~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 21~
Xander was feeling worried and guilty. Where was Willow? And why hadn't he noticed the fact that she'd just sort of vanished? He was supposed to be her friend, which generally meant being there, talking about things. and with a stab of guilt, he realized that he hadn't been talking with Willow the way they once had. He'd been spending so much of his time at work, or with Anya, or just. well, he could have found a little time to talk to Willow. Even if only a bit here and there during research.
Although if he were being honest, it had freaked him out a bit when she resurrected Buffy. Not that she would try, but that she actually managed to pull it off. it had scared him. He'd felt sacred of Willow, and that was something that he just couldn't stand. She was Willow, not some scary witch, he shouldn't even worry about it. It had made him feel ashamed and guilty that he'd ever had so much as a flicker of fear, but. it had been there.
"All by yourself? Don't see you often without Anya." Spike's voice was only a little insulting, almost friendly in comparison to some of his moods.
"Yeah, well. Anya's at the store. I'm looking for Willow. maybe Amy, since she was staying with Wills." Xander trailed off, uncertain if Spike would even care.
"The mouse girl? Your little group lost two of the three witches? How'd you lot manage to do that?" Spike shook his head, almost mockingly.
"Hey, it's not. not all my fault." Xander frowned, feeling too guilty not to accept some of the blame.
"No, it was a group effort. Headed by Twitchy and the Slayer." Spike scowled, obviously unhappy with Buffy and Tara, especially if he was using annoying nicknames for them. "Least you've figured out that the lot of you screwed up."
"I'm pretty sure that I should be offended by that." Xander frowned a bit as Spike followed him. "Why do you care?"
"Mouse girl. what was her name? She's cute. Thought I might like tog et to know her a bit better. Can't very well do that if she's gone." Spike shrugged. "Besides, Red's not too bad, and I did tell her that I'd turn her if I got this chip out. She'd make a useful child. Smart, good at plans, plenty of languages, the computer stuff. hmmm, not sure if the magic would carry over."
Xander shuddered, remembering the vampire Willow that had made a brief visit during senior year. "Vampire Willow. eeegh. Of course, you'd probably kill me. so I wouldn't be there to see her reign of terror, but let's just put me on record as not approving of that plan.
Spike just laughed, the sound echoing in the darkness. "Fine, you don't like the idea. Where are the girls not at?"
Looking over, Xander wondered why Spike had apparently decided to help look. It couldn't be from the goodness of his heart. Spike was a vampire. Evil, as he reminded them regularly. He didn't do good things just because. About the only possible benefit would be that if some sort of demon or vampire attacked, Spike would be able to fight it off. if he wanted to.
"Well, we already knew that they hadn't been by the Magic Box for a few days, not since they assured Anya that they weren't sharing illicit orgasms. They haven't been to the Summers home, or my apartment. You'd have said something if they were at the crypt, same with Giles and his place. They haven't been at the apartment that Willow and Tara were sharing, and the story about staying at the Rosenberg place may have been true for a while, but they aren't there now. The don't have a dorm, and Amy's parents don't live here any more." Xander sighed, feeling frustrated. "And if Wills wanted somewhere to feel safe, she wouldn't go to my folk's home, and Jesse's parents moved out years ago."
"Quite the list of places that she's not." Spike looked thoughtful. "Are you sure that nothing ate them?"
"No, I'm not. Thanks for bringing that up, bleach boy." Xander scowled, entirely unhappy about the question. He knew that there were any number of dangerous things that would be perfectly willing to kill Amy and Willow. He just didn't want to think about the possibility.
"Right, you want to think we'll find them alive and well, just so fed up with the lot of you being a bunch of spineless twits following Buffy's lead that they left after Niblet's whole hissy fit." Spike was scowling, a cigarette in hand.
"Hey, I don't like that whole spineless thing. Buffy was dead, of course she's. taking some time to readjust. We have to give her time, that's all." Xander felt a little bit of worry, a question that maybe Spike had a point. But he squashed it down. Buffy was their friend, they had to give her the time that she needed, right?
"She's taking advantage of all of you. Poor me, I cam back from the dead. Poor me, nothing feels the same, I can't be all happy and friendly any more. Help me feel again. Damn bitch is taking everyone around her for all that she can, and just toss them aside when she's done." Spike was growling, the cigarette's tip burning red in the darkness. "Red should have just left her there, but no, we were so damn sure that we needed a Slayer. so sure that we wanted her back. And Willow brought her back from the dead for us. Not that anyone's bothered to thank her for it. Red's damn lucky she didn't kill herself trying something like that."
Xander wasn't quite certain why Spike was so agitated over Buffy's moods. He hadn't seemed nearly this cranky over things last week, what had changed? And when had Buffy asked anyone to help her feel? He wasn't quite certain that he wanted the answer. "I didn't know that the ritual was that dangerous."
"You're literally talking about a matter of life and death with that one. If you do everything just right and have enough power, you can bring someone back. If you do everything right and don't have enough power, you die, and the person might come back. If you botch anything, the caster's dead, and there could be a very big problem for anyone else in the area." Spike was still scowling, still angry enough that Xander couldn't imagine anything but a suicidal demon attacking near the blond vampire.
"Why would she take that sort of risk? That's crazy." Xander hadn't quite meant the question to be out loud. But it sort of fit, actually. She was Willow. It had been for the same insane reasoning that she'd tried to restore Angel's soul, that she'd tried to get the Books of Ascension from the Mayor's office, that she'd tried to go against Glory. He hadn't understood it any of those times, he didn't think he'd start understanding things now.
"Because Red just. it's what she does. Not that I have any idea why in the hell she'd take that sort of risk. especially not if this is the same sort of thanks she normally gets." Spike kicked at a glass bottle, the offending object flying into a wall and shattering.
"But where else could she be?" Xander's whisper fell into the night, this time without an answer.
~Part: 22~
Willow sighed as she went to the room where Amy and Faith were sitting. She heard laughter, and peeked to see what was so amusing. They were sitting in front of the fireplace toasting marshmallows, and apparently telling stories or jokes. Faith looked up, waving her over.
"Come on over, red. Plenty of marshmallows, and we got another stick for you. We were just sort of." Faith had a smile, as she made the offer. Maybe she was trying to extend the proverbial olive branch.
Willow sat down, accepting the metal wire with a smile. "Thanks. I think we should work on a couple of the extra bedrooms next. Get them sort of livable."
"But Faith's already here, and we had three rooms ready." Amy made a small yip as her marshmallow caught fire, pulling it closer to her and blowing frantically to put it out.
"Not a problem, am I?" Faith sounded almost concerned.
Willow looked at her, trying to pus back the lingering feelings about Faith's action during her senior year. "Nope. In fact, you're going to be very useful with the heavy lifting. As you may have noticed, the place isn't quite at it's best, and we've been slowly cleaning it up. As for why more rooms. well. How do we know that Faith's the only person we're going to have joining us? Just because Whistler hasn't shown up with an attendance sheet doesn't mean everybody's here. And since we already started with the bathrooms, why not move on to bedrooms next?"
"I think he likes to be all mysterious." Amy looked almost solemn, except for the twinkle in her eyes and the smear of melted marshmallow on her upper lip.
Faith chuckled. "The whole mysterious advisor thing? Or is he going for the mysterious leader on high?"
Willow nibbled at her marshmallow. "I don't think he's trying to run everything. The impression that I got was that he's mainly here to get us together, make sure we're trained right - especially me and Amy. Then, I think. I think we're just sort of going to be turned loose, with the 'go forth and do Good' sort of idea. Maybe something like trouble in. oh, maybe Hawaii?"
Amy sighed, a dreamy look in her eyes. "Go rescue someone in Malibu. land of sunshine and relaxation. wait, then I couldn't bring. umm. shutting up now."
"What's wrong with sunshine and relaxation? Or is it that you couldn't bring Spike along?" Faith teased Amy a little, rolling the wire so that her marshmallow tanned along all the sides.
