Anything and everything relating to BtVS except the plot of this story belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy Inc. and the WB. The lyrics to "Lost" are mine, so please don't take them! Notes: Feedback!!! Please!!!
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Part One
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6:45 A.M.
April 7, 1999
Xander Harris groggily attempted to open his eyes, and winced as he succeeded and bright shards of sunlight penetrated his eyelids. "Owwww..." he said softly, as the features of his long-time friend Willow Rosenberg came into focus.
"Xander?!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Are you okay?!"
He nodded in what he hoped was a reassuring way. "Yeah, I'm..." he tried to sit up, but failed miserably, his body landing on the not-so-soft hospital mattress, "Not so fine..."
"Do you remember what happened?"
Xander gingerly felt the bruised side of his face. "I'm guessing I got a fist in my face. Wouldn't be the first time."
Willow nodded. "Yep. The doctors don't know how much...damage it did. Giles found you out by the factory, then he called me."
Something was missing.
Then it hit him. He voiced the thought. "Where's Buffy? Is she here?"
Willow brushed the hair out of her face and lowered her voice. "That's why he was out there. Looking for Buffy, and you. He thinks something might have happened to her." Willow's voice took on a pleading tone. "Please, Xander, if you remember *anything*..."
He grabbed her hand. "Will, if I did, you know I'd say something." Xander met her gaze. "I remember a fist..."
Willow gave him the smallest hint of a smile - the most he could hope for, considering Xander was in the hospital and had just woken up, and her other closest friend was MIA, so to speak...
She turned her head and spotted a doctor making her way down the hallway towards Xander's room. When Willow moved, he noticed for the first time that she had - not at all surprisingly - taken all of her textbooks and homework with her, even though school wouldn't start for another hour. he thought, smiling to himself. And he loved her for it. "I guess you'd better get going then." he said reluctantly.
"Yeah." She hesitated. "Xander? Um..."
"Yeah?"
"Nothing."
"Oh."
She left.
Xander slipped into a dreamless sleep.
* * *
8:30 AM
Faith looked nonchalantly at the mayor of Sunnydale. "I've got her."
"Great. Now remember: I don't care what you do to her, but I want her *alive*. No excuses."
"Gotcha." Faith exited the room. "Damn..." she muttered under her breath. "That little bitch has got it coming..."
Buffy regained consciousness slowly, reality seeping back in bits and pieces. It seemed to her like she was viewing things through a drunken haze, her eyes wide open yet unable to see. The room was bathed in an dim, artificial grayish light that just barely illuminated her surroundings. She moved ever so slightly - and found her movement restricted by...jeezus, *chains*?
"Oh, look, our little patient is waking up," came a familiar mocking voice. "So, how ya doin', B?" Her voice was harsher now, "I bet I'm doing better than you are. And a helluva lot better than you're gonna be..." The echo of Faith's footsteps making their way towards Buffy echoed in the small space.
"Faith?" The single syllable was all Buffy, in her barely conscious state, could muster up.
"Your worst nightmare," she replied, her voice still mocking. Faith reached her hand out and slapped the Slayer across the face. "Hey, sleepyhead, wake up, dammit!"
Buffy could taste the blood in her mouth from the stinging slap. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she took a good look at her surroundings.
Faith saw her eyes open wide. "So, B...I take it you figured out where we are, huh?"
"We never left." This was all too familiar. Chains...dark...Faith...
"Oh, you bet. It'll be a big slap in the face - if you'll pardon the expression -" Faith's tone was maliciously evil now, "to your little friends when they figure out where I've put you..." She smiled malevolently.
Buffy intentionally ignored the remark. "Why am I here?" she asked, her voice scratchy and soft.
Faith seemed to ponder that for a moment. "Well, ya see, 'B', there's people that want you. Real bad. So I guess you could say I'm here to...break you. Get you to cooperate.
"*Never*," she spit.
Faith sauntered ever closer. "Yeah, they figured that. Of course, if you don't agree...there's plenty of things we could do. Like using you as bait for your Scooby Gang - then killing them." Faith's voice grew full of malicious intent at the growing horror evident in Buffy's eyes. "Right in front of you, so that you have to live with the last expressions on their faces - forever."
