Birth RightBy Alecca
All consuming fireSunnydale
2003"Hey," he said and she started slightly.
"Hey," she returned the salute. "I must be getting slow. Didn't feel you."
"You've got a lot on your mind," Angel said coming closer to her.
"Always did," she smiled. "Probably why I was never really the shiny bulb in my class."
"You seemed shiny enough to me," he smiled.
"Yeah, but you didn't get out much back then," she pointed out. "So tell me why you came back. Wanted to play hero?"
"I came back here for you," he answered honestly.
"Good. 'Cause for a moment there, I thought this was a macho thing and you just came back here to steal Spike's center stage in the big battle just 'cause him and me, you know...," she trailed off.
"I might be a bit jealous, but I..," he began and Buffy chuckled.
"A bit," she repeated amused.
"If it were anyone else...," he started again.
"You'd beat him senseless?" she reminded him about the incident with Riley.
"Touche," he smiled.
"Are you planning on wearing the amulet yourself?" she asked serious now.
"No, I don't want to steal any of Spike's glory," he said and added in his thoughts that he didn't feel like burning up in the hellmouth either. "Besides, I think it would be pretty hard to take it from him now. I'd be pulling from one side, he'd be pulling from the other...It'd turn out pretty ugly, punches, blood, a kick here, a kick there and probably no souled vampire conscious enough to wear it at the end of the battle. "
"I think it'd be pretty hard for him to give it up now. He got very...attached to it. He feels like the fate of the world depends on it or something," she said and stretched before turning to look at him. "I just hope everything goes well."
"That much," he smiled. "I can promise you."
"Somehow, you sound very convincing," she returned the smile.
"I am," he replied. "Convinced."
"I know I didn't want you here for this before, but now that you came uninvited, you make me feel, I don't know, protected. Like Big Brother's watching over me. Okay, maybe more like Big Ex. Ugh, that didn't sound right," she chuckled. Close to her now, Angel allowed himself to hug her.
"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he whispered and wondered in his mind how he had actually brought himself to leave her before this big battle, knowing full well what she was up against. He couldn't believe how good she felt in his arms, how soft her hair was, how much he simply wanted to hold her tight. He broke the embrace. They both stared in the horizon in silence for a moment, after which Angel asked: "You really don't think something's wrong with Mina?"
"You're hopeless," she stared at him amused. "If you at least gave me a reason to not trust her, I would actually stop and think about it."
"Doesn't she seem different from the rest?" Angel asked ignoring the bad memories the words 'reason to do something' brought up inside him. "Stronger, with, you know, an attitude problem and a head bigger than the Empire State Building?"
"A little hint: that doesn't make her evil. Look at Faith. Wait, bad example," she thought about it for a moment, then added: "Okay, look at me. We both know I had my share of attitude problems. I won't go as far as the whole big head thing, but I had a few issues too. As far as strength goes, I haven't seen enough to have an opinion, but I do know she was trained a hell lot more than the rest of the lot. Why I think she's a nice addition to our little crew."
"Just be careful around her," Angel insisted.
"I will," she assured him.
After Angel left, Spike took the opportunity to talk to Buffy alone as well. He didn't speak a word, instead wrapping his arms around the slayer's waist in a loving embrace.
"I thought you...," Buffy began saying as she turned her head towards him, but stopped when she saw it was Spike. "Hi."
"Haven't seen you all day," he whispered in her ear.
"It's been a busy day," she replied leaning her head on his shoulder. He wanted to ask her whether she hadn't avoided him because of Angel, but didn't want to ruin the moment.
"Tomorrow's going to be even more busy," he pointed out, enjoying the sensation of her hair touching his cheek.
"Busy. Deadly. Cataclysmic. Pick one," she said closing her eyes briefly.
"You can't sleep, can you?" he asked her turning her towards him.
"On a night like this, do I look insane? Or like Anya? Which, let's face it, sometimes is one and the same," she said smiling.
