Title: Of Demons and Souls, Chapter Six: Friendship defined
Author: AriellaGiselle
Rating: R, for violence, bloodletting, m/m overtones, adult content,
language, and major angst.
Pairings: Darien/Bobby, Darien/Spike, Spike/Willow
Distribution: My site, Fanfiction.net, IMFanfic, Bite me... Please?,
QSArchive, and NeonSilence. Anyone else, just ask.
Spoilers: I don't think there are any.
Time-line: Post-In the Woods, Pre-Crush; Post-Den of Thieves. They don't
line up, but we don't see me caring, do we? ;-)
Summary: Darien and Bobby visit Sunnydale with dire consequences for them
both.
Author's Notes: This is an AU storie. It's a crossover between Buffy the
Vampire Slayer and The Invisible Man. In my universe, Spike never had the
chip, and Tara isn't Willow's girlfriend. Even if you don't follow Buffy,
you should be able to follow this. Spike is a vampire, Willow is a witch,
Buffy is the Slayer (duh!). Words enclosed by two slashes /.../ are stressed words.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the plot. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
belongs to the mighty Joss and Kuzui/Sandollar. The Invisible Man belongs to
SciFi and Stu Segall.

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Darien turned around, surveying his surroundings. It was daylight again, but this time he was in his childhood home of Cold Springs.

"Kevin?" he called. A movement from within the shadows of his old house drew his attention, and he sprinted toward it. He shouted his brother's name again, only to receive the calling of some bird in the distance.

"Why do you insist on seeing me again, Darien?" a soft, sad voice came from behind him. He whirled around to face it.

"Allianora. Wha... What are you doing here?" he asked, stunned.

"You wanted me here. You have questions Kevin didn't answer."

"Huh? Oh, uh," he stammered, floored by how lovely she looked in the bright sunlight. "What's going to happen to me? I mean, I fed from Claire, and I can still feel her in me. It creeps me, man."

"It happens, Darien. Someone like you was never made for this. The Fates fell down on the job when they let this happen. Don't ask why; it's not your place. Just follow your instincts. They don't let you down." She laughed. "It's nice to see that you still have the ability. I never knew what it was when you were alive, but I feel it so strongly now. Trust it, Invisible Man, you'll need it when you meet up with Darla."

"What?"

"Say goodbye, Darien."

"Goodbye, Aquamama."

*****

Darien bolted upright, his head swimming in unanswered questions. He scrubbed his face before looking to his side. Bobby lay sleeping peacefully. Like the dead.

"What have we gotten ourselves into, Hobbes?" Darien asked his sleeping partner. "How could we have let this happen?"

"Fawkes, if you don't stop talking and start sleeping, I'm going to have to shut you up myself," Bobby growled sleepily.

Darien smiled to himself. He was glad that that part of Bobby -- the friendly, joking part -- had survived the demon. Sure, it was a little more warped now, but it was still Bobby, through and through.

"God, I am turning into a sap," he whispered. The vampire by him stirred a bit and turned over. Laying back down on the bed, Darien rolled to face his lover and fell back into the arms of sleep.

*****

"But you don't listen, Xander! I've said it before and I'll say it again," was the only warning the Scooby Gang got before Hurricane Anya stormed into the Magic Box, not missing a beat in her rant, "All you care about is lots of orgasms! You don't care about me!"

"Ahn! Enough!" Xander shouted helplessly.

"See, you're not listening! You just want to shut me--" Anya stopped suddenly, staring at Claire, "Who is she? Is she another witch, 'cause if so, you should start wearing tags or something."

"No, Anya, she's a doctor," Giles replied. "She's come from San Diego to talk with us about something."

"Oh, well, let's hear what she has to say, right, honey?" Xander asked hopefully.

"Yes, and we shall pretend to have heard none of that tirade," Giles muttered, cleaning his glasses again.

Claire stood and studied the group. The bleach blonde -- who, she had been informed, was a vampire -- was sitting on the glass counter, his leather covered arms wrapped around the petite redhead. She wondered why a human, a friend of the Slayer especially, would choose to be with one of the enemy. Claire made a mental note to ask about it later.

A blonde girl sat at the table in the middle of the room absently flipping through the pages of some ancient text. The ex-Keeper, in her infinite curiousity, pondered who the girl was, and what her connection was to the fight that Buffy and Giles so diligently fought.

The Slayer sat on the stairs leading up to the specialty section of the shop. Claire could tell from the girl's demeanor that she was all business right now. She was fairly intelligent, in the English woman's estimation, very focused when the need arose.

A clunk was heard from the front of the shop as the Slayer's brunette sister dropped a book. *Why does Buffy let her kid sister tag along to such meetings? There surely must be things that would keep her up at night.* She couldn't stop these thoughts even though she knew full well that there were things -- human things -- that had kept her awake, tossing and turning, at night.

"My name," she began, "is Dr. Claire Peyton. I am not here as an agent of the government, but as a concerned friend.

"Two of my closest friends were killed and turned here in Sunnydale approximately five nights ago."

Willow began to tune the speaker out as alarms went off in her head. *Five nights ago... That would be...*

"...but what I didn't tell you, Rupert, was that my family, the Peytons, are members of the Watchers' Council of England. I assume you've heard of Jackie Peyton?"

Giles stared in disbelief. "Of course, every Watcher in the council has heard of Jackie Peyton. She was the most influencial Watcher of the 19th century. She trained three Slayers and taught 49 Watchers. Quite remarkable, really. Considering her gender and the time period."

"Yes, well, the Watchers' Council was always quite progressive," Claire remarked snidely. "Jackie Peyton was my great-grandmother. But, I digress. I have come to ask a favor of you, Miss Summers."

"Buffy, Dr. Peyton," the Slayer spoke kindly.

"Buffy. I ask that you do not harm Darien, not--"

"Darien?" Willow and Buffy asked in unison. Claire narrowed her eyes at Buffy, worried about how they knew about Darien.

"Darien?" Dawn echoed, looking up from the book her clumsiness had dropped. "Willow, wasn't that the guy..."

"Yes, that's him," the redhead responded, not looking up.

"So, /you're/ that Claire, huh?" Spike smirked.

"I've already made that promise, Dr. Peyton. You'll have to ask for something else," Buffy smiled at the nervous woman. She felt strangely connected to the woman. Buffy knew that she couldn't be dealing with her friends' demise very easily. Maybe she was just really good at hiding it, the Slayer decided.

"You've alrea-- To whom?"

"To Willow."

"To Willow?" Claire glanced around, looking for this Willow. She was in such unfamiliar territory and was still very uncomfortable with the knowledge she knew.

It was Spike's turn to speak, "This one's Willow." He pulled her closer into his body, and she smiled lovingly, blushing at the very public display.

"Willow, how do you know Darien? Is Bobby with him? Are they doing all right?" Claire blurted question after question, wishing against wish that she would hear what she wanted to hear.

"Spike, um, *introduced* us. Yes, Bobby's /with/ him. And yes, they're doing fine. They should be coming in anytime now."

The ex-Keeper sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hand. Willow's stress on the word "with" puzzled her, but she pushed it aside for the time being. "Good," she whispered softly.

The brassy clang of the bell on the door brought everyone's attention front and center.

Willow smiled warmly, lovingly, as a mother would smile at her children. "Well, speak of the devils..."

*****

end part six