FIC: Magic and Mayhem at the Rift (16/?)
Name: Magic and Mayhem at the Rift
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Buffy/Spike, Xander/Anya, Willow/Tosh, Gwen/Rhys, implied Owen/Faith
Warning: Crossover insanity, the presence of vampires and demons on the rift and some mature content. Character death (sort of).
Summary: The gang from Buffy come through the rift. Set after Torchwood episode Meat (2.04) and immediately after Buffy episode Older and Far Away (6.14) (just before the end, in fact), spoilers for all six seasons of Buffy and the first season of Torchwood. Also Spoilers for DW Utopia (3.11), Sound of the Drums (3.12) and Last of the Time Lords (3.13).
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, if I did there would be a helluva lot more of Jack and Ianto teasing each other. If I owned Buffy, which I don't, Xander and Anya and Spike and Buffy would be together forever (not to say they will be together forever in this fic *evil grin*) and Willow wouldn't have so much damn bad luck.
CHAPTER Summary: The rescue.
Well, so much for being cheerier. This story just *refuses* to become cheery again. Oh, well, I guess. Just remember, when you get to the end of this chapter, that 1) I believe in happy endings (which probably just gave my entire story away) 2) I don't like hurting Spike and 3) I watch Xena, Buffy, Torchwood and other TV shows where death means nothing (definately just gave my story away there. Damn.) Also, don't hate me for this chapter, please. It WILL get better next chapter. The next chapter is three quarters typed up (as I wasn't sure I wanted this chapter to ever see the light of day until I wrote 17) so will be out later today.
I repeat again: Please don't hate me.
~Chapter one~ ~Chapter two~ ~Chapter three~ ~Chapter four~ ~Chapter five~ ~Crack!fic smut (not required reading, but slots in here)~ ~Chapter six~ ~Chapter seven~ ~Chapter eight~ ~Chapter nine~ ~Chapter ten~ ~Chapter eleven~ ~Chapter twelve~ ~Chapter thirteen~ ~Chapter fourteen~ ~Chapter fifteen~
Friday 23rd February
17:24
“And this is why being the Slayer stinks,” Buffy announced, grandly, sat, up to her waist, in sewer filth. Owen and Martha glowered at her darkly for her pun. “If I was just a normal girl,” she said, “I’d be out with my friends on a Friday night. But, no, I’m sat in a sewer with a fang hole in my leg, unable to feel anything from the waist down.”
“Stop whinging about it,” Owen said, from where he was sat, idly banging his head against the wall behind him. “Willow and Tosh will be back soon ... they’ll bring help.”
“Owen, have you ever treated a demon’s poison?” Buffy demanded. Owen shook his head. “I thought not. So how do you propose to treat this?”
“Thought I’d play it by ear,” he said.
“You are not experimenting on me,” Buffy said, with a sigh.
“One good thing has come from this,” Owen pointed out, gesturing at the sewer and their injuries. Buffy glowered at him, daring him to continue. “You’ve lightened up a bit. You’re actually showing emotion.”
“Lovely! Now I can show emotion before I die! ... again!” Buffy exclaimed. They stared at each other for a moment, covered in sewer filth, bleeding in several places, arguing like there’s no tomorrow, and burst out laughing, hysterically.
Resisting the urge to wipe tears of laughter from his eyes, several minutes later Owen sighed contentedly and said, “They’ll be back soon.”
“They will,” Buffy replied.
17:31
“You didn’t tell me they liked to hide down here!” Willow hissed at Tosh, who just shrugged apologetically, never letting go of Willow’s hand, their combined magical power keeping them floating above the many, many sleeping weevils in the sewer below them.
“I didn’t think it was important,” Tosh replied as they landed, quietly, on the other side of the river of weevils, releasing each other’s hands, reluctantly.
“It isn’t relevant that ... oh, never mind ...” Willow sighed, deeply, waving her hand to light up the tunnel they were in. “Any idea where the nearest manhole is?” She closed her eyes in annoyance. “Tosh, you know I care about you, baby, but will you, please, stop sniffling!”
Their eyes locked. “I’m not sniffling,” Tosh said, quietly. Willow couldn’t quite believe how cliché it was, as they turned to look at the weevil standing right behind them, sniffing the air. “It can smell our blood,” Tosh said. “We should run ... now ...”
And run they did, fleeing down the sewers, Willow throwing bolts of energy behind her until they reached the nearest manhole. “Up here!” Willow said, waving her hands madly, trying to focus enough to remove the manhole from the inside.
Tosh clambered up the ladder first, getting to the top just as Willow moved the cover enough for Tosh to lift it up with no problem. As she lifted herself out of the manhole into the pouring rain of the streets above, Willow jumped onto the ladder, not expecting the weevil chasing them to do the very same thing and climb up behind her. Hands occupied, mind wandering, she was unable to cast a spell as she climbed out and got dragged into the road by Tosh just as the weevil grabbed her leg with its teeth, clambering out of the manhole behind her. She screamed, eyes turning black, energy exploding from her hands and burning Tosh, who released her hands quickly and drew her gun, aiming it at the weevil as it went for Willow’s throat.
17:28
Three minutes before.
“Lovely,” Xander complained as the heavens opened above them, the rain pouring down and drenching them through. “I hate Cardiff. I’ve been here five days and I hate it already.” He glowered up at the sky, blinking away raindrops. “It’s always raining ... it never stops.”
“It does sometimes,” Ianto pointed out. “We sometimes have a whole day without rain.” He restrained himself from grinning when Xander looked stricken.
“One day? One day without rain? Kill me now,” he moaned. “I was just kidding!” he spluttered, when Faith grinned evilly at him.
“Did you hear that?” Ianto said, stopping in his tracks and looking around.
“Hear what?” Xander asked.
