Title: The Call of Blood
Summary: A new vampire in Sunnydale. A rather unusual vampire, who will change some lives. Early season 7. Buffy/Angel crossover.
Rating: PG, maybe PG-13
Timeline: September – October 2002.
Disclaimer: Buffy, Spike and Sunnydale, etc, are property of those who own them – Joss Whedon and others, they are definitely not mine. Same goes with Angel. But Kate, Jake and other characters that appear in this story are mine. I borrowed some aspects of the concept of a 'day-walker' from "Blade" (I love the movie :-)
A/N: I haven't seen a single episode of season 7, but read a couple of spoilers concerning the first episode of season 7. This is my version of the beginning of the season: Giles didn't return to England, he stayed in Sunnydale. He helps Willow recover from her addiction to black magic. As he has sold his house, he lives in Buffy's house as well as Willow. Xander's construction company had a major contract to rebuild Sunnydale High School. He also helped Anya restore "Magic Box". Buffy works at Sunnydale HS as the students' counselor. Spike returns to Sunnydale. One more thing – I haven't seen a single episode of "Angel", just read some stuff about the show, so don't be too hard on me if some things seem strange to you. Consider it as an alternative universe or something.
A/N: Warning: this story is COMPLETELY result of my imagination. Any similarity to other authors' plots, characters, or events is PURELY COINCIDENTIAL AND ABSOLUTELY UNINTENTIONAL.
"Angel, you're going to America."
Glasgow, Scotland
Thu, Sept. 26.
Evening
She entered an old gothic-looking mansion.
"Good evening, James", she addressed the butler who took her black leather jacket.
"Good evening, miss. Lord McBryde is expecting you", the butler greeted the young dark-haired girl. "He is in the library."
The girl knew where the library was. After all, it's been two months since she and McBryde had moved to Glasgow and to this house. She came up to the library and opened the heavy oak door.
"Hi, you wanted to see me?" she entered the library. The man, sitting at the table and writing something, heard her voice, and raised his head to look at her. "Hello, angel, have a sit."
She sat on the chair near the table. "Some people wouldn't agree with you, calling me like that." She looked at him intently. "So, what's up?"
"Angel, you're going to America," he said quietly.
"No thanks, I had other plans", frowned the girl.
Lord McBryde sighed. "You have to. I want you to deliver a package to one man."
"Do I look like a FedEx? Use the mail", retorted the girl.
"You don't understand. You must go to America. It's not safe for you to stay here", insisted the man.
"Look, Victor, we just moved here. No one knows I'm in Glasgow."
"Angel, 'here' I meant Europe."
"I can take care of myself, don't worry", said the girl, but seeing concern in Victor's eyes, added:" Ok, what package and who's the man?"
Lord McBryde sighed with relief. "The man's name is Rupert Giles; he lives in Sunnydale, a small town in California. And this is the package." He took a small package, wrapped in white paper, from the top drawer of his table. "This is very important."
She stood up. "When do I leave?"
"In four hours. James will take you to the airport. You still have time to pack." He handed her the plane ticket and a piece of paper. "It's the address", he explained.
"When do I get back?" was the girl's next question.
"Angel, I don't know. I'll call you." He stood up, came up to her, and hugged. "Be careful."
The girl went to her room to pack her things. Actually, she didn't have many things to pack. She liked to travel light – only her laptop, MP3 player and some personal stuff. With her money, she could buy anything in the States. Suddenly an idea came to her mind. She took the phone and dialed a number.
"Hi, Tony. It's me. Can you do me a favor?" she asked.
"Sure, kid. What can I do for you?" wondered Tony, sitting in his office in Indianapolis.
"Can you get me a ticket to Indianapolis Grand
Prix this weekend? I don't care how much it will cost."
"Ok, I'll see what I can do", answered Tony.
"One more thing. Book me a hotel room. I'll be in Indianapolis tomorrow and I'll call you. Bye." She disconnected the call. 'If I have to go to the States, why not having some fun?' she thought.
Downstairs in the hall James put down the phone receiver.