"I.. I don't have Spike." Amy's protest lacked strength as she turned pink, suddenly very concerned about having her marshmallow precisely skewered.
Faith chuckled, and looked over at Willow. "How about you, red? Someone that you'd like to carry off for a nice get away weekend?"
The words slipped out before she could pull them back from her tongue. "I can't have him."
"Why not, red? Just because you dated your little witch doesn't mean you can't play with the guys again." Faith had a little smirk on her face, as if she found this amusing.
Willow stood up, feeling her eyes burning with tears that she refused to shed. "It's not because he's a guy. It's not because of Tara. I can't have him. First, I really don't think he would think of me like that, not considering the women of his past. Second. I won't risk everyone like that. I can't risk making him too happy."
She left the room before they could say anything, they eyes wide and Faith's jaw having dropped a bit. Willow didn't want to hear any words of sympathy for her unattainable fantasy, or anything about the fact that Angel had had Buffy. That alone was worth hours of unhappy discussion that she'd rather avoid. Then there was Darla and Drusilla, neither of which were anything like her. Yeah, it was definitely not something to talk about.
All the reasons why she could never have Angel swirled through her mind, the most painful whisper the little voice that said maybe she could have him. After all, the clause was a moment of complete happiness, which only meant that Angel couldn't be happy. Hadn't everything in the past few years made it clear that she couldn't make the person that she loved happy? That she would never be quite enough to keep everything right and wonderful and satisfied? She hadn't been enough to catch Xander's eye until she was with someone else, not wolfy enough to keep him, and she wasn't even certain that he'd been entirely happy before that. Then, she was just. well, things with Tara hadn't worked either. Why should she think that she could make Angel happy?
Willow hated that voice. She hated the idea that she might end up in yet another relationship where she wasn't enough for the person that she loved. To fear it was bad enough, but to be confronted daily with the confirmation that she wasn't enough for the man that she loved. had loved for years, would slowly kill her. To find and share pleasure with him, to offer all that she was and wake up with him, knowing that the very fact that he was still the one she loved only confirmed that she wasn't enough. No.
"So, you have a thing for Angel? I can follow that one real well. He's got those shoulders. the muscles on that man. And his eyes are like chocolate. He looks scrumptious." Faith's words were soft, barely loud enough to be heard.
"Yeah. I have a thing for him. And you should have seen the way the leather pants fit him when he was all scary. Yeah, he was trying to kill everyone around Buffy, but he looked really good while he was doing it. I keep wondering if his hair would be soft, or if it's stiff from whatever it is he uses to make it all spiky on top. And he smells almost like spices and man and time. with this sort of smoky hint after he got back. I can't describe it any better. But I'd know his scent anywhere. Which is sort of sad and all hopeless. He left Sunnydale because he couldn't stand being so close to Buffy and no having her on account of that clause, and the only times he's been back were when Buffy was in danger. It's always been about Buffy with him. And even if you don't think that's a bad thing, I'm not Buffy, not even a little bit like her beyond female and. well, caucasian and sort of the same age." Willow sighed, not quite certain why Faith had followed her.
"And you're pretty sure that after Buffy, he wouldn't want you." Faith's voice was the echo of one of Willow's fears.
"Partly. After all, we all know about the throngs of guys that follow me. not. They're all staring at the Buffy's and Cordelia's of the world. Or people like you. the whole naughty bad girl dangerous appeal. Even Tara made a few comments about you after you showed up. and a few about Buffy as well. I'm not the kind of girl that guys want. Not even the vamp guys." Willow traced her fingers over a darker streak in the stone, not wanting to look at Faith. Not wanting to see the Slayer gloating, even though a little part of her whispered that maybe Faith wasn't here to gloat, maybe she wasn't enjoying Willow's pain.
"Been after many vamps?" Faith sounded curious, and a little surprised.
Willow snorted at the unlikeliness of the idea. "Me? Chasing vamps? This is alive Willow, remember? It's just. there was this talk with Spike the night he got away from the Initiative. and right after Oz left. It was sort of 'woe is me, nobody wants Willow.' And I was upset because, really, none of the vamps really even try anything against me. Except for Harmony, but she was really bad at it."
"Wait, wasn't that one of the blond cheerleaders?" Faith sounded a bit confused.
"Yeah. She ended up a vampire at some point after graduation. Maybe during that whole thing. but she was alive when we went there, and dead that fall. She bit me, Oz pulled her off. She was trying to lead some minions for a while. Nobody's seen her for a while, maybe she died, or left town or something." Willow made a slight shrug. "Maybe there's some sort of sign - Willow tastes bad, don't bother to bite."
"Nah. probably more like 'beware the kick ass witch.' You brought B back from the dead, which couldn't have been easy. Then, you made everyone think that I'm dead, which had to take some doing. They're probably all scared of you." Faith grinned a bit, the smile apparent in her voice.
Willow turned, looking at Faith with confusion. "Why?"
Faith blinked, as if she'd been surprised by the question. "Nobody said anything? I can feel you. The whole Slayer sense thing. what it picks up isn't just vamps. At the start, it picks up evil, and with practice, you can go from just evil to danger. Practice more and you can judge power. How old and strong is that vamp? How bad is the tall scaled demon? I did a lot of practice a few years back. and a Slayer can read magic people. Amy's got a bit of power, but I can feel yours a lot more. It's like something crawling over my skin. And I bet the vamps can feel it too."
Willow didn't know quite what to think about that. But she'd rather dwell on that than Angel and all the reasons why she couldn't have him. "Huh. So I put off a strong magic vibe? Am I stronger than Amy, or is she just. not drawing on everything inside?"
"You got me there, red. I don't know." Faith shrugged. "Come on back for more marshmallows. Amy found some chocolate and graham's, we can make s'mores."
Really, who wouldn't prefer sticky sweet goodness to unhappy thoughts?
~Part: 23~
Angel concealed his smile as he walked out of the kitchen. Now, if he left Cordelia, Fred and Gunn here, things should be just fine as long as they weren't gone for terribly long. All that was left was to pack a few things, and convince Wesley to go with him to Sunnydale. On second thought, maybe he should just pack some things, and then tell Wesley that they were going somewhere?
No, there was the whole invitation required bit. After the mess with that actress, none of them were quite willing to invite him into the rooms they used at the hotel. He felt a bit hurt by it, but understood, in his head. It still hurt, but. he wasn't about to bring up the matter. That would only lead to more pain.
"Wesley. Have you learned anything?" He figured that the whole unhappy thoughts on the invitations had sufficed to kill his elation at talking to Willow.
"The prison sent the bo. Faith to a morgue. That's as much as they do in circumstances like this. The morgue won't be able to give any information until tomorrow, during the day. But apparently a memo was sent to various Watchers of Potential Slayers to be alert for signs of activation." He was frowning, his whole body tense.
"Cordelia can make the call? Or did you write the number down? I've just learned about a situation. a couple people that could use some help. Our help. Pack a bag with a few days worth of clothing, you and I are going on a little trip." Angel watched Wesley for signs that he might need more convincing, but didn't see any.
Wesley just nodded, and left the area. Angel sighed, certain that Wesley was taking the entire mess with Faith and the Council's efforts to kill her very badly. Not that here was anything good about it at all, but he was taking it personally. Hopefully, he wouldn't be angry that Angel hadn't told him about Faith immediately. But would he have believed it otherwise? If he was told before he could see her for himself?
He was a bit surprised that Wesley waited so long before asking anything. Not only had the man just shoed up in the garage area with a duffel and some weapons, he'd put them in the back seat and sat quietly for almost an hour, just staring out the window. "Isn't this the way back to Sunnydale?"
Angel smiled slightly, wondering just what Wesley thought was going on. "Yes, and we're going to Sunnydale. I just talked to Willow before we left. she's got someone that can use a bit of help. She was hoping that you and I could be that help."
