**** Chapter 8: Training Hard ****
There was a knock at the kitchen door, Spike not thinking about it, opened it. "Are you going to invite me in?" Angel stood in the doorway looking at Spike with the fakest friendly smile ever.
"Yeah mate, come on in." Spike said as though everything Angel and he had been through never happened.
"You sound awful mellow for a guy that is usually at my throat," Angel said with a slight confusion.
"Well, a soul will do that to a fellow. Hell, you should know that."
"Soul? When..how.what? You got your soul back. But how?" Angel was stumbling over his words, he wasn't sure what to make of Spike.
"Yeah well, sought out a legend. Now don't go thinking that I like you now or nothin', but I need you right now."
"You went to the demon in Africa, but I thought that was a legend." Angel was still trying to wrap his head around Spike with a soul when it dawned on him, "yeah, you are going to need my help, and we're all going to need a lotta luck."
"Well we've got a carpenter, an ex-demon, a watcher, a witch, two souled vamps, a houseful of potentials, and three slayers so.." Spike was heading to some kind of point when Angel cut him off.
"Three slayers? What the hell, there's only suppose to be one, by some chance there were two, but who and how the hell, a third one?" If Angel was perplexed about Spike's soul, he was even more perplexed about this.
"Well mate, when Buffy died last year another one was called. No one knew it until a couple of days ago. She royally kicked my ass." Spike laughed as he finished, but noticed Angel still stood in confusion. "Oh, sorry ol' man, bit. Yeah, she didn't know until she whooped my ass in a training session, or was it when she beat Faith, well I know she knows now cause Joyce told her."
"Joyce? Dawn? What? I have missed a lot. Where's everybody at?" Angel said trying to calm the screaming in his head.
"Oh, Buffy and the girls are downstairs, Giles and the rest are researching. Let's go see Buffy shall we?"
Spike and Angel reached the basement door at the same time and both reached for the doorknob at the same exact time, "Mate, not trying to be like the old times, but maybe I should go first." Spike said as Angel gave way, realizing that this wasn't a couple years ago where they would've fought over something as petty as that.
When the door opened Dawn was in midair spinning, landing a solid boot to the side of Faith's face. As Faith fell, Dawn landed, but everything stopped when Angel said out of astonishment, "Wow." Spike realizing that it had just hit Angel, patted him on the arm and led him down into the basement. "So, you really are a slayer." Angel said absent mindedly looking at Dawn.
"What, no hello? Just come in here and don't say hi? I ought to kick your." Dawn laughed as she tried to look serious. Angel smiled as Dawn approached him, and kissed her forehead when she hugged him. "Missed you ol' man." She laughed again knowing that Spike would be proud of her stealing his joke,
As soon as Dawn let go of Angel, Buffy asked all the potentials to leave and told them to ask the research group to come down. "Oh wait, before you go, Angel these are the girls, girls this is Angel." Buffy didn't feel like explaining the whole good vamp thing again so conveniently left that part out. After the girls left, Buffy hugged Angel. Dawn and Faith looked at Spike expecting a look of disgust, but where surprised to see him smile. As soon as they released their hug the group had arrived from upstairs. Buffy then looked at Angel with great seriousness and asked, "So, this day that you've been told about, what do you know?"
"Just that this is it. This is THE battle. No more small time bull, this is the big league type deal. When I went before the oracles once I had a choice to either become human or stay vampire to help you all in this battle, I was told that if I didn't help it would all end." Angel said almost hurrying through it so he didn't have to tell Buffy about the day they had taken away from them. "The demons are known as Mohra demons. So far I've only faced them one at a time and they always are babbling about ending the world. The only way to kill them is to hit the jewel in their head. That's about all I know." Angel finished and almost took a step back so he didn't have to answer anymore questions.
