A/N: Okay, all you readers, here's the 6th chapter of Destiny!
Destiny: Chapter 6
Spike didn't reply, nor did anyone say a word, as they just watched, and waited to see who was the pure soul. The basement was deathly quiet, nobody dared to move or even talk. However, Giles finally broke that silence. "You two, separate," he ordered, pointing to Xander and Spike.
"Fine with me," Xander said as he stepped aside from Spike, who sighed.
The rest of the gang moved away from Xander and Spike, on looking the dramatic scene.
"You know, you don't have to make it sound so bad that this basement smells. Just give it a bit of posh and an air-freshener and it should smell like my good old ex-crypt in a couple of days. And my crypt smelled better than this basement does." Spike was about to continue when the hazy blue cloud flew right at the vampire, knocking him off his feet, and slamming him back into the wall.
Before everyone could comprehend with what just happened, Anya asked impatiently, "There, the spell worked. Can we go now?"
Giles, staring at Spike with great interest and confusion, quietly replied, "Yes, you can all go."
As the rest left the basement, the only ones left over were Spike, Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, and Dawn.
"What happened?" Willow asked, puzzled. She looked to Giles, who shrugged.
"It seems that…Spike, amazingly…is the pure soul," Giles answered slowly as if he was still trying to comprehend with what happened a minute ago.
Buffy, who was helping Spike up, turned to Giles and asked, "So…what now? Do we have to kill him?"
Giles glanced at Spike, then at Buffy. "Well, yes. Although in order to kill him to stop the demon, we have to find a spell to change him to human first. I daresay that we can sacrifice a vampire to stop the demon from destroying the world. However, if we intend for the ritual to work fully, we need actual blood from the pure soul."
"Great, so I get to be human, for what? Five seconds, then you go and kill me?" Spike asked, a bit stunned at what just happened.
"Well, I think you'll be a human a bit longer than just five seconds. There's a certain time, place, and date we need in order for the ritual to work also, and I need to pick up the book, too." Giles sighed, and looked to Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Dawn. "Let's talk about this privately," he said, motioning them to come upstairs with him.
Up stairs, in the living room, Anya and Andrew both were sitting on the couch, talking about a movie. Xander sighed, and glanced at Willow, who shrugged. Giles looked irritated at the fact that wherever he went, he was not alone in the house. Dawn, however, grinned, listening to every word of the conversation before Buffy jumped in to end it.
"Andrew?" She said in almost a pleading sort of voice. "We have to talk here."
However, Anya and Andrew continued talking.
"See, that's the point. How could the dinosaurs have gotten on the other island if they can't swim?" Anya asked, not even caring about what Buffy said.
Andrew grinned before replying to Anya's question. Finally, something that I know that is not Star Wars related, he thought. "Well, technically, hardly any dinosaurs flew, swam, or walked to the other island. Site-B, Isla Sorna, was another island that was controlled by the Ingen scientists. It was sort of like a basement where they did their experiments."
Anya looked puzzled, but realization was slowly coming into view. "So…these scientists basically created a whole new island with dinosaurs?"
Grinning broadly, Andrew nodded eagerly. "Yeah…but we didn't really know about the second island until the second movie, Jurassic Park: The Lost World. The second movie really focused on Ingen, along with the first movie, but the third movie hardly even focused on Ingen."
"That's kind of pointless," Anya wondered as she glanced at Xander.
Again, Andrew nodded. "Yeah," he agreed.
"I mean, what was the point of making a third movie if the first two movies were already focused on the two islands? And what was the point of not making Ingen a part of the third movie? It was all 'Spinosaurus, ahh! Raptors, ahh! Pterodactyls, ahh!'" Anya faked a high-pitched kid-like voice as she said all that. "I mean," she went back to her regular voice, "you can only focus on both islands only once. It's kind of dumb to focus on an island twice when the other island is left wide open. Just pick an island and get on with your life," she commented.
"Guys, we need to talk," Buffy intruded before Andrew could say anything.
"Okay, fine, talk," Anya said, waving her conversation with Andrew off the side of the road.
"Privately," Buffy added with a sigh.
"Okay, okay, whatever." Anya sighed as she stood up and left the living room.
Buffy looked at Andrew with stern eyes as he stood up and said, "I could stay here. I can keep a secret if you guys are having a private talk about Anya, but if it's about me…" Andrew looked uncomfortably at his 'friends' as he repeated, "I can keep a secret."
Giles pulled off his glasses, and as he cleaned them he replied, "This doesn't concern you or Anya. We—" he motioned to Buffy, Xander, Willow, Dawn and himself—"just need to talk privately."
Andrew crossed his arms over his chest and heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Fine…" he muttered and sauntered off to the kitchen.
"Okay, Giles, talk," Buffy ordered impatiently as she sat down on the couch next to Willow and Xander. "Tell me we need to kill Spike."
"We need to kill Spike," Giles said calmly. "All I have to do is find the spell to change him into human, then I need to find the book that will tell me the time and day of the ritual."
"So basically this is like what Glory did to Dawn," Willow pointed out as Dawn nodded in agreement.