Three hours later James took her to the airport. She bought a ticket on the nearest flight to Indianapolis and half an hour later, she was on board the plane heading to Indianapolis.
Sunnydale, Ca, USA
Spike's crypt
Sat, Sept. 28.
Almost midnight
It's been 2 months since Spike returned to Sunnydale. His wounds after the tests of the Cave Demon healed but his newly recovered soul drove him nuts. He heard voices in his head, screams of his victims. They never seized, never subsided even for a second. He couldn't sleep, eat or do anything else. Spike would just lie in his crypt, staring at the ceiling and slowly go insane.
That night Buffy was on patrol as usual. She dusted 3 newly-raised vampires and was about to go home when she realized that she wasn't far from Spike's crypt. Later she couldn't understand what force dragged her to the crypt and she couldn't help herself, but enter the crypt. She opened the door. The crypt was dark as usual, but one thing caught her attention – unmoving body, lying on the sarcophagus. Spike. Buffy's relief when she saw Spike alive (in that sense that the word can be applied to a vampire) was then swept away by the feeling of anger, as Spike reminded her of something she wanted to forget – the attempt of rape.
Buffy came closer to the sarcophagus. "Spike," she said quietly "why are you back in Sunnydale? No one expects you here."
Spike opened his eyes and saw the Slayer, the person he loved and because of whom he endured those tests in Africa. "Look, Slayer. It's a free country. I live where I want." He sat up, reached for his cigarettes, and took one. He lit it and took and deep drag. "Why are YOU here?" asked Spike, exhaling the smoke and looking at Buffy through the smoke. He balanced on the verge of sanity but didn't want her to notice that.
"I don't know. What happened to you? You look like a dead corpse", said Buffy, seeing Spike's exhausted face.
"Hello, reality check! I am a dead corpse, well, technically I'm an alive dead corpse", smirked Spike.
"What am I doing here?" murmured Buffy and went to the door.
"Hey, say 'hello' to Dawn. I've missed her." She heard his voice.
"Spike, I don't think she'll be glad to see you after all you've tried to do to me", said Buffy, not looking at Spike and exited the crypt.
Indianapolis, In.
Sun, Sept. 29.
Evening
The racing weekend was magnificent. "Ferrari" was on the top as usual and she was sure that no one would stop the team from winning the constructors' cup and the pilots' championship.
Standing in the hotel lobby and waiting for the receptionist to check her out, she looked at her wristwatch. "Damn it! I'll miss the flight!" she almost yelled and asked the girl. "Can you please hurry? I'll miss my flight to Los Angeles."
The receptionist checked her out and the girl ran to get the taxi. Luckily, she didn't miss her flight and several hours later the plane landed at LAX. She decided to spend a part of the day shopping and then go to Sunnydale.
Sunnydale, Ca.
Buffy's house
Mon, Sept.30
Morning
"Spike's back", said Buffy when she, Giles, Willow, and Dawn were having breakfast.
"What?!" exclaimed Giles. "When did you see him?"
"On Saturday, when I was on patrol", answered Buffy.
"And you waited until Monday to tell us that?" asked Willow. "Buffy, have you forgotten what he tried to do to you?"
"Thanks for reminding me, Wil", said Buffy, standing up, collecting the dirty dishes, and taking them to the kitchen. "He... I don't know, looked different, like he's been through something, something really bad."
"Did he try to apologize to you?" asked Dawn. It still was difficult for her to forgive Spike, but she missed him and wanted to see him.
"No, he didn't mention anything", said Buffy, bringing coffee from the kitchen. "Dawn, could you go to 'Magic Box' after school? Anya wanted you to help her with the shop", Buffy changed the subject.
"Yeah, sure", answered Dawn. "Willow, will you be in the shop too?"
"Yes, Giles thinks I can be around the occult stuff and control myself", answered the redheaded ex-witch.
"Willow's progress is great", nodded Giles, sipping his coffee.
* * * *
Meanwhile Spike's condition was getting worse and worse. Those voices sounded louder in his head, he started to hallucinate.
