Chapter 16

William was never quite unconscious, though he was close. He was vaguely aware of the vampires that were drinking from him and taunting him. He had long since grown numb to the pain, and he felt rather detached from himself.

The two that dragged him back to the next quickly lost interest in trying to figure out why he looked so familiar. They lost interest in everything except sampling his blood. It tasted wrong but not bad, oddly compelling and repulsive at the same time. All of the vamps in the nest were old enough to have a bit of self-control, so they could savor the intoxicating blood for as long as possible, but the part of William's brain that was still functional knew the end would be coming soon.

They didn't have him chained or tied, but he knew he couldn't escape even if he wanted to. And he didn't—well, not really. He had hoped that it would faster, that he would be gone already, that the decision would be finalized before Buffy even had to think of it. And instead it was dragging—hours? Days? William didn't know.

He held on to the thought of her, when the crowded around him and drained him from his neck and his wrist and his legs. He kept her in his mind when they attacked and exposed, defiled and humiliated him to the point that he didn't even really remember who he was. He remembered her. He remembered that he was doing this for her because anything was worth her happiness, even death.

~*~

"You want me to do what?" Buffy asked.

"We want you to talk to Spike."

"It's possible to talk to Spike?"

"We think so," Wes said. "We think that somehow, there is a communication path opened between you."

Giles nodded. "It may have something to do with your connection to him, with the soul, with the Powers, or a combination of many things. But we believe your dreams are more than just dreams."

"When do you want to do this?" Buffy asked.

"We've been working on it while you were gone," Willow informed her. "And we're pretty close to figuring it out. In fact, I think we could have this ready to go in an hour if Angel and Xander will get our supplies."

"We're on it," Angel said. Neither of the men were particularly fond of each other, but Willow figured they could handle working together long enough to gather a few basic supplies.

"What do you need me to do?" Buffy asked.

"Rest, concentrate, try to stay calm. This will work better if you aren't agitated and if you are focused."

"Great. Rest. I can do that." She looked at her sister, "Dawn, do you mind if I use your room. I can't…"

Dawn nodded, "It's not a problem. Just don't touch my stuff."


Buffy rolled her eyes. "Like I would."

~*~

Xander and Angel traveled to the law firm in silence. Angel drove, Xander clutched the list tightly, the only outward sign of his anger.

"You're upset?" Angel finally asked.

"Are you just percepto-boy," Xander said sarcastically.

Angel shrugged and focused his attention on the road. Wasn't his problem if the boy had a problem.

"Why are you doing this?" Xander finally asked.

"What?"

"Helping bring back Spike."

"I'm not."

"Sure looks like it."

"I'm doing what's best for Buffy. She needs help right now. That's what friends do."

"You're just friends now?"

"I'd rather be her friend than have her out of my life."

"Could you ever just be friends? I never could just be friends with Anya…"

"I don't have much of a choice."

"But if you could…"

"What is your point, Xander?"

He sighed, "Nothing. I'm just not happy about being sucked into another drama involving Spike." The words sounded automatic, like there was no hard feelings behind them.

"You hate Spike?"

No answer.

"Do you hate William? Because he's the one that's at risk here. William is just an innocent in all of this."

"William is Spike."

Angel shook his head. "No. And you know that's not true."

"I don't know him at all."

"There's lots of thins you don't know, Xander."

"Shut up, Deadboy."

The exchange lacked the bitterness and sarcasm, all of that hammered out of them by living too much and seeing too much since they met. There just wasn't any more point in it, and Xander was tired. He just wanted to help his friends and be a good person…he was tired of fighting.

~*~

It only took an hour for Angel and Xander to get the supplies and come back. Buffy was in Dawn's room, Willow in William's, gathering her strength and concentrating on the spell. Giles and Wes were still quietly pouring over texts and notes, neither eager to talk about what could happen.

After they had assembled the circle and laid everything out, they called Willow and Buffy into the living room. Willow took her place at the head of the circle, Buffy in the middle.

"Close your eyes Buffy. You will eventually "see" a red line. Follow it. I'll keep you tethered to this side."

"What if something goes wrong?"

"We're all here," Giles assured her. "We can keep you safe. We need you to ask Spike if he's responsible for the resurrection spells, and any other information about where he is at and what he needs us to do."