Dawn looked around the room and everyone seemed at ease, they had been told how to beat the demons. But Dawn was still in scared mode, the First couldn't be killed and she was its target. "So, that's great and all, we can kill the army. But how do we kill the leader?" Dawn said as she looked at Buffy, who had momentarily forgot that she was in a war. She then shared the same expression as Dawn with the rest of the room.
"I know," Willow started, "when the time comes, I can do it."
"You can beat the first?" Buffy asked.
"No, not beat it, but you'll see." Willow smiled widely at the crew as they looked at her with trust. "So you all train the girls and get ready, we'll have everything else in line. Anya, I'm going to need your help." Willow smiled as she grabbed Anya's arm and ran up the stairs.
"So Angel, you think you can snarl up that vamp face with me and scare us some potentials," Spike said with a laugh, "You know, kind of like old times, you can pretend to be Angelus or somthin'."
Angel looked around as the others waited for his reply, "Guess so, but don't call me Angelus, I can be mean enough as Angel," he started a little angry but then turned back to Spike laughing, "or hey, maybe we could call you William."
"Alrighty then," Xander said with a smile stopping the oncoming onslaught by Spike that would result into a night of smart ass comments, "I didn't think I would ever see this."
"Buffy, go get the girls and get them ready, we're going on a field trip." Spike said with a smile, "Xander, can you come tonight, we're going to need a third, that is unless you're afraid of the girls." Spike and Angel shared a smile and looked at Xander waiting on an answer.
"As long as you boys don't make it official, I can be a vamp for the night I guess," Xander stated as he walked up beside them. "Maybe I'll learn something useful."
"Yeah, as long as you stay out of Dawn's way," Faith added with a smile, "if not, you may not remember what you learn," Faith finished while rubbing her head.
"Hey," Dawn whined, "you told me to go all out. Besides, I couldn't have won if I had held back. Ask my nose what you would've done," Dawn finished with a smile.
They all smiled together, and all thought about how weird this was. Almost all foes at one point, standing in the home where some of their most heated moments occurred, sharing a smile. Everyone basked in the awkward warmness of the moment before walking up the stairs to go out and train.
There was a knock at the kitchen door, Spike not thinking about it, opened it. "Are you going to invite me in?" Angel stood in the doorway looking at Spike with the fakest friendly smile ever.
"Yeah mate, come on in." Spike said as though everything Angel and he had been through never happened.
"You sound awful mellow for a guy that is usually at my throat," Angel said with a slight confusion.
"Well, a soul will do that to a fellow. Hell, you should know that."
"Soul? When..how.what? You got your soul back. But how?" Angel was stumbling over his words, he wasn't sure what to make of Spike.
"Yeah well, sought out a legend. Now don't go thinking that I like you now or nothin', but I need you right now."
"You went to the demon in Africa, but I thought that was a legend." Angel was still trying to wrap his head around Spike with a soul when it dawned on him, "yeah, you are going to need my help, and we're all going to need a lotta luck."
"Well we've got a carpenter, an ex-demon, a watcher, a witch, two souled vamps, a houseful of potentials, and three slayers so.." Spike was heading to some kind of point when Angel cut him off.
"Three slayers? What the hell, there's only suppose to be one, by some chance there were two, but who and how the hell, a third one?" If Angel was perplexed about Spike's soul, he was even more perplexed about this.
"Well mate, when Buffy died last year another one was called. No one knew it until a couple of days ago. She royally kicked my ass." Spike laughed as he finished, but noticed Angel still stood in confusion. "Oh, sorry ol' man, bit. Yeah, she didn't know until she whooped my ass in a training session, or was it when she beat Faith, well I know she knows now cause Joyce told her."
"Joyce? Dawn? What? I have missed a lot. Where's everybody at?" Angel said trying to calm the screaming in his head.
"Oh, Buffy and the girls are downstairs, Giles and the rest are researching. Let's go see Buffy shall we?"
Spike and Angel reached the basement door at the same time and both reached for the doorknob at the same exact time, "Mate, not trying to be like the old times, but maybe I should go first." Spike said as Angel gave way, realizing that this wasn't a couple years ago where they would've fought over something as petty as that.
