I NEED FEEDBACK!!!! ccamazon@h...
Part I:
Spike bolted up right in bed. His mind still flashing with images of
the
dream. A dream that he hadn’t had in over fifty years, but for the
past
week had been plaguing him. He slipped out of bed, ignoring the protesting
moans of the red head sharing his bed. He kissed her gently on the
forehead
before searching his duster for the loose pack of cigarettes. Finding
what
he was looking for he slipped out into the hallway. Spike paused when
he
heard a soft moan come from behind a closed door down the hall. The
moan
was quickly followed by a low growl and squeaking bed springs. Spike
shook
his head in amusement. Ever since Buffy and Angel had found out that
“The
Clause” in his curse wasn’t there anymore, they had been going at it
like
rabbits.
Spike smirked. If the walls were a little thinner he and Angel would
be
competing to see who could make the most noise, but he had a serious
doubt
that the girls would like that much. He sighed as he stepped out onto
the
parapet overlooking the garden. He pulled out a cigarette and placed
it in
his mouth. He lit the cigarette and paused to take a look at the lighter.
Polished antique silver with the scrolling letters WMC engraved on
it. He
had been lucky so far that Willow hadn’t asked him about it yet. It
just
wasn’t something that he wasn’t ready to tell her yet.
Spike took a long drag of the cigarette, pushing the smoke out through
his
nostrils that encircled his head like an ethereal halo. He looked up
at the
clear night sky and was immediately bombarded with countless memories.
Instead of pushing them away he let them wash over him.
London 1871:
William smiled as he pulled the coach to halt outside the three story
flat.
He took a moment to look at the tall elegant building that he had once
called home, but that was before he had his world changed.
“Thanks for the ride, Mate.” William said and patted the cabby on the
leg.
The action caused the cabby’s head to lull to the side, revealing two
small
puncher wounds.
William laughed and jumped down from the driver’s perch. Dusting off
his
jacket he sauntered to the coach’s door, pulling it open with an extravagant
bow. “Here we are, my lady.”
William took hold of a woman’s hand and kissed it gently as she got
out of
the coach. Her dark eyes sparkled as she looked at the building before
her.
“Oh, William, it’s beautiful.” Drucilla cooed.
“That it is lass.” Angelus replied as he came to stand behind the two.
William laughed. How he had ended up with these two, still confused
the
hell out of him. All he remembered was running into Angelus at a local
tavern while he was collecting debts for his father. He ended up roughing
up some fellows that refused to pay. That must have been what caught
the
dark vampire’s interest. From there the memories began to get fuzzy
until
William woke with Drucilla at his side and a whole new view on life.
Suddenly the front door to the flat opened and a small dark headed girl
ran
out and straight to William. To his companion’s surprise he scooped
her up
into his arms. Angelus had smelled fear on the girl from the time she
had
opened the door, but as soon as she was in William’s arms the fear
seemed to
disappear. He watched in silence as William stroked the girl’s dark
hair
and spoke soothing words into her ear. Angelus realized that there
was a
bond between the two, one that hadn’t even been broken by William’s
turning.
“She’s special, my Angel. The stars say we have to keep her safe.”
Drucilla whispered.
Angelus nodded as the girl raised her head from William’s shoulder and
looked directly at him. Angelus was amazed, the girl looked like a
living
doll. Dark hair against fine pale skin, that looked like porcelain
and
large eyes the color of jade. The only blemish he could see was the
large
black and purple bruise across her cheek. She leaned over and whispered
something in William’s ear. William laughed and turned to face Drucilla
and
Angelus, shifting the girl on his hip so she was facing them as well.
“These are my friends, Luv. Drucilla and Angelus.” He tucked a loose
strand of hair behind her ear. “This is my sister Evie.”
“EVELYN!” A loud voice bellowed from the house. Evie cowered in William’s
arms. William growled as the owner of the voice staggered out onto
the
front stoop. A large burly man with gray hair stumbled down the steps
and
onto the walk. “I told you to get back here you little bitch.”
William set Evie down behind him, turning slowly to face the man. “Hello
father.”
“So you finally got your lazy ass home. And brought leaches home with
you.”
The man spat. “I’ll deal with you later, first I have to teach your
sister a few things.”
“Don’t you dare touch her.” William growled.
The man just smirked and reached around his son. He was stopped suddenly
when a hand clamped tightly around his wrist. He looked up to see Drucilla
smirking at him. Fear suddenly swept through his body, the girl was
crazy,
she had to be.
“Naughty, naughty.” Drucilla scolded. “Mummy’s going to have to punish
you.” Drucilla tightened her hold on his wrist and he fell to his knees.
William picked Evie up and carried her into the flat before she could
see
what punishment Drucilla had thought up. He stepped into Evie’s small
bedroom and growled. Out of all the rooms in the building she had been
given the smallest. It couldn’t have been any larger than a broom closet,
if that. He spun around trying to figure out what he should take with
them.
Growling again he grabbed the stuffed bear off the bed and handed it
to
Evie.
“Forget it, sweets. I’ll get you new dresses.”
Evie clung tightly to her bear and to William as he bolted down the
steps,
turning over every lamp as he went. The house went up in flames just
as the
black coach sped off into the night.
“Spike?” Willow called out softly, stepping out onto the parapet.
“Right here, Luv.” Spike replied tossing the cigarette away and steeping
out of the shadows.
“What were you doing out here?” Willow took a seat on the high wall.
“Just thinking Luv, that’s all.” He wrapped his arms around her waist
and
rested his head against her shoulder.
“You’re worrying me Spike. Why wont you tell me about your dreams?”
She
asked stroking his hair.
“They’re not important.” He murmured.
Willow sighed. She knew there was no use arguing with him. If he was
going
to tell her, he would. Until then she would just have to be understanding
and respect his silence. She slipped off the wall, taking his hand
in hers
and led him back into their bedroom.
Willow stumbled sleepily down the steps and made her way into the kitchen.
She smiled a good morning to Buffy and Angel as she took a seat at
the table
next to the blonde Slayer.
“Geez Wills, you look like hell.”
“Thanks Buffy.” Willow replied dryly. “I just haven’t been getting a
very
good night’s sleep lately.”
“Why?” Angel asked turning slightly from his cooking duties to look
at the
red head.
“Spike’s been having these dreams...not dreams, nightmares. He tosses
and
turns, then bolts upright in bed. And what’s worse is he won’t tell
me what
there about.” She sighed. “I mean what if he’s having nightmares about
losing me or something like that and he won’t tell me because he’s
afraid
that it’ll scare me...or what if...”
“Willow I’m sure everything’s just fine. Right Angel?” Buffy looked
up at
Angel and frowned. He seemed to be lost in deep thought, as if he
understood what was going on. “Angel?”
He snapped out of his thoughts. “Um...right. Spike will be fine Willow.”
“If you say so.” Willow sighed and glanced at the clock. “I’ve got to
go,
early class. See you later?”
Buffy nodded and watched her friend walk off. She then turned to Angel.
“Okay spill.”
“What?”
“Angel, that look you just had. You know the deep brooding look you
get
when something’s bothering you, you just had it. Now tell me what you’re
not telling Willow.”
Angel sighed, realizing there was no way he was going to get around
telling
her this. He turned off the stove and sat down across from Buffy. “It’s
not the first time that Spike’s had nightmares.”
“So...everyone has nightmares, even vampires.” Buffy replied.
“Buffy...” Angel sighed. “Let me talk to Spike, then I’ll talk to you.
I
promise.”
“Ok, but just as soon as you talk to him.”
Angel nodded and kissed her on the top of her head before walking out
of the
room.
Angel climbed the spiral staircase up into the attic. He sighed heavily
when he saw Spike sitting in an old high back chair. His gaze was focused
on a large portrait sitting up against a dusty old trunk.
“Willow’s worried about you.” Angel stated plainly, moving around to
stand
next to Spike to get a better look at the portrait.
“I know.” Spike replied quietly.
“I can’t believe you kept it.” Angel crossed his arms over his chest,
studying the portrait.
“I don’t think I could get rid of it.” A soft smile crossed Spike’s
hard
features as he stared at the picture in front of him. It was over a
hundred
years old, in a scrolling antique frame. The picture itself was done
in
oils and portrayed Spike’s family.
Angelus was in the center of the picture, emitting as much power as
he did
in person. He was sitting in a throne like chair, a glaring out into
some
unknown point in space. Spike stood back and to the right of Angelus,
his
arms resting comfortably on the back of the chair. Dru was on the other
side, her hand resting gently on her Sire’s shoulder. Evie stood in
front
of Dru, her little hands folded neatly infront of her, her dark hair
in a
mass of curls that neatly framed her face.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were having the dreams again?” Angel asked.
Spike sighed. “Because, I thought they’d go away after a while. I mean
why
after fifty years are they coming back anyway.” Spike was almost yelling
at
the top of his lungs. He took a wild swing and his fist connected with
the
wall, splintering wood and dry wall everywhere. This seemed to bring
him
back to reality. He took one last look at the picture before sighing.
“It’s not like she’s coming back.”
“Spike…”
Spike cut him off before he had a chance to finish. “Is the Slayer ready
to
patrol? I need to kick some ass.”
Angel shook his head and followed the blonde downstairs.
