Chapter V

Later that week, the Scooby Gang held a memorial service in the home of the vampire they had grown to . . . not hate.

They had to wait a few days for Buffy to realize that Spike would have wanted her to "go on living" instead of staring off into space, trapped in her own mind. Once she snapped out of it and put on her resolve face, everyone agreed that their ally--and somewhat-friend-deserved some sort of memorial.

Anya had returned the day before, and after hearing of Spike's death and listening tearfully to Xander's "empty hole that I dug" speech, decided to stay with the gang.

"We should say something." Willow broke the silence of the solemn group. "He would've hated to go out knowing no one said anything. He always seemed too hyper for silence. It seems wrong not to say something." The jittery redhead cut herself off when she realized she was babbling.

"Right. Um . . . Buffy, why don't you start, then we'll each say something." Giles suggested as everyone shifted on their feet in the cool of the vampire's tomb.

"No." The Slayer surprised everyone. "Dawn should go first. She-out of all of us-never hated him. It's not right for one of us to speak first."

"Al-Alright . . . Dawn?" Giles turned to the sniffling brunette who had her arms wrapped around her sister.

The Key bravely let go of her sister and stepped forward.

"He never treated me like I was just a kid. He was like a big brother to me. The kind of big brother who, although not really all good, would lay down his life to protect those he loved." She said this, placing a pink rose to her lips and setting it on the ratty cushion of Spike's favorite chair, along with the urn holding as much of the blonde vampire's ashes as the group could collect before the wind blew too much of him away. "I'll miss him as much as I missed Buffy; as much as I still miss Mom." The girl finished, the tears falling again.

Giles spoke next.

"I, for one, will never forget the vampire who was chained in my bathtub. Who would have thought that someone who taunted everyone to distraction could survive in the same town as Buffy for so long? I certainly did not.

I used to think that Spike's capture and chipping by the Initiative was the Powers' way to make him able to serve a higher purpose. Now, I find myself wishing that it could be true, but knowing it can never be." The Watcher respectfully placed a yellow rose with Dawn's on the chair.

"I'll always be grateful," Tara began, "that he punched me in the nose." The blonde witch placed her yellow rose with the others as everyone let out subdued chuckles, then silenced.

Anya spoke. "I liked Spike. He talked to me like I didn't always say the wrong things, 'cause sometimes, he said the wrong things too. That's why I never complained when I found some Burba Weed missing occasionally. I purposely ordered extra for him."

The ex-demon laid her yellow rose on the chair as everyone, in different states of shock, contemplated the first instance they had heard of that Anya hadn't been greedy.

Willow was next. "He always understood everyone. He could see right through them, and knew exactly what needed to be said. He never sugar-coated the truth, just told it like it was. That, and he was always nice to me, even when he was trying to kill me. It was kinda weird at the time, but it was true." Again, the redhead babbled a bit, before setting her rose--another yellow-on the chair.

"I don't know when it happened," Xander began, "but, lately, of all the vampires I've ever met, Spike was the only one I had grown to at least not hate. At most, he was a friend, but he was definitely a great ally. One I'd trust with my life." The construction worker's voice became choked as his yellow bloom joined its mates on the furniture piece.

Now it was Buffy's turn.

Giving her sister a quick hug, the Slayer stepped forward, kissing the crimson rose she held in her hands, carefully avoiding the thorns as she sadly placed it on top of the others with Mr. Pointy, the stake given to her by Kendra, another important person in Buffy's life. Everyone who had met the other Slayer knew how important Mr. Pointy was . . . That Buffy would leave it with Spike's remains spoke volumes.

Quietly, so the others almost had to strain to hear, the petite blonde spoke.

"I never got to tell him I love him."

*****

A few weeks had gone by since the group had gathered in the crypt, and life went on-a little less enthusiastically than before.

Buffy, although not a complete zombie, was noticeably less lively than she had been-even after being ripped out of what she thought was Heaven.

Every night, she would patrol. And, every night, her rounds ended outside the deceased vampire's former home.

She couldn't bring herself to go inside; she feared a breakdown if she did. Instead, she left fresh flowers outside the door once a week. The other six nights, she just sat on the nearest tombstone, silently willing the door to open and the vampire-nay, man-that she loved to come stalking toward her in all his predatory glory and kiss her passionately, saying how much he had missed her.

