Parts: 31-40
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 31~
Angel had stalked his way to the beach, half hoping to find something, some demon or vampires trying to cause chaos and mayhem to the mortals. Someone he could pummel, some way to release all these tangled emotions going through him. Buffy had a date...with some boy. How could she say that they were just perfect for each other and then go on a date with some mortal boy? It hurt, and it made him feel confused and angry.
He could sense Buffy's presence, the feel of a Slayer in the area was unmistakable. She didn't feel too close, so it was a reasonable assumption that she wouldn't notice him. He could also tell that there were lots of people, some scattered a bit into the darkness of the night. They would be easy prey... and he had to remind himself that he didn't eat humans anymore. But there would surely be others here that did.
As he moved through the darkness around the concert, he found several minions, young vampires that knew that this concert meant easy pickings, but not old enough or careful enough to not give themselves away. He dusted them without serious difficulty, feeling slightly better, but still brooding. Not only was he brooding over Buffy and her date, but minions and fledglings these days... obviously their sires didn't teach them very well. No subtlety, not even full-blown bloodshed and chaos, just....lurking like ugly vultures. Disgraceful. He was doing vampires as a whole a service by killing them.
Deciding to look closer, in the areas that were a bit less dark, he moved towards the stage. The band playing was.. enthusiastic, if only slightly talented. There was a possibility that older, smarter vampires might be lurking here. Maybe even passing themselves off as human to lure people off to eat. He would have to be watchful.
Meanwhile, Spike and Willow had continued their dancing. Willow had become a temptingly flushed pink color, and the exertion of the dancing had her heartbeat up. Spike could feel his teeth itching for just a little taste... she looked so tempting. But that wasn't the point, Willow was not a snack. He needed to regain a bit of control over himself.
"Willow, you look a bit flushed. Want me to get you a soda?" Spike made his offer, not only thinking that she might be thirsty, but thinking that it would give him a few moments to regain his control. She was almost to tempting.
She flashed him a smile, and nodded, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Yeah, something cool to drink would be great."
Smiling partly in relief, Spike nodded. "No problem. I'll just go over and pick you up something. I'll be right back, luv."
He was crossing through a dark area on his way to one of the refreshment stands when a man stepped in front of him. Spike tried to step around, having better things to do than get into a silly fight with some foolish human. "Hey, can't you tell when a bloke has other plans? I'm trying to walk though here."
The man simply gave Spike a once over look, seeing that the blond was about six inches shorter than he was, and also of a smaller build, and pulled a switchblade from his pocket. "I don't think you're going to be making it. Your plans have just been changed."
It was obvious to Spike that this mortal was trying to be difficult. Actually, the guy was trying to either rob him or just hurt him and leave him to bleed on the sand. Not really something to encourage, either way. Well, he'd told Willow he was going to go get her a drink, why not get himself one while he was off? It would help calm his temper, and might make him a bit less likely to think about biting Willow. Well, less hungry at least. "You really don't know when to back off, do you? I can deal with that. Bit thirsty, was going for a soda, but you'll do instead."
With a fanged smile, Spike reached out and grabbed the man by his throat. Wouldn't do to let him scream. Once he'd pulled the man in close, he moved his hand so that instead of the guy's throat, he held his mouth closed. He bit into the man's throat, drinking his blood in quick swallows. After a bit, he remembered his sweet Willow. Willow, who would probably be upset if he killed someone on their date. He let the man fall to the sand, unconscious. Willow was more important.
He carefully wiped his face clean before he walked up to the refreshment stand. Willow had asked for a soda, after all. Wouldn't do to be seen all bloody faced and cause a panic. It would ruin the mood of their date. On his way back, he frowned. Why did it feel like Angelus was near? What was he doing here at the beach? Best get back to make certain that Willow was safe from him.
~Part: 32~
Angel was worried. He had the oddest feeling, like someone was here that he had a blood-link to. He had one to Dru... could William be here? He was certain that if he was... Angelus had taught William a great deal about excessive violence and mayhem. It could only be trouble if William were here tonight. He found himself moving towards the feeling.
There was a figure moving through the dark, skirting the edges of the crowd. Another figure, a big man tried to block him, and pulled a knife. The small figure.. he could feel him, he was family, family through Angelus. The smaller man grabbed the man with a knife, and pulled him down, drinking from him. They had been standing in a shadowy area, no human would be able to clearly see what was happening. The vampire dropped his would be attacker to the ground, as if he were a piece of trash, and continued on, headed for.. a refreshment stand? Wasn't that a bit of an afterthought? He could see the lights gleaming on short bleached blond hair.
Angel went over intending to check the man, expecting some horrible mess in place of a throat. He could smell the blood from here, reminding him that he hadn't fed tonight. To his surprise, the would-be mugger was still alive, but unconscious. The vampire hadn't killed him. That meant he was an older vampire, old enough to have developed self-control, old enough that he was probably here with some sort of devious plot.
He watched the blond vampire get a drink, and head into the crowd. Angel decided to follow him, hoping to learn what he was doing here. The blond vampire was most likely the 'tarnished knight' that Dru had mentioned. Could it be William? Had they both come to Sunnydale? Buffy was almost forgotten with these new thoughts. To Angel's dismay, he lost the vampire that might be William in the crowd.
Now, he had plenty of things to worry about. There was Buffy and her date.. but she was the Slayer, surely she could handle some high school boy. There was Dru and her cryptic warnings... something about a dragon and his soul. She had been trying to tell him that something could remove his soul... that he would return to how he had been before, soulless, vicious, leaving destruction in his wake. He shuddered at the thought. Now, there was this other vampire, possibly William, certainly related to him somehow. This blonde vampire had the self-control not to kill when feeding, and had to have some purpose in being here.
What could he want? Did he want to kill the Slayer? It was generally considered an impressive feat in demon circles... Was he seeking some mystical relic? There had already been several found in the area, it wouldn't be unreasonable to think there might be others. If he were after a relic, what would it do? Or there was the other traditional plan, to open the hellmouth or start the apocalypse. He would simply have to lurk around and try to find out what this vampire was planning, and how to stop it..
He'd best stay here, in the beach area, so that he could try to get some idea what this vampire was planning to do. Perhaps he could get a better look at him, maybe gather some idea who he was. So, Angel settled into one of his better skills, lurking.
