Chapter Five
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale
Saturday Morning
1:30 am
Spike arrived back at the house, in a worse mood than before, if that
was possible. Riley was there waiting for him, which didn't improve
his mood any, either. "Fun hunting?" Riley asked timidly. Spike
returned a growl and stalked to the other room.
"Oookay," Riley said to himself. "I'll take that as a no."
"And what the HELL are you doing here??? I thought we agreed that you
wouldn't take any unnecessary chances of the Slayer finding out about
you!" Spike roared as he came back into the living room.
"She went back to the dorm,, don't worry, she doesn't suspect a
thing," Riley said reassuringly. "I'm still good old Riley, Tara's
spell is working perfectly. She hasn't questioned the fact that I
haven't been seen in the daylight for the past week. I'm perfectly
safe from Buffy's suspicions."
"If your idiot of a sister's spells were _working_, Faith would still
be alive, and she would have brought Angelus back to Sunnydale! So
don't talk to me about her spells!" Spike yelled angrily.
"Just because Faith got herself killed, doesn't mean it had anything
to do with the spell," Riley retorted just as angrily. "Tara has been
practicing witchcraft since she was a child, and she's one of the
most powerful witches in the country." At Spike's snort of derision,
Riley continued, "While Faith, on the other hand, was never a good
Slayer, she could never control her impulses."
"YOU--" Spike approached Riley menacingly, "You are the one who
turned her. And then _you_ are the one who assured me that she would
be an asset to our plan. Instead, she may have ruined it.
"If that poof of a Sire of mine comes back to Sunnydale with his soul
intact, I will hold you responsible. I promise you I will make you
suffer in ways you never imagined were possible, and then tie you up
and leave you outside to watch your final sunrise!"
By this point, Spike had Riley pinned to the wall by this point, hand
closed on his throat. Riley didn't even try to fight him, and Spike
dropped him, irritatedly. "You could at least try to fight, you
pansy!" He yelled, and stomped to his room. He turned in the doorway
to look back at his childe, who was sitting pouting on the
floor. "Get out of my house!" he yelled.
"But Spike--" Riley whined.
"Get out! Or I'll stake you myself!" Spike yelled, and slammed the
door as he sought solitude in his bedroom. "Just remember Spike,
there _was_ a reason you turned him," he said to himself. "The look
on Slutty's face when she realizes what has happened to her precious
Riley will be worth any irritation you have to suffer until then."
&&&&&&&&&&&&
L.A.
1:30 am
Tara said to Angelus and Spike's group of minions, "We need to leave
now. We can get back to Sunnydale before dawn, and I'm sure Spike
will be thrilled that I managed to salvage this plan."
"Spike's not going to be happy to see me, don't have any
misconceptions about that," Angelus replied with a grin. "I'm a
necessary evil, if you'll excuse the expression, so he can get what
he wants. He's got it out for Buffy, and he knows the best way to
bring her down is yours truly. She's going to be so caught off guard,
it won't be hard at all to rid the town of Sunnydale of one more
Slayer."
"Angel, I forgot my..." Cordelia and Wesley walked in at that moment,
and Cordelia's mouth dropped open in shock at the exact same time
that her legs forgot how to work. Wesley, behind her, didn't notice
and bumped into her. "Oh!" he said in surprise, and looked over her
shoulder at what had grabbed her attention.
Angelus had reverted to his normal face, and tried to smile kindly at
Cordy and Wesley. "Hi, guys," he said. "You remember Tara?"
"Uh, I don't think she mentioned her name when we were here,"
Cordelia said slowly, still refusing to enter the room. Her instincts
were telling her that something was wrong, even though she couldn't
get a grasp on it yet. Then she did, and yelled, "But she didn't
mention the commandos!" She moved backward, quickly, but was hindered
by Wesley who was still behind her. "Wesley! Bad people! Move!" she
yelled.
"Oh, dear," Angelus said, and waved at the minions. "Can't let them
leave the party now, can we?" One of the men grabbed Cordelia,
getting a stiletto heel slammed into his foot for the
trouble. "AAAH!" he yelled, and shoved her down roughly. Wesley tried
to come to her aid, and another of the men hit him over the head with
the butt of a gun.