Some days, she would contemplate begging the witches to find a way to bring him back, but would immediately curtail her train of thought; she couldn't put him through the trauma of coming back seeing everyone still here acting awkward around him-like they still did with her sometimes. No, she wouldn't do that, no matter whether he had been sent to Hell with the many other vampires she had slain, or not.

He had been doing his best to be good. There was a chance that, although he probably wasn't wishing for it, the Powers That Be had decided not to send him to Hell. Buffy also didn't act on her impulses to get him back on the very slim chance that he'd be pulled from the same peaceful place that she had been. And so, the Slayer made her melancholy rounds every night, wishing he might somehow, through some unknown miracle, return to her on his own.

*****

Dawn was in just as bad shape as her sister, although she showed it differently.

The Key knew that Spike's death had been an accident, but she couldn't help resenting the hand that held the stake. Every so often, Dawn would unexpectedly snap, yelling at anyone within range over the smallest of mistakes. Buffy was usually the one who caught the brunt of the teenager's wrath, but no one was immune.

She would not part with the vampire's coat for more than a few hours, either. Dawn, when she was too sad to be angry, would clutch the leather to her, inhaling the familiar, comforting scent of her best friend and protector. She never took the coat to get cleaned, for fear that the smell and comforting already-worn feel of it would go away once the duster was cleaned.

*****

The rest of the gang was a little less subdued, but still grieved in their own ways.

Xander and Anya had agreed to start trying to date again, but were taking it slow, so Anya found herself a place of her own, only seeing her ex-fiancé, almost-husband, at Scooby meetings and their occasional dates. Although they were happy to be seeing each other again, they still missed Spike.

The last time the pair had broken up, Spike had been there. Sure, he was still mostly evil at the time, but he had helped the young man and ex-demon realize what they had together in the time-honored tradition of Making the Guy Jealous. Xander had found the vampire "flirting" with Anya at a party, and, although it wasn't all roses and kittens for the pair, Anya and Xander had stayed faithful to each other ever since. Not even the promises of D'Hoffryn and Arashmahar could keep Anya from Xander anymore.

*****

Willow missed the vampire's insight, wishing she could ask Spike to help her with Tara troubles. The peroxide blonde's usually-harsh truths were just what she needed to help her through her addiction and re-building of her relationship with the blonde witch. No one else knew how to help her overcome the weaknesses and timidity she felt when Tara wasn't around. Spike had known about overcoming weakness-he had done it before too-and would have told the redhead what she needed to hear to get herself back on her feet and with the woman she loved. But Spike wasn't there, so she had to get Tara back on her own.

Tara was proud of Willow's accomplishments so far, but she too missed the vampire that everyone had gotten used to having around.

No matter how slow and careful they took things, everyone still had somewhat-fragile emotions periodically.

No matter how strong they had grown in the past few weeks, however, nothing could have prepared them for the visitor they received one afternoon.

*****

Dawn heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" She called to whomever else was in the house.

When she saw who stood on the other side of the threshold, Dawn screamed.

*****

"No . . . please, Dawn. Don't be afraid . . ." Faith tried to stop the girl's screams. "I don't want to hurt you . . . I'm on parole, and Wesley sent me to tell you all about a prophecy. Please, Dawn . . . please stop screaming." The younger Slayer almost begged as Buffy and Willow came running to the Key's aid.

"Well, you can't really blame her, Faith." Buffy said, crossing her arms and staring coldly at the other Slayer. "The last time she saw you, you were trying to kill me in my living room."

Although Dawn hadn't really been around then, she still remembered the crazed Slayer who had once been her sister's friend. The monks had been very thorough, if a bit rushed.

"I know." Faith confirmed, crestfallen. "I know you can't forgive me or trust me right now, but please know that I am truly sorry for all I've done to you. I won't be offended if you call LA to make sure that I really am here on Wesley's orders. I deserve to not be trusted."

"You deserve a whole lot more sinister punishments than that, but I'll hold off until later so that you can prove to me that you truly are repentant. I'll skip the phone call for now, but if I hear anything that sounds even remotely false, I won't hesitate again. Got it?" Buffy laid down some ground rules before letting the other Slayer come in and sit down.

