Author's Note: If you haven't seen the Buffy episode "Never Leave Me," I warn you that this contains spoilers for that episode. Had I published this yesterday, as originally planned, I would have simply looked brilliant in my psychic powers as to who the Big Bad will be this season. However, no...I waited until today, and last night on Buffy my theories were confirmed true, way before I thought they might be. But...I called it! *g*
The van door shut quietly, which was still too loud for Buffy and she glared at it angrily. Willow, Xander, Gunn, Fred and Angel hopped out, leaving Cordelia, Anya, Dawn and Connor behind. They had pulled into a back lot that was currently vacant, and quite a distance from the prison itself. Between them and the closest building was a least a football field of grass and open space.
“Keep the door shut, lights and engine off,” Buffy instructed, pulling her hair back in a tight knot. “Willow’s going to perform the spell and we’ll be gone. Remember, she can communicate with all of us with telepathy, so if you have any problems just…think real loud.”
Gunn grinned. “I think I’m in the wrong line of work. Spells? Telepathy?”
“Don’t forget that your memory’s gone because of a spell,” Xander reminded him.
“We’ll work on that as soon as Faith’s safe,” Buffy assured him. She turned to the group left in the van. “Keep your eyes open. If you hear anything, get to Willow, she’ll let us know. Check in every five minutes with her and we’ll do the same. She’ll be hidden on the rooftop so the communication lines are as open as possible between the two groups.”
Cordelia nodded bravely and shut the door behind them. Buffy turned to her friends. “Will?”
Willow gave her a short nod and rifled through her bag for a piece of stone, which she then used to draw a circle on the cement parking lot. “Step inside,” she instructed. They did so and she then placed the stone on the ground and smashed it with her foot. It shattered into several pieces and she handed each of them one of the jagged slices. Stepping into the circle herself they formed a ring around her and she closed her eyes. A moment later she opened them and stepped out of the circle, knocking lightly on the van.
“Hey…Dawn. Look out the window.”
Dawn’s face appeared a moment later, her eyes searching. “Willow? Where are you?”
Willow grinned at the others. “It worked. We can see each other, but they can’t see us.”
“Can they hear us?” Xander asked and Willow nodded.
“It’s only a cloaking spell. It’ll last as long as my concentration keeps up. So…hurry.”
“We will. Let’s go,” Buffy ordered and gingerly stepped out of the circle. They crossed to a fence and Buffy pointed out the signs warning of high voltage. Fred nodded and pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, reciting the words Willow had provided her with. A moment later there was a *snap* of electricity and the group glanced at each other. Angel gingerly stepped forward and touched the fence…nothing happened.
Satisfied, Buffy pulled out wire cutters and began snipping at the chain link. A few minutes later, a small section cut out, she dropped the cutters and used her strength to pull the fence back. They stepped through a moment later and took off across the yard. It took several minutes to make it completely across the yard and they stopped just short of the agreed upon spot, outside the maintenance shop. They climbed the chain link fence as quietly as possible and hopped over, landing softly on the ground again. Inside the small utility cage they turned and began climbing the ladder to the roof.
“There,” Buffy pointed to Willow, her voice barely a whisper. “You’ll be hidden behind this air conditioning unit.” The little witch nodded and sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed.
“Can you hear me?” she asked, testing out her telepathy abilities.
“We can,” Buffy told her as she and the others nodded with satisfaction. With a look of silent agreement and good luck they left her on the roof, hidden as best they could should the cloaking spell fail. The warden’s office was another building away, a leap that both Buffy and Angel could make easily but had Gunn, Xander and Fred balking. Taking Fred by the arm, Angel did the same with Gunn and Xander and they backed up half the length of the rooftop on which they were currently standing.
“God help me,” Gunn swore under his breath as they took off running. Using vampire and Slayer strength the two teams leapt over the three-story drop and landed roughly on the other side, mere feet from their destination. Buffy tucked and rolled, taking the brunt of the fall for Fred.
“You okay?” she asked breathlessly when they stopped rolling, and Fred nodded. “You guys?” she asked, turning to the men. They dusted themselves off, but each gave her a thumbs-up and she nodded curtly. “Warden’s office is here.”
