Chancing Folly
“So
he is a good vampire? I mean on a scale of one to ten. Ten being someone who’s
killing and maiming every night. One being someone who’s, not.”
Willow
– ‘Angel’
****
Angel
looked at the door for the tenth time in a minute and Fred stopped talking and
simply waited for him to explain what was wrong. “They should be back by now,”
he said at length, “Shouldn’t they be back by now?”
The
young girl nodded even though he had already moved away from her, and she pushed
her glasses more firmly on her nose. “I think…” she began hesitantly but the
souled vampire interrupted.
“I
should have gone with them. They might be in trouble. They might be hurt. Should
I go after them?”
Again
Fred started to speak but gave up as Angel started to pace. “I can’t let her
get hurt,” he murmured and Fred smiled slightly.
“She’s
very beautiful,” she told him, repeating the first thing that entered her brain.
Angel started and looked up at her intently causing her to blush.
“What?”
he asked, trying to sound casual. It came out abrupt and the young girl winced
slightly.
“Cordelia’s
very beautiful. And nice. You know what else is nice? Ice-cream. And fish. I
mean live fish in the sea or in an aquarium, not fish to eat. Of course that’s
nice too but… oh don’t mind me, I’m just rambling. You know how I am, ramble,
ramble…”
“Fred,”
Angel interrupted once more, “I’m worried about all of them, ok. They’re my
friends.”
“Sure,”
Fred agreed, nodding vigorously this time, “It’s just that you said her, and
there’s only one her besides me, unless it’s the her you talk to Cordy about,
you know the blonde girl you used to be in love with, of course you still might
be in love with her, I’m just saying that it’s sounds an awful lot to me like…”
The
front door burst open and Gunn raced through, stopping Fred in her tracks and
making Angel hyper-aware of the fact that Wesley and Cordelia weren’t with him.
He didn’t need to ask the question though. Gunn was just as panicked. “We got
problems.”
“Where
are they?” Angel asked, trying to stay calm, but knowing it wasn’t going to
last.
“They
vanished. And I’m not kiddin’ Angel. One minute they were there, and the next
I’m just standing by myself.”
“Was
it the Lautum?”
“No we killed that. Angel, they vanished. Right in front of me. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes… But I swear. They just disappeared. You don’t think I would have tried to…?” Angel stopped his friend, knowing that Gunn would have done all he could to protect the others. But how can two people just vanish? “Oh,” Gunn continued, pulling something out of the pocket of his jacket. “These were lying on the ground where Wes and Cor were standing.”
Angel
frowned at the dolls and the pieces of paper pinned to their chests. One of
them read FOUR and the other read FIVE.
****
Buffy knew immediately who four and five were. She didn’t know how she knew, but she felt it and there was nothing like Slayer-sense when it came to the weird and not-very-wonderful. She turned immediately to Spike. “Your car,” she ordered, before grabbing Dawn’s hand and leading her towards the exit. Spike didn’t respond but knew it was more than his unlife was worth to disobey. He quickly caught up to them and held Dawn’s free hand, knowing that at least this way, if they were taken, they all went together.
They moved as fast as possible through the town, to the garage where Spike’s car sat waiting for him. All three climbed into the front seat without a word, and Spike started the engine.
“Where are we going?” he asked as he drove slowly to the main road. He had a bad feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“LA,” Buffy answered shortly and the vampire sighed. Yeah, he really hated the answer.
****
Buffy
pulled open the front door of the hotel and guided Dawn through in front of
her. She held it open for Spike who was trailing along behind them, looking
less than thrilled. Buffy turned back to face him. “Come on.”
Spike
shook his head. “You go on love. I’ll wait here if you don’t mind.” The Slayer
frowned at him and he realised she was going to need more than that if she was
going to let him stay out of Angel’s way. “We didn’t exactly part on good terms,
luv. Last time I saw Peaches he was still sporting the scars my hot pokers had
inflicted on hi…” Oops big mistake. He’d be lucky if she didn’t kill him herself
now. Better remind her. “That was a long time ago Buffy.”
The
Slayer sighed. He was right. She had forgiven him much worse things. And Angel
obviously hadn’t been too badly hurt. “Ok. I’m not angry that you tortured Angel.
But you are coming in here with us. I’m not losing anyone else. I want you where
I can see you.” And that was final. Spike followed her inside and the pair glanced
around the spacious lobby.
“Well
it’s nicer than the last place,” Buffy whispered to him and Spike also lowered
his voice when he answered. “Yeah and a lot more space for him and his hair
to practice their brooding skills.”
Dawn
stepped closer to Spike and took hold of his hand. He glanced down at her and
smiled.
“What’s
wrong pet?”
“Nothing,”
Dawn murmured back, “Angel just gives me the wiggins that’s all.”
Spike gave a shout of laughter and even Buffy couldn’t control her giggle
at her sister’s actions.
Angel looked up at Gunn and Fred at the sound of laughter in the foyer, and they shared a look before the two men each grabbed a weapon and headed out of the office, closely followed by a curious Fred. Angel knew Spike was there before he’d reached the office doorway and ran through the reception to greet his surrogate Childe. He stopped dead when he saw Buffy and Dawn were with him.
“Buffy?”
Buffy, Dawn and Spike turned in unison to the dark vampire and the Slayer breathed deeply before moving down the steps towards him. “Hi Angel.”
