< I wonder how Willow is... > Xander thought absently as he stroked Buffy_s hair. The slayer was knocked out asleep. They had barely managed to get her into the small cabin before she_d collapsed on the bed from exhaustion. Xander looked thoughtfully around the tiny cabin. It was pretty old. It belonged to an old friend of Giles and had been used occasionally to train y oung Slayers when an alternative spot couldn_t be found.
< Willow_s probably scared stiff, I should never have left her alone. > Xander sighed. He looked down at the sleeping Buffy. The cabin was dead silent, aside from the occasional grunts from Cordelia as she kicked and punched at the pads covering Giles. < At any other time, a sleeping Buffy next to me and a sweaty Cordelia in front of me would be a real-life fantasy...> he mused. < All I can think about is Willow, though. Why did I leave? > he cursed himself for the tenth time that night.
"Very good Cordelia. Now, Xander, I need you to put on that chest protector and stand behind Cordelia. Good. Cordelia, you_ll have to-"the librarian broke off, "Did you hear that?" he whispered. Pause. The room remained dead silent.
Suddenly, the front door burst open revealing three dark figures. Xander_s eyes widened. Buffy sat up in bed.
"You go get the Slayer and the Watcher. I_ll take care of the other two," the tallest figure said to his companions.
"I don_t think so," said Cordelia in the most intimidating voice she could muster. Even with the brave facade, Xander could see the terror etched clearly in her eyes.
She swung out her right foot in an attempt to connect with the nearest attackers jaw. Her assault looked almost successful up until the vampire cleanly caught her leg in mid-air, and threw it to the side. Picking up the now shrieking Cordelia, he flung her against the farthest wall, ending her screaming abruptly.
The tallest vampire quickly grabbed Giles and knocked him out. He did the same to Buffy before she could even get up from her seated postion.
Xander looked wildly for some way out, < Willow...I have to get to Willow, I have to tell her- > he leapt for the open window, only to be cut off by one of the vampires.
As Xander felt the fist come slamming down on the back of his neck and the light grow rapidly dimmer, all he could do is think < Oh God, I never had a chance to say goodbye... >
*****Willow_s head snapped up. She quickly turned and started heading in the opposite direction.
Angel reached out and grabbed her arm, "What are you doing? It_s this way..."
"No, it_s not. You_re going in the wrong direction. They have Xander, I can feel it," her green eyes glittered dangerously.
Angel darted a quick look at Spike. Telepathy certainly wasn_t one of Buffy_s talents.
< Well, the Power manifests itself differently in each Slayer > he thought as he hurried to catch up with her.
*****< Ooooh the pain > Xander clutched his head in the darkness. < Oooh I_m dead. I_m dead..where am I? >
"I am *so* gonna sue every single one of you once we get out of here," said an obnoxious voice coming from the darkness, "not to mention the dry-cleaning bill for this jacket, it_s new you know. See? See Jeeves? I *told* you I wasn_t the stupid slayer..."
"Shut-up Cordelia," came the response.
Xander_s eyes flew open. Giles? I_m dead and I_m in hell with Cordelia and *Giles*? He groaned again < Oh God, oh God, I_m *not* dead >
"Are you alright Xander?" asked the librarian.
"Yeah, nothing a little Prozac wouldn_t fix," he muttered, "Where the heck are we, anyway? Why didn_t they..umm..kill us?"
Xander heard Giles sigh, "I_m not really sure, Xander. All I can assume is that they want a celebratory feast after they slaughter Buffy and the new slayer. The _feast_ part of it means us. Buffy is missing, and no, Xander, there isn_t any way out. I_ve checked. There *is* however a small crack in that wall which provides a limited view..."
Xander rose and walked over to the only light which entered their dark tomb-like prison.
"Well, let me see, " said Cordelia as she moved in front of him, "Okay, just gag me with a spoon, but these people need some serious decorating help. All that red. ugh."
Xander pushed her out of the way and leaned in for a look. The adjoining room was very red, Cordelia was right about that. Blood red. Red curtains, red carpeting, red floor, even a red ceiling. He spotted Buffy being dragged into the room. His heart stopped beating as they tied her to a chair in the corner.
"It_s Buffy, they_ve brought her in. They_re not going to kill her now, are they?" he asked Giles in a worried voice.
"Not part of the ritual, Xander. They also need the person who inherited Buffy_s power. They can_t kill her now. There wouldn_t be any point, as far as they_re concerned, Buffy is mortal. She doesn_t pose a threat."
"Will you hurry *up*?" Willow whispered harshly to the two vampires scrambling behind her to keep up.
"Hey mom, are we almost there yet?" Spike grunted with an evil smile as he dropped down the wall to stand beside her. Angel fell next to the other two with a thud.
Willow stared at him, "We_re here."
The two vampires looked around, "There_s nothing here, Slayer," Spike said in agitation, "looks like the voices in your little head were lying. Let_s go back."
Willow stared at him calmly, "The shack," she replied pointing at a tiny, run down wooden shack.
Spike stare at her in disbelief, "You_ve *got* to be kidding me. The three of *us* could barely fit in there let alone the Sire, Buffy, the Watcher, your boyfriend, and who knows how many other vamp-" he broke of suddenly and slumped to the ground.
Willow looked up to see six vampires standing behind Spike.
