Chapter IIX - Bad Karma, (Great Timing.)
~~~~~~~~~~~
Somewhere, in the void between realties, in the place to where the map had gone missing, (under suspicious circumstances), two beings stood watching the events described thus far with detached curiosity. One, the female of the pair, (though gender held no meaning to either of the entities, this one, for whatever reason preferred to assume the corporal form of a female, unlike her sibling, who was questionably male). 'She' was looking as nonplussed as possible about interfering with the mortals spell.
"Dear sister, will this not interfere with your brilliant plans?"
The voice that was no voice carried across the chasm of reality.
"Have faith brother."
Came the answer. The tone would have been smug if that petty characteristic applied to higher beings. For you see, the 'standing orders' as it were, from higher powers, stated that the balance between good and evil, light and dark, ( and numerous other opposites that it would take all day to mention and are quite unimportant since I'm sure you get the point,) well, the balance must be maintained. One could not exist without the other. The powers of darkness, (who, by the way had the ugliest carpets in existence but the food was quite good, at the last get together) were growing too strong. A worrior of light was needed.
The fates presented an intriguing opportunity, in the form of a choice. A choice that belonged to none other than the vampire with a conscience he shouldn't have, and a heart that was broken. William 'the bloody' Wordsworth, a.k.a. Spike. However tempting an opportunity for his test was, it was against the rules for the powers to interfere directly.
But, when the witch named Willow conjured her vortex, it wasn't against the rules to change where it led. Just as it wasn't against the rules to open doors that had been locked, or accidentally trip people up. Ok that last one was a bit of a stretch, but it was done now. William and his friend Xander were now exactly where they needed to be. The female entity was quite pleased with her efforts to bring another worrior over to the side of good.
A feeling her brother didn't seem to share, for some reason.
"but sister, the witch is working on a way to transport the subject of your little *test* back where he belongs as we speak. And what of his friend?"
Whining wasn't something higher beings did a lot of, but in this case he was willing to make any effort. This just wasn't done! Couldn't his sister see that?
"their attempts will fail. And his *friend* is there by design. He is.."
"part of your test? And just what might it be, pray tell?"
A secretive smile (the very same one that inspired master DeVinchi) , graced her lips for a moment. That was all the answer her brother would receive for now.
~~~~~~~~~~
Back at the Magic Box everyone had gathered to prepare for the spell. Buffy could sense that the air was thick with hope for the attempt to bring Spike and Xander back to the present.
That, and cigarette smoke, courtesy of Ethan.
Everyone tried to look occupied, even though the only ones actually doing any work were Willow, Tara and Ethan, who looked uncharacteristically worried. Maybe that was due to the fact that Giles told him in no uncertain terms that he would die slowly and painfully after the warlock made some crack about how many pieces they would be in after they came back. Death threats never seemed to bother him before though, so Buffy wondered if it wasn't something else entirely that was eating him. # one shouldn't use that term loosely, when describing Ethan. . . # Normally she wouldn't care, but there was little else to do since they couldn't start for at least another hour.
"is everyone ready?"
She couldn't help but see through the charade of busyness everyone was putting on.
"almost. . . but we can't start yet."
Ethans' tone was distracted. Something was definitely on his mind. Even so, he anticipated Buffys' next question.
"We have to wait till it's night over there, just in case."
He mumbled something else involving dust that earned him a death glare from Willow, but the slayer wasn't really listening. No, she was watching the testosterone levels rise as
Angel and Riley engaged in a staring contest from opposite sides of the room. It was a fight to the death.
Willow was nervous. Granted, it didn't take a lot of effort to get the young witch to be a little shaken up, but her best friends' life, (not to mention the unlife of a certain bleach blonde vampire) was in her hands.
They had set everything up for the spell, and now all that was left was for
Willow and Tara to meditate under the careful guidance of Ethan who was
under careful observation of Giles.
Everyone was fidgety. The atmosphere in the room was tense and clingy on the
unusually cloudy day. The red haired girl suppressed a shudder and tried not to fidget.
Meditation was never a strong point of hers, but fortunately Tara was there, she was her rock. Willow wished Xander was there too. . . yep, she'd have no problems getting Xander and Spike back if they where there. Xander to give support and encouragement, and Spike to tell her there was no way in hell she could do it, just so she could prove him wrong. She could always see through his particular brand of encouragement, and it always seemed to puzzle him when instead of being angry, she just smiled warmly at him. She missed her friends. She wanted them back, and, she would try her best to make that happen.
The higher being almost felt bad for her.
After all possible preparations had been made Willow started to chant. Everyone else present looked anxious, except for Ethan, who, despite his earlier mood grinned like this was a game he was enjoying, and Giles who was annoyed at him. A tingle in the air signaled that the spell was starting to take effect.