Part II:
Aidan entered the large loft, caring a dozen long stem white roses and
a
bottle of Merlot. He was expecting to find his wife waiting for him,
so
they could celebrate their anniversary. He sat down the bottle of wine
and
moved up the stairs to the open bedroom. He smiled when he found his
wife
still asleep in the middle of their king size bed. The blood red silk
sheets enter-twined with her long legs, it was a stark contrast to
the black
and white hockey jersey that she was using for a nightshirt. Shaking
his
head, Aidan slowly moved over to the bed and sat down.
“Eve, darlin’, time to wake up.” He whispered into her ear in his thick
Irish brogue. He smiled when he received a small moan from her. He
ran a
hand up the inside of her thigh and under the hem of her shirt to rest
on
her stomach. “Come on baby, come back to me.”
“I’ll always come back to you.” She murmured, slowly opening her eyes.
“Aye, lass I bet you will.” Aidan smirked. “God’s way of punishing me.”
Eve laughed, curling an arm around his neck. “So that’s why you’ve put
up
with me for the past eighty years?”
“I’m a good Catholic boy, don’t want to get hit by lighting now do I.”
He
replied capturing her lips in a bruising kiss.
“Guess not.” Eve breathed, sitting up to meet Aidan’s ice blue eyes.
“You need to get dressed, we’ve got reservations in an hour.”
She slipped out of bed, pulling off her shirt. “Aidan, reservations
is not
paying Bruno off at the door to let us into the club.”
“You have your definitions I have mine.” He smirked, watching her disappear
into the bathroom. “Who knows maybe I really do have reservations at
a nice
restaurant.”
Eve turned in the doorway, her hands resting on slender hips with her
eyebrow raised. Aidan shrugged. “I said maybe.”
Eve sighed and went back to cleaning herself up. She couldn’t change
who
Aidan was, or how he did things. And she knew she never wanted him
to
change. So he was arrogant and cocky almost ninety percent of the time,
and
the man could be more stubborn than a mule, but she loved him more
than she
thought she could. Then again somewhere in the back of her mind she
knew
exactly why she had been attracted to him in the first place. He was
tall,
broad shouldered with dark brown hair and ice blue eyes, and an Irish
accent
that made her knees weak.
“Eve.”
Aidan’s voice broke her out of her silent assessment, causing her to
look at
him through the vanity’s mirror. “Hmm?”
“Someone’s here to see you.” Aidan replied in a serious voice.
“I’ll be down in a minuet.”
She dressed in a hurry, pulling on a pair of black leather pants, a
red tank
and a black see-through silk shirt. She descended the steps only to
stop
midway when she saw who was waiting for her at the bottom.
“Mordecai.” She hissed. Angry at herself for not have been able to sense
the other immortal’s presence.
The tall immortal turned to face her. Coldness glowing in his dark gray
eyes as he looked her over. “Evelyn, it has been a while. You’re as
lovely
as ever.”
“What the hell do you want?”
“So direct, but then again you’ve always been that way.” He sighed
dramatically. “I’ve come to challenge you of course. Would have taken
your
head all those years ago, had your brothers not come looking for you.”
He
leered at her. “But then again I did leave them a nice present.”
Eve froze the memory shooting through her like a bolt of lighting.
London 1886:
Evie sat in front of the large stone fireplace in Angelus’ favorite
leather
armchair. Her legs were curled up under her, and a book laid open on
her
lap. She glanced down at the large black dog that was asleep next to
the
chair and sighed. She had asked Angelus for a pet, and after countless
months of pleading, he had finally agreed. The puppy that he gave her
was
the normal size of a small dog, and now fully grown easily reached
her
waist. She had named him Ares after reading about the Greek gods. The
name
seemed to thrill Angelus to no end.
She was just about to go back to her book when Ares’ ears perked up
and he
turned to look at the door. Seconds later she heard metal against metal
and
William’s familiar string of curses. Putting the book on the table
next to
the chair, she got up to see what was going on. She had to fight to
hold
back the laughter as she looked over the railing to find Angelus and
William
in the middle of a fencing match, of which it looked like Angelus seemed
to
be winning.
“Is that all you have boy?” Angelus taunted.
“Pillock.” Will grumbled, taking his stance again then lunging at Angelus
with all his might.
Angelus sidestepped the attack hitting Will on the back with the end
of his
foil. “Pathetic, Will. I know you are better at this.”
This time Evie couldn’t hold back the laughter as she walked down the
steps.
Both males stopped and looked at her as she reached the bottom. “Will,
fencing isn’t about strength.” She told her brother, taking the foil
from
him.
“If you’re so damn smart, what’s it about.” He shot at her.
“It’s about knowing your opponent.” She smiled and turned to face Angelus.
“I could beat him if you want an example.”
Angelus’ brow shot up as he looked at Evie. “That could be interesting.”
“Evelyn…” Will started to protest.
She placed a hand on his chest. “It’s ok Will. Just sit back and watch.”
Will moved back against the stairs and crossed his arms over his chest.
Evie picked up her skirt and waited for Angelus to make the first move.
She
didn’t have to wait long before he lunged at her. Gracefully she blocked
his trust with one of her own. She easily blocked each of Angelus’
blows
until she could tell he was getting angry and frustrated. He came after
her
in a rush made of pure anger; Evie grinned and stepped away from him.
She
brought her foil down hard onto the hand that held his. His foil dropped
to
the ground with a loud clang and Angelus fell to the floor. He looked
up
when he felt the tip of Evie’s foil pierce the flesh at the base of
his
throat.
Will stood in shock, glaring at his sister. Angelus was not going to
be in
a happy mood, and it was up to Will to stop him from taking his anger
out on
her. Angelus’ rage never came; instead his laughter filled the great
hall.
Evie removed the tip from his neck, holding out a hand to help him
up.
“You, lass, can fence with me anytime you wish.” Angelus smiled taking
her
hand and kissing the back of it.
Will rolled his eyes as Evie smirked at him. If anyone else had won
that
fencing match, Angelus would have taken great joy in torturing them
to the
brink of death. Evie on the other hand had the Scourge of Europe wrapped
around her little finger, and played it for everything it was worth.
“Ares!” Evie yelled. The large black dog bounded down the steps at the
call of his mistress. “I’m going to take him for a walk. You two behave
yourselves.”
“Yes ma’am.” Will saluted his sister.
“Be careful Luv.” Angelus called after her.
Evie’s laugh could be heard through out the hall as she left the house.
“That’s checkmate.”
“No it’s not.”
“Yes it is.”
“Prove it.”
“You are such a bloody prick when you lose.”
“Well at least I have one.”
“Sod off you…”
Will and Angelus’ fight was cut when Drucilla started to scream.
“Dru, what is it?” Angelus asked, kneeling down in front of her.
“My little princess, he’s hurting her.” Dru moaned.
“Evie.” Will breathed. “What did you see Dru?”
“She’s in the park. Cold…so very cold.” Dru sobbed.
Will didn’t waist any more time before running out of the house and
down to
the small park a block away. The strong scent of death and blood filled
the cold night air as Will got closer. For the first time since he
had been
turned, William the Bloody thought he was going to be sick. Ares lay
on his
side; dark red blood glistened off his black fur in the moonlight.
His lips
turned up in a silent snarl as blood seeped out of his mouth.
That’s when Will turned and saw his sister laying in the grass not more
than
a few feet away. Her head laid at a crooked angle causing her open
eyes to
stare right through Will. Kneeling down, Will picked up Evie’s lifeless
body and cradled it close to his chest. His howl of pain could be heard
though out the entire city.
“It took me three weeks to break out of the crypt.” Eve growled, her
sword
suddenly appearing in her hand. “Only to find that everyone I loved
had
disappeared.”
Mordecai leered at her. “You were dead after all. Didn’t expect them
to
stick around, did you? They had places to go, people to slaughter.”
He
sighed. “We fight and finally finish this.” He handed her a postcard.
“This place, a weeks time. And I’ll be waiting.”
With that Mordecai disappeared. Eve sighed heavily, sliding down to
the
bottom step, gripping the postcard tightly in her hand.
“What does it say?” Aidan asked, pointing to the card. Eve handed him
the
post card, then drifted back up stairs.
Aidan turned the card over in his hands. The picture seemed to be of
a
sleepy little town. In the left-hand corner, written in bold yellow
letters
were Greetings From Sunnydale.
Part III:
Aidan hated to admit it, but he liked Sunnydale. He never was one for
small
cities, having grown up on the streets of Dublin. He was sure little
Sunnydale beat all the small towns that he had been in his lifetimes.
It
also seemed to have its effects on Eve. She had been quiet and almost
distant since they left the large white Victorian house they were renting
to
take a stroll through town.
“You gonna tell me what’s wrong?” He asked draping an arm around her
shoulders.
“Nothing’s wrong.” Eve replied quietly, wrapping her arm around his
waist.
“There’s just something different about this place and I don’t know
what it
is.”
“Ah, darlin you’re just worried. Let’s say we go home and I make you
forget
about your worries for a while.” Aidan suggested with a lewd grin.
Eve rolled her eyes and laughed. “Your answer to life’s great problems
will
always be sex, won’t it?”
“Sex has been the deciding factor on almost all great events in history.”
“Yeah and most of them ended tragically.” She snorted.
