Family, Chapter Twenty-One
EDIT - Livejournal has removed all of my line spacing and my italics. I'll try to fix it.
Totally un-betaed and barely polished, sorry. But I wanted to get it on here.
Also the first I've written in a while, so... yeah. I have no idea if it's up to par. Because I'm too sleepy to re-read!
WarCraft soon, although it may be the first of the month before I get that one done. I mean the actual date of Sept. 1, though, not several days into the month. I'm trying for Friday, though.
At first, Spike was a little startled - and, okay, a lot angry - to wake up right back in Angelus’ bedroom, even if he was tucked up in a toasty warm bed and being cradled close to his Sire.
Dammit, how had this happened?! How did they keep on tracking him down?! So much for his getaway - so much for his carefully thought out plans, and he’d been bloody proud of those!
Then the wavering, foggy edges of the room registered in his brain and he heaved a sigh full of irritation - and a little bit of relief.
“Are ya tryin’ this shit again? Didn’t work for ya last time.”
“I needed to talk to you,” Angelus said softly, running a hand over his Childe’s curly hair, “I needed to see that you were all right.”
“M’fine, so bugger off,” Spike sat up and pushed his hands away.
“You are nowhere near fine, but at least now I know you’re still alive,” Angelus grumbled, sitting up and glaring when Spike opened his mouth, “and don’t give me any of your comments about not being ‘alive’, you know what I mean.”
“You’re about as much fun as malaria, Peaches,” Spike grumbled.
“I want you to come back,” Angelus brushed the comment aside, “You are in no shape to be running about on your own. You’re too weak and you need my blood if you’re going to get any better.”
“I was doin’ all right before ya started with all that,” Spike replied, matching his glare and edging a little further away from him, “M’just skinny ‘cause I didn't have enough blood, not ‘cause it was any certain kind.”
“William, you know better. You look a little healthier every time you feed from me, even if it doesn’t last, and I’m certain you have to feel better. Besides, you know that chip is causing damage to you when it fires - and I have the distinct impression that you’re being quite evasive about just how often the damned thing is firing.”
“Says who?” Spike demanded hotly.
“Says my own eyes, Childe. Tell me where you are.”
“No.”
“William, this is important. Every bit of research that Lucy and Tomas have done shows that you’re going to need our protection and my blood if we’re going to get that chip out - if we’re going to save you.”
Spike frowned, eyeing the bigger vampire with distinct suspicion. For someone who was acting oh-so-very worried, he looked completely calm. There was just the faintest bit of worry in those chocolate-brown eyes.
And that was almost enough to convince him - he’d never seen true worry in those eyes before, not even with all the play acting Angelus had done over the years, back when he’d been a fledge and his Sire would use all sorts of wiles to trick him into doing exactly what Angelus wanted.
Even if he was worried though, Spike was pretty sure it wasn’t because he was in some fragile state of health or because Angelus was worried about any danger. There was something - there had to be something - going on that Spike didn’t know about, that his precious Family needed him for. Just because he couldn’t figure out what it was didn’t mean that it wasn’t true.
No matter how much they insisted that they cared about him now, it was a lie. It had to be a lie. Even that fancy mojo that Aerial had been showing off couldn’t change years of spite and indifference into a true, proper Sire-Childe relationship.
"Doesn't matter," Spike finally sighed, "I still ain't tellin' ya where I am."
"You'd rather be dust than with me?" Angelus' calm expression turned hurt.
Spike resisted the urge to give in - when was his stupid subconscious going to realize this was all an act?! the rest of his brain knew it! - and gave him one of his best sneers, instead. "Looks like it, don't it?"
"I'm not so sure I believe you," was Angelus quiet reply, those too-knowing, warm brown eyes gazing intently into his until Spike had to look away.
"Don't much care what you believe," his Childe shrugged, "Doesn't change the truth."
"Neither does what you believe," Angelus said softly.
"Huh?"
"You still think this is all an act, don't you? You think that we're just luring you into some weird plot, using you as a decoy for what we're really doing. You've been hanging around Rupert Giles for far too long."
"Ain't my fault if I have," Spike shot back, "Not like I had much choice."
"Not then," Angelus admitted, "but you have a choice now. Do you really want to be alone, Childe? Do you want to be cold and hungry and lonely, or at the mercy of those human children?"
