Kin of the Soul
Kin of the Soul
Slash: Angel/Xander, Angel/Spike
Rated: ADULT
banner by objectivelypink
And we're trucking right along. The sex might have been great, but now it's time to start getting with the god hunting.
( Part One ) ( Part Two ) ( Part Three ) ( Part Four ) ( Part Five ) ( Part Six ) ( Part Seven ) ( Part Eight ) ( Part Nine ) ( Part Ten ) ( Part Eleven ) ( Part Twelve ) ( Part Thirteen ) ( Part Fourteen ) (Part Fifteen ) ( Part Sixteen ) ( Part Seventeen ) ( Part Eighteen ) ( Part Nineteen ) ( Part Twenty) ( Part Twenty-One ) ( Part Twenty-Two ) ( Part Twenty-Three ) ( Part Twenty-Four ) ( Part Twenty-Five ) ( Part Twenty-six ) ( Part Twenty-Seven ) ( Part Twenty-eight ) ( Part Twenty-nine )( Part thirty ) ( Part Thirty-one ) ( Part Thirty-Two ) ( Part Thirty-Three ) ( Part Thirty four ) ( Part Thirty-five ) ( Part Thirty-Six ) ( Part Thirty-Seven ) ( Part Thirty-Eight ) ( Part Thirty-nine ) ( Part Forty ) ( Part Forty-one ) ( Part Forty-two ) ( Part Forty-three ) ( Part Forty-four ) ( Part Forty-five ) ( Part Forty-six ) ( Part Forty-Seven ) ( Part Forty-Eight ) ( Part 49 ) ( Part 50 ) ( Part 51 ) ( Part 52 ) ( Part 53 ) ( Part 54 ) ( Part 55 ) ( Part 56 ) ( Part 57 ) ( Part 58 )
Chapter 59
Xander finished and looked at the other two. Wesley’s eyes were big, and he’d pulled his glasses off before Xander had finished his first sentence. Spike… well, he didn’t look as shocked, but he had gone perfectly still, and for Spike, still was not normal.
“Bloody hell. So Angel’s in there… the original Angel? Angelus?” Spike leaned forward in his chair and stared at Angel like he’d never seen him before. He was taking the whole thing better than Wesley who seemed to be trying to flatten himself against the far wall. Xander figured the man was going to have heart attack if they didn’t find a way to get the slave spell off him.
Angel narrowed his eyes. “I’ve always been in here,” he said darkly, and now that Xander knew what was going on, he could tell that was all Angelus. Spike did too because he leaned back in his chair.
“Never said you weren’t, ducks.”
Angel’s eyes narrowed more and Spike stood up and headed for the fireplace, his hands digging in the pockets of his duster.
“This is… I mean… quite remarkable.” Wesley seemed to have lost the power over complete sentences.
“I’m guessing that Anyanka is a little better with the cursing than gypsies,” Xander pointed out.
“And I suspect I’m not the only one she cursed,” Angel added. His expression softened, and he reached out to rest a hand on Xander’s knee. “You weren’t yourself after I left Los Angeles.”
“We’re talking about your curse here,” Xander said. The same thought had occurred to him, but he was trying really hard to ignore the possibility. “Well, that and the fact that Angel and Angelus have two different sets of memories, and only one includes Dawn. I’m thinking that’s not good.”
Spike leaned against the side of the fireplace, a cigarette between his fingers. “Right then, you’re still thinking you don’t know Dawn then?”
Angel nodded. “The soul never met Dawn. The demon remembers meeting Dawn when Xander first came to the apartment.”
“Which was back when the soul was still there,” Spike pointed out. “That sounds a little like you’ve gone ‘round the twist.”
Angel gave a low warning growl, and Spike held up his hands in surrender. “Not that I can’t think of a few other possibilities.”
“Really? Because I’m totally out of options other than Angel had his brains scrambled,” Xander said. Angel’s fingers tightened painfully against his knee for one moment before they loosened again. “And I would still love you, and I would still really enjoy having sex even if you did have scrambled brains, but I’m hoping Spike has a better explanation,” Xander offered with a shrug. Angel went totally expressionless again. Yep, Angelus was pissed at the suggestion. “And besides, I’m pretty sure I’m saying the soul has potential brain scrambling, not the demon,” Xander added.
