The Emergency Scooby Meeting began just after 7:30. Willow had made breakfast, as promised, for a house of eleven. Everyone sat around the Summers' dining table with glasses of orange juice and plates of syrupy pancakes.
Buffy sat at the head of the table and called the session to order. The entire house put down their forks and all eyes trained on her. She stood and cleared her throat before beginning her arduous task.
"We've been through a lot together these last few weeks," she began, "but I'm afraid it's just the beginning." Buffy lifted a book from the table and flipped it open. "As most of you know, last night I fought and defeated the Turok-Han. I rescued Spike from the First and brought him back here."
She groaned inwardly as Giles removed his glasses and began cleaning them. Everything had happened so quickly, she hadn't informed her Watcher of any of this. He was most likely upset with her for not only fighting alone, but for bringing the vampire who can be mind-controlled by their current foe into her home.
"Willow did some research last night," Buffy continued, "and she believes she's found a prophecy regarding…this whole thing." She handed the book to the redhead, who stood up nervously.
"See, there's a prophecy here that kind of seems similar to what's going on. It talks about a Warrior rising," Willow looked at Buffy, "the source of all evil, and a demon who earns a soul."
"Spike," Dawn clarified.
"Yeah, I think so."
Giles replaced his glasses on the bridge of his nose and stood, crossing to Willow. "May I?" he asked, gesturing to the book. Wordlessly she handed the text to him and turned to face Xander, who had raised his hand. Feeling uncomfortably like a teacher, Willow called on him.
"Ok, I know Fang Boy's gone all soulful and stuff, but he's not the only vamp with an 'inner light'. I mean, this prophecy could be talking about Angel."
"No," Buffy explained, "Angel didn't earn his soul, it was a punishment. Spike went out and sought his soul. He…fought for it, and won."
This time it was Kennedy who spoke up. "Well, it doesn't say it's a vampire, right? It could be any demon who earned a soul." Willow, nodded, but her eyebrows were drawn together in thought.
"Technically, yes, but we have to take into account the rest of the prophecy. Exactly how many times has anyone fought the source of all evil? I'm thinking none."
"What's this part here?" Giles asked. He tapped a page in the book with the arm of his glasses, which he'd removed once again. "It says here 'When the Warrior rises, the Prophet shall come'…who might this Prophet be?"
Anya shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Well, um, I heard a tale, about a Prophet, who shall see…the end of the world as we know it." Everyone turned their attention to the ex-vengeance demon.
"Go on," Buffy prodded.
Looking uncertain for a moment, she continued. "The Prophet is supposed to be a messenger, from the Powers That Be, you know, all chosen and stuff. He's said to have great knowledge, and even his own personal 'fallen angel' kind of bodyguard thing."
"That doesn't sound so bad to me," Rona said. The other Slayerettes nodded in agreement.
"Yeah," added Molly, "this bodyguard guy could help us fight!" Excited whispers began to circulate around the room.
"Um, you'd think, but…"
"Anya?" Buffy could see the concern in the woman's face, and motioned to the others for silence.
Anya cleared her throat. "I also heard that, well, theProphetdoesn'tsurvive!" she gushed out as quickly as she could.
Xander shook his head. "I'm sorry, what?"
"The Prophet will die before the final battle. The Powers That Be lose their player and the world loses it's angelic warrior guy."
Silence fell over the room. This prophecy no longer held the hope so many of them needed. Buffy scanned the room and looked at the faces of her friends. Everywhere she looked she saw apprehension, concern, worry, and, yes, even fear. This was her army. A bunch of children, an ex-demon, a witch, a librarian, a carpenter, a glowing ball of energy, and…Andrew.
"You," Buffy said, addressing the blonde male tied to the chair at the end of the table whom Dawn was feeding since his arms were bound.
Andrew's eyes went a little wide and he swallowed the mouthful of pancakes he'd been working on. "Um, m-me?"
"Yeah, you. As much as I'd love to keep you tied up like that for the rest of eternity, I think you could be useful, if only on the research level." Andrew's eyes went even wider, but with surprise now, not fear.
"Oh, I'm totally useful! Yep, useful is my middle name. Andrew Useful…" His rambling slowed to a stop as he noticed that almost everyone was glaring at him. With a tentative smile, he asked, "What can I do to help?"
