Title: Door Number Two (part 9 - New Life)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG - 13 - close to R in parts. Please be warned.
Feedback: Yes, please
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc.. Just Borrowing.
Summary: Luke takes Spike on an adventure, Buffy continues her journey to find Spike.
Door Number Two
"Now," Luke began. "Behind each door is a little present for you, Willie. A little gift from my heart to yours." Spike stood still in front of the large red door. "Well, open wide," Luke laughed, lifting Spike's hand and placing it on the golden knob.
Slowly, Spike turned the knob, stepping into the entryway of a beautifully appointed bedroom. It was enormous, with large picture windows and a wall that separated the entrance from the main bedroom. This is how he imagined living. Sharing this room with Buffy would be bliss.
Once completely in the room, he could hear a soft sound around the corner. Rhythmic, quiet, murmuring from the bedroom. It was her voice. She was here. Hope grabbed him by the shoulders and he darted around the edge of the wall and stopped cold. He blinked once to clear the vision from his eyes. When he looked again, there she was. Buffy. Naked. A large reddish demon under her. Spike blinked again, but there she was, her pretty naked back to him. She craned her head over her shoulder and looked at him, smiling viciously. "You're next, stud," she whispered, winking. Her voice. He knew her voice anywhere.
"Buffy?" Spike sputtered, shock seizing his voice mid word.
"Come and get 'em cowboy," Buffy said, kicking the demon to the floor and rolling onto her bottom. He stared at her, blinking over and over, trying to clear it. There was something about her that was wrong. Her eyes. They were yellow.
"No!" he said tossing his hands to his sides. "No!" he repeated turning on a heel and running out of the room. Luke smiled as Spike bolted through the door. "Gotta like that piece," he said, catching Spike's arm and pulling him back.
"It's *not* her," He spat at Luke, pushing him hard against the wall.
"Maybe," Luke chuckled, " Maybe not. Let's try door number two. See if
that puts spring in your step." Luke turned the tables, grabbing Spike by the lapels of his jacket and slamming him hard into the next door. Spike fell through with a clatter, and pulled himself onto his knees. The Vampire caught the scent of blood. Her blood. Quickly, his head whipped up. There was an oddly familiar bed in front of him. Spike scanned the room. It was Buffy's room. He pulled himself to his feet.
There was blood everywhere. Her blood. He knew the scent. As he came
closer to the bed, Spike could see that the white linen bedspread was soaked end to end. She was curled in a ball, shaking, her body covered in claw marks. He stumbled, tripping, trying to get to her. "Buffy?" he tried to scream, but all that he could muster was a retching sound.
Spike grabbed her arm and rolled her toward him softly. Her eyes fluttered open. He remembered that stare. That frozen, swimming stare, just as the world fades off.
"Spike," she whispered, winding her fingers through his. He could feel his body shudder and the tears stream down his cheeks in rivers. Her hands were cold to him. Cold. "Spike, I tried to save you." He leaned down, pressing his lips to her. They tasted like Buffy's lips. "They took her Spike," she continued her lips still against his. "They took our baby. I killed you both." Her eyes drifted closed. He pulled the tiny body to his chest and rocked her, sobbing into her bloodied blonde hair.
"No Buffy," he whispered, "this isn't real. Nothing here is real. Please, love. Please." He sat there forever, covered in her. He had to believe this was an illusion, that everything here was somehow false. Still, he did not know. This could be her. She could be dead. Their child stolen. Even if she stormed through the door this very moment, the memory of this room would be forever... there.
"Now *this* is a Kodak moment," Luke said appearing in the doorway,
clapping. Spike looked up, his chin still buried in her hair.
"Why won't you leave her out of this?" Spike hissed.
"This is Hell, William," Luke responded, obviously annoyed. "You chose to live your life like a human, but you never paid for your good old demon days. So, here you are, in human Hell holding your bloody human wife and wishing things were different. Well, guess what, Willie, you did this all to yourself. Time you owned up to it. Wanna be a human? Never gonna happen. Wanna act human? Need to face your demons. Now get up," Luke said, grabbing Spike's collar and dragging him to his feet. Buffy fell limply to the bed, her hand still tangled in his. "Leave her there. You have more important things to see." The hell god ripped Spike from her and pushed him out the door.
