffy observed.
"Actually, according to the watcher's accounts, many of them were
actually practicing witches, but were unable to save themselves from
the trials. No one has ever been able to explain why," Giles informed
her.
"Well, great, just what I was hoping to find, a cemetery, because you
know, I really don't spend enough time in them as it is," Buffy said
sarcastically.
"It's rather a curious coincidence that we should end up so close to
the burial grounds," Giles mused, more to himself than anyone else.
"A hellmouthy kinda coincidence, or just your plain, old garden
variety coincidence?" Willow asked, looking around nervously.
"No, I'm sure it's perfectly safe. There isn't enough human life out
here to sustain vampire existence, and I have never heard of this
region being haunted, as it were."
"Oh, good, cause, you know, just for once, I'd like to avoid the
whole fighting demons thing," Willow told him, slight relief on her
face.
"Nope, you won't find any demons or ghosts in these woods." They all
turned to see a good looking, middle-aged ranger walking up to them.
"Oh, hello there. I'm Rupert Giles," the watcher said, greeting him
with a handshake.
The ranger didn't bother to shake his hand, but instead looked around
at the rest of the group. "Taken all the kiddies on a little camping
trip are you?" He asked snidely.
"Oh, well I…"
"We aren't really kids," Anya told him. "In fact, you'd be
surprised
how old some of us really are, Ranger -?"
"Name's Rogers," he told her gruffly, before turning back to the rest
of the group.
"As I was saying, no ghosts in these parts. But then, ghosts stories
are really just for telling around the camp fire, ain't they? Scares
the little kids," he added, glaring at them. "No such thing, really
though."
Willow and Buffy glanced at each other doubtfully, no one seeming to
like the ranger too much.
"You're the ranger of this area?" Giles asked.
"You're good," the man said sarcastically. "You must be some
sort of
detective or somethin." No one but the ranger laughed. "Yep, I'm the
one and only. Patrol the area, keep it safe, make sure no hooligans
try to stir up any trouble," he told them, patting the revolver that
hung by his waist.
"Neat," Buffy said with a slight, forced smile. "Well, I
promise,
you'll have no trouble from us."
"Yes, I'm sure a guy who looks like he's spent the last twenty years
of his life in a library, and a bunch of kids like yourselves won't
be causing any trouble at all," the ranger replied.
"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?" Willow shot back
defensively. "You know, we could cause plenty of trouble if we wanted
to."
"Yeah, right pet. You're a bloody menace to society," Spike mocked.
"I'm sure you could cause some real damage, princess," Ranger Rogers
said.
"You have no idea," Xander muttered, remembering her my-will-be-done
spell.
"There's already more'n enough trouble in these parts." Every turned,
hearing another strange voice behind them. Looking back, they saw a
scrawny looking old man, with a scraggly grey beard. He was wearing
overalls, with no shirt, and his skin seemed to just hang off of his
bones. His face was drawn and his eyes cloudy, a hint of insanity
lurking underneath.
"Oh, quiet Wilber," the ranger barked at the man, rolling his eyes.
"I'm just sayin, there's trouble a brewin in these woods," the old
man stated, his voice quiet and hoarse.
"Wilber, the only trouble around here is you," the ranger informed
him, before looking again toward the now confused campers. "This
here is Wilber Smith. A local, has a cabin `bout half a mile from
here. Likes to scare the tourists, tellin all sorts of crazy stories
about ghosts and demons."
"They ain't just stories," Wilber argued. The ranger simply rolled
his eyes again. Wilber's eyes widened, as if a sudden sense of
urgency over came him, and he reached out grabbing Willow's arm,
yanking her closer so that he could speak into her ear.
"There are ghosts and spirits abound, Miss. Careful of your step.
They'll be lookin for ya," he told her in a harsh whisper. Willow
tried to pull away, but his grip was surprisingly strong. "They
ain't gonna stop till they get what they's after," he warned.
Willow was becoming frantic, trying to pull away. Buffy was about to
step forward, but stopped as Spike did so, grabbing the old man's
shoulder and shoving him away from the slightly shaken redhead.
"Hands off, mate," Spike growled, his eyes flickering between blue
and gold.
The man stared back at Spike, his own eyes suddenly appearing to be
much more lucid.
"Heed my warning. They'll be coming." Leaning in, he spoke the last
part again to Willow, though his eyes remained firmly set on
Spike. "They'll be comin for what's rightly theirs."
At that, he stepped back and turned to walk away. Ranger Rogers
simply shook his head. "Sorry bout that. Wilber, he ain't all there,
if ya know what I mean."
"Yeah, I got that impression," Buffy replied sarcastically.
"Yeah, well, you all just be careful. Wouldn't want a bear to come
along and eat the lot of you in your sleep, now would we?" He said
with a chuckle, before turning and heading off.
"Bears?" Willow said nervously. "And here, all this time, I was
worried about demons. I never even thought about bears."
"Don't worry, Will. Anything tries to attack, just leave it to the
men-folk," Xander said, sticking out his chest. "Strong man, protect
woman," he added in full caveman voice. Anya smiled seductively at
him. "Man like woman, and I-iiiieeeeee!"
Just then, a raccoon scurried by, running right past Xander's feet
and startling him. The young man jumped and let out a high pitched
shriek, clinging onto to Anya, who was trying to push him off.
"Yep. Good thing Xander's here to protect us," Buffy stated with a
grin.
~*~
"I really think that a triangular formation might be better. Stack it
high."
"Gotta disagree with you there, Giles. I think the spread out method
is definitely better."
"Actually, if you take every piece of wood and measure it, starting
with the smallest, and then…" Riley paused, blushing slightly as
Giles and Xander stared at him.
"Xander, please, I have much more experience at this than you do.
Stack it high."
"Giles, I know what I'm talking about here, okay? Trust me. Spread
out, covers more ground."
"Yes, and it wastes your resources. Stack it high and it will last
longer."
"Again, really gotta disagree with you there."
"You know, in the army, they teach you how to start a fire with a
piece of grass and…" Again, Riley paused as he was stared at.
"Oh, please, will you three stop playing your little macho-man
contest and just start the fire already? I'm starving. What are we
having, anyway?" Anya said.
"Whatever is in that little cooler over there that Buffy brought,"
Xander told her as he piled the wood up and lit it.
Anya walked over to the cooler and opened it up, peering
inside. "Ewww," she yelled, before dropping the lid down and backing
away.
Xander was at her side in an instant, followed by the rest of the
group. "What? What is it? What's wrong?"
"Is that some kind of sick joke?" Any asked, grimacing. "Because
really, REALLY not funny."
"Anya, what are you talking about?" Buffy asked.
"In the cooler!" The girl shouted in an exasperated tone.
Buffy walked over and slowly opened the cooler lid, cautiously
leaning over and looking inside before pulling a face and shutting
the lid quickly.
"How the hell did that get in there?" She demanded.
"You tell me!" Anya shouted. "It's your cooler!"
"Well, I didn't put a severed hand in there!" Buffy yelled
back.
"Oh, who cares about the hand?!" Anya shouted. "I'm talking
about
those hotdogs. Do you KNOW what they put in those?"
"Whoa, severed hand?" Xander asked.
"The-the kind that has been cut from an arm of-of a dead person?"
Willow asked, not entirely sure that she wasn't going to be sick.
"That would be the one," Buffy confirmed.
"How in the name of…Buffy, how did a severed hand end up in your
cooler?" Giles questioned.
"Really good question, Giles. I mean, it's not like I was going `hmm,
what will we eat while we're on our trip? I know! Finger foods!"
Buffy glared at the watcher pointedly.
"Very funny," Giles retorted, rolling his eyes.
"You know, just one time…one time! I want to plan something and have
it go off with out any demonic activity what so ever," Xander stated
angrily.
"We don't even know if this is the work of a demon," Giles told
them.
"Right, because humans are always sticking severed hands in your
cooler. It's like a hallmark card," Willow said sarcastically.
"Well, granted, it is most likely due to a demon, but we still don't
know that…"
"What about Ranger Rogers?" Xander said suddenly. Everyone gave him a
questioning look. "Well, he was all big jerk guy, and bein all
rude."
"Yes, and you know, rude people do so often leave their SEVERED HANDS
in your cooler," Buffy replied. "Come on Xander, I mean, the guy was
a jerk, but I don't think he was the killer type."
"Yeah, he was way too good looking to be a killer," Anya confirmed,
not noticing Xander glaring at her. "Did you see those biceps?"
"You're not even slightly freaked out by the hand, are you?" Xander
asked. Anya shrugged and looked around, wondering what all the fuss
was about. "Ladies and gentlemen, the lady I love," he mumbled.
"What about that Wilber guy?" Willow asked, wrapping her arms around
herself. It felt as though he was still touching her where he had
grabbed her arm, as if the skin there was still tingling, and it made
her feel extremely uneasy.
"Yeah, he was going on and on about demons and ghosts and spirits,"
Xander added. "And let's face it, the guy wasn't totally there."
"I don't know," Buffy replied, shaking her head slightly. "I
didn't
get homicidal killer feelings from him, so much as typical loony old
man feelings."
"Well, what do we do now?" Willow asked. "Pack up and
leave?"
"I think that under the circumstances, we should…" Giles began,
before Buffy interrupted him.
"No. No way. I am not letting some…I don't know what, ruin my
weekend. We are staying put," She stated firmly.
"Buffy I really think…"
"Giles. We. Are. Not. Going. Anywhere. We are going to stay here and
have a good time, if it kills us," she stated, pausing and looking
around at the worried faces. "Which I'm very certain it won't," she
added with a forced smile.
"Sounds like fun," Xander replied, looking less than thrilled.
~*~
"Buffy, do you really think this is a good idea?" Willow asked,
sitting on the bed next to Buffy, who was busy reading a magazine.
"What, this?" Buffy asked, pointing toward a picture.
"Absolutely
not. Whoever decided that those jeans were going to be in this year
had serious issues."
"No, Buffy, not the magazine! Us, staying here in the place with the
severed hand?" The last part was spoken in a hushed tone, as the
redhead looked around suspiciously.
"Oh, that. Will, don't worry about it. We'll be perfectly
fine."
"You aren't even the slightest bit worried after finding some hand in
your cooler?" Willow asked, surprised that her friend wasn't more
upset.
"No! Well, I mean, yeah, I'm a little wigged, but I mean, come on,
it's like Giles said, there isn't enough people in this area for
demons to stick around."
"What about ghosts?" Willow asked in a hushed tone.
"Come on, Willow. What are the chances of that?"
Part 4
“Quiet down out there! A fella needs his beauty sleep you know!”
Spike yelled from inside the cabin.
“We’re makin too much noise for ya, Spike? Why don’t you come on out and make
us be quiet,” Xander shouted back, laughing as he looked up at the sunny sky.
“Funny,” Spike replied, sarcastically. “Just wait until it gets dark.”
“And then what? Ya gonna talk me to death?”
“That guys sleeps a really lot, doesn’t he?” Riley mused. “And he’s getting
really good at that accent. Sounds almost believable.”
“Hey!” Spike yelled indignantly, hearing Riley’s comment.
“Xander, are you going to make a play or what?” Buffy asked impatiently.
“Oh, yeah right. Sorry.” He and Anya were playing touch football against Riley
and Buffy. His team was down by 62 points, but he really felt that they were
finally about to make a turn around.
“Alright, now Anya, when I throw you the ball, you catch it,” he told his
girlfriend.
“Okay, and then what?” She asked eagerly.
“That’s it. Just catch it. Don’t run, don’t throw it, don’t do anything. Just
stand there and catch it.”
“That’s what you said last time,” she complained. “And the time before that,
and the time before that, and the time before that.”
“Well, that’s because you still haven’t actually caught one,” he explained.
“Well, it’s not my fault that my hands are so small and dainty. Maybe I should
throw to you.”
“I’m the quarterback, Anya. I throw, you catch, in theory.”
“Well, theory isn’t working out so well, so how’s about I throw the ball for a
change.”
Xander let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. “Alright, fine. You can
throw the ball.”
Anya eagerly grabbed the ball and ran to the end of the field. Everyone was set
in their positions, and she got ready to throw.
“Ready! Set!” She yelled. “Hike!”
Buffy rushed toward Anya while Riley ran down to cover Xander.
“Throw the ball!” Xander yelled, seeing Buffy closing in on his girlfriend.
Anya panicked and turned to run away from the oncoming slayer.
“No!” Xander shouted. “That’s the wrong way! Anya, THIS way!”
“She won’t stop chasing me, Xander!” Anya yelled back, running away from the
blond. “Make her stop!”
Buffy caught the former demon easily enough and tagged her, both hands on her
back.
“Hey! Foul! Foul! She pushed me! Did anyone else see that? She pushed me!” Anya
yelled, pointing accusingly at Buffy.
“I didn’t push you!” Buffy yelled back.
“You touched me!” Anya said indignantly.
“That’s because it’s called TOUCH football!”
“Well, I don’t like this game. It’s stupid, and I’m not playing anymore,” Anya
told her, tossing the ball to the ground and stomping away.
“Anya! Wait!” Xander yelled.
“Will you all SHUT UP?!” Spike yelled from inside the house.
Willow and Giles, who had been sitting off to the side, reading, both looked at
each other, rolling their eyes.
~*~
“How are ya enjoying the great outdoors, Willow?” Xander asked his best friend
as she stood at the counter in the kitchen, making sandwiches.
“Well, it doesn’t feel so much like great outdoorsy as much as kinda indoorsy,
you know?”
“Yeah, maybe, but no electricity or running water? That’s fun.”
Willow rolled her eyes. “Almost as much as was listening to Buffy and Anya
fight over the battery operated blow dryer this morning.”
“Ah, yes. Nothing like living off the land,” Xander said with a smile.
“Oh, please. You wouldn’t last one day as a pioneer,” Spike told him, walking
into the kitchen and reaching into a cooler for a bag of blood.
“Spike, be careful. You can’t let Riley see the b-l-o-o-d,” Willow said in a
hushed tone.
“Oh, good thinking, pet,” Spike replied sarcastically. “Spell out the big
words, then they won’t know what we’re sayin.”
Spike turned toward Xander. “Isn’t that right, M-o-r-o-n?”
Willow rolled her eyes. Xander glanced up distractedly from the jelly jar he
was struggling to open. “What? Yeah, sure. Whatever. Look, Will? I can’t get
this open.” He handed the jar back to Willow, who looked down with a frown.
“Xander I told you that I could…”
“Oh, who’s the big tough manly man now?” Spike taunted.
“If you’re so great and mighty, why don’t you open it,” Xander shot back.
“Oh, right, because the real test of strength and courage is opening a jam jar,
isn’t it?”
“Saying you can’t do it?”
“Oh, please. I see what you’re doin. I’m not that stupid.”
“Never mind, Will. There’s no way he could get that jar open,” Xander said with
a slight grin.
“Well, all I have to do is…” Willow began.
“Oh, give it here!” Spike yelled, grabbing the far from her hand and attempting
to twist the lid. Pulling with all of his strength, he quickly realized that
the lid was not moving. Vamping out, he redoubled his efforts.
“Spike! Your face!” Willow yelled in alarm. “If Riley comes in…”
“Oh, let soldier boy come in here and kill me,” he said through clenched teeth
as he struggled with the jar. “Put me out of my misery once and for all.”
Finally, giving up, he slammed the jar down on the counter.
