Chapter 16
An hour later, the Sunnydale gang and the L.A.'s crew settled down in the main room of Angel's hotel to discuss the current situation.
"Okay, now that your all settled in...what's going on?"
"Well...see, it's good news. Buffy's coming back."
"What are you saying,
Will?"
"Buffy's coming back to
life."
"Wow!" "How?"
"Really?"
"Yep, that's what we were
told by the 'Six Sense' people over there."
"Xander, what the hell are you talking about."
"Come on Spike...Dawn...you've got to tell him that one."
"I don't have to tell Peaches anything if I don't want."
Dawn giggled.
"The name's Angel, William."
"The name's Spike, Mighty Poufter."
"Can we just get on with this?" Giles asked, clearly exasperated at the banter.
Honestly, he thought. If it wasn't Xander and Spike, it was Xander and Angel or Spike and Angel. A person can only take so much of it .
Buffy silently agreed with him.
Dawn stepped forward and addressed Angel,
"Ever since Buffy died, me and Spike have seen her, and talked to her. She's been with us, basically hanging with us like usual, minus the times when she disappears abruptly. A few night ago, Spike and I both had dreams with Buffy in them."
Dawn and Spike told the LA crew their dreams.
"So you see," Spike told them, "we believe that she can come back. But we need to find the scroll that you have to check and see what else we need and when to perform the sodden spell that'll bring her back to us. "
"And she told you about the Shanshu scroll?"
"Yeah, it was in both mine and Spike's dream. Besides, as I said before, Buffy talks to us, both out loud and in our thoughts, so if we got it wrong, I'm sure she'd have corrected us by now."
"How come I can't see her?"
"Maybe she doesn't want you to see her."
Buffy told Spike that he wasn't helping much.
"Well..." Spike muttered.
Then he thought about it and looked back towards her.
Why can't he see you? he asked her.
Buffy wasn't sure, but she thought that maybe those who were the closest near her death might have had something to do with it. That and the Hellmouth's energy. Even now she was much weaker, having more trouble maintaining her visibility, here in LA than she ever had back in Sunnydale.
Spike nodded.
Angel, watching Spike have a silent conversation with a ghost, even if that ghost happened to be his beloved Buffy, thought that he had seen everything now. I'll never be surprised again.
Out loud, however, he decided to tease Spike a little.
"You're acting like Dru now, I think some of her ...shall we say, unique insanity, has finally rubbed off on you."
Spike knew his sire was goading him, but he couldn't help replying,
"Sod off!!"
Angel smiled.
Giles groaned.
Xander chuckled.
Cordelia rolled her eyes and asked Angel,
"The explosion didn't destroy
the scroll did it?"
"Explosion?!"
"Oh yeah, a while back, when we were still back in our old office, someone blew us up, in an attempt to kill Wesley."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"Well, Angel?"
Buffy shook her head and told
those, who could hear her, that the scroll was in Angel's private chamber in
the basement, he had removed it from the other place a few days before the
explosion. Besides, it was fire proof.
Angel shook his head.
"No...I have it."
"Well...go down to your private chamber in the basement and get it...we've got a girl to bring back, Wanker."
Angel gave him a puzzled look.
"How did you know where it
was?"
"Buffy told us."
Dawn said.
"Oh..."
"Yeah we know. It's just a little creepy at first, you'll get used to it. We have. And soon, we'll have Buffy back."
Willow and Tara smiled at him, nodding in agreement with Xander.
Angel smiled.
"And on that note, lets go get us a scroll."
He went down to the basement and came back up a few minutes later with a long scroll that seemed to call out to Spike and Dawn. So much so that they went over to it and peered at it.
"Do you hear that?"
"Is it calling to us?"
"I think so....Oi!! Great Wanker?"
Angel sighed heavily, "What Spike?"
"Is this thing supposed to
be....humming, singing, and calling to us?"
"It did to me...but only
once. I haven't heard it do anything
lately, but then I don't keep it upstairs on display very often, either,
lately."
Both Spike and Dawn just nodded and returned their attention to the scroll.
Then they walked over to a table in the area, and lied it down, pulling it open to read.
They scanned through bits and pieces until they found a passage that mentioned what they needed to know.
"Found it!!"
"Really Spike?"
"Where is it?"
"Don't crowd, kiddies, everyone will get a turn. Here...look here. This passage:
...And upon the day the souled vampire returns to its own dimension, a great warrior shall fall in a mighty battle with one god of three. This warrior, however, shall not be stopped by death. The Ancient Key of Worlds, Blood of Souled & the ashes of the warrior's true love's matriarchal sire brought together on top of the great warriors remains, by the night of the blood moon, will restore this warrior once again. Said warrior shall return as before, but with additional strengths. This warriors magical companions will also receive additional gifts of increased power. An obstacle will be removed, an understanding will take place, and a choice will be made. A creature of dark will be surrounded by light and its destiny will be bound and allied with a creature of light. The creature of dark's weaknesses will be weaknesses no longer and its strengths will double. The creature of light will go through a similar path of change. A perfect balance will be borne of this union. The balance will aid in the next battle between a double triumphren....
I think that's all the part that has to deal with us."
"Wow...okay...now who can
translate it to English so all of us can understand what's being said?"
"Don't worry
Lackbrain," Spike smirked at him, " we'll repeat all the words real
slowly so you can keep up with the bigger brained people."
Xander narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
For he had seen Willow's 'Resolve Face' and knew that she wanted him to behave.
Spike had also seen Willow's 'Resolve Face' and put his head down, he knew he shouldn't have done it, but damn it, heckling the whelp was one of the things he did the best. Besides, it was pure fun.
Wesley spoke up, for the first or second time since the gathering had begun...
"Spike?"
"Yeah?"
"I didn't know you spoke this language?"
"Yeah, well...I have a real knack for languages."
Buffy asked him, if that's so, why did you always have Dalton look up things?
He chuckled. I know languages, pet, he thought, but I'm not always fond of reading them.
Buffy giggled and nodded and then disappeared.
"I'd like to make a suggestion," Giles said.
Curious faces from all around looked at him.
"As anxious as we are all to go over this scroll in detail and look at it piece by piece, so we are sure of what must be done and when, I say we all get some sleep. And look at it tomorrow evening."
Everyone thought about it...and then nodded.
Some of them were already starting to lag, and sleep would be a welcome and for some, much needed, break.
So Angel took the scroll back to it's resting place and all retired to their rooms until the next night.
TBC…