Tempus de Muto

by Schehrezade

Disclaimer: They ain't mine but I gets to play with them!!
Feedback: As a first time writer, I would love input. It's a drug that I could become addicted to! Drop me a note at
schehrezade_1@hotmail.com
Rating: PG15 for now will vary from chapter to chapter. Will always put in a warning.
Dedications: To Tales, cos I wouldn't be writing without her prodding. You're my muse girl!! Madame Draco my Beta. Thank you for all the hard work and patience. A true gem!

Chapter 18

The entire room was a frozen tableau.

Spike was eventually the first to move and also the first to break the silence. He spun slowly on his heel to face the bed and the battered teenager who had just dropped the bombshell.

"What did you say, Mini me?" Spike drawled as he pinned Connor with a piercing gaze. Buffy slid her hand into his and held on tight. Behind her she could hear Fred and Lorne gasp in surprise.

"I... I said, I hope they haven't killed Dad." Connor rasped as he tried to sit up. Tara's hands slid around his shoulders as she helped him slide up to lean against the pillows.

"Killed Dad?" Spike quirked his scarred brow in question at Connor.

"Yeah.  I tried to get to him... to help... but there were too many of them..." Connor looked over at Buffy and Spike as tears of frustration filled his eyes.

"Too many of who?" Gunn demanded.

"Humans... they were his followers and I can't hurt humans... it's just not right!" Connor picked at the bedcover and tried to avoid looking up at Spike. He was ashamed at how he had let down his father.

"Okay, enough with the enigmatic he and his. Connor, start from the beginning."

Buffy pulled Spike along with her as she approached Connor. She and Spike sat down on the end of the bed. Buffy reached over and squeezed Connor's left ankle reassuringly. Fred, Gunn and Lorne crowded around Buffy, Spike and Connor waiting expectantly.

"First off, Peach Pie, is Angelcakes still singing with Soul?" Lorne asked.

Spike snorted at the nickname the green Pylean had conjured up.

Everyone waited breathlessly for Connor's reply. Since the moment Angel, Cordy and Connor had vanished and then Connor's dramatic reappearance, all of them had been positive that Angelus had been unleashed on the unsuspecting LA populace.

Connor frowned up at Lorne, surprised by his question. "Yes. Why did you think that?" Connor gazed down the bed at Buffy and Spike and almost smiled at the expression of complete relief. "What made you think that he had lost his soul?"

"Umm... well, we kinda thought he and Cordy had gotten together." Fred explained, her cheeks flushing pink with embarrassment. "Lorne kinda thought that maybe they had last night, and well, you know..."

"Yeah, we know Angel gets a happy and Angelus comes out to play with all the nice people." Spike grumbled. He glanced over at Buffy and tried not to smile in relief, 'At least it wasn't my girl giving the brooding nit a happy...'.   Spike scowled at the thought of Buffy and Angel shagging and, in an effort to disperse that blood-chilling image, he began to recall a montage of their own more active moments. He sighed happily and shifted slightly as his cock began to harden and press against his zipper.

"Spike, what are you thinking?" Buffy hissed as she shifted in front of Spike to block everyone's view of the now massive bulge that had appeared in Spike's lap. She pinched his inner thigh in an effort to distract her lover and it had the opposite effect. A shiver ran down Spike's spine as his demon tried to push to the surface, aroused by the brief flash of pain from his Slayer's hands.

"No.  I don't think they got together... Dad called me from the bluffs and said to go by Cordy's place and check she was okay... Cos, well, she hadn't turned up." Connor answered Fred's question, ignoring Spike's grumbling and his reaction to Buffy's pinch.

"So, you're saying Angel got you to go look for Cordelia?" Buffy asked. She frowned in confusion. "How come he didn't go himself?"

"Luv, cos he was obviously worried if he left then she may turn up and his grand moment would end up as a French farce," Spike explained, his hand now trailing up and down Buffy's spine.

"Yeah.  I guess that's what dad was worried about, you know...missing Cordy... I went to her apartment.  That ghost of hers let me in and she wasn't there.  Then I headed back to the beach. But I was too late..."

Connor took a breath trying to ease the sad ache in his chest. Tara reached over and patted his hand gently, trying to offer him some kind of reassurance. Connor glanced over at the placid Wiccan and tried to smile.

"Hey kid, care to share?" Gunn interjected. "What happened when you got there?"

"Holtz and his followers." Connor snarled, bitterness filling his eyes.

"The git came back, too?" Spike shifted slightly and peered over at Connor.

"Yeah." Connor answered. "He tried to get me to join him and kill Dad a few days ago. But I told him to leave me alone. But he wouldn't.  Holtz told me I would be dammed like my parents if I didn't help him. He... he... gave me the address to the motel he was staying in and said he would be back for me." Connor looked over at Buffy, his eyes filled with fear. "I never told Dad.  Maybe if I had, he would have been on guard and Holtz and his guys wouldn't have hurt him! It's all my fault..."