Aidan chuckled as they turned down a street to go home. They stopped
suddenly when in the distance a guy was thrown out onto the path infront
of
them. Eve pulled away from Aidan, pulling her sword as she did so.
“Eve, darlin, I don’t think we ought to get involved.” Aidan replied
as
another man jumped out of the bushes.
Eve didn’t pay attention. She started to run recognizing exactly what
the
man standing over the boy on the ground was. She swung her leg out
knocking
the vampire to his knees and placing the sword at his neck, but for
some odd
reason she didn’t behead him.
“Get out of here!” She screamed at the boy.
The boy smirked at the vampire and ran off. The vampire slowly stood up.
“Listen I don’t know what the bloody hell your problem is,” He said
as he
slowly turned around. “Or who the bloody hell you think you are.”
Blue eyes met green ones as stunned looks crossed both their faces.
Eve
lowered her sword to her side as Spike let his vampirc features melt
away.
“Evie.”
“Will.”
Aidan looked between the two and shook his head. Things just got more
interesting then he wanted.
Part IV
Angel bolted across the park after Spike, closely followed by Willow
and
Buffy. That kid couldn’t be allowed to get away. He came to sudden
halt
next to Spike.
“Where did he go?”
“Angel.”
“Spike we need to…”
“Angelus!” Spike growled and grabbed the older vampire by the chin and
forced him to look at the girl infront of him.
“You two still don’t know how to get along. Glad to see something’s
never
change.”
“Evie?” Angel stammered.
“Hello Angelus.”
Angel stepped closer to Eve, placing a hand on her shoulder as if to
make
sure she was real. When he realized it was he pulled her deftly into
a hug.
“We thought you were dead.” He replied squeezing her tighter. “How…”
Eve pulled away. “Aidan can explain better than I can.” She told him
absently. Her eyes were fixed on the retreating shadow of Spike’s figure.
“Go on.” Angel told her quietly.
She didn’t wait for anyone to tell her different, she bolted after her
brother in record time.
“Angel,” Willow’s timid voice broke through the silence that had enveloped
the night. “Who was that?”
“Spike’s sister.”
“Will, wait, please.” Eve called out.
Spike turned around violently. “You’re dead!” He spat. “I saw you with
your neck broken. Hell I was the one who put you in the casket.”
“I can explain Will.” That didn’t seem to stop his tirade.
“This is nothing but some cruel punishment like the dreams.”
“I’m real I promise you.” She told him quietly, pulling him into a hug.
“What happened Evie?”
She pulled him over toward a group of swing sets and sat down. “I’m
an
immortal. We can’t be killed unless someone takes our head, and usually
it’s another immortal. All apart of some cosmic game to see who will
be the
last one standing.”
“But you were dead?” Spike asked.
“Yeah for about two days I think. Just long enough for you to bury me.”
She smiled at him. “I had one hell of a time getting out of that damn
crypt.”
“It was the Poof’s idea.” He replied offhandedly. “Why didn’t you try
to
find us?”
“I did. I looked for you guys for a good fifty years. Every time I would
get remotely close, you would’ve already packed up and moved on. Then
I
heard Angelus was dead and I thought you were too. So I stopped looking.”
Spike nodded understanding.
“What happened to Angelus anyway.”
Spike chuckled. “Crossed the wrong people and had his soul restored.
He
lost it a few years back because of some stupid clause in the curse.
He
just wasn’t the same.”
Spike sighed, getting up. “Come on Sweets. They’re probably waiting
for
us.”
Eve smiled and stood up. “One more question Will,” Spike turned and
looked
at her. “What’s with the Billy Idol look?”
Part V
“Wow, immortals.” Buffy said looking up at Aidan.
“I know the feeling.” Aidan mumbled, casting a glance at the dark vampire
as he paced. “I need a cigarette.” He absently started to feel his
pockets
for a pack.
Willow watched Aidan with an amused smile. It was like looking at the
perfect mix of Angel and Spike. Angel’s looks with Spike’s personality,
and
it was taking all the red head had not to laugh.
“So, how long have you and Evie been together?” Angel asked.
Aidan stopped pacing for a moment, pulling out the half-used pack of
Marlboros from his jacket pocket. He placed a cigarette in his mouth,
lighting it and taking a long drag of it before answering Angel. There
was
no way that he was going to let fang intimidate him.
“Eighty-two years. Been married for eighty of those.”
Angel nodded silently. “How did the two of you meet?”
Aidan smirked as he remembered the first time he had laid eyes on Eve.
Turkey 1919:
“As you can see the room is quite large for what I’m asking for it.”
The
large woman explained resting her hands on her hips. “I don’t think
I can…”
“The room and the price is just fine.” Aidan replied, walking around
the
open loft that looked out of the blue waters of the Mediterranean.
He hated
dealing with people who liked to bargain it usually ment that you’d
get
cheated.
The woman cocked an eyebrow and gave him a degrading look before leaving
him
alone in the room. He tossed his bag onto the large bed, then moved
over to
the window. He watched as the sun slowly set into the water and smiled
to
himself. It was time to check out the nightlife.
Aidan slipped into the crowed bar. It certainly didn’t look like any
of the
pub’s he’d been in. Everything was open allowing the cool night air
to
drift in. There wasn’t that much furniture around instead there was
pillows
circled around low tables. Aidan groaned inwardly when he felt the
familiar
buzz of another immortal. Quietly he scanned the room looking for the
other
immortal. He stopped when blue eyes met green.
She was sitting in the back corner, dressed in fine red silk that barely
hid
the perfect curves and left little to ones imagination about what was
lying
beneath it. She stood in one fluid movement, causing the silk to cling
even
more to her body. Aidan could feel himself harden as she slowly made
her
way across the room, her hips swaying gently with each movement. Aidan
took
a deep breath when she stopped in front of him. Jasmine and a mix of
something exotic flooded his senses. He had never seen a more beautiful
woman before in his life.
“Aidan O’Conor.” Aidan informed her in husky voice.
“Eve.” She replied silkily.
Aidan smiled. “No last name?”
“Not at this moment, no.” She laughed, then became serious. “If you’re
going to challenge me, get on with it.”
Aidan smirked. “I’m not gonna challenge you.”
“Enjoy yourself then.” She smiled turning and blending into the shadows.
“I will.” Aidan murmured, watching her disappear.
Aidan snapped out of his memory when the front door opened letting Eve
and
Spike into the house. Eve was laughing as she came into the house,
inviting
Spike in as she did. She stopped laughing, placed her hands on her
hips and
narrowed her eyes at Aidan. Aidan groaned and crushed the half-used
cigarette out.
Angel smirked and took pity on the young man, interrupting Evie before
she
had a chance to tear into him. “What are you doing in Sunnydale?”
“Eve got challenged and this is where he wanted to fight.” Aidan told
Angel.
“It was Mordecai.” Eve supplied.
“That’s impossible, Luv.” Spike looked up. “Mordecai’s been dead…”
Evie’s glare stopped Spike before he could finish. Spike could feel
the
dread build in the pit of his stomach.
“Who’s Mordecai?” Willow asked sensing the tension in the room.
“He was a Watcher, Luv.” Spike found something interesting with his hands.
“You killed his Slayer.” Buffy replied, understanding where this was going.
“Snapped her neck like a twig.” Spike answered. “Angelus made Mordecai
watch as I did it, before he killed him himself.”
“You didn’t know?” Buffy turned directing the question at Eve.
Eve shook her head. “No. I was too young at the time. Will, Angelus
and
Dru were really good about hiding what they did when they went out.
Of
course I think I always knew.”
They fell into silence until they realized that the sun was going to
be up
in an hour. The vampires made their good-byes to Evie, making her promise
to come to the mansion. She smiled and kissed them on the cheek, agreeing.
“Behave you two.” She whispered.
“Always Luv.” Spike smirked causing Evie to laugh.
“I like your sister.” Willow smiled up at Spike.
“I’m glad Pet.” Spike replied quietly.
“You’re quite.”
“I’m still trying to process everything Red.” Spike sighed. “It’s not
everyday your dead sister comes back to life.”
Willow laughed, cuddling closer to Spike. “Is she the reason you were
having those dreams?”
“Yeah.”
“Spike?”
“Hmmm?”
“You could have told me. I would have understood.”
Spike was silent again trying to figure out how he was going to respond
to
that, and there was only one thing he could think of to say. “Love
you
Red.”
Part VI:
Aidan pulled the sleek black viper to a stop infront of the old mansion
on
Crawford Street. He thought that it resembled some sort of vampire
cliché
about living in a castle. He sighed, he knew Eve was already there.
Leaving as soon as the sun set and before Aidan got back to the house.
He
was starting up the path when another car pulled up infront of the
curb and
letting Buffy and Willow out.
“Hi Aidan.” Willow smiled cheerfully.
“Willow.” The dark haired immortal smiled at the red head.
“Where’s Eve?” Buffy asked coming up to stand next to Willow.
“She’s already here. She left before I got home.” Aidan smiled.
“Looking around town?”
“Beating informants for information on Mordecai.” Aidan smirked.
Buffy looked at Aidan with questioning eyes. “I thought Eve would want
to
be there?”
“Eve keeps vampire hours. We’re always on different schedules, it’s
a
wonder we’ve been married for so long.” Aidan shook his head. “Well
shall
we. I’m not too sure what to expect.”
