The Witch, the Warrior, & the Vampire
Part 2


Written by: Brandi
Author's Website

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Summary: A prophecy, an upcoming gigantic battle, mayhem, and lots of vampire lore. Contains het and m/m, f/f slash. Contains cast of both BtVS,AtS, and oc. Main pairings: S/B, X/A, W/T
Disclaimer: The show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all of it's characters belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy, & Fox Prod.
Feedback: http://www.livejournal.com/users/brandil

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Ch. Two: Prophecy Pt. I


Giles stood at the head of the table, opened his briefcase and passed out copies of the recently translated prophecy. One for each person sitting at the table. Dawn was pleased to have been included in everything that had transpired, and had been getting ready to leave when Giles handed her a copy.

"I realize, Dawn, that many times we have left you out of slaying and I believe it's one reason you get in so much trouble. Since this directly relates to everyone, including you, I believe it is essential for you to be involved in every step of this."

"Thank you, Giles, for trusting me. I promise I won't do anything stupid," Dawn replied looking anxiously at Buffy for approval.

"Giles, are you sure?" was Buffy's only protest.

"Buffy, Dawn is now the age you were when you were called. This does relate to her, each of us really, and you don't want her breaking in again and finding out on her own, do you?"

"No. If you're really sure Giles, I'll trust you on this, but she is not going out on patrol or anything even remotely like it."

"Agreed, for now at least. All right everyone, this text has been painstakingly translated from the Mayan language believe it or not, by the Council's experts, as well as the leading experts in academia. We know the translation into English is correct, now we merely have to interpret it and respond accordingly. This may take a long time and a good deal of this seems painfully obvious, but it is important to understand this so we can be prepared to face our next battle. I'd like for you all to study the copy of the prophecy I've provided, then I'll share the Council's interpretation thus far, and depending on the time when we finish, we may discuss this tonight or meet again tomorrow."

Looking around to make sure everyone was in agreement with this plan, Giles continued, "Very well then. If you would all read the document." Giles decided to read through the prophecy one last time, even though he could recite it by memory at this point. The only sounds in the quiet room were those of shuffling papers. The mood had darkened considerably after pizza.

"Whilst battling the Beast, the Chosen One will return it to hell, sealing the gate between the two worlds at the cost of her life. Yet a new Slayer will not be called.

The warriors who fought at her side: the Witch, the Sorceress, the Bloody, the Loyal, the Demon, the Watcher, and the Key will each receive gifts from the Powers That Be for their faithfulness in servitude.

Beware, lest those gifts take away that which they sought.

The Witch will restore the life of the Chosen One. The cost will be high and the Witch will succumb to the Dark Forces within.

The Chosen One will return. Her heart will be black, her soul tarnished, her spirit destroyed, and the light she carried within extinguished. She will strive to return to death but two forces will keep her alive, without them she shall surely perish and hope will forever be lost.

The Sorceress shall leave to follow the path her guiding light provided, but will return again if hope is restored.

The Bloody will remain to care for the Key as was sworn, the consequences will cost him his life, and everything he ever knew as true will be held as false by those he must work with. What has kept him within the circle will be gone. He must overcome that which is within to work for the light. If he fails, darkness will overcome. The soul shall be freed and the balance will shift again. However, there will be none who can take his place for the Bloody and the Key are intermingled. One would not, nor could not exist without the other. This fate draws them together. If they are separated they will die and all hope will be lost.

The Loyal will struggle when a power is returned. Battling fate, battling the Powers, battling himself, battling against those he loves. If he fails to see the truth, all will perish, their reality will be replaced with one they have all seen before, but have forgotten.

A gift will be given to the Demon; a destiny will be fulfilled yet the outcome is uncertain.

The Key will discover power unknown forged within its very nature by those that created the human.

A Seer will be called to guide the warriors. She must remain apart with the recovered light, else he destroy the balance that gives the Chosen One life. This in return could destroy him and all the others in the process.

The Watcher must watch, guide, and discover the only thing there is for a Watcher to know. If the Watcher fails, the warriors will splinter, the Hellmouth, which lies in the Valley of the Sun, shall reopen never to be closed again.

Together they can battle the coming Army of Dark, using all the resources within their grasp. If even one fails to use their gift the Hellmouth shall open, the Army of Dark shall prevail, and that which was once defeated will receive all that they desire.

They will not all survive the battle, but each must enter the battle and face their fate.

If they succeed, the Powers shall grant the Power of Three to the Witch, the Warrior and the Vampire. They shall eternally seek to even out the balance within the mortal plain and serve the Powers of Light and Gray."

As the group finished reading, they got up, stretched and found refreshment. Willow was the last to finish, as she had taken notes on the prophecy. When Willow returned from the restroom and made herself a cup of coffee, Giles took out his own notes from his briefcase and began to list the Council's interpretations to the group.

Adopting his best professorial voice Giles stood at the head of the table and began lecturing. "As I said before, much of this is painfully obvious, and some has already come to pass. First let me name the players in the prophecy. Buffy is the Chosen One, Willow the witch, Tara the sorceress, the bloody would be Spike, I believe that's rather obvious especially in light of you being William the Bloody, Xander you are the loyal, Anya the demon, Dawn the key, Cordelia the seer, Angel the recovered light, and I'm the Watcher.

"Obviously the Beast is Glory, we defeated her, Buffy died, you resurrected her, and Willow did succumb to the dark forces within. Buffy has been different since her resurrection and I believe those differences have been adequately explained here. I have a notion about the two forces, but want your opinion before I share mine.

"Tara did leave the group, but as we see she has returned, obviously hope has been restored. Willow, I believe you sought Tara for help, which must have been the hope. `Beware, lest those gifts take away that which they sought' we must define the gifts to each of us to understand this. Xander and Anya, I've no idea whatsoever what any of that means relating to you. Angel, Cordelia, I believe that next section is self-explanatory. I still don't know what the `only thing there is for a Watcher to know'; Valley of the Sun is Sunnydale.

"That the Hellmouth will reopen if we can't all work together and accept our destiny is rather obvious. We've no clue who or what will be fighting for the army of dark, `that which was once defeated' leads me to believe we will be seeing an old enemy, I'm afraid we don't know which one yet. The rest is shall we say, up for discussion. Buffy, what is your take, particularly the `two forces will keep her alive' have you any idea what they are?"

"Dawn and Spike." was the quiet reply. A hush swept across the room and expressions of curiosity, dismay, and acceptance flashed across the faces of various members of the group.

"Dawn and SPIKE? Buffy, have you lost your mind?" Xander yelled furious at his Slayer for placing Spike above him and the Scoobies. "What could possibly make you believe Spike is one of the forces that keeps you alive. I mean, I get Dawn, she's your sister, but Spike?"

"Alright guys, I'm only going to say this once," Buffy said as she unconsciously reached for Spike's hand for support, "You can either accept it and we can go on with our jobs, win this thing and save the world. Or you can freak out, the group will be destroyed, and the world will end. I think the prophecy was really clear on that. It's going to take all of us to win.

"Dawn and Spike are the only two things that have kept me from killing myself since you brought me back. Dawn, because she is my sister and I love her and I want to watch her grow up, and because she is all that's left of who and what I used to be.

"Spike is the second for a million reasons, but I'm only going to give you a few. He loves me. It's unconditional and it's always going to be that way. He saved me from myself. None of you have really known how badly I've suffered. Or how many times I've tried to kill myself."

"What exactly did he save you from Buffy?" Angel asked, his face an unreadable mask.

"Well, let me just recount some of the more obvious times. Slitting my wrists, overdosing on a bunch of pills, the vamp nest I went into by myself with no stake. The time I tried to hang myself, when I tried to suffocate myself with a plastic bag, look, I've tried to kill myself in a thousand ways since I've been back and he's been there to stop them all. You guys just never knew. I wouldn't let him tell you, so don't blame him."

Buffy looked Xander squarely in the eyes as she said this, trying to force him to accept what she was saying. His jaw was set and she knew it was futile, so she turned to Willow.

But Willow was sobbing quietly, her face in her hands. `It was all my fault.' Everything, if she hadn't been so determined to bring Buffy back, she wouldn't have tortured her best friend, driving her to try to kill herself. Buffy gave up trying to catch Willow's eye and turned to Giles, directing the rest of her story to him and Dawn.

"I've gotten better lately; I ask when I need backup. He used to give it to me anyway. I stopped trying to kill myself a while ago and I started taking all my pain out on Spike, in some very cruel and unusual ways. He's even gotten me to stop that. Now you can all deal with this and help me save the world, or not deal with it and everyone dies." Buffy took a deep breath and tried to catch everyone in the eye before she continued. "Because he's proven to me how much he loves me, and endured all the hell I've put him through, I've decided to give Spike and myself a chance. I'm not saying he is now or ever will be my boyfriend, but I feel something for him. And for once in my life, it doesn't matter to me what any of you think. This is for me. Giles, I don't have any idea about any of the rest of this."

"Thank you Buffy," he said gravely. "I had surmised Dawn and Spike being the forces myself. Since you believe the same, it's probably correct. Anyone else have any ideas?"

Pulling herself together, Willow jumped into the fray "I took a lot of notes, let's start at the beginning together. If we can't immediately figure it out, we'll skip to the next part." Everyone nodded their agreement and Willow continued. "The first section has already happened. I believe the second section has already happened as well, but we each need to figure out our gifts and what can be taken away. That's kind of a private thingy so we can skip that at least until tomorrow to give everyone a chance to think about what they've received. The next section is about me. All of it has come to pass, the third has happened already as well. We've identified the two forces, correctly in my opinion and I don't think anyone else is going to argue about it." Willow chanced a look at Xander then, and knew it would take him a lot of time, if ever to accept Buffy and Spike. "Tara the next part is about you, what does it mean `guiding light provided,' and have you really returned to the group, has hope been restored?" Anticipation colored her voice as she waited anxiously for Tara's response.