“This jar is faulty. It doesn’t open, clearly,” he told them.
Willow picked up the jar, grabbing a thick butter knife, and tapped the lid with
the knife several times. Gripping the lid, she gave it an easy twist and it
popped off. Xander and Spike looked at each other in surprise.
“You cheated!” Spike yelled. “You used magic, and you know what the watcher’ll
say to that.”
“No, I didn’t!” Willow yelled back. “No magic, I swear.”
“Yeah, well, I loosened it for you,” he replied, turning and walking away in a
huff.
Xander finally closed his mouth and shook his head a little, before realizing
what Spike had said. “Hey! No way! I was the one who loosened it!”
Part 5
After dinner, the group congregated around the camp fire.
"We're going to need some more wood," Giles noted. "Of course,
if we
had set the fire up the way that I had wanted..."
"Giles, man, let it go," Xander interrupted, placing a marshmellow
on a stick and holding it over the fire.
"Oh! I'll go. I could use a walk," Willow volunteered.
"Will, I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to wander out into the
woods alone," Buffy told her.
"What, am I five years old?" Willow replied haughtily.
"No, of course not…" Buffy began, before being interrupted.
"I mean, first, I'm not supposed to do magic, cause I'm still all
grievey, and now you're telling me that I can't walk alone? Big girl
here, remember?"
"I think that Buffy is just concerned over the severed hand incident
from yesterday, Willow," Giles explained gently.
"Oh, right. That," Willow said quietly, suddenly reminded of why she
should be afraid.
"Well, um, Xander? Wanna take a walk with me?" She asked.
"He would, but he's busy roasting a marshmallow for me," Anya told
her. Willow scowled in response, glancing over to see Buffy and
Riley snuggling close to each other and laughing softly.
"Oh, never mind. I'll go alone," Willow mumbled. "I'll just stay
nearby." In truth, the idea of going alone did appeal to her. Willow
had been hoping to get a few minutes to try a spell or two out in
the woods, but the idea of being alone with whoever, or whatever
left the little gift in their cooler, was slightly unsettling.
"Spike, go with her," Giles commanded as the redhead stood up and
started to stomp away.
"What?" Willow yelled, turning back in surprise.
"What? Hell no!" Spike shouted. "Why should I have to go with
the
little witch?"
"He really is getting good at that accent," Riley whispered to
Buffy, who simply rolled her eyes. "How does he always remember to
stay in character?"
"Because, Spike," Giles explained. "If you would like to
continue to
be fed, free of charge, you will have to do a few things to earn
your keep."
"Oh, so now baby sitting Willow is one of Spike's chores?" Willow
grumbled. "Thanks a lot, Giles."
"Willow, Giles only meant that you know, you need someone to go with
you, and we're all kinda busy, and Spike's conveniently not, so…"
"No, it's fine. Whatever. Come on, Spike. Start walkin, or you won't
get your gruel tomorrow," she said sarcastically, turning and again
stomping away, followed after by Spike.
"Stupid slayer and her stupid watcher," Willow mumbled to herself as
she walked deeper and deeper into the woods, not thinking at all
about finding firewood. "They all think they're so great. I'll show
them."
"Just how far do we have to walk?" Spike called after her.
"Looks
like plenty of wood right here, don't it?"
"Spike, go away," she muttered.
"Can't do that," he said, quickening his steps to catch up to
her, "and you know it. What's got your knickers all in a twist now?"
"My-my knickers are-are none of your business," Willow informed
him. "Oh, like you care," she muttered.
"I don't," he admitted. "Couldn't care less, but I'm curious,
and a
little amused, so do tell."
Willow stopped walking and turned around to glare at Spike.
"You want to know what has me all upset, Spike? You really wanna
know? First of all, my boyfriend left me for a skanky little she-
wolf. Secondly, my friends don't care about my pain and they don't
want to hear about it anymore, so now I have to pretend to be all
happy, perky girl again. Thirdly, they don't trust me to do magic
right now, so I'm supposed to be `laying off' for a while, until
I'm `more stable,' as Giles put it."
Remembering the "my will be done" spell, Spike pulled a face.
"Can't
blame them too much about the magic stuff, pet."
"Yeah, well, that was a while ago, and I've gotten a lot better
since then. I'm a lot more focused on what I'm doing. I wouldn't
make a mistake like that again, but they won't even give me a
chance."
"And you have to do everything the watcher says, right?" He asked,
arching an eyebrow at her.
"Well, no, but…"
"But?"
"I just wish that they would trust me a little more, you know? I
mean, hello! Survived the last 19 years on the hellmouth, most of
those years, completely slayer free!"
Spike thought about that for a minute. It was true. The girl had to
be a lot tougher than they all thought. He had seen it, on rare
occasions. She had it in her to be something great and terrifying if
she wanted to, but now she seemed to be only barely coming out of
her shell. He couldn't wait to see what the slayer and watcher did
when she really came into herself. Would be a good show at the very
least. Spike wondered if he could help that along at all.
"Oh come on! You're one of the toughest of the bunch. Much better
than the moron. You're right up there with the slayer herself, and
without all that pesky super strength and bulgy muscle." He made a
face, causing the redhead to laugh softly.
"Yeah right, Spike. I don't expect to ever be as good as Buffy. I
just want them to let me be me. I just think that…"
Willow's voice trailed off as she looked up behind Spike, her eyes
widening, before she suddenly let out a terrified scream. Spike spun
around, startled to see a limp body hanging from a tree limb behind
him. He took a step back, and moved to Willow, clamping his hand
down over her mouth to stop her from screaming.
Willow was shaking in fear and grabbed onto Spike's arm, refusing to
let go, cowering close to him.
"What is that?" She asked in a terrified whisper.
Spike released her and took a step closer, grabbing one of the boots
hanging down, and spinning the body around, before jumping back
again in surprise.
"It's a girl," Willow gasped, clutching at Spike again.
Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back
soothingly as he took in the body. She looked to be about Willow's
age, with long dark, curly hair. She was bloody and cut to pieces.
She had been dead for a long time. A few days at least. Spike knew
that, though he was surprised that he hadn't picked up on the scent
of blood and death earlier. And there was one other important thing.
Her right hand, or lack there of.
~*~
"Now can we go home?" Anya asked, holding onto Xander's arm tightly.
"Anya, we can't just leave. Something out there is killing people,"
Buffy told her.
"Well, maybe we should just mind our own business," Anya
mumbled. "Did you see the body? It was horrible!" She told her
boyfriend.
"Anya, you've seen far worse. Hell, you've CAUSED far worse," he
told her quietly. "Why has this got you so upset?"
"Well, because," she told replied. "I wasn't human then. I was a
demon, and it wasn't a big deal. But now I am human, and mortal, and
so are you, and I don't want some crazy thing coming along, and
slicing you up, and leaving your limbs in someone else's cooler!"
"Anya, calm down. It's going to be alright," he reassured her,
wondering if it was true.
"Willow, did you see anything else strange at all while you were out
there?" Buffy asked.
"No, but I was sorta busy screaming," Willow admitted quietly,
sitting on a bench next to Spike. The vampire was rubbing her back
soothingly, though everyone seemed too preoccupied with the other
dead body to notice what he did with his.
"I need to go back there and look around," Buffy said decidedly.
"Don't you think that perhaps it might be better to wait until
daylight, Buffy?" Giles asked.
"What if someone else gets hurt or killed in the mean time?" She
asked.
"Alright, we'll split up into teams and search the area," he
agreed. "Buffy and Riley, you go north. Xander and Anya, head south.
I'll look around the parameter with Spike. Willow, you should
probably stay here and try to…"
"I'm alright, Giles," she insisted.
"Hey! Why do I have to go and Willow gets to stay here? I'm the one
that found the hand yesterday. I should get to stay too," Anya
complained.
"Honey, be quiet." Anya turned and glared at her boyfriend.
"Willow, I really think that you ought to stay here and rest. You
look a nervous wreck," Giles told her.
"Well, I think that I should go out and help you guys," she told him
obstinately, sitting up a little more straight.
"Will, someone should stay here, watch over everything," Buffy told
her.
"Fine," Willow grumbled, not feeling up to fighting it out.
"Shouldn't someone stay here with her? I mean, what if something
happens?" Xander asked.
"Right," Giles agreed. "Um, alright, Spike, you stay with
Willow…"
"Hey! Now he gets to stay? But he's a…"
Xander clamped his hand over Anya's mouth before she could say
vampire. "He's a strong guy, but you know, the sun will be up in
less than two hours, and you know how easily his pale skin can
burn."
Riley gave him a funny look. Buffy and Giles both rolled their eyes.
"Yes, well, we should all head out then. Cover as much ground as we
can for the next few hours and then reconvene back here."
At that, everyone went off their separate ways and Willow stomped
into the house in a huff.
Part 6
"Red, you alright?" Spike walked into the main room and sat down
next to the still slightly shaken witch, handing her a glass of
something she didn't recognize. Willow glanced up with a questioning
look as she took the glass. He still had a second one in his other
hand.
"Whiskey. Helps calm the nerves," he told her, his voice softer than
she was used to.
"Uh, thanks," she said, sounding unsure as she lifted the glass up
and quickly downed the contents. The glass hit the table hard as she
gasped, feeling the liquid burn its way down her throat, and the
blond couldn't help but smirk. Willow simply glared at him through
watery eyes.
"Sorry, pet," Spike said, holding his hands up in mock defeat, not
sounding the least bit apologetic. "Didn't mean nothin by it. Here,
one more." He handed her the second glass and she stared at him
doubtfully. He gave her a stern look, and Willow quickly downed the
second double shot.
"Yeah, right," Willow grumbled, already feeling her head becoming
lighter. "You probably just want to get me drunk so you can get me
in bed."
Spike raised an eyebrow at her rambling. "What's that pet?"
Willow's eyes widened as she realized that she had actually spoken
out loud. "Nothing," she squeaked. "I didn't say anything."
Spike
simply continued to smirk at her, giving her a knowing look.
As Willow's mind ran over the evenings events, her expression once
again became clouded over and troubled.
"That girl," she said quietly, "she was…"
"Dead," he finished for her. The word sounded so simple coming off
of his lips, as if death was a regular part of life, and the redhead
figured that, in fact, it was.
"I felt a magic energy around her," Willow told him. "It-it was
faint or, well, I wasn't picking up anything too strong anyway, but
it was there. Maybe-maybe magic was used to kill her?" Spike
shrugged at the suggestion. "What-what could do that?" She asked
timidly, feeling her eyelids growing heavier thanks to the downed
liquor.
"Lots of things," he told her, his tone serious. Seeing her face
darken, Spike let out a sigh. "Look, don't worry. Slayer'll take
care of it."
Willow simply nodded, feeling the edges of sleep taking over.
Seeing that the witch was about to pass out on the couch, Spike
stood up and grabbed a blanket, draping it over the girl as she lie
down. Nothing else was said, and within minutes, Willow was sound
asleep, unaware of the brooding blond vampire watching over her.
~*~
"You see what happens when I try to take a little vacation? It's
nothing but death and carnage everywhere I go," Buffy complained.
"Well, I believe the words `I told you so' would fit in nicely
here," Giles stated smugly.
"That's really not helpful, Giles," Buffy told him with a glare.
"Yes, but it does seem to make me feel somewhat better," he mumbled
to himself.
"So, what now?" Willow asked. "We've searched the entire area.
We
spent the entire day looking for clues, but haven't found a single
thing. What do you suggest next?"
"I guess we keep looking," Buffy told them.
"But it's getting dark. How are we supposed to look in the dark?"
Anya asked, sounding annoyed.
"Well, this thing, whatever, or whoever it is, seems to be striking
at night-" Buffy began, before being cut off.
"Actually, we have no idea what time that girl was killed. Spike
said she'd been dead for days," Willow interjected.
"How does he know that?" Riley questioned out of curiosity. "Is
he
in forensics or something?"
"Um, yeah," Buffy responded quickly, before anyone else had a
chance.
"I thought he was an actor," her boyfriend stated.
"Yeah, well, he's actually not very good, so, you know day job,"
Buffy told him, sounding very unconvincing.
"So, um, Buff," Xander interrupted, hoping to change the
subject. "Where else do you think we should look?"
"Well, uh, I was thinking the rangers cabin, for one, and, um, maybe
that Wilber guy's home," Buffy told them, sounding a little
uncertain.
"Great, sounds like fun," Xander replied sarcastically.
"Okay, so, Giles, you should probably stay here and try to research
as much as you can," Buffy told the former watcher, who simply
nodded.
"Riley and I will go check out Wilber, and um, the rest of you guys
should do a little recon at the ranger station, see what you can dig
up."
"We're stuck with Spike?" Xander complained.
"Hey, watch it moron, or your hand will be the next one to show up
in the cooler," Spike warned.
"Oh yeah, in your dreams pal," Xander retorted.
"Guys! Enough!" Buffy yelled, quickly taking control, and throwing a
flashlight to Xander, before chucking another one at Spike and
handing one to Willow. With a little more grumbling, the groups
headed out.
Part 7
"Xander, this has got to be just about the worst vacation ever,"
Anya complained as they walked through the dark forest. "I mean,
this isn't relaxing at all."
"Well, I didn't plan it this way, Anya," Xander told her. "It's
not
like I came out here and planted a dead body. It doesn't really up
the fun for me."
"You should have known better, really," she chided. "Every time
Buffy goes anywhere or does anything, someone somewhere winds up
dead."
"Hey! This isn't Buffy's fault," he argued. "She can't help it
if
strange, paranormal, demony things follow her around. She's just,
hmm, she really does have bad luck when it comes to this stuff,
doesn't she?"
"Yes, and you know, Willow's not much better, what with her spells
going awry and all," Anya continued.
"Hey! I heard that!" Willow yelled from behind the couple, scowling
at the back of the brunette's head.
"Don't listen to her, Red," Spike told her. Willow looked up at him
in surprise. "I'm guessin sooner or later your magic'll come in
handy."
Willow beamed at the vampire, shocked to have heard him give her a
compliment.
"Just keep the mojo away from me," he added. Gotta keep his image
up, after all.
The redhead scowled at him. "Why do you have to always do that?"
She asked.
Spike quirked an eyebrow, "Do what, exactly?"
"That! That thing that you do, where you have to be mean, even when
you are being all nice," she explained in exasperation. "It's so
annoying."
"Oh, right, and you're bloody perfect, aren't you?" He retorted
defensively.
"Me? What did I do?" She asked in outrage.
"Guys, keep it down," Xander hissed.
"You shush!" Willow hissed back.
"What did you do?" Spike responded, knowing he was stirring up
trouble. "Nothing. Not a bloody thing. That's just my point, Red.
The watcher and the slayer, they tell you to sit and be good, and
you just do it, every time."
"Hey! That's not true!" Willow argued.
Spike snorted and rolled his eyes. "They tell you to hop on the
computer and do a little research, and there you'll be. They tell
you to perform a spell and you jump at the chance, but they tell you
to lay off and you still do as they say."
"Spike, I know you're just trying to get a rise out of me," she
reasoned.
"No, I'm not," he told her, looking her straight in the eye with a
serious expression. "I'm trying to get it through to you that you
don't have to be their little lap dog." Willow opened her mouth to
respond, but he held up his hand and she stopped. "You want to do
magic, do it. You want to research, do it. You want to go join the
circus, do it. My point is, you don't have to be whatever they tell
you to be." Again Willow opened her mouth to say something, and
again Spike stopped her. "And you weren't defined by dog boy, trust
me. You're better off without him."