“I heard a scream ...” Ianto held up his hand to stop anyone from speaking and looked around the streets. Seeing a flash of light in the distance he set off at a run, closely followed by Xander, Faith and Anya. They arrived at the manhole just in time to see a second weevil knock Tosh down, the first attacking Willow, who was fending it off with blasts of unfocused magic, her fear stopping her from focussing her powers enough to do any real damage.
“Tosh!” Ianto exclaimed, rushing forward to pull the weevil off Tosh and blast it with the anti-weevil spray. Tosh stood up, unscathed, and ran for Willow, helping Xander rip the weevil off her and throw it one-handed at Ianto, who used the anti-weevil spray and knocked it out to lie next to the other one.
“Tosh ... your eyes ...” Ianto said, nervously.
“Will ... your eyes, too ...”
Willow looked at Tosh, and vice versa, both noticing for the first time that each other’s eyes had turned black. “Are you okay?” Willow asked, ignoring Xander for the minute.
Tosh nodded. “Yes. Are you?”
Willow reached out to hug her girlfriend. “I’m fine ... I held a barrier between my neck and the weevil, something that also works well with vampires.”
“How long have you been off the wagon?” Xander demanded, putting two and two together and, for the first time in his life, making four, realising Willow had obviously been tutoring Tosh in magic.
“Yes, thank you, Xander, I’m fine,” Willow said, angrily. “Nice of you to ask.”
“I’m sorry, Will, but I’m freaking out here. Look what happened last time you did magic ...”
“I’ve been off the wagon since we got here,” Willow said, grandly. “I’m stronger than ever before and nothing bad has happened.”
“Yet,” Xander said. “Look, I’m just worried about you. I love you and I don't want to see you get hurt.”
Willow sighed. “I know you do, and I won’t. I’m in control of my powers and if I lose control I have you and this one” - she reached out and put her arm around Tosh, squeezing her against her side - “and Buffy to keep me ... Oh, God! Buffy!”
“What? What about her?” Xander said.
“She’s still in the sewers. The demon bit her through the thigh ... she’s getting worse. We have to get her out of there!”
Ianto nodded. “Where’s the SUV?” he asked.
Willow blinked. “Uh ...” She looked round at Tosh. “Can you show them to Buffy and the others?” Tosh nodded. “I’ll fetch the SUV and meet you here with it.” She spread her arms and vanished in a swirl of bright white light.
“That’s new,” Xander said, his eyes wide.
“We can talk about Willow’s wonderfulness later,” Tosh said, moving to go back into the sewer. “Right now we need to rescue Owen, Buffy and Martha. Faith, run back to the hub and let Jack know we’ll be coming in with injuries.” She sat on the edge of the hole and jumped down with a splash.
“The sewer. Why am I not surprised?” Xander asked Ianto, as they made to follow Tosh in, Faith running in the opposite direction, back to the hub. “Everything ends with a trip to the sewers ...” he muttered.
Ianto looked down at his suit for a moment, letting out a little moan. “Jack’ll owe me another new suit,” he said, as he splashed into the sewage below.
“Another?” Xander landed with a splash next to him.
“Jack has a habit of tearing mine to shreds,” Ianto pulled out a torch and turned it on, shining it through the darkness after Tosh.
Xander pulled a face. “I’m going to stop asking you people questions.”
17:43
“Owen,” Buffy said, in a small voice. “I can’t feel my right arm ...”
“The toxin is spreading,” Owen replied, reaching out and taking Buffy’s hand. “You’ll be okay, Summers. If something happened to you, who else would tell me off for swearing and yell at me randomly?”
Buffy squeezed his hand, closing her eyes. “I feel so useless,” she moaned. “I can fight demons ...” She caught Owen’s look. “... not one word ...” she warned. She groaned as she felt sewage dripping down her face. She wiped it away and then put her hand back in Owen’s, grateful for the comfort she got from it. “I’m not going to stop disliking you for this,” she told him, referring to the handholding.
“Wouldn’t want it any other way,” Owen said, with a grin, rearranging himself so that his sprained ankle was elevated.
“Is she going to be okay?” Buffy asked, softly, looking at Martha, who had lost consciousness a few minutes before and who Owen had been incapable of rousing.
“I don't know,” Owen replied, with a sigh. “I need to get her back to the hub where I can look after her.” He grimaced. “Jack would kill me if I let her die.”
“I’ll vouch for you,” she said. “I know you can’t do anything at the moment.”
“You’re not the only one that feels useless, you know,” Owen pointed out. “I wish I could help you, but all my medical equipment is in the SUV.”
“It’s okay,” she breathed. “It’s not your fault.”
“No, it’s your fault for throwing your bloody axe at that thing. I mean, girl, come on, what were you thinking? Were you just trying to show off because I was there? Even I’m not worth that.”
Buffy snorted. “Dream on, Owen. I happen to have two sexy men who would do anything to be with me ... why would I be interested in you?”
“Just my masculine charm, I guess,” Owen replied, with a grin. Noticing Buffy was looking tired, he asked, “So who are these madmen?”
She sighed. “Spike and Angel.”
“Who’s Angel?” he asked.
“My ex ... vampire with a soul ... goes evil if he has a moment of true happiness,” Buffy said, with a yawn.
“What makes him happy?” Owen asked.
“Me.”
“That’s very egotistical of you.”
“Well its true ...” She looked up, locking her eyes with his. “You’re trying to keep me conscious.” It wasn’t a question.
“I’m not letting you go to sleep too.” He jerked his thumb at Martha. “I’ll be all alone if you both end up asleep.”
“You’re a bad liar, Owen,” Buffy said, with a sigh. “You’re worried.
“Nah,” he retorted. “Why would I worry about you? You’re the Slayer that beat me up the first time I met you.” She yawned again and leant back against the wall, closing her eyes. Owen bent over her, slapping her cheek. “Wake up, Summers!” he snapped.
