Chapter 25
"What's wrong Cordy?"
Cordelia looked up from the paper she was examining. "What's this?"
Angel looked at it and frowned. "Where did you get that?"
"I was cleaning out your pockets, taking care of laundry, and I found this. Is this what I think it is?"
"What do you think it is?"
"I think it's instructions on how to get a permanent soul."
"Yeah, it is. Spike left it for me."
"Why didn't you saying anything?"
"I didn't know what to do. I don't know if I can trust him. I mean, it's Spike."
"Yeah, Spike. Who went and got a soul for the woman he loves." She looked up at Angel then, her eyes wide with a hint of moisture. "Were you just going to keep this from me forever?"
"No, Cordelia, I just needed time to think about this."
"What's to think about? This is the chance to get rid of Angelus forever. This is our chance to really be together, Angel."
"I know," he said, feeling helpless. "I know. But I just don't know if I can do it."
"You don't know if you can get rid of Angelus?"
"He's a part of me," Angel said weakly.
"Angel, I can't live like this anymore. I'm haunted by the memory of Angelus, and so are you. We both.
***
..remember anything, not even his name. He looked around at the other people in the room, who all stared back. More birds than gents, and most of them were pretty good looking too. A red head, two brunettes, and two blondes. One in particular caught his eye. He'd have to get to know her better. Well, if she knew who she was, that is.
"Uh, who are you people?" The youngish brunette asked. Fear crept into her voice, "You aren't going to hurt me, are you?"
The hot blonde put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I don't know anybody either. But we'll figure this whole thing out. Does anybody remember anything?"
"I don't," an older man said, polishing his classes. "But I appear to be a man, and uh, British."
As the rest tried to figure out who they were, and what exactly, was going on, he sidled closer to the hot little blonde. She turned towards him, "What about you? Do you have any ID?"
He checked his pockets, but didn't find a wallet. "No."
"Neither do I." She pointed at the brunette, "According to her necklace, she's Dawn."
The older man looked up, "Well, my name is Rupert. Everybody else?"
"Willow."
"Alexander."
"Anya."
"Tara."
All eyes moved towards the two blondes, standing side by side. "We don't have any ID. But I feel like a Joan," she stated.
Dawn arched an eyebrow. "Joan? That's not a very interesting name."
"What's wrong with Joan? I like Joan."
"It's a lovely name," he provided.
"What's your name?" Willow asked.
He frowned and thought about for a few moments and looked at Joan. "What do you think?"
"Randy?"
"Randy?! No, that's a stupid name."
"Well, you asked my opinion."
"I like Byron."
Joan examined him, "It doesn't suit you."
"You don't even know who Byron is."
"So? You still don't look a Byron to me."
"But I look like a Randy?"
"Yes."
He shrugged. She was cute. If she wanted to name him Randy, he was fine with that. "Fine, I'm Randy." He smirked, "Can you help me take care of that?"
"What do you mean?"
Rupert cleared his throat. "Never mind what he means. We have to figure out what to do next."
"Maybe we should go to the hospital?" Tara suggested.
"But we don't know where the hospital is at," the husky boy pointed out. What was his name? Oh right, Alex.
"Well, we can't just stay here. We could be in danger," The red head said.
Randy didn't really care what they decided, but he did want to get some time alone with Joan. "Maybe if we familiarize ourselves with our surroundings, our memories will come back," he said.
"Huh?" Dawn said.
"You know, wonder around, and see what we can find."
"I really think we should go to the hospital," Tara repeated.
"Maybe you're both right," Joan said, diplomatically. "Does anybody know what type of shop this?"
Willow picked up a book. "Magic for Beginners," she read out loud. She looked up, excited, "It must be a magic shop!"
"Magic? That's all balderdash and chicanery!" Rupert protested.
Anya moved behind the register, curious about the receipts and how much money was there. She couldn't remember anything, really, but she remembered that she liked money. "It appears that Rupert and I own this magic shop," she announced. "Our names are on the receipts."
"Maybe we lost our memories because of magic," Dawn suggested.
Blah blah blah, Randy thought. All he wanted was five minutes alone with her. "Why don't some of you go to the hospital, some of you stay here and see if you can suss out the magic thing?" He suggested.
They separated into two groups. Rupert and Anya would stay at the shop; the rest would go to the hospital. Randy followed them outside without a word, plotting the ways he could separate Joan from the rest of them. He lagged behind the rest of them, and to his joy, she slowed down and walked with him.
"This lot will be fine," Randy said, "why don't we go off and uh.explore a bit?"
Joan frowned, "Explore? Do you really think that's a good idea, given our current situation?"