"Leave him alone!" Cordelia yelled, trying to get up.
Angelus closed the distance and pulled her up, saying, "Hi, remember
me?" now in full game-face again.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Cordelia screamed. "Not you again! This is just
so WRONG! I don't know who you are, missy," turning to look at
Tara, "but you are in big trouble!"
Tara laughed, and replied, "No, I think it's you who's in trouble. I
imagine Angelus is rather hungry. Aren't you, Angelus?" she looked to
him with a chilling smile that Willow had never been graced with.
"I think eek is old now and this is a better response: AAAAAAAHHHH!"
Cordy shrieked. Angelus clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her.
Cordelia, not one to go down without a fight, bit down hard, making
it Angelus' turn to yell.
"Dammit! Bitch!" He threw her against the wall, where she hit her
head hard and fell to the floor unconscious.
"What do you want to do with them?" Tara asked.
"Me? I thought you and Spike were running the show," Angelus answered
sarcastically.
"Uh-uh," Tara said. "I'm very aware of who you are. I've done plenty
of reading on the infamous Angelus. Two hundred fifty-some years old.
Terror of any town that you visited. Your victim of choice has always
been the Slayer. The fact that you've killed so many of them without
getting yourself dusted means that you're much more intelligent and
resourceful than most vampires.
"Spike was insistent to both Faith and I that coming back to
Sunnydale without you would be a death-wish. And you inspire a..can I
say awed reaction in demons and vampires alike. All Spike had to do
was talk of bringing you back to Sunnydale, and the entire demon and
vampire population of Sunnydale was falling over themselves in their
hurry to be part of this. So, I'm not under any misconceptions
whatsoever as to who is _really_ running this show."
"You're smarter than you look, witch," Angelus said
appreciatively. "Maybe I'll have to keep you around for a while after
all." He looked over at Angel's two friends, who were both
unconscious, and decided, "Tie them up and we'll bring them along.
Let's make this a reunion the Slayer and her friends will never
forget."
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale
2 a.m.
Willow/Buffy's dorm room
"Buffy?" Willow said, her face full of concern.
"I'm okay," Buffy replied, taking a deep breath. "Really," she
insisted, as Willow just looked at her suspiciously. "Whatever it
was, it's gone now. We're both exhausted, let's just try to get some
sleep."
"Okay," Willow said slowly. "Are you sure you're okay? I've never
seen anything like that before. Can you remember anything?" she
pressed.
Buffy shook her head, tiredly. "I... there was a flash of something,
images....but I can't remember. It all came so fast, and there was
this overwhelming pain--" She looked at Willow blankly, "I don't
know."
"Are you sure we shouldn't check with Giles on this? I mean, it might
be something demony, or spell-related, or...I don't know, something,"
Willow suggested.
"No, I'm sure it's nothing," Buffy tried to reassure her
friend. "Wills, if it happens again, I'll tell Giles, I promise. I'm
just not convinced it can't be explained by the fact that tonight was
pretty tense, and...I feel really awful for what I did to Oz."
"Buffy, I really don't want to talk about this right now--"
"Willow, I need to tell you that I know I was wrong," Buffy said. "I
should've used the gun with the tranquilizer darts. I mean, _duh_,
Buffy, we're out there because of possible wolf activity. I just
panicked when it jumped at you and--"
"Buffy, you were already really freaked when Spike came out of
nowhere, and then I did the brilliant Willow thing by running right
into his trap," Willow said. "And then everything happened so fast...
I'm not thrilled that you shot Oz with that arrow, don't get me
wrong, but it's over now. Oz will be okay, and that's all that
matters."
Buffy sighed, and said, "Okay, it's not an 'I forgive you Buffy,' but
at least it's not an 'I hate you, Buffy.' I'll take it. I promise, I
will find some way to make it up to you. To both of you."
Willow smiled, and replied, "I don't hate you. You're a good person,
Buffy, and a good Slayer. Things just happen. I'm glad that you
happened to have bad aim tonight, though. I just need some time
before I can be 'happy Willow' again, okay?"
