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Disclaimer: All characters involved belong to someone else besides me.

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Ch. 5

She woke up fully rested and it took a brief moment for her to realize she was not in her own bed. Buffy bolted upright and scanned the unfamiliar surroundings. Her petite frame was lost in the enormous bed, which was covered with a downy champagne colored comforter. In front of her were two French doors that led out to a terrace covered with creamy sheer curtains. Beautiful paintings depicting nature adorned the cream colored papered walls and the only other furniture in the room was a cherry-stained highboy dresser and two matching bedside tables.

Everything about the room was comfy and homey. If she didn't feel so uneasy about whom or what brought her here, she could definitely enjoy this getaway. That worried her even more; why the hospitality of comfort?

Buffy threw the covers back and slid across to the edge of the bed. She had to remain calm in order to brainstorm and either think of a way out of there or reach her friends. Her heart began to race and her mouth turned dry. She didn't fear much and knew her friends would search to the ends of the earth to find her, but that didn't stop the dread that crept up her spine. With the uncertainty of exactly how long her captor would let her live, her brain started formulating any means of escape she could come up with. She would have to be stealthy and sly. This monster was not weak, nor was it ignorant. She would just have to be stronger and smarter to outwit it.

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It was 7:01 a.m. and neither Buffy nor Spike was sitting at their places at the dining table. A bad feeling came overcame Giles, just as Spike burst through the doors, panic evident in his eyes as he stared at Giles. Giles stood abruptly clenching tightly to his napkin. The others noticed that something was seriously wrong.

"William…it's Buffy, isn't it?"

Spike started shaking. No one had ever seen him break down like this. He was always so strong and unruffled by anything. He grasped the back of the chair and shook his head yes.

"I let you down. She's gone. I didn't protect her like I should have. I had a slight suspicion that creature had been in this house, I could smell him. I just shook it off, thinking it was from the battle. I mean, we would have all know if someone broke in last night, right? I should have checked in with her before I went to bed. That bastard…he has Buffy. And I swear to God, if he has hurt her, or worse, he’ll never know what hit him."

Dawn ran over to Spike, eyes wide and head shaking back and forth. Spike ran his hand over her hair. "I'm sorry, lil bit."

She threw herself at him, clutching his shirt in her fists, and sobbed.

Willow stood, tears forming in her eyes as well, "She’s still alive, Dawnie, I know it. We'll figure out something. There has to be something."

The phone rang out in the hallway and the butler brought it to Giles. "Dr., it’s Mr. Wainwright."

"Thank you, Steves.” Giles took a deep breath before holding the handset up to his ear. “Hello, Mr. Wainwright, how are you?” “Yes sir, but how do you know…yes, but we just…correct, sir.” “Yes, I will get right on it.” “Oh, I see…well that will be splendid, sir.” “Yes, we will see you tomorrow. Thank you. Good bye." Giles turned the phone off and sat back down with a long audible sigh. Spike looked at him confused by the conversation.

"So, who in bloody hell is this Mr. Wainwright?"

Giles looked up at him hesitantly, not certain he wanted to divulge that particular secret to his family just at the moment. He looked around the table at the others who sat and watched him wide-eyed, then looked down, shoulders slumping.

"He heads up this operation." Silence. No one said anything. No one except Spike.

"So, I thought you answered to nobody? You made this place, formed this group in which you are supposedly the leader of."

Giles stood quickly and threw his napkin down on the table. "I bloody well did. I did it all. I just…I couldn't afford…Mr. Wainwright is my benefactor, my sponsor albeit a silent one at that. Every bit of this, the house, the technology, the trivialities, they're his; his money paid for it all. He doesn't own me; he doesn't own any of you. But in a way, yes, he is my superior. I answer to him, yes. He has been waiting for me to slip up and now, somehow he knows about the missing slayer. He's flying in tomorrow evening. He wants to know our progress. I don't blame him, if the bad guy wins; Mr. Wainwright loses all of this, all of his earthly possessions. So now you know, condemn me, insult me, and belittle me. But let me tell you one thing. You are all my family. I have never lied to you about anything. I love each and every one of you and I will not give up without a fight."

Everyone remained quiet. Spike looked at him intently and a grin slowly spread across his face. "Then I say we go out there and kick some demon ass. We're gonna win this fight and save this wretched planet whether it kills us all. And get our lovely little slayer back home in one piece where she belongs."

