The foursome headed down hallways, taking turns here and there at Oz’s direction. “Toby,” he said as they walked briskly, “Go back to the room with Diana and Willow. I’m sending Shannon and Eric to help. Do NOT leave her side until I come back.”
“Oz, I can’t…you know I can’t,” the young boy trembled. “I’m not good.”
“You can,” the elder wolf told him with complete confidence. “I’ve seen you. Remember what the change is about. It’s about power. I’ve seen you go halfway and come back. Use that strength. I’m trusting you to protect her.”
“Not me…why don’t you send--”
He stopped abruptly at a stairwell door. “I’d go myself, but I have to help Buffy and Angel get the others out before it’s too late. Kira will go with you,” he added with a glance at the she-wolf, who nodded. “Besides,” he almost smirked. “If I remember correctly, Willow would want me to save her friends, not worry over her. And she can be kind of a…” he glanced sideways at Buffy, “…a witch when her temper’s up.”
“Things haven’t changed,” Buffy assured him, then turned to her new companions. “That’s my best friend you’re protecting. If Oz trusts you, I trust you. Keep her safe…we’ll be there as soon as we can.” The Slayer’s eyes were hard and strong, but worry was obvious to the man beside her who knew her best. Angel lay a comforting hand on her shoulder, felt her relax ever so slightly.
“And then what?” Kira asked as they opened the stairwell door.
Buffy’s gaze hardened. She took a moment, a single beat before answering. “And then we’re all getting out of here if I have to kick the ass of every lawyer in the building to do it.”
“Always liked a girl with a plan,” Angel muttered stoically as Toby and Kira took the stairs quickly.
“I’ve got Diana guarding Willow. Toby and Kira will join her in a minute, and I can spare Eric and maybe Shannon to help them if we need it,” Oz told them. “The others are throughout the building, hiding, keeping our way to the white room clear.”
Buffy nodded, satisfied. “We use them, get to the white room. Angel can get in.”
“But not out,” the vampire grimaced. “You don’t just click your heels three times and you’re back.”
“It’s through that elevator, right?” Buffy asked, thinking quickly.
Angel nodded. “Yeah, you punch in a series of floor numbers and it opens the portal.”
She cocked her head. “Is the elevator door open or shut?”
“Shut.”
“Does it have to stay that way?”
“What?”
“I follow you, I think,” Oz chimed in, nodding.
“So tell us the combination to get in,” she sighed, slightly exasperated. “You go in, let the others know what’s going on, then Oz and I will wait behind, give you a minute, and punch in the code again. If it opens a portal or whatever, you guys can get back that way without us coming in.”
“You don’t understand what it is, Buffy,” Angel insisted. “It’s not like you walk through a door, you’re just suddenly…there.”
“I remember leaving it before, though,” she countered. “The air crackles. You’ll know when we open the door, then…look for the charge in the air. Use those vampire senses I’m so terribly impressed with. We’ll hold the door open but punch in the code so that we don’t get taken inside.”
Oz frowned. “That might actually work. If the door has to be shut to allow anyone to enter…maybe the way out is to have the elevator doors open.”
Angel didn’t look convinced, but nodded after a moment’s thought. “It’s the best we can do.”
“Good,” Buffy said with a single nod. “We’ll worry about it not working when it doesn’t. Now…which way?”
“Allow me,” Oz said, and they headed down the hall again, stopping periodically to listen for movement and to change direction.
“Hang on a sec,” he whispered after a moment, slowing to a crawl and flattening himself against the wall of the darkened hallway.
“What is it?” Buffy whispered, straining her eyes in the dark.
“Someone’s down there,” he replied softly, eyes trained on an approaching figure.
“It’s me,” a female voice whispered, and Oz relaxed.
“Shannon,” he said, glancing at Buffy and Angel. “She’s with us.” He turned back to the woman approaching them, a slight girl with huge eyes and almost white-blonde hair. “I thought you were in the right wing.”
“I was. Almost discovered, then I heard that there was a problem with your girlfriend so I came to offer backup.”
“Don’t need it,” Oz grunted. “I sent Kira back with Toby.”
“Diana’s down there, too?”
“Yeah. Everyone else still in position?”
“As far as I know.” She looked from Buffy to Angel. “I’m Shannon.”
“Buffy, Angel,” Oz told her briskly, somewhat annoyed that his aide had left her post. “We need you in the building, letting us know about the teams they’ve got after us.”
“Samir and Joy are leading them on a wild goose chase,” she grinned, revealing perfect white teeth. “They’ve got them running all over the nineteenth floor, using the tapes we made of us howling. Planted them in the loud speakers, and Ginger’s in the sound room, playing the tapes into different sectors. Totally has them thrown off.”