Eventually, the concert came to a close. Considering the questionable talent of some of the musicians, this was a good thing in Angel's book. The assorted people were beginning to disperse, returning to their vehicles, or in some cases just walking away into the darkness. He caught a glimpse of Buffy, walking arm in arm with a boy, perhaps her own age, apparently talking about something, laughing and smiling. He felt another flow of pain go through him.
He felt the other approaching, the vampire of his bloodline. Looking around, he saw the blond man. He was also walking arm in arm with someone, a lovely redhead in a pale dress. She looked as if she had enjoyed the evening, and was holding the vampires arm with one hand, gesturing in accompaniment to her words with the other. There was something about her that seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place her. They were moving towards the parking area.
Perhaps this blond vampire had decided to pick up a mortal girl for the evening. It was something he'd done as Angelus. Find a pretty girl, flirt with her, take her out for a nice evening with dinner, flowers... lure her off and drain her, occasionally more. He didn't think that would be a good thing to let happen to this half familiar redhead. He started towards the pair, intent on preventing whatever plans this vampire had from taking place. Unfortunately, there were enough people moving towards cars that he couldn't get to them in time.
The black car that the vampire was driving pulled away, taillights glowing in the darkness like the eyes of some huge beast. All he could do was watch it go, hoping... Hoping that the worst the girl would suffer was some fear and panic before the life was drained from her by something out of her nightmares.
There were times that he really hated this town. There were also times that he envied his soulless brethren. He could remember the taste of fresh blood, the feeling of power it gave to hold someone's life in your hand. Of course, he also had to suffer the guilt of his conscience about every life he'd taken, every pain he'd inflicted. It had been much easier being evil and soulless. Meals had tasted better as well.. but it would be wrong to kill people simply because it tasted better. That was why when he returned to his apartment, his dinner would be some cold blood, purchased from a local butcher. Blood that had once kept life in a cow, blood filled with the dull passions of grass, and while it would sustain him, it was hardly a gourmet meal.
~Part: 33~
Willow was delighted with how her date with Spike had gone. They had gone to the concert, and he'd told her that she looked pretty, well, he'd actually said she looked marvelous. They'd danced, and she'd had a wonderful time. He'd been so nice that she could hardly believe that he was really a vampire, although she'd caught a glimpse of the rear view mirror when he'd dropped her off, and he hadn't been in it, so he definitely was a vampire, just one with an unexpectedly sweet side. She'd been so happy with how things had gone.
They'd made some plans, and instead of the poetry reading on Tuesday, they were planning to go catch a movie. He'd mentioned this historical movie that was coming out, well, probably not very accurately historical, but Willow loved period movies with their costumes and settings. Spike was taking her to a movie. Willow found herself grinning from the whole idea... she had a date..with Spike.
She spent the night dreaming about Spike, and their date last night. They were very pleasant dreams, although a great many of them took what had actually happened and.. hmm.. changed the end of the evening. Sometimes there was dancing.. dinner at fancy restaurants... or some breath taking naughty passionate things that would certainly have to get an NC 17 rating if she attempted to explain them. Wow.. she would simply say that she'd imagined him without anything on, and she was sure he'd look very good that way.
Saturday morning, she got dressed and went to the library to help Giles try to find more information on the possible threat to Angel's soul. Considering the things that she'd read in the book about Angelus, she definitely didn't want his soul to vanish. Sounded like they would be there for quite a while, so she stopped to pick up some muffins for breakfast, and some coffee for herself and Miss Calander. She walked into the library, finding Giles bent over a book, muttering something under his breath. Miss Calander was looking at some papers, possibly a computer print out.
"Hey, good morning you two. I have muffins and coffee, well, Giles probably wants his tea, but I got coffee for Miss Calander and me. So, where do you want me to start looking?" Willow was very cheerful, and her voice showed it.
Giles looked up at her, his glasses having slid down his nose a bit. "Ahh, perhaps you could see if Jenny has an English translation? She has managed to get a hold of a copy of the curse that was used on Angelus, so if we actually look at the text..."
Jenny looked up, a slightly distracted smile on her face. "You have coffee? Willow, you are wonderful." She held one hand out, a clear hint to give her coffee now.
Willow giggled as she gave Miss Calander a coffee, and put the box of muffins on the table, in a place that everyone could reach them. She accepted a small sheaf of papers in return, and sat down with her own cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin to look at them. She looked at the first page; seeing that it was a partial translation of some files... this was information about the curse on Angel's soul.
Her whispered exclamation of 'ohh...wow.' was let pass, partly because Giles and Jenny had experienced similar thoughts when they had seen the files. Willow flipped through, trying to get an idea what exactly she had in her hands. Commentary about the ritual, details on the astrological alignment at the time it was cast... even a few notes about the spell, although the actual spell wasn't translated.
This was certainly enough to start working. She could at the least determine if there was something in the star patterns that was important, or if that had merely been coincidental. Willow could also look into the ritual, and determine exactly how much they would need if it came down to an emergency re-souling. She began a page of notes about just that, still in a good mood from the evening before.
"So, what did you do last night, Willow?" It was Miss Calander who asked, her tone lightly teasing, a smile on her features.
Willow could feel herself blushing. "I.. umm I had a date. We went to the concert on the beach. The music was... okay, but my date was wonderful." She was smiling at her memories of the evening before.
" A date? Really? Whom did you have a date with?" Giles' voice was curious, also slightly concerned. He was the closest thing that many of the scoobies had to a parent.
Willow could feel herself blushing again. She studied her coffee cup with interest; half hoping that Giles wouldn't really want to know. Unfortunately, she knew that he did want to know. "His name is Spike, and he's new in the area. I did a little investigation, so there will be no rude 'he's a demon' surprises. He's originally from London, and he's surprisingly sweet."
Willow didn't add that that was because she already knew that he was a demon and exactly what type. She didn't think that would go over very well. They would assume that since she had said there would be no demon surprise that her Spike was human. Her Spike... she liked that thought.
~Part: 34~
"Surprisingly sweet, and British. Well, I suppose that's a start." Giles muttered the words under his breath as he turned back to the books in front of him.
