Repost FIC: To Cross the River Styx (4a/?)

[PChazzman@xxxxxxx]

TITLE: To Cross the River Styx (4a/?)
AUTHOR: Chazzman
E-MAIL: Pchazzman@xxxxxxx 
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They all belong 
to Joss and the WB network. Please don't sue. 
SPOILERS: Open season on Season 4. This chapter centers on the events in 
'Hush'.
SUMMERY: I'm re-inventing season 4.
RATED: PG
DISTRIBUTION: Just ask me, please...
FEEDBACK: Is very welcome.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you again to all the wonderful people who have sent me 
feedback saying they are interested in seeing more. 


To Cross the River Styx

Chap 4a

"Willow!" sobbed Buffy softly as she looked into the coffin holding the body 
of her dearest friend. It had been found in the city morgue. No one knew 
how it had gotten there, or how long it had been there. It had just been 
discovered in one of the cabinets that was supposed to have been empty. Each 
of the morgue attendants had thought another person was working on her. 
Nothing was said for three days before someone asked when the body in cabinet 
15 was to be picked up.

Now Buffy stood beside her coffin, last in the line of mourners who had 
passed by to take one final look, before she would be buried in the cold 
ground. Buffy knew she had to move but she felt frozen as she looked down 
upon Willow's face. She leaned forward to place a light kiss on Willow's 
lips. "I miss you, Will." 

Her mind felt like it was in a daze. **They've over done the make-up** she 
thought. "Willow never wears that much make-up," she said aloud. 

"I'm sure it's for the best," said voice and she looked up in surprise to 
find Riley at her side. She had hardly seen him outside of class for the 
last couple of weeks.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked puzzled. 

"Ssh," said Riley. "There's a new sheriff in town. Better take your seat, 
the lecture's about to start."

Buffy looked over at the altar and found Professor Walsh instead of the 
Rabbi. She looked around, only to find herself in the crowded auditorium at 
UC Sunnydale. Riley and Buffy moved to sit down in the only open seats in 
the front row near the door.

"Death. The final frontier. Paradise, purgatory, hell. Who can truly say 
what happens to us when we pass on? Impressions of the afterlife have 
changed throughout history as theology has changed." As Professor Walsh went 
on, Buffy slowly tuned her voice out. The room seemed to darken until only a 
single spotlight shown down on Willow's coffin. Except it wasn't a coffin, 
it was a large, perfectly square, wooden box.

A soft humming began to intrude upon her consciousness. It seemed to be 
coming from the hall.

"Do you hear that?" Buffy said turning towards Riley. Riley however was 
listening as Forrest whispered something in his ear.

Buffy slowly stood up and headed out of the lecture hall. Riley watched her 
go and smiled as he whispered, "Along came a spider..."

As Buffy moved into the hall, the humming became a girl's voice singing a 
nursery rhyme.

"Can't even shout.
Can't even cry.
The Gentlemen are coming by.
Looking in windows,
knocking on doors...
They need to take seven
and they might take yours..."

Buffy turned the corner and saw a girl standing facing her at the other end 
of the hall. In her hands, she held a smaller version of the box that had 
been Willow's coffin. She continued singing.

"Can't call to mom.
Can't say a word.
You're gonna die screaming
but you won't be heard."

Buffy felt a presence behind her. She thought it was Riley, but when she 
looked behind her, a hideous grinning white face was all she saw before-

...she woke with a start in the lecture hall as Professor Walsh finished her 
lecture

Gathering up her notes and bag, Buffy moved with the rest of the students as 
they exited the hall. But her progress was interrupted when she bumped into 
Riley Finn. 

"Buffy!"

"Hello, Riley."

"Look I know I haven't been around much lately. It's just that something came 
up and Professor Walsh has been-"

"It's OK. I haven't really been one for company lately. Not like I've really 
had any time to go on a date or anything since..." she trailed off.

"Since Willow disappeared," said Riley in a subdued tone.

"Yeah."

"Can I...Would you like to go for a cup of coffee? Maybe talk a little."

"Uhm... no, sorry I've got a meeting to get to." 

"Oh well...uhm...maybe later."

"Sure. Later. But... right now, I gotta book. Kay?"

"OK" 

Riley watched her quickly walk off. Unseen, Willow stayed beside him for a 
moment, "It's OK. She likes you. It's just going to take a little time. 
Specially, with her hunting for me and the commandos and all." Willow 
frowned. "'Course if she does find me it's gonna be a depression-fest. 
Seeing as I'm dead and all."

Forrest came up. "Ri. Hey what's up?"

"Buffy," Riley said nodding toward the blonde girl who had stopped at a pay 
phone to make a call. 

"Oh. Yeah well, the Professor wanted us to round up Green and Metz and meet 
her back at the lab at 5. Right away."

