Chapter Twelve: Will, Red & the Witch
WILLOW
"Whoa, Faith. Can I talk to you for a sec?"
She stops in her tracks and turns around to face me, her face pale against the already pale hospital walls. She has one arm slipped in her jacket sleeve while the other arm frantically tries to reach back for the other.
"Um…" Her eyes remind me of the ones of an innocent child, which I guess she still is I suppose. Haunted and clouded with things no one ever needs to see. "Weren't you getting Blondie an' me some root beer?"
"Uh, well, yeah, I was going to, but I kinda want to talk to you first." I eye the cigarettes she's holding and wonder how long it'll take before she invites me outside with her.
She follows my gaze and comprehension dawns on her. She takes a deep breath before she sways her head from side to side, making her hair ripple over her shoulders.
"Hey, I hear ya, I know not to smoke in the house an' I already swore to B that I'd never do it in front of Teresa." She says defensively, and my eyes involuntarily light up as she finishes her sentence. I must look like I've got my head stuck in the clouds or something cause she brings a hand in front of my face and waves it gently. "Red?"
"Teresa? Buffy finally chose?"
Faith does the half smile slash nod thing she's so good at and I can feel my smile grow larger.
"Darcy was nice, but Teresa? Oh…"
"Yeah…" She's even more over the moon than I am and it makes me realize that she might have finally stopped running. It's about fucking time.
The blue smoke etches out from her nostrils, and I usually find it nauseating, but right now, it seems right, so I just let it pass. Fatih gives me a sidelong look before she brings her gaze down.
"You still playing the same game?" I ask tentatively, remembering our hesitant talk when we had made our way back from L.A. to Sunnydale, a couple of years back.
She doesn't spare me a look and keeps her eyes fixated on the pebbles lying on the ground.
"Always will." She says, and it strikes me as odd that she knew how I was going to start. "Are you?" She throws it back at me, and finally brings herself to look me in the eye, and when she does, my heart does a flip.
"I think so."
"Not caught up in pretending?" She takes another drag from her cigarette before she stubs it out on the heel of her boot. She doesn't give me a chance to answer as she voices out her own opinion. "I was. For a bit." She's staring far ahead now, looking at nothing in particular. "Got no direction, Willow. Never had and never will. This redemption thing we're all looking for? Don't think it's made to be found."
"I know."
She nods and smiles, something easy and it makes her dimples come out and play.
"She always had me, Red. And she always will, even if she knows it or not. I…" She stops herself when an ambulance drives by us in a flurry of cacophonic noises. "She gave me a reason to stay this time, and I'm still here, you know? Redemption's jus' a word, but to me, in my mind, it's Buffy."
I can feel my brow crinkle. "But I thought redemption was something that couldn't be found."
"Yeah." She breathes out and smiles softly. "Have you found what you're looking for?" She lands her brown eyes into mine and studies me for a bit, but I don't answer. "Yeah, we all want the happy ending before the beginning even starts."
She gets up and makes her way to the front sliding doors of the hospital, while I'm stuck to the cement bench. She turns and sticks her hands in her pockets and rocks back on her heels. Yeah, just like a kid.
"Hey." She calls out. "How ‘bout that root beer?"
Willow's been walking for over an hour now, and her feet are starting to ache and ultimately, starting to slow her down. Sighing, she bends over and brings her hands down to massage her calves. All of this pain would be justified, she thinks sullenly, if I was actually going somewhere.
Contrary to Spike and Riley, there was no door waiting for the witch on the other side of the mirror. Just a faint light, at times bright, at what seemed to be the end of the stony hall. So she just started walking towards it until… well, until now. And she's still walking.
Idly, she notices the patterns in the walls, but there are some that she can't make out because of the darkness. Patterns showing vague stories of fantastic creatures only found in bedtime stories. Willow's been to countless new dimensions and never has she lain eyes on these incredible beings. Another hour goes by before she ends up at a crossroad with signs to the left, to the right and in front of her.