“You are concerned,” she insisted.
“Yeah, I’m worried,” Owen snapped. “I don't want to lose you ... either of you.”
“You won’t,” Buffy said, through another yawn. “They won’t let me die ... I’ll be yelling at you again before you know it.”
“You better,” Owen griped, leaning back again, holding her hand, tightly.
“You are an idiot, you know,” she said, after a moment.
Owen chuckled. “I know.”
It was at that moment that splashing alerted Owen and Buffy to the fact Tosh and the others were coming down the tunnel towards them. Not knowing it was them, though, Owen stood up, drawing his weapon. “Show yourselves!” he snapped.
Tosh emerged. “Whoa! Owen! It’s us.”
Owen put down his gun. “Finally! Where the fuck have you been?”
“Charming,” Ianto said, as he and Xander appeared from the tunnel.
“Buff!” Xander exclaimed, running across to her as soon as he saw her. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ll be fine ...” she insisted, groggily. “It’s just that demon ... it bit me and ... well ...” She glanced at Owen. “He’ll explain.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Xander asked, standing up to be face-to-face with Owen.
“I don't know,” Owen said, limping across to Tosh for a brief hug. “There’s a poison making its way through her system. We need to get her out of here.”
“I’ll carry her,” Xander insisted.
“I’ll carry Martha,” Ianto said, walking across to the unconscious woman.
18:03
Ianto emerged from the manhole first, Martha, unconscious, supported on his back, which felt like breaking. As soon as she saw him, Willow hopped out of the SUV and ran across, using her magic to levitate Martha off Ianto’s back and into the back of the SUV. Then she did the same for Xander when he emerged. “I brought the car around,” she said to Ianto.
“How?” he asked. “You didn’t have the keys.”
“I don't need keys,” she replied, with a proud smile that made Xander shiver as he helped Owen limp across to the car and get in next to Buffy, who was rapidly getting worse.
“Get me my bag out of the back,” Owen told him.
Xander got in the front seat next to Anya, Tosh and Ianto. He did a double-take. “There isn’t room for all of us in here,” he commented.
“I expanded it,” Willow said, starting the car as Xander passed the bag to Owen.
“It’ll be okay, love,” Owen told Buffy, as he took some of her blood a moment later, ignoring the arguing going on between Willow and Xander. “We’ll find a way to cure you.”
“I still can’t feel my arm,” Buffy informed him, in a small voice. “I don't want to die like this.”
“You won’t,” Owen insisted. “I won’t hear of it.”
“We have communications again,” Ianto said from the sofa-sized front seat, tapping his earpiece. “Jack?”
“Ianto, is that you?” Jack’s voice came through his earpiece.
“Yeah, it’s me. We have them.”
“What about the demon?”
“The demon?”
“Did they deal with it?”
“No, we don't know ...”
“That’s odd, because it’s vanished off our scanners.”
“What do you mean it’s vanished?”
“Stop making small talk and tell Jack to get the autopsy bay ready for two patients,” Owen snapped at Ianto. “Tell him to get my anti-toxic kit ready for me and if he tells me off for giving orders tell him it’s life-and-death and to yell at me later!” He turned to Buffy as Ianto relayed the commands, albeit more politely. “We’ll get you back to the hub and then I can sort you out, darlin’, you’re going to be fine.”
Buffy nodded. “Okay,” she said, weakly. “But ... I can’t feel anything below my ribcage ... I can’t feel my arm either.”
Owen looked up, stricken. “I’ll have to slow down the progress of the poison,” he said, injecting her with something. She, of course, couldn’t feel it, thanks to her arm being numb. He reached up and stroked her cheek. “You’re going to be fine.”
“I have ... a horrible feeling ... it’s not me you’re trying to convince,” Buffy replied, swallowing convulsively.
“We’re here!” Willow announced, pulling the car up to the invisible lift and opening the doors, magically.
Owen carried Buffy out onto the lift, her eyes closed the whole time, and Xander carried Martha, the two pairs going down one at a time. When Owen reached the bottom, Spike was immediately at his side. “What happened to her?” he demanded, panicked.
“She’s been infected by some sort of demon’s poison,” Owen replied, shortly, carrying her down the steps into the autopsy bay and laying her out on one of the two trolley’s Jack had put down there.
She opened her eyes again to see Spike gazing down at her, worried, ignoring Xander’s protests at his presence. She reached up and cupped his cheek, almost tenderly. “I’m going to be fine,” she promised him. “If I’m not, you have my permission to bite Owen.”
“Oi!” Owen yelped, nearby, making Buffy and Spike chuckle.
“I’m joking,” she told Spike, who nodded in an ‘I guessed as much’ kind of way. “I’ll be fine, though,” she insisted. “Someone has to keep you in line.”
Spike snorted as Xander pushed him out of the way. “She’s delirious,” he snapped at the vampire.
“Leave him alone,” Buffy mumbled, which Xander decided to ignore as he bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m going to go check on Will,” he said, with a smile. “You’ll be fine.”
18:23
“What if she’s not fine, though?” Willow whimpered into Xander’s chest, one hand on the bandage around the gash on her stomach. Ianto, who had minor first aid training, had bandaged up herself and the other members of the team who had been injured, leaving Owen to deal with the two critical patients; Buffy and Martha.
“You know our Buff, Will,” Xander said into her hair. “She can survive anything.”
Willow whimpered again. “But she can’t ... she can’t survive everything ... and I can’t bring her back again ... oh God, Xander ... I can’t lose her again.”
“You won’t,” Xander insisted. “We won’t.”
“What happened?” Jack asked, approaching from his office now that all the uproar of their arrival back had died down. He put his arm around Ianto, standing by his side. Ianto seemed to visibly relax at the contact.