Willow grinned; he sounded so much like an overprotective father just then. She had the oddest impression that Giles wasn't certain this person calling himself Spike would be 'good enough' to date Willow. The idea that she had a parental figure was just.. oddly delightful. It was very good to know that there was an adult that cared, that worried about her safety.
They had been researching for several hours when Buffy breezed in, allegedly for training and weapons practice. Buffy had a dreamy expression on her face, one that said she wasn't thinking about slaying, or anything about demons or dangers. She gave a little wave hello, and asked what they were looking at.
Willow was surprised by Giles' answer. He looked up, pushing his glasses up his nose, and closed his book, placing a scrap of paper inside as a marker. "Just.. a little research into a prophecy. With a bit of luck, it will come to nothing. Now, I believe we had figured swords this week?"
Giles had deliberately not told Buffy that there was a possible threat to Angel's soul. He had chosen to hide it from her. Why would he do that? Willow chewed on her lip as she considered, trying to understand Giles' reasoning. Buffy did have a bit of a tendency to charge into situations without getting all the information. Maybe Giles was afraid Buffy would go off, trying to save Angel by keeping him with her all the time?
Wait... Dru had said that Buffy was the dragon. That meant that Buffy was somehow the danger to Angel's soul. How could Buffy make his soul leave? Seeing that Giles and Buffy were both safely occupied with sword practice, Willow turned to the section that contained notes about the curse. If Buffy was a danger to Angel's soul, was it because they were close, or because she was the Slayer? Was it something that could happen because they had that thing going on?
She found a note, that Angelus had been cursed to 'unending pain. Let his soul be as a curse to him'... 'suffer for all time with guilt and despair'. Eesh, note to self, do not piss off gypsy clans. What happens if he isn't miserable and despairing? She searched the notes, hoping to find an answer about that. Having no luck, she turned to Jenny.
"Miss Calander! Have you found anything... I have a question. It says here unending misery and despair..what happens if it does end? I mean..what if he's happy? Does that break the spell, like Prince Charming kissing Sleeping Beauty awake?" She had kept her words quiet, but the intensity of her concern was still easily apparent.
Miss Calander looked about to answer, then frowned. "I'm not sure. If that were the case, it would be.. very impractical, as well as very dangerous. I have a program that should be able to translate the actual spell, so that we have the exact wording, but I seem to recall the phrase 'unending torment and despair' being repeated a few times."
Willow was thoughtful. Miss Calander wasn't telling her everything she knew. But..what could she possibly be hiding about the curse, and why? How could it be better to hide what she knew, and possibly run the risk of the curse being broken? Hmm maybe she could ask Dru if she saw her again?
Eventually, Buffy finished her weapons practice, and She and Giles started talking about how Buffy's patrol's had gone, discussing what areas she might need to spend more time patrolling, and what things she might need more practice with. Willow picked up the papers that Miss Calander had given her, tucking them under her own books, and left the library, saying that she would just go home and keep working on her 'history project', and thanking Giles and Miss Calander for pointing her in the right direction.
She went home, sitting on the back porch for the fresh air, trying to find anything useful in the notes. Eventually, after taking some notes of her own, she put them aside and started her new favorite activity, daydreaming about Spike. She spent several hours sitting under the blue sky, remembering their date last night. They had danced, and he'd brought her a drink, and he'd been just wonderful. Not once had he given any indication of concern about where the Slayer was, or anything else besides spending time with her. She just might have found someone that actually wanted her for herself.
She was actually in a good mood that evening. She smiled, thinking back to dancing with Spike, and watched the sunset paint the sky red and purple. The colors faded as the stars came out, and she felt very peaceful.
"Watching the stars again, little Tree?" She heard the voice, slightly accented, before she saw Dru.
Turning slightly, she waved. "Hey there. They're very clear tonight. You can see Orion, and the Pleiades, and those over there.. So, how's things been for you?"
Dru sat down beside her, pouting slightly. "I talked to my angel, but he was all worried about the taffy girl, and he went away to talk to the big owl. I didn't understand why he would do that..the owl didn't warn him about the dragon, I did. Did you have fun with Spikey?"
Willow found herself smiling at Dru's words. The big owl..that had to be Giles. She knew that Buffy was the taffy girl and the dragon... Spikey? She couldn't quite ..well, actually, she could picture Dru calling him that. "We went to a concert. It was actually the same one that Buffy went to, but Buffy was much closer to the stage, since she and her date showed up earlier, like when it was still daytime. Spike and I danced...." Her words trailed off, and she smiled in remembrance.
Suddenly, she remembered her efforts this afternoon in the library. She jumped up, hurrying over to the papers she had brought out with her. "Oh! I had something I wanted to ask you about. You warned Angel about his soul, and he talked to Giles, and Giles asked Miss Calander, and they've found some information, but a lot of it isn't in English, so I only had part of it here with me. I was wondering if maybe you could help me figure any of this out. We don't want Angel to loose his soul."
She held out the papers to Dru. Dru took them, flipping through the pages, swaying slightly and humming something that sounded vaguely familiar, like an old half forgotten nursery rhyme. "Naughty old gypsy woman..she took my daddy away, left us with only mean mummy... Mummy wasn't good to us anymore, we had to run away from her."
Suddenly, she stopped, staring at one of the pages. Her face changed, and she hissed at the paper, her eyes golden, and with sharp fangs. "Bad old witch! How naughty of her! She wanted daddy to suffer, so she made the spell fragile, it would break... burned away in the heat and fires... drowned in locks of gold. She is very bad, and I would go punish her..." Dru's brow wrinkled, as if she were trying to recall something. "Oh, she would already be dead. She was old then... hmph. Why would she make the spell fragile so it would break? He wouldn't be any fun if it broke, he would be mad with impatience and hunger... nasty dead cows blood, eeuuuwww."
She looked at Willow, her eyes still golden, her face still clearly the face of a vampire. "We must find a way to prevent this from happening. He wouldn't be my old daddy; he would be a very bad daddy. He would hurt me and Spikey, hurt everyone very badly."
Willow reached out, patting Dru's hand soothingly. "Of course I want to help. It sounds like it would be a very scary thing for the spell to break. But, umm Dru? If they made it all fragile, maybe.. umm could we find or make another spell? One to make sure his soul stays, even if the gypsy curse fails?"