"No!"
Faith rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. And first to go be your vampire boytoy. He's got it better though - he's got two options." She grinned smugly. "Either he can lose his soul...or I chain him to the ground and wait for the morning."
Buffy shuddered inwardly and felt like she was going to lose whatever food was in her stomach, but forced her voice to remain steady. "You're forgetting something, Faith." She said, using the other girl's name as power over her.
"Yeah? What's that, 'B'?"
"You said he'd lose his soul. What you're not getting here is that the curse is 'true happiness'. You're not happiness, Faith."
The other Slayer lost her temper then, and punched her hard in the gut. "And you are, you bitch?"
She remained silent, locking her gaze on Faith's.
Faith calmed down somewhat after taking out more of her anger on Buffy. "It doesn't matter anyway, 'B'. There's always option number 2. Or better yet, think of the fun we could have with your little Smurf friend Willow. She's some kinda witch, isn't she? Wouldn't it be sad if she tried to make one of her pencils float but the spell backfired and drove the pencil through her heart..." she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "And Xander. I bet you'd like to know just why his eye twitches every time my name gets mentioned - eavesdropping really is fun. You hear the most interesting things..." Faith began to describe in great detail exactly how she would go about killing Buffy's friends, one by one.
And now Buffy did throw up.
* * *
1:15 PM
Willow raced into the library as soon as the bell rang and she had her free. "Giles?" She called, walking quickly through the library and into his office. "Gi-" she began again, seeing him in his office. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Giles?" She whispered almost fearfully. His face was pale and he was slumped over his desk.
He sat up, rubbing his eyes and pushing his glasses up his nose. "Oh, yes, Willow..." he said in a downsized version of his usual, somewhat distracted way of speaking.
"Giles, what's wrong?!"
"I'm a bit worried about Buffy...she never came home from patrol last night." He sighed.
Willow sat down in a wooden student chair near Giles's desk. "Oh, no..." She looked up at him, realization evident in her eyes. "And you think this has something to do with what happened to Xander?" She prodded.
"Yes, indeed I do. There was also a slight disturbance at the Bronze last night - right before she usually goes on patrol. Willow, did you by any chance see her there last night?"
Now it was Willow's turn to go pale. "Yeah, I - I did." she stammered.
He looked closer at her, intrigued. "Yes, Willow, go on."
Willow fidgeted in her chair. "I saw her there last night, probably around seven or eight. I didn't talk to her at all. Even if I tried I don't think she would have talked to me. She looked pretty awful." Willow said. "She saw Scott - he's that guy who...dumped her - and some girl dancing, and after that she left. She seemed pretty freaked, and I mean, it's Buffy we're talking about! She's - she's not *supposed* to get freaked!" Her eyes went wide. "I mean, what if she ran away again or something!! I don't think she would, but you know, the last week or so she's been really weird and all and -"
Giles saw that she was nearing the verge of hysteria and cut her off. "Willow, due to Xander's condition, I don't believe that whatever has happened to Buffy was of her own free will."
"And that would be bad."
"That would be bad. But before we get too worried...you said she was acting 'weird'. What do you mean?"
"For starters, she's been acting...well, like a zombie the past few days. She's sleeping through almost all her classes, and last night was the first time I've seen her at the Bronze in days. She's all tired and, and crabby and stuff."
"And she looked like *hell*."
Two heads turned at the voice. Upon seeing Cordelia, Willow turned back around. Saying she was on bad terms with Cordelia would be the understatement of the year.
"Ah. Cordelia. How pleasant. Anything I can help you with?"
"Not if all you have are those monster-from-hell books." Cordelia said, a slight sneer evident in her voice.
Giles raised his eyebrows.
"Besides, I can find things myself."
He shook his head and turned back to Willow. "You were saying?"
"Like Cordelia said, she didn't look too good. She looked totally stressed out."
"Yes, well, that's a given. She is the Slayer."