"What sort of trouble has Miss Summers found herself in this time?" Wesley's sigh carried resignation and exasperation.
"Nothing that I know of. This trip isn't about Buffy, and hopefully, we won't run into her. This is for Willow, and her. acquaintance." Angel shook his head, wondering if he'd really been that hung up over Buffy that his people thought he'd take an entire night to just go lurk near her. Actually. he had been, which was quite sad. How had he ended up that obsessed with someone that he had so little in common with?
"Well, that's. something. I just worry a bit. Willow has been known to take. unwise risks for people." Wesley sounded relieved. "Where are we going in Sunnydale?"
"The mansion on Crawford Street." Angel found himself smiling again, absurdly pleased that Willow was staying in his home.
"Willow is having us meet her at your old mansion?" Wesley sounded thoughtful, and Angel wondered what sort of things were going through his mind.
Nothing more was said between then and the time that he pulled into the garage. Angel was amazed at the way the place looked. The lawn had been mowed, the weeds removed from the flower-beds, and the windows were all darkly glittering glass that twinkled under the moon. He took a deep breath, and knocked at the front door.
Angel paused, tilting his head slightly. He could feel a magical presence, strong, powerful. no, two presences. He could also felt h presence of a Slayer, and he hoped that it was Faith, not Buffy sweeping through on 'patrol'.
The door was opened, revealing a young woman with dark blond hair, her eyes twinkling with amusement and a bit of marshmallow and chocolate on her cheek. She felt like magic. "Ohh. so you're Angel. Which should make him Wesley, right? I'm Amy Madison. Willow said you would be coming here. we just thought it would take longer, that way there would be time to clean up a couple rooms for you."
Angel shook his head as they followed Amy into the mansion. She seemed friendly enough, but there was something in her eyes, as if she wasn't quite stable inside. Did this witch teeter on the edge of madness? Maybe, but at least she hadn't fallen over the edge. And she had a thing for Spike? Angel sighed, wondering what she thought would happen, Spike wasn't known for playing well with mortals.
The followed her into the main hall, where he could hear laughter, and s sort of sizzling noise, as well as the crackling of a fire. The scent of sugar and chocolate was thick, almost drowning out the scent of the two women by the fire. The golden light made Faith almost look like a gleaming idol, the sort that should be in a temple to a pagan hunter goddess, a spear in one hand, and some sort of hunting beast crouched at her side. It made Willow look like a creature of fire, her skin looking almost gold, and her hair shimmering like red and orange fire itself.
"Faith. she's alive?" Wesley's voice was hardly more than a whisper, and he swayed on his feet, looking remarkably like he was about to faint.
Angel grabbed hold of Wesley's arm, helping him to sit on the couch before he collapsed. Then, he looked over, seeing the way that Willow had moved the marshmallows so they wouldn't burn and Faith had grabbed a blue pillow for Wesley to lean against. Jewel toned pillows were tossed on the couch and chairs, and richly colored carpets covered the stone floor, making the room somehow feel welcoming and almost cheerful.
Faith stood near Wesley, her whole body filled with nervous tension, and she was rather awkwardly scarping her teeth over her lip, possibly in an effort to get the last bits of marshmallow. "Surprise? Red sprang me before I got killed."
"But. but. morgue. they said that you were. they said you were dead." Wesley was staring at Faith, and one trembling hand reached out, touching her hand slowly, his fingers pushing at her skin as if to make certain that she wasn't a dream.
Faith glanced at Wesley's fingers, her cheeks pink. Was the color from the fire, or from something else? "Red did some magic, and they thought I was dead. Then, she sort of. picked me up. Apparently, there's some sort of big shots who don't think it's time for me to get killed yet."
"So. you have another chance? To be. to be a hero?" Wesley was smiling now, a strange fierce grin that wasn't to far from madness. "The Council thinks. they've told the Watchers of the various Potentials to be alert for signs of activation. They think that you're. they fell for it, just as the prison did. But you aren't gone, you're still here."
Faith looked a bit surprised, and looked up at Wesley's face, her own eyes full of questions. "Yeah. I'm still here. Were you worried about me?"
"Yes." His answer was that single word, with no doubts, no hesitation.
"Considering that that was really sort of intense and bordering on personal. how about marshmallows for everyone?" Amy's voice broke the tension between them.
Willow smiled, extending another wire with a marshmallow already skewered to Wesley. "Here, have some. I figured that you could help Faith with this. everything. Especially since you're one of the few people that she wouldn't worry about trying to kill her. Angel, would you like a marshmallow?"
Angel found himself smiling, looking at Faith and Wesley. There was definitely something between them. "Thank you, Willow. Any chocolate to go with it?"
Here eyes darkened for a moment, and she smiled, handing him a skewered marshmallow, a pair of crackers, and a chunk of chocolate. Her tongue brushed over her lips before she spoke, a teasing glimpse of pink. "Chocolate."
Oh yes, this would be an interesting stay. Assuming that he didn't explode from trying to contain himself. Assuming that Wesley and Faith didn't kill each other or the rest of them trying to deny or fight the. emotions between them. Assuming that Willow didn't stake him for some of the dreams that he'd been having about her.
~Part: 24~
Xander kicked at a rock, scowling at the street. Willow and Amy were both gone, he hadn't noticed for several days that nobody knew where in the heck she. they were in Sunnydale, a place built over the Hellmouth. Buffy was still being. well, not herself, Dawn was convinced that Willow and Amy were having an affair, Willow and Tara had split, and the only other person even willing to consider looking for either of them was Spike!
"There are so many things wrong with this situation." He glanced over at Spike, discovering that the vampire was still scowling, the cigarette now burned out.
"Right." The word seemed far sharper that it had any right to, a harsh noise bitten off before it could linger. "Slayer's turned into a heartless bitch, niblet's going to extremes to try to get her sister to notice and talk to her again, Tara's gone paranoid. and the Watcher and Anya have been buried in old books full of Greek prophecy. Everything's a damn mess, and."
Xander looked over, curious why Spike's words had suddenly stopped. It didn't make sense, and he was about to ask why, but then he looked at the man. vampire. Moonlight poured over Spike, bleaching his skin to the color of a clean sink, his hair to the color of old bones. His whole body was tense, and his head was high, tilted slightly, as if smelling for something. His eyes had gone yellow, his teeth becoming sharp fangs. A low growl emerged, and Spike's hands curled into fists, the muscles and tendons in his arm standing out sharply.
"What in the hell is my Sire doing back in Sunnyhell?" Spike's words were practically hissed.
"Your Sire. Angel?" Xander swallowed, realizing that while Angel in Sunnydale could only lead to problems from Buffy, there were possibilities that were actually far worse. "Or. Angelus?"
"I can't tell from here if he has the soul or not. Just. he's here. No Dru, which probably is a good thing." Spike shook his head, as if trying to clear his head. "No good speculating what he's here for. Either we go try to find out, or we keep looking for the girls."
Xander sighed, hating the feeling of being the only member of the Scoobies showing responsibility. or at least concern. Spike didn't seem to have a preference as to finding Angel or finding the girls. He didn't know if that was a low mark for Angel or a high mark for Amy and Willow. "Let's go find Deadboy the elder, if nothing else, he can help us search."
"Yeah, that's the sort of thing the ponce does now. Helps the helpless or something like that. Must be enough to keep him in hair gel." There was bitterness in Spike's voice, and a bit of something else. maybe resentment.
"So, do we have any idea where he is, or should we just. keep wandering aimlessly?" Xander was curious, wishing that Giles had explained a bit more about the whole Sire Childe link type thing that let vampires find their families even across hundreds of miles. wait, that had been a Disney movie. With a pair of dogs and a cat, not vampires. Maybe the Watchers just didn't know very much.