“Anything.” Buffy replied smirked as Willow led the way to the front door.
When they opened the door they were met with an assortment of weapons
scattered about the floor of the great hall. Eve stood in the middle
with
her back to the door, turning an ax around in her hands testing its
weight.
She didn’t even seem to hear them come in, or sense Aidan’s presence.
Aidan frowned. Eve should have sensed another immortal almost immeadity,
but she hadn’t. Loosing that was going to get her killed no matter
how good
she was with a sword.
“Where’s Spike and Angel?” Willow asked putting her bag down.
“Well I…” Eve froze when she saw Aidan and the look on his face. “…They’re
in the basement bringing up a trunk of something.”
“Oh.” Willow replied seeing the exchange between the two. “Buffy, lets
go
see if we can help them.” She grabbed the blonde Slayer by the arm
and
pulled her toward the basement door.
“I don’t want you to go out by yourself anymore.” Aidan said after the
two
were gone.
“We don’t know that it’s Mordecai.” Eve sighed putting the ax down.
“Yeah right.” Aidan huffed. “The man was a Watcher, to a Slayer no less.
A
Slayer that, by the way, your bother tortured and killed and you don’t
think
that he quite possibly had some sort of knowledge of magic.”
“Don’t start Aidan.” Eve threatened, her green eyes glowing in anger.
“Don’t start what!” He shouted. “The fact that the moment you find your
bothers you forget about us, or the fact that you could loose your
head at
any moment because your not paying attention.”
“I am paying attention!” She shouted back.
“No you’re not Eve. You haven’t been since we’ve gotten here and it’s
only
gotten worse since we met up with your freak family.”
“At least I have a family.” Eve sneered.
Aidan looked at her in shock. Maybe he was over-reacting but she was
hitting below the belt. She knew that he had lost his entire family
to a
landlord, leaving him alone on the streets.
Aidan recovered and shook his head. “And I bet you’re willing to die
because of them.” Aidan snorted.
“Yes I am. I always have been, even for you.” Eve paused. “Can you say
the
same about me? Would you be willing to loose your head for me, Aidan?”
Aidan looked at her for a moment then turned and headed toward the door.
“I’ll head back to London tomorrow morning. You can come home when
you’re
done here.” With that he left the mansion.
Eve covered her mouth with her hand to prevent a sob form escaping her
lips.
She turned to see Spike standing at the far entrance of the large room.
Without saying a word she walked over to her brother and let him wrap
his
arms around her. She sobbed into the soft fabric of his T-shirt for
what
seemed like forever. Spike stroked her dark hair and whispered soothing
words into her ear like he had when she was little. Slowly her sobs
stopped
and the tears dried. Eve pulled herself away from her brother’s embrace,
wiping the excess tears with the sleeve of her shirt.
“I need to go after him.” She picked her long coat up off the floor.
“Are you sure Sweets?” Spike asked.
“I’m positive Will. We need to talk.” Eve slipped her sword into it’s
hiding spot and bolted out of the door.
Spike watched the door for a few minuets then sighed and slipped on
his
duster. “Are you coming Peaches?”
Angel stepped out of the shadows, arms folded across his chest. “You
know I
am.”
It didn’t take long for Eve to find Aidan. He was sitting on a park
bench
looking up at the night sky.
“It’s dangerous to be out here alone.” Eve told him softly.
Aidan didn’t look at her. “It’s dangerous for us to be out anytime.”
She took a seat next to him on the bench. They sat in silence for a
long
time before Aidan broke the silence.
“I’m sorry.”
Eve smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry to, baby.”
Aidan kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go home.”
Eve nodded and stood. Aidan gripped her hand tightly as they turned
to
leave the park, when a tall blonde man stepped out of the shadows a
sword
clenched in his fist.
“I challenge you Aidan O’Conor.”
Aidan laughed. “That’s funny I usually don’t accept challenges from
mortals.”
The man smirked and pulled a gun. “I suggest that you accept this one,
or
maybe you could use some incentive.”
He turned the gun on Eve and fired. The bullet hit her in the stomach
knocking her back away from Aidan and onto her knees. He knew just
where to
shoot her, making her death slow and very painful. She watched in silent
horror as Aidan fought with the man. She didn’t even hear Angel and
Spike
when they fell to their knees besides her asking if she was all right.
She
didn’t acknowledge them until the man got a lucky blow in and sliced
Aidan
across the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Eve was grateful
that the man was quick and took Aidan’s head immeadity with out taunting
him.
Eve suddenly pushed Angel and Spike away from her, leaving bloody hand
prints all over their shirts. A blue mist started to swell around Aidan’s
body and lighting streaked across the sky. Spike and Angel moved a
safe
distance from Eve as the lighting struck again this time hitting Eve
in the
chest. Her body surged with power from her fallen lover and the many
that
he had killed. The pain from the quickening had never been this powerful
before, but this time all she could do was scream until it was over.
She fell on her back against the cold hard pavement as she felt the
power
subside and her life drain away from the bullet hole in her stomach.
The
clear night sky was the last thing she saw before passing into darkness.
Part VII:
Spike bolted up right in bed. His mind still flashing with images
of the
dream. A dream that he hadn't had in over fifty years, but for
the past
week had been plaguing him. He slipped out of bed, ignoring the
protesting
moans of the red head sharing his bed. He kissed her gently on
the forehead
before searching his duster for the loose pack of cigarettes.
Finding what
he was looking for he slipped out into the hallway. Spike paused
when he
heard a soft moan come from behind a closed door down the hall.
The moan
was quickly followed by a low growl and squeaking bed springs.
Spike shook
his head in amusement. Ever since Buffy and Angel had found out
that "The
Clause" in his curse wasn't there anymore, they had been going at it
like
rabbits.
Spike smirked. If the walls were a little thinner he and Angel
would be
competing to see who could make the most noise, but he had a serious
doubt
that the girls would like that much. He sighed as he stepped
out onto the
parapet overlooking the garden. He pulled out a cigarette and
placed it in
his mouth. He lit the cigarette and paused to take a look at
the lighter.
Polished antique silver with the scrolling letters WMC engraved on
it. He
had been lucky so far that Willow hadn't asked him about it yet.
It just
wasn't something that he wasn't ready to tell her yet.
Spike took a long drag of the cigarette, pushing the smoke out through
his
nostrils that encircled his head like an ethereal halo. He looked
up at the
clear night sky and was immediately bombarded with countless memories.
Instead of pushing them away he let them wash over him.
London 1871:
William smiled as he pulled the coach to halt outside the three story
flat.
He took a moment to look at the tall elegant building that he had once
called home, but that was before he had his world changed.
"Thanks for the ride, Mate." William said and patted the cabby
on the leg.
The action caused the cabby's head to lull to the side, revealing two
small
puncher wounds.
William laughed and jumped down from the driver's perch. Dusting
off his
jacket he sauntered to the coach's door, pulling it open with an extravagant
bow. "Here we are, my lady."
William took hold of a woman's hand and kissed it gently as she got
out of
the coach. Her dark eyes sparkled as she looked at the building
before her.
"Oh, William, it's beautiful." Drucilla cooed.
"That it is lass." Angelus replied as he came to stand behind the two.
William laughed. How he had ended up with these two, still confused
the
hell out of him. All he remembered was running into Angelus at
a local
tavern while he was collecting debts for his father. He ended
up roughing
up some fellows that refused to pay. That must have been what
caught the
dark vampire's interest. From there the memories began to get
fuzzy until
William woke with Drucilla at his side and a whole new view on life.
Suddenly the front door to the flat opened and a small dark headed girl
ran
out and straight to William. To his companion's surprise he scooped
her up
into his arms. Angelus had smelled fear on the girl from the
time she had
opened the door, but as soon as she was in William's arms the fear
seemed to
disappear. He watched in silence as William stroked the girl's
dark hair
and spoke soothing words into her ear. Angelus realized that
there was a
bond between the two, one that hadn't even been broken by William's
turning.
"She's special, my Angel. The stars say we have to keep her safe."
Drucilla whispered.
Angelus nodded as the girl raised her head from William's shoulder and
looked directly at him. Angelus was amazed, the girl looked like
a living
doll. Dark hair against fine pale skin, that looked like porcelain
and
large eyes the color of jade. The only blemish he could see was
the large
black and purple bruise across her cheek. She leaned over and
whispered
something in William's ear. William laughed and turned to face
Drucilla and
Angelus, shifting the girl on his hip so she was facing them as well.
"These are my friends, Luv. Drucilla and Angelus." He tucked
a loose
strand of hair behind her ear. "This is my sister Evie."
"EVELYN!" A loud voice bellowed from the house. Evie cowered
in William's
arms. William growled as the owner of the voice staggered out
onto the
front stoop. A large burly man with gray hair stumbled down the
steps and
onto the walk. "I told you to get back here you little bitch."
William set Evie down behind him, turning slowly to face the man.
"Hello
father."
"So you finally got your lazy ass home. And brought leaches home
with you."
The man spat. "I'll deal with you later, first I have
to teach your
sister a few things."
"Don't you dare touch her." William growled.
The man just smirked and reached around his son. He was stopped
suddenly
when a hand clamped tightly around his wrist. He looked up to
see Drucilla
smirking at him. Fear suddenly swept through his body, the girl
was crazy,
she had to be.
