Welcome back! sorry for the long wait. my free subscription to my word program ended so i couldn't edit properly :( Which Brings me to my next point. I am looking for a Beta! Someone who is really good with spelling and grammer checking because that is my major issue. I did some checking on the beta part of fan fiction but most people for buffy fic's already had like 20 stories to edit or aren't good at catching spelling mistakes so this little add seemed like the best idea. If you want to contact me by sending me PM that would be greatly appreciated. Since i couldn't update over the last month i did however get to writing more chapters so once they get edited i will be able to update more often! REMEMBER TO REVEIW!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the idea, Everything else belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy
Chapter 10- It's Not The End Of The World...Just Of You And Me.
Spike was in the warehouse. He had been for the last 2 hours. After everything that had gone down inside the fire hall, Spike had remembered why in general he had stayed away from Scooby meetings when he could. There was too much drama and it normally just pissed him off. Tonight had been no exception.
After informing Angel that she was the key, Dawn ran upstairs with the book that she had been translating clutched to her like it was the only thing keeping her afloat. Willow and Xander began to panic and make suggestions on what should be done. Buffy stopped them soon enough though. Angel on the other hand couldn't stop asking questions about how Dawn 'worked'. This in turn pissed Buffy and Spike off. Spike punched him in the face and then threw his hands in the air, and began to leave right as the potentials entered for the leaders parting words before patrol that night. As he reached for the back door Spike heard Buffy yell over the slayers "Get out and don't get killed!"
He felt a repeat coming on; only this time the evil hell Gods were on the other side of the door knocking to get in rather than out. He sent a punch at the practice dummy where the head of an attacker would be. The Dummy went flying backwards and hit the concrete with a loud smack that echoed in the Warehouse like a gunshot.
"Haven't lost your touch I see." Spike reeled around to see Xander standing against the chain link fence that blocked off the armoury from the training area.
"Ya well, when you spend some quality time with Angel you end up picking up a lot of slack, keeps you on your toes." Spike pointed out.
"Ya he does have the whole aspect of designating jobs down," Xander agreed "Now if only he could do some of them. Buffy is currently giving him the low down while trying to not strangle him."
Spike chuckled but then cocked his head at Xander "Why do you hate him so much? Not that I'm complaining but I must have tried to kill you more than him."
"You have. And I used to hate you too." Xander stated then turned reflective, "But when you did switch to our side and you started helping us, you actually helped. Sure you may have asked for money or taken a few verbal jabs at me, but you still helped. Angel... at first it seemed like he was just there to warn us of doom but never to help out with it. Then he went evil and he killed friends of mine and put Buffy through an emotional rollercoaster. "
"I've done worse to you." Spike reminded him
"Ya but you were up front about it. Angelus is always bubbling below the surface." Xander rubbed a hand through his hair, "All started with me believing vampires are bad. All of them. Angel was supposed to be the exception...And he uses way too much hair gel or something!"
"You mean it sticking straight up?" Spike perked up, "Totally agree with you mate. Stupid nancy boy."
"Anyway, when Buffy explained what you did, how you saved all of us, and how she had been treating you... Well you gained some brownie points." Xander shrugged, then turned serious, "God you're going to make fun of me for the rest of my life but I'm going to say this anyway.
"Angel may have been given a soul Spike, But you earned yours...you earned my respect." Spike just stared at the ex-whelp with consideration. Spike would never say it out loud but it meant a lot. Always had been competing with Angel from the day he had been turned. Nice to win every once in a while.
Xander shoved off of the fence and moved towards the exit heading back to the Scooby's, "Come on, let's go see if we can watch Angel get punched in the face."
Spike smirked and gave the dummy one last hit that sent it back a few feet "Not going to lie, that's the best offer I've had all night."
Dawn was up in room looking at the window. She could make a run for it. The garage was below her window and the jump to the ground was too far from there.
But she wasn't sure where she would go. 'Where would a Key go to be alone and angsty?' Dawn cringed at her thoughts.
She had already translated the Sumerian in the textbook. It looked like cryptic directions to something. Normally she would have done more research on the matter but the supplies for that were down stairs. And she was not going down there again.
