Dawn had been waiting for the cavalry to arrive for just over half a
day now, and she wasn't exactly feeling all too happy about their absence.
Maybe Buffy still didn't know she'd gone? Her sister did seem pretty intent
on getting Spike killed, so perhaps she wasn't going to be all too willing
to go and check up on him. So maybe no one even knew she was gone yet.
Great. That meant even more quality time with Mr Psycho. Contrary to his
belief, she was in fact not an idiot, and had therefore picked up on the
details of his rant before. Gabriel had been annoyed because a 'he' wasn't
turning up like he'd expected. She'd bet the farm that 'he' was Spike.
"You eaten your grub yet?" Gabriel queried, appearing in the doorway and
interrupting her thoughts. Dawn shot to her feet, creeped out by the fact
that she had no way of telling how long he had been there. She nodded
mutely and he shrugged. "Need a drink?" he asked.
"Yes," she told him bluntly, not thinking that remembering your manners in
front of a vampire was going to get you a thank-you. She watched as he
shrugged and left the room, and wondered if he was actually going to get
her one. Last time he'd asked, she'd said 'ok' and he hadn't bothered
getting her anything. Mind games, she decided. As far as she could tell, it
was about mid-day, so she could count on everyone - except maybe Xander -
being awake. Good, that meant all forces were on hand to come and save her.
Everyone except Spike, anyway. She didn't want him anywhere near this guy
if he intended to hurt him. He'd only just got back.
The group of four had split up into singles straight after Buffy had ran through possibilities of where her sister might be, but after Xander and the Slayer had met back up accidentally outside the Bronze, they decided to stay together. Meanwhile, Clem spotted Spike in the sewer tunnels (it was still sunlight outside), and was set to do the same, when he realised where they were. Clem not exactly being the best looking of demons usually kept to the sewers, and he knew this place simply because when he had first come to town, he had been warned to keep well away. They were underneath the factory. Spike ran a painted fingernail down the curved wall just under the manhole where he planned to emerge out of, and a nostalgic smile flashed over his face. He remembered going through that manhole nearly every day back when he had lived in the factory, to do some business during the day, or just to fetch his princess a snack. The smile vanished. And where was Drusilla now? Off cavorting around Europe with anyone who will take her, thats where. Something settled in his stomach and he cringed. Who would he share his victory over his third Slayer with? He had no one. Spike decided that as soon as this whole drama with Dawn was over he would go out looking for a girlfriend. Harmony's name appeared to him, but he grimaced. If he ever saw that bimbo again it would be too soon. He eventually started to ascend the metal ladder leading up into the factory's lowest level, and shoved the manhole cover off with old familiarity, knowing to push it to the left, as on the right there was a sofa. As soon as he had hauled himself up and out, he knew he wasn't alone. "All healed and powerful now, are we?" Spike drawled, not even having to turn around to know that Willow was stood in the doorway. When he did turn however, he noticed that her eyes were comletely black, but simply raised a scarred eyebrow. Beneath them, Clem listened.
"What do you want?" Willow hissed, angry at the intrusion. "Just come to check things over with y'," Spike replied, wondering just how powerful she really was. He had known a witch about half a century ago who had made this guy melt simply be sneezing; that had been pretty cool. He'd been dying to know what would happen if she coughed. "Because you weren't listening before." It wasn't even a question. Spike grinned, providing her with the answer, had it been one. "8pm tonight, we meet outside the Bronze. We kill people, draw the Slayer and her little buddies out, then I kill her." The vampire nodded along, smirking at the fact that she had already depersonalised herself from Buffy by calling her and her lot 'the Slayer and her little buddies'. That was the type of thing he'd say. Maybe this place was rubbing off on her.
"Why y'couldn't have just said that before, I don't know." he sighed and raised an eyebrow at her glare. "What?!" he asked defensively "I'd just got back from bloody Africa, woman, I was shattered!" "You're arrogant and insolent, Spike, and someone should have killed you years ago." Willow told him suddenly, in a low, dangerous tone, which he was quick to match. "But they didn't, did they? And neither will you."Spike growled, letting the ghosts of the factory posess him and further his confidence even more. "You need me, princess, and you know it." He began to stalk forwards in her direction. "I could easily kill Buffy, and wouldn't that rain on your lit'l parade?" Willow's eyes seemed to darken even more. "Leave." she ordered after a short pause. "Now." Spike did a mock salute and made his way back into the sewers. Despite her demand, both knew he was in control; for now anyway. He dropped onto the floor, watched as the manhole cover replaced itself, and jumped in shock at the voice behind. "Hey Spike!" Clem yelled in his happiest tone, lumbering forwards and mentally storing away all the details of the exchange he'd just heard. "You wanna team up to find Dawn?" Spike plastered on his most innocent 'I want to be good' smile, which he'd seen on Angel a million times and nodded.