Dawn pushed herself slightly under Spike’s arm and the vampire snorted with laughter again, breaking Angel’s gaze from Buffy and directing it at him. “Spike,” Angel spat taking a threatening step towards the blonde vampire. Spike stood his ground and Dawn gave a small squeak of fear, even as Angel found himself blocked by Buffy’s Slayer strength.
“Down boy,” she told him firmly. “He’s with me. And we have more important things to worry about right now than your petty squabbles.”
Spike visibly glowed at Buffy’s assertion that he was with her, while Angel frowned suspiciously at them. “Buffy, it’s Spike.”
“Long story. I’m surprised you haven’t heard it already. We’ll tell it to you later, right now, can you tell me if anyone’s missing?”
Angel stiffened and looked seriously down at her. “Cordelia and Wesley. Apparently they just vanished. There were a couple of dolls left when…” Angel stopped when Dawn gasped and he looked up at her, concerned, to find Spike holding her tightly.
“I’ve told you before nibblet,” the blonde vampire was telling the teenager, “I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”
Angel frowned in confusion and looked down at Buffy, but his surprise merely grew when he saw the fond look she was giving them. She felt his gaze on her and looked up at him with a small smile. “Four and five?” she murmured so that only those with vampiric hearing could hear. Her former lover nodded. “Ok,” she said with a sigh, “let’s start at the beginning.”
“You have a secret and that is not allowed!"
Spike
and Dawn sat opposite Gunn and Fred in the small office, as the two girls exchanged
life stories. The two males divided their attention between sizing each other
up and trying to discover what Buffy and Angel were talking about as they sat
together on the couch.
“Everything’s
been going great. I’m getting back into the swing of things. And then boom,
some psycho goes and kidnaps all my friends. And even I know there’s no way
it can be Dru. Scary and strong she is; more powerful than Willow? I don’t think
so.”
“Why
would it be Dru?” Angel asked, the thought that it might be his insane Childe
having never entered his mind.
Buffy
was at a loss. Apparently no one had filled Angel in on the whole ‘Spike can’t
hurt anyone and is working with us now’ scenario, so she had had to explain
to Angel the last two and a half years with the blonde vampire. But even she
hadn’t gone so far as to tell Angel the real reason behind Spike’s conversion
to good. She didn’t want to see her friend and potential boyfriend beaten to
a bloody pulp. Again. So how was she supposed to explain why Drusilla was more
than usual, pissed off with her?
“The
dolls,” Buffy blurted out as she realised she hadn’t spoken for a whole minute.
“It was the dolls. Spike thought Drusilla, I thought Drusilla. Dolls and Drusilla.”
She gave a nervous laugh and Angel raised his eyebrows.
“You’re
not telling me something Buffy,” he said and she looked down, steeling herself
to tell him the truth. She wished for a moment that she had Willow’s telepathic
capability so that she could give Spike a five minute warning. She opened her
mouth to explain but Angel cut her off. “And that’s good ‘cause I really don’t
think I want to hear it.” The Slayer sighed with relief. “Now,” he continued,
“I think I know where we might be able to get some help with this.”
Buffy
followed him as he stood and walked back to the office doorway. Fred and Dawn
instantly quieted. Spike and Gunn stood and looked towards Angel. “We’re going
to Caritas.”
****
Ethan nodded quickly. “There’s a spell, should be able to protect you, but you’ll only have time to do what you have to do. There’s nothing left in this world that make a vampire impervious to harm.” He flinched slightly as Drusilla approached and grabbed his arm. “The world spins. Stars telling me how to take back what’s ours.”
Darla smiled cruelly. “Well at least one of them. And if they all die on the way, at least it’ll be interesting.”
“It’s dangerous honey,” the blonde vampiress told her Grandchilde and Drusilla pouted. “It is dangerous isn’t it?”
“What?” Ethan asked, becoming more and more bewildered by their behaviour. “Oh, yes, yes, it’s quite dangerous.”
“Oooo,” Dru squealed in joy, “Then we should add the last piece at once.”
Darla nodded. “At once.”
****
“What’s Caritas?” Dawn asked Spike as they trailed along behind the rest as the group made their way to the bar.
“Caritas means sanctuary, pet,” Spike told her, before adding with a grin, “It’s also a karaoke bar.”
Angel stopped in his tracks and turned to face Spike. “You’ve been there?”
“Once or twice,” the vampire murmured and smirked at his Sire. “Please tell me you’re going to sing. That’ll just make my year.”
“You sing?” Buffy asked the dark vampire with interest. Spike snorted in amusement while Gunn tried to disguise his own laughter with a cough. Angel glared at them.
“Look it’s a long story. The main gist is, I have to sing to get the information I need.”
“The Host is psychic,” Spike explained, “but only when you sing.”
“You’ve done it?” Buffy was even more intrigued.
Spike shrugged. “Once before the Gem of Ammara business, and then again after…” He trailed off as glanced at Angel.
“Ok,” Dawn interrupted, sensing the tension between the two vampires, “I for one cannot wait to hear you two. But we have to get there first so…” Dawn stopped as she felt something surround her. A look of horror crossed her face and she reached for Spike and Buffy. The vampire noticed her fear and tried to grasp hold of her but she was pulled just out of reach. “Buffy!” Dawn screamed and her sister moved towards her but the teenager continued to stay at arms length.
