PART TWO:
Nareia woke with a start. Spike sat up beside her, his strong arms wrapped around her tight. They looked at each other with startled eyes. The images of dead and dying people were still in their minds, and the screams were ringing in their ears.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Spike asked fiercely.
Nareia shook her head, her brow furrowed in thought. Even in his state of worry, Spike still noticed how beautiful the vampire beside him was.
"A dream, that's all it was, a bloody dream," Spike muttered, flinging the bed covers away, and swinging his legs off of the mattress. Nareia couldn't but help noticing how sexy his legs were.
"It wasn't just any dream, and you know it," Nareia followed him out of bed, and caught up her blouse from where it had been flung. Spike, too, was dressing quickly.
"If it wasn't just any dream, then what did it mean?" he growled back at her. He didn't like not knowing what was going on.
"I don't know!" Nareia yelled back. "At least," her voice quietened, and Spike came back to stand beside her.
"What, love, what?"
Nareia took a deep breath, "I think it was a foretelling dream. The fact that we both had it reinforces that."
Spike took hold of her shoulders in strong hands, and turned her to face him. Her upturned head revealed worried eyes. "If you're right, we're in trouble."
"Yep. What fun!" Nareia grinned suddenly, and grabbed up her jeans from the floor. She put them on, hopping about the floor, and laughing at Spike's bemused expression.
"Bloody hell, girl, what's wrong with you? You've got a soul, you're not meant to be relishing this. Even I'm not, and I'm not exactly Mr. Bloody Nice Guy," Spike shouted at her.
Nareia immediately became sombre again, "I know. Sorry, irony moment. But we can't be sure yet. That witch friend of the Slayer might be able to tell us more."
Spike frowned. "How did you know Red was a witch? And why do we have to go and see her?"
"I'm a Druid myself, remember, I can recognise someone like me miles away. And someone with magic running through their veins is likely to have been effected just like us. And besides, we said we would meet them later to discuss the whole Hellmouth thing," Nareia pointed out.
Spike grunted, grabbed his jacket, and led the way out of the door quickly. "Lucky we were at it all day, pet, otherwise we'd be toast."
Nareia slipped him a sidelong grin, which he only just caught, and her thoughts skittered past his mind, making him shudder in anticipation of the next day. Then, they went black again, and she said, "Perhaps this dream was to do with the Hellmouth?"
"Maybe," Spike postulated, "it isn't a pup, whatever it is, for it to have sent out images that strong."
Nareia shuddered, "Yeah, I think the shit will officially hit the fan soon."
Spike gave Nareia a queer look, and then led her to the apartment.
As they were walking along, Spike felt Nareia's confusion in his mind, "What, pet, what's wrong?"
"Well, I just don't understand why you are having anything to do with the Slayer and her friends, and why she hasn't staked you yet," Nareia said, frowning.
Spike shrugged nonchalantly, "I'm just too damn good for her." He smirked at the look that comment provoked from Nareia, and continued, "After Dru left, I came back here to seek the Gem of Amara. I found it, but once again, got my ass well and truly kicked by the bloody Slayer." Spike growled at the amused expression on Nareia's face, and glared at her. "Needless to say, she foiled my excellent plan, and I decided that drowning my sorrows would be a good idea. Sometime later, in a drunken haze, I remembered Red being a witch, and thought she could help me, cursing Dru, or something. When I got here, I felt as though I was waiting for something, and I ended up selling Buffy and her friends information about current demon activity. I guess that heralded your return," he finished with a sigh. "So there you go, the big bad is a traitor."
Nareia smiled softly, and hugged him as they walked, "I don't think so, Spike, you're just growing as a person, in as bad a way as possible," she added at the sight of his darkening face.
He just growled, and they walked in silence for a while, arms around each other comfortably. Then Spike told her about the rest of the Slayer's friends, and how to emotionally hurt each of them most.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy woke up out of her daydream with a start. Sweat was running down her face and back. Willow was beside her, her worried green eyes searching Buffy's face, "Are you OK, Buffy?"
Buffy looked up at her friend, stunned and a little disorientated, "Didn't you have it, too?"
Willow frowned, "What? What's wrong?"
Buffy got up from her desk, rubbing her forehead. "I had a very strange dream. It was really crappy. I thought you might have had it as well."
