Title: Revenant, Ch. 3
Penn dropped the corpse he held, and then turned to where Luke's body stirred. The recently turned, or re-turned, vampire sat up and rose from the dust of the warehouse floor. Yellow eyes beheld the robed vampires that cast the resurrection spell that returned his mortal soul and body from the abyss, and Luke strode over to the one who had drained and turned him.
"Why are we back?" Luke asked, in a raspy voice more suited to a fyarl demon than the deep tones he originally possessed. "Where is the Master? Why did you not return him as well?"
"Unfortunately, the Slayer and her Watcher were rather effective in rendering the Masters remains unavailable to us." The robed vampire replied. "Once before, an easier ritual was attempted, but the Slayer used a sledgehammer and ground his bones into powder, then soaked the dust in holy water before scattering them in the ocean."
"And the Slayer, does she still live, or has another been called?" Luke asked.
"Both!" The robed vampire spat. "This Slayer has a habit of eluding death's grasp, even after being put into the grave! The Red Witch not only brought her back, but later let the magick loose from its singular constraints! Now there are many Slayers, not just one!"
"Then the Muransu Prophesy is being fulfilled? It is NOT just babblings of a crazed Roa'Shaque demon?"
"Apparently not. Consider yourself lucky that an employee of Wolfram and Hart let us purchase a copy of the ritual that brought Darla back."
"Darla lives?"
"No, she met her end thanks to the traitor, Angelus."
"Then you serve no purpose." Luke lunged forward and tore open the robed vampires throat, draining him as if he were a mortal, then twisted the robed one's head off, laughing as the dust rained down upon his muscled form. "Ahh, that hit the spot."
"You slew him." Penn stated, intrigued. "You slew your sire."
"That waste of flesh was not my sire! The Master was my sire, this poor fools blood isn't strong enough to hold the sire bond, not compared to that of the Master. Do any of the other two know more than this fool?"
"M-master Luke, yes, we do, and are eager to assist the Childer of the Master in any way possible!" One of the other spell-casters quickly said.
"Then have the other signs of the Muransu Prophesy come to pass?"
"Two have, master Luke, the Hellmouth has swallowed itself, and the fifth of the line of Aurelius walks the daylight once more."
"The fifth??" Penn asked in a groaning tone of voice. "Please tell me that Darla, Drusilla, or Angelus sired again after we were slain! Don't tell me that William the Bloody has somehow been returned as the Champion?"
"If I lie, will you promise not to kill me?"
Luke punched his fist through the spell-casters heart, and then shook the dust away. "Damn it! There went the one who could have been our last hope for the Aurelius bloodline! Spike was a shining example of deadly ruthlessness. Two slayers at only 120, then he becomes the Champion of the Slayers? As if Angelus turning traitor wasn't enough?"
"Patience, Luke, there's still a chance to salvage the honor of the bloodline. All we have to do is find the Slayer, Buffy, then kill her, the Red Witch, whoever she may be, and either re-sire Spike or kill him as well. The Master would have expected no less of us."
_*_*_*
Willow sat in the frothing heat of the Jacuzzi, head back and eyes closed as she soaked in the hot-tub's bubbling water-jets. When the quiet click of the door-latch sounded, she peeked one eye open to see who it was. Probably, it was Xander, but if not-
'Omifrikkingoddess!' Willow thought, as Xander dropped his towel and slid into the tub clad only in a pair of Speedos reminiscent of his time on the Swim Team. 'I never realized-'
Xander had put on a few pounds after High School, but two years of construction work, combined with the stress of helping fight the forces of the First Evil, had melted away the excess fat and placed a new layer of muscle on the one-eyed construction worker.
Xander gulped as he saw Willow lying in the tub with just her bikini on, red hair splayed damply along the tub's edge. The position also thrust her pert chest forward, the bikini cups floating oh-so nicely in the foaming water. 'Whoa! Down, boy! That's your best friend you're drooling over!' he thought to himself, 'Damn, if Willow hadn't decided to switch teams, back in college-' He quickly slid into the water, hoping that he did so soon enough to hide the sudden tightness in his trunks.
"Hey, you okay, wills? You look a little flushed, there."
"Xander!" Willow protested, sitting up, "I'm a redhead, naturally pale skin? Of course I'm going to look flushed and stuff in a hot-tub!" 'Willow Rosenberg, what are you doing? That's Xander you're drooling over! Your best friend! A guy! And, and he has a PENIS!' "Goddess, this is weird." She mumbled.
"Huh?"