"Hey! It's right up ahead," Xander yelled to them. Spike quickened
his pace, smirking slightly at the shocked look on Willow's face as
they headed toward the Ranger station.
~*~
"I'm just saying he's strange, is all."
"He's not strange, Riley. He's just, well, actually, he is strange,
but-"
"And I think he might have a thing for Willow."
"A thing? For Willow? You think Spike has a thing for Willow?" Buffy
snorted and started to laugh, nearly falling over at how humorous
the idea seemed.
"What's so funny about that?" Riley questioned.
"It's just, it's Spike, and it's Willow, and Spike liking Willow. I
just," Buffy said between gasps and chuckling. "That would NEVER
happen. Never."
"Never say never, Buff," her boyfriend told her knowingly.
"Spike and Willow are way too different. He's not her type, trust
me," Buffy replied. "Besides, Willow's always talking about how
peculiar Spike's behavior is. She would never be interested in him."
Riley smiled at her, remembering when he had thought that someone
was peculiar. Turned out he fell in love with her. Reaching out, he
grabbed Buffy's arm and pulled her back to him. The slayer looked
up in surprise, just before her boyfriend's lips descended upon her
own. When he finally pulled away, Buffy looked up at him
questioningly.
"What was that for?" She asked.
"For being peculiar," he told her, a mischievous glimmer in his eye.
Leaning in, the slayer initiated another kiss, this one deep and
passionate, the mission they were on, temporarily forgotten.
Part 8
"It doesn't look like anyone is here," Willow whispered as they all
crouched by some bushes, looking through a window of the ranger
station.
"Maybe Ranger Rogers is out makin some new friends," Xander mused
sarcastically.
"No heartbeat," Spike stated. The other three turned to look at him
questioningly. "No heartbeat inside the cabin," he explained,
rolling his eyes.
"You can tell that from out here?" Willow asked. Spike simply nodded.
"Alright, kids, time for a little breaking and entering," Xander
said as he stood up, the others following his lead. He stepped up to
the back door of the cabin and pulled out a small wire, sliding it
into the lock.
"Always bring lock picking equipment with you on vacation?" Spike
asked. Xander pointedly ignored him, continuing to move the wire
with in the lock.
"It's left over stuff from when he was a soldier," Willow explained.
Spike was about to open his mouth, ready with what he considered to
be a humorous comment. "Don't," Willow warned. Spike shut his mouth
again, glaring at the witch.
"This is surprisingly typical of a Scooby vacation," Anya stated
matter-of-factly.
"We aren't like normal kids," Willow mused, more to herself than to
anyone else.
"Why don't we just break the damn door down?" Spike complained.
"Because, blondie," Xander replied, still working on the lock,
"the
idea of sneaking into the cabin is that the guy doesn't know that we
were here. I'm thinking that a broken door would be a pretty good
indication that someone had been around." Just as he finished his
sentence, there with a click, and he turned the knob, smiling
proudly as the door opened.
"Got it," he announced.
"Good job, honey," Anya beamed, grabbing her boyfriend and kissing
him soundly. Willow and Spike both rolled their eyes at the sight.
After a moment, Willow realized that they weren't stopping any time
soon. "Guys, that's great and all, but um, we do have a cabin to
search." Neither Xander or Anya seemed to hear her, and finally the
redhead let out an annoyed sigh, and headed into the cabin, followed
closely by Spike.
"You don't like her, do you?" Spike asked, as he walked behind
Willow.
She turned her head slightly and scowled. "Gee, am I that
transparent?" She asked, a sarcastic tone to her voice as she shined
the flashlight around the room.
"Shouldn't we turn on the lights?" Spike asked. "Might make the
whole searching for clues thing a lot easier."
"I'm thinking that a bright cabin in the middle of the dark woods
would be a pretty good way to draw attention to ourselves," Willow
told him, still shining the flashlight around.
"Right, and I'm sure no one will think anything of the strange
lights flickering out the windows of the dark cabin," Spike
responded.
The redhead turned and glared at him. "Help me look, or go away."
"Didn't realize I had that option," he told her. Upon another angry
glare, the vampire turned and started searching a nearby desk.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Xander asked as he and Anya
finally entered the cabin, both looking slightly disheveled, and
Anya looking disappointed at best.
"I have no idea," Willow admitted. "Anything that might link the
ranger to that girl in the woods, I guess."
"Something like this maybe?" Spike asked, holding up an article that
had been cut from the newspaper, about the girl they had found.
"That doesn't mean that he killed her," Xander told him.
"No, but he is clearly interested in her death," Spike retorted.
"Well, he is the ranger," Anya stated.
"Anything else?" Willow asked. Everyone shook their heads. There
didn't seem to be anything odd or out of place in the cabin. "Then I
guess we should…"
Willow was cut off as Spike reached out and clamped a hand over her
mouth suddenly.
"Spike, what are you doing?" Xander questioned as Willow struggled
to move away from the vampire.
"Shut up!" Spike hissed, listening intently to something no one else
seemed to hear. "The ranger is coming back." Just then, everyone
else picked up on the sound of someone whistling outside the cabin.
Seeing the doorknob turn, everyone scattered for hiding places,
knowing there wasn't enough time to make it outside.
Part 9
The ranger sauntered into the station, kicking the door shut behind
him as he pulled a small object out of his pocket. He grinned as he
looked at it, carefully perusing the item. It was a small stone,
hardly worth noticing to most, but he wasn't some hick bumbling
through the woods, and he knew real value when he saw it. This was
exactly what he had been looking for.
With a satisfied smile, the man placed the small object on the
mantle over the fire, and headed toward the kitchen, unaware that
anyone was watching him.
"You're stepping on my foot!"
"Anya, shush!"
"Well, these shoes are brand new, they cost a small fortune, and I
don't want you scuffing them up."
"Anya, shut up," the redhead hissed at the oblivious former demon.
Apparently Anya hadn't mastered the idea of stealthy hiding just yet.
"Don't tell me to shut up," Anya whispered harshly in reply.
"I'll
say anything I want. You just can't stand it when I say-"
"Anything at all," Willow finished the sentence, watching through
the crack of the closet door as the ranger walked around. She was
trying to get a better look at the object that he had placed on the
mantle, but didn't have the best view.
"Hey!" Anya retorted, louder than she should have.
"Are you trying to get us caught?" Willow asked angrily, turning in
their tiny space and glaring through the darkness at the brunette.
"Of course not!" Anya whispered in outrage.
"Well, ya could have fooled me," Willow told her, no longer keeping
her own voice as low as it should have been.
"They're going to get caught," Xander whispered to Spike, hearing
the faint voices of his girlfriend and best friend arguing on the
other side of the cabin. He was crouched down behind the sofa, next
to the vampire, and becoming increasingly worried. If he could hear
the girls, surely the ranger would hear them too.
"Sounds like," Spike simply replied.
"Sounds like? That's the best response you can come up with?" Xander
questioned.
Spike shrugged. "Put those two together, you're always going to get
trouble," he told him.
Xander was about to argue the point, but decided Spike was right and
simply nodded. Peaking his head up a bit, he saw the ranger coming
out of the kitchen and pausing near the closet.
"You know, Anya," Willow continued her tirade, " I know that ya
haven't been around all that long yet, but there's this whole tact
and manners thing you should really try to get a grasp on, because
I…"
Willow paused as the closet seemed to suddenly get brighter and
Anya's eyes widened. Willow spun around and screamed, seeing the
ranger standing in front of her, holding the door open. Grabbing the
knob, she quickly yanked it closed again, shaking slightly.
Xander and Spike both shot up at the sound of Willow's scream, and
saw the ranger fumbling with the door, trying to open it again.
"I know you damn kids are in there!" He shouted. "Now open
up!"
Willow and Anya both held onto the door frantically, trying to keep
it closed.
"Do something!" Anya hissed at the redhead.
"Me? Why don't you do something for a change?" Willow shot back.
"This is all your fault," the former demon accused. "If you
hadn't
been talking so loudly about my loud talking loudly, he wouldn't
have heard you, and now he's going to kill us and leave pieces of us
in the coolers of poor, unsuspecting campers! This would NEVER
happen at a fancy hotel!"
Willow shook her head, trying to make sense of the brunette. "I
didn't, I-just whatever," Willow muttered, knowing they wouldn't be
able to hold the door shut much longer.
"Think of something!" Anya told her.
"Like what?" Willow asked. "You want me to just make us
disappear? I
can't just-oh! I could make us disappear!"
"Yes. That would be lovely. Now do it," Anya told her.
Willow closed her eyes, trying to remember the simply incantation as
she struggled with the door, and quickly mumbled the words.
Glancing next to her, Willow saw that she was now alone. "Anya?"
She whispered.
"Oh thank god, I thought you left and didn't take me with you," Anya
told her, suddenly sounding dejected.
"No, we're just invisible," Willow told her. "Okay, let go of
the
door on the count of three. One. Two. Three."
Giving a final pull with all his strength, Ranger Rogers was
suddenly propelled backwards as the door flew open, and he stumbled
back a few feet, trying to keep himself from falling. Once he
regained his footing, the ranger quickly ran up to the closet, not
noticing the two men watching with great interest behind him, their
expressions of complete shock at not seeing the girls on the other
side of the door.
"Where did they go?" Xander questioned.
"Not a clue," Spike replied, sounding more worried than he would
have liked to admit.
"What the hell?" The ranger mumbled, staring into the empty closet,
clearly as confused as Spike and Xander. "I know that I saw two
girls in here," he told himself, closing the door and opening it
again, expecting to see something the second time.
"Xander," The young man jumped as he heard his girlfriend whisper
behind him, and spun around, surprised to see no one there.
"Anya?" He whispered.
"Come on," she commanded, grabbing both Xander and Spike's arm,
pulling them toward the door, "Hurry."
"Anya?" Xander questioned again as he and Spike were led out the
back door.
"I'm right here," she told him once they got outside. Xander held
his arms out in front of him, trying to feel for her. A moment
later, he heard her giggle and make a little purring sound in his
ear as he accidentally found the chest part of her.
"Oh, Xander," she whispered, "kinky. But really, now isn't the
best
time."
Xander's face turned red as he looked toward Spike. "I, uh, found
her," he told the vampire, his hands still clearly on the girl's
chest.
"Yeah, I see that," Spike replied with a smirk.
Moving one hand out to the side, Xander began to feel around
again, "Will?"
"Don't bloody think about it!" Spike shouted, not wanting Xander to
find the redhead the same way that he had found his own girlfriend.
"She's still inside," Anya told them.
"What?" Spike growled, turning back toward the door.
"No! Stop!" Anya yelled, grabbing the vampire's arm to hold him
back. "She'll be out in a minute. She just wanted to make sure that
you both were out first."
"Yeah, by the way, An, how exactly did you become invisible?" Xander
asked.
"Willow," she said with a proud smile that she knew he couldn't
see. "She did a spell, and it worked. Well, unless of course I never
become visible again. I guess then it wouldn't be so good, but on
the plus side, think of all things I would be able to see without
anyone knowing," Anya mused.
"Willow did a spell?" Xander asked in alarm. "Giles told her to
lay
off, and…"
"Leave the girl alone," Spike growled. "Just accept it. She
knows
what she's doing. You're all just afraid because of how powerful
she's becoming. Red may have flubbed up a few spells, lord knows I
don't want to be kissin the slayer again, but the bottom line is,
when it matters, she gets the job done, and the girl's pretty
amazing when you get to know her." Spike hadn't meant to say that
last part out loud, and immediately regretted it as he saw the
horrified look on Xander's face, and the grin on Anya's.
"You like her!" She exclaimed. "You like Willow!"
"What?" Xander asked, looking toward his girlfriend, not yet willing
to admit it.
"What?" Spike shouted indignantly. "No, I don't. Well, maybe,
but
doesn't matter," he mumbled.
Just then, Willow spoke up. "I'm here guys," she said cheerily,
happy that they couldn't see the wide grin on her face.
"Willow? Uh, how long you been there?" Spike asked, looking around
uncomfortably, as if he would suddenly see the girl.
Willow whispered a few quick words, and the two men watched as she
and Anya slowly materialized before them. Willow was smiling
brightly and looking slightly flushed. "Just got here," she told
him, trying to look as if she were a little out of breath, and
noting the sigh of relief coming from the blond.
"What took you so long?" Spike asked gruffly, trying to disguise his
embarrassment and concern for the girl as aggravation.
Willow's expression faltered slightly before she smiled brightly
again.
"Got a closer look at that stone. I know I've seen it in one of
Giles' books, but not sure exactly where. It's very old and very
valuable though, I know that much," she told them.
"Just looked like an ordinary old rock to me," Spike said sullenly.
Willow shook her head. "It holds some importance, I'm sure. We'll
have to check with Giles." They turned to head back to camp, Willow
trailing slightly behind the blond vampire, a wide grin and warm
glow to her face.
Part 10
Buffy pulled away from her boyfriend, panting for air and feeling
extremely overheated. Looking down at her watch, she jumped up.
"Not good," she mumbled.
"You know, that's really the very last thing a guy wants to hear at
this moment," Riley told her, trying not to look offended as he
stood up, grabbing his pants.
Buffy was pulling her jeans on and reaching for her shirt as she
looked up at the commando. "I'm sorry," she told him with an
apologetic smile. "It's just that we had this whole thing that we
were supposed to do and we kind of lost track of that, what with
the, um, whole other thing happening."
Riley stepped up to the blonde and pulled her into a tight embrace,
kissing her lips softly. "I get it," he told her. "I didn't mean
for our first time together to be like that."
"That," she stated, gesturing toward the ground were they had just
laid, "was pretty great."
"It was, wasn't it?" He said with a smile, kissing her again.
~*~
"You think Buffy and Riley found anything out?" Willow asked as they
trudged through the darkened forest.
"Probably just what color underwear the other wears," Xander replied
with a roll of his eyes.
"Xander!" Willow exclaimed, her cheeks turning red.
"Oh, I wonder if Riley is a boxers or briefs man," Anya mused.
"What? I'm just saying, they've been all over each other. You've
seen the way he looks at her, all seductive eyes and super army guy
attitude," Xander told her.
"I-I don't think Riley is really like that," the redhead told
him. "And anyway, like you're one to talk!"
"I bet he wears boxers," Anya thought out loud, Spike raising an
eyebrow at her words.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Xander questioned.
"You! A-and Anya and you're whole public displays of affection
EVERYWHERE we go!" Willow shouted, flailing her arms around.
"I bet they're silk," Anya stated.
"What?" Xander asked, turning and looking at his girlfriend in
confusion, having no idea what she was talking about.
"She's just picture'n soldier boy half naked. Can't blame her
really, if all she ever gets a peak at is your magnificent charms,"
Spike stated snidely.
"Hey!" Xander shouted. "And Willow! Anya and I are not overly
affectionate with each other in public places."
"Right," Willow replied, rolling her eyes. "The minute you get
around her, it's like you can't see anything else."
"That's not true!" The young man shouted. "I am always
completely
aware of my surroundings, eyes open, watching with every step I…"
Xander's voice was cut off as he suddenly found himself falling down
into a deep, dark hole.
"Xander?" Anya shouted in alarm, looking at the space that her
boyfriend had just been standing in. "Xander? Dear god!"
