Not mine, Joss's, etc.
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Part Eleven
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Giles said, wearily but firmly, "Everyone over by Cordelia!" even though he wasn't sure exactly what they could do if the still-possessed Buffy somehow got by Angel. He, Willow and Oz had just completed several hours at hard labor, and Xander at the moment didn't look like he could have fought off a housefly. Still, everyone complied.
It was an EXTREMELY disturbing thought to be hoping for Angel to emerge victorious in a fight over Buffy, even a Buffy under the control of an evil sorcerer. Giles still had deep feelings of loathing for the vampire over his torture. And while he knew intellectually full well that it was not right to blame Angel for Angelus' crimes --
At some emotional, visceral level, every time he woke up with the memory of the physical pain, he blamed the vampire. It disturbed him greatly that he could not entirely suppress these feelings.
For the moment, though, such self-analysis needed to be put aside. Angel was constrained in fighting Buffy by an obvious and strong desire not to damage her, and while Hypnos hadn't had Slayer training he had been controlling bodies for upwards of two millennia. So it was a fairly even fight.
Buffy pulled a stake and swung it at Angel, but the vampire knocked it clear and struck back, hitting the sorceror in the chin. Other than a jerk of the head, though, this brought no physical reaction from Buffy's body. Damn. He was too concerned about hurting Buffy to give his all to the fight. come to think of it, in many ways that was a point in his favor; what would Giles have thought if Angel had just thrown on his vampire face and charged full tilt at his Slayer? Nothing good, that was certain. Still, Angel's defensive method of fighting wasn't likely to work. They had to find another solution, and quickly, as one of Hypnos' blows caught Angel in the face.
He quickly explained the problem to the slayerettes assembled.
"Maybe a spell would help," Willow offered wearily.
"Where would you suggest we get one?" Giles retorted gently. "I do not make it a habit to memorize such spells, and though your prowess in the area is growing rapidly I must have doubts in your ability to come up with something that would on the spur of the moment defeat the spells of a two-thousand-year-old magician -- especially given your condition at the moment." The novice witch looked hurt at Giles's statements, but what was he to do?
Then Xander spoke up. "Maybe if we cast them from a book?"
"And where would you suggest we GET this book, Xander?"
"Hmmm. Good point. How about . . . here?" And, smirking in sheer triumph, he reached onto the ground and picked up a book that was most concealed beneath Cordelia's exhausted form. Then, the grin widening even further, he handed it to Giles.
Angel's defensive fighting was sufficing to keep the possessed Slayer away from Cordelia and them, and himself alive, but he was undergoing a bit of a beating and would surely lose eventually.
As he scanned the cover in mild disbelief -- Honsenberg's Narcotica -- Oz commented, "Xander, some day you are going to have to tell me how you did that." The emergency lighting had kicked in at some point -- he wondered briefly when the power had cut out -- and it was just barely bright enough for him to be able to read what was inside.
Giles asked Xander how he'd gotten it; Xander explained, "Angel took it from the library and during a little break in the action I read a spell out of it to help us wake people up."
"Which one?" Giles demanded.
Xander reached for the book and flipped it open. "Now, if it was the wrong one, blame deadboy, not me. But if it was the right one I'd kinda like to take the credit --"
With a snort, Giles looked at the spell -- more of an incantation, actually, since it required neither physical components nor invocations to deities -- and had to admit that it was a fairly good generic anti-sleep spell. "This would have been of some use," he said, "Though it wasn't perfect for the circumstances, it was indeed appropriate." Quickly he skimmed through the book until he came to page 77. "This one, however, is a bit more specific to the moment. Willow, do you concur?"
Surprised and happy -- exactly as Giles had intended -- she grabbed the book and gave the incantation a quick once-over. "Yes! If anything will wake Buffy up right now, this will." There was a groan from behind them; slowly, Cordelia was beginning to get up.
"You're all awake!" she exclaimed, then hurriedly added, "Not like I CARED that much --" Then she saw Buffy and Angel fighting. "Okay!" she demanded. "Which one of you slept with him this time?" Her gaze turned on Xander. "Well? You're the expert here, with your family history and all --"
"Cordelia," Giles said, "Buffy is still asleep, possessed by the sorcerer, and she's trying to kill Angel for ruining his plans."
"What?!" She shrieked. "But I was the one who did the singing. Me! Why is he getting all the credit?"
Willow and Oz gaped as one. "That -- that was YOUR voice we heard as we were waking up?" Willow said. "But it was so beautiful!"
Cutting off Cordelia's sputter of outrage, Giles pointed to the fight and curtly said, "Astonishment later. Willow, are you prepared to do the incantation?"
She took a deep breath and said, "I think I can handle it," and began reading. At the same time, the possessed Buffy struck Angel two powerful blows to the face and sent the vampire sprawling to the ground, then jumped onto him and pulled a stake, clearly prepared for a killing blow.
Help came from a most unexpected quarter. Cordelia yelled, "Hey, Hypnos! I was the one who ruined your pathetic plan. That's right, pathetic! I mean, shouldn't a two THOUSAND year old magician be able to fight back against ONE girl?" Imperceptibly, Xander cleared his throat.
Remarkably, the tactic worked. Hypnos stopped his assault on Angel in mid-stake and looked toward Cordelia, who continued to hurl insults at the magician as she backed slowly away -- and whether by accident or design, she was heading away from Willow.
Hypnos caught on too late, and had just turned to face Willow with an angry expression when she read the final words of the spell. . . .
and finally, mercifully, Buffy woke up.
* * *
It had worked! She'd saved Buffy and Angel! NOT that she cared about the vampire or anything, but Cordelia needed someone to be a witness for these people that it had been her voice, and she'd've sooner trusted Hypnos than Xander the Judas.
As Buffy staggered around asking what had happened, and Angel slowly got to his feet, Cordelia cleared her throat and said. "Now. Which one of you is going to take me home?" Everyone turned and gave her a dirty look, though she had no idea why. "I mean, come on! It's not like I want to hang around with you people any longer than I absolutely have to!"
Then the librarian spoke up. "I, I had assumed, Cordelia, that your actions of the last twenty-four hours bespoke otherwise."
And Xander, of all people, had the nerve to say, "Come on back to the Scooby Gang. You know you want to."
"Want to?" she demanded. "Want to? Look, I don't know how it is with you people, but I don't need anyone else's approval, and I don't need to be with anyone to make myself feel good. That's one thing you people taught me: You can't trust anyone, least of all one of you." She snorted. "Want to hang out with you, Xander Harris?" Her voice cracked a little, and what had been an angry tirade ended up sounding almost . . . . wistful? Like she knew she was lying and didn't want to admit it. "Not even in your dreams."
Then she walked home alone.
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