S.O.T.W---- Chapter 4
SUNNYDALE %%%%%%%%
Panicked, Paige stared back and forth from the vampire, who was currently the only other person in the room besides her sister, to Piper, who seemed as frightened as she was, to the room in general, which, if anything had grown more red.
"Piper. You're feeling alright, I hope?"
"Pretty good. Keeping my distance from Willow helps. I know what you're thinking, Paige and yes, I am ready to freeze him again if he even *looks* like he's about to get out of that chair."
"No, you bloody well won't!"
"Then don't get out of the chair!"
"I can do whatever I damn well feel like doing." Spike growled, pushing to his feet.
"I should warn you about something. Lately, my freezing power has started to go a little... haywire? Sometimes, instead of freezing things, it blows them into a million tiny pieces. Given that I've already frozen you once, I'd say you've got at least a fifty percent chance of being disintegrated, so if what you *feel like* is playing Russian roulette, then go ahead and make a move, you hairdresser's nightmare."
Spike's irritation and cocky attitude vanished and he sank back into the chair. "That's what I thought."
Just then, Xander rushed back into the room.
"You ladies okay? He didn't get out of line, did he?" the young man asked anxiously.
"No. I'm sure he would have loved to, but he's been properly warned about the.... unpredictability of a witch's power."
"Good for you. Go help Anya with the weapons, Spike."
"Me? Why should I do anything for you lot...."
"Because if you don't, I'll gladly let Miss Halliwell make good on her threat.... whatever it was."
"Can't. If I get up she'll blast me."
"Spike, get gone or I'll sic Willow on you and blasting is the nicest thing she'll do to you."
Spike grumbled and groused under his breath, but he rose from his seat and moved up the stairs.
"Thanks." Paige responded, breathing a deep sigh of relief.
"It's okay. He really is harmless. Pretty much anyway. He's like a tea kettle. He makes a lot of noise, but you won't get burned if you handle him right."
Just as Xander was settling in to begin searching through the dusty, ancient book he'd brought with him, the room began to shake as a basso profundo voice thundered through and around the entire house. Caught unawares, the scattered members of the group sought shelter wherever they happened to be until the shuddering and roaring ceased.
"SPIKE! YOU WILL PRESENT YOURSELF TO ME OR I WILL SHOW THE HUMANS NO MERCY! COME OUT OF THAT PITIFUL WOODEN DWELLING IMMEDIATELY, OR I WILL REDUCE IT TO SMOKING DEBRIS AND YOUR PROTECTORS WITH IT! YOU KNOW WELL ENOUGH NOT TO TOY WITH ME! I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOUR GAMES! YOU HAVE ONE HOUR TO EXIT THE DWELLING AND KNEEL BEFORE ME! REFUSE AND THE HUMANS WILL SUFFER!"
With this pronouncement, the red light vanished and the others slowly stumbled back into the living room to join Xander, Piper and Paige. Spike was the last to return, reluctantly dragged behind Anya. Eventually, he responded to the intense scrutiny of the group.
"Yeh? So what's everybody lookin' at me for?"
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SAN FRANCISCO
"Balthazar is right, little girl. You stay on the floor. This is a game for grown-ups." the demon chuckled as Leo moved to crouch by Buffy and Dawn.
"That.... is not my name. Not anymore. Don't call me that again." Cole growled, taking a step forward. Phoebe pulled him back .
Stop, Cole. He's baiting you. Don't let him. We have innocents to protect."
"Innocent? I think not. She might be young still, but that one has seen far too much to be innocent." The demon replied, pointing at Buffy.
"And your point is?" Phoebe retorted. "She fights evil. That makes her an innocent in my book."
"And the other one? Do you even have the slightest idea what she is?"
"The reason you're here, I'm guessing."
"How right you are, witch. Do know what you've allowed into your home? There are those who would pay ten times a king's ransom to have her under their control."
"Oh, yeah? And which one do you work for?"
"None of them. Possessing her would dangerously tip the balance of power in the underworld. I'm here to prevent that."
"By destroying her? Don't think so, pal. Not gonna happen." Phoebe countered. "Cole?"
"On it."
While Cole attempted to distract the other demon and Phoebe chanted, Buffy pushed Dawn into Leo's arms.
"Take her somewhere safe. Don't let anything happen to her."
"Wait..."
"There's no time. Do that.... sparkly, swirly thing and get my sister out of here!"
"Buffy, don't you dare...."