Angel and Spike immediately stiffened, the blonde vampire throwing an accusing glare at the older man before stepping closer to the Slayer.
“Darla?” Buffy whispered in disbelief as the blonde vampiress stepped out of the alley. She turned in confusion to Angel whose face was a mask of anger.
“What are you doing here Darla?” Angel asked tightly, stepping closer.
“Oh, you know. Having a little fun with some old friends. Right now though it’s not really you I’m interested in.”
Buffy felt the same force that had surrounded her sister surround her and she was pulled to the other side of Darla. “I’m having fun boys, but I’m not ungenerous. William you get to choose. Your girlfriend,” she offered gesturing at Buffy, “or little sis. Which is it to be?”
Spike looked between Buffy and Dawn, knowing what he had to do but reluctant to give her up. He caught Buffy’s gaze and although she didn’t speak he knew exactly what she wanted.
“Dawn,” he said, his eyes still firmly locked on his love.
“Good choice,” Darla told him with a cruel smile and Dawn was immediately released. She ran to Spike’s side and he held her tightly as he continued to look at Buffy.
“I’ll find you,” he told her firmly and she smiled at him, trying to force back her fear.
“I know,” she replied before the white light surrounded her as it had Willow and Tara and she was gone. Tearing his eyes from the Slayer’s last position he looked towards where Darla had been standing. But she too had vanished.
“Xander
was right. It worked like a charm.”
Giles - ‘The Puppet Show’
****
The
sun was shining brightly on her face as she awoke and looked around her. Immediately
she knew something was wrong. “Spike?” she shouted but something inside her
knew he wasn’t going to answer. He wasn’t there. She was alone.
Anya
sat up and looked around her. She was surrounded by green, the fields and mountains
in various shades made brighter by the sparkling sun. She stood slowly and forced
herself not to panic. She had, after all been in far worse situations. She’d
been the cause of many of them. But Buffy and Xander had always saved her and
she had no doubt that right now, they were on their way to rescue her.
She
saw something move in the bushes at the far side of the field and considered
whether or not she should approach. It could be a demon. But then again, it
was probably just an animal and Anya was in no way afraid of animals. She made
her way towards it, taking in the surrounding countryside. She had never seen
anything like this before. Not in this dimension at least. She raised her face
to the sun and smiled. There were worse places to be trapped.
She
leant over, peering through the bushes for whatever was there. It had always
seemed more sensible to Anya to find out what those things were that startled
you, instead of sitting in a corner cowering. At least if you faced it you would
know. It was the not knowing in her experience that caused most of the fear.
Except
in this case, when the former demon would have much rather been left in the
dark. Not a demon no. It was much, much worse. It was a rabbit.
****
Xander
opened his eyes and quickly shut them again. The last thing he remembered was
trying to help the child find his mother. But it had been nighttime. And they
had been in an alley. In Sunnydale. He cautiously opened one eye, hoping that
he would at least find himself in some dark dank corner of his hellish town.
It
wasn’t Xander’s day. He gave in and opened his eyes properly, standing as he
looked around the forest he found himself in. “Great,” he muttered to himself.
“Just perfect.” He took a deep breath and tried to relax. He repeated one sentence
in his mind while he calmed himself down. ‘Buffy will save me.’ Not for the
first time Xander was thankful that he was best friends with the Slayer. If
he hadn’t been he would surely be dead by now.
The
woman’s scream startled him and he looked around in the direction it came from.
Briefly he considered if going to help was wise. He had tried to help the kid
and now he was stuck here. Xander sighed. Of course he was going to help. He
ran towards the woman, her screams leading him through the forest. He came to
a small clearing and stopped. He couldn’t hear her anymore.
Something
crashed into his back and he went flying to the ground, instantly tensing as
he felt the woman lying against him. She put her arms around him and started
to sob. “Um miss?” Xander mumbled gently, “I don’t want to appear rude but,
I’m engaged and I don’t think my fiancée would like it if I…”
“Oh,
Xander, Xander thank God. It’s me,” Anya choked out and Xander rolled over to
look up at her. Her face was streaked with tears and he felt his heart clench.
He pulled her down to him and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
“Are
you ok?” he asked, closing his eyes as he felt Anya’s presence calm the remnants
of fear inside him. Anya too relaxed as he held her and the couple lay like
that for several minutes, not moving. Finally Anya nodded against her lover’s
chest. “I’m ok. But I don’t like it here. I want to go home.”
“Have
you tried clicking your heels together three times?” Xander joked, relieved
that at least she didn’t have to go through this alone. Neither of them did.
They’d always have each other.
“No,”
Anya told him, snapping out of her misery and looking at him, her eyes brimming
with hope. “Does that work?”
Xander
laughed. “Probably not.” Then he became serious. “Why were you crying? Did something
hurt you?”
"There
are rabbits here,” Anya announced and Xander tried not to laugh. “This place
is truly evil.”
At
that the young man did laugh. “There are rabbits back home,” he reminded her
and she smirked.
“On
the hellmouth. I think my point is proved.” Xander grinned and gave her a quick
kiss before standing and helping his girlfriend to her feet.
“Do
you know where we are?” he asked, looking around them once more, hoping to find
something he had missed. Anya shook her head. “No.”