~~~~~~~
After the bonding moment the two shared in the Inn, not to mention the uncomfortable silence that followed filled only with throats clearing and ' so anyway. . .', it was decided that they'd go see the town after the sun set.
Xander had already gone exploring once, but not being familiar with the century, it wasn't much fun. This time Spike offered to come with him, and Xander was filled with a strange reassurance that nothing bad could possibly happen if the vampire that was now officially his friend, was there.
Spike wondered, not for the first time, how they would get out of there. Though despite everything he was starting to enjoy himself, but he did promise. Would going back mean loosing the easy banter between them? The conformable feeling in the presence of another person Spike hadn't felt in so long? He didn't want to go back to being alone again. He sighed, and noticed the expectant look on Xanders' face.
"sorry pet, I was miles away."
Spike smiled and there was suddenly no way for Xander to be annoyed at him. It was. . . sweet. Now there's a word Xander never thought he'd associate with a vampire.
Especially this one. But Spike had always been different. Xander shrugged.
"it's nothing important. The sun's set. Wanna go?"
The excitement was evident in the slayerettes' voice.
"want to get something to eat first?"
Xander pondered that for a moment before refusing on grounds that he preferred his food eatable. Spike laughed, but was forced to agree. They made their way out in to the street, still filled with people hurrying about their business in the fading light of the dusk. They were by no means the only ones out and about. . .
~~~~~~~~~~
"someone's been very naughty!"
The exclamation came as unexpectedly as ever, distracting the demon from his concentrated efforts at stalking his next meal. He turned to glare, but found that the object of his current obsession was swaying gracefully away from him down the dark alley.
"you run alon' and play, now. Don't wonder too far, will you."
The slurred Irish brogue carried across the night but fell on death ears. Ears that were preoccupied with other things.
The stars sang in her mind, of pretty things, so bright and shiny. Like candle light. . .
Drussila moved towards the mouth of the ally with a chaotic grace, her lips curving in to a smile even as her eyes glazed over and sparkled airily, unaware of her audience. The moonlight silhouetted her form against a backdrop of dark streets and a moment later, she vanished from sight. The girl started to wonder if she'd seen the pretty angel at all.
"not an angel, no, no, my sweet. Did you loose your mommy? Poor thing. . ."
She *had* seen it! Here it was by her side, like magic!
In the fractured mind of the newly formed vampire, the little lost child presented as much an opportunity for redemption as for a meal. The part of her that was whispering reassurances to the child had every intention of seeing her safely home. The part of her that was the demon saw only a 'happy-meal on legs'. The mad vampiress wondered why that description made such perfect sense.
"ohhh, can you hear it deary?"
The angel seemed very exited about something that the little girl couldn't see, but she smiled up at the swaying figure next to her and twirled happily to the sound she couldn't hear.
Drusilla whispered conspirationally to the child, about what the moon had told her. The wrapped fascination with witch the girl listened to every word delighted the vampiress, and she went on, her words falling like raindrops, pretty, red rain drops. . .
The Girl was frightened now, and her 'Angel' could understand why. It wasn't the blood stained lavender dress that tore as she tried to run, or the golden gaze of her captor, no, everything was going so terribly wrong, the stars cried for her, and it was too late now, they were coming.
"Spike, my sweet. . . I've been waiting!"
The hauntingly lucid voice rang out in the darkness, full of fear and a finality that only the pre-cognoscente can achieve. She was, after all, the only one who knew that had she kept quiet, even the faint scent of blood in the air wouldn't have attracted the attention of the figure at the end of the street. But it had to be done. It was not up to her. The choice was his.
@------;---------;---------@
Spike was hungry. Starving in fact. It had been about three days since he'd eaten and about another three that he could go without turning in to a less funny version of a famine picture from a dust country. He watched as Xander ventured ahead of him, in to the darkened street, never going too far though. The vampire could sense his anxiety around the other people they encountered. It was especially obvious because on those accessions Xander would smile and nod politely all the while standing behind Spikes shoulder, close enough for the vampire to be able to feel his every exhale on the back of his neck. Spike made it a point to talk to people more often. He was immune to the weirdness Xander was going through, heaving lived in this time before. And heaving Xander stand that close was too tempting to resist.
They had ventured out of the inn just after dusk, which came early in winter, and had wondered the streets for a while, not really talking.
It wasn't awkward. In Xanders' opinion the silence between them was anything but. It was comforting. His little adventure earlier had irked him. He was only out side for about ten minutes, and the only encounter that he didn't feel like he needed to repress was when he tripped over a little girl while scrambling back to the safety of Spike # the inn, I meant the inn. Yeah. # She had told him that he was wearing, quote 'strange clothing' but that she liked the pretty yellow. Xanders' stomach rumbled, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Hungry, pet?"