Looking down, Willow recognized the hole as an old well which hadn't
been covered correctly.
Xander hit the hard ground with a thud, and shook his slightly dazed
head. Stumbling to his feet, he shook some of the dirt off of
himself and looked around. It was dark and he almost tripped over
his flashlight, which had conveniently fallen with him. Clicking it
on, he was hit with sudden and horrifying déjà vu. He was in a
deep, dark cave, which was reminding him far too much of the
Sunnydale Mission that he had fallen into a few months before.
"Why am I the one that's always falling into holes and getting the
funny diseases?" He wondered to himself, looking around the dank
cave. Suddenly a thought hit him. "I better not end up with syphilis
from this," he grumbled, remembering Thanksgiving all too well.
"Xander? Are you alive?" He heard Anya yelling down and tried to
peer up at her.
"I'm alright!" He shouted to her.
"Oh thank god!" She called down. "Well get you out as soon as
Willow figures out how!"
"Me?" Willow questioned. "What do you think I'm going to
do?"
"Can't you just float him up?" The brunette asked.
Willow shook her head. "I can't float something as big as Xander
that far," she told the other girl.
"Told chubs to lay off the twinkies," Spike joked, receiving a stern
look from the redhead.
"What are we going to do?" Anya asked, sounding increasingly
frantic. "I mean, I didn't even want to come on this stupid trip!
Hotels and spas don't have deep holes that you can fall into. Ever
since we got here it's been nothing but trouble! First we run into
creepy people, then find a severed hand, then a dead body, the
slayer is too preoccupied with her flavor of the week to do any
actual slaying, I got trapped in a closet by a scary ranger guy, my
boyfriend has fallen down a well, and now I'm yelling! Anya is
yelling! Are you happy? Anya is now yelling!" At that, the
distraught brunette sat down on the ground dejectedly.
"Apparently she's also taken to referring to herself in the third
person," Willow mused to Spike quietly, seeing him smirk at the
comment. "Anya, we'll get him out. We just have to go get some help."
"Well, I'm not thinking the ranger is going to be too keen on
helping us, pet," Spike reminded her.
"Yeah, I know," Willow nodded. "I was more thinking Giles and
Buffy.
A-and Riley should have experience in getting people out of, um,
places like that," She told him, gesturing to the hole.
"Guys?" Xander called up, wondering what was happening.
"Xander!" Willow yelled back. "I'm going to go get some help.
I'll
be back soon."
"You're not going alone," Spike told her. Willow was about to argue
the point, but the determined look on his face stopped her. "You and
Anya go find the slayer. I"ll head back toward the ranger station,
see if I can pinch a bit of rope."
"You think that's a good idea?" Willow asked.
"I AM a vampire," he stated indignantly. "I think I can manage
to
sneak in and steal a little rope. Fast moves, stealthy actions and
all that." At those words, he turned gracefully to head off,
tripping over a twig and falling flat on his face.
Part 11
"Do you even know where you're going?"
"Of course."
"Really? Because you don't really look like you know where you're
going."
"Anya, I know exactly where I'm going."
"Then why is this the third time that we are passing that tree?"
"What?"
"That tree. There. With the funny little fruit in it. It's the third
time we're passing it."
"It is not the third time that…That isn't even the tree with the
fruit. It's…it's the tree with the funny carving, and it's the second
time that we're passing it. Damn." Willow mumbled the last part to
herself as she looked around helplessly.
"Wonderful," Anya griped, crossing her arms and glaring at the
redhead. "Now you've gone and gotten us lost."
"Me? Why is it always my fault? You were walking too, Anya. You might
have mentioned a little sooner that we were going in circles," Willow
shot back.
"Well, my mind was a little preoccupied, what with my boyfriend
falling into a dark hole and the dead bodies and severed hands."
"One dead body, Anya, and one severed hand," Willow told her.
"Oh, just wait. That's how it always starts out. One dead body shows
up, next thing you know, you have a string of murders on your hands.
I used to see it all the time as a vengeance demon."
"You used to CAUSE it all the time as a vengeance demon!" Willow
pointed out in exasperation.
"Yes, well, that is neither here nor there," Anya replied, her nose
held up a bit in the air. "The POINT is that YOU got us lost, and
now WE are going to die."
"Anya, we are not going to…" Willow was cut off as Anya let out a
loud scream, flailing her arms around and running in small circles.
"What is wrong with you?" Willow questioned, annoyed by the sudden,
strange outburst.
"Bee!" Anya shouted.
Willow looked at her in confusion. "What?"
"A bee!" Anya shouted again, swatting at the small creatures
attacking her. "Make it go away!"
"You're afraid of a bee?" Willow asked, raising an eyebrow in
question.
"Help me!" Anya demanded, still running around and now very annoyed.
"How can you be afraid of bees after all that you've done in the last
thousand years?" Willow asked, clearly not at all concerned.
"Is now really the time to discuss this?" Anya questioned as she ran
past the redhead, swatting the small, buzzing bee away from her face.
"It's actually strange that a bee is attacking at night," Willow
mused, not really paying attention to the brunette running around her.
"Willow! Do something! A spell…anything!" Anya screamed.
"Oh, alright, fine. You know, no one ever wants me to do any magic
until THEY need it for something, and then all of the sudden it's
all `willow mix this' and `willow incant that'. Spike's right. Maybe
if you all would appreciate what I can…"
"Willow!" Anya interrupted.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Closing her eyes for a moment, Willow recited a
quick incantation to make the bee disappear. A moment later she heard
what sounded like increasingly loud buzzed, and her eyes flew open
just in time to hear Anya scream again, and to see her run by with
what was now a large swarm of bees chasing her.
"Not the right spell!" Anya yelled as she passed the witch and ran a
few feet away, disappearing behind some bushes.
"Uh, sorry Anya. Come back this way and I'll…" Willow stopped as she
noted that the buzzing was sounding further and further away, until
she couldn't hear it at all.
"Oh, see now," she said with a bright smile, very pleased with
herself, "all gone." Looking around, she realized that Anya had not
yet come out of hiding. "Anya? You can come out now. They're…Anya?"
Walking in the direction that Anya had run, Willow was surprised to
not see the former demon anywhere. "Well this can't be good," she
mumbled to herself as she walked alone through the dark woods, trying
to follow the path that Anya had run in.
~*~
"You know, this wouldn't be nearly so difficult if you would lay off
the donuts and do a sit up every once in a while," Spike complained
as he yanked on the rope.
"Shut up and pull, blondie!" Xander yelled, just before hitting the
ground again with a thud. "Hey!" He shouted, glaring up into the
darkness.
Spike gave the hole that contained Xander an innocent grin. "What?
My hand slipped. Perhaps I'd be a bit more attentive if you were a
bit more grateful."
"Yeah, well, just pull me up."
"You could help you know," Spike complained, yanking hard on the rope
again.
"I AM helping! And anyway, aren't you supposed to have super vampire
strength, or are you getting flabby in your new-found impotency?"
Again, this comment was followed by the thudding sound of Xander
hitting the dirt floor.
"Hey!" He shouted again.
Spike gave the rope a few hardy pulls, ready to finally bring the boy
up.
"What the hell is going on here?" Startled by the sudden voice behind
him, Spike lost his grip on the rope, sending Xander crashing to the
ground below yet again.
"That's it!" Xander yelled. "When I get out of here I am so
going to
st…"
"Slayer!" Spike yelled, loud enough to cut Xander off, and hoping he
would get the hint not to mention anything vampirey in front of
Riley. "Your boy fell down the hole. Was just pulling him up," Spike
explained.
Buffy peered down into the hole. "Xander?"
"Buffy?" She heard him yell up.
"What are you doing?" She asked, Riley joining her as they stared
down into darkness.
"Flying a plane," Xander replied sarcastically. "Pull me up,
please."
He sounded frazzled and desperate. Riley took the rope from Spike
and began to pull the slightly bruised young man from the deep well.
"Where are Willow and Anya?" Buffy asked, looking around.
"Didn't you see them?" Spike asked, suddenly feeling a twinge of fear
as Buffy shook her head no. "They went off to find you. Figured that
was why you were here."
Again Buffy shook her head. "We just happened by, luckily for
Xander," she told him, rolling her eyes. "They must have gone back
to the cabin. I'm sure they'll be there when we get back."
"Yeah, I `spose," Spike mumbled, not entirely sure she was right, and
not entirely surprised that she would be wrong.
Part 12
"Anya?" Willow called, still wandering through the woods, becoming
increasingly nervous. "Anya, this isn't funny!" Looking around
wearily, she saw no sign of the former demon.
"Great. This is just great. Here I am, a witch, in the middle of the
woods, and I can't even find a screaming girl, let alone stumble
across…" Willow was cut off as her foot connected with something
small and solid in the grass, sending her tumbling to the ground.
Gripping her right ankle, she winced in pain, having twisted it
harshly.
Turning her head, she glanced back to see what she had fallen over,
and found herself staring at a very old, worn grave stone. The dates
etched on it were from several hundred years back, and Willow
immediately remembered what Giles had said about there being a burial
site near the cabin. Looking around, the redhead caught sight of
several other similar looking stones. Witches. Witches were buried
here. She thought that she should feel a sort of protection, or at
the very least, a connection to those buried below, but somehow, the
thought of where she was did nothing to alleviate her fears.
Pulling herself up carefully, the redhead winced again as she put
pressure on her injured ankle. She tried to limp a few feet, but
quickly found that walking was not going to be possible. Looking
around, she noticed a raised alter not far away, and slowly hobbled
over, leaning against it as she contemplated her options.
Finally, unable to come up with a better plan, Willow settled on a
simple healing spell that she had learned not long ago. Though she
was well aware that her magic was very erratic as of late, and that
the spell wouldn't completely heal her, if it worked, it would
alleviate the pain, at least enough for her to be able to get back to
the cabin.
Looking down, she was relieved to see a few candles scattered around
the alter. It seemed a bit strange, since the ranger had told them
that no one else came around this area, but Willow was not about to
look a gift horse in the mouth, and quickly bent down, grabbing one
of the red candles and placing it on top of the stone alter. Having
no match, she glanced around quickly, as if feeling the need to make
sure that Giles wasn't watching, and then whispered, "Incindere." The
candle lit and she smiled at herself, clearly pleased.
Taking a moment to center herself, the redhead closed her eyes,
attuning herself to the air and energy around her. After a few
moments, the wind began to pick up, whipping around her, tossing her
red hair around her face like dancing flames.
"In the divine name of the Goddess," she whispered, "who
breathes
life into us all, I consecrate and charge this candle, as a magical
tool for healing." That said and done, she took another moment to
focus, before doing the spell.
"Magic mend, and candle burn," she chanted. "Sickness end, good
health return." She chanted the incantation over three times, her
voice becoming louder and more commanding with each repetition. After
the third time, the flame blew out, and the wind immediately died
down. Panting slightly, Willow opened her eyes, just before letting
out a terrified scream.
~*~
"They're not here," Xander announced.
"We can see that, moron," Spike responded. He was worried now, and
there was no one better than Xander to take his anger out on.
"They never came back here," Giles assured them.
"Then they're out there still, lost somewhere," Xander stated.
"Thank you for once again pointing out the blatantly obvious," Spike
replied, rolling his eyes.
"Hey, listen fangless, that's my girlfriend and my best friend out
there," Xander yelled, walking up to Spike and poking him the chest
pointedly.
"Why did he just call him fangless?" Riley questioned, looking toward
Buffy.
Spike and Buffy were both about to open their mouths to respond, when
the front door of the cabin flew open and Anya ran in, her arms
flailing frantically around her. She slammed the door shut and leaned
against it, panting heavily.
"Anya! Are you alright? What happened?" Xander ran toward the
brunette.
"Bees," she gasped between breathes. "Lots and lots of
bees."
"God lord, you were attacked by bees?" Giles questioned.
"You don't look like you got stung," Xander stated, looking her over
carefully.
Anya shook her head. "I got away," she whispered, still trying to
catch her breath.
"Were they demon bees?" Buffy asked, sounding a little more excited
than she should have.
Again, Anya shook her head. "Where did they come from?" Giles asked.
"Willow," she told them.
"Willow sent a swarm of bees after you?" Buffy asked. "I knew
she
wasn't fond of you, but I don't think that…"
"Not on purpose," Anya explained. "She did a spell, to get rid
of
one, and instead made a whole bunch."
"Where is she now?" Spike asked. Everyone turned and looked at the
blond, hearing the growl of anger and concern in his voice.
"I-I don't know," Anya told him quietly, looking down. "I ran
from
the swarm and lost her."
"You bloody bint!" Spike roared. "You left her alone out
there?"
"Hey!" Anya retorted. "She's the one that sent a SWARM of bees
after
me!"
"Well if you hadn't…"
"Guys! Stop!" Buffy interjected. "No time for this. We need to
split
up, go out and find Willow."
"Right, because splitting up has been working out for us so well thus
far," Xander said, rolling his eyes.
"Better suggestion?" She asked, glaring at him. Xander simply shook
his head.
"Alright, Riley's with me, Xander and Anya, Spike and Giles. Everyone
spread out, and we'll meet back here in an hour."
Part 13
As Willow screamed, she stumbled backwards, tripping and falling over
her own feet. The redhead tried to scramble backwards, as the figure
in front of her took several steps forward, and she screamed again,
demanding that he move away.
"Dang it, girl, you'll go and wake the dead with all that wailin,"
Wilber complained, shaking his head and glancing around
nervously. "And this ain't the place you wanna be doin that," he
added in a harsh, hushed tone. Willow stopped screaming and looked
around, desperately searching for a means of escape.
"Wh-what do you want?" She asked nervously.
"Ain't what I want," he told her. "It's what they want."
"They? What do you mean? They who?" She was terrified and exhausted,
and still in quite a bit of pain. The young witch was definitely not
in the mood to play twenty questions with cryptic-creepy man.
Wilber simply looked around the area, as if expecting there to be
someone listening to what they were saying.
"They've been waiting for you. `Bout damn time you got here. Ready to
put an end to all this, they are."
"I don't understand what you're talking about," she told him, her
fear quickly shifting to frustration.
"They ain't no different than you, ya know," he told her, gesturing
toward a grave stone at his feet.
Willow's eyes widened. "They the-the witches? What would they…"
"They been waiting for ya," he stated.
"Yeah I sorta got that part already, but why? What am I supposed to
do?"
"They need to be freed," he told her. Willow scrunched her nose up in
confusion and he continued. "You got the power. I can feel it. They
need to be freed!" At that, he reached forward, gripping her arms
harshly and hauling her up off of the ground.
"Freed how?" She whimpered as she was hauled up before the old man
and struggled against his impossibly tight grip.
"A trade," he told her. "You fer them."
Willow began to shake her head frantically. "You're going to kill me?
You-You can't!"
"Don't be daft, girl," he ground out. "I ain't gonna kill ya.
Won't
be needin to." Those words said, his already painful grip on her arms
tightened, and his eyes began to glow red as he held her above the
ground.
~*~
"I'm holding all of you responsible if she's not found in one piece."
"Lovely, Spike."
"I mean it, Rupert. If that girl is harmed in any way, I'll…"
"Yes, yes, I've heard the threats before, Spike. It's all a bit less
worrisome, what with your chip, and I must say, I'm a bit surprised
at how upset you've become over it."