*****

The rest of the Scoobies were called, and when they arrived, Faith began her explanation.

"Wesley found this prophecy that he originally thought was about Angel, but was a bit confusing.

The undead in love with the Chosen One will shanshu, then give up this gift to save the world.

That's all it said. Not one word about a soul. But then Wesley remembered a conversation he'd had with Giles over the summer.

Giles had remarked-somewhat off-handedly-that a vampire here had been devastated by B's death. At the time, Wes thought nothing of it, but then came across the prophecy." The brunette looked almost shy, twisting her hands as she spoke with confidence she really wasn't feeling.

"Yes, there was a vampire in love with Buffy here in Sunnydale, but I'm afraid the prophecy cannot be about Spike." Giles explained to Faith.

"Spike? You mean that hottie vamp I met in the Bronze two years ago when I . . ." she cut herself off, not wanting to dredge up bad memories.

"You met him then? Wow." Dawn interjected, a little surprised.

"Yeah, I guess so. But what makes you think he can't be the one in the prophecy?" Faith asked.

"Because . . ." Buffy replied sadly, "William is dead."

*****

That same night, there was a lightning storm. Lost in the din of the maelstrom, there was a loud noise in a crypt in a cemetary.

Leaving a dent--and what looked like a black police outline-in the concrete, a dazed and naked William the Bloody surveyed his familiar surroundings.

Author's Notes: Finally you all get another chapter! I tried to get it sooner, but before I wrote the memorial, I wanted to make sure I had it perfect in my head, 'cause I knew it was gonna make even me cry if I couldn't write it in one shot. I was surprised when it made my sister cry though. You all review and let me know what you think. There's a lot more surprises coming along, so don't stop reading yet! Thanks to all the people who've reviewed so far. You're the greatest. And, hey Nocte, how do you like it so far? :)

btw, the colors of the roses are significant. Crimson is love, yellow is friendship, and I didn't know the color for sisterly/brotherly love, so I just chose pink.

Chapter VI

A few weeks went by, and Buffy and the Scoobies had gradually begun to trust the brunette Slayer again. Faith had been on her best behavior the whole time, and, to everyone around her, actually seemed as profusely sorry for her misdeeds as she professed.

Everyone was taking a break from research; they wanted to know why the prophecy hadn't been found before the death of the vampire it was supposedly about.

Someone had suggested that Faith and Buffy spar in the training room, and, one-by-one, the others came back-bored by the front of the store's activities-to watch. The only one left was Anya; she felt so bad about leaving the money for so long that she wouldn't let it out of her sight.

"Welcome to the Magic Box," she cheerfully called as the doorbell rang. "How can I . . . help . . . you?" She stuttered when she recognized who had walked into the shop.

"Oh. Hello." she said, once she got back her power of speech. "Long time no see."

"Yeah." The person spoke. "Giles or Buffy around?"

"In back with the others." Anya answered.

"Thanks." The familiar figure walked toward the training room in the back, opening the door, a mysterious-looking box underneath his arm.

*****

In the back, Giles and Buffy were giving Faith some pointers on technique; she was severely out of practice since she couldn't go all-out with the other inmates during her imprisonment.

"That's it, Faith. Now, keep your guard up." Giles remarked as Buffy found a weakness in the other Slayer's defenses.

The other people in the room were mesmerized by the Slayers' duel.

Xander and Willow winced whenever either girl got hit particularly hard; they usually ended up wincing for Faith, since Buffy was decidedly more advanced and had less trouble with defense.

Tara and Dawn just stared. Tara had never seen two people who fought so well; she was usually chanting for her life while the others fought. Although she didn't really know that much about physical fighting, she could tell they were both very advanced in their skills. The witch just had a little trouble figuring out just how much better Buffy was.

Dawn had only seen one thing more mesmerizing than her sister and Faith fighting each other: her sister and Spike fighting anyone else.

Faith's lack of skill made Dawn appreciate Buffy and Spike's true "choreography" for the dance that it was. Sure, the two Slayers were good together, but Buffy and the vampire were better. Dawn was saddened to think she'd never again see the flowing ballet of virtuosos that was Spike and Buffy's deadly masterpiece.