Fred reached into her backpack and pulled out several black, stealthy looking plastic boxes with wires attached to them. She ran one of the devices over the window. “It’s sensored, like we thought,” she told them a moment later.
“Why do I think you’ve done this before?” Gunn asked her, kneeling at her side.
She glanced at him quickly before returning her concentration to the gizmos in her hands. “I have. You, too. Few weeks back we broke into an auction house to steal this mystical Axis thing.”
“Really?”
She grinned. “And then The Thomas Crown Affair was on tv that night and you were critiquing his tactics.”
Her smile increased two-fold when he laughed appreciatively. Hooking up some wires with putty to the outside edges of the skylight she worked the machine as he looked on, while Buffy and Angel restlessly kept watch.
Will? she called with her mind. How we doing?
Good, Willow answered her a moment later. Dawn says everything there is just fine.
Okay…we’re working on the skylight now, it shouldn’t be much longer. Buffy turned to the others and whispered the report to them.
“Got it,” Fred told her a second later and pulled the putty-stuck wires from the plastic window. Angel and Gunn bent next to her, pulling vials of a green liquid from their own bags. Squirting it around the base of the domed skylight there was the ripe smell of acid followed by the hiss as the substance went to work on the caulk. In seconds it was completely dissolved and the men lifted the hard plastic up and away from the round opening.
Leaning over again Fred pulled out yet another instrument and flipped it on. Lights began to blink as she slowly lowered it through the skylight. “Can’t go lower than six-inches or it’ll set off the alarms,” she whispered, concentrating mightily. The machine rotated in her hand several times before stopping for a few seconds, then rotating again and stopping.
“What’s that do?” Xander asked.
“It reads the frequency of the cameras and alarm systems in the room…and some other technical stuff. It will disable them for a full minute while we get down into the room and out the door,” Fred told him as the machine continued to work.
“A minute?” Gunn asked dubiously, looking through the hole at the floor that was a good twelve feet below them.
“Problem?” Buffy asked.
He shook his head slowly, letting out a deep sigh. “No…just hope I can run outta there in less than a minute with two broken feet.”
“I’ll catch you,” Angel told him as Fred’s device let out a small beep.
“It’s done,” she said, looking up at him, and Angel nodded. With a final glance to Buffy he jumped down into the dim office, his feet barely making a sound as they landed on the plush carpet.
“Xander, go,” Buffy ordered. With a moment’s hesitation he closed his eyes and fell through the hole.
“Gunn,” she prompted a moment later, then, “Okay, Fred…go. Quickly.”
The brunette dropped first her bag, then her body through the hole and Buffy followed, hoping the precious seconds she’d waited would be enough for Fred and Angel to get out of the way as she leapt. It was and she landed in Angel’s arms with a soft “ufff” escaping from her lips. In the softly lit office, the yellow ruddiness of the emergency light providing only a soft glow, her eyes met the vampires’ and their bodies hummed at the touch. His strong arms supported her under the legs and arms as a moment ticked by, then another before he shook free of her gaze and set her on her feet, hustling them both out of the office.
“This way,” he nodded and they dashed for the door. Outside Fred was consulting her watch as Buffy shut the door to his office quietly.
“Five…four…three…two…time,” Fred told them as the latch silently clicked into place. “The cameras and alarms are back on.”
“This way,” Buffy whispered and Angel took the lead, his ultra-sensitive eyes and ears on full alert for anything that might alert the wrong people to their presence.
Willow, Buffy called a moment later. We’re inside. What’s going on with the van?
Still doing good, came the reply a moment later and Buffy whispered as much to the group.
The door to the basement, and the underground halls normally used for transporting patients from sector to sector, was immediately on their left and they opened the door, heading down the stairs as quickly as possible.
“There’s a guard’s station immediately around this corner,” Angel reminded them as they stood in a huddle right outside the medical ward. “Two nurses and a guard…the patient’s rooms are locked. I’ll take care of the nurses and the guards…Fred, you come with me, work on disabling the electronic door locks to Faith’s room. Xander, Gunn…you stand guard in case anyone sees us or Buffy.”
"They can't see us," Gunn reminded him.
Angel considered that. "Be careful anyway."
“I’ll be heading to Faith’s room,” Buffy added, her gaze landing on Fred. “Work those locks quick.”