Dru made a little 'oh' of surprise, and then smiling, she flung her arms around Willow, giving her a big hug. The papers fell to the ground around them, like early leaves. "What a splendid idea! I shall have to see if I can find something to help with that! You are such a clever one."
Dru was still smiling as she left, humming a little tune, her fingers tracing patterns in the air. Willow watched her go, thinking that she seemed quite nice. Her ribs felt just a bit sore; Dru had hugged her very tightly. She picked up the papers, still smiling. She had a new friend in the dark haired vampiress, and she had her new.. something with Spike. Yes, life was looking up for her.
~Part: 35~
While Willow was having her chat with Dru, Angel had stopped in at the school, hoping that there had been some progress looking for information on his curse. While he could admit to himself that things had certainly been easier for him soulless, it would not be safe for the mortals he had come to know. They would most likely end up tormented and killed, something very likely in Xander's case, or turned and made part of his family. He actually had a great deal of respect for Giles and his abilities; the man would probably end up a childe if he ever lost his soul. Somehow, he didn't think Giles would take it as a compliment if he learned that little fact.
He walked into the library, noticing that Willow wasn't at the computer. Instead, there was a dark haired woman. In the shadows of the library, she had a startling resemblance to poor Rosa Kalderash; the gypsy that he had killed many years ago, the victim that had drawn the wrath of the sorcerers clan of gypsies upon him, resulting in his soul. Surely that was no more than a coincidence, or his guilty conscience working overtime? He could hear her and Giles talking, speculating on how much time Willow would have for research in the future.
"Why wouldn't Willow be available to research? Is there something going on that I should know about?" His voice carried well, and the woman jumped, the faint scent of her fear drifting towards him. He could also hear a dull thud from the stacks; apparently Giles had dropped a book.
Jenny looked at him, her eyes startled and nervous. Then, after a few deep breaths to calm herself, she answered. "Willow had a date last night. It seems that someone has finally noticed her. She said he's from London originally, and calls himself Spike. Blue eyes, bleached blond hair. We asked her a few things, wanting to make certain.. Well, we don't want another Moloch."
Giles came out, his voice concerned. "Yes, Willow is... dating someone called Spike, I do hope that's simply a nick-name. Of greater concern is the fact that while we have a copy of the spell used, we need to get it translated."
After smiling fondly at Giles, Jenny continued. "There were some other files.. It was sent to me on the computer. We have the astrological alignment, and a description of the ritual. There were also some notes about the phrasing, but... I'm running a translation program to try to decipher it."
Looking very worried, she chose a paper from a scattering of them on the table, and held it out to Angel. "There might be a loophole. I'm not certain, but there are notes about the phrase 'unending torment' and something about despair and suffering. Willow asked what happened if your suffering ever ended. I couldn't answer her. I'm hoping that there wouldn't be an effect on the spell. Unfortunately, I can't be certain, which is why the translation program."
Angel nodded, considering her words. Unending pain and despair, she'd said. That was one way to summarize his souled existence. Could the gypsies have been foolish enough to put something like that in the spell? Something as simple as happiness could cause his soul to leave? He had a moment's desperate hope that they hadn't. What sort of sense would there be in that? Surely they had realized that if he lost the soul, he would be just as bad if not worse than when he'd tortured and killed Rosa?
There was something else nagging at his mind. Willow had a boyfriend? From London, with blue eyes...and bleached blond hair? Could that vampire that he'd sensed and tried to follow be this Spike person? Could Willow be seeing a vampire? Surely she wouldn't do that deliberately, she had to know how dangerous that would be. Maybe he'd better make certain that she wasn't. It suddenly hit him. The half familiar redhead in the pale dress - that had been Willow Rosenberg. It seemed that her boyfriend had been keeping dangerous secrets from her.
Buffy depended on Willow... more than that, Willow was the only person that hadn't made him feel like some sort of freak because he was a vampire. She had never flung it in his face that he couldn't do so many of the things that mortals could, had never mocked him about his condition. She had given him acceptance, treated him as a friend. He had no idea what he would do if there weren't one person that treated him like a real person.
If that blond vampire had hurt her, he would pay and pay dearly. Willow was too special to let her vanish, becoming yet another Sunnydale fatality. She was one of a kind, in all his years, living or dead, he had never met anyone else half as accepting as Willow.
A little corner of his mind was pondering the memory of Willow and the blond vampire. He hadn't looked like he was hurting her. She had looked like she was enjoying herself. Willow was kind and generous and accepting... could she be accepting enough to have a vampire boyfriend? The blond had possessed enough control not to kill the man with the knife, had he also realized how special Willow was? He found himself feeling oddly jealous. It wasn't that he wanted Willow for himself, although he had noticed that she was a lovely young woman. He wanted someone that could accept him as he was, vampire and soul.
~Part: 36~
Eventually, Tuesday rolled around. There had been school, which she must have gone to, someone would have asked about it otherwise. She had been searching though the papers on the gypsy curse, and hunting the Internet for something, anything that might be a help in trying to find a new and more secure way to bind Angel's soul to his body. She hadn't been getting nearly enough sleep.
The small alarm in her watch went off, and Willow jumped, slightly startled. She had programmed it so that she would be able to remember to go meet Spike at the Espresso Pump, and from there go to the movie. It would be good for her to go and spend time with a sexy guy that was interested in her. There would be no discussion of hunting demons, or soul curses. Just some talk about the movie, and maybe a few other light topics.
She made her way to the Espresso Pump, and got herself a cup of coffee, finding a small table to sit at. Drinking her coffee, she tried to find the energy to enjoy her time with Spike. He was welcome company, and she would hate for him to think she wasn't enjoying time with him simply because she was too tired. Hence the coffee, in hopes that between the caffeine and sugar, she could manage to have enough energy to be good company, even if only for a while.
Spike sauntered in, by now knowing to look for Willow at one of the little tables on the fringes of the area. He spotted her red hair, and made his way over to her. It was then that he noticed how she looked. Her skin was pale, not the luminous pale that it had been, but a more waxy pale, with dark circles under her eyes. She was holding a coffee mug in her hands, and raised it as if to drink, tipped it up until it was almost upside down. When nothing came out, she looked into it, frowning slightly in puzzlement. She looked exhausted.