Oz grinned and gave a wry chuckle. “And I’m supposed to be your brilliant leader.”
“You do okay, bossman,” his friend smiled affectionately.
“Um…hate to be a pest here,” Buffy interrupted, “but could we skip the chuckles in favor of getting the hell out of here?”
Shannon immediately looked contrite. “Sorry…really. I’m just as anxious to get away from these freaks as you are.”
“Then let’s do it,” Angel said gruffly. “Which way, Oz?”
“Not much further.”
The foursome continued further into the depths of Wolfram & Hart.
*~*~*
Council of Watchers,
London, England, same night
“Things are according to plan.”
The voice was soft over the phone, barely a whisper, and the person on the receiving end nodded. “Splendid.”
“There were…complications…but all will be taken care of this evening.”
“And the contact?”
“No word. She was due to check in hours ago.”
“Do you anticipate a problem?”
“No,” came the emphatic reply. “The job will be done.”
“You understand the consequences if it’s not.”
“Of course.”
“Your life...the lives of others...mean nothing to us.”
“I know.”
“So long as you do.”
*~*~*
The White Room was silent as the captives sat or paced, listlessly, awaiting whatever would be their fate. There was no sound, other than Gunn cracking his knuckles and Dawn and Connor whispering together, huddled cross-legged on the floor.
“I think we should regroup,” Wesley said suddenly, breaking the silence of the white room and its inhabitants.
“Meaning what?” Gunn asked.
“Meaning we need to refresh what we know, what’s at stake here.”
“Our lives,” Anya reminded him.
Wesley gave her a quick disparaging glance. “Aside from that.”
“What good is that going to do?” Dawn asked, huddled against Connor’s chest. “Us. Monsters. Monsters greet us with big fat death. There’s your recap.”
“Wesley’s right,” Giles agreed quietly, receiving a slightly surprised look from the younger former-Watcher. “There are many things occurring at once. Xander, Dawn...you came from Sunnydale to rescue Spike. And then learned that his disappearance and the deaths of the girls in Buffy’s dreams were related. The girls turned out to be potential Slayers, something that Regina and I have been tracking for a while now from London.”
“Spike’s rescued,” Xander said bitterly. “Check one off the list.”
Giles nodded. “At the moment our focus is to stop the Gy-Ra from rising, but ultimately, we need to figure out how Wolfram & Hart and the First are working together, what their purpose it in ridding the world of Slayers, and what they hope to accomplish by raising Gy-Ra."
“Isn’t that obvious?” Faith asked, annoyed. “They get rid of Slayers, they turn Angel evil again, they win. Who’s left to fight? No one.”
“What about us?” Xander asked her defensively.
“No offense, frat-boy, but you can only go so long before getting eliminated.”
“I think I’ve been in this fight a few years longer than you have, without Slayer powers,” he told her angrily, “and I’m still kicking.”
“Hey,” she told him, hands raised defensively. “Your heart’s in the right place. I’m just sayin’, you get rid of the superheroes, you don’t have a lot of hope left.”
“Faith has a point,” Wesley told them seriously. “Those of us without mystical powers...we can and will do what we can, but if Wolfram and Hart succeeds in eliminating Slayers and turning Angel, our hopes may run out quickly.”
“Well, we’re spinnin’ our wheels in here,” Gunn complained, frustrated.
“Angel and Buffy will rescue us,” Dawn told them confidently, huddled against Connor, his arm slung around her shoulders protectively.
“And if they don’t?” he spat back. At the surprised glances of his companions he softened his tone. “I’m not saying they won’t, Angel always comes through, looks like Buffy does too from what I’m hearin’. But if they don’t, we’re stuck in here.”
“That’s not fair!” Dawn cried, looking distressed. “She’ll be here!”
“She wouldn’t leave us,” Xander added. “Dead boy…eh, not so sure anymore.”
“What’s Angel done to you?” Fred questioned.
“Angel’s a vampire…how loyal is he really?” Anya asked and Connor snorted, eliciting a glare from Cordy.
“Angel won’t let us down,” Cordy told her testily.
“Sure…your boyfriend never lets anyone down,” Dawn snapped back at her. “Let’s just ask Buffy about that.”
“That’s not what I meant, Dawn--”
Giles raised his voice over the din. “I really don’t think this is the time or place to--”
“Hey…hey!” Faith cried, trying to step into the middle of the group. “We’ve got too much going on right now--”
“You ask me who we shouldn’t be trusting it’s the psycho who just got boosted from the big house,” came from Cordelia, turning on Faith. “The only reason you’re here is because Buffy had another misguided moment of pity.”
“Hey now,” Faith began.