"So, he and his groupies hurt Angel?" Buffy asked worriedly. The blonde girl was acutely aware that the dark haired vampire would have probably barely defended himself against his human attackers.

Spike snorted. "Yeah, probably! And his royal broodiness would've thanked them for each thump he got."

"Huh?" The AI trio all turned to Spike in confusion.

"Cos he's always felt guilty over chomping on Holtz's family. Him and Grandmum had a gay ol'time of it rubbing the poor bastard's face in it..." Spike closed his eyes and cracked his neck. "The old poof told me about the time in Rome when Holtz managed to corner him. Darla saved his sorry arse and then left Holtz alive cos she thought it would add to his torment... said he was like family...nasty bit o'work, Darla."

Spike glanced over at Connor.  "Sorry about that, kid. I know she's you Mum and all that..."

Connor gazed solemnly back at Spike and smiled briefly before looking down at his hands. "Thanks...I guess..."

Lorne shifted uncomfortably in the silence that followed. "I don't get it. Why didn't Angel just stop them?"

"Peaches probably felt he deserved it..." Spike explained.

"Yeah, but he should've fought back..." Gunn trailed off, realising that the souled vampire probably wouldn't have wanted to hurt Holtz or his followers.

"I tried to get to him but Holtz's second in command, Justine, just kept hitting Dad with this taser and he just took it." Connor shifted restlessly in the bed. "I tried to push my way through the others to get to Dad, but they kept hitting me."

"And just like your git of a Dad you let them beat the stuffing outta you, right?" Spike rolled his eyes, a habit he had picked up from his Summers girls.

"Connor! Man, I can't believe you let them do this to you, kid." Gunn gestured at the bruises and cuts that were healing rapidly.

"I... I couldn't!  And then there was Holtz and he was watching me...calling me all those names again..."

Connor shuddered as he recalled the contempt on the vampire hunter's face and the virulent words that had poured vitriol into Connor's young ears. It had started when he was younger and still living in Quortoth when he had refused to call his kidnapper, father. The physical and mental abuse had started and the only respite the young boy had was in his dreams with his mother. Connor had frozen in fear and shock when Holtz had turned with a sneer to the young teen. "He called me Demon scum and well..."

Fred and Tara both reached over and tried to soothe the nearly frantic boy.

"I just couldn't move... Dad finally started fighting back when Holtz yelled that I should've been drowned at birth. I had never seen Dad move so fast or hit so hard. But there were too many of them and they had these weird metal bars and got Dad by the throat and wrists. They sorta pulled his arms away from his body and Justine...Justine...held a tazer against Dad until he passed out." Connor looked down at his hands and then back up at Buffy, "she just kept laughing.  It was sick..."

"Bloody hell..." Spike whispered. He had leant forward and was gripping Buffy's shoulder, trying to calm her and anchor himself, as the entire room had listened in stunned silence to Connor.

"Connor, sweetie... how did you get away and what happened to Angel?" Tara asked gently. Her eyes were filled with sparks of green, which swirled angrily, belying her calm voice.

"I tried to fight through to get to them but there were too many and they kept hitting me... I fell over and I could feel their boots... and then it was black..." Connor ran his hand over his temple where one of his opponent's boots had caught him in the temple.

"So they just left you there?" Lorne asked. The description of the beating that the father and son had received from Holtz and his followers had shaken the usually urbane demon.

"No..." Connor replied.

"No what, kid?" Gunn demanded.

"I woke up at the bottom of the cliff... I think they threw me over, counting on either the fall killing me or the tide coming in and drowning me." Connor whispered. " I managed to get up to the top before the sea reached me."

Buffy and Tara gasped at the callousness displayed by the so-called good guys.

"Jesus," Gunn muttered under his breath. He rubbed his hand over his mouth, trying to control himself.

"How did you get back?" Fred whispered.

"I drove Dad's car... they left it behind." Connor answered.

"You drove? You drive?" Buffy asked incredulously.

Spike poked her in the back and tried successfully not to laugh. 'Trust my girl to focus on the driving and not the beatings...'

Connor nodded, "I think I might've smashed something though... I couldn't stop it in time... I hit the gates outside."

"Don't worry, kid.  I'll go move it in a minute." Gunn smiled reassuringly at the worried figure huddled on the bed.

*********

"So, do you think Angel is still alive?" Buffy whispered to Spike as they headed down the massive staircase to the Reception area.

Tara and Lorne had stayed behind to watch over Connor, while the others had headed out to begin tracking Holtz and his followers. Gunn and Fred had headed out in his truck after moving Angel's convertible around the back. Connor had given them the address of the motel that Holtz had given him.