"Oh, um, y'know, the whole Spike back from the dead, and Buffy dating him out in the open, no more hiding and sneaking around, having sex behind everyone's backs. Um, not that they've been having sex in front of an audience, or anything like that, just- is there any way I can keep from sliding any deeper in this conversation?"
"Probably not, but we love you anyway, Wills." Xander chuckled. "And, yeah, it is a little strange, but at least it seems a lot healthier this time around." Meanwhile, Xander's brain was shrieking at him 'Clothes fluke! Clothes Fluke! It's got to be another go-around of the Clothes Fluke!! Oh, crap, WE'RE NOT WEARING CLOTHES!!!!!', while another part of Xander simply saluted mockingly under the frothing water. 'Quick, imagine Spike naked! No, BAD! Imagine Giles naked! Okay, loosing a bit of elevation, there, imagine Andrew naked!' Xander relaxed in relief as his spandex trunks returned to their non-incriminating state. "You know, this wasn't very subtle of Buffy. This was almost Dawn-levels of blatancy."
"To quote you: Huh?" Willow said, feigning ignorance.
"The Xander and Willow are too tense, lets give them some relaxation time blatancy of it." Keep up the act, Xander, pretend you don't know what Buffy's really pushing at. "Just because we're not really hot Slayer chicks, she acts like we're so fragile. She might as well have ordered us off to a luxury spa. Hey, that's an idea, let's fake being frazzled so she gets Giles to front some money for us hitting Club Med!"
"Careful, Xander, your sometimes-less-than-manliness is showing." Willow giggled, imagining Harris in an avocado facial-mask while getting a manicure.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Xander asked in mock-irritation.
"I seem to remember you telling me once that the main reason you hate Angel so much is that you found him attractive. Among other things."
"Like what?"
"Like Buffy telling me about the guilty look you and Spike gave each other when the girl (who's ex got turned into a killer worm-demon) asked if there was anyone in our group of friends who hadn't slept with each other?"
"Are you trying to imply that I'm a closet-case, like Andrew?"
"No, Andrew's gay. You're simply a little bisexual, with a strong leaning towards hetero-sexuality. After all, after your crushes on Faith, Buffy, Cordelia, and Anya, no-one can doubt your attraction for the female sex." Willow paused for a moment, thinking. "For that matter, so is Buffy. Have you seen her and Faith out on the dance floor? There's some serious heat between those two, and always was. Plus, I'm fairly certain that Buffy and I weren't just being buddy-buddy when we used to tell each other that we loved each other. We were just to insecure to explore it."
"Pot, thou art calling the kettle. If Buffy and I are both bi, what's that make you?"
"Gay." Willow replied, stretching like a wet, redheaded cat in the foam.
"I can shoot down that statement with only one word: Oz."
"Xander Harris!"
"Him too. You've been using the 'Gay Now' line for nearly two years, Wills, but lesbians don't fall for guys. And Oz was definitely a PELF."
"A PELF?"
"Penile Enhanced Life Form. PELF."
"So I'm bi, with a leaning towards homosexuality?"
"Or a more mobile orientation. Sort of like a pendulum."
"Okay, I'll play. Who else needs to come out of the closet in our group? Giles?"
"Nah, if anyone in the gang's one hundred percent straight, It's the G-man. Oz, too. Faith, on the other hand, "Xander led off.
"Yeah, she's lusting after both Buffy AND Robin Wood. Definitely Bi. Angel?"
"With that velvet coat he used to wear, and all the attention he spends grooming his hair? Definitely swinging for both teams."
"Spike?"
"I refuse to answer that on the grounds that I refuse to answer that."
"You mean you plead the fifth."
"That too. Cordelia?"
"Only if the other girl was herself. Unless you believe that rumor about her and Harmony in cheerleader camp during summer vacation, between our freshman and sophomore years. Anya?"
"Ahn." Xander gave a wistful sigh. "Anya was TRY-sexual. If it was in any way, shape, or form sexual, she was eager to try it."
"I'm sorry, Xan." Willow whispered, sliding around to hug him. "I didn't mean to remind you. I know it still hurts." Both tensed momentarily, then relaxed into each other's touch. Just like old times.
"Yeah, well, it's gonna happen. I'm just sorry about us all walking on eggshells like last summer, after Tara-"
"Yeah."
"Hey, there's one. Tara?"
"Definitely gay, not Bi. I was Tara's first. And her last. At least, until her next life, anyway."
"Y'know, I missed this. The palling-around, shooting the breeze, not afraid to touch and cuddle each other times. I missed you, Willow."
"Same here, more than you know."
