Chapter Twenty-eight: Consequences, Part II
Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale
March 7th, 1997
Morgan felt kinda weird lugging the case containing Sid to school. He noticed a few people staring at him curiously, as he stopped at one of the lunch benches and took the wooden dummy out of the container; but luckily, those people quickly lost interest and continued on their way. Well, if anyone asked, he could always say he wanted to get in some practice for the school talent show next month –
He put Sid on his knee and stared at all the students walking towards the main building, giving the demon hunter a chance to look around by turning slightly every so often. { Okay, just be calm and relax. Xander will probably come by at any moment, and if he is the demon – }
"There he is," Morgan whispered into Sid's ear, as he leaned down. "That's Xander Harris, the one in the Hawaiian shirt."
"Damn. It's not him," Sid whispered back, staring at the male teen in question.
"What makes you so sure?" Morgan asked, still whispering – and hoping that no one noticed him talking to his puppet.
"The bruises. The cut lip. None of the Brotherhood of Seven demons can pull that off convincingly," Sid replied, as Morgan got up off the bench and turned the wooden dummy to face him. "On account of they don't need to. Sorry, kid, but our prime suspect just got shit-canned."
{ Well, crap, } Morgan thought to himself despondently, before whispering, "So what now?"
"Nothing else for it. Gonna have to check out the rest of the kids in this school, one by one," Sid replied, as Morgan got up and began to put him back in the case. "Hey, don't stress too much, partner; we still got roughly a month left. We'll find that demon before it kills again."
{ I hope so, } Morgan mused, as he began to head towards the school building himself. { I really do hope so. }
Main corridor, Sunnydale High
A while later
Cordelia could tell that just about everyone was watching her as she walked towards the library, but she kept her back straight and her head held high, her visible disdain for the gawkers enough to make some turn away and get on with whatever they were doing.
{ This is going to take some getting used to, } she acknowledged to herself, witnessing various people stare and whisper amongst themselves as she passed them by. { But like Xander said last night, it's gonna be okay, eventually. And given all the weird crap that happens in Sunnydale, hopefully 'eventually' will take place sooner rather than later! }
She held onto that belief desperately, as right now, it was one of the few things that were helping to keep her sane. When she thought of everything she'd done recently, possessed or otherwise –
{ No. Don't go there, } Cordelia told herself firmly. { Don't even think – }
"Cordelia," Tor suddenly appeared in front of her, with Heidi at his side. "Got a few for us to talk?"
"What's there to talk about?" Cordelia demanded, coming to a halt and glaring at them both. She did not want to deal with either of these two right now. Or ever. Didn't want to deal with Kyle or Rhonda either. All four of them were no longer her Pack.
Only her mate – no, dammit, her boyfriend – still qualified for that sort of description.
"What's there to talk about?! How about the fact that Tor fucked me last night – after you ordered him to do it – and I might have ended up in the family way, if I hadn't done that Yuzpe regimen thing afterwards?" Heidi scowled at her.
"Well, you didn't exactly refuse to take part, did you? In fact – I distinctly recall you grabbing Tor by his convenient carrying handle and starting to give him a blowjob, just before I left you and Rhonda alone with your men," Cordelia replied, looking unfazed. "Where are those two, anyway?"
"Haven't seen 'em today," Tor replied, placing an arm around his girlfriend. He smirked slightly as he asked, "So, where's Xan?"
"None of your business," Cordelia scowled at him. "And just so it's clear, from now on? You four are gonna stay the hell away from me and my boyfriend. Or else you'll regret it. Understood?"
"Yeah, whatever. Now, how about some explanations?" Heidi demanded, moving closer to Tor. "I mean, we actually ate a ton of raw meat and fell asleep in that park, before you ordered us to help you hunt for Harris – and then we ended up having an orgy at the Sunnydale Motor Inn? Not to mention that, that craziness at the zoo, afterwards? That sort of thing doesn't just happen, Cordelia!"
