(Untitled)

[captainjhart]

Who: Future Spike & John [Closed]
What: Trying to stop the crazy
Where: IDK wherever Future Crazy Spike is hiding.

John stumbled through the hallways, searching frantically for any sign of the vampire. He was still injured pretty severely and it wasn't easy to move quickly, but he didn't care. He needed to find Spike.

Comments

[captainjhart]

John entered a part of the base that he'd not been in before. He hadn't had much time to go exploring yet, after all. He'd been pretty busy his first few days there getting drunk and getting laid, and later he had been too injured to go very far.

John continued to open random doors, and found one of them actually opening to a set of stair leading down into the dark. Like a basement.

It looked like a prime place for evil minions the be hiding, but a nagging voice in the back of John's head told him to take a chance and see what was down there. Slowly and cautiously, he descended the stairs. As he reached the bottom, he groped in the dark for a light switch, and found one. It only gave off a very dim light, but he was able to look around a bit.

This place was a drastic difference from the rest of the base, which was, for the most part, clean and well decorated. This place was dank and had a musty smell. Definitely the basement, he thought.

He began to move through the cavernous room, looking carefully as he turned corners. Not that he would have much chance of escape were he to run into an enemy. He was still unarmed and of course would not do very well in a fight.

What was he even doing here? He was almost certain he would never find the vampire in this huge base. He probably should have just stayed in his room, hoping the danger would pass. But he couldn't do that. Not without trying first.

Still, he was about ready to give up, when he thought he heard a faint noise a bit farther back. Well, it either meant death, or it didn't, and there was only one way to find out. He crept forward, trying to be silent, as he attempted to make out the sound.

As he approached, he was able to tell that the sound was clearly a voice. But it was faint. Sounded like muttering. And the voice...

Yes, it was definitely Spike's! He'd found him at last!

"Spike!" he called, triumphantly, "Spike, mate! I'm here! I've found you!" He felt joyful laughter welling up inside of him.

[yesanotherone]

Spike jumped at the sound of John's voice. "N-no. No. No. Not real, not real. All lies. The bad man can't save the drowned man." He curled up even tighter, refusing to look up.

He wasn't real, men didn't come back from the dead anymore. Men like the drowned one were dead when they died, or were put in a box.

He sniffed louder, so confused and upset as to what was tearing his world so upside down. He'd just barely gotten used to his dark prison, and now he was in another one, a different one that was so cruel as to show him what he'd lost.

"Story in flesh," he muttered. "Can't forget flesh."

[captainjhart]

John rushed forward. "Spike! It's okay! It's going to be okay!" Finally rounding a corner, he came upon the disturbing sight.

Disheveled almost beyond recognition, and rocking in the fetal position was Spike. John's heart dropped to his stomach.

"Spike, love. What've they done to you." Oh, he was a mess. John felt sick, seeing him like this. What a cruel joke, taking him away, then giving him back, but damaged. Poor Spike. All because John had been so stupid as to go to the party.

He tentatively approached the distressed vampire. Kneeling, he placed a hand on Spike's shoulder.

"Hey. Hey. You don't have to do that. I'm here now. It's okay."

[yesanotherone]

"Spike love, Spike love," he mimicked. "No, no, no love without a spark. Bad men don't love!" He jumped back even further at the hand on his shoulder.

"Stop touching, ghostie! I know the story!" He squeezed himself together, clawing his fingers into his shoulders and scalp, sobbing. "Too much blood in a man! Poison! Poison!"

[captainjhart]

Frustrated, John tried again. "Bloody hell, you're worse than before! Stop fighting me! I'm trying to help!"

He shuffled towards the poor sod, grabbing hold of his wrists and trying to pry his hands away from tearing at himself. "Look at me. Look at me. You're all right. It's all going to be all right. But you need to stop this. Okay? Please, Spike. Please stop."

[yesanotherone]

Spike pulled away, absolutely livid now. "NO! No! Mine! Not for touching! Not for touching!" He screamed and pushed at John. "No pain, William will be a good boy." He pushed John away and scurried across to a dark corner in the opposite end of the room, wrapping his arms around his head, still shaking.

"I know the story. Story in flesh...come for pain. No pain. No pain." He rocked himself, quieting down at last, into after-crying hiccoughs. "No pain," he whispered. "Scar you where it doesn't heal, fix you, they say. Not broken, you say. Then the pain comes." A small sob. "Not broken."