They were hoping that maybe Holtz would return there. Both of Angel's friends were armed to the teeth and weren't going to pull any punches. Gunn had grinned sadistically when he had pulled out his sharpened baseball bat and slapped it in his hand thoughtfully. Fred had grabbed a crossbow and a quiver of arrows, which she then slung over her shoulder.

"I can still feel him... but it's faint." Spike could sense his grandsire, but the link was weak and getting weaker.

"So what do you wanna do? Go to the cliff and have a look around?" Buffy reached over and began to scribble their mobile numbers down on a pad.

"Yeah.  Maybe I can sense Peaches more if we get closer to where he last was..." Spike rubbed the back of his head with one hand.

Buffy looked over hopefully.  "Really? You think that might work?"

Spike shrugged. "It's worth a go, but what other use am I going to be?"

Buffy stopped writing and looked up in surprise. "What do yah mean? Other use?"

"Pet, the bunch of crazies who've got Peaches are human." Spike grumbled in frustration.

"Yeah and? Oh! The chip... Crap..." Buffy reached over and pulled Spike's head to her shoulder and she pressed a kiss to his temple. "Don't worry honey.  I'll give them a punch on the nose from you!" She cradled Spike's face in her hands and feathered kisses over his forehead and down his nose until she caught his lips in a deep spine tingling kiss.
 
*********

Spike kicked the door of the Hyperion open with a sandy booted foot. "Soddin waste of time, I'm not a nature lover!" he growled as he stomped his feet on the marble floor. Depositing a copious amount of sand on the clean surface.

Buffy giggled as she sailed past the disgruntled vampire. "Poor baby!" she grinned as she plopped down on one of the many sofas in the Reception.

"Well... anything?" Lorne appeared on the balcony, his green face wrinkled with concern.

The two blonds looked up and shook their heads in unison.

"It was a bust," Buffy groaned.

"Load of Angel's dried blood and some of Junior's - sand, crabs and ruddy great seagulls who thought I was edible." Spike rubbed his scratched cheek ruefully.

Lorne sailed down the stairs, disappointment etched on his face. "No big Kahuna?"

Buffy and Spike shook their heads.

"Anything from the lovebirds end?" Spike asked.

"Fred and Gunn?" Lorne asked.

"Yeah." Spike pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. He titled his head back and puffed smoke rings at the ceiling. He grinned at the sound of Buffy's giggle.

"Nope.  They haven't called in yet," Lorne replied.

"Connor any better?" Buffy glanced upwards in the direction of the injured boys room.

"He's fast asleep.  Peach Schnapps is with him."

Spike and Buffy both smirked at the new nickname the Pylean had given Tara.

"Healing up alright, though?" Spike demanded.

Lorne nodded and smiled at the look of relief on the vampire's face. "You seem to be worried about Angel's son."

Spike twisted on his heels turning his back on the green demon. He tried not to growl at the teasing anagogic demon.

"Spike, you okay?" Buffy frowned curiously at her lover.

"Yeah fine..." he answered shortly.

"Honey, I know you're worried but Connor's a tough kid. He'll be okay."

Spike growled at Buffy.  "Am not worried..." His shoulder's slumped. "Oh sod it all." He whirled and pinned them both with his piercing gaze. "When we get Peaches back not a word about this, right?"

Buffy and Lorne nodded.

"He's family, that boy... I...I..."

"It's okay sweetie, we get it." Buffy stood and walked slowly over to the worried vamp and kissed him softly.

Lorne sighed happily at the two of them wrapped up in their own world.

*********

Fred sat up and watched the activity in the alley behind the motel.

"Gunn...look!" She elbowed the dozing man beside her. "I think it's that Justine girl.  You know... the one who cut Wes's throat?"

Gunn straightened and peered in the direction that Fred was pointing. A flash of red hair caught his eye and he grinned.

"That's the bitch!" He turned to Fred and kissed her firmly on the lips. "Man you have sharp eyes..."

Gunn glanced over and watched Justine climb the stairs and knock on the room that the two of them thought Holtz was hiding in. Their suspicions were confirmed when a much older version of the vampire hunter opened the door and gestured for his protégée to enter.

"We have to call the others and get them to come..." Fred scrabbled in her purse and pulled out her mobile she quickly dialling the hotel's number, Fred sat there rapping her fingers nervously on the dashboard, waiting for the phones to connect.

*********

"They've found him and one of his followers."  Lorne dropped the receiver and turned to Buffy and Spike, who where busy rummaging through Angel's weapons cache. Commenting on the poor selection, the blond vampire then muttered under his breath about how his sword was much bigger than Angel's, and waggled his eyebrows at his smiling girl.

Buffy's head snapped around and she hoisted a crossbow over her shoulder. "Good, let's get this show on the road."