"Naughty, naughty." Drucilla scolded. "Mummy's going to
have to punish
you." Drucilla tightened her hold on his wrist and he fell to
his knees.
William picked Evie up and carried her into the flat before she could
see
what punishment Drucilla had thought up. He stepped into Evie's
small
bedroom and growled. Out of all the rooms in the building she
had been
given the smallest. It couldn't have been any larger than a broom
closet,
if that. He spun around trying to figure out what he should take
with them.
Growling again he grabbed the stuffed bear off the bed and handed
it to
Evie.
"Forget it, sweets. I'll get you new dresses."
Evie clung tightly to her bear and to William as he bolted down the
steps,
turning over every lamp as he went. The house went up in flames
just as the
black coach sped off into the night.
"Spike?" Willow called out softly, stepping out onto the parapet.
"Right here, Luv." Spike replied tossing the cigarette away and
steeping
out of the shadows.
"What were you doing out here?" Willow took a seat on the high wall.
"Just thinking Luv, that's all." He wrapped his arms around her
waist and
rested his head against her shoulder.
"You're worrying me Spike. Why wont you tell me about your dreams?"
She
asked stroking his hair.
"They're not important." He murmured.
Willow sighed. She knew there was no use arguing with him.
If he was going
to tell her, he would. Until then she would just have to be understanding
and respect his silence. She slipped off the wall, taking his
hand in hers
and led him back into their bedroom.
Willow stumbled sleepily down the steps and made her way into the kitchen.
She smiled a good morning to Buffy and Angel as she took a seat at
the table
next to the blonde Slayer.
"Jeez Wills, you look like hell."
"Thanks Buffy." Willow replied dryly. "I just haven't been
getting a very
good night's sleep lately."
"Why?" Angel asked turning slightly from his cooking duties to
look at the
red head.
"Spike's been having these dreams...not dreams, nightmares. He
tosses and
turns, then bolts upright in bed. And what's worse is he won't
tell me what
there about." She sighed. "I mean what if he's having nightmares
about
losing me or something like that and he won't tell me because he's
afraid
that it'll scare me...or what if..."
"Willow I'm sure everything's just fine. Right Angel?" Buffy
looked up at
Angel and frowned. He seemed to be lost in deep thought, as if
he
understood what was going on. "Angel?"
He snapped out of his thoughts. "Um...right. Spike will be fine Willow."
"If you say so." Willow sighed and glanced at the clock.
"I've got to go,
early class. See you later?"
Buffy nodded and watched her friend walk off. She then turned
to Angel.
"Okay spill."
"What?"
"Angel, that look you just had. You know the deep brooding look
you get
when something's bothering you, you just had it. Now tell me
what you're
not telling Willow."
Angel sighed, realizing there was no way he was going to get around
telling
her this. He turned off the stove and sat down across from Buffy.
"It's
not the first time that Spike's had nightmares."
"So...everyone has nightmares, even vampires." Buffy replied.
"Buffy..." Angel sighed. "Let me talk to Spike, then I'll
talk to you. I
promise."
"Ok, but just as soon as you talk to him."
Angel nodded and kissed her on the top of her head before walking out
of the
room.
Angel climbed the spiral staircase up into the attic. He sighed
heavily
when he saw Spike sitting in an old high back chair. His gaze
was focused
on a large portrait sitting up against a dusty old trunk.
"Willow's worried about you." Angel stated plainly, moving around
to stand
next to Spike to get a better look at the portrait.
"I know." Spike replied quietly.
"I can't believe you kept it." Angel crossed his arms over his
chest,
studying the portrait.
"I don't think I could get rid of it." A soft smile crossed Spike's
hard
features as he stared at the picture in front of him. It was
over a hundred
years old, in a scrolling antique frame. The picture itself was
done in
oils and portrayed Spike's family.
Angelus was in the center of the picture, emitting as much power as
he did
in person. He was sitting in a throne like chair, a glaring out
into some
unknown point in space. Spike stood back and to the right of
Angelus, his
arms resting comfortably on the back of the chair. Dru was on
the other
side, her hand resting gently on her Sire's shoulder. Evie stood
in front
of Dru, her little hands folded neatly infront of her, her dark hair
in a
mass of curls that neatly framed her face.
"Why didn't you tell me you were having the dreams again?" Angel asked.
Spike sighed. "Because, I thought they'd go away after a while.
I mean why
after fifty years are they coming back anyway." Spike was almost
yelling at
the top of his lungs. He took a wild swing and his fist connected
with the
wall, splintering wood and dry wall everywhere. This seemed to
bring him
back to reality. He took one last look at the picture before
sighing.
"It's not like she's coming back."
"Spike."
Spike cut him off before he had a chance to finish. "Is the Slayer
ready to
patrol? I need to kick some ass."
Angel shook his head and followed the blonde downstairs.
Part II:
Aidan entered the large loft, caring a dozen long stem white roses and
a
bottle of Merlot. He was expecting to find his wife waiting for
him, so
they could celebrate their anniversary. He sat down the bottle
of wine and
moved up the stairs to the open bedroom. He smiled when he found
his wife
still asleep in the middle of their king size bed. The blood
red silk
sheets enter-twined with her long legs, it was a stark contrast to
the black
and white hockey jersey that she was using for a nightshirt.
Shaking his
head, Aidan slowly moved over to the bed and sat down.
"Eve, darlin', time to wake up." He whispered into her ear in
his thick
Irish brogue. He smiled when he received a small moan from her.
He ran a
hand up the inside of her thigh and under the hem of her shirt to rest
on
her stomach. "Come on baby, come back to me."
"I'll always come back to you." She murmured, slowly opening her eyes.
"Aye, lass I bet you will." Aidan smirked. "God's way of punishing me."
Eve laughed, curling an arm around his neck. "So that's why you've
put up
with me for the past eighty years?"
"I'm a good Catholic boy, don't want to get hit by lighting now do I."
He
replied capturing her lips in a bruising kiss.
"Guess not." Eve breathed, sitting up to meet Aidan's ice blue eyes.
"You need to get dressed, we've got reservations in an hour."
She slipped out of bed, pulling off her shirt. "Aidan, reservations
is not
paying Bruno off at the door to let us into the club."
"You have your definitions I have mine." He smirked, watching her disappear
into the bathroom. "Who knows maybe I really do have reservations
at a nice
restaurant."
Eve turned in the doorway, her hands resting on slender hips with her
eyebrow raised. Aidan shrugged. "I said maybe."
Eve sighed and went back to cleaning herself up. She couldn't
change who
Aidan was, or how he did things. And she knew she never wanted
him to
change. So he was arrogant and cocky almost ninety percent of
the time, and
the man could be more stubborn than a mule, but she loved him more
than she
thought she could. Then again somewhere in the back of her mind
she knew
exactly why she had been attracted to him in the first place.
He was tall,
broad shouldered with dark brown hair and ice blue eyes, and an Irish
accent
that made her knees weak.
"Eve."
Aidan's voice broke her out of her silent assessment, causing her to
look at
him through the vanity's mirror. "Hmm?"
"Someone's here to see you." Aidan replied in a serious voice.
"I'll be down in a minuet."
She dressed in a hurry, pulling on a pair of black leather pants, a
red tank
and a black see-through silk shirt. She descended the steps only
to stop
midway when she saw who was waiting for her at the bottom.
"Mordecai." She hissed. Angry at herself for not have been
able to sense
the other immortal's presence.
The tall immortal turned to face her. Coldness glowing in his
dark gray
eyes as he looked her over. "Evelyn, it has been a while.
You're as lovely
as ever."
"What the hell do you want?"
"So direct, but then again you've always been that way." He sighed
dramatically. "I've come to challenge you of course. Would
have taken your
head all those years ago, had your brothers not come looking for you."
He
leered at her. "But then again I did leave them a nice present."
Eve froze the memory shooting through her like a bolt of lighting.
London 1886:
Evie sat in front of the large stone fireplace in Angelus' favorite
leather
armchair. Her legs were curled up under her, and a book laid
open on her
lap. She glanced down at the large black dog that was asleep
next to the
chair and sighed. She had asked Angelus for a pet, and after
countless
months of pleading, he had finally agreed. The puppy that he
gave her was
the normal size of a small dog, and now fully grown easily reached
her
waist. She had named him Ares after reading about the Greek gods.
The name
seemed to thrill Angelus to no end.
She was just about to go back to her book when Ares' ears perked up
and he
turned to look at the door. Seconds later she heard metal against
metal and
William's familiar string of curses. Putting the book on the
table next to
the chair, she got up to see what was going on. She had to fight
to hold
back the laughter as she looked over the railing to find Angelus and
William
in the middle of a fencing match, of which it looked like Angelus seemed
to
be winning.
"Is that all you have boy?" Angelus taunted.
"Pillock." Will grumbled, taking his stance again then lunging
at Angelus
with all his might.
Angelus sidestepped the attack hitting Will on the back with the end
of his
foil. "Pathetic, Will. I know you are better at this."
This time Evie couldn't hold back the laughter as she walked down the
steps.
Both males stopped and looked at her as she reached the bottom.
"Will,
fencing isn't about strength." She told her brother, taking the
foil from
him.
"If you're so damn smart, what's it about." He shot at her.