Crossing her arms on her chest, Buffy went into full Slayer mode. "Okay, first of all, I want to know everything there is about this prophecy. Andrew, you can look on the Net for anything pertaining to a Prophet or a fallen angel warrior. Giles, Willow thinks this isn't the complete version of the prophecy, so maybe you can look in some books or maybe give Wesley a call. He's read a lot of books and Cordelia was a Higher Power and Angel's…all old and stuff."
Turning to the rest of the table, Buffy addressed them as a group. "Xander and Anya both have jobs to go to, and everyone else is going to be busy, so you girls aren't going to train until I get home tonight. So, for the time being, I want you to familiarize yourselves with the weapons - sharpen swords, make stakes, whatever, just learn. Oh, and I want you guys to take hour-long shifts watching Spike. You don't have to do much, just sit there and watch for him to wake up. Don't forget to feed him, too." Vi's eyes went wide with fear for a moment.
"Not from yourself!" Dawn chastised. "We've got some O neg in the fridge."
Buffy rolled her eyes before continuing. "If anything happens, anything remotely worth mentioning, I want you to call me at the school." With that, the room began dispersing.
Dawn began untying Andrew when Buffy called her. "I'm leaving in twenty, will you be ready by then?" she asked her sister. The brunette nodded, gathering the ropes as they fell to the ground.
Buffy then turned to her best friend, who was clearing the table. "Wills, I want you to get some sleep. You were up all night and then you made breakfast…you deserve to rest." A look of relief swept over Willow's face.
"Okay, good, 'cause I'm almost dead on my feet. Can you clean up the rest?" Buffy nodded and gave the other girl a warm hug before she descended on the breakfast dishes.
Piling them all together, she took them into the kitchen and began stuffing them into the dishwasher. She could hear Giles in the living room, dialling the number to Angel Investigations. The front door closed, indicating that Xander and Anya had left. Andrew was prattling on about Star Wars and how the Prophet is probably like Luke Skywalker. Why the Hell didn't I keep him gagged?
Buffy headed upstairs to get ready for work. This job at the school had been a god-send, but sometimes she felt like there was something more to it. Nothing ever got handed to her on a silver platter this way, nothing. It was almost like there was something she was supposed to find there…
She found herself in her room, staring blankly at a closet full of clothes. Having no idea what she wanted to wear, she began sifting through her shirts and pants before settling on a white blouse and a pair of beige capris. Turning to her dresser she pulled out clean underwear, then grabbed her hairbrush and deodorant before heading for the bathroom.
As she straightened, she glanced in the mirror and almost screamed when she saw her blankets move by themselves. She spun around and saw that Spike was lying there. Duh Buffy! No reflection. Sighing, she sat on the bed beside him and watched him sleep. He had begun to toss and turn, the beginnings of a nightmare coating his alabaster skin with sweat.
Reaching out a hand she stroked his face, one smooth motion starting from the centre of his forehead, trailing down his cheek, and stopping once she was cupping his jaw. Buffy was surprised at how perfectly it fit against her palm, as if from the same mould. Gently she brushed her thumb against his lips and he sighed, her touch allowing him to slide into a comfortable sleep. Reluctantly, Buffy stood and headed for the bathroom.
When she turned, she realized someone had been watching her. "Kennedy? What are you doing here?" Buffy asked warily.
The young woman came forward, a mug of blood in her hands. "I'm taking the first shift. Thought he might like some breakfast." Kennedy stepped forward and dragged Buffy's desk chair next to the bed. Buffy returned to Spike's side and lifted his head so Kennedy could tip the warmed liquid into his mouth without spilling it all over the quilt.
Once his instincts had kicked in, the cup was soon drained and Buffy laid Spike's head to rest on the pillow. Taking a Kleenex, she repeated her motions from the night before, wetting it with her tongue and cleaning his face. Wordlessly, she deposited the soiled tissue in the garbage can. Buffy gathered her clothes and once again made her way to the door. Before she left, she turned back to do the standard safety check, then rested her eyes on the brunette.
"I expect him to be in one piece when I get home," Buffy stated.
"Don't worry, Buffy. I'll take good care of him," Kennedy replied.
Buffy nodded. "I know, just wanted to hear you say that." She smiled slightly, looking the slumbering vampire over once more, and added, "Thank you." With that, Buffy left his care in Kennedy's hands.