Gazing deeply into Willow's eyes Tara answered softly. "Y-yes, I have returned and hope has been restored. Willow you came to me for help, you went to your friends for help. The first step for any addict is admitting they have a problem and need help. Taking the first step brings hope."

Turning to Giles Tara continued. "The path I've been following my whole life even when I've been part of the gang is my mother's path. My mother was a very powerful witch who concentrated all of her power into one aspect of her magick. Healing. I believe that my gift has been the power a-and ability to follow in her footsteps. I've always believed that."

"When Mr. Giles gave me these books today, I knew I would stay with Willow, that I'm meant to help you heal and that I would use my ability to help your, I mean our friends." Tara looked deep into Willow's deep green eyes as she shared this. No one other than Willow, Spike, and Buffy had ever heard Tara say so much in one sitting.

"Thank you, Tara." Giles said kindly before turning to Spike "Spike, this next section is about you. I must admit, I don't understand very much of it other than you and Dawn have some sort of connection, that should never be destroyed. Can you illuminate us on any of the rest?" Giles asked.

"Buffy made me promise to look after Dawn if anything ever happened to her, and I swore in her living room that I would take care of the Nibblet `until the end of the world.' Oaths like that are not breakable and Buffy's death automatically forced the oath into action. I think that's why li'l bit and I are linked like it says.

"Whether or not Buffy is here, I'm sworn to protect her. Protecting Dawn and working with you all has cost me my life. My unlife rather. I can never leave Dawn. When vampires swear something, or take oaths to something, they're bound for eternity to follow through; it's the nature of the demon. My unlife has had a price since the first time I helped you lot and word got out. There's a price on my head in the demon community, just like there's a price on Angel's.

"The part `everything he ever knew as true will be held as false' is easily explained as well. Giles and the rest of the Council have been doing a lot of research because of me and a theory I've had since I was turned--when a vampire is turned, we don't lose our souls"

Gasps came from around the room; Angel's head came up, as his true face emerged his golden eyes bore into those of his childe's.

Spike stared at his Zippo, avoiding everyone's eyes while flicking it open and closed. "See, I believe the soul remains within the body; it's simply overpowered by the demon. Given time and enough reason, a soul restoration spell or a chip in the head, the demon can be overcome. Every vampire I've talked to believed their soul was gone, but I never did.

"There was only one change when I became a vampire, the need for blood. The demon that needs this blood will do anything to get it. The demon revels in bloodshed, death, and violence. And unless you can control it, it turns you into what you've all perceived as a soulless, evil demon. But from our perspective, we lead happy, normal lives. And truthfully, as long as I wasn't hungry, all I ever wanted was to be left alone to enjoy all the same things I enjoyed as a human. The soul restoration spell doesn't give back a soul. It strengthens it. Gives it the opportunity to overcome the demon."

Disbelief which rapidly turned to fury darkened Angel's face at Spike's words. `If Spike really had a soul, he wouldn't talk out of his ass about things he knew nothing about.'

Spike took a deep breath to bolster him for what he had to say next, "Buffy, please don't be mad at the next part of this, but I've kept something from you for about a week now and its time to let you know. I wanted to do this in private, but your mates deserve to know as well and I believe it's right here in this prophecy as well.

"`What has kept him within the circle will be gone.' My chip quit working."

Dead silence fell across the room. Dawn's eyes grew huge, Angel continued to stare at his childe, Willow and Tara squeaked, Anya clasped her purse tightly, it hadn't left her lap since she started reading. Cordelia continued to file her nails unfazed since none of the revelations applied to her in anyway. Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Buffy grasped Spike's hand tightly and said, "I know. I saw what happened, I just didn't want to deal with it. I've watched you since it happened. I know you haven't been feeding, and I trust you."

"You knew his chip wasn't working and you didn't stake him?" Xander yelled and jumped up knocking his chair over, "Have you lost your mind?"

"Spike, I suggest you explain this before Xander and Angel have apoplexy," Giles said replacing his glasses. He tried not to let his anxiety show. He had expected many things from the prophecy, but not Spike without a leash.

Spike lit a cigarette and bounced his right leg continuously as he began to explain. "Well, I was walking down the street one night minding my own business, going to the butcher's for some blood. This group of four men attacked me. Tried to mug me, held me up at knifepoint. I couldn't give them my wallet, since I don't even own one. So they started to beat me up. One of them tried to steal my duster, rather attached to this old coat you know, brings back fond memories, I lost my temper and I hit him. He flew into a building, I kicked another one of the guys, and then they all ran away.

"It took about five minutes for me to realize I'd hit a human and wasn't in agony. I was overjoyed and started planning all kinds of chaos and bloodshed. Xander," Spike inclined his head in the boy's direction. "I was actually headed to your house to eat you, when I saw a vampire trying to feed on a girl about Dawn's age. I pulled her out of his grasp, staked the vampire, and escorted the girl back to her friends. I realized I didn't want to eat a human. Buffy would never forgive me if she thought I was killing again. She would stake me and if I went back to being evil, I'd lose Dawn as well. It's not much fun feeding if you don't kill `em, so I went on to the butcher's got some blood and went back to my crypt. I've turned into a disgrace to the vampire race, a bleedin' poofter like Peaches here, but I've kept bagging it every day since then." He finished with shrug and lit a cigarette.

"Buffy, I want to hear your version of this." Angel growled out.

With her trademark eye roll, Buffy told her version of the event. "I was out for patrol; it was too early to go pick up Spike so I wandered around town. I saw him walking down the street and decided to see how long it would take him to figure out he was being followed. And then these four guys jumped him. I realized they were human and started to go help, but then he hit them and they ran away. I was outraged. I knew he'd been hiding this from me, so I stayed hidden. All of a sudden he stopped in his tracks, turned around in a circle. He was so surprised. I could see the shock on his face and I knew then that it was the first time he knew the chip had stopped working."

"And then this look of pure evil came over his face." An involuntary shiver coursed through her body. "It scared me to death. I could practically hear the wheels churning in his head. He spun around on his heel and even his walk was different; he was a pure predator. I was looking at the same Spike that tried to kill me during the parent-teacher night, and if you really think about it, he hasn't been like that since then. He was going to kill someone and I knew it. I got my stake out and followed him, preparing myself to stake him." A strange ache she couldn't understand welled in Buffy's chest, she shook the feeling off. "When I heard the girl scream, I started running, but Spike got to her before I could. He didn't even think, he saved her. Then he went on to the butcher. I've been following him ever since, and he hasn't fed yet."

Angel inclined his head in Spike's direction. "Will, I'm proud of you. If I lost my soul again, or if my demon over powered it, as you believe, I'd be killing again within minutes. I didn't know you had that much strength," was Angel's sincere reply.

"How do we know he's going to stay this way, did you ever think of that?" Xander asked.

Buffy shook her head exasperated. "I did, and I know he won't. He loves Dawn and me too much to risk feeding. I know it, he knows it, Dawn knows it, and I think everyone else in the room here knows it but you, Xander," was Buffy's reply.

Spike held tighter to Buffy's hand. "If you lot want me to leave Sunnydale, I will. I know you didn't have much reason to trust me with this chip in my head, and now that it's quit working you have even less."

"Spike, don't be stupid," Willow quickly replied. "This prophecy plainly says ALL of us. Personally, I'd rather think that your chip quit working than you stopped loving Buffy and Dawn. That was my interpretation of `what has kept him within the circle will be gone'. I'd rather you be chipless, in love with Buffy, and Dawn's Champion, than you to be chipped and hate us all."

"Thanks, Red." Spike replied touched by her sincerity.

"Well, I'm glad you think that Willow, but I'd rather it be the opposite," Xander retorted angrily. "I'll be watching you Spike, and so will the others: if you slip, you're history."

"Enough, Xander," Buffy and Anya said together.

Spike chose to respond to the statement anyway. "Agreed mate, but if I slip, you're going to be the first one I eat. Are you blind, oblivious, or just plain stupid? You're already going down the path to your own destruction. Read the prophecy."

"Yes, Spike, I believe your oath to protect Dawn does explain the bit about the two of you. If something happens to her, you're obligated to kill yourself aren't you?" Giles asked.

"That's right. It also leaves Dawn without a Champion. Buffy kind of forfeited her place when she bound me to protect her."

"Xander, let's look at the section about you. I do believe Spike was right. Perhaps the power returned is Spike's ability to hurt humans. And you are fighting the relationship, as it may be, between Buffy and Spike, much to their annoyance. Telling you to get over it isn't working, but you are going to have to work through this for us to succeed. Anya, what about you?" Giles directed the conversation to the 1200 year old ex-vengeance demon.

"Is this a time for brutal honesty and no holding back? It appears to be, especially since Spike came clean about being able to hurt people?" Anya asked frankly.

"Yes, Anya, holding back could lead to the destruction of the world," Giles gently prodded.

"Well, it's all your fault Giles! I mean, how could you do this to me now, when I'm about to be married? I have my own business, I'm making lots of money, I have a man I love with all my heart, and friends that I care about. How could you do this?" Her voice kept rising until it was a shriek.

"Good Lord Anya! Whatever are you talking about, what have I done?"

"You gave me back my necklace. The gift you gave me is my necklace." Anya dared to look at the people she had come to love in the room around her; they were all confused.

"Necklace? Anya, I picked that up in a store much like the Magic Box in London. It reminded me of you. What has the necklace got to do with any of this?"