As they walked off Willow shrugged and headed off after Buffy.

*****

Jude Law stepped into the lab where Professor Walsh and Dr. Ackerman were 
watching a monitor. "How's your monster today Doc?"

Professor Walsh refused to react to Jude Law's goading. She knew he did it 
to test her and she refused to play his games. Instead she answered his 
questions directly. "She has exceeded every single one of my initial 
predictions on her performance. The modified DNA has healed all of the 
surgical wounds, and her residual memory is far more complete than I had 
anticipated, alleviating many of the expected rehabilitation problems. In 
light of this we should be ready to return her in two more days."

"Really? Well that's wonderful. It's the type of news I love to hear. Now 
if only she performs as well in real life as she has in all your 
simulations." 

"She will. But in preparation for that, I wish to introduce her to alpha 
team. Tonight."

Jude leaned back as he pulled out a cigar. "That's fine. They were going to 
need to be informed in any case before we released her. But I'm going to be 
there to make sure they understand what's at stake."

*****

Buffy and Willow were bored. Actually Buffy was bored. Willow was 
embarrassed. This was the third Wicca group on campus who's meeting Buffy 
was attending. Thus far, however, all she had found were a lot of 
irritating, pseudo-hippie girls who spent their time talking about nature, 
menstrual cycles, Gaia, scented candles, womyn empowerment, male oppression, 
and, now, a bake sale as a fundraiser. None of which Buffy was interested 
in. She was looking for a witch, a real witch. 

Giles had found and attempted a locator spell only to have a rather nasty, 
little imp appear and run about the apartment whimpering, shrieking and 
urinating on everything. After the beast was dispelled back to the nether 
realms, Anya had the bad taste to point out that this was what happened when 
a man performed a spell design exclusively for a witch to cast. From the 
baleful glare Giles gave her it was apparent that he had been unaware of this 
stipulation of the spell, and Xander couldn't get her out of the now foul 
smelling apartment fast enough. 

So now Buffy had spent the last ten days hunting for a real witch and thus 
far coming up empty handed. In her search through Willow's papers, she had 
come across information on the campus Wicca groups and had decided to check 
them out. Unsure of how else to approach the subject, when Nancy, the group 
leader had asked about what else they could do as a Wicca group, Buffy had 
brought up the possibility of spell casting. As she was shot down for making 
such a 'non-empowering stereotype' suggestion, she noted who laughed and who 
didn't. On girl, a rather shy blonde had looked as if she wanted to speak up 
but had immediately retracted back into herself when she became the center of 
attention for starting to say something.

After the meeting, however, Buffy followed the girl and caught up with her 
outside.

"Hey," said Buffy.

"Uhm...Hello," Tara said uncertainly.

"Tara, Right?" 

"Y-Yes."

"I'm Buffy. Do you have a few minutes to spare?" 

*****

The four soldiers sat and stared in shock. 

"Woah."

"My God."

"!"

"This -This is wrong," said Riley. He was beginning to hyperventilate.

"You are in shock," Professor Walsh said calmly in what she hoped was a 
soothing voice. "I understand. It takes a while to accept, but when you've 
had time to absorb everything, you will see this is for the best."

"This is obscene!" Riley continued to protest. "How... How did you-?"

"Those details are not important," Jude Law harshly interrupted. "Dr Walsh 
and Ackerman have done this to save your collective asses, son. As well as 
this giving the Initiative a new lease on life. Or do you think we should 
close this project down because of one unforeseen accident?"

"No sir, but-" Riley started to say

"Miss Rosenberg is dead. It was unfortunate, but we are engaged in a war on 
our own soil that can never be declared, against an enemy that can never be 
made public. Ever think about how you would explain to the Rosenbergs that 
their daughter was caught in the crossfire while you were hunting a vampire?"

He paused to let his words sink in.

"Public pressure is bad enough with the girl missing and the rumors of 
military involvement, if we only returned the body who knows how bad an 
uproar may occur or what investigations may develop. Therefor we return the 
girl alive and apparently suffering from amnesia. She spends a few months 
establishing herself while things cool down, after which she will 'decide' 
that she must leave Sunnydale. Join a cult or something. That way she 
disappears again but without the questions directed towards this operation. 
Yes, there will still be questions about her kidnapping but blame for that 
will be directed elsewhere when she is found wandering in another city."

Riley looked down in defeat. "I still think this is a mistake."

"Well it's not your decision. Your only concern is to follow the game plan. 
Of the soldiers here, only the four of you are aware of Miss Rosenberg's 
demise. I trust, as per your instructions, you haven't discussed what 
happened to anyone. Family, friends, your local parish priest?"

The four soldiers shook their heads.

"Good. Then we will proceed with Project Resurrection and Willow Rosenberg 
will return home in two days."

~~~~~

End Chap 4a

TBC