“Do
you know how we got here?” Once again Anya replied that she had no idea. The
pair sighed and silently started to walk hand in hand in the opposite direction,
away from the field with the bunnies.
****
Cordelia
pushed her self into a sitting position, her eyes still shut against the pain
that overwhelmed her. It was getting harder and harder to even stay conscious
after one of her visions. She just hoped Wesley had managed to get her back
to the hotel without scuffing her pretty ‘Angel’ shoes. Not that Cordy was as
shallowly obsessed with clothes as she had been in high school; she just liked
having special new things. And those shoes were special. Angel had bought them
for her.
“Wesley,”
she croaked, her mouth completely dry, “can you bring me a glass of water and
some aspirin please?” Silence greeted her and a shiver raced along the brunette’s
spine. She was never left alone after she had had a vision. Especially if she
was unconscious. The boys were increasingly worried about her these days and
one of them at least was always there when she woke up.
Most
often it was Angel. He would sit by her, waiting for her to wake up, not to
find out about the vision, just to make sure she was alright. But he wasn’t
here now. No one was. That was when she realised she wasn’t lying on a bed,
or a couch as usual either. No she was lying on the ground. The cold, hard stone….
****
Giles
saw the cottage up ahead and gave a grateful sigh of relief. He had been walking
for what seemed like hours, without any sign of civilisation. He didn’t know
what had happened to him. Instead of waking up in bed, he had been roused from
sleep by an animal’s cry, to find himself lying in the middle of a meadow. He
had no doubt however that something mystical had occurred and had set off immediately
to find someone to help him.
The
cottage beckoned him, the smoke coming from the chimney inviting him closer.
He heard someone moving about inside and smiled, raising his hand to knock.
He quickly ran a hand through his hair and straightened his pyjama top, knowing
this was not exactly the best outfit for wandering the countryside. Still, it
couldn’t be helped.
The
door opened cautiously and he stared at the woman in the doorway. “Cordelia?”
The
young woman’s face broke into a happy smile and she couldn’t stop herself hugging
him. “Giles! Thank God.” She pulled away as quickly as she had moved forward,
pulling him inside with her and quickly closing the door. “Do you know what’s
going on?” she asked, getting straight to the point and completely ignoring
the fact that he was wearing pyjamas.
“I
have no idea,” he told her, but gave her a small smile in encouragement. He
knew Cordelia had changed a lot over the past two and a half years. She had
grown from a beautiful young girl into a truly beautiful person both inside
and out and Giles new that she would give as much help as she could to getting
them home.
“Well,”
Cordy continued, her face becoming determined, “at least I know that Buffy’ll
be looking us too now. I wonder if we’re the only ones here.”
“Faster,
but not really safer.”
Willow - ‘Nightmares’
****
“Willow?”
Tara shouted as she looked wildly around for her girlfriend. “Willow!”
“Tara!”
the redhead’s voice sounded somewhere in the distance and the blonde witch sighed
with some relief. Willow was there and she was alive. For now that was all that
mattered. Tara started to run as best she could, pushing through the overgrown
grass, towards Willow’s voice. “Willow, I’m here. Keep shouting.”
“Tara!”
Eventually
she spotted Willow’s telltale red hair and sank down beside her lover, wrapping
her arms around her. Willow smiled up at her, though her face was covered in
tears. “I knew you’d find me.”
Tara
smiled, “I’ll always find you.” Then she noticed the tears. “Honey what’s wrong?”
Willow frowned. “My ankle. I think I twisted it. It’ll be ok. Can you help me up?” The two witches climbed uneasily to their feet.
“Do
you know where we are?” Willow asked, trying to spot some sort of clue over
the top of the grass.
“I
can’t see anything,” Tara told her shaking her head.
“Spike!”
Willow called inside her mind, hoping her telepathic capability meant she could
still speak to the vampire. There was no answer. Willow offered Tara a tight
smile and tried Xander. “Xander? Are you here?” Again there was no answer. Willow
frowned and glanced furtively at Tara. This didn’t seem right. She had to try
something. “Tara? Can you hear me?” The blonde witch didn’t respond.
“Tara,”
Willow said aloud and her girlfriend smiled gently at her.
“Did
you reach any of them?”
“You
didn’t hear me?”
Tara
frowned. “No I…” She stopped as she realised what that meant. “But it’s only
the mind stuff right? I mean you haven’t lost your…”
Without
giving Tara time to finish, Willow started to recite a spell. One she knew she
could do as easily as breathing. Something she had been doing for three years.
Nothing
happened. She looked at Tara, a little panicked and tried again. Nothing. “Tara?”
Without
a word Tara tried one of her own spells and was dismayed to find that she couldn’t
get it to work either. “It’s ok. We just can’t use magic here. That’s alright
isn’t it? We know how to fight.”
“Well,
yeah, kind of. But we haven’t really had much practice in it. We always with
the magic.”
“We’ll
be fine,” Tara assured Willow firmly, sounding far more confident than she felt.
****
Wesley
saw the woman’s body lying by the stream and quickly sped up to help her. “Miss?”
he called gently as he knelt down next to her. “Miss?” He hesitated only for
a moment before pushing back the cascade of blonde hair that covered the woman’s
face. Wesley stopped. “Buffy?”