"I wish I could simply hold you in my arms all night," he said caressing her cheek.
"I can't...," she began, but Spike interrupted her:
-+"'?-+"'?-+"'?-+"'?
She was the one who broke the kiss.
"I wish I could sleep," she whispered into his ear as she hugged him.
"I wish time would just stop," he whispered in such a low voice that only he heard his own words leaving his mouth.
Los Angeles
Wolfram & Hart Demon Hunting Inc
2051Fred 2 was walking down the hallway leading to Angel's office when she noticed them. Staying out of the way of the passing Wolfram & Hart employees, standing casually near the wall, Kalee was talking to Spike. The vampire seemed baffled by what the girl was telling him. Fred 2 stopped in her tracks, wondering what they were talking about. Kalee had intended to leave with Spike, but after what Fred 2 had seen the previous night, she suspected Kalee had probably changed her mind. An irritated look passed over Spike's features. Fred 2 thought she probably looked awkward standing there in the middle of the hallway, staring at them. Luckily for her, they seemed too concerned with their conversation to notice her.
Then suddenly a deep hatred filled Spike's eyes and passing abruptly by Kalee, the vampire marched towards Angel's office in anger.
"Spike!" Kalee yelled after him, but she did not call a second time, but instead shook her head, pained, and left the hallway by the quickest route. Fred 2, snapping out of her contemplation rushed towards Angel's office just in time to see the blond vampire storm inside it almost throwing the door off its hinges as an indifferent black clad Harmony yelled after him:
"He's in a meeting!"
The next thing she heard - probably everyone on the floor heard - was Spike's voice, loud as thunder, screaming:
"You slept with her didn't you, you fucking asshole!!!!!"
The door to the office suddenly opened startling everyone who had been staring at it curiously and a group of men and women in suits exited. Spike had crashed the Wolfram & Hart weekly board meeting. In the split second when the last person left the office and the door was closed again Fred 2 saw Angel, sitting behind his desk, looking coldly at Spike, who stood, boiling in anger, in front of him. Then the door closed and the scene disappeared from in front of her eyes. A hand suddenly grabbed her from behind, startling her.
"Boo," Lonny said smiling. "I've been looking for you."
Los Angeles
The Underground of Wolfram & Hart Demon Hunting Inc
Static Time - no precise dateHe heard the footsteps after a while, being convinced at first that they were merely the echoes of his and Harmony's footsteps. But then he realized that they sounded different from his own. Like someone walking through mud. The footsteps stopped when theirs did and that mad laughter filled the hallways on that occasion, sending chills up his spine.
He became even more alarmed when he saw bloody footprints on the floor that went on for a few feet, then disappeared. The blood, he feared, was what he had called mud. Harmony looked at them and stepped closer to Wes 2:
"It's human," she told him.
"The blood?" he asked and she nodded. "Can you follow the trail?"
"You seriously want me to?" she looked at him hesitantly. "What if it leads to psycho bitch?"
"Footprints are headed in that direction," Wes 2 pointed behind them. "That means her victims must be up ahead. You said she took out half the special ops team. Maybe they had walkie-talkies or something to communicate with the upper levels. We could call for help."
"What if it's the idiot from accounting's blood?" Harmony asked.
"Let's try and be optimistic, Harmony, shall we?" Wes 2 said as he began walking down the corridor again. Somewhere behind them, he could still hear the empty echoes of someone's footsteps.
Sunnydale
2003It was already morning and the last preparations were being made. Soon, the whole group was going to head down to Sunnydale High and battle an army of supervampires. And some of them, Spike thought sadly, were not going to live to see another dawn. He looked at Anya in particular, because with all her faults and strangeness she had always been a sort of kindred demon spirit among the Scoobies.
"What? Do I have something on my teeth?" Anya asked when she noticed he was staring at her.