"This isn't just a necklace Giles. It's my necklace, the one D'Hoffryn gave me, the source of my powers. All I have to do is put this on, perform a ceremony and it's back to being a Vengeance demon for me. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?" Anya wailed and began to cry.

"Um, Giles, maybe the prophecy is wrong, maybe it's two powers instead of one," Xander was holding onto the woman he loved tightly, wondering if it was possible for his week to get any worse. Buffy was with Spike; they weren't having sex anymore but it was obvious they were together. They had a prophecy that stunk like a lourax demon. And his fiancée suddenly had the power to become a vengeance demon again. And if he couldn't accept all of this, the world was going to end.

"Anya, I had no idea. Damn this prophecy. You don't have to do it, you know," Giles gently said.

"Sure I do. It says plain and simple, `a destiny will be fulfilled', what else could it mean?"

"Do you want to be a demon again?" Buffy asked.

Anya was looking back and forth rapidly between Giles, Xander, and Buffy. "No, not really, but I do want my powers back."

"So did I luv, and I got `em. You see where I am don't you?" Spike quietly said as he crossed the room to Anya. Xander eyed the exchange darkly.

Spike put his hands on her shoulders, ignoring Xander's glare from behind her. He looked her dead in the eye and continued. "You were a human like me once weren't you, pet?" Anya nodded, "Well, seems like our situations are parallel. Human, Demon, choice. I didn't become a human again, but I've kept all my demon powers, and still managed to fight the good fight. Look at you, human, demon, human, choice. Anya, it also says the outcome has yet to be decided. It's up to you. You and Xander, he's got to have some say in this as well, since you are going to be married. But this DOES NOT mean you have to be evil. There are good demons out there. Angel over there, me, Clem. Angel has a pile of demon friends that aren't evil, don't you Peaches?"

"Yes, actually I do. Anya, I'd be glad to get in touch with Whistler, bring him here, and help you all wade through this. I'm not sure but I think it is possible for you to retain some power, definitely more than you have now, without becoming a vengeance demon again. If nothing else you could come down to Caritas and sing. Lorne could help you out."

Anya slowly relaxed into Xander's arms. "I didn't realize there was an option, it makes me feel better. I know I want to be with Xander. I know I want my power back. Here Giles, put this in the safe or somewhere for me." Anya said as she removed the necklace from her purse and handed it to Giles. " Xander and I need to talk about this a lot. I may want to talk to Whistler and I may want to go to Caritas as well. I may destroy the damn thing before it's all over with. Until then, hide this from me!"

"Quite right Anya. I should have known something was guiding my hand for good or ill. I caught a glimpse of that thing and your face was all I could see until I bought it. Then I dismissed it rather out of hand. I apologize. As a Watcher and from my experience on the Hellmouth, I should have known better."

"It's alright G-man, we'll figure something out. I think we'd all be better off if we stopped for the night. It's late, I've got work, and the others have school and stuff, why don't we pick up again tomorrow. Give us all some time to adjust," Xander said as he gathered his and Anya's belongings.

Before Giles could reply, everyone was gathering their belongings, obviously anxious to leave. "Very well then, we'll meet back here tomorrow at 5:00, everyone please think about the prophecy and the `gifts' you may or may not have received, as well as what can be taken from you."

Everyone muttered their agreement and began to leave. Angel and Cordelia left first, returning to the mansion. Xander and Anya walked out hand in hand with expressions of doom on their faces. Buffy gathered the boxes containing the remains of Faith and Dru, while Spike shuffled together the prophecy and the notes he'd copied from Willow.

"Willow, I'm going to over to Spike's and we're going to go through Faith's stuff together. Would you mind staying with Dawnie tonight?"

"I DON'T need a babysitter," Dawn immediately retorted.

Ignoring Dawn's protests, Tara smiled and said, "We'd love to, Buffy. I was thinking about this prophecy and Willow's circle. I think that maybe Dawn is going to be our fourth element. We should spend some time together and get to know one another before Morgaine arrives."

"I was afraid someone other than me already made that connection, that whole `power forged within' part," Buffy sighed defeatedly. She'd tried to keep her sister on the outskirts of Slayer business, but she kept getting thrust back into it. "I think you're right about that Tara. Just don't start doing any spell casting or whatever until this Morgaine arrives. If I have to accept my sister practicing witchcraft, I can at least refuse to allow it to happen before the Afet arrives."

"Adept, Buffy, and no practicing anything. We'll just look through Willow's new books and stuff like that," Tara solemnly promised.

"OK, I don't know if I'll be coming home tonight guys, so don't worry about me. Dawn, do you have Spike's cell number?" At her sister's nod, Buffy continued, "You guys have a good night, I'll see you tomorrow." With that she and Spike swept out of the store carrying their burdens and headed for the crypt.

The witches left right after them, after muttering their goodnights to Giles. Giles was completely drained. He looked at the mess in the Magic Box and decided he and Anya would just have to clean it up in the morning. He stuffed his papers back into his briefcase and headed to his apartment. He hadn't given up the apartment when he'd returned to England and was immensely happy of that fact now. He stumbled home, undressed, fell into bed and promptly went to sleep. His sleep was a restless one, however. He dreamed of the prophecy and the promise it gave of the Hellmouth opening if his group, his family, the children he'd never had, couldn't put aside their differences and work together. Like they used to. Before so many things had gone wrong.


***


Willow, Tara, and Dawn leafed through Tara's new healing books and Willow's books on recovering from addiction. They enjoyed the time spent together and Dawn decided it would be way cool to be a witch. She could help Buffy and Spike if she had some power, she thought, right before she dropped off to sleep.

Before they fell asleep, Willow and Tara discussed the parts of prophecy no one had talked about that night. They each shared the belief that what was to come would be the worst thing they'd ever had to face. Tara quaked in fear, "What can be worse than a hell god?" she asked out loud, but desperately prayed for there to be no answer.


****


As Angel and Cordelia got ready for bed, she let out all the pent-up feelings she'd had ever since Xander called and disrupted her almost-back-to-normal life.

"Angel, I know you still love Buffy and that you always will. I accept that. But this has really put me over the top. Did you really rush all the way down here to make Spike challenge your claim?"

"Cordy, " Angel quickly crossed to his lover and drew her into his arms, "I love you. I really do, if I didn't I couldn't be with you the way we are."

"Don't try to change the subject, Angel. I know you love me and I know I love you, but I will not stand by and watch Spike kill you. You watched him today, you saw what I saw. He could kill you in under a minute and I know that whatever sire-like devotion he's supposed to have will not keep him from doing it. He loves Buffy. He will KILL you for her in a second. I also know you're obligated by some stupid vampire law to make him do this, but if you do, I walk, whether or not you live."

"He doesn't have to kill me, baby. He just has to beat me in a fight and bite me from a dominant position." Angel closed his eyes as he imagined the rest of what Spike would do to him if forced to challenge him.

"Yeah, and if he takes that path after he bites you, he gets to fuck you, and I really don't see you allowing that to happen. I know you'd die first. Again, let me remind you, if you allow this challenge to take place, we are HISTORY."

"I don't know what else to do, Cordelia."

"I do. Don't challenge him for your claim." Cordelia's face softened and she leaned forward to kiss Angel, "Unless it's your claim for me," she finished tugging open his jeans.

"I don't think we have to worry about that," Angel grinned in reply as he began to undress Cordelia.

"Neither do I. They're pretty eaten up with one another, aren't they?"

Sensually, they slipped into an embrace and let the rest of the world slip away as they lost themselves in each other.

****

Xander and Anya were completely miserable. Anya knew if she tried to regain her powers she'd lose Xander. Xander knew he couldn't live without Anya, and whether or not she had power didn't even come into his equation. As long as she was with him and fighting along side the rest of the Scoobies, he didn't care. All his doubts and fears about Anya disappeared as she worked her human brand of magick on him. When they got home, she took him straight to the bathroom and put him in the shower. She joined him.

It was a long time before they went to sleep that night.

---

Ch 2:Prophecy Part II


In the lower recesses of Spike's crypt, Spike and Buffy settled onto his large four-poster bed, the only one of Spike's possessions to survive the grenade blast, and pulled out the remains of their loved ones. Spike put Dru's ashes and Miss Edith into a metal box he kept under the bed, and handed Buffy the engraved stake he had received. Buffy put the stake with Faith's knife, opened the envelope bearing her name, and asked Spike to read the letter with her. Sitting Indian-style, backs propped against the headboard, they began to read.

Buffy,

I know a lot has happened to you since I've been in prison. Angel came to see me every once in a while and kept me up to date, as much as he could. But something else has been keeping me up with you lately.

Buffy's body went rigid at the sight of Angel's name. It still stabbed her deep that he had always chosen Faith over her. Buffy had never been number one for Angel. It wasn't until he'd left her at her mother's grave that she realized she would never come first. Only a gasp from Spike turned her introspection back to the letter in her hands.

Since you were resurrected I've started having dreams. I don't know if they were truly Slayer dreams or not, but I seem to be getting images of the things that are going on in your life.

I know you're with Spike.

At least she knew why Spike had gasped. Funny how the one in prison was the only one who knew they were together. Funnier still how it didn't make her laugh.

I know you're miserable except for when you're together. I know you were in heaven before they brought you back. And I know that you're feeling the pull of the dark side. DON'T give in, B. I have never in my life met anyone as strong as you, or more loved by the people around them than you. I've always been jealous of you because of that. You were stronger than me, everyone loved you, and no matter what, you always did the right thing. That jealousy is what drove me over the edge. I tried so hard not to give in, but when Mayor Wilkins wanted me and not you, I couldn't resist. Someone finally wanted me for me. It felt good, really good, but if I could take back everything that happened since the moment I teamed up with him, I would.