In response, he took her hand. She didn't pull away. Keeping one eye on the people ahead of them, he lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed her fingers. He looked at her with dancing blue eyes, daring her to make him stop. She didn't. He stopped walking and pulled her closer to him and gently captured her lips. Her body instantly responded. She couldn't remember him, but her body obviously did.
He pulled back and winked. She was flushed and breathing a bit heavily. "Wanna go explore?" He asked again.
"Yeah. What's behind that tree over there?"
The rest of the group didn't notice when they lost two of their merry band. As soon as Joan and Randy were out of sight, they fell upon each other. The attraction was almost primal, and neither could stop. It seemed that once they kissed, a dam was open and both of them were swept away.
"We should do this," she gasped as he undid her pants.
"No, we shouldn't," he agreed, but he didn't stop and she didn't try to get away.
Joan unzipped his pants, and was briefly surprised that he was slightly cold to the touch. She pushed the thought out of her mind when he lifted her up and pushed her against the tree. She barely registered the rough bark against her back as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He slipped into her quickly and they both moaned with relief in unison. It felt like he was coming home. He didn't know how or why, but he knew that they had done this many, many times before.
Soon instinct took over, and Randy felt his face changed. Joan gasped in fear, but he didn't notice. When he had buried his cock as deep into her as possible, he sunk her fangs into her throat. He didn't want to kill her, or even hurt her, but it seemed to him the most natural thing to do.
Just as he was about to explode with the combined pleasure of having his teeth and cock deep inside of her, she pushed him onto the ground, stake poised above his heart. "What's going on Spike?" She demanded. Blood still running down her neck.
He blinked, trying to clear his head. "What?"
"What did you do to me?" She demanded.
"I didn't do anything," he protested. She shoved the point into his chest and he winced. "Buffy, I didn't do anything."
"You bit me."
"I didn't know what I was doing," he explained.
"You put a spell on me," she insisted, shoving the stake deeper.
"Buffy, listen to me. Who do we know that's good with spells? Her hair is red, her name rhymes with pillow."
"You think Willow did this?" Buffy looked uncertain, but she took the stake away from his chest. "You bit me."
"I'm sorry."
She stood up, and without looking at him, began to walk away. "Buffy!"
She didn't turn around, but he could easily hear her response. "You bit me. You bit me where Angel bit me."
Spike hit the ground with anger and frustration, but mostly anger. He saw the hurt and confusion in Buffy's eyes, and knew that whatever had happened tonight would just make things worse for her, harder on her. God he was going to kill Willow. If Buffy didn't get to her first. He jumped up and zipped his pants, and ran after her. He eventually caught up with her in front of her house. She was standing on the front lawn, arms crossed, a blank look on her face.
"Buffy?" Spike asked tentatively. She didn't look up, didn't answer.
"Tara please!" He heard Willow from down the block, they both turned to watch the two women hurrying up the street. "Tara, I'm sorry." Tara didn't stop or acknowledge Willow's pleas. As they watched, she hurried past them and into the house, without so much as a glance. Willow tried to follow, but Buffy stepped in her path.
"Where are you going?"
"Buffy, let me by, I need to talk to Tara."
"No, you need to talk to me."
Willow's eyes flashed black and the hair on Spike's neck and arms stood on end. The magic made the air around them crackle with energy, but Buffy didn't appear to be ruffled. Instead she pulled back and hit Willow in the face with all her strength. Willow flew across the lawn and hit the tree.
Spike jumped forward and grabbed Buffy, pushing her to the ground and shielding her with his body. "What." But she didn't have time to finish her question when a bolt of magic hit Spike and paralyzed him. Buffy pushed him off of her and charged Willow. "Fix him."
"Buffy, I didn't mean to." Willow had never seen Buffy look like that, half crazed with anger. Her eyes were flashing and fear welled up inside of Willow. "See, I can fix it." She pointed her finger at Spike and he quickly stood up.
Spike grabbed Buffy from behind and tried to pull her away. "Slayer, you don't want to fight her right now."
"Yes, I do."
Willow's nose was dripping blood and both of her eyes had bruises forming under them. "No, you don't Slayer. Come on, come with me."
"She doesn't have to go with you if she doesn't want to," Willow stated.
Buffy glared at her friend, "Since when do you care what I want? Well, you know what else I want? I want you out of my house by the time I get back."
"But."
"Out."
She spun around on her heal and stalked off into the night. Spike shrugged and turned to follow.
"This is all your fault," Willow said coldly.
"Red, you hurt Buffy tonight in more ways then I ever could. You've done more things to destroy her than anybody else ever has." Then he turned and chased after his lover.