No one noticed, at first, that the door had opened, admitting someone none of the gang had seen in a long time. No one, that is, until Buffy happened to face the door, accidentally dropping her guard when she noticed the extra body in the room.

"Oz! She cried, as Faith took advantage of the blonde's distraction, knocking her to the mat with a well-placed side kick.

*****

Once everyone had gathered at the shop's research table again, the wayward werewolf explained his presence, but not before asking a question.

"Weren't you in a coma?" he asked, turning to Faith.

"Yeah. Woke up a couple years ago, tried to kill Buffy, saw Angel, turned myself in, got parolled, came here on Wesley's former-watcher business." was the straight-forward answer.

"Ah."

Willow interrupted. "Yeah . . . Um, so, what brings you back to good old Sunnydale, Oz?"

"Well," the young man began, preparing to speak more than he had the whole time he had lived in Sunnydale. "Me and some of the guys I travel with saw this in the house we were staying in." He began to open the box he had been carrying. "Usually, we'd pass by and think nothing of it, but one day, I walked by and felt this incredible surge of power. I came here, 'cause Giles is the only one I know who knows about mystical stuff."

The young man finished, revealing a statue shaped like a puffer fish, spines and all.

Giles took one look, and his eyes went wide.

"Dear Lord! It's Braken's Puffer! It's one of the rarest mystical items in the world! And here it was, in Oz's possession the hole time! Intriguing!"

"One of the rarest?" Buffy asked. "How rarest? Like Freyja's Strand rarest, or a little less rare?"

"Yes, like Freyja's Strand." The Watcher absentmindedly answered, cleaning his glasses.

Then, he realized that his Slayer had said something that wasn't cloaked in blonde ignorance.

"How do you know about Freyja's Strand, Buffy?"

"I was reasearching a few months ago, and I saw a picture in one of the books. It looked pretty, so I read up on it." was the simple explanation.

Extatic that Buffy had actually chosen to learn something mystical, Giles asked, "And what did you learn?"

"Just that it has powers that allow vampires to see their reflections and to put a mass in thrall." she answered. "Well, that, and the fact that it was lost when two vamps took it in the '40s from Skrymir, it's long-time guardian."

Giles smiled, the picture of fatherly pride. "Yes. Two vampires did take it. In fact, you know both of them." he teased, reaching to a drawer under the counter.

He pulled out a box, opening it up and showing it to Buffy.

"Last year, before the battle with Glory, Spike gave this to me for safe keeping. It turns out that Drusilla wanted it back, but he'd seen how she could be even more dangerous than usual with it." Sighing, the older man continued.

"I had hoped to give it back to him as a sign that we trusted him enough to not use its more sinister powers, but I wanted to do it at a time that we all had come to trust him.

That time came shortly before the battle with Rack, but now he is not here to receive it. I think that you should have it, Buffy." he said, handing the box to her. "Her in the shop, any vampire can get to it, while, if kept in your possession, only two can, and one, as we all know, is unable to.

Buffy accepted the box, tears coming to her eyes, but not falling.

"Oh, Giles! Thank you." she said, giving her surrogate father a heart-felt hug.

"Ok, now that we've established that this Puffer statue is really rare," Xander interrupted, getting everyone back on track. "What does it do?"

"No one knows for certain." Anya interjected, "Not even someone as old as I am. The only thing known about it is that, once it is activated, if the right person touches it, it will change their nature somehow. And from the power surge you felt, Oz, I'd say it's been activated. I wonder who the person is." she finished enthusiastically.

"Change their nature how?" Willow asked.

"Don't know." was the answer. "The only thing I know is that it changes their nature."

"Yes. Well, Anya, thank you. You know more about it than I did. Thank you for filling us in." Giles stuttered, cleaning his glasses again.

"No problem." was the answer.

*****

For the first time in 122 years, he was sick to his stomach. He couldn't even look at the bag of blood he was holding. Something was wrong.

It had been two weeks since he had fallen onto the crypt floor and he hadn't been able to move much farther than to his bed in the lower level since.

"Bloody Hell!" he grumbled to himself, turning to the demon who had brought him the blood. Thank goodness he hadn't heard of my death yet. Spike mused to himself before speaking.

