Title: The shell without Humanity
Rating:PG-13
Disclaimer:Not smart enough, or enough money so it ain't mine. DAMN YOU WHEDON!
Summary: AU on Grave. During, not after so it's more original than most.
++++
The room was thick with awkward silence. In the background you could faintly hear Giles rubbing his glasses.
The scoobies were seated around the table with only the watcher standing behind them. Each felt a combination of exhaustion and tension. The tension was the result of a certain Wicca coming down the steps.
With her the battle lines had been drawn. Xander was sided with Willow, a preverbal guard dog. Willing to defend her against anyone, partly because she had been his friend before all of them, but also because he wasn't exactly in everyone's favorite person.
Anya still hated him for the wound in her heart he had caused.
Giles didn't say anything but he could tell the man was a bit disappointed in him.
He was okay with Dawn, but the fact he had sided with the person who almost got her killed twice reopened the healing division between them.
And Buffy.
That's the person who he was willing to battle. Yes he had been known to let his mouth run without a brain controlling it. He also knew that what had happened between Spike and her was her business.
But if he kept quiet, she would never tell anyone, that she would box it up and shove it in the closet. In doing so she would let everyone keep there eyes closed to the threat that he had been aware of all the time.
He often talked about what a threat Spike was, but with the apparent reputation to let his mouth run away, they had just tossed it aside as a rant.
But now the thing had done something bad, something to Buffy. The incident would destroy any illusion that the vampire was docile or neutered. It had already destroyed Dawns view of Spike as a friend, and she was his strongest advocate.
Each time he thought of this it brought mixed feelings of happiness and sadness. He was happy her eyes were finally open to what Spike really was, but sad she had to feel the pain of having that illusion ripped down.
It almost happened when the thing had confessed his sick obsession to Buffy. They had almost finished the wall that kept the vampire out of the group. But then Spike had to act noble.
The one thing that Xander admitted was the awe he felt for Spike when he stood up to Glory's torture.
But the obsession however strong was still just a obsession. Then slowly the vampire crawled into almost every aspect of Xander's world.
When he found out about Spike and Anya it was almost the straw that broke the camels back. She was supposed to be the one place away from the outside, where slayers and neutered vampires didn't exist.
That world was destroyed when his eyes were set upon the two having sex on the table. Finally, after he had gotten his head out of the murderous haze after seeing Buffy on the bathroom floor, a part of his mind that he didn't talk to much realized he had the tool to finally finish the wall and seal the cracks.
The larger more rational part of his mind automatically said that it was her business, and that it would hurt everyone more so.
But the little part of his mind kept going on and on, until he had finally blurted it out to Dawn.
Course things had gotten a bit distracted when his friend tried to kill everyone. His feelings for her didn't change though, cause he knew that underneath it all the person he knew was still in there.
Xander's heart almost stopped when he saw her smile. In that instant he knew that person was back. But she wasn't the only person who was back. Five days ago when they had stumbled into the magic box, his hand aching and Dawn almost in tears. They hadn't expected to see everyone okay and things as if nothing happened.
After that he had learned a few things that seemed beyond belief. Which was absurd considering their after hours hobby. It took four days for everyone to even look like they had recovered.
They had learned that Willow had sent Spike to a hell dimension where there was supposedly no escaping. He didn't exactly feel bad about that, in fact he though that Spike finally got what he deserved. The vampire had hurt his friends and should get no less.
The problem was that the vampire had gotten out, stronger than before, and with no constraints.
Thankfully all was quiet and the peroxide pest hadn't showed it's head. But the quiet didn't last long and came to climax on this day.
Buffy, against their severe warnings went out to confront it. During the wait all he had done was pace in his apartment and check on his friend. When she had awoken from her catatonic state he had felt everything finally catch up with him. He had sobbed and cried and he didn't care.
When he had stopped they sat for about a minute, just letting each other be there. Out of no where she asked to go to the magic box to help.
Against his good judgment he drove her over there. When they entered Dawn was the first to notice. And with her Giles, and a newly returned, slightly confused Buffy followed. Anya, of course, was the one to say something, the blunt comment started a huge fight that was quelled by Giles yelling for them to shut up.
After that they stared at him in shock, apparently this all had taken a toll on him. That led them to here. All of them around the table. What Willow said next was completely out of the blue and startled everyone.
"I have Spike's soul in me."
++++
A/N: I'm not a hundred percent sure on the quality of the chapter, never was good at writing Xander. But I needed a transition chapter to help fill in some gaps and round the story a bit more.
Once again I invite you all to review if you have constructive critism. If you are just flaming me because you hate the story or just for the hell of it, don't and get a life.
Or you could kiss my round white &%@ (damn ff.net censors)
As for the rest of you, you can just admire it from afar. ;)
If you read this far, then I implore you to read my favorite authors, theirs is a lot better than mine.