"No, I just...," he began, but the ex- demon ignored him and continued:
"Cause I wouldn't want to die with chocolate or something on my teeth. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be? I bet Joan of Arc didn't have anything on her teeth when they burnt her at the stake. But then again that was way back in the dark ages and hey, everyone had bad teeth, right?" she sighed. "I really wanted to see the execution, but I had this little massacre in China I just couldn't miss."
"You're nervous," Spike noticed she was babbling more than usual.
"Well, duh, it's not everyday the world could end and you could very well die...Actually, this being the Hellmouth and all, that's not as important as I thought it would sound," Anya rose her shoulders and left the room.
"Won't be for long, luv," the blond vampire said and looking through the kitchen doorway saw Buffy discussing something with Angel.
"Don't forget the amulet," Willow told him as she passed him by.
"Oh, bloody hell," he just remembered his past self and the amulet were still buried in the basement. Because of Angel, Buffy hadn't slept down there where she might have noticed Mina's handy work. She had slept somewhere among the potentials. He went down the stairs, into the basement and found an unexpected presence: Mina.
"Well, well, if it isn't little miss Slayer Perfection 2083," Spike said smiling. "I have to admit, I didn't expect to find you here. After that little stunt you pulled yesterday I thought you wouldn't be caught dead down here."
"So I was right. He didn't come alone," Mina said as she stared at the Spike she had just dug up and then up at the one standing in front of her. "Are you gonna help me or not?" she asked gesturing towards his past self."Lucky for you I was planning on doing the same thing," he said as he searched the basement for a plastic bag. Finding one big and strong enough he helped Mina put his past self, the amulet dangling from his neck, inside it.
"You gonna kill me, Spike?" the slayer asked him when they were done. "I know Angel doesn't have the guts for it, but you...I don't know."
"I was actually thinking of helping you, but somehow...it just wouldn't feel right," Spike said lighting a cigarette.
"You didn't tell Angel about this," Mina realized.
"You would've been out of the house a long time ago if I had," Spike assured her.
"Does he even know it's you?" Mina asked chuckling.
"Not yet," Spike said. "But I'm confident he'll figure it out before the big show."
"And all this for the love of a slayer. How weird is that for a vampire?" Mina asked sitting down on Spike's bed.
"You can't even imagine," he smiled.
"Think about it, you could practically be destroying the world," Mina pointed out. "And for what? A kiss."
"Several actually," Spike let out an unnecessary sigh.
"You're one twisted vamp, you know that?" Mina smiled as she got up. "Well, I'll see you around. I got a slayer to stop."
"Good luck with that," Spike said as he looked back towards the bag containing his past self. Mina walked up the stairs and out of the basement. He stared at his lit cigarette for a moment as if contemplating finishing it or not and then threw it down into the hole where his past self had been buried. He picked up the heavy sack and headed upstairs.
"What's that?" Kennedy asked when she saw the bag.
"A very nifty weapon," Spike mumbled.
The Hollow Crossroads
Absolutely nowhen"The time of truth has come," the Hur'dha told Willow as he looked around at all the crossroads. "Time to see if your heroes succeed."
"What exactly happens if they fail?" Willow asked following his gaze.
"Time changes. It's like a tidal wave. Horrifying experience. I've lived through a few. Two of which one of the souled vampires was responsible for," Hur'dha said looking back at the witch. "The one with the angelic face."
"Angel? He changed time?" she seemed surprised.
"Once because of this slayer he seems to care so much about and another time because of his son," he explained.
"His son? Angel had a son?" she was actually shocked.
"It's a long story. When you and I will have an eternity to talk I'll tell you everything about it," he promised her. "You still think they can stop her?"
"I'd say yes, but I'm afraid you already know the answer and you're just teasing me," the witch said glaring at the Hur'dha.
"I might," he smiled.
Sunnydale
2003
Sunnydale High"Okay, potentials in the basement. Follow Faith and Spike," Buffy said looking at the teenage girls gathered around her. Faith and Spike, still holding the heavy bag over his shoulder, started walking down the corridor with the potentials behind them. Mina stopped to look hesitantly at Buffy before following the rest. She would have to lose the group somewhere in the basement.