Immediately Angel seemed to shake free with a quick twitch. “I don’t believe that either of us is having delusions,” Angel pointed out.
Crossing the room again, Spike dropped back down into the chair he’d abandoned just minutes earlier. “I can think of more than one reason for changing reality,” he mused. “The thing that bloody worries me is the amount of power it would take to do that. If we have someone who can change reality, that’s some big mojo.” Spike actually managed to look worried.
“Surely you don’t think anyone….” Wesley’s voice trailed off when Spike looked over with a cold expression.
“It’s been done before if the old master Heinrich can be believed. This is why I soddin’ hate mojo. People have too many ways to muck up the world for the rest of us.”
Wesley shoved his glasses back on his face. “So, you truly believe someone could… fabricate a human being? Fabricate memories for each of us?”
For a time, Spike was silent. Then he gave a nonchalant sniff and a shrug. “When we researched Anyanka, we found that she created all sorts of alternate realities. The buggers bled into each other more than once, too. If she has that power, others do, too. There’s no such thing as a unique magical skill, so you need to get into those books and figure out what kind of mojo we might be looking at.”
Ignoring the whole question of whether it was possible, Xander focused on the part that didn’t make sense to him. “Okay, is it just me that's not coming up with any good reason for inventing a baby sister? I mean, I like Dawn, I like her a lot. If someone was going to create a human being from scratch, they could do way worse than Dawn. But I'm thinking that magically inventing a little sister for the slayer is somewhat pointless.”
“Oh, I don't know about that, pet. It’d be a soddin’ good tactical move. And if Angel’s soul was banging around heaven when the spell got cast, it even makes sense that he didn’t get the update.”
“Sense?” Xander demanded. “What, annoy Buffy with the tagalong little sister until she gives up? I’m the first to say that I’m not good with planning, so maybe I’m missing something, but that seems more than a little stupid.”
“Luv, there are days that I think you're so innocent we should just find someplace safe and lock you up,” Spike said with the sort of fond look that made it clear he liked Xander, even when he thought Xander was a goober. Angel growled. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist. I didn’t say I would do it,” Spike said with an elaborate eyeroll. But you have to admit, he’d be a good site safer chained to your bed, Angel.” That seemed to satisfy both Angel and Angelus because he got a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Don’t even think about it,” Xander warned him, even though there was this little part of him that was terrified of pissing off Angelus. Or a big part of him. Living with Angelus had added a few new twists to his brain, and Xander had been through enough therapy to know they weren’t healthy turns. So instead of paying attention to any of the new turns in his brain, Xander just aimed a punch for Angel’s stomach. Angel let it land before he caught Xander’s wrist and held it, the shadow of a smile on his face. Angel raised one eyebrow, but Xander leaned into Angel without trying to reclaim his hand.
“How about you guys just explain exactly how this would be any kind of tactical advantage,” Xander asked, still leaning into Angel.
“Manipulative, isn’t he?” Spike asked with a nod toward Xander.
“Very. He’s also very transparent,” Angel agreed fondly before draping an arm over Xander’s shoulders and pulling him closer.
“Yep, that’s me. Manipulative, transparent, and really confused about why you guys seem to actually think Dawn might be something other than our Dawnie,” Xander agreed.
“It would seem to be a rather large outlay of magic for a rather questionable outcome,” Wesley agreed cautiously.
Spike gave another snort and bounced out of his chair before starting to pace. “Not so questionable. Imagine you're the local big bad. You want to make sure that the slayer doesn't shove her bloody big sword and you. Tell me the one person in this town that Buffy is not going to run a sword through.” Spike stopped and pinned each of them with a look.
Xander's heart sank down into his stomach. “You can't mean.” He stopped, not even wanting to say the nasty little thought that was growing in his brain. He tried to lean forward, but Angel’s arm held him, and Xander struggled, his heart beating faster as Spike didn’t reassure him that he’d just made the world’s worst joke.
“Hush, m’fhear,” Angel crooned softly.
“If I were Glory, I'd want whatever human I was attached to in the safest place possible. Having her in the same house with the slayer would be a bloody brilliant move. I could keep an eye on the enemy and emotionally gut her at any time,” Spike pointed out. His gameface came forward.