The
Slayer groaned as her mind crawled back to consciousness. She heard someone
calling her name and pried her eyes open, trying to focus on the person in front
of her. “Spike?” she asked hoping against hope that the blonde English vampire
would be there to help her. She blinked a couple of times before the face in
front of her swam into view. “Wesley?”
“Buffy,
thank God!” Wesley exclaimed happily as he helped the Slayer to sit up. “Are
you ok?”
“I’m
fine, I think,” Buffy told him, rubbing her neck. Her eyes widened as she remembered
the scene in the alley. “Oh God, Dawn. Wesley, we have to get back. It’s Darla,
she’s…”
“Darla?”
Wesley asked, becoming serious at the mention of the vampiress. “You saw Darla?”
“In
LA, and you are going to tell me everything about that after you tell me what
happened to you. Is Cordy here? Is she safe?”
“If
she’s here, she’s not with me. You’re the first person I’ve seen. We were walking
back to the hotel after killing the Lautum demon and suddenly there was this
bright light. The next thing I knew, I was waking up here.”
“Ok.
She’s here I know she is. So are Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya. We need to find
them and fast. There’s no telling what’s out there hunting them. And us. That’s
our first priority. Spike and Angel are working on the rest back home. I hope.”
“Spike?”
“Long
story. I’ll tell you all about it after you’ve explained what Darla’s doing
undead and well in LA.”
****
Willow
and Tara pushed their way through the tall grass hoping that they were heading
in the right direction. The redhead had classified the right direction as one
that didn’t lead straight to the home of some huge scary demon and her girlfriend
was more than happy to accept that definition.
“I
wish we knew where we were going,” Willow told Tara with an angry pout.
“I
wish we knew where we were,” Tara said with a smile, squeezing Willow’s hand
a little tighter. “But Buffy and Spike will find us right? I mean they’ll do
anything to…”
“Oh
sure, sure they will,” Willow answered, trying to sound optimistic. “They’ll
find a way to get all of us back home no prob… arggghhhh!”
Tara
was pulled to the ground as Willow fell straight down a well-sized hole that
had been hidden from their view by the foliage. As she disappeared her scream
rang out, as did Tara’s startled cry. “Willow!”
She
held tightly to her girlfriend’s left hand with her right, trying to gain some
leverage on the ground with the other.
The
redhead dangled in the seemingly bottomless pit and divided her attention between
Tara and the never-ending blackness. “Tara!”
“It’s
ok sweetie just hold on,” Tara soothed gently, wondering how she could help
Willow without the use of her magic. “I’m going to try and pull you up.” She
took a deep breath and tried Willow’s resolve face.
“Ok,”
Willow whispered, not feeling entirely sure that the plan would work. Magic
they could do, research was no problem, but the other stuff, the strength and
the fighting, that was always left to Buffy and Spike. The ones who were actually
equipped to pull people back from the precipice. Still, the Slayer and the vampire
weren’t exactly going to come running to the rescue this time. There was only
Tara. She trusted Tara with her life. “Ok, sweetie,” she called again, suffusing
her voice with confidence.
“Right,”
Tara said determinedly and then began to pull Willow to safety. She knew something
was wrong the moment she started. It shouldn’t have been that easy to lift her
girlfriend up, but it was as though Willow weighed no more than a feather. Tara
felt strong. She quickly hoisted Willow back to solid ground and her girlfriend
fell against her, engulfing her in a hug.
“Tara,
you saved me. God I was so scared. It’s been a long time since I couldn’t use
magic to… And you were so strong, I mean you pulled me up like I weighed nothing.”
“That’s
how it felt. I think something strange, well stranger, is happen…”
She
was stopped by Willow’s kiss and the two young witches fell back onto the ground
together, proving to each other that they were indeed alive and well.
****
Wesley
and Buffy followed the stream through the forest to a clearing. The sight of
the waterfall and small pool made them both smile and they sat for a while as
the Slayer finished her story. “And then I woke up, which of course, you know.”
She looked around again, grinning widely at the serenity of it all. “This is
beautiful. If I wasn’t afraid we were going to be attacked any second by some
psychotic demon, I’d seriously consider settling down here.”
“Yes
it is rather picturesque. A little too perfect though don’t you think? Nowhere
south of heaven could surely be so wonderful and not have any drawbacks.” Buffy’s
smile faded slightly and Wesley frowned at her. “Is something wrong?”
The
blonde Slayer shook her head. “I was just wondering…” she paused and looked
around, considering what to say next, while her former Watcher kept his eyes
trained on her face for her reactions. “I was just wondering whether or not
I was in heaven. You know when I died.”
The
Englishman nodded but didn’t speak. After a moment she continued. “I don’t remember
any of it. It could have been hell, eternal torment… But I don’t remember. I
just know I came back feeling different. At peace with myself.”
“Can
I ask you something?” Wesley asked softly and the Slayer nodded. “Do you wish…?
I mean do you ever think you’d rather have not come back?”
"Sometimes.
I mean sometimes, I forget that I was ever gone. That I missed four months of
my life, of their lives. But when I really think about it, I just want to know
what happened to give me this sense of rightness inside.
And whether I’m destined to be brought back from the dead every time
I happen to die?"
Wesley
smiled a little, but knew that part of Buffy at least, was being serious. "You
deserve peace, of course you do but..."
"I
know, I know. There's so much for me to do here, blah, blah, blah."