"Snake-worshipping killer frat boys. Gang members who get high on PCP before murdering people. A laryngitis epidemic. Even a fake teacher who nearly killed the guy I love, after the real one ended up decapitated. That the sort of thing you're referring to which doesn't just happen, Heidi? Because in this town, it does," Cordelia told her coldly. "And compared to all that? Yesterday's events were almost normal! So get over it, okay? I don't care how, but deal. Like, find some hypnotist to put you under and make you forget everything, if you want. Or else go see a shrink –"
"Become a vegetarian?" Tor interjected smoothly.
"Have safe sex with your girlfriend, propose to her after high school, have half a dozen kids with her, and live happily ever after. I honestly don't care," she told him acidly.
"That the plan you have in mind for your own guy?" Heidi asked, sharing a quick look with Tor and starting to smile.
"Like I said. None of your business," Cordelia replied. "So, are we done here?"
"Just one more thing," Hauer drawled.
"WHAT?!" she demanded snappishly.
"You open to the possibility of a foursome with me, Heigh-ho and Xan one day?" Tor asked with a perfectly straight face.
Cordelia's eyes almost bulged out in shock, but before she could say anything – Heidi was dragging her boyfriend away, muttering about Hauer having to make do with jerking off for quite a while.
{ That was just – too weird, } she thought to herself, resuming her trek to the library. Cordelia barely even noticed the other students around her, she was so deep in thought. { And me take part in something like that? Ewww. Brain bleach, please! }
Cordelia eventually arrived at her destination, and barged in through the double doors. Seeing her boyfriend seated at the table surrounded by the Slayer, Nerd Girl and Stalker Boy, she said to him, "We need to talk."
Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale
A while earlier
Xander could tell that a lot of people were watching him as he got off the school bus, but he did his best to ignore all the stares and whispers. Hopefully, they were just gossiping about his facial injuries and not about – other stuff.
{ Not damn likely, } he ruefully acknowledged to himself, as he saw Jonathan Levinson and Marcie Ross smile in his direction and give him a discreet thumbs-up. { But a guy can always hope, right? }
Well, no, probably not in this case. Dammit, he didn't need this sort of attention right now! If he was smart, he would have simply broken it off with Cordelia last night – again – and then –
{ No. Not an option, } Xander reluctantly admitted to himself, as he walked up the steps and headed for the main building. { Cordy was majorly traumatized. If I'd tried anything like that, God only knows what she mighta done! Besides, no point trying to deny it anymore; I really care about my girlfriend. A lot. Maybe even lo– }
He cut off that thought before it was fully formed. After last night's... bedroom antics, Xander knew he didn't want to think about that yet; mostly because he couldn't be totally sure whether he was thinking with his dick where his girl was concerned, but also because he needed to talk with Cordelia about – everything.
Like, how much of last night had been her, and how much had been the Alpha hyena spirit possessing her.
"Oh, Xander, thank God you're okay!" a red-haired missile abruptly launched herself into his arms, as he entered the front doors of the school. It then started to babble, "I'msosorryweleftyoubehindandIdidn'tevennoticeyouweren'thereI'materriblehorriblefriend-"
"Breathe, Will!" he managed to interrupt, gently disengaging from Willow's embrace with a slight smirk. "Remember, we talked about this?" Xander glanced around and saw Jesse smirking as well. "Back me up here, bud. What's the magic word?"
"Hyperventilation?" his best friend asked innocently. "Y'know, pretty sure I've got a paper bag in my backpack somewhere –"
"Jesse!" Willow snapped, looking outraged.
"You feeling all right?" Buffy asked him in a subdued tone, interrupting the banter.
"I'll live. And thinkin' I should be the one asking you that question, Buff," Xander replied, looking her over. "How you holdin' up?"
"Like you said. I'll live," the Slayer nodded. She looked around, and he finally noticed the audience that was more or less blatantly staring at the four of them. Buffy then said to the crowd, "Do any of you people actually have lives, or not?"