"Bloody soul, I don't want to suffer, having it. Buffy won't forgive me whether I have the soul or don't have it", murmured Spike, pacing in his crypt. Then a really interesting idea visited his head. There had to be some spell that would shut his soul up, make the voices go away. Spike didn't want to go to Willow, but he knew another person who could do magic. Anyanka. Being a vengeance demon and possessing some magic powers, Anya would figure out something.
He waited impatiently for the sun to set and as soon as it began to dusk, he stormed out of his crypt and ran to the 'Magic Box'.
'Magic Box'
Same day
Evening
Anya stood at the counter, looking through the list of goods she wanted to order, when she heard a sound coming from the training room.
"Dawn, is that you?" she asked. But then she remembered that Dawn was in the basement with Giles and Willow, doing the inventory of the supplies. "Who's there?" she repeated.
"It's me." Anya heard the familiar voice with the British accent.
"Spike." When she turned to look at him, she frowned. Anya sensed something new in him …something she never thought he would have …again. "Do you have your soul back?" she asked surprised
"Yes, and it's killing me. I'm going crazy", said Spike, coming up to the counter.
"What's killing you?" they heard Buffy's voice and turned to her. She entered the shop and stared at Spike. Moreover, Giles, Willow, and Dawn had just returned from the basement and heard Spike's last words. "You have YOUR SOUL BACK?" asked Buffy, not believing her ears. "How is that possible?"
"None of you damn business", snapped Spike and leaned against the counter. He was tired, constant attempts to keep his mental sanity exhausted him.
"Spike, why are you here?" asked Buffy, sitting on the chair near their 'research' table.
"I came to Anyanka, not to you", said Spike.
"What do you want from me?" asked Anya.
"I need some spell to make my soul shut up, these bloody voices are driving me nuts", replied Spike, avoiding to look in Dawn's eyes. He feared to see disgust in them.
"Interesting", murmured Giles," those voices that you hear are the voices of the victims you'd killed, right?" he asked.
"Yes", nodded Spike,"every bloody person I'd killed wants to remind me of that."
"Do you feel weak, unable to eat or do anything?" asked Giles, getting more and more interested.
"Looks like Doctor Giles knows something that I don't know", smirked Spike.
"Spike, your soul is the work of the Cave Demon, am I right?" asked Giles, thinking 'I have to give him the credit, the man has guts. Not many vampires survived the tests of the Cave Demon.' Giles went to the bookshelves and started to look for something. "I remember I read something about the vampires that got their souls back from the Cave Demon and how much they suffered. Oh, here it is!" He found the book he was looking for and opened it. He was flipping through the pages until "Aha! Found it! Listen: when the vampire gets his soul back, he will die in time. That's the catch of your deal with the demon, Spike." Giles continued reading: "the vampire won't be able to drink blood, as it will cause disgust. The remorse, conscience, and hunger will kill him. Drained, weakened, and insane vampire will crave for death."
"Nice perspective, Spike", said Anya.
"What, there's nothing to be done?" asked Buffy, feeling strange pain of loss when she imagined not having Spike around. For good this time.
"Hmm, there's a way out. The vampire must drink some blood of his kindred", read Giles.
"What kindred? Do you mean someone from the Master's line?" asked curious Willow.
"'Kindred' means his relative's blood", answered Giles.
"Relative's! HA!" laughed bitterly Spike. "All my relatives have been dead for more than 120 years."
"Angel is kind of related to Spike", noted Buffy, thinking 'What the hell am I doing? Trying to get blood for my ex-lover from my first lover? I must be crazy.'
"Not this kind. He must drink blood from the person he was related to when he was human", said Giles, taking off his glasses and wiping them. "Which is practically impossible", he added.
"I repeat, all my relatives are dead, I killed them with my own hands. And I'm gonna be dead soon too", snorted Spike.
"There's one more way out, but it's next to impossible too", murmured Giles, frowning.
"What?!!" asked Buffy, Dawn and Willow.
"This can't be!" exclaimed Giles.
"Giles, come on, WHAT?!" pleaded him Buffy.
"He must drink a day-walker's blood", Giles looked at Spike, whose face expressed 'it's easier to dig out someone of my relatives and revive them than to find a day-walker.'