"Still safer than with you," Spike grumbled. Why wasn't this bloody dream ending?! He knew it wasn't real, yet his usual methods of waking just weren't working.
"Have I hurt you at all?" Angelus was finally beginning to look a little miffed. "Have I beaten or starved you? Have I chained you to the wall and used a whip on you? Have I done any of the things I used to do? Why do you think you aren't safe with me?"
"'Cause I still say it's an act," was the prompt reply, "and acts can end any ol' time, and then where would I be? Safer just to get away from you, get away from here entirely." He winced as soon as those words left his mouth - he hadn't meant to say that.
"So you aren't with the Slayer's little pets?" Angelus picked up on the hint immediately, like Spike knew he would. Peaches may be a jerk, but no matter what Spike taunted him with, he wasn't stupid.
"Never said that," he protested, trying to cover his mistake. "Just meant that I want to get away from the lot of ya - you and the Slayer and Rupert and your Childer and the Slayer's kids - everyone. M'done with the lot of ya. Ready ta move on ta greener pastures, an' all that."
“And you think I will just let you go?” Angelus inquired mildly, giving him an unreadable look.
“I think ya ain’t gonna have much of a choice,” Spike said, mimicking his calm, quiet tone. “I think I’m just gonna be gone and ya ain’t never gonna find me.”
“I think I’ll find you,” Angelus looked a little too thoughtful for Spike’s peace of mind. “I think that wherever you are and wherever you go, I’ll find you. I think that there’s nowhere on this earth that you can hide from me.”
The hair was standing up on the back of Spike’s neck now, and it felt like he had swallowed a friggin’ huge rock. “What?”
“You are my Childe. No matter what you believe. No matter where you go. I want you with me and you are going to be with me. “ A sudden, wicked smile on his Sire’s handsome face made Spike shudder. “And just to help me get you back where you belong, I’ve put out a bounty on you.”
“You what?!” Spike yelped.
*
"I don't understand," Buffy grumbled, staring off into the darkness outside of Giles' window. "He's not anywhere. Unless they're lying to us. They could be lying to us, right? Maybe they've got him stuffed in some room in that mansion and they're just being jerk-faces."
"If they're acting, they're doing a really good job," Xander muttered, "They've sure got Willie all shook up." He paused. "Uh-huh-huh," he added, unable to resist.
Giles gave him a mild glare.
"It's not exactly hard to shake Willie up," Buffy scoffed, "he nearly has a heart attack every time I walk into his place."
"He did say they had put out a reward for finding Spike, though." Giles mused, "That's something to think about."
"Oh, yeah?" Xander was curious, "How much?"
"Not money," Giles shook his head, "Something better, at least to the demon community. A favor from the House of Angelus. That's a very, very big reward. Why would they offer it if Spike wasn't missing?"
"Yeah, but if they've just got Spike hidden somewhere, it's not like they have to pay up," Buffy protested, "They could offer anything, and know they didn't have to worry about it."
"That is true," Giles acknowledged, "but they've also been out hunting all night long for the past two nights. And we do know that Willow got Spike out of the mansion. It's very possible that he had several hiding places around town before he was caught. We certainly didn't find him when we were looking for him the first time."
"Yeah, but Deadboy said Spike was in LA, that they found him there," Xander pointed out, "Maybe he's back in LA again?"
Giles blinked. "Well," he said slowly, "that's certainly possible. A rather good idea, in fact."
"No need to sound so surprised," Xander muttered under his breath.
"How would we try and find out, though?" Buffy asked, "We can't go to LA."
"Wesley and Cordelia can," Giles said decisively, "They're not doing much of anything to help here."
"You can say that again," Buffy huffed, looking distinctly put out, "They won't even help patrol. They just come around to do research on how to stick Angel's soul back in place."
"Well, that's pretty important," Willow spoke up, looking up from the computer, "I mean, we really need to get that back in place, right? I really, really want to be able to go outside someday."
She'd been - completely unfairly and ridiculously! - put under house arrest by her own friends just because the vampires seemed to be the angriest at her. She didn't think they were really going to hurt her, and anyway she and Tara had been practicing some awesome protection spells! But if Angelus was Angel again, then he'd send his kids away and she'd be all right and everyone would stop acting so silly and maybe... maybe...
Maybe Angel would tell her if there was a way she could take a vampire's magic.
She really wanted to know how to do those portal spells that they had been using, and they were all old and stuff - they probably had so much strength and knowledge.
