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This would be the 2nd episode Part 1 of Season 5 in Angel. An intro for Buffy into the Angel Team and then quick move to the ending of the episode. Hopefully I can include 2nd episode in this chapter too. REVIEWS ARE REQUESTED AND APPRECIATED.
I thank ImmortalAngel08 for brainstorming with me. And as always, thanks Xaph for betaing the chapter for me.
NOTE: If you have read the first chapter before yesterday, please go back and read it again as I have updated it after getting help from Xaph.
Episode Summary: Team Angel is shocked when Spike appears out of an amulet that someone sent to Angel. Spike was suppose to have died back in Sunnydale, but now he's returned as a ghost. And he's really unhappy about it. Angel has to deal with an evil necromancer and with Spike, who might just be willing to turn on Team Angel if it'll make him corporeal again. [IMDB]
Buffy stepped into Wolfram and Hart for the first time since her gang left L.A. She’d kept herself and Dawn busy with settling into the hotel and going shopping with the money Angel provided them with. Now that summer was over, Dawn enrolled at the local high school and Buffy thought it was time for her to get back to work. Angel had been trying to have a conversation with her, but Buffy had been avoiding him as much as she could. She didn’t want to get emotional so soon. Her emotional conversation with Willow helped her a little, but not enough for her to open up to others. She remembered Angel’s reaction back in Sunnydale when she had chosen Spike as her champion over him. He had played the poor sport of it with his infamous brooding, and breaking the news that she loved Spike could only mean worse to come in the brooding track record.
Buffy got in the lift, heading up to Angel’s office. Once it stopped, she kept walking straight to Angel’s office without looking at the surroundings. A sudden screech, one that reminded Buffy of nails on a chalkboard, made her stop walking. She turned around to look at the blonde staring at her.
“Harmony?” Buffy asked, confused.
“Yu-huh. Please don’t stake me. I’m only Angel’s secretary. And I haven’t killed anyone for a long time now. I drink pig’s blood everyday.” Harmony kept rambling in panic.
“Shut up, Harmony. I’m not going to kill you.” Buffy turned to walk back into the office.
“Err… Buffy!” Harmony called out.
“What?” Buffy asked irritated.
“Do you know where Blondie Bear is? I know he had that obsession with you and you would have probably kicked his ass. I just want to know where he went after that.”
Buffy felt the emotions she had been trying to keep under wraps so far begin to boil up. She didn’t want to show her tears to anyone, especially not Angel and Harmony. She took a moment to compose herself.
“He’s dead.” She answered simply.
“You killed him?” Harmony gave a surprised shriek. She knew Spike and Buffy were always beating each other up but they’d never managed to kill one another before. She never expected him to die, and at the hands of Buffy none the less.
“No.” With that, Buffy went into Angel’s office leaving a confused and shocked Harmony outside.
When Buffy entered the room, she saw some rich guy on the couch threatening Angel. They ended their conversation when Buffy was close enough to hear them. The man left Angel’s office with a huff, making a comment over his shoulder that he’d be in touch.
“What’s happening?” Buffy asked Angel.
“Seems like we gotta represent him or else California will be full of dead people.” Gunn commented.
When Buffy looked confused, Angel spoke to his team.
“We need to find out what he was talking about. You guys go and research in your departments while I speak with Buffy alone.”
When everyone left, Angel took a seat opposite Buffy and explained what was happening to her.
“So let me get this straight. He wants you to win his case or else he will kill everyone in California?” When Angel nodded, Buffy continued. “Nice clients you have. So this is what you are going to do from now on, huh?”
Angel got up and took a piece of paper from his desk. “I’ve got a clue regarding this guy and I’m going to check it out. Do you want to join me?” When Buffy shook her head, Angel exited his office and went towards the lift.
“I’m just going to stay and look around. I should get myself familiarized if I’m going to be working here from now on.” Buffy said, and walked towards the corridor to the other halls. Truth be told, she didn’t want to be alone with Angel for too long. She knew he would bring up their relationship when he had a chance and she was not looking forward to having that conversation yet.
She walked down until she heard someone singing from behind a closed door. She pushed open the door and walked in to see a figure with his back towards her. She moved closer and he turned around.
