Possible Fic for the Day

["C S Armitage" <soren_nyrond@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry if this offends, or is thought diss.

It's not really a song-fic, but the track's on a CD I use for company, and it spoke to me, about how if we aren't strong and work through what They doto Us, then They win. And even if I can't undo what's been done, or bringanyone back, perhaps I can write something that says that We aren't takingit lying down.

Anyway, here's what the muse sent, and maybe someone will like it and if not please feel free to delete it. But no flames, please.

And no Save The Snippets advert -- not today.


TITLE: Gotta Be (1/1)
AUTHOR: Soren Nyrond
DISCLAIMER: Two characters in this belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy -- I have respectfully borrowed them as exemplars, no more. If anyone wantsto complain about the other four, Certain People would probably like their names and addresses, in case they Know Something.
The song's copyright, but I'm just quoting it, for context, and any errors are mine 'cos I transcribed it from the playing disc, not any written medium.
SUMMARY: What if -- (11/09/01)
ARCHIVING:: If anyone wants it, they're mad and welcome
SPOILERS: None - none of this ever happened in the ME-world
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I only wish I hadn't had to write this. May your Gods Bless You (© Dave Allen)



  
You Gotta Be - Des'Ree
 
Listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds 
Try and keep your head up to the sky
 
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead, release your fears
Stand up and be counted
Don't be ashamed to cry
 
You gotta be bad
You gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser
 
You gotta be hard 
You gotta be tough 
You gotta be stronger
 
You gotta be cool
You gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
 
All I know 
All I know
Love will save the day
 
 
Herald what your mother said
Reading th' books your father read
Trying to solve the problems 
In your own sweet time
 
Some may have more cash than you
Others take a diff'rent view
My oh my
Hey 'ey
 
You gotta be bad
You gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser
 
You gotta be hard 
You gotta be tough 
You gotta be stronger
 
You gotta be cool
You gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
 
All I know 
All I know
Love will save the day
 
 
Don't ask no questions
It goes on without you
Leaving you behind 
If you can't the pace
 
World keeps on spinning - 
Can't stop it if you try to
The best part is 
Danger staring you in the face
 
Remember
Listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds 
Try and keep your head up to the sky
 
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead, release your fears
 
My oh my 
Hey 'ey
 
You gotta be bad
You gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser
 
You gotta be hard 
You gotta be tough 
You gotta be stronger
 
You gotta be cool
You gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
 
All I know 
All I know
Love will save the day
 
Gotta be bold
Gotta be bad
Gotta be wise
Gotta be hard
Not too too hard
All I know is
Love will save the day 


===========
Gotta Be
Soren Nyrond

"Oh, shit !"
There was nothing either of them could do - over half way to New York, mostof the way to asleep, then jarred awake by voices, to realise that there were three men, with guns, in the aisle: that the aircraft they were on was being hijacked.
Buffy's first thought was what she was going to do about it ? After all, she was the Slayer, with all the advantages that that bestowed. Then a vagrant flash of rationality struck here: her advantages would be no good if they were found out. That meant (she glanced to her side and saw Willow already inhaling) that her priority (mouth wide, eyes (proportionally) wider) was to prevent Babble-Mode taking over.
She pulled her friend down, and closed her mouth the best way she could think of - with her own. Then another thought struck her.
When Willow relaxed, Buffy raised her mouth fractionally and whispered "Hush - if they find out who and what we are."
"We ?" Willow replied, breathily: "You Slayer; me - "
"Me Slayer, yes - you numera una witch-girl, and just as deadly." She wiggled her fingers and recalled to Willow's mind the vamps (quite a few now) who hadn't known pencils, tent-pegs, fence-stakes, and (once, exhaustingly) a Ren-Faire wooden replica boar-spear could fly through the air if this Rosenberg wanted them to.
 
Okay - strategy: divide and conquer. She needed to get them apart and takethem one at a time, but without the others knowing.
She was halfway to a plan, when another thought forced its way to the frontof her mind.
"I'm going to have to do something," she whispered.
"I guessed you would," Willow said. She'd seen 'strategy-face' often enough now: Buffy looked - well, sweet - when her eyes unfocussed like that. A bit like when --- no, that wasn't a place to go to right now.
"But I can't ask you to - "
Willow put her finger over the Buffster's lips.
"Don't ask: just count me in."
Buffy's eyes widened and Willow quickly explained.
"I don't think they're here to invite us to a reception and banquet - in fact, given they're terrorists of come sort, I'd say it's a good chance they'll kill us one way or the other. I'd rather they didn't, and you're the best ay I know of sorting that. So, if it's die for nothing, or die trying to not die . well . "
"That's my Will." This time the kiss was heartfelt, on both sides.
 
One of them was right at the front, in business class; one was at the break-through, by the curtains and the economy class video screen, and the last one was at the back. And a quick word with neighbouring passengers disclosed the fact that there had been a fourth man, who'd headed for the cockpit,taking one of the three stewardesses with him, while the other two were being kept up in business, presumably as spares in case the first girl had tobe . well .
 
"Okay - then we get one chance: once we start we just keep going come what may.
"First is that guy at the back - we'd never get past the one in the middle and he's got two people watching for him, while Back-Door Charlie has only Mr. Middle-Man."
She glanced round and inspiration struck her.
"The toilets," she said. Willow blushed. Well, it mightn't have actually been a Mile High, but when life gave you a lemon, you tried to make lemonade.
"They're back of him - you just got a stomach-ache - a real bad one - the runs, everything. Go, I'll help you."
 