"Well, why shouldn't I be? I care about the girl! A bit more than the
rest of you, apparently."
"Spike," Giles said with a sigh, "I know you care about her. We
all
do. Willow is like a daughter to me, and…" Giles paused, seeing Spike
gaping at him incredulously. "What is that look for."
"You know that I care about her? Who told you?" Spike yelled in
outrage. He really had not thought his feelings for the redhead were
so transparent. Did everyone know?
"No one told me," Giles replied with a roll of his eyes. "It was
just
rather obvious to anyone that was bothering to look. Now shut up and
help me find her, will you?"
Spike was about to come back with what was sure to be a very witty
retort, but was cut off by the sound of a woman screaming, the voice
all too familiar. Just as his head whipped around in the direction of
the scream, another came from the opposite direction.
"You go that way, I'll head this way," Giles said hurriedly, before
both ran off toward the separate screams.
~*~
"Get it off! Get it off!"
"I'm trying!"
"Well, you're not trying hard enough! Get. It. Off! It's icky and
gross and it has fur!"
"Anya, hold still!" Xander commanded, though his girlfriend simply
proceeded to squirm more.
"I can't take this anymore, Xander," Anya told him, as he proceeded
to pull a large spider web from her hair. "Dead bodies, and scary
people, and bad food, and hidden holes in the ground, and bees and
spiders. I just hate this."
Anya let out a sob and Xander quickly flicked a spider from her
shoulder, before she was able to notice it and scream again.
"I know this trip isn't turning out to be so great, but let's try to
make the best of it," he told her, leaning in and kissing her
sweetly.
"It's just that nothing is going right," she responded when he pulled
away. "A-and Willow's lost, and probably dead now, and…" She stopped
when she saw the stricken look on his face. "I'm sorry, Xander. I
shouldn't have said that, but well…"
"What's happened? What's wrong?" The couple turned in time to see
Giles running up, ax in hand, ready to kill whatever creature
necessary.
"Anya walked into a spider web," Xander explained.
Giles let out a sigh of relief, dropping his arm with the weapon
down, and leaning over slightly, trying to catch his breath.
"Thank god that's all it was," he huffed.
"No luck finding Wills yet?" Xander asked, a slight hint of
desperation in his voice.
Giles shook his head sadly, before giving him a hopeful, if not
forced smile. "I'm sure that we'll find her in no time, though. Spike
is still looking, and…" At those words, he suddenly remembered the
other scream. "Oh dear."
"What? Giles, what is it?"
"A scream. A-another scream. Spike went to see…"
"Maybe it was just another spider web," Anya said with a little too
much enthusiasm and a smile hiding the dread they all felt.
Part 14
"Let me go!" Willow yelled angrily as she fought against the iron
grip holding her off the ground. "Or I'll-I'll turn you into
something, um, really, really bad!"
"I'd listen to the girl if I were you."
Wilber dropped Willow to the ground and spun around, his eyes still
glowing as he stared at the blond vampire. "This ain't your concern,"
the old man told him.
"Well, see mate, that's where you're wrong. Happens the redhead IS my
concern, so I suggest you keep your hands off of her."
"You won't be doin nothing to stop me," Wilber stated coldly.
"I can't hurt humans," Spike agreed, "but funny thing about
that, you
don't exactly look to be fully human."
"They need to be freed, and she's the one to do it," Wilber told him
angrily. "They been waitin."
"I don't have a bloody clue what you're talkin about. Fortunately for
me, though, I don't really care either," Spike stated, just before
swinging his arm out to punch the old man. Wilber ducked, missing the
first blow, and reached out, easily catching Spike's other arm as he
attempted to punch him again. The vampire's eyes widened in surprise
as his arm was held at bay, and before he could contemplate his next
move, Spike found himself thrown several feet back, landing on the
ground with a hard thud.
"Spike!" Willow yelled out, hobbling toward the downed blond as
quickly as her injured leg would allow. "Are you alright?"
Spike was already pulling himself back to his feet when Willow
reached him, nearly falling into him in pain and exhaustion. The
blond looked around the small clearing, growling as he realized that
Wilber was now no where to be seen.
"Bastard got away," he mumbled, before looking toward the redhead who
was now leaning against him. Spike pulled her into his arms, looking
her over carefully. "Are you alright, luv?"
"Yeah," she replied quietly. "Just a little freaked out is
all." She
went to take a step back and stumbled on her weakened leg, only
managing not to fall thanks to Spike and his quick reflexes.
"You're hurt," he stated grimly.
"I just twisted my ankle," she told him. "I-I tried to do a
healing
spell, but…" She stopped as she saw him frowning at her, concern
filling his eyes.
"Is she alright? Did you find her?" Xander came running through the
trees and into the clearing, followed by Giles and Anya. "Willow! Are
you alright?"
"Yeah, thanks to Spike," she replied, looking up and giving the blond
a soft, grateful smile. "Just having a little trouble walking right
now."
That said, Spike quickly swept her up into his arms, allowing her to
hang onto his neck and huddle in close to his chest, as the group
headed back to the cabin.
~*~
"So, Wilber's our man or demon, actually," Buffy stated, starting to
root through the small bag of weapons that they had brought.
"I guess," Willow whispered. She was sitting on the couch, leaning
slightly into Spike, who was rubbing her back reassuringly.
"You guess? Will, you were the one that was attacked," Buffy told
her.
"Yeah, I know, it's just, well, he wasn't exactly attacking me so
much as, you know, holding me up in the air, a-and yelling at me a
lot."
"Yeah, what was all that talk about someone needing to be freed, and
you bein needed, pet?" Spike questioned.
"I honestly don't know," Willow told him with a shake of her head.
"I know," Xander stated. "He's a crazy old demon man who likes
to
pick on girls."
"Well, very soon he's going to be a very dead, crazy old demon man,"
Buffy stated, holding up a crossbow and handing one to Riley.
"He said he wasn't going to kill me," Willow explained softly, her
head swirling with questions.
Spike shifted on the couch and gently lifted one of the redhead's
arms, pulling her sleeve up, revealing the dark bruises forming
there. "Was that before or after he did this?" He growled.
"Well, during, actually, but…"
"No buts, Will," Buffy interjected. "The guy is a demon, he
threatened you, and he's probably the one that killed that girl."
"I just-I just don't know," Willow said quietly, looking down at her
hands in her lap.
"What did you find at the his place?" Xander asked. "Any
incriminating evidence?"
"Uh, well, actually," Buffy studdered, her face turning red as she
glanced side-ways at an equally flushed Riley. "We, sort of, um,
never made it to his cabin."
"I knew it! I knew it!" Xander shouted in triumph. "While we
were all
getting cornered by the wacky ranger and falling into the ground,
these two were making with the wild monkey love!"
"Xander!" Buffy shouted in outrage and embarrassment.
"Well, that's not fair," Anya complained. "All I've gotten is
attacked by a bunch of bugs. I haven't had any "wild monkey love" at
all. I haven't even seen my boyfriend naked since…"
"More information than any of us care to indulge in," Giles
interrupted, much to the appreciation of everyone else listening.
Turning to his slayer, he addressed her next. "Buffy, are you saying
that you never got a look inside the cabin at all?"
Buffy looked down sheepishly. "I meant to," she whined. "Maybe
a, uh,
spell of some kind made us get, uh, distracted," she said hopefully,
though no one was buying it.
"Spell my ass," Xander mumbled.
"M-Y A..." Spike began, cut off by an angry glare from Xander. The
blond shurgged innocently before Willow elbowed him in the ribs.
"Don't tell me you weren't thinkin it," he whispered to her, grinning
as she stiffled a giggle.
"Are we going to go kill this thing or not?" Buffy complained.
"I just…" Willow began, before pausing and then looking toward
Giles. "There was something there. I felt something. An energy or
presence, or...I'm not sure, but there's something about that burial
ground," Willow told him.
"It's a cemetery, Will," Buffy told her. "They always feel
creepy.
Just look at the kind guys that hang out there," she added, pointedly
glaring at Spike.
"I know, but, this was different. I just think, I don't know." She
wasn't sure of what to say. "It felt like other witches were around a-
and not just in the ground."
"You think their spirits still exist there?" Giles questioned.
"I don't know," Willow admitted. "Maybe."
"Well, I suppose I could do a little more research on it. I don't
think there's any harm in looking further into it."
"Unless we all wake up dead and armless," Anya supplied.
"Fine," Buffy huffed. "But I am at least going to go question
this
guy, see what he knows and what the hell he wants. And if he happens
to get a little demony, not my fault."
At that, Buffy spun on her heels and headed out, followed closely by
Riley.
"Try to actually keep your clothes on this time!" Xander yelled after
them.
Part 15
"You alright pet?" Spike asked as he walked into her room, carrying a
small cup of tea. He handed it to her before joining her on the bed,
watching her expressions carefully.
"Seems like you've been asking me that a lot the last few days," she
replied with a weary smile. She took a sip of the tea before letting
out a deep sigh, her shoulders sagging a little.
"It was strange, being there, where all of those witches were killed
and buried. It-it felt strange." Spike nodded, waiting for her to
continue. "There's a certain energy in the air there that I've never
felt before, a-and I can't explain it, but…" Her voice trailed off as
again she found herself at a loss for how to explain what she was
feeling.
"I'm just glad you didn't get hurt. That guy was strong," he told
her, concern in his voice.
Willow nodded. "I know it sounds crazy, but I really don't think he
was trying to hurt me. I mean, yeah, he was holding me up, and ow,
painful, but I think, I mean, he seemed like he was trying to tell me
something."
Spike suspected that there was more that she wasn't saying, and
remained quiet, waiting for her to speak again.
"There was an alter there," she said, not looking at him as she
spoke. "I did the healing spell there, a-and I felt power go through
me. Strong, dark power."
"Why didn't you tell the watcher that?" He asked, anger edging into
his voice.
Willow shook her head sadly. "I didn't want him to know I had been
doing magic. He just would have been all `bad willow' and `learn
restraint' and blah blah blah."
Spike nodded. She was right, of course, but he still thought that
watcher needed to know about the alter. That wasn't a standard to
cemeteries after all, and if Willow had been right, and the other
girl that had been killed was a witch, that meant that the redhead
could potentially be another target, and that was something he just
didn't want to think about.
Pulling himself from his thoughts, Spike saw the redhead stifle a
yawn and went to stand up. "You should get some sleep pet," he told
her.
Willow nodded and looked away, a nervous expression on her face. When
she glanced back at the blond, he was giving her a questioning
look. "Just a little full up here tonight," she whispered, pointing
at her temple. "Harder to sleep that way. Oz used to…" She stopped
and looked down sadly.
Spike moved back to the bed, sitting on the edge and reaching out,
tilting her chin up to look at him. "Red, you don't need him, you
know. You're strong and so bloody powerful."
"I feel like, without him, I'm just a ship floating aimlessly on the
sea and I've lost my anchor. My head just gets so busy, I feel like
I'll float away and get lost without anyone to care."
Spike moved his hand up to smooth back a few strands of red hair as
she forced her tears back. "He isn't the only one to care, Willow,"
he told her.
The redhead smiled softly as her eyes met his. "I know," she
whispered, leaning in and pressing her lips softly against his. It
was only a brief, fleeting moment, and Spike almost wondered if it
had happened at all, but the blush spreading across her face quickly
assured him that it did.
"You know?" He questioned, a small grin on his lips.
Willow simply nodded, her mischievous eyes telling him everything.
"Damn demon girl and her revelations," he muttered.
"I'm glad she figured it out, Spike," she told him with a soft
smile. "I'm glad I know." At that, he wrapped an arm around her,
pulling her in for another kiss, this one deeper and more passion
filled. The vampire swept his tongue along her lips, seeking
entrance, which was quickly granted with a moan from the redhead, as
she pressed her body further into his.
"When you feel lost, luv," he whispered, "I'll be your tether,
keeping you grounded."
Part 16
"I just don't understand why Willow is trying to protect this guy.
He attacked her. He's a demon. What more proof do we need?" Buffy
ranted to her boyfriend as they stomped through the forest, heading
to Wilber's cabin for questioning.
"You know me, Buff. I'm the first one to say `yay' for killing
demons, but Willow's a smart girl. If she thinks something else is
up, we should listen," Riley told her gently.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Right. You're also the one that thinks that
Spike and Willow are interested in each other."
"Don't be so quick to discount it, Buffy," he told her. "There's
something there. Maybe you just can't see it because you don't want
to see it."
"Riley! It's Spike! He's a…" She paused, just catching herself
before it was too late.
"A what?" Riley asked curiously.
"A…a creep," she supplied, wincing at her own pathetic attempt to
cover up her near mistake. "If you knew him like I do, you wouldn't
think they were so cute together."
"Don't be so sure," he replied quietly, a hint of a smile on his
lips. Looking up, he gestured to the small cabin straight
ahead. "We're here."
"Good. Let's get this over with," she mumbled, raising her crossbow
and heading toward the door.
~*~
Willow woke a few hours later, snuggled tightly in the blond
vampire's embrace and smiled to herself, glancing toward the covered
window. She had fallen asleep quickly, knowing that Spike was there
to just hold her. The last few days had taken their toll on her,
leaving the witch drained and weary, not to mention a little hungry.
Carefully, the redhead extracted herself from Spike's arms and
pulled herself from the bed, needing to find some food to quiet her
growling tummy. Heading toward the kitchen, she heard hushed voices
and paused by the entrance, listening to the small group talking.
"I think it's sweet," she heard Anya say cheerily.
"I think it's disgusting. It goes against all laws of nature and
man," Xander grumbled, leaving Willow to wonder what in the world
they were talking about.
"Well so does only eatting food we can make on a stick in the fire,
but you don't see me complaining about it," Anya mumbled. Her
boyfriend glared at her incredulously. "Well not at that moment,
anyway," she added haughtily.
"And I think it's none of our business," Giles huffed as he turned a
page in a book pointedly, and reached for a glass of scotch he had
just refilled.
"It's about time, I say," Anya stated, clearly ignoring Giles as he
sighed loudly, and Willow could just picture him rolling his eyes.
"Anya, what are you talking about?" Xander replied loudly. Willow
wondered the same thing. "About time? About time that she start
bedding a demon?"
Ah, now she knew what the topic of conversation was. Her and Spike,
of course. Heaven forbid she attempt any form of a life without
Xander's approval.
"Well, it's worked out pretty well for you, hasn't it?" Anya pointed
out, causing Willow to grin in spite of herself.
"You are not a demon, Anya," Xander told her. "You are a former
demon and not evil. Spike, on the other hand, is very much still a
demon and very much still evil. Not to mention that…"
"What Willow does with her life is her choice, Xander, not yours,"
Giles stated again, his voice slightly slurred from the alcohol he
had been drinking. He hiccuped and glanced up toward the doorway
before removing his glasses and cleaning them. "You children all
seem bound and determined to date demons. Apparently all this time
on the hell mouth has soured you to humans. We aren't so bad, as a
species goes, you know, if a little on the stupid side now and
again."
Xander gave the watcher a confused look, resulting from his
rambling, before turning back to Anya. "She doesn't know what she's
doing," he argued, oblivious to the redhead now standing in the
doorframe, in clear view. "She's still all confused and weepy about
Oz. Spike is just using her to…"
"To what, Xander?" Willow questioned. "He's using me to
what?"
Xander jumped, startled by his friend as she came storming into the
room.