"Except we're the ones killing Spike," Dawn said, looking to her sister.
Buffy let those words sink in for a moment. "I won't let you kill him," she finally said, glaring at Giles. "There must be another way to kill the demon without killing Spike."
"The demon cannot be killed. The only way to kill it is if we drain the blood of the pure soul," Giles explained with patience.
"So, the pure soul—Spike—is like its power source. It the demon gets its hands on Spike and steals his soul, he gets the power to destroy the world," Willow said slowly.
"If the demon gets Spike before the ritual day and steals his soul, then yes. Only on the day of the ritual the demon can't steal Spike's soul," Giles corrected what Willow said.
"So we just have to keep him safe until the day of the ritual," Dawn stated.
"I won't let you kill him," Buffy repeated.
"I will not kill him. You will," Giles said, and added, "The person who kills Spike must be close to him. The person who loves him the most must kill him. I was afraid the pure soul was going to be you. That's why down in the basement I said that I was going to kill the pure soul."
Buffy glared at Giles for a moment before she got up. "Then I'm not going to kill him," she said with a definite tone as she went to the basement.
"Spike?" Buffy called out as she walked down the steps of the basement. It was dark yet again; the only light shining was sunlight streaming through the small window, casting a long streak of light across the cement floor. "Spike?" she called out again. She knew he was sleeping, but she felt safer calling out his name first. "Spike?"
"Bloody hell…can't I get any sleep 'round here?" Spike mumbled.
Buffy grinned slightly, flicking up the light switch on the wall next to her. Light filled the room, convincing the vampire to sit up.
"Twenty minutes," he simply stated. "Twenty minutes of sleep before you come down here is all I ask of you. Instead I get five minutes."
A frown appeared on Buffy's face. "I'm sorry, Spike. I just need to tell you something."
Spike sighed, and then stood, facing Buffy with defeat in his eyes. "Tell me that you're the one to kill me…tell me and get it over with."
Tears filled Buffy's eyes as she looked down to the floor, avoiding looking into Spike's eyes and telling him the truth. "I don't want to," she said quietly, her voice breaking. "I don't want to be the one to kill you."
Spike looked on, the defeat in his eyes turning to sadness.
"I love you…I don't want to kill the person I love," Buffy continued.
"Shh, pet, everything will be okay," Spike said with a soothing voice.
Buffy looked up, and saw that Spike was right next to her. The vampire caressed her cheek. "Spike…" Buffy trailed off as she leaned against him, her head on his shoulder.
Spike thought for a moment, and then wrapped his arms around her. "I love you, too, pet."
It was quiet for a moment; both Spike and Buffy let the dramatic feeling hang in the air.
"How did you know?" Buffy finally asked, relieving the dramatic tension in both of them.
Spike grinned to himself, and answered back, "I eavesdropped."
"Poor Buffy."
"Poor Buffy? Come on, Willow, why'd you say that?"
The living room was completely empty except for Willow and Xander. All the potentials had cleared out of the house, along with Anya, Andrew, and Dawn, who had taken them to play mini-golf.
"Well, she loves Spike and now she just found out that she has to kill him," Willow said softly. "Put yourself in her shoes," she added.
It was quiet for a moment, and then Xander shuddered.
"What is it?" Willow asked.
Xander gave a wolfish grin before he said, "Well, I put myself in her shoes, and I didn't love it. The thoughts I was thinking…not pleasant."
"Xander, why are you ignoring Buffy's love for Spike? Can't you admit for once that Spike is your friend?"
"When Angel was around, I wasn't all wanting to kill him because I was ignoring his love for Buffy. If I didn't…well, then I would have been dancing in his dust. Spike…I'm trying to ignore his love for Buffy, except for the part where he's annoying and I feel like I want to kill him anyway, so, basically, it's a win-win situation for me there," Xander explained.
Willow frowned and commented, "But they both have souls."
"I'm fine with Angel having a soul because he was cursed with it. Spike having a soul is a different matter."
"Well, all I know is that Spike got the soul for Buffy. Why would that be any difference in your agenda?"
"Well, last year, he tried to rape Buffy," Xander said, looking down at the carpet. He knew that nobody had told Willow about that one night when Spike hurt Buffy, so he figured it was best that Willow knew now.
Willow gasped as she looked to Xander. "Why? That, and why didn't anyone tell me last year when I came back from England?"
"I don't know why he hurt her, but nobody told you because we all figured that it'd make you go around the bend again." Xander laughed, and looked up from the carpet. "Which, obviously, you aren't," he acknowledged.
"Well, I know that I was evil for a bit," Willow admitted, "but even if you did tell me last year, I still would have wanted to get revenge on Spike for Buffy's sake." She suddenly pointed at Xander accusingly. "You're just lucky I'm past my evil habit, mister, or else I would be getting revenge on you for not telling me sooner," she threatened jokingly.
Xander grinned slightly. "Yeah, but then I'll use my power: the story of the yellow crayon."
Willow lowered her hand, and grinned. "I love that story…" she rested her head on Xander's shoulder. It was a quiet moment for the both of them…
"I found the spell!" Giles' voice rang through the air. The front door opened, and the ex-librarian walked in, holding a thick book in one hand. "It was no easy task…I had to scrounge around the destroyed Magic Box before I could finally find it."