She wanted it.
She wanted it now, not after she'd been studying for years and years. Where was the fun in knowing neat tricks if you were too old to use them? What would be the point of learning to teleport to, say, Paris, if she could only hobble around on a walker once she got there?
She hadn't quite gotten her nerve up to ask Giles about it - he seemed to think she was being a little overenthusiastic with her magic lately. Spoilsport. But she couldn't get Spike's words out of her head, about how Drusilla or Deborah would want to be the ones to drain her so they could steal her magic. And, okay, maybe that made her a little nervous about going out - after dark! no vampires in the daytime! she'd be totally safe if they let her go shopping! - but just the idea of getting all of their magic, instead, was enough to soothe her nerves.
Maybe she'd manage to ask Giles after Buffy and Xander went home.
*
"Oh, great, here comes a vamp," Buffy sighed, spinning away from the window and grabbing an axe, shoving a couple of stakes behind her pretty new hot pink leather belt - such a steal at that sale, and Willow was eating her heart out over it, she could tell by the way the redhead was watching her - and took up a stance in front of the open door.
"Which one?" Giles asked.
"Uh, the first one," Buffy said, "The oldest guy. I forget his name."
"Gabriel and/or Penn," Xander said instantly, ignoring the odd look Giles shot at him.
"I see you remember me," Penn said, arriving at the door much quicker than they had expected. He gave Xander a very weird smile, then turned his attention to Giles, ignoring Buffy. "Watcher," he greeted, his voice just short of polite, "Any news?"
"None," Giles shook his head.
“Really?” Penn tilted his head to the side and studied the man for a long, very disconcerting moment. “And you tell us that the Slayer has control of this town? Yet, you cannot find one single vampire? A vampire that looks as unique and is as well known here as my little Brother?”
“I don’t make friends or contacts with demons, you know,” Buffy spat, “I’m not here to start a book club or something! I’m here with a sacred duty to kill them! Not keep track of them!”
Penn raised an eyebrow at her, managing to look elegant and superior and Buffy kinda wanted to kill him just for that. “I thought your ‘sacred duty’ was more along the lines of protecting citizens or some such rot. Wouldn’t knowing who was here and where they were help with that?”
Buffy scowled at him, but couldn’t think of a response.
“Perhaps that’s something that can be discussed later,” Giles said, not wanting to get on the bad side of any of Angelus’ Childer. They had enough trouble already, just having them here in town. “The point is that we don’t currently have any contacts to ask”
“What about that guy that Spike is friends with?” Xander asked, out of the blue.
“What guy?” Buffy, Giles, Willow and Penn all asked in perfect four-part harmony.
Xander quelled the urge to comment about them practicing, and just shrugged. “Y’know, the one he plays poker with?”
All he got was a lot of blank looks.
“Geeze, am I the only one that listens to him ramble? He plays poker with some demon guy. They use kittens instead of money! Spike thinks his buddy keeps them instead of eating them like most demons do. He trades him kittens for stuff, too. He looks for ‘free kitten’ ads in the paper all the time. You guys don’t remember that?”
“So that’s why the classified section is always missing,” Giles mused.
“Kitties?!” Willow shrieked, “Demons eat little kitties?! Spike gives demons little baby kitties to eat?!”
“Uh, only one demon, who doesn’t eat them,” Xander pointed out, mentally adding ‘I hope’ but not daring to say that out loud.
“Do you know his name?” Penn asked urgently, looking as excited as Xander had ever seen a vampire look, even compared to Spike watching his ‘telly’.
He was almost sad to disappoint him. “No, sorry. I mean, Spike may have mentioned it but I don’t remember what it was. I, uh… I have a vague memory of thinking that it was a really normal name for a demon to have and being kinda surprised about it? But that’s it.”
Penn stared at him for a long - very long, and very, very creepy - moment, then nodded abruptly. “I think that our business is concluded, then,” he said.
Then he turned and walked away - he was out of sight within seconds.
“Um…” Xander said, “…he sure can move fast?”
“Yes, yes,” Giles was frowning at him, ignoring the comment. “Xander, do you think you would be able to remember that demon’s name if you took the time to think about it?”
“Uh, maybe?” Xander wasn’t sure he liked the way Giles and Buffy were staring at him. “I’m not sure, though - that conversation was kind of a long time ago?”
“Well, do make the effort,” Giles ordered.