“The demon ... it bit Buffy and infected her with some kind of poison,” Willow said. “We don't know if she’s going to be okay ... and Martha hit her head and lost consciousness.”
Jack swallowed. “Is Martha okay?” he asked, in a weak voice.
“We don't know,” Xander replied.
“She survived the end of the world,” Ianto said to Jack, quietly, “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
Jack nodded, mutely. “The Doctor would kill me if I got her hurt.”
“It’s hardly your fault,” Xander said. “They left without letting anyone know where they were going or what they were going to do.”
“I guess we just wait now,” Jack said, sitting down on the sofa, closely followed by Ianto and Xander. Willow sat on Xander’s lap, nuzzling into his neck for comfort. “We just wait ...”
19:17
“Jack,” Owen said, walking across the hub to stand in front of the enlarged sofa, on which Willow, Tosh, Ianto, Jack, Spike, Xander and Anya were sitting. “Martha’s going to be fine. She has a small concussion, but she’ll be okay.” The whole sofa heaved a sigh of relief. “Can I have a word please?”
Jack nodded and stood up, closely followed by Xander, who stopped Owen with a hand on his arm. “Buffy’s fine, too, right?”
Owen shook his head and turned to the group, realising he’d have to tell everyone, not just Jack. “The poison is spreading fast ... it’s almost on her heart. Within approximately an hour, it will hit her brain ... and there’s nothing I can do.”
“What happens when it hits her brain?” Willow asked, standing to be beside Xander, fearing the answer.
“I don't know!” Owen exclaimed, feeling completely powerless. “It seems to be paralyzing her body ... but I don't think it will affect her heart. If it hits her brain, however, I think it will most likely kill her.”
“Call yourself a doctor?” Spike snarled, getting up to also stand by Xander. “What is the poison?”
Owen looked at the group, helplessly. “I don't know! It won’t analyse. I’ve tried everything, really I have, but beyond draining her body of blood and refilling it, which is impossible, there’s nothing I can do.”
“There must be something,” Anya said in a small voice.
“There’s nothing.”
Buffy opened her eyes again, a few minutes later, to see the entire group crowded around her bed. “That bad, huh?” she said.
Willow let out a cry and threw herself at her friend, snuggling into her chest. “I’m so sorry, Buffy!” she sobbed.
“Oh ... that bad ...” Buffy whimpered. She reached out to the side and slipped her hand into Spike’s, looking up at him. He smiled down at her, much to Xander’s annoyance. “How long have I got?” she asked Owen.
“Less than an hour.”
She swallowed, convulsively. “An hour?” she choked out. “That’s not long.” She looked at the group. “I want a few minutes with Spike. Alone.”
She watched their reactions as Owen herded everyone out of the room, leaving Buffy and Spike alone. “Leave them be!” she heard Willow hiss at Xander.
“Thank you,” Buffy said to Spike.
“For what?” he scoffed.
“Making me feel again.”
“Wasn't like it was a selfless act,” Spike pointed out.
Buffy smiled and tightened her grip on his hand. “Spike, I ... Back home ... I could never have cared for you. Everything was so mixed up ... but here everything is different and ... I want you to know ... that although I’m not in love with you ... I do love you.”
Spike snorted. “You’re dying, Buffy, I get it. You just want me to feel good before you go.”
“I don't ... well, I do ... but that’s not why I’m saying this.” Buffy glowered at Spike with as much annoyance as she could muster. “I want you to know how I feel.”
Spike sighed and bent down to kiss Buffy, gently. “I remember,” he said, with a smile. “You feel good.”
Buffy snorted. “Stupid,” she told him.
“I’ll ... send the others in,” Spike said, quietly, walking out of the autopsy bay. Buffy watched him go, sadly, realising why he had left. He didn’t want her to see him hurting.
The others crowded in a few minutes later. Willow tear streaked and Xander looking decidedly annoyed (Buffy sincerely hoped that was not dust on his jacket). Owen was stood nearby, looking guilty.
“Guys,” Buffy said, with a smile. She didn’t know what to say. It had been easy to say goodbye to Spike, in fact it had been easier to talk to Spike now than ever before because now she didn’t have to risk anything. She could feel her brain tingling slightly and she had a feeling she didn’t have long left. What could she say to them other than ... “Don't you dare even try and bring me back again. You hear me?”
Xander nodded, Willow looked awkward and Anya was promising with her eyes. “We won’t,” Xander promised, taking Buffy’s non-numb hand in his and squeezing. “Buffy?” Her eyes had flickered closed. “Buffy!”
Owen ran over, testing her pulse and listening for her breathing. “I guess an hour was a bad guess,” he said, awkwardly, unsure what else he could say. “She’s gone.”
20:48
“It never gets any easier, does it?” Jack said, sadly, leaning against the morgue as Ianto filled out Buffy’s death certificate.
“No, it doesn’t,” Ianto replied.
“I hardly even knew her.”
“None of us at Torchwood did.” Ianto scribbled ‘poison’ on Buffy’s death certificate.
Jack sighed. “Willow is taking it harder than anyone.”
“I noticed that,” Ianto said. “Spike seemed to just ... bottle it all up but Willow ... Poor Willow.”
“Do you think we waited long enough?”
“What do you mean?”
“To put her in the morgue ... Do you think they had enough time to say goodbye properly?”
“I’m sure they did,” Ianto replied. “We couldn’t just leave her lying there.”
“I suppose not.”
“She’s not you.”
Jack looked up, locking his eyes with Ianto’s. “I would say I’d happily give her my immortality, but I wouldn’t.” Ianto looked puzzled. “It’s not a blessing ... it’s a curse.” Jack stepped away from the drawers and pushed Buffy’s drawer in. “Let’s go back out there.” He offered Ianto his hand, which he took, gratefully, leaving the certificate to be completed a bit later.
