A/N: Sorry for the wait! I'm just been busy and unmotivated lately but I
finally just sat down and typed. Please review!
* * * * * * * * *
Chapter Seven~
The crystal ball suddenly cleared.
The old woman looked up at Anya with disappointment.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Shouldn't you already know?" Anya hissed as she stood up, tears streaming down her face.
"How did she die?"
"Where is Spike?" Anya demanded.
"You have to finish the memory first," the woman insisted.
"How do you think it ended? Why do you think I'm here? Alone. Tell me where Spike is."
The old woman stayed firmly on the ground by the crystal ball. She looked up at the frenzied demon calmly.
"You have to recall everything before I'll help," she explained.
Anya's teary eyes flashed dangerously and her face morphed into that of an angry demon. She grabbed the old woman's wrist and yanked her up from the ground.
"Look, all I want is to locate Spike and get my fucking happily ever after, do you comprehend that?" Anya asked as she glared down at the old woman.
After staring at Anyanka for a moment with a steady gaze, the old woman finally yielded.
"Look into the crystal ball," she instructed.
Anyanka released her gruffly. Kneeling in front of the ball, Anya gazed into it impatiently. Slowly the glass turned milky then a picture formed of a street corner with two figures standing on it.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Almost there," Faith informed Spike as they walked down what seemed to be the fiftieth block that night.
"Now I don't want to sound uptight but do you have some form of plain for this suicide?" Spike asked with annoyance.
"Plan? Oh come on, you're starting to sound like Buffy," Faith laughed.
Spike winced at the sound of his late love's name.
"And which one of you was it that ended up behind bars?"
"Like Buffy's plans always worked. If they had, she wouldn't have died- three times!"
Snarling, Spike grabbed Faith's wrist and with a swift movement, pinned her against a near wall still holding her arm.
"If you're so damn cocky, why don't you take out that nest all on your own," Spike suggested.
Pushing backwards, Faith freed herself from Spike's grasp.
"That was the original plan," she said with a sneer, "I just thought some good old slaughter would get you out of this rut."
"I'm not in a rut," Spike said defensively.
"Call it whatever you want."
"I'm not in a rut," he said again, more firmly. "In fact, I came here because I finally woke up and decided to get my life back together."
"Unlife," Faith corrected, "But what's the point really? There isn't life these days- not really. That's assuming there ever was. Don't kid yourself, Spike. You get what you what you can get and you do what you can do. Fighting is what we do, why look for more? And I know we can't really make a difference, at least not a huge one. Life won't get better but we can keep it from getting any worse."
Spike looked to his feet and replied dumbly, "Now who sounds like Buffy?"
"I don't know what's holding you back," Faith said as she attempted to catch Spike's gaze. "It seems to me like you're afraid of loosing something and it doesn't seem to be your life."
The streets were dampened with an eerie calm. Faith stood studying Spike for a moment. She was waiting for an answer she knew she wouldn't get.
"I'm going," she said softly but firmly.
"How did you get so smart?"
"The end of the world does strange things to people."
With a determined click of heels, Faith walked away from the confused man. Spike knew he should follow her. But he felt that he should really be looking for someone else. He ran off in the opposite direction with sudden determination.
* * * * * * * * *
Suddenly, instead of seeing the image fade, a face appeared and covered the span of the crystal ball.
"It's not polite to spy," the familiar face of the vampire Anya had seen on the bus scolded. "You might end up seeing something you don't want to see."
An image of a group of smiling vampires standing in an old restaurant panned across the screen.
"Who will you find first?" the voice asked as if narrating a low- class mystery. "The good-as-dead Slayer or the already undead man you love? Maybe the question is, who do you want to find first?"
The crystal ball cleared again and Anya turned away with her eyes shut tightly.
"Who will you find first?" the old woman asked with a leering tone in her voice, as she walked to the distraught demon.
"Whomever I come across first," Anya replied with sudden determination, "but I know I'll end up at that nest either way."
She walked to the door only pausing briefly to give the woman a look that meant thank you and also sorry. As Anya exited the building, the old woman morphed back into a demon. A smile spread across his face as he murmured proudly, "that's my Anyanka."
* * * * * * * *
From what she could see in the crystal ball, Anya had a vague idea where to go. The place she'd seen Faith and Spike talking looked familiar but in such a large and confusing city, she could easily be wrong. But the vampires' lair also seemed familiar. In fact, Anya thought she'd heard of it before. So as long as she headed that way, she would find someone. She hoped.
* * * * * * * *
Spike wasn't thinking. He didn't know where to go. But he knew it wasn't in the direction of the vampire nest.