“Why?” Willow wanted to know the same thing Xander did.
“So we can find him before Peter does,” Buffy said, forgetting Penn’s name already,. “And then we can track down Spike first, and get our leverage back. ‘Cause I got a feeling that these vampires are up to something really, really bad. If I can’t dust them, then I want them out of Sunnydale. Let them be somebody else’s problem.”
“Agreed,” Giles said, “so, Xander, you start thinking…”
“Don’t sprain anything,” Buffy teased.
“Willow, do you think you can pull up some blueprints of some of the older public buildings around here? I had the thought that Spike might have found somewhere that he doesn’t need an invitation. Somewhere with, perhaps, an abandoned or closed-off area where he wouldn’t meet anyone?”
“I’ll try,” Willow said, looking a little sullen as she wandered off to the computer.
“Buffy, you’re late for patrol,” Giles said, turning to the last of the teenagers. “I know you won’t have any help this evening, so just do a quick run through of the cemeteries and see if there are any fledges to take care of. I’m sure that all the other demons are either laying low, with the Aurelius order in town, or out searching for Spike and ignoring the humans. You should have a fairly easy time.”
“Small blessings,” Buffy grumbled, but she picked up her weapons bag and went out the door.
“I’ll be in the study,” Giles told Willow and Xander, not saying a word about what he’d be doing while he was in there, “do call if you need me.”
*
“I think I need a new brain,” Xander sighed. It was almost a half-hour later, and the room had been completely silent the whole time, except for Willow’s half-hearted tapping at the computer keyboard.
“Why?” the redhead asked, not looking up from a screen that looked a whole lot like an online store and not very much like blueprints at all.
“No reason,” Xander sighed, “Just can’t think of that name that everyone wants, that’s all.”
“Try thinking about other things,” Willow suggested, not turning to look at him, “and it’ll probably just come to you all of a sudden. You know how it is.”
“I guess,” Xander slumped down lower on the couch, “but Giles’ll be kinda grouchy about it.”
“Well, maybe go and do something else and I’ll tell him you’re trying to jar your memory,” she replied, clicking on a picture of a fuzzy yellow sweater to get a better look.
“Yeah? What else?” Xander tried not to snap, but her inattention hurt just a little bit. Wills used to be his best friend, but lately all she seemed to care about was magic and increasingly fuzzy and bizarre sweaters.
Fuzzy sweaters in California. During the summer.
Even Tara - sweet, pretty Tara that Willow said she loved - had been ignored lately.
“Hmm?” Willow’s distracted noise didn’t help.
“If I go in the kitchen, he’ll say something about me eating instead of focusing. If I go in the study, he’ll say not to bother him. I’m not going upstairs, and there’s only so long you can hide in the bathroom, you know?”
“Well, maybe say you’re going home to see if it jogs your memory,” Willow actually glanced at him for a second or two, until the lure of the fuzzy sweater overcame her.
“Yeah, I guess,” Xander muttered, getting up and shuffling over to the study door. “Hey, Giles?”
“Yes, Xander?” Giles called, not opening the door.
“I’m gonna go home and see if I can’t jog my memory there, okay?”
“Be sure and call as soon as you have the name,” Giles ordered, then went back to whatever it was that he was doing in there.
“Yeah, bye to you, too,” Xander sighed, heading for the door without bothering to speak to Willow again. He could see the rainbow-striped sweater on the screen from here, and he knew she wouldn’t hear a bomb going off until after that monstrosity was ordered.
“Maybe a pizza will do the jogging,” he told himself as he went out the door, “Mmm, pizza! All cheesy and greasy and goooood. Gotta be brain food; tastes better than fish, so somebody put a lot of thought into it, so if it has a lot of thought in it, that should make it brain food!” There was nothing like a good babble to convince yourself of a solid, completely insane factoid. And give you a great excuse for junk food.
He snickered to himself.
Behind him, someone else snickered.
“Shit!” he yelped, jerking around, eyes wild and his hands grabbing for stakes that he didn’t have.
There was no one there.
“Whew,” he sighed, staring at the dim, shadowy street, “I gotta quit watching so many horror movies. My imagination, it is too healthy of a beast.” He turned back in the direction of his house.
He immediately slammed into the very solid person who had been standing right behind him.
He swore to himself that the sound he made was a very manly shout, not a girly shriek.