Her eyebrows knitted together and her mouth pursed at the revelation. Buffy had waited for the confession of jealousy for so long. She wished that she and Faith could have worked things out before it all went so terribly, terribly wrong. A little bit of honesty between them would have gone so far. If she only could have shared how alone she really was with Faith, , maybe it would have been different. She felt Spike shifting uncomfortably beside her and wondered what had bothered him. Shaking herself out of her reverie, Buffy continued to read.

Something really strange has happened to me in prison. Those dreams I was telling you about? Well, I was having them when I was awake too. But they were different. I kept getting images of you, of you and Spike, and of Spike with another dark haired woman. Then one night the woman was in my cell. She told me her name was Drusilla, and that I was sister to the nasty slayer who had taken her Spike from her. She told me that she knew I could help her destroy you and Spike. She wanted to turn me, and for me to help her kill you and destroy Spike.

Spike clenched his fists so tightly Buffy heard the bones crack. With trepidation she turned the page. As much as it hurt her to read this letter, she suddenly realized Spike was having a harder time than she was. She watched as he flexed his jaw muscles compulsively. She wrapped her free arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer, trying to give him some of the comfort he gave her so freely.

She came to me every night for weeks: until I staked her I didn't even know if she was really there, or if it was a hallucination. But she'd found a way to break me out of jail, and then turn me, she even had a plan to separate you from Spike and torture him. I was the key to her success. I guess she thought that if she drove me crazy I would agree to help, I don't know.

Last night I just couldn't take her in my mind anymore, I pulled out the stake I sent to Spike and waited for her. The visions were worse yesterday than they've ever been before and I knew it; she'd come. I made a lot of stakes in prison, mostly to have something to do, they all got confiscated, except this one. I carved every magickal symbol on it that I could remember during the times she left my mind alone. It ended up being a sort of a talisman to ward off evil, and it worked.

She filled my brain with pictures showing how wonderful being a vampire could be. As she stepped in front of me, I broke. I didn't know what was real from what wasn't, but I felt her fangs on my neck, FELT them, B and I knew somehow she'd gotten into my cell for real. I didn't even think, I just staked her.

Buffy unconsciously reached up and ran her fingers over her bite marks. The Master, Angel, and Dracula, three of the most powerful vampires in the world had bitten her. She'd lived to tell the tale. Faith had died from her first pair of fangs and Buffy couldn't stop the tears from spattering on the letter. Spike tilted her chin up and kissed away the tears. "S'alright luv, its over now."

"No, it's never over." With a wry smile, she held Spike tighter.

As she crumbled to ashes I thought the images would stop, but they didn't. I can feel her inside me, B, somehow before she dusted away she got inside my head, and she won't leave. I want to drink blood and torture people. I especially want to torture and kill you, maim Spike, and B, I only ever met Spike once and that was in your body. I don't even know him, why on earth would I want to maim him?

And I do mean maim him. Apparently Drusilla thought it would be poetic justice to castrate him. Don't know why anyone would want to do that. Between Drusilla's images of you two and what I feel when I dream about you, no one needs to hurt that particular region of his super wickedly sexy body. I also want to de-fang him. These can't be MY thoughts; they've got to be hers. In the showers this morning, I tried to feed from a girl. Luckily the guard stopped me before I hurt her. I can't control this, and I can't get rid of her, so I'm going to do the only thing I know how.

I'm going to kill myself tonight, during lights out. I made another stake today, going to drive it through my own heart. I'm hoping if she is living in my brain, by staking myself it'll kill her for real this time. I'm in solitary tonight because I purposefully got in a fight during mess hall, to make sure she just doesn't skip into the nearest mind.

Buffy's tears were flowing freely now, and it was Spike who had his arms around her.

I'm sorry B, sorry for not trusting you when I knew I should have. Sorry for failing my birthright. I finally understand that's what being the Slayer means. It's not about having fun and getting everything you want like I thought, and it's not a burden like you've always thought. It's a birthright.

I'm going to make sure they send you my diary. The beginning is pretty full of all that therapy shit they started me on in here. I tracked my progress battling the darkness inside me. I hope it will give you a map, or something to get you out of the place you're in. I can feel inside you, when you're in my dreams: I know you're on the edge and about to fall off. I don't want you to become what I was. The irony of it all is that I made a lot of progress. I think I'm fully rehabilitated except for Dru living in my head.

I know you're going to have a hell of a battle in front of you, I've dreamed it. I've dreamed in a thousand different ways, a thousand different outcomes, but I know the only way you're going to win is with everyone in the gang. Trust your instincts, B, and most of all trust Spike. He loves you. I can see it in my dreams, and Dru can see it too. I think that's what bothered her the most. Spike loves you more than he ever loved her. Forget that he's a vampire, B, he loves you and is never going to leave you, and I saw that too. In the end when all the chips are down and everyone else has folded in this battle you're about to face, I know for sure that if you win, you and Spike will do it together. I know how you're going to win too, but if I tell you how, you won't believe me, and then you won't do what you're supposed to. I know, I saw that too.

I'm sorry, B, so sorry for everything, please forgive me, but don't worry about me, B, I'm going to the place where all good little Slayers go when they die. How do I know that? I dreamed it last night after I staked Dru. I will get my happy ending, so don't worry, and don't grieve too much.

Everything's 5 by 5

Faith They finished the letter together. When Buffy's tears had finally subsided somewhat, she asked, "Could Dru really do that, get in people's heads the way Faith said?"

"She could, luv. Damnedest thing I ever saw. That's how she bagged her own Slayer. She'd do it to torture her victims, or to see if anyone was lying to her. That's how she knew I loved you. She told me I loved you, long before I realized it myself."

Buffy quickly thumbed through Faith's diary, while Spike chain-smoked and peered over her shoulder. In the end there weren't any words only pictures. Images from her dreams. A beautiful drawing of Dru, several of Buffy and Spike, a couple of Spike by himself, and finally a picture of Faith, as a vampire. "Spike, do you want me to get this one of you and Drusilla framed? It's a beautiful drawing of both of you. I never knew Faith could draw."

"S'alright luv, I have enough pictures of her in my head. If I want to look, I'll look. I don't fancy having a portrait of my black queen hanging in the crypt I share with you. Doesn't seem right."

"It's ok, I don't mind."

"Still rather not have it, hurts too much, you know?"

"Yeah, all the pictures of Angel and Riley are all boxed away in the basement. It is easier if you don't have it staring you in the face all the time." Buffy ran her fingers over the intricate designs on the last stake Faith had made. "What about this stake? It seems Faith wanted you to have it, or she would have sent it to me. You could keep it; it could be your lucky stake like Mr. Pointy's mine. I got Mr. Pointy from Kendra. It was her favorite. I was going to kill Angelus with it, until I realized it was an ambush," Buffy shrugged, "I kill with the stake Kendra made, Kendra was killed by Dru, Dru was killed by Faith, I think you should keep it. It makes sense in a crazy Hellmouthish kind of way, you know?"

"Yeah, put that way, it does make sense. Don't know that I'll kill with it, but I will keep it on me." As if to show he meant it, Spike slid the stake into an interior pocket of his duster.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Buffy asked wrapping her arms around herself.

"Not really. I never stopped loving Dru, I know I'll love her until I die, but it's easier for me with her gone. I don't have to worry about her attacking us. She may not have been much of a fighter, but I don't think either of us could have handled her mind games."

"If you're sure, I won't push you. I know how much you love her, Spike. As much as I love Angel, but she's gone, and Angel's gone, and now we have each other." They were both silent for a while, coming to terms with everything that had taken place, when Buffy shyly asked, "Are you going to challenge Angel's claim on me?"

"Only if he forces me too. I haven't claimed you, Buffy. There's nothing for me to challenge."

Remembering his adamant refusal to claim a bitch like her, Buffy wondered how it was done. "How do you claim someone?" She asked before she could stop herself.

"You bite them and drink during sex, and let them live. How much of vampire customs do you really know, other than how to kill us?"

"Not much, really. I've never been good as research girl. When I finally realized Angel was a vampire, we all researched his soul, but that was it. I'm sure Giles knows most of it, and probably Willow too. Whenever I asked Angel any questions he wouldn't tell me. He said it didn't matter because he lived in the mortal world, not the demon world."

"Bloody wanker!" Spike jumped off the bed and began to pace the room. He ran his hands through his hair, shaking loose stray curls from the confines of his normally neat hair. "It does so matter. From the second you two became a couple, you were in danger. More danger than you were already in as the Slayer. If I'd known you didn't know about this, all this rot, I would have told you already."

"Well, tell me now." Buffy said as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "If I'm going to be dating another vampire, I need to know."

"You really are going to give us a chance, aren't you?" A combination of extreme pleasure and disbelief warred within him. He'd believe when he saw it. No matter what she said right here and now, he would still wait and see.

"Yes, I really am, now explain to me what I'm getting into. I know you don't live in that world anymore, but I need to know."

"It would take a lifetime to explain everything, luv. Fortunately for us, the demon already knows and acts accordingly. Most of the time vampires don't take humans as lovers. Oh, we fuck plenty of them, don't get me wrong, s'one of those things the demon gets off on, is draining a victim during sex. Makes the orgasm better for both demon and victim. But if we do take a human as a lover, we don't kill them, just take a little drink. Still, even with just a little drink, it makes the orgasm better. When you and Angel were together, is that when he bit you?"