Willow frowns, and she looks them over. The one to the left indicates that its hall "LEADS TO WHERE YOU NEED TO GO." The one on the right says "LEADS TO WHERE YOU WANT TO GO." And finally, the one in front of her dutifully informs "LEADS TO WHERE YOU'RE GOING."
"Aw, fuck me." She mutters quietly as she looks down the three possible pathways.
Where I need to go? This isn't my turf, so they probably don't need me to be meddlesome, so that can't be the right one. Where I want to go? Do I trust myself enough to think that I'm sure what I want? Cause right now… Not sure I want to be here. No, can't be right. So that leaves me with…
With a shrug, Will keeps going straight, and before she knows it, she's arrived in a small room, where a window with a view of a large room sits in the middle of the wall. As she approaches, she can hear the faint sounds of the dozens of people on the other side, quietly going about their business, which at the present time seems to be… eating? All along I was going to a cafeteria? She thinks glumly, as she presses her hand against the pane of the glass only to feel her hand seep through. Quickly, she brings it back inside before clutching it to her chest.
"Another mirror?" She asks no one in particular, as she surveys the scene once more.
About fifty people are lined up, tray in hand, waiting to be served hotdogs and jello while another fifty or so are already sitting, quietly enjoying their meal. Pictures of ships adorn the white walls, and a man in a white navy uniform is drifting between the tables, casually conversing with the passengers. Passengers? Like from a ship?
With a heavy sigh, she lifts her hand and brings it through the pane. Turning her head, she takes a last look at the dark tunnel behind her before walking fully into the cafeteria.
The air is heavy and dank, and hot. About a hundred people are busying themselves with their food and Willow spots one family where the parents are clad in Hawaiian shirts while the two children are sporting Bermuda shorts and tanks: clearly tourists. But tourists to where?
Why is this where I was going? Unless… She looks around again, getting a feel for the area before she closes her eyes in concentration. Slowly, a burning sensation fills her mind as she carefully reads the auras of the people surrounding her. As she reads and discards the ones that she feels are irrelevant to the fulfilment of her quest, only two are starting to stick out more than the others. A very strong willed one and another one that Will knows only too well: a burning beacon of hope. Bingo. Hurriedly, she opens her eyes and almost immediately brings her hand to her head in pain.
"Stupid head rush." She mutters as she lets her eyes focus on the two people standing in line at the food expo. "Teresa?" She voices out before she feels a tap on her shoulder.
Gravis is standing there, all incognito, wearing dark glasses and a Meat Loaf tee. Quickly, before she can voice out her confusion, he lands a soft finger on her lips before tilting his head away from the food line and towards the stairs leading to the carport.
Slowly, she nods in acknowledgement before she follows him through the glass doors. She throws one last glance behind her shoulder to the little girl standing in line holding someone's hand… Is that Sam? What the hell is going on here?
"Okay. I think I understand. Cause a distraction. Get Terry. Sounds easy as pie."
"Capice." Manny squints and gives the witch a sad smile.
"Yeah." Will whispers softly. "S'gotta hurt that your BFF is out there making nice with—" She doesn't finish when she notices Faith looking away before giving her watcher a pained expression.
"Did you see Terry?" She asks softly. "Does she look alright?" The Slayer's voice is rich and full of sorrow, and Will can see that it's taking everything she has not to barge in the cafeteria and save her little girl. "I can't believe I let this happen."
"She looked fine. Maybe a little misled, but considering the circumstances, I'd say she's kept her cool, whether she knows it or not." She offers the brunette a small smile, but she knows its not enough to calm her down. "From the way I hear things happened, it's far from being your fault."
"Yeah." Faith whispers unconvincingly as she stares down at her boots. "Red?"
"Faith?" She answers, and sits down next to Manny and Gravis.
"How did you know where to find us?"
Willow just shrugs. "I was going where I was going. That's what happens when you play the same game you've been playing for some time."