*****
Buffy walked in silence for a few moments before she started to hear the
sound. At first, she thought it was just wind beginning to pick up in the distance. An eerie, far away howl that chilled her to the core. No matter where she looked, all she could see was rocks.
A sudden, furious fluttering above her made her jump. A murder of crows
passed over her like a storm cloud, flapping and screaming. Buffy dropped to her knees, throwing her hands over her head as the birds dove and cawed all around her. As soon as the sound had appeared, the fluttering stopped.
Then she heard the screams.
When Buffy stood again, she saw the faces. Pressing against the rocks from the inside. Pounding, screaming, as far as the eyes could see. She pushed herself to her feet, staring at the stones in horror. Humming, talking to herself to drown out the sound. Still, they screamed on. Her heart was fluttering like the crow wings. No way to make them stop. Please make them stop.
'...and it sounds like rain,' she heard in her head.
She stopped and closed her eyes, listening. Her heartbeat. The child's
heartbeat. Buffy smiled. It did sound like rain.
There was barely a path between the rocks, but Buffy made her way along the edges, trying not to step on any faces. The way was horrible and having no shoes made it that much worse. Her feet burned with every step. A sound distracted her and she looked up, immediately turning her ankle and tripping, landing on her hands and knees in the dirt.
It was then that she noticed that they weren't just any faces.
She recognized them.
The face of every vamp, every demon, she had killed as the Slayer. She
hitched, a scream catching in her throat. Buffy stumbled to her feet,
spinning, staring at the faces. Old and new. It dawned on her that these were all human faces. That they had once been human, had parents, kids, friends. But they were demons when she staked them. Evil, soulless, demons.
Like Spike.
Buffy cupped her hand over her mouth, staring wide-eyed at the trapped souls of humans who had lost their way. A flurry of thoughts raced through her mind. Had she been right *every* time? *Every* time? Could she say that with certainty? She *felt* right. It was her job. The nature of her beast. They were *evil*.
But what if even one of them had been like Spike?
The Slayer backed into a boulder, feeling the stone press into her bare
shoulders. She was choking, weak kneed. This is an illusion, she thought. She did what she *had* to do. A scream rose behind her and she spun toward the boulder. Jenny Calendar. The woman Giles had loved. Screaming, pounding. Buffy knew she had not killed her, but in a way, she had.
Everything she touched died.
"Oh, God," she screamed, running from Jenny's prison. "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God." Buffy ran as fast as she could, her bare feet flying over stone after stone, her madness building in her spine like some dragon seizing her body. "Oh, God."
"Doubt he'll be of much help to you here," A voice said. A familiar voice.
Buffy's head swung up and there he was, standing in her path. "Doubt your God cares much about this place."
"Angel?" She panted, shaking her head.
"See you've decided to expand the Summer's clan," he said, looking her over. Buffy self-consciously stared at her stomach, then back at Angel's face. She said nothing. "Who's the lucky guy? Potato boy come back?"
"Angel, I..."
"What, Buffy? Can't admit it? Too embarrassed? Not embarrassed enough if you ask me."
This wasn't right. She knew this... thing. It wasn't Angel.
This was Angelus.
"Spike..." Buffy said quietly, staring at his dead eyes. Angelus blinked hard once. Even for him, even in this state, he had not expected that one.
"*Spike*? Well then," Angelus said, "explains why you are here."
"I need to find him," she pleaded, hoping that she was wrong. That Angel was in there and he would help her.
"Why?" Angelus was laughing. "Better off without our special little
William."
"I love him, Angel." It was a spontaneous confession, but something that she thought would never happen. She would never admit to Angel that she loved someone else. Love someone *more*.
Simple fact was, she did.