So she was back to contemplating the window.
"Screw it." Dawn said aloud to the walls. She grabbed her shoulder bag stuffed a sweater in it grabbed her keys and her wallet and proceeded to lift the window and step out onto the roof. Dawn tried to be as quiet as possible; with a vampire and slayer in the house the chances of them hearing her were pretty good. So to try and avoid being seen or heard she walked to the back of the garage, scouted out the backyard before sliding off the shingled roof.
She landed with a quiet thump on the grass in a kneeling position. Dawn wiped her hands on her jeans and stood up. And screamed.
"God Spike, don't scare me like that!" Dawn glared at him but silently wondering where he had come from.
"Oh don't be mad at him, he came out with me." Dawn twirled around and found Buffy standing in the shadow of the house a few feet away. "Dawn I'm going to ask you to come up with a new M.O. Ok? Keeps it more interesting."
Dawn was about to yell at her. Tell her off for...caring? That seemed stupid so she thought better of it. Especially after staring at Buffy for a moment. Concern and love were in the Slayers eyes, eyes that made Dawn feel guilty for trying to make a run for it. She wasn't 15 anymore, time to deal with our problems like a grown up.
"Alright. I promise next time I will start setting fires or something." Dawn smiled and wrapped her arms around Buffy in tight hug.
"That's all I ask." Buffy smiled into Dawns hair. Dawn let go and turned back towards the door back into the house. And Spike.
"Well that's not all I'm going to ask for!" Spike said with a little heat in his voice, "No running away, demon slaying, Drinking, or drinking while demon slaying! You Summers women are going to be the death of me." As he listed his demands he raised a finger and pointed it at her hoping some how it might force his point. However this just got a smile from Dawn.
"Awe Buffy did you hear that? He says he loves us!" Dawn said in a sugar sweet voice.
"Well we are pretty loveable." Buffy added smiling at the man in front of her. The widened her eyes and looked excitedly at Dawn "You think we can get him to mow the lawn? If he loves us he would do that right?"
"I should think so." Dawn agreed
"And this is why I questioned my sanity back in old Sunny-D. I had forgotten that you lot are of your rocker." Spike ground out trying not to smile.
Dawn gave him a quick hug and ran inside. Leaving Buffy and Spike alone outside.
"Thanks for letting me know she was out here." Buffy said breaking the silence
Spike nodded "Thanks for letting me punch Angel in the face."
"He deserved it." At Spikes shocked look Buffy kept talking, "Well it was pretty stupid of him to hide that! I mean come on! And he upset Dawn! Defiantly not of the good."
Spike stuck his hands into the deep pockets in his duster and cocked his head at her, "There was a time that you would have defended him."
Buffy smiled slightly. Maybe Spike was finally catching up. "Ya and those times are gone. I know who I can depend on to stand by me. I'm not 16 year old Buffy anymore and that's who Angel is still in love with."
Buffy opened the garage door and stepped over the threshold but turned at Spikes words, "And if he learns to love the 25 year old Buffy."
A small smile found its way onto Buffy's face. She knew what she wanted, it had taken some thought. Even if there were no fat grandchildren in a future with Spike, she couldn't imagine one without him. A normal life was not what she wanted anymore. She wanted her life, and god knows that there was nothing normal about it, and she was happy with that. Buffy had dealt without Spike for too long, he had become part of her normal at some point, and now that he was back she didn't think she could let him go again. "Wouldn't matter...25 year old Buffy is still in love with the same guy she was at 23."
She walked the rest of the way into the garage leaving the door open so he could follow Spike assumed. She was still in love with-
"That was a reference to you...Just so you know..." Buffy had stuck her head back out of the garage "I know you don't exactly believe me, but-I-thought-I-would-clear-that-up-in-case-you-didn't-get-it-and-now-I'm-rambling-"
Spike smiled and shook his head at his slayer "Don't worry pet, I got it."
"Oh. Ok. So I'm going to leave now so I can remove the temptation to embarrass myself further." Buffy's voice squeaked as she ran inside.