"Actually
I was going to say we missed you."
"Oh,"
Buffy murmured a little startled by Wesley’s words.
"I
mean, I didn't really see the others for very long but I know Willow was devastated
and Angel…. We're all selfish beings. And they thought they were doing what
was right."
"I
know. And maybe they were. Doesn't stop me wondering though."
They
sat in silence for several moments both lost in thought before a scream pierced
the air causing them both to jump. They looked at each other briefly before
racing through the clearing and up the hill. By the time she was half way up,
Buffy was out of breath. Wesley kept shooting her worried glances, but refrained
from saying anything as Buffy's confusion showed clearly on her face.
"Willow!"
Buffy exclaimed as they stumbled across the redheaded witch and her girlfriend,
who were sitting together where they had landed on the ground.
"Buffy!"
Willow and Tara jumped up from the ground and the redhead and Slayer shared
a hug. “Wesley!” Willow exclaimed as her eyes came to rest on the former Watcher
over Buffy’s shoulder.
Buffy
decided to ignore the introductions of Wesley and Tara for a moment and concentrated
instead on the scream. “Will, what happened? We heard a scream. Are you ok?”
Willow
stood back a little as Tara gestured to the hole. “She fell.”
“Tara
caught me,” Willow beamed proudly as she told her best friend.
“Yeah
it was weird,” Tara said, shifting uncomfortably under everyone’s gaze. “I felt
strong. I mean, really super-power strong.”
“And
we lost our magic,” Willow told the others, the worry creeping back into her
voice.
The
Slayer frowned. “I ran out of breath. Running up here. It was too hard. An effort.
It’s never an effort for me. I’m the Slayer!” Buffy started to panic. She closed
the gap between herself and her best friend and tried to lift Willow. The redhead
didn’t budge. “I’ve lost my Slayer powers,” she whispered in shocked disbelief.
“This
is all about me. Me, me, me!”
Cordelia
– ‘Out of Mind, Out of Sight’
****
“William!
Welcome back,” the Host called across the crowded bar as he made his way over
to the two vampires and uncomfortable looking teenager in the doorway.
“We
need information now,” Angel told him bluntly as he neared, glancing back up
the stairs where Gunn and Fred were waiting.
“Well
that wasn’t very polite,” Lorne said with a smirk, his eyes flicking over the
small group. “You want to stop rushing into things head first, then maybe…”
“We
really don’t have time,” Angel interrupted with a frown.
“Sure
you do,” the Host told them with a smile. “You have all the time you need.”
He turned his attention from the dark vampire to Spike. “Well, William? Was
I right, or was I absolutely right?”
“No
one likes a smart ass,” Spike assured him, albeit with a genuine smile as he
reached into his duster pocket for a cigarette. “How you doin’ Lorne?”
“Actually
a lot better since your Grandpa started dropping by. Did you take my advice?
With the lady?”
Spike
winced. “No. Next time, I promise I will do whatever you say.” He noticed the
Host’s increasing interest in Dawn and smirked. “Lorne this is Dawn. Nibblet
this is the Host.” The pair shook hands and Dawn smiled weakly at the demon.
“You’re not evil are you? No of course not, ‘cause Angel wouldn’t come here
if you were and Spike wouldn’t have brought me here and…”
“Shh,
shh, honey it’s ok. We’re gonna get your sister back, no problem. You trust
these two don’t you?”
Dawn
looked up at Angel and Spike, and knew that each of them was willing to die
to protect her sister. They’d get Buffy back. And the others. With a smile,
she turned back to the Host. “Yes.”
“There
you go then sugar. Now, Angel, send those two lurking in the doorway home. Nothing’s
going to happen to them, the players are already in place.” He turned his head
to catch the eye of one of the bartenders. “Charlie! Two beers and a coke,”
he shouted, gesturing at a table next to the wall. “Oh and another Sea Breeze,
if it’s not too much trouble.”
****
“She's
good. A little nervous perhaps but she's young,” Lorne threw out to Spike and
Angel as he focused his attention on Dawn, who was singing ‘Wind Beneath My
Wings’ up on stage because one, it was one of Buffy’s favourite songs and two,
she knew all the words.
“Lorne...”
Angel interrupted, feeling more frustrated with the green demon than he had
ever felt before. Both Lorne and Spike ignored him.
“What
do you see?” the blonde vampire asked, as he watched the young girl on stage
with a feeling of pride.
“We're
not here for that," Angel interjected again, ready to hit his Grandchilde,
just to release some of the tension curling through his body. "We have
to get everyone back, remember? Buffy and Cordy are...”
“I remember
peaches. It's not exactly like I can forget. But Dawn's important.”
“That
she is,” the Host murmured absently and Spike turned back to him, managing with
some effort to pull away from glaring menacingly at Angel.
“So what
do you see?”
“Hmm?”
The Host looked at Spike and shook his head a little. “Not yet. Angel's right.
Now is not the time.”
“But...”
“No,”
he stopped Spike’s own mounting frustration with a look. “I can't reveal anything
to you yet. When it happens, it happens.”
The three
males sat back for minute, watching Dawn. Finally Lorne turned to them, keeping
his voice low as he explained. “This is all about you two, boys. I gotta hand
it to you; you sure know how to piss people off. Especially women.”
