'Gotta cut away, clear away
Snip away and sever this
Umbilical residue that's
Keeping me from killing you '
There's some silence after the pause and Spike's reflexive gesture of playing with Buffy's hair doesn't go unnoticed by the others. But none of them seem to know how to broach the subject. Finally, Giles clears his throat and take off his glasses to clean them.
"So I suppose that at some point in the night you are going to tell us what you are doing here with Spike?"
Buffy turns to look at the vampire who has stopped mid-way in twirling her blonde hair around his finger. They don't speak, they just look at each other and then she turns back to the others and says, "We're here to take care of Angel."
"Shouldn't you be taking out Dead Boy Jr as well?"
Xander's words are laced with hate and a low growl forms in the back of Spike's throat. Buffy makes no move to stop him, she just turns her stare on the boy coldly and says in a flat voice, "Wasn't there something you were supposed to tell me that night? And not 'Willow said to kick his ass'."
Willow lets out a gasp and the room is silent except for Xander who's sputtering now, red in the face, "How did you-"
"I'm not stupid."
Her voice is dangerous and the others shuffle silently, unable to defend Xander or to understand the Buffy that walked in the door. Finally it's Giles' turn to speak again, "I think we should all deal with the immediate subject."
Spike and Buffy give him a curt nod and she says, "So what's the what? Do we know just how he was brought back exactly?"
"Well, it appears that he was sent back."
"Sent back."
Buffy moves the words over in her mouth again and she can't stop the bitter laugh that escapes her lips, "How'd that happen?"
"We have a few theories. The most plausible one has to do with ho-how you actually, actually --"
"Killed him?" Her voice is harsh and Giles nods.
Buffy closes her eyes in remembrance and Spike's hand strokes her arm in a gesture of support, she opens her eyes and manages to give him a fading smile, "I stabbed him with the sword." There's a pause and she adds, "He had his soul."
Giles gets a look on his face that says Eureka and Willow looks at Buffy in sympathy.
"Of course! The hell dimension that he was sent to wouldn't accept his physical and souled body! They want an unsouled Angelus to act as their messenger in the other worlds, since a souled one would never serve them. They must have discovered some way to remove his soul and somehow that ended up sending him back here, without a soul, and with a, well, rather large portion of rage."
Buffy nodded dumbly, "That explains things."
There's another pause and then she turns to face Spike, "Well lets go kill him."
He gives her a knowing smirk, "Can't, love, the sun will be in less than an hour."
She nods and chews on her bottom lip, "Fine. let's get back to the hotel then, we can handle this tomorrow."
They turn to leave but Buffy's mother stops them with a firm, "You're not going anywhere."
Neither of them turns to face her as she moves towards them. She turns Buffy around and her voice is fierce, "You are my daughter! And I will not having you running around with men that I don't even know!"
"Actually", Xander volunteers from his corner, "he's not a man."
And then all hell breaks loose and everyone is yelling, Xander struggling to be heard above the others. His eyes are blazing with an inner light as he approaches her and placing himself between her and her Mom, he sticks his finger at her chest, "You're not the person I thought you were! You're no hero! You're just a vampire whore who can't make time with a living man, and can only get herself off with dead things!"
And then he's flying across the room, blood pouring from his nose and a cut on his mouth. Cordelia shrieks and rushes to him, helping him off the floor.
The two blondes are staring at him and he can't say which one had hit him first. Spike stands vamped out besides Buffy and she drops into a fighting stance, her eyes glittering dangerously. But the boy doesn't take the hint and keeps on talking despite the blood pouring from his nose.
"You sicken me! You're no better than the things you kill! How you can think that you can just come home --"
But he doesn't finish because Spike is picking him up from the floor by his neck and shakes Xander like a rag doll, his voice falls dangerously low as he says, "You aren't her home." And then Buffy is beside him, her hand on his arm and he drops Xander to the floor.
"He's right", and her voice is no longer angry, just sad, "This isn't my home anymore. I've -- I've built a new home."
Her hand slips into Spike's and she continues, "I'm not staying. And I think that when I do go home, I can be what ever I want. I can love whom ever I want. And I think Xander Harris, that you don't have any say in that."
And then they turn and walk away, hands still joined, and no one has the voice left to say anything to stop them.