"Yeah, but this was beyond normal stressed out. This was super-duper stressed out." She insisted.
"Willow, after school today, if it's not too much trouble, look for Buffy, would you? Take Oz, just as a precaution. Try maybe the mansion and some of the cemeteries. But I do *not* want you out there after dark, is that understood?"
"I completely agree. I mean, not that I wouldn't, you know, do that, stay out after dark, if you thought I needed to but-" Giles raised one eyebrow, and she hurriedly finished. "Sounds good."
* * *
4:00 PM
Willow still felt nervous every time she got near the mansion, or Angel. Yeah, he was on their side...but not all the time. She kept telling herself that it hadn't been him, it had been Angelus.
Angelus. Who killed Jenny Calendar. Who just happened to take up residence in Angel's body - which was largely due to the fact that he *was* Angelus, technically. And Angel.
Just thinking about it made her head hurt.
She didn't know if Angel would even be awake yet, assuming he was there. she thought. Either way, though, they needed to make sure Buffy wasn't there. The fact that Oz had come with her eased her nerves slightly, but she was still definitely on the anxious side. Almost as though he read her thoughts, he reached out and took her hand.
"You okay?" he asked.
Willow gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Yep. I'm fine."
She opened the door a little bit, and was surprised to see Angel pacing the room restlessly. She had been almost sure he would be asleep.
Oz turned to her. "No time like the present."
She walked through the doorway. "Angel?" She asked timidly.
The vampire turned his head sharply to face her, relaxing visibly when he saw who it was. "Willow."
"Did Buffy see you last night?"
"Huh? No...why?" He looked far more alert than he had been just a few moments ago. "Did something happen to her?"
"We...we don't know. Giles didn't see her last night at all after patrol, and her mom doesn't know where she is either." Willow replied, worried. Going to the mansion had been a bit of a last resort - if she wasn't there, or anywhere else they had looked, where the hell was she? Buffy wouldn't just run off again, would she? Besides, what reason would she had have? She knew things had been pretty tough on the Chosen One lately, with Faith all bad, her friends planning their futures, and her mother pressuring her to apply to colleges even when Buffy was fully aware that it wasn't even an option. But Willow knew Buffy could deal, it was definitely a necessary talent for a Slayer that wanted to stay alive. Or a Slayerette. She knew that she had grown up a lot since she had met Buffy three years ago; it would be impossible not to. Willow found that she was actually grateful for this - even though it put her life on the line more times than most people's were in their entire lifetimes, she was no longer The Nerd of Sunnydale High. She didn't get harassed near as much as she used to - now people pretty much avoided her, which was considerably better. For the first time in what seemed like ages, she truly felt confident in herself.
He frowned. "I haven't seen her since..." he swallowed hard. "For a while."
Willow nodded sympathetically. "Will you look for her?"
"Of course. Gotta wait till the sun goes down, though, or I won't be too much good."
Willow blushed for not remembering. "Of course."
As she left, she told Oz, "That was worthwhile."
Previous Part
Next Part
FLASHBACK
7:50 PM
April 6, 1999
Buffy wandered into the Bronze. There were only a few people there, so it didn't take her long to find a table. < A table *alone* > she thought in dismay. The sky outside was not yet dark enough for the vampires to be wreaking havoc just yet, so she had some time to kill. A band she hadn't seen before was warming up as she wandered in. Another hopeful group of kids, this particular group probably older than she, but far more innocent. Not that that took much. She idly wondered why they were still in Sunnydale, three out of four members of the group could definitely be in college already. Hell, even if they couldn't get into a good college, just about anything would beat living in Sunnydale. She figured that they probably just commuted to some college near here, maybe lived with their families.
She wouldn't even be able to lay claim to that. It wasn't important for the Slayer to go to college. It wasn't even necessary to graduate, in her opinion, if you were gonna get killed before you could be of any *acknowledged* importance in the world. Without her, their would be some major issues - namely, that every creature on the planet would be in hell - but how many people knew that?
It was thankless - < I don't even get minimum wage > - but incredibly important.