“Seriously…why are you still here?” Cordelia continued. “Wasn’t enough that you’ve tried to kill all of us at some point? Now you have to come back…only you’re not really back, because when we could use a superhero you’re off on a stroll through the city doing God knows what.”
“I was…I got a phone call and…” Faith stammered, completely unnerved.
“You. Got a phone call,” Dawn sniffed. “Who would call you? You don’t have friends. The only friend you ever had was Buffy, and you tried to kill her then turned on all of us.”
“Dawn,” Connor tried to calm her, but she shrugged him off.
“No…really, I’d like to know. Who called you Faith? Why did you have to disappear and don’t tell me it’s because of some plan you and Buffy worked out. You were really gone for a while, I know my sister, and she was worried.”
Dawn stood, tapping a foot, arms crossed over each other, a pout on her lips, waiting.
Faith glanced from person to person before cocking her own head and looking Dawn dead in the eye. “You wanna know? Fine. The Mayor. The Mayor called me.”
It wasn’t what Dawn had been expecting, and she blinked. Then she burst out laughing. “You really are crazy.”
Cordelia eyed Faith oddly, almost staring, opening her mouth to speak when Gunn stepped between she and the Slayer.
“When did this turn into a jump on Faith event?” he asked. “Bigger problem here, people. We’re stuck here. Maybe forever.”
“They won’t keep you here forever,” Spike chimed in tonelessly from his position on the floor, lying on his back, hands behind his head.
“Did I appear to be speakin’ to you?” Gunn snapped, turning to him.
Spike turned his head and grinned, transforming his black and blue face into a sick smile. “Seems I’m the only one with brains around here, and seein’ as how if I don’t say anything it’s going to be an even longer night of listening to you jabber, I’m speakin’ up.” He sat up. “They won’t keep you here forever. Isn’t it obvious what the plan is?”
No one answered and he sighed heavily, rising to his feet. “Pay attention people!” he shouted. “They didn’t want ME. They wanted him, Angel, the whole time. It was never about me.” He sighed heavily, angrily, nostrils flaring. “Okay? It was never about me. I was the bloody decoy, the cheese in the trap, and you lot walked right into it and here we are, tails stuck and struggling to get the hell out.”
“You went along willingly enough,” Xander sneered.
“Damn right I did. They offered me the world.”
“They offered to kill us, and the woman you claim to love,” he corrected, voice rising. “And you just did it. Went right along and did it. There’s love for you. I’m sure Buffy’s really impressed.”
Spike glared. “Came after me, didn’t she? Never stopped.”
“Her mistake,” Dawn bit out.
Spike’s face changed for a moment, hurt flickered before he masked it again with contempt. “If she did all that for me, and rescued Loony over there,” he jabbed a thumb at Faith, “what do you people think she’ll do for you? She and Wonder Vamp as a team? I’m surprised we’re still here.”
There was silence for a moment before he continued, looking dejected. “My point is…the lawyers won’t keep us here forever. You know Angel isn’t going to turn evil and raise the demon. Not willingly anyway. Angelus, yes. Angel, no. He’d die first.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Cordy put in softly.
Spike shrugged matter-of-factly. “Then that’s how it’ll be. If he dies, they’ll come for me, and we’ll kill the whole bloody lot of them.”
“How can you know all this?” Regina asked curiously. “You were ready to kill us all and now you’re telling us ‘chin up?’”
He shrugged again. “Been around these people a long time. They’re heroes. S’what they do. It’s how I knew Buffy’d come for me, how they knew she’d come for me, how they knew Angel would come for her… Can’t fight it. Besides,” he grinned, glancing around the room. “Ask the pup,” he nodded to Xander. “Like any of you were surprised that I might want a chance to the be the Big Bad again…just once more.” He sniffed with pride. “It’s who I used to be…when times were simple. Can’t blame a bloke for wanting the simple life back.”
“Would have you done it?” Dawn asked him, turning her big blue eyes to his icy ones. “Would you have really raised that demon and let it kill all of us?”
Spike considered. “Can’t really answer that one, nibs. I was a spot mad at big sis when I was chanting, but to tell you the truth...I was really tired of playing ‘step in line’ with laywer-bitch.”
She thought for a moment before nodding, seemingly satisfied with his answer, though the others continued to look dubious.
“So,” Spike sighed once more. “We wait for the big rescue, and follow whatever plan Buffy and Angel have undoubtedly already hatched.”
“And we get Willow back,” Xander growled.
“And we stop the potential Slayers from dying,” Wesley nodded.
Gunn grinned. “Send the First back to wherever it came from, hopefully in a world of hurt.”