“Hello again,” Penn smiled at him, and Xander had no more than a second to think, ‘uh-oh!’ before everything went black.
Totally un-betaed and barely polished, sorry. But I wanted to get it on here.
Also the first I've written in a while, so... yeah. I have no idea if it's up to par. Because I'm too sleepy to re-read!
WarCraft soon, although it may be the first of the month before I get that one done. I mean the actual date of Sept. 1, though, not several days into the month. I'm trying for Friday, though.
At first, Spike was a little startled - and, okay, a lot angry - to wake up right back in Angelus’ bedroom, even if he was tucked up in a toasty warm bed and being cradled close to his Sire.
Dammit, how had this happened?! How did they keep on tracking him down?! So much for his getaway - so much for his carefully thought out plans, and he’d been bloody proud of those!
Then the wavering, foggy edges of the room registered in his brain and he heaved a sigh full of irritation - and a little bit of relief.
“Are ya tryin’ this shit again? Didn’t work for ya last time.”
“I needed to talk to you,” Angelus said softly, running a hand over his Childe’s curly hair, “I needed to see that you were all right.”
“M’fine, so bugger off,” Spike sat up and pushed his hands away.
“You are nowhere near fine, but at least now I know you’re still alive,” Angelus grumbled, sitting up and glaring when Spike opened his mouth, “and don’t give me any of your comments about not being ‘alive’, you know what I mean.”
“You’re about as much fun as malaria, Peaches,” Spike grumbled.
“I want you to come back,” Angelus brushed the comment aside, “You are in no shape to be running about on your own. You’re too weak and you need my blood if you’re going to get any better.”
“I was doin’ all right before ya started with all that,” Spike replied, matching his glare and edging a little further away from him, “M’just skinny ‘cause I didn't have enough blood, not ‘cause it was any certain kind.”
“William, you know better. You look a little healthier every time you feed from me, even if it doesn’t last, and I’m certain you have to feel better. Besides, you know that chip is causing damage to you when it fires - and I have the distinct impression that you’re being quite evasive about just how often the damned thing is firing.”
“Says who?” Spike demanded hotly.
“Says my own eyes, Childe. Tell me where you are.”
“No.”
“William, this is important. Every bit of research that Lucy and Tomas have done shows that you’re going to need our protection and my blood if we’re going to get that chip out - if we’re going to save you.”
Spike frowned, eyeing the bigger vampire with distinct suspicion. For someone who was acting oh-so-very worried, he looked completely calm. There was just the faintest bit of worry in those chocolate-brown eyes.
And that was almost enough to convince him - he’d never seen true worry in those eyes before, not even with all the play acting Angelus had done over the years, back when he’d been a fledge and his Sire would use all sorts of wiles to trick him into doing exactly what Angelus wanted.
Even if he was worried though, Spike was pretty sure it wasn’t because he was in some fragile state of health or because Angelus was worried about any danger. There was something - there had to be something - going on that Spike didn’t know about, that his precious Family needed him for. Just because he couldn’t figure out what it was didn’t mean that it wasn’t true.
No matter how much they insisted that they cared about him now, it was a lie. It had to be a lie. Even that fancy mojo that Aerial had been showing off couldn’t change years of spite and indifference into a true, proper Sire-Childe relationship.
"Doesn't matter," Spike finally sighed, "I still ain't tellin' ya where I am."
"You'd rather be dust than with me?" Angelus' calm expression turned hurt.
Spike resisted the urge to give in - when was his stupid subconscious going to realize this was all an act?! the rest of his brain knew it! - and gave him one of his best sneers, instead. "Looks like it, don't it?"
"I'm not so sure I believe you," was Angelus quiet reply, those too-knowing, warm brown eyes gazing intently into his until Spike had to look away.
"Don't much care what you believe," his Childe shrugged, "Doesn't change the truth."
"Neither does what you believe," Angelus said softly.
"Huh?"
"You still think this is all an act, don't you? You think that we're just luring you into some weird plot, using you as a decoy for what we're really doing. You've been hanging around Rupert Giles for far too long."
"Ain't my fault if I have," Spike shot back, "Not like I had much choice."
"Not then," Angelus admitted, "but you have a choice now. Do you really want to be alone, Childe? Do you want to be cold and hungry and lonely, or at the mercy of those human children?"
"Still safer than with you," Spike grumbled. Why wasn't this bloody dream ending?! He knew it wasn't real, yet his usual methods of waking just weren't working.