Rating:PG-13
Disclaimer:Not smart enough, or enough money so it ain't mine. DAMN YOU WHEDON!
Summary: AU on Grave. During, not after so it's more original than most.
++++
The room was thick with awkward silence. In the background you could faintly hear Giles rubbing his glasses.
The scoobies were seated around the table with only the watcher standing behind them. Each felt a combination of exhaustion and tension. The tension was the result of a certain Wicca coming down the steps.
With her the battle lines had been drawn. Xander was sided with Willow, a preverbal guard dog. Willing to defend her against anyone, partly because she had been his friend before all of them, but also because he wasn't exactly in everyone's favorite person.
Anya still hated him for the wound in her heart he had caused.
Giles didn't say anything but he could tell the man was a bit disappointed in him.
He was okay with Dawn, but the fact he had sided with the person who almost got her killed twice reopened the healing division between them.
And Buffy.
That's the person who he was willing to battle. Yes he had been known to let his mouth run without a brain controlling it. He also knew that what had happened between Spike and her was her business.
But if he kept quiet, she would never tell anyone, that she would box it up and shove it in the closet. In doing so she would let everyone keep there eyes closed to the threat that he had been aware of all the time.
He often talked about what a threat Spike was, but with the apparent reputation to let his mouth run away, they had just tossed it aside as a rant.
But now the thing had done something bad, something to Buffy. The incident would destroy any illusion that the vampire was docile or neutered. It had already destroyed Dawns view of Spike as a friend, and she was his strongest advocate.
Each time he thought of this it brought mixed feelings of happiness and sadness. He was happy her eyes were finally open to what Spike really was, but sad she had to feel the pain of having that illusion ripped down.
It almost happened when the thing had confessed his sick obsession to Buffy. They had almost finished the wall that kept the vampire out of the group. But then Spike had to act noble.
The one thing that Xander admitted was the awe he felt for Spike when he stood up to Glory's torture.
But the obsession however strong was still just a obsession. Then slowly the vampire crawled into almost every aspect of Xander's world.
When he found out about Spike and Anya it was almost the straw that broke the camels back. She was supposed to be the one place away from the outside, where slayers and neutered vampires didn't exist.
That world was destroyed when his eyes were set upon the two having sex on the table. Finally, after he had gotten his head out of the murderous haze after seeing Buffy on the bathroom floor, a part of his mind that he didn't talk to much realized he had the tool to finally finish the wall and seal the cracks.
The larger more rational part of his mind automatically said that it was her business, and that it would hurt everyone more so.
But the little part of his mind kept going on and on, until he had finally blurted it out to Dawn.
Course things had gotten a bit distracted when his friend tried to kill everyone. His feelings for her didn't change though, cause he knew that underneath it all the person he knew was still in there.
Xander's heart almost stopped when he saw her smile. In that instant he knew that person was back. But she wasn't the only person who was back. Five days ago when they had stumbled into the magic box, his hand aching and Dawn almost in tears. They hadn't expected to see everyone okay and things as if nothing happened.
After that he had learned a few things that seemed beyond belief. Which was absurd considering their after hours hobby. It took four days for everyone to even look like they had recovered.
They had learned that Willow had sent Spike to a hell dimension where there was supposedly no escaping. He didn't exactly feel bad about that, in fact he though that Spike finally got what he deserved. The vampire had hurt his friends and should get no less.
The problem was that the vampire had gotten out, stronger than before, and with no constraints.
Thankfully all was quiet and the peroxide pest hadn't showed it's head. But the quiet didn't last long and came to climax on this day.
Buffy, against their severe warnings went out to confront it. During the wait all he had done was pace in his apartment and check on his friend. When she had awoken from her catatonic state he had felt everything finally catch up with him. He had sobbed and cried and he didn't care.
When he had stopped they sat for about a minute, just letting each other be there. Out of no where she asked to go to the magic box to help.
Against his good judgment he drove her over there. When they entered Dawn was the first to notice. And with her Giles, and a newly returned, slightly confused Buffy followed. Anya, of course, was the one to say something, the blunt comment started a huge fight that was quelled by Giles yelling for them to shut up.
After that they stared at him in shock, apparently this all had taken a toll on him. That led them to here. All of them around the table. What Willow said next was completely out of the blue and startled everyone.
"I have Spike's soul in me."
++++
A/N: I'm not a hundred percent sure on the quality of the chapter, never was good at writing Xander. But I needed a transition chapter to help fill in some gaps and round the story a bit more.
Once again I invite you all to review if you have constructive critism. If you are just flaming me because you hate the story or just for the hell of it, don't and get a life.
Or you could kiss my round white &%@ (damn ff.net censors)
As for the rest of you, you can just admire it from afar. ;)
If you read this far, then I implore you to read my favorite authors, theirs is a lot better than mine.