“And then what…return to our lives?” Regina wanted to know. “Rupert…we don’t have jobs anymore…we’re wanted by the Council…there are probably headhunters out there for us right now.” She turned to Dawn. “And what is your sister going to do? The First can’t be stopped. It can’t be killed.” Her eyes fell on Faith. “And you? Do you plan to run from the law forever?”
“I bet the Mayor will take you in again,” Dawn smirked.
Faith glared at her. “You know what? If I were Buffy? I’d leave a brat like you in here.”
“I’d rather be bratty than nuts,” Dawn retorted.
Faith closed her eyes to calm herself. When she opened them again, they shot into Dawn. “I’m not nuts.”
“Oh no, of course not,” Dawn laughed. “Everyone gets phone calls from dead people.”
Why not? They already think you’re a whack-job. “Not just phone calls,” Faith told her slowly, plunging ahead. “I saw him.”
“The Mayor?” Giles asked, taking of his glasses.
“No…Allan Finch,” she muttered softly, eyes downcast. “The guy I killed in Sunnydale…”
Wesley peered at her. “You saw him.”
“Talk to him and everything. Back at the hotel.” Faith’s eyes moved up to Dawn. “So I guess you’re right. I’m crazy.”
“More than I thought,” Dawn nodded.
“I’m having to agree with that assessment,” Gunn told her cautiously.
“What did they say to you?” Giles asked her.
Faith shrugged. “To get out of the hotel, to leave. To run away because you guys would just betray me.”
There was silence and a lot of nervous side-stepping as the group took this in.
Faith tried to grin. “I know…I don’t expect you guys to believe me. It’s insane. Guess I really am just cracking up…”
“I don’t think you’re cracking up,” Cordelia told her softly.
Faith glanced at her. “What?”
Cordy looked to Wesley. “Doyle. I saw Doyle. In my room. I talked to him.”
Wesley’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Doyle came into my room. I was sleeping, and when I woke up he was there.”
“You were dreaming,” Xander reasoned.
“No…I wasn’t.”
“What did he say to you?” Giles asked her.
Her eyes grew sad. “He told me that trouble was coming…and that…”
“And?” Anya prompted.
“That I shouldn’t let Buffy get in the way of me and Angel.”
“What?” Dawn exclaimed.
“Why would he say that?” Fred asked nervously.
Cordelia shrugged. “The entire thing was…odd. I just… He said he was glad for me, that Angel and I care for each other, and that us together is how things were supposed to be.”
“I don’t get it,” Xander concluded. “What the hell is going on?”
“Who’s Doyle?” Faith asked.
“A friend of Cordelia and Angel’s,” Wesley explained curtly. “He gave his life to save theirs, and many others. He passed on his visions to Cordelia when he died.”
“I don’t…” Cordelia began. “I don’t think it was him.”
“What do you mean?” Fred asked.
Cordy considered momentarily. “Something about the whole situation doesn’t ring right. It never has, not since it happened. I mean…it was Doyle…everything about him was the same. Eyes…hair…bad taste in clothing. I could even smell the pints on him. But there was something just off about the whole thing. Like he was…”
“Was what?” Anya asked, annoyed.
“Pushing me.” Cordelia said finally. “Pushing me to be with Angel.”
Dawn’s nose crinkled. “Why?”
“I don’t know.”
The youngest Summers didn’t relent. “What would he get out of you and Angel being together?”
“I don’t know, Dawn. He just mentioned something about how he knew it was love, that it was right and real between me and Angel. It was because of him, though, that I realized that I’m not in love with Angel. He’s my best friend, but I’m not in love with him.”
Cordelia’s sincerity was very real and instantly recognized by the Slayer’s sister. Dawn sheepishly took a step back into Connor’s chest and his arms came up around her waist.
“So the Mayor and his Finch visit Faith and tell her to run away…then Cordy gets a visit from this Doyle guy and he tells her to get with Angel…” Xander murmured.
Spike smirked. “Clever plan.”
All heads swiveled to him. “What plan?” Anya asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” he sneered. “Freak out Faith, get her to run, leaves one more Slayer down and probably out when the Bringers find her.”
“And Doyle?” Cordelia asked.
He cocked an eyebrow. “What happens if Angel finds true happiness?”
Her eyes flew wide. “Oh my God…”
“Angel goes evil and Wolfram & Hart are the big winners,” Gunn concluded with a sigh. “Something’s playing us.”
Xander let out a wry laugh. “Welcome to every single day of our lives.”
“What I don’t understand, however--” Regina began, when the air around them began to sizzle.
The group took a step or two back as the light popped around them in a growing circle. From it stepped a gigantic man in black clothing, a sword at his side. With a snarl he grabbed Regina by the arm and yanked her into the portal where it snapped closed in an instant, not even giving her the opportunity to scream.
She was gone.