"What's a 'day-walker'?" asked Buffy.
"It's a vampire, born from a human and a vampire. The day-walker lives like a normal human – drinks, eats, isn't afraid of sunlight. His vampire side gives him strength and healing abilities, he doesn't age and can live very long if he's careful."
"Why haven't I heard about them before?" asked Buffy.
"They are rare, besides they are neutral, they can choose sides, be good or bad", answered Giles. "I've never met them, only read but not much."
"Where are we supposed to find a day-walker?" asked Dawn the question that everyone present asked himself or herself.
* * * *
At the very same time, the bus from Los Angeles arrived at the bus station. She got a little carried away, shopping, and lost track of time, that's why she arrived at Sunnydale only in the evening. She came out of the bus and took the taxi. She showed the driver the piece of paper, McBryde had given to her. "This is the address."
The driver nodded. "I'll get you there in ten minutes."
The girl looked in her wallet, checking if she had enough cash.
The driver hadn't lied. Ten minutes later, he pulled over near the building with the sign 'Magic Box'. "That's the place."
She gave him the money and got out of the car. She saw the light in the windows and concluded that the shop wasn't closed yet. 'Great, the sooner I get rid of that package the sooner I'll get back home', she thought and entered the shop. She immediately felt the atmosphere of magic and … old traces of dark and dangerous magic.
The doorbell tingled and Anya, who was reading a book of spells, raised her head to see who that was. The girl came up to the counter and the blonde girl smiled at the visitor. "Hi, can I help you?"
"Yes, you can. I'm looking for Rupert Giles. Is he here?" asked the visitor.
"He's busy right now", answered Anya, looking curiously at the girl.
The girl frowned and said: "I have a package for him. When he gets back, please, tell him to give me a call." She wrote down her cell phone number and her name and handed Anya the piece of paper. Then she left.
Anya shrugged, put the paper so that she wouldn't forget to give it to Giles, and returned to reading. 5 minutes later after the girl had left Buffy, Willow, Giles and Dawn returned from the basement where they were looking for the ingredients for the spell that Anya had found. Spike was with them in the basement, he was the last to get out of it. The spell wouldn't guarantee Spike's life; it would ease his sufferings for a while.
"Did you get everything that we need?" asked Anya, looking at them.
"Yes, we'll do this spell tonight", said Giles, taking the book of spells from the counter.
"Oh, Giles! There was a girl looking for you and she left her phone number." Anya handed him the paper.
"What girl?" asked Giles.
"About 23, brown eyes, short dark hair, about my height. She had a slight accent like yours."
'Kate Ryan', read Giles. He took the phone and dialed the number. "Miss Ryan? This is Rupert Giles. I was told that you were looking for me.
"Yes, I have a package for you from Lord McBryde", said Kate. She hadn't gone far from the shop and could finish her mission that night. "I'm near 'Magic Box'; I could give it to you right now."
"Very well, I'll be waiting", said Giles and hung up the phone. "Hmm, Lord McBryde….I haven's heard this name for years", he muttered to himself.
The doorbell tingled and Kate came in. Everyone turned to look at her. She smiled, but her smile froze when she saw one person. That person also froze.
"Bloody soul!" exclaimed Spike. "These hallucinations are so real!"
"William?!!!" Kate couldn't believe her eyes.
"Kate, kitten, is this you?" murmured Spike, staring at her and thinking that was the most vivid hallucination so far.
"Miss Ryan, I'm Rupert Giles", said Giles, not understanding why Spike stared at Kate and mumbled something about 'kittens'. Kate looked at him. "Do you know he is a vampire?" she asked, pointing at Spike.
"Yeah, but he is harmless now", Buffy decided to join the conversation. "How come you know Spike?"
"Spike? So you are William the Bloody, right?" asked Kate, coming up to him. "The notorious killer of the Slayers?"
Spike touched her shoulder, checking whether she was real or it was his sick brains that tricked him. She was real. "Kate, how is that possible?" And then the sudden realization struck him. "You're a VAMPIRE!"