The brunette nodded seriously and Angel opened the door, the pair heading silently down the hall as Buffy, Xander and Gunn padded after them, a few feet back.
Buffy! Willow suddenly screamed into the Slayer’s head. The robed guys…they’re here!
Buffy winced at the sudden intrusion and hissed down the hall to Angel. “Go! We’ve got company!”
Will…open up, talk to us all…what about Dawn and the others? she asked, hurrying now past the nurses station.
The single guard, situated at a table near the nurses, was reading a magazine and even had they not been invisible he wouldn't have noticed Buffy until it was too late. She ran up to him, fists flying and he slumped to the ground unconscious without a word, his magazine landing on his chest. The nurses yelped as they were gruffly hauled to their feet by Angel and he silenced them quickly by knocking their heads together. They fell to the ground and he pulled them under the desk as Fred set up at the computer.
I—I don’t know, Buffy, Willow cried. I can’t get them to…wait…no…
What?! Willow? What’s going on? Buffy asked as she ran down the hall in the direction of Faith’s room.
They’re…Connor’s taking care of it, Willow assured her. A demon…I can’t tell if he’s with…wait, yeah. In a robe. Cordy says it’s fine, keep going.
Get out of there, break the spell, Buffy ordered. We’re inside. We’ll take care of it from here.
She didn’t give Willow time to argue and a moment later she felt a *crack* in the air and a whoosh as the spell was broken. Angel left Fred in the care of Gunn and Xander as he rushed down the hall after Buffy, having heard all of Willow’s report.
“Fred’s working on it,” he told her as they rounded the corner and skidded to a stop in front of Faith’s door.
“She’s there,” Buffy said, peering through the window as the door unlocked itself. Yanking on the handle she and Angel bolted through the doorway to Faith’s bedside. The Slayer blinked at them sleepily, the haze of the drugs being pumped into her making her slow.
“No…you’re not here…” Faith mumbled as Angel worked to release the straps holding her down.
“We are,” Buffy assured her. “We’re here to get you out.”
“Buffy?” Faith asked as the other Slayer pulled a pair of sweats out of her backpack and shoved the shirt over Faith’s head.
“Later,” Buffy told her gruffly as Angel put an arm around Faith and helped her swing her legs over the side. Buffy moved around to their side of the bed and pushed Faith’s weak legs into the sweatpants, over the socks that she already wore, and then rammed tennis shoes on her little feet.
“You…Angel…” Faith babbled incoherently as Angel gently lifted her off the bed and they exited the room. Xander, Gunn and Fred met them halfway down the hall.
"We're visible again," Buffy shouted to them.
"Yeah, we sorta figured that. We got guests…of the supernatural variety,” Gunn announced loudly, no longer worried about attracting attention.
“Where?” Angel shouted as they ran.
“Three guys in robes, back there. We gotta change our exit.”
Angel looked around wildly as Faith held on for dear life to his neck. Her weak arms did little to support her, even hung around his neck, and her fingers dug into his shirt, gripping it as best she could. Making a quick decision he headed down another hallway, calling over his shoulder, “Tell Willow the new plan. Get her out of there! Back to the van!” he shouted as faces began to appear in the windows of other patient’s rooms.
Buffy relayed the message to Willow as they ran, alarms beginning to sound as they hurried. The lights flickered on above them, blinding them for a moment and at the end of the hall appeared two guards.
“Stop!” one of them shouted, reaching for his weapon.
Gunn sped up, meeting them dead on and cold-cocked him, knocking the revolver from his hand. The other gaped, pulling his own gun from its holster and Gunn spun around, executing a clumsy spinning kick that did the job just the same. The weapon went flying to the ground. Spinning again he knocked the guard backwards as Xander ran in and took out the other with a right hook.
Angel, Fred and Buffy never stopped and the men joined them as they raced down another hallway.
Buffy, at the end of the north corridor…there’s an exit to the courtyard. You can get out there! Willow shouted.
“We heard her,” Angel growled as they ran, instinctively turning north at the next intersecting hallway.
Buffy and the rest followed him, then skid to a halt as they faced what was waiting for them at the other end. Three figures in black robes descended on them before Angel had a chance to secure Faith and as one of the leapt at him, the Slayer in his arms fell to the ground, landing on her side with a loud smack and a groan as she rolled, hitting the opposite wall.