Spike contributed a feral grin, and a flash of gold crossed his blue eyes. The vampire knew he was there purely for backup as there was nothing he could do against a bunch of deluded humans. 'Effing chip...need to get the bugger out of there if it's going to stop me from helping out the Slayer and Dawn...' Spike pressed his thumb into his temple and rubbed hard, almost as if he were trying to push the chip out of his head. "Let's go rescue the poof, then..."

"Spike? Buffy?" Tara's voice halted the peroxide vampire in his tracks.

"Yeah Glinda, what's up?" Spike spun on his heel, a gentle smile on his face. The couple went over to their friend and they spent several minutes whispering to each other. Tara pressed a brown package into Buffy's hand and the Slayer nodded grimly.

Lorne had watched them for a while before he cleared his throat impatiently. "Guys? Fred and Gunn are waiting for you. Don't you think maybe you should saddle up?"

The three blondes looked over at the impatient Host.

"Sorry mate, just needed to have a quick natter about something." Spike wrapped his arm around Buffy's shoulder's and the two of them headed over to the tall Pylean. "Some good ideas there, Colomba..." he wrapped his free arm around Tara's shoulder and squeezed her gently.

"Tara, you sure you want to stay here with Connor and Lorne?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, I think you guys'll have enough to worry about without trying to protect me. I'm going to head up and look after Connor...Spike, stop frowning.  I'll be okay. Lorne's here to protect me." With that Tara disappeared back upstairs and headed to Connor's room.

Spike eyed the flamboyantly dressed demon with more than a hint of uncertainty in his expressive blue eyes.

"I swear on my Seabreeze's I'll protect her with my life." Lorne languidly covered his heart with one hand.

Spike snorted and raised his scarred eyebrow at the sight of the green demon clutching at his backside. He looked up at the smiling Host. Despite being several inches shorter, he still managed to look intimidating. "Nothing happens to Colomba, right?" Buffy tried not to giggle at the site of the Big Bad staring down a Green Liberace wannabe...

"Come on, Spike.  We need to go..."  She tugged gently on Spike's leather clad arm. Spike blinked once and then turned his attention to the tiny woman next to him. An adoring smile crossed his face and he reach down and ran his fingers along her cheek.

"Ready luv...just wanted to make sure Jolly Green here knows what's what."  He turned back to Lorne. "Right?"

"Oh, sweetcheeks." Lorne fanned himself with a handkerchief. "I will protect that dove with my life, don't worry. Now toddle off and go be heroic."

Buffy and Spike nodded and began to head out of the Hyperion.

"Oh children! Haven't you forgotten something?"

Buffy sighed and turned to Lorne. "What?" she frowned, "a kiss goodbye?" The slayer ignored the quiet growl that erupted from her lover.

"No, the blood." Lorne pointed to the large coolers he had packed with blood for Angel.

"Oh..." Buffy blushed and rushed back down the stairs to retrieve the precious box. She stopped in front of Lorne and, rising to her toes, kissed him on the cheek before whirling and disappearing out of the hotel. Followed by a loudly complaining Spike.

"I don't see why you had to kiss the sod..."

*********

Tara ran a damp cloth over Connor's face and smiled gently at the distraught teen. He lay in his bed under duress. Lorne and the remaining two AI members had all insisted that he rest and stay away from Holtz and his followers. Connor had grudgingly agreed - aware that he was neither up for a fight or able to face the humans who had attacked him and his missing father. So Tara had volunteered to stay behind with Lorne and look after Angel's son, while the others went to rescue him.

The door opened and Lorne's kind green face peered into the room.

"Hey kiddo, want some company?" Connor shrugged and waved for the Pylean to come in. Tara looked up from her ministrations and gave him a lop-sided smile.

"I come bearing food..." Lorne laid the tray of sandwiches and drinks on the bedside table. "Here we go." Lorne handed over a plate to Tara and a steaming cup of Green Tea.

"Thanks," Tara took a huge bite of the sandwich that Lorne had given her. "So have the others all gone?"

"Yeah, I heard them leave a few minutes ago," Connor replied. He shrugged, "Vamp hearing..."

Tara's eye's widened slightly; she took a sip of her tea. "Ah, I see...Well, I guess it's a handy thing to have?"

Connor nodded, "Yeah, it saved my life more times than I can remember in Quortoth."

Lorne reached over and patted Connor on the shoulder in sympathy.

"Eat something half pint, you're gonna need your strength."

Connor nodded and began to almost inhale several sandwiches; he gulped down several glasses of milk. Finally, he turned to Tara who was delicately picking at the bowl of crisps.

"Why did you lie to everyone?"

Tara choked on a crumb. She coughed and waved off Lorne as he began to pound her on the back. Wiping the water from her eye's, she looked over in puzzlement at Connor. "What do you mean, sweetie? I haven't lied about anything."

