Fic; I'm Free

[Jim_D_Means@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Disclaimers; 
Joss rules, the Emmy Nomination committee drools. He owns the characters, Kenny 
Loggins owns the song, I own a framed photo of Tom Baker and a model TARDIS.

Rating; PG-13. More because of some violence and some suspence.

Author's note; 
This is a sequel to Honoured Fool's "I Hate My Stupid Job" Sonfic (the one with No Doubt's 
"Don't Speak" in the background, where Buffy and Willow drift apart). I thought that story 
was rushed, and decided that there was more to their break-up than Willow's "I'm not in love 
with you anymore" line. Besides, I wanted them back together. So my fevered brain came 
up with this little pastiche. Much gratitude lain at the feet of Honoured Fool. And give those 
Riley-shaped fungus demons a hit for me!

Summary;
Willow's gone. Which is just what Angelus wanted. But don't count out true love yet...

The song "I'm Free(Heaven Helps the Man)" written by Kenny Loggins and Dean Pitchford.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I'M FREE
Written by Kirayoshi
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

She was gone.

The blond woman couldn't believe what was happening. She just got off the phone with 
Willow. Her best friend, her lover, her Willow, had left her. She had said goodbye.

Buffy wandered through her dorm, the one she used to share with Willow. She noted her 
furnishings, her computer, her CDs, all her personal belongings. Willow had said that she 
would send someone for them. She had said she was no longer in love with her. She had 
said it was over.

Like Hell, thought Buffy.

She knew that things weren't easy between them the last few months. They had fought 
constantly, about little things mostly, but Buffy couldn't believe that she and Willow would 
end up like her parents. Willow owed her more of an explaination than simply "I've fallen out 
of love with you." She was once her life, her heart, her soul. She knew that she hadn't been 
that good at showing it recently, but she vowed that she would do all in her power to win 
Willow back. She would prove herself to her. She would never take this red-haired 
goddess for granted again.

She was not giving Willow up, not without a fight.

Looking into your eyes I know I'm right,
If there's anything worth my love it's worth a fight.

"Xander, I need a lift out of town."

Xander was amazed to hear the voice of his lifelong friend on the other end of the line, 
sounding as though the hounds of Hell were on her heels. "Willow? What is it?"

"I've left her. I'm leaving Sunnydale. I can't come back." She sounded as though her heart 
had broken beyond the capacity to heal itself. She sounded resigned to a hellish fate. 
Defeated.

"Okay, Wills," Xander spoke in measured tones to his friend. "What's really happening. I 
know that you and Buffy have hit a rough patch, but I know that she loves you. Christ on a 
minibike, Wills, you should have seen the terror in her eyes when you were kidnapped by 
Angelus--"

"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" Willow screamed. "I just want out of 
Sunnydale! Away from Buffy!"

Xander didn't speak for ten seconds. Willow started to wonder if he had hung up or if the 
line was disconnected. Then she heard him say, "It's Angelus, isn't it?"

Willow bowed her head in shame. "He said he'd use me to hurt Buffy. I couldn't let him hurt 
her--"

"So you decided to hurt her yourself?" Xander's voice rose in anger. Anger at Angelus for 
playing with Willow and Buffy like chess pieces, anger at Willow for falling for it. "And now 
that you're out of the picture, what's going to stop Angelus from going after Buffy himself?"

Willow gasped as Xander's words registered. "Oh Goddess, I didn't think--"

"Yeah, I noticed that," Xander replied, without any sign of condescension. "Fear does that to 
you. I'll pick you up, but you're not leaving Sunnydale, got it? We've gotta find Buffy before 
Angelus does."

"I'll be waiting," Willow vowed as she and Xander hung up. She prayed to her diety, Dear 
Goddess I hope Buffy's waiting as well.

We only get one chance, 
But nothing ties our hands. 

Buffy needed to get out of the dorm, to formulate a plan, to figure out how to win Willow 
back. She needed to think, to breath, to exert herself. She needed to Slay something.