Looking embarrassed, the audience quickly broke up, and Xander subsequently followed his friends to the library. Huh – kinda odd how, over the past couple of months, the place had started to feel like the Watchtower or something to his psyche.
{ Well, Slayer Central anyway, } he thought to himself, as Wesley appeared out of his private office. { We're more the Scooby Gang than the Justice League, after all. }
"Ah, Mr. Harris, there are you are. Glad to see you're alright, and, ah, my apologies for last night's – forgetfulness," Wesley said, looking uncomfortable. "I assume that there were no problems with Miss Chase and the other members of her pack, after the rest of us left?"
"Naw. Tor, Heidi, Kyle and Rhonda ran off straightaway, soon as I ruptured that barrier thing. I took Cordy home afterwards: her family chauffeur came up and picked us up outside the zoo," he replied succinctly.
"Is she okay?" Jesse asked at once, the concern clearly evident on his face.
"Uh, well, Cordy started throwing up nonstop as soon as we got home and she realized she wasn't dreaming; but apart from that, yeah, I'd say so," Xander shrugged slightly, as he sat down at the main table. "My girl's one tough lahini and all."
"Lahini?" Buffy asked in confusion.
"One of the she-wolves in Kipling's Jungle Book, as I recall. And yes, it's a fairly apt comparison, all things considered. Well, as long as you're sure she's all right," Wesley nodded once before heading back to his office. "If you'll all excuse me, then, I've got things to do."
"What's his deal?" Buffy watched the Watcher retreat back inside his private office.
"Could be Wes doesn't wanna be around me right now, y'know – he'd prefer not to be reminded of what he saw at the Sunnydale Motor Inn last night," Xander shrugged, and then he noticed everyone staring at him. "I'm just saying..."
Just then the doors burst open, and Cordelia came storming into the library. "We need to talk."
"Here we go," Willow muttered, turning away.
Xander ignored her. "I know," he said to his girlfriend. "Here, or in private?"
"What do you think?" Cordelia growled, before grabbing him by the hand and leading up the stairs and into the stacks. Once they were alone she inspected his face and said simply, "You look like hell. And it's my fault."
"No it's not," he flatly disagreed. "Seriously, honey, I know you believe that; but I don't! And since I'm the injured party here, my opinion is the only one that matters. Betcha dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town that the Sunnydale District Court would agree with me, too."
"Oh, you – schmuck!" Cordelia said angrily. "Here I am trying to take responsibility for my actions, and you have to act like a –"
"A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows, with that whole 'steel blade wrapped in a cloak of magic and darkness' deal?" he interrupted, looking her directly in the eye. "Yup, I do."
"You actually remember that?! We were only what, six? Nearly seven?" she asked in amazement, calming down a little.
"Pretty much," he shrugged. "Sir Alexander Harris, the Black Knight, at your service. My sword arm and spurs are yours to command, milady."
Cordelia giggled slightly. "That's Queen C to you, Dork."
"Ah!" He got down on one knee, bending his head forward to stare at the floor. "I humbly beg your forgiveness for my terribly rude behavior, Your Majesty! How can I possibly make it up to you?"
"Like I said, we need to talk. So get up already," she commanded, the humor fading from her voice. "Seriously, Xander, we have to talk about what happened last night. About what I – what I did to you."
Xander got up, becoming serious. "Okay. You wanna talk, talk. Like how much of all that was you, and how much was Alphie the Hyena Girl – but no blaming yourself for what happened while you were possessed! Understand? When you knocked me out on the street, and then tried to do the mattress mambo inside that motel room? It. Was. Not. Your. Fault. And again, since I was the victim, my opinion is the only one that counts."
"It's not that simple, Dumbass!" she growled at him.
"Well, I'm making it that simple!" he growled back at her.
