| Mastery by ComedyofErrors |
| Chapter #17 - Chapter 17 |
Mastery by ComedyofErrors Chapter 17 Ryan kicked at the ground with the toe of his sneaker. He sighed quietly. He had to face the facts: he was a pretty rotten vampire. Not rotten like Big Bad material, rotten like he'd rather be at home playing video games and drinking blood out of a mug than hunting. It just wasn't any fun to him. Neither was guard duty. And right now, standing outside the slayer's house clutching his crossbow, he was frightened of every sound. The Master and the Mistress had been in the house for only twenty minutes or so and they'd probably be there most of the night. He and the other minions and Morrie were supposed to keep watch to see if Angelus's servants were around the house. If they came, he didn't know what he could do to protect his Master against them. He was only a month old, after all, and some of the minions that sided with Angelus had spent years serving the court of the old Master. He was proud to be trusted enough to be on guard for his Master's safety. And he was really glad to serve Master Spike. Without Master Spike, Angelus probably would have dusted him some day for doing something stupid. But sometimes Ryan just wished he could have a simpler duty. One where he couldn't mess up and embarrass his Master. He heard a scraping noise to one side and froze, searching for the source. It sounded like it came from the back of the house where Chris was watching. Silently, Ryan crept around the house until he was within view of the other minion. Chris was alert and walking slowly toward the small glade behind the house. Ryan saw Jacob in the shadows on the other side of the back porch. All three vampires paused, listening. The attack came from the trees. Six vampires in game face leaped forward, closing the distance themselves and Chris before he had time to fire his crossbow. He was knocked to the ground by two of the enemy and screamed for help as they tried to stake him. Jacob and Ryan fired their crossbows at the clutch of four demons running to head them off. Two dusted and a third stumbled as he inhaled the dust from his comrades. Spike's minions pulled their stakes for hand fighting; there wasn't time to reload. _______________________________________________________________________ Spike charged for the kitchen door, ripped it open, and ducked out onto the porch. He could see Jacob struggling with another vampire and both Morrie and Alexa running towards him. Thirty feet away, Ryan was on the ground at Chris's feet, moaning in pain. Spike heard Buffy rush out the door behind him, so he motioned for her to stay low. She reached him and they watched as Alexa, still running, dropped her crossbow and pulled a stake from inside her jacket. She leaped onto the offending vampire and plunged the stake into his chest. He crumbled to dust beneath her boots. "Any others?" Spike shouted. "No!" yelled Chris. He bent down to Ryan, whose neck was bleeding from the wound of a badly aimed stake. He licked the edges of the skin to get it to close. Chris helped Ryan stand and led him toward the porch. Spike looked over the others as they came to stand beside Buffy and himself. No casualties, one superficial injury. He cast a quick glance at Buffy, who was frowning at the ground. "What's on your mind, luv?" Buffy raised her eyes to Spike's. His expression was grim, as she supposed her own was. "He knows." These could only be Angelus's minions. Morrie said they had been searching everywhere for her Spike. Trying to find any trace. The first thing they would have done when they found out that she and Spike were here was send someone to tell Angelus. The information was too valuable to chance them dying before it was delivered. She saw Spike nod, slowly. "Yeah. This tells him three things. One, you're alive. That'll make him mad. Two, you're with me in the non-hostage capacity. That'll make him madder. Three, we're teamin' up against him with your Watcher and the rest. That'll make him pop: tidy little three-act betrayal." Spike's fingers itched to pull out his lighter. Nicotine helped him stay calm and think straight. But Buffy couldn't stand the smell, so he'd just have to do what he could without. "It was always a risk they'd show up, but I was hoping they'd already left when we got here." The minions had formed a semi-circle in front of Spike and Buffy. Spike looked to Alexa. "From the top. What happened?" "They attacked from the rear. Morrie and I were out front. We heard Chris scream and came running, but there was only one left alive by the time we got here." She glanced at Chris. "He'd know more than I do." Spike turned his stare on Chris. "I heard a rustle in the grove back there and went to see what it was. Six vampires came running full-speed at me. Two knocked me to the ground, I screamed for help, and the other four ran behind me to Jacob and Ryan. Next thing I knew, Ryan dusted the vamp above me that was going for my heart. His friend cut Ryan and while he was distracted I dusted him." Jacob spoke next. "Ryan and I heard the noise as well, and came to investigate. We got two of the remaining four with crossbows. I staked a third while Ryan went to help Chris. Alexa got the last one, as you saw." Spike nodded. "Good work all around. No point going back on patrol. They won't send out another scouting party. If Angelus sends anything more tonight it'll be an army. You five wouldn't be much against that. Best stay put in the house with us until we get a plan together." "And you expect to just bring uninvited vampires into this house?" Buffy cringed at the accusatory tone of her Watcher's voice. She turned to see him standing, crossbow in hand, on the porch. Willow, Oz, Cordelia, and her mom had spilled out behind him. His eyes had turned to that same cold tint he displayed when he accused her of being Spike's ho at the mall. It was