"Love," mused Angelus, beginning to walk a slow circle around the girl,
taunting her. "You don't know the first thing about it, *Pet*." Spike's word sounded like blood dripping from the creature's lips. "You *can't* love. Not in the Buffy Summers handbook. You *can't* feel anything that doesn't serve *you* to feel. That isn't *love*. That's selfishness. For God's sakes Buffy, you couldn't even love your *mother* unless it was convenient for you. And Dawn? Why do you think she is going bad, Buffy? No love."
Buffy was battling off the tears that were waging war behind her eyes. Some escaped, rolling down her cheeks in a futile effort to vent her hurt. "Angel.." she breathed, trying to stop her hands from shaking.
"Not that I blame you. I mean who ever loved you?" Angelus continued,
shrugging, circling. " Your *daddy* certainly left in a hurry. Doesn't come around much anymore, does he? Potato boy took the easy way out as soon as things got rough. And God knows, *I* never loved you. Who could, Buffy?" Tears were streaming down her face. He was circling her like a cat circling a caged canary, watching it suffer until he figures a way to break the cage and make the kill.
"Spike does," Buffy whispered.
"Ha," Angelus laughed. "Right. Sure. Forget I've known him for 120
years? Completely lead by the pants, dear. I always preferred torture
myself, but Spike? He liked the thrill of the lay. He wanted it from you. Kill two Slayers, screw the third. From the looks of things he was successful. Well done, William."
"You're *wrong*," Buffy screamed, her hands shooting out and catching Angelus in the chest. He fell to the ground in a heap. "You know *nothing* about love, Angelus," she hissed, planting her foot in his stomach. "I loved you more than I ever thought I could love anything. Guess I grew up. But it's *you* that can't love. You even had the benefit of a soul. Minute you lose it, you're an animal."
"That's right, baby," the beast smirked up at her.
"One I should put down.. again," Buffy spat. Suddenly, she stopped, pulling her foot from him and stepping back. "You know what, Angelus. I feel sorry for you. Old as you are, and still can't figure out how to feel. Maybe the Vampire is only as good as the man. You were pathetic and evil then. The Vamp that turned you was doing you a favor."
Buffy turned away from the creature on the ground beneath her and began to walk along the edges of the rocks.
To be contd.
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG - 13 - close to R in parts. Please be warned.
Feedback: Yes, please
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc.. Just Borrowing.
Summary: Luke takes Spike on an adventure, Buffy continues her journey to find Spike.
Door Number Two
"Now," Luke began. "Behind each door is a little present for you, Willie. A little gift from my heart to yours." Spike stood still in front of the large red door. "Well, open wide," Luke laughed, lifting Spike's hand and placing it on the golden knob.
Slowly, Spike turned the knob, stepping into the entryway of a beautifully appointed bedroom. It was enormous, with large picture windows and a wall that separated the entrance from the main bedroom. This is how he imagined living. Sharing this room with Buffy would be bliss.
Once completely in the room, he could hear a soft sound around the corner. Rhythmic, quiet, murmuring from the bedroom. It was her voice. She was here. Hope grabbed him by the shoulders and he darted around the edge of the wall and stopped cold. He blinked once to clear the vision from his eyes. When he looked again, there she was. Buffy. Naked. A large reddish demon under her. Spike blinked again, but there she was, her pretty naked back to him. She craned her head over her shoulder and looked at him, smiling viciously. "You're next, stud," she whispered, winking. Her voice. He knew her voice anywhere.
"Buffy?" Spike sputtered, shock seizing his voice mid word.
"Come and get 'em cowboy," Buffy said, kicking the demon to the floor and rolling onto her bottom. He stared at her, blinking over and over, trying to clear it. There was something about her that was wrong. Her eyes. They were yellow.
"No!" he said tossing his hands to his sides. "No!" he repeated turning on a heel and running out of the room. Luke smiled as Spike bolted through the door. "Gotta like that piece," he said, catching Spike's arm and pulling him back.
"It's *not* her," He spat at Luke, pushing him hard against the wall.
"Maybe," Luke chuckled, " Maybe not. Let's try door number two. See if
that puts spring in your step." Luke turned the tables, grabbing Spike by the lapels of his jacket and slamming him hard into the next door. Spike fell through with a clatter, and pulled himself onto his knees. The Vampire caught the scent of blood. Her blood. Quickly, his head whipped up. There was an oddly familiar bed in front of him. Spike scanned the room. It was Buffy's room. He pulled himself to his feet.
