Disclaimer: They're not mine.
--
Long after the hall had emptied of all the others, Spike and Xander sat alone in the back talking.
"There's something fairly sinister about the idea of a soulless vampire as a Champion." Muttered Xander.
Spike glanced at him, remaining silent.
"I mean, think about it. What is a soul?"
"Another person." Said Spike. "Not me."
"That's just it!" Said Xander. "You, you were a badguy! You came to Sunnydale originally to kill Buffy, remember?"
"I came to heal Dru." Said Spike. "The rest was just fun."
"See?! See?! Killing Buffy was fun! Do you hear yourself?" Said Xander frantically.
"Don't presume anything." Growled Spike. "It's my nature, isn't it? And I've been fighting. Not then, and certainly not when they put that chip in my head. But when I started to love the Slayer, every step after that was a fight against my nature. A battle to become better than that. Even with the soul—William was no help at all with that battle! I had to fight past his whining and his tears even to be useful. I thought it was over and done when I made my sacrifice. And then it turned out to be for nothing, since the bloody soul took all the credit."
"Anya made sacrifices too." Said Xander grimly. "If there was any justice, she would never have gone to hell."
Spike glared at Xander. "And it was justice that I went to hell? I went to hell on a technicality!" The slow, lazy words were punctuated by the slow rise of his voice.
Xander glanced back at Spike, his face blank. "You don't think you deserved hell, then." He observed.
Spike thought about it for a moment. "I guess not." He said dubiously, considering the ramifications of that..
"But you did. You very much did. You think a few lives saved, an apocalypse or two averted, and you're forgiven years of slaughters and killings? Please." Said Xander. "And if I'm honest, Anya deserved it too."
"But we both tried! And are still trying!" Said Spike, exasperated. "Maybe we can't atone, but we are doing good!"
Xander snorted. "And because you're trying, you get a get-out-of-jail free card? I don't think so."
"What?" Said Spike, surprised.
"Think about it. You said yourself William was useless. How did he help you? A nudge from a higher power. And equipped with your very own Seer! The Powers That Be netted themselves a Champion, didn't they? And what's the reward?"
Spike frowned. "I don't think it works that way."
"Of course it does!" Said Xander, frowning. "The Master was trying to turn you to the dark side of the Force. Why?"
"Because Angel's Seer is in a coma." Said Spike, starting to understand. "And he's working with an unbelievably evil law firm." He shook his head. "So the PTB called in the bench warmers? Why?"
"Maybe because the Master has been angling for an out for a while, and they need something to stop him." Said Xander seriously.
"No. The PTB have Slayers!" Said Spike. "A whole army of Slayers!"
Xander nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay..."
"No." Said Spike, shifting suddenly in his seat, anger clouding his face. "They can't control the Slayers any more. Because they lost the Watchers!"
"What?" Said Xander.
"The Slayers aren't theirs to control any more." Said Spike. "That's why. They have nobody under their direct control."
"Which means they needed a Champion they can control directly." Said Xander. "But I only get the visions when asleep..."
Something Angel had said niggled at Spike. It was like a spider in his brain, trying to tell him something, but he couldn't quite remember. It sat at the back of his mind, trying to make him remember.
Xander sighed, rubbing his face. "We should just stop letting demons in here. That would fix things up."
Spike snapped his fingers, his eyes blazing a bright amber suddenly. "Demon!" He said.
"What?"
"Cordelia was part demon!" Said Spike.
Xander considered that. "So?"
"The visions have changed you." Said Spike. "They've made you something else. Maybe not part demon, but..."
"But you aren't the only one the PTB screwed with." Sneered Xander. "So now you're the hero."
Spike looked at the floor angrily. "I was a Champion before." He said. "Sod the soul, it was ME!"
Xander sighed. "Right."
Dawn entered the room behind them. "Hey, you guys are still here?" She said, surprised.
"Yeah, Platelet." Said Spike. "Plotting our next move."
She thought about it a second. "You know, seeing you two talking peacefully like this...I can practically hear the space-time continuum screaming pain."
Xander snorted. "Peacefully this is not, Dawn."
She smiled. "It's nice to have you back, Xander."
He blanched. "You are in no way implying that I'm doing any better because this monster came back, are you?"
Dawn took half a step back, surprised at his reaction. "Uh, no. But you came to a Slayer meeting again. And you're..."
"Not staggering around in a half-dead haze?" Suggested Xander. "Yeah, big surprise."
"I thought it was Anya." Admitted Dawn.
Xander shook his head, looking away. "She's a demon, Dawnie. One of the bad guys." He eyed Spike. "Like you, chipless."
Spike grinned. "Look, neither of us have killed since we came back. Doesn't that mean ANYTHING to you?"