"Have I hurt you at all?" Angelus was finally beginning to look a little miffed. "Have I beaten or starved you? Have I chained you to the wall and used a whip on you? Have I done any of the things I used to do? Why do you think you aren't safe with me?"
"'Cause I still say it's an act," was the prompt reply, "and acts can end any ol' time, and then where would I be? Safer just to get away from you, get away from here entirely." He winced as soon as those words left his mouth - he hadn't meant to say that.
"So you aren't with the Slayer's little pets?" Angelus picked up on the hint immediately, like Spike knew he would. Peaches may be a jerk, but no matter what Spike taunted him with, he wasn't stupid.
"Never said that," he protested, trying to cover his mistake. "Just meant that I want to get away from the lot of ya - you and the Slayer and Rupert and your Childer and the Slayer's kids - everyone. M'done with the lot of ya. Ready ta move on ta greener pastures, an' all that."
“And you think I will just let you go?” Angelus inquired mildly, giving him an unreadable look.
“I think ya ain’t gonna have much of a choice,” Spike said, mimicking his calm, quiet tone. “I think I’m just gonna be gone and ya ain’t never gonna find me.”
“I think I’ll find you,” Angelus looked a little too thoughtful for Spike’s peace of mind. “I think that wherever you are and wherever you go, I’ll find you. I think that there’s nowhere on this earth that you can hide from me.”
The hair was standing up on the back of Spike’s neck now, and it felt like he had swallowed a friggin’ huge rock. “What?”
“You are my Childe. No matter what you believe. No matter where you go. I want you with me and you are going to be with me. “ A sudden, wicked smile on his Sire’s handsome face made Spike shudder. “And just to help me get you back where you belong, I’ve put out a bounty on you.”
“You what?!” Spike yelped.
*
"I don't understand," Buffy grumbled, staring off into the darkness outside of Giles' window. "He's not anywhere. Unless they're lying to us. They could be lying to us, right? Maybe they've got him stuffed in some room in that mansion and they're just being jerk-faces."
"If they're acting, they're doing a really good job," Xander muttered, "They've sure got Willie all shook up." He paused. "Uh-huh-huh," he added, unable to resist.
Giles gave him a mild glare.
"It's not exactly hard to shake Willie up," Buffy scoffed, "he nearly has a heart attack every time I walk into his place."
"He did say they had put out a reward for finding Spike, though." Giles mused, "That's something to think about."
"Oh, yeah?" Xander was curious, "How much?"
"Not money," Giles shook his head, "Something better, at least to the demon community. A favor from the House of Angelus. That's a very, very big reward. Why would they offer it if Spike wasn't missing?"
"Yeah, but if they've just got Spike hidden somewhere, it's not like they have to pay up," Buffy protested, "They could offer anything, and know they didn't have to worry about it."
"That is true," Giles acknowledged, "but they've also been out hunting all night long for the past two nights. And we do know that Willow got Spike out of the mansion. It's very possible that he had several hiding places around town before he was caught. We certainly didn't find him when we were looking for him the first time."
"Yeah, but Deadboy said Spike was in LA, that they found him there," Xander pointed out, "Maybe he's back in LA again?"
Giles blinked. "Well," he said slowly, "that's certainly possible. A rather good idea, in fact."
"No need to sound so surprised," Xander muttered under his breath.
"How would we try and find out, though?" Buffy asked, "We can't go to LA."
"Wesley and Cordelia can," Giles said decisively, "They're not doing much of anything to help here."
"You can say that again," Buffy huffed, looking distinctly put out, "They won't even help patrol. They just come around to do research on how to stick Angel's soul back in place."
"Well, that's pretty important," Willow spoke up, looking up from the computer, "I mean, we really need to get that back in place, right? I really, really want to be able to go outside someday."
She'd been - completely unfairly and ridiculously! - put under house arrest by her own friends just because the vampires seemed to be the angriest at her. She didn't think they were really going to hurt her, and anyway she and Tara had been practicing some awesome protection spells! But if Angelus was Angel again, then he'd send his kids away and she'd be all right and everyone would stop acting so silly and maybe... maybe...
Maybe Angel would tell her if there was a way she could take a vampire's magic.
She really wanted to know how to do those portal spells that they had been using, and they were all old and stuff - they probably had so much strength and knowledge.
She wanted it.