"Bravo! And the prize goes to Spike, the most brilliant vampire on Earth!" said Kate sarcastically. "It doesn't take a scientist to understand who I am."
"Kitten, I'm so sorry…" started Spike, but Kate interrupted him.
"Kitten died that night in London, remember?" Both vampires stared at each other, pain in blue eyes and accusation in brown ones.
"Can anyone explain what's going on?" asked Anya, intrigued by the events.
"Go ahead, tell them how you sired your own sister!" shouted Kate.
"You SIRED your SISTER?" asked Buffy incredulously.
"Spike has a sister and she's alive!" said Dawn. "Do you understand what this means? Guys!"
"The blood of the relative", nodded Willow.
"What blood? What the hell are you talking about?" asked Kate angrily. She was still in shock, having met someone she never expected to see.
"Spike's soul is killing him and the only cure for him is the blood of his relative. He must drink it", explained Giles to Kate.
Her eyes widened. "There's no way he'll drink my blood! Not again! One time was more than enough", said Kate in a calmer voice. She took the package from her bag and handed it to Giles. "This is the package. Now I can go home."
Giles opened the package. It contained 2 CDs and a note. Giles read it. 'Rupert, when you get the package, make Kate stay in the States. If anything happens to me, don't let her go back to Europe. It's not safe for her to go back. Do whatever it takes to make her stay. Please! Yours truly Victor McBryde, 09.26.2002."
"Kate, wait!" said Giles to the girl who already came up to the door. "You can't leave!" Giles put the CDs and the note into his pocket.
"Watch me!" Kate opened the door and left the shop.
"Spike, she's your sister, get her back", asked him Giles. Spike went outside, grabbed Kate, and carried her to the shop.
"Get your hands off me", snapped Kate. "What's the matter? I delivered the package."
"Lord McBryde asked me not to let you go back to Europe", explained Giles to the stubborn girl. She pouted and sat on the chair.
"Spike, how did you manage to sire your sister?" asked Dawn.
"It happened not long after Drusilla sired me. I was hungry and killed people, many people, including my family. It was the time when Angelus and Drusilla taught me how to be a vampire. Angelus ordered me to drink her blood", said Spike quietly, not looking at Kate.
Kate snorted. "Crash course for young vampires. Ew! He almost drained me and made me drink his blood. Pervert!"
Her words hurt Spike. With every passing minute, he felt his strength abandon him.
"Giles, he looks awful! Do something", pleaded him Dawn, it hurt her to look at him, weak and in pain.
"Why do you want him to live?" asked her Kate. "He's a demon."
"He's changed. Spike helped us hundreds of times. He doesn't hurt people anymore." Tears started to fill Dawn's eyes. She felt like it was her brother dying. Buffy had a strange feeling that reminded her the moment when she had to kill Angel in order to close the vortex, opened by the Acathla.
Kate tilted her head and sighed. "Ah, what's the hell! After all, he is my brother." She bared her neck. "How much blood does he need to drink?"
Everyone stared at her. "Look, this is a one time deal. I'm not gonna offer my blood twice", said Kate.
"Right." Giles looked into the book. "When he stops hearing the voices, it will mean that he's had enough. Your blood will clear his. But there's a catch. You'll have to drink his blood too."
Kate winced. "Ok, let's do it. But you'd better close the shop. People don't need to see what's going on there."
"Good point." Anya went to lock the door. When she was locking it she saw in the window that Xander was approaching the shop. "Xander, come in. I'm locking the door." Anya opened the door for him and when he entered the shop, she locked it. She also closed the blinds.
"What's going on here?" asked Xander.
"I'll explain later", whispered Anya and went to the company that gathered around the table.
"Spike, do it already, what are you waiting for?" said Kate and stood up. Spike came up to her and put one hand on her waist, another on the back of her head, so that he would hold her comfortably while drinking her blood.
"Kitten, I'm sorry", he whispered, vamped out and pierced the skin on her neck.
Hot, sweet, intoxicating blood filled his mouth. Spike had never tasted blood sweeter and better than Kate's. He felt his strength come back to him, voices getting quieter.
