Ch. 8: Love Thy Enemy
"You okay?" Angel called back to Buffy, partly to make sure that they hadn't gotten separated in the dense Brazilian rainforest, and partly to make sure that she hadn't been eaten alive by the mosquitoes and other bugs.
"Oh yeah," she replied, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Man-eating insects, a-hundred-and-fifty-degree weather, what's not to love?" Angel smirked and continued to follow the narrow path marked on the ancient map Charisma had given them. He was glad that Buffy was her old self again. After they'd rendezvous'd at the airport, she was distant and somber.
After remembering that to the world she was a sixteen-year-old girl and not the twenty-four-year-old Slayer he'd last seen in Los Angeles, he figured that she was probably missing her family. He, too, was missing the ties he'd forged in his new life. Before meeting up with Buffy, he'd taken a quick trip to the orphanage, to see Kelly and Dante and Kara and the others.
"She died?" Kelly had asked, on the verge of tears once he'd told her that the fair princess had given her life to save her kingdom.
"Yes, but her friends brought her back to life again, because they missed her so much, and she was very grateful and happy to be back amongst her people." This, he knew, was not the whole truth, but he figured his version seemed kinder than the one in which the fair princess was actually ripped out of heaven by her friends and thought that she'd been thrust into Hell.
"You know," Buffy spoke up, pulling a clip out of her backpack and pinning her long blonde ponytail into a bun, "Willow and Kennedy always made Brazil sound so exotic, so cool. This place sucks." Angel chuckled.
"Well, this Brazil is probably not the same as the Brazil from three hundred years ago. And anyway, I doubt that Willow trekked into the rainforest."
"They spent most of their time in Rio," the Slayer admitted.
"I wouldn't mind spending a night or two in Rio," he replied, and she could tell he was grinning mischievously.
"I bet you wouldn't." Though she was grinning, too.
"Can't you two ever get your minds out of the gutter?" A familiar voice drawled, sounding distant. Angel and Buffy jogged up to a small clearing and found the angel lounging on a recliner, her long leather-clad legs draped over the arm rests. The elegant white heels, which contrasted so sharply with the leather pants and tank top, were gleaming in the sunlight, her left leg pointing downward and right leg pointing up. She held a glass of iced tea in one hand and took a pull from the straw, her trademark sunglasses half-way down the bridge of her nose. "Really, I leave you alone for just five minutes-"
"-Actually, I was three days-"
"Eh, five minutes to me," she replied to the Slayer, and took another sip of her refreshing beverage.
"You wouldn't happen to have a couple more of those, would you?" Angel asked, staring pointedly at her iced tea.
"One of the things I love about Earth," Charisma grinned, "is the food. And the drinks. Best refreshments of anywhere in the universe." She bent over one side of the recliner, her long hair creating a curtain that shielded her face. When she came back up, she tossed a can of soda each to Buffy and Angel. "Plenty more where that came from," she added, indicating the cooler next to her.
"So, what's the sitch?" Buffy asked after taking a long swig of her soda and settling down on Angel's lap.
"Lovely weather, isn't it? So nice and...tropical," Charisma finished lamely, staring at a point just over Angel's head. Angel turned around, but there was no one there. Strange, though, because he was sure he'd felt something. Buffy narrowed her eyes and he was sure she sensed the presence, too.
"Yeah, the weather's just glorious. What aren't you telling us?"
"Once you get close to the Hellmouth," she began quickly, her voice hushed and suddenly brisk, "you're going to have to be prepared to fight. There's all sorts of things that'll gather there, vampires and demons and the like. If you manage to make it past all them-"
"-'If'?" Buffy asked indignantly.
"-When you manage to make it past all them, you'll have to get past the Guardian."
"Guardian?" Buffy instantly recalled the old woman she'd met in the tomb that night she killed Caleb.
"The Guardian of the Hellmouth. You'll have to get past it to be able to freely access the power."
"The Powers certainly stepped up. Sunnydale never had a Guardian-" Buffy stopped speaking, and though she couldn't see Charisma's eyes, as they were hidden behind her dark glasses, she was sure the teenager had rolled her eyes. And sure enough came the exasperated sigh she'd heard so many times the past few days.
"Of course Sunnydale had a Guardian. You think it was a coincidence that you happened to go to that particular town? ...At any rate, Willow wanted me to tell you not to kill the Guardian-"
"-Then how do we get past it?" Angel asked.
"-Because it works for them, and she doesn't want another one of the good guys killed. Spike told me to tell you not to kill the Guardian, because, and I quote, 'The poncy bugger still owes me eleven quid, for one thing.'" Something about Spike's words struck a chord in Buffy's mind, and just as she was on the verge of remembering something, Charisma spoke again and her train of thought was interrupted. "And Xander just muttered something about being the guy who eats the spiders and gets the funny syphillis. Hope either of you know what that means, 'cause I'm drawing a blank."
"Syphillis," Angel mused aloud. "And spiders. I wonder if that's supposed to be some code, or something, huh, Buffy?" But the Slayer just absently touched the base of her neck, not even acknowledging the question. "Of course," Angel continued, "I don't really think Xander would've had the brains to-" He was cut off by Charisma. She held her hand up and listened intently.
"Stay here," she ordered. "Stay exactly here. Don't leave this clearing, it's enchanted. Nothing except a force of goodness can enter or leave it. Pitch the tents and get comfy and I'll be back." She hopped off the recliner, which instantly shimmered into thin air, and walked into the growing darkness. "Don't leave for anything," she called back, and retreated into the foliage.