There was blood everywhere. Her blood. He knew the scent. As he came
closer to the bed, Spike could see that the white linen bedspread was soaked end to end. She was curled in a ball, shaking, her body covered in claw marks. He stumbled, tripping, trying to get to her. "Buffy?" he tried to scream, but all that he could muster was a retching sound.
Spike grabbed her arm and rolled her toward him softly. Her eyes fluttered open. He remembered that stare. That frozen, swimming stare, just as the world fades off.
"Spike," she whispered, winding her fingers through his. He could feel his body shudder and the tears stream down his cheeks in rivers. Her hands were cold to him. Cold. "Spike, I tried to save you." He leaned down, pressing his lips to her. They tasted like Buffy's lips. "They took her Spike," she continued her lips still against his. "They took our baby. I killed you both." Her eyes drifted closed. He pulled the tiny body to his chest and rocked her, sobbing into her bloodied blonde hair.
"No Buffy," he whispered, "this isn't real. Nothing here is real. Please, love. Please." He sat there forever, covered in her. He had to believe this was an illusion, that everything here was somehow false. Still, he did not know. This could be her. She could be dead. Their child stolen. Even if she stormed through the door this very moment, the memory of this room would be forever... there.
"Now *this* is a Kodak moment," Luke said appearing in the doorway,
clapping. Spike looked up, his chin still buried in her hair.
"Why won't you leave her out of this?" Spike hissed.
"This is Hell, William," Luke responded, obviously annoyed. "You chose to live your life like a human, but you never paid for your good old demon days. So, here you are, in human Hell holding your bloody human wife and wishing things were different. Well, guess what, Willie, you did this all to yourself. Time you owned up to it. Wanna be a human? Never gonna happen. Wanna act human? Need to face your demons. Now get up," Luke said, grabbing Spike's collar and dragging him to his feet. Buffy fell limply to the bed, her hand still tangled in his. "Leave her there. You have more important things to see." The hell god ripped Spike from her and pushed him out the door.
*****
Buffy walked in silence for a few moments before she started to hear the
sound. At first, she thought it was just wind beginning to pick up in the distance. An eerie, far away howl that chilled her to the core. No matter where she looked, all she could see was rocks.
A sudden, furious fluttering above her made her jump. A murder of crows
passed over her like a storm cloud, flapping and screaming. Buffy dropped to her knees, throwing her hands over her head as the birds dove and cawed all around her. As soon as the sound had appeared, the fluttering stopped.
Then she heard the screams.
When Buffy stood again, she saw the faces. Pressing against the rocks from the inside. Pounding, screaming, as far as the eyes could see. She pushed herself to her feet, staring at the stones in horror. Humming, talking to herself to drown out the sound. Still, they screamed on. Her heart was fluttering like the crow wings. No way to make them stop. Please make them stop.
'...and it sounds like rain,' she heard in her head.
She stopped and closed her eyes, listening. Her heartbeat. The child's
heartbeat. Buffy smiled. It did sound like rain.
There was barely a path between the rocks, but Buffy made her way along the edges, trying not to step on any faces. The way was horrible and having no shoes made it that much worse. Her feet burned with every step. A sound distracted her and she looked up, immediately turning her ankle and tripping, landing on her hands and knees in the dirt.
It was then that she noticed that they weren't just any faces.
She recognized them.
The face of every vamp, every demon, she had killed as the Slayer. She
hitched, a scream catching in her throat. Buffy stumbled to her feet,
spinning, staring at the faces. Old and new. It dawned on her that these were all human faces. That they had once been human, had parents, kids, friends. But they were demons when she staked them. Evil, soulless, demons.
Like Spike.
Buffy cupped her hand over her mouth, staring wide-eyed at the trapped souls of humans who had lost their way. A flurry of thoughts raced through her mind. Had she been right *every* time? *Every* time? Could she say that with certainty? She *felt* right. It was her job. The nature of her beast. They were *evil*.