The remainder of Dawn's sentence was cut off as she and Leo disappeared. Reassured, Buffy rushed to join the fight only to find Cole and Phoebe had it well in hand. The demon blew apart in a whirl of flame just as the Slayer arrived.
"Not fair. My demons never do anything that cool. They usually just ooze colorful, stinky goo all over my shoes and make bad puns."
"Really?" Cole questioned, genuinely interested. "What do you say I go get those snacks and you can tell us some of those stories you mentioned?"
"We should wait to eat until Leo and Dawn get back. It's only polite."
"Back? Back from where?"
"Not exactly sure. In the heat of the moment I just shoved her at him and told him to get her to safety. I left the where up to him."
"You two go ahead and get the food. I'll call Leo and give him the all clear." Phoebe offered. Cole grasped her elbow and held her back from following Buffy.
"All clear for the moment. It might be better to...."
"No, Cole. If we're supposed to protect this girl, we need to know what the demon was talking about."
"And you think the kid's going to tell you?"
"I can hope can't I?"
%%%%%%%%%%%%%% T- 30 MINUTES
"Out with it, D.C.! What's this all about? What mess have you made that the rest of us have to clean up? Yet again."
"You shut your, gob, Harris! Whatever's goin' on, it ain't my fault this time!"
"It called your name, Spike!" Willow reminded him. "It didn't say 'Xander, get your ass out here', or 'Anya, come out and play'. It said Spike! Start talking before we all get buried under what's left of Buffy's house!"
"I'm tellin' you, I don't know! I've got as much of a clue about this as you losers do!"
"Oh, D.C., if you let Buffy's house get destroyed, nothing and noone in this reality or any other is gonna save you...."
"How many ways can I say this? I... don't... know! I haven't done a damn thing to piss anyone off in months. Except for the times I was helpin' you slay, I've been hidin' in my crypt and gettin' bombed outta me mind! If the sight of me bloody plastered offended anybody, it ain't my fault!"
"THIRTY MINUTES, SPIKE! EITHER YOU COME TO ME, OR TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO MAKE PEACE WITH THEIR PERSONAL DEITIES OF CHOICE! YOUR ILL-CHOSEN HIDING PLACE WILL SOON BE RAINING DOWN AROUND YOUR EARS! YOU WILL SURVIVE, BUT THEY WILL NOT! EMERGE AND PRESENT MY TRIBUTE OR THOSE YOU CHERISH SHALL PAY THE PRICE!"
This time, the ringing words seemed to shock Spike. He had suddenly realized what was happening and everyone in the room knew it. Knowing that only kindness would get the truth from the vampire, and knowing she was the only one willing to give him any just then, Tara walked to where Spike stood, laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and spoke quietly to him.
"You understand now, don't you? What is it? What's this tribute he's talking about?"
"God... it can't be.... Angelus said it was a lark.... nothin' but a laugh. It's not possible..."
"What? It's okay, William. Talk to me."
"It... it was eighty years ago for Lord's sake.... Angelus.... he an' Dru an' I were in the woods outside a little town in Germany. He'd stolen this... weird book off some wanker he'd drained. He was flippin' pages an' readin' bits an' pieces.... then he started laughin'. Said he'd found this ritual to call a demon an' we should try it... it was just a bit a'fun, see? None of us knew what the words meant an' we kept gigglin' over how Angel couldn't pronounce 'em right. Dru kept wanderin' off, breakin' the circle.... Our ears popped, a chime rang an' that was it. We figured it for a bust...."
"Why are you connecting what happened that night with today?"
"The only German Angelus ever bothered to learn was a few basic words an' some numbers. The last line of the summoning spell was dead easy, I guess, so he said it in English.... 'In eighty years will I call on you, then will the debt be repaid.' It never shoulda worked! Peaches, he botched the words up, somethin' fierce! It never shoulda worked...."
"Yeah, well it did." Xander stated, gloomily. "I only see one solution. Pick Spike up by the scruff of the neck and toss him out the door..."
"Alexander Harris! I can't believe you just said that!"
"What? I'm not ready to die for his 'bit of fun'! Think, Willow. It's the only way to save the rest of us."
"There has to be something else we can do...."
"Yeah, well, if you come up with something better before our time runs out, speak right up. Me? In another..... eighteen minutes I'm putting out the cat, no matter what anybody else thinks!"
"You try it, *boy*. I'll rip your heart out and feed it to the demon...."
"Think you can manage that *before* your chip gives you a migraine so bad your head explodes?"