"Hey, Will!" He said hesitantly, wondering how much she had
heard. "We were just…"
"Oh, please, Xander," Anya interrupted. "She's been standing
there
the whole time. Give it up."
Willow grinned again. Maybe Anya wasn't quite as bad as she
thought.
"Xander, what I choose to do with my life is my business," Willow
told him, glaring at the boy with her hands on her hips, "not yours.
I appreciate your concern, but I'm a big girl, and I think I've
proved more than once that I'm smart enough to make my own
decisions. I'm living away from home, I'm in college, I'm learning
more about witchcraft, AND I'm even able to feed and dress myself
now." The redhead glared at him pointedly as her voice took on a
momentary sarcastic tone. "Nothing has happened between me and
Spike, but if I decide that I want it to, that's MY choice, not
yours."
Xander had the good grace to look slightly ashamed, before opening
his mouth and destroying that impression. "Willow, I know you're
smart, sweetie, but I don't want to see you get taken advantage of.
You don't know what he's capable of."
That was the final straw for Willow. "YOU don't know what I'M
capable of, Xander! I'm a lot smarter and stronger than you give me
credit for, and it's about damn time that you figured that out!" At
that, she turned and stormed out of the room.
~*~
Buffy watched in amusement as Riley carefully tiptoed around the
small, barren cabin, looking closely at everything he came across.
He seemed completely lost in his "initiative soldier" persona, and
she couldn't help but giggle at how cute it was.
"Hey Mr. Stealthy Moves Guy," she called out to him. Riley's head
shot up, and a smile spread across his face. "I don't think we're
going to find anything here," she told him. Wilber had not been at
the cabin when they arrived and the door was unlocked, allowing easy
entrance. They had searched for over an hour, finding nothing
suggesting any kind of foul play.
"Yeah, I guess this turned out to be a bust," he replied, walking
toward the slayer. "At least we got to spend a little time alone."
The soldier wrapped his arms around the blond and kissed her.
"Yeah, this is definitely the kind of quality time I had in mind,"
she quipped when he finally released her mouth from his
own. "Searching for clues about a horrible, gruesome murder, in a
demon's home."
"I know it's not ideal, but we should at least try to make the best
of it," Riley told her.
Buffy scrunched up her nose in distaste. "How do you always manage
to be so positive about everything?"
"Can't help it," he told her. "You just bring it out of
me."
At that, Buffy smiled and leaned in for another kiss.
"Guess we should head back to camp," she suggested. Riley nodded as
they turned to head out the door.
Pausing just before they left, Riley took a step back, peering at a
closet he hadn't noticed before. "You checked that closet, right?"
He asked.
Buffy shook her head. "I thought you did."
Releasing her hold on his waist, Buffy turned and headed to the
closet. "I'm sure that there won't be anything but…" Her voice
trailed off as she opened the door and took in the contents of the
closet. "...A dead body."
At her words, Riley rushed over to the closet, his stomach lurching
as he saw Wilber, dead and hung in the closet, looking very similar
to the way the girl in the woods had looked. As his eyes traveled
downward, his suspicions were confirmed as Riley mentally noted that
Wilber was missing a right hand.
Part 17
"Well, this definitely blows the whole `Wilber done it' theory to
hell," Xander stated gravely, as they all sat around the fire, the
sun having just set behind the trees. Buffy noticed that Willow and
Xander were purposefully ignoring each other, and wondered what she
had missed while finding dead body number two. She also noticed how
Spike seemed to refuse to leave Willow's side, but chose to ignore
it for the moment, concentrating on the matter at hand.
"I don't get it," Willow said softly. "All that stuff he said,
a-and…
Who would kill him?"
"Maybe a blood sucking demon," Xander suggested, earning an angry
scowl from Willow.
"He wasn't drained," Buffy mentioned. "He was strung up, like
that
girl, and cut to shreds. There…there was so much blood," she
whispered. Riley leaned closer, putting his arm around the strong
blonde.
"Everyone is thinking what I am, right?" Anya spoke up. The rest of
them gave her doubtful looks. The former demon almost never thought
the same thing as the rest of them.
"The ranger did it," she stated in a chipper tone, as if proud that
she had solved the riddle. "It's like clue!" She added, earning
confused looks all around. "Y-you know…the game," she explained
hesitantly. "It was the ranger, in the conservatory, with the
knife." The brunette beamed at the rest of the group.
"Anya, this isn't just a matter of pointing a finger and poof, he
did it, end of story," Buffy stated coldly.
Anya frowned before Xander spoke up. "Isn't that exactly what you
did earlier, Buff?" He asked, slipping his hand over his girlfriends
and earning a slight appreciative smile from her.
Buffy scowled at her friend. "No! A-and anyway…It didn't do a whole
lot of good, now did it."
"So, it was okay for you to do it, but if one of the rest of us…"
Xander stated, before the blonde cut him off.
"I'm the slayer, Xander. That's, like, my job."
"To make improper judgment calls?" Spike quipped.
"Watch it bleach-boy," Buffy warned.
"Well, you've done a swell job so far, Slayer," Spike growled.
"Two
people are dead, your boy here got himself trapped down a well,
Willow got attacked by some demon and you and your soldier…Well,
you've just been shagging like bunnies in the forest now, haven't
you?"
Buffy glared at the vampire in outrage as Willow nudged Spike's
side. "You're not helping," she whispered.
"Didn't realize I was supposed to be," he responded with a smirk.
"Guys, this isn't the time to fight," Willow stated loudly.
"Tell that to your buddy there, Wills," Xander responded with a
pointed look at the vampire.
"Xander, not now," Willow whispered, glancing toward Buffy with a
worried expression.
"What's that, Will? Something you're trying to hide?" Xander asked,
his voice purposefully loud. Willow's face took on a look of panic,
just before Giles spoke up.
"That's enough from all of you!" He shouted, startling them all into
silence and stumbling slightly as he stood up. "This bickering is
getting us nowhere, and it's giving me a bloody headache. Sobering
up to a murder scene is never ideal," he mumbled. "Buffy, I think it
would be best if you, Riley, and I go to see the ranger. It's time
we asked him a few questions."
Buffy gave him a doubtful look. "Giles, you're completely drunk,"
she stated.
"I am not!" He replied, adding under his breath,
"unfortunately."
"Giles," Willow spoke up, "the stone?" The watcher nodded,
remembering the stone she had told him about earlier at the ranger
station. He looked at Xander, Spike, Willow, and Anya. "The four of
you will stay here, and for gods sake, be civil to one another. We
don't need any more dead bodies, understand?" The four simply nodded
sheepishly, all looking away from one another.
Part 18
Willow watched Xander and Anya leave the cabin, assuming that they
were going to sit by the fire, and turned back to the book in front
of her.
"Find anything else?" Spike asked as he sat next to her, setting a
glass of water in front of the redhead.
"There are a bunch of old stories," she told him, scrunching her
nose up in confusion, "but they seem more like urban legend than
fact. They talk about witches fighting a demon of some sort.
According to this," she stated, holding a book up, "the demon killed
them, trapping their spirits here, but that doesn't make sense.
According to the history books, humans killed them. A-and it doesn't
really go into detail about why the demon would be fighting them, or
what kind of demon it was."
"History books rarely hold the entire truth, Red," Spike replied
gently, pulling the book from her hand and putting it down on the
table, before wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her
closer to him, his lips meeting hers in a sweet, delicate kiss.
Willow leaned in further, deepening the kiss, moaning softly and
opening her mouth to his questing tongue. Finally, several minutes
later, he slightly loosened his hold on her, allowing the girl to
breath. Willow sucked in several deep breaths before shuddering,
feeling his lips moving down her bared neck.
"Spike," she gasped, trying desperately to remember what it was they
were supposed to be doing as he arched his body into hers. "I…I
think we should…I mean, this is really big."
Spike smirked against her throat. "Really big, huh?" He purred.
"So
glad you think so. Just wait until I'm inside of you."
"What?" She whispered hoarsely, before moaning, feeling his hands
slide under her shirt and across her stomach, sending shivers over
her heated flesh. "I…I mean…the…the…whatever is happening," she
mumbled.
"What's happening, luv," he whispered, before biting down on her ear
lobe, "is that I'm trying to seduce you, and the little restraint I
have left is killing me."
Willow was barely aware of her shirt being lifted up, over her head,
and tossed to the floor. Cool lips made their way across the top of
her chest, before diving lower, and the redhead ran her hands down
his back, pulling mindlessly at the vampire's own shirt.
"Killing," she moaned, the word triggering a distant thought in her
mind. "There is something out there…killing, and…and you're
distracting me….and…and don't stop."
"No plans on stopping," he spoke in a husky voice, just before his
mouth closed around one breast, sucking eagerly on a hardened
nipple. Willow keened with pleasure and wriggled against the blond
vampire, desperately pulling his clothes away from his body in
fevered motion.
~*~
"That is just…gross."
"Well, I certainly wouldn't put that under the category of anything
I want to ever see again in my lifetime."
"I mean, I'm not even entirely sure of what I was looking at. It was
all red and…and slimy and…"
"It was a deer."
"A what?"
"A baby deer," Riley informed the slayer and watcher. They had just
reached the ranger station, passing a dead and skinned animal on the
way. "You know, I would think that with everything you've seen and
done, a dead deer wouldn't be that big a deal," he told her.
"Not that big a deal? It was a dead BABY deer!" Buffy shouted.
"It…
it was…it was Bambi! And it was all skinned and cut up and…and…iwww…"
"You've seen two dead and shredded bodies in the last two days. Is
the deer that big a deal?"
"What did the deer ever do to you? Poor, defenseless little…" Buffy
stopped as they reached the ranger station, and she shook off the
thoughts, raising her weapon and nodding toward the two men. Riley
was always amazed at how quickly she could center herself, become
the slayer, when necessary. At both of their nods, she leaned back
and kicked the door open.
"Alright, buddy, come on out!" She shouted, as the three cautiously
stepped into the dark cabin. "Got a few questions for ya." They all
looked around the dark, empty cabin. "Which would be a lot easier if
you were home," she mumbled.
"Well, I'm right here." The three spun around, all startled by the
voice behind them, seeing the ranger standing outside, glaring at
the small group. "What the hell are you doin, breakin into my
cabin?" He growled, stepping in and brushing past them. He pulled
the door, examining the lock. "You know," he complained, "the
door
was unlocked. There was no need to break it." Buffy gave him an
incredulous look. "I'm just sayin…it's plain rude is what it is.
Girl like you shoulda learned herself some better manners."
"Sorry," Buffy mumbled, before realizing what she was doing. She
opened her mouth again, to argue, but he raised a hand, stopping her.
"Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't have you arrested
immediately?"
"I'm holding one good reason up in front of you right now," she told
him, waving the weapon around slightly.
"Big, tough girl, thinks she can play with the boys, eh?" The ranger
said with a smirk.
"Another good reason," Giles added, "would be the dead bodies
that
have been found."
"Yeah, those," the ranger spoke darkly. "Don't know what's going
on
there. Want the truth? I was beginnin to suspect your little group."
"Us?" Buffy shouted in outrage. "Tell me what you know, right
now."
"What the hell makes you think I'm gonna to tell you anything?" He
questioned. Buffy rolled her eyes, waving the weapon again. "Are
you threatening me?" He asked, glaring at her.
"Yes! Yes, I am," she told him, quickly losing all patience.
"Look, Mr…uh…Rogers…" Giles began.
"Won't ya be my neighbor," Buffy sing-songed. Giles and Riley both
looked toward her in surprise. "Oh, come on, like you weren't
thinking it."
"I just have a few questions to ask," Giles told him. "About the
area, and about a small rock which you have in your possession."
The ranger's eyes widened, before narrowing in anger. "I knew you
damn kids were in here," he growled. "Knew I wasn't insane."
"Oh, no. You are very probably insane," Buffy told him with a grin.
"She's right," Riley added. "Most evil people are at least a
little
bit insane."
"I ain't evil," the ranger told them.
"Could have fooled me," the slayer responded.
"Look, little girl, why don't you…" The ranger was cut off as Riley
suddenly slammed the man against the nearest wall, his neck held in
a death grip.
"Why don't you be a pal, answer our questions, and then we'll be on
our way," Riley stated in a cool, calm voice.
The ranger tried to speak, but found that he was unable to do
anything more than squeak with the hand that was wrapped firmly
around his neck. Finally, he just nodded.
"Good. That wasn't so difficult, right?" Riley said, cheerily.
Turning around, he saw Giles and Buffy both staring at him in
surprise. "Oh, well your way was good too. I just thought mine
would be a little faster," he told them.
"Um…right," Giles replied, taking off his glasses and quickly
cleaning them. "Just a few quick questions then."
"You're kinda sexy when you get all commando-like and demandy,"
Buffy whispered to Riley as she stepped up next to him.
"The stone," Giles stated, ignoring Buffy's words. "Where did
you
find it?"
The ranger sighed. "Out in the woods."
"And where is it now?"
"Sittin right over…" The ranger turned and pointed to the mantel,
his eyes widening as he saw that the stone was now gone. "Where the
hell did it go?" He shouted gruffly, moving to the fireplace. "What
the hell did you do with it?"
"Us? I can assure you that…"
"Are you saying that it's gone?" Buffy asked, not believing the man
at all.
"Well I sure as hell don't see it here, do you?" The other three
moved toward the ranger, seeing that there was no stone where Willow
had said she had seen it.
"Where did you put it?" Buffy demanded.
"Shouldn't I be the one askin you that?" He shouted back. "After
all, you are the ones that are breakin into my cabin."
"Why would we…" Buffy paused, sighing. "Alright, look, we need
to
know everything that you know about that stone."
"Well there ain't no way in hell I'm tellin you a damn thing until I
get it back."
Riley took a quick step toward the ranger, who flinched and stepped
back. "I know 47 different ways to make a man talk," Riley
growled. "I have a lot of patience, and I'll go through each and
every one if I have to."
"Wow," Buffy mumbled. "OK, I take back that whole sexy thing.
Now
you're just plain scary."
Riley took another step forward and suddenly, the ranger turned,
running for the door. Just as he reached the open doorway, Buffy
stepped out, hitting him hard on the back of the head with a lamp.
The slayer watched as the ranger fell to the floor, unconscious, and
looked up at the other two men, shrugging. "Your way was good too,"
she told Riley. "I just thought that mine would be a little faster."
~*~
Willow shivered, feeling the cool air on her heated flesh. "Spike,"
she whispered hoarsely. "I think that maybe…we should…uh…mmmm…yeah…I
mean…we should…you know, go up to my room, before…"
He had been teasing her for what felt like forever, and her body was
nearly humming with pent up tension. The things that vampire could
do with his tongue… But the last thing she wanted was for her
friends to come walking into the cabin and find her naked, with a
blond vampire between her legs.
"Good idea, pet," he whispered against her stomach as he licked his
way back up her body, meeting her lips in a passionate kiss. Willow
moaned, tasting herself on him and thrust her hips up in
desperation. In one quick motion, he stood and swept the redhead up
into his arms, tossing her shirt and jeans over her and carrying her
up to her room at a pace that left her dizzy.
Laying her down gently on the bed, he shucked his pants, his shirt
already gone, and covered her body with his, feeling here shake in
anticipation and need.
"Positive you want this?" He questioned, not sure of why he
bothered. Vampire. Evil. Takes what he wants…but here he was,
practically begging for permission to have the girl.
