|
|
"I already know about you. What are you talking about with him?" Quentin said.
"I don't want to tell him," I said.
"Do it, Amy," Buffy commanded.
"Amy?" Quentin repeated.
"That's my name," I said. Then I told him. Everything. About my mom. About me. About the spell. About being a rat. Everything.
"I can help," Quentin said.
"How?" I asked.
"I know a high mage," he said. "I work for her."
"So I can just ask and pay, right?" I asked.
"Not how it works," he said. "It was a good thought though, but she won't take your power. She'll send you on a quest."
"A quest?" Buffy asked incredulously.
"Maybe someone should get Michael," Oz suggested.
"I'll go get him," Willow said. She got up from the table.
"What kind of quest?" I asked Quentin.
"It'll be hard, but you won't be alone," Quentin said. His hand covered mine.
"You aren't mad-" I started.
"That you didn't tell me?" he finished. "If I my life were normal I would've thought you were crazy."
"If my life were normal this never would've happened, and I never would've met you," I said.
"So let's go talk to your boss," Buffy suggested.
"Before we go anywhere I'm changing," Michael growled.
"Blah, blah, blah. You're such a whiner," I scolded him.
"Let's go back to your place so I can get all of you ready," Quentin said.
"Ready for what?" Oz asked.
"The boss is big on formalities. You have to be dressed properly," Quentin explained.
"Oh goody! More dress-up," Michael said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"So what exactly do you do for the high mage?" I asked Quentin as the two of us dressed Willow.
"I'm her predator. I do the same thing as the Slayer, but for different reasons and with different weapons," Quentin replied.
"What weapons?" I asked.
"I was a lycanthrope victim. She changed things slightly," Quentin replied.
"What changes?" Willow asked, suddenly very interested.
"I'm no longer a lycanthrope. Now I'm a Garou," he replied.
"Garou? But that's still a werewolf," I said.
"But it's controlled," he explained. "Lycanthropes change at full moon. Garou change at will. And we're stronger than lycanthropes."
"What's the price she made you pay?" Willow asked.
"Five years service," he replied. "I'll be done in five months. I could probably convince her to let Oz just help Amy on her quest. Two spells for the price of one."
"Really?" Willow asked, excited at the thought.
"Really," he replied. Quentin and I stood up, looking over our work. "She looks perfect."
The six of us stood in front of a huge house. Buffy was wearing leather armor and had a sword and a crossbow. Quentin was wearing something that looked very Arabic, but still like armor. Oz's clothing seemed similar, but different in an indefinable way. Willow, Michael and I were wearing tight artistic clothing in bright colors. We walked up to the huge gates. The gates opened on their own.
"Weird," Buffy muttered.
"Everybody ready?" I asked.
"No, but that's not really the point of the question is it?" Willow replied.
We entered.
"Everybody down!" Buffy shouted in the dark. As I ducked I heard her sword whistle over my head. I couldn't really see anything so I was fairly dependent on my other senses. Not for the first time I realized I should've learned a light spell when I had the chance.
"I can't cast a spell with that thing knocking me over every five minutes!" Willow shouted over the roar of wind. This statement was followed by a loud "Oof!" and the thud of Willow falling to the ground again. "Ow!"
"I can't hit it! It moves too fast!" Buffy growled.
"You're the Slayer! This is what you do!" Michael yelled. I heard him fall suddenly to the ground. "I hate this thing!"
"Ow," Oz repeated from near where Willow's voice had been. "Uh... I found the wall."
"I really wish I had a key to the back door," Quentin whispered from next to me.
"You aren't the only one," I whispered back.
"I'm going to have bruises all over," Willow complained. We sat in the center of a large well-lit room each of us facing one of the entrances.
"You're going to have bruises?!" Michael asked incredulously.
"Shush," Oz said. They looked over at him and remembered that since he had run into that wall his nose had swelled up and was at an odd angle. He hadn't complained about it. I was surprised by that at first, but this was Oz.