They observed the ritual with mixed emotions of horror and admiration. There was something fascinating in the way Spike drank Kate's blood.
Voices disappeared, but Spike kept draining his sister. She felt that and put her hand on the back of his head. "Spike, I'm not a bottle of bloody scotch, leave me some blood", she hissed and tried to pull away the blonde vampire. It worked. He stared at her pale face. "Sorry, kitten, got carried away. Your turn."
"Spike, do me a favor, show me your human face, I like it more", she said. Spike did as she asked. What he saw then surprised him. Kate's face didn't change, only sharp pointed teeth and green eyes indicated her nature.
"What the …" started Spike and Kate's teeth pierced his neck. She didn't drink much blood. When she finished, her teeth became normal again and her eyes turned brown.
"Kate…" Spike's next attempt to ask something was interrupted again. Kate put her finger on his lips and whispered. "Not now." She turned to the audience that stared at the two vampires. "I'm hungry. Where can I eat in this town?"
"You mean blood?" asked Buffy.
"I mean normal food", answered Kate, wiping away blood from her lips and touching the bite marks on her neck and winced. She felt dizzy. Spike, on the other hand, felt so good, like he had never felt before. "Let's go to the 'Bronze', they serve incredible spicy wings there", he suggested.
Everybody agreed.
* * * *
They all went to the 'Bronze'. Kate's massive blood loss made her feel dizzy, but Spike put his arm around her waist and helped her walk.
In the bar, they ordered drinks and spicy wings for Spike and Kate. When Buffy, Dawn, Anya, Willow, and Xander went to the dance floor to dance, Giles, Spike and Kate remained at their table. They were talking when the phone ring interrupted them. It was Kate's cell phone.
"Hello", she said.
"Miss Ryan, this is James." The butler's voice sounded weird and Kate felt something bad had happened.
"James, what is it?" She tried to calm down.
"Miss Ryan, Lord McBryde is dead", said James quietly.
Kate got deadly pale and dropped the phone on the table.
"Kate, what is it?" asked concerned Giles.
"Lord Mc…Victor is dead. I'm going back to Europe", she stood up abruptly and felt dizzy again.
"No, you're too weak, besides, McBryde wrote me if anything should happen to him not to let you go to Europe." Giles stood up and then said. "I need to contact the council. Spike, don't let her out of sight." Frowning, Giles left the club. Kate took her phone, switched it off and put it in her pocket.
When the music ended, Buffy and the Scoobies returned to their table.
"Spike, aren't you gonna introduce us to your blood donor?" asked Anya.
"As you already know this is Kate, my sister. Kate, this is Anya", said Spike.
"You're a vengeance demon, right?" asked Kate and that surprised them all.
"How did you know?" asked astonished Anya.
"You have the vengeance demon locket and I can see the true essence of people", answered Kate. "Like, for example, you." She looked at Willow.
"It's Willow", whispered Spike to Kate's ear.
"Willow, you are a witch, a very powerful witch, as a matter of fact."
"Ex-witch, noted Willow, smiling.
"No, not ex-, you can't just quit your powers." Kate shook her head. "You may not practice magic, but it won't change who you really are – a witch." And then Kate looked at Dawn. "You are the Key, although, I might say you WERE the Key, am I right?"
Dawn nodded. "Yes, I'm Dawn."
Buffy raised her eyebrow. "She's my sister and I'm Buffy, by the way."
Kate didn't let her finish. "Oh, you're the Slayer. A vampire senses someone like you. And you…" She looked at Xander.
"I'm Xander, human, no superpowers", smiled Xander.
"Since you, Buffy, are the Slayer you must have a Watcher. Giles is your Watcher, right?" asked Kate, addressing Buffy.
"Yep, well, he was my Watcher, now he…" The ring of Buffy's cell phone interrupted her.
"Hello", she said.
"It's me. Take Kate and whoever is with you and go to your house. Now", said the man impatiently.
"Giles, what is it?" asked Buffy.
"Buffy, don't ask. Do as I say."
TBC
A/N Ok, this is the first chapter of my story. Let me know what you think of it. Please, review.