"Do you really have to ask?" She responded, her voice hoarse and
shaky.
Positioning himself over the witch, he leaned down, kissing her
again, just as he thrust into her fully, muffling her scream with
his mouth. Starting a slow rhythm, Willow was soon meeting him
thrust for thrust, begging him to move faster, harder…anything, she
just knew that she needed more.
"So beautiful," he murmured against her neck, feeling her heart
racing beneath her chest and knowing she was close…so close.
Willow ran her hands over his back, her nails leaving light red
lines in their wake, causing the vampire to shiver and move even
faster and with more force. Feeling her begin to shudder and shake,
Spike nuzzled Willow's neck, biting in just as he felt her falling
over the edge. The combination of her sweet, warm blood and her
scorching walls clamping down around him caused Spike to reach his
own climax as well.
After several minutes, they had finally both calmed down a bit, her
heart rate returning to normal, even as she still panted and shook
in his arms, Spike licking her neck gently.
"That was…that was just…" Willow tried to speak, though words were
not very forthcoming.
"Yeah," he replied, smiling contently against her throat.
"I mean…I never..not like…and…oh! You bit me! You bit me, and…"
Spike winced as she announced her sudden realization. "Yeah,
sorry `bout that. Kind of a thing we tend to do. Didn't mean to
hurt you though. Hope I didn't…"
"No! Spike. I mean…It didn't hurt, but you bit me and…and no chip
going off," she explained with a smile, looking into his eyes as he
leaned back and stared at her in surprise.
"You're not mad?" He asked.
"If it feels like that every time," she told him, "you can bite
me
from now until forever."
"I might just take you up on that," he murmured, nuzzling her neck
again contently.
Part 19
Willow had just changed into clean clothing, adjusting the turtleneck
sweater to cover the bite mark, and walked back into the main room
with Spike, when the door was flung open, and Giles entered, followed
by Buffy and Riley, who were dragging someone with them.
"Someone else die?" Willow asked with worry, trying to nudge Spike
away from her as he ran his hands up and down her sides from behind.
They had already discussed this, and decided that they should wait to
mention anything about the two of them to Buffy until everything else
had blown over, but now, Spike wanted nothing more than to let the
world know that the girl belonged to him and him alone.
"Not quite," Buffy told her, tossing the ranger to the floor in a
heap.
"Um...I thought you were only bringing back the stone, not the whole
ranger with it," Willow told her, glancing at the unconscious man in
confusion.
"He wasn't very cooperative," she told the redhead. "So we had
to
improvise."
"Where are Xander and Anya?" Giles asked.
"You didn't see them?" Willow asked. "I thought they were out by
the
fire."
"They weren't out there. If they aren't in here, then I don't know
where..."
"What's with the body?" Everyone turned and saw Xander and Anya
standing in the doorway, looking at the ranger. Anya had a funny
look on face, and Xander looked slightly uneasy.
"Where were you?" Willow asked, suspicion evident in her voice.
"Around," Xander responded vaguely, not actually looking at his
friend.
"Kill the ranger, did you?" Anya asked Buffy.
The slayer glared at the brunette. "Brought him back for
questioning."
"You know, that usually works better when they're conscious," Xander
told her.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "He'll come around soon. I didn't hit him THAT
hard." Turning her attention back to Willow, she noticed the way the
girl seemed to be almost glowing. "What's gotten into you, Wills?"
The slayer questioned with a smile, glad to see her friend looking so
happy, but wondering at why she would be at a time like
that. "You're all smiley glowy girl."
"Me?" Willow squeaked. "Glowy? Nah...I'm not...I don't
glow."
"You do," Spike whispered, delighting in the blush that over took her
face and chest. He knew enough to know now that the flushed hue ran
further across her whole body, and grinned at that knowledge.
"Something's going on with you," Buffy told her, taking a step
closer. "You're hiding something."
Xander snorted and Anya elbowed him in the side, earning a glare from
her boyfriend.
"Spill, Will," Buffy pushed.
Willow was about to open her mouth to say something, but was
interrupted.
"What's this?" Everyone turned and looked at Giles, who was now
standing in the kitchen and holding something up that he had found on
the cupboard. "Willow?"
The redhead moved toward him, stopping as she saw what was in his
hand. "Where did you find that?"
"Right here," he told her. "Is this what I think it is?"
"Looks like a big pebble to me," Xander stated coldly.
"It's the stone, from the ranger station," Willow confirmed. "I
can
feel something...some kind of power coming from it."
"How did it get here?" Buffy questioned with a slight growl.
Everyone turned and looked at one another, no one forth coming with
the answer.
~*~
"Our guest is finally coming to," Buffy stated as she walked back
into the main room of the cabin and looked at the man tied to the
chair.
"Good, we're just about ready," Giles told her, stashing a few things
away in a bag at his feet.
"What are you guys doing?" She asked as she saw Willow glance toward
the watcher. Neither of them said anything. Before Buffy could ask
again, the rest of the group came into the room.
"What the hell," the ranger began to protest as he struggled against
the roped binding him to the chair. "Untie me, or so help me..."
"Sorry," Buffy told him. "Not gonna happen."
Ranger Rogers turned and looked toward the rest of the group, his
eyes stopping on Giles. "My stone!" He shouted. "You have it. I
knew
you damn people..."
"Now wait just one minute," Giles interrupted. "I have no idea
how
this got here, but we are about to find out."
"How?" Anya questioned. "How are we about to find out?"
"Well, a few minutes ago, Willow and I enchanted the room with a
truth spell." At those words, a chorus of objected erupted throughout
the room.
"Well, it's a bit too late for your concerns and objects," he told
them decidedly. "We've run out of options, and we need to do
something now. Willow has cast a spell so that no one in the room
will be able to speak anything but the truth. It requires a bit of
time to take effect, but it shouldn't be long now."
"I can't believe you did that without telling us!" Buffy
shouted. "That is such a violation of...something."
"Well I for one am not staying in here a second longer," Xander
stated, backing up toward the door. "Truth spells only lead to
embarrassment and tears."
"Well, if you have something to hide," Spike said with a smirk.
"Me? Something to hide? Yeah, buddy, I wouldn't talk."
"Then I guess you have nothing to worry about. Right?"
"Right. Right! I got nothing to hide. Bring it on. Start with the
questioning."
"H-how do we know she didn't do a different spell?" Anya said,
raising her hand. Everyone turned and looked toward her, waiting for
further explanation of her question. "I mean...how do we know she
didn't cast some kind of false confessional spell...o-or a murder-us-
all-in-this-room kind of spell?"
"I watched as she cast the spell, and I can assure you it was a
standard truth spell," Giles told her with a roll of his eyes.
Anya thought for a moment before hesitantly raising her hand
again. "H-how do we know that you aren't in on it together? Maybe
you're in cahoots!"
"Anya, really now...That's just..."
"A really good point," Xander interjected. "We have no way of
knowing that you two didn't have this planned all along."
"I wasn't even with Willow when the stone was brought here. I was
with Buffy and Riley."
"Ah-ha!" Xander shouted, jumping up. "Then maybe you're in on it
with them."
"You are all being ridiculous," Giles stated. "I am not IN on
ANYTHING with ANYONE."
"What about you two?" Willow questioned, pointing at Anya and
Xander. "Where were you guys before? Huh? You two went all missing
and..."
"Xander and I were in the woods having phildphorgmmmss," Anya
replied, Xander clamping his hand down over her mouth, muffling the
end of her explanation.
"Did she just say you were having wild..." Riley began, not able to
finish the sentence, his face already turning red.
"Yes!" Everyone else shouted, not allowing him to say more. Anya
just looked around innocently.
"See. I don't even need a truth spell," she told them proudly.
"What about before? When you took off, leaving me alone in the
woods?" Willow asked. "You could have gone and taken the stone
then."
"Me?" Anya shouted. "I was a little busy being chased by the
swarm of
bees that you conjured. Maybe you did that just so that you would
have a chance to go back for the stone. You seemed awfully interested
in it back at the ranger's cabin. I don't even have a reason for
wanting it."
"It was you two!" The ranger shouted suddenly. "In my
closet!" Anya
and Willow both glared at the man.
"You were in his closet?" Giles questions the girls. "What ever
for?"
"Anya, that's ridiculous," Willow told the former demon. "If I
had
wanted the stone I could have taken it while I was invisible."
"Invisible?" Several people questioned at once.
"Long story," Willow told them, rolling her eyes. "And besides,
you
heard me saying how valuable it was. I saw your face. It was like two
big dollar signs went cha-ching in your eyes."
"Hey! There was no cha-ching," Anya responded haughtily. "And
what
about your blond little friend there? Huh? He had to go back to the
cabin for the rope. Maybe HE took it."
"My rope?" The ranger questioned. "The one that had been holding
my
tarp up over the firewood?" Spike just looked toward the man and
smirked, before turning his glare toward Anya.
"I was helping your boy there," he told her. "If he hadn't
fallen
down the well, I wouldn't have had to go back for the bloody rope.
What about you two, anyway, huh? Sneak off for a little romp in the
hay, who knows what you were really up to."
"Us?" Xander shouted. "What about Buffy and Riley over there.
Or...or
you and Willow for that matter!"
"Spike and Willow?" Buffy scoffed. "Why would they...Oh my god!
Willow! Willow and Spike! That's why you were all glowy!"
Willow simply looked down, blushing furiously. "Told ya," Riley
whispered to his girlfriend with a satisfied grin.
Desperate to get the attention away from her, Willow looked toward
Giles. "What about him?" She asked, flailing her arms around.
"He's
been all Joe-research-guy...Maybe he did it."
"Why would I point out that the stone was here, Willow?" Giles asked,
rolling his eyes.
"Maybe, you...uh...wanted to turn us against each other, not unlike
you're doing right now."
"Guys, what about the ranger?" Buffy interjected. "You know, the
guy
we actually think did it?"
"I didn't do nothin!" The ranger protested. "It's you damn kids
that
stole from me! Now untie me before I…"
"Shut up!" Everyone shouted.
"We all need to just stay calm, and try not to rip one another
apartm," Giles stated.
"I think we should listen to Giles," Buffy stated.
"I think Giles is a little out of his league here and has no idea
what's he's talking about," Willow stated, before clamping her hand
over her mouth. "And, I, uh...I think the spell is working."
Part 20
"Great!" Xander exclaimed. "Now, do you see why I said that
truth
spells are a bad idea?"
"Right," Giles replied, rolling his eyes, "and it's amazing that
we
didn't listen to you, given that you are so very often correct about
these things." He paused for a moment, looking around the room,
before adding, "That was sarcasm, by the way."
"Why are you telling us that it was sarcasm?" Buffy questioned.
"The
spell rendered us compulsive-non-liars, not completely stupid."
"Uh, no, that wouldn't be necessary," Spike offered. "You were
already completely st-" Willow clamped her hand down over Spike's
mouth before he could finish.
"I don't really know why I was telling you that, Buffy," Giles
answered the slayer. "I just felt compelled to explain that it was
sarcasm. Must be part of the spell."
"We can't even be sarcastic?" Xander shouted in outrage. "Well,
Willow, your little spell here is just full of fun surprises."
Xander, like Giles, paused for a moment before speaking again. "That,
too, was sarcasm." The young man rolled his eyes. "Damn it!"
"Watch out, luv, you've taken away the boy's ability to be annoying.
You've rendered him completely helpless," Spike joked. "What ever
shall we do? We're doomed now. Uh, that, also was sarcasm. Oh, bloody
hell."
"Well, now that we've pointed out the many, exciting ways to use
sarcasm," Giles spoke up, "perhaps we should get down to business. I
think that…"
"I think you're all insane," the ranger interrupted. "Spells
making
people say the truth. Complete nonsense in my opinion."
"As I was saying," Giles continued. "I think that our best
course of
action is to move directly to questions pertaining specifically to
the topic at hand, and to stay away from anything else that might
lead to arguments or insults."
"I think," Willow started to speak, "that Giles is a…"
"Yes, Willow," the watcher interrupted, "we are all well aware
of
what you think about me. Again, I am suggesting we not make comments
about one another."
"Someone has control issues," Anya mumbled a little too loudly to her
boyfriend.
"Oh, right, like you're one to talk," Buffy replied, feeling the need
to defend her watcher.
"Please," Anya replied. "You're the most controlling of all,
little
miss the-world-revolved-around-me."
"Uh, hello!" Buffy exclaimed. "Do you remember Cordelia? Because
that was HER title, not mine, and besides, if I seem a little
controlly, it's only because I SHOULD be in charge. I'm stronger,
smarter and over all better than the rest of you."
"I beg your pardon," Giles interceded, clearly angered at her
insinuation that she would know more than he did.
"I knew it!" Xander shouted. "I always knew that you felt that
way!
Ha! Now I have proof!"
"Way to go, Xander," Willow interjected, rolling her eyes. "You
have
proof that we are second best."
"You are not second best," Spike told her, looking her right in the
eye. "I don't fall in love with second best."
Catching his words, Willow's eyes widened. "Love?"
"Well, yeah," Spike replied with a grin, knowing he had been caught
and not caring very much. Leaning in, he brushed her lips with his
own in a deep, passionate kiss that left the rest of the group
groaning and gagging.
"I really don't think that…" Giles interrupted.
"I think that…" Willow began to speak, pulling away from the blond
vampire, before he stopped her with a hand over her mouth. She shot
him a glare before he removed it. "You're not helping yourself, pet,"
he whispered to her. Willow folded her arms over her chest, pouting
slightly.
"If I could suggest…" Riley began, before being interrupted.
"Riley, honey, be quiet," Buffy said gently, patting his arm.
"Let
me handle this."
"Well, I was just going to say…"
"Oh, right, army-man over here wants to add his two-cents in. Maybe
he can get us to all do a few hundred push-ups before the
interrogation begins," Xander grumbled. "More sarcasm."
"I only wanted to point out that…"
"Everyone, quiet!" Giles shouted, halting all conversation.
"This is
very simple. We will all go around the room and simply say yes or no
as to whether or not we took the stone."
Everyone nodded in agreement before each said "no" in turn.
"Well that worked out just great," Xander muttered.
"Sarcasm," he
added with another roll of his eyes.
"This doesn't make sense," Giles stated. "One of us had to have
brought that stone here."
"Guess you aren't as smart as you'd like to think, Rupert," Spike
said with a chuckle.
"Hey," Riley spoke up. "Since it's a truth spell and all,
shouldn't
he not be able to fake the accent right now?"
"Oh for hell's sake," Spike grumbled. "I'm from England, you
poncy
bugger. Get over it."
"But, then why did you lie?" Riley asked Buffy, whose eyes grew wide
at the question.
"I, um…didn't want you to know," she said honestly, choosing her
words carefully. "I thought that if you knew, you would kill him."
"Kill him?! Why? Do you think I have something against British
people?" Riley questioned.
"Um, maybe we should stick to the whole stone issue," Willow pressed,
desperate to turn the topic of conversation.
"Because I don't. Really, and you know I mean it, since we obviously
can't lie," Riley pressed on.
Buffy just smiled nervously.
"Well, this has clearly been of no help," Giles stated, "other
than
to allow us all to sling insults at one another. I have a few
questions I'd like to ask the ranger, but the rest of you are free to
go." Before the words were even out of his mouth, the entire rest of
the group was up and gone from the room, leaving the watcher alone
with an angry and slightly amused ranger.