Spike stood outside and listened as her shoes clicked on the concrete floor of the garage and she opened the door leading into the library. Slowly he started off after her "I still love you too slayer...Just not too sure if you should love me."
When Spike walked into the library he rejoined Xander at the far end of the table. Buffy was not in the room Spike noticed. Both Dawn and Willow were also missing. Giles and Andrew were at the other end of the table with the text and Dawns translation. Angel was on the outskirts of the room leaning against a bookshelf, looking a little out of place.
"Dude, what did you do? Buffy ran out of here like she was being chased by a ninth level sorcerer and a trogdor!" Andrew whispered rather loudly from his seat at the table.
Spike looked at him then at Xander "Is this what you've been dealing with? Cause you have my sympathies."
Andrew huffed crossing his arms and turned to Mr. Giles who was looking over Dawns translation. "Seems that everything is translated correct but the wording is a little confusing...
"Of course it's translated right!"Dawn said walking back into the room with Willow. It was soon apparent that they were both grasping Buffy's wrists to ensure that she was following them back into the room. Dawn took Buffy and sat her down at a chair, "Samarian is my best language. The cryptic aren't my forte though. Pretty much all I can get from it is that it's giving the reader directions. But to where and what I have no clue."
Angel walked over from the wall and looked down at the English translation, "'through the fire of the sun the answer will be consumed. Sounds like...something Drusilla would say."
"Yes well it would not be a huge assumption to think that this has been translated a time or two before...It garbles up the language making the theme sometimes difficult to locate." Giles nodded "It will take me little while but I should be able to decode...Hang on."
Silence filled the room as the scoobies waited patiently for Giles to explain his epiphany. Dawn stood up to read over Giles shoulder while Andrew tried to get a closer look but was shoved away by Giles when he obstructed the light.
Xander sat back and waited patiently. At least he hoped that's what it looked like he was doing. "Willow?"
"Ya Xand?" Willow responded through thought. Mind webs were useful little tools for having conversations when you didn't want other people to hear.
"What's up with the Buffster?" Xander asked in a whisper.
"Xander no one can hear us you don't have to whisper." Willow laughed, "She and Spike just had a little conversation that involved Buffy embarrassing herself slightly."
"I have slight problems with the whole talking in my head like a normal person when I'm sitting in a room full of people!" Xander exclaimed. Only when every head in the room swivelled to his direction did he realized he had spoken out loud. "Shit."
Xanders internal curse sent Willow laughing. Buffy shook her head at her friends' weirdness and secretly loved them for it. Giles grumbled and turned back to the translation and pointed out something to Dawn. Spike however was not going to let this one go so easy.
He slid his chair farther away from Xander which just made the brunette huff in annoyance. "It's okay mate. I don't judge if you have people talking to you in your head I'm alright with that. But if they tell you to start lighting things on fire...you give me a heads up 'lright?"
Xanders response was to through a heavy leather book at Spikes head which just in turn made Spike laugh harder.
"Children! If you are quite done I am going to tell you where we can find some deeply important information."Giles sighed at the boys
"Seems that this text refers to something that I thought was lost for centuries now, "Giles began explaining, "The text refers to The White Book, It is said to be the first book ever written about our world. It's a combination between writings sent from heavenly dimensions as well as some of the most demonic."
The watchers council thought that it may have been written by the powers that be when they first decided to separate the worlds about 10,000 years ago. Give or take." Giles scratched at his head.
"Alright so firsthand knowledge of where to find the book, so where is it?"Buffy said cutting to the chase.
"Well if I'm not mistaken the line Angel read earlier 'through the fire of the sun the answer will be consumed,' Refers to Sunnydale." Giles admitted. "The fire of the sun would be the rays of light that came out of that amulet and destroyed the First and Sunnydale."
Buffy starred slack jaw at Giles. So Willow started asking the questions "Well where was it supposed to be in Sunnydale? Cus I think if it was on the outskirts of town it might be safe."
"Will, the whole town is a giant crater. All four welcome to Sunnydale signs fell over, which I blame you for Spike." Xander pointed out Spike previous habit of always knocking down the sign when he came back into town. "If it was there anywhere above ground it's gone."
