Back in Sunnydale, it was around half eight in the morning, and the Scooby gang was gathered once again at Giles' house. Willow was looking rather meek, as usual, yet she also felt extremely guilty. She'd already gone through the whole 'share and not so much care, more feel really bad about it while my friends are trying to figure out what to do next', so all there was left to do for her was to sit awkwardly in the midst of all the planning while making humble remarks every now and then. Buffy was currently at centre stage in the discussion.
"Okay, so you and Tara were just about finished, then bam! Spike's there, then he poofed away?" The slayer was always one to clarify the situation.
Willow nodded, cleared her throat and then spoke up. "Yup. I mean, yeah, that's pretty much how it went. So, uh... H-how are we gonna get him back? I can always stop off at the magic shop while you guys do some research and try find a spell - Giles' collection is perfect for that kinda stuff, as you know. Or I can research if you want, I don't really mind..."
"Whoa, slow down Will!" Xander chipped in, eager to get involved. "Why do you even want to bring him back? All he does is chill with us when we don't want him, acting like a pain in the butt making sarcastic comments about us all the time in his stupid British accent - no offence, Giles. I'm just saying, it makes more sense to me to just leave him. It serves him right."
"Xander does have a point." Giles mooched out of his kitchenette, cradling a cup of tea and finally deciding to participate in the conversation. "However it, er, it is Willow's choice, after all. She did perform the spell, t-therefore the decision of what to, er, to do with Spike is up to her."
"Thank you Giles." Willow smiled timidly at the ex-watcher, whose lips flickered slightly in reply. She continued to explain her side of the debate. "I just think it wouldn't be fair if we left him all alone, especially as the spell might have involved partial time travel. Plus he, he does help us out sometimes, right?"
"Well jeez, let me just think about that for a minute, see if I can come round to the idea... Nope, still not getting it." Xander made a show of his sarcasm, to which Giles passively-aggressively rolled his eyes. However, Buffy was quick to jump to her best friend's defence.
"You know what? Bring him back if you feel bad about it. To be honest, I couldn't care less what happens to him, but like Giles said, it's up to you. And I'll go to the magic shop. I need to stop off for some milk anyway." Yet again, Willow smiled at her closest buddies in gratitude. Xander simply shook his head, but made no further comment. Willow grabbed the nearest research book, as did Giles.
"Aww, poor Spike." The still-guilty redhead pined over the vampire. "He won't know anybody wherever he is. He must feel so lonely and afraid..."
The newly acquainted creatures strolled side by side, chatting animatedly about murdering and/or torturing humans, and which was their preferred method of doing so. It was evident the monstrous duo had clicked straight away, probably because they were similar in so many ways: personality, fashion sense, hobbies, etc. Before long, they'd reached Crowley's abode. Lingering on the doorstep of his motel room, the King of Hell addressed the vampire.
"Sorry it's not all that tidy. I do my best." He apologised, preparing his friend for what lay ahead. Spike simply nodded, gesturing for him to open the door. When he did, two familiar men (familiar to Crowley - Spike had never seen them before) were stood in front of him, looking incredibly disappointed. The demon immediately sighed, his expression switching from his usual confident self to irritated, which was just as natural for him.
"Hello, boys." He greeted them. Spike got the impression that those two words were a catchphrase of sorts for the King of Hell. The vampire's presence didn't yet provoke an alternate conversation, as he waited behind the door, just out of sight from the unknown men. One of the men - the shorter one - briefly kicked the foot of a corpse on the floor and spoke up. This confused Spike, therefore he briefly wondered if he'd been stitched up, however he rapidly dismissed the idea. If he had been, surely Crowley would have shoved him in the room ahead of him while the other two guys tied him up or staked him. Plus, judging by the demon's expression, he harboured an intense disliking of the men.
"And what do you call this?" The short guy asked, his face revealing an equal, if not more extensive hatred of the King of Hell.
"Refreshments?" Crowley replied wittily. Spike couldn't help but silently giggle at his buddy's sass.
"What's in the bag, Crowley?" The taller, moose-like man inquired wearily, as if he was already 100% done with the demon's behaviour, which he certainly was.
"Nothing." The King of Hell retorted evasively, refusing to give anything away.
"Really? Maybe I can, uh..." The gigantic man reached for the bag and hastily tore it open, before Crowley could even react. The AB-negative blood was instantly revealed, along with the utter disgust of the two men.