"Fair enough," Buffy said, and stifled a yawn. She flopped on her
bed, tiredly. "G'night, Wills."
"Good night, Buffy," Willow said, and reached over to turn off the
light. She gathered by Buffy's breathing that her friend had no
problem in making her way to dreamland. Willow, unfortunately was not
that lucky. The memory of the moment that Oz-wolf had collapsed at
her feet, arrow in his chest, continued to torment her until the
early morning hours.
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale
Spike's mansion
4 a.m.
Spike walked back out to the living room, and was relieved to find
that Riley had left. "Finally! And if he knows what's good for him,
he'll stay out of my way. And his idiot sister too--"
"What's that about Riley's idiot sister?" Tara said calmly, as she
walked in the door.
"You! I told you not to come back if you failed! Faith's dead, and
I'm left to pick up the pieces!"
"Hello, Will!" Angelus interrupted, making his entrance with Spike's
minions.
Spike's jaw dropped, as two of the men carried in the bound and still
unconscious Cordelia and Wesley and dropped them unceremoniously on
the floor.
"Brought you a little present from L.A.," Angelus added with a grin.
"Wha--how--when--you?" Spike stammered, looking from Tara to Angelus
unbelievingly.
"Yes, Spike. I'm back, and ready for some good old-fashioned slayer-
torture." Angelus answered, and walked over to the couch, making
himself comfortable. "What? Not even a welcome back, Sire?" he mocked.
"Not bloody likely," Spike retorted, finding his voice finally. "And
what am I supposed to do with these two?" indicating Cordy and
Wesley.
"I thought they would be more useful here than in L.A." Angelus
answered.
"Did I earn the right to be back in Sunnydale then?" Tara challenged
Spike.
"Yes, I suppose you managed to save yourself by this little stunt,
witch," Spike replied. "But I still think your blinding spell must
have some holes in it. How else would Faith have gotten dusted?"
"Rich girl gets visions now," Angelus answered. "Which is another
reason we had to keep her here. Can't have her running to Buffy with
whatever she might know about this. She succeeded in warning Angel
about a good portion of your plan to defeat Buffy. She knew what
Faith was up to, as well. Luckily for you, Spike, Tara stepped in
with her magic."
"Well if you're expecting a thank you, you can bloody well wait til
you rot, for all I care," Spike said to Tara. "As far as I'm
concerned you should be thanking me for not torturing you just for
the sheer pleasure of it," he added menacingly.
To his shock, Tara laughed. "Oh, please, Spike, don't kill me!" she
mocked, smiling at him.
He snarled and lunged at her, but was repelled by an unseen force,
which threw him across the room and into the opposite wall. Angelus
roared with laughter at that, which only succeeded in angering Spike
more. "I'll get you for that," he growled at Tara. "You should choose
more carefully who you make an enemy of--"
"Oh, shut up," Angelus interjected in aggravation. "You're acting
like an idiot, Spike. Take our guests into the next room and make
sure the ropes are tight. Gag them too, I'm just not in the mood for
the sounds of screaming...yet. Then I think it's time to talk about
our next move."
Spike did as Angelus demanded, muttering, "Bloody hell. 'Do this,
Spike', Do that Spike'. Yeah, bring Angelus back. Smart move, Spike."
&&&&&&&&&
Willow and Buffy's room
8 a.m.
Buffy awakened to see that Willow was already dressed and heading out
the door. "Ugh. Going somewhere?" Buffy managed to form the words.
"Yeah, I already called Giles, and he said Oz is up. I figured I'd go
over there."
"Mmhpggh," Buffy replied from around her pillow -- or at least that's
the best Willow could do in deciphering it. She shook her head,
giggled and left for Giles' house.
Fifteen minutes later, Buffy was awakened a second time by a knock on
the door. "AGH!" she yelled in response, and pulled herself out of
bed, sparing a glance at her reflection in the mirror, snorting at it
and thinking, *Oh, what the hell. Anyone who comes to my door at this
time on a Saturday morning deserves the trauma of seeing me at my
morning best.*
She opened it to.... "Angel?" Buffy squeaked, and her jaw dropped
open in shock.