“Wow.”
“Whoa.”
Two surprised voices rang at the same time. Buffy regarded the very green demon in a very bright suit in front of her.
“Hold on there Honeybumps. I’m Lorne. I’m one of the good guys; if you’re in the mood to kill someone.” Lorne spoke quickly.
“It’s ok. I’ve got a demon friend too. I was just surprised for a second there.” Buffy felt the need to explain her reaction.
“So you are Buffy, huh? You look so much better than I imagined.” Lorne complimented. He reached out to pinch Buffy’s cheek and smiled.
Buffy stood there, surprised. “You know me?”
“Of course I know you. Angel’s mentioned you before. I used to see you when he sang to me.” Buffy was surprised at that.
“Angel sings?”
“Of course he does. It’s hard to tolerate though especially when he sings Barry Manilow. But that’s the only way I could read him.” Seeing Buffy’s confused expression, Lorne continued to explain. “I’m an Empath demon. I read people’s souls and future when they sing to me.”
“Oh.” Was the simple reply Buffy gave Lorne.
“I can see something troubling you. Do you want to sing for me? I may be able to help you.” Lorne offered.
“Maybe later. I’m not in the mood right now.” Buffy could clearly remember what happened the last time she sang. And it brought back memories Buffy was trying to avoid. A flash of her and her bleached vampire standing in the alley of the Bronze having gotten their tunes out of them and becoming rather intimate flared in the back of her mind. The Slayer took in a deep breath, feeling her heart clench.
“Okay, Cupcake. Let me know when you are ready.” With that, Buffy left the room to walk down the hall. She went down other corridors, meeting Fred in her lab and Wesley in his research room. She also met Gunn getting ready to leave somewhere. All day long she went around the place trying to remember which door led to where.
She passed by Angel during her journey through the building, and tensed. She was going to say ‘Hi‘, but seeing the look on his face, she knew he wanted to be alone. She walked down the corridor until she met someone else, who she had seen Angel speaking to earlier.
“Hi. I’m Buffy.” She extended her hand, trying to be friendly.
“Oh. So you are the famous Slayer. I’m Eve. I’m the liaison between Angel and the Senior Partners.”
Buffy was confused. “Senior Partners?”
“Yeah. They are the ones who offered Angel the position to run this place. And it seems like Angel has everything under control already.”
“Oh.” Buffy didn’t know what to say. She was still trying to understand what went on around the office to decide whether Angel had it under control or not.
“So you are the one both vampires fell in love with, huh? You must be really special to make both of them to fall for you. Especially the last one… Spike wasn’t it? William the Bloody?”
Buffy didn’t speak. She was not getting a good vibe from the woman in front of her and wasn’t about to spill her guts about the feelings she had for both vampires.
“I guess it must be difficult now, working with Angel. Don’t worry though. There’s no competition for you here, anymore. Cordelia is in a coma.”
Buffy’s head perked up. “Is she in the same building?” Regardless of how she felt towards Cordelia back in Sunnydale, she was still a familiar face and Buffy wanted to see her if she could.
“Yeah. A couple of floors down. You can visit her if you want.” When Buffy nodded, Eve took her to Cordelia. Buffy spent the next few hours telling Cordelia about what happened in Sunnydale while she was in L.A.
That evening, Buffy decided to go and pick Dawn up from school. She hadn’t made any progress in the office since they seemed to operate without telling her anything unless she asked, most of the time. Whilst everyone else was working on the case of the lunatic-who-wants-to-kill-everyone, she decided it would be better if she went and fetched her sister. With the time Buffy had spent learning to drive properly in the past year, she was confident that she wouldn’t cause a car pile up... much.
When Buffy arrived at the school gate, Dawn was just about to leave. She seemed happy at the new school and she was walking with a few girls to the gate. Buffy was glad that Dawn seemed to have adjusted to the change easily and was moving on with her life. Seeing Buffy by the gate, Dawn waved enthusiastically.
“Hey Buffy. I didn’t expect you to be here. Wanting to test your driving skills, huh?” Dawn winked.
“I wanted to pick up my little sister from her first day at school. Is that a crime?” Buffy responded.