Spike just gave him an annoyed look, and started down the street, muttering under his breath. He seemed to be moving purposefully, as if. well, it sort of reminded Xander of the old kid's game of Hot and Cold, where you have a blindfold on and try to find something. But Spike was moving fairly fast, and Xander had to jog to keep up. Every few blocks, Spike would pause, as if trying to get an idea which way, and finally, he turned.
Looking at the area, Xander groaned. Crawford Street. And hey look, the mansion that Angel had stayed in had lights on inside, and smoke from the chimney. "Here I was hoping I'd never see this place again. This is just not my day."
"Not filled with happy memories for me, either." Spike practically growled, staring at the building. "Can you feel it? Can you feel the power. Someone worked some magic in there."
"Magic? Do you think maybe Willow?" Hope filled Xander, and the sudden thought of finding Willow alive and well drowned out the confusion over why she would be here, why at the mansion.
Spike shrugged, moving closer with a subtly predatory silence. "One way to find out. Time to go see who's there."
Spike went very slowly through the door, a low growl vibrating for some reason. Xander was reminded of an angry cat, but decided not to mention that comparison. Spike might decided that hurting him was worth the sudden migraine. But as he looked around, something nagged at his attention. The house was cool, the floors clean, windows sparkling. Hadn't this place been abandoned? Why was it so clean? And was that. "I smell chocolate."
"Do you always think with your stomach?" Spike glared at him, clearly unamused.
"No more than you, but this place doesn't look abandoned to me. And if there's chocolate, someone has to have brought it here. And ordered air conditioning." Xander tried to smile, but couldn't quite manage it. Something prickled over his skin, not quite like the feeling of static, but. close. He rubbed over his arms, noticing the hair was standing up. "What is that?"
"Power. There's been so much magic here that you can feel it, even you." Spike ran his fingers through his bleached hair, disrupting the carefully combed precision of it. "And he's in here, in there where it's even thicker. And I can feel a Slayer."
"Buffy's here?" Xander wondered why the idea made his stomach feel sour.
"No, it isn't her. But I can feel a Slayer." Spike moved along the hallway, one hand in the air as if testing for something.
Xander remembered the last time he'd been here, when Angel had been poisoned by Faith, nearly dying from it. The whisper that came out was more a verbalization of his thoughts than from any hope of an answer. "Faith? But isn't she in prison? Unless. but how could anything happen in prison, its away from everything else."
Spike had came to the doorway, and suddenly stopped, his body suddenly filled with tension. " Damn. There she is, and Red, and Amy, and Angel too. They must have been here all along."
"Spike, Xander. You might as well come over." Angel's voice carried to them, traces of amusement in his words. "Willow might have a couple more skewers for marshmallows."
Xander stood straighter, his incredulity matching Spike's expression. "We've been searching all over town for you, Wills, and you're sitting here having s'mores with Deadboy? And Faith?"
Willow looked over, looking from Spike to Xander. "Yes. Actually, we sort of thought it would take longer before someone noticed we were gone, but basically. We wanted a bit of distance from the hostility thing."
Amy held a pair of skewers with little white masses at the ends. "Want some?"
Xander looked over at Spike, shaking his head a bit. "This night has just gotten stranger. I hadn't even thought that would be possible." He moved closer, accepting one of the wires from Amy. "Sure, why not have marshmallows."
~Part: 25~
Giles was sitting at the Magic Box, one hand holding a cup of tea as he stared at a picture of a pottery bowl with a tree painted on it. The tree had flowers in the branches and flames at it's trunk. He had no doubt that this was supposed to be the tree from the prophecies. He was starting to wonder if they had been put in merely to give generations of Watcher's headaches.
"Giles. There was some weird slimy demon out near the docks." Buffy's voice was filled with dismay, and there was a pungent scent like salt and fish that had preceded her into the room.
Giles looked at her, seeing the slight bruise forming on her cheek, the translucent slime over her sleeve and splashed onto her jeans. Her hair was in disarray, something that was happening more often now than in previous years. Before, it would have been a sign of a very busy night, but now? Now it might mean nothing serious. Nothing more than she hadn't felt like searching through the bathroom. "Of course. but I'll need more than weird, slimy, and that particular. smell to find it. How tall was it? Was it humanoid? What color?"
"It was sort of blueish gray, a bit taller than me. It looked like maybe it was scaly, but there was this disgusting slime over it, so that I couldn't get a good grip. Humanoid, webbed hands with nasty claws. And big, ugly fish eyes. It looked like it was searching for something on a dock, and it hadn't been bothering the assorted people, but when I got within about twenty feet it went for me, making this sort of hissing noise. Not snake like, but." Buffy shrugged, grabbing a towel to try to wipe away the slime and smell.
Giles sighed, reaching for the books of demons. This was not the way he'd intended to spend his evening, although it wasn't much of a surprise. "Willow and her computer skills would be useful right about now."
"Don't bring her into this. She's done enough." Buffy glared, sounding unhappy.
Giles looked at her, frowning. "What are you talking about?"
"This is all her fault. She shouldn't have brought me back. She should have left me there, you were fine. And now, there's this thing with her and Amy, and what about Tara? We can do without that sort of help!" Buffy was pacing, looking for one of her spare outfits.
Giles stood up, glaring at Buffy. "We were NOT fine! We were fighting a loosing battle to keep the demons from taking over this town! It's a bloody miracle that nobody got killed fighting things while you were dead! We didn't ask Willow to bring you back because we all thought that you were either gone or trapped in Glory's hell dimension. She took a huge bloody risk, and all she's gotten is trouble from you. What is the problem?"
"I was in heaven, Giles! She ripped me out of heaven and dragged me back here to hell." Buffy glared at him, her eyes filled with tears.
Giles looked at his Slayer, noting the harshness in her expression. She'd lost weight, her cheeks hollowed and her eyes almost sunken. Taking a deep breath, he tried to be calm when he spoke again. "We were not fine. If somehow you had images that implied that we were managing alright without you, you were either deluding yourself or being deliberately deceived. It was a terribly difficult time, and the only reason that Willow brought you back was that she couldn't see any other way to survive. We even made efforts to get Faith out of prison to patrol, but those fell through. What do you think we should have done, allowed ourselves to die, one by one, until demons overran the town? Perhaps watched as they ripped Dawn into pieces? Maybe allowed ourselves to be killed and turned so that we could have a front row seat?"
He started flipping pages, looking for the demon. "Besides that, after knowing her for six years, I would hope that you would have a higher opinion of Willow's intelligence than to think that she would be having an affair in your house. No, she isn't perfect, but Buffy, we are all trying our best here."
"Why would Dawn think. why would she say it if it wasn't true?" Buffy sighed, finally grabbing a bag with a set of clothing.
Giles rubbed at his temple, wishing yet again that there was a book to understand teenagers. "I have no difficulty believing that Amy was. less than fully dressed. When you were transformed into a rat, you were also. unclad when you resumed your proper form. Dawn simply did not take that into proper consideration."
"So. if Willow and Amy aren't having an affair, why did she break up with Tara?" Buffy had vanished behind a stack of boxes, presumably to change her clothing.
"How did you feel when you witnessed Angel kissing Faith during that scheme of yours? No doubt it hurt, even though you knew that it was all an act. I think those suspicions felt very painful and real to Tara, especially since she didn't know what was going on. And if the person that you cared for, were dating, started accusing you of having an affair, would you stay with them?" Giles stopped, frowning at the page before him. "This might be your demon."
Buffy walked over, glancing at the illustration. "Yeah, that looks like it. So. hmm. decapitation and burning. Ick. And. you think I owe Willow an apology?"
"I think perhaps you were hasty in your judgment, just as she was hasty in assuming that you were trapped in Glory's home dimension. If you value Willow as a friend, you should apologize, and perhaps explain why you have been so angry towards her." Giles sighed, sipping at his tea.
Buffy looked at him, frowning. "But. nobody's even seen Willow lately."
