Thankee, sir. I'm actually fonder of Darla dancing through bubonic plague, but hell, I'm very very weird that way.

Don't worry. I liked that too.

In the city
Part Six: Pasts Imperfect

Justine followed Oz back down the hallway toward her room.

“Any more surprises I should brace for,” she asked.

“Definitely,” he said, handing her a file and a small stack of forms.

Clipped to the file was a photo of a teenaged boy.

“Who’s this?” she asked, “he looks familiar.”

“You don’t know him?” asked Oz, but it was one of those questions where you know the asker already knows the answer.

“Should I?”

“Yeah,” said Oz, taking the file back. “You should. He’s going to remember you.”

“So why don’t you tell me about it?”

“I’m working on it. Docs say you have a traumatic memory loss. Amy says differently. Says your memories have been magically altered.”

“You trust her?”

“Not really. Went to high school with her for a while. Had it kind of rough. Her mom was a witch who traded bodies with her to make the cheerleading team.”

“That’s … really weird.”

“And then she turned herself into a rat and was stuck like that for years.”

“And just when I thought I had it bad.”

“She still has a thing for cheese.”

Justine laughed, first time she’d laughed in ages. Maybe years.

“And what about you?” she said. “What’s your story?”

“That’s … complicated.”

“I’ve got time.”

The moment hovered for a moment.

“I don’t,” said Oz. “Get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Justine watched him walk away, and then turned and scanned her new room. It could be any soldier’s room, she thought. Anywhere.

Cautiously, she climbed onto the mattress and laid her head on the pillow, and for the first time in as long as she could remember, she slept.

In the City

Part Seven: Into the Tower

Justine took the point as she and her two companions wandered the halls of what were once the Wolfram & Hart offices.

There had been a battle here, Riley had explained to them. Big enough to shake the foundations. Wolfram & Hart chose to not rebuild. The building was scheduled for demolition, but that seemed to keep getting delayed.

“Good for us,” said Amy. “Else we’d never be having this swell time.”

Oz shined his flashlight ahead of them. Justine could sense something wrong. They were still on the ground floor, but the hallway past the lobby seemed to go on for too long.

“There’s still a lot of magic here,” said Amy, suddenly serious. “Can’t you two feel it?”

“I feel it," said Oz,” pushing forward. Amy just sighed.

“You never take me anywhere nice.”

Justine heard a crick somewhere behind them, a tiny rustle. She pulled her stake and waited for movement. None came.

She turned, and found Oz was also looking back where they came from.

“You hear it too?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s gone.”

“Uh, guys,” said Amy. They turned in unison to look at her, and saw her pointing toward a small crowd of skeletons wearing the remains of three-piece suits, all of which were now beginning to walk toward them.

Justine didn’t hesitate. She leapt into the crowd, and began knocking skulls as skeletal hands reached toward her. Oz and Amy fell back.

“You going to do something,” asked Oz, patiently.

“I’m … I … need a few minutes.”

“Done.”

Oz picked up a broken chair leg, and began to swing at the crowd. They didn’t fall down. Amy began to chant under her breath, then stronger and louder, but Justine could tell she needed more time.

She kept hitting skeletons.

One broke past her guard and landed a bony punch on her head. She fell, dazed. The skeleton hefted an abandoned desk above his head, ready to finish her off. Oz screamed, but it all sounded very far away.

She rolled, hoping her shoulder would take the brunt of the blow. There was a pneumatic pop, barely audible, and the skeleton’s skull exploded. The desk fell upon its collapsing bones.

Justine looked up, saw Oz about to be overwhelmed, and leaped toward him, rattling the skeletons’ rotting bones. Finally, Amy finished what she was trying to do, and the remaining skeletons caught fire and disintegrated.

The three caught their breath wordlessly. For a moment there was silence, and then a slow, almost-mocking clap.

They looked up to see the teenager Justine had seen in the picture, perched upon a fallen beam. Relaxed, but ready to spring if need be.

“Connor,” said Oz, under his breath. “Justine tried desperately to place the name, but nothing came.

“Not bad,” said the boy. “Not bad at all.”

“Could have leant a hand,” said Oz.

“I got you here, didn’t I? The last place I saw Angel alive. Well, you know what I mean.”

“Thought you weren’t going to join us,” said Oz. “You sounded pretty certain.”

“Oh, I’m not,” he said. “Joining. But I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

The boy then leapt backward into the shadows, and disappeared.

“That’s a really neat trick,” said Amy. “How come none of us can do that?”

There was a muffled giggling, coming from somewhere off in the distance.

“I think that’s enough for recon,” said Oz.

“Time to go talk to the watcher,” said Amy, mockingly. Justine didn’t get the reference.

“More like talked to the watched, said Oz.

Victor -- I think I've missed parts of this story. Do you have it all here? Or on your lj?

Sumi, it starts here:

victor infante "Buffista Fic: It Could Be Plot Bunnies" Oct 10, 2004 2:11:26 pm PDT

And continues on in short order from there.

Thank you!

Here's the rest of the story so far:

victor infante "Buffista Fic: It Could Be Plot Bunnies" Oct 10, 2004 9:09:27 pm PDT

victor infante "Buffista Fic: It Could Be Plot Bunnies" Oct 11, 2004 10:38:38 pm PDT

victor infante "Buffista Fic: It Could Be Plot Bunnies" Oct 23, 2004 9:53:51 pm PDT

victor infante "Buffista Fic: It Could Be Plot Bunnies" Oct 24, 2004 10:06:39 pm PDT

victor infante "Buffista Fic: It Could Be Plot Bunnies" Oct 25, 2004 5:57:05 pm PDT

victor infante "Buffista Fic: It Could Be Plot Bunnies" Oct 25, 2004 6:54:40 pm PDT

Oz and Amy feel back.

Something not right with this - the tense? It's present tense, and it's a bit unclear. They feel/felt whose back?

Ah. "Oz and Amy fell back."

Fixed. Also fixed the numbering, as it had gotten off. Hopefully it's all followable now.