“So, how was your first day at work?” Since the Sunnydale fiasco, Buffy and Dawn had been talking about the bad things that happened around them. Buffy realized that letting Dawn in was better than hiding her from the violence that always seemed to surround their lives.
She had started to expose Dawn to it last year with the slaying and now that Dawn was living a normal life, Buffy wanted her to at least be aware of what was happening.
“Pretty boring. Wandered around the building trying to get to know how it all works. Saw some client of Angel’s threatening to kill everyone in California. The usual.” Buffy said, disregarding the seriousness. Dawn was flabbergasted but didn’t say anything.
“I don’t know if staying here is a good idea. I don’t feel right about it but then if nobody keeps an eye on Angel, it will be too late to stop him if he goes downhill.” Buffy said, voicing her concerns to Dawn.
“Do you think he will go bad? He still has his soul.” Dawn reasoned.
“The soul is not everything. He might turn bad even without losing it.” Buffy replied.
“Huh.” Was the only response from Dawn.
“What is it? What does that mean?” Buffy was confused by Dawn’s lack of response. She was always forthcoming.
“Nothing. I don’t think you would have said something like that a few years ago. You were adamant that the soul is what makes a person good or bad.”
“I couldn’t let myself believe that at the time. Everything has to be black or white for a Slayer. If I let myself think otherwise, then I’d have to worry about the demons I kill every night. Dawnie, the things I’ve seen in the last few years have changed me. I can see the differences in demons and understand that a soul is not everything.” Buffy explained. Both sisters knew who Buffy was really talking about, but neither one wanted to bring up his name in the conversation.
“Are you okay, Buffy?” Dawn asked worriedly.
“I’m fine. Just a bit worried about the current situation, I guess.” Buffy changed the subject. She was plagued by memories and didn’t want her sister to worry.
They spent the rest of the ride towards the Hyperion in silence, the only sound the music from the radio.
When Buffy returned from dropping Dawn off at the Hyperion, the office seemed to be in a state of panic.
“What happened? Did that guy go through with the killage?” Buffy asked the first person she came across, which unfortunately was Harmony.
“Huh? What guy?” Harmony blinked for a second. “She’s crazy and I hate the way the stupid bleached vampire obsesses over her. Makes sense ‘cause Drusilla was crazy too, but even then, I’m like, totally better looking than her. Ugh.” She murmured in a low voice knowing that saying all that to the Slayer’s face would result in an immediate stake to the heart.
Buffy, hearing little of what Harmony said, ignored her and continued on looking for someone who could explain the rise in activity.
“Wesley.” Seeing he hadn’t heard her, she called out louder, “Wesley!” He stopped moving and turned as Buffy rushed to catch up to him.
“Everyone seems to be hurrying around. Did anything big happen? Do I need to make with the slayage?”
“Oh Buffy. You’re here now,” Wesley responded, enthusiastically. “Good. Maybe you can help me understand it in detail. Please follow me to my office.”
Buffy was confused about what was going on, but followed him nevertheless.
After entering the office, Wesley closed the door and he and Buffy took a seat at his desk, on top of which was a box. Wesley reached out and opened the box and Buffy looked at the contents. Inside, laid carefully on a velvet cloth was the same amulet Spike wore in the Sunnydale battle.
“Is that what I think it is?” Buffy asked in a whisper. Seeing the amulet brought back memories that she had been unsuccessfully trying to suppress.
“Yes. It’s the same amulet from Sunnydale. Somebody sent it to Angel today, in the mail. If we can understand what exactly it is, then we can figure out how to release him.” Wesley continued on. He’d forgotten that Buffy was not aware of what had happened a little while ago in Angel’s office.
“Him? Who’s him?” Buffy asked. Truthfully she was afraid to ask but her curiosity overpowered her fear.
“Oh Gosh. I forgot that you didn’t know. My apologies. When Angel opened the envelope, the amulet fell out, exuding a lot of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Spike was standing there. Appearing to have come from the amulet, you see. “
“Wh... who?” Buffy was in shock.
“Spike. William the bloody. He has returned from the dead. Apparently his essence was held up in the amulet and when Angel opened the envelope, he got released. However, for some reason he was not released completely.”
