FUTURE IMPERFECT

Disclosure:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Nick, Callie, and Hope.

CHAPTER 30- ---The Smeg It Is!---*

"You sure this is where he said the nest was pet," Spike asked softly in a whisper as he crouched down behind a row of bushes beside Buffy.

"We're in the right place…but this is just…weird," Buffy replied with a confused and concerned look on her face as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Really…I actually think it kind of makes sense…in a weird way, Anya would love it," Willow added with an odd smirk on her face as she peeked her head around the tree that she was hiding behind and looked down at Spike and Buffy.

"If only to prove her point that bunnies are evil," Xander added with an overly cheesy smile on his face as he peeked his head around the other side of the tree.

"Remind me again why the Whelp is here," Spike grumbled with an annoyed but yet good natured scowl on his face as he shook his head.

"Someone has to look the part of the normal pedestrian in case the N.Y.P.D. comes by," Buffy answered with a nervous shrug of her shoulders before Dawn and Angel appeared out of the darkness and hurried to squat down beside Spike and Buffy.

"Everybody ready," Angel asked with a very serious look on his face as he dropped his knee to the ground and took in an unneeded breath.

"As ready as we're every going to be…you sure about this plan though…I mean this is the big throw-down, we're not going to get another shot at this," Spike stated softly with an unconvinced expression on his face before he drew his sword.

"It doesn't matter Spike, we're out of time, Gwen won't last through the night…," Angel stammered out softly with a worried look on his face before shaking his head and adding, "Are Groo and Oz and the others in position?" 

"Everyone's in position Angel, Gunn and Fred stayed back at Wesley and Faith's house with Gwen, Giles, and Sam, and Anya and Cordelia were taking Kate shopping for baby clothes," Willow replied with a nervous look on her face before she shuddered visibly from the cold.

"Cordelia and Anya shopping together…now there's a scary thought," Buffy adlibbed with an oddly sarcastic smirk on her face before she did her best to suppress a giggle that threatened to overwhelm her.

"This is so cool," Dawn softly squealed with an excited smile on her face as she could barely contain her enthusiasm.

"No it's not Nibblet, this is going to be hell here in a minute," Spike quickly grumbled out with a very serious scowl on his face, eliciting a meager squeak from Dawn in response.

"So the nest is under there right, somewhere down in the sewers," Willow asked softly with a sidelong glance in Spike's direction as she moved to change the subject.

"That's what Whistler said…but I don't see the connection," Angel replied softly with a very serious frown on his face as he shook his head.

"Maybe it's the bunny motif, you know the whole Karrot's pet shop and the rabbit as their logo, Anya always said that bunnies were evil, who knew she was right," Xander guessed with a humorous smile on his face as he stood up and leaned up against the tree.

"Shut up Xander," Spike growled with an angry edge to his voice before everyone fell silent as a patrol car slowly drove by.

*                     *                      *                        *                            *                               *

She stared at the small child in her lap, silently praying that she would not be alone in watching her grow up and mature. Her father was finally resting comfortably in the emergency care unit after the surgery.  Hope's luminous eyes roamed across her mothers face and a frown of concern creased her youthful brow.  Somehow the youngest member of the Wyndam-Pryce family was as astute as her mother about sensing trouble. 

"Ma-ma," Hope stammered out softly with a concerned look in her eyes as she brought both of her hands to rest on her mother's cheeks, both with a bit of tear damaged makeup. 

"I'm okay honey…mommy's okay…bad lie huh," Faith started to reply softly with a fake smile of confidence on her face before she gave up the charade and a sad pout sprang upon her face and her eyes fell to the small daffodil on the front of her daughter's shirt.  Hope's reaction to her mother's pout was her usual expression when either her mother or father became sad; smack them as hard as she could with whatever was available until they cheered up.  "Ow…hey…you're not supposed to," Faith exclaimed loudly with a surprised look on her face as Hope reared back and smacked Faith as hard as she could on the cheek.

"Sucks doesn't it…to have all of that power at your disposal and now at which you most need that power it's totally useless…," Whistler joked with an amused smirk on his face as he slowly and rather awkwardly sat down in one of the chairs next to Faith.

"Who the…," Faith growled with an alarmed look on her face as she instinctively pulled Hope close and turned away, although Hope let out a short laugh and locked her gaze onto Whistler.

"Oh sorry…Whistler's the name, and equalizing the war between good and evil is my game…don't worry I'm not with the bad guys, I'm an old friend of Angel's, I helped set him on the good path all those years ago when he was still just a…," Whistler quickly added with a very proud of himself look on his face as he nodded his head slightly to punctuate each bit of information that he told Faith.

"What are you…," Faith asked softly, still unconvinced, as she quickly rose from her chair and took a couple of steps back and away from Whistler.

"A demon…but not one that you need to worry about," Whistler replied with a sheepish grin on his face before he tried his best to look as non-threatening and innocent as he possibly could.

"Right…that's what they all say…before they try to rip your heart out," Faith stated with a very serious and threatening tone to her voice as she continued to back away from Whistler.