"What, are you knocking over blood banks?" The same guy who had taken the bag posed a rhetorical question, his voice tainted with incredulity at just how far the demon had gone to get a supply of blood. Wasting no more time, the guy grabbed Crowley's arm roughly. Spike, still observing from the wings, was then faced with two choices: he could intervene and prevent his new mate from potentially getting hurt, which could only result in exacerbating the situation, or he could simply run for the hills, ignore everything that just happened and find another way to get help. However, it seemed that soon enough, the vampire no longer had a choice; just as the two guys were about to handcuff the demon to a chair, The King of Hell opened his big mouth and began to protest.
"Come on, guys. Another situation arose, and is sort of still on-going. I'm sure you'll be interested - I've found a new pal. He's a vampire. Spike?"
The vampire awkwardly stepped around the door, feeling rather vulnerable as the two men looked him up and down in shock.
"Ah, so you stayed. Spike, meet the Winchester brothers." Crowley introduced the vampire. "The tall moose man is Sam, the short not-moose is Dean."
"Er, hi. Are they… human?" Spike inquired, getting the feeling that 'Sam' and 'Dean' weren't particularly evil. Which was sort of disappointing.
"Unfortunately, yes. Hunters, to be more specific. Basically, they kill creatures like us."
"What, like the Slayer?" A glint of terror suddenly flamed in Spike's eyes, however Crowley rapidly extinguished it with his words.
"You don't have to worry – you can trust them. We're friends. Besties, actually. Aren't we, Dean?" The demon explained, gazing up at the 'short, not-moose' guy.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can I just ask, why the hell have you brought a freaking vampire here?" Dean replied, clearly confused. And when Dean Winchester didn't understand what was going on, he tended to get slightly aggressive, especially if a demon was involved. Particularly with Crowley.
"Didn't I mention? He's my friend. So be nice."
"Okay, that's enough. You better tell us what the hell's going on right now, or your 'friend' here will find his head won't be attached to his body for much longer." Drawing some sort of ancient knife, Dean made a threatening step towards Spike, who simultaneously retreated a little.
"Whoa, hold your horses, mate! I haven't tried to kill you yet, doesn't that show you something? Well, I can't actually harm humans, so you're safe. Sadly." The vampire muttered the last word under his breath, but the rest of his words did enough to persuade the Winchester to lower his blade. Once the tension had been mostly drained from the atmosphere, Sam spoke up, taking a significantly more logical approach than his brother.
"Okay, first of all, where are you from? Or when, I don't know if…" He trailed off, however before Spike could answer, Dean cut in.
"Probably the 90's, judging by his leather coat. Nice look, by the way, Neo."
"I believe it was 2000, actually, but never mind." The vampire then looked down at his coat, as if trying to figure out what looked wrong about it. "And who's this Neo bloke? Are you referencing The Matrix? Bloody terrible film, I went to see it when I was bored. Anyway, if he's stolen my outfit, I'll rip his bloody throat out!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you couldn't hurt humans?" Dean interrupted again. Spike instantly began to detest the guy, glaring at him from across the room; he reminded him of Buffy too much, with her smart-Alec remarks and her sharp tongue when it came to demons or vampires. Sam hastily continued to explain the situation, forcing his brother to keep his mouth shut. He always was the clever one.
"It doesn't matter – look, man, you're fourteen years in the future. Things probably haven't changed massively, but-"
"Oh, spare me the lecture, professor." Although Sam had far more tact than his brother, the vampire decided he didn't particularly like him either. They were both human, therefore enemies, even if they were trying to help. "Quite frankly, I couldn't give two hoots what year it is – I just wanna get back to 2000 with my gang of absolute losers, no matter how pathetic they are, alright?"
Sam and Dean exchanged glances, in the duration of which, Dean seemed to not want to help Spike, yet Sam figured they should, if only to get him out of the way so they could get back to their normal lives, with which Dean reluctantly agreed. Crowley simply sat there, smirking at his new friend in awe, seemingly extremely impressed with the way in which he spoke back to the Winchesters. The vampire himself stood there, wearily anticipating an answer.
"I like him." Crowley remarked.
"You shut your cakehole, Crowley." The shorter Winchester growled, then turned to Spike. "Okay, fine, we'll help you out." Dean finally agreed. Sam let out a long breath he had been holding in and Spike smiled slightly in gratitude. But not too much; he didn't want them thinking he actually liked them. Dean continued, clarifying some points that he figured the vampire (and Crowley) could use as loopholes. "But we have a few rules around here that you're gonna have to abide by…"