"It's about knowing your opponent." She smiled and turned to face
Angelus.
"I could beat him if you want an example."
Angelus' brow shot up as he looked at Evie. "That could be interesting."
"Evelyn." Will started to protest.
She placed a hand on his chest. "It's ok Will. Just sit back and watch."
Will moved back against the stairs and crossed his arms over his chest.
Evie picked up her skirt and waited for Angelus to make the first move.
She
didn't have to wait long before he lunged at her. Gracefully
she blocked
his trust with one of her own. She easily blocked each of Angelus'
blows
until she could tell he was getting angry and frustrated. He
came after her
in a rush made of pure anger; Evie grinned and stepped away from him.
She
brought her foil down hard onto the hand that held his. His foil
dropped to
the ground with a loud clang and Angelus fell to the floor. He
looked up
when he felt the tip of Evie's foil pierce the flesh at the base of
his
throat.
Will stood in shock, glaring at his sister. Angelus was not going
to be in
a happy mood, and it was up to Will to stop him from taking his anger
out on
her. Angelus' rage never came; instead his laughter filled the
great hall.
Evie removed the tip from his neck, holding out a hand to help him
up.
"You, lass, can fence with me anytime you wish." Angelus smiled
taking her
hand and kissing the back of it.
Will rolled his eyes as Evie smirked at him. If anyone else had
won that
fencing match, Angelus would have taken great joy in torturing them
to the
brink of death. Evie on the other hand had the Scourge of Europe
wrapped
around her little finger, and played it for everything it was worth.
"Ares!" Evie yelled. The large black dog bounded down the
steps at the
call of his mistress. "I'm going to take him for a walk.
You two behave
yourselves."
"Yes ma'am." Will saluted his sister.
"Be careful Luv." Angelus called after her.
Evie's laugh could be heard through out the hall as she left the house.
"That's checkmate."
"No it's not."
"Yes it is."
"Prove it."
"You are such a bloody prick when you lose."
"Well at least I have one."
"Sod off you."
Will and Angelus' fight was cut when Drucilla started to scream.
"Dru, what is it?" Angelus asked, kneeling down in front of her.
"My little princess, he's hurting her." Dru moaned.
"Evie." Will breathed. "What did you see Dru?"
"She's in the park. Cold.so very cold." Dru sobbed.
Will didn't waist any more time before running out of the house and
down to
the small park a block away. The strong scent of death
and blood filled
the cold night air as Will got closer. For the first time since
he had been
turned, William the Bloody thought he was going to be sick. Ares
lay on his
side; dark red blood glistened off his black fur in the moonlight.
His lips
turned up in a silent snarl as blood seeped out of his mouth.
That's when Will turned and saw his sister laying in the grass not more
than
a few feet away. Her head laid at a crooked angle causing her
open eyes to
stare right through Will. Kneeling down, Will picked up Evie's
lifeless
body and cradled it close to his chest. His howl of pain could
be heard
though out the entire city.
"It took me three weeks to break out of the crypt." Eve growled,
her sword
suddenly appearing in her hand. "Only to find that everyone I
loved had
disappeared."
Mordecai leered at her. "You were dead after all. Didn't
expect them to
stick around, did you? They had places to go, people to slaughter."
He
sighed. "We fight and finally finish this." He handed her
a postcard.
"This place, a weeks time. And I'll be waiting."
With that Mordecai disappeared. Eve sighed heavily, sliding down
to the
bottom step, gripping the postcard tightly in her hand.
"What does it say?" Aidan asked, pointing to the card. Eve
handed him the
post card, then drifted back up stairs.
Aidan turned the card over in his hands. The picture seemed to
be of a
sleepy little town. In the left-hand corner, written in bold
yellow letters
were Greetings From Sunnydale.
Part III:
Aidan hated to admit it, but he liked Sunnydale. He never was
one for small
cities, having grown up on the streets of Dublin. He was sure
little
Sunnydale beat all the small towns that he had been in his lifetimes.
It
also seemed to have its effects on Eve. She had been quiet and
almost
distant since they left the large white Victorian house they were renting
to
take a stroll through town.
"You gonna tell me what's wrong?" He asked draping an arm around
her
shoulders.
"Nothing's wrong." Eve replied quietly, wrapping her arm around
his waist.
"There's just something different about this place and I don't know
what it
is."
"Ah, darlin you're just worried. Let's say we go home and I make
you forget
about your worries for a while." Aidan suggested with a lewd
grin.
Eve rolled her eyes and laughed. "Your answer to life's great
problems will
always be sex, won't it?"
"Sex has been the deciding factor on almost all great events in history."
"Yeah and most of them ended tragically." She snorted.
Aidan chuckled as they turned down a street to go home. They stopped
suddenly when in the distance a guy was thrown out onto the path infront
of
them. Eve pulled away from Aidan, pulling her sword as she did
so.
"Eve, darlin, I don't think we ought to get involved." Aidan replied
as
another man jumped out of the bushes.
Eve didn't pay attention. She started to run recognizing
exactly what the
man standing over the boy on the ground was. She swung her leg
out knocking
the vampire to his knees and placing the sword at his neck, but for
some odd
reason she didn't behead him.
"Get out of here!" She screamed at the boy.
The boy smirked at the vampire and ran off. The vampire slowly stood up.
"Listen I don't know what the bloody hell your problem is," He said
as he
slowly turned around. "Or who the bloody hell you think you are."
Blue eyes met green ones as stunned looks crossed both their faces.
Eve
lowered her sword to her side as Spike let his vampirc features melt
away.
"Evie."
"Will."
Aidan looked between the two and shook his head. Things just got
more
interesting then he wanted.
Part IV
Angel bolted across the park after Spike, closely followed by Willow
and
Buffy. That kid couldn't be allowed to get away. He came
to sudden halt
next to Spike.
"Where did he go?"
"Angel."
"Spike we need to."
"Angelus!" Spike growled and grabbed the older vampire by the
chin and
forced him to look at the girl infront of him.
"You two still don't know how to get along. Glad to see something's
never
change."
"Evie?" Angel stammered.
"Hello Angelus."
Angel stepped closer to Eve, placing a hand on her shoulder as if to
make
sure she was real. When he realized it was he pulled her deftly
into a hug.
"We thought you were dead." He replied squeezing her tighter. "How."
Eve pulled away. "Aidan can explain better than I can."
She told him
absently. Her eyes were fixed on the retreating shadow of Spike's
figure.
"Go on." Angel told her quietly.
She didn't wait for anyone to tell her different, she bolted after her
brother in record time.
"Angel," Willow's timid voice broke through the silence that had enveloped
the night. "Who was that?"
"Spike's sister."
"Will, wait, please." Eve called out.
Spike turned around violently. "You're dead!" He spat.
"I saw you with
your neck broken. Hell I was the one who put you in the casket."
"I can explain Will." That didn't seem to stop his tirade.
"This is nothing but some cruel punishment like the dreams."
"I'm real I promise you." She told him quietly, pulling him into a hug.
"What happened Evie?"
She pulled him over toward a group of swing sets and sat down.
"I'm an
immortal. We can't be killed unless someone takes our head, and
usually
it's another immortal. All apart of some cosmic game to see who
will be the
last one standing."
"But you were dead?" Spike asked.
"Yeah for about two days I think. Just long enough for you to
bury me."
She smiled at him. "I had one hell of a time getting out of that
damn
crypt."
"It was the Poof's idea." He replied offhandedly. "Why didn't
you try to
find us?"
"I did. I looked for you guys for a good fifty years. Every
time I would
get remotely close, you would've already packed up and moved on.
Then I
heard Angelus was dead and I thought you were too. So I stopped
looking."
Spike nodded understanding.
"What happened to Angelus anyway."
Spike chuckled. "Crossed the wrong people and had his soul restored.
He
lost it a few years back because of some stupid clause in the curse.
He
just wasn't the same."
Spike sighed, getting up. "Come on Sweets. They're probably
waiting for
us."
Eve smiled and stood up. "One more question Will," Spike turned
and looked
at her. "What's with the Billy Idol look?"
Part V
"Wow, immortals." Buffy said looking up at Aidan.
"I know the feeling." Aidan mumbled, casting a glance at the dark
vampire
as he paced. "I need a cigarette." He absently started
to feel his pockets
for a pack.
Willow watched Aidan with an amused smile. It was like looking
at the
perfect mix of Angel and Spike. Angel's looks with Spike's personality,
and
it was taking all the red head had not to laugh.
"So, how long have you and Evie been together?" Angel asked.
Aidan stopped pacing for a moment, pulling out the half-used pack of
Marlboros from his jacket pocket. He placed a cigarette in his
mouth,
lighting it and taking a long drag of it before answering Angel.
There was
no way that he was going to let fang intimidate him.
"Eighty-two years. Been married for eighty of those."
Angel nodded silently. "How did the two of you meet?"
Aidan smirked as he remembered the first time he had laid eyes on Eve.
Turkey 1919:
"As you can see the room is quite large for what I'm asking for it."
The
large woman explained resting her hands on her hips. "I don't
think I can."
"The room and the price is just fine." Aidan replied, walking
around the
open loft that looked out of the blue waters of the Mediterranean.
He hated
dealing with people who liked to bargain it usually ment that you'd
get
cheated.