Whetherly Park had been quiet lately, since word got out that Angelus was back in town. 
Since the moment a few months ago, when Cordelia had called from L.A. to warn Buffy that 
her once-lover Angel had been stripped of his soul by an evil demon, and that his demonic 
self Angelus was headed for Sunnydale, Buffy had felt anxious, jumping at shadows. This 
was when her fights with Willow had started. "Damn you, Angelus," Buffy cursed under her 
breath. She wasn't sure how to do it, but she knew that the first step in connecting with 
Willow was eliminating Angelus. After that, she wasn't sure, but she figured begging would 
be involved.

"Hello, Lover," a sinister voice issued from behind the trees. "Miss me?"

"Angelus?" Buffy called, her body shifting into battle stance with practiced ease, Mr. Pointy at 
the ready. "Show yourself!"

"Come and get me, Buffy," the voice chided. "You know how the game is played." Buffy 
stalked carefully toward the copse of trees where the voice was heard, her ears sensitive to 
every sound around her.

"I must say, I played you two like a Jimi Hendrix guitar solo," the vampire continued. "The 
moment I blew back into town, I knew that you would be nervous. Must have been hard on 
your relationship with that little love-slut of yours."

"Keep talking about Willow like that," Buffy hissed, "you're just giving me an excuse to hurt 
you harder before I stake you."

"And of course, once I started sending Willow those death-threats," the voice droned on, like 
honeyed battery acid, "well, that was enough for her to close up, to shut herself off from you. 
I mean, why go through the trouble of causing you pain when I can make your lover hurt you 
far more?"

"What did you do to Willow?" Buffy shouted. She was getting closer to the voice, she could 
sense it. Just past that next tree. Just keep him talking.

"And now she's out of your life. Oh, I'm sure if you had time, the two of you would figure it 
out, get back together. But, of course, you don't have time, do you?"

Buffy located the tree, and ran toward it, stake raised. She stopped suddenly, mentally 
slapping her head for being so foolish as to fall for Angelus' ploy. A boombox, wired to a 
pound of grey substance that resembled modeling clay. Plastique, Buffy guessed.

"Don't worry," the recorded message finished, blaring out through the CD player's speakers. 
"I'll dispatch Willow as soon as you're gone. This message will self-destruct in five seconds. 
Taking you with it, of course."

Buffy immediately ran as though demons pursued. Mentally counting to five as she ran, she 
dove for cover, just a split-second before the plastique ignited. The blast knocked her 
further away, but she was far enough from the explosion. She turned around, witnessing the 
burning trees, the devastation caused by Angelus' obsession with her. 

You're what I want, 
Listen to me; 
Nothing I want 
Is out of my reach.

She heard a tire scream, and looked up to see Xander's car pulling up in front of her. 
Xander popped open the rear door, and shouted, "Get in!" 

Buffy piled into the car, saying, "Thanks, Xander."

"Don't thank me," Xander answered. "Thank your girlfriend. She guessed that you'd be 
here, and that Angelus would be setting an ambush." 

Buffy looked toward the seat next to her for the first time, and saw Willow. Her jade green 
eyes stared plaintively at her, her hair disheveled, her frame sagging with the weight that 
Angelus forced her to bear. Buffy forgot the anger that had existed between them and 
scooped the redhead up in her arms, allowing Willow to sob freely, relieving her of the 
terrible burden she had carried for so long.

As she comforted Willow, Buffy silently swore, "Never again, Angelus. For Willow, for what 
you've done to her, you go down tonight!"

I'M FREE!
Heaven helps the man who fights his fear, 
Love's the only thing that keeps me here. 
You're the reason that I'm hanging on, 
My heart's staying where my heart belongs. 
I'M FREE!