"Think we should follow her?" Buffy asked.
"No, I think we should listen to her," Angel replied, which surprised Buffy. "She can take care of herself, and at any rate, I doubt either of us would be much good, we haven't had more than five hours of sleep combined in the last three days."
"True," she yawned, and they got to work setting up the two tents. After little suggestion and seduction, Buffy relented and agreed to share a tent with Angel, leaving the other one for Charisma. She'd promised them beforehand that once they got close to the Hellmouth, she'd stick with them.
The two champions fell asleep in each other's arms before their heads had hit the pillow, they were so tired. So it was very strange indeed when Angel suddenly sat up, fully awake. He checked his watch and found that he hadn't been asleep for more than twenty minutes. He unzipped one of the tent flaps and peered outside. Charisma's tent was directly across from theirs, and it was open. More importantly, the angel wasn't in it nor did it look like she'd been in it. It had been at least half an hour since she disappeared into the darkness, and furthermore, the strange sensation he'd had earlier had returned at full blast. Buffy also seemed to experience the feeling, for she began to stir.
"Buffy," he said quietly, and she, too, bolted up.
"What is it, what's going on?" The Slayer asked wildly, her blonde hair tousled.
"Nothing...I think."
"Ugh, sorry," she replied, catching herself now that she was more awake. "I just had this weird feeling."
"I know what you mean. And get this: Charisma's not back."
"You think she's in trouble?"
"Maybe."
"Let's go." Buffy grabbed the scythe, which hadn't left her side since she'd found it again, and followed Angel. Side by side they walked, and the closer they got, the more pronounced the feeling became. "Why do I feel like we're walking into one big trap?" She asked quietly.
"Maybe because we are," he replied disgustedly, and pointed up ahead. All Buffy could do was stare, the scythe held loosely at her side.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Charisma trilled softly, delving farther and farther away from the safety of the clearing. "I know you're here, somewhere. You can't hide."
"I'd never dream of it," a familiar voice drawled. He stepped out from the shadows, his mouth curved in a sexy grin. Leaning against a large tree, he surveyed her with interest. All she did was glare. His dark eyes were filled with lust and the leather pants, dark shirt, spiky dark hair, and dark eyes made him look handsome and mysterious, irresistable to any girl.
Except for teenaged angels.
"You should have know better than to come here," Charisma spoke, and her voice was tinged with malice.
"Why? Because you'll kick my ass? Sorry, kiddo, but for a former Slayer, you've yet to impress me with your extraordinary fighting skills."
"They're here, you know. Both of them. Maybe I can't take you, but they certainly can."
"Maybe," he agreed, and came closer. "Or maybe I'll get lucky and I'll kill them both." He came even closer, so that she could feel the coolness of his skin brushing against hers. "Or maybe," he added, his voice dropping to a whisper that was barely audible as he spoke into her ear, "I'll just get lucky."
"Maybe," she murmured, her voice rising slightly, "you'd better try the seduction act on some idiot who'll actually fall for it." She ducked around him and smirked. "Does anyone actually fall for that?"
"You'd be surprised," he admitted, once again wearing that sexy grin.
"A word of advice: Get lost. They both know you're here, and they're coming."
"See, I knew you really cared about me deep down," he grinned wickedly, moving with such speed that he'd cornered her against a tree before she could move. She tried to control her breathing and keep her anxiety down. This was silly; she couldn't die again, she was already dead. She had nothing to fear.
"Bite me," she scowled. He smiled and lowered his face obligingly to her neck, and she closed her eyes, expecting the pain of his fangs boring into her soft skin, the dizziness of her blood being drained-
-The giddy sensation of him kissing her neck? Her eyes widened in surprise first, then narrowed in anger and disgust. She tried to push him away but he grasped her arms tightly and chuckled, the slight vibrations making her shudder. Slowly he began to suck on the base of her neck, and she could feel the blood rushing to that spot. No doubt he'd bite her now.
But no. He gave the base of her neck a slight nip, and his cool lips travelled upward. His strong arms snaked around her waist and held her tightly, and even if she wanted to, she couldn't move. All she could do was moan aloud occasionally as he caressed her neck with his lips. A particularly loud moan of pleasure was cut short when his lips met with hers, and again her eyes widened. But this time, it was because of how good his kisses felt. His lips roughly probed hers, which were now slightly red and swollen. His tongue explored every corner of her mouth and his fingers traced the waistline of her pants against her skin and moved upward, slipping under her shirt.
She pulled and arm free and wrapped it around his neck, just under the collar of his shirt. Trailing her fingers down his neck, she ran them up and down his chest slowly, seductively. Pleasantly surprised, he pressed against her more forcefully and pulled her closer to him. His left hand moved to her back, pulling up her shirt slightly. She gave another shudder at the touch of his cool skin, and moaned into his lips.
"Why do I get the feeling like we're walking into one big trap?" She heard a distant voice say, and she snapped back into reality. Frantically, she tried to pull away, but he heard who was coming, knew why she was now so desperate to get away, and held on even tighter. His lips crushed against hers in lust and passion and she no longer felt the need to pull away.
"Maybe because we are," she heard a second voice say, but he sounded so very far away. Her delicate ears heard the snap of the crossbow, heard the slight whoosh of the bolt hurtling through the air, and she most definitely heard the pained cry he made as the arrow came in contact with him.
The crossbow was still in Angel's hands at eye-level, still pointed to a face he never thought he'd see again.
A/N: Now, can anyone tell me who this mysterious character is? Hee hee. ^_^ Loads of people have already gotten it.
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