"Geez…no wonder it took you so long to trust anyone enough to marry them…fine you want the truth straight from the horses mouth…okay, here it is…this…all of it…it's a test…not for you or for Wesley…it's a test for Angel, with pretty much the mother of all rewards if he does the right thing…," Whistler said with a nervous but impatient frown on his face as he settle into his chair and stared out of the window.

"You mean he'll shanshu…become human," Faith asked, not believing her ears, as she inadvertently took a step back towards Whistler.

"Not quite that big of a reward gorgeous, but you're close…you know that nasty little curse that's been plaguing him for these past couple of centuries…good…glad to see that there's some brains in that pretty little head of yours…yes-siree, if my pal Angel passes this test that little no happiness clause will be a thing of the past, lucky break eh…," Whistler said with a calm but yet bored look on his face before he smiled and nodded his head as Faith nodded her head in her knowledge of the stipulations of Angel's curse.

"So why haven't you told him yet," Faith asked softly with a look of disbelief on her face as she slowly sat back down in her chair and looked over at Whistler.

"Honey…it doesn't work that way…if I told him what he was fighting for then he'd lose the reward…your boy in there understood it when I told him about it…," Whistler joked with a pleased look on his face as he nodded his head towards the room where Wesley lay recuperating after surgery, not caring at the confused and shocked look on Faith's face.

*                       *                       *                            *                         *                          *

"Remind me again why I'm the one that has to wear this thing, it smells like an elderly male yak took a leak in both pockets," Spike grumbled with an annoyed look on his face as he held up the burlap coat in front of him and scrutinized it closely. 

"Because Spike, it'll shield you from being discovered until you find the portal…at least that's what it's supposed to do," Willow replied with a nervous and slightly hesitant smile on her face before she shrugged her shoulders and stared down at her feet.

"Why does that not fill me with confidence," Spike mused with a very sarcastic look on his face before he shrugged his shoulders and sighed deeply. 

"Just put the damn thing on already, we're running out of time," Buffy growled with an angry expression plastered across her face before her countenance softened at the hurt look in Spike's eyes.  Reluctantly Spike slipped the coat on and took his sword from Angel and headed towards the tunnel entrance.

"Does he stand a chance in hell of actually getting to the portal before he's found out," Angel asked Willow softly after Spike was out of earshot.

"Not a chance in hell, but I didn't have the heart to tell him, b…but don't worry Buffy, we'll all charge in well before that happens…really," Willow mumbled her reply softly at first before she caught the combined furious and terrified look that Buffy was giving her with her eyes.

"We'd better Will…," Buffy said with a very serious look on her face as she got a better grip on her own sword before she slowly crossed the street and headed after Spike.

"How many are down there," Dawn asked with a readily prevalent amount of fear in her voice as she stepped up beside Willow and Angel.

"There's no way of knowing Dawnie…but if we stay out here talking about it all night we're never going to find out," Willow replied with a hesitant look on her face before she turned and looked up at Angel for his take on the situation at hand.

"Let's just do this and get back to Gwen," Angel added with a frustrated scowl on his face before he shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

"That guy has a one track mind," Dawn whispered with a slightly angry tone to her voice as she crossed her arms and stared off after Angel.

"Tell me about it…come on Dawn, let's go," Willow whispered back with an odd smirk on her face before she fell into step behind Angel.

Spike entered the tunnel and slowly made his way through the darkness until he came to a door.  After rapping on it several times in a code that Sam had given him the door swung open to reveal one of the fire breathing reptilian demons standing in the torchlight, not looking very happy to be there.  Spike flinched as he readied for the attack to come, but nothing happened.  After several seconds of staring out into the darkness the demon started to slam the door shut, but Spike dashed through the doorway and plunged the tip of his sword through the demons chest, not stopping until he found the heart.  After several seemingly eternal moments of eerie silence the demon gargled up a mouthful of blood before slumping to the ground in a pool of its own blood.

"Good job Spike," Buffy whispered softly with a slightly relieved look on her face before she leaned in and kissed Spike softly.

"Thanks…but this is far from over and it'll only get harder from here on out, let's hope that Sam didn't double cross us and that the Whelp has the van ready for our escape," Spike replied with a serious and slightly scared look on his face before he disappeared into the darkness.

*                         *                         *                         *                     *                      *

"How's she doing," Sam asked with a worried look on her face as she slowly paced around the room.

"Not good…her fever's gotten worse…and the blankets aren't keeping her very warm anymore," Fred answered with a very nervous look on her face as she looked up from her position beside Gwen.  After the group had left to fight the fire breathing demons and end the apocalypse before it got started Giles had laid a few blankets and pillows on the couch in Wesley and Faith's living room and laid a feverish Gwen on it before wrapping her up in the blankets. 

"She doesn't have much longer left…if Angel and the others…," Giles began to say with a concerned frown on his face before he let his voice trail off as he stared at the quick repair job that Xander and Gunn had done on the windows.

"Angel will make it back old man…he always made it…not matter what I…or Wolfram and Hart through in his path he always seemed to find a way to foil our plans…over and over again," Lindsey quipped with a sarcastic and almost nostalgic smile on his face as he reclined in Wesley's chair and sipped a cup of tea while his bodyguards stood nearby.