"Can you get me a flowering onion and some buffalo wings from the Bronze? I'm not really in the mood for blood right now."

"Not a problem, pal. I'll be back later tonight. I'll have to sneak them away somehow so no one gets freaked and asks questions."

"Whatever." Spike answered, throwing the blood in his mini-fridge as the demon walked out through the sewers.

*****

Two weeks later, Spike still got sick at the sight of the blood in his fridge. And yet, whenever he ate human food, he felt strangely satisfied by it.

One morning, William the Bloody bolted out of what had promised to be a nice day's sleep, gasping and clutching his chest.

He didn't notice the change for a few minutes; he had to catch his breath.

Wait a minute. He thought to himself. I'm breathing.

Then he felt it: the subtle thumping underneath the hand clutching his chest.

"Bloody Hell!" he said aloud. "I have a sodding heartbeat!"

*****

The last month had gone pretty uneventfully for the Scooby Gang.

They had tried to figure out who Bracken's Puffer was meant to change by allowing each customer to touch it.

Sure, they had cloaked their attempts in a sort of "contest," make the statue do something and get a prize, or something like that.

So far, no one turned out to be the person, although they did give those who tried a free candle with their purchase since they knew it would be unfair to not give anyone anything unless they made the statue react.

The gang was sitting in the Summers' living room after a long day of research when they heard a knock at the door.

"Oz, would you get that, please?" Buffy asked the closest person to the door.

"Sure." the werewolf answered, getting up to do just that.

Oz opened the door, looking to see who was outside.

When he saw, the young man's eyes widened imperceptively.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" he asked the newcomer.

The person, standing in the afternoon sunlight, heard the double entendre in the question.

"Yeah. Haven't been for a month though." was the double-answer.

"Oz? Who is it?" Buffy called from the living room.

Oz stepped aside, letting the visitor in.

When the newcomer stepped into view from the living room doorway, everyone stared.

"Hello kiddies. Looks like the Big Bad is back!" Spike said.

Author's Notes:

I made up Bracken's Puffer, and all it's qualities.

Freyja's Strand is a mystical object talked about in Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids all in a Row. My sister is reading the novel, and I just HAD to include the strand, even though I don't know what actually happened with Skrymir and stuff. This is like a sort of AU to the book... I just assumed that they got it from Skrymir. So, in case you've read the whole book, and my version is different, just say it's AU.

Nocte: Yes, you read right. I made it more than a month. (For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, you'll find out once the story is finished.) And yeah, I totally understand about the whole "no feedback" thing... I've had to do that myself. :)

Thanks for all the feedback, people! You're the greatest!

Chapter VII

"Spike!" Dawn squealed when she saw her best friend. She ran to give him a hug. When she heard the thumping in his chest, she asked, "Um, Spike? Did you know your heart is beating?"

"Yeah. That's the kicker. Went to sleep this morning, and woke up gasping for air." he began to explain. "Found out I could walk in the sunlight, so I came to find out how it was possible."

A thought popped into the ex-vampire's head.

"How long was I gone?"

Buffy stood as she walked toward him.

"How long have you been back?" She asked.

"A month, a week, and three days."

"Then you were gone thirty days yourself. But we've not seen you for seventy." she said, closing the gap between them and kissing him fervently.

But it was not to last, for, when Spike tried to return the kiss, Buffy broke away abruptly, punching him-just hard enough to hurt-in the nose.

"Why the Hell didn't you come here sooner?"

*****

Meanwhile, the rest of the Scoobies, Faith included, were trying to deal with the sight before them.

Willow just stood, looked at the vampire, pointed and babbled in disbelief, then fainted dead away.

Xander, hearing Dawn's muffled comment about a heartbeat, said, "Looks like Evil Dead is not-so-dead . . . in more ways than one."

Giles was speechless.

Faith said, "Hey! I know him! I know him! Now I know where I heard the name Spike before!" Obviously, Faith had been having trouble putting a face to the name when he was first mentioned by the Scoobies.

Tara just piped up, ever the usually-quiet, clever one. "So Spike," she called. "How's that muscle cramp?"

*****

Buffy didn't get her reply, because Tara made her allusion to the joke she had shared with Spike at the Slayer's 21st birthday party.