Neither of them realised there was more to that poison than death.
~Next Chapter~
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Buffy/Spike, Xander/Anya, Willow/Tosh, Gwen/Rhys, implied Owen/Faith
Warning: Crossover insanity, the presence of vampires and demons on the rift and some mature content. Character death (sort of).
Summary: The gang from Buffy come through the rift. Set after Torchwood episode Meat (2.04) and immediately after Buffy episode Older and Far Away (6.14) (just before the end, in fact), spoilers for all six seasons of Buffy and the first season of Torchwood. Also Spoilers for DW Utopia (3.11), Sound of the Drums (3.12) and Last of the Time Lords (3.13).
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, if I did there would be a helluva lot more of Jack and Ianto teasing each other. If I owned Buffy, which I don't, Xander and Anya and Spike and Buffy would be together forever (not to say they will be together forever in this fic *evil grin*) and Willow wouldn't have so much damn bad luck.
CHAPTER Summary: The rescue.
Well, so much for being cheerier. This story just *refuses* to become cheery again. Oh, well, I guess. Just remember, when you get to the end of this chapter, that 1) I believe in happy endings (which probably just gave my entire story away) 2) I don't like hurting Spike and 3) I watch Xena, Buffy, Torchwood and other TV shows where death means nothing (definately just gave my story away there. Damn.) Also, don't hate me for this chapter, please. It WILL get better next chapter. The next chapter is three quarters typed up (as I wasn't sure I wanted this chapter to ever see the light of day until I wrote 17) so will be out later today.
I repeat again: Please don't hate me.
~Chapter one~ ~Chapter two~ ~Chapter three~ ~Chapter four~ ~Chapter five~ ~Crack!fic smut (not required reading, but slots in here)~ ~Chapter six~ ~Chapter seven~ ~Chapter eight~ ~Chapter nine~ ~Chapter ten~ ~Chapter eleven~ ~Chapter twelve~ ~Chapter thirteen~ ~Chapter fourteen~ ~Chapter fifteen~
Friday 23rd February
17:24
“And this is why being the Slayer stinks,” Buffy announced, grandly, sat, up to her waist, in sewer filth. Owen and Martha glowered at her darkly for her pun. “If I was just a normal girl,” she said, “I’d be out with my friends on a Friday night. But, no, I’m sat in a sewer with a fang hole in my leg, unable to feel anything from the waist down.”
“Stop whinging about it,” Owen said, from where he was sat, idly banging his head against the wall behind him. “Willow and Tosh will be back soon ... they’ll bring help.”
“Owen, have you ever treated a demon’s poison?” Buffy demanded. Owen shook his head. “I thought not. So how do you propose to treat this?”
“Thought I’d play it by ear,” he said.
“You are not experimenting on me,” Buffy said, with a sigh.
“One good thing has come from this,” Owen pointed out, gesturing at the sewer and their injuries. Buffy glowered at him, daring him to continue. “You’ve lightened up a bit. You’re actually showing emotion.”
“Lovely! Now I can show emotion before I die! ... again!” Buffy exclaimed. They stared at each other for a moment, covered in sewer filth, bleeding in several places, arguing like there’s no tomorrow, and burst out laughing, hysterically.
Resisting the urge to wipe tears of laughter from his eyes, several minutes later Owen sighed contentedly and said, “They’ll be back soon.”
“They will,” Buffy replied.
17:31
“You didn’t tell me they liked to hide down here!” Willow hissed at Tosh, who just shrugged apologetically, never letting go of Willow’s hand, their combined magical power keeping them floating above the many, many sleeping weevils in the sewer below them.
“I didn’t think it was important,” Tosh replied as they landed, quietly, on the other side of the river of weevils, releasing each other’s hands, reluctantly.
“It isn’t relevant that ... oh, never mind ...” Willow sighed, deeply, waving her hand to light up the tunnel they were in. “Any idea where the nearest manhole is?” She closed her eyes in annoyance. “Tosh, you know I care about you, baby, but will you, please, stop sniffling!”
Their eyes locked. “I’m not sniffling,” Tosh said, quietly. Willow couldn’t quite believe how cliché it was, as they turned to look at the weevil standing right behind them, sniffing the air. “It can smell our blood,” Tosh said. “We should run ... now ...”
And run they did, fleeing down the sewers, Willow throwing bolts of energy behind her until they reached the nearest manhole. “Up here!” Willow said, waving her hands madly, trying to focus enough to remove the manhole from the inside.
Tosh clambered up the ladder first, getting to the top just as Willow moved the cover enough for Tosh to lift it up with no problem. As she lifted herself out of the manhole into the pouring rain of the streets above, Willow jumped onto the ladder, not expecting the weevil chasing them to do the very same thing and climb up behind her. Hands occupied, mind wandering, she was unable to cast a spell as she climbed out and got dragged into the road by Tosh just as the weevil grabbed her leg with its teeth, clambering out of the manhole behind her. She screamed, eyes turning black, energy exploding from her hands and burning Tosh, who released her hands quickly and drew her gun, aiming it at the weevil as it went for Willow’s throat.
17:28
Three minutes before.
“Lovely,” Xander complained as the heavens opened above them, the rain pouring down and drenching them through. “I hate Cardiff. I’ve been here five days and I hate it already.” He glowered up at the sky, blinking away raindrops. “It’s always raining ... it never stops.”
“It does sometimes,” Ianto pointed out. “We sometimes have a whole day without rain.” He restrained himself from grinning when Xander looked stricken.
“One day? One day without rain? Kill me now,” he moaned. “I was just kidding!” he spluttered, when Faith grinned evilly at him.
“Did you hear that?” Ianto said, stopping in his tracks and looking around.
“Hear what?” Xander asked.