"Dammit, Xander, I tried to get you to impregnate me!" Cordelia shouted. "Don't you get it? I attempted to rape you! And if it wasn't my fault, then whose fault was it?!"
"Wasn't rape," Xander shook his head at once. "Because I wanted it almost as much as you did, even though I knew I shouldn't have. So please don't use that word again, okay? And as for whose fault it was, my vote goes to that dead zookeeper guy. He was the one who originally drew that sacred circle in the Hyena House, after all! You heard what Wes said last night before he took Buffy home, didn't you?"
"I – yeah," Cordelia shook her head slightly. "I did. And I know the whole possession thing was pretty much an accident, sure. Still, that doesn't help much. Because I can remember doing what I did, rationalizing everything I did, wanting everything I did – and not giving a damn about the consequences!"
Her eyes suddenly filled with tears. "Oh dear God, Xander – what if I'd succeeded in getting what I wanted from you? If Buffy and the others hadn't come in when they did – I, I would have – we'd be – I'd have been responsible for cursing my baby right from the start, with that sort of taint on its soul –"
"Hey! Hey, listen to me," Xander said urgently, grabbing Cordelia into a tight hug. "That never happened, okay? We didn't go that far, and you're still, uh, Sister Inviolata of the Order of Immaculate Chastity. Or whatever they called it in that Cannonball Run movie!"
"If that's your idea of comforting me, Doofus, it sucks," Cordy sniffed, even though she tightened her grip on him significantly.
"Yeah, yeah, not the world's greatest comfortador; I know that," he replied. "But like you said last night – I'm yours, in every way that counts. Even though you deserve better than me, of course."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Cordelia said angrily, letting go and moving away from him.
Xander sighed. "The Oracle thing is never gonna go away, Cor. Remember what I said few months back, how I couldn't live in the spotlight with you? Honey, I know how important popularity is to you! And you shouldn't have had to give that up, just to be in the shadows with me –"
"Isn't that supposed to be my choice?" she interrupted fiercely.
"Well, yeah, but it's not just that," he admitted. "Truth is, I'm constantly afraid that that Drusilla vamp will somehow figure out what Buffy and I might pull off in a couple months' time, and then all of the monsters around here will come after us to make sure that doesn't happen! And if we're together, you might get killed along with me –"
"No. Listen up, Dimwit – you are not allowed to die!" his girlfriend interrupted again, glaring at him and grabbing his shirt. "Do you hear me, Harris? Hell with that crap! If I have to, I'll handcuff you to my bed for that entire month to make sure you don't get killed by that undead psycho!"
"Uh..." Xander gulped, the images in his mind suddenly becoming pornographic. { Oh, man, if something like that happens? No way will I be able to last until we've been dating for at least a year for the sex to take place, that rule she came up with during her birthday! }
"And so what if all my friends abandoned me after I chose you over popularity? I can always find new friends, and high school's gonna be over soon enough, anyway – like two years and change," Cordelia continued angrily. "Besides, Daddy's always liked you, and now that Mother no longer thinks that you're gonna get me killed –"
"WHAT?!" he yelped in disbelief.
Cordy quickly filled him in what Mrs. Chase had told her and her father the other night; and when she was done, Xander just stared at her in disbelief. "Okay, I know we're living in Sunnydale and all, but this is just totally –"
"Unbelievable? Hey, you should know how Mother's always had a major thing for psychics and predicting the future, already! Like I told you last summer, she's a true believer in that stuff – even if she hasn't always picked the right people to listen to. And while I'm not condoning her attitude towards you or anything, truth is – my mother was just trying to protect me from a lethal threat she thought was real," Cordelia shrugged. "Guess I can't really blame her for that."
"Yeah, uh, neither can I," Xander shook his head. "Wow. So, so, I suppose that means me and my parents really will be coming to your place for dinner, sometime soon?"
"Yeah. Oh, hey! It'll give you a chance to finally wear that shirt I got you for your birthday," she smiled at him victoriously.