The three friends sat in the car, as it was parked next to a sign reading "You are now leaving 
Sunnydale. Please Come Again." Buffy had Xander park the car while they discussed what 
to do about Angelus. Willow was finally able to speak coherently without crying, and did so. 
"It was Angelus all along, Buffy," she declared miserably. "He threatened to turn me, to 
make me a vampire, to make me kill you. He hounded me every night, letting me know that 
he could strike me at any time. I didn't feel safe, I didn't feel like I'd ever be safe. I guess I 
figured as long as Angelus could get to me, I knew that you'd never be free of him."

"So you tried to sever it with me," Buffy reasoned, as she stroked the hair away from 
Willow's eyes. "Oh, honey, why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid, Buffy. He said that he'd kill you, Xander, my parents, everyone I ever loved." 
She sniffled back a tear, "That's why I tried to convince you that I didn't love you. I wanted 
to get away, to keep Angelus concentrated on me. I was going to run away tonight, after 
leaving you."

"Hate to say it, Willow," Xander intoned ominously, "but I think that was Deadboy's plan all 
along. Scare you into breaking away from Buffy, thereby distracting her so she'd be easy 
pickings."

Willow sunk her head, feeling worse by the second. "He's right, Buffy. Angelus used me to 
hurt you, and I fell for his line all the way. Can you ever forgive me?"

Buffy hugged Willow tighter, whispering in her ear, "You never need to ask, Willow. I will 
always forgive you. But we can make up more formally later." 

Running away will never make me free, 
And nothing we sign is any kind of guarantee. 

Buffy disengaged the hug, and turned toward her other fellow Scoob. "Xander, Angelus is 
probably holed up in his old mansion. I want you to drive me to within three blocks of the 
place, just far enough that he won't hear the car coming, then take Willow, get Mom, her 
folks, Giles, Anya, and get the hell out of Dodge." Xander started to protest, only to be cut 
off by Buffy. "I'm taking him down tonight. And I need to know that my family and friends 
will be safe before I face him. Angel is gone forever, I owe it to him to destroy Angelus, so 
his soul can rest. Maybe then," she glanced at Willow, still leaning on her shoulder, "we'll all 
be at peace."

Xander agreed without further protest, and drove Buffy to her destination, within walking 
distance of Angelus' lair. Buffy got out of the car, and Xander handed her a sword and a 
crossbow. "Kick his butt," he exclaimed.

"Thanks," she said as she accepted the weapons. She turned to Willow, who stuck her head 
out of the car window, and said, "I'll be back soon. Then we can start over."

"I may not have been able to let you know before," Willow whispered, "but I do love you." 
She took Buffy's head in her hands, and kissed her lips. She then took her weapons and ran 
to face the enemy.

Xander pulled away, and drove toward the Rosenberg's house, to pick up Willow's parents. 
He made it one block when Willow shouted, "STOP!"

Xander slammed on the brakes, saying, "Y'see, I knew you were going to do that. You're 
gonna go after her, right?" Willow nodded her head. Xander sighed, "Just as long as Buffy 
knows I had no choice in the matter, I don't want her gunning for me after she takes out 
Angelus."

"I'll tell her I used the resolve face on you. You didn't stand a chance. She'll believe me. Got 
any more weapons?"

"A couple of stakes and another crossbow in the trunk. Help yourself." He popped the 
trunk, as Willow rushed out of the car. Grabbing the weapons, she slammed the trunk lid 
down, and waved Xander off, thanking him for his help.

"Just stay alive, Willow," Xander said as he pulled away. "I don't want to be on Buffy's hate 
list." 

Willow watched as Xander sped off, and then turned toward Angelus' mansion. "Just save 
some whup-ass for me, Buffy."

But I wanna hold you now,
And I won't hold you down.

Buffy rushed the entrance to Angelus' mansion, ramming the door down with her shoulder. 
"Knock, knock," she shouted. "Avon calling!"

