DER WEIDE DÄMON (1/?)

Spike was worried, well maybe not quite worried, more like irritated
actually.  He was a demon.  He didn’t get worried, he got irritated.  He

told himself forcible, scowling for good measure.  It was all Red’s
fault,
she knew she was suppose to bring him some blood while he hid-out in
the old Kelly Street mansion from the commando boys looking for him.
It wasn’t like he was going to go back to the Crawford Street mansion,
too many memories of Dru and Angelus for his taste,  and the crypt had
proven somewhat unsafe.

“Where is she?”  he growled prowling the main room like a caged tiger.
“She should have been here by now.”  He added, continuing to stalk
through the lower level, trying to contain his growing ‘irritation’.  It

wasn’t that he cared for the girl.  She just served a purpose for the
time
being while he had the chip in his head.  She brought him blood and
helped to keep the commando boys away from him, and for that she
would get to live once he got that annoying piece of metal out of his
head.  Well maybe not exactly ‘live’, he would have to turn her once he
broke her in properly; make her into his little plaything for all of
eternity.
He had such big plans for his little Red, couldn’t wait to introduce her
to
his brand of affection…sure he’ll keep her mortal for a few years or so-

just until he had her well trained to his touch, and then…then they
would
rule the night.  He could almost taste all the things he would do to
her; as
he stripped away her sense of self and remade her into his favourite
little
fuck toy.

Pushing aside such thoughts, he focused on Red’s continued absence
from his side.  Time enough to punish her later once the chip was out of

his head.  He would have plenty of time then to express his displeasure
of
her willful acts of defiance and of her association with the Slayer
twit.
Some things would not be tolerated, and once she was his, the Slayer and

the moron being two things that  would immediately be removed from
his presence.

**********************

Meanwhile at the Sunnydale Bus Station –

Faith wearily climbed off of the out-of-town bus, trying to restore some

kind of circulation to her right leg that had fallen asleep somewhere
outside of Los Vegas.  It was just her luck, the only nonstop bus from
Vegas to Sunnydale had to be the oldest, if not the most useless, bus in

the history of modern transportation.  But it had been worth the
nightmare ride to get back to Sunnydale.  She couldn’t explain the
sudden
need she had developed a few weeks ago to return to the hellmouth.  A
part her had hoped to never see the misleading little town - with its
barely
closed gateway to the neither world, or it’s endless supply of vampires
and
other night creatures - ever again.  But fate and two nerve-wrecking
prophetic dreams convinced her that she should give up her
soul-searching journey and get back to Sunnydale as fast as she could.
She just wished she hadn’t of been in Southern Florida when she had
gotten the first of the aforementioned prophetic dreams.

Shaking her head as she collects her one battered duffel bag, she
recalled
Red’s last email.  The one recounting the latest and somewhat undesired
addition to the Scooby Gang: one bleached blonde vamp named Spike.
Faith wasn’t too sure if she liked the thought of a bunch weird of
commando groups running lose over the hellmouth.  There was too great
a chance of Red being picked up by one of the soldier boys one night
while she was out saving the world with B.  She would just hate to have
to
break into a highly classified government installation to kill a bunch
of
people because they had hurt Red.  She’d do it, but she was sure she
would
have at least one or two sleepless hours because of it.

‘Red,’ she thought shouldering her duffel and setting off for Giles’
flat, no
one knew she was coming back and the walk would do her some good.
At the very least it would get her leg to wake up before dark.  Before
she’d
maybe have to do a little slaying.  ‘Eight months on the road and I
still
haven’t figured anything out regarding her.’  She said to herself,
shifting
the duffel on her shoulder a bit.    Shortly after graduation, the dark-

haired Slayer had left town, after talking things over with Wesley,
something that she was still a bit in shock over.  She had actually gone
to
her Watcher for advice and the hellmouth didn’t open and suck the entire

world into hell.  Who would have thought it?  Although, there was no
way in heaven - or the hellmouth - that she was actually going to admit
that Wes had given her some pretty sound advice.  It would offset the
whole Slayer/Watcher dynamic for generations and B would never forgive
her.