[captainjhart]

John flexed his fists, furious at everything but Spike himself, for this lovely little set up. He really wanted to belt the idiot across the face. Had half a mind to...

But he couldn't. The creature was too wretched. He sighed. "I really don't know what to do for you, mate. I don't... I don't want to say you're beyond help. But maybe you are." He stood, staring at the small mass in the corner. "I just wish you'd let me in. Isn't there some part of you that's still in there?"

He took a step forward, but stopped when he saw a noticeable flinch. "All right, all right. Won't come any closer." Suddenly, the anger burst out of him. "But it's not bloody fair!" He threw his hands up. "You're here. Just feet away from me. And yet you're not. I can see you, but I can't touch you." He growled. "You know what? You should've just stayed dead!"

Unable to leave, but completely at a loss as to what he could possibly do for the vampire, he plopped onto the ground and crossed his arms, glaring at the dark corner.

[yesanotherone]

Spike stayed curled up for a while, rocking, humming, waiting. Waiting for the pain to come. Time went by, but still nothing. Not even a word from the ghostie.

Finally, he looked up to see if it was still there.

It was.

"Why is it looking?" It broke his heart to see him sitting there. It hurt so much to see him again, life in his eyes, breathing, heart beating, warm blood pumping. He had a spark.

He had a spark.

Spike stood up suddenly, and pressed himself against the wall, still staring straight ahead at John.

"What kind of ghostie has a spark?"

[captainjhart]

John felt entirely defeated. He sat staring for what could have been hours or only mere minutes. He was without any sense of time. All he knew was that he couldn't leave this crazy thing alone. If Spike wouldn't come with him, then he'd stay down here too. Maybe he'd go insane as well, and they could be crazy together.

But then, he spoke. John sat up straight, startled by the noise. Was Spike actually addressing him? "Looking because you won't let me touch, mate. Won't even let me come near."

Was this some sort of progress? John hoped so. Oh, he really hoped so.

Ghostie? Sounded like more crazy babble. Maybe it wasn't progress after all. "I don't know, is that a riddle? Or d'you mean me? I'm not a ghost, if that's what you're implying. Dunno what you mean by "spark" though, care to elaborate?"

[yesanotherone]

"Aughh," he loudly expressed his exasperation for the drowned man's inability to understand him. The living drowned man.

That was it.

Something finally clicked within Spike.

He actually managed part of a smile.

"Is it true? Can't be. Can't be. Said he wouldn't breathe again. ...but here you are," he turned his head awkwardly. "No ghostie, breathing, heart-beating, blood flowing... where's the blood flowing, Johnny? Johnny?"

He put his hand to his chest and ripped the buttoned shirt open, pointing a twisted hand to his chest. "The spark that lives, makes monsters men." He looked down and started tugging at his hair again. No spark there, William. Another day you can catch the show.

"Not Johnny. Johnny drowned. Said it. They said," he started shaking his head. "Not Johnny, he won't live, he won't...he won't breathe again, one to fool him, two to mad. Monsters drink more. I drank more. Drank the life."

He stood up, frantically, and held his hands out. This may have been his only chance to explain himself.

"Not to kill, never to kill... but too much. Too much poison."

[captainjhart]

John stood, hardly daring to believe that maybe Spike was coming out of this.

And then, that smile.

"That's right, I'm Johnny. Who said I wouldn't breathe? Look at me, I'm breathing just fine, thanks to you. You saved me, Spike. Do you remember that?"

As Spike descended back into what seemed like meaningless rants, John felt his hope sinking again as well.

"I didn't bloody drown. I'm right here! Can't you see that?"

Frantically, he ran towards the vampire and took hold of his hands once more. "What do I need to do to prove to you that I'm alive?" he yelled.

[yesanotherone]

Spike stood, these warm...things in his hands. Intruding in his space. His flesh. But he couldn't bring himself to pull away. Not now.

"Saved you?" He giggled maniacally. "Tried to save you. Tried to take your spark, make the witch give it back. Witch wouldn't b-budge. Hit her head, more blood for William. More blood on William, more blood...more always more blood.

He paused. "But not Johnny. No blood in Johnny. Too weak. Too late. Drowned." Tears formed in his eyes. "Slayer came. Stopped the bad man." He looked down. "Willy, Willy. Can't even kill right. Can't even be right. Can't ever be right. Or l-love right, or do right... evil thing. Dead thing. No spark in William. No spark at all."

