"Buffy, are you up?"
"Yeah, I can't believe it, I mean I should be half-way to Sleepyville, but I just can't sleep."
"I know the feeling, since I passed out on the bus I haven't been able to sleep either."
"Are the others asleep?"
"Nah, I can hear Andrew and Xander through my walls. Kennedy is asleep, Faith is downstairs, the rest of the girls are on another floor so I don't know how they are." Willow sat down on the bed, Buffy sat up.
"So how wierd is this? We don't have homes anymore, all our stuff is gone, everything. I mean my mother's grave is gone, sucked into the earth, I can't even visit her grave."
"Yeah, Anya and the girls don't even have proper burials, Spike either, its so wierd. I mean we have buried a lot of people over the years, and staked a couple on their way out, but to think all of that is gone is so... so morbid actually."
"I wonder if the ground is stable enough?"
"We are not going in there to collect the bodies, I mean they have a stink factor of about 2 days before it'll be vomit city."
"No, I was actually thinking about the mall, all those free shoes, just sitting there, waiting for us to rescue them." Buffy and Willow laughed.
They just sat there thinking about the last 24 hours. Suddenly they heard a door slam and someone running down the hall. Willow got up and looked out the door to see Faith heading for the stairs.
"What's up?"
"I dunno, Faith looks like she just saw a ghost. I mean she's all pale and breath-y. You know Faith's kinda hot for a homicidal maniac."
"Willow..."
"No, brain must leave naughty place and return to here. Yeah she just ran out of room 217 and headed for the stairs. I don't really know what's up."
"217? Faith's room is next door, she's not staying in the room."
"Is Wood..."
"Nope he's upstairs."
"Wierd."
"Definately."
Willow and Buffy went back into the room and sat on the big comfy chairs. They just wanted to be with each other, somehow each knew that the only one who understood that was the other.
***********************************************************************
"Where is Giles and Wesley?" Faith shouted from the top of the stairs.
"Whoa calm down there toots. You look like you've seen a ghost!" Lorne stood up as she fled down the stairs.
"Yo, you don't even know how right you are. Where are they?"
"We're right here." Giles and Wesley stood behind the counter.
"Is something the matter Faith? Is Robin alright?" Giles asked.
"He's alive!"
"Yes, I would hope he is."
"Not Wood! Spike!"
"Bloody hell, have you been talking with Buffy?"
"Giles, I'm not crazy!"
"We sent her up to talk to the guy we told you about. You know amnesia boy." Fred sat on the lobby counter.
"Fred, where did he say he was from?" Wesley was starting to make the connection.
"He wasn't sure, he sounds British, like you two, but he didn't know where he was from. He said something about crawling out of a crater in the desert, but..."
"Oh dear god." Giles put his hand to the bridge of his nose, even though the glasses were gone, the habit was hard to break. "Faith, tell me what I think is happening hasn't happened."
"Giles, I don't know! He's alive! I mean like, has a pulse, breathes oxygen, doesn't consume a red colored liquid diet sort of alive. It looks like him, but its wierd, he doesn't act like Spike, he doesn't even talk like Spike."
"Could it just be someone with a striking resemblance? We have had experiences with Dopplegangers before." Wesley walked out from the counter, "This could all be a case of mistaken identity."
"I don't think it is. See I have Spike's lighter, he forgot that he borrowed it to me so I could catch a smoke before battle. I dropped it in the room, and dude picked it up and freaked out! He went all wierd, and then screamed out like Spike. Then he passed out. I ran cos I wasn't sure what to do."
"You didn't tell..." Giles was leading.
"Hell no! B was in her room and Angel is all manic depressed 2 floors up, they have no idea."
"Dear god. Is he alright?" Wesley looked concerned.
"Beats me, I booked outta there to come tell you. He didn't spaz out or anything, there was no need for a spoon, he just sorta blacked out on the bed."
"Did he give you all a name that he is going by?"
"Yeah, Willy or William or something along those lines. Funny though, he didn't strike me as the Bill type." Lorne straightened his funny plaid jacket and sat back down.
"William the Bloody."
"Great he's bloody? He's gonna kill us, should we be arming ourselves?" Fred looked surprised at the thought.
"No, it was a nickname he got before he was turned."
"It's about the poetry. The awful awful poetry." A voice joined them from behind.
"Angel?"
"I could smell him. The minute he crossed the door I could smell him. But its different now. Sweeter, saltier, he smells like blood. I remember Drusilla smelling like that the night she took him."
"Angel..."