But what if even one of them had been like Spike?
The Slayer backed into a boulder, feeling the stone press into her bare
shoulders. She was choking, weak kneed. This is an illusion, she thought. She did what she *had* to do. A scream rose behind her and she spun toward the boulder. Jenny Calendar. The woman Giles had loved. Screaming, pounding. Buffy knew she had not killed her, but in a way, she had.
Everything she touched died.
"Oh, God," she screamed, running from Jenny's prison. "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God." Buffy ran as fast as she could, her bare feet flying over stone after stone, her madness building in her spine like some dragon seizing her body. "Oh, God."
"Doubt he'll be of much help to you here," A voice said. A familiar voice.
Buffy's head swung up and there he was, standing in her path. "Doubt your God cares much about this place."
"Angel?" She panted, shaking her head.
"See you've decided to expand the Summer's clan," he said, looking her over. Buffy self-consciously stared at her stomach, then back at Angel's face. She said nothing. "Who's the lucky guy? Potato boy come back?"
"Angel, I..."
"What, Buffy? Can't admit it? Too embarrassed? Not embarrassed enough if you ask me."
This wasn't right. She knew this... thing. It wasn't Angel.
This was Angelus.
"Spike..." Buffy said quietly, staring at his dead eyes. Angelus blinked hard once. Even for him, even in this state, he had not expected that one.
"*Spike*? Well then," Angelus said, "explains why you are here."
"I need to find him," she pleaded, hoping that she was wrong. That Angel was in there and he would help her.
"Why?" Angelus was laughing. "Better off without our special little
William."
"I love him, Angel." It was a spontaneous confession, but something that she thought would never happen. She would never admit to Angel that she loved someone else. Love someone *more*.
Simple fact was, she did.
"Love," mused Angelus, beginning to walk a slow circle around the girl,
taunting her. "You don't know the first thing about it, *Pet*." Spike's word sounded like blood dripping from the creature's lips. "You *can't* love. Not in the Buffy Summers handbook. You *can't* feel anything that doesn't serve *you* to feel. That isn't *love*. That's selfishness. For God's sakes Buffy, you couldn't even love your *mother* unless it was convenient for you. And Dawn? Why do you think she is going bad, Buffy? No love."
Buffy was battling off the tears that were waging war behind her eyes. Some escaped, rolling down her cheeks in a futile effort to vent her hurt. "Angel.." she breathed, trying to stop her hands from shaking.
"Not that I blame you. I mean who ever loved you?" Angelus continued,
shrugging, circling. " Your *daddy* certainly left in a hurry. Doesn't come around much anymore, does he? Potato boy took the easy way out as soon as things got rough. And God knows, *I* never loved you. Who could, Buffy?" Tears were streaming down her face. He was circling her like a cat circling a caged canary, watching it suffer until he figures a way to break the cage and make the kill.
"Spike does," Buffy whispered.
"Ha," Angelus laughed. "Right. Sure. Forget I've known him for 120
years? Completely lead by the pants, dear. I always preferred torture
myself, but Spike? He liked the thrill of the lay. He wanted it from you. Kill two Slayers, screw the third. From the looks of things he was successful. Well done, William."
"You're *wrong*," Buffy screamed, her hands shooting out and catching Angelus in the chest. He fell to the ground in a heap. "You know *nothing* about love, Angelus," she hissed, planting her foot in his stomach. "I loved you more than I ever thought I could love anything. Guess I grew up. But it's *you* that can't love. You even had the benefit of a soul. Minute you lose it, you're an animal."
"That's right, baby," the beast smirked up at her.
"One I should put down.. again," Buffy spat. Suddenly, she stopped, pulling her foot from him and stepping back. "You know what, Angelus. I feel sorry for you. Old as you are, and still can't figure out how to feel. Maybe the Vampire is only as good as the man. You were pathetic and evil then. The Vamp that turned you was doing you a favor."
Buffy turned away from the creature on the ground beneath her and began to walk along the edges of the rocks.
To be contd.