"Someone remind me why we're sitting here," Buffy said as she rearranged herself on the floor.
"Would you rather be wondering around in the dark getting knocked over?" Quentin asked.
"No," she replied sullenly.
"Something's coming," Willow hissed. Her hands hovered in the air, surrounded by an eerie glow. A shadow slid out of the doorway in front of Buffy.
"It's scented Buffy. It thinks she's the most dangerous," Quentin said quickly.
"Stay in formation," Willow muttered. I felt her energy tap into my own. The flow of power focused on her. Michael and Oz collapsed simultaneously. I could feel how drained they were. After another moment the shadow creeped closer to Buffy. Quentin collapsed, unable to power Willow anymore. I felt the last of my stores being tapped and knew I wouldn't last much longer. I fell backward, unable to hold myself up. I stared into the circle at Oz, Michael and Quentin. They lay in a similar position. After another moment Buffy joined us. The shadow traced around Buffy, and she looked very uncomfortable.
Willow screamed and landed on the floor with the rest of us. The shadow cringed away and faded from sight.
"I think we did it," Buffy muttered.
"If we didn't I'm not getting up," Michael muttered.
"Something's moving," Oz hissed. A loud creaking noise emanated from the floor.
"We're in it deep, aren't we?" I asked.
"Very," Willow replied.
"We're going to have to get up," Quentin murmured.
"On three?" Buffy suggested.
"Three!" we all shouted. We jumped to our feet and ran towards the entrances. The floor opened.
"This doesn't bode well," Oz muttered. All of us looked into the monstrous black hole. There didn't seem to be a bottom. I stared into the abyss, and every part of my body tensed. I was filled with unexplainable, uncontrollable terror. I knew exactly what had to be done.
"You don't have to come with me," I told them.
"Come with you?" Buffy asked.
"I have to go down there," I explained. "I don't want you to come. It's not safe."
"Nothing ever is," Buffy replied. She took my hand.
"You aren't leaving me behind," Quentin said firmly. He took my other hand.
"Never," I replied fiercely. I squeezed his hand tightly in my own.
"I'm coming," Willow said. She took Buffy's hand. Oz took Willow's hand.
"Well, now I can't stay behind," Michael muttered as he took Oz's hand.
"Thank you," I whispered to them. Then we jumped and fell into the abyss.
"Ow," I muttered. I was lying on something hard and cold, and my whole body hurt. Everything was dark, and I wasn't sure where I was. "Weird."
"You jumped into the Abyss," a female's voice said. "That was either very brave or very stupid. How could you be sure where you would end up?"
"I wasn't sure," I answered. "But I had to."
"What about your friends?" the voice asked.
"I told them not to come," I whispered.
"But you didn't stop them," the voice accused.
"They knew the risks," I defended myself, weakly.
"But they were your risks," the voice accused.
"They wanted to help me," I whispered. "They wanted to fix things. Are they okay?"
"What if they weren't?" the voice asked. "Would it have been worth it?"
"No," I whispered. I could barely breathe.
"Good," the voice said. Then the room was filled with light, and I couldn't see. Pain lanced through my body and then stopped. I felt different. I felt smaller. I tried to think when I had felt this before. I knew this was familiar somehow. Then I realized. From before I was a rat. From when I was a girl.
"Hello?" I asked. The only reply was a soft grunt as something landed in front of me.
"Amy?" I heard Willow's voice ask. I groped in the darkness towards her voice.
"Willow, is that you?" I asked.
"Amy!" she exclaimed. Her hands grabbed my own, and we rushed towards each other. "It's you! For real! You're Amy again!"
"She fixed it," I whispered.
"Who?" Willow asked.
"I don't know," I replied.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"The other side of the Abyss, I suppose," I answered.
"Where's everyone else?" Willow asked.
"Stumped," I answered.
"Oh good," Willow muttered sarcastically. We proceeded to stumble around in the darkness, looking for the others.
"Ow," I muttered as I bumped into yet another wall. "I'm really getting annoyed with the layout of this place."