"What's wrong Cordy?"
Cordelia looked up from the paper she was examining. "What's this?"
Angel looked at it and frowned. "Where did you get that?"
"I was cleaning out your pockets, taking care of laundry, and I found this. Is this what I think it is?"
"What do you think it is?"
"I think it's instructions on how to get a permanent soul."
"Yeah, it is. Spike left it for me."
"Why didn't you saying anything?"
"I didn't know what to do. I don't know if I can trust him. I mean, it's Spike."
"Yeah, Spike. Who went and got a soul for the woman he loves." She looked up at Angel then, her eyes wide with a hint of moisture. "Were you just going to keep this from me forever?"
"No, Cordelia, I just needed time to think about this."
"What's to think about? This is the chance to get rid of Angelus forever. This is our chance to really be together, Angel."
"I know," he said, feeling helpless. "I know. But I just don't know if I can do it."
"You don't know if you can get rid of Angelus?"
"He's a part of me," Angel said weakly.
"Angel, I can't live like this anymore. I'm haunted by the memory of Angelus, and so are you. We both.
***
..remember anything, not even his name. He looked around at the other people in the room, who all stared back. More birds than gents, and most of them were pretty good looking too. A red head, two brunettes, and two blondes. One in particular caught his eye. He'd have to get to know her better. Well, if she knew who she was, that is.
"Uh, who are you people?" The youngish brunette asked. Fear crept into her voice, "You aren't going to hurt me, are you?"
The hot blonde put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I don't know anybody either. But we'll figure this whole thing out. Does anybody remember anything?"
"I don't," an older man said, polishing his classes. "But I appear to be a man, and uh, British."
As the rest tried to figure out who they were, and what exactly, was going on, he sidled closer to the hot little blonde. She turned towards him, "What about you? Do you have any ID?"
He checked his pockets, but didn't find a wallet. "No."
"Neither do I." She pointed at the brunette, "According to her necklace, she's Dawn."
The older man looked up, "Well, my name is Rupert. Everybody else?"
"Willow."
"Alexander."
"Anya."
"Tara."
All eyes moved towards the two blondes, standing side by side. "We don't have any ID. But I feel like a Joan," she stated.
Dawn arched an eyebrow. "Joan? That's not a very interesting name."
"What's wrong with Joan? I like Joan."
"It's a lovely name," he provided.
"What's your name?" Willow asked.
He frowned and thought about for a few moments and looked at Joan. "What do you think?"
"Randy?"
"Randy?! No, that's a stupid name."
"Well, you asked my opinion."
"I like Byron."
Joan examined him, "It doesn't suit you."
"You don't even know who Byron is."
"So? You still don't look a Byron to me."
"But I look like a Randy?"
"Yes."
He shrugged. She was cute. If she wanted to name him Randy, he was fine with that. "Fine, I'm Randy." He smirked, "Can you help me take care of that?"
"What do you mean?"
Rupert cleared his throat. "Never mind what he means. We have to figure out what to do next."
"Maybe we should go to the hospital?" Tara suggested.
"But we don't know where the hospital is at," the husky boy pointed out. What was his name? Oh right, Alex.
"Well, we can't just stay here. We could be in danger," The red head said.
Randy didn't really care what they decided, but he did want to get some time alone with Joan. "Maybe if we familiarize ourselves with our surroundings, our memories will come back," he said.
"Huh?" Dawn said.
"You know, wonder around, and see what we can find."
"I really think we should go to the hospital," Tara repeated.
"Maybe you're both right," Joan said, diplomatically. "Does anybody know what type of shop this?"
Willow picked up a book. "Magic for Beginners," she read out loud. She looked up, excited, "It must be a magic shop!"
"Magic? That's all balderdash and chicanery!" Rupert protested.
Anya moved behind the register, curious about the receipts and how much money was there. She couldn't remember anything, really, but she remembered that she liked money. "It appears that Rupert and I own this magic shop," she announced. "Our names are on the receipts."
"Maybe we lost our memories because of magic," Dawn suggested.
Blah blah blah, Randy thought. All he wanted was five minutes alone with her. "Why don't some of you go to the hospital, some of you stay here and see if you can suss out the magic thing?" He suggested.
They separated into two groups. Rupert and Anya would stay at the shop; the rest would go to the hospital. Randy followed them outside without a word, plotting the ways he could separate Joan from the rest of them. He lagged behind the rest of them, and to his joy, she slowed down and walked with him.
"This lot will be fine," Randy said, "why don't we go off and uh.explore a bit?"
Joan frowned, "Explore? Do you really think that's a good idea, given our current situation?"