And she'd die doing it.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was wondering why the Dingoes weren't playing, she was almost positive that they were playing that night.
Then again, she wasn't exactly up on the Bronze's current schedule.
The band had started playing.
"What am I doing here
I guess I'm feeling a little bit crazy
Hoping to get lost in
My thoughts again
I try to remember
But it eludes me still
Can't put a name
On the face
That's haunting my soul
I want to leave it behind
In blissful ignorance
Maybe I'm a little bit reckless
I can still feel you
Somewhere inside me
Bittersweet taste on my tongue
Burns a hole
In my heart
And maybe I'm a little bit forgetful
I'm searching for myself
The road is dark ahead
And lonely
I wish I could cloak my fear
In innocence
Just like so many gone before
Tomorrow is still today
Everyday is still the same
Why can't I lose myself
In a love I don't know
Memory hurts the most
When it's taken
This has been taken
Ripped so brutally from my
Hands and my soul
Is left lying bare
On the tear-stained carpet
What am I doing here?
Maybe I'm a little bit crazy...
or maybe just a little bit lost..."
Buffy allowed herself to relax somewhat. The Bronze was filling up now, and people were hanging out and generally having a good time. Just hanging out here gave her the slightest feeling of normality, even if it never lasted long. The Bronze was music, people, and normal-ness. Buffy's life lacked all three. And now that she thought about it, this band wasn't nearly as bad as some that had played at the Bronze. This song in particular seemed to echo precisely the mood she'd been in the past few weeks. Willow had mentioned that she seemed like she was in a funk, but Buffy had brushed it off, not seeing any point in worrying anyone. She felt like this virtually all the time. Her life was such a huge mess. All the things she depended on so completely were breaking apart and falling to the ground like shards of glass from a broken window.
Whoever had thrown the ball through the window of her life was one hell of a pitcher.
She looked around, and thought her heart gave a small heave at the sight of all the couples dancing, their heads resting on each other's shoulders. Buffy all too vividly remembered a time when she too would have been out on the dance floor, swaying to the music - or whatever excuse for it was playing that night. Now, though, looking out she felt only awkward and lonely, even more so than she had a few moments ago. Whatever respite she had gotten because of that song from the insanity of her life had been destroyed. She knew it was normal - she scoffed inwardly at the thought, with her luck, of course she'd be normal in only one way - to feel lonely. After all, she was the Slayer, and when you spend most of your time either slaying, patrolling, or learning how to fight and defeat things you might encounter while doing the first two, really kinda cuts into your social life. So loneliness was no biggie. She just wished...
...wanted...
But it didn't matter. Her love life may have been heaven to her - although that term really couldn't be entirely accurate, due to the fact that one-half of the relationship had been a demon - but it really didn't work when once you got to close, your boyfriend went on a killing spree, she thought with a grim smile. She had to face the facts - a vampire/Vampire Slayer relationship was truly a match made in the Hellmouth.
Buffy knew that if she tried, she could find another significant other. There was no reason to hang on. Except for the fact that she didn't want to - nor had any intention of - letting go.
Shaking herself from her reverie, she looked up to see Scott. Dancing with someone else. her brain supplied. She felt a small pang of regret, seeing him, but it never could have worked. She was still too much in love with someone else.
Buffy sighed inwardly. Feeling sorry for herself wasn't helping anybody.
Especially not whoever might be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and about to get harvested.
* * *
PRESENT
8:25 PM April 7, 1999
Angel cautiously stepped out into the street. In Sunnydale you could never be too careful - even, no *especially* if you were a vampire. What with two Slayers hanging around. Of course, one of them wouldn't kill him, and was who-knows-where at the moment, which was why he was making this excursion. On the other hand, Faith was, to put it rather bluntly, evil - and definitely something to worry about. He and Buffy were still at odds somewhat since the incident with Faith a few weeks before. She hadn't stopped in to see him, Angel wouldn't have seen her at all if he hadn't bumped into her while she was on patrol a few days ago.
he reasoned. He had been at one of the cemeteries near the mansion, waiting for her. The idea, of course, was for her not to find out, but she was far more intelligent than many people realized. He missed her in more ways than she would ever imagine. Not just that, but everything between them was so awkward. Angel didn't see her nearly as much as he would like, and even when he did it was only for a few minutes. And when - if - they started *really* talking, she said she had to leave. Having their relationship like this was something akin to hell for him.