"Angel...," Buffy turned towards the vampire to discover he was gone. "Where is he?" she asked but no one seemed to have noticed when the vampire had disappeared. "Of all the times he could've bailed on me...," she trailed off, but then noticed Angel at the end of the hallway gesturing towards another corridor. He was going to follow the potentials. "My bad," Buffy said turning back towards the others.
As they headed towards the seal of Danthazar through the dark underground corridors, Mina slipped away from the group easily and unnoticed by the rest. Only Spike saw her blending into the shadows of a hidden corner, but he didn't stop walking or say anything. Angel had wanted to do it all himself. Fine, he damn well could. He was just going to make sure his past self was going to play his part and then casually walk out of Sunnydale before it was destroyed and calmly wait for Angel to appear.
Mina walked carefully back towards the entrance of the basement. She had felt Angel close a few times and tried her best to stay out of his way. Luckily for her, it had worked. She went up the stairs and when she opened the door of the basement she came face to face with Buffy.
"What are you doing?" Buffy asked suspiciously.
"Nothing, I...," she had really not counted on this. "I was looking for you. I just wanted to say...good luck."
"Thanks," Buffy said feeling like the moment was more than just a bit awkward. "We should get going," she added passing by Mina down the stairs. The girl didn't move. "Come on!" her voice had been commanding.
"You go," Mina said and a strange smile played on her lips.
"Stop her!" Angel yelled as he came running towards the stairs.
"What..." Buffy turned her head towards Angel, which proved to be a big mistake as Mina took the opportunity to shove her down the stairs and make a run for it. Buffy landed flat on her stomach at the bottom of the stairs. She got up angrily and wanted to go after Mina, but Angel put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll take care of her. Go," he told her and though Buffy seemed confused and unsure she headed towards the location of the seal. Angel leaped up the stairs and in pursuit of Mina.
During this time, Mina ran down the hallways towards the principal's office. On her way she knocked Anya off her feet and shoved Andrew into a wall. The door of the office was closed, but after giving it a good kick it opened easily. A startled Kennedy looked up at her. Willow was deep within a magical trance.
"Get out," Mina told Kennedy calmly.
"What the hell are you doing here?" the potential asked standing up and facing her defiantly.
"I don't have time for this," Mina said and with a few quick moves made Kennedy bend over in pain. "Now, get out," she grabbed her by the hair and threw her out of the office. Grabbing the chair from behind the principal's desk, she hit Willow over the head with it and as the witch collapsed, Mina grabbed the scythe and threw it out of the office, yelling at Kennedy, just as Angel appeared in front of the office:
"Get the scythe to Buffy!"
"NO!!!" Angel yelled. In the next moment, a bright light swallowed the souled vampire and he disappeared. Mina smiled victoriously and let out a scream of pure happiness as she vanished. In the basement as the potentials entered the Hellmouth Spike suddenly felt strange. The next moment, he disappeared, leaving the bag that been on his shoulder to tumble in the Hellmouth by itself.
Los Angeles
The Underground of Wolfram & Hart Demon Hunting Inc
Static Time - no precise dateThey had found the source of the blood. Five men, all from the special ops team, were laying dead next to each other on the floor, next to an open door.
"I'm suddenly feeling very hungry," Harmony said as she looked at all the blood. Wes 2 gave her a frightened look. "Oh, I didn't mean you. I wouldn't eat you. Well unless we'd be like stuck on a desert island or something."
"That's a comforting thought," he said, thinking how much similarity there was between a desert island and their current location. He bent down next to one of the bodies and began searching it for a walkie-talkie.
"Uhm, Wes....," Harmony stuttered.