They all cheered enthusiastically and moved to the study to put their minds to work. Giles knew there was something they were missing. They would have to keep digging and pray Buffy was still alive.

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They stuck to their routine and went out to patrol that evening. Everything seemed as normal as normal could be as they packed up the weapons and headed back to the house. None of them, even the vampire, were aware they had been surrounded by at least 50 of the slimy minions they had fought previously until the things were almost on top of them. A fight, naturally, ensued, and it looked as if the gang was winning it. As the battle wore on, the remaining demons vanished into thin air.

"Well, that was insane," Xander huffed out. He looked over at Dawn who was staring out into the blackness. Xander walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Dawnie, are you hurt?"

"They're gone…Willow and Tara. They vanished into thin air with those…things."

Spike growled. "Bloody wonderful. That wanker is trying to take the lot of us. Why would he need the witches as well? Probably needs all the power he can get his hands on to do his transgressions. Innit what it said in the last book I found last night? Yeah, I’m sure of it.”

Xander looked at him bewildered. “Do you always ask and answer your own questions?”

Giles was just as livid. "Let's get home. Buckle down and get this solved before anyone else is snatched away."

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Buffy was pacing the floor when a very loud thud came from somewhere outside of the room and she looked around wildly to see if she could find some kind of clue. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a doorway appear out of nowhere. Willow and Tara were shoved through it and into the room both landing on their faces. Buffy rushed over to them, checking them over to make sure both were alive and unharmed which both were. They hugged one another and told their stories of being kidnapped. Finally, a moment of silence passed between them.

"Is there a way out of here?" Willow nervously asked when she spied the doors leading to the terrace.

Buffy shook her head sadly. "No, I tried everything. Even tried kicking the doors down, breaking the glass out of the window. This thing knows what it’s doing. How’s the research going?"

Tara explained meekly, "Well, we still haven't found anything and it’s very odd. Do you think this creature could be cloaking the re-enlivening spell somehow?"

"Could, I guess. I can't understand why it has been this hard to find it. Unless it’s so old that there is no written record of it. But we were told to find Spike. I mean, he was the last piece to the puzzle and we found him fairly easy with some help. By the way, how is he?...I mean Spike. How’s he doing?" Buffy asked, her cheeks tinged pink.

Willow and Tara looked at one another, both smiling. Willow looked back at Buffy, a gleam in her eyes.

"He’s going out of his mind with worry. He blames your abduction on himself solely. I had a feeling there’s more to you two than meets the eye. You're holding back on us. What's happened? I thought you hated each other."

Buffy looked down at her lap, still blushing, fumbling for words. "Things change," she mumbled as she looked up at the two smiling witches.

"Uh-huh, like what things?" Will amusedly asked.

Buffy threw her hands up in the air. "Oh, I don't know. Now whenever I'm around him, I get all tingly and it's not from the spidey senses. He makes me feel like a girl and not a slayer. He laughs at my jokes, he thinks I'm beautiful and he looks at me with those gorgeous blue eyes and it feels like I’m the only thing he sees. He started acting all shy around me and I think it’s so cute. I kissed him the other night, the night I was taken, right before he left to help you guys slay. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, like being jolted by a strong electrical current. I saw his eyes afterwards, they were so different. Pools of blue that went on and on, drinking my very soul in. I know he feels something for me, like I feel something for him. I just don't know what that something is."

Willow shook her head. "Well, you’re right about him feeling something for you. He’s genuinely scared for you and I’ve never seen him lose control of his cool before like he did this morning."

"I just hope they find us soon, or I will never find out what this thing is between us. And of course, save the world at the same time." Buffy sighed.

Tare placed a reassuring hand on her arm. "They’re working really hard on it. Don't give up hope just yet."

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It was late and everyone was too tired to continue doing any kind of research. They officially called it a day except Giles who decided to keep going. Spike made sure to see everyone to their rooms before he headed to his own. Dawn was the last one he walked to her room and as they headed down the hallway, the lights flickered, and then went out leaving them in complete darkness. He switched into vampire mode, reaching out towards the girl to grab her arm but came up with nothing but air. Dawn tried to cry out his name but it was too late as the lights came back on and she was being sucked through the wall, the wall that ebbed like it was some kind of force field, or dimensional portal. He lunged at it, only to find it had returned to solid and yelled out as he pounded on it with both fists.

"NOOOOOO!"

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TBC





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