By Goddess Isa
SUMMARY: It's the fourth part of 'To Have And To Hold' - WOOHOO Four down - three to go. Four if you count the alternative ending - Buffy and Angel finally find out where the Thousand Eyes is located, but will they be able to destroy it?
SPOILER: Basically, this hints on ALL the Buffy & ANGEL eppys so far, because there will be some flashbacks during the series, I hope. SPECIFICALLY Pangs & I Will Remember You though.
FEEDBACK: Please, I'd hate to have to Slay for it. =P
RATING: TV-14
DISCLAIMER: In case you didn't know, all the characters I'll mention (probably) belong to David Greenwalt and Joss Whedon. I am SO furious at the both of them right now, I cannot even tell you. This stuff also belongs to all the writers that have ever written for both shows. The song, 'Rattlesnake' by Live, is only in this 'cause I wanna use at least one song in each fic. I'm odd. =) The name 'Corescant' sort of belongs to George Lucas, if I spelled it right. If not, it's just inspired by him
//Let's go hang out in a mall
Or a morgue
A smorgasbord
Let's go hang out in a church
We'll go find Lurch
Then we'll haul ass down through the Abbey
Is it money, is it fame
What's in a name, shame?
Is it money, is it fame
Or were they always this lame?\\
Cordelia wasn't enjoying herself. Much.
All right, she was a little. But wasn't this a stupid thing to be doing on a Friday night? Sure, she didn't have much else to do and this was certainly better than walking into the Bronze without a suitable date or going back to her hotel and having Doyle gawk at her. But it was just so....high school.
There weren't even enough of each color to go around, they had to share.
"Right hand, red," Willow called.
The mass of giggles on the map all reached out with their hand, and all promptly fell into a pile of arms, legs and fangs.
"I win!" Xander declared.
"You do not!" Doyle said. "We all fell, so there is no winner."
"I won because I'm not spread out like some..." Cordelia met Buffy's eyes. "There isn't a winner."
"Yes, I won, because I'm on top!" Xander said.
"You can be on top of me anytime." Anya said helpfully.
"Get off of me." Angel said.
"No."
The former vampire licked his teeth. "You know, these are still pretty sharp. Buffy won't mind if it's only a *little* bite..."
Xander got up and Buffy followed, then Cordelia, Angel, Anya and Doyle. Spike was left on the bottom, still spread out like an X.
"Are any of you going to help me out?" he asked. "The chains won't let me move."
"Good," Buffy said.
"Thanks for playing," Willow added, giggling.
The phone rang and everyone looked at each other, none of them too enthused with the idea of going upstairs and answering it.
"I'll do it," Buffy offered. "You guys clean all this shit up." there were peanut shells everywhere from a food fight earlier in the evening. "And Willow?"
"Hmm?" she pretended to be innocent.
"Don't feed Spike."
"I wasn't gonna feed Spike." she mumbled, unable to make eye contact with Buffy.
"Right." The Slayer took the stairs two at a time and arrived in the kitchen on the forth ring. "Hello?"
"Buffy."
"Giles, what is it?"
"Is everyone there?"
"Yes."
"We've located the Thousand Eyes."
Everyone was pacing through Giles' living room while he spoke on the phone to an acquaintance at the Council. Buffy was biting her nails and had never realized how truly small the room was before.
Spike was chained to a chair, obviously, and Anya had put a stack of books in his lap so she could lay out on the coffee table. Xander was in the chair across from her, and Willow across from him.
Doyle and Cordy sat at the benches by the kitchen island, both trying desperately not to stare at the other one.
Buffy had Angel beside her on the couch, and he looked as nervous as she felt.
"Very good. Thank you. Yes, to you as well. Good day." Giles hung up and Buffy practically knocked him down.
"What? Where? What?"
"Calm down, Buffy, and I'll tell you."
Buffy took her seat next to Angel and after a powerful glare from Giles, Anya got up and joined them. The Watcher sat on the table and began talking.
"When I was a Watcher in training, I didn't have many friends outside the Council. A woman named Sophia Evans became my closest pal, and we were quite inseparable.
"The year before I was called as Buffy's Watcher, Sophia was brutally murdered by a pack of vamps. Her husband, a powerful warlock who often worked with the Council, took the matter into his own hands and killed all of them, and then some. I would've thought they would've been glad to be rid of them but the Council thought otherwise. They fired Rain--"
"His name is Rain?" Anya asked.
"Yes," Giles didn't see what point it made.
"I think I cursed his brother a couple of years back."
Giles let her reminisce and went on. "He and I have stayed in touch and he's kept some other contacts with the Council that have proved quite useful in the past. His friend is on a dig in Japan and--"
"The Thousand Eyes is in Japan?" Xander asked.
"Could I finish without an interruption?" Giles demanded.
"Yeah," they all mumbled.
"Thank you! As I was saying, the friend in Japan mentioned to a friend of his that we were looking for the Eyes and this friend, a man by the name of Harry Creed, says he knows where it is."
"Where?" Buffy asked anxiously.
"In Ireland."