Part 21
"That didn't work out very well," Willow told Spike quietly as she
shut the bedroom door behind her. "And all those things I said about
Giles!"
"Don't worry about it, luv," he replied, pulling her to the bed to
sit down next to him. "The watcher'll get over it."
"What now? We're still no closer to having even the slightest idea
of what's going on."
"Maybe Rupert will get something out of the ranger," he said, though
doubt filled his voice. Willow yawned and the vampire pulled the
tired girl closer, wrapping his arms around her. "You must be
exhausted," he cooed. "Why don't you lay down, get some rest."
Willow nodded, giving him a look, questioning what he would
do. "Think I'll go see how the watcher is doing with his
questioning. Always enjoyed a little interrogation." The vampire
smiled wryly at the redhead who frowned disapprovingly.
"You know you can't torture him," she reminded Spike.
"I know," he whined. "Doesn't mean I can't scare him a bit
though."
At that, he gave her a soft kiss, before standing up and leaving her
alone to get some rest.
~*~
"Well?" Buffy asked, when Giles finally left the room that still
contained that tied up Ranger.
"Nothing useful," the watcher admitted. "Seems the only thing
that
he knew was that it was very valuable on the black market and would
fetch a good price."
"I'd be happy to question him a bit further for you, if you'd like,
Rupert," Spike offered as he walking into the room.
"I'm sure you would," Xander stated, rolling his eyes.
"Actually, being in the initiative and all, I know a few ways to…"
Riley began to speak up, before Giles interrupted.
"Trust me, I can be very…persuasive when trying to extract
information, despite what you all think of me. He doesn't know
anything."
"You know, Willow didn't mean anything by…" Spike began, stopping as
Giles held up his hand and smiled weakly.
"I know, Spike. Thank you."
"Speaking of Wills, where is she?" Xander questioned.
"Resting," Spike simply answered, as they all made there way out to
the camp fire, wanting to further discuss the stone without the
ranger overhearing them.
~*~
The ranger smiled to himself as he felt the ropes slip away from his
wrists. It had taken the better part of an hour, but he was finally
able to free himself. Stupid bunch of kids, thinking they could keep
him captive in this crazy house. Now, he simply needed to find his
stone and get out. Creeping quietly around the room, he finally
spotted the small stone that had caused him so much grief and lunged
for it. Holding it up, the ranger inspected it carefully.
"You're turning out to be more trouble than your worth," he thought
out loud. "Well, the money I get for you WILL be worth my trouble,"
he said on second thought, grinning wickedly. Turning toward the
back door, he was about to put the stone into his pocket when he
suddenly paused.
"Who...What do you think that…Hey. Hey! What are you…Hey! Ahhhh!!!!"
Buffy and Spike both jumped up first, running into the cabin,
followed quickly by the others as they heard the ranger yelling
inside. Stopping as they entered the main room, Buffy's eyes
widened, while Spike's narrowed, seeing the ranger lying dead in a
pool of his own blood.
"Shouldn't someone go check for a pulse or something?" Xander asked,
not making any movement to go forward.
"No heartbeat," Spike stated with a shake of his head.
"Hey," Riley spoke up. "How do you know that…"
"Riley, not know," Buffy barked, before looking toward her
watcher. "Giles?"
"I have no bloody idea what is happening, but…"
"Willow!" Spike shouted, dashing up the stairs toward her room in
sudden panic, followed by the rest of the group. Throwing the door
open, the vampire's unbeating heart dropped as he saw that the
redhead was not in the room. Straining his senses, he knew almost
instantly that she was not in the cabin, and turned around, giving
the slayer a defeated look like none that she had ever seen from the
blond. "She's gone," he whispered.
"We'll find her, Spike," she assured him, hoping against hope that
it wasn't a lie.
Part 22
Willow glanced down at the small stone in her hand as she wandered through the
forest. She wasn’t really paying attention to where she was going. It didn’t
really matter. The stone was guiding her, and she didn’t seem to have much say
in it one way or the other.
She had only just drifted off to sleep an hour or so earlier, when the redhead
was suddenly awakened by a strong gust of wind inside the room.
“I knew the cabin was drafty,” she thought out loud as she continued her
meandering, “but now it’s gotten down right gusty.”
Shaking her head and smiling slightly at herself, the young witch once again
turned her attention back to the stone. She could feel the power radiating from
it, much stronger now than it had been earlier. It was strange. She had been
sleeping, had thought she had been alone, and then woke, finding the small
stone on the night stand next to the bed. It seemed to be calling to her,
almost glowing with power, and as soon as she had touched it, she felt drawn
out into the woods. Willow had no idea where it was leading her, but funnily
enough, she didn’t seem much to care. The witch felt almost as if she were in a
trance, her head foggy and her legs feeling light. It almost felt to her as
though she were floating through the forest, rather than walking.
~*~
“Where the hell is she?” Spike growled.
“We’ll find her Spike,” Buffy replied in aggravation and worry. “But yelling doesn’t
help.”
“Actually, I think it does,” he stated flippantly, earning an annoyed glare
from the slayer. “It’s pissin you off, and that’s definitely makin me feel
better.”
“Hey, lay off,” Riley tried to intervene. “Let’s concentrate on the task at
hand.”
“Do you want to find Willow or stand in the woods and argue with me?” Buffy
challenged, feeling victorious as she saw Spike’s jaw clench, and the vampire
turned away, quickening his step.
“What is that up ahead?” Buffy asked suddenly, halting in her movement. Past a
few trees, there seemed to be a faint glow coming from a small clearing. Spike
strained to look ahead and let out a low growl.
“That’s the spot where I found Willow with that crazy, old geezer,” he told
Buffy quietly.
“Crazy, old, DEAD geezer,” the blonde reminded him, taking a few steps forward
and peering through the darkness. “That’s the cemetery, right?” Spike nodded.
Of course it was the cemetery. If you were going to find something creepy and
evil, it was a good bet that you would find it in a cemetery.
“Willow?” Spike called out, catching Buffy’s attention. She started to rush
forward, but was stopped by the vampire’s firm grasp. “She’s not alone,” he
whispered.
~*~
“I don’t like this,” Anya complained.
“Join the club,” her boyfriend muttered.
“What exactly are we trying to do? I mean, we’re looking for Willow, right? But
in all probability, Willow is the one that killed the ranger and took the
stone,” Anya pointed out, “which means she probably doesn’t want to be found.
If we do find her, she’ll be none too thrilled with us, and probably string us
up like the rest of her victims. So really, the best case scenario here is that
we DON’T find Willow and fail miserably.”
“Anya!” Xander gasped. “Willow did NOT kill the ranger, or anyone else. Who
ever killed him probably took her and…” Xander’s voice trailed off, his fears
too horrible to voice, and Giles looked toward the young man with a pang of
sympathy.
“I’m sure Willow will be alright,” Giles reassured him. “She’s much stronger
than anyone realizes.”
Xander nodded with a faint, thankful smile.
“Strong enough to, say, kill a ranger and steal his valuable treasure?” Anya
questioned, earning a silencing glare from both men.
“What is that?” Xander suddenly asked, squinting as he strained to look through
the dark forest. “Up ahead. It looks like something’s glowing.”
~*~
“I…I don’t understand. What am I supposed to do? I…I mean, I wanna help,
really, but I don’t think I can. I mean, I don’t even know how, and even if I
did…plus, aren’t you already dead?” Willow rubbed her temples wearily as she
looked at the figure before her.
“Yeah, well, I’m a lot more difficult to kill than ya might think,” Wilber
responded with a wry smile. “Thought you bein friends with the slayer, ya might
have caught on to that by now.”
Willow sighed and shook her head. “What makes you think I can do anything to
help?” She asked.
“The stone, it came to ya, didn’t it? It calls to ya, even now. Told me, it
did, that you were the one it was waitin for. Ya gotta set ‘em free.”
“Set who free?” She yelled, frustration taking over. “And how?”
Wilber gestured to the graves around them sadly. “They been waitin a long
time,” he told her.
“The…the witches? But…how can I…”
“Ya already know,” he interrupted. “The stone, the alter, the magic, it’s all
right there. Fate’s a funny thing like that. It’ll steer ya in the right
direction. Sometimes ya just gotta be smart enough to get the hell outta it’s
way and let it works it’s will.”
Willow nodded, understanding finally dawning on her. She knew what she needed
to do. Closing her eyes and tightening her grip on her stone, the redhead took
a step toward the alter, centering herself.
“Didn’t you die already?”
Willow’s eyes popped open and she spun around, seeing Buffy, Riley and Spike
walking into the clearing.
“Yeah, how many lives do you have?” Hearing Xander’s voice, Willow turned to
look in the other direction, seeing him walking toward her, Giles and Anya a
few steps behind.
Wilber’s eyes flashed as his demon features slipped forward, and Anya’s gaped
as she turned toward Buffy. “Didn’t you decapitate him?” She asked.
“What?” Several voices responded.
“It’s the only way to kill that type of demon,” she stated matter-of-factly.
“Now you tell me?” Buffy responded with raised eyebrows.
Anya shrugged. “Didn’t realize what he was before. Besides, he’s perfectly
harmless, barely any evil in him at all.”
“Hey!” Wilber shouted indignantly. “Ya know, my great grand-daddy was all kinds
a evil.”
“Sure he was,” the brunette relied in a condescending tone, patting him on the
back.
“Can we stop with the friendly chatting and move onto the painful killing?”
Buffy asked, weapon aimed and ready.
“No! Wait, stop!” Willow yelled suddenly.
“Aha,” Anya chirped with a bright smile. “You see, I told you it was her. Now
at least when I’m ripped to shreds and my bloodied corps is left to swing in
the trees, I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing I was right.”
“Way to go, Anya,” Xander mumbled.
“No, you don’t understand. He’s not the bad guy,” Willow tried to explain.
“Um, are you the bad guy, Wills?” Xander asked in confusion.
“What? No!” She shouted in outrage. “Listen, Spike and I, we had read
speculation that the witches had been killed by a, uh, a demon. He had
slaughtered them, trapping their spirits here, a-and Wilber just confirmed that
it’s true. AND he said that as a little souvenir, the demon would…”
“Cut off their hand,” Giles finished with a sickened sigh.
“Yeah,” Willow replied quietly, grimacing.
“Well this is all very fascinating,” Buffy stated, “but what’s this got to do
with…”
“The stone!” Willow interrupted. “I woke up, and there it was, a-and it was
calling to me, to come out here. When I got here, Wilber was standing by the
alter, waiting for me.”
“Okay, well that’s fairly freaksome,” Xander told her.
“Yeah, gotta kinda agree with you there,” Willow replied, “but after he started
talking…I can release their spirits. There’s a ritual, with the stone and the
alter, and I could…”
“No,” Giles stated loudly. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Well, hey, big girl here,” the redhead protested. “You know, you keep telling
me to lay off the magic, Giles, but you know what? I’m not all greavey girl
anymore, thanks to Spike,” she said, glancing toward the vampire with a smile,
“and I’m much more centered, and I have to do this.”
“What does it involve?” Buffy asked.
“Not much,” Willow told her. “Just, you know lighting a few candles, reciting a
few words, hopping over to another plane and…it’s kinda like popping the lid
off of a stubborn jar.”
“So it's just a matter of knowing how to tap it in the right place then,"
Xander stated with a wink.
“Yeah, so see, no big deal, and…”
“Hopping to another plane?” Spike interrupted.
Willow frowned, hoping no one would catch that part. “Uh, yeah, well, not a big
deal, really, just…I would need an anchor here, grounding me.”
“Great, I’d be happy to be anchor girl,” Buffy stated, stepping toward Willow.
“No,” Spike growled, pushing the slayer aside. “I’ll do it.”
“I really think that Buffy should,” Giles began to argue, but was suddenly cut
off by a piercing scream next to him. Everyone looked over just in time to see
Wilber fall to the ground, his head rolling several feet away.
“Now, you see, that’s how it’s done,” Anya stated. At that, a large demon moved
out from behind the bushes, a sharp knife in it's hand.
“So, you’re the one that’s been causing all the noise in these parts,” Buffy
stated, sizing up the demon, who was several feet taller than her and covered
in sharp scales. Before she could say more, the demon was lunging for her. The
slayer began to fight it off with the help of Riley and Giles.
“Don’t kill him!” Willow shouted.
Buffy glanced over her shoulder as she tried to hold it off of her. “What?
Will, generally, when fighting evil demons, we aim for a kill not be killed
policy."
“Not yet! Just…I have to do the ritual first. If he dies before…they’ll be
trapped there. Spike, will you be my anchor?” The vampire nodded and smiled
broadly, moving next to her and asking what she needed for him to do.
“Why can’t Buffy do it?” Xander complained.
“Buffy’s a little busy right now,” Willow told him, rolling her eyes and
lighting the candles as she gestured toward where she needed Spike to be.
“Fine, then I’ll do it,” Xander told her.
“I claimed her. We’re physically and spiritually bound. It will be easier for
me,” Spike quickly explained.
“You claimed her?!’ Buffy shouted in outrage, kicking the demon away from her
and toward Riley, who didn't seem to hear her. He hit the demon with a tazer,
barely slowing it down.
“Is now really the time to discuss this?” Willow questioned, kneeling before
the alter and taking the stone in her hand. Spike knelt next to her, and she
gripped his hand tightly, beginning to chant. After a moment, the world grew
fuzzy and seemed to fall away.
~*~
“Is it dead?”
“Yep, I’d say so.”
“You sure we waited long enough?”
“Yep, the ritual was definitely over with.”
“I can’t believe you wasted the stone on some ritual for dead witches. Do you
know how much that thing was worth?”
“Anya!”
“I’m just saying…”
“What’s going on?” Everyone turned their attention to the redhead who was
finally coming to.
Willow opened her eyes and tried to focus on the face looking down at her.
“Spike?” She asked softly.
“Hey,” he whispered with a soft smile. “Quite a ride, huh?”
“Yeah, I don’t really remember much. Did I…Did I do it?”
“You did great,” he told her, helping the witch to sit up and lean against him.
“Felt it when you released the spirits.”
“Oh, good, I wasn’t sure, I mean I can’t really remember…”
“Probably for the best,” he told her, shivering at the memory of the power he
had felt coming from the girl as she performed the ritual.
“We should be heading back. It’ll be light soon,” Buffy suggested. “We could
all use some rest, and we still have to finish packing up.”
Everyone nodded wearily. Spike gently lifted the redhead up into his arms and
carried her back to the cabin. They spent the last day packing up their
supplies and getting ready for the long hike back to civilization, everyone too
tired to say much of anything. Once the sun had set again, they began to head
out, Willow already feeling much better after a day of rest, and everyone happy
to be leaving the woods.
Trudging through the dark forest, Spike was surprised when Riley came walking
up next to him. “So you and Willow, huh?” The commando questioned.
Spike smiled for a moment, before scowling. “What’s it to you?”
“Willow’s a good friend of mine,” Riley told him. “She seems to be really happy
with you. You suit each other.” Spike raised an eyebrow, surprised at the
words. “So as long as you keep her happy, we don’t have a problem,” Riley told
him. “But if you hurt her, in any way, I’ll thoroughly enjoy bringing the ashes
of Hostile 17 back to the Initiative.”
With a final, knowing glance, Riley headed back to Buffy’s side, leaving a
slightly stunned vampire to follow after the redhead he loved.