Connor shook his head. "No, you're heart rate changed when you said you were meeting that tree girl in New York. I could tell that there was something you were hiding, you and Buffy. Spike I can't tell cos, well, he's dead..."

Lorne watched Tara closely. The demon was intrigued. He could sense something was up with their three visitors, but he couldn't pinpoint it exactly.

The Pylean had already forgotten what he had read when Buffy had initially sung for him; it was the nature of the spell that had created Dawn. Once she had gone all memories and traces of her were gone, except for those who had witnessed Willow's destruction of her best friend's sister.

Tara sighed quietly. She, Buffy and Spike had managed to have a quick word while Lorne had been talking to Fred and Gunn on the phone. Connor's hearing was more acute than a vamps if he had heard the conversation from his room. They had all decided that they needed to tell the AI gang about Willow, as there might be a chance that the fallen Wiccan could turn up in Los Angeles, and they were worried that she would hurt one of them. So they had decided that once Angel had been rescued that they would come clean about Willow's fall from grace, omitting anything about Dawn as no one would believe them. They had decided to tell the truth about Willow's abuse of magic and how she had run from Sunnydale.  Tell of their plan; that they were going after her to bring her home and try to help purge her dark magicks, while hopefully destroying Rack in the process.

"We were going to wait until Angel was back before we, well..." Tara shrugged and took a sip from her cup. "We're not meeting Willow in New York... we're trying to find her. That's the last place I scryed her in...but with the delay here, she could be anywhere!"

"Dumpling, why are you scrying for her?" Lorne was puzzled as he had heard only good about Willow from Angel over the years. He was positive the girl had been the one to re-soul Angelus a few years back.

"She...she's...her magic... it's turned her into..." Tara took a breath and steadied herself. She hadn't wanted to be the one to tell them about Willow's Dark Phoenix impression. She looked up from her cup and saw Lorne and Connor watching her expectantly. Lorne smiled encouragingly while Connor reached over and patted her gently on the knee.

Taking strength from their support, Tara took a deep breath.

"Willow got involved with a dark magic dealer and she hurt a lot of people. We want to try and get her back and help her before she does anything else." Tara closed her eyes and sighed, finally being able to tell someone else was liberating.

"Uh... well, we're trying to track her...but we don't know about binding her magics...that's not something we know how to..." Tara sighed. She had not wanted to face the fact that she would probably be the one who had to confront her ex-lover. But with Connor's innocent question she realised that she may have to be the one to bind Willow's magics. "I guess I...I will h...have to...but I don't know how, yet..." Tara was devastated that she was the one who had to play Judge, Jury and executioner.

Connor tried not to wince as the blonde's description of the witch's fall into darkness reminded him of the darkness that had been growing in Cordelia. He hadn't wanted to voice his concerns about the now missing Cordelia. But there had been something off about the half Demon and Connor.  Once the initial elation at returning home, he had tried to avoid the woman. The darkness in her had sickened him. But because of his father's genuine affection for the seer Connor had kept quiet. "I understand and I'm really sorry..."

"Is that something which is going to help with getting your friend back?" Lorne pointed at the slim book Tara was holding in her hands.

Tara stared down at the Codex, her mind racing, trying to fit an explanation to the book without having to refer to Dawn or sing for Lorne. "It's something I'm, umm...trying to find a section of location spells to find W...Willow..." Tara tried not to blush at her white lie.

"You need a location spell for your missing witchie woman?" Lorne rubbed his left horn as his mind flipped through his mental Filofax. "I'll be back in a few shakes of a lambs tale..."

**********

Spike and Buffy arrived too late. Justine had already killed Holtz before Gunn and Fred's horrified eyes. They had not managed to get to the fanatical woman in time. An anguished scream from Justine had managed to gather most of Holtz's followers from their motel rooms to witness their glorious leaders Martyrdom. The crowd had all stood around the tableau of Holtz's body and Justine crouched over him, crying. Fred and Gunn stood to one side as they waited for the Slayer and the blond vampire to arrive.

"We got your call; what the hell happened?" Buffy's breathless voice came from the mouth of the Alley. She and Spike jogged up to the couple. They chatted quietly for a few seconds, working out a plan of action. The four of them all agreed that they needed to guilt the crowd into admitting where Angel was.

"Ready?" Gunn whispered to the three others. They nodded grimly.

"Jesus, you lot are sick bastards," Gunn shouted as he knelt next to Holtz's body. The crowd of Holtz's followers backed away slightly at the young black man's voice.

"Hold it, love.  You're not going anywhere," Spike stood behind Justine as she tried to straighten, blocking her escape route. He sniffed the air around her. "Bloody hell, you reek of his blood." Buffy and Fred stepped over and eyed the red-haired fanatic curiously.

