To Save A Vampire

Chapter Five

The next morning, Buffy’s spirits were lifted when she saw that Xander wasn’t around. She’d needed this since this whole prophecy thingy started. Now that she had taken care of her little boyfriend-stealing problem, everything should go back to the way it had been and, maybe the others would realize that she was Angel's true soulmate, not some small town loser like Xander.

As she walked into the library after school she was shocked to see that everyone was still looking through the books, still trying to decipher the prophecy. Didn't they realize it was all over?

"Excuse me, but what are you all doing?"

"We are still looking for ‘air's silver bowl’, why?" Willow asked.

"Oh, nothing. I thought you had that figured out last night is all," Buffy said quickly. They mustn't know about Xander yet. I wonder where he is if he didn't go to Giles’ or Willow's last night, she thought.

Just then Angel came in with another vampire who was carrying Xander like a damsel of old. He gently placed him in a chair Angel had brought out of Giles' office because it was more comfortable.

"My God, Xander. Who did this to you?" Giles asked, too stunned to even get up from his chair.

"Oh Xander, tell me he didn't do this. Please tell me he didn't," Willow said, as she started to weep. She had always known that Tony Harris abused Xander, but Xander always begged her never to report it because they would take him away from her, and that threat made her promise never to do it. But now, looking at him, she wished she had reported the abuse so she would never have had to see him like this.

Even Buffy was stunned at the level of violence that had been done to Xander. How one person could survive such a level of abuse and remain sane was beyond her imagination. Just looking at him made her cringe in sympathy and she didn't even know half of what had been done to him. To take her mind off it, she focused on the other vampire in the room.

"Angel, who is this new vampire that you brought here, and why was he carrying Xander?" Buffy demanded angrily.

"His name is Vic. He is an associate of mine and he saved Xander from becoming someone's late night snack by bringing him to my door last night." Well it was partially true. They didn't need to know it was Vic who had wanted the snack.

All the raised voices caused Xander to start whimpering from inside the blanket cocoon the two vampires had wrapped him in after putting him in the office chair. He tried to make himself smaller, but all that did was aggravate his injuries, causing him to whimper again. His voice was still non-existent after all the screaming he did the night before and the talking he did before he had fainted from the pain he was in, plus the short bout of talking this morning

Sensing how much pain Xander was in, Angel tossed Vic the keys to his car. "Take Xander back to where it is safe. Put him in the master bedroom and throw all the locks. It’s re-enforced so you two should be protected. You'll find supplies in the kitchen for both of you. He gets only liquids for awhile until his injuries are healed and we are sure there is no internal trauma."

"Good Lord, Angel, this boy needs to be taken to the hospital at once," demanded Giles, causing Xander to whine, start squirming and trying to get up.

Willow immediately rushed over to him, put her hand on his face, and started humming a wordless tune. After a few minutes of this, he stopped struggling and calmed down and everyone could tell that tears were falling from both their eyes.

Willow turned towards Giles, "We can't take him to the hospital. If they ever found out the extent of the abuse he has been through, they would take him away, and he would never live if he lost me. He made me promise never to tell so he wouldn't lose me. And I have never told a soul of the abuse, of the terror, or of the torture that man has used to make Xander grow up to be what Tony considered a man should be. It would make some cults look tame by comparison."

Vic quietly gathered up the weeping Xander and walked up the stairs to the stacks, Willow following only as far as the stacks, knowing she would be needed here.

"Angel, you’re going to trust that vampire to take care of Xander? You just let him walk off with our friend and, for all you know, he could have done all this as a way to get into our group," demanded Buffy.

"First of all Buffy, Xander already told me that Vic didn't do it. In fact, Vic helped him get to my place, thus saving him from any nighttime visitors. Also, this morning I managed to get part of the story out of Xander before his voice gave out again. It seems somebody told his father that he was trying to steal her boyfriend and asked that he tell him to stop and get his own boyfriend. Would you know anything about that Buffy? Because the boyfriend in question was called Angel!!" roared Angel.

"You told his father that he was stealing your boyfriend, and his father did this to him because of that," Giles said coldly; so cold that the words seemed to freeze as they left his mouth and fall to the floor and break.