* * * * * * * *
"Why do I always do this?" Faith asked herself incredulously. "I trust someone when I know I shouldn't and it always ends up that same way. Bad."
She talked as if she expected someone to shout "amen!" after every statement she made. Instead the night remained still.
"I'm the only trustworthy person left in this world. Of course, that's not saying much," Faith grumbled.
* * * * * * * * *
"Hey Spike, long time no see, ole buddy, ole pal."
Anya shook her head in disgust as she breathlessly practiced what she's say to Spike while running along the empty sidewalk. True, she might meet Spike again while saving him from his psycho ex-girlfriend but that didn't mean she couldn't greet him properly.
"Spike, you can't ever seem to keep out of trouble, you, crazy kid. you. No, I mean, Spike, how have you been? Better than you are now, I hope. No I don't mean that either."
* * * * * * * *
"We've been crouching here for like ten minutes, can't we just go out to eat?"
Drusilla closed her eyes tightly and hissed, "Mummy doesn't like impatience unless she's the impatient one."
* * * * * * * * *
"It's not like Spike is that hot anyway," Faith reasoned with her invisible companion. "And plus, vampire. I mean it's not like you can find many non-vampire guys these days with killer abs that etch through their tight black tee shirts and deep blue eyes that just really burn into you. There aren't many guys like that anytime, actually. but that's not the point!"
Reaching her destination, Faith paused briefly to regain her Slayer cool.
"Dusting a few vamps will clear my mind," she thought as she stepped into the dark room. It was suspiciously quiet. And then she shrieked.
* * * * * * * "How have I been? I've been feeling fine, thank you. That burning pain in my chest only bothers me when I go into a bar, lie in my bed, brush my hair, eat." Anya prattled on as she raced down the street. It seemed like she'd been running a long time and she wasn't sure she knew where she was going anymore. But her legs wouldn't let her stop. They were numb as they continued to propel her towards her unknown destination.
"Where have you been all my life, Anyanka?" Anya continued her conversation with herself. "I've been aro-"
Turning the corner, she collided with something at full speed. In a mass, she hit the ground and let out a sharp cry as the thing landed right on top of her. Panicked and confused, Anya pushed the body off of herself and scrambled to her feet. When she looked down, a pair of bright blue eyes met her gaze.
She was speechless.
* * * * * * * * *
TBC
* * * * * * * * *
Chapter Seven~
The crystal ball suddenly cleared.
The old woman looked up at Anya with disappointment.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Shouldn't you already know?" Anya hissed as she stood up, tears streaming down her face.
"How did she die?"
"Where is Spike?" Anya demanded.
"You have to finish the memory first," the woman insisted.
"How do you think it ended? Why do you think I'm here? Alone. Tell me where Spike is."
The old woman stayed firmly on the ground by the crystal ball. She looked up at the frenzied demon calmly.
"You have to recall everything before I'll help," she explained.
Anya's teary eyes flashed dangerously and her face morphed into that of an angry demon. She grabbed the old woman's wrist and yanked her up from the ground.
"Look, all I want is to locate Spike and get my fucking happily ever after, do you comprehend that?" Anya asked as she glared down at the old woman.
After staring at Anyanka for a moment with a steady gaze, the old woman finally yielded.
"Look into the crystal ball," she instructed.
Anyanka released her gruffly. Kneeling in front of the ball, Anya gazed into it impatiently. Slowly the glass turned milky then a picture formed of a street corner with two figures standing on it.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Almost there," Faith informed Spike as they walked down what seemed to be the fiftieth block that night.
"Now I don't want to sound uptight but do you have some form of plain for this suicide?" Spike asked with annoyance.
"Plan? Oh come on, you're starting to sound like Buffy," Faith laughed.
Spike winced at the sound of his late love's name.
"And which one of you was it that ended up behind bars?"
"Like Buffy's plans always worked. If they had, she wouldn't have died- three times!"
Snarling, Spike grabbed Faith's wrist and with a swift movement, pinned her against a near wall still holding her arm.
"If you're so damn cocky, why don't you take out that nest all on your own," Spike suggested.
Pushing backwards, Faith freed herself from Spike's grasp.
"That was the original plan," she said with a sneer, "I just thought some good old slaughter would get you out of this rut."
"I'm not in a rut," Spike said defensively.
"Call it whatever you want."
"I'm not in a rut," he said again, more firmly. "In fact, I came here because I finally woke up and decided to get my life back together."