"Anythin' to help Buffy." He replied with fondness, and repressed a laugh. Yeah, anything to help Buffy die.
The pair had been silent for the half an hour since they had joined up, but now Xander looked over at Buffy, and she just knew what was coming. He fidgeted for a while, looking this way and that, but he had known exactly what he was going to say ever since he had woken up. "Why is Spike still alive after what he did to you?" he blurted out, without even the tinyest hint of tact which he had been practising. Buffy peered down an alley way, just in case her sister was down there, and cringed. Ever since she had seen Xander preparing to ask this, she had been trying to come up with an answer. Unfortunately, she didn't know why he was, so she couldn't even answer herself. "I don't know," the Slayer murmered, lowering her eyes to the floor and stopping walking. "I don't love him or anything - " "Thank God." Xander interjected, but she was intent to finish what she needed to say. "But I definitely feel something for him." Buffy forced herself to look up now and face her friend's criticising stare and met it with one of defiance. "Until I figure out what, I'll keep him around." Xander shook his head, the picture of a disappointed parent, and sighed heavily. "You listen way too much to your heart, and not nearly enough to your head." He informed her, but he didn't sound half as angry as she imagined he would. Buffy managed a smile. "Don't I know it." she replied with a small laugh and from then on, the search felt more companiable. That was just what she needed. If her sister was out there, having god-knows-what done to her at the hands of some big nasty, then she needed her friends around her. Suddenly, her ears picked up on something coming from...where was it coming from? Well, wherever it was, it sounded like Dawn. "Dawn?!" she practically screamed, knowing if it wasn't her, she was going to come off as a total freak. Yeah, 'cause she wasn't used to that after years at high school. Thankfully, she got a muffled reply. "Xander," she rushed frantically. "Did you hear that?" He nodded and they started a new search around the Magic Box.
As soon as Dawn had managed to scream back, she felt a strong hand clasp over her mouth and a face next to her ear. "You make another sound and it'll be the last thing you do," Gabriel hissed furiously, feeling himself slip into game face. "I don't care whether you live or die. The Slayer'll make just as good bait as you." Dawn shivered in fear. She didn't want to die, she faced that prospect way too much for a fifteen year old. All she wanted was a normal life. A voice in the back of her mind laughed. Yeah, because that was really likely to happen to someone who was a Key with a Slayer for a sister. "Please." she whispered in a shaky voice, not knowing exactly what she was pleading for, but feeling a strong need to anyway. Gabriel tightened his grip on her. "Did y'not just hear what I said?" he growled and felt tears begin to fall on his hand clamped over her mouth from her wide eyes. He released her and brushed them off disgustedly. "Remember," he breathed dangerously. "One sound and you and your big sis die." he paused. "Painfully." Dawn nodded unhappily as he carefully backed away, probably to go and check the situation. Why did this always happen to her? Now she couldn't even call for help or she'd get everyone killed. For the first time since her capture, Dawn found herself wishing Spike would just hurry up and get himself over there so she could go free. Her subconscious knew damned well that she didn't have any sort of guarantee she would live, quite the opposite, in fact, but she ignored that expertly. There was no sense in giving in to the pain she felt. After a long pause, she fell to her knees and began to cry into her hands.
Clem was the first to jump up out of the sewers into the town centre, and he held out a hand as if testing for rain before turning to look back down at his old friend who remained down there.