"Evening Willow. You look a bit tired." He hoped it wasn't anything he'd done.
She looked up at him, slightly startled. "Spike! I didn't notice you come in. Umm tired? And did I say hello?"
He sat down, taking one of her hands in his. It felt like a delicate bird, slender and graceful and fragile, still warm from the coffee mug. She was smiling at him, her expression one of welcome and happiness at seeing him. Would she still smile so cheerfully at him if she knew the truth?
"So... shall I take it you've been studying hard lately? Big test coming up or something?"
Willow's smile faltered a bit. "Not quite. I mean, yes, I've been studying and researching, but not for school. There's a... how do I put this? Umm somebody that's a sorta friend just found out that he may have this really dreadful thing to worry about, kind of a mental health thing... I've been trying to help find a way to see if its actually a risk. Not to forget the whole try to find some way to make sure everything doesn't fall apart into big nasty pieces... I guess I've been going a bit short on sleep."
He winced, remembering that if Dru had gone to warn Angel, he surely would have tried to find out what the whole dragon thing meant, some way to stop it. Naturally, Willow would be drafted to help look into that, considering that she was actually friends with the slayer. She was trying to find a way to help Angel.. a sorta friend. No wonder she looked exhausted.
"Willow, luv, you look tired. Bet you wouldn't be able to pay a lot of attention to the movie anyhow. Would you like to take a walk instead? We could go out, have some fresh air.. promise not to take advantage of you while you're tired." He tried to make his words sound friendly, to set her at ease.
She sat up a little straighter, looking thoughtful. "A walk.. outside. Fresh air, no movie... yeah. Sounds good. Keep me safe from dangerous ... um.. wild animals?"
Spike grinned at her, feeling this unsettling light feeling bubble up inside him. "Of course I'll keep you safe, Willow. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you." He leaned over the table, whispering in a low tone. "Y'see, I've taken a bit of a fancy to you. Wouldn't do to let some wild animal have you when I'd rather have you instead."
Her eyes widened, and she let out a soft 'ohh' in response to his words, blushing in response to his words. She then smiled, and her face lit up like the sunrise lights up the sky after night, and stood up, offering him herarm. They walked out of the coffee shop into the night air, leaving the murmur of voices and clinking of cups behind in exchange for crickets, night birds, cars in the distance.
She held his arm, content to wander wherever he chose to go. They walked, enjoying each other's company and the quiet night air. While they walked, there were little comments and observations about the weather, the noises, various other things that had no deeper meaning. It was enough for them to be spending the time together. Willow had kept her hand on Spike's arm, enjoying his company. Spike felt as if the whole walk was a blissful dream.
Unfortunately, all dreams come to an end, and this pleasant interlude was not to be an exception. Spike and Willow had meandered into a park, and they were walking around the small pond when he sensed Angelus drawing near. He glanced around, fairly certain that Willow wouldn't know what he was looking for, and saw a silhouette across the park. He could tell that it was Angelus. Not only that, but the older vampire was headed this way.
Damn.
~Part: 37~
Angel had been out, patrolling. He'd been mostly brooding about things, if he wanted to be honest with himself. Brooding about Buffy, and how she had just gone out with the boy from her school, how she had just seemed to forget about him when someone else showed interest. He couldn't understand how she could go from wildly jealous and possessive to attending a concert with someone else.
He wasn't going to put up with that. He wouldn't be her guilty secret, the secret boyfriend that she only saw at night, only when nobody was looking. He wouldn't be her pet vampire, to help her fight demons, share kisses, and then leave behind to spend time in the sun with some mortal boy. If she couldn't let him be enough for her, why should he waste his time trying to make her happy? Why set himself up for that sort of pain?
He had found some minions, and killed them, considering it a simple part of protecting the people of Sunnydale. The minions weren't bright enough to be anything but a danger. Not like the blonde at the concert had been. The blonde that had felt like family... He wanted to know what the motive was for him. Why was the blonde in Sunnydale? What could he possibly hope to gain?
He let himself wander, not concerned with where his feet took him. He'd half expected to end up in one of the many cemeteries, and then he would have searched for late risers. Or maybe he would have been near the Bronze, and he would have ended up brooding on the fact that he wasn't human. Instead, he found himself in a park, and he could feel the nearness of someone of his blood, vibrating inside him like a harp-string. Looking around, he tried to determine where the feeling was coming from.
Over there, by the pond. There was a couple walking, a man with pale hair and a woman with darker hair. He blinked, and tried to focus on the people instead of his thoughts. The man.. he could feel him, it was the blonde vampire from the beach. Which meant.. could the woman be Willow? He'd best go over and make certain that she was safe.
He started towards the pair, intent on finding out what was going on. Why was this vampire walking with Willow? If he was just planning on hurting her.... Well, if he planned to hurt Willow, Angel would just have to rip his arms of and beat him with them. That would put a stop to any ideas of hurting Willow.
He had closed half the distance when it occurred to him that this blonde vampire might not be planning to hurt Willow. He might have realized that she was someone special. Angel had no idea what to do then. That made him frown, which only intensified as he realized that the blonde had stepped in front of Willow, effectively placing himself between Angel and Willow. Almost as if he were trying to keep her safe from Angel....
This was surprising enough, but things only felt weirder for Angel when he got a good look at the other vampire. He'd cut his hair short and bleached it blonde, but it was unmistakably William. Hadn't William been entirely besotted with Dru? Why then was he walking with Willow? Why was Dru meandering around Sunnydale, apparently completely content with this?
He wanted answers, and staring at the people in front of him wouldn't produce them. He could see Willow, peeking around William's arm, her face curious, but showing signs of exhaustion. She gave every evidence of being here under her own free will. William was standing there, having placed himself between Angel and Willow, looking at him with an unreadable expression.
When Angel spoke, his voice was almost a purr, and the traces of his accent had grown a bit more noticeable. "Hello William. It's been quite a while, hasn't it? What brings you here, to Sunnydale?"
He noticed that William tensed with his words. Not only that, but he had reached out slightly, as if to suggest Willow stay behind him. His expression had also changed slightly, now looking cold instead of neutral. It was as if he were refusing to believe that Angel would have any good interest in him or his activities, a guarded and unwelcoming expression.