Not literally, of course.
He would know.
Angel was more than a little wary as he walked along in the dark. Chances are, if Buffy had been kidnapped - he felt almost physically ill at the thought, even though he knew she could take care of herself - it's because someone had their heart set on unleashing a great evil out of the Hellmouth, and were smart enough to realize that it probably wouldn't be accomplished unless they got the Chosen One out of the way first.
He was right to be wary.
He turned around and grabbed a demon with green-yellow rotting skin hanging off its bones by the neck - or whatever passed for a neck. Angel hadn't ever seen anything like this before. Considering that he hung out with the Slayer, who lived in a town that was on top of a Hellmouth, that was saying something. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, hoping that his voice didn't give away his revulsion.
The creature locked eyes with him, its almost-empty decaying sockets focusing on Angel's dark, deep-set eyes. It sprayed out some liquid that made Angel's skin feel like it was burning. "Vampire," it hissed. The thing gave a horrific version of a pitying smile. "But you have a *soul*," it drawled, surprising Angel into almost dropping it.
"What do you know?" he said angrily, shaking it violently.
It smiled again. "I was sent here to find the Slayer. There have been...rumors...that you may have some association with her. I was at a loss as to where I should start, so I came here. She is harder to find than one would imagine, Angelus."
He glared at it. "Who is looking for her?" When it didn't reply, Angel bashed its head against the tree. "Tell me, dammit!"
"My master," it squeezed out, its breathing labored.
"That doesn't help." Angel shoved it against the tree again. "Who's your master?"
The strange creature with no reason to be out of the demon dimension looked at him again. "Wilkins," it uttered.
Angel narrowed his eyes. So the mayor really *was* up to something. The whole escapade with Faith had been worth it, to some degree.
The thing exploded as Angel looked on in shock.
There was definitely something going on.
* * *
8:38 PM
Giles looked up from his books to see Angel rushing into the library.
"Something's happening." The vampire said bluntly.
He rested his head on his hand. "Yes, indeed," he replied. "I take it Willow told you about Buffy."
Angel nodded vigorously. "I was out looking for her, and came across a very interesting demon..." He described the thing to Giles.
Giles nodded thoughtfully. "A Bramblida, I believe." He frowned. "If I am correct...then the situation is worse than we thought."
Angel pulled out a chair and looked at him intently.
"Because the Bramblida...the entire species...was bound to the demon dimension nearly a millennia ago. It would be almost impossible for it to escape unless..."
"Unless the barrier between the demon dimension and this one is breaking down," Angel finished.
"It looks that way, yes. In which case, it would be absolutely *imperative* to find Buffy immediately. In the meanwhile, though, we need more information." He locked eyes with Angel. "We can't expect to find her tonight. If you could find Willow, and perhaps Xander and Oz, we'd be able to go into 'research mode'."
"What? You're just going to leave her, wherever she is, and wait until she's dead to find her?" Angel said angrily. "If anything happens to her - "
"Angel, if her captors were going to kill her, just straight out, they would have done it already." Giles said reasonably. "Our best hope lies in finding out a connection between this creature you saw and Buffy's abduction."
Angel dropped his head, frustrated. Giles was right, of course. If they were going to kill her, they would've. More likely that they were torturing her for answers of some sort or another, and the Buffy that he knew and loved would hold out until the pain became unbearable.
Or until she died.
Images sprung to mind of Buffy being beaten, tortured, dying...
...dead...
"Giles...I need to look for her."
"There is no more that can be done for her tonight! We must act in the interest of *everyone*. Including the Slayer."
"And finding her isn't in her best interest?"
"Acting rashly and on instinct isn't. Go find Willow."
Giles was surprised and relieved when Angel obeyed, ducking out of the doorway.
END PART ONE
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