"Perhaps this is cause for worry, rather than the statement that she is hiding from guilt? Perhaps the fact that so many people were willing to think that badly hurt her?" Giles looked at his Slayer, hoping that she could make her way back to the more happy attitude and hopefulness that she'd had before her death and resurrection.
Buffy paused, looking at Giles as she lifted a short sword. "Giles? Was there another Slayer called when I. in the spring?"
He shook his head sadly. "Not that I am aware of."
"So. there won't be another Slayer until Faith is. gone? And if she's in prison. She's probably pretty safe." Buffy frowned. "Do you think. Angel said Faith was trying to get better, looking for redemption. Will she be able to manage it?"
"I wish I knew." Giles wanted to reassure Buffy, wanted to give her a hug and tell her that everything would be alright, to make things better. But he couldn't fix this.
~Part: 26~
Everyone sat around the fireplace, toasting marshmallows. It could have been a cheerful gathering, but the air was rather thick with all sorts of tension. Xander was looking nervously at Faith, who kept not looking at Xander, almost looking at Wesley before glancing away, and watching Spike suspiciously. Spike was trying to keep an eye on Faith, Angel, and both witches. Wesley was just focusing on Faith, and Willow kept sneaking wistful glances at Angel, and slightly hurt ones at Xander.
"I can't believe that you've been her the whole time. Why didn't we notice this?" Xander's question wasn't very loud, but it fell into the near silent room, carrying to all of them.
"Red popped out long enough to get me. But I don't know how long that took. I was pretty out of it. But not quite dead. I don't think I was dead." Faith became quieter, glancing at Wesley before looking back at her marshmallow.
"Why did you come back here?" Spike's question was clearly intended for Angel.
Angel sighed, twirling the marshmallow wire in his hands as he gazed into the fire. "We'd been trying to find a way to keep the Council from killing Faith. They'd been sending demons into the prison somehow, trying to kill her. And I'd been having. strange dreams. They were about Sunnydale. Spike, what in the hell were you thinking, Buffy?"
Spike blinked, his mouth opening and closing a few times before anything coherent came out. "How. what do you know? Think you know that is."
Xander blinked, looking from Angel to Spike and back to Angel before looking over at Willow and Amy. "Please tell me that he isn't. that Spike and. say it's not so?"
Angel just groaned, dropping his head into the hand currently not holding the wire. "Spike, you idiot. Buffy is bad for you. She'll twist you up into knots, and rip you apart inside. Possibly even give you a nice impalement and trip to hell as a goodbye."
Xander looked back to Angel, his s'more frozen on the way to his mouth. "You're saying Buffy's bad for Spike? What about that whole nauseating eternal tortured love thing?"
Amy started giggling, letting her head rest on Faith's shoulder. Her soft words carried a little, but not enough to disrupt things. Faith and Willow started to snicker as well, Wesley only watching the pair of vampires with a look of dismay. "Ohh.. This is better than Jerry Springer."
Angel sighed, looking into the fire. "I did love her. At the time, I thought of her as my sunlight. But sunlight can burn. and we did burn each other, both literally and figuratively. I lost count of the number of times that she accidentally opened the curtains on me. The comments about her day and the things that she could do. I loved her with a desperate painful need. Sometimes though, love isn't enough. And after spending a long time in hell, it sort of. faded. But the ironic part is that when I got back, she was still in love with me. It was doomed from the start. a vampire and a Slayer. Doomed to become one of those terrible tragedies. And it did, but we managed to stagger through, trying to pick up the broken pieces of out lives."
"But. weren't you still trying back in our senior year?" Xander's question sounded confused.
Angel looked at him, and perhaps for the first time, smiled at Xander. "Have you ever tried to say no to Buffy?"
"Bet it went safer for him." Spike's bitter murmur went almost unheard in the quiet room. "She's not the same now. Being dead changed her. She said. she said that she couldn't really feel things anymore."
Xander put his s'more into his mouth. "I really don't want to think about Buffy and Spike. Not. unnggh. No. Someone pass another marshmallow?"
Faith passed one over, almost glancing at Wesley. "Marshmallows and chocolate can't fix everything."
"But maybe if we're willing to try?" Wesley was looking right at Faith, his expression hinting that he wasn't thinking about Buffy or marshmallows or much of anything besides Faith. "There does seem to be some things going on. perhaps if we remember that none of us are quite perfect, and that we've all made a few mistakes in the past?"
Spike stood up, pausing a moment beside Willow. "Got any hot chocolate?" Leaning closer, he whispered "Is it just me or is he hung up on his Slayer?"
Willow tried not to laugh. "He is, and I think it's over the refrigerator in the kitchen. which you should know where is."
Spike left in search of his hot chocolate, and Willow called after him "Bring a couple cups, please!" Turning to everyone else, Willow sighed, resisting the urge to just loose sight of things in chocolate, marshmallows, and Angel. wait, definitely not time for those sort of thoughts. "Is everybody willing to try to work past or through old grudges and arguments? I keep having the feeling that something big is coming, and if we're too busy fighting each other, it's going to win."
"What is this 'it' that you're worried about?" Wesley looked at her, for the first time looking at someone besides Faith.
"I don't know, but. I keep getting this feeling of something coming, something cold and dark and hungry. Evil. And if we can't stop it." Willow shivered. "I wish I had some answers, but it's just. a really intense creepy feeling."
"He's not real, not like a real person that you can see, can call on the phone." Faith's words were low, almost as if she didn't really want to talk about it. "But it's there. Like a dark thing that just sort of looks like a man because the shape serves a purpose. But it isn't human, it was never human, and it's old, and evil, and hungry."
The room fell silent, and everybody looked at Faith. Nobody was quite certain what to say, but Spike offered the Slayer a mug of hot cocoa. "Here, this'll warm you up inside."
Faith took the mug, wrapping her hands around it before taking a long swallow. "Why is yours the only one with marshmallows on top?"
"You're not helpless, if you want marshmallows, put them in your cocoa on your own." Spike's retort lacked venom. "This. thing. What does it eat?"
Willow looked into the fire, her eyes now filled with worry. "I don't know. Something from people, I think. I've only had nightmares. there's a shadowy shape, sort of like a man, but the proportions aren't quite human, and it's. it frightens me. And it moves through the streets, and it looks like it's really slow, but I can't get far away, so I'm sort of stuck watching what's happening. Then it will grab someone, and pick them up, and there's this. horrible biting noise while the person screams. and the shadow thing gets stronger. I don't know how dream-me can tell that it's stronger, because it doesn't get bigger, or glow or anything, but. Then all the color sort of fades from the victim, so that the dead person looks like they're from a black and white movie while everything else is in color. Then it moves closer, and I wake up, hoping that I haven't been screaming."
"It wants us to know. It wants us to be afraid." Faith's voice was soft, as if she was trying not to be afraid. "Maybe. maybe the fear makes people taste better? Or maybe. are there things that eat emotions? Can it use our dreams to try to manipulate us, to keep us separated? Maybe try to make sure that we can't fight it?"
"Fear does change the taste of people." Angel's words were soft, laced with brooding. "And I think I remember a few mentions of things that can feed on emotions. stories that Darla told me, a long time ago. The details are sort of fuzzy. but it was some sort of spirit thing. A hunting spirit, and it ate emotions, hopes, dreams, fears. souls. Or maybe Darla was just trying to scare me."
Everyone became very quiet at that. There was no argument when Wesley made a soft statement, his voice shaking. "We need to do some research."
~Part: 27~
Buffy stomped her way through the cemetery, feeling annoyed about almost everything. She had felt peaceful, happy. as if there was nothing depending on her any more. She could just. be. And then Willow had dragged her back to Sunnydale, made her alive again. Forced her once more to fight demons and vampires and evil, to be bruised and threatened and miserable, to live in a place full of memories of her mother, with Dawn. Dawn depended on her, but Dawn could be so incredibly annoying sometimes. Always wanting to get her way, to go places, hang out with her friends, spend money that they didn't have.