Willow shook her head, "I was in a trance, trying to do this stupid fairy light spell." The redhead savagely aimed a kick at the bowl on the floor.
Buffy shook her head at her friend, "I don't understand why you won't let me buy normal Christmas lights to decorate our room with. I mean, you've been trying to master this spell for almost a week."
"That's the whole point. It's a stupid, miniscule spell, and I can't even get it to work," Willow put on her resolve face, and Buffy knew that, if they were to have lights in their room this Christmas, they were to be supernatural ones. "It will work, one day."
"But will it be before the holidays?" Buffy mumbled under her breath.
"Anyway, tell me about this dream. Your dreams generally mean something, Buffy, is there anything to worry about?"
The Slayer looked at her earnest friend, and shook her head, "I don't know, I think we should go and talk to Giles first, before jumping to conclusions."
Willow nodded enthusiastically. "We were meant to be going to see him anyway, as Nareia was going to tell us what she knows about the Hellmouth," she reminded Buffy.
"Yeah, she's a character and a half, isn't she?" said Buffy, as they walked out of their flat.
~*~*~*~*~*~
In L.A., in a small apartment, a dark vampire awoke in the early evening with a start. Sitting up on his bed, he ran his hands through his hair, thinking about what had woken him up.
Angel didn't normally have dreams that intense, or at least, if he did, they involved a certain Slayer. He got up and paced his bedroom, his face grim. Suddenly, he came to a decision, and dialled a number on his bedside phone.
"Cordelia? It's Angel. I'm going back to Sunnydale for a while, you and Wesley are going to have to cope with the case on your own."
There was a pause, and Angel's face had a long-suffering look about it. "Cordelia, you'll have to. There's something I need to do."
After a few more minutes, Angel said shortly, "I'll call you when I get there." He sighed as he put the phone down. That girl could be so infuriating!
The vampire began to pack some things into a small bag, and soon he was making his way out of the apartment, to the underground car park, where his open-top car was waiting for him.
It wasn't long before he was speeding his way down the road towards the Hellmouth, and his Slayer.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Giles was in research mode already when Willow, Buffy and Xander, who they had met up with, arrived. He looked up as the three walked in. "So," the Watcher said, taking off his glasses, "anything to report?"
"Yeah, Spike's got a friend," Buffy answered, sitting down on the table.
"A friend? What sort of friend would we be talking about here, a demon-kind of friend, or a nice, sugar-coated friend?" Xander asked.
"A vampire-with-a-soul sort of friend," Willow replied.
Xander's brow wrinkled, "I thought Deadboy was the only one of those around here." He ignored Buffy's look at the mention of Angel.
"Apparently not," the Slayer pointed out.
"Hmm," Giles sat in thought, his glasses in the corner of his mouth.
"What, hmm? Is that a good hmm, or a bad hmm?" Buffy asked her Watcher.
"Pardon? Oh, sorry," Giles shook himself. "Tell me more about this ensouled vampire of Spike's."
So Willow and Buffy explained how they had met Nareia and how she claimed she had met Spike. When they mentioned the female vampire's name, Giles pursed his lips. "Okay, Giles, spit it out, what do you know about Nareia?" Buffy demanded, seeing the look on the librarian's face.
"I have heard of this vampire. All that you tell me is true, as far as it goes. I've read that she, wait, let me find the reference," and he dug around for an old brown book, much to the impatience of the teenagers. "Ah, here it is. She 'decimated the vampire population, starting with her sire, for many decades.'"
"So, how old is this chick, then?" Xander asked.
Giles found the page in his book, "I believe she would be about 126 years old."
"The same age as Spike," Willow added.
Giles nodded. "She would be a powerful ally, Buffy. She has always had a soul, so she would be better able to control her demon than perhaps even Angel."
Buffy's face darkened at the mention of her former lover, but she nodded in recognition at the fact that Nareia could be useful. "The only problem would be her attachment to Spike."
Giles shook his head, "I don't think that would be a problem. With Nareia in such close proximity, her conscience would control his demon. You might even be able to trust him, although I wouldn't suggest with your life."
Buffy snorted, and Willow smiled, "Well, I guess we just wait then."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Where are they?" Buffy paced impatiently.
Giles looked up from where he was reading. "I'm sure they will turn up sooner or later. Stop worrying, Buffy."
"Hmph!" The Slayer continued to stalk the room.
