Outside the Bronze
Cordelia ran to catch up with Xander. “Just what the hell were you doing back there?” she shouted at him, catching his arm.
“Dancing,” he replied mildly and continued walking, determined to let her stew for a few minutes.
“Is *that* what you are calling that display on the dance floor?” Cordy huffed, marching beside him.
“Where did Leonora head off to anyway?” Buffy asked from behind them as they rounded a corner.
“The library.” Xander turned to wait for Buffy and saw three vampires emerging from the shadowed alley at her back. “Buffy, look o….” Something struck the side of his head and he hit the pavement, out cold.
Cordelia shrieked as Angel stepped over Xander’s prone form, bouncing a piece of pipe in his palm. The vampire grabbed her face in his hand and shoved her backwards into a row of trashcans. Buffy tried to get to her friends, but the three vampires had other plans for her. She could only scream in anger and frustration while Angel hoisted the unconscious young man onto his shoulders.
“I love these little get-togethers,” Angel said, giving her a winning smile. “Don’t worry about your friend here. I’ll take *good* care of him.” He stayed long enough to see Buffy stake one of his minions before disappearing into the night, carrying Xander with him.
The Library—
Leonora entered to find Giles up to his neck in ancient texts and Willow hunched over her laptop with Oz perched behind her rubbing her shoulders. They all looked up as she entered.
“Thought you might need another pair of hands,” she offered, taking a seat next to Giles.
“The others?”
“Still at the Bronze. Come across anything useful?”
“Nothing yet,” Giles replied, removing his glasses and rubbing at tired eyes. “It would appear that the Arcanorum Grimoire was one of the less popular spellbooks. Not much is written on it in the major magical texts besides it’s general history. Willow is checking other archives and I have several other avenues of research to pursue. We should turn up something eventually.” Giles handed her a tome he hadn’t had the chance to look through yet. “Do you read Latin?”
Leonora took the book and grinned. “I’ll manage.”
Leonora had just reached for another book when Buffy and Cordelia burst into the library. Willow was resting in Giles’ office, Oz had taken her place at the computer, and Giles was looking for more books among the stacks. They all put aside their respective tasks and joined an angry Buffy and a filthy Cordelia in the main room.
“Buffy, what’s the matter?” Giles asked, intercepting his Slayer on her way to the weapons closet. Willow had taken Cordelia aside and was trying to calm her down. “Why isn’t Xander with you?”
“Angel’s got him,” she said tersely.
“What?!” Willow yelped, sinking into a chair. Oz came and put his arm around her shoulder.
“How did this happen?” When Buffy didn’t answer, he grabbed her by the shoulders and made her look at him. “Buffy, how did it happen?”
“We were coming back from the Bronze. Three vampires attacked me and when Xander tried to warn me, Angel came out of nowhere and hit him with a pipe. He pushed Cordy into some trashcans and then bugged out. With Xander.”
“It would seem that he’s decided to step up his torment of you again,” Giles said, rubbing his temples.
“I don’t have time for this, Giles. I have to find Xander before…” she trailed off, looking towards Willow and Cordelia, unable to finish the sentence.
“Excuse me,” Leonora interrupted from her seat. “Who’s Angel and why would he want to take Xander?”
Giles handled the summation, while Buffy selected weapons. Leonora listened quietly as the Watcher roughly sketched the happenings of the last few months, stumbling slightly as he recounted the death of Jenny Calendar. “With Angelus back in control, Buffy and anyone close to her are at great risk. It is imperative we get Xander back as quickly as possible."
“You’ll never find him,” Leonora said, her attention now on the frantic Slayer.
“I’ve got to try. And until you have something useful to add to the conversation, stay out of it. Right now you’re no better than the rest of your kind.” Buffy was angry at the delay. Every minute she wasted talking to Leonora was another minute off Xander’s life.
Leonora ignored that last comment. “Angel’s expecting you to come after him—he’s counting on it. He’s probably got ambushes laid all over town. And while you fight his goons, he’s got all the time in the world to work over Xander.”
“Okay, then what should I do? Just sit here and wait?” Buffy brushed past Giles and headed towards the doors.
“Let me go instead.”
“Say huh?” Buffy turned back.
“Angel doesn’t know I even exist, so he won’t be expecting me. And believe me, I stand a much better chance of tracking Angel and getting Xander back alive than you do.”
“And I’m supposed to do nothing? I don’t think so.”
Leonora’s voice became harsh. “No, you’ll be running around like the rash, impulsive little fool that you are, making an excellent diversion for me. We don’t have time for your attitude. Accept my help and Xander may live. Don’t and he dies for sure. It’s that damn simple, Slayer.”
Cordelia spoke up before Buffy could answer. “Go.” Willow nodded agreement. Leonora cocked an eyebrow at Buffy, who reluctantly nodded.
“Fine. Here’s the plan then. I’ll head to the Bronze and track Angel back to his hidey-hole. While I do that, Buffy runs interference with Angel’s brood. The rest of you hold tight here. Anything else I should know about?”
“Spike and Drusilla,” Giles said. “Spike is a vampire almost as powerful as Angel. But he was last seen in a wheelchair, so you may not have to deal with him.”
“Drusilla is Spike’s pet psycho. She’s the really dangerous one—definitely a couple fries short of a Happy Meal.” Buffy moved in close to Leonora and glared up at her. “I don’t like this. I don’t like *you*. But you are right: you are the best chance Xander’s got. But if I find out that you betrayed us, there isn’t a hell big enough for you to hide in.”
“You don’t have to like me, Slayer. You just have to trust me.” She paused, then matched Buffy glare for glare. “Expect me around sunrise. If I don’t make it,” she said with a shrug, “you can look for me in that hell you spoke of.” And with that she swept out of the library, leaving the rest to wait for her possible return.
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