Okay, so maybe Dawn was just being a fairly normal teenage girl. That didn't make it easier to understand her. It made it more frustrating to keep her safe. She didn't have enough time or money for everything!
A group of minion vampires moved from behind a mausoleum, fanning out in an effort to surround her. They were dressed in clothing that would have looked perfectly normal on the campus, or at the mall, but the yellow eyes and fangs were a dead give away. Buffy looked at them, debating trying to insult them, wondering if they were even worth the effort. "This is the best you can do? It's good that you got over the funeral wear and grave dirt, but come on, a Nirvana shirt?"
"Looks like we found ourselves someone who thinks that she's tough." The guy wore big baggy pants, with a chain that presumably led to his wallet, and a somewhat grungy gray baseball jersey.
Rolling her eyes, Buffy pulled a stake. "Look, you guys get points for having half a clue on tactics, but I don't have time to play victim tonight."
Naturally, the vampires didn't quite see her point of view on things. They attacked, and Buffy had the perfect chance to vent some of her frustrations. The unfairness of being dragged back to earth after utter blissful peace. The responsibilities of being a parent figure to her sister, dealing with Dawn's temper and desires and efforts towards dating. The chance that maybe they had all over reacted to Willow and Amy, seeing things that weren't really there. Her frustration over the whole. thing between her and Spike. And the fact that she really hated to think that maybe she'd made a few bad choices lately.
It was almost a letdown to find that she'd dusted the last one.
Kicking the last pile of dust, Buffy continued on, her senses alert. There was something in the air tonight, magic and something else, something sort of creepy. Not that she could describe it, but there was something. this wiggy feeling. And she really didn't like it.
"The shadows will feast." A voice with a faint accent that she couldn't place rasped at her, reminding her of someone who'd spent a week with a sinus infection. Something moved towards her, moving slowly. It was a thin, almost bony creature, maybe her own height, dressed in a long, almost toga like dark gown. It had clumps of long dark hair, reminding her of something part way between a zombie and medusa. The skin was an almost scale like purple pink, and the creature's eyes were sort of milky white, as if there was some sort of film over them. Over all, this maybe female demon looked entirely freaky. Not that she'd done anything hostile yet.
"Say what?" Buffy looked at the thing again. Skin hung loosely over bones, reminding her of a very skinny old lady. With little claw bits on her very bony knuckles and elbows. Ick.
Those pale eyes turned right towards Buffy, and a dark tongue swept over thin lips. "Can't you feel it in the air? Evil. darkness that hungers for all that separates that which moves from that which rots. the Hunter has been awakened. It comes from the shadows, the shadows of the dark past. It was one of the things that cause the fear that lead to the creation of your kind, Slayer."
Buffy took a step back, looking at the freaky old demon woman. "Hunter? Hungry shadows? Are you trying to scare me?"
Bony fingers flickered though the air, as if trying to capture the night breeze. Those pale eyes were aimed at her again, and Buffy wondered if this thing could even see. "Are you frightened, Slayer? You should be, considering what has awakened."
Raising her stake, Buffy glared. "I don't like being threatened. Send your hungry shadow thing home, and just. stop whatever hellmouthy plan there is."
There was a dry chuckle, like autumn leaves tumbling in the wind. "Not my shadow thing, and I have not the power to send it home, nor the power to unleash it. It comes from beyond, and to beyond it must return. but I can not bind it. Nothing would summon this to them. it does not care for divisions of human or demon, of good or evil. The hunter seeks it's prey, and what it seeks is all of us. Human, demon, menace, protector, from peasants and shopkeepers to murders and fiends. All things that move and creep and plot are it's prey. There is but one way to be certain it can not devour me from the darkness."
Buffy watched as the old demon woman grabbed at her wrist, the one that held her stake. Moving her hand slightly lower and to the left, the demon woman took a sudden step forward, the stake sliding into her chest. Dark purple fluid oozed out around the stake, and from the woman's lips. She collapsed to the ground, the weight of her body pulling the stake with it.
Buffy was feeling really freaked out now, and slowly backed away from the now dead demon woman. The faster that she could get out of here, kill the fish demon at the docks, and go back to Giles, the sooner she could have someone find out what this hungry shadow thing was. If it freaked creepy old demon ladies out enough to kill themselves, it couldn't be a good thing.
It had only made her wiggy feeling get more stronger, and she was absolutely certain that whatever had the demon lady so frightened would eventually be a danger that she had to deal with. Some big, freaky evil. that ate things. As if things weren't complicated enough. Just wait until she told Giles.
~Part: 28~
Angel placed his hands on Willow's shoulders. She looked so frightened by these nightmares. "We won't let you face this alone. I. have no idea what this shadow thing is, but we're here with you."
"It doesn't sound good. But if we could survive that hell-bimbo last year, we should be able to deal with a little shadow, right?" Spike sounded as if he was trying to be confident. But Angel could feel the underlying tension. Could anyone else catch it?
"This isn't just. it's not just the absence of light. It's something else. Something dangerous." Willow licked her lips, her eyes looking haunted. "When I brought Buffy back. it was like I fell through some sort of barrier when the spell ended. Have you ever poked at ice cubes before they're done? When it's just a little shell of ice over the water? It was like I fell through that shell. Since then, it's as if. I keep feeling things. Either it's increased my sensitivity, or given me an acute case of paranoia. Something's out there, coming closer, and it's hungry."
Faith shivered, and sipped at her cocoa. "It's not paranoia if they really are trying to get you."
"Perhaps we'll be able to find out who was responsible for those efforts. and I can call Cordelia and Gunn to have them see if they can find anything on nonphysical predators." Wesley pulled at his marshmallow, trapping it between the crackers and chocolate. "This is. it doesn't sound good."
Faith made a small noise. "Of course it's not good. I never get dreams telling me that there's good food, soft beds, and hot sex ahead. Just death, pain, and an assortment of demons."
Angel found himself practically burying his nose in Willow's hair to hide the smile on his face. Wesley looked so embarrassed and at the same time fascinated. If he were a betting man, he'd say that Wesley wanted to be there, helping Faith find those things. Wesley had it bad for his Slayer. And she was definitely flirting with him. Her eyes had barely left Wesley since they'd arrived, and he was almost certain that she had blushed.
Of course, he had managed to find an excuse to sit near Willow. Was that much better than Wesley staring at Faith like a googly eyed teenager? Not that Faith seemed to be objecting to Wesley staring at her. And Willow didn't seem to mind him sitting here, half leaning on her. Maybe the only improvement was that it was a bit more subtle? Her hair smelled like oranges and herbs.
"Wesley was right, we need to do some research on this. But. we also need to keep Faith from being discovered by any representatives of. whoever was trying to kill her." Angel paused trying to think of a plan. "Is there some way that we could disguise her?"
"They'll be looking based on more than just a name. Pictures, and this tattoo is pretty distinctive. How would you manage to disguise me, anyhow?" Faith looked at Angel, her eyes full of worry. "I really don't like people trying to kill me."
"Magic. We can change her colors, maybe the shape of her face. but definitely her colors. Hide the tattoo. It could work." Amy's voice was low, thoughtful. "And it's much safer than just switching. no. That wouldn't help anyhow."
"Switching? Do I even want to ask." Wesley looked surprised. "How much can you change?"
"It would have to be a team effort - me and Willow. I don't think that we could make any serious changes to her body structure, not safely, but. Hey Faith, pick a hair color." Amy shrugged.
Willow looked over. "The thing is that for it to not cause too much notice, we would have to make the changes supported by Faith's own energy, which might make her look like a sort of witch. And apart from the fact that his is a whole new type of magic for us, the bigger the change, the more power it would take to hold it."
Angel felt worry fill him. How much would this effort endanger Willow? His hand slid onto her arm, curling around, as if he could keep her safe by that touch. "Would this effort be safe? There's no point in altering her appearance if it won't even help things."