“I heard a scream ...” Ianto held up his hand to stop anyone from speaking and looked around the streets. Seeing a flash of light in the distance he set off at a run, closely followed by Xander, Faith and Anya. They arrived at the manhole just in time to see a second weevil knock Tosh down, the first attacking Willow, who was fending it off with blasts of unfocused magic, her fear stopping her from focussing her powers enough to do any real damage.
“Tosh!” Ianto exclaimed, rushing forward to pull the weevil off Tosh and blast it with the anti-weevil spray. Tosh stood up, unscathed, and ran for Willow, helping Xander rip the weevil off her and throw it one-handed at Ianto, who used the anti-weevil spray and knocked it out to lie next to the other one.
“Tosh ... your eyes ...” Ianto said, nervously.
“Will ... your eyes, too ...”
Willow looked at Tosh, and vice versa, both noticing for the first time that each other’s eyes had turned black. “Are you okay?” Willow asked, ignoring Xander for the minute.
Tosh nodded. “Yes. Are you?”
Willow reached out to hug her girlfriend. “I’m fine ... I held a barrier between my neck and the weevil, something that also works well with vampires.”
“How long have you been off the wagon?” Xander demanded, putting two and two together and, for the first time in his life, making four, realising Willow had obviously been tutoring Tosh in magic.
“Yes, thank you, Xander, I’m fine,” Willow said, angrily. “Nice of you to ask.”
“I’m sorry, Will, but I’m freaking out here. Look what happened last time you did magic ...”
“I’ve been off the wagon since we got here,” Willow said, grandly. “I’m stronger than ever before and nothing bad has happened.”
“Yet,” Xander said. “Look, I’m just worried about you. I love you and I don't want to see you get hurt.”
Willow sighed. “I know you do, and I won’t. I’m in control of my powers and if I lose control I have you and this one” - she reached out and put her arm around Tosh, squeezing her against her side - “and Buffy to keep me ... Oh, God! Buffy!”
“What? What about her?” Xander said.
“She’s still in the sewers. The demon bit her through the thigh ... she’s getting worse. We have to get her out of there!”
Ianto nodded. “Where’s the SUV?” he asked.
Willow blinked. “Uh ...” She looked round at Tosh. “Can you show them to Buffy and the others?” Tosh nodded. “I’ll fetch the SUV and meet you here with it.” She spread her arms and vanished in a swirl of bright white light.
“That’s new,” Xander said, his eyes wide.
“We can talk about Willow’s wonderfulness later,” Tosh said, moving to go back into the sewer. “Right now we need to rescue Owen, Buffy and Martha. Faith, run back to the hub and let Jack know we’ll be coming in with injuries.” She sat on the edge of the hole and jumped down with a splash.
“The sewer. Why am I not surprised?” Xander asked Ianto, as they made to follow Tosh in, Faith running in the opposite direction, back to the hub. “Everything ends with a trip to the sewers ...” he muttered.
Ianto looked down at his suit for a moment, letting out a little moan. “Jack’ll owe me another new suit,” he said, as he splashed into the sewage below.
“Another?” Xander landed with a splash next to him.
“Jack has a habit of tearing mine to shreds,” Ianto pulled out a torch and turned it on, shining it through the darkness after Tosh.
Xander pulled a face. “I’m going to stop asking you people questions.”
17:43
“Owen,” Buffy said, in a small voice. “I can’t feel my right arm ...”
“The toxin is spreading,” Owen replied, reaching out and taking Buffy’s hand. “You’ll be okay, Summers. If something happened to you, who else would tell me off for swearing and yell at me randomly?”
Buffy squeezed his hand, closing her eyes. “I feel so useless,” she moaned. “I can fight demons ...” She caught Owen’s look. “... not one word ...” she warned. She groaned as she felt sewage dripping down her face. She wiped it away and then put her hand back in Owen’s, grateful for the comfort she got from it. “I’m not going to stop disliking you for this,” she told him, referring to the handholding.
“Wouldn’t want it any other way,” Owen said, with a grin, rearranging himself so that his sprained ankle was elevated.
“Is she going to be okay?” Buffy asked, softly, looking at Martha, who had lost consciousness a few minutes before and who Owen had been incapable of rousing.
“I don't know,” Owen replied, with a sigh. “I need to get her back to the hub where I can look after her.” He grimaced. “Jack would kill me if I let her die.”
“I’ll vouch for you,” she said. “I know you can’t do anything at the moment.”
“You’re not the only one that feels useless, you know,” Owen pointed out. “I wish I could help you, but all my medical equipment is in the SUV.”
“It’s okay,” she breathed. “It’s not your fault.”
“No, it’s your fault for throwing your bloody axe at that thing. I mean, girl, come on, what were you thinking? Were you just trying to show off because I was there? Even I’m not worth that.”
Buffy snorted. “Dream on, Owen. I happen to have two sexy men who would do anything to be with me ... why would I be interested in you?”
“Just my masculine charm, I guess,” Owen replied, with a grin. Noticing Buffy was looking tired, he asked, “So who are these madmen?”
She sighed. “Spike and Angel.”
“Who’s Angel?” he asked.
“My ex ... vampire with a soul ... goes evil if he has a moment of true happiness,” Buffy said, with a yawn.
“What makes him happy?” Owen asked.
“Me.”
“That’s very egotistical of you.”
“Well its true ...” She looked up, locking her eyes with his. “You’re trying to keep me conscious.” It wasn’t a question.
“I’m not letting you go to sleep too.” He jerked his thumb at Martha. “I’ll be all alone if you both end up asleep.”
“You’re a bad liar, Owen,” Buffy said, with a sigh. “You’re worried.
“Nah,” he retorted. “Why would I worry about you? You’re the Slayer that beat me up the first time I met you.” She yawned again and leant back against the wall, closing her eyes. Owen bent over her, slapping her cheek. “Wake up, Summers!” he snapped.