End Part Five
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale
Saturday Morning
1:30 am
Spike arrived back at the house, in a worse mood than before, if that
was possible. Riley was there waiting for him, which didn't improve
his mood any, either. "Fun hunting?" Riley asked timidly. Spike
returned a growl and stalked to the other room.
"Oookay," Riley said to himself. "I'll take that as a no."
"And what the HELL are you doing here??? I thought we agreed that you
wouldn't take any unnecessary chances of the Slayer finding out about
you!" Spike roared as he came back into the living room.
"She went back to the dorm,, don't worry, she doesn't suspect a
thing," Riley said reassuringly. "I'm still good old Riley, Tara's
spell is working perfectly. She hasn't questioned the fact that I
haven't been seen in the daylight for the past week. I'm perfectly
safe from Buffy's suspicions."
"If your idiot of a sister's spells were _working_, Faith would still
be alive, and she would have brought Angelus back to Sunnydale! So
don't talk to me about her spells!" Spike yelled angrily.
"Just because Faith got herself killed, doesn't mean it had anything
to do with the spell," Riley retorted just as angrily. "Tara has been
practicing witchcraft since she was a child, and she's one of the
most powerful witches in the country." At Spike's snort of derision,
Riley continued, "While Faith, on the other hand, was never a good
Slayer, she could never control her impulses."
"YOU--" Spike approached Riley menacingly, "You are the one who
turned her. And then _you_ are the one who assured me that she would
be an asset to our plan. Instead, she may have ruined it.
"If that poof of a Sire of mine comes back to Sunnydale with his soul
intact, I will hold you responsible. I promise you I will make you
suffer in ways you never imagined were possible, and then tie you up
and leave you outside to watch your final sunrise!"
By this point, Spike had Riley pinned to the wall by this point, hand
closed on his throat. Riley didn't even try to fight him, and Spike
dropped him, irritatedly. "You could at least try to fight, you
pansy!" He yelled, and stomped to his room. He turned in the doorway
to look back at his childe, who was sitting pouting on the
floor. "Get out of my house!" he yelled.
"But Spike--" Riley whined.
"Get out! Or I'll stake you myself!" Spike yelled, and slammed the
door as he sought solitude in his bedroom. "Just remember Spike,
there _was_ a reason you turned him," he said to himself. "The look
on Slutty's face when she realizes what has happened to her precious
Riley will be worth any irritation you have to suffer until then."
&&&&&&&&&&&&
L.A.
1:30 am
Tara said to Angelus and Spike's group of minions, "We need to leave
now. We can get back to Sunnydale before dawn, and I'm sure Spike
will be thrilled that I managed to salvage this plan."
"Spike's not going to be happy to see me, don't have any
misconceptions about that," Angelus replied with a grin. "I'm a
necessary evil, if you'll excuse the expression, so he can get what
he wants. He's got it out for Buffy, and he knows the best way to
bring her down is yours truly. She's going to be so caught off guard,
it won't be hard at all to rid the town of Sunnydale of one more
Slayer."
"Angel, I forgot my..." Cordelia and Wesley walked in at that moment,
and Cordelia's mouth dropped open in shock at the exact same time
that her legs forgot how to work. Wesley, behind her, didn't notice
and bumped into her. "Oh!" he said in surprise, and looked over her
shoulder at what had grabbed her attention.
Angelus had reverted to his normal face, and tried to smile kindly at
Cordy and Wesley. "Hi, guys," he said. "You remember Tara?"
"Uh, I don't think she mentioned her name when we were here,"
Cordelia said slowly, still refusing to enter the room. Her instincts
were telling her that something was wrong, even though she couldn't
get a grasp on it yet. Then she did, and yelled, "But she didn't
mention the commandos!" She moved backward, quickly, but was hindered
by Wesley who was still behind her. "Wesley! Bad people! Move!" she
yelled.
"Oh, dear," Angelus said, and waved at the minions. "Can't let them
leave the party now, can we?" One of the men grabbed Cordelia,
getting a stiletto heel slammed into his foot for the
trouble. "AAAH!" he yelled, and shoved her down roughly. Wesley tried
to come to her aid, and another of the men hit him over the head with
the butt of a gun.