Justine scrabbled to her feet, climbed over her dead leader's body and backed away from Spike and Gunn. She took several cautious steps away, towards the angry muttering crowd.

"What do you mean I reek of blood?" Justine asked challengingly.

"Vamp here pet, got the nose for the stuff." Spike tapped his nose and flashed his game face at the now spluttering woman.

"What? How? It's daylight, you can't be a vamp." Justine frowned.

"What can I say luv, I'm special."  Spike smirked at the confused vampire hunter.

"She the one you saw punching holes in the old guy?" Buffy nudged Fred to get her attention.

"What? Oh yeah, she put the pick in her pocket," Fred pointed to the scruffy leather jacket Justine was wearing.

The four heroes could hear the murmurs of anger and denial that erupted from Holtz's followers, at the tall Texan's words.

Two of the men stepped forward and started yelling at Spike. Calling him filth and how he deserved nothing more than to be staked. Several of the other followers nodded in agreement. There were a few others who stared aghast at Holtz and Justine. Including a middle-aged African American woman who seemed close to tears. These were the ones Spike spotted. His innate ability to read a person kicked in and he smirked. The vampire had found the weak links. They would need a little prodding and then they'd break.

"So not only do you beat the stuffin' out of teenage boys, you also murder in cold blood the man who trained you and gave you purpose?" Spike addressed his remarks to the furious Justine, but his sharp eyes were trained on the few of Holtz's followers who were starting to wonder what they were doing.

The middle aged black woman flinched at the reference to Connor. Gunn spotted her reaction too, he grunted and, standing, he walked over to the woman. She had been the one who had infiltrated the office and sent Fred and himself into a trap.

Justine glared at the blond vampire and spat at him. Gunn stepped over and grabbed her arms before she could attack Spike. He quickly disarmed her of three stakes and a large hunting knife, which he handed to Buffy.

"Ohh shiney..." Buffy exclaimed as she slipped the knife into her waistband.

Gunn's eyes narrowed as he saw the dark skinned woman begin to edge away. Before she could move another inch he glared at her, his dark eyes pinned her to the spot.

"Hey there, remember me?  The guy you sent to die? That's my girl over there." He jerked his head at Fred. "She was nearly eaten, too." The young street fighter eyed the uncomfortable woman closely. "Man, I'm glad you're not covering my back in a fight!" Gunn commented idly.

"Yeah mate, she probably woulda tossed you onto the nearest set of fangs to save her own sorry hide," Spike snorted and he watched Justine's face colour with anger.

"Demon scum," she screamed angrily.

"Spike, don't forget these are the good guys! You know, the ones who fight against evil. That's why the beat up the only souled vampire in history in front of his son," Buffy added. She turned to the now uncomfortable crowd.  "You know the baby you helped kidnap and let be taken by that idiot to raise in a Hell dimension." Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and glared at them.

"Yeah," Fred turned to face them; "You're the guys that tried to kill me in the hotel when you tried to steal Connor from us."

"So lets reiterate...this lot,"  Spike pointed to the now silent crowd of people, "are the good guys?" Fred, Buffy and Gunn nodded, all of them trying not to grin. "But they attack people who are fighting for the PTBs? Kidnap a baby and take him into a hell dimension; attack one of the PTBs Champions and his son? Then kill their own leader?" As Spike recited the list of transgressions he tried not to growl at calling Angel a Champion.  He and Buffy had agreed on the way over that he should say whatever he could to get info on Angel's location.

Justine struggled, trying to escape Gunn's firm grasp. She swore and yelled at Spike who stood just out of her range with a smirk on his face. Buffy reached over and pulled out the blood-coated ice pick from her pocket which she had spotted when the incensed woman had tried to wriggle free from Gunn's tight grip.

"No, that's mine.  Give it to me..." Justine strained her body towards the small Slayer.

"Buffy luv, lets have a look at that," Spike called out to his tiny lover.

"Here," Buffy held out the weapon.

Spike shook his head. "No, it's okay.  I can scent it from here. It's definitely the old bugger's blood."

"You mean that Justine killed Holtz?" the black woman who Gunn had recognised earlier, hesitantly stepped forward.

"Yeah pet, that's it..." Spike pointed to the small pick in Buffy's hand.

"Don't listen to him.  He's a vampire -they all lie!" Justine shrieked when she saw the expressions on her soldier's faces, all of them were coloured with doubt. "Holtz was bitten and drained! Look for yourselves." She was losing them and the desperation in her voice was obvious.

Fred walked over to the rapidly cooling body. "Drained? Man, this vamp you say ate your boss must have been a messy eater." With that the young scientist rolled Holtz over revealing the drain Justine had carefully placed the body over, the grate was soaked with blood.

"What?" One of the men who had originally threatened Spike stared in shock at the evidence before them, his eyes darting to the now silent Justine in surprise.