"I think you'll be ok, buddy," he smiled and helped Spike up the ladder and out into the world. They had soon realised that they had been searching underground for hours, and had decided to make a go at seeing how far down the sun was. After all, at this time of year, darkness fell early, and the moon was quick to replace the sun. When Spike was fully out, he cringed. His skin felt it was burning. This was cutting it just a bit too close for his liking. The feeling he had had before of sitting too close to the fire was multiplied by ten, and he didn't know how long he would last. "The sun better disappear pretty soon, or you're gonna be mates with a pile of dust." he groused, feeling the prickling sensation lessen as the darkness became heavier. Clem laughed softly and suddenly, a huge excitement overtook the vampire. He was going to kill his third Slayer in just over an hour; and not just any Slayer, he was going to kill Buffy. At the thought, still, something somewhere cried out in pain, but the majority of Spike's self overpowered it, and the excitement prevailed over the nerves. They were in an alley way just next to the Espresso Pump, and Clem peered outside to check if the coast was clear. Spike may be able to wander about without attracting attention of the running and screaming kind, but he sure couldn't. Luckily, there weren't any humans around and they were able to walk out. If you were an inhabitant of Sunnydale, you quickly learned to keep clear of the streets when the sun set. Spike was first to spot Buffy, and he swaggered over to where she was staring at the bottom of the Magic Box. "I think Dawn's down there." She informed him bluntly upon his arrival, pointing at the foundations accusingly. Spike shot a worried glance at Clem, who shrugged and he smirked to himself. "So what? Now we get shovels?" he mocked and growled as she smacked him. She wasn't going to take jokes when her sister was down there somewhere. All she needed to do now was find her.
Gabriel had hardly believed his luck when his search for a proper hideout had presented itself in a secret door leading out from the cellar of a shop which in turn lead to some sort of cave. Looked like it had been used before, too. Now, however, he pushed the heavy stone door open and stuck his head cautiously out. He could hear the Slayer and another guy talking outside, so he knew they were close. He was about to go back and check his hostage - his extremely annoying hostage - when another voice joined them. Spike. He didn't sound much different than he had back in 1925, which surprised him as his Sire had been living in America for coming up to 6 years now. Then he heard the front door to the shop being kicked open, and jumped back in shock. He pulled the door shut, making sure it was still just slightly ajar, and began to pray that Spike would make his way down there alone. Upstairs, Buffy was helping to answer his prayers as she debated which door to take. "I didn't know there were two store rooms downstairs." Xander commented absently, having followed them in after Spike had unceremoniously kicked the door in. "Yeah, one goes from the training room." Buffy replied in a thoughtful tone. Silence followed as she tried to choose which set of stairs to go down into which room. "Oh for God's sake," Spike sighed theatrically. "Slayer, you take this one with the whelp, me and Clem'll take the training room one." Buffy didn't argue. She didn't have time to be petty when her little sister was somewhere in danger. The vampire and the demon descended the stairs without the caution the other two used, and Spike immediately spotted the imperfection in the wall. "Secret door." He informed him bluntly and started to walk towards it, only to realise his friend wasn't following. Scaredy cat. "Alright, y'don't have to come. Wait there, yeah?" Clem nodded happily, relief evident in his smile. It dropped as soon as Spike disappeared through the door. Now to go and inform Buffy of what Spike was really up to. He may be his friend, but Clem wasn't one for evil. Plus, he really liked Buffy and her sister.
The group of four had split up into singles straight after Buffy had ran through possibilities of where her sister might be, but after Xander and the Slayer had met back up accidentally outside the Bronze, they decided to stay together. Meanwhile, Clem spotted Spike in the sewer tunnels (it was still sunlight outside), and was set to do the same, when he realised where they were. Clem not exactly being the best looking of demons usually kept to the sewers, and he knew this place simply because when he had first come to town, he had been warned to keep well away. They were underneath the factory. Spike ran a painted fingernail down the curved wall just under the manhole where he planned to emerge out of, and a nostalgic smile flashed over his face. He remembered going through that manhole nearly every day back when he had lived in the factory, to do some business during the day, or just to fetch his princess a snack. The smile vanished. And where was Drusilla now? Off cavorting around Europe with anyone who will take her, thats where. Something settled in his stomach and he cringed. Who would he share his victory over his third Slayer with? He had no one. Spike decided that as soon as this whole drama with Dawn was over he would go out looking for a girlfriend. Harmony's name appeared to him, but he grimaced. If he ever saw that bimbo again it would be too soon. He eventually started to ascend the metal ladder leading up into the factory's lowest level, and shoved the manhole cover off with old familiarity, knowing to push it to the left, as on the right there was a sofa. As soon as he had hauled himself up and out, he knew he wasn't alone. "All healed and powerful now, are we?" Spike drawled, not even having to turn around to know that Willow was stood in the doorway. When he did turn however, he noticed that her eyes were comletely black, but simply raised a scarred eyebrow. Beneath them, Clem listened.