Xander smiled (that shy, lopsided smile that Spike was kicking himself for finding adorable) and nodded.
"You?"
Spike thought for a moment. There were probably rats. There were *always* rats.
"I hate rats."
Xanders' confused "huh?" alerted Spike to the fact that he'd said that out loud.
"I think I'll wait till we get to a century with blood banks. . . unless . . .?"
Spike eyed Xanders' neck suggestively liking his lips. Xander gasped in mock fright and grabbed for his neck. It had been a serious question, but if the vampire wanted to avoid the issue, Xander wasn't going to push it, especially in light of the fact that there was nothing he could do about it right now. Well nothing that couldn't wait until there was no choice, anyway.
Spike tried to banish the thoughts of Xanders' neck from his mind. Especially since the fact that they had taken on a direction that had nothing to do with food was making the task of walking decidedly harder. The vampires' attention was distracted as Xander stopped mid stride making the chubby man behind him trip over his own feet and cruse at Xander as he was forced to walk around him. Just then, he realized he'd been in the way, Xander called out a "sorry", the man just grunted and walked on. Spike had to resist the temptation to snap his neck.
Xander looked up at Spike. He felt like such a klutz most of the time, he didn't mean to be.
Spike smiled reassuringly, all he wanted to do was wrap him arms around Xander and not let anything hurt him again. Instead he settled for taking his hand and puling him out of the middle of the street, avoiding another man carrying a barrel.
"Why'd you stop, pet?"
Xander remembered to let go of Spikes' hand just in time to save his dignity. # Well not quite. That ship sailed two days ago, but it was a token effort. # Xander pointed to the bakery window, that currently held his attention.
~~~~~~~~~~
Two minutes later, they were walking down a considerably less peopled street, Xander happily munching away on a butted bread roll. Finishing it off, Xander turned to say something just in time to see Spike stop and change direction abruptly. He now stood facing the mouth of a dark alley, a few feet away from the slayerette, his form illuminated by the crescent moon, bathing half of him in silvery light and casting the rest to ominous shadow.
"Spike?"
When no reply was forthcoming, Xander tried again.
"Buddy. . . ? Amigo. . . ? What's up?"
Spike turned his head just slightly, a warning , or an acknowledgment, the lines between the two seemed to have blurred, just like the play of light and dark that covered everything now.
"Stay here Xander."
He had no intention of doing that of course. The mere use of his name alerted Xander to what his senses had screamed at him from the start. Danger. Taking a deep breath, the boy ventured in to the darkness, following a vampire. Following a friend. Following a feeling.
@--------;---------;---------@
"Spike, my sweet. . . I've been waiting."
Spike listened. He couldn't have really heard that. No. She was just in his mind. Still, there were sounds of a struggle ahead, and he decided he should check it out. Despite the warning, he noted with some annoyance that the boy was right behind him. They walked in silence to the other end of the alley.
The air was thick with mist and the vampire knew it would start to rain soon. It was easy to tell, because of the way the mist accumulated in to little droplet in her hair and made her skin clammy. The little girl in her arms shrieked in frustration at her inability to break out of the woman's iron grip but struggled harder.
"Let her go!"
Drussila lifted the child up and bared her fangs.
"Now, now, dearie, you wouldn't want your precious angel to get hurt?" She said this looking at Spike, who felt like she was talking about something else entirely. Perhaps she was.
"'Ello Dru."
Princess. He used to call her that, but now he couldn't summon a single part of himself that wasn't repulsed by this creature. Spike was scared. Nothing ever made him truly scared, but he was at that moment. What now? Was he just supposed to say 'see you another time' and part company?
Xander put aside everything else in his mind and let it focus solely on the situation. They traveled back in time, and now they were standing here talking to Drussilla, Spike's sire, and significant other for over a century, who had called him by name and was about to eat Cecily. Xander came to the conclusion that all this leads back to Spike. They were here for a reason. That reason was unclear, but he had to work with what they had. What now? They had choices. If this was the past, they *should* just stand back and not interfere, but since they were involved, that didn't seem like an option anymore. They could do what the slayerette in him was telling him, which was to try and kill the evil undead thing in front of him that was about to munch on a little child. That was the one thing he couldn't do however, no matter what happened. Xander knew the choice wasn't his, but he wouldn't allow Spike to harm his sire either never mind that he had no plan as of yet for how, exactly. Which left option three. A compromise of sorts. Save the child, and let Drussila go. Xander figured all of this out, along with the implications each choice would leave Spike with, in a matter of seconds. It was taking Spike considerably longer.
"look precious"
Drussila cooed to the struggling girl.
"it's my Spike. . . and he's brought his heart with him. He won't let me play. . ."
