To Cordelia's frustration (and maybe just the tiniest bit of worry), all the Sunnydale numbers she tried after Wes and Gunn left had gone to answering machines. It might've been a coincidence the first time, but she tried again after the sun came up, with the same result. Either nobody was at the Summers home, Willow's dorm, or Giles's flat at all, or Darla was an even more serious threat than the vision had indicated.

But just because the guys had been proven right, that didn't mean Cordelia was going to give them a chance to get all "I told you so" over it. So she went to the hotel early enough to beat them there.

Angel was already sitting behind that stupid little table when she arrived. He stood up as she approached, giving her a cautious, awkward smile. Ugh, he really needed to stop doing that. "Good morning, Cordelia," he said.

"I had a vision last night," said Cordelia, folding her arms.

The smile vanished, thank God. "What was it?" he said. "And shouldn't we wait for Wes and Gunn?"

"They already know. I called them both over to my apartment right after I had it."

"Oh," said Angel, trying and failing not to look hurt at being deliberately excluded. She wanted to slap him.

"In my vision, I saw Buffy." Angel froze, all traces of careful, overly friendly overtures suddenly gone. "She was getting attacked in what looked like a crypt...by Darla."

Angel closed his eyes, the muscles of his jaw working hard. "Why didn't you tell me while there was still time for me to make it to Sunnydale before sunrise?"

"I don't have to answer that question. I don't work for you."

"Cordelia."

The silence stretched between them as they glared at each other. Cordy broke first and hated herself for it. "It was because I didn't want to be the one to send you off to get mixed up with Darla again, okay?" And considering how dangerous he looked right now, she was feeling pretty validated about that.

"Then why tell me at all?"

"Because nobody in Sunnydale is answering their damn phones, so maybe Darla really is a big enough threat to Buffy that she needs your help."

"Yeah, and what am I supposed to do about that for the next ten hours?"

"For starters, you're going to listen to me when I tell you the rest of the details in my vision."

Not for the first time, Spike lamented the lack of foresight that had led him to select a crypt with no tunnel access to live in. He was already fed up with Darla, and they still had ten hours of daylight left to burn, stuck together in uncomfortably close quarters with the robot he would very much like to resume having sex with, but which had been banished to the lower level. Darla had mostly given bitch-mode a rest, but only because she was currently less interested in mocking him than she was in grilling him for every single piece of information she believed she needed to know about Buffy and the Scoobies.

He and Darla had never got on well. Darla had tolerated him for distracting Drusilla so that she could have the greater share of Angelus's attention, and he'd tolerated her for pretty much the same reason in reverse, but she'd still always treated him like dirt on her shoe. As soon as it became clear that Angelus was gone for good, she'd ditched him and Dru so she could run off back under the Master's wing.

And now here she was, bossing him around in his own sodding crypt. Well, she was going to help him get what he wanted, all right, just not necessarily in the way that she thought.

"Now, once you've got her here, I'm not taking any chances. Unlike some, I'm not fool enough to go head to head with a Slayer in fair combat."

"Then you're missing out," said Spike. "But whatever. I've got plenty of restraints and stuff in the lower level." He smirked. "Take your pick."

Darla shot him a simpering glare, but her chance at a retort was ruined by the sound of approaching footsteps outside.

"You better get down there anyway. Say hello to the Bot for me."

"I could just kill whoever it is."

"Get violent straight off and lose your element of surprise? Fine. That sounds like more fun anyway."

She stalked over to the hole in the floor and dropped through without another word.

Spike's unannounced guest turned out to be Xander. "Oh, it's you," he said. Of all the Slayer's groupies, he liked Xander least. What exactly was the point of him?

Xander shut the door behind him. He looked angry. "I saw you. In the cemetery, with Buffy."

Spike put on an air of bravado, as much a second skin to him as the dead Slayer's duster. "Yeah? Can't see how it's any business of yours."

"It is my business because Buffy's my friend, and she's gone through some stuff lately that...well, it's affected her, and you're taking advantage of her."

Spike sighed and pulled out a cig and his lighter. "She's upset about her mum." He got it lit and gave it a long drag. "And if she turns to me for comfort, well, I'm not gonna deny it to her. I'm not a monster."

"Yes, you are a monster," said Xander. "Vampires are monsters. They make monster movies about them."

"Well, yeah, you got me there."

Xander grabbed him by the front of his shirt. He was very glad Darla couldn't see this, or he'd never hear the end of it. "Spike, Buffy has lots of friends. We love her very much, and we'll do whatever it takes to protect her. Now if that means killing you, then, well, that's just a bonus." He let go with a shove, making Spike stagger a little, then stormed out, banging the door on the way.

Darla wasn't long in reappearing. "If Buffy's friends are popping in and out of here like this, then we need a different location once we've subdued her."

"I know a place," said Spike. "By the time any of them thinks to look there, it'll be too late."

"Spike?"

"Bloody hell," Spike muttered, massaging his temples with one hand.

"I thought you told it to shut down," said Darla through gritted teeth.

A blonde head poked up from the hole. "I waited like you said, but...then I missed you."


Because Darla killed the minions who were spying on Spike and the Buffybot, they never got a chance to report back about their theory that Spike is the Key, which is why no minions showed up to abduct Spike while Xander was visiting.