“What do you mean? How can he be back but not here completely?” Buffy was confused.
“Spike is incorporeal. His essence has been released but his physical self seems to be stuck in a parallel plane, somewhere between our world, and who-knows-where. We are trying to figure out if there is any way to release him from the amulet completely. Right now he’s well, he’s kind of a- a ghost. The can’t touch, going through the walls type.”
“Are you sure it’s him? I mean really him? It could be the First. It had the power to pretend to be other people.” Buffy suggested. She was afraid to get her hopes up only to discover it was not him. She needed to be sure before she would let herself believe he was back. After everything that had happened in her life, she was afraid to believe that good things could happen to her.
“I did have my doubts. But then I thought it through. The First didn’t have the strength to appear over long distances before. And as you prevented it from gathering its army, it will not have enough power to come this far. I believe the amulet was meant to be used by the powers of good and I do not believe it was meant to capture the essence of the First.” Wesley reasoned.
“Where is Spike now?” Buffy wanted to see him. Even though Wesley had explained everything in detail and seemed sincere; part of her mind doubted that it was true.
“He and Angel had a fight and Spike walked off. For some reason Angel didn’t mention you being here. I didn’t want to interfere because it was not my place to say anything.” Wesley said apologetically.
“I need to go and find him.” Buffy said and got up off the chair, getting ready to leave.
“Wait, Buffy. Where are you going to look for him?” Wesley asked.
“I don’t know. Anywhere. I can’t sit around and wait for him. I need to see him myself. I need to know!” Buffy’s voice faltered with the emotion that she was feeling.
“Calm down Buffy. Spike cannot go anywhere.” Seeing Buffy’s questioning stare, Wesley continued. “Spike is bound to the amulet and he cannot go long distances from it. So he is going to return very soon because he cannot do anything else. So why don’t you sit down and wait for him? Maybe assist me in understanding Spike.”
“Damn Angel and his stupid vampire jealousy. Every time someone falls for me, he interferes.” Buffy seethed.
“I knew there was some animosity between the two of them. Angel is not forthcoming about it, however, and he brooded for some time after he returned from Sunnydale. And I haven’t had the time to speak with you about Spike since you arrived here. Do you feel like talking? I would like to hear about Spike from a different perspective other than Angel and the council books.” Wesley asked encouragingly. He knew Buffy would be willing to explain more about what Spike had claimed about his soul after his appearance from the amulet.
“Angel and Spike have been jealous of each other for a long time now. I think it goes way back, long before me, but lately they both seem to be more competitive with each other and I am caught in the middle of it.” Buffy explained.
“What made Spike change? According to Cordelia, last time Spike visited Angel in L.A., he was all evil, trying to be violent. He came after the gem of Amarra and they had to trick him to escape. This time around, he claimed to have a soul and saved the world. I just don’t understand what made him change.”
“Love. Spike was always motivated by love. And after the fiasco with the gem of Amarra, he was caught by the Initiative.” Buffy paused. “Did you ever hear about them? Bunch of government soldiers and scientists experimenting on demons and vampires. Anyway, they put a chip in Spike’s head. Stopped him feeding.”
“How awful!” Wesley exclaimed. Even though he was a Watcher, he would never consciously do any sort of experiments on demons whether they deserved it or not.
“Yeah. Spike had to survive on pig’s blood ever since then and he worked for us to earn money. He could hurt demons so he helped us out when we needed. And then all of a sudden, he fell in love with me.”
“But Buffy...” Wesley interrupted, “forgive me for asking but how can he have loved you when he had no soul at the time? Vampires are incapable of love.”
“I thought that too, Wes. He did some crazy things back then but he also protected Dawn and my mother. He genuinely seemed to care for them and me. We went through some good and bad times since then but he genuinely loved me in his own way.” Buffy said with a small smile. Memories from back then were haunting before but felt pleasant now knowing that Spike was back. “He showed his willingness to change through his actions. He did make a lot of mistakes but the important fact is that he was willing. And when one of his mistakes became unbearable for him, he sought out his soul so that he wouldn’t ever hurt me again.”