"Look, luv . . . Why don't we sit down, and I'll explain everything, including why I haven't been around here lately." Spike quickly placated the blonde firecracker.

"So anyway," he began once everyone was seated and calm. "Here I was, staked. And guess what? I went to Limbo . . . Bloody nice, but kinda weird, place if you ask me. I honestly don't know why you wanted to go back there, Slayer-"

He was interrupted by a chorus of "huh?"s.

"Well, you see, it's like this. Buffy here, she died, right? We all know that . . . But the Powers, they knew that Red here would try to bring her back, them being omnipotent and all that.

Well, she couldn't be brought back from Heaven, only this Limbo place between Heaven and Hellmouth. You did say you thought you were in Heaven, right, luv? Well, it was nice in Limbo . . . just like you described it . . . but it wasn't nearly as nice as they said Heaven was.

Although, they did have "Limbo Night" every Tuesday." Spike couldn't help making a joke.

No one laughed. They were waiting for him to finish . . . a new experience for the now-ex-vampire.

"Well, uh, yeah. So, I'm in Limbo, and, all of a sudden, I'm not anymore. Next thing I know, I'm lying starkers on the crypt floor-which, mind you, left a pretty big dent, not to mention the black police-outline looking thing-and can barely move enough to get downstairs to bed."

He was about to finish his tale, when Buffy interrupted.

"Wait, black police-outline looking thing?" She turned to the original Scoobs, including Faith and Giles. "Does that sound familiar to any of you?"

"Yeah." Xander answered. "It sounds like the same thing we found in the man . . . sion . . ."

"Wow." Willow and Dawn said.

Everyone else was still confused. Giles asked Buffy to clear the air a little.

"Just like when Angel came back after Acathla."

*****

"Ok, now, that's bloody weird." Spike remarked, before finishing his tale.

"Now, where was I? Oh, yes. I haven't been able to get out of bed for the past five-and-a-half weeks.

I've felt Buffy every night, but, by the time I got enough strength to go to the door, she was already gone.

I had to get Clem to do my grocery shopping for me. He was a little skeptical when I wouldn't drink the blood he brought me after three weeks of it, but went along with it when I kept asking for human food.

Then, this morning, I go to have a nice day's rest, and, not more than an hour later, I wake up gasping, with a heartbeat. After that, I found that my strength had returned, and, testing out my sunlight theory, came to you lot for help figuring out just what the Bloody Hell happened to me."

"I know what happened." Faith spoke up.

Everyone looked at her skeptically.

"The vampire in love with the Chosen One will shanshu then give up this gift to save the world. Don't you see? Oh, wait . . . I forgot to explain . . . so, I guess you don't see." She started.

"Well, it goes like this. Wesley has deducted that shanshu either means "die," or it means "live," which could also be translated as "be human." I guess, in this case, it means both translations." Faith looked very proud of herself for beating Giles to an explanation.

"Of course!" Giles exclaimed. "We all just believed it would not come to pass . . . when, in fact, Spike's death was necessary to start the process. But I'm confused as to the second part of the prophecy."

"Aren't we all?" broke in Spike. "There's really a prophecy about me? You sure it's not about the L.A. poof?"

"Yes, Wesley was fairly certain. The prophecy doesn't mention anything about a soul." the brunette Slayer explained.

Everyone digested the information they had absorbed and planned to meet at the Magic Shop the next day for an even more intense research session than the ones they'd been having lately. Buffy told the group that she'd meet them there after her shift at the Palace, and that Dawn would meet them there after school.

Tired and overwhelmed, the reunited Scooby Gang, minus three, went to their various homes and beds.

*****

The next day at the Magic Box, everyone, except for Buffy and Dawn, was waiting for Spike as they pored over various and sundry ancient texts, searching for clues about the prophecy.

When Spike walked in, everyone looked up in annoyance at his tardiness.

"Sorry all . . . not used to gettin' up in the morning. I kinda slept in." was his excuse.

Then, he saw the statue sitting on a lock-able pedestal on the counter.

"Well, I'll be buggered! Is that Bracken's Puffer?!?" he said, running an appreciative hand over the carved mahogany.

"Yeah," Faith answered. "Oz-"

She was interrupted by Spike's surprised scream of pain.