"No, he didn't, and I would have completely freaked out if he had. It was after that. Faith shot him with a poisoned arrow and he was dying. The only cure was the blood of a Slayer. I went to get Faith for his cure, we fought, I stabbed her, but she got away and wound up in a coma. So I made him drink from me. He almost killed me. As soon as he stopped, he rushed me to the hospital or I would have died."

Spike stopped pacing and his eyes grew wide as she told him this. "Well, then luv, seems like we're not in such a quandary after all. When Dracula bit you, were you, um, having relations with him?"

"NO! But something even ookier than that happened," Buffy hung her head in shame, toying with her hands in her lap as if even the recollection made her uncomfortable.

Spike knelt at her feet and brushed her hair off her face before asking gently, "What was that luv?"

"I drank from him." The words were barely a whisper, but Spike heard them loud and clear.

"While he was feeding from you?"

"No, it was a different day all together. He told me he had things to show me, he cut himself, and well, I was enthralled at the time, so I drank."

Using his finger under her chin he gently forced Buffy to look him in the eye. "This just keeps getting better and better. Buffy luv, you've never been claimed. I don't have to fight Angel after all. If everything about those two bites are like you say, you're a free woman that no one can challenge me for."

"Well, there was this other time..."

"Bloody hell woman, how many times have you been bitten?" Jumping to his feet Spike began pacing again. He was jealous. He knew it and was trying to hide it from Buffy. He'd had every opportunity in the world to taste her and he hadn't. How she could have let all these vampires get a taste of her but not him infuriated him.

"Three, but I've almost been bitten way more than that." Buffy sensed something was wrong with Spike but couldn't figure out what it was.

"Tell me about this third time." He snapped and lit yet another cigarette, steeling himself for her next story.

"Well, it was really the first time, the Master bit me and left me in a pool of water to die. Xander performed CPR and brought me back to life. Oh, and there was this other time I don't even know if it counts. There was this little boy in a coma and we were all living out our worst nightmares because of him. In my nightmare, the Master bit me, turned me, and I had to crawl my way out of my grave. When I rose, I was a vampire, but before I fed from anyone, Giles and the gang found me, we woke the little boy up, and everything went back to normal, no more Buffy the Vampire-Vampire Slayer." Buffy was on a roll now recalling all her near-death experiences. "This one time Trick's fangs broke my skin, but I don't think he got any blood before Faith dusted him. And.."

Spike's stomach was heaving. He had to interrupt her before she told him every vampire she'd ever fought had tasted her except for him. `Fucking Harmony probably got a taste too.' "You were actually a vampire, and everyone saw it, and still remembers it?"

"Yeah, but I didn't carry a scar from that, it was like once we woke the little boy, none of it had ever happened, except for in our memories."

Momentarily distracted from his jealousy Spike tried to picture Buffy with fangs. "I bet you were a beautiful vampire, weren't you? You don't know what I'd give to see you in demon face."

"Don't know, vampire equals no reflection remember?" She quipped. Anxiously she wondered where those thoughts had taken Spike. "Hey, you're not going to turn me, are you?"

"Of course not, told you that already luv." Spike crushed his cigarette under his boot and decided to get down to the business at hand. "Alright, claiming someone is like taking a mate."

"Explain mate."

"You really don't know any of this, do you?" Buffy shook her head no, "Taking a mate would be equivalent to getting married in the mortal world. If you're both vampires, while you're making love you bite each other at the height of your passion, and then you say I claim you as my mate, or profess ownership over the person. But unlike being married, you don't have to claim each other, that is, it doesn't have to be mutual. Dru claimed Angelus, but he never claimed her. I claimed Dru, but she never claimed me, because Angelus was her mate."

"Even after all those years she didn't claim you?"

"No, and it was a bloody thorn in our relationship, believe me. She also never accepted my claim, s'how she managed to cheat on me with all those bloody demons."

"Accepted the claim?" Buffy looked quizzically up at Spike, who had stopped pacing to stand in front of her.

"Well yeah, acceptance of the claim makes it more powerful. Links the two together, you get a feeling of when the other person is danger, stuff like that, makes the claim more powerful if it's accepted." Spike sat beside Buffy on the bed and took both of her hands in his.

"All of this is beside the point, claiming a human is a dangerous thing to do. It binds you to the human, much like my oath bound me to Dawn. You're obligated to look after your mate for eternity, or until they're dead. There's a lot of reasons why I've never claimed you, the biggest being I believed Angelus had claimed you. I already had a mate, I never did the ritual to sever the union between Dru and myself, and you would have killed me if I'd bitten you." Spike chuckled at Buffy's vehement nod, before he traced her bottom lip with one finger. "Most humans don't claim the vampire, because they don't know about it. Vampires are generally not monogamous creatures luv, even when we're mated there's too much other stuff involved. `Specially the sire-childe bond. Angel could come in here right now and have his way with me if I let the demon take over. My demon is bound to obey his, and only my soul or my own free will can stop that from happening. Just like my childe, if I had any, would be forced to obey my every whim"

"Are you going to be monogamous with me," Buffy shyly asked. She betrayed her anxiety by gripping his hands tightly enough to make him wince.

"Unless Angelus forces me to perform, I will. See luv, sex is just as much a part of vampire life as blood. Why do you think we keep so many minions around? Believe me, they're not smart enough to be any actual help. To this day I believe the only reason Angelus turned me was to fuck me. The demon doesn't care which sex it is, luv, as long as it's sex. Anyway, I've been faithful to you since I told you I loved you."

"That was a really long time ago Spike." Buffy studiously looked at her hands, not knowing what else to say.

"Been faithful to me since then, haven't you?" Spike asked arching his scarred eyebrow.

"Not by choice. There hasn't exactly been anyone knocking my door down." Buffy was suddenly very uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken. She let go of Spike's hands and reached for Faith's journal. Randomly flipping the pages. It was one thing talking about Spike and his feelings. Another one entirely to discuss her own.

"Oh, so I'm a consolation prize?"

She couldn't bring herself to meet Spike's gaze, though his hurt was palpable in his words. "I didn't mean it that way, Spike. I'm just saying, I didn't have any chance to be unfaithful to you is all."

Spike growled but let the subject drop; he knew she didn't love him, yet. "Let me walk you home, pet."

"Not tonight. I need to clear my head, and you get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow at the Magic Box, ok?"

"If that's what you want," Spike replied and gently placed a kiss on each of her eyelids and bussed his lips to hers.

"It is, sleep well," with that Buffy left Spike's crypt and walked slowly home, went to bed and fell immediately asleep.


*****


The next day the gang met at the Magic Box, resumed their positions at the table, and started working on the prophecy again. When everyone was settled, Giles began. "Very well then, it appears that we're ready to begin. Let's start with the gifts we received for faithfully serving the powers. Does anyone have any inkling what their gift is?"

"Well, following the prophecy, I believe my gift was a boost in magick," Willow cautiously began. "I got a boost, resurrected Buffy, and then almost lost everything I love and believe in because I couldn't control it. There's a warning in there that the gift can take away that which is sought. If I hadn't stopped when I did, I could have killed someone, or myself, and now I have a second chance with magick," Willow finished quietly.

"I can see that, anyone else?" Giles continued.

"You're all going to think I'm crazy, but I can see when someone isn't telling the truth," Tara spoke up. Eyes all around the room grew wide at this implication, and the shy girl blushed deep pink at being the focus of everyone's attention.

"Do explain this, Tara," Giles replied.

"Well, since Willow restored my mind, I can sort of see a shift in people's auras when they tell a lie. That's how I knew Willow was still practicing when she told us she'd stopped. It's how I knew Spike loved Buffy. It's kind of freaky, but I like it," she finished shyly.

"I think I know what my gift was," Dawn boldly started, "I'm not a key anymore. I don't open anything. I'm completely human."

"Dawnie you were human before," Buffy quickly interrupted.

"Yeah, but I opened something important to the bad guys before, and now I don't. I'm 100% positive that I'm not a key anymore. And Buffy, Tara, Willow and me were talking last night about that whole `power unknown forged within', and we think that I'm supposed to learn magick now. I was made from magick, wouldn't it make sense if my gift made me completely human, no keyness, so now I can learn to use the magick I was made of? That way you already know whom in the group Willow is supposed to practice with?"

"Dawnie," Tara interrupted, "I hate to contradict you, but, well, you know I see and read auras, and well, your aura has never changed, you're still a beautiful ball of green energy."

"I may still be a ball of energy, but I KNOW I don't open anything anymore. When Doc cut me," Dawn didn't see it but Spike visibly flinched as she said this. "I felt something leave my body, and when Buffy jumped…" Spike didn't just flinch this time, he got up and left the room. "…And the portal closed, it didn't come back inside me. I am NOT a key to anything anymore, and couldn't the green energy be the magick I'm made of?" Dawn turned hopeful eyes to Giles and waited for his response.

Giles began cleaning his glasses with his shirttail deep in thought, and didn't notice Spike rejoin the group. "Well, Dawn, I had originally thought Anya to be the one to complete the circle since she already knows so much about magick. But what you say makes sense. Where is that quote? Ahh, yes here it is `The Key will discover power unknown forged within its very nature by those that created the human.' Yes, that does make sense. I need to let Morgaine know this, it may alter her course of study for you girls…you were created by magick after all, but Dawn, it doesn't say anything here about you not being the Key anymore. We'll need to research that some more. Anyone else have any interpretations?"

"Well, I've known what my gift was since before Glory," Buffy looked around the room with a crooked grin on her face. "After all, the Spirit Guide did tell me Death Is My Gift. I don't believe I need to look any further. It also doesn't mention the warrior receiving any gifts, just those that fought at my side. Spike, what about you?"