Chapter Thirteen: Sgt. Rock
XANDER
"I don't know Buff, it's like…" My eye travels to the window over the sink and into the backyard where the gang is playing twister. "… like he looks and sounds like himself… but he's not."
She nods before she puts some plates away.
"I know." She whispers softly.
She looks down to her bare feet—or tries to—and it finally hits me on why she let him go. Oh, sure, there the whole Chosen Two bond-crap-thing that no one really believes, but then there's the whole other level that Buffy always seems to seek.
My smile is weak and I suddenly feel a wave of forced nausea washing over me. Baby showers are supposed to be all with the happy, no?
Faith strolls in just as I let the water out from the sink. She slides in behind Buffy smoothly and brings her arms around her swelled stomach carefully, before whispering something in her ear. It makes Buffy blush and smile shyly and it strikes me as odd that this seems so normal.
"Thanks again for the car, Xand. You know you shouldn't have." She says with a dimpled grin, and I know she means it.
"Right. The alternative was baby leather chaps but those are really hard to find." I joke and they both chuckle softly.
"Don't diss the bike, dude."
"I wouldn't dare."
Faith gives me a stoic nod that says a lot more than she wants to and reluctantly lets go of her better half. "Come on Blackbeard. You an' B need to give me a challenge out there. Sam and Spike are my only ‘competition'."
Buff gives her a playful Slayer jab before they head out. "Knocked Up Girl and Depth Perception Boy gonna bring you down!" I hear her laugh as the screen door slams closed, leaving me alone with the soapy sink.
I can see Spike coddle Buffy up through the window; protesting; Faith and Dawn laughing while Sam, Andrew and Willow and Ry sit, amused about the whole thing.
"Xander! Left foot blue! Get your ass out here!"
"It's gross." Xander makes a face as he toggles the switch for the wipers to start. Rain. Again.What is it with this country? He wonders, as he's wondered countless times before.
"How can it be gross? It's not like it's green and slimy." He hears Andrew say, and he throws a look at the back seat where Dawn and Andrew are sitting, busy squabbling like children.
"Yet." Xander supplies, not knowing what he's gotten himself into.
"It could! What with all the humidity and invisible scum already in the vicinity." Dawn sounds exasperated to his ears and he throws a smile to his right, where Buffy is sitting in a placid manner, staring off in the distance as the wipers keep their steady rhythm. Swish sweesh. Swish sweech.
"Saves on water and time." Andrew tries to explain, the tone in his voice rising ever so slightly.
"Ugh. Just thinking about the bristles and the loose hair… So wrong." Dawn shakes her head of hair before gently punching his shoulder.
"Green, slimy, hairy bristles? Plothax demon?" Xander dares to ask as he makes a left into a traffic circle.
"Hmm? Oh, no, just trying to dissuade me from brushing my teeth in the shower." Andrew says. "But good call on the Plothax."
"Ew."
"Yeah. I know." Dawn nods before sharing a nose scrunch with him in the rear view mirror. "So how'd you guys get here so fast from Bath? I'm sure it wasn't with One-Eyed Jack behind the wheel. Turn right here, Xand."
"Hey!" There's only so many nicknames one man can tolerate. He decides glumly before making the right hand turn. Why isn't it Sgt. Rock? When he wasn't working for Lex Luthor, he clarifies for himself with a satisfied grin.
"Willow." Buffy says softly, as she speaks for the first time since they all piled into the sedan, and it makes Xander realise that they may have somewhat fixed the Robin problem, but they're still in deep.
"Willow?! She's back?"
"Yep. Picked Gravis and T and me up from Doreen's shack and after a pit stop in Fantasia we came directly to Bath."
"Fianarantsoa." Xander corrects helpfully and smiles when Buffy shrugs helplessly.
"So why we driving back? Couldn't she just pop us back there?" Dawn asks and it finally hits Xander that the duo behind him have practically no idea what's going on.