The vampiress pouted and dropped Cicily onto the ground. The girl got up and tried to run, but the strong hand around her neck stopped her.
"It's alright Cecily, everything's going to be fine."
Xanders' tone was designed to reassure the panicking child, but it had quite another effect on Spike.
"Cecily?"
He cast a glance at Xander, the expression on his face unreadable, but Xander could tell by the look in his eyes that he was praying that it wasn't her. And while he couldn't be sure, all this seemed less and less likely to be an coincidence, so Xander nodded an affirmative, and watched as the vampire tried to deal with the shock and compose himself enough to think.
Drussila player with the little girls hair as she tried in vain to get away.
"no need to be frightened little one. Mommy wont hurt you. . . you're very important deary, part of my Spikes test. . . He thinks he can save you."
She cackled madly and turned her head towards Spike, he fractured sanity shining through a deceptively lucid gaze.
"Help."
It was less than whisper from the child that would turn in to the woman whose fate he was responsible for. Whose face would haunt him every day for the rest of his existence. Spike, William the Bloody realized he could undo all that right now. But the imploring brown eyes looking up at him stopped that thought before it had a chance to fully form. Those eyes reminded him of another pair of equally brown ones, that, were he to let her die, would never look at him as a friend again.
"Let her go Dru."
Spike reiterated Xanders' earlier statement and took a step towards her. He felt around for stake, but apparently was out of luck. Xander had the same idea, in case things got ugly, and grasping the piece of wood in his pocket firmly he also took a step forward.
"But I'm hungry. . . who can I eat instead. . .?"
Drussila's whiny tone carried across the night, the menacing threat clear in her gaze that was focused on Xander, specifically his neck.
Before Spike had the chance to utter a 'NO!' she lunged for the slayerette, pinning him to the ground, but Xander was prepared. He pressed the stake in his hand to her chest and calmly told her to let him go. A silvery laugh rang out in the night.
"I know you won't kill me, my sweet."
The next thing that happened prompted Spike in to action. He was sure that Dru was done for, and was thankful that he wasn't the one who had to do it, but then Xander threw the stake aside and tried to struggle against her vampire strength instead. Spike was there in a flash and throwing Drussila off Xander, he picked up the stake and was about to ram it in to her heart. All this was happening with out too much cognitive thought on the part of Spike, that is until he felt a weight, (Xander , as it turned out) plough in to him from the side and knock him to the ground. Xander was laying on top of him, panting for breath.
"Don't. Please."
He whispered.
Spike got to his feet. Xander crawled over to Cicily to comfort her and watched the emotions play out across Spikes' face. # oh God, he knew!! # Xander hadn't realized. He thought Spike was about to stake Drussila without knowing that he'd die as well. But he knew. And he was going to do it anyway? The slayerette watched, heart firmly lodged in his throat as the vampire, *his* vampire stood in front of his sire looking at the stake in his hand.
"Choose dearie."
Xander let out a breath he was holding as he saw Spike lower his arm, his fingers uncurled around the stake and it cluttered to the ground. Drussila whimpered. She looked like she didn't realize quite what just happened, or why.
May be she didn't know. Not really.
A shuffle of taffeta and an echo of foot steps was all that remained of her a second later but the sounds were erased as a flash of lightening split the sky followed by a clap of thunder. Cicily cried out and Xander tightened his arms around her shivering form and stood up. He was facing Spike, who, though looking right at him was clearly lost in thought. The boy and the vampire watched as a silvery raindrop hit the ground seemingly in slow motion. Followed by another, and another, and then time was back on track, and it was raining in earnest. It seemed a catharsis of sorts. Spike looked down at the stake on the ground, then back at Xander.
"I'm sorry."
Xander shook his head, there was no need to apologize. # he's not # Xanders' sixth sense supplied helpfully. It occurred to Xander that Spike wasn't apologizing to him, after all, he was the one that practically begged him not to kill Dru, but he *was* sorry. The lost look in the vampire's eyes told Xander that he was about to explain his choice.
"I-"
"I know."
Spike looked in to Xanders' eyes and felt a tear roll down his face. The rain made sure he was the only one who knew it was there. Did he really know? He didn't have to explain, or at least, they could talk about it later, and that was all Spike could ask for. Everything Xander had said and done a moment ago came back to him, and for once, he didn't feel alone. He wanted to hold on to this new feeling and thankfully it showed no sign of leaving. A reassuring smile lit up Xanders' face.
"let's go."