“You are concerned,” she insisted.
“Yeah, I’m worried,” Owen snapped. “I don't want to lose you ... either of you.”
“You won’t,” Buffy said, through another yawn. “They won’t let me die ... I’ll be yelling at you again before you know it.”
“You better,” Owen griped, leaning back again, holding her hand, tightly.
“You are an idiot, you know,” she said, after a moment.
Owen chuckled. “I know.”
It was at that moment that splashing alerted Owen and Buffy to the fact Tosh and the others were coming down the tunnel towards them. Not knowing it was them, though, Owen stood up, drawing his weapon. “Show yourselves!” he snapped.
Tosh emerged. “Whoa! Owen! It’s us.”
Owen put down his gun. “Finally! Where the fuck have you been?”
“Charming,” Ianto said, as he and Xander appeared from the tunnel.
“Buff!” Xander exclaimed, running across to her as soon as he saw her. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ll be fine ...” she insisted, groggily. “It’s just that demon ... it bit me and ... well ...” She glanced at Owen. “He’ll explain.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Xander asked, standing up to be face-to-face with Owen.
“I don't know,” Owen said, limping across to Tosh for a brief hug. “There’s a poison making its way through her system. We need to get her out of here.”
“I’ll carry her,” Xander insisted.
“I’ll carry Martha,” Ianto said, walking across to the unconscious woman.
18:03
Ianto emerged from the manhole first, Martha, unconscious, supported on his back, which felt like breaking. As soon as she saw him, Willow hopped out of the SUV and ran across, using her magic to levitate Martha off Ianto’s back and into the back of the SUV. Then she did the same for Xander when he emerged. “I brought the car around,” she said to Ianto.
“How?” he asked. “You didn’t have the keys.”
“I don't need keys,” she replied, with a proud smile that made Xander shiver as he helped Owen limp across to the car and get in next to Buffy, who was rapidly getting worse.
“Get me my bag out of the back,” Owen told him.
Xander got in the front seat next to Anya, Tosh and Ianto. He did a double-take. “There isn’t room for all of us in here,” he commented.
“I expanded it,” Willow said, starting the car as Xander passed the bag to Owen.
“It’ll be okay, love,” Owen told Buffy, as he took some of her blood a moment later, ignoring the arguing going on between Willow and Xander. “We’ll find a way to cure you.”
“I still can’t feel my arm,” Buffy informed him, in a small voice. “I don't want to die like this.”
“You won’t,” Owen insisted. “I won’t hear of it.”
“We have communications again,” Ianto said from the sofa-sized front seat, tapping his earpiece. “Jack?”
“Ianto, is that you?” Jack’s voice came through his earpiece.
“Yeah, it’s me. We have them.”
“What about the demon?”
“The demon?”
“Did they deal with it?”
“No, we don't know ...”
“That’s odd, because it’s vanished off our scanners.”
“What do you mean it’s vanished?”
“Stop making small talk and tell Jack to get the autopsy bay ready for two patients,” Owen snapped at Ianto. “Tell him to get my anti-toxic kit ready for me and if he tells me off for giving orders tell him it’s life-and-death and to yell at me later!” He turned to Buffy as Ianto relayed the commands, albeit more politely. “We’ll get you back to the hub and then I can sort you out, darlin’, you’re going to be fine.”
Buffy nodded. “Okay,” she said, weakly. “But ... I can’t feel anything below my ribcage ... I can’t feel my arm either.”
Owen looked up, stricken. “I’ll have to slow down the progress of the poison,” he said, injecting her with something. She, of course, couldn’t feel it, thanks to her arm being numb. He reached up and stroked her cheek. “You’re going to be fine.”
“I have ... a horrible feeling ... it’s not me you’re trying to convince,” Buffy replied, swallowing convulsively.
“We’re here!” Willow announced, pulling the car up to the invisible lift and opening the doors, magically.
Owen carried Buffy out onto the lift, her eyes closed the whole time, and Xander carried Martha, the two pairs going down one at a time. When Owen reached the bottom, Spike was immediately at his side. “What happened to her?” he demanded, panicked.
“She’s been infected by some sort of demon’s poison,” Owen replied, shortly, carrying her down the steps into the autopsy bay and laying her out on one of the two trolley’s Jack had put down there.
She opened her eyes again to see Spike gazing down at her, worried, ignoring Xander’s protests at his presence. She reached up and cupped his cheek, almost tenderly. “I’m going to be fine,” she promised him. “If I’m not, you have my permission to bite Owen.”
“Oi!” Owen yelped, nearby, making Buffy and Spike chuckle.
“I’m joking,” she told Spike, who nodded in an ‘I guessed as much’ kind of way. “I’ll be fine, though,” she insisted. “Someone has to keep you in line.”
Spike snorted as Xander pushed him out of the way. “She’s delirious,” he snapped at the vampire.
“Leave him alone,” Buffy mumbled, which Xander decided to ignore as he bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m going to go check on Will,” he said, with a smile. “You’ll be fine.”
18:23
“What if she’s not fine, though?” Willow whimpered into Xander’s chest, one hand on the bandage around the gash on her stomach. Ianto, who had minor first aid training, had bandaged up herself and the other members of the team who had been injured, leaving Owen to deal with the two critical patients; Buffy and Martha.
“You know our Buff, Will,” Xander said into her hair. “She can survive anything.”
Willow whimpered again. “But she can’t ... she can’t survive everything ... and I can’t bring her back again ... oh God, Xander ... I can’t lose her again.”
“You won’t,” Xander insisted. “We won’t.”
“What happened?” Jack asked, approaching from his office now that all the uproar of their arrival back had died down. He put his arm around Ianto, standing by his side. Ianto seemed to visibly relax at the contact.
“The demon ... it bit Buffy and infected her with some kind of poison,” Willow said. “We don't know if she’s going to be okay ... and Martha hit her head and lost consciousness.”