"Ow! The thing bloody bit me!" he said, startling everyone out of their research.

Everyone stared at their long-time ally and friend.

"What?" he asked. "It doesn't usually do that?"

"Um, Spike . . . maybe you should look in a mirror." Willow supplied.

Spike did as suggested, eyes widening in horror when he saw a green, spiny demon face staring back at him.

"Bloody Hell! I'm a Bracken Demon!" he exclaimed. "Uh oh."

"'Uh oh'? That doesn't sound good." Xander said. "What's 'uh oh' mean?"

Spike answered, a bit confused, but even more horrified than before. "I think I'm turning into Dru too . . . I just had some sort of vision."

Anya, ever the cheerful optimist, said, "Well, I guess we know what 'changing their nature' means . . . and who the person was."

"Yeah." Faith said. "And now I know what the prophecy means."

As to the plot . . . How do you like them apples?

Yes, I actually had to go back and count the number of weeks and days I said after Spike died and was brought back . . . You can't expect me to remember everything I write, can you? :)

Chapter VIII

A few hours later, everyone had pretty much calmed down; Faith wanted to wait until Buffy got there to explain what she knew. Spike was still sporting spines; they just wouldn't go away.

"Hey! I have an idea!" the others could almost see the lightbulb flashing over Willow's head as she stood up and paced, wringing her hands in explanatory nervousness.

"Spike used to be a vampire, right? Well, we all know that, so I won't go into it . . . But, what if you did what you did to get rid of your vamp face? Maybe that'll get rid of the Bracken face too . . ."

Willow trailed off, realizing she had been babbling again. Oz--although he didn't show it--thought to himself Same old Willow . . . Tara smiled at the redhead's idiosyncracies . . . she couldn't get enough of Willow.

Spike broke in, excitedly interrupting the witch and werewolf's thoughts.

"Now, why didn't I think of that?" concentrating, Spike pictured the face he had briefly seen in a mirror at the Summers' home the night before, and the other breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw the face that they had all come to label as "friendly."

"You'd think that after 124 years as a vampire, I'd know how to get rid of a non-human face." He walked over to the table chuckling as he pecked Willow on the cheek, startling her. "Thanks, Red."

Willow eeped at his affectionate display.

"Y-You're wel-welcome, Spike." she stuttered, blushing and nervously fiddling with the pen she had been using to take notes a few hours before. Before the halt that all the research went through a few hours ago, anyway.

Just then, Dawn walked in, Buffy not far behind. The younger Summers, still in shock at seeing the peroxided ex-vampire again, sat across the table from him, staring discreetly in his direction from time-to-time as though she feared he'd be gone again if she didn't check.

Buffy, however, knew from personal experiences that that kind of behavior made one uncomfortable, so she sat on the counter next to where Spike was leaning and rested her head on her now-living lover's shoulder. Her gesture of affection surprised Spike to no end.

"‘Allo, Luv. Thought you had to work late." he said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I did, but it was really slow so I asked if I could go early." she replied softly.

"Thought you needed the money," he replied, just as softly.

"I do, but I haven't seen you in months and couldn't wait any longer." she put her arms around Spike's waist and snuggled closer, surprising him even more.

Spike gulped. Before he could question the Slayer's actions, however, Giles finally noticed that the Summers women had arrived.

No one else had said anything when Buffy cuddled up to Spike out of respect for the revelation she had made at the memorial. They had made a silent agreement to give the pair a couple minutes to talk, but now that Giles was ready, that time was up.

"Ah, good." the Watcher began. "Buffy, apparently, we've found out not only what the prophesy means, but also what Bracken's Puffer does, and to whom."

"Wow." Buffy blinked. "That was fast. I was thinking I'd have to do at least the tail end of the research, but--goody for me--it's all done . . . So, what did you find?"

"Well," Willow interjected, "we didn't so much find anything, as much as it kinda already happened . . . And Faith knows the how's and huh's, so I'll just let her take it from there."

"Ooo-kee . . . Faith, whatcha got?" Buffy was getting an eerie "I-might-not-like-this" feeling in the back of her mind.

"Alright. I already told you what the first part of the prophecy meant, so I'll just skip on to the second." the younger Slayer began.