Spike nodded and followed, glad that Xander had followed him in to the alley. Why had he done it? For a vampire? For a friend? # For a feeling? #
AN: Thank you for reading, come back tomorrow for the next installment of the fic that makes you wish you could travel back in time and tell your self not to read. . . :) Lami. xxx
~~~~~~~~~~~
Somewhere, in the void between realties, in the place to where the map had gone missing, (under suspicious circumstances), two beings stood watching the events described thus far with detached curiosity. One, the female of the pair, (though gender held no meaning to either of the entities, this one, for whatever reason preferred to assume the corporal form of a female, unlike her sibling, who was questionably male). 'She' was looking as nonplussed as possible about interfering with the mortals spell.
"Dear sister, will this not interfere with your brilliant plans?"
The voice that was no voice carried across the chasm of reality.
"Have faith brother."
Came the answer. The tone would have been smug if that petty characteristic applied to higher beings. For you see, the 'standing orders' as it were, from higher powers, stated that the balance between good and evil, light and dark, ( and numerous other opposites that it would take all day to mention and are quite unimportant since I'm sure you get the point,) well, the balance must be maintained. One could not exist without the other. The powers of darkness, (who, by the way had the ugliest carpets in existence but the food was quite good, at the last get together) were growing too strong. A worrior of light was needed.
The fates presented an intriguing opportunity, in the form of a choice. A choice that belonged to none other than the vampire with a conscience he shouldn't have, and a heart that was broken. William 'the bloody' Wordsworth, a.k.a. Spike. However tempting an opportunity for his test was, it was against the rules for the powers to interfere directly.
But, when the witch named Willow conjured her vortex, it wasn't against the rules to change where it led. Just as it wasn't against the rules to open doors that had been locked, or accidentally trip people up. Ok that last one was a bit of a stretch, but it was done now. William and his friend Xander were now exactly where they needed to be. The female entity was quite pleased with her efforts to bring another worrior over to the side of good.
A feeling her brother didn't seem to share, for some reason.
"but sister, the witch is working on a way to transport the subject of your little *test* back where he belongs as we speak. And what of his friend?"
Whining wasn't something higher beings did a lot of, but in this case he was willing to make any effort. This just wasn't done! Couldn't his sister see that?
"their attempts will fail. And his *friend* is there by design. He is.."
"part of your test? And just what might it be, pray tell?"
A secretive smile (the very same one that inspired master DeVinchi) , graced her lips for a moment. That was all the answer her brother would receive for now.
~~~~~~~~~~
Back at the Magic Box everyone had gathered to prepare for the spell. Buffy could sense that the air was thick with hope for the attempt to bring Spike and Xander back to the present.
That, and cigarette smoke, courtesy of Ethan.
Everyone tried to look occupied, even though the only ones actually doing any work were Willow, Tara and Ethan, who looked uncharacteristically worried. Maybe that was due to the fact that Giles told him in no uncertain terms that he would die slowly and painfully after the warlock made some crack about how many pieces they would be in after they came back. Death threats never seemed to bother him before though, so Buffy wondered if it wasn't something else entirely that was eating him. # one shouldn't use that term loosely, when describing Ethan. . . # Normally she wouldn't care, but there was little else to do since they couldn't start for at least another hour.
"is everyone ready?"
She couldn't help but see through the charade of busyness everyone was putting on.
"almost. . . but we can't start yet."
Ethans' tone was distracted. Something was definitely on his mind. Even so, he anticipated Buffys' next question.
"We have to wait till it's night over there, just in case."
He mumbled something else involving dust that earned him a death glare from Willow, but the slayer wasn't really listening. No, she was watching the testosterone levels rise as
Angel and Riley engaged in a staring contest from opposite sides of the room. It was a fight to the death.
Willow was nervous. Granted, it didn't take a lot of effort to get the young witch to be a little shaken up, but her best friends' life, (not to mention the unlife of a certain bleach blonde vampire) was in her hands.
They had set everything up for the spell, and now all that was left was for
Willow and Tara to meditate under the careful guidance of Ethan who was
under careful observation of Giles.
Everyone was fidgety. The atmosphere in the room was tense and clingy on the
unusually cloudy day. The red haired girl suppressed a shudder and tried not to fidget.
Meditation was never a strong point of hers, but fortunately Tara was there, she was her rock. Willow wished Xander was there too. . . yep, she'd have no problems getting Xander and Spike back if they where there. Xander to give support and encouragement, and Spike to tell her there was no way in hell she could do it, just so she could prove him wrong. She could always see through his particular brand of encouragement, and it always seemed to puzzle him when instead of being angry, she just smiled warmly at him. She missed her friends. She wanted them back, and, she would try her best to make that happen.
The higher being almost felt bad for her.
After all possible preparations had been made Willow started to chant. Everyone else present looked anxious, except for Ethan, who, despite his earlier mood grinned like this was a game he was enjoying, and Giles who was annoyed at him. A tingle in the air signaled that the spell was starting to take effect.