"Leave him alone!" Cordelia yelled, trying to get up.
Angelus closed the distance and pulled her up, saying, "Hi, remember
me?" now in full game-face again.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Cordelia screamed. "Not you again! This is just
so WRONG! I don't know who you are, missy," turning to look at
Tara, "but you are in big trouble!"
Tara laughed, and replied, "No, I think it's you who's in trouble. I
imagine Angelus is rather hungry. Aren't you, Angelus?" she looked to
him with a chilling smile that Willow had never been graced with.
"I think eek is old now and this is a better response: AAAAAAAHHHH!"
Cordy shrieked. Angelus clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her.
Cordelia, not one to go down without a fight, bit down hard, making
it Angelus' turn to yell.
"Dammit! Bitch!" He threw her against the wall, where she hit her
head hard and fell to the floor unconscious.
"What do you want to do with them?" Tara asked.
"Me? I thought you and Spike were running the show," Angelus answered
sarcastically.
"Uh-uh," Tara said. "I'm very aware of who you are. I've done plenty
of reading on the infamous Angelus. Two hundred fifty-some years old.
Terror of any town that you visited. Your victim of choice has always
been the Slayer. The fact that you've killed so many of them without
getting yourself dusted means that you're much more intelligent and
resourceful than most vampires.
"Spike was insistent to both Faith and I that coming back to
Sunnydale without you would be a death-wish. And you inspire a..can I
say awed reaction in demons and vampires alike. All Spike had to do
was talk of bringing you back to Sunnydale, and the entire demon and
vampire population of Sunnydale was falling over themselves in their
hurry to be part of this. So, I'm not under any misconceptions
whatsoever as to who is _really_ running this show."
"You're smarter than you look, witch," Angelus said
appreciatively. "Maybe I'll have to keep you around for a while after
all." He looked over at Angel's two friends, who were both
unconscious, and decided, "Tie them up and we'll bring them along.
Let's make this a reunion the Slayer and her friends will never
forget."
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale
2 a.m.
Willow/Buffy's dorm room
"Buffy?" Willow said, her face full of concern.
"I'm okay," Buffy replied, taking a deep breath. "Really," she
insisted, as Willow just looked at her suspiciously. "Whatever it
was, it's gone now. We're both exhausted, let's just try to get some
sleep."
"Okay," Willow said slowly. "Are you sure you're okay? I've never
seen anything like that before. Can you remember anything?" she
pressed.
Buffy shook her head, tiredly. "I... there was a flash of something,
images....but I can't remember. It all came so fast, and there was
this overwhelming pain--" She looked at Willow blankly, "I don't
know."
"Are you sure we shouldn't check with Giles on this? I mean, it might
be something demony, or spell-related, or...I don't know, something,"
Willow suggested.
"No, I'm sure it's nothing," Buffy tried to reassure her
friend. "Wills, if it happens again, I'll tell Giles, I promise. I'm
just not convinced it can't be explained by the fact that tonight was
pretty tense, and...I feel really awful for what I did to Oz."
"Buffy, I really don't want to talk about this right now--"
"Willow, I need to tell you that I know I was wrong," Buffy said. "I
should've used the gun with the tranquilizer darts. I mean, _duh_,
Buffy, we're out there because of possible wolf activity. I just
panicked when it jumped at you and--"
"Buffy, you were already really freaked when Spike came out of
nowhere, and then I did the brilliant Willow thing by running right
into his trap," Willow said. "And then everything happened so fast...
I'm not thrilled that you shot Oz with that arrow, don't get me
wrong, but it's over now. Oz will be okay, and that's all that
matters."
Buffy sighed, and said, "Okay, it's not an 'I forgive you Buffy,' but
at least it's not an 'I hate you, Buffy.' I'll take it. I promise, I
will find some way to make it up to you. To both of you."
Willow smiled, and replied, "I don't hate you. You're a good person,
Buffy, and a good Slayer. Things just happen. I'm glad that you
happened to have bad aim tonight, though. I just need some time
before I can be 'happy Willow' again, okay?"