"Oh, joy. Every silver lining has gotta have its cloud, I almost forgot," he grumbled.
"Jerk. You're hopeless!" Cordelia glared at him again.
"I am what I am, honey. As in fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly," Xander said philosophically, shaking his head.
"Yeah, well, just for that? I'm gonna see to it that you learn to appreciate fashion, even if it's the last thing I ever do! So I'm taking you to the mall, first thing tomorrow morning. We're gonna spend most of Saturday shopping – 'cause I'm getting you a brand new wardrobe!" she said firmly. "Newsflash, but no boyfriend of mine is allowed to wear those rags you call 'clothes' – so start getting used to that rule!"
{ Oh, God, I'm doomed, } Xander groaned. { Neptune's middle fin, tomorrow is totally gonna suck. Well, unless I can convince Cordy to model some lingerie for me at Victoria's Secret, or something? Hrmm... oh, yeah, the possibilities! }
Spike's warehouse lair, Sunnydale
March 11th, 1997
Spike watched as Dru paced – stalked – around the terrified blood bag being held captive. He didn't know why she had insisted on bringing their evening meal back to the lair instead of just having a quick bite at the high school, but he figured there had to be some reason for it –
Or if there wasn't, and his sire was just acting on a whim or whatever, that was all right with him too.
"This isn't right," Drusilla suddenly hissed, knocking the mortal's glasses off as she swiped at his face with her nails. Three long, bloody furrows appeared on the git's cheek, as he started to whimper in pain. Then Dru shouted, "You're not s'posed to be here!"
"Okay, fine. Please, just let me go," the pathetic coward begged her. "I promise I won't say anything to anyone about this, if you do! I promise, I –"
"Who the bloody hell are you, anyway?" Spike demanded, interrupting the sickening display.
"Uh, Bob Flutie. I, I'm the principal at Sunnydale High," the arsehole semi-stammered, looking at him now. "Look, this has obviously been some sorta mistake, I – whatever it is you think I've done, I –"
"Oh, I'd reckon you haven't done anything, mate," Spike said cheerfully, morphing into his demon face and enjoying the captive's scream of fear. "You're just – convenient. Midnight snack, as it were. Shall we dig in, then, luv?" he then asked his sire.
"No. Not s'posed to be like this. The naughty girl. Those other four," Dru babbled crazily, starting to pull and tug at her hair. "Shoulda eaten 'im right up, they should 'ave. Wild things – and the big ol' fuddy-duddy's not 'ere, no, he isn't! Why isn't he here?" his sire suddenly demanded of the captive.
"I, I'm sorry, I, I don't know who you're talking about," Flutie said fearfully.
"There, there, pet – it's alright," Spike said soothingly to his beloved, while sending a brief glare at the prisoner. He calmed Dru down, and then asked her, "So if we're not gonna drink up – whaddya wanna do with 'im, luv? Torture? Pretty sure there's an iron poker around 'ere somewhere, which we could shove up his arse –"
"WHAT?!" Flutie yelled, instantly looking like he was about to piss his pants. "No, look, there's, there's no need for anything like that! We, we can work this out like, like reasonable –"
Disgusted and annoyed, Spike hit him in the face to shut him up. Unfortunately, in his anger, he hit the mortal a bit too hard, and knocked him unconscious – which only made Drusilla even more upset. { Bloody hell, what else could go wrong tonight? }
"KILL THEM ALL!" a loud voice demanded, as the warehouse was abruptly invaded.
Spike cursed, as he noticed Absalom leading a bunch of vamps into the lair. { I bleedin' had to ask! }
The battle began, as vampires on both sides brought out stakes or whatever, and the dust started flying. Spike cursed again as soon as he noticed the Three. He'd heard of those members of the Order of Aurelius; he shoulda guessed they'd eventually show up to avenge the Master's death! Damn shitty luck, that was – but then again, maybe it wasn't exactly just random chance?