"What do you want?" Willow hissed, angry at the intrusion. "Just come to check things over with y'," Spike replied, wondering just how powerful she really was. He had known a witch about half a century ago who had made this guy melt simply be sneezing; that had been pretty cool. He'd been dying to know what would happen if she coughed. "Because you weren't listening before." It wasn't even a question. Spike grinned, providing her with the answer, had it been one. "8pm tonight, we meet outside the Bronze. We kill people, draw the Slayer and her little buddies out, then I kill her." The vampire nodded along, smirking at the fact that she had already depersonalised herself from Buffy by calling her and her lot 'the Slayer and her little buddies'. That was the type of thing he'd say. Maybe this place was rubbing off on her.
"Why y'couldn't have just said that before, I don't know." he sighed and raised an eyebrow at her glare. "What?!" he asked defensively "I'd just got back from bloody Africa, woman, I was shattered!" "You're arrogant and insolent, Spike, and someone should have killed you years ago." Willow told him suddenly, in a low, dangerous tone, which he was quick to match. "But they didn't, did they? And neither will you."Spike growled, letting the ghosts of the factory posess him and further his confidence even more. "You need me, princess, and you know it." He began to stalk forwards in her direction. "I could easily kill Buffy, and wouldn't that rain on your lit'l parade?" Willow's eyes seemed to darken even more. "Leave." she ordered after a short pause. "Now." Spike did a mock salute and made his way back into the sewers. Despite her demand, both knew he was in control; for now anyway. He dropped onto the floor, watched as the manhole cover replaced itself, and jumped in shock at the voice behind. "Hey Spike!" Clem yelled in his happiest tone, lumbering forwards and mentally storing away all the details of the exchange he'd just heard. "You wanna team up to find Dawn?" Spike plastered on his most innocent 'I want to be good' smile, which he'd seen on Angel a million times and nodded.
"Anythin' to help Buffy." He replied with fondness, and repressed a laugh. Yeah, anything to help Buffy die.
The pair had been silent for the half an hour since they had joined up, but now Xander looked over at Buffy, and she just knew what was coming. He fidgeted for a while, looking this way and that, but he had known exactly what he was going to say ever since he had woken up. "Why is Spike still alive after what he did to you?" he blurted out, without even the tinyest hint of tact which he had been practising. Buffy peered down an alley way, just in case her sister was down there, and cringed. Ever since she had seen Xander preparing to ask this, she had been trying to come up with an answer. Unfortunately, she didn't know why he was, so she couldn't even answer herself. "I don't know," the Slayer murmered, lowering her eyes to the floor and stopping walking. "I don't love him or anything - " "Thank God." Xander interjected, but she was intent to finish what she needed to say. "But I definitely feel something for him." Buffy forced herself to look up now and face her friend's criticising stare and met it with one of defiance. "Until I figure out what, I'll keep him around." Xander shook his head, the picture of a disappointed parent, and sighed heavily. "You listen way too much to your heart, and not nearly enough to your head." He informed her, but he didn't sound half as angry as she imagined he would. Buffy managed a smile. "Don't I know it." she replied with a small laugh and from then on, the search felt more companiable. That was just what she needed. If her sister was out there, having god-knows-what done to her at the hands of some big nasty, then she needed her friends around her. Suddenly, her ears picked up on something coming from...where was it coming from? Well, wherever it was, it sounded like Dawn. "Dawn?!" she practically screamed, knowing if it wasn't her, she was going to come off as a total freak. Yeah, 'cause she wasn't used to that after years at high school. Thankfully, she got a muffled reply. "Xander," she rushed frantically. "Did you hear that?" He nodded and they started a new search around the Magic Box.