Buffy finally got her voice back but it was cold, "Angel. Who gave you that amulet?"
Angel stood up straight and was ready for a serious fight. "Wolfram and Hart gave it to me when I agreed to run the company."
"Wolfram and Bloody Hart!" Spike shouted, "I wore an accessory of evil to save the world!"
"Well think of it this way," Xander said to try and lighten the mood, "It could have been the Amulet of Kinda-Naughty."
Spike scowled at Xander and was about to rip into Angel again, when Buffy smacked him upside the head. "Spike this is not the time."
Buffy mulled everything over in her head, "Okay so the amulet came from Wolfram and Hart. Safe to say then that they thought Angel would wear it and be sent to hell. Therefore they wouldn't have to follow through on their end of the bargain to let you be Good-Guy on campus. That's done and over with, so let's focus on getting the book that Wolfram and Hart obviously wanted destroyed."
"Yes quite right," Giles nodded in agreement, "I should be able to narrow down the location, and while cryptic the directions are quite detailed. Andrew would you go get the Codex from the shelves along with a map of Sunnydale?."
As Andrew scrambled of to the stacks Buffy kept planning "Alright so I will head out there in the morning-"
"Yah, that works I can call in Ray to cover me at the site." Xander agreed "What will we need? Rock climbing gear, weapons-"
"Actually Xand I was thinking I would go in alone..." At the looks she was getting from everyone in the room, "It's not that big of a deal! i will go in get the book get out. I will be gone at most a day."
An uproar of male testosterone filled the room with displeasure at the prospect of Buffy going on the mission alone. Giles scratched his head and spoke above Spike Angel and Xander "Buffy I'm not sure if that's the best idea right now..."
"What choice do I have? If Xander and Willow don't go to work we don't have enough money to pay the bills. Dawn can't miss school and she's needed here to do research. Spike and Angel are trapped by the sun and if I'm not here Vi has to train the slayers." Buffy reasoned, "Seriously nothing is going to happen, everything that was potentially dangerous in Sunnydale left or got blown up."
"While that is true I still worry, "Giles pressed," Why not take some of the potentials?"
Dawn spoke up then "None of this batch are ready for a mission Giles. I mean they got excited when they staked a vamp last night and it dusted on the first try."
"See!"Buffy pointed at Dawn.
Willow stood up suddenly and shouted "Ah Ha!"
She started rummaging in her purse and pulled out a small satchel as well as a ring with a large glass stone. "If you wear these I don't see why you couldn't go alone." She smiled and handed the small leather bag to Buffy first. It's part of a particular locater spell I can find out where you are in half the time of the other locator and get your vitals at the same time."
Buffy lifted the bag to her face and sniffed "Ooh Minty. What kind of vitals?"
"Heart rate, amount of blood lose if any and consciousness." Willow smiled "It's my own invention made completely of white magic. This ring is kind of like a siren. If you get into trouble then all you have to do is rub the stone and say 'Onus'"
Spike looked at the ring sceptically "Where'd you get the ring red? My experience with enchanted jewellery has not left me confident in their ability..."
"What was that you said at the end right before I asked you to kill the Fell Brethren?" Angel smirked at one of the last memories of his entire team together.
"Yah I should add that statement to my contract: I don't do amulets, bracelets, broaches, beads, pendants, pins or rings." Spike remembered," Didn't think you would remember that mate."
"Only you could crack jokes at the face of impending doom." Angel pointed out.
"The ring was enchanted by myself so nothing will go wrong." Willow explained. "If you keep these on your person I can make sure if you're okay at anytime, and if you're not okay I can send in the cavalry."
Buffy promised to keep them on her and turned to the men in the room "Are these acceptable terms?"
Xander looked at the floor and mumbled something that sounds like agreement. Angel nodded stiffly like what he was doing was completely against his will. Spike had his arms crossed over his chest glaring at Buffy. "If you so much as hurt a hair on your head, I will hold you personally responsible. And I will not be held responsible for my actions if I think you may be harmed."
"I'm with Blondie" Xander chimed in.
