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chapter nine – seconds

"Get out! Buffy!” Willow screamed. “Get out! Now!”

Buffy was focused on Willow as she watched her friend's body bounce from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, propelled by a gigantic mushroom-shaped thing with twisted teeth, jagged claws and hundreds of tiny eyes.

“Willow!” Buffy screamed. Her friend's plight froze her where she stood for only an instant before her slayer instincts kicked in. Putting her fear aside, Buffy studied the scene in front of her. Willow was struggling with the creature and putting up a fight. She was punching and kicking with her arms and legs hard and fast against claws and teeth that all but surrounded her. From the way the creature was reacting, Willow had to be using magic to put some extra punch in the blows. It recoiled occasionally, even as it continued to toss Willow about. Maybe that was why Buffy thought she'd seen a solid creature behind Willow when she first turned toward the screams in the hall. Now, she could see it was a portal. Not the typical whirlwind of sound and fury opening Buffy usually found leading into another dimension. This did have wind, swirling violently, circling in front of a black abyss of twisting fury. But this portal was a living, grabbing, vicious animal using Willow as an instrument in a gruesome game of kickball.

“They've – come – for – us!” Straining, Willow spoke, the pain apparent in each word. Unbelievably, thought Buffy, she was able to speak while being flung through the air brutally. “I'm sorry! I can't keep – us – safe!” Willow shouted.

Turning her attention from Willow, Buffy nodded to Spike as they both moved away from each other, taking opposite paths toward the portal.

Within seconds, Spike had reached the doorway and taken a step into the hallway, managing to get closer to Willow than Buffy. She knew they had to act quickly. No telling how long before the portal's grasp on Willow reverted, and sucked her back into the black hole, trapping her in whatever was on the other side.

If Spike attacked first, that was good with Buffy. She was only a few inches behind him, and ready to pounce. Suddenly, Spike leapt from his feet toward Willow; barely missing one of the snapping claws as he swiped at a bunch of eyes with bare knuckles. He also had changed into full game face. His goal was to distract the creature, giving her an opening, an instant, to leap up, grab Willow, and get her to safety.

But then the Noise came from everywhere.

Spike was thrown back into the office, toward Buffy, who took his full weight with her as their bodies hit the wall. Dropping to the floor, they quickly snapped to their feet, ready to go again for Willow. Needing a new game plan, however, Buffy decided to distract the portal and leave Spike to snatch Willow from its grasp. If she took a running leap to her right and forward roll to the portal's backside, she'd be able to occupy it long enough for Spike to get to Willow. He'd always anticipated her moves in the past. She trusted that he still could. With that thought, she launched her body forward – except nothing happened. Her feet didn't budge. She was in the same spot, standing next to Spike. She was stuck, her legs felt as if buried deep under the hard floor. She struggled within herself but only Buffy's skin moved, and it was crawling all over her body as she was seized by panic. She turned her head to scream at Spike that something was wrong. But as her eyes met his, she saw the same anxiety in them that she felt. She couldn't move, and neither could Spike, game face gone, he stood motionless. Must be the Noise, thought Buffy. It had paralyzed them.

A dense, turbulent, screeching din, the Noise was eliciting a roaring assault on all of Buffy's senses, not just her hearing. The vibrations of the sound stung her entire body, crippling it. If she could have moved, she would have crumbled to the floor.

Buffy looked up at Willow as the Noise soared. The creature held her suspended in mid-air, several feet above the ground. Her eyes shone bright as she appeared to float amongst the portal's claws. Still frozen in place, Buffy watched helplessly as Willow's eyes filled with the jet-black irises she hadn't seen in ages. They glowed in her ashen face. Buffy could sense the magic pulsing though Willow as her body stiffened. Within seconds, Willow 's face was covered with blood-gorged veins, pushed to the surface as her body was flooded with power. Willow was pulling out the big guns, using the big magic she rarely tapped anymore to save herself. Then suddenly the portal sprouted dozens of tentacles and grabbed Willow's arms and legs, twisting and tugging her body into a macabre pretzel. Buffy thought for a moment she could hear Willow screaming over the Noise.

Buffy swallowed. She could feel Willow's fear – it was palpable.

Buffy wasn't about to give up, though. She had to get to Willow. She had to concentrate. Maybe if she could just move her hands, she prayed, as a small tingle traveled up her arms from her fingertips.

Arms beginning to work, good.

Buffy glanced at Spike, standing immobile next to her. He might be able to help her even though, apparently, he was still unable to move. Twisting her torso as much as she could against unmoving legs, she placed her hands on his chest and pushed hard – using his body as a springboard, hoping to force her legs into motion. He remained perfectly still against the power of her shove, giving her the resistance necessary to fall back – closer to Willow.

It worked. Buffy found herself standing inches away from Willow's contorted body. Only problem was that the Noise was even louder here. The sound so powerful she thought she could see it. She wondered if the pain from the freaking sound might actually kill her. She reached out with a shaky hand to touch Willow 's foot, but some kind of barrier stopped her.