As soon as Dawn had managed to scream back, she felt a strong hand clasp over her mouth and a face next to her ear. "You make another sound and it'll be the last thing you do," Gabriel hissed furiously, feeling himself slip into game face. "I don't care whether you live or die. The Slayer'll make just as good bait as you." Dawn shivered in fear. She didn't want to die, she faced that prospect way too much for a fifteen year old. All she wanted was a normal life. A voice in the back of her mind laughed. Yeah, because that was really likely to happen to someone who was a Key with a Slayer for a sister. "Please." she whispered in a shaky voice, not knowing exactly what she was pleading for, but feeling a strong need to anyway. Gabriel tightened his grip on her. "Did y'not just hear what I said?" he growled and felt tears begin to fall on his hand clamped over her mouth from her wide eyes. He released her and brushed them off disgustedly. "Remember," he breathed dangerously. "One sound and you and your big sis die." he paused. "Painfully." Dawn nodded unhappily as he carefully backed away, probably to go and check the situation. Why did this always happen to her? Now she couldn't even call for help or she'd get everyone killed. For the first time since her capture, Dawn found herself wishing Spike would just hurry up and get himself over there so she could go free. Her subconscious knew damned well that she didn't have any sort of guarantee she would live, quite the opposite, in fact, but she ignored that expertly. There was no sense in giving in to the pain she felt. After a long pause, she fell to her knees and began to cry into her hands.
Clem was the first to jump up out of the sewers into the town centre, and he held out a hand as if testing for rain before turning to look back down at his old friend who remained down there.
"I think you'll be ok, buddy," he smiled and helped Spike up the ladder and out into the world. They had soon realised that they had been searching underground for hours, and had decided to make a go at seeing how far down the sun was. After all, at this time of year, darkness fell early, and the moon was quick to replace the sun. When Spike was fully out, he cringed. His skin felt it was burning. This was cutting it just a bit too close for his liking. The feeling he had had before of sitting too close to the fire was multiplied by ten, and he didn't know how long he would last. "The sun better disappear pretty soon, or you're gonna be mates with a pile of dust." he groused, feeling the prickling sensation lessen as the darkness became heavier. Clem laughed softly and suddenly, a huge excitement overtook the vampire. He was going to kill his third Slayer in just over an hour; and not just any Slayer, he was going to kill Buffy. At the thought, still, something somewhere cried out in pain, but the majority of Spike's self overpowered it, and the excitement prevailed over the nerves. They were in an alley way just next to the Espresso Pump, and Clem peered outside to check if the coast was clear. Spike may be able to wander about without attracting attention of the running and screaming kind, but he sure couldn't. Luckily, there weren't any humans around and they were able to walk out. If you were an inhabitant of Sunnydale, you quickly learned to keep clear of the streets when the sun set. Spike was first to spot Buffy, and he swaggered over to where she was staring at the bottom of the Magic Box. "I think Dawn's down there." She informed him bluntly upon his arrival, pointing at the foundations accusingly. Spike shot a worried glance at Clem, who shrugged and he smirked to himself. "So what? Now we get shovels?" he mocked and growled as she smacked him. She wasn't going to take jokes when her sister was down there somewhere. All she needed to do now was find her.
Gabriel had hardly believed his luck when his search for a proper hideout had presented itself in a secret door leading out from the cellar of a shop which in turn lead to some sort of cave. Looked like it had been used before, too. Now, however, he pushed the heavy stone door open and stuck his head cautiously out. He could hear the Slayer and another guy talking outside, so he knew they were close. He was about to go back and check his hostage - his extremely annoying hostage - when another voice joined them. Spike. He didn't sound much different than he had back in 1925, which surprised him as his Sire had been living in America for coming up to 6 years now. Then he heard the front door to the shop being kicked open, and jumped back in shock. He pulled the door shut, making sure it was still just slightly ajar, and began to pray that Spike would make his way down there alone. Upstairs, Buffy was helping to answer his prayers as she debated which door to take. "I didn't know there were two store rooms downstairs." Xander commented absently, having followed them in after Spike had unceremoniously kicked the door in. "Yeah, one goes from the training room." Buffy replied in a thoughtful tone. Silence followed as she tried to choose which set of stairs to go down into which room. "Oh for God's sake," Spike sighed theatrically. "Slayer, you take this one with the whelp, me and Clem'll take the training room one." Buffy didn't argue. She didn't have time to be petty when her little sister was somewhere in danger. The vampire and the demon descended the stairs without the caution the other two used, and Spike immediately spotted the imperfection in the wall. "Secret door." He informed him bluntly and started to walk towards it, only to realise his friend wasn't following. Scaredy cat. "Alright, y'don't have to come. Wait there, yeah?" Clem nodded happily, relief evident in his smile. It dropped as soon as Spike disappeared through the door. Now to go and inform Buffy of what Spike was really up to. He may be his friend, but Clem wasn't one for evil. Plus, he really liked Buffy and her sister.