"Yeah… Except, she's not answering." Buffy frowns and shakes her head before turning her head to Xander. "Something about what Rob said…"
"I'm not getting any feedback either." He says thoughtfully. "Think she made like Alice in Wonderland?"
"Maybe."
"About?" Andrew asks softly and Xander barely catches it.
"About what?"
"What Rob said." He says and Buffy turns around fully in her bucket seat to give the back seat a passive look.
"Oh. Yeah. He said that Faith had failed."
"Cryptic." Xander mumbles through clenched teeth. "Of the non-cryptic variety. You worried about Teresa?" Off her look he adds, "More so than usual?"
"No."
"You're not."
"No. Whatever's after Teresa wants her healthy and alive. Of that, I'm sure. I'm worried about Faith."
Xander used to carry a tool belt everywhere he went. It held lots of things. Screwdriver with a variety of heads, pliers, Exacto knife, lock picking set, a Swiss Army knife, and a hand whittled ironwood stake with his initials carved in, which later on Spike had taken the liberty to mould in silver for his birthday a few years back. It was a wonderful gesture and Xander never went anywhere without the belt... until a few months ago when they had gotten rid of a group of vampire fanatics trying to overtake the Moroccan throne.
The king, Mohammed VI, had been so grateful for their work, and had been so impressed with this tool belt that Xander had left it there to him as a gift. In return, Xander received a Tag Heuer Monaco watch from His Majesty and took to it right away when he was told that it was the same watch that Steve McQueen wore in the racing movie, Le Mans.
"Where's your tool belt?"
Of course, they had to come up to the mirror room to find it locked. Xander sighs and looks down to his wrist. Not much good in this situation, eh Steve?
"In Morocco." He answers slowly. "Can't you kick it down?" He asks, turning to Buffy and she shrugs.
"I could, but then we'd risk some shards hitting the mirror, and then, well, who knows what'll happen to Spike and Riley."
Xander tries the handle again, but it just turns continuously in his hand.
"Magicks." Andrew supplies, and gives the former carpenter a small smile. "The whole room is shielded. You wouldn't be able to break the door down anyway."
"Can you un-shield it?" Dawn asks wearily, and Xander notices that her whole demeanour has changed since they filled her in with the whole 411.
Andrew shrugs. "I could give it a try but Willow's power is so much more powerful than mine, and well, since mine is rooted from hundreds of musty old books and Willow's is from the centre of something so powerful that we could never conceive, like eons of—."
"Look. Whatever you're doing, it's working, the handle is turning by itself." Buffy says slowly, and Andrew just frowns.
"I haven't started yet." He says and Xander takes that as a cue to back up.
"Out of the way." He whispers, and grabs hold of Dawn's shoulder, bringing her away from the door.
And then the door opens. To reveal six men dressed in the Council standard uniform, including one man chanting incessantly.
"Um… guys?" He says, and the other five turn their attention to the open door, and to the Scoobs.
"What are you—." Buffy starts but stops herself when all six vamp out and snarl something nasty their way. "Vampires doing here?" She finishes sourly before reaching in the small of her back for her stake.
Out of the corner of his eye, Xander notices that Andrew and Dawn are weaponless, so he tilts his head to the side, silently telling them to step aside. When they have, he nods Buffy's way to let her know the way is clear, as her gaze has never left the unexpected party.
"Did Robin send you here?" She asks clearly and the vamp nearest to the door just laughs. "Okay, whatever. We know what you are, and you know who we are, so no need to introduce ourselves."
"Slayer." He says and the other five nod. Xander just rolls his eye. Don't they ever come up with anything else to say?
"Right." Xander says and Buffy takes it as a cue to start the onslaught.