She wanted it now, not after she'd been studying for years and years. Where was the fun in knowing neat tricks if you were too old to use them? What would be the point of learning to teleport to, say, Paris, if she could only hobble around on a walker once she got there?
She hadn't quite gotten her nerve up to ask Giles about it - he seemed to think she was being a little overenthusiastic with her magic lately. Spoilsport. But she couldn't get Spike's words out of her head, about how Drusilla or Deborah would want to be the ones to drain her so they could steal her magic. And, okay, maybe that made her a little nervous about going out - after dark! no vampires in the daytime! she'd be totally safe if they let her go shopping! - but just the idea of getting all of their magic, instead, was enough to soothe her nerves.
Maybe she'd manage to ask Giles after Buffy and Xander went home.
*
"Oh, great, here comes a vamp," Buffy sighed, spinning away from the window and grabbing an axe, shoving a couple of stakes behind her pretty new hot pink leather belt - such a steal at that sale, and Willow was eating her heart out over it, she could tell by the way the redhead was watching her - and took up a stance in front of the open door.
"Which one?" Giles asked.
"Uh, the first one," Buffy said, "The oldest guy. I forget his name."
"Gabriel and/or Penn," Xander said instantly, ignoring the odd look Giles shot at him.
"I see you remember me," Penn said, arriving at the door much quicker than they had expected. He gave Xander a very weird smile, then turned his attention to Giles, ignoring Buffy. "Watcher," he greeted, his voice just short of polite, "Any news?"
"None," Giles shook his head.
“Really?” Penn tilted his head to the side and studied the man for a long, very disconcerting moment. “And you tell us that the Slayer has control of this town? Yet, you cannot find one single vampire? A vampire that looks as unique and is as well known here as my little Brother?”
“I don’t make friends or contacts with demons, you know,” Buffy spat, “I’m not here to start a book club or something! I’m here with a sacred duty to kill them! Not keep track of them!”
Penn raised an eyebrow at her, managing to look elegant and superior and Buffy kinda wanted to kill him just for that. “I thought your ‘sacred duty’ was more along the lines of protecting citizens or some such rot. Wouldn’t knowing who was here and where they were help with that?”
Buffy scowled at him, but couldn’t think of a response.
“Perhaps that’s something that can be discussed later,” Giles said, not wanting to get on the bad side of any of Angelus’ Childer. They had enough trouble already, just having them here in town. “The point is that we don’t currently have any contacts to ask”
“What about that guy that Spike is friends with?” Xander asked, out of the blue.
“What guy?” Buffy, Giles, Willow and Penn all asked in perfect four-part harmony.
Xander quelled the urge to comment about them practicing, and just shrugged. “Y’know, the one he plays poker with?”
All he got was a lot of blank looks.
“Geeze, am I the only one that listens to him ramble? He plays poker with some demon guy. They use kittens instead of money! Spike thinks his buddy keeps them instead of eating them like most demons do. He trades him kittens for stuff, too. He looks for ‘free kitten’ ads in the paper all the time. You guys don’t remember that?”
“So that’s why the classified section is always missing,” Giles mused.
“Kitties?!” Willow shrieked, “Demons eat little kitties?! Spike gives demons little baby kitties to eat?!”
“Uh, only one demon, who doesn’t eat them,” Xander pointed out, mentally adding ‘I hope’ but not daring to say that out loud.
“Do you know his name?” Penn asked urgently, looking as excited as Xander had ever seen a vampire look, even compared to Spike watching his ‘telly’.
He was almost sad to disappoint him. “No, sorry. I mean, Spike may have mentioned it but I don’t remember what it was. I, uh… I have a vague memory of thinking that it was a really normal name for a demon to have and being kinda surprised about it? But that’s it.”
Penn stared at him for a long - very long, and very, very creepy - moment, then nodded abruptly. “I think that our business is concluded, then,” he said.
Then he turned and walked away - he was out of sight within seconds.
“Um…” Xander said, “…he sure can move fast?”
“Yes, yes,” Giles was frowning at him, ignoring the comment. “Xander, do you think you would be able to remember that demon’s name if you took the time to think about it?”
“Uh, maybe?” Xander wasn’t sure he liked the way Giles and Buffy were staring at him. “I’m not sure, though - that conversation was kind of a long time ago?”
“Well, do make the effort,” Giles ordered.
“Why?” Willow wanted to know the same thing Xander did.