“So Darla
and Dru are behind this?” Spike asked, struggling to remain calm, now their
enemy was identified.
“They
are,” the Host paused, searching for the correct way to finish, “the brains
behind it, if you pardon the expression. The masters, pulling the strings.”
“Who else
is involved?” Angel asked curtly, quite willing now to fulfil his promise to
Darla about killing her the next time he saw her.
“Now that
I don't know. All I can tell you is that you two are going to be taking part
in a little game, along with some of your friends.”
“What
kind of game?” Spike asked, his eyes remaining intent on Dawn as she finished.
“Do I
look psychic to you?” the Host asked irritably. Angel and Spike looked at him
with exactly the same sardonic expressions on their faces. “Ok good point.”
They stopped
to applaud Dawn as she left the stage and weaved her way back through the bar
to join them. “But seriously,” the Host continued, “do you really think that
if I knew everything about everything I'd be running this karaoke bar? What
are knights in shining armour for if not to help fill in the blanks?”
“I hardly
think Spike counts as a knight in shining armour,” Angel mocked as Dawn appeared
at Spike’s side and wrapped her arm around his neck, showing her fondness for
and solidarity to the vampire at Angel’s words.
“What's
that proverb about glasshouses and stones?” the Host stared Angel down and the
elder vampire shifted in his seat. “Getting a little big for our boots aren't
we? There's an awful lot you don't know about your Grandchilde.”
It was
Spike’s turn to shift uncomfortably as his Sire stared at him in disbelief.
“Are you seriously telling me that he's going to...?”
“I'm telling
you that he already has,” Lorne told him, effectively ending the conversation.
“And to you William I'm going to give you a little piece of advice.” Spike raised
an eyebrow in response. “Trust yourself.”
“That's
it?” Spike exclaimed, as he heard Buffy’s voice in his head asking the demon
to vague it up a little.
“What
do want Technicolor pictures and surround sound? It doesn't work like that.”
“But you
know what's going to happen,” Dawn said, feeling a little lost in the conversation.
“No, I
know what might happen,” the Host explained and the three others leant closer
to absorb what he was saying. “What's going to happen is, of course, up to these
two. I suggest you put aside your personal differences and try to reclaim whatever
relationship you had in the beginning. There was a time, if I'm not much mistaken,
and I’m not. There was a time when you two had some sort of respect for each
other.” He opened his mouth to say more but stopped when his eyes met Dawn’s.
He pointed to a door further down the wall from where they were sitting. “Bathroom’s
down there honey.”
Dawn looked
about to protest, but then quickly ran to the door indicated. The Host’s smile
remained in place until the girl was out of sight and then it vanished from
his face as he became deadly serious. “And if you have trouble getting back
what you two had, remember this. Buffy will die. Again. And there'll be no coming
back this time. Because this time, when she dies, you two will be all that's
left standing.”
****
“How do
we even know this is going to work?” Dawn asked as she trailed behind the two
vampires as they re-entered the Hyperion.
“We don't,”
Angel told her shortly before moving to the reception desk.
“You really
trust that green guy?” Dawn continued looking pleadingly at Spike. “He was nice
but...”
“Come
here a sec nibblet,” Spike interrupted, leading the teenager away from Angel
to sit on the couch at the other side of the lobby. Angel moved a little further
away, seeming to give them some privacy but, desperate to know what was going
on with his Grandchilde, he tuned his vampiric hearing to their conversation,
listening intently to every word.
“Last
time I saw Lorne, he told me to get back down to Sunnydale sharpish,” Spike
began casually. “He said every question I had could be answered there. He said
I'd find what I was looking for. But it wouldn't be exactly what thought it
was. I was going to get something I'd always dreamed of and that I should be
careful to treat I those I loved with the respect they deserved.”
Spike
grinned wryly as he remembered. “I didn't know what he meant exactly, but I
rushed off back to Sunnyhell and got this thing shoved into my head for my pains.
That's when I stopped listening to him. But it all came true all of it.” He
moved a little closer to Dawn, cocking his head to the side slightly so that
he could look directly at her face.
“I fell in love with your sister a long time before I acknowledged it to myself. She was what I was looking for. Buffy and you and your mum. You Summers women sure know how to get to a bloke. Now we can talk about this now or when peaches and I get back but just remember, you and Buffy are all that matters to me. It took me a hell of a long time to figure it all out, and I'm still struggling to get it right, but you two are my family, and I will protect you both with my life.
“I
like your dress.”
Willow,
Angel, The Master – ‘Prophecy Girl’
****
“We’re
almost there,” Darla drawled, smiling cruelly as she anticipated what was going
to happen. “You should have seen the looks on their faces it was priceless,
it really was.”
“So
we’re done now, yes?” Ethan asked, edging closer and closer to the door, his
eyes flicking back and forth between the two females. “I’ve done what you asked.
It’s all up to them now really.” His hand closed around the doorknob just as
a beautifully manicured hand fastened around his throat.
“It’s
rude to leave before mummy tells you,” Dru whispered, closing her eyes as she
leant closer to his neck. Ethan stiffened in fear. “Bad dog. You’ll have to
be punished.” Ethan felt her fangs elongate against his skin and he finally
accepted that this was it. Death had caught him at last.