He clenched his jaw together, then looked up.

"I was just trying, hoping, wishing I could stop the poison. Take the spark--borrow, borrow-- I'd put it back, two for one special. All must go. No breath, no heart...no witch, no spark."

He shivered.

"Dead. Gone." He looked off to the side, his posture suddenly changing, his voice suddenly deepening, as if he was suddenly a different person. "Bottle killed him," it changed again, a higher voice, eyes wider. "No no, life killed him. Johnny was a bad man."

He was suddenly Spike again. He looked into John's eyes, pleadingly, begging him in a small, weak voice.

"No! No. Bad men, monsters, don't have sparks!" His voice cracked on the last word, and he rested his head against John's shoulder, sobbing.

[captainjhart]

John listened as Spike told his story. He was actually starting to make sense, well not in the way that John had any idea what he was talking about, but the ranting was becoming more linear at least.

Whatever events he was accounting, imagined or otherwise, John could sense how much pain it caused him to talk about it. What could possibly have happened to cause this much damage? What sort of trauma had the vampire seen? It seemed almost as if he had lived some sort of parallel reality, but that...

Well, that was entirely possible.

Of course. John wanted to kick himself for not thinking of it sooner. Rift in space and time. Spike disappearing. Probably went through the rift, ended up in a parallel dimension, and somehow found his way back here, only apparently a lot more time had passed for Spike than it had for John. And clearly something terrible had happened in that time. Something that had driven him mad.

"Spike. Look. I'm here now. You're here now. Whatever happened... it's all right now. Just... come back to me. Please."

Finally, he saw it. A glimpse of the Spike he knew, as he looked into those pained and tortured eyes. A smile lit up John's face. "You are in there, mate! Knew you were, knew I hadn't lost you!"

As Spike finally broke down, John felt that undeniable twinge that had been in the pit of his stomach since he had lost Spike at the dance. Only now it was stronger and so much more tangible.

He put his arms around the broken vampire, resting a hand on Spike's head, and gently stroking his matted hair.

"Shhh, it's all right now, love. It's all right. We're going to get though this, and you're going to be fine. Promise. You can trust old Johnny." He dropped a kiss on the top of Spike's head, and continued holding him, waiting for the vampire's sobs to subside.

[yesanotherone]

Spike stayed there for a while, wanting to believe, wanting to think, even for a moment, that this Johnny could be telling him the truth.

At last, he lifted up his head, and took by his arms. He looked him in the eyes.

"Too young." How could it be the John he knew? "No grey, no--" he paused. Well, "tiny wrinkles." He brushed his hand across John's face. "Want to think it, try to believe it... can't be so. Can't be real." He squeezed John to him suddenly.

"Be real. Be real. Be real." He whispered it frantically, over and over, as if wanting something badly enough could make it true. Didn't work, not for them. Only those that controlled the spell. More witches.

[captainjhart]

He stood there, completely content to hold the vampire for as long as he would let him, grateful that Spike finally was allowing John to comfort him. It was nice to be able to reassure himself. He'd had his own set of doubts, worrying about figments and hallucinations, but Spike was solid and real. And he'd wanted this for so long, this physical contact. It wasn't quite the way he'd wanted to be able to touch him before, but right now sex was the furthest thing from John's mind. Which was saying something.

John laughed. "Too young? Last I knew you were teasing me because I was old. Make up your mind, mate."

"Oof!" John was startled as he felt his ribs being nearly crushed by Spike's embrace. He relaxed into the hug, gripping the vampire almost as tightly. "You know I'm real. Feel me. Not a ghost. Not your imagination. I'm alive, and let me once again remind you, it's all thanks to you." He closed his eyes, lowering his voice. "I'm so, so sorry this had to happen to you. It's... my fault. Would have gotten out, weren't for me. I'm sorry," he said, ending in a near whisper.

[yesanotherone]

"Teasing....teasing." Spike whispered, looking down at the ground again, confused. What was he talking about? It seemed familiar, something... he couldn't remember.

My fault.

Spike looked up.

"No. No, not your fault," he petted the side of John's cheek. "Didn't mean to drink it away. Pain and hurt made you. Makes us all drink. He and them and...all of them. Made you drink it away."

He leaned in, still stroking John's face, his head resting against his shoulder, lips brushing against his neck. He continued to whisper.

"Then nothing left to save, until the insides turned to blood. Then William drank it away. Spike did. Spike. That's the name I gave me."