"Fair enough," Buffy said, and stifled a yawn. She flopped on her
bed, tiredly. "G'night, Wills."
"Good night, Buffy," Willow said, and reached over to turn off the
light. She gathered by Buffy's breathing that her friend had no
problem in making her way to dreamland. Willow, unfortunately was not
that lucky. The memory of the moment that Oz-wolf had collapsed at
her feet, arrow in his chest, continued to torment her until the
early morning hours.
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale
Spike's mansion
4 a.m.
Spike walked back out to the living room, and was relieved to find
that Riley had left. "Finally! And if he knows what's good for him,
he'll stay out of my way. And his idiot sister too--"
"What's that about Riley's idiot sister?" Tara said calmly, as she
walked in the door.
"You! I told you not to come back if you failed! Faith's dead, and
I'm left to pick up the pieces!"
"Hello, Will!" Angelus interrupted, making his entrance with Spike's
minions.
Spike's jaw dropped, as two of the men carried in the bound and still
unconscious Cordelia and Wesley and dropped them unceremoniously on
the floor.
"Brought you a little present from L.A.," Angelus added with a grin.
"Wha--how--when--you?" Spike stammered, looking from Tara to Angelus
unbelievingly.
"Yes, Spike. I'm back, and ready for some good old-fashioned slayer-
torture." Angelus answered, and walked over to the couch, making
himself comfortable. "What? Not even a welcome back, Sire?" he mocked.
"Not bloody likely," Spike retorted, finding his voice finally. "And
what am I supposed to do with these two?" indicating Cordy and
Wesley.
"I thought they would be more useful here than in L.A." Angelus
answered.
"Did I earn the right to be back in Sunnydale then?" Tara challenged
Spike.
"Yes, I suppose you managed to save yourself by this little stunt,
witch," Spike replied. "But I still think your blinding spell must
have some holes in it. How else would Faith have gotten dusted?"
"Rich girl gets visions now," Angelus answered. "Which is another
reason we had to keep her here. Can't have her running to Buffy with
whatever she might know about this. She succeeded in warning Angel
about a good portion of your plan to defeat Buffy. She knew what
Faith was up to, as well. Luckily for you, Spike, Tara stepped in
with her magic."
"Well if you're expecting a thank you, you can bloody well wait til
you rot, for all I care," Spike said to Tara. "As far as I'm
concerned you should be thanking me for not torturing you just for
the sheer pleasure of it," he added menacingly.
To his shock, Tara laughed. "Oh, please, Spike, don't kill me!" she
mocked, smiling at him.
He snarled and lunged at her, but was repelled by an unseen force,
which threw him across the room and into the opposite wall. Angelus
roared with laughter at that, which only succeeded in angering Spike
more. "I'll get you for that," he growled at Tara. "You should choose
more carefully who you make an enemy of--"
"Oh, shut up," Angelus interjected in aggravation. "You're acting
like an idiot, Spike. Take our guests into the next room and make
sure the ropes are tight. Gag them too, I'm just not in the mood for
the sounds of screaming...yet. Then I think it's time to talk about
our next move."
Spike did as Angelus demanded, muttering, "Bloody hell. 'Do this,
Spike', Do that Spike'. Yeah, bring Angelus back. Smart move, Spike."
&&&&&&&&&
Willow and Buffy's room
8 a.m.
Buffy awakened to see that Willow was already dressed and heading out
the door. "Ugh. Going somewhere?" Buffy managed to form the words.
"Yeah, I already called Giles, and he said Oz is up. I figured I'd go
over there."
"Mmhpggh," Buffy replied from around her pillow -- or at least that's
the best Willow could do in deciphering it. She shook her head,
giggled and left for Giles' house.
Fifteen minutes later, Buffy was awakened a second time by a knock on
the door. "AGH!" she yelled in response, and pulled herself out of
bed, sparing a glance at her reflection in the mirror, snorting at it
and thinking, *Oh, what the hell. Anyone who comes to my door at this
time on a Saturday morning deserves the trauma of seeing me at my
morning best.*
She opened it to.... "Angel?" Buffy squeaked, and her jaw dropped
open in shock.
End Part Five