Yeah. He shoulda kept his mouth shut that night; never should have told Absalom about him and Dru offing Heinrich. How else could that effin' ponce have recruited the Three to his banner? That trio were like bloody samurai, all worried about honor and sacrifice and all that guff!
Then Spike saw Absalom hold up a kuhkri, a long, curved knife. The enemy vampire yelled out, "For the Master. For his pain. For his betrayal!"
"NO!" Spike yelled back, fighting his way through the crowd towards Drusilla, but already knowing he'd never get there in time.
The female vampire just stood there, watching Absalom come at her, with the black vampire aiming for her neck. She seemed fascinated by – something, and looked to be a proverbial sitting duck –
Until the moment just before Absalom swung, and then Dru simply wasn't there anymore.
"What-?" Absalom started to say, before he exploded into dust. Along with the typical scream of the blood demon escaping its confinement within the corpse. Drusilla then lowered her stake, smiling dreamily.
"That's my girl!" Spike crowed victoriously, as he changed direction and started to take on the Three.
They were tough bastards, but then so was he. Luckily, a couple of the minions proved to be not entirely useless, as Lucius and Dalton provided a much-needed distraction when the trio of armor-clad vampires threatened to overwhelm him –
Whoosh! One of the Three, the one with the missing eye, succumbed to an attack coming from his blind side. Spike grabbed the dusted wanker's ax, and quickly beheaded one of the bloke's mates – the one who smelled like Turkish cigarettes. He was just about to take on the last member of the Three, when his beloved yelled out, "Spoike, he's gettin' away!"
{ Wot? Who-? } Spike then cursed again, seeing that Flutie bloke about to do a runner out the front door. He raised the ax, and hurled it at the blood bag's back –
WHUMP!
{ Well, that's that taken care of, } Spike thought to himself in satisfaction, ignoring the dead body on the floor and taking in the scene of battle. With three of their four heavy hitters taken out, the blasted sods who'd dared to invade his home had obviously lost heart. Even though they kept on fighting, Spike knew that his minions had started to smell blood and were pressing the enemy hard.
"Naughty boy," he heard Drusilla say not far away, looking at the last of the Three. "C'mere, 'n look at me."
"Traitor," the last member of the Three cursed her. "Betrayer of the Master, defiler of the Order! You and William the Bloody shall not survive this night!" With that, he rushed forward – but again, moving with super-speed, Drusilla simply wasn't there when the stupid berk tried to stake her.
Spike smirked, and using Absalom's kuhkri, quickly slit the enemy's throat after jumping onto him from behind. The last of the Three staggered off to the side and gurgled, lukewarm blood spraying out of his neck. He didn't do so for long, however, before Spike finished him off – and that whistling, screaming explosion of dust took his place.
"Flamin' hell," Spike cursed, before landing on his feet and spitting out the ashes that gotten into his mouth. Then he smiled, seeing the last of the enemy vampires being dispatched by his minions. "On second thoughts, yeah; this is more like it!"
He grabbed Drusilla and kissed her fiercely, the undead equivalent of adrenaline rushing through his system. "You all right, luv?"
She gave him that same mischievous smile she'd given him aboard the Quintessa that night. "Posturing and chest-beating. I told you, Spoike, remember how I told you?"
"Yeah, that ya did, luv. You surely did!" Spike replied, giving thanks to whatever dark gods were granting him their favor. "Now, let's celebrate!"
They left the other vampires behind to take care of the clean-up, and quickly retired to their bedroom.
Well. Just another Tuesday night on the Hellmouth, more or less –
TBC…
A/N: Sorry for the minor delay in getting the latest chapter out, but then I've been kinda busy with work and grading roughly two dozen undergrad press releases this weekend, so, yeah. Anyway, this more or less wraps up the "The Pack" plot arc, and I'll be moving on to other things next. Oh, and mustn't forget, thanks as always for reading and reviewing and/or sending feedback! 'Tis most appreciated.