"Alright, everybody shut up!" Piper shouted. "Spike, is it? You do remember the name of this demon?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Since Tara seems to be the only one who can stand you right now, why don't you and she grab your fiancée and go do some fast research. Willow and Xander, stow the weapons for now, but not too far away. We don't know if this thing even has a body we can do damage to. We've got four witches in-house. Let's see if magic works first before we resort to hand to hand or any other kind of combat. We'll meet back here in fifteen minutes. Not a second more than that. Go, people!"
As they exited the room, Xander leaned in and murmured into Willow's ear.
"Gee, think she's used to forcing order out of chaos?"
"I like her. Anyone that can make you and Spike stop sniping at each other gets my vote."
"I don't snipe! I was merely bringing up a few valid character flaws that he refuses to acknowledge..."
"Later, Xander. Weapons, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah. Someday I'm gonna have the last word with the bleached wonder."
"You mean like ouch or help? Maybe it'll be Buffy's name screamed at the top of your lungs."
"Very funny. Ha, ha. It is to laugh...."
"If you don't like my humor, Xander, stop being my straight man..."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"You took her where?! Leo, that really wasn't one of your better ideas..."
"I didn't do it! I was planning to take her to Paige's office, but mid-orb the elders diverted us."
"Why?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you. The demon was telling the truth. This girl isn't what she seems."
"You could have fought them! They had no right to do what they did!"
"Fighting this wasn't an option, Phoebe. They made their decision and... she was gone before I could even say a word . They don't intend to release her."
"What are we supposed to tell her sister?"
"The truth. It's all we can do. She'll understand."
"Understand? You think she's going to understand that you let her sister get elder-napped?! This is a vampire slayer, Leo! She's killed more demons than either of us has ever seen! This woman could rip off my head and use it to play volleyball! What makes you think she won't kill us both?"
"I'm her only link to the elders. She wouldn't dare hurt me." Leo reminded her, slipping around his sister-in-law and backing out of the kitchen where they were privately discussing the situation.
"And where, exactly, does that leave me?"
"You had nothing to do with it. I'll explain that to her. I know she'll see reason...."
"Reason to turn us inside out and feed us both down the garbage disposal...." Phoebe grunted quietly as she reluctantly followed Leo into the living room where Cole and Buffy waited.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
TBC.......
SUNNYDALE %%%%%%%%
Panicked, Paige stared back and forth from the vampire, who was currently the only other person in the room besides her sister, to Piper, who seemed as frightened as she was, to the room in general, which, if anything had grown more red.
"Piper. You're feeling alright, I hope?"
"Pretty good. Keeping my distance from Willow helps. I know what you're thinking, Paige and yes, I am ready to freeze him again if he even *looks* like he's about to get out of that chair."
"No, you bloody well won't!"
"Then don't get out of the chair!"
"I can do whatever I damn well feel like doing." Spike growled, pushing to his feet.
"I should warn you about something. Lately, my freezing power has started to go a little... haywire? Sometimes, instead of freezing things, it blows them into a million tiny pieces. Given that I've already frozen you once, I'd say you've got at least a fifty percent chance of being disintegrated, so if what you *feel like* is playing Russian roulette, then go ahead and make a move, you hairdresser's nightmare."
Spike's irritation and cocky attitude vanished and he sank back into the chair. "That's what I thought."
Just then, Xander rushed back into the room.
"You ladies okay? He didn't get out of line, did he?" the young man asked anxiously.
"No. I'm sure he would have loved to, but he's been properly warned about the.... unpredictability of a witch's power."
"Good for you. Go help Anya with the weapons, Spike."
"Me? Why should I do anything for you lot...."
"Because if you don't, I'll gladly let Miss Halliwell make good on her threat.... whatever it was."
"Can't. If I get up she'll blast me."
"Spike, get gone or I'll sic Willow on you and blasting is the nicest thing she'll do to you."
Spike grumbled and groused under his breath, but he rose from his seat and moved up the stairs.
"Thanks." Paige responded, breathing a deep sigh of relief.
"It's okay. He really is harmless. Pretty much anyway. He's like a tea kettle. He makes a lot of noise, but you won't get burned if you handle him right."
Just as Xander was settling in to begin searching through the dusty, ancient book he'd brought with him, the room began to shake as a basso profundo voice thundered through and around the entire house. Caught unawares, the scattered members of the group sought shelter wherever they happened to be until the shuddering and roaring ceased.