"He smells like life. First it was the smell, but then it was the heartbeat. I could hear it, you know? Two floors below me, pounding like a drum, like an ancient drum." Angel looked out of it, blank, as if he didn't realise there were others around him.
"Angel, we can take care of this, why don't you get some rest?" Wesley wanted to keep Angel out of this until they were sure.
"No, it's the prophecy you know. He's been rewarded."
"Wait, yo. What prophecy? Angel you are all about this prophecy, what's the deal?" Faith demanded.
"Wes, you explain it." Angel said as he collapsed into a lobby chair.
"Well, there's a prophecy about a vampire with a soul, who is rewarded for all the good he has done. The Powers reward him with a human life, so he can relive his life, so he can ultimately die, and his soul can be at peace."
Giles continued, "Originally Wesley thought it was about Angel, but we think it may have been about Spike."
"Heavy. So does it mention whether the human knows what happened? Does it talk about what the human's role is after he returns? Does it have anything else? I mean we can't lay this on B without an explanation."
"That's it! You are a genius!" Lorne announced, "That's the girl, its Buffy! I saw Angel and Buffy in him, but he keeps talking about a girl, the only thing he remembers is this girl, its got to be Buffy right?"
"Perhaps, but Lorne he has been through so much."
"Wesley, its all still in there!"
"Lorne read him, he could see all these situations and people and stuff in him." Fred said, "That's why we sent Faith up to talk to him, to see if he remembered her."
"So wait, all his memories are in there? You could see them? What about his destiny? You read destinies not pasts."
"That's where things got wierd, his destiny is shut off, all I saw was the past."
"Without your past you have no future. You have to know your history to know where you are headed." Angel silently said. "He needs to know who he is in order to move forward."
"Who needs to know their past to know their future?"
"Willow... hi, um how long have you been standing there? How much have you heard?" Wesley looked at Willow, standing at the foot of the great staircase. He then looked around at everyone else, realising the secret wouldn't last long.
"Beats me but they sure have been worried about him." Gunn walked out from the balcony. He looked defensive, mad that he was left out of things.
"We think we may have a situation we were not anticipating, you two might want to sit down." Giles motioned to some chairs. Willow and Gunn sat, looking confused. "Well, perhaps we should start from the beginning..."
"Yeah, I can't believe it, I mean I should be half-way to Sleepyville, but I just can't sleep."
"I know the feeling, since I passed out on the bus I haven't been able to sleep either."
"Are the others asleep?"
"Nah, I can hear Andrew and Xander through my walls. Kennedy is asleep, Faith is downstairs, the rest of the girls are on another floor so I don't know how they are." Willow sat down on the bed, Buffy sat up.
"So how wierd is this? We don't have homes anymore, all our stuff is gone, everything. I mean my mother's grave is gone, sucked into the earth, I can't even visit her grave."
"Yeah, Anya and the girls don't even have proper burials, Spike either, its so wierd. I mean we have buried a lot of people over the years, and staked a couple on their way out, but to think all of that is gone is so... so morbid actually."
"I wonder if the ground is stable enough?"
"We are not going in there to collect the bodies, I mean they have a stink factor of about 2 days before it'll be vomit city."
"No, I was actually thinking about the mall, all those free shoes, just sitting there, waiting for us to rescue them." Buffy and Willow laughed.
They just sat there thinking about the last 24 hours. Suddenly they heard a door slam and someone running down the hall. Willow got up and looked out the door to see Faith heading for the stairs.
"What's up?"
"I dunno, Faith looks like she just saw a ghost. I mean she's all pale and breath-y. You know Faith's kinda hot for a homicidal maniac."
"Willow..."
"No, brain must leave naughty place and return to here. Yeah she just ran out of room 217 and headed for the stairs. I don't really know what's up."
"217? Faith's room is next door, she's not staying in the room."
"Is Wood..."
"Nope he's upstairs."
"Wierd."
"Definately."
Willow and Buffy went back into the room and sat on the big comfy chairs. They just wanted to be with each other, somehow each knew that the only one who understood that was the other.
***********************************************************************
"Where is Giles and Wesley?" Faith shouted from the top of the stairs.
"Whoa calm down there toots. You look like you've seen a ghost!" Lorne stood up as she fled down the stairs.
"Yo, you don't even know how right you are. Where are they?"
"We're right here." Giles and Wesley stood behind the counter.
"Is something the matter Faith? Is Robin alright?" Giles asked.
"He's alive!"
"Yes, I would hope he is."