“So we can find him before Peter does,” Buffy said, forgetting Penn’s name already,. “And then we can track down Spike first, and get our leverage back. ‘Cause I got a feeling that these vampires are up to something really, really bad. If I can’t dust them, then I want them out of Sunnydale. Let them be somebody else’s problem.”
“Agreed,” Giles said, “so, Xander, you start thinking…”
“Don’t sprain anything,” Buffy teased.
“Willow, do you think you can pull up some blueprints of some of the older public buildings around here? I had the thought that Spike might have found somewhere that he doesn’t need an invitation. Somewhere with, perhaps, an abandoned or closed-off area where he wouldn’t meet anyone?”
“I’ll try,” Willow said, looking a little sullen as she wandered off to the computer.
“Buffy, you’re late for patrol,” Giles said, turning to the last of the teenagers. “I know you won’t have any help this evening, so just do a quick run through of the cemeteries and see if there are any fledges to take care of. I’m sure that all the other demons are either laying low, with the Aurelius order in town, or out searching for Spike and ignoring the humans. You should have a fairly easy time.”
“Small blessings,” Buffy grumbled, but she picked up her weapons bag and went out the door.
“I’ll be in the study,” Giles told Willow and Xander, not saying a word about what he’d be doing while he was in there, “do call if you need me.”
*
“I think I need a new brain,” Xander sighed. It was almost a half-hour later, and the room had been completely silent the whole time, except for Willow’s half-hearted tapping at the computer keyboard.
“Why?” the redhead asked, not looking up from a screen that looked a whole lot like an online store and not very much like blueprints at all.
“No reason,” Xander sighed, “Just can’t think of that name that everyone wants, that’s all.”
“Try thinking about other things,” Willow suggested, not turning to look at him, “and it’ll probably just come to you all of a sudden. You know how it is.”
“I guess,” Xander slumped down lower on the couch, “but Giles’ll be kinda grouchy about it.”
“Well, maybe go and do something else and I’ll tell him you’re trying to jar your memory,” she replied, clicking on a picture of a fuzzy yellow sweater to get a better look.
“Yeah? What else?” Xander tried not to snap, but her inattention hurt just a little bit. Wills used to be his best friend, but lately all she seemed to care about was magic and increasingly fuzzy and bizarre sweaters.
Fuzzy sweaters in California. During the summer.
Even Tara - sweet, pretty Tara that Willow said she loved - had been ignored lately.
“Hmm?” Willow’s distracted noise didn’t help.
“If I go in the kitchen, he’ll say something about me eating instead of focusing. If I go in the study, he’ll say not to bother him. I’m not going upstairs, and there’s only so long you can hide in the bathroom, you know?”
“Well, maybe say you’re going home to see if it jogs your memory,” Willow actually glanced at him for a second or two, until the lure of the fuzzy sweater overcame her.
“Yeah, I guess,” Xander muttered, getting up and shuffling over to the study door. “Hey, Giles?”
“Yes, Xander?” Giles called, not opening the door.
“I’m gonna go home and see if I can’t jog my memory there, okay?”
“Be sure and call as soon as you have the name,” Giles ordered, then went back to whatever it was that he was doing in there.
“Yeah, bye to you, too,” Xander sighed, heading for the door without bothering to speak to Willow again. He could see the rainbow-striped sweater on the screen from here, and he knew she wouldn’t hear a bomb going off until after that monstrosity was ordered.
“Maybe a pizza will do the jogging,” he told himself as he went out the door, “Mmm, pizza! All cheesy and greasy and goooood. Gotta be brain food; tastes better than fish, so somebody put a lot of thought into it, so if it has a lot of thought in it, that should make it brain food!” There was nothing like a good babble to convince yourself of a solid, completely insane factoid. And give you a great excuse for junk food.
He snickered to himself.
Behind him, someone else snickered.
“Shit!” he yelped, jerking around, eyes wild and his hands grabbing for stakes that he didn’t have.
There was no one there.
“Whew,” he sighed, staring at the dim, shadowy street, “I gotta quit watching so many horror movies. My imagination, it is too healthy of a beast.” He turned back in the direction of his house.
He immediately slammed into the very solid person who had been standing right behind him.
He swore to himself that the sound he made was a very manly shout, not a girly shriek.
“Hello again,” Penn smiled at him, and Xander had no more than a second to think, ‘uh-oh!’ before everything went black.