enough to make the minions nervous. And for the first time, Buffy felt genuinely afraid of her own Watcher. She was a vampire now. She got the feeling that meant that he wasn't going to fully trust her ever again. He believed that she could be made to betray him. Her respect for Giles fell a little further. Spike was unimpressed by the Watcher's menacing glare. The man had balls, no doubt. He was dangerous, certainly. But Spike had spent years learning to read situations. And right now, the Watcher wasn't the one in control. With all the contempt he could put into words, he replied, "No. I expect to ask Joyce if my minions could possibly wait in her kitchen while Buffy and I discuss the new position we're in with you lot." He turned to Joyce. He softened in speaking to her. Something about her required him to use his good manners. "Would that be alright, Joyce?" She smiled at his audacity toward Giles and sweetness toward her. Spike was quite the charmer. "Actually, if they're going to be fighting with us, I think they deserve a chance to be in on the planning. They're all welcome to come inside." Joyce saw Giles head whip around toward her. His disapproval stood out in every line of his face, but she ignored it. He pledged to abide by her decisions. It was up to him to remember it. Giles sighed and lowered his crossbow. This was a battle he wasn't going to win. He supposed that he and Willow could dis-invite them later. Joyce suppressed a smile of satisfaction. "Well, I'll get to work on the hot chocolate. Why don't you all go inside and get acquainted?" ________________________________________________________________________ Willow watched as one of the minions, Chris, handed Spike a cup of cocoa from the coffee table with a bow. Spike nodded in thanks. Chris then repeated the action to Buffy. Buffy also nodded, and smiled. Then Chris sat back down on the floor and was handed his own cup by the male minion at his side, Ryan. None of the minions drank until both Spike and Buffy had. Cordelia leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Can we get minions? You know, without becoming vampires?" Willow shrugged. She guessed the minions heard them, because they laughed. Alexa sipped at her mug, watching the nervous teenagers across from the line of demons sitting on the living room floor. It reminded her of parties where all the boys stood on one side of the room and all the girls stood on the other, too nervous to dance together. Right now, the Master and Mistress were not interested in entertaining them, so the duty fell to her. She smiled at them in what she hoped they would perceive as a friendly way. "Well, you could probably hire some." Willow blinked. "For, like, everyday things? Laundry, house-keeping..." "Hmm. I suppose so. You just have to remember that vampires aren't very patient as a rule, so I wouldn't ask them to crochet doilies, if I were you." Buffy smiled. She knew what Alexa was talking about. Buffy was sitting on the arm of the chair Spike had taken in the living room. Not taken exactly, more like the one she asked him to sit down in. He'd been agitated after the fight and started pacing around the living room. Every time he came near Willow's end of the sofa her eyes threatened to pop out. Buffy supposed it was one thing to make a truce with a vampire and another to have him stalk toward you every thirty seconds. He was still tense. He sat stiffly in the chair and didn't blink, his senses on high alert. He'd calmed down a little bit when her mom brought in the hot chocolate tray. He watched the little marshmallow's swirl around on the surface and smiled, thanking Joyce for her hospitality for himself and his minions. Now, after about five minutes, the hot chocolate had ceased to distract him from the problems at hand. Buffy knew what Spike was feeling; she felt it herself. It was a need to do something. Anything, rather than just sitting here. They weren't big on patience, Spike especially. But they could do it when necessary. Like now. So while Alexa made small talk with Willow and Cordelia, they sat waiting for Giles and her mother to join them in the living room. From the doorway of the kitchen, Giles glowered at the scene in the living room. It went against everything he knew to let vampires this near to his loved ones. But then he kept overlooking the fact that one of his loved ones was a vampire. He sighed. It was much simpler in those days when vampires were demons to be staked, not visitors to which one catered. "Stop it." Joyce's voice from behind him was commanding, but not unkind. "You're thinking too much. And you're being selfish." Giles turned to look at her. "You agreed with me earlier that you'd been too judgmental, and now you've gone ahead and done it again. You weren't winning anyone to your viewpoint by acting like some watcher Rambo out there." Giles frowned. "It isn't easy to just throw aside everything I've every known about vampires and trust them." Joyce crossed her arms. "Spike's doing fine throwing aside his instincts to rip our throats out one by one." Giles shook his head. "It could still be a ruse-" "No. Where's your faith, Rupert?" He snorted. "Gone. Angelus took what little was left." Joyce put a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me. Trust Buffy. Please." She could practically hear his teeth grinding. "Listen to what they have in mind." He acquiesced with a sigh. Joyce removed her hand and they walked into the living room. Rupert sat down opposite Spike in the unoccupied armchair. Joyce remained standing - with eleven pairs of eyes fastened on her. She wasn't much of a speaker, but she decided that someone needed to bring the situation back into focus. "It's time we got down to business. First, let's congratulate ourselves that we have made it this far. The last two weeks have been taxing for everyone, but we're here. That has to count