This chapter is a little short but hopefully I'll get another one up soon.
Disclaimer is still in chapter 1 (in case anyone didn't know by now) =)
Willow prepared the necessary ingredients for the spell. Spike was sitting on the couch where Buffy lay, nervously squeezing her hand. Xander stood holding a pack of matches as he waited for Willow to finish placing her candles around the room. Giles and Dawn were standing nearby, anxious for Willow to begin her magic.
"Ok," she said after reviewing the spell one last time. "Xander, you can light the candles now. After that I'll need complete silence."
Xander nodded his head and did as Willow asked. When the candles were lit, the group turned their attention to the red-headed witch.
Willow sat on the floor and closed her eyes. She began chanting softly to herself.
'I hope Red knows what she's doing,' Spike thought to himself. 'Last time she used magic we had a near apocalypse.'
A sudden gust of wind rushed through the room, extinguishing the candles. Willow stopped chanting and her body went limp. No one dared move a muscle in fear of interfering with the spell. Giles, Xander, and Dawn turned to Spike in hope that he could tell them if the spell had worked. He shrugged his shoulders in response. How was he supposed to know whether Willow was inside his mind?
After a minute of silence, Willow suddenly jerked back her head and started gasping for breath. Xander ran to her side.
"Willow! Are you ok?"
She nodded her head and everyone waited until she had caught her breath.
"I'm fine," she squeaked. "But... I couldn't reach Buffy." She paused a moment before continuing. "I saw something else though." She turned to Spike, her eyes wide. "Why didn't you tell us?" she asked.
Spike's face grew even paler than normal as all eyes turned to him. "Tell you what, pet?" he asked though he knew exactly what Willow meant.
"Tell us what?" Xander repeated, confusion written on his face. He wanted to know why Willow seemed so excited all of a sudden.
"About his..."
"...soul," said Spike, finishing Willow's sentence.
Everyone stared at him, stunned.
"You have a soul?" asked Dawn. "When... how...?"
"It happened a month ago, Niblet." Spike stared at the floor while he spoke. For some reason he couldn't look anyone in the eye while he told his story.
"The short version is: I went to a demon to get back my soul. He gave it to me." Spike didn't feel like going into details at the moment.
"That's incredible!" Dawn spoke.
Giles nervously fixed his glasses. "Yes... incredible... yes... well." Spike found it somewhat amusing that the Englishman was at a loss for words. Even Xander seemed speechless.
"What I don't get is why," Xander finally said. "Why did you want your soul? I thought with vampires 'soul' equaled 'not a whole lot of fun'."
'Now's a good time to change the subject,' thought Spike, not wanting to explain how he had gotten his soul back so Buffy could love him. He knew now that he wasn't worthy of her love.
"Shouldn't we be helping Buffy?" he asked. The Scoobies nodded their heads in agreement, realizing they needed a new plan to help Buffy.
"You're right, Spike, but don't think you're getting off the hook that easily," Dawn teased. "After we get Buffy back, I want to hear every single detail."
Spike smiled. He knew that when Dawn wanted something, she always got her way.
"Guys," Willow said. "Spike just gave me an idea." She ran out of the room and came back with an ancient, leather-bound book. "This is the spell I just used," she explained after finding the right page. "It didn't work when I was the one trying to reach Buffy, but I didn't even consider the idea of Spike trying to find her. He might have better luck than I did."
The vampire looked at her confused. "How can I enter my own mind?" The idea sounded crazy to him.
Willow noticed all her friends giving her strange looks as well. "It's really not that farfetched guys," she began. "Think about it. We only use about 10% of our brains. The other 90% is where we store our memories. Buffy's trapped in the part of Spike's brain where his memories are. That's where he needs to go to find her."
Spike nodded slowly. The idea was so crazy, it just might work. Besides, it was the only chance they had to find Buffy. "Alright, Red," he said with more confidence then he felt. "You work your magic and I'm going to find myself a slayer."
Willow prepared the necessary ingredients for the spell. Spike was sitting on the couch where Buffy lay, nervously squeezing her hand. Xander stood holding a pack of matches as he waited for Willow to finish placing her candles around the room. Giles and Dawn were standing nearby, anxious for Willow to begin her magic.
"Ok," she said after reviewing the spell one last time. "Xander, you can light the candles now. After that I'll need complete silence."
Xander nodded his head and did as Willow asked. When the candles were lit, the group turned their attention to the red-headed witch.
Willow sat on the floor and closed her eyes. She began chanting softly to herself.
'I hope Red knows what she's doing,' Spike thought to himself. 'Last time she used magic we had a near apocalypse.'
A sudden gust of wind rushed through the room, extinguishing the candles. Willow stopped chanting and her body went limp. No one dared move a muscle in fear of interfering with the spell. Giles, Xander, and Dawn turned to Spike in hope that he could tell them if the spell had worked. He shrugged his shoulders in response. How was he supposed to know whether Willow was inside his mind?
After a minute of silence, Willow suddenly jerked back her head and started gasping for breath. Xander ran to her side.
"Willow! Are you ok?"
She nodded her head and everyone waited until she had caught her breath.
"I'm fine," she squeaked. "But... I couldn't reach Buffy." She paused a moment before continuing. "I saw something else though." She turned to Spike, her eyes wide. "Why didn't you tell us?" she asked.
Spike's face grew even paler than normal as all eyes turned to him. "Tell you what, pet?" he asked though he knew exactly what Willow meant.
"Tell us what?" Xander repeated, confusion written on his face. He wanted to know why Willow seemed so excited all of a sudden.
"About his..."
"...soul," said Spike, finishing Willow's sentence.
Everyone stared at him, stunned.
"You have a soul?" asked Dawn. "When... how...?"
"It happened a month ago, Niblet." Spike stared at the floor while he spoke. For some reason he couldn't look anyone in the eye while he told his story.
"The short version is: I went to a demon to get back my soul. He gave it to me." Spike didn't feel like going into details at the moment.
"That's incredible!" Dawn spoke.
Giles nervously fixed his glasses. "Yes... incredible... yes... well." Spike found it somewhat amusing that the Englishman was at a loss for words. Even Xander seemed speechless.
"What I don't get is why," Xander finally said. "Why did you want your soul? I thought with vampires 'soul' equaled 'not a whole lot of fun'."
'Now's a good time to change the subject,' thought Spike, not wanting to explain how he had gotten his soul back so Buffy could love him. He knew now that he wasn't worthy of her love.
"Shouldn't we be helping Buffy?" he asked. The Scoobies nodded their heads in agreement, realizing they needed a new plan to help Buffy.
"You're right, Spike, but don't think you're getting off the hook that easily," Dawn teased. "After we get Buffy back, I want to hear every single detail."
Spike smiled. He knew that when Dawn wanted something, she always got her way.
"Guys," Willow said. "Spike just gave me an idea." She ran out of the room and came back with an ancient, leather-bound book. "This is the spell I just used," she explained after finding the right page. "It didn't work when I was the one trying to reach Buffy, but I didn't even consider the idea of Spike trying to find her. He might have better luck than I did."
The vampire looked at her confused. "How can I enter my own mind?" The idea sounded crazy to him.
Willow noticed all her friends giving her strange looks as well. "It's really not that farfetched guys," she began. "Think about it. We only use about 10% of our brains. The other 90% is where we store our memories. Buffy's trapped in the part of Spike's brain where his memories are. That's where he needs to go to find her."
Spike nodded slowly. The idea was so crazy, it just might work. Besides, it was the only chance they had to find Buffy. "Alright, Red," he said with more confidence then he felt. "You work your magic and I'm going to find myself a slayer."