That hurt as well. Unfortunately, he understood how William could have gotten that impression. After the gypsies had cursed him, he had run away, abandoning his family. He had felt so horribly guilt-ridden.. he couldn't imagine that any of them would have taken him in, would have wanted to see him after that dreadful curse. He had abandoned his family, and now he was looking into the eyes of... well, for lack of a more appropriate comparison, looking into the eyes of the son he had abandoned decades ago. The childe that he'd abandoned, and demanding to know what he was doing.. what he was planning. Small wonder William was looking at him like that.
Finally, after long moments of staring at each other, William relented enough to speak. "I suppose it has been a while. You could have seen me more recently, except for that whole abandoning everyone and disappearing thing you pulled. I had reasons for coming here. They didn't involve you."
Angel frowned, feeling as if he had no idea what William was thinking. It was clear to him that in the decades since they'd last seen each other, William had changed a great deal, developing a degree of restraint and self control that hadn't been there before. He knew how the William from many years ago would have reacted, but he didn't know how the William of now would react. "Maybe I should ask exactly what you intend to do to Willow? She's a nice girl, and she doesn't need you playing games with her."
There was a muffled sound of annoyance or unhappiness from Willow, and William glared at Angel, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I said my being here didn't involve you. Didn't think Willow was your concern either. Seems like I can't have a nice evening with her without somebody trying to ruin the occasion."
Angel glared at William, trying to predict how the younger vampire would react. "I don't think I like you being involved with Willow. I don't recall you being the most careful of individuals. Besides, what about Dru?"
William glared at Angel, his expression outraged. His voice was louder, angry and nearly shouting. "I'm not involved with Dru anymore! Not like that! Besides, you have no bloody idea how I am anymore, you left years ago and never looked back. It isn't your business anymore!"
"Of course it's my business, and I want you to stay away from Willow!" Angel was pretty much shouting himself, a small corner of his mind tying to figure out how he'd ended up shouting at his childe. He'd forgotten one little thing in the course of yelling at his relative.
Willow stepped out from behind William, her eyes glaring and bright. "Angel, shut up. You aren't my father, you can't tell me who I can and can't spend my time with. You don't need to be here, yelling at my.. at my Spike because you're upset that Buffy went out with Scott. That isn't my problem, I didn't make her do it, and you didn't make her do it either, so get over that! You brooding doesn't mean that I shouldn't be able to have a nice evening out!"
Angel looked at her, her eyes bright with anger..and was that a hint of tears? She did have a point, Buffy had gone out with Scott of her own free will. He wasn't her father, he didn't have to approve of her dates, although it could be worse, she could have been out walking with Xander... She was furious with him, and he could see her point. But, she couldn't know, even Willow wouldn't deliberately go out with a vampire, would she?
"Willow, you don't understand. He's... Spike, you said he was calling himself Spike now? Spike isn't exactly a safe person for you to be seeing. He's..." Angel's efforts to explain were cut off by Willow's own angry words.
"This is where you try to protect me from myself, right? Because I couldn't know what's going on? I know enough. He likes me, Angel. You have no idea how long I've wanted someone to want me, to see me. I'm not sure where things are going with us, but I intend to find out. It's sweet of you to worry, but.. I can handle this." Her words had gone from angry to simply tired, as if her anger had exhausted her. However, her face was resolved through the whole thing, from angry and resolved, shifting to resolved but tired, telling Angel that she considered this to be serious.
She placed her hand on William's.. no, Spike's arm, and murmured, " I think I want to go home now."
With that, the two of them left. Angel watched, feeling as if things had shifted somehow, as if the rules had been changed on him. Willow and.. Spike? He wouldn't be able to convince her to change her mind on this. She would only change her mind if she decided that Spike was too dangerous. Now what could he do?
~Part: 38~
Willow placed her hand on Spike's arm, and murmured, " I think I want to go home now."
She had been tired before, although spending time with Spike had been very nice. Then, Angel had showed up, and acted all "grrr" and protective. In a way, it was a bit sweet; since Lord knew her parents didn't care. However, it was also extremely frustrating. Nobody had wanted her for so long... now, Angel expected her to get all upset and back away simply because the only person that wanted her happened to be dead? Well, he didn't know that she knew that, Spike didn't even know that she knew that, but still.
Clearly, if he expected something like that to freak her out, he hadn't been paying very much attention to how she reacted. Okay, maybe she did generally get afraid when a vampire showed up, but that was generally because they were trying to hurt or kill her, not because they were a bit different. She'd never held the fact that he was a vampire against Angel, why should she hold it against Spike?
"I guess this evening isn't going very well. I think he was trying to be protective, although I'm not sure why he picked now to start worrying about me." She glanced at Spike, hoping that he still wanted to see her again; despite the problem Angel seemed to have with the idea.
He smiled at her reassuringly, his eyes sliding briefly past her face to rest for a moment on her neck before returning to her face. He still held her hand as they walked. "He's... I guess you could say he's family, at least technically. The thing is, there was.. something very drastic happened, everything changed all of a sudden, and he was gone. I... nobody knew where he'd gone, or what had happened to him. The thing is, he would remember me the way I was then, not how I am now. I wasn't a very nice bloke then, a bit uncontrolled and impulsive. Ahh, who am I kidding? I'm still impulsive; I'm just not as much trouble as I used to be. He's afraid I'm gonna hurt you. If I was the same as I was then, he might have been right, but... oh, bloody hell, Willow, I've picked up your babbling. It sounds a lot cuter from you."
She smiled, feeling herself blushing as he said her babbling was cute - it did mean he thought it was cute if he said it was cuter from her, right? Leaning her head against his arm, she spoke again, her words slightly blurred with exhaustion. "Everyone changes I guess. If I'm not the same as I was two years ago, why should you be the same person that you were a few years ago, or however many it was. Ummm what is the deal with you and Dru anyhow? I mean, Angel said you'd been involved, or thought you still were or something.. umm...."
Spike chuckled, and Willow could feel the vibration through his shoulder. "Dru and I..we used to be involved. I thought the world of her once upon a time. But, he left, and we moved away from where we'd been, and then..things just sort of changed. Woke up one day and realized that while I still ... cared about her, I wasn't in love with her anymore. I didn't want her to get hurt, but she wasn't my world anymore, if that makes any sense."