"I knew that," Angel stood up and paced the room just a bit. "Galway, right?"
"Yes, how did you--"
"That's where I'm from." Angel's one sentence made it all clear to everyone in the room.
"Oh, boohoo. Oh bloody sad, the poor boy's remembering his home town." Spike joked, bored out of his mind.
Xander reached over and slapped him hard.
"Thank you." everyone in the room said.
"It'll never happen again so I had to do it once. You know, when he can't fight back."
"Giles, when do we fight this thing?" Buffy asked.
"I don't have anymore classes until January, so I'm ready when you guys are." Willow added.
"Wait just a minute. I am not going to send a bunch of children--"
Doyle cleared his throat and Giles noticed that the girls were all glaring at him.
"I am not going to send a group of young adults," he said those words carefully. "Into a foreign country to fight some stupid rock. It's absolutely insane."
"No, it's not." Buffy said. "It's what we have to do."
"Buffy's right. Not everything can be about following the rules." Willow said.
They all stared at her in shock.
"Rules are meant to be broken!" she said defensively.
"She's got a point." Xander said. "Can we break the no-taunting-Spike rule?"
"You come near me and I'll--"
"ENOUGH!" Buffy yelled. "This is my fight and I'll call the shots. Willow. Get on the Net and see what you can find out about flights to Galway. Angel. You and Doyle go find some idiot in the alleys and get us all passports."
"I have a real one." Giles said.
"Me too," Willow said quietly.
"Get the rest of us passports."
"Don't forget me," Anya said. "I'm coming because Xander is coming."
"We'll need pictures," Angel said as they headed for the door.
Buffy tossed a copy of their yearbook to him from Giles' desk. "Work it out from there."
He nodded and they left.
"Cordelia, go back to the hotel and get your and Doyle's luggage and bring it back her. Xander, Anya, go pack whatever you might wanna bring. I'll take care of me and Will and meet you all back here in an hour."
"What am I to do?" Giles asked, a bit annoyed.
"Go get some scones," Buffy suggested. "I think I'm getting hungry."
When the gang met up again, Giles had done more than buy scones. He'd gotten three large submarine sandwiches - one Italian, one vegetarian and one pizza - chips, ice cream and chocolate muffins.
"Nice spread, Giles." Buffy commented.
"I just felt in the mood for what you call 'pigging out'."
"Last meal?" Xander joked.
"I'd like a meal!" Spike yelled.
"You had some blood earlier, it'll have to be enough for you." Buffy said with a shrug. "We're not in the business of helping out vampires."
Angel cleared his throat.
"You're not a vampire!" Buffy yelled. "Not anymore."
"So the flights leave at midnight." Willow said. "We've all told our parents we're staying with each other, so if we get caught--"
"My mom's in Chicago." Buffy said.
"I don't have parents." Anya said. "I'm still not sure if that makes me happy or sad. I mean, I had them once."
"Mine don't care about me anymore." Cordelia added.
"That's not true," Doyle said gently.
She looked at him and smiled, and his entire body warmed.
"I booked us two large rooms in a hotel near the tunnels Giles' friend said to dig through. I'm assuming the Council is paying for everything?"
All eyes on the Watcher, he sighed. "I'm paying for it."
"No, I will," Angel said. "Just tell me when your credit card bill comes, I'll cover it."
"Angel--" Giles began but he silenced him.
"This is for Buffy and I, I'll take care of it."
"But how can you afford--" Doyle clamped a hand over Cordelia's mouth.
"Watch it," Xander warned. "She bites."
"I know." Doyle cringed in memory.
They finished ironing out the details and at Giles' suggestion, spread out to take naps before their flight.
"Who's going to take care of me?" Spike demanded.
"You'll just have to deal." Buffy said with a grin.
"I'll arrange for Michael to bring the blood to you once a day," Willow got up and went for the phone.
"Once." Buffy said flatly before curling up to sleep in Angel's arms.
The flight was long, and the Slayerettes did more moaning and whining than anything else. Only Giles stayed awake the entire time, reading book after book, studying various methods of rock destruction. Willow was intrigued by it but often fell asleep trying to read it.
After going through customs and gathering all their luggage, the gang was pooped. Giles found them a bus and they rode it to the hotel in silence. Arriving at Carriage House, the gang barely spoke to each other while picking up their room cards and dividing into two groups. The couples kissed each other goodbye (Anya copping several feels of Xander's ass) and went up to their rooms. They were connected, but Buffy doubted she'd be sneaking out to see Angel anytime soon.
"Who gets what?" Cordy asked when they entered the rooms. There was a room with two double beds and another room with a futon that didn't look very comfortable.
"I'll take the futon." Anya said as she stripped to her bra and boy-cut panties in front of everyone. She threw blankets out onto the couch-like bed and laid down. Very loud snoring filled the room within seconds.
When the remaining girls moved into the other room, Cordy said "I can't share. I need lots of space."
"I don't mind sharing a bed," Willow said.
"Congrats Cordy, you win." Buffy said.
Her royal Highness didn't bother thanking the others, she just took one of her bags and went into the bathroom.