"SPIKE! YOU WILL PRESENT YOURSELF TO ME OR I WILL SHOW THE HUMANS NO MERCY! COME OUT OF THAT PITIFUL WOODEN DWELLING IMMEDIATELY, OR I WILL REDUCE IT TO SMOKING DEBRIS AND YOUR PROTECTORS WITH IT! YOU KNOW WELL ENOUGH NOT TO TOY WITH ME! I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOUR GAMES! YOU HAVE ONE HOUR TO EXIT THE DWELLING AND KNEEL BEFORE ME! REFUSE AND THE HUMANS WILL SUFFER!"
With this pronouncement, the red light vanished and the others slowly stumbled back into the living room to join Xander, Piper and Paige. Spike was the last to return, reluctantly dragged behind Anya. Eventually, he responded to the intense scrutiny of the group.
"Yeh? So what's everybody lookin' at me for?"
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SAN FRANCISCO
"Balthazar is right, little girl. You stay on the floor. This is a game for grown-ups." the demon chuckled as Leo moved to crouch by Buffy and Dawn.
"That.... is not my name. Not anymore. Don't call me that again." Cole growled, taking a step forward. Phoebe pulled him back .
Stop, Cole. He's baiting you. Don't let him. We have innocents to protect."
"Innocent? I think not. She might be young still, but that one has seen far too much to be innocent." The demon replied, pointing at Buffy.
"And your point is?" Phoebe retorted. "She fights evil. That makes her an innocent in my book."
"And the other one? Do you even have the slightest idea what she is?"
"The reason you're here, I'm guessing."
"How right you are, witch. Do know what you've allowed into your home? There are those who would pay ten times a king's ransom to have her under their control."
"Oh, yeah? And which one do you work for?"
"None of them. Possessing her would dangerously tip the balance of power in the underworld. I'm here to prevent that."
"By destroying her? Don't think so, pal. Not gonna happen." Phoebe countered. "Cole?"
"On it."
While Cole attempted to distract the other demon and Phoebe chanted, Buffy pushed Dawn into Leo's arms.
"Take her somewhere safe. Don't let anything happen to her."
"Wait..."
"There's no time. Do that.... sparkly, swirly thing and get my sister out of here!"
"Buffy, don't you dare...."
The remainder of Dawn's sentence was cut off as she and Leo disappeared. Reassured, Buffy rushed to join the fight only to find Cole and Phoebe had it well in hand. The demon blew apart in a whirl of flame just as the Slayer arrived.
"Not fair. My demons never do anything that cool. They usually just ooze colorful, stinky goo all over my shoes and make bad puns."
"Really?" Cole questioned, genuinely interested. "What do you say I go get those snacks and you can tell us some of those stories you mentioned?"
"We should wait to eat until Leo and Dawn get back. It's only polite."
"Back? Back from where?"
"Not exactly sure. In the heat of the moment I just shoved her at him and told him to get her to safety. I left the where up to him."
"You two go ahead and get the food. I'll call Leo and give him the all clear." Phoebe offered. Cole grasped her elbow and held her back from following Buffy.
"All clear for the moment. It might be better to...."
"No, Cole. If we're supposed to protect this girl, we need to know what the demon was talking about."
"And you think the kid's going to tell you?"
"I can hope can't I?"
%%%%%%%%%%%%%% T- 30 MINUTES
"Out with it, D.C.! What's this all about? What mess have you made that the rest of us have to clean up? Yet again."
"You shut your, gob, Harris! Whatever's goin' on, it ain't my fault this time!"
"It called your name, Spike!" Willow reminded him. "It didn't say 'Xander, get your ass out here', or 'Anya, come out and play'. It said Spike! Start talking before we all get buried under what's left of Buffy's house!"
"I'm tellin' you, I don't know! I've got as much of a clue about this as you losers do!"
"Oh, D.C., if you let Buffy's house get destroyed, nothing and noone in this reality or any other is gonna save you...."
"How many ways can I say this? I... don't... know! I haven't done a damn thing to piss anyone off in months. Except for the times I was helpin' you slay, I've been hidin' in my crypt and gettin' bombed outta me mind! If the sight of me bloody plastered offended anybody, it ain't my fault!"
"THIRTY MINUTES, SPIKE! EITHER YOU COME TO ME, OR TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO MAKE PEACE WITH THEIR PERSONAL DEITIES OF CHOICE! YOUR ILL-CHOSEN HIDING PLACE WILL SOON BE RAINING DOWN AROUND YOUR EARS! YOU WILL SURVIVE, BUT THEY WILL NOT! EMERGE AND PRESENT MY TRIBUTE OR THOSE YOU CHERISH SHALL PAY THE PRICE!"