~~~~~~~
After the bonding moment the two shared in the Inn, not to mention the uncomfortable silence that followed filled only with throats clearing and ' so anyway. . .', it was decided that they'd go see the town after the sun set.
Xander had already gone exploring once, but not being familiar with the century, it wasn't much fun. This time Spike offered to come with him, and Xander was filled with a strange reassurance that nothing bad could possibly happen if the vampire that was now officially his friend, was there.
Spike wondered, not for the first time, how they would get out of there. Though despite everything he was starting to enjoy himself, but he did promise. Would going back mean loosing the easy banter between them? The conformable feeling in the presence of another person Spike hadn't felt in so long? He didn't want to go back to being alone again. He sighed, and noticed the expectant look on Xanders' face.
"sorry pet, I was miles away."
Spike smiled and there was suddenly no way for Xander to be annoyed at him. It was. . . sweet. Now there's a word Xander never thought he'd associate with a vampire.
Especially this one. But Spike had always been different. Xander shrugged.
"it's nothing important. The sun's set. Wanna go?"
The excitement was evident in the slayerettes' voice.
"want to get something to eat first?"
Xander pondered that for a moment before refusing on grounds that he preferred his food eatable. Spike laughed, but was forced to agree. They made their way out in to the street, still filled with people hurrying about their business in the fading light of the dusk. They were by no means the only ones out and about. . .
~~~~~~~~~~
"someone's been very naughty!"
The exclamation came as unexpectedly as ever, distracting the demon from his concentrated efforts at stalking his next meal. He turned to glare, but found that the object of his current obsession was swaying gracefully away from him down the dark alley.
"you run alon' and play, now. Don't wonder too far, will you."
The slurred Irish brogue carried across the night but fell on death ears. Ears that were preoccupied with other things.
The stars sang in her mind, of pretty things, so bright and shiny. Like candle light. . .
Drussila moved towards the mouth of the ally with a chaotic grace, her lips curving in to a smile even as her eyes glazed over and sparkled airily, unaware of her audience. The moonlight silhouetted her form against a backdrop of dark streets and a moment later, she vanished from sight. The girl started to wonder if she'd seen the pretty angel at all.
"not an angel, no, no, my sweet. Did you loose your mommy? Poor thing. . ."
She *had* seen it! Here it was by her side, like magic!
In the fractured mind of the newly formed vampire, the little lost child presented as much an opportunity for redemption as for a meal. The part of her that was whispering reassurances to the child had every intention of seeing her safely home. The part of her that was the demon saw only a 'happy-meal on legs'. The mad vampiress wondered why that description made such perfect sense.
"ohhh, can you hear it deary?"
The angel seemed very exited about something that the little girl couldn't see, but she smiled up at the swaying figure next to her and twirled happily to the sound she couldn't hear.
Drusilla whispered conspirationally to the child, about what the moon had told her. The wrapped fascination with witch the girl listened to every word delighted the vampiress, and she went on, her words falling like raindrops, pretty, red rain drops. . .
The Girl was frightened now, and her 'Angel' could understand why. It wasn't the blood stained lavender dress that tore as she tried to run, or the golden gaze of her captor, no, everything was going so terribly wrong, the stars cried for her, and it was too late now, they were coming.
"Spike, my sweet. . . I've been waiting!"
The hauntingly lucid voice rang out in the darkness, full of fear and a finality that only the pre-cognoscente can achieve. She was, after all, the only one who knew that had she kept quiet, even the faint scent of blood in the air wouldn't have attracted the attention of the figure at the end of the street. But it had to be done. It was not up to her. The choice was his.
@------;---------;---------@
Spike was hungry. Starving in fact. It had been about three days since he'd eaten and about another three that he could go without turning in to a less funny version of a famine picture from a dust country. He watched as Xander ventured ahead of him, in to the darkened street, never going too far though. The vampire could sense his anxiety around the other people they encountered. It was especially obvious because on those accessions Xander would smile and nod politely all the while standing behind Spikes shoulder, close enough for the vampire to be able to feel his every exhale on the back of his neck. Spike made it a point to talk to people more often. He was immune to the weirdness Xander was going through, heaving lived in this time before. And heaving Xander stand that close was too tempting to resist.
They had ventured out of the inn just after dusk, which came early in winter, and had wondered the streets for a while, not really talking.
It wasn't awkward. In Xanders' opinion the silence between them was anything but. It was comforting. His little adventure earlier had irked him. He was only out side for about ten minutes, and the only encounter that he didn't feel like he needed to repress was when he tripped over a little girl while scrambling back to the safety of Spike # the inn, I meant the inn. Yeah. # She had told him that he was wearing, quote 'strange clothing' but that she liked the pretty yellow. Xanders' stomach rumbled, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Hungry, pet?"