"There's a dressing screen over there," Willow said. "You or me?"
"I don't even care. We're girls." Buffy unbuttoned her blouse and looked at herself in the mirror for a few moments. In the burgundy tank top and black pants she looked so different. It wasn't much like the usual way she dressed.
"Will?" she asked as she stripped down and pulled her tank top on, shivering. It was colder than she'd expected, so she threw a sweater her mom had stretched out by accident over top and began untying her boots. "Do you think I've changed?"
She came out wearing a long, plaid nightgown with Sylvester on it. "Oh yeah. You're more mature, you're serious about your studies, you--"
"I meant with looks and everything. I mean, is it a good thing? The blouses and tube tops?"
"Oh yeah. I like the way you dress, Buff. I wish I could dress that way."
"There is nothing wrong with how you dress." Buffy said as she crawled into the bed.
"But--"
"There's not," Buffy patted the pillow and laid down, her eyes already closing against her will. "You shouldn't try to change who you are because of Oz."
"How did you know?"
"I'm your best friend."
"'Night Buffy." Willow crawled in beside her.
"'Night Will."
Due to jet lag and the time difference, the Scooby Gang minus Giles slept until the next morning. The Watcher was up quite earlier looking over his books and talking to old friends in the neighboring towns. He didn't realize it, but Angel was awake, he just wasn't talking. He was sitting on the chair he'd chosen to sleep in, thinking about Buffy. About what they could have. The idea of a real future with her was the most amazing thing in the world, but something told him it was never going to happen.
Also heavy on his mind was being back in Ireland. A big part of him didn't want to be there. On the other hand....
There was something magical about being in his homeland. He wanted to show so many things to Buffy. He hoped they got the chance.
"So Giles, how do we vanquish this thing?" Buffy asked when they were sitting around a large table in a restaurant in the basement of the hotel. The food was good, and they were glad to have it, but Buffy had to admit she felt off being there. She thought it was because Angel was so quiet, but it could've been something else. All she wanted was to destroy the damn rock and take her lover home. She pictured them spending a quiet Christmas in his apartment, a small tree in the corner of the living room.
"Oooh, can we blow it up?" Xander asked happily.
"What is this? People think I need to blow at least one thing up a year to be happy?" Buffy asked.
"What's the procedure, Giles?" Willow wondered.
"We blow it up." he said flatly.
"Cool." Xander smiled.
"This isn't gonna kill a bunch of people, is it?" Anya asked skeptically.
"No, quite a few vampires though, I'd assume."
"Fine by me." Buffy said. "Where do we find this thing?"
"It's in the underground lair of a vampire named Corescant. He prays on blondes," Giles noticed Buffy making a face and cleared his throat. "He's an idiot, obviously, and he goes out at night so we should have no problem defeating his guards to set up the explosives."
"Explosives?" Doyle asked. "Can I be in on all this?"
"The more the merrier." Xander said.
"I thought we *were* all in on this." Anya said.
"You are, but--"
"Giles, when?" Buffy asked.
"Tonight. I suggest you all rest up, it could be quite a battle."
"Doyle and I will get the supplies." Angel said.
"Is there any magick involved?" Willow asked hopefully.
"No." Giles said, grateful that he wouldn't have to worry about her being right in the fray.
"When the dynamite's in place, we'll all haul ass out of there. I don't want any of you close to this thing except Angel and I." Buffy said flatly.
"Buffy--"
She cut her Watcher off, taking charge. "This is our fight. We're grateful for the help, but when it all comes down to it, this is about Angel and I. I'm not letting any of you risk your lives so we can get some."
The Watcher looked extremely uncomfortable as he finished his scrambled eggs.
"I'm too antsy to sleep," Buffy announced when the girls were back in their room.
"We could go shopping," Cordelia said. "I've got Doyle's credit card."
"I'm pretty sure it's maxed out, Cor." Buffy said.
"I'm off to find out." once she was gone, Buffy stared at the other two girls. "Can you guys do anything to help? I mean, I know what Giles said, but..."
"We're gonna do a location spell to try and keep us from trolling through the sewers later." Anya said.
"We'd better go find the stuff." Willow grabbed her bag.
"Raven feathers are pretty uncommon on this side of the globe," Anya mumbled as they left.
Buffy sat alone on the bed for a long time. She tried laying down, but it was just no use. After making sure in the mirror that she still looked presentable in her tank top, boxers and white socks, she knocked on the door connecting to the guys' room.
"Come in," Angel said softly.
Buffy peered her head in the room before entering. It was empty and the door to the larger room was open, making her assume they were alone. She joined him on the bed and sighed against his shoulder.
"Rough day?"
"Rough life, Angel. I'm so scared."
"Me too."
She snuggled against him, enjoying the feel of him, the way he smelled, like a combination of soap and one of those clothesline-scented detergent. "God, I love you." she whispered.
"I feel the same way about you." they began kissing, and Angel was in the process of sliding the straps of her tank top down when a vampire burst through the door to Angel's room, ready to attack.
The End
On to the next story, The Battle Continues
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