Willow leaned back, a tiny chuckle emerging from her lips. "It's not dangerous, just. it takes careful control to get it right. Getting it a little wrong just. sort of doesn't go exactly as pictured. The worst that happens to Amy or me if it goes wrong in a migraine and I fall on my butt. Depending on how wrong for Faith is either nothing changes, or we end up with her looking like she got a really bad dye job."
Angel felt himself relaxing again, wondering how much of that was from the reassurance, and how much was from the feeling of Willow leaning back against him, apparently entirely comfortable using him as a pillow. If it was anyone else, he might object, at least a little, but. If Willow wanted to lean against him, he'd let her. His arm slid around, cradling against her stomach, subtly encouraging her to stay here.
"So, when do we try this thing?" Faith glanced over at Willow and Amy, a small smile dancing over her face. "And maybe I could go red. we could pass me off as a cousin to Willow."
"After everything, you'd want people to think you're related to me?" Willow sounded surprised. "So. red. Hmm. a little lighter, or a little darker? We don't want it exactly the same color, and what color do you want your eyes to be?"
Faith grinned, one hand patting Willow's knee a bit awkwardly. "You've been everything family's supposed to be. Never forgotten me, annoying as hell sometimes, and all supportive at others. You saved my life getting me out of jail. That's. isn't that the whole point of family? So, go ahead, make me look like we're related. umm. I have no clue how to keep kosher."
Willow giggled, her hand resting over Angel's. "I've been adopted. cool. Okay, I'll make you look like a MacCrary, which is my mom's side. Not actually Jewish by heritage, but mom. I'm not sure if she actually converted or just had so many food allergies that kosher was easier. So, your aunt Sheila invited you over for a while as a family bonding experience since you decided to take a year off before college, which she thinks is a bad idea, but young people today. and she promptly left you here with me. Typical for her, and she's been in and out a couple times."
Amy smiled, looking over at Faith. "So. Faith MacCrary? Hmmm. maybe you shouldn't be Faith. I'll anchor, did you want to do this now?"
Faith looked a bit surprised. "I'll just. use my middle name, I guess. Caitlynn MacCrary. Can you do this here, now? I mean, all the people, the s'mores. Not exactly high ritual."
Willow sort of waved her hand, as if it was floating on a breeze. "Not a problem. It doesn't require any particular herbs, or diagrams, although those can be great settling and focusing tools. And as long as nobody breaks our concentration, people in the room shouldn't be a problem. And here's pretty comfortable."
Faith looked over, snickering a bit. "I'll bet it is. So. lets get this started then."
Amy reached over, placing her hand over Willow's, and the pair of them closed their eyes. They seemed to be just. sitting there, although Amy was muttering things, a running description of the room. The feeling of magic thickened, becoming something that he could actually taste, light, sort of spicy, like cinnamon and cloves and honey.
Faith's hair sort of shimmered, and took on the color of the embers, a somewhat darker red than Willow's, and the texture of it had changed, and it seemed a bit more. wild, more like the way Willow's hair flipped into a dozen directions with this shorter haircut. Her skin changed, becoming a slightly different color, the tattoo fading, and a scattering of freckles appearing over her, dancing over her arms and cheeks, a few on her nose. The scars on her hands had even changed, looking like the sort of scars that an active girl would have, but nothing big enough to draw stares. Faith was staring at her hands in amazement, and her eyes had changed as well, a greenish blue color, framed by cinnamon colored lashes.
"Wicked." Her soft whisper was barely audible.
Then, Willow reached out her hand touching Faith, and the magic feeling intensified for a moment. That feeling of 'Slayer' that had wreathed Faith, making her identity impossible to miss just. sort of faded, leaving only a sort of muffled unease, as if there was something different about her, but nothing that he could name.
The magical taste in the air sort of faded, and Willow sagged back against Angel's chest. "ohh.. Did it work? She's not supposed to radiate that Slayer feeling any more."
Spike looked at Willow, or possibly at Amy. The two were right next to each other. "It's not there. That Slayer presence isn't. there's a little something, but it doesn't scream Slayer."
Faith sat up straighter, her eyes wide with shock. "How.. Now, that is a cool trick. How long will it last?"
"You're holding it. It should be stable enough to stay indefinitely, but." Willow yawned, still leaning back against Angel. "oh. tired now."
Angel smiled, running his hand over a lock of her hair. "Then rest. You've been busy. Spike, Xander and maybe Amy can go talk to Giles, Wesley can call Cordelia and Gunn to find out if they've got any leads, and Faith can go look at herself in the mirror."
"Rest sounds good. oh, rooms. We didn't have time to get any more rooms cleaned up for you or Wesley." Willow's voice was scarcely more than a murmur, her fingers tracing over the veins in the back of his hand. Did she realize what she was doing?
~Part: 29~
Faith resisted the urge to laugh at the look on Angel's face. Whatever Willow had said had apparently given him quite a lot of thoughts. Some of them, she would almost bet, were of the soul endangering sort. Hmm. maybe Willow and Amy could come up with a way to prevent that? Angel didn't deserve to be denied happiness forever, and the whole concept of giving him a soul with a loophole was a stupid one anyhow. She really hoped that something dreadful had happened to those gypsies.
"Something did, Sla. Caitlynn." Spike's voice was part way between smug and thoughtful. "Darla was right pissed about them cursing her boy, so we went to try to persuade them to undo it. Ended up. well, we killed half the camp, and they refused to change the damn spell. No extensive tortures, but. they ended up dinner. That bad enough? And you're right. I saw the way he was looking at Willow."
Faith just grinned, remembering her earlier conversation with Willow. The person that she would no be calling her cousin. Did Willow have any idea that there was more behind that suggestion than the desire not to let whoever was trying to kill her find out that they'd failed? Any idea ho much she wanted family that really cared? If she could have picked her family, which was what she was now trying to do, she would want Willow. Maybe she wouldn't have three years ago, but. Faith wanted to think that she was a more mature person now. That she'd grown up.
"Got to keep a better idea of what's actually coming out of my mouth. Dinner will do, I guess. We were going to clean up a couple more rooms. I'm guessing that Red knew Angel and Wesley were coming out, and didn't want to let me know beforehand. Surprise factor and all. We'll have to maybe double up or something." Faith sighed, putting another marshmallow in the fire.
Part of her wondered how that would work. Would she end up sharing a room with Willow or Amy? That would be alright, maybe a bit tense with Willow, after all, they still had a few issues. But the fact that Willow would do this for her, let her be part of her family, even if only for pretend and for a while, was a good sign. It meant that maybe Willow could forgive her, that maybe they could build a friendship. But then again, it almost looked like Willow had a roomie for the night.
Did that mean that maybe. herself and Wesley? The very idea sent a flood of images into her, some entirely bypassing her brain for other regions. She found herself imagining Wesley, his hands running over her body as she stripped his shirt away. imagined herself tying him to the bed and having her way with him, a naked, sexual way. Or maybe. maybe it would be a tense and awkward silence as they pondered the things that she'd done to him. She'd hurt him, and not just emotionally.
She wondered if he could forgive her. If it would be possible for them to manage something more than watching each other tensely. He just made her feel. so many tangled things. He'd looked so stunned and happy that she was alive, that had to be a god thing, right? And just why did it matter so much how he felt?
Because she liked him. More than just as a source of information, more than just a sparring partner, she liked him. And she'd never been good at dealing with emotions. And it had never felt quite as important as it did now. Not only with Willow and Amy, but with Wesley.
Spike just chuckled, standing up and nibbling the last bit of a marshmallow from his finger. "Right then. Xapper, Amy, ready to go talk to Giles? We need to research that whole mess. especially if it's quite as bad as all that."
Xander stood up, frowning at the doorway that Angel had carried Willow through. "He's. but Angel and Willow and. umm."