Willow nodded, her thoughts going off in strange directions. "You still care what happens to her, and you still want her safe and happy, but you aren't.. aren't a couple anymore, right? At least, I think that's what you were meaning.. Where did you move to? Is that when you left London?"
He chuckled, "Yeah, that's when we left the area. We went to Venice as a start... traveled around a lot. I think she's got a thing for Ang... that is, Angel back there."
After a bit longer, they suddenly stopped talking, and Willow blinked, her mind feeling fuzzy. Why had they stopped? There had to be a reason... She looked around, trying to figure out where they were. "Oh.. we're at my house."
She walked slowly towards the front door, fishing in her pocket for the keys to the house. She could feel Spike behind her, a cool presence. Finally, she found them, and unlocked the door. Then, she turned to face Spike, standing half in the house, half on the step.
"I think I had a nice evening... I'd like to get together again, hopefully when I'm less tired. Maybe we can catch that movie?" She watched his face, seeing the play of shadows and a hint of moonlight. She was feeling hopeful.
He leaned over, kissing her on the lips. It was slow and sweet, a caress of lips and a hint of tongue, and it left Willow feeling fluttery inside. "Probably best if I call it a night, sweet. Otherwise, I might find myself taking advantage of you. You're too much of a marvel to just take advantage of, though. You're a gem, and I wanted to thank you for seeing someone worth your time when you look at me. After all, most people don't."
She could feel herself blushing again. "That's.. wow, nobody's ever called me a gem before. Nobody's ever thanked me for trying to look past the surface of them either... You're quite welcome, you know." She looked at him, her eyes wide and intent, a small smile on her lips.
A small corner of her mind was worrying. She had just told him he was welcome.. had just given him an invitation into her home. There would be no supernatural barrier preventing him from coming into her home now. If she had misjudged him, she had essentially just handed herself over to him. She was certain that he wasn't here to hurt her. There was a feeling, deep inside from somewhere beyond her insecurities that told her he would not hurt her. She just hoped that that feeling was right.
She leaned forward, and gave him a kiss. It was a bit hesitant, not as confident as his kiss to her. "Goodnight, Spike."
Willow went into her house, her mind still dwelling on the two kisses they had shared. That night, she slept deeply, exhausted and dreaming of Spike.
~Part: 39~
Spike was stunned. Not only had she yelled at Angelus, although she'd called him Angel, which had actually been quite a treat to be witness to, but she'd invited him into her house! Maybe she hadn't actually...well, she probably hadn't intended to, but he could feel it. She'd been on the thresh-hold, and said he was welcome. The barrier against his entry had dropped; he was free to enter her home. That was something very promising. There were all sorts of things he could do now, ranging from the harmless of following her in after a movie to leaving her presents to the downright naughty of slipping in and ravishing her.
He spent quite a while having an interesting fantasy of doing just that when it occurred to him that not only had she liked it and kissed back when he'd kissed her, she'd then kissed him afterwards. Maybe a bit restrained, definitely a bit shy, but SHE had kissed HIM. That had to be an encouraging sign. She liked him. He felt downright giddy. Things were definitely looking promising..except for Angelus, or Angel, or whatever he was calling himself now.
Dru was searching though some of her old books, clearly looking with a purpose instead of leafing through from boredom. She was muttering something about nasty gypsy hags and stupid spells. There was a notebook beside her, and she'd apparently written a few pages of things in it, although with Dru, he could never be certain if she was copying passages, taking notes, or writing down a song that she heard in the stars, or possibly all three.
She looked up at him, smiling at his arrival. "Hello Spikey. Did you have a nice time with the little tree? You're all smiley."
Spike grinned at Dru, in much to good a mood to object to her calling him Spikey. Normally, it annoyed him a lot, which might have been the whole point of it, but tonight, everything was much to good to let a petty annoyance like that ruin his good mood.
"Dru, everything is great tonight. I met with Willow..we didn't go to a movie, but we had a nice walk. Almost got ugly though... Angelus showed up, didn't think I should be dating Willow. He thinks I'm not good for her." He found himself scowling at the memory those words.
"Spike, he isn't the same daddy that we lost to the gypsies. He's all swirly colors now.. they gave him a soul, all heavy and swirling and guilty. Nasty gypsy had made the spell all fragile though. I would say that she could have no tea, but she's dead already. He's our not-daddy now, my angel. He wants the little tree to be safe." She had stood up, and was swaying slightly, one hand moving as if keeping time to music only she could hear.
"My red didn't like him telling her she shouldn't see me. She yelled at him good and proper, she did. Told him he wasn't her father, couldn't tell her who she could go out with. Told him that his brooding over the Slayer having a date didn't give him the right to ruin hers. Oh, it was a glorious sight, Dru. You should have seen her; all bright eyes and fiery hair." Remembering Willow's reaction, he smiled. The stunned look that had been on Angel's face...
Dru giggled. "Oh.. I bet she did! She's all unexpected fire and wisdom... such a brilliant person! She's a weeping tree, firm to keep those around her safe, and all bright shining fire, power and mischief just waiting. Be careful when you play with fairies, they don't use the same rules.. you won't know what to expect from her. Maybe you'll dream his face, and I can watch your dreams? See the fire fairy yell at my angel?"
Spike looked at her, absolutely positive that Dru had said something important, hidden in all those words. Dru was like a riddle, only nobody could figure out the answer. Maybe there was no answer to Dru, maybe you just had to accept her and watch, trying to figure out the pieces as things happened.
"Right... so, why the books? Trying to find something in particular? Vampire sunblock perhaps?" He had to ask. Decades with this lovely madwoman and he still hadn't learned.
Dru giggled, prying open one of the boxes of all the assorted trinkets and mystical objects that she'd found over the decades. "No, silly. Why look for a recipe for silly lotion that smells like coconuts when all you need is the right magic ring? The little tree suggested it. Since the nasty gypsy made a fragile spell, we just have to make a new one. A spell that won't break, one that will keep the dragon from eating up my angel's soul."
Searching through the box, he could practically hear the puzzled frown with her next words. "Spikey, where did we put that Egyptian stuff? There was a lovely vase for insides, and some amulets carved up like little beetles... Do you remember what I did with it?"