"You two get Angelus, you pick up Spike, and the rest of us will get the girl," said the central one.
Angel watched as Willow_s green eyes darted around, desparately looking for somewhere to escape to. He started fighting off the two vampires who jumped on top of him, "Willow, run!... run, Willow, get away! You can_t fight them off like this, GO!" he shouted.
Much to his surprise, Willow_s eyes filled with tears. She fell to the ground, overcome by her vicious sobbing, "Oh God no..no, stop....don_t hurt Angel, no..... please don_t hurt him, please let them go, I_ll do whatever you want, It_s me you want. Just please don_t hurt them!" she moaned plaintively at the vampires.
Angel_s heart sank as he watched Willow crying fearfully on the ground.
< That_s it, all is lost. The poor girl has become overcome by her terror, it was just too much to endure. And now...we are all going to die. >
*****"I_m hungry."
"Shut-up Cordelia."
"Bite me."
"Be careful what you wish for, you nev-OW!" Xander rubbed his sore arm, "Cut it out!"
"Calm down-both of you. Fighting isn_t going to-HEY!"
"Whoops, sorry Giles, I meant to get Cordelia."
"Hah, bad aim, loser. Big surprise."
"Poor Cordelia, fell off of her broomstick this morning."
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but I can kick your ass."
"Too bad you can_t kick anyone *elses*."
"Oh? And it_s my fault that *Jeeves* here messed up?"
"ENOUGH! Both of you."
Silence.
Xander leaned forward, "Do you hear...crying?" he whispered.
More silence.
Then, very faintly, "Oh please, please, please let them go!" the door to the adjoining chamber opened and the voice became louder, "It_s *me* you guys are after. Please let the others go, they can_t hurt you. I_ll stay here willingly, just free the others..."
< Ohmigod, ohmigod, no no no no no > Xander_s entire body went into
shock. He felt his heart break at the sound of her sobbing cries.
< It_s Willow. They have Willow. They caught her..they kidnapped her..
how did they get her..? > he paused < Wait- *why* did they get her? >
Shoving Cordelia out of the way, he peered through the crack in the
wall. He felt numb. He would personally kill anyone who so much as
*touched* her. Feeling the anger surge within him, he growled
viciously at the thought of anything bad happening to her. He
leaned heavily against the wall, his nose pressed against the crack,
trying to get a better look. His mind reeled.
Xander_s mouth abruptly fell open, "*That_s* WILLOW?" he said in awe. She was beautiful! < well, she_s always been beautiful > he reminded himself, < but now she_s *physically* beautiful....but she was that way before too.....uhhh....>
He let out the breath he realized he was holding, "Oh wow." He felt himself being pushed aside as Cordelia looked through the crack.
"Hmm...." the dark haired girl said thoughtfully, "nice sweater."
"Will you two both move out of the way?" Giles stood in front of Cordelia and peered out.
"G-Giles, it_s Willow," Xander stammered picturing the dark clothing which hugged her stunning figure, "sh-she..she looks..oh wow...she looks," he paused recalling the firey hair which hung about her delicate shoulders, "...hey Giles, guess what?" he said dumbly, "Willow_s a *girl*!-OW! Cordelia?!"
"You are so dense, Xander," Cordelia muttered under her breath, "I swear, you are terminally stupid."
"What_s that supposed to mean? Have you *seen* her? She_s hot! I mean, she_s more than hot! She_s..she_s...," he paused searching for the word.
"Perfect? Incredible? Drop dead gorgeous? That_s not what I_m talking about, Xander. You_ve known Willow, well, forever and you_re acting like you_ve never seen her before."
"Well she_s never looked like *that* bef- OW! Cordelia, I swear if you hit me one more time, I_m gonna-"
"That was *me* Mr. Harris."
"Oh."
Pause.
"Well, it_s not as if it_s just the way she looks....I mean, yeah, it_s nice and all...but there *are* other reasons why she_s hot...I mean, she_s always been hot...although I guess I never consciously noticed-well, no, I *did* notice...kinda..." he sounded confused, "I mean, she_s so awesome. She_s smart and nice and funny and..well, sensitive and....understanding...and...."
"In love with you," Cordelia finshed quietly.
More silence. Xander could hear his heart pounding in his ears.
Giles rolled his eyes. < Why is it that I_m stuck in this tiny little coffin of a room with two teenagers who insist upon acting like five-year-olds? And of course, yes *naturally* EVERY possible thing that could take place *does* take place, including the revelation of Willow_s life-long crush on Xander, God only knows *what* she sees in him > Giles sniffed indignantly. Kids. He thanked the powers above that he didn_t have any of his own every single day. It was times like this that vasectomies looked quite appealing.
"Look," he said, "We_ll deal with all of this later on. The most important thing right now is that it appears we_ve found the second Slayer-Willow. I only hope she can defend herself long enough for Buffy to regain her powers."
Xander stared out of the crack. He felt so useless and helpless..and blind.
< Cordelia_s right, I *am* terminally stupid > He watched them drag the sobbing Willow to the center of the room, stopping in front of an ominous looking vampire. He felt the rage well up inside of him again < I swear, if they do *anything* to her... > Suddenly, Willow_s green eyes rose up and met his. She gave him a faint smile. Xander furrowed his brows < She made eye contact... > he thought in wonder < It was almost as if..as if she knew I was here, but she can_t.....can she? >
*****