"Eventually, you'll break." Promised Xander.
"Not bloody likely." Grunted Spike. "We're over the worst of it now. We may be monsters, but we're not that bad!"
--
Giles was reading a book when he sensed a presence. He looked over his shoulder, surprised to see the Master there. "Oh, dear." He said quietly.
The Master shimmered in the tight air inside the library, moving closer without actually moving at all. He left a faint blue glow behind him. "The planets aren't in alignment." He said sourly.
Giles dropped the book, backing up. "You're not all here." He deduced.
The Master shook his head. "No. I'm reduced to acting through proxies. Long-distance bloodshed."
"It was Spike, wasn't it?" Asked Giles. "His return from hell."
"No." Said the Master. "On the contrary, it was quite the opposite. When I escaped from hell it freed the Powers to appoint a new Champion, and a new Seer."
"And you thought to steal Spike from them." Said Giles, backing towards the library door.
It slammed shut behind him.
"Spike is one of us. He bears no soul, as soiled dear Angelus." Snarled the Master. "I thought to reclaim him. However, beyond all logic, beyond all reason, he remains a White Hat, a hero." He spat the last word. "One of yours. So it seems only fitting..."
He reached out one blue, wispy hand for Giles.
Giles reacted with speed that was reminiscent more of Ripper, the youth he had been. Ripper had been a scoundrel. No, worse than that.
Ripper had not been a White Hat.
Giles ducked to the side, slamming a fist into the ghoul.
Unfortunately, he had reacted from instinct, not from reason. He knew before his fist cleaved through the Master that the vampire was ethereal, insubstantial.
Untouchable.
He staggered forward, right into the Master.
In a flash of blue light, the Master was gone.
Giles stumbled to his knees, gasping for breath in ragged breaths. Behind him the library door creaked as it opened.
"Giles?" Said Anya.
For a second the Watcher was silent. "Yes?" He said then, turning to face the vampire.
"We're back with the blood." She said. "Andrew said you'd be up here. You're on the floor, you know, and it looks horribly dusty."
"Yes, I was just...resting." He said. "I was searching for some record of ...well, of anything." He smiled. "Because I am quite clueless as to what is happening."
"Would you like help?"
There was a momentary flash of blue in the whites of his eyes. Then he stood, turning to face her. "Yes, yes, I believe I would."
--
Long after the hall had emptied of all the others, Spike and Xander sat alone in the back talking.
"There's something fairly sinister about the idea of a soulless vampire as a Champion." Muttered Xander.
Spike glanced at him, remaining silent.
"I mean, think about it. What is a soul?"
"Another person." Said Spike. "Not me."
"That's just it!" Said Xander. "You, you were a badguy! You came to Sunnydale originally to kill Buffy, remember?"
"I came to heal Dru." Said Spike. "The rest was just fun."
"See?! See?! Killing Buffy was fun! Do you hear yourself?" Said Xander frantically.
"Don't presume anything." Growled Spike. "It's my nature, isn't it? And I've been fighting. Not then, and certainly not when they put that chip in my head. But when I started to love the Slayer, every step after that was a fight against my nature. A battle to become better than that. Even with the soul—William was no help at all with that battle! I had to fight past his whining and his tears even to be useful. I thought it was over and done when I made my sacrifice. And then it turned out to be for nothing, since the bloody soul took all the credit."
"Anya made sacrifices too." Said Xander grimly. "If there was any justice, she would never have gone to hell."
Spike glared at Xander. "And it was justice that I went to hell? I went to hell on a technicality!" The slow, lazy words were punctuated by the slow rise of his voice.
Xander glanced back at Spike, his face blank. "You don't think you deserved hell, then." He observed.
Spike thought about it for a moment. "I guess not." He said dubiously, considering the ramifications of that..
"But you did. You very much did. You think a few lives saved, an apocalypse or two averted, and you're forgiven years of slaughters and killings? Please." Said Xander. "And if I'm honest, Anya deserved it too."
"But we both tried! And are still trying!" Said Spike, exasperated. "Maybe we can't atone, but we are doing good!"
Xander snorted. "And because you're trying, you get a get-out-of-jail free card? I don't think so."
"What?" Said Spike, surprised.
"Think about it. You said yourself William was useless. How did he help you? A nudge from a higher power. And equipped with your very own Seer! The Powers That Be netted themselves a Champion, didn't they? And what's the reward?"
Spike frowned. "I don't think it works that way."
"Of course it does!" Said Xander, frowning. "The Master was trying to turn you to the dark side of the Force. Why?"