"Unlife," Faith corrected, "But what's the point really? There isn't life these days- not really. That's assuming there ever was. Don't kid yourself, Spike. You get what you what you can get and you do what you can do. Fighting is what we do, why look for more? And I know we can't really make a difference, at least not a huge one. Life won't get better but we can keep it from getting any worse."
Spike looked to his feet and replied dumbly, "Now who sounds like Buffy?"
"I don't know what's holding you back," Faith said as she attempted to catch Spike's gaze. "It seems to me like you're afraid of loosing something and it doesn't seem to be your life."
The streets were dampened with an eerie calm. Faith stood studying Spike for a moment. She was waiting for an answer she knew she wouldn't get.
"I'm going," she said softly but firmly.
"How did you get so smart?"
"The end of the world does strange things to people."
With a determined click of heels, Faith walked away from the confused man. Spike knew he should follow her. But he felt that he should really be looking for someone else. He ran off in the opposite direction with sudden determination.
* * * * * * * * *
Suddenly, instead of seeing the image fade, a face appeared and covered the span of the crystal ball.
"It's not polite to spy," the familiar face of the vampire Anya had seen on the bus scolded. "You might end up seeing something you don't want to see."
An image of a group of smiling vampires standing in an old restaurant panned across the screen.
"Who will you find first?" the voice asked as if narrating a low- class mystery. "The good-as-dead Slayer or the already undead man you love? Maybe the question is, who do you want to find first?"
The crystal ball cleared again and Anya turned away with her eyes shut tightly.
"Who will you find first?" the old woman asked with a leering tone in her voice, as she walked to the distraught demon.
"Whomever I come across first," Anya replied with sudden determination, "but I know I'll end up at that nest either way."
She walked to the door only pausing briefly to give the woman a look that meant thank you and also sorry. As Anya exited the building, the old woman morphed back into a demon. A smile spread across his face as he murmured proudly, "that's my Anyanka."
* * * * * * * *
From what she could see in the crystal ball, Anya had a vague idea where to go. The place she'd seen Faith and Spike talking looked familiar but in such a large and confusing city, she could easily be wrong. But the vampires' lair also seemed familiar. In fact, Anya thought she'd heard of it before. So as long as she headed that way, she would find someone. She hoped.
* * * * * * * *
Spike wasn't thinking. He didn't know where to go. But he knew it wasn't in the direction of the vampire nest.
* * * * * * * *
"Why do I always do this?" Faith asked herself incredulously. "I trust someone when I know I shouldn't and it always ends up that same way. Bad."
She talked as if she expected someone to shout "amen!" after every statement she made. Instead the night remained still.
"I'm the only trustworthy person left in this world. Of course, that's not saying much," Faith grumbled.
* * * * * * * * *
"Hey Spike, long time no see, ole buddy, ole pal."
Anya shook her head in disgust as she breathlessly practiced what she's say to Spike while running along the empty sidewalk. True, she might meet Spike again while saving him from his psycho ex-girlfriend but that didn't mean she couldn't greet him properly.
"Spike, you can't ever seem to keep out of trouble, you, crazy kid. you. No, I mean, Spike, how have you been? Better than you are now, I hope. No I don't mean that either."
* * * * * * * *
"We've been crouching here for like ten minutes, can't we just go out to eat?"
Drusilla closed her eyes tightly and hissed, "Mummy doesn't like impatience unless she's the impatient one."
* * * * * * * * *
"It's not like Spike is that hot anyway," Faith reasoned with her invisible companion. "And plus, vampire. I mean it's not like you can find many non-vampire guys these days with killer abs that etch through their tight black tee shirts and deep blue eyes that just really burn into you. There aren't many guys like that anytime, actually. but that's not the point!"
Reaching her destination, Faith paused briefly to regain her Slayer cool.
"Dusting a few vamps will clear my mind," she thought as she stepped into the dark room. It was suspiciously quiet. And then she shrieked.
* * * * * * * "How have I been? I've been feeling fine, thank you. That burning pain in my chest only bothers me when I go into a bar, lie in my bed, brush my hair, eat." Anya prattled on as she raced down the street. It seemed like she'd been running a long time and she wasn't sure she knew where she was going anymore. But her legs wouldn't let her stop. They were numb as they continued to propel her towards her unknown destination.
"Where have you been all my life, Anyanka?" Anya continued her conversation with herself. "I've been aro-"
Turning the corner, she collided with something at full speed. In a mass, she hit the ground and let out a sharp cry as the thing landed right on top of her. Panicked and confused, Anya pushed the body off of herself and scrambled to her feet. When she looked down, a pair of bright blue eyes met her gaze.
She was speechless.
* * * * * * * * *
TBC