T.B.C.
Penn dropped the corpse he held, and then turned to where Luke's body stirred. The recently turned, or re-turned, vampire sat up and rose from the dust of the warehouse floor. Yellow eyes beheld the robed vampires that cast the resurrection spell that returned his mortal soul and body from the abyss, and Luke strode over to the one who had drained and turned him.
"Why are we back?" Luke asked, in a raspy voice more suited to a fyarl demon than the deep tones he originally possessed. "Where is the Master? Why did you not return him as well?"
"Unfortunately, the Slayer and her Watcher were rather effective in rendering the Masters remains unavailable to us." The robed vampire replied. "Once before, an easier ritual was attempted, but the Slayer used a sledgehammer and ground his bones into powder, then soaked the dust in holy water before scattering them in the ocean."
"And the Slayer, does she still live, or has another been called?" Luke asked.
"Both!" The robed vampire spat. "This Slayer has a habit of eluding death's grasp, even after being put into the grave! The Red Witch not only brought her back, but later let the magick loose from its singular constraints! Now there are many Slayers, not just one!"
"Then the Muransu Prophesy is being fulfilled? It is NOT just babblings of a crazed Roa'Shaque demon?"
"Apparently not. Consider yourself lucky that an employee of Wolfram and Hart let us purchase a copy of the ritual that brought Darla back."
"Darla lives?"
"No, she met her end thanks to the traitor, Angelus."
"Then you serve no purpose." Luke lunged forward and tore open the robed vampires throat, draining him as if he were a mortal, then twisted the robed one's head off, laughing as the dust rained down upon his muscled form. "Ahh, that hit the spot."
"You slew him." Penn stated, intrigued. "You slew your sire."
"That waste of flesh was not my sire! The Master was my sire, this poor fools blood isn't strong enough to hold the sire bond, not compared to that of the Master. Do any of the other two know more than this fool?"
"M-master Luke, yes, we do, and are eager to assist the Childer of the Master in any way possible!" One of the other spell-casters quickly said.
"Then have the other signs of the Muransu Prophesy come to pass?"
"Two have, master Luke, the Hellmouth has swallowed itself, and the fifth of the line of Aurelius walks the daylight once more."
"The fifth??" Penn asked in a groaning tone of voice. "Please tell me that Darla, Drusilla, or Angelus sired again after we were slain! Don't tell me that William the Bloody has somehow been returned as the Champion?"
"If I lie, will you promise not to kill me?"
Luke punched his fist through the spell-casters heart, and then shook the dust away. "Damn it! There went the one who could have been our last hope for the Aurelius bloodline! Spike was a shining example of deadly ruthlessness. Two slayers at only 120, then he becomes the Champion of the Slayers? As if Angelus turning traitor wasn't enough?"
"Patience, Luke, there's still a chance to salvage the honor of the bloodline. All we have to do is find the Slayer, Buffy, then kill her, the Red Witch, whoever she may be, and either re-sire Spike or kill him as well. The Master would have expected no less of us."
_*_*_*
Willow sat in the frothing heat of the Jacuzzi, head back and eyes closed as she soaked in the hot-tub's bubbling water-jets. When the quiet click of the door-latch sounded, she peeked one eye open to see who it was. Probably, it was Xander, but if not-
'Omifrikkingoddess!' Willow thought, as Xander dropped his towel and slid into the tub clad only in a pair of Speedos reminiscent of his time on the Swim Team. 'I never realized-'
Xander had put on a few pounds after High School, but two years of construction work, combined with the stress of helping fight the forces of the First Evil, had melted away the excess fat and placed a new layer of muscle on the one-eyed construction worker.
Xander gulped as he saw Willow lying in the tub with just her bikini on, red hair splayed damply along the tub's edge. The position also thrust her pert chest forward, the bikini cups floating oh-so nicely in the foaming water. 'Whoa! Down, boy! That's your best friend you're drooling over!' he thought to himself, 'Damn, if Willow hadn't decided to switch teams, back in college-' He quickly slid into the water, hoping that he did so soon enough to hide the sudden tightness in his trunks.
"Hey, you okay, wills? You look a little flushed, there."
"Xander!" Willow protested, sitting up, "I'm a redhead, naturally pale skin? Of course I'm going to look flushed and stuff in a hot-tub!" 'Willow Rosenberg, what are you doing? That's Xander you're drooling over! Your best friend! A guy! And, and he has a PENIS!' "Goddess, this is weird." She mumbled.
"Huh?"