Snip away and sever this
Umbilical residue that's
Keeping me from killing you '
There's some silence after the pause and Spike's reflexive gesture of playing with Buffy's hair doesn't go unnoticed by the others. But none of them seem to know how to broach the subject. Finally, Giles clears his throat and take off his glasses to clean them.
"So I suppose that at some point in the night you are going to tell us what you are doing here with Spike?"
Buffy turns to look at the vampire who has stopped mid-way in twirling her blonde hair around his finger. They don't speak, they just look at each other and then she turns back to the others and says, "We're here to take care of Angel."
"Shouldn't you be taking out Dead Boy Jr as well?"
Xander's words are laced with hate and a low growl forms in the back of Spike's throat. Buffy makes no move to stop him, she just turns her stare on the boy coldly and says in a flat voice, "Wasn't there something you were supposed to tell me that night? And not 'Willow said to kick his ass'."
Willow lets out a gasp and the room is silent except for Xander who's sputtering now, red in the face, "How did you-"
"I'm not stupid."
Her voice is dangerous and the others shuffle silently, unable to defend Xander or to understand the Buffy that walked in the door. Finally it's Giles' turn to speak again, "I think we should all deal with the immediate subject."
Spike and Buffy give him a curt nod and she says, "So what's the what? Do we know just how he was brought back exactly?"
"Well, it appears that he was sent back."
"Sent back."
Buffy moves the words over in her mouth again and she can't stop the bitter laugh that escapes her lips, "How'd that happen?"
"We have a few theories. The most plausible one has to do with ho-how you actually, actually --"
"Killed him?" Her voice is harsh and Giles nods.
Buffy closes her eyes in remembrance and Spike's hand strokes her arm in a gesture of support, she opens her eyes and manages to give him a fading smile, "I stabbed him with the sword." There's a pause and she adds, "He had his soul."
Giles gets a look on his face that says Eureka and Willow looks at Buffy in sympathy.
"Of course! The hell dimension that he was sent to wouldn't accept his physical and souled body! They want an unsouled Angelus to act as their messenger in the other worlds, since a souled one would never serve them. They must have discovered some way to remove his soul and somehow that ended up sending him back here, without a soul, and with a, well, rather large portion of rage."
Buffy nodded dumbly, "That explains things."
There's another pause and then she turns to face Spike, "Well lets go kill him."
He gives her a knowing smirk, "Can't, love, the sun will be in less than an hour."
She nods and chews on her bottom lip, "Fine. let's get back to the hotel then, we can handle this tomorrow."
They turn to leave but Buffy's mother stops them with a firm, "You're not going anywhere."
Neither of them turns to face her as she moves towards them. She turns Buffy around and her voice is fierce, "You are my daughter! And I will not having you running around with men that I don't even know!"
"Actually", Xander volunteers from his corner, "he's not a man."
And then all hell breaks loose and everyone is yelling, Xander struggling to be heard above the others. His eyes are blazing with an inner light as he approaches her and placing himself between her and her Mom, he sticks his finger at her chest, "You're not the person I thought you were! You're no hero! You're just a vampire whore who can't make time with a living man, and can only get herself off with dead things!"
And then he's flying across the room, blood pouring from his nose and a cut on his mouth. Cordelia shrieks and rushes to him, helping him off the floor.
The two blondes are staring at him and he can't say which one had hit him first. Spike stands vamped out besides Buffy and she drops into a fighting stance, her eyes glittering dangerously. But the boy doesn't take the hint and keeps on talking despite the blood pouring from his nose.
"You sicken me! You're no better than the things you kill! How you can think that you can just come home --"
But he doesn't finish because Spike is picking him up from the floor by his neck and shakes Xander like a rag doll, his voice falls dangerously low as he says, "You aren't her home." And then Buffy is beside him, her hand on his arm and he drops Xander to the floor.
"He's right", and her voice is no longer angry, just sad, "This isn't my home anymore. I've -- I've built a new home."
Her hand slips into Spike's and she continues, "I'm not staying. And I think that when I do go home, I can be what ever I want. I can love whom ever I want. And I think Xander Harris, that you don't have any say in that."
And then they turn and walk away, hands still joined, and no one has the voice left to say anything to stop them.