Suddenly, the door was flung open, and Spike strode in. Nareia stood outside, with an uncomfortable look on her face. Giles looked up. "Oh, uh, sorry, do come in."
"Speak of the devils," Xander muttered.
"Well, we're here now, we can start," Spike said with a smirk on his face.
"Spike!" Nareia growled at him. Then she turned to Willow. "Willow, did you have a strange dream earlier today?"
Willow started to shake her head, and then Buffy interjected, "Wait a minute, how do you know about the dream?"
"What dream, what are you talking about? Why didn't you mention this to me before, Buffy?" Giles took off his glasses and stood up.
Nareia turned and looked at the Watcher. "I take it you are Giles. I'm Nareia," and she held out her hand to him.
Giles took it, and kissed it. "It is a great honour to meet you. I have read a lot about you."
Spike made a sick noise in the background. "Back to the bloody point."
"For once I agree with Blondie, what's going on here?" Xander added.
Buffy and Nareia related the dreams that they had had, and Spike added, "It definitely has something to do with that bloody Hellmouth. I can feel that there's something trying to get out."
"If it can't get out, it might still be able to influence the outside world," Nareia pointed out.
"Giles, we have to find out what this thing is," Buffy said.
"Right, research mode," Willow ordered, and all the teenagers and the Watcher took to the books, and the computer, to the astonishment of Nareia, and the amusement of Spike.
"Are they like this all the time?" the petite vampire asked her blond counterpart.
"Yeah, pet, always bloody at the books."
Suddenly, Nareia felt Spike tense up beside her. She looked at him worriedly, but then she felt the presence as well. She looked quickly at the humans crowded around the table, heads buried in books, or, as in Willow's case, a laptop. They hadn't appeared to have noticed Spike's uneasiness, although Buffy was frowning.
"Well, if it isn't the bloody poof himself? What brought you here, daddy?" Spike suddenly said softly.
Nareia knew as soon as he had spoken where she had felt that brooding presence before, and she turned slowly to see Angelus standing just inside the door of Giles' apartment.
"Nice to see you again, too, Spike. How have you been keeping? Well, I trust," the dark vampire didn't try to conceal his sarcasm. Then he turned his dark gaze upon Nareia. "Long time, no see, Nareia."
Nareia smiled softly, and looked away, causing Spike to growl softly. "Yeah."
Buffy and the others had taken in this quiet, quick conversation in shocked silence. Then Angel turned to Buffy and Giles briskly, "I had a dream today, and think you should know about it."
"Oh, bloody hell."
Everyone turned to Nareia as she muttered those words. She didn't flinch under the close scrutiny. "If Angelus dreamt the same thing as we did, then this thing has got a long distance influence, which is anything but good."
Angel turned to Nareia, "It's Angel now, and what do you mean, 'the same thing as we did'?"
Spike interjected, "Nareia and I dreamt the same dream that the Slayer did. About some bloody psycho demon trying to take over the world."
"Give or take most of the gory details," Nareia added.
Angel's face darkened. "This is bad, this is very bad."
Spike snorted derisively, "Understatement of the year, pop."
Angel glared at the blond vampire, and finally, after a few tension-filled minutes, Nareia stepped between them. "Okay, cool it, guys. We're going to have to work together, so you two are going to have to reconcile your differences, even if it's only temporarily."
The two vampires turned their gaze upon their diminutive female counterpart. Finally, Angel smiled slightly, and said, "She's right."
Nareia set her brown eyes on Spike, and finally he, too, gave in with a small growl. "All right, I'll bloody reconcile," he mumbled. "But, remember, once this is over, it's back to business as usual."
The humans were observing this with interest, and Giles gave Buffy a knowing look. He was right. Nareia could keep Spike's demon in check. Buffy returned the look with a shrug.
Spike growled softly in his throat again, and sat down opposite Nareia. Little did anyone else know, except perhaps Angel, that Nareia had been sending all sorts of threats to him while he and Angel were facing it off. He could have resisted longer, but in the end, he knew she would have won him over. She was the most stubborn vampire he had ever met.
"So," Giles gave each person around the table a book, "get to work searching for something that sounds like it could have come from one of the dreams." All heads were soon bent over various books, hard at work. The vampires and the Slayer knew that time was of the essence. They could feel the demon, or whatever it was, straining at the Hellmouth as they researched.