"Hold on, I think I found it," Wes 2 didn't pay attention to her as he seemed to have finally come across the walkie- talkie. As he analyzed it a bit closer he realized it was broken. "We'll have to..." he looked up and swallowed his words when he saw the figure of a teenage girl a few feet in front him, her clothes, her hands, her feet, her mouth all covered in blood. She smiled wickedly as she neared them. A light of insanity shone in her eyes as she said:
"7-7, who's the lucky number 7?" she laughed maniacally as she stalked towards them. Wes 2's heart pounded wildly in his chest. Harmony froze in her place. At that moment the vampire and the teenage boy disappeared in a flash of light.
Los Angeles
Wolfram & Hart Demon Hunting Inc
2051"Let's go," Lonny urged Fred 2, but the young girl looked back at the office hesitantly. She wanted to know what was happening. "Let me guess, you became a fan of the Souled and Immortal show? I leave you alone for one minute..," the vampire shook her head. Before Fred 2 had a chance to say anything, Lonny pulled her by the arm towards the office. "Let's just take a peek then."
They passed by a very indifferent Harmony and Lonny cracked open the door to the office. Both Spike and Angel were too busy arguing to notice the two listening to their conversation:
"You just had to do it, didn't you?" Spike asked staring coldly at the vampire sitting calmly behind his desk. "It just ate you up inside that she was going to leave with me, didn't it? I didn't believe you were capable of stooping this low. Guess I underestimated you."
"This isn't about you, Spike," Angel said looking away from him.
"The hell it isn't," he grimaced. "You were afraid of losing another woman to me, but this time you got it all wrong, tall, dark and gruesome. She was like a daughter to you, you son of a bitch. A daughter to me. And we both know why. She was her blood, the blood of her family. Dawn's blood."
"I know whose blood she is. I was the one who took her in, remember?" Angel interrupted him annoyed.
"It's true she loves you more than she should, loves you as more than a father, but you should have known better. Aren't you old enough to realize what sort of stupid consequences what you did could have on her?" Spike asked furious. There was a long moment of silence. Angel avoided to look in Spike's eyes. The blond vampire smiled: "You know what? I might not be the best person in the world, but I never loved her as anything more than a daughter. And," he chuckled: "I know for a fact you did too. But at least I didn't cross the line just to win some cock-fight between you and me. You, on the other hand, will have to live for the rest of your days with a bitter incestuous taste in your mouth."
"Shut up," Angel muttered.
"Truth hurts, doesn't it? You, taking advantage of a child's crush to beat me down," he snickered and then with disdain in his voice added: "I am leaving. Can't really stand the sight of you right now."
"Good," Angel had a thin smile on his lips. Spike started walking towards the door. "You walk out of this building, Spike, you walk out of this city, you'll never see her or Kalee ever again. I'll make sure of that."
"You can't keep her from me," Spike snapped turning abruptly towards him.
"Watch me," Angel said and the blond vampire stormed out of the office. It was the last encounter between Angel and Spike until the Hur'dha would one day force William the Bloody to return to Los Angeles and Wolfram & Hart.
Alone in his office, Angel let his head fall down in his hands in desperation. Fred 2 realized, shocked, that he was crying. Lonny closed the door of the office, leaving Angel to his misery.
"Satisfied now?" Lonny asked looking at Fred 2.
"But...what's going to happen to them?" the teenager asked confused.
"Spike leaves. Angel never sleeps with Kalee again," Lonny lifted her shoulders indifferently. "I've lived through the whole drama. A to Z. Since Angel adopted Kalee. Agonizing would be the best word to describe it."
"How about Kalee? What happened to her?" Fred 2 asked and at that very moment she vanished along with Lonny.
The Hollow Crossroads
Absolutely nowhen"What's happening?" Willow asked as she felt the ground beginning to move under her feet.
"Your beloved heroes just failed," the Hur'dha announced her as an invisible tidal wave, born from one point of light, from one crossroad, moved with great speed swallowing the crossroads, one by one, changing time, altering reality. It passed through them and Willow felt a deep coldness rising up inside her, but it did not kill her or change her, it left her the same, because Willow had long stopped being affected by time and space.