A tired scene was cast within the VW wagon that plugged its way home that morning. The atmosphere during the car ride home took the silence of its predecessor to an emotional extreme. No one dared speak, for the owner of the vehicle they traveled in was chained down and whining in the back.
Willow looked over the werewolfian Oz with mixed emotions brewing deep in her gut. In the haste of their departure from the warehouse they didn't have a chance to have a proper reunion, judging by the nature of the ferocious creature that shared her ride it would be some time before there would be such a reunion.
Browsing through the magical regeants in her backpack, Willow contemplated restoring Oz to the human state she had grown to love. A feeling of helplessness overcame her as she realized she lacked the one property that a restoration procedure required: hellfire. To her knowledge the only qualified wielder of hellflame in his world was a bigger vegetable then the carrot she had eaten the night before. Fortunate, since he would be predisposed to using that hellflame for manical plans of world domination rather than coming to the aid of a lonely adolescent.
Buffy had left with her friends on this trip with the hope of retrieving Oz. They did achieve their objective, but not without great peril and many an unanswered question. On top of that, the idea of reverting Oz back to human was daunting task. Gazing out the window, Buffy had a hard time discerning if they were traveling forward or backward.
Observing a "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign blur by, Buffy felt an uncertain thought spring to life. This endeavor had left her feeling small, pouring both time and effort blindly into a sludge that eventually gave her what she wanted. She began to wonder how well she could function outside of the backwater town known as Sunnydale to most, the Hellmouth to those enlighted in the archaic. This was her senior year and the prospect of going off to college hung like a banner above her mind. Reflecting, Buffy thought over her past with a contemplative mind.
Before coming to Sunnydale, Buffy had felt lost and suffered through bouts of lonliness and depression. Even before she found out she was the Slayer the only life she led was a hollow, pretentious one. When she had run away she assumed the life of a pitifully empty soul. In contrast the turmoil of her family and the constant danger of her life's calling seemed to reach an uneasy peace above the Hellmouth. Strange considering there seemed to be a new threat to world safety every week, but as each new problem arose she faced it with a peculiar upbeat attitude.
In a minor epiphany, realization came to Buffy. What brought the chaos to a feeling of order? It wasn't the mystic forces of the Hellmouth, the challenge of the Master and his minions, or even the loving arms of her star crossed lover, Angel. What kept life on its rails was the friendship and camraderie she shared who those she held dear. The prospect of meeting another threat to humanity was transformed from a hellish tramatizing experience to a youthful adventure by the reliable expectation of Buffy's friends gathered together and joking in the library as Giles held back smirks at juvenile quips. The Slayer could expect to look back at this period in her life with nostalgia instead of repressing its horrors under a blanket of self doubt like preceding Slayers.
Therefore, this trip had more signifigance that just reuniting Willow with Oz. Buffy had endured another tempest with her friends and melted together in ways that those with more stable lives could never do. Who else could say they were there for one of their friends during their adolescence in such profound ways? It was a small comfort, but one that directed her thoughts in more lucidity then she had been able to achieve in a long while. As long as Buffy had those close to her to support her, times may not always be cheerful, but they would be resolute.
The importance of friendship in Buffy's life gave her a new perspective on finding Oz. Her friendships are what kept her going from day to day; she needed to risk life and limb for her embattled friends not just for their sake, but for her own. Buffy shifted her idle stare from the van window to Willow, who didn't notice her friend's affectionate eyes. She couldn't put her thoughts into words just then, but she took comfort in knowing there would be many an opportunity to share words to come.
"Why are we stopping here?" blurted Cordelia, snapping Buffy out of her daydream. Tired eyes peered out, taking in the scenery of a quiet graveyard.
"I thought it'd be appropiate to check on the crypt we secured Abel in before we returned to our homes," explained Giles.
"Good idea! Nothing like dancing on fallen enemies' graves for a pick me up," commented Xander as he briskly pulled open the van's side door. Giles gave him a slightly contemptable look as he climbed out of the driver's seat, his motives more pragmatic than Xander's.
"Willow, you can stay in the van," suggested Buffy, turning to her friend before following the others.
"No, I want to. It'll be comforting to see him safely tucked away all unconcious and unable to do any harm," said Willow genuinely, trying to push the presence of a werewolf to the back of her mind.
That being said, the two walked along a graveyard path side by side, anticipating their destination mildly. Buffy flashed a smile Willow's way as they walked and Willow returned a smaller one diplomatically. Stopping dead in her tracks, Buffy first looked over the gloomy faces of her friends then at the mausoleum's open gate, ripped apart like tin foil.
"Did a vampire get to him?" questioned Buffy grimly, running the scenario through her head.
"No," replied Giles, emerging from the interior of the crypt, "It has been broken from the inside out."
"So that means-" began a trembling Willow.
"Abel's up and about," finished Buffy.
* * *
THE END
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