“He sought out his soul willingly?” Wesley was surprised. Seeing Buffy’s nod, Wesley was genuinely impressed. “Good grief.”
“Yeah. I couldn’t believe it either. He went to this massive extreme to change what he was and all he needed was the chance to show that he could change,” Buffy said. “And then in the hellmouth, he wore that amulet. It was meant to be worn by a champion, you know? And he won the battle for us.” Buffy said, proudly.
“I’m simply amazed. An unsouled vampire who fell in love with the Slayer and willingly sought out his soul ended up saving the world by sacrificing himself. I don’t understand how a vampire could go to such lengths for an emotion that is deemed not possible for them to feel.”
“We don’t know the honest truth, Wes. All we know is from the Council’s books and Angel,” Buffy replied. “You know what the Watcher’s Diaries are like and I don’t have to tell you how not-forthcoming Angel is when it comes to his own flaws.”
“To tell you the truth, I am amazed at your own maturity, Buffy,” Wesley said, looking at her from above his glasses. “the last time we met in Sunnydale, you were in love with Angel and I cannot fathom you disagreeing with anything Angel said or did. After all, you quit the council because of your relationship with Angel.”
“A lot of the things I’ve seen and done have made me realize some hard facts in life,” Buffy replied. “The Buffy you saw back then was naive and did not know how to face the harsh reality of life as the Slayer.” Pausing for a second, “Also, don’t forget the fact that the council men were all jerks.” Buffy spoke with a smile.
“As it is, I am honoured to have known you back then and now,” Wesley said, respect clear in his voice. “I do not think any other Slayer has done the amazing things you have and still lived to talk about it.”
“Thank you Wes. You’ve changed a lot from then. I guess all of us have matured over time.” She looked at her watch. “I want to stay and wait for Spike, but Dawn will be wondering where I am. I should go and tell her what's happened, you know Dawnie, she hates to be left out,” Buffy said “Call me if Spike gets back before I do, okay?” She started to get up.
“I promise. Oh. Before you go, I forgot to ask the question I wanted to ask about the amulet. Can you tell me what exactly happened when it was powered?”
“I don’t know the exact details. All I saw was a beam of sunlight hit the amulet and it reflected everywhere in the cavern and killed all the uber-vamps in its way. The cave started to tremble and Spike told me to leave.” Buffy paused for a minute, trying to control the emotional pain that was brought forth by the memory. “He stayed in there as it collapsed.” Buffy finished in a low voice.
“Thanks. I think that will be helpful in working out what the amulet does and maybe give me an idea on how to reactivate it.” Wesley said, and settled in to work on the item.
“Bye Wes.” Buffy said and left the office, making her way towards the garage.
On her drive home, she was haunted by her thoughts. ‘This has to be a dream. I must be dreaming that Spike is back. But then why would I imagine him coming back as a ghost? When I saw him in the basement after the soul, I thought that was my imagination too, but it wasn’t. So maybe this is real.’ Buffy pinched herself to see if it felt real.
‘Ouch. That hurts. It feels real. So this must be real. But how is it possible? How did Spike come back? Does he still have his soul? Does it matter if he has his soul or not? Does he still love me like he used to? When Angel came back from hell, he was crazy. Spike isn’t crazy or Wesley would have told me. Maybe he was not in hell. He could have gone to heaven. After all, he did save the world. That has to count for something, right? Did someone rip him out of heaven? I know too well how that feels. Does he feel the same? Should I feel sad about it or should I feel happy that he is back here with me?’ Buffy’s thoughts were overwhelmed with questions that she didn’t have the answers for.
‘God. Now I know how Spike must have felt when I came back. What should I do? Think, Buffy, think. No. That won’t work. You’re an action girl. Only thing you can do is ask him yourself.’ Buffy convinced herself and decided to talk to him when she could without others present. Satisfied with her decision, she drove faster towards the Hyperion.
Chapter End Notes:
I’ve broken this chapter into two parts because this is the intro for Spike. And also because Episode 1 and 2 are in this chapter. So next chapter will be the ending of Episode 2 in Season 5. Hope it’s not too long to read. Please let me know if it is. REVIEW PLEASE.