Xander smiled (that shy, lopsided smile that Spike was kicking himself for finding adorable) and nodded.
"You?"
Spike thought for a moment. There were probably rats. There were *always* rats.
"I hate rats."
Xanders' confused "huh?" alerted Spike to the fact that he'd said that out loud.
"I think I'll wait till we get to a century with blood banks. . . unless . . .?"
Spike eyed Xanders' neck suggestively liking his lips. Xander gasped in mock fright and grabbed for his neck. It had been a serious question, but if the vampire wanted to avoid the issue, Xander wasn't going to push it, especially in light of the fact that there was nothing he could do about it right now. Well nothing that couldn't wait until there was no choice, anyway.
Spike tried to banish the thoughts of Xanders' neck from his mind. Especially since the fact that they had taken on a direction that had nothing to do with food was making the task of walking decidedly harder. The vampires' attention was distracted as Xander stopped mid stride making the chubby man behind him trip over his own feet and cruse at Xander as he was forced to walk around him. Just then, he realized he'd been in the way, Xander called out a "sorry", the man just grunted and walked on. Spike had to resist the temptation to snap his neck.
Xander looked up at Spike. He felt like such a klutz most of the time, he didn't mean to be.
Spike smiled reassuringly, all he wanted to do was wrap him arms around Xander and not let anything hurt him again. Instead he settled for taking his hand and puling him out of the middle of the street, avoiding another man carrying a barrel.
"Why'd you stop, pet?"
Xander remembered to let go of Spikes' hand just in time to save his dignity. # Well not quite. That ship sailed two days ago, but it was a token effort. # Xander pointed to the bakery window, that currently held his attention.
~~~~~~~~~~
Two minutes later, they were walking down a considerably less peopled street, Xander happily munching away on a butted bread roll. Finishing it off, Xander turned to say something just in time to see Spike stop and change direction abruptly. He now stood facing the mouth of a dark alley, a few feet away from the slayerette, his form illuminated by the crescent moon, bathing half of him in silvery light and casting the rest to ominous shadow.
"Spike?"
When no reply was forthcoming, Xander tried again.
"Buddy. . . ? Amigo. . . ? What's up?"
Spike turned his head just slightly, a warning , or an acknowledgment, the lines between the two seemed to have blurred, just like the play of light and dark that covered everything now.
"Stay here Xander."
He had no intention of doing that of course. The mere use of his name alerted Xander to what his senses had screamed at him from the start. Danger. Taking a deep breath, the boy ventured in to the darkness, following a vampire. Following a friend. Following a feeling.
@--------;---------;---------@
"Spike, my sweet. . . I've been waiting."
Spike listened. He couldn't have really heard that. No. She was just in his mind. Still, there were sounds of a struggle ahead, and he decided he should check it out. Despite the warning, he noted with some annoyance that the boy was right behind him. They walked in silence to the other end of the alley.
The air was thick with mist and the vampire knew it would start to rain soon. It was easy to tell, because of the way the mist accumulated in to little droplet in her hair and made her skin clammy. The little girl in her arms shrieked in frustration at her inability to break out of the woman's iron grip but struggled harder.
"Let her go!"
Drussila lifted the child up and bared her fangs.
"Now, now, dearie, you wouldn't want your precious angel to get hurt?" She said this looking at Spike, who felt like she was talking about something else entirely. Perhaps she was.
"'Ello Dru."
Princess. He used to call her that, but now he couldn't summon a single part of himself that wasn't repulsed by this creature. Spike was scared. Nothing ever made him truly scared, but he was at that moment. What now? Was he just supposed to say 'see you another time' and part company?
Xander put aside everything else in his mind and let it focus solely on the situation. They traveled back in time, and now they were standing here talking to Drussilla, Spike's sire, and significant other for over a century, who had called him by name and was about to eat Cecily. Xander came to the conclusion that all this leads back to Spike. They were here for a reason. That reason was unclear, but he had to work with what they had. What now? They had choices. If this was the past, they *should* just stand back and not interfere, but since they were involved, that didn't seem like an option anymore. They could do what the slayerette in him was telling him, which was to try and kill the evil undead thing in front of him that was about to munch on a little child. That was the one thing he couldn't do however, no matter what happened. Xander knew the choice wasn't his, but he wouldn't allow Spike to harm his sire either never mind that he had no plan as of yet for how, exactly. Which left option three. A compromise of sorts. Save the child, and let Drussila go. Xander figured all of this out, along with the implications each choice would leave Spike with, in a matter of seconds. It was taking Spike considerably longer.
"look precious"
Drussila cooed to the struggling girl.
"it's my Spike. . . and he's brought his heart with him. He won't let me play. . ."