"Not Wood! Spike!"
"Bloody hell, have you been talking with Buffy?"
"Giles, I'm not crazy!"
"We sent her up to talk to the guy we told you about. You know amnesia boy." Fred sat on the lobby counter.
"Fred, where did he say he was from?" Wesley was starting to make the connection.
"He wasn't sure, he sounds British, like you two, but he didn't know where he was from. He said something about crawling out of a crater in the desert, but..."
"Oh dear god." Giles put his hand to the bridge of his nose, even though the glasses were gone, the habit was hard to break. "Faith, tell me what I think is happening hasn't happened."
"Giles, I don't know! He's alive! I mean like, has a pulse, breathes oxygen, doesn't consume a red colored liquid diet sort of alive. It looks like him, but its wierd, he doesn't act like Spike, he doesn't even talk like Spike."
"Could it just be someone with a striking resemblance? We have had experiences with Dopplegangers before." Wesley walked out from the counter, "This could all be a case of mistaken identity."
"I don't think it is. See I have Spike's lighter, he forgot that he borrowed it to me so I could catch a smoke before battle. I dropped it in the room, and dude picked it up and freaked out! He went all wierd, and then screamed out like Spike. Then he passed out. I ran cos I wasn't sure what to do."
"You didn't tell..." Giles was leading.
"Hell no! B was in her room and Angel is all manic depressed 2 floors up, they have no idea."
"Dear god. Is he alright?" Wesley looked concerned.
"Beats me, I booked outta there to come tell you. He didn't spaz out or anything, there was no need for a spoon, he just sorta blacked out on the bed."
"Did he give you all a name that he is going by?"
"Yeah, Willy or William or something along those lines. Funny though, he didn't strike me as the Bill type." Lorne straightened his funny plaid jacket and sat back down.
"William the Bloody."
"Great he's bloody? He's gonna kill us, should we be arming ourselves?" Fred looked surprised at the thought.
"No, it was a nickname he got before he was turned."
"It's about the poetry. The awful awful poetry." A voice joined them from behind.
"Angel?"
"I could smell him. The minute he crossed the door I could smell him. But its different now. Sweeter, saltier, he smells like blood. I remember Drusilla smelling like that the night she took him."
"Angel..."
"He smells like life. First it was the smell, but then it was the heartbeat. I could hear it, you know? Two floors below me, pounding like a drum, like an ancient drum." Angel looked out of it, blank, as if he didn't realise there were others around him.
"Angel, we can take care of this, why don't you get some rest?" Wesley wanted to keep Angel out of this until they were sure.
"No, it's the prophecy you know. He's been rewarded."
"Wait, yo. What prophecy? Angel you are all about this prophecy, what's the deal?" Faith demanded.
"Wes, you explain it." Angel said as he collapsed into a lobby chair.
"Well, there's a prophecy about a vampire with a soul, who is rewarded for all the good he has done. The Powers reward him with a human life, so he can relive his life, so he can ultimately die, and his soul can be at peace."
Giles continued, "Originally Wesley thought it was about Angel, but we think it may have been about Spike."
"Heavy. So does it mention whether the human knows what happened? Does it talk about what the human's role is after he returns? Does it have anything else? I mean we can't lay this on B without an explanation."
"That's it! You are a genius!" Lorne announced, "That's the girl, its Buffy! I saw Angel and Buffy in him, but he keeps talking about a girl, the only thing he remembers is this girl, its got to be Buffy right?"
"Perhaps, but Lorne he has been through so much."
"Wesley, its all still in there!"
"Lorne read him, he could see all these situations and people and stuff in him." Fred said, "That's why we sent Faith up to talk to him, to see if he remembered her."
"So wait, all his memories are in there? You could see them? What about his destiny? You read destinies not pasts."
"That's where things got wierd, his destiny is shut off, all I saw was the past."
"Without your past you have no future. You have to know your history to know where you are headed." Angel silently said. "He needs to know who he is in order to move forward."
"Who needs to know their past to know their future?"
"Willow... hi, um how long have you been standing there? How much have you heard?" Wesley looked at Willow, standing at the foot of the great staircase. He then looked around at everyone else, realising the secret wouldn't last long.
"Beats me but they sure have been worried about him." Gunn walked out from the balcony. He looked defensive, mad that he was left out of things.
"We think we may have a situation we were not anticipating, you two might want to sit down." Giles motioned to some chairs. Willow and Gunn sat, looking confused. "Well, perhaps we should start from the beginning..."