Jack swallowed. “Is Martha okay?” he asked, in a weak voice.
“We don't know,” Xander replied.
“She survived the end of the world,” Ianto said to Jack, quietly, “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
Jack nodded, mutely. “The Doctor would kill me if I got her hurt.”
“It’s hardly your fault,” Xander said. “They left without letting anyone know where they were going or what they were going to do.”
“I guess we just wait now,” Jack said, sitting down on the sofa, closely followed by Ianto and Xander. Willow sat on Xander’s lap, nuzzling into his neck for comfort. “We just wait ...”
19:17
“Jack,” Owen said, walking across the hub to stand in front of the enlarged sofa, on which Willow, Tosh, Ianto, Jack, Spike, Xander and Anya were sitting. “Martha’s going to be fine. She has a small concussion, but she’ll be okay.” The whole sofa heaved a sigh of relief. “Can I have a word please?”
Jack nodded and stood up, closely followed by Xander, who stopped Owen with a hand on his arm. “Buffy’s fine, too, right?”
Owen shook his head and turned to the group, realising he’d have to tell everyone, not just Jack. “The poison is spreading fast ... it’s almost on her heart. Within approximately an hour, it will hit her brain ... and there’s nothing I can do.”
“What happens when it hits her brain?” Willow asked, standing to be beside Xander, fearing the answer.
“I don't know!” Owen exclaimed, feeling completely powerless. “It seems to be paralyzing her body ... but I don't think it will affect her heart. If it hits her brain, however, I think it will most likely kill her.”
“Call yourself a doctor?” Spike snarled, getting up to also stand by Xander. “What is the poison?”
Owen looked at the group, helplessly. “I don't know! It won’t analyse. I’ve tried everything, really I have, but beyond draining her body of blood and refilling it, which is impossible, there’s nothing I can do.”
“There must be something,” Anya said in a small voice.
“There’s nothing.”
Buffy opened her eyes again, a few minutes later, to see the entire group crowded around her bed. “That bad, huh?” she said.
Willow let out a cry and threw herself at her friend, snuggling into her chest. “I’m so sorry, Buffy!” she sobbed.
“Oh ... that bad ...” Buffy whimpered. She reached out to the side and slipped her hand into Spike’s, looking up at him. He smiled down at her, much to Xander’s annoyance. “How long have I got?” she asked Owen.
“Less than an hour.”
She swallowed, convulsively. “An hour?” she choked out. “That’s not long.” She looked at the group. “I want a few minutes with Spike. Alone.”
She watched their reactions as Owen herded everyone out of the room, leaving Buffy and Spike alone. “Leave them be!” she heard Willow hiss at Xander.
“Thank you,” Buffy said to Spike.
“For what?” he scoffed.
“Making me feel again.”
“Wasn't like it was a selfless act,” Spike pointed out.
Buffy smiled and tightened her grip on his hand. “Spike, I ... Back home ... I could never have cared for you. Everything was so mixed up ... but here everything is different and ... I want you to know ... that although I’m not in love with you ... I do love you.”
Spike snorted. “You’re dying, Buffy, I get it. You just want me to feel good before you go.”
“I don't ... well, I do ... but that’s not why I’m saying this.” Buffy glowered at Spike with as much annoyance as she could muster. “I want you to know how I feel.”
Spike sighed and bent down to kiss Buffy, gently. “I remember,” he said, with a smile. “You feel good.”
Buffy snorted. “Stupid,” she told him.
“I’ll ... send the others in,” Spike said, quietly, walking out of the autopsy bay. Buffy watched him go, sadly, realising why he had left. He didn’t want her to see him hurting.
The others crowded in a few minutes later. Willow tear streaked and Xander looking decidedly annoyed (Buffy sincerely hoped that was not dust on his jacket). Owen was stood nearby, looking guilty.
“Guys,” Buffy said, with a smile. She didn’t know what to say. It had been easy to say goodbye to Spike, in fact it had been easier to talk to Spike now than ever before because now she didn’t have to risk anything. She could feel her brain tingling slightly and she had a feeling she didn’t have long left. What could she say to them other than ... “Don't you dare even try and bring me back again. You hear me?”
Xander nodded, Willow looked awkward and Anya was promising with her eyes. “We won’t,” Xander promised, taking Buffy’s non-numb hand in his and squeezing. “Buffy?” Her eyes had flickered closed. “Buffy!”
Owen ran over, testing her pulse and listening for her breathing. “I guess an hour was a bad guess,” he said, awkwardly, unsure what else he could say. “She’s gone.”
20:48
“It never gets any easier, does it?” Jack said, sadly, leaning against the morgue as Ianto filled out Buffy’s death certificate.
“No, it doesn’t,” Ianto replied.
“I hardly even knew her.”
“None of us at Torchwood did.” Ianto scribbled ‘poison’ on Buffy’s death certificate.
Jack sighed. “Willow is taking it harder than anyone.”
“I noticed that,” Ianto said. “Spike seemed to just ... bottle it all up but Willow ... Poor Willow.”
“Do you think we waited long enough?”
“What do you mean?”
“To put her in the morgue ... Do you think they had enough time to say goodbye properly?”
“I’m sure they did,” Ianto replied. “We couldn’t just leave her lying there.”
“I suppose not.”
“She’s not you.”
Jack looked up, locking his eyes with Ianto’s. “I would say I’d happily give her my immortality, but I wouldn’t.” Ianto looked puzzled. “It’s not a blessing ... it’s a curse.” Jack stepped away from the drawers and pushed Buffy’s drawer in. “Let’s go back out there.” He offered Ianto his hand, which he took, gratefully, leaving the certificate to be completed a bit later.
Neither of them realised there was more to that poison than death.
~Next Chapter~