All 'Back-Door Charlie' saw were two teenage-ish girls, one supporting the other.
"She needs the . the . "
Even if they were going to kill everyone, he saw no reason to be unreasonable - and he remembered what his baby sister had used to smell like when shegot food poisoning and couldn't control herself.
They went through to the toilets - he checked that was where they went - and he relaxed a little. Then the blonde was back.
"She needs help - you have to come."
It ought to have been the stewardesses' job - but Rafael had taken them to the front. He would have to . he waved to Lucaz, in the middle of the aircraft, to indicate he had to go astern, and went to see what .
The towel went round his throat, then one of the metal containers the hot meals had been in was smacked down hard on his skull, a second towel muffling the noise.
There was electric flex in an emergency locker, and Buffy used that, the towels and her Slayer muscles to see that their first of their victims could neither move nor speak.
 
"Okay - now we need the second guy. And he knows his friend came to see tosomething."
"So he'll be on the alert," Willow said.
It needed thought - and quickly.
 
Lucaz was worried - Rafael had moved too soon: they were still an hour out of New York - they should have waited until the last second, so there was no risk anyonce could do anything to stop them.
And now Raschid had vanished. Two d*mn girly-girls - typical of Ras: always his eyes on the .
One of the girls - the red-head - had just pushed her way through the curtain from the back. He couldn't see where the other one was, and there was no sign of Ras .
He hesitated, then decided to move a few rows down, to try and get a betteridea of what was going on. He glanced back, at business class and the door through to the cockpit. Brunn was there, with the stewardesses, and apparently listening to something Raf was saying from the cockpit.
Lucaz shrugged - it was only a girl . this would only take a minute.
He'd just moved out of Brunn's sight-line, when he became aware that something was moving on the other aisle. Then the red-headed girl coughed. He glanced back at her, and saw that she had straightened up. Then a hammerblow smashed down across his arms. Somehow the other girl - the blonde - had vaulted clean across the intervening seats and kicked his gun .
Her things were round his chest and her hands at his throat. There was noise . or silence . or .
 
The gun bounced once on the carpet, and then a man in a business suit slammed his foot on it. Other passengers sat frozen, as Buffy choked the sensesout of 'Mr Middle-Man'. Once the gun was gone, Willow moved closer and twisted her fingers, and one of her little sound-proofing spells enveloped the fight, muffling the sound of drumming heels. Then it was over, and she could release the spell, and let Buffy say, softly, to the other economy passengers: "It's up to you to keep him quiet."
The man with the gun offered it, but Buffy waved him aside.
"I don't need that," she said. "We work a different way."
She turned back to Willow.
"Two down, two to go."
"I can take care of one of them," Willow said, with confidence. "I'll takehis gun -- you'll just need to hit him." Buffy nodded, her mind already calculating again.
"How near will you need to be ?"
Willow smiled awkwardly: "I think I could do it from here, if I had to."
"Could you pull a darkness stunt as well ?"
Willow thought about it, and nodded. What was the option ? The longer they .
Buffy poised herself, and then whispered "Go for it."
 
Brunn was wondering where Lucaz was. But he didn't dare leave his post, and he didn't want to disturb Rafael if there was nothing .
It felt as if some kind of strongman had wrenched his gun from his hand. It shot, like a missile towards economy, apparently under its own power. Hewas just breathing in to shout, when he was rushed, and a coat, snatched up by Buffy as she passed it, thrust over his head.
He punched out, half-blind, and hit something. Then the coat was pulled back briefly and his eyes doused with a blindingly acid liquid. Vaguely, as the darkness descended again, as his head was smashed against the carpeted floor, and then against the end of a seat, again by strength he hadn't through anyone short of airline security had (and Rafael had seen to it that the only sky-cop had received a drugged coffee) and he struggled to think through the pain, he heard Rafael's voice. They couldn't all have been taken out, then - it would just take a couple of shootings and .
 
The sound of a scuffle drew Rafael's attention. He issued a curt warning to the flight crew to follow the instructions he had given them, and then went to see -
A young woman was crouched over Brunn, savagely beating his head - Brunn's gun was nowhere - Rafael raised his own automatic and he had just time briefly to glimpse another girl standing by the break-through to economy class before utter darkness enveloped him.
Then someone was pulling his legs from under him, and stabbing fingers intohis windpipe and eyes. He wriggled and managed to get half-away, only to be hit by someone else.
 
Brunn had no idea what was going on, but when someone bumped into him, he struck out, even from his prone position. The coat still swathed his head and the Scotch was still making his eyes water copiously but he was determined to make his mark -
It felt as if a shed had dropped on his head this time. He heard Rafael say something but the sense was lost in the confusion.
 
Buffy had time to withdraw a little and Willow managed to get to her side.
"Lend me your hand," the witch said, her expression slightly strained. Buffy reached out, and felt energy drain from her form a few seconds. Then Willow's face returned to normal and she tugged Buffy away.
"They won't wake up for at least an hour," she whispered.
 
Other passengers were joining in now. Two young executives were putting the boot in to Rafael's ribs, and the stewardesses had let the flight deck know what was going on, and the first officer had come to sort things out. Then most of the business passengers seemed to want a share in the retributive violence.
 
 
In the melee Buffy and Willow worked their way back to their seats, and cuddled up. 
"I don't suppose you could - zap - us back after we've finished seeing Giles's friend ?"
"Sorry, lover," Willow apologised. "Not in my repertoire. But wait till we get to the hotel and I'll make it up to you."
"It's a deal," the Slayer replied. "Some love'll save the day."
 

FIN