Amy just laughed, shaking her head. "Nothing's going to happen. Willow's practically asleep. We get to go talk to Mister Giles and try to explain why we need to research our creepy feeling, and explain it without bringing up Faith."
Faith winced, knowing that Buffy would still be furious to know that she was here. To know that she wasn't rotting in jail. "Right, let's try not to let her know. We parted on pretty miserable terms."
"Be careful. Talk, but no sharp weapons. Have fun." Amy waved almost cheerfully as they left the room, off to go find Giles.
Faith blinked, wondering exactly how she was supposed to have fun left down here with Wesley. A few ideas had crossed her mind, but they all required his enthusiastic cooperation, which she had no clue if she could count on. She looked back to Wesley, offering a weak smile. "So, looks like it's just you and me. Now what?"
Wesley looked at her, his expression reminding her of a startled wild animal. "Ahhh. perhaps I should call back to the Hyperion, se if they've found anything."
Watching his nervous retreat, Faith leaned against the fireplace. "Damn, that went. awkwardly. Might as well go take a look at the new me."
She was a bit surprised at the sight in the mirror. Her hair had changed, not just the color, but the texture as well, it was a little finer, a bit more wave to it. Her new eyes were paler, seeming softer, more vulnerable and harder to read, flecked with green and blue. She had freckles, which was actually. cute. She looked wholesome and sweet, which was an unsettling change for her. "Hello Caitlynn MacCrary. It's nice to met you?"
A fresh start, at least with some things. An identity that nobody was trying to kill, a face that wouldn't be recognized. Now, if she could sort things out here, with the people that she cared about. Maybe life could be good.
~Part: 30~
Giles was sitting in the back room of the Magic Box, looking at his cup of tea. It had started to settle, and he was actually debating the idea of looking at the pattern of the tea leaves for inspiration for this annoyingly obscure and baffling Tree prophecy. Almost anything would be welcome to take his mind off of it.
"We have arrived. Giles? Umm. Giles?" Xander's voice carried from the front, accompanied by the jangling of the bells on the door.
"Ask and you shall receive. what have I let myself in for?" Giles muttered, wondering what Xander could want. The idea of him voluntarily choosing to research was rather unlikely. Unless he and Anya had had some sort of dreadful disagreement.
"He's in the back." Spike's voice, a little unhappy, but not nearly as sarcastic and hostile as he could be.
Giles looked towards the door of the room, watching as Spike, Xander and Amy filed into the room. None of them looked happy, or injured. "What brings you here? And I am glad to see that Amy is well. How is Willow?"
"Sleeping. We've been working on magic, and she's all magicked out for the night. We came to talk to you and your books. well, not that the books will talk, but we need research." Amy offered a hesitant grin, as if she was unsure of her reception.
Giles frowned, swallowing his cooling tea. Part of him was certain that he wouldn't like the reason that they were here, and part of him was predictably curious. He was also reminding himself that you should never every say 'anything but this' over a hellmouth. "What do you need to research?"
Spike helped himself to a cup of tea, pulling himself a chair and a book from a stack of demon codexes. His voice was filled with dark humor. "You'll love this. We don't quite know what the thing is."
"How are we supposed to find something, if you don't know what you're looking for?" Giles pinched the bridge of his nose, reminding himself that he'd wanted a distraction from the Tree prophecies, he'd asked for this.
Amy came over, her footsteps almost inaudible, reminding him of a mouse creeping out from a hole in the wall. "There have been. bad dreams. Consistant, repetitive dreams. A shadowy thing. evil, scary. It does something, eats people. but not quite. We don't want it here. We were hoping that maybe."
"You were hoping to find this shadow thing from your nightmares in the books? Then what?" Giles had the feeling that his night was about to get very long indeed.
"Maybe make it go away. Better to keep it away to start with." Amy looked over, her eyes gliding over him, pausing over Spike. Color bloomed on her cheeks, and she stared at the table. "It's a very bad thing. And that's all we know."
"Wonderful. everyone collect a book. Here, you look in one of the demon indexes from the pile beside Spike. Xander, get the books on non-corporeal predators. We might as well start looking." A grocer. he'd wanted to be a grocer, and have nothing larger to worry about than paying his electric and keeping his produce from spoiling. But no, he'd had to become a Watcher.
Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of chattering, only the sound of pages turning, an occasional soft 'euuuwww' from Amy at some of the illustrations of demons, and a series of squeaks and creaks as Xander shifted in his chair. The relative quiet lasted for a few hours, long enough for two pots of tea, which Xander drank without a single protest. Surely, that was a sign of trouble right there.
The bells didn't jingle, they clattered as the door slammed into the wall, and battered themselves audibly against each other and the doorframe, before the sound of the door slamming shut caused them to rattle again. "Giles, we have a problem. Something's freaking out the demons. and it's Amy. And Spike, in the Magic Box. What's going on?"
Xander lifted one of the thick books up, as if trying to display it for Buffy. "Research. Apparently, Amy and Willow have been having freaky big evil coming soon dreams, and we're trying to name that evil."
"Well, then we've already got the right books out. I killed that fish demon, but. there was this really freaky old demon lady in the cemetery." Buffy paused, and she seemed to be quite unsettled by something. "She said there was something bad coming. Something about hungry shadows, and that fear of this thing was what prompted the creation of my kind - I think she meant Slayers. Bad news, whatever it is doesn't care, she said it considers everybody fair game, humans, demons, good guys, bad guys."
Buffy paused, rubbing her hands over her arms, as if chilled. The words emerged slowly, as if Buffy was reluctant to remember the events, or maybe worried about them. "She said it was coming, and there was one way to ensure that it wouldn't devour her."
"Cool, a way to not be shadow food. What's the trick?" Xander looked worried, and hopeful.
"She impaled herself on my stake. Just. grabbed my hand, positioned the stake, and stepped forward." Buffy's voice sounded as if she was shaken by the whole thing. "It was really freaky. When scary things are scared. it's bad. And my spidey sense was going crazy out there."
Giles had the feeling that things had gotten worse. This had to be the same shadowy shape that Amy was having the nightmares about. If it was also considered a danger by the demon population, they could be in terrible trouble. Polishing his glasses, he looked at Buffy. "Did this demon woman use any names for it, any specifics of what it ate? We know. very little. A direction to point out research would be mot welcome."
"Umm.." Buffy paused, looking as if she was trying to remember carefully. "Feasting shadows, something from beyond the dark past, too powerful for her to call or send away. She said the Hunter had been awakened. Then something about rotting and creeping, and that it considered everything. everything that creeps is it's prey. Good, evil, protector, peasant and fiend. Are there even still peasants? Can we just send the big hungry evil shadow back out to it's home?"
"Not all demons have a human life span, that. creepy demon lady could have been centuries old. The almost good news is that that is what we're already searching for, Amy and Willow have been having dreams... nightmares, really, about a shadow eating people." Giles paused, handing Buffy a book. "We need to start looking. Search for spirits from other planes, possibly predatory demon gods. This will be something old, and powerful."
Buffy accepted the book, looking at the hideous face embossed into the leather cover. "Ick. Do we have another option?"
"We could follow the example of the demon, and kill ourselves before it gets here. Or maybe try to beat it to death with the research books." Xander's feeble joke fell flat.
"Whatever this is, I don't think it's solid enough to throw books at. And I don't think it needs to be solid to kill." Amy's voice was soft, and trembled slightly from fear.
Spike put a hand on her arm, and his voice was soft, almost as if he was trying to comfort her. "These are the white hats, Amy. They find out what the bad is, and get rid of it. They don't believe in loosing."
Giles took a deep breath, and returned to his books. Hopefully, they could find an answer. Preferably before the shadow hunter ate them. Hmmm. perhaps the Sumerian or Assyrian pantheons had a few leads? They had been rather bloodthirsty, the lot of them. Let them find a clue, let them find a way to get rid of this hunter.