“But Dawn wouldn't - no.” Xander squirmed harder. “No, I've known Dawn forever and she wouldn't do that to Buffy. She loves Buffy. Okay, sometimes she loves to annoy Buffy to the point of homicide. But that kind of goes along with the little sister thing.”
“It could be she doesn’t know what she is,” Spike said. He shook his head and his demon features fell away leaving him looking more worried that Xander could ever remember seeing him look. Spike had gone up against the Nazi demon guys with their big old vampire and human burning technothingy without looking this upset. “I don’t rightly know how much power a hell god has, but if Glory can control who she’s attached to, and if she can gather up enough power, she might be able to create an avatar.” Spike ran his tongue along the inside of his lower lip.
“A what?”
“Avatar. A human,” Spike said with a sigh, clearly annoyed at Xander’s lack of vocabulary. “If we’re right about Glory using her, there’s a good chance Dawn doesn’t even know, luv.”
“Okay, you’re talking like this is more likely than not, and that’s more than a little freaky. We don’t know any of this is true,” Xander said, desperate to defend Dawn. She was like a little sister, only one lucky enough to not have Tony Harris’ genes.
Spike came close and crouched down in front of Xander, both his hands on Xander’s knees. “That’s just one possibility, pet. I figure it’s just as likely that she’s some magic user who doesn’t have any other way to defend herself, so she’s hiding behind the slayer’s skirt. That actually sounds like something that a demon from Mayet’s group might try to pull off.”
“You think she could be another aspect of Ra?” Wesley took a step forward before practically collapsing into a chair near the door as if he couldn’t handle one more surprise without his knees giving out.
“Dawn?” Xander’s voice went up an octave. “She cried over long division. Cried.” Xander’s voice broke. “Do you really think that an aspect of Ra would cry over having to carry three? I mean, I did, too, but I’m not someone powerful enough to shift all of reality. And honestly? I don’t think Dawn is, either. I think she’s a little sister.”
Spike nodded and then pushed himself up using Xander’s knees. “There’s a good chance she believes that, pet. There aren’t many creatures that can lie to a vampire, and I didn’t notice anything amiss.”
“She smelled of Buffy,” Angel agreed. “And when I challenged her, she smelled of hurt and confusion. If she’d turned aggressive, even if she’d tried to hide it, I would have known. She believes she’s Buffy’s sister.”
Xander looked from Angel to Spike and back, but neither of them was saying the sorts of things that would make Xander feel better. “Saying that she probably believes she’d Buffy’s sister is not the same as saying she is Buffy’s sister. I would be much happier if we stopped talking about Dawn like a potential big bad. It’s doing strange things to my head.”
“Agreed,” Wesley said softly.
Spike and Angel exchanged a long look, the sort that reminded Xander that they had a hundred ways of communicating without ever talking. “Luv,” Spike started, “you know I love the Bit is much as you do.”
“Then why does it sound like you're finding some justification for taking potentially lethal action against a member of Buffy's family?” Wesley asked. Xander had been wondering the same thing, but he hadn’t wanted to say it out loud. The second someone said fatal or lethal or any other word in that general family, it was like jinxing them all. However, Wesley looked up with a fierce look on his face. “Such an action would lead to war, and the slayer has an impressive number of allies.” It occurred to Xander that Wesley had discovered a whole lot of backbone over the last few weeks. It was kind of weird; Angelus had actually been good for Wesley in a sick and twisted sort of way.
Spike flashed into gameface at the accusation. “I won't bloody do that unless I have no choice. But I am not going to put my family at risk. If Angel says that reality didn't include Dawn before he left, then something is going on.”
“It is,” Angel agreed. “I won’t go to war unless my family is at risk, but if Glorificus is hiding in Dawn, we will do what we have to.”
“And here I was having moral conniptions over the idea that Spike wanted to kill some random human we didn’t know. Spike killing Dawn is way, way more conniption-worthy,” Xander muttered.
“We’ll leave that to last resort,” Spike said firmly. Angel didn’t contradict him, so Xander figured that was the best promise he was getting out of either vampire. “But if it comes down to it, we’re strong enough to take care of Glorificus and Buffy if need be. I mean, Angel was a right treat to watch in a fight, but in the good old days, I saw Angelus take on some pretty impressive blokes. If the demon gets more influence here, Angel could take the slayer.”
“Not unless I have to,” Angel said firmly.