Buffy pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin. "Well, yes. I noticed the extra bruising on Xander and I knew his home life wasn't the best so I took a chance that his father wouldn't like it that his son would be a fag, so I told him. I never imagined it would be this bad, of course. But the boyfriend stealing little loser learned his lesson, I bet," she said smirking, still not really comprehending the trouble she was in.

“Now let me get this straight. You knew Xander was being abused at home, your so called Xander-shaped friend, and you never told anyone?” Willow asked, her voice devoid of emotion.

“Well, ya, like it wasn’t my place or job to do it. It’s why we have teachers and stuff to watch out for that kinda thing. If they didn’t catch on why should I point it out?” Buffy huffed, still not paying attention to the other three, but instead going through her purse looking for something.

“Then, when you found about him and Angel having to marry, you decided to stop it by telling his father that he was trying to steal your boyfriend, knowing what might occur?” Willow’s voice rose just a little as a breeze started to stir in the room.

Angel and Giles noticed the change and started to move behind Willow so as not to be in her line of sight when she blew.

Looking at Giles, Angel whispered, “Aren’t you supposed to stop her from doing this kinda thing?”

“Normally I would, but I think this occasion warrants a little leeway. Besides, I’ve been meaning to see how powerful Willow really is, and what better time than now?” Giles replied smugly.

“Well, ya, Willow, I don’t know what the biggie is here. He is alive and I’m sure he learned his lesson. This prophecy thingy can be shelved and we can go back to being normal. Everything will be fine once he is healed. I’ll even talk mom into letting him stay with us until he finds a place of his own. I mean, I can’t have him staying at Angel’s after all the hard work I have put in to keep them separated now, can I?”

Buffy was so pre-occupied with searching for whatever she was looking for she didn’t notice the breeze had picked up or that it had a distinctive chill to it. She also didn’t notice that the windows had started to frost, nor did she take note that the glasses on the table were slowly freezing over.

Finally, finding what she was looking for, Buffy looked up at the three Scoobies, not registering the looks on their faces as truly hostile, but she did notice the drop in temperature in the library. “Man, Giles, I know that some of your books need the cold because of their age but this is ridiculous. Can you at least turn up the heat until the humans leave? Brrrrr!!” she complained.

“Oh, this temperature and breeze has nothing to do with the school’s air system, you little blond bitch. But rather, it has to do with my attempt to control my anger. If I didn’t have control right now you would be a little smear on the floor, and we would need a new slayer for the Hellmouth.”

“Why are you so angry, Willow? It’s not like I beat Xander and, from your reaction earlier, you knew about the situation far longer than I did, and yet you did nothing either,” snarked Buffy, as she filed her nails.

Willow flicked her right hand and the silver nail file flew from Buffy’s hand, embedding itself in the wall behind Willow, just inches away from Angel’s head. The men could feel the heat from the kinetic energy.

“LISTEN, very carefully. I was forced into promising never to tell about the abuse. We were both afraid of being separated. You, however, never made that promise. I never manipulated the situation to my advantage like you did. Do you not realize you could have gotten him KILLED?”

“But that’s just it, he didn’t get killed and I’m sure he learned his lesson.”

“Excuse me,” Giles said, “but Buffy you keep harping on this ‘lesson’ he should have now learned from this. Exactly what was he supposed to learn?”

“It’s simple, really. That Angel is mine and any attempt to take him will be met with swift and punitive force,” she replied, like it should have been common knowledge.

Everyone jumped and looked over to where Angel was standing. The chair he was standing behind was little better than kindling now. “Giles, I’m sorry. I’ll get you another chair as soon as possible.”

Waving it off, as if a replacing a chair was an everyday occurrence around there, Giles turned back to Buffy. “Buffy, you have done some very stupid and selfish things in the past, but this one, this one alone is unforgivable. I am going to make a request to the Council to have you tried in front of a triad for crimes against humanity, breaking the sacred rules that state thou shall protect humans. You went out of your way to cause the harm and near death of a human, a friend and colleague; someone who has saved your life at least once, if not more. As of now, you are to only associate with us on a professional level. Any other activity is strictly forbidden, and any attempts will be added to your list given by me to the council.