"Because Angel's Seer is in a coma." Said Spike, starting to understand. "And he's working with an unbelievably evil law firm." He shook his head. "So the PTB called in the bench warmers? Why?"
"Maybe because the Master has been angling for an out for a while, and they need something to stop him." Said Xander seriously.
"No. The PTB have Slayers!" Said Spike. "A whole army of Slayers!"
Xander nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay..."
"No." Said Spike, shifting suddenly in his seat, anger clouding his face. "They can't control the Slayers any more. Because they lost the Watchers!"
"What?" Said Xander.
"The Slayers aren't theirs to control any more." Said Spike. "That's why. They have nobody under their direct control."
"Which means they needed a Champion they can control directly." Said Xander. "But I only get the visions when asleep..."
Something Angel had said niggled at Spike. It was like a spider in his brain, trying to tell him something, but he couldn't quite remember. It sat at the back of his mind, trying to make him remember.
Xander sighed, rubbing his face. "We should just stop letting demons in here. That would fix things up."
Spike snapped his fingers, his eyes blazing a bright amber suddenly. "Demon!" He said.
"What?"
"Cordelia was part demon!" Said Spike.
Xander considered that. "So?"
"The visions have changed you." Said Spike. "They've made you something else. Maybe not part demon, but..."
"But you aren't the only one the PTB screwed with." Sneered Xander. "So now you're the hero."
Spike looked at the floor angrily. "I was a Champion before." He said. "Sod the soul, it was ME!"
Xander sighed. "Right."
Dawn entered the room behind them. "Hey, you guys are still here?" She said, surprised.
"Yeah, Platelet." Said Spike. "Plotting our next move."
She thought about it a second. "You know, seeing you two talking peacefully like this...I can practically hear the space-time continuum screaming pain."
Xander snorted. "Peacefully this is not, Dawn."
She smiled. "It's nice to have you back, Xander."
He blanched. "You are in no way implying that I'm doing any better because this monster came back, are you?"
Dawn took half a step back, surprised at his reaction. "Uh, no. But you came to a Slayer meeting again. And you're..."
"Not staggering around in a half-dead haze?" Suggested Xander. "Yeah, big surprise."
"I thought it was Anya." Admitted Dawn.
Xander shook his head, looking away. "She's a demon, Dawnie. One of the bad guys." He eyed Spike. "Like you, chipless."
Spike grinned. "Look, neither of us have killed since we came back. Doesn't that mean ANYTHING to you?"
"Eventually, you'll break." Promised Xander.
"Not bloody likely." Grunted Spike. "We're over the worst of it now. We may be monsters, but we're not that bad!"
--
Giles was reading a book when he sensed a presence. He looked over his shoulder, surprised to see the Master there. "Oh, dear." He said quietly.
The Master shimmered in the tight air inside the library, moving closer without actually moving at all. He left a faint blue glow behind him. "The planets aren't in alignment." He said sourly.
Giles dropped the book, backing up. "You're not all here." He deduced.
The Master shook his head. "No. I'm reduced to acting through proxies. Long-distance bloodshed."
"It was Spike, wasn't it?" Asked Giles. "His return from hell."
"No." Said the Master. "On the contrary, it was quite the opposite. When I escaped from hell it freed the Powers to appoint a new Champion, and a new Seer."
"And you thought to steal Spike from them." Said Giles, backing towards the library door.
It slammed shut behind him.
"Spike is one of us. He bears no soul, as soiled dear Angelus." Snarled the Master. "I thought to reclaim him. However, beyond all logic, beyond all reason, he remains a White Hat, a hero." He spat the last word. "One of yours. So it seems only fitting..."
He reached out one blue, wispy hand for Giles.
Giles reacted with speed that was reminiscent more of Ripper, the youth he had been. Ripper had been a scoundrel. No, worse than that.
Ripper had not been a White Hat.
Giles ducked to the side, slamming a fist into the ghoul.
Unfortunately, he had reacted from instinct, not from reason. He knew before his fist cleaved through the Master that the vampire was ethereal, insubstantial.
Untouchable.
He staggered forward, right into the Master.
In a flash of blue light, the Master was gone.
Giles stumbled to his knees, gasping for breath in ragged breaths. Behind him the library door creaked as it opened.
"Giles?" Said Anya.
For a second the Watcher was silent. "Yes?" He said then, turning to face the vampire.
"We're back with the blood." She said. "Andrew said you'd be up here. You're on the floor, you know, and it looks horribly dusty."
"Yes, I was just...resting." He said. "I was searching for some record of ...well, of anything." He smiled. "Because I am quite clueless as to what is happening."
"Would you like help?"
There was a momentary flash of blue in the whites of his eyes. Then he stood, turning to face her. "Yes, yes, I believe I would."