Buffy swallowed hard and nodded. "What about William? He could still be alive."

"I'll look for him," Xander volunteered.

"I will too," Angel said, "If you don't need me here."

"That's fine," Wes said. "If you find him, don't call. The phone may disrupt the spell."

"Right. Gotcha."

As soon as they left again, Willow told Buffy to close her eyes, and she started the spell. When she started, a blast of pure power was funneled into her body, and her eyes turned pure black. Both Giles and Wes were alarmed, but they didn't try to stop her. Her voice turned to a monotone, and she dropped her head, the words flowing from her effortlessly in an archaic language.

Her voice raised, but the tone remained steady. Soon she was shouting, supplicating the Powers to give her what she demanded, and as her voice reached a hideous pitch, there was bright white light, and the ex-watchers couldn't see anything at all.

~*~

Buffy followed the blood red line of light through the pressing darkness. It felt familiar, but it was impossible to tell if there was anything other than the blackness.

"Spike? Are you here?"

"I'm here, Pet."

"I can't see you."

"I know, but I'm right here."

"Spike, what's going on?"

"My soul is gone, isn't it?"

"Oh god, I did this…"

"S'ok pet."

"Are you sending the spells?"

"I'm not personally sending them, but yeah, they're because of me. I need to get the soul back, Buffy."

"Why?"

"Because I'm stuck here without it."

"Spike, do you want to be resurrected? I'll do whatever you want me to do, but you have to tell me."

"I want my soul back."

"Why?"

"I need it Buffy. I've always had a bit of it, and I can't be me without it. Without it, I can't go back to where I was."

"Heaven? I did it, didn't I? I pull you out of Heaven."

"Don't fret, Buffy. You can fix it."

"How?"

"You don't have to resurrect me. You can send me back to Heaven."

"But either way, William has to die right?"

"He was a bloody worthless ponce."

"No, he's not Spike. He's…beautiful."

She could hear his sigh, almost feel it against her skin. "You don't have to kill him, Buffy."

"Then what?"

"Oh! Bollucks!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"I have to go, Slayer. Things will get very bloody complicated if I don't."

"Spike?"

"Yeah?"  

"I do love you, you asshole."

She could hear his smile, "I know."

Then she was alone in the darkness, and she didn't know how to get out.

~*~

The life was seeping out of William with the blood, and he knew this was finally it. They weren't going to stop this time, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. He didn't resist, or struggle against their teeth. He let his body go limp, and when the bloody wrist was pressed against his lips, he didn't resist that either.

Just as he opened his mouth to accept the blood, an enormous amount of power infused his being. He tensed, his head thrown back as he howled. Then he went limp, and the vampires in the middle of making him their new minion looked at each other, confused.

"What the fuck was that?" Fang demanded.

"I have no fucking clue. Has that ever happened before?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Is he already a vampire?"

"I've never see anybody turned that fast."

"Is he dead then?"

"I feel fine."

They looked down at the man at their feet, who smirked back up at them. "Haven't felt this good in a long time. But you know what will make me feel better?" Spike jumped to his feet and grabbed the back of their necks. "Bashing your skulls in."

The body was weak and fragile, nearly dead, but that didn't stop Spike. There were at least a dozen vampires in the nest, and he set about dispatching them at an almost fevered pace. He growled and he snarled as he spun around, ducking, dodging, hitting, kicking, ripping their heads off and staking them with whatever weapons he could find.

It felt good to fight again, and he had to admit to himself, nothing could top a bit of violence. As the dust burst in his face and settled around him, he couldn't help but laugh with an almost insane abandon. It was so easy to take them out, as though they were nothing but mere humans. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, poof poof poof.

Good to see ya again, mate. How ya been?

No answer.

Come now, William, don't give me the silent treatment.

I've been abandoned and weak.

I haven't abandoned you.

Then what the hell is going on?

Been looking for you. But Buffy…

It's always about Buffy.

Don't you want her?

I do.

Can't stay.

The final vampire ran before Spike could kill him, and suddenly, the rush was over. No more energy, no more power, nothing. William collapsed to the ground, shaking and crying, bleeding. He gasped for breath and watched the helpless tears fall to the dusty ground.