While she was no closer to figuring out her relationship with Red, she
had
found a few answers.  Like Oz’s death hadn’t been her fault.  He’s the
one
that chose to side with the nut mayor damn near getting Red killed in
the
process.  That she had been defending herself that night she had gone to

reason with him; trying to get the cure for whatever it was he had
poisoned Fang with.  It had taken her six thousand miles and one hell of
a
barroom brawl to sink that little fact into her thick head.  If she had
known that was all it would take, she would have stayed in town and torn

apart Willy’s a few dozen times.  However, she was still no closer to
figuring out just where she stood with Red, the one person who had ever
took the time to really get to know her, warts and all.  She excepted
Faith
like no other ever had.  If she thought Fang and/or B wouldn’t have
nailed her hide to the nearest wall, she would have been chasing after
Red
form the moment she had first seen the quiet redhead in the library.
“Oh
god, I’m beginning to sound like B!”  She swore to herself with mild
disgust, deciding that the bus ride had addled her mind somehow if she
was beginning to channel the other Slayer.

***********************

Two hours later, Faith found herself at Giles’ front door, patiently
waiting
for someone to answer her knock.  The walk from the bus station took a
bit longer then she had first thought, but that was only because her leg

had refused to wakeup for the first ten minutes.

She pulled her wondering thoughts together as the door opened and she
found herself standing before B’s Watcher…well former Watcher.
Although it really didn’t matter, G-man would always be B’s Watcher,
just like Wes would always be her Watcher…rather she liked it or not.

“F-faith,” Giles said by way of greetings, covering any other discomfort
he
might have had at her unannounced appearance on his doorstep.

“G-man,” she replied, once again pushing down her irrational fear of
librarians.  Every since the fourth grade when her class had gone on a
field
trip to the public library back in Boson, she had had an unexplainable
fear
of all librarians.  It wasn’t something that she could easily explain,
but
librarians creeped her out more then vampires or demons ever did.  And
there was no way in hell she would ever admit to said fear.  Although
she
was certain that G knew all about her little fear, ‘He probably has it
written down in that damn Watcher’s diary of his,’ she ruefully thought
for the thousandth time.

“Oh!  Would you please come in?” Giles replied after a moment, stepping
aside to allow her to cross the threshold his mind already working.
Taking in her overall appearance as he followed her into the living
room,
he noted the worn duffel bag over her shoulder, “I take it you are back
from your road trip?”  He asked trying to make small talk.

“Got to Florida and ran out of coastline,” Faith replied dropping onto
the
couch with a tired sigh.  “Figured I’d head back here and see if the
place
was still in one piece or not.”  She couldn’t help but add with a smirk.

Running a hand though her dark hair, “I’ve been having a few dreams that

pretty much say I have to be here.”  She added after a moment, suddenly
finding something of real interest on the floor to study.

The reaction was almost immediate as Giles shifted from host to Watcher
in the blink of an eye.  “Really?  Just what have you been dreaming
about?”  He asked his total attention focused on her, his mind racing.
‘If
Faith is having prophetic dreams, why isn’t Buffy?’ he asked himself
wondering if there was something he may have missed with his own
Slayer.

Taking a deep breath she collects her thoughts for a moment.  The dream
images still making little sense to her even after having two weeks to
think about them as she made her way back to California.  “Its
confusing,
I see Red, Fang, and who I think has to be Spike.  I just know it’s a
bleached vamp with them and…Red is feeding off them.”  She says raising
her head to stare into his eyes.  “But she’s not a vamp…I don’t know how

but she’s not.”

For possible the first time in his association with the dark Slayer,
Giles
found himself looking into her terrified eyes.  Not even when faced with

the snake-like mayor trying to kill her, had he ever saw such an emotion

ever enter her eyes.  And then it struck him: she was not scared for
herself, she was scared for another…possibly the one person she held
above all else - even herself.  She was scared for Willow.  “Tell me
exactly
what you saw.”  Giles commanded in an even voice, already well into full

research mode.