"If it helps, mate, those aren't fang marks."  Spike pointed at the two neat holes on the Victorian vampire hunters neck. "Look," Spike vamped out and casually bit his own arm, aware that the chip offered him no other option. Buffy stepped over and stroked the vampire's back, surprised at his ingenuity.

As one the crowd stepped closer to examine the wound. It was much deeper and rather than two small holes there were several and two much larger holes where Spike's fangs have entered his skin. Then in unison their gazes swung to Holtz's neck and back to stare accusingly at Justine.

The woman paled and slumped defeated in Gunn's grip under the angry gazes of the rapidly thinning crowd. One by one they left until there was only the African American woman left.

"Is the boy going to be okay?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, no thanks to you lot."  Spike replied as he wrapped his hand over the rapidly healing bite on his forearm. Buffy reached over and stroked his lean fingers gently.

"Spike," Buffy chided the angry vampire.

"Sorry luv, I'll keep my gob shut now." Spike turned to Holtz's body and Fred who still knelt there. He and the Texan girl carried the body to the back of Gunn's truck and covered him with a tarp.

"If it helps the boy, his father...Angel was taken away by them." The dark skinned woman pointed at the fuming Justine and Holtz's rapidly cooling body.

"Traitor," the redhead hissed angrily. She jerked in Gunn's arms, trying to get to the woman.

"Easy, Tiger." Spike smirked at the fuming woman. "Go on pet, tell us what you know."

"She and Holtz took him away on a boat, they were gone for about an hour... I don't know anymore than that, though.  I'm very sorry. Both for this and for letting them hurt that boy." With that she turned and ran from the alley.

"So the Slayer wannabe here knows where Peaches is?" Spike sauntered over to Justine and Gunn. "You gonna help us get the git back?" Spike arched his scarred brow at the now defeated red-head.

"I don't know where he is," Justine offered weakly.

"Yeah, right!" Buffy scoffed as she glared at the woman. "I just bet you've the exact location memorised."

Fred nodded in agreement as she stepped up next to the diminutive slayer. "Just tell us where Angel is and then all this mess is done with."

"You all make me sick playing nice with these animals.  Angel is a vampire and so is he." Justine jerked her head at the non-plussed Spike.

"Why do people have to keep telling me I'm a Vampire...it's not like I don't know.  I was there when Dru turned me!" Spike grumbled under his breath. Buffy giggled at his antics and laid her head on his leather-clad shoulder.

Justine glared at Buffy, disgusted that she would voluntarily touch the blond vampire. "They're demon scum...killers and you work for them?"

"Um..." Buffy smirked, not too unlike Spike. "I don't work for them, they work for me...and they're not so shabby in the bedroom either..."

Spike tried not to laugh along with Buffy as he shared her amusement at the pole-axed expression on Justine's face.

"Sleep, pet? I thought we did a hell of a lot more than that!" Spike ran his tongue suggestively over the back of his teeth. He looped his thumbs over his belt buckle and rocked on his heels.

Buffy rolled her eyes at Spike's posturing and Gunn's smiling face.

"Demon whore!" Justine snarled.

Spike growled and leapt in front of the captured red haired vampire hunter. Frustrated at the inhibitive nature of the chip, he vamped out. His golden eyes flashed angrily at the now silent woman. Buffy stepped up and put a calming hand on Spike's arm. He turned and nuzzled his face into her neck all the while rumbling affectionately.

"Spike honey, don't let her get to you," Buffy chided. She eyed the captive woman distastefully, "she's not worth it..." She was trying to keep the smile his actions had evoked from her face, but failed. She turned to Justine and eyed her carefully. "You're not going to tell us, are you?"

"Never!" Justine rasped angrily.

Buffy shrugged her slender shoulders. "Okay.  I guess we do this Tara's way." The Slayer reached into her pockets and withdrew a handful of powdered Emanuss truth root - Tara had given it to them at the hotel- to use as a last resort. She blew it into Justine's face. "It'll take a couple of minutes to work. Gunn, tie her hands and stick her in Spike's car.  We'll follow you to the docks."

Justine's tried not to inhale any more of the fine glittering powder that clung to her face. "I'll never tell..."

"Yeah, right.  In a few minutes you'll be telling me your true weight and real bra size," Spike mocked as he followed Gunn and the struggling woman to his car.

Fred turned to Buffy, "Weight and Bra size?"

Buffy rolled her eyes at Spike before turning to answer Fred. "Yeah, well, cos it's the two things a woman's most likely to lie about..."

"Oh! Well, I guess so..." Fred gazed down at her flat chest and sighed. She flitted a glance down at Spike's groin and smiled wickedly.  "We also might fib about size not mattering..." she snickered.

Spike blinked at the Texan girl and threw his head back and laughed. He shook his head at Fred and got into the Desoto.