A huge smile spilled across Buffy's face at the thought of all the love in the room that was directed to her. "I promise I won't die,"
"Damn straight you won't." Spike ground out.
"Alright now that that's done, I'm going to go pack." Buffy said inching her way out of the room, " I going to leave right after the girls get back from patrol."
Buffy made a run for the stairs that led to her bed room, leaving the swinging door to the kitchen empty. There might as well have been a cartoon Buffy shaped cloud of dust where she had been standing.
Still staring at the door swing back and forth on its hinges, Xander asked aloud "Anybody else noticing how Buffy seems to disappear right when the books come out?"
Buffy had a backpack on her queen size bed that so far was filled with a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. Buffy was trying to change the radio station with little success when a tingle crossed the back of her neck.
"Hello Angel."
Angel stood in the doorway looking rather dark standing just outside of the doorframe against the brightness of the white walls."I just wanted to thank you for not letting Spike take my head off down there...I mean I know I could take him but it doesn't look so good when everyone else hates my guts."
Buffy smiled slightly then her mask went up "Angel I didn't do that for you... I did it because we needed to focus; something that Spike isn't necessarily the best at."
"Doesn't matter why you did it, but I appreciated it." Angel replied.
Buffy stared at angel for a moment. Somehow he looked older than what she remembered. Maybe it was the time apart, or corporate life had taken its toll on Angel but he didn't look the same... feel the same. More likely it was her that changed. "Angel...After this is over...I'm going to need you to leave."
Angels face filled up with surprise. "Buffy-"
"No I need to get this out. We had our time Angel. It was back when I was sixteen. We had enough time." Buffy emphasised the last words hoping Angel would realize what she was getting at. "I loved you more than anything. But I've changed I'm not who you loved anymore. And you're not what I need. I've had enough time, not to forget, but to realize that, 'us' was meant for a different time, a time that's passed."
Angel's complexion had somehow gotten paler. It had been one of his talents to use logic even through the most intense emotions and he applied that now so that he could see past the pain of rejection. "What about cookies?"
Buffy walked towards the door and held onto the handle to stable herself. "Turns out I'm not cookies...I'm Cake. But your cookies are out there. I know it. It's just not me."
Cordelia. She was his cookies. Angel knew it. They had been in love. And she too was gone now. No, not gone. Just out of Angels reach. 'For now', He decided to himself.
"What happens now?" He asked meeting Buffy's eyes after his inner conversation.
"Now we defeat the bad guys. And move on with our separate lives." Buffy answered trying to sound sure of herself. "And that's all there really is to say."
"Yeah," Angel said as Buffy began to close the bedroom door leaving him on one side and her on the other. With a soft click Angel was left to stare at the White painted wood inches from his face."That's it."
Buffy had called the troops into the sparing ring. Spike, Xander, Willow Dawn and Vi all stood against the far wall while the slayers a sat in the space in front of Buffy on chairs, or the bench that Dee and Hayley had dragged over.
"Alright," Buffy started getting instant attention." I am going on a solo mission. I will be gone for two days, maximum."
The girls started whispering amongst themselves before Buffy brought their focus back."So for while I'm gone Vi will continue to train you. You will listen to her and to what she says Or else you will have to deal with a very pissed of Slayer when I get back."
Furthermore Spike will be helping with your training in the field, on the mats and in the library while I am gone." Buffy continued catching his eyes momentarily the going back to the Slayerettes," There is no one better to learn from. He has killed two Slayers in his lifetime and studied many more than that. You will listen, you will learn." Concern filled some of the eyes in the crowd "You have nothing to worry about. Spike is not the same as he was when he did those things. He has heart and a soul. I have complete faith in him. No one not even me will be able to teach you what he can. No one Understands slayers better than Spike."
Buffy whispered under her breathe in a way that she knew the only one who would be able to decipher her words was the vampire "No one understands me better,"
"So you will do what he says, when he says it. You will report to him and Giles after patrol. "Buffy said once again to the whole room. "Any questions?"
Thanks for reading! Do you guys like it so far? Whats your opinion on the references i make to the TV shows? Did you watch Buffy and Angel or just one? Let me know in a reveiw:)