The woman cocked an eyebrow and gave him a degrading look before leaving
him
alone in the room. He tossed his bag onto the large bed, then
moved over to
the window. He watched as the sun slowly set into the water and
smiled to
himself. It was time to check out the nightlife.
Aidan slipped into the crowed bar. It certainly didn't look like
any of the
pub's he'd been in. Everything was open allowing the cool night
air to
drift in. There wasn't that much furniture around instead there
was pillows
circled around low tables. Aidan groaned inwardly when he felt
the familiar
buzz of another immortal. Quietly he scanned the room looking
for the other
immortal. He stopped when blue eyes met green.
She was sitting in the back corner, dressed in fine red silk that barely
hid
the perfect curves and left little to ones imagination about what was
lying
beneath it. She stood in one fluid movement, causing the silk
to cling even
more to her body. Aidan could feel himself harden as she slowly
made her
way across the room, her hips swaying gently with each movement.
Aidan took
a deep breath when she stopped in front of him. Jasmine and a
mix of
something exotic flooded his senses. He had never seen a more
beautiful
woman before in his life.
"Aidan O'Conor." Aidan informed her in husky voice.
"Eve." She replied silkily.
Aidan smiled. "No last name?"
"Not at this moment, no." She laughed, then became serious.
"If you're
going to challenge me, get on with it."
Aidan smirked. "I'm not gonna challenge you."
"Enjoy yourself then." She smiled turning and blending into the shadows.
"I will." Aidan murmured, watching her disappear.
Aidan snapped out of his memory when the front door opened letting Eve
and
Spike into the house. Eve was laughing as she came into the house,
inviting
Spike in as she did. She stopped laughing, placed her hands on
her hips and
narrowed her eyes at Aidan. Aidan groaned and crushed the half-used
cigarette out.
Angel smirked and took pity on the young man, interrupting Evie before
she
had a chance to tear into him. "What are you doing in Sunnydale?"
"Eve got challenged and this is where he wanted to fight." Aidan
told
Angel.
"It was Mordecai." Eve supplied.
"That's impossible, Luv." Spike looked up. "Mordecai's been dead."
Evie's glare stopped Spike before he could finish. Spike could
feel the
dread build in the pit of his stomach.
"Who's Mordecai?" Willow asked sensing the tension in the room.
"He was a Watcher, Luv." Spike found something interesting with his hands.
"You killed his Slayer." Buffy replied, understanding where this was going.
"Snapped her neck like a twig." Spike answered. "Angelus
made Mordecai
watch as I did it, before he killed him himself."
"You didn't know?" Buffy turned directing the question at Eve.
Eve shook her head. "No. I was too young at the time.
Will, Angelus and
Dru were really good about hiding what they did when they went out.
Of
course I think I always knew."
They fell into silence until they realized that the sun was going to
be up
in an hour. The vampires made their good-byes to Evie, making
her promise
to come to the mansion. She smiled and kissed them on the cheek,
agreeing.
"Behave you two." She whispered.
"Always Luv." Spike smirked causing Evie to laugh.
"I like your sister." Willow smiled up at Spike.
"I'm glad Pet." Spike replied quietly.
"You're quite."
"I'm still trying to process everything Red." Spike sighed.
"It's not
everyday your dead sister comes back to life."
Willow laughed, cuddling closer to Spike. "Is she the reason you
were
having those dreams?"
"Yeah."
"Spike?"
"Hmmm?"
"You could have told me. I would have understood."
Spike was silent again trying to figure out how he was going to respond
to
that, and there was only one thing he could think of to say.
"Love you
Red."
Part VI:
Aidan pulled the sleek black viper to a stop infront of the old mansion
on
Crawford Street. He thought that it resembled some sort
of vampire cliché
about living in a castle. He sighed, he knew Eve was already
there.
Leaving as soon as the sun set and before Aidan got back to the house.
He
was starting up the path when another car pulled up infront of the
curb and
letting Buffy and Willow out.
"Hi Aidan." Willow smiled cheerfully.
"Willow." The dark haired immortal smiled at the red head.
"Where's Eve?" Buffy asked coming up to stand next to Willow.
"She's already here. She left before I got home." Aidan smiled.
"Looking around town?"
"Beating informants for information on Mordecai." Aidan smirked.
Buffy looked at Aidan with questioning eyes. "I thought Eve would
want to
be there?"
"Eve keeps vampire hours. We're always on different schedules,
it's a
wonder we've been married for so long." Aidan shook his head.
"Well shall
we. I'm not too sure what to expect."
"Anything." Buffy replied smirked as Willow led the way to the front door.
When they opened the door they were met with an assortment of weapons
scattered about the floor of the great hall. Eve stood in the
middle with
her back to the door, turning an ax around in her hands testing its
weight.
She didn't even seem to hear them come in, or sense Aidan's
presence.
Aidan frowned. Eve should have sensed another immortal almost
immeadity,
but she hadn't. Loosing that was going to get her killed no matter
how good
she was with a sword.
"Where's Spike and Angel?" Willow asked putting her bag down.
"Well I." Eve froze when she saw Aidan and the look on his face.
".They're
in the basement bringing up a trunk of something."
"Oh." Willow replied seeing the exchange between the two.
"Buffy, lets go
see if we can help them." She grabbed the blonde Slayer by the
arm and
pulled her toward the basement door.
"I don't want you to go out by yourself anymore." Aidan said after
the two
were gone.
"We don't know that it's Mordecai." Eve sighed putting the ax down.
"Yeah right." Aidan huffed. "The man was a Watcher, to a Slayer
no less. A
Slayer that, by the way, your bother tortured and killed and you don't
think
that he quite possibly had some sort of knowledge of magic."
"Don't start Aidan." Eve threatened, her green eyes glowing in anger.
"Don't start what!" He shouted. "The fact that the moment
you find your
bothers you forget about us, or the fact that you could loose your
head at
any moment because your not paying attention."
"I am paying attention!" She shouted back.
"No you're not Eve. You haven't been since we've gotten here and
it's only
gotten worse since we met up with your freak family."
"At least I have a family." Eve sneered.
Aidan looked at her in shock. Maybe he was over-reacting
but she was
hitting below the belt. She knew that he had lost his entire
family to a
landlord, leaving him alone on the streets.
Aidan recovered and shook his head. "And I bet you're willing
to die
because of them." Aidan snorted.
"Yes I am. I always have been, even for you." Eve paused.
"Can you say the
same about me? Would you be willing to loose your head for me,
Aidan?"
Aidan looked at her for a moment then turned and headed toward the door.
"I'll head back to London tomorrow morning. You can come home
when you're
done here." With that he left the mansion.
Eve covered her mouth with her hand to prevent a sob form escaping her
lips.
She turned to see Spike standing at the far entrance of the
large room.
Without saying a word she walked over to her brother and let him wrap
his
arms around her. She sobbed into the soft fabric of his T-shirt
for what
seemed like forever. Spike stroked her dark hair and whispered
soothing
words into her ear like he had when she was little. Slowly her
sobs stopped
and the tears dried. Eve pulled herself away from her brother's
embrace,
wiping the excess tears with the sleeve of her shirt.
"I need to go after him." She picked her long coat up off the floor.
"Are you sure Sweets?" Spike asked.
"I'm positive Will. We need to talk." Eve slipped her sword
into it's
hiding spot and bolted out of the door.
Spike watched the door for a few minuets then sighed and slipped on
his
duster. "Are you coming Peaches?"
Angel stepped out of the shadows, arms folded across his chest.
"You know I
am."
It didn't take long for Eve to find Aidan. He was sitting
on a park bench
looking up at the night sky.
"It's dangerous to be out here alone." Eve told him softly.
Aidan didn't look at her. "It's dangerous for us to be out anytime."
She took a seat next to him on the bench. They sat in silence
for a long
time before Aidan broke the silence.
"I'm sorry."
Eve smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry to, baby."
Aidan kissed the top of her head. "Let's go home."
Eve nodded and stood. Aidan gripped her hand tightly as they turned
to
leave the park, when a tall blonde man stepped out of the shadows a
sword
clenched in his fist.
"I challenge you Aidan O'Conor."
Aidan laughed. "That's funny I usually don't accept challenges
from
mortals."
The man smirked and pulled a gun. "I suggest that you accept this
one, or
maybe you could use some incentive."
He turned the gun on Eve and fired. The bullet hit her in the
stomach
knocking her back away from Aidan and onto her knees. He knew
just where to
shoot her, making her death slow and very painful. She
watched in silent
horror as Aidan fought with the man. She didn't even hear Angel
and Spike
when they fell to their knees besides her asking if she was all right.
She
didn't acknowledge them until the man got a lucky blow in and sliced
Aidan
across the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Eve was
grateful
that the man was quick and took Aidan's head immeadity with out taunting
him.
Eve suddenly pushed Angel and Spike away from her, leaving bloody hand
prints all over their shirts. A blue mist started to swell around
Aidan's
body and lighting streaked across the sky. Spike and Angel moved
a safe
distance from Eve as the lighting struck again this time hitting Eve
in the
chest. Her body surged with power from her fallen lover and the
many that
he had killed. The pain from the quickening had never been this
powerful
before, but this time all she could do was scream until it was over.
She fell on her back against the cold hard pavement as she felt the
power
subside and her life drain away from the bullet hole in her stomach.