In response, he took her hand. She didn't pull away. Keeping one eye on the people ahead of them, he lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed her fingers. He looked at her with dancing blue eyes, daring her to make him stop. She didn't. He stopped walking and pulled her closer to him and gently captured her lips. Her body instantly responded. She couldn't remember him, but her body obviously did.
He pulled back and winked. She was flushed and breathing a bit heavily. "Wanna go explore?" He asked again.
"Yeah. What's behind that tree over there?"
The rest of the group didn't notice when they lost two of their merry band. As soon as Joan and Randy were out of sight, they fell upon each other. The attraction was almost primal, and neither could stop. It seemed that once they kissed, a dam was open and both of them were swept away.
"We should do this," she gasped as he undid her pants.
"No, we shouldn't," he agreed, but he didn't stop and she didn't try to get away.
Joan unzipped his pants, and was briefly surprised that he was slightly cold to the touch. She pushed the thought out of her mind when he lifted her up and pushed her against the tree. She barely registered the rough bark against her back as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He slipped into her quickly and they both moaned with relief in unison. It felt like he was coming home. He didn't know how or why, but he knew that they had done this many, many times before.
Soon instinct took over, and Randy felt his face changed. Joan gasped in fear, but he didn't notice. When he had buried his cock as deep into her as possible, he sunk her fangs into her throat. He didn't want to kill her, or even hurt her, but it seemed to him the most natural thing to do.
Just as he was about to explode with the combined pleasure of having his teeth and cock deep inside of her, she pushed him onto the ground, stake poised above his heart. "What's going on Spike?" She demanded. Blood still running down her neck.
He blinked, trying to clear his head. "What?"
"What did you do to me?" She demanded.
"I didn't do anything," he protested. She shoved the point into his chest and he winced. "Buffy, I didn't do anything."
"You bit me."
"I didn't know what I was doing," he explained.
"You put a spell on me," she insisted, shoving the stake deeper.
"Buffy, listen to me. Who do we know that's good with spells? Her hair is red, her name rhymes with pillow."
"You think Willow did this?" Buffy looked uncertain, but she took the stake away from his chest. "You bit me."
"I'm sorry."
She stood up, and without looking at him, began to walk away. "Buffy!"
She didn't turn around, but he could easily hear her response. "You bit me. You bit me where Angel bit me."
Spike hit the ground with anger and frustration, but mostly anger. He saw the hurt and confusion in Buffy's eyes, and knew that whatever had happened tonight would just make things worse for her, harder on her. God he was going to kill Willow. If Buffy didn't get to her first. He jumped up and zipped his pants, and ran after her. He eventually caught up with her in front of her house. She was standing on the front lawn, arms crossed, a blank look on her face.
"Buffy?" Spike asked tentatively. She didn't look up, didn't answer.
"Tara please!" He heard Willow from down the block, they both turned to watch the two women hurrying up the street. "Tara, I'm sorry." Tara didn't stop or acknowledge Willow's pleas. As they watched, she hurried past them and into the house, without so much as a glance. Willow tried to follow, but Buffy stepped in her path.
"Where are you going?"
"Buffy, let me by, I need to talk to Tara."
"No, you need to talk to me."
Willow's eyes flashed black and the hair on Spike's neck and arms stood on end. The magic made the air around them crackle with energy, but Buffy didn't appear to be ruffled. Instead she pulled back and hit Willow in the face with all her strength. Willow flew across the lawn and hit the tree.
Spike jumped forward and grabbed Buffy, pushing her to the ground and shielding her with his body. "What." But she didn't have time to finish her question when a bolt of magic hit Spike and paralyzed him. Buffy pushed him off of her and charged Willow. "Fix him."
"Buffy, I didn't mean to." Willow had never seen Buffy look like that, half crazed with anger. Her eyes were flashing and fear welled up inside of Willow. "See, I can fix it." She pointed her finger at Spike and he quickly stood up.
Spike grabbed Buffy from behind and tried to pull her away. "Slayer, you don't want to fight her right now."
"Yes, I do."
Willow's nose was dripping blood and both of her eyes had bruises forming under them. "No, you don't Slayer. Come on, come with me."
"She doesn't have to go with you if she doesn't want to," Willow stated.
Buffy glared at her friend, "Since when do you care what I want? Well, you know what else I want? I want you out of my house by the time I get back."
"But."
"Out."
She spun around on her heal and stalked off into the night. Spike shrugged and turned to follow.
"This is all your fault," Willow said coldly.
"Red, you hurt Buffy tonight in more ways then I ever could. You've done more things to destroy her than anybody else ever has." Then he turned and chased after his lover.