He didn't even need to think about his gift it was sitting around this table looking at him. It shone from Dawn's eyes and it was developing within Buffy. Deep down he knew Angel had always felt it even if he didn't show it, and he felt his relationship with the Wiccas changing daily. Not wanting to look like too much of a Nancy boy, he shrugged and smirked at the group, "Love."

Angel snorted, Cordelia giggled and Xander sneered. "Love? You're a demon. What makes you think love is your gift?" Strangely, the rest of the group didn't seem too shocked at Spike's revelation.

"Yes, my boy why don't you enlighten us?" Angel spat out.

"Well if I have to. Rupert, mind if I smoke?" Spike looked like the need to start pacing was about to overtake him.

"Only if you must, Spike. Try not to make it too much of a habit during store hours, though."

Spike crammed a cigarette between his lips and lit it, inhaling deeply before beginning. "Alright. I've never been like other vampires. Ever. I was a diehard romantic sap when I was a human, bought into all that Victorian crap, and when I was brought over, it stayed with me. I loved Drusilla without question for over 100 years. I loved my sire and tried to do everything I could to make him happy for 20 years. I only betrayed him once, and I believe that's why I retained my ability to love after I was turned. When it came time for Angelus' big bad demon test to kill your own family, I lied and told him I was an orphan."

Angel breathed out a sigh of relief at Spike's admission. At least not everyone in his family had committed murder against their own family. It helped ease the persistent ache in his soul that remained after killing his family.

"I wasn't an orphan at all, I had a mother, a father, a little brother, and two sisters whom I managed to secretly keep in touch with for ten years after I was turned. I believe that not killing my family helped me retain a large portion of my humanity. And sitting here in this very room, I still know love is my gift. My love for Dawn, for Buffy, my sire, the fondness that grows in my heart daily for the girls here and even you, Rupert." Spike then looked Xander dead in the eye, "Truthfully Harris, the more time we spend together, the less I despise you. I don't `ave any warm fuzzies towards you, but if anyone or any demon tried to kill you, they'd have to get through me first.

"See, the things that hurt the people I love hurt me. Which is why I look after you when you're not looking after yourself." Spike smirked at Xander, put out his cigarette and shrugged again. "`sides if anyone's goin' to kill you, it's gonna be me."

"This is mine and Anya's gift," said Xander, abruptly interrupting Spike, as he began passing copies out to the group. "She sees these in visions and sketches them out, then I draw the schematics, which is what you're all looking at. And now that I've got the appropriate tools, by the way, thanks again for those Giles. I'm going to make them."

"Wow! Xander, is this what I think it is?" asked Buffy, holding up a drawing of a particularly menacing-looking crossbow, one that looked to be even smaller than the one she carried now.

"Well, if you think that's a super- duper, automatic reloading, 6 bow, with pop-on extra clips, triple velocity crossbow, that is smaller, lighter, and more accurate than your current crossbow, then yes, it is what you think it is. And now that Giles has given me the tools with Wiccan Blessings to make these babies with, I'm going to be spending a lot less time at the research table and a lot more time in the workshop I'm going to set up in part of your training room." Xander finished, looking pleased with Buffy's reaction.

"Anya, are you getting visions, dreams, or ideas about these weapons?" Giles asked.

"Well, they're not visions like Cordelia has, they just sort of pop in my head and I draw them out as best I can, and then explain them to Xander if he has any questions."

"Fascinating, do you believe that is all of your gift?"

"While you've been gone, Giles, I've noticed my knowledge of demons, lore, legends, and all that has grown beyond what I could have learned in my 1200 years of being a Vengeance Demon. Buffy would come in and describe what she had seen on patrols and then I'd `know' what it was and how to fight it, or at least a good enough idea to know which book to look in. It's cut our research time in half, at least. I never questioned where the knowledge came from, until now."

"Hey, I think Anya's got the most useful gift of us all, except maybe Xander's super cool new weapons, way to go," Buffy grinned.

"I think that covers everyone but me," Giles continued. "Unfortunately, I've been unable to figure out what my gift is."

"I think I know." Spike had been silent this entire time, and now all eyes, especially Giles', swung to look at him.

"Well, Spike, enlighten me then."

"When Buffy didn't finish off Glory, because she turned back into Ben, you killed him." Giles started sputtering and cleaning his glasses. "Don't try to deny it, I watched you." All eyes in the room except Spike's and Giles' widened, and everyone waited to hear what the watcher had to say.

"Well, yes, I did. But only because I knew if they weren't killed they would only come back and try to destroy the world again," Giles interrupted, defending himself.

Spike held his hands up in a placating gesture. "Let me finish, Watcher. I wasn't criticizing . You did what had to be done, but what I physically couldn't do `cause of the bleeding chip, and Buffy couldn't because of who she is. I think your gift is to become one person."

Noticing the extraordinarily confused looks on the faces of everyone in the room but Giles, who was looking introspective and still cleaning his glasses, Spike continued. "Look kids, it's like a fairy tale or something. Once upon a time there was a man who fought institutions, rules, and restrictions and lived for chaos, but that man grew up and forced himself, and those around him, to follow the rules and restrictions and entered one of the most institutionalized groups out there, the Watcher's Council.

"Now in the prime of his life, both sides of that man are converging, making him one person who does what he should when he should, regardless of what the rules are. The Watcher's gift is for Giles and Ripper to become one person." Spike paused and caught Giles' eye, "Did you even for a moment feel remorse for killing Ben?"

"No." Giles pinched the bridge of his nose and continued, "I guess that's why I haven't noticed. I had no remorse, and neither would Ripper. I see what you mean Spike, there were events that took place in England that would confirm your suspicions, but I honestly hadn't noticed until you brought this up."

Giles finally put his glasses back on, a sure sign he was ready to move the conversation forward. He muttered, "Now that you mention it, it would explain why your relationship with Buffy hasn't bothered me much. That's definitely a Ripper attribute as well. I actually had an affair with a vampire when I was younger myself," Giles either didn't see or ignored the shocked, dismayed, and disappointed expressions of his children. Only Tara and Spike didn't seem fazed by this quiet admission, "Hmm, I wonder what this signifies in the upcoming battle?"

"That maybe we'll be fighting humans?" Tara asked. "Hey, that could be what it is, it would also explain why all of a sudden Spike's chip doesn't work. The Armies of Darkness are going to have some humans fighting for them, and the Slayer can't fight humans."

"What kind of humans would fight for the Armies of Darkness?" Dawn asked.

"Don't be so naive guys. Just because humans aren't demons it doesn't make them good," Angel began, speaking for the first time since arriving. "There's a whole human law firm in LA that's trying like hell, literally, to gain control of the world. And they're using the Dark Arts and Demons as their weapons; the partners in Wolfram and Hart sell their souls to the dark forces. I've been their target for a while now, and it's why I've been hiding something from all of you." He nodded to Cordelia, and she pulled some powder from her purse and mumbled an incantation.

Suddenly a baby carrier and an infant appeared in the room between Cordy and Angel's feet, as well as a small girl. The girl appeared to be about four feet tall, with black ankle length hair, olive skin, pointed ears and silver eyes. She was dressed in a gray green catsuit and had a quiver of arrows on her back and a silver bow in her hand.

To say everyone was startled was an understatement. In fact, gaping jaws seemed to be the expression of choice.

"This," said Angel as he picked up the baby, "is my son, Connor, and this," he continued, pointing at the small girl, "is his nanny. Her name is Ryvr. She's an elf."

The dam broke in the room everyone began talking at once

"How...
"What...
"Who...
"Angel, could...

"Bloody hell, Angelus, could you have been a little less dramatic? The bleedin' Slayer's fainted on me," Spike yelled as he began gently slapping Buffy on the face, trying to seat her more comfortably across his lap, where she had fallen upon Angel's statement.

Anya walked across the room and demanded to be allowed to hold Connor. Xander asked Cordy if she was the baby's mother. Giles asked Angel to explain how he was able to father a child. Tara got up and ordered food and blood for the evening, since it appeared this would be an all-nighter.

Buffy suddenly came to, the first thing she saw was Spike. "Oh Spike, I had the most awful dream, Angel had a son and....." Buffy realized she wasn't in the crypt with Spike, and that it most certainly hadn't been a dream as the baby began to wail in Anya's arms.

"Yuck, I think he needs changing," she thrust the child at Cordelia, and Cordelia gathered up the diaper bag and went with Ryvr to the training room to change the baby. Everyone continued asking Angel questions, then Cordelia, Connor, and Ryvr came back into the room.

"Well, it's a long story," Angel started.

Cordy interrupted, "The Wolfram and Hart resurrected Darla, she came back human, Angel screwed her, she got pregnant, Drusilla sired her, Darla had the baby and died."

"Apparently not that long," Angel finished.

"But how is it possible you fathered a baby?" Buffy demanded, panicked eyes flitting back and forth between Angel, Giles and Spike. "You told me vampires couldn't have children. Oh my God, was that a lie? What if Spike got me pregnant? I don't even like children."

"He didn't lie, luv," Spike reached over and pushed a strand of hair behind Buffy's ear, to try to calm her down. Her pulse was racing, her breathing was too short and shallow, and her eyes were completely dilated. Shock, Spike mused, or is that fear of babies? For all that she claimed she wanted was a normal life, the prospect of babies left his Slayer weak in the knees and scared as a virgin, and he kind of liked it. Seeing her vulnerable was a rare treat for the vampire, especially since she tried so hard to maintain her emotional walls around him. "Vampires can't father children or give birth to children, we're dead. But it seems like the PTBs decided that Angelus was going to have a child."