"Come on, Slayer.  Get your sexy arse in here." Spike bellowed from the driver's seat.

Buffy huffed out a breath. "Man, he is sooo impatient!"

Fred smiled at Buffy. Gunn came over and hooked his arm through the smiling girl's arm. "We'll see you at the docks?"

"Sure, hopefully by then we'll know exactly where they dumped Angel." Buffy trotted off and waved at them as she slid into the passenger seat.

**********

"Knock...knock!" Lorne's cheery voice made Tara jump. She had been engrossed in the Codex, making notes on a pad sitting next to her on the floor by Connor's bed. She looked up and smiled sweetly at the tall demon who had waltzed excitedly into the room.

"Hey there!"  She put the book down carefully.

Connor snorted and shifted in his sleep. The bruising was practically gone and his breathing was much easier.

"He looks better." Lorne pointed at the slumbering boy. Relief shone in his crimson eyes.

Tara nodded, "I think he'll be okay when he wakes up...I just hope the others find Angel soon, otherwise Connor'll blame himself..."

"He's like his Dad- takes the worries of the world on his shoulders." Lorne commented sadly.

Tara nodded in agreement. "I think all Champions are like that. Buffy and Spike they do..." Tara trailed off and frowned in surprise; she hummed under her breath. 'When did I realise Spike was a Champion?'

"I guess around the time he started patrolling with you when Buffy was dead?" Lorne suggested softly.

"Huh? How did you know that?" Tara's eyes widened. She had never told anyone about her idea of Spike being a Champion, not even Willow. The original Scoobies would never have agreed with her. Spike was a tool for them to use as a substitute for Buffy- nothing else. Not a being with feelings and emotions.

"You were humming," Lorne explained.

"Oh, okay..." Tara suddenly realised that as soon as she told herself not to hum, whistle or sing the urge to do any of them was too much.

Lorne tried not to smile at the flustered Wiccan. Taking pity he held out his hands, which were closed. "Pick a hand, luscious. I had a friend whip something up for you and the Spearmint Twins."

Tara considered Lorne's big hands carefully. "A present?"

Lorne nodded and bounced up and down on his toes gleefully. "Yeah, come pick a hand!" he exclaimed childishly.

Tara took her time and then put her index finger on Lorne's right hand. "That one?" Lorne turned his hands over and opened them. Sitting on the palm of his right hand was a clear three-inch crystal ball.

"It's beautiful," Tara exclaimed. "I can sense the power..." her hand hovered over the small orb. "What is it?"

Lorne reached into his pocket and pulled out a small purple velvet pouch. "It comes with this." He handed the pouch to Tara who opened it carefully, a silver chain fell out and hanging from it was a delicate gold circular cage. It was engraved with tiny protective runes and at the bottom of it a small eternity symbol swung from it. "Here, it fits in like this." Lorne twisted the eternity symbol and the cage popped open. He laid the orb inside the fragile golden cage and clicked it shut. He handed it over to the stunned Wiccan.

"Thank you.  It's beautiful...but what is it?" Tara ran her fingers over the encased orb.

"A friend of mind makes them. They help find that which is lost." Lorne reached over and brushed Tara's fair hair from her cheek. "You can use it to find Willow."

"Really!" Tara looked up from the orb and her eyes were filled with tears of relief. "Oh, thank you!" She leant over and hugged the tall demon. Reaching up she pressed a kiss to his green cheek.

Lorne held her close and patted her back gently. "No more tears, luscious. Come on, I'll show you how to use it."

*********

The truck and the black DeSoto pulled up and parked by the docks.

Buffy and Spike leapt out of the car and shook their heads.

"Man, we need to tell Tara she got the dosage wrong!"  Buffy's face was crimson with embarrassment.

Spike rubbed his hand over his face and shuddered. "I don't need to know where, when and how the bird lost her vir...."

"Hey guys, any luck?" Fred trotted over to the shuddering couple. "Gunn's gone to rent a boat and stuff. You got the coolers?"

"Yeah, in the trunk," Spike tossed the keys to Fred as he eyed the back of his car with horror and backed away pulling Buffy with him.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" Fred asked as she swiftly unlocked the trunk and pulled out the four coolers filled with blood that Lorne had packed for Angel. None of them knew what condition the souled vampire would be in and they had agreed to err on the side of caution.

"It's her!" Buffy pointed at the back of the DeSoto with a snarl of disgust. "She keeps telling us stuff we sooo didn't want or need to hear."

"Oh, well...I guess that's to be expected? She did tell you where Angel was though, right?" Fred tried not to laugh at the look of complete horror on Spike's face.

"Yeah, here..." Buffy thrust a scrap of paper into the Texan's hands.

"Coordinates? That's great!" Fred exclaimed.

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