Everything goes by quickly as Buffy rapidly takes out the first vamp and Xander runs into the room to get rid of the chanting vampire. Always get rid of the warlock first he muses as he takes a stake out from his leg pocket. Promptly, he ducks to avoid a ray of light coming from the vamps fingers, before he rolls to his side to kick the legs out of his opponent. As a result, the vamp falls onto his back and Xander takes the opportunity to stake him in the heart. However, the stake doesn't go far as it just pierces the shirt before striking a metal plate.
"Buff! We got platers!" He shouts over to her as she's taking on three remaining demons.
"Hunh?" She says as she keeps them at a distance before striking here and there with swift precision.
Xander lands a punch to his vampire's face before explaining. "Platers! You know, vamps with heart protection."
"What?" She says before landing her own stake into her victim's heart, but it just hits metal. "What the fu—." She doesn't have time to finish before he lands a fist to her jaw, sending her flying backwards.
He sees her land awkwardly on her back before she stumbles to her feet.
"Okay. Splainy?"
Xander nods and smiles before he pins down the warlock's hand with his knee. With his free hand he pulls up his rival's shirt before plunging his stake into his heart. "Metal plate covering the heart." He explains, getting to his feet.
Seeing the odds of survival dwindle down with their leader and their warlock out of the game, the other three try to flee only to be met up with Dawn and Andrew at the doorway.
"Hey guys."
Quickly they turn their heads behind them to witness Buffy and Xander standing only mere inches away from them. Almost instantaneously, Xander pulls back his arm and lands his stake in a vamp's back, watching him dust up. "One siders." He mumbles, and Buffy gets it right away this time.
Promptly, she punches out the nearest one to her and lands her stake in his back, making him dust bunny material.
"Okay." She says, trying to catch her breath. "One little piggy left and guess what Buster? You're gonna sing."
The remaining vamp only smiles before he sways his head. "Don't think so." He says just before he turns to dust.
"What the hell?!" Buffy exclaims as she slumps into the nearest chair, clearly wiped. "Suicidal vampires? What is this world coming to?"
"Buff, take a moment. I'm guessing the vamps in Lenwood aren't this sophisticated. And when was the last time you actually had to kill one? They're practically all platers nowadays." Xander says as he takes the seat next to her. Slowly, he notices Andrew and Dawn tip toe into the room before hearing Dawn's voice.
"So… which mirror is it?"
Xander frowns and exchanges a look with Buffy before he brings his eye to where Dawn is standing. "What do you mean, which one is—." He stops himself when he see two identical mirrors standing next to each other, leaning against the wall.
"Oh shit." Buffy sighs. "Now we know why these guys were here."
"They were trying to run off with the real one and leave us with a fake." Andrew says as he closely inspects both of them.
"And we'll never know the difference cause we couldn't even go through the original one in the first place." Xander sighs in a defeated manner.
"You mean like this?" Dawn says from the other side of one of the mirror's glass panel.
"Dawn!?" All three exclaim before they make their way to its face. "How'd you manage?!"
She just shrugs before she takes a look around. "I just kinda stepped through."
"The Key." Andrew proclaims proudly but they don't pay any attention to him.
"Dawn. There should be a door somewhere around there where Spike and Riley went through."
"I see it."
"Okay, now do you feel confident enough to go find them? They're after the Faerie."
"I dunno. How do I open it? Do you know? There's no doorknob."
Xander saunters off to the sideboard and picks up the old volume that Willow had been using previously. "Yeah, I think that the way through the door is wishing for it to be where you really want to be."
"What?"
"Basically? You gotta want to go where you want to go." Xander clarifies and off Dawn's look he shrugs. "Sorry, it's not more precise than that."
Dawn nods and lands a hand to where the others guess the door is situated.
"Dawn. Be careful." Buffy warns and Xander sees the youngest Summers nod before she disappears.
"Okay. So." Andrew slumps into a waiting chair and Xander and Buffy do the same.
"So?"
"What about Faith?"
Xander just lands a soft hand on Buffy's shoulder and is surprised to feel her shaking. "She'll be fine. She'll get her back."
"I know she will."