"Spike's right. The PTBs stepped in. I'm the father of the child who will save the world." Angel hadn't missed that gentle touch between Spike and Buffy, but unlike Spike, Angel registered the changes in Buffy when Spike touched her. Her heart rate slowed, her breathing got deeper and more normal, and her eyes, the pupils retracted a bit, but her eyes positively glowed when she looked at Spike. Not him, Spike. Buffy hadn't looked at him that way, ever.

"Or destroy it." Cordelia interrupted again. "Wolfram and Hart is pulling out all the stops to kidnap Connor. They've read the prophecy and Connor will either save the world or destroy it. They're hoping if they can get him, they'll influence him and he'll be their biggest weapon."

"What prophesy is this?" Giles asked.

"We've got a copy of it at the office. I'll have Wesley fax it over," Angel said as he picked up his cell phone to make the call. "Do you think it has anything to do with the one we're working on here?"

"I don't have any idea, but I definitely want to read it."

"How old is he, can I hold him?" asked Willow, obviously itching to get an armful of squirming chubby baby.

"He's 6 months old," Angel proudly stated, "and yes, you can hold him."

"Why do you have an elf as a nanny?" Dawn asked as Willow cuddled Connor and began tickling him under his chin. She grinned when he gurgled at her. Tara got up to stand behind Willow and play with the infant as well.

"Wolfram & Hart keep sending assassins after me, and I needed a nanny who could protect Connor as well as assist me in such situations. Wesley was owed a favor by the elves and they sent Ryvr here to help us out."

All eyes in the room turned to Ryvr. She smiled at the group and said in a voice that sounded like bells tinkling, "My people possess magick that has been lost to humans since Stonehenge, and I am the Keeper of those magicks in my tribe. The magicks are powerful and my kind were only allowed to keep them if we used them defensively. And then there's everyday Elvin magick, which is nothing to sneeze at either. I'm a noted healer amongst my people, and nobody, and I mean nobody who gets hit by one of my arrows lives to tell the tale of the Daywalker and his Elvin nanny."

Giles returned to the room with a sheaf of papers from the fax machine. "Good lord, did you say Daywalker? Then that means that Connor has all the strengths of a vampire but none of the weaknesses. You are aware Angel, that this means Connor's growth will not pattern that of a human child."

"What do you mean, Giles?" Angel looked completely befuddled, as if the notion had never occurred to him before this very moment.

"According to the legends, the Daywalker will age at an accelerated rate until he appears as a fully grown adult, and then the aging process will slow down. He will eventually die like a mortal, but could live to be hundreds of years old."

Angel's jaw clenched, and he growled, "No, I wasn't aware of that, when do you think this will begin?"

"When you start feeding him the vampire blood he needs to grow to full strength. If Darla hadn't died, you would have discovered that the milk she produced was mixed with blood."

"Ryvr, did you know this?"

"Yes." The elf met Angel's accusing stare unapologetically.

"Why didn't you say something? You're supposed to be providing him with everything he needs."

"Why Master Angel, you told me to follow all of your instructions in feeding and caring for the child. I'm only allowed to make my own decisions regarding the Daywalker when it comes to his protection, not his nutrition," came the tinkling reply. The mirth was evident in her eyes, and it pissed Angel off.

"You should have said something," he growled, his true face revealed as his amber eyes flashed with anger at the small elf.

The elf merely smiled. "Now that you know, Daddy dear, how about drawing some blood for the Daywalker, and putting it in his bottle? We'll see if he's really ready to begin his destiny. He won't drink the blood until its time."

While Cordy fished around in the diaper bag for a bottle, Angel pulled a dagger out of his coat pocket, and slit his wrist. He held it to the mouth of the bottle and once it was full, put the nipple on and took his son from Willow.

The tension and absolute stillness in the room was palpable, but the disgust on Xander's face betrayed his true feelings. He didn't just hate vampires, he was also morbidly obsessed with them. And on the subject of Connor, it appeared that everyone else was obsessed too, as who really wanted to watch a baby drink his daddy's blood? Apparently the Scooby Gang and their visitors.

Angel held the bottle in front of Connor's mouth and waited. It wasn't a long wait. As Connor began sucking the blood from the bottle, a high-pitched hum began. Connor greedily drank all the blood in the bottle, the hum reverberating throughout the Magick Shop the entire time. When the bottle was finished, he pulled it from his lips, looked up at his Daddy and began making more noises. The hum was replaced by a chattering punctuated with mini-growls and chirps. Angel slid into demon face and began chattering back to his son. A few minutes later, he handed the bottle to Spike and said, "Fill this."

Spike looked at Angel and began laughing as he slit his wrist, filled the bottle, and replaced the nipple. "Give him to me," Spike said.

"No."

Connor let out a growl then. It was high-pitched like a puppy, and he pushed away from his father's embrace and held out his arms to Spike, chattering again. "Don't get upset, Daddy dear, Connor just wants to meet his brother, so give him over, or you'll have one seriously brassed off toddler on your hands." Then Connor began to cry, like a normal baby and Angel gave up. "Whatever Spike, he did ask for your blood, I might as well let you feed him too, but don't let him choke."

"Umm, how did he ask for Spike's blood?" Cordelia asked, voicing the confusion that most of the Scoobies seemed to be feeling.

"Those noises he's making are vampire words, Cordelia. Apparently the blood has awakened the demon side of him and he can communicate like, well, like an adult in the vampire language." Giles answered, when it was obvious Angel and Spike weren't going to.

Watching Spike feed his brother was a revelation to Buffy. As he held the child, he slid into his true face and chattered, growled, chirped, and finally laughed when the baby finished his bottle and answered him with his own chattering. She'd seen him be tender with her and Dawn, but never with anyone else. He held the baby with an ease of experience she hadn't even noticed with Cordelia.

Then much to everyone's amazement, the baby seemed to grow right before their eyes. What had appeared to be a normal 6- month old infant was replaced with a regular looking 18- month toddler. Spike carefully set the child on his feet and said in English as well as vampiric, "Go to your Daddy, Tiger." Spike let go of the boy's hands when he started humming again and to everyone's amazement, but most of all Angel's, Connor walked straight to him held his arms up in the air and said, "Daddy up!"

Angel picked him up and they started chattering to each other again. Connor looked over at Cordelia, grinned impishly at her and said, "Mama." Cordelia's eyes grew huge and she began to cry as she snatched him away from Angel. Ryvr sat between the two and rolled her eyes.

"You know, if he would have listened to me months ago, Connor would already be about 16 in human years. Now that he's had blood, he'll have to have equal amounts human food and vampire blood until he's fully grown. Angel, you and Spike need to prepare yourselves for that." The elf's words cut through the amazement of both vampires, whose eyes had been glued to Connor during his remarkable transformation.

"Now, hold on a minute, why do I have to feed the bloody runt?" Spike said indignantly.

"Because, he needs the blood of his family, not just his father. If any of Angel's childer were still alive, he'd need to drink from all of them. Since the two of you are the only one's left in Angel's direct line, you both have to sustain him. His mother's breast milk would have sustained him indefinitely, but with her death..." the small elf shrugged and didn't complete her thought. Connor suddenly squealed out, "ungry, Daddy, ungry, want." His words were suddenly taken over by more chirping and Angel sighed as he took out his dagger again.

"I think I'm going to need to feed soon, if he keeps eating like this."

As if on cue, the Chinese delivery guy came in with the night's feast for the humans and a bottle of genuine human blood from Willie's. Angel eyed the blood and drank half of it down before anyone else had even gotten their food out.

When everyone had finished their dinner and Connor was fast asleep again, his sudden growth spurt apparently having tired him out, Giles started dispensing orders.

"Alright everyone, I think we've gotten as far on this prophecy today as we're going to. We've made a lot of headway in two nights, and I need to get a report to the Council. The naming of the gifts should help them find any related prophecies. Xander, why don't you start getting your workshop set up, Anya, ready the shop for tomorrow, Buffy and Spike, I need you to patrol, Angel why don't you take your family home. I believe you need to deal with what we've, err, seen tonight."

"Girls", he directed this next statement to Willow, Tara, and Dawn, "Morgaine has faxed over some reading for you to do before she arrives. If you don't have these texts in your possession, you may take a copy from the shop. Oh, and she says even if you've already read this, to read it again. She'll be here in two days to start your training. If I might suggest, you may want to get the reading done and get as much rest as possible, the training schedule she sent me appears to be quite grueling." With the orders given the group broke up and began their assignments for the evening.


******


"I feel like I've been cheated." Angel said as he tucked Connor into his bassinet. It was obvious he wouldn't be sleeping in it much longer. "Suddenly he's walking and talking. At this rate, he'll be grown in a month. And all those precious moments that parents relive over and over are lost to me now."

"Angel, quit brooding and being so morose. You still saw his first word and first steps. You're not being cheated; you just have to pay closer attention now," Cordelia wisely responded. "Now that my favorite little prophecy is tucked in snugly, how about you and I get some much needed rest?"

Angel simply nodded and prepared for bed with Cordelia, leaving Ryvr to stand guard over Connor for the remainder of the night.


*****


Xander was busy in the training room. He was trying really hard not to remember the way Connor had grown like a mutant in front of them. How the baby had eagerly sucked down the blood, taken in the power that coursed through his father and brother. Not for the first time since Buffy had arrived in Sunnydale and opened his eyes to the terrible forces of darkness, he wondered exactly what it would be like to be a vampire.

As he unboxed and arranged his new tools, Xander thought back to Evil Willow. He knew what Willow would be like as a vampire, and he knew what Buffy would be like as well, but he couldn't imagine himself as a bloodsucker. If he was turned, would his friends resoul him? Would they stake him? Or would Willow find a way to replicate the chip and leave him like Spike?