When the door opened Dawn was in midair spinning, landing a solid boot to the side of Faith's face. As Faith fell, Dawn landed, but everything stopped when Angel said out of astonishment, "Wow." Spike realizing that it had just hit Angel, patted him on the arm and led him down into the basement. "So, you really are a slayer." Angel said absent mindedly looking at Dawn.
"What, no hello? Just come in here and don't say hi? I ought to kick your." Dawn laughed as she tried to look serious. Angel smiled as Dawn approached him, and kissed her forehead when she hugged him. "Missed you ol' man." She laughed again knowing that Spike would be proud of her stealing his joke,
As soon as Dawn let go of Angel, Buffy asked all the potentials to leave and told them to ask the research group to come down. "Oh wait, before you go, Angel these are the girls, girls this is Angel." Buffy didn't feel like explaining the whole good vamp thing again so conveniently left that part out. After the girls left, Buffy hugged Angel. Dawn and Faith looked at Spike expecting a look of disgust, but where surprised to see him smile. As soon as they released their hug the group had arrived from upstairs. Buffy then looked at Angel with great seriousness and asked, "So, this day that you've been told about, what do you know?"
"Just that this is it. This is THE battle. No more small time bull, this is the big league type deal. When I went before the oracles once I had a choice to either become human or stay vampire to help you all in this battle, I was told that if I didn't help it would all end." Angel said almost hurrying through it so he didn't have to tell Buffy about the day they had taken away from them. "The demons are known as Mohra demons. So far I've only faced them one at a time and they always are babbling about ending the world. The only way to kill them is to hit the jewel in their head. That's about all I know." Angel finished and almost took a step back so he didn't have to answer anymore questions.
Dawn looked around the room and everyone seemed at ease, they had been told how to beat the demons. But Dawn was still in scared mode, the First couldn't be killed and she was its target. "So, that's great and all, we can kill the army. But how do we kill the leader?" Dawn said as she looked at Buffy, who had momentarily forgot that she was in a war. She then shared the same expression as Dawn with the rest of the room.
"I know," Willow started, "when the time comes, I can do it."
"You can beat the first?" Buffy asked.
"No, not beat it, but you'll see." Willow smiled widely at the crew as they looked at her with trust. "So you all train the girls and get ready, we'll have everything else in line. Anya, I'm going to need your help." Willow smiled as she grabbed Anya's arm and ran up the stairs.
"So Angel, you think you can snarl up that vamp face with me and scare us some potentials," Spike said with a laugh, "You know, kind of like old times, you can pretend to be Angelus or somthin'."
Angel looked around as the others waited for his reply, "Guess so, but don't call me Angelus, I can be mean enough as Angel," he started a little angry but then turned back to Spike laughing, "or hey, maybe we could call you William."
"Alrighty then," Xander said with a smile stopping the oncoming onslaught by Spike that would result into a night of smart ass comments, "I didn't think I would ever see this."
"Buffy, go get the girls and get them ready, we're going on a field trip." Spike said with a smile, "Xander, can you come tonight, we're going to need a third, that is unless you're afraid of the girls." Spike and Angel shared a smile and looked at Xander waiting on an answer.
"As long as you boys don't make it official, I can be a vamp for the night I guess," Xander stated as he walked up beside them. "Maybe I'll learn something useful."
"Yeah, as long as you stay out of Dawn's way," Faith added with a smile, "if not, you may not remember what you learn," Faith finished while rubbing her head.
"Hey," Dawn whined, "you told me to go all out. Besides, I couldn't have won if I had held back. Ask my nose what you would've done," Dawn finished with a smile.
They all smiled together, and all thought about how weird this was. Almost all foes at one point, standing in the home where some of their most heated moments occurred, sharing a smile. Everyone basked in the awkward warmness of the moment before walking up the stairs to go out and train.