The vampiress pouted and dropped Cicily onto the ground. The girl got up and tried to run, but the strong hand around her neck stopped her.
"It's alright Cecily, everything's going to be fine."
Xanders' tone was designed to reassure the panicking child, but it had quite another effect on Spike.
"Cecily?"
He cast a glance at Xander, the expression on his face unreadable, but Xander could tell by the look in his eyes that he was praying that it wasn't her. And while he couldn't be sure, all this seemed less and less likely to be an coincidence, so Xander nodded an affirmative, and watched as the vampire tried to deal with the shock and compose himself enough to think.
Drussila player with the little girls hair as she tried in vain to get away.
"no need to be frightened little one. Mommy wont hurt you. . . you're very important deary, part of my Spikes test. . . He thinks he can save you."
She cackled madly and turned her head towards Spike, he fractured sanity shining through a deceptively lucid gaze.
"Help."
It was less than whisper from the child that would turn in to the woman whose fate he was responsible for. Whose face would haunt him every day for the rest of his existence. Spike, William the Bloody realized he could undo all that right now. But the imploring brown eyes looking up at him stopped that thought before it had a chance to fully form. Those eyes reminded him of another pair of equally brown ones, that, were he to let her die, would never look at him as a friend again.
"Let her go Dru."
Spike reiterated Xanders' earlier statement and took a step towards her. He felt around for stake, but apparently was out of luck. Xander had the same idea, in case things got ugly, and grasping the piece of wood in his pocket firmly he also took a step forward.
"But I'm hungry. . . who can I eat instead. . .?"
Drussila's whiny tone carried across the night, the menacing threat clear in her gaze that was focused on Xander, specifically his neck.
Before Spike had the chance to utter a 'NO!' she lunged for the slayerette, pinning him to the ground, but Xander was prepared. He pressed the stake in his hand to her chest and calmly told her to let him go. A silvery laugh rang out in the night.
"I know you won't kill me, my sweet."
The next thing that happened prompted Spike in to action. He was sure that Dru was done for, and was thankful that he wasn't the one who had to do it, but then Xander threw the stake aside and tried to struggle against her vampire strength instead. Spike was there in a flash and throwing Drussila off Xander, he picked up the stake and was about to ram it in to her heart. All this was happening with out too much cognitive thought on the part of Spike, that is until he felt a weight, (Xander , as it turned out) plough in to him from the side and knock him to the ground. Xander was laying on top of him, panting for breath.
"Don't. Please."
He whispered.
Spike got to his feet. Xander crawled over to Cicily to comfort her and watched the emotions play out across Spikes' face. # oh God, he knew!! # Xander hadn't realized. He thought Spike was about to stake Drussila without knowing that he'd die as well. But he knew. And he was going to do it anyway? The slayerette watched, heart firmly lodged in his throat as the vampire, *his* vampire stood in front of his sire looking at the stake in his hand.
"Choose dearie."
Xander let out a breath he was holding as he saw Spike lower his arm, his fingers uncurled around the stake and it cluttered to the ground. Drussila whimpered. She looked like she didn't realize quite what just happened, or why.
May be she didn't know. Not really.
A shuffle of taffeta and an echo of foot steps was all that remained of her a second later but the sounds were erased as a flash of lightening split the sky followed by a clap of thunder. Cicily cried out and Xander tightened his arms around her shivering form and stood up. He was facing Spike, who, though looking right at him was clearly lost in thought. The boy and the vampire watched as a silvery raindrop hit the ground seemingly in slow motion. Followed by another, and another, and then time was back on track, and it was raining in earnest. It seemed a catharsis of sorts. Spike looked down at the stake on the ground, then back at Xander.
"I'm sorry."
Xander shook his head, there was no need to apologize. # he's not # Xanders' sixth sense supplied helpfully. It occurred to Xander that Spike wasn't apologizing to him, after all, he was the one that practically begged him not to kill Dru, but he *was* sorry. The lost look in the vampire's eyes told Xander that he was about to explain his choice.
"I-"
"I know."
Spike looked in to Xanders' eyes and felt a tear roll down his face. The rain made sure he was the only one who knew it was there. Did he really know? He didn't have to explain, or at least, they could talk about it later, and that was all Spike could ask for. Everything Xander had said and done a moment ago came back to him, and for once, he didn't feel alone. He wanted to hold on to this new feeling and thankfully it showed no sign of leaving. A reassuring smile lit up Xanders' face.
"let's go."
Spike nodded and followed, glad that Xander had followed him in to the alley. Why had he done it? For a vampire? For a friend? # For a feeling? #
AN: Thank you for reading, come back tomorrow for the next installment of the fic that makes you wish you could travel back in time and tell your self not to read. . . :) Lami. xxx