"Let's hope that your assessment of Angel of old rings true to this more current scenario," Giles added with a very grim and serious expression on his face as he turned away from the window to glare down at Lindsey like he had glared at Buffy at times.

"Why…don't you have any faith in his abilities…," Lindsey joked with an amused smile on his face as he snickered a bit at the flustered look on Giles' face.

"I have faith that Angel will try as hard as he can to do what is right, and the others right along with him, I'm simply trying to remain objective and not get to emotional before I know anything," Giles stated with a serious frown on his face as he walked away from the window and back towards the couch, not even glancing at Lindsey as he passed.

*                            *                          *                   *                         *                        *

Spike stared straight ahead, not completely being able to comprehend exactly what he was seeing.  Sure he had seen portals before, but most of them had been of the sort that were small in nature, opened and closed very quickly, and were positioned over a fixed position or point.  But this portal looked to be big enough to allow for an army to pass through easily.  So far the magically protective garment had done its job admirably, but by this point in time Spike had almost become sick because of the stench.  Buffy and the others behind him had taken care of the demons that they had met along the way, mostly by letting Spike create a diversion and then when the demon wasn't looking Angel or Buffy would run it through with a sword or decapitate it.  Willow had kept to the back to protect Dawn, who had been about to throw a tantrum when Spike had whispered into her ear that afterwards he'd take her to some of his old haunts, places that he was sure that Buffy would be furious if she ever knew about them visiting.  Oz and Groo had stayed at the entrance, trying their best to look like normal citizens simply conversing on the street corner while Xander had stayed across the street in a large van, keys in the ignition, and weapons at hand, ready for anything.

"Bloody…," Spike gasped out in a whisper before he remembered where he was and quickly stopped himself from finishing the statement of awe.  He watched as two heavily cloaked individuals walked out of a tunnel in the back and towards the portal.  Because of how heavily they were cloaked Spike couldn't discern whether they were human or demon, but either way Spike's only hope was that neither had some type of armor on, hidden beneath the folds of their robes.  He almost jumped when he felt a lithe hand on his shoulder but stopped when he felt Buffy's hot breath on the back of his neck and his ears picked up Angel's slightly more labored movements, Willow shuffling her feet and the clink of the change in her pocket, not to mention Dawn's own sharp intake of breath at the sight of what was transpiring in the room.

"What do we do now," Dawn whispered softly under her breath as she leaned in under Angel's arm and over Willow's shoulder.

"We wait until the right moment…and not speak," Angel angrily whispered back softly, being as careful as he could to keep the demons from hearing him.  Dawn started to protest but stopped and had to bite her bottom lip to keep from growling in both pain and anger as Buffy grabbed her arm and dug her fingernails in, drawing blood.  Spike took a step back so that Angel was on one side and Buffy was on the other before Willow took over the conversation and spoke to them through her telepathy.

"Okay guys here's the plan…Dawnie you stay here with me and protect our escape route, Angel you and Buffy swing around to either side, while Spike when I give the signal you'll sneak up to the portal and try to close it, I'm sorry but after the portal is closed the release of energy will in effect short circuit the magic that lets you stay invisible to the demons and you won't be hidden any longer, in other words they'll be able to see you so don't dilly dally," Willow said through her telepathy with a very serious look on her face as she looked each of the others in the eye.

"How long are you going to set the timer for, there's enough TNT in there to destroy an entire city block…," Angel asked through the mindlink with a concerned scowl on his face as he half looked back over his shoulder at Willow. 

"Really…because I…uh…you see I kind of magically…enhanced it a bit…," Willow stammered out her reply with a fearful look of regret on her face.

"How much is a bit Red…," Spike asked with a very demanding scowl on his face as he fully turned back around and glared at the witch.

"Well…I'm really not sure, but needless to say it'll be enough to do the job," Willow replied back with a nervous smile on her face through the glares thrown her way.

"So in other words after Will sets the timer run like the wind and hope that Xander's got the motor running and the streets are empty…or else we're all toast," Buffy jumped in quickly with a sarcastic but yet very serious look on her face before she shrugged her shoulders and smiled innocently.

"Pretty much…whatever happens just remember that once I set the timer I can't shut it off again and we'll only have five minutes to get back up to the surface and a safe distance away," Willow added with a very serious look on her face before noticing that Dawn looked as if she were about ready to throw up.

"But it took like ten minutes for us to find out way down here…," Spike asked back through the telepathic link with a demanding tone to his voice that showed his displeasure.

"We'll think of something Spike, we always…do…," Angel started to say back through the telepathic link before every scaly head turned in their direction, all gazes locked onto them.

"Intruders…kill them…," A heavily robed reptilian demon shouted loudly as it pointed a heavily scaled and clawed hand at Spike and the others.

"Shit…," Buffy muttered softly under her breath before the onslaught began.

END OF CHAPTER 30

*--Refers back to the last new episode of Red Dwarf that I've seen in which at the end of the episode there was a tagline that read…The End…then the screen went blank and the title to this chapter appeared on the screen, so I just found it fitting to use it as this chapters title.  Next chapter is the epilogue.