for something." She cast a look at Buffy. Her daughter still existed and she was grateful. "We need to decide what to do so that we're still around next week." She walked to the sofa and sat down on one of the arms. "We don't all know each other well and that has led to several unfortunate misunderstandings tonight. There have been some harsh words said, but we need to look beyond that." She glanced at Rupert, but he remained silent. "We're all together for the same reason. We want to remove Angelus from this town, our lives, and if possible, the earth. Spike," she turned her attention to the seated vampire. "you've known him longest. I believe you should begin by giving us your thoughts on the matter." Spike nodded. "Thanks Joyce. First thing to know is that he outnumbers us. Morrie here," he gestured to his servant, "has done some lookin'. Angelus has twenty to thirty minions...or had, seein' as my minions took out six of 'em a little while ago. So let's figure twenty-five. More 'n two to one. He's holed up in an old wreck of a hotel on the outside of town. Second thing to know is that if we don't get him tonight, we'll never get him at all." "What?" Cordelia looked at him in surprise. "You want us to attack now?" He shook his head. "No, pet. Believe me, I'd rather wait, but we're outta time. By tomorrow the bastard'll be ready for us. Hell, I wouldn't put it past him to come straight for us before morning." "If we're assuming he knows we're against him, he may be on his way now," Giles said with some alarm. "Doubt it." Everyone looked at Oz in surprise. "When Xander and I were doing surveillance, he never once went back to his lair before midnight. It's only 9:30 right now. He never goes with his minions either, so they won't know where he is." "And minions won't start that kind of attack without their Master," Alexa added. Willow frowned. "But we don't even have a plan! What are we supposed to do?" "Burn their shelter to the ground." Buffy returned the stares of the shocked faces around her. "We go and watch for when he gets back. Take out a few minions on the outside if we can do it quietly. We wait until he goes inside, then we throw Molo...Molo...um, cocktail thingies in the windows and shoot whoever runs out." Ripper couldn't help but be impressed by the ruthlessness in the plan. Joyce was right, he'd been too doubting of Buffy's strength in her vampire incarnation. "Workable, but a bit crude. There are a lot of random things that could go wrong." "Yeah, Watcher, but it's the best chance we've got. We'll be armed and ready." Buffy stood up. "We'll vote. All in favor raise your hands." Spike's went up immediately. Oz followed him, then Morrie, then Willow, her mom, and Cordelia. Giles raised his as well. Buffy smiled at him. She looked at the minions, who hadn't moved. "What about you guys?" They exchanged looks. Alexa spoke, "We stand by the decision of our Master and Mistress." "Okay. Everybody grab your weapons. Stakes, crossbows, lots a darts, all the humans get crosses." Buffy looked to Oz. "I saw your van out front. Can we use it?" He nodded. "Good. We need to go by a gas station. Giles, what haven't I thought of?" Momentarily startled by Buffy's question, Giles stood and straightened his shirt. He hadn't been expecting her to ask his advice after his earlier behavior. "Right. Cordelia, take the minions and get weapons for all of us. Joyce, I suggest that you and I find some empty bottles to use. Willow, we'll need rags. Oz, I suggest you clear out the rear of your van. Also, if you can find any gas cans, they'd be useful." Giles didn't presume to assign a task to Buffy or Spike. Buffy watched as her friends left the living room to get supplies. Her mom and Giles, too. The minions went outside to help load the van, leaving Buffy and Spike alone. She sat back down on the chair arm. She felt a hand creep up along her arm to her shoulder. Another hand came to rest on the other side. Spike began a gentle massage along the top of her back. She sighed. "So did I do okay? I'm not really liking the idea of sending them into mortal danger. I wish I could just take him out myself, so nobody else would be in danger." "You did great Goldilocks. And as for Angelus. They all have somethin' to hate him for, like your mum said. You couldn't keep them out of this if you tried. 'Specially your mum. She wants her shot at him." Spike could see her smile in his mind, even if she was facing away from him. He let his hands stray to her hips and lifted her off the side of the chair, then settled her on his lap. He pulled her torso back against his. Spike pulled a lock of hair back behind her ear and whispered to her. "Listen, luv. You be careful tonight. You're a lot more flammable than you used to be. Stay back from the building." She moved a hand to the side of his face and stroked it gently. "You too. You're doing better but you're still not all the way healed. I'll be worried about you." He gave a soft growl. He nuzzled the back of her head. "I can take care of myself." She nodded. "I know. Can't a girl worry about her guy?" She played with the edge of his duster. "Suppose." He slowly smirked into her hair. "You could always give me a kiss for good luck. Unless you want to sneak upstairs for a little something more." She huffed and turned to look at him. "Eww, Spike, my mom's in the house. And my friends and my watcher." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Can't blame a bloke for trying. Guess I'll have to settle for that kiss." She gave him a loving smile. "Just until we finish this." She leaned over and pressed her lips to his. ***** Please R&R. Thanks Linda! a/n: On reading this again, I notice some similarities to Spikeschilde's latest chapter of the demon in many. I just wanted to comment that I wrote this before reading her excellent update, and that I would never knowingly take someone else's idea. |