Fic: Coming Apart (11/?)

["buffythebushkangaroo" <buffythebushkangaroo@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Spoiler Warning.

Spoilers for episodes:

17 - Normal Again.
18 - Entropy
19 - Seeing Red
20 - Villains

Hey, look! Feedback entropy! Woo!

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Anne-Lise.

--

"Did it work?" Warren asked as Andrew entered the crypt.
Andrew nodded, and Warren threw back his head in contrived evil 
laughter. Spike simply raised an eyebrow.
"See?" Warren gloated. "Didn't I tell you both that Jonathon was the 
weakest link? I knew he'd go running to Buffy." He whirled on 
Spike. "Now that the Slayer has other concerns on her mind, we're 
free to eliminate our real target."
"Yes!" Spike rubbed his chin. "Poor Rupert Giles..."

*

Buffy stared into Riley's eyes, and Riley felt a chill run up his 
spine.
"I'm going alone," she said. "And I don't want arguments. I don't 
want any masculine testosterone diatribes. I just want you to look 
after my sister so that I can do what needs doing."
Sam put a hand on Riley's shoulder. "We'll look out for her," she 
said. "You can trust us."
"I know," Buffy whispered. She seemed sad.
Xander stepped forward. "Do you want me to come watch your back?" 
he asked.
"Not this time, Xander." Buffy's voice seemed brittle. Bleak. "Its 
not going to be pretty." She looked up. "I may have to kill someone 
tonight."
"No!" Dawn screamed. "Buffy, no! They'll take you away! They'll..." 
She broke off as Riley clamped an arm on her shoulder.
"No," he said. "They won't." He looked up at Buffy. "Not as long as 
innocent bystanders aren't hurt. I have enough pull with the right 
people to take care of any fallout."
Buffy nodded. "I still have to go alone." She turned, and stopped 
as she saw Willow standing in the doorway. "Willow..." she trailed 
off as she saw Willow's eyes. Jet black.
"I'm going," she said, flatly. "You can come with me, or stay here." 
She turned and walked through the door.
Xander gulped.

*

Xander sat on the couch next to Jonathon. "So, what've you guys 
been up to lately?"
Jonathon shrugged. "Warren tried to mix n-spatial geodesic array 
patterns with sub-planar superstring theorem to circumvent Einstein's 
relativistic principles... You know, sort of make a working time-
travel machine. It didn't work."
Xander nodded sagely.
"What've you been doing lately?" Jonathon asked.
Xander sighed. "I was thinking about getting married."
"What, like with a real girl?"
Xander nodded.
"Cool."

*

"Willow?" Buffy asked plaintively. "Willow, wait up." Willow slowed 
down a touch, but still continued to stride determinedly forward.
"I have to do this," she said.
"I know."
"You won't talk me out of it," Willow added.
"I know."
"So don't even try."
"I'm not."
"You could try a little," Willow sulked.
Buffy grinned.

*

Rupert looked up as the door opened.
"Hello?" He called out, into the darkness.

*

"There's nobody here," Willow claimed as she peered into the gloom, 
magic enhancing her eyesight beyond the norm.
"Dammit," Buffy sighed. She whirled as her senses alerted her to 
someone standing behind her.
"If you're looking for Spike, he's not here." The newcomer stepped 
into the light revealing doggy ears and a bad skin condition.
"Oh, hi Clem." Buffy greeted. "Where is he?"
Clem thought. "Usually about this time of night he's standing under 
the tree outside your window," he said.
Willow gave Buffy a thoughtful glance.
"We'd better go."

*

Footfalls echoed in the darkness. Muffled laughter. The sound of 
tearing flesh;
The screams of Rupert Giles.

*

End Part 11.