"Yeah, Dru. You put the amulets in the fish-tank, poured a bit of water over them and told them to swim free. Then, you put some flowers in the urn and complained that they were dead. It's sitting in the corner, with all those dolls in the frilly dresses tied up in front of it. Probably noting left of the flowers but thorns now." He had no idea why she would want those amulets. They'd been in a tray of stuff for sale from some grubby street vendor in Cairo, and she'd insisted that she had to get them, something about them having pretty sparkles and very old songs, whatever that had meant.
She pushed herself back out of the box and darted off towards her dolls, making a few little happy noises as she went. She had also found another bag of those little chocolates somewhere. He could hear her talking about tea and cakes... Apparently one of the dolls had been very naughty.
That reminded him... it might be nice to get some chocolates for his Willow. Surely she would like them, after all, what mortal girl didn't? Maybe a few flowers? Something all bright and cheerful, like she was. Yeah, some bright little flowers, all different colors, and a thing of chocolate.
~Part: 40~
Angel was trying to figure out what to do. Willow was dating Spike, and Spike was William. Willow had gotten involved with a vampire, one of his childer, who had been deliberately taught to be aggressive and ruthless, to show no mercy. William had become everything that Angelus had wanted in a childe. How could he possibly warn Willow about her danger? He didn't want to se her hurt.
Perhaps Giles would have a book on William, no, he was calling himself Spike now. If Giles had a book on Spike, possibly something filled with tales of bloodshed and mayhem and chaos... well, he wasn't supposed to take pride in that sort of thing anymore. He wasn't supposed to feel a glow of warmth inside when masters told their minions and fledglings stories about the Scourge of Europe. He wasn't supposed to feel a surge of dark and twisted pride at the reputation that his family had created with their violence. Yes, it had been created with bloodshed upon violence upon horror, but.. well, a not so small part of him enjoyed the fact that he had proved his mortal father wrong, that he hadn't ended up a forgotten waste of flesh, that his name was remembered centuries after his father had been forgotten.
That wasn't the point. He knew that William had been right there, just as vicious as he had hoped. Perhaps if Willow learned just what her boyfriend was, how dark the shadows of his past were she would be careful? It wasn't that he didn't want Spike to be happy, it was just that he wanted Willow to be happy and safe as well. If she read about Spike's past, well, shouldn't that tell her to at the very least be careful?
He had no idea what else he could do. He had seen the Resolve Face when Willow had told him that she intended to find out where things were going between her and Spike. There would be no talking her out of it. He couldn't just take her away and lock her up to keep her from someone he didn't approve of. All he could do was worry, and watch to make certain that Spike didn't hurt her.
In the meantime, he would swing by her house, check to see if she was alright, and then go see if Giles had gotten any farther with looking into the curse. He wanted to avoid brooding over Buffy. He had decided that all he could do was brood over Willow and her involvement with Spike. He might as well go see if there was anything new to brood about involving his soul.
He hadn't brooded Before... when he was soul-less. He'd never been tormented with guilt and misery during his waking hours, never woken screaming from dreams of the tormented faces of his victims. Never neglected the needs or desires of his body from guilt, shame, or the fear of hurting someone. Rationally, he didn't want to loose his soul, or have it devoured, or whatever Dru meant by her words. While it would be so nice not to exist with the assorted torments and misery that his guilt brought, the price would be too high. Sunnydale would become the playground of a ruthless killer with decades of frustration. Angelus had never been particularly good at playing well with others.
He had worked himself into a solid brood, both about his past terrible actions and for wanting to be free of his guilt by the time he entered the library. He walked right in, slightly relaxed by the knowledge that Buffy wasn't there, he wouldn't have to explain who and what Willow's boyfriend was. Giles and Jenny were looking at something on the computer, their heads close together, murmuring things, bits and pieces about the spell. He walked up behind them, his footsteps not breaking the quiet of the library.
"Find anything useful?"
He tried to suppress the little feeling of amusement at their obviously startled reactions. He managed not to smile, but the feeling was still there. He could almost taste their momentary fear.
Giles shifted his glasses, and looked a bit uneasy. "Possibly. It appears that the curse isn't permanent. Guessing from the structure of it, there is probably a clause that would break the spell, although we still haven't got it clearly translated. The program did translate a phrase 'then his soul shall flee' which implies rather heavily.... well, I'm certain you can guess. We're both hoping that the gypsies wouldn't have been so...hmmm careless, I think is the word."
Angel looked at Giles, considering the words carefully. "So, there's a phrase that makes it fairly certain that there's a loophole, some action or occurrence that would cause me to loose my soul and become a rampaging terror again? What in the hell were they thinking, putting something like that in there?"
Jenny gave a half smothered snort of laughter at that phrase. "We've said pretty much the same thing a few times ourselves. If the whole point was to.. ahh.. render you unlikely to kill people, putting in something that would unravel the spell seems.. unwise at best. The only explanation that I could come up with is that it could be that the spell was to draining to cast without a clause, some possibility of breaking. I'd noticed something similar with some of the things I've cast, but nothing that I've even considered doing anything was on this scale before. Besides, if they had an entire group of people willing to participate in the ritual, that should have been able to compensate for the higher level of power needed to make it permanent."
"What do you mean, permanent?" Angel looked at the woman, part of him noticing again how much she resembled the gypsy girl, part of him purely focused on what she had just said.
She faltered, looking a bit uneasy at his scrutiny. "I mean, if they actually managed to call your soul back from..wherever... it wouldn't be very much more difficult to make it permanent than to just attach it. Obviously, they called it forth. But... this" she tapped the screen lightly, " seems to indicate that it isn't permanently bound. I can't think of any logical reason why they wouldn't have made it permanent."
"Permanent." He rolled the word over in his mouth, tasting the idea, considering the possibilities. Would that mean a permanent conscience, or more of these pain filled nightmares of his past misdeed for the rest of his existence? If his soul had been made permanent, would that mean he could brood less? For that matter, he hadn't been one for brooding in his mortal days, more the sort for drinking and wild parties. Where had the brooding misery come from? Had they put that into the curse instead of making his soul permanent? He sat there, considering the implications for a while.