This time, the ringing words seemed to shock Spike. He had suddenly realized what was happening and everyone in the room knew it. Knowing that only kindness would get the truth from the vampire, and knowing she was the only one willing to give him any just then, Tara walked to where Spike stood, laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and spoke quietly to him.
"You understand now, don't you? What is it? What's this tribute he's talking about?"
"God... it can't be.... Angelus said it was a lark.... nothin' but a laugh. It's not possible..."
"What? It's okay, William. Talk to me."
"It... it was eighty years ago for Lord's sake.... Angelus.... he an' Dru an' I were in the woods outside a little town in Germany. He'd stolen this... weird book off some wanker he'd drained. He was flippin' pages an' readin' bits an' pieces.... then he started laughin'. Said he'd found this ritual to call a demon an' we should try it... it was just a bit a'fun, see? None of us knew what the words meant an' we kept gigglin' over how Angel couldn't pronounce 'em right. Dru kept wanderin' off, breakin' the circle.... Our ears popped, a chime rang an' that was it. We figured it for a bust...."
"Why are you connecting what happened that night with today?"
"The only German Angelus ever bothered to learn was a few basic words an' some numbers. The last line of the summoning spell was dead easy, I guess, so he said it in English.... 'In eighty years will I call on you, then will the debt be repaid.' It never shoulda worked! Peaches, he botched the words up, somethin' fierce! It never shoulda worked...."
"Yeah, well it did." Xander stated, gloomily. "I only see one solution. Pick Spike up by the scruff of the neck and toss him out the door..."
"Alexander Harris! I can't believe you just said that!"
"What? I'm not ready to die for his 'bit of fun'! Think, Willow. It's the only way to save the rest of us."
"There has to be something else we can do...."
"Yeah, well, if you come up with something better before our time runs out, speak right up. Me? In another..... eighteen minutes I'm putting out the cat, no matter what anybody else thinks!"
"You try it, *boy*. I'll rip your heart out and feed it to the demon...."
"Think you can manage that *before* your chip gives you a migraine so bad your head explodes?"
"Alright, everybody shut up!" Piper shouted. "Spike, is it? You do remember the name of this demon?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Since Tara seems to be the only one who can stand you right now, why don't you and she grab your fiancée and go do some fast research. Willow and Xander, stow the weapons for now, but not too far away. We don't know if this thing even has a body we can do damage to. We've got four witches in-house. Let's see if magic works first before we resort to hand to hand or any other kind of combat. We'll meet back here in fifteen minutes. Not a second more than that. Go, people!"
As they exited the room, Xander leaned in and murmured into Willow's ear.
"Gee, think she's used to forcing order out of chaos?"
"I like her. Anyone that can make you and Spike stop sniping at each other gets my vote."
"I don't snipe! I was merely bringing up a few valid character flaws that he refuses to acknowledge..."
"Later, Xander. Weapons, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah. Someday I'm gonna have the last word with the bleached wonder."
"You mean like ouch or help? Maybe it'll be Buffy's name screamed at the top of your lungs."
"Very funny. Ha, ha. It is to laugh...."
"If you don't like my humor, Xander, stop being my straight man..."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"You took her where?! Leo, that really wasn't one of your better ideas..."
"I didn't do it! I was planning to take her to Paige's office, but mid-orb the elders diverted us."
"Why?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you. The demon was telling the truth. This girl isn't what she seems."
"You could have fought them! They had no right to do what they did!"
"Fighting this wasn't an option, Phoebe. They made their decision and... she was gone before I could even say a word . They don't intend to release her."
"What are we supposed to tell her sister?"
"The truth. It's all we can do. She'll understand."
"Understand? You think she's going to understand that you let her sister get elder-napped?! This is a vampire slayer, Leo! She's killed more demons than either of us has ever seen! This woman could rip off my head and use it to play volleyball! What makes you think she won't kill us both?"
"I'm her only link to the elders. She wouldn't dare hurt me." Leo reminded her, slipping around his sister-in-law and backing out of the kitchen where they were privately discussing the situation.
"And where, exactly, does that leave me?"
"You had nothing to do with it. I'll explain that to her. I know she'll see reason...."
"Reason to turn us inside out and feed us both down the garbage disposal...." Phoebe grunted quietly as she reluctantly followed Leo into the living room where Cole and Buffy waited.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
TBC.......