“Not much to tell.  I’m in one of the underground lairs, not sure
where…but Blondie is with me.  I think we’re there looking for Red…but
I’m not sure.”  Faith begins; suddenly getting up to pace the living
room
restlessly.  “Fang and the cheerleader are there too…we’re fighting a
bunch of vamps trying to get to Red.  And there is this human there,
never saw him before, but he’s….” she continued, stopping and turning
to the still seated Watcher.  “He’s the one hurting her…the one I’m
going to kill.”  She finished coldly, her eyes hard and determined.

**********************

About an hour outside of Sunnydale

Angel had the gas pedal planted firmly on the floor as he drove like a
madman down the highway toward the hellmouth…or in the very least
like a vampire possessed anyway.  Beside him, Cordelia set ramrod
straight
in the seat; her eyes focused intently on the road ahead, almost as if
she
was willing the vehicle to go faster.  She had not said much since her
mind-shattering headache, a little over an hour ago back in Los Angeles,

other then that they had to get to Sunnydale immediately.  Willow’s life

depended on it.

There really hadn’t been anything else to say, not when she had
recognized a few of the people surrounding the redhead in question.  She

wasn’t quite sure when Faith had gotten back into town.  She knew
Willow would have mentioned it in one of the emails the two of them
had been sending each other since graduation if she was already there.
And so as long as the dark-haired Slayer wasn’t in town, they still had
time to save Willow…and kill Ethan Rayne.

**********************

Spike was on his twelfth circuit through the lower level of the mansion
when he heard the front door open.  ‘Finally!’ he growled making an
immediate course change and heading directly for the main room; he had
a redhead to see.  ‘Time she start learning her place,’ his demon fumed,

‘chip or no chip she will learn to obey me!’  Only to stop in his tracks
as
he stepped into the room and found the Watcher and what felt like a
Slayer stand there, both looking around intently.

“Where’s Red!”  Faith demanded taking a menacing step toward Spike,
immediately recognizing him from her dreams.

“Faith, calm down.”  Giles interrupted; stepping between the two before
anything got out of hand.  “Spike, is Willow here?”  He asked turning
his
attention to the vampire, trying to remain calm for her sake.  Once she
was safe he would gladly let the two of them growl at each other all
they
wanted too.

“What?”  Spike asked momentarily thrown by the question.  “No the little

chit hasn’t been ‘ere all day…she forgot to bring by my blood.”  He
continued with an offended look.

“You bleached idiot…Willow doesn’t forget things, she’s missing!”  Faith

growled trying to push past Giles and knock some sense into the vamp.

“What!”  Spike demanded; his demon pushing forward and the damn chip
going off in his head at the aggressive turn of his thoughts.  No one
touched his Red, she was his…or would soon be once the chip was gone.
Then he could claim her and wipeout the bloody Slayer and all her little

friends.  Forcing down his demon, he tries to calm himself, to think
things through until he got his Red back, then he could work on getting
back at the dark Slayer.  ‘Yes.  Get Red back and kill whatever foolish
git
touched her in the first place,’ he firmly decided.

“Enough!  This is getting us no where.”  Giles roared; effectively
getting
both the vampire and Slayer’s undivided attentions.  “Faith tell Spike
what
you saw in your dreams.  Maybe he can recognize the lair you saw.”
Giles
directed.  “And you,” he added letting a bit of the Ripper show through
to the vampire.  “Shut up and listen, apparently you two are suppose to
find Willow together.  So do it and not another word about your damn
blood or I’ll stake you out to watch the sunrise myself.”  He
threatened,
before taking a seat and waiting for them to get on with their
respective
orders and find Willow.

*******************

Ten minutes after sunset found Spike and Faith prowling the streets
looking for information and ducking any stray commandos they
happened across.  Giles has retreated back to his flat to gather the
rest of
the Scooby Gang and organize the search, once he had been certain that
Spike and Faith had focused themselves on the task at hand and not
arguing with each other.  Once the two of them had gotten down to
business they had immediately sensed the other’s affection for Red and
were willing to put they differences aside until they got her back.

‘At least, I’m not stuck with the blonde twit,’ Spike told himself
scanning
the shadows for anything that shouldn’t be there, like one of the
commando boys trying to recapture him.  He had more important things
to do then put up with their nonsense, and since he apparently had the
support of a rather ticked off Slayer, he was pretty sure a few of the
commandos would be winding up in hospital if they did try something.

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