The Noise roared even louder.

Buffy covered her ears, pressing as hard as she could in an attempt to diminish the pain. She realized she couldn't move – again – and now the portal's tentacles were reaching for her.

“Spike, dear God, help us,” she whispered.


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As soon as they had turned to look into the hallway, Spike saw Willow and the portal. He and Buffy moved into action immediately, and the plan was very clear to Spike – save Willow.

Then the Noise came. Spike felt like it was ripping his mind apart. Sound so intense that he hoped his vampire hearing might do him a favor and simply go away out of respect for a superior adversary.

God, this hurts. The pain was so fierce that after it threw him into Buffy and they both dropped off the wall, he didn't even notice at first that he couldn't move. His senses were being stripped by the Noise, and he couldn't really do anything for a few seconds except pray for it to stop. Then he heard Buffy's voice, asking him for help. And he had to do something.

Dropping to the floor, Spike instinctively knew that he wouldn't be able to reach Buffy if he tried to walk or run. He had to crawl, underneath the power of the sound. Snakelike, he slithered across the floor reaching Buffy's feet in a matter of seconds. She was standing inches in front of Willow and dangerously close to the portal. Spike grabbed Buffy's ankles and pulled her down as hard as he could. Buffy crashed on top of him; her body sprawled across his back.

“What the hell are you doing?” Buffy said, her voice weak, as she landed on his body hard.

Spike rolled onto his side, sliding Buffy from his back to the floor as he shifted her around so that they were facing each other. “We've got to stay low, Buffy, under the sound.”

Spike could barely speak. The Noise was too loud. Even as they lay sprawled on the floor, he could feel the pain throughout his body. Struggling he lifted his head to look at Willow. His winced at what he saw, and turned back to Buffy, who was clutching at her ears as she lay next to him on the floor. He didn't believe the sound could kill Buffy. He wasn't so certain about himself, though. Damned heightened senses, he thought, closing his eyes for an instant as the pain rushed over him.

He felt Buffy's hand on his face, and opened his eyes. Without hesitation, he began to mouth the words of Willow's fate to Buffy. “Sorry, luv, but Willow disappeared into the portal.”

“No.” Buffy cried, and started to raise her head to look at the spot where Willow had been.

Spike pulled her down roughly, close to him, and spoke directly into her ear. “We've got to stay on the floor. The sound can't touch you here.”

“No, we've got to get Willow out of that portal!” screamed Buffy.

Spike looked at her intently; he'd heard her say something just as the brutal wall of sound suddenly disappeared.


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As soon as Angel heard the killing Noise, he began to run. No time for elevators – he nearly flew up the stairway from the deeper underground levels of Wolfram and Hart where the Zeklar demon lay unconscious in a small cell. Angel had returned to torture the demon a second time, after making certain Fred's still-breathing body had made it safely to the clinic. The Zeklar had more than earned another round of pain for what it had done to Fred, let alone its other crimes. Angel hadn't cared how much the Zeklar had pleaded to be destroyed, or, when shifting tactics, had sworn its eternal loyalty if Angel spared it. How could Angel do that? Century upon century of battle after battle had taught him the truth about war. Prisoners were not to be spared – ever. He remembered what it was like in Hell. The Noise brought back the memories of a thousand years of suffering. He could hear the voices of the dead. The screams and cries of millions.

The walls of Wolfram and Hart shook as Angel made his way back to the seventh floor. As he kicked in the emergency door to the seventh floor, he felt the blood dripping from his ears. Stretching his neck violently from side to side, he realized he couldn't do what was necessary unless he blocked the Noise. Looking around for something, anything, to shove into his ears, he saw sheets of paper rolling down the windy hall. Scooping up a handful of debris, he quickly tore and crunched the sheets into small pistons and jammed them into each ear canal.

“Don't hear, don't listen,” he whispered.

Angel made his way down the hallway toward Wes' office where he knew he'd find them. First, he saw Willow in the clutches of the portal. Then Buffy, reaching out to her before being pulled to the floor by Spike. A second later, Willow disappeared into the abyss.

From a dead run, Angel jumped up onto the ceiling, leaping over the portal's jaws and tentacles. Spike and Buffy were on the floor. They were lying with their bodies close, their faces nearly touching. He noticed Spike didn't appear to have anything to block out the Noise. That wasn't good. Angel kept moving, as fast as he could toward them, while avoiding the claws and teeth of the portal. He had to reach them, without getting himself captured by the portal or killed by the Noise.

Dropping down, Angel landed in a crouched position. As he settled low to the floor, he became aware of the weakening effects of the Noise. For whatever reason, the sound was less harsh, less painful, less loud down on the floor underneath it. Sound wasn't supposed to work like that, thought Angel, as he inched across the floor on his hands and knees.

Then suddenly, Angel didn't need to crawl. The brutal wall of sound had disappeared, just like Willow.

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