"Oh, um, y'know, the whole Spike back from the dead, and Buffy dating him out in the open, no more hiding and sneaking around, having sex behind everyone's backs. Um, not that they've been having sex in front of an audience, or anything like that, just- is there any way I can keep from sliding any deeper in this conversation?"
"Probably not, but we love you anyway, Wills." Xander chuckled. "And, yeah, it is a little strange, but at least it seems a lot healthier this time around." Meanwhile, Xander's brain was shrieking at him 'Clothes fluke! Clothes Fluke! It's got to be another go-around of the Clothes Fluke!! Oh, crap, WE'RE NOT WEARING CLOTHES!!!!!', while another part of Xander simply saluted mockingly under the frothing water. 'Quick, imagine Spike naked! No, BAD! Imagine Giles naked! Okay, loosing a bit of elevation, there, imagine Andrew naked!' Xander relaxed in relief as his spandex trunks returned to their non-incriminating state. "You know, this wasn't very subtle of Buffy. This was almost Dawn-levels of blatancy."
"To quote you: Huh?" Willow said, feigning ignorance.
"The Xander and Willow are too tense, lets give them some relaxation time blatancy of it." Keep up the act, Xander, pretend you don't know what Buffy's really pushing at. "Just because we're not really hot Slayer chicks, she acts like we're so fragile. She might as well have ordered us off to a luxury spa. Hey, that's an idea, let's fake being frazzled so she gets Giles to front some money for us hitting Club Med!"
"Careful, Xander, your sometimes-less-than-manliness is showing." Willow giggled, imagining Harris in an avocado facial-mask while getting a manicure.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Xander asked in mock-irritation.
"I seem to remember you telling me once that the main reason you hate Angel so much is that you found him attractive. Among other things."
"Like what?"
"Like Buffy telling me about the guilty look you and Spike gave each other when the girl (who's ex got turned into a killer worm-demon) asked if there was anyone in our group of friends who hadn't slept with each other?"
"Are you trying to imply that I'm a closet-case, like Andrew?"
"No, Andrew's gay. You're simply a little bisexual, with a strong leaning towards hetero-sexuality. After all, after your crushes on Faith, Buffy, Cordelia, and Anya, no-one can doubt your attraction for the female sex." Willow paused for a moment, thinking. "For that matter, so is Buffy. Have you seen her and Faith out on the dance floor? There's some serious heat between those two, and always was. Plus, I'm fairly certain that Buffy and I weren't just being buddy-buddy when we used to tell each other that we loved each other. We were just to insecure to explore it."
"Pot, thou art calling the kettle. If Buffy and I are both bi, what's that make you?"
"Gay." Willow replied, stretching like a wet, redheaded cat in the foam.
"I can shoot down that statement with only one word: Oz."
"Xander Harris!"
"Him too. You've been using the 'Gay Now' line for nearly two years, Wills, but lesbians don't fall for guys. And Oz was definitely a PELF."
"A PELF?"
"Penile Enhanced Life Form. PELF."
"So I'm bi, with a leaning towards homosexuality?"
"Or a more mobile orientation. Sort of like a pendulum."
"Okay, I'll play. Who else needs to come out of the closet in our group? Giles?"
"Nah, if anyone in the gang's one hundred percent straight, It's the G-man. Oz, too. Faith, on the other hand, "Xander led off.
"Yeah, she's lusting after both Buffy AND Robin Wood. Definitely Bi. Angel?"
"With that velvet coat he used to wear, and all the attention he spends grooming his hair? Definitely swinging for both teams."
"Spike?"
"I refuse to answer that on the grounds that I refuse to answer that."
"You mean you plead the fifth."
"That too. Cordelia?"
"Only if the other girl was herself. Unless you believe that rumor about her and Harmony in cheerleader camp during summer vacation, between our freshman and sophomore years. Anya?"
"Ahn." Xander gave a wistful sigh. "Anya was TRY-sexual. If it was in any way, shape, or form sexual, she was eager to try it."
"I'm sorry, Xan." Willow whispered, sliding around to hug him. "I didn't mean to remind you. I know it still hurts." Both tensed momentarily, then relaxed into each other's touch. Just like old times.
"Yeah, well, it's gonna happen. I'm just sorry about us all walking on eggshells like last summer, after Tara-"
"Yeah."
"Hey, there's one. Tara?"
"Definitely gay, not Bi. I was Tara's first. And her last. At least, until her next life, anyway."
"Y'know, I missed this. The palling-around, shooting the breeze, not afraid to touch and cuddle each other times. I missed you, Willow."
"Same here, more than you know."
T.B.C.