“Angel!” Buffy cried, but had no chance to help him as she was hit from behind and sent flying forward. Her palms came up and she stopped her head from slamming into the wall. Looking back over her shoulder she brought her leg up and kicked, sending her foe slamming against the wall as she turned and delivered a high kick that snapped his neck. The body slumped to the floor as she whipped her head up to see Xander and Gunn pushing Fred back down the hall as the second of the three demons attacked them. Angel had sprung to his feet, Faith lying behind him, weak and dazed.
Flying forward she grabbed the robe of the enemy attacking Xander and Gunn and spun him around wildly. As she did so the demon reached beneath his garb and produced two long knives that had her ducking quickly to avoid a beheading. The demon facing Angel did the same, brandishing two sharp and gleaming knives and lunging at the vampire. Angel lurched backward, avoiding getting his middle sliced open in ribbons and lost his balance, tripping over Faith’s body. He fell backward, over her, landing on his backside.
Gunn and Xander kicked out at the demon facing Buffy, sending him flying once again as she danced out of the way and ran to assist Angel. Grabbing the demon by the rope around his waist she yanked with all her might and the demon fell back. The knives went flying and she plucked one out of the air, bringing it down and stabbing the demon in the chest as Angel struggled to his feet and checked on Faith.
“Angel!” Gunn yelped suddenly as the demon they were facing got the better of both he and Xander. Buffy and Angel looked up in time to see Xander fall to the ground, clutching at his bleeding arm. Hurrying to their aid the Slayer ran in, delivering a kick that missed the demon’s back and landed more to his side. The misfire threw her off balance and she stumbled coming down on one knee. The demon took advantage of her fall and grabbed her by the hair, yanking until her head came up, her eyes tearing with the pain. Her throat exposed, the monster lifted his opposite hand and brought the knife down in one swift motion.
Until Angel let out a guttural roar and tackled the demon to the ground.
The motion ripped at Buffy’s hair and sent her sprawling against the wall, sliding into Faith. The two Slayers lie together, dazed as the vampire attacked wildly. Before the demon could recover from being taken down Angel was on his knees, wrestling the knife from its hand and delivering a one-two punch followed by a mighty roar as he plunged the weapon into the demon’s gut.
Buffy watched, wide-eyed before noise down the hall and the sound of pounding feet had her jumping to her own. She bent down and lifted Faith off the floor, helping her down the hall toward their friends. Gunn helped Xander up as Buffy approached Angel, still kneeling, panting heavily, over the dead demon.
“Take the knife,” she ordered weakly and Angel’s head snapped up, his face as animalistic as she ever remembered having seen it without his vampire visage. “The knife. Take it,” she repeated.
He looked down, roughly extracting the blade from the demon’s chest. As he did so he jostled the body and the hood fell away from the monster’s face. Buffy stopped short at what she saw. Grossly disfigured but still recognizable as partly human, save for the slashed eyes, decorated in ancient symbols, she’d seen this before…long ago…
The Harbingers.
The First Evil.
There was no time for that now. Angel had stood and lifted Faith into his arms once again as a guard came around the corner. With little more than a glance back Angel kicked out with his leg and the guard went flying, landing on three more that rounded the hallway and knocking them all to the ground. The team was off again, heading to the door that Willow had directed them too.
Buffy called to her friend now, making sure she and the others were safe and Willow assured them that things were fine. Anya had teleported moments earlier to report that Connor was taking care of the fourth of the robed demons and they were waiting for Buffy and the rest to get back to the car. Willow herself was currently sprinting across the field they had used earlier to enter the prison even as spotlights tracked her. Muttering softly she cloaked herself as best she could, though in her weakened state she knew that it now looked as though a ghost of herself was running through the grasses.
From all around the blare of the prison alarms sounded and lights scanned the building and the grounds as the group burst out into the courtyard. Without waiting to test the fences Angel handed Faith to Gunn and grabbed the taut chain-link fence, even as the shots of gunfire pounded around them, peppering the ground at their feet. Straining Angel ripped the fencing from the ground and rolled it up as much as possible. “Go!” he shouted as the roar of a helicopter sounded from somewhere not that far away.
