Part 3: The Oracle

Before she knew it she had landed on her feet and was dressed back in her black leather pants and a tank top. She felt a gun poking at her side and another in her hand. Her sunglasses were also back in place. Next to her Spike was back with his bleached locks and dressed head to toe in black leather...with the sunglasses that had her melting.

She shook herself...home...focus on going back home.

Spike smirked at his leather coat. "You think that after we're done with this I can keep the coat?"

Morpheus remained serious. "It's not real..."

"I know, it's a bloody concoction of my imagination." Spike smirked and grabbed a bag that was heavy enough to tell him it was full of weapons.

Buffy looked around the warehouse they had landed in and hitched closer to Spike. "I think I have a blade strapped to my leg," she whispered.

He looked at her and smirked. "Me too."

She took out her weapon as they followed Morpheus into the street. "Aren't I the only who can kill the Agent guys?"

Spike grabbed her hand taking the weapon and concealing it in the bag he was carrying. "Watch yourself, luv--remember in this world people go on about their merry ways."

Buffy snorted. "Not much different from back home." She looked down. "Seems like everywhere I go I'm the chosen one or I'm not normal at all."

Spike clicked his tongue against his lower teeth and nodded. "That tells you one thing, Slayer."

She shrugged. "That I'll never have a normal life?"

"No... that your soul is different. What you are at home...that's your normality and until you accept that you won't be happy."

Morpheus interrupted the two. "Come this way, the place is not far from here."

~~~~~~~~

"Nothing on the east side?" Tara asked Xander as they all checked in the Summer's household. Xander shook his head. "Cemetery?" Tara asked Anya.

"Spike's crypt is empty."

Tara looked at Willow. "Willy's?"

"Nothing, Willy hasn't heard of anything."

Tara bit her lips. "And we still don't know where the Nerds are hiding?"

"Well, me and Xander could go check out where Buffy thought they'd last be... I have a sick feeling that somehow they're behind this."

Xander nodded. "When a Nerd annoys a Nerd annoys."

~~~~~~~~~

The building was like any other, brick outside with passing strangers that knew nothing of what really went on in the inside.

"She always sees people alone, so one at a time," Morpheus instructed them.

Both blondes nodded and followed the dark man into the building. When they entered the small apartment building, just like Buffy expected, there were many children on the floor.

"Who's the one with the bendy spoon?" Spike asked her quietly with a small smirk on his face. Buffy rolled her eyes and looked around... most of them were hairless.

"Buffy, you go ahead, the Oracle has already seen Spike..." Morpheus thought about it. "Just go first, Spike can wait."

Spike nodded at Buffy when she looked up at him for support. "I'll be right here, luv."

Buffy took a deep breath and followed the kind woman through the doors. Spike watched her disappear and sighed, sitting down on the nearest couch.

A little boy next to him pulled on his pant leg. He looked down and groaned. "I get the soddin' spoon twisting."

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hello, Buffy."

Buffy looked ahead startled ... the woman had her back turned to her.

"Are you going to tell me I'm going to trip on a plant or something?"

The woman chuckled and turned around. "Poor Neo, he kept apologizing."

Buffy's face lit up. "You know we're not supposed to be here?"

The Oracle smiled and then took her cookies from the oven. "You're the chosen one... the Vampire Slayer, am I right?"

Buffy grinned. "Yes, god...I never thought I'd be so happy to hear that."

"Takes losing something to know what you have," the Oracle responded. "Have a seat." The Slayer obeyed. "Milk for the cookies?"

Buffy nodded. "Chocolate milk, please."

"I know."

Buffy shivered. "How do I get back... we, how do we get back?"

"You and your vampire?"

Buffy's eyes went wide. "I...we...it's very complicated, you see..."

"There's no need to explain it to me." The Oracle set the cookies and the chocolate milk in front of Buffy.

Buffy looked down and bit her lip. "God, am I that terrible?"

"Hush now, child, there'll be no such talk here. You are not terrible at all. Never were and won't be."

Buffy looked up at her. "I just want to go home."

"Home where you hate yourself and what you've become, home where you sulk and drown in self pity? Home where you have to pay bills and take care of your sister... where mom is dead?"

Tears were prickling at Buffy's eyes. "It's still home."

The Oracle smiled and took her hands in hers. "You needed to realize that."

~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy was smiling when she came out of the kitchen and Spike arched his eyebrow in question. She met his eyes and shook her head.

"You okay?" he asked concerned.

She smiled at him. "Better than what I've been in a long time."

Spike nodded. "Right, then...my turn." He looked at the door and took a deep breath.

"Hey," she said and he looked down at her. "She's great, she won't probe you for anything that you don't want to talk about."

With that and a small squeeze of his hand he walked towards the woman who would tell him everything he knew.

~~~~~~~~

"Don't worry about the glass," she said as he came in.

Spike looked around and in doing so knocked down the glass of milk Buffy had been drinking. He groaned.

"Thought I would see it, you're so shelled in I can read you more easily--you're covering yourself up with your fears."

Spike glared and then nodded at her, bending down to pick up the pieces of glass. She gave him a rag to wipe the milk up with and sat on the table waiting for him to finish.

"Have a seat," she said, smiling.

He eyed her carefully and sat, looking at her warily.

"You want hot cocoa... with marshmallows, no?" She smiled, not waiting for his response and started preparing the substance.

Spike watched the woman carefully, controlling his every movement. She was not going to figure him out. The woman turned to him and smiled. "You're already in love with her, Spike, I can't add to that." She smiled kindly.

Spike looked down. "Yeah, but it's no use if she doesn't love me."

"Is that a fact?"

His head shot up to look at her. "What are you saying?"

The Oracle continued to stir the warm milk on the stove. "I know where you come from, I know who you are, and I know what you are." She filled a mug with the warm milk and dropped the syrupy chocolate in. She set it before him and watched him play with the floating white squares.

"Does that means she loves me?"

The Oracle sat before him. "No, it doesn't."

Spike bit the inside of his lips and decided that instead of hot cocoa he wanted Bourbon.

"Doesn't mean she never will, though--she's not there yet but very close." the woman smiled. "And stop trying to drown your sorrows in alcohol."

Spike gave her a small grin. "How do we get back home?"

"The same way you came in."

"We were zapped." Spike arched his eyebrow at her. "Please don't speak in riddles."

"Only she can get you back," the woman took his half drained cup and dumped the rest in the sink. "Remember this, nothing is what it seems."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy was warily eyeing the child with the bending spoon trick when Morpheus burst in. Her blood ran cold --she knew something was up.

"We've got Agents."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

TBC....

(PREVIEW FOR NEXT PART:
Buffy felt heat rush through her body and the bullets entered her chest. She heard Spike screaming her name in the background but all she could think was that she was dying... again. The only word she could get past her bloody lips was 'sorry' as she hit the pavement.)