The
clear night sky was the last thing she saw before passing into darkness.
Part VII:
Eve woke with a start; her eyes flying open to adjust to the dimness
of the
room. She was in bed with a thick comforter pulled up under her
chin.
There was a small lamp on in the corner, casting an eerie glow to the
room
of Victorian furniture. Shaking, Eve slowly pushed the comforter
down,
wishing as soon as the cold air hit her bare skin that she had left
it on.
She moved quietly from the bed to the large wardrobe against the wall,
and
pulled open the oak doors to reveal a line of black silk. Smiling
to
herself she slipped a shirt on, letting the cool material sooth her
weary
body and bring up long lost memories.
London 1872:
"Evie!" Angelus yelled, peering into her bedroom. Growling
under his
breath he moved across the hall to William's bedroom. "Evie!"
Panic surged through his body when he didn't get a response in there.
The
Slayer had stormed the house right after the sun had rose, killing
several
of the minions before he and Will were able to stop her. Evie
had
disappeared during the skirmish and when the dust had settled they
only
thing they could think of was the worse. He increased his search
throughout
the house, stopping only when he heard the steady sound of a heartbeat
coming from inside his bedroom. Angelus moved quietly into the
room and
looked around, the heartbeat growing louder as he got closer to the
wardrobe. Silently opening the doors he found Evie asleep wrapped
in one of
his large shirts. Her green eyes fluttered open as he reached
inside and
picked her up.
"Can I stop hiding now?" She asked him sleepily.
"Yes little one, you can."
"Did you and Will scare away the bad people?"
Angelus grinned. The Slayer and her watcher were chained up in
the cellar
waiting to be dealt with. They had come after his family, now
they'll never
do anything again. "Yes luv we did."
"Good." She smiled and snuggled into his embrace, falling back
asleep
before he reached down stairs.
Giles sighed and took off his glasses, carefully rubbing the bridge
of his
nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Now would one of you
like to repeat
that story for me please."
Willow took a deep breath. "Ok, night before last a couple of
kids decided
that it would be fun if they broke into a Vampire nest. They
ended up
taking a funky looking dagger, which at the time I thought was the
Blade of
Ages, which in the wrong hands can cause some major trouble.."
"Willow, luv."
"Sorry, I was babbling. Anyway Spike took off running after the
kid who had
the knife, only to be pinned down by a woman with a sword."
"Who just happened to be Spike's one hundred and some odd year old sister."
Xander jumped in. "Ok what kind of demon is she?"
"She's not a demon, Xander." Giles shook his head. "Immortals
are as human
as you or I, in general. They are still bound by all the laws
of nature,
with the exception of death. There have been stories about immortals
floating around for.well, as long as there have been slayers and vampires.
I take it she must have been challenged."
"Yeah, by a former Watcher. The poof and I had a hand in
his demise, as
well as his Slayer, now he's taking it out on Evie." Spike growled.
"I think that's the first time I've heard it put like that." The
group
turned to find Evie standing in the doorway, holding herself up by
the
frame.
Spike ran over to her wrapping his arm tightly around her waist.
He frowned
when he felt her shaking, and helped her into a chair.
"Does this happen every time, Sweets?" Spike asked, kneeling in
front of
her.
"What the light show or me passing out?" Evie smiled.
"Both."
"The light show happens every time. As for me passing out, no
never has
happened before. Aidan was quite a bit older than I was, more
quickenings
under his belt."
"But I'm sure you have fought older Immortals before." Giles asked
coming
to stand behind Spike.
Evie looked up at the older Englishman and raised an eyebrow.
"And you
are?"
"Oh I'm sorry, Rupert Giles." He offered his hand to Evie.
"I'm Buffy's
watcher."
Evie nodded, but didn't take the offered hand. "And yes I've faced
older
Immortals before." She sighed. "I don't know maybe it was
my emotional
connection to him, it may have been the gunshot wound. I don't
know."
She settled back into the chair, closing her eyes trying to concentrate
when
the strong familiar buzz of another Immortal shot up her spine.
Her eyes
flew open and locked gazes with her brother.
"Will, get me a sword." She commanded standing up. "Mordecai's here."
"Well I see that see that last night's little incident hasn't hindered
you.much." Mordecai stated as he strolled into the room.
Angel and Spike bolted up infront of Evie, trying to protect her.
They both
forgot there were others in the room and let their true demonic features
show both growling loudly.
"Angelus, William, it's been a long time." Mordecai rested gently
on the
walking cane. "There's no need for you to get testy, I'm just
here to pay
my respects to Evelyn. Aidan was a worthy oppoinate. I'm
just disappointed
that he didn't last longer."
Evie balled her fists and willed herself to fight the tears and rage
and
clam down. Mordecai was just trying to push her, and damn it
if he wasn't
doing a good job of it.
"He would have if were man enough to fight him yourself." She
taunted.
"But then again you never man enough to finish what you started."
Evie smirked as Mordecai's smile turned into a scowl. Spike and
Angel shot
a glance at Evie than at each other. They recognized the smirk
and tone of
voice. It was the same one Darla used to use. Darla may
not have been
around a lot while they were raising Evie but she was around enough.
She
made sure she was around when Evie was going through puberty, teaching
her
everything she knew about feminine whiles. Apparently the lessons
took.
Evie gently put a hand on Spike and Angel's arms, parting their protective
stance. She gracefully moved in front of Mordecai, the silk of
the shirt
brushing softly against her upper thighs.
"I bet you haven't even killed another immortal." She said stopping
in
front of him. "Probably pining away in some rustic monastery,"
She cocked
her head to the side letting her dark hair tumble over her shoulder.
"Maybe
even a crypt."
Evie watched with silent glee as the rage started to glow in his cold
gray
eyes. She knew that she had him, now all she had to do was break
him.
"You're no better than those monsters." Mordecai hissed at her.
Evie shrugged, locking her hands behind her back. "Maybe I'm not.
They did
raise me after all. But I have to wonder if all immortals
aren't that much
different than the demons that walk this earth." She sighed as
if she was
bored. "Tell me Mordecai, what is the difference between Immortals
and
Vampires? We both live forever, unless someone takes our head.
We both
hunt and kill in order to survive, and in some cases we enjoy it."
Evie
gave him a sadistic smile. "Did you know I was sitting on the
steps the
night my brothers killed your Slayer. I watched as they tortured
her, herd
her screams for mercy," She stepped closer to him, her warm breath
caressing
his face. "And took great pleasure in hearing her neck snap."
That was it, it was the thing that made Mordecai snap. He stepped
back
pulling a long thin sword out of his cane. Not taking a breath
before
taking a swing at Evie's head, only to find it blocked by a sword in
her
hand. Mordecai stared at her dumbfounded. How had he missed
her picking up
a sword?
With out a word Evie twisted the sword in her hand, pushing Mordecai's
blade
away. She brought it up slashing across him from hip to shoulder
and back
down again until he doubled over. His head was rolling across
the floor
before Evie realized.
Everyone else in the room was shocked into silence. Only to be
broken by
Giles yelling for everyone to take cover as he watched the blue mist
form
around Mordecai's body. The whole mansion shook as the quickening
grew and
Evie absorbed its power. When it was all over and the others
felt it was
safe to look, they found Evie kneeling on the floor, her head resting
on the
hilt of the sword, sobbing.
Spike tentatively walked over to her and crouched down next to her.
He
softly touched her shoulder. The sword fell to the floor with
a loud clang
as Evie flung her arms around his neck, holding on for dear life.
Spike sat
there and rocked her gently. He knew that everything had to have
hit her
all at once and he wished that he could make the pain go away.
After what seemed like hours Evie's crying slowed and she disentangled
herself from her brother. She stood up slowly and wiped her eyes
with the
back of her sleeve, before walking over to the still huddled group
of
people. She smiled softly at Xander as she stopped in front of
him. She
placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed him gently on the cheek.
"Thank you." Was all she said before turning to go back upstairs.
Xander smiled and watched her leave the room. Everyone was dumbfounded
by
the action. All that is except for Willow, who had seen Xander
quickly and
quietly, slip the sword into Evie's hands when they were behind her
back.
She doubted that he even knew what he was doing at the time.
"Well, that was interesting." Buffy commented dryly and shook
her head.
She made a mental note to sit down and have a really, REALLY long talk
with
Evie.
Willow shrugged and smiled. "Just another day on the Hellmouth."
"I couldn't have said it any better." Giles sighed. "I take
it you two are
going to take care of that." He indicated the decapitated body
on the
floor.
Angel nodded. "Yeah, I'll dump him somewhere."
Spike looked at his Sire and silently thanked him. "I'm going
to go check
in with Evie."
"Cool. Then I suggest that the rest of us go grab a couple of
large
pizza's, some movies and some twinkies and converge back here when
the clean
up is done. Cause personally I don't want to know what Deadboy
is going to
do with the body." Xander announced pulling his keys out of his
pocket.
"On that note I do believe I'll be heading home. Spike please
let Evie know
that when she is up to it I would like to talk with her."
Spike nodded at the watcher as he headed out the door, soon followed
by
Xander, Willow and Buffy.
"She's going to be alright you know." Angel replied quietly, placing
a hand
on Spike's shoulder.
Spike smiled. "Yeah I know. She's got her family back."
read the sequal 'Sister of Night'