His thoughts kept spinning along those lines as he unpacked the rest of the weapons schematics and posted them on the backboard of his workbench. He scanned over them quickly, deciding to make the Xander Special Crossbow first. He made a list of materials he would need to begin. When he finished, Anya was ready to go and they made their way home, each lost in their own thoughts.


*****


Willow quickly read through the list Morgaine had sent for the witches pre-homework. Between her and Tara they had copies of all of the books. When they reached the Summers' house, Willow handed Tara the copy of Practicing With a Circle, she took out Ethics of Magick for herself. Then she debated with Tara where Dawn should start. They finally figured out it would be best for her if she started with The History of Witchcraft. They decided that the three of them would study Discovering and Balancing the Four Elements together. Dawn happily took her reading materials to her room, with fierce instructions from Willow not to mark in the book or dog-ear any of the pages. She took out an empty notebook and immersed herself in the history book, ecstatic to not only be treated as a real member of the Scoobies, but to also be playing an important role in what (it seemed) was coming.

Willow and Tara took much the same approach as Dawn to studying; they settled on the bed and took notes, eventually they were all lulled to sleep, books still open on their chests.


****


Giles stayed at the shop and rapidly wrote and filed a report to the Council outlining everything the group had discussed. When he finished he saved the document, attached it to an email, and sent it to the Council. Then he went home, made himself a cup of tea, laced it with whiskey, and went to bed.


****


Spike and Buffy were making rapid sweeps of the usual patrol route, not speaking to each other, both lost in their own thoughts. Buffy's head was swimming. Angel had a son. Angel, her ex-boyfriend, her first true love, the ensouled vampire had a son. One that had been conceived and emerged from the womb like a proper baby. She was happy for him. After all, the look of love that was evident on Angel's face whenever he looked at, thought about, talked about, or held his son made it clear that Angel was pleased to have a child.

She watched a fledgling start to crawl out of a grave. She didn't wait for him to emerge, but staked him before he had crawled halfway out. Her thoughts changed course mid-stake. What would happen if the PTBs decided to give her a child? She and Spike. Would it be a Daystalker, or whatever, like Connor? Would it be a human? Would it be a vampire? Would it be some wacky combination of both? If it were a daughter would it be a Slayer?

Spike was guarding her rear, and she was so engrossed in her thoughts and the second fledgling she staked mid-crawl that she didn't notice the sounds of steel hitting steel behind her, until she heard Spike yell out "Bloody Hell!"

She whipped around to see Spike parrying swords with something. It was big, like NBA player big, about seven and half feet tall, approximately 300 lbs, with green skin and pure white eyes. Its hands were claws, its feet encased in boots. It didn't appear to have any horns, but it was giving Spike a hell of a fight. The demon was not only bigger than Spike, but it was carrying a much longer sword, making its reach about two feet longer than the vampire's.

But as usual when he was fighting, Spike appeared to be enjoying himself, so Buffy scanned the cemetery and surrounding woods for Mr. Green Jeans' friends. Not seeing any, she leaned against a tree to watch her vampire battle the demon. `Did I just think my vampire?' The thought evaporated as quickly as it had come as she turned her focus to the dance taking place in front of her.

She loved to watch him fight. He moved with a predator's grace, relishing the dance. Attack, counter, parry, attack, counter, parry. He had his game face on, attack, counter, parry. Spike jumped up on a tombstone and used the momentum to back flip over and behind the demon. Before he landed, he swung his sword in a graceful arc, beheading Mr. Green Jeans. The demon slumped to the ground, dead, and Spike wiped the orange blood off his sword on the demon's clothing. Grinning cockily at the Slayer, he sauntered over to her and saluted when he arrived. "That's all the cemeteries, luv. We going to do an extended patrol and sweep the alleys, park, and woods?"

"Let's skip the woods, and do the alleys and park. Tomorrow night, we'll have a group patrol flush out the woods. I've been thinking about getting Tara to do a spell or something that would point out where all the demons are, but now I think it would be best to wait for Morgaine before asking her to do anymore spells."

Spike nodded and allowed Buffy to lead them through the trouble spots in Sunnyhell. He was completely on guard. He moved stealthily in the shadows. No one, not even Buffy, could see him unless he wanted to be seen. Sliding into game face so he could see better, Spike let the demon within him take over. The demon projected all his senses outward and was immediately pummeled by the presence of the Slayer; the demon registered the Slayer as an ally and continued sweeping the area surrounding him.

Meanwhile, the man was battling himself inside his head. `Why does that soddin' poof Angelus always get everything? Because he's got a soul. Pfft, I've got a bloody soul too. But no one recognizes my soul. He got the girl. My girl, my Drusilla. He got the Slayer. My Slayer, the woman I love more than my unlife. He got the child, and watching him and Cordelia, apparently the family as well. He's going to get ShanShu some day. He's got Buffy's love.'

The demon inside him roared and rattled his cage. That bloody wanker. He was cursed with that soul. It wasn't even his original soul. It was a gypsy soul pulled from the ether, certain to torture him for eternity. No one realized that of course, except for Angelus, himself, and Dru.

No, Buffy believed that Angel had his original human soul. The demon and the man chuckled at that. What would Buffy think if she found out what her Angel had really been like as a human? His face darkened at that. He didn't want Buffy to know he himself had been the biggest Nancy boy ever, but thought it would enlighten her to the differences in Angel and Angelus if she knew that Liam, the human Angelus, didn't reside in Angel. He only resided in Angelus. Thankfully Spike wasn't born for another 100 years after Liam. Drunken sod, spreading diseases from whore to whore, gambling away his family's fortune, because he hadn't wanted the responsibilities of the gentry. Then of course, he'd killed his family. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted, his nostrils flared at the strange scent.

"Slayer, something's out there. I don't know what it is."

Buffy was immediately concerned. Spike could easily identify any beastie that lived in town. She closed her eyes and extended her senses. Something she should have been doing anyway, she relied too much on Spike's senses and needed to start using hers again. Immediately her spidey-sense screamed Spike. It could separate him from all other creatures and humans. She concentrated and extended her senses further out until she felt it. She'd never felt anything like that before. She nodded her head, and not looking at Spike, they separated and headed into the park. Both drawing short swords and stakes they circled the perimeter of the park and gradually swept inward.

There, they both registered at the same time. They found each other's eyes and reached a quick and silent agreement. They stalked towards their prey. Spike to the creature's rear, Buffy to its face, or that was the plan, but the demon was riding what Buffy had always called the "spinning-thing." It appeared to be a man, but her spidey-sense and Spike's demon sense knew that wasn't so. He was standing in the middle of the merry- go- round, arms lifted to the heavens, head thrown back, eyes closed.

When the vampire and the warrior reached the spinning thing, it stopped turning . The man/demon lifted his head, and without opening his eyes, began to speak. "The Vampire and The Warrior. Not quite what I expected. You're both so small." Spike and Buffy both snorted.

Disgusted, the creature continued. "I am here to tell you it has begun. The stars have aligned, agreements have been made. Are you prepared? Do you know what you face? Warrior, you shall face an old enemy. Vampire, you shall face your own demon, and the Witch must face herself. When those battles are finished, if you win, the Power of the Three shall be your gift, and if you fail.... the balance will be lost forever, and this world you've fought so valiantly to save time and time again will return to its demonic beginnings."

"We know all that already, Mr. Smarty Pants. Who are you and why are you here?" Buffy demanded, stalking closer to the creature.

"I am The Messenger, here to give you a glimpse of what you shall face. My name is unimportant, I am here only to guide, and prepare you."

Spike considered the man. He was about Angel's height and weight, his hair was so blonde it was white, but not bleached like Spike's and his eyes were black, bottomless pits, surrounded by white. Perfectly normal, except for the color, he thought. Then The Messenger smiled, revealing vampire fangs, and that was when Spike realized it didn't have a heart beat, nor did it breathe. It was a vampire without the demon visage, like one of Anne Rice's bloody books, he thought.

Suddenly Spike and Buffy were both assailed with images. Willow eyes and hair completely black taking into herself all the power of the dark arts, Spike separated into man and demon both vying for control, and Buffy was looking into the face of an old enemy...Jenny Calendar the voice for The First, a flash of the Master, a flash of Riley as one of these vampire/not vampire creatures leading an army of the same. And then the creature was gone as were the images. Both were silent for a moment, the still only broken by the creaking of the merry-go-round.

"Gee, do you think that was a warning or something," Buffy sarcastically said as she regained her focus and shook off the images, filing them away for the conversation she was going to have bright and early with Giles.

"It could have been false warnings to throw us off course, but I don't think so. I think that was a vampire luv, but if it was, it was a breed I've never seen before, or heard about even, unless you want to suddenly take Anne Rice as a prophet instead of a fiction author." Spike's voice held its usual snark, but he was still evidentally unnerved by the images.

"Exactly what I was thinking." Buffy was still filing images away but was stuck on that of Riley. She knew he wasn't one of those things, or at least he wasn't a little while ago when he and Sam had stopped through town looking for help. "Spike, I know you're going to think I'm crazy, but I want you to move into the house. Tonight. You can stay in my room tonight, and tomorrow we'll fix up the basement for you."

Surprisingly enough, he didn't question or protest. "Let's swing by my crypt then and pick up what I'll need until tomorrow night."

And they did. While Spike gathered up his wardrobe and shoved it in a duffle bag, Buffy raided the fridge and got out his blood and beer. "Anything else I need, I can pick up tomorrow night, or you and the witches can get it tomorrow during the day. Let's go."

Buffy just nodded. She was nauseous from the vision the thing had sent her and just wanted to go home and sleep it off in Spike's arms.



Continued...


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