"This part of the prophecy is a lot more vague because it doesn't tell how or what was going to happen, only why--to save the world.

The how is that magic puffer fish thing sitting up on the counter. The what is Spike isn't human anymore--again."

"‘Isn't' as in ‘already happened?' And Spike was the one to get changed? How?" confused, Buffy tightened her hold on Spike's waist, afraid for the worst.

"Well, for one, he's a Bracken demon hybrid now . . . show her, Blondie." Buffy lifted her head to see what Spike had to show her, eyes widening when he brought the spines to the surface.

"Cool!" Dawn exclaimed--she had been staring at just that moment, and caught the face change. "Cooler than the vamp face!"

Buffy was speechless.

"You alright, Luv?" Spike asked, concerned as he brought his human mask back to the foreground.

Shaking her head to clear it, Buffy reached behind her head, unclasping the seemingly unbendable strand of gold she had been wearing for weeks. "I guess you won't be needing this anymore then . . . but I'll give it back to you anyway," she whispered, handing him Freyja's strand.

Spike's eyes widened and twinkled with the love he had for this woman who would trust him with such a powerful--and, in the wrong hands, dangerous--item. He couldn't wait to talk to her alone; he had so many questions about the time he had been gone.

Buffy got back on track, turning to Faith with another question. "And somehow, a spiney face is supposed to save the world?"

"There's more." Faith said mysteriously. "Just after seeing his demon reflection, Spike mentioned having a vision of some sort . . . What did you see, Spike?"

"I saw some bloke . . . dark hair, part Bracken like me now, looked kinda familiar too . . . don't know why. Then, I saw the Cheerleader . . . After that, just a jumble of flashes."

"Cheerleader?" Faith wasn't familiar with the blonde's naming system; she hadn't been around him long enough yet.

"Cordelia." Buffy answered, eyes widening.

She hurried over to the phone, dialing a number while everyone looked on, confused by her sudden action.

"Cordy? It's Buffy . . . Yeah, it's good to hear from you too . . . Anyway, I have a question. That guy that you used to work with, the Irish one? . . . Was that his name? . . . Oh, okay. Anyway, was he part-demon? . . . He was? What kind? . . . Okay, thanks, Cordy . . . No, that was it . . . I'll let you know what's going on when I find out myself. Tell Angel and Wes ‘Hi' from me. See ya . . . Bye."

The Slayer hung the phone back on its cradle as Spike and the others looked on, the light of recognition in their eyes becoming brighter and brighter by the second.

"You see where I'm getting at now, B?" Faith asked as the other Slayer settled back into her place beside Spike.

Buffy nodded somewhat woodenly.

"Alright. Now, for the rest of us, who have only figured out some of the situation, would one of you mind explaining?" Giles asked.

"B?" Faith conceded the "floor."

Her face hidden by Spike's torso, Buffy mumbled, loud enough for everyone else to hear, "Doyle had visions, which he gave to Cordelia. He was part demon--part Bracken demon. The visions help Angel to save people. The only thing I can guess is that Spike's future visions will help us to save the world."

"Exactly." Faith agreed. "And therein lies the prophecy."

"But what are we saving the world from this time?" Giles was always thorough in his questioning.

Just then Spike spoke up. "Uh oh."

"Is that a good ‘uh oh,' or a bad ‘uh oh?' ‘Cause last time you said that, it wasn't as bad as we thought." Xander asked.

"Don't know whether it's good or bad, but expect a visit--during the day, so it won't be tonight--from Johnathan . . . Looks like he's gonna be running for his life."

"Well, whatever events are gonna end the world, I guess they've started." Dawn interjected.

"Yeah, but what do we do about it for now?" the blonde Slayer asked.

"What you always do, B." Faith answered. "Find a way to save it."

Author's Notes: To all of you who were confused... Is it starting to come together yet? Some have mentioned that the reactions to Spike's return were a bit "Down-played"... Well, it was all so sudden, and I did have Willow faint... I was just trying to add a little bit of humor too (I guess that part didn't come across the way I had intended)... anyway, Buffy's BIG reaction comes later... once she's had a chance to deal... which probably means in the next chapter or two--or AFTER they save the world... you never know with me. :) I hope that clears everything up for now.

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