"Hello, lover," a voice echoed from every direction at once. Buffy couldn't pinpoint the 
direction from which Angelus' voice could be heard. "Hello, and goodbye!" His attack was 
sudden, vicious and brutal. Buffy was knocked off her feet, and sent sliding across the floor. 
"You have no idea," Angelus spoke in that infuriatingly soft voice of his, "how glad I am you 
survived my little trap. It will be so much more satisfying to kill you myself!" She just barely 
dodged the sword as it landed hard on the floor next to her head. 

"Slipping in your old age?" Buffy goaded her adversary on, as she pushed herself off the 
floor, and into a crouched position. Angelus' first attack knocked the crossbow out of her 
hands, but she still had her sword. She held her weapon in both hands, glaring at Angelus, 
seeing not the sensitive man who she once loved, but the monster who killed Jenny Calendar, 
who terrorized her friends and family, who made Willow's life a living Hell. She couldn't think 
of a more fitting punishment than to send him back to Hell.

"Tonight, you die," Angelus sneered as he swung his sword, each thrust deflected by Buffy's. 
"Then I'll kill your friends. I'll save Willow for last, of course. Maybe turn her. I'm sure 
she'd be more appreciative of what I can do for her, once that little problem of her having a 
soul is eliminated."

Buffy ran her sword at Angelus, shouting, "Don't you dare say her name! Keep your filthy 
lips off of my Willow!"

"And what are you going to do about it?" Angelus fought more savagely, keeping Buffy on 
the defensive. Soon, he managed to cut deeply into her left and, forcing her to let go of the 
sword. 

He then slammed his sword into a decaying pillar, with enough force to knock it over. The 
ceiling beams that the pillar supported fell around Buffy, and the ceiling caved in around the 
two combatants. When the dust had cleared, Angelus stood over Buffy's body. She bled 
slowly from several cuts and scrapes. Her right arm was pinned under a beam. There was 
no way she could block Angelus' next blow. And her enemy was advancing.

"This looks familiar," Angelus mused. "Weren't we at a similar impasse all those years ago, 
when I summoned Acaltha? And here you are again." He strode forward, casually swinging 
his sword. "No weapons. No friends. No hope. Strip all that away, and what's left?" He 
raised his sword, preparing to deliver the killing blow.

I'm shaking the past,
Making my breaks, 
Taking control, 
If that's what it takes. 

A sharp pain in his right arm knocked the sword out of his hand. A projectile of wood, the 
bane of vampiric life. He spun in agony, facing the entrance of the mansion.

Willow Rosenberg stood before him, a crossbow aimed at his heart, her fear replaced by 
steel resolve, her shyness erased by her righteous anger at the demon who dared part her 
from her love. "Me," she answered Angelus' question before pulling the trigger of the 
crossbow.

The bolt pierced Angelus' heart, causing him to open his lips in a silent scream of rage, before 
his body dissolved into ash.

Willow rushed to Buffy's side, and tried to lift the beam off of her. She managed to lift it a 
centimeter, which was enough for Buffy to get leverage and slip her arm out. 

(I'M FREE!) 
Heaven helps the man who fights his fear,
Love's the only thing that keeps me here. 
You're the reason that I'm hanging on, 
My heart's staying where my heart belongs. 
(I'M FREE!) 

As Buffy stood up, Willow examined her arm. "You should see a doctor," she suggested. 

Buffy tested her arm, feeling the soreness and strain. She pulled a tendon, but the bone 
wasn't broken. "Normally, Wills," she winced from the pain, "I'd argue with you. But under 
the circumstances, I'll take you up on it." She looked at Willow, appraising the woman who 
just saved her life. "You shouldn't have come back, but I'm glad you did." And she went to 
embrace her.

"I had to come here," Willow answered as she returned the embrace. "I had to free myself 
from Angelus."

"Well, you're free now, Wills," Buffy smiled. "We both are. Thanks to you."

Two women stood together at the wreckage that was once the home of Angelus. Their 
nightmare was over. Against impossible odds, and an implacible foe, they had found each 
other again. They were together. For good.