“I will also ask that the Boston slayer and her watcher be notified and moved here as soon as possible to replace you. I will, of course, inform your mother of your impending trip to England and why. I’m sure she will want to come along, as I will. So will the others; not for support, but to give testimony at your hearing.

“That is all for now. Leave my sight,” Giles ordered.

“But ---this –unfair----- you can’t----mother--,” Buffy tried to say.

“I can and I will, and I thought I told you to leave,” Giles growled.

“NO, Giles she doesn’t get off that easy,” Angel snapped. “You think we have a relationship. You think we are soulmates. You think I am your one and only. After what I have seen - - what you did to Xander - - I’ll cut off my dick before I sleep with you again, curse or no curse. There were things done to that boy that made the demon Angelus go quiet. Buffy, get this thought through your head; as of NOW there is NO us, there will never be an us again.”

“And if Giles can arrange it with out any problems, I will be there testifying at your trial against you, reporting what I found when I cleaned that boy up. Because of you, saving that boy’s life has now become ten times harder than before.”

“Good, if I can’t have you, then maybe Xander won’t either at the end - - or should I say in the end,” she laughed.

Giles quickly grabbed Angel before he could charge Buffy. He was already in game face. “No, Angel, she is not worth your soul or your way to redemption. Let the Council deal with her.”

“No Giles, let me deal with her. She will soon wish that she never heard of Tony Harris,” sneered Willow. Everyone looked at her and noticed that her eyes were totally silver.

“My word, I didn’t know she was that strong,” Giles mumbled.

“Normally, I’m not. But I have access to the anger in this room and my own to fuel me this one time,” Willow replied, as she floated up into the air.

“Oh, shit,” Buffy said as she slowly backed towards the doors, hoping to get out of there before Wicca Willow could deal with her, knowing instinctively that it wasn’t going to be good.

“Oh no dear Buffy, you’re not leaving yet.” Willow’s eyes flashed and the doors were sealed shut.

Buffy gulped and tried to talk Willow down, at least literally. “Now Willow, lets all sit down and talk about this. You don’t really want to spell me. I’m your friend, “ Buffy said, trying to play the one card that usually worked with the witch.

“But you hurt my bestest friend Buffy, and for that you must pay,” smirked Willow.

Everyone froze as she started to chant a spell no one had ever heard before:

From your sacred trail strayed you hath
Destroyed friendships lovely path
With lies, sorrow, distain, and pain
For the love you hoped to gain

Now because of my power
1/12 at the ringing of every hour,
Ye remember the terror and pain
All for love’s heart to gain

As Willow finished speaking, Buffy cried out, “NO, Willow!” and tried to dodge the spell, but a silver ball of energy came out of Willow as she fell to the floor, and rushed after the slayer, until it hit her in the chest.

Just as the clock struck 8 p.m., Buffy started to scream as she grabbed her head. “No, oh God, Dad, please stop… No more… Someone help me please… Daddy I won’t do it … No, not the lighter…”

“My God, Willow what did you do to her?” Giles asked, stunned by the sight of the crying and weeping slayer.

“Every hour on the hour for five minutes she will experience what Xander saw and felt during the time he was being tortured and raped by his father. She will not be physically harmed, but mentally, she might learn something of other people’s problems.”

“My God, that’s monstrous, Willow. You have to undo the spell. It will drive her insane,” ordered Giles.

“Giles, I can’t. Normally, I wouldn’t have the energy to put it on so I sure don’t have the energy to take it off,” explained Willow, as if talking to a small child.

“Willow, I have to admit that this one would even make Angelus proud to make you his Childe,” Angel said as he shuddered at the screams coming from the slayer.

The clock struck 8:05 and she stopped screaming, but continued to cry. “Willow, you have to take this off me. I can’t survive it.”

“Strange, Xander survived it and he didn’t have the advantage of slayer strength to deal with last night’s abuse, or the rest of what’s happened in his life. You will only have it for five minutes at a time so get use to it. Oh, and I would learn to sleep in short bursts if I were you,” Willow said harshly as she got up, unsealing the doors as she walked out.

The two men looked at each other and shuddered. They really didn’t want to get on the bad side of the little redheaded Wicca