“Dru,
honey,” Darla interrupted, drawing the dark vampiress away from the shaking
human. “We want him in one piece. And scared enough so that he’ll do anything
for us of course. But there’s no need to go too far.” She gently brushed her
Grandchilde’s arm with her hand as she passed and stood in front of Ethan her
hands planted firmly on her hips. “You don’t leave until we say so. And I’m
not going to say so until this game is over. You’re here for the duration. If
anything goes wrong, I am holding you personally responsible.”
****
The
phone rang dead on time and Spike and Angel shared an understanding look, before
the elder vampire snatched up the receiver. “Darla?”
“Hello
lover,” the vampiress’s voice trilled down the phone and Angel nodded at Spike,
never breaking eye contact with his surrogate Childe.
“Darla,
just a friendly warning before we begin, when I get my hands on you I’m going
to…”
Darla
chuckled seductively, interrupting Angel’s tirade. “Too late sweetheart. I remember
all too well where your hands were the last time we saw each other. Alone I
mean.” She paused and this time Angel remained silent, waiting.
“Oh,
baby’s not gonna play? Ok, have it your way. The sooner the pair of you get
started, the sooner people start to die and that’s the kind of game I like to
play.”
“What
game?”
“We’ll
explain when you get here.”
“If
you seriously think we’re stupid enough just to…”
Darla
sighed. “Relax Angelus. You have to come here to get there, we can’t explain
it fully when you can’t see what we’re talking about. You come, we explain,
you go and try to save your friends. It’s quite simple.”
“Fine,”
Angel snarled into the phone, “Where and when?”
“Now
and the apartment I’ll give you the address to in a moment. But first there’s
just one more tiny thing.”
“And
what’s that?”
“Bring
the girl.”
****
“I
can’t believe you agreed to this,” Spike hissed glaring at his Sire, while holding
tightly to Dawn’s hand as they made their way up to the apartment Darla had
indicated. “Do you understand what keeping Dawn safe means?”
Angel
didn’t answer, knowing full well that Spike was right and fully deserved to
be telling him what a fool he was. He stopped outside the last apartment on
the corridor and looked back at his two companions. “Trust, remember?”
Spike
and Dawn rolled their eyes at each other and shared a small smile before nodding
reluctantly at Angel. The dark vampire raised his hand about to knock gently,
before stepping back and kicking the door open instead.
“Show
off,” Spike mumbled he and Dawn followed Angel into the apartment.
“Darla!”
Angel called and was greeted by a light being switched on overhead. The three
glanced around the room to find Darla standing at one end of the room and Drusilla
at the other.
“Angel,”
Dru breathed and Spike twisted his face at Dru’s unceasing obsession with her
Sire. “Spike!” she exclaimed happily, starting towards him, but she stopped
as he stepped back, moving Dawn away from her. “My Spike doesn’t love me anymore.
He just loves the Slayer.”
Spike
thought about that for a moment, part of him wanting to tell her he’d always
love her in some way, another part, a part that he had suppressed for the hundred
and seventeen years he was with her, decided it was time to be a man again and
tell the truth. “Yes, I do.”
Drusilla’s
eyes flashed with hatred and Spike almost winced at his harshness, before remembering
that Dru never apologised when she was cruel and realistically he had burnt
all his bridges with her long before now anyway.
“Well,
now the reunion’s over, what say we get down to business?” Darla spoke up, thoroughly
bored by Spike and Dru’s evil-staring competition.
“And
what is business?” Angel asked, casually moving to his right so that he was
between Darla and Dawn as Spike was between Dawn and Dru.
“Why,
the game silly,” she told him, gesturing towards the table in the centre of
the room. Their eyes remaining trained on their former lovers, Angel and Spike
moved with Dawn towards the table. On it lay a map, divided into grid squares.
Some of the squares contained miniature figures of humans and demons; some contained
buildings or weapons.
As
Angel, Spike and Dawn became engrossed in what they were seeing, Darla and Dru
moved to stand opposite them on the other side of the table. “The object is
to rescue the princess,” Drusilla told them, her eyes coming to rest on Dawn
who clung a little harder to Spike.
“Actually
the object is to stay alive. You rescue the princess and you win the game. You
win the game and you stay alive. You two will each captain a team. You play
the game, you rescue the princess, the first of you to reach her wins.”
“What?!”
Spike shouted as he stared in disbelief at the two women before him. “That’s
sick. It’s insane.”
“We
like to think so,” Darla said, smiling at him. Spike’s expression turned from
disbelief to disgust and he looked away, ashamed that he had ever been involved
in their lives. In a vampires life.
“What
do you hope to gain by this?” Angel asked, understanding Spike’s feelings. He
looked at these women before him and for the first time felt nothing but hate.
“Gain?
Absolutely nothing. That’s the best part,” Darla answered before turning to
Dawn with a small frown. “Ah the missing link. Ready for your big part princess?”
Dawn
looked up at the blonde vampiress, her face expressing nothing but fear. “What?”
she choked out nervously, as the same feeling she had had earlier started to
surround her.
“No!”
Spike cried desperately, realising what was happening and trying to hold onto
Dawn as she was torn from his grasp. Both he and Angel tried to grab her, but
as before, she floated out of reach.
“Bye,”
Darla called as Dawn disappeared in a flash of white light, and a similar feeling
started to surround the two males.
“Save
the princess, win the game,” Darla reminded them, laughing as the vampires vanished
into the game.