"Are you sure we're not going in circles?" Willow asked.
"I don't know," I replied in complete honesty.
"Who's there?" I heard Buffy's voice ask.
"Buffy?" I asked the darkness.
"Amy?" Buffy asked.
"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed. "We weren't going in circles!"
I suddenly felt Buffy's strong arms wrapping tightly around Willow and I.
"And you're a girl!" Buffy exclaimed.
"I should hope so. I worked hard enough for it," I said happily.
"Do we have a clue where everyone else is?" Buffy asked.
"Not a one," Willow said.
"At least we have the greater numbers thing going," Buffy said.
"Aaron?" a growling voice hissed.
"Quentin?" I asked. The voice didn't sound like his, but it felt like him.
"Aaron!" the voice changed abruptly. It was Quentin. I felt his warm arms around me. It felt wonderful. "It's you. I wasn't sure what it would be like, but you're still you."
"Quentin!" I gasped. I felt his warm mouth close over mine. "Wow." He held me for another moment. I was breathless and barely standing. "Oh... wow."
"Never leave me," he whispered in my ear.
"Never," I replied quietly. He held me tighter.
"Very touching," Buffy said. "But we need to find everybody else."
"Oz is fifty feet north, and Michael is thirty feet west," Quentin said. This was followed by stunned silence.
"What did you-?" Willow asked.
"How did you-?" Buffy asked.
"Where did you-?" I asked.
"How else do you think I found you three?" Quentin asked.
"Okay," Buffy said passively.
"Who should we find first?" Willow asked.
"Split up," Quentin said. "After Amy and I find Michael we'll find you again."
"Okay," Buffy said. "Come on Wills." Willow and Buffy tromped off.
"Girls!" Quentin called. "Other way." The pair tromped back towards us and away in the other direction again. I giggled. Quentin led me away, holding me. It felt good being in his arms.
***
"Michael," I called. I stumbled into another wall. "Ow."
"You okay?" Quentin asked.
"Fine," I replied. "I'll just have a very swollen nose tomorrow."
"Amy?" Michael's voice called.
"Michael!" I yelled.
"Where are you?" Michael asked.
"Stay there, Michael," Quentin said. "Amy, wait here."
"Why? Because you're the man?" I asked defensively.
"Not only are you a woman, you're a feminist," Quentin growled under his breath.
"What's wrong with me being a woman?" I asked.
"She was a bitch as a man. She's much less of a bitch as a feminist," Michael added.
"Michael, I don't need your two cents," I said.
"She's still a bitch but with less testosterone," Michael continued blithely.
"Come on," Quentin muttered. He dragged me along by one arm.
"Ow," Michael muttered. "I don't need to be dragged. I can walk."
"Is everyone okay?" I asked.
"I'm okay," Willow said.
"Good," Buffy said.
"Okay," Quentin said.
"I can't see anything, and I've got a bloody nose," Michael whined.
"I feel all tingly," Oz said.
"That's part of the whole Garou thing," Quentin told him.
"How do I control that anyway?" Oz asked.
"Focused emotion," Quentin said. "Want to become. Become."
"Oh," Oz replied.
"So, how do we leave?" Buffy asked.
"Anyone know a teleportation spell?" I asked hopefully.
"Nope," Willow answered.
"No," Michael muttered.
"Nuh-uh," Buffy said.
"Sorry," Quentin said.
"Shrug," Oz muttered.
"Damn," I hissed.
"So, there's no way out?" Buffy asked.
"I don't think so," I said.
"There's always a way out," Quentin said.
"Huh?" Michael asked.
"There is a way out," Quentin repeated.
"Where is it?" I asked.
"That's the problem," Quentin muttered. "There's no way to be sure where it is. We could be right next to it, and there's no way to tell."
A flash of light blinked for a moment.
"Giles?" Buffy asked as the British man peered at us through the light.
"Come on," Giles said in a strangled voice. "I can't keep this open
much longer." We ran through.