Gunn pushed Fred to the ground and she rolled under the fence, dragging her bag behind her. Gunn and Xander followed suit, not waiting for the others as they took off across the lawn. “Buffy!” Angel shouted, singling her to make her escape. She grabbed Faith, who gripped her arm with surprising strength that made the Slayer pause.
“You came,” Faith said wondrously.
Buffy stared at her, then nodded. “I had to.”
The helicopter flew overhead, a spotlight trained on the threesome. The girls looked up into it, blinded, as Angel grabbed them each and threw them to the ground. Instinctively they rolled under the fence and he followed suit, and in a moment they were headed across the field.
*~*~*
“What was that?” Dawn whispered in the dark, her entire body tensing.
“What?” Cordelia asked.
The sound happened again. “That,” Dawn replied.
Connor’s trained hearing had heard it, too. A scratch…something heavy…at the back of the van. “Stay here,” he ordered gruffly and moved to the front of the van, slowly lowering the driver’s window and dropping soundlessly to the ground. Inching his way to the back he peeked around the rear of the van and found nothing, when suddenly a figure descended upon him from the rooftop.
He tumbled to the ground, pinned by the figure in the robe and cried out as the demon’s foot kicked into his abdomen.
“Connor!” Dawn cried, throwing the door to the van open and rushing out into the night.
“Dawn! Wait!” Anya shouted with a roll of her eyes. “Dammit! Can’t you ever just stay put?” she grumbled as she and Cordelia tumbled out of the vehicle and ran around the back of the van.
Connor was wrestling with the demon, who had his knife poised just inches from Connor’s throat.
“Hey!” Dawn called out suddenly and opened the double doors at the back of the van. Rifling through a toolbox she produced a wrench and with satisfaction raced back to Connor’s aid. Slamming the tool down onto the back of the demon’s skull she dazed it and Connor freed himself, launching the demon back with a kick from both legs. He sprang to his feet as the demon righted itself, knife switching from hand to hand as they circled each other.
“Connor! Don’t!” Cordelia cried as she and Anya grabbed Dawn and huddled near the van.
He ignored them and attacked, spinning several times in the air before making contact with the beast’s chest. The demon stumbled back a few feet before catching itself and running straight for Connor, executing a series of impressive moves that had Connor backing up quickly to avoid being taken down. The boy responded in turn, fighting as he had seen Angel do so, though he would die before admitting to mimicking his father’s style in anything.
Lunging at the demon the monster moved out of the way at the last moment, sending itself directly into the three women, knocking them to the ground. Rolling the figure in black grabbed at Dawn and hauled them both upright, stopping Connor short as the knife glistened near her throat.
“No!” Dawn whimpered, tears of panic in her eyes.
Connor met her eyes and a moment of understanding flashed between them as Connor produced from his back pocket a knife of equal size to that of the demons. Dawn took a breath and said a silent prayer as Connor rushed at the pair. Ducking down as best she could she whimpered as Connor leapt and spun, slashing the throat of the demon. Blood gushed from its neck and seeped into Dawn’s hair and down her neck.
She fell to her knees, then rolled away slowly as the demon slumped to the ground. Gasping she lay on her back for a few moments, collecting herself, until Connor stood over her, offering her his hand.
Their eyes met and she took it a moment later, rising to her feet. “Th-thanks,” she stammered shakily.
He nodded and brought a hand to her cheek, wiping at some of the blood and dirt on her face. Her heartbeat quickened at his touch and she glanced away, shy and unsure what to do next.
It didn’t matter because in the same instant Willow came bursting on to the scene. “Are you guys..oh…ew,” she cried, nose wrinkling as she saw the dead demon on the ground.
“My fath—Angel? And the others?” Connor asked, clearing his throat and dropping his hand from Dawn’s cheek.
“On their way, get in the van,” she assured him as they all climbed back in. A moment later Gunn, Xander and Fred scrambled inside.
“Where are they?” Willow shouted as Gunn fired up the engine and flipped on the headlights.
“Here,” Buffy said breathlessly as she dove into the front seat of the van. Angel followed her moments later with Faith, jumping into the back with her still in his arms. Anya slammed the door shut and the van roared to life as Gunn floored the gas.