Spike went back to pacing. “Which is why I know you’ll get the job done. Angelus always played too much, and Angel didn’t bloody know how to play at all. If you two can agree on one attack plan, we’ll take out this god,” Spike said with confidence. Xander could feel Angel shift subtly. “Price, you find anything you can on reality shifters. Send Harmony back to LA for more books if you need them.”
“Where did she-”
“How the soddin’ hell would I know? Call her phone. That’s why she has one,” Spike snapped. Then he turned toward the couch. “Sire, any preference?”
“I should send you as bait,” Angel said.
“What?” Xander looked from one to another.
Spike grinning. “I’m brilliant at it.”
“But I can’t concentrate around Dawn.” Angel looked like he was pretty disgusted with himself about that. “You stay with Dawn. She’ll want to talk to you, and if I’m not there, you can easily explain it.”
“You were acting pretty barmy, earlier,” Spike agreed. “The slayer would probably be just as happy to have you keep your distance.”
“What bait?” Xander demanded.
“Can you handle Riley?”
Spike snorted. “You’re the one who always thought he’d take things too far, Peaches. Well, that or you thought I would. I never did have a problem with Finn. We’re not two mindless lieutenants battling for our clan leaders.”
“Bait?” Xander tried again.
“I’ll take bait, then,” Angel said firmly.
“Someone had better start explaining ‘bait’ to me in small words,” Xander threatened as he wrapped his fingers around Angel’s belt. If all else failed, he was clinging to Angel like a limpet until he knew his vampires weren’t about to do something really idiotic.
“In 1889 we had a hunter on our tail, some magic user who kept spotting our lairs. We couldn’t figure out who kept sending out the mob with the torches, so we split up,” Spike explained.
“Drusilla, Darla and I each watched a church. Young William played the bait.”
Spike grinned. “And we figured out which church was sending out the mobs.”
Xander made a face. “I’m not going to like how this story ends, am I?” he asked, seriously bothered by the idea of them doing their hunting thing with Dawn.
Angel went stone-faced again. It was Spike who had to answer. “Probably not, luv, but we’re not the same vamps this time around. I’ll keep an eye on Dawn, and Angel will see if he can flush out the hell-bitch. If he can, and Dawn’s still with me, that will narrow down a few things. Either they aren’t connected or Glorificus can appear without using her avatar’s body. Information is power.” Angel was still stone-faced as Xander looked over to Wesley for some sort of backup. Hunting and Dawn should not be in the same paragraph, much less the same sentence.
“It could narrow the possibilities,” Wesley said slowly.
Xander bit his lips as he realized he was the only person in the room who wasn’t in favor of this plan. Worse, he couldn’t come up with one reason against it, other than his gut really didn’t like the idea of even suspecting Dawn. And the more he didn’t like the idea of suspecting Dawn, the more he wondered if that was a rational response. Maybe someone had stirred up his brain to make him trust Dawn when he shouldn’t. If Xander didn’t have an ulcer by the end of the week, he was going to be surprised.
“You guys better not get Dawn killed… or get yourself killed… or even get any of you significantly maimed,” Xander warned.
Spike’s grin widened, and Angel shook himself out of that stone-faced silence.
“A’choi, trust that I will act only in our best interest,” Angel promised. He stood up and pulled Xander up with him. For a while, they stood holding each other. Xander accepted the tacit promise and sent up his own little prayer. Please, God, do not make Dawn the big bad. Xander’s stomach would never survive, and Xander wasn’t sure whether Buffy would listen to any explanation if the LA crew touched one hair on Dawn’s head. Xander wasn’t sure that he could forgive either Spike or Angel if they killed Dawn, not even if it took killing her to save the world. Clearly Xander’s morals were a little rusty if he was willing to let the world burn just to protect one person, but Xander knew his own faults. He always had been a selfish bastard when it came to family.
Eventually Xander loosened his hold around Angel’s waist, and Angel stepped back and brought his hand up to cup Xander’s face. “The mansion is spelled and safe, m’fhear. Stay here. I promise I will return.”
“No worries. I’ll bring him home safe as houses,” Spike agreed with a wink.
Angel gave Spike a dirty look, and then the two of them were heading for the door, and Xander was wondering exactly when his life had taken on this particular shade of being completely and totally screwed.