Willow went back to her sitting position, lifting her head off of Xander's shoulder. She stood up. "You found the spell? That's great!" she commented with a grin. "So all we need to do is do the spell, and then kill Spike, and then we're done with everything."
Giles hesitated before answering. "Yes, although, if Buffy doesn't want to kill Spike, then we're at a dead end. The pure soul must be drained of his blood by his loved one. It won't work with another person. So…all we need to do is try to persuade Buffy to kill Spike," Giles explained. He sighed, setting the book down on the arm of the couch. "Willow, can you please look through that book for the spell?"
"Sure," Willow agreed, still grinning.
"Thank you." Giles sighed once more, and added, "I still need to find information about the ritual. I was planning to look through the Magic Box for the book that holds that information, but, unfortunately, almost all the books were…" Giles paused, looking for the right word. "…Destroyed…and now I need to give Wesley a call…see if he has the book." Then he left the room.
Frowning, Willow turned to Xander. "I'm sorry, Xander, I need to be alone…I usually like to be alone when I'm looking for something…sometimes…I just need to…"
A small frown appeared on Xander's face. "That's all right…I'll just go to the kitchen…you can have the living room all to yourself…"
"No!" Willow said quickly and Xander glanced at her. "I mean…you stay here…be comfortable…I'll go up to my room…" she sighed, looking uncomfortable at the situation. "I'm sorry, Xander, I just need to be alone."
Xander nodded, and grinned. "Okay…you go be alone."
Grinning, Willow nodded, grabbed the book, and went upstairs.
Maybe it was something I said…yeah, that could be it…Xander stood up and walked to the staircase. "Was it something I said?" he asked, shouting so Willow could hear him.
"No!" she shouted back.
Nightfall came quickly…too quickly for Willow to realize, for before she knew it, dinner was served. She had flipped through the book, twice, in fact, and had come across nothing concerning the spell to change Spike to human.
Anya, Andrew, Dawn and all the potentials were back from playing mini-golf, and they were all now gathered in the kitchen or dining room, eating a plate of macaroni and cheese before going out on patrol with Buffy.
"Hey, Xander," Willow greeted silently, coming into the kitchen.
Xander handed her a plate of macaroni and cheese, and asked with concern clear in his voice, "Anything?"
Willow shook her head, grabbing a fork. "No, nothing yet…I flipped through the book twice and I came across no 'change vampire to human' spell. I'm starting to think I got gypped," she added with mock-anger.
"You'll find the spell…" Xander said, grabbing his own plate of macaroni and cheese.
"What if I don't, though? What if we can't defeat the demon?"
"We'll defeat the demon…I'm sure of it."
Willow took Xander's hand into her own. "I hope you're right," she muttered, her confidence within her voice uncertain and unbelieving.
After all the girls finished their dinner, Buffy announced that it was time to go patrolling. All the girls gathered in the living room, along with Spike, who was still looking injured.
"Are you sure you're up to patrolling, Spike?" Buffy asked.
"Maybe…" the vampire answered, uncertain if he could patrol because of his injuries.
"Well, if he doesn't want to go with you, we can stay here and watch Jurassic Park," Andrew, who was close nearby, suggested happily. "And then we can watch Star Wars!" he added, excitement in his voice.
Spike grimaced. "Yeah, I'm up to it," he answered, glaring at Andrew.
"Okay…but I'm keeping an eye on you…I don't want the demon getting you…killing you," she added quietly, tears in her eyes. She blinked them away, turning to the girls. "Okay, it's gonna be a simple patrol. We'll stake a few vamps, maybe kill a weak little demon, and then we can practice throwing the stake at the vampire's heart…and this time you guys will succeed…" she looked to Spike, who continued for her.
"Because getting hit in the head with a plastic stake? Not that fun…and it bloody well hurt," he said, glaring at Vi, who gulped.
"It was only one time…and you were only knocked out for at least…ten minutes…or maybe more…" Vi stammered.
"In any case, when you throw the stake, it has to be directed at the vampire's heart…let's leave…" Buffy led the girls' and Spike out the door. She paused, looking over her shoulder at her friends. "I'll catch up with you guys!" she shouted out the door to Spike and the others. "Willow…"
Both Willow and Xander were next to Andrew, leaning against the wall. "Yeah?" Willow answered, her voice unsure of what Buffy was going to ask.
"I'm counting on you…to look after Spike…just follow him wherever he goes without us by his side…"
"We will, Buffy. We were planning to go to the ice cream place tonight anyway," Willow informed, motioning to Xander.
"Okay…thank you…" She smiled, her eyes showing sadness. She sighed, and then left.
Xander turned to Willow, confusion in his eyes. "Ice cream?"
Willow grinned. "Just an excuse for you and me to go out…"
Then Willow and Xander left.
Andrew frowned, and sighed. "Hey, what about me?" he said quietly.
A/N: Okay, I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, although with me starting high school next week, I doubt it will be any time soon that the next chapter will be out…but I'll try…