Chapter Eight – Into the Heart of Darkness

Unbeknownst to the slayer; her love was already five days ahead of her when Lorne finally landed the plane. She didn't even know that she would end up making up all that time with the Jeep that stored in the cargo bay. Angel complained that he should go with into the unknown dangers that lay out in the desert, but there was the small problem that when the blazing sun rose in the morning, that he'd spontaneously combust. So it was decided that they would send Connor and Dawn along with her. Lorne tried to comfort Angel as the left, telling him that at least he had his company – the dry, hot weather wasn't good for him, so he wasn't going.

To say the least, it didn't work.

"We have maximum air conditioning! Hurray!" Dawn cheered as she cranked the dial to the max as she and her two companions drove further out into the blinding desert.

"Mmmm" Buffy smiled as the cool air blew into her face while keeping her eyes on the destination: a gigantic black stone mountain.

Connor grumbled unintelligible things as they drove deeper and deeper into the shimmering sands. That boy just seemed to get stranger as time went on. He no longer fought with Dawn and even that was weird – he seemed to stare at her with a lost look that was reserved only for puppies. In the end it was Buffy that ended up figuring it out that Angel's son had it bad for her sister. Typical – only something like that would happen in her family.

"So how long do you think it'll take us to get to that thing?" he finally asked.

"About a couple of days – seven if we had walked" Buffy replied with a sigh.

"Thank you Lorne" both Dawn and Connor grinned at the thought of not having to walk, and then looked at each other with a strange look before turning their attention else where.

"So what do we sing?" Buffy asked.

"Ooh how about –" Dawn started enthusiastically, but was cut off by a cry of disgust.

"Hell no!" Connor shook his head. "As punishment Cordelia forced me to watch a tape of Angel sing a Barry Manilow song! Never, never, and never. No singing!"

"How about... One Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall?"

Back in Los Angeles, five relatively peaceful months had passed by. Cordelia had been in a coma for about two months after her emergency operation and then had come out to have to take everything so slowly now. Wesley, Gunn and Fred had done there best to sort out all the mess at Angel Investigations during her recovery, but it just didn't seem like it was enough. Their hearts were weighed down by so much and a single though: what had happened to Angel and Buffy.

There had been contact with Giles, asking them if they had any idea what had happened. Willow had recovered from her post-magic trauma and had felt stable enough to try a simple locator spell, but there was nothing. Xander still felt horrible for having been left on bad terms with Buffy and now she was missing. No one had any idea of what to do.

It was clear that here was nothing that they could do. All they could do was wait. And then Fred had accidentally sat on her phone that caused the redial to go off and they got an answer. It was Angel.

"Hello?"

And it was Cordelia that grabbed the phone and began to yell out a string of colorful curses in the souled vampire's ear. They had to pry the irrational seer away from the phone and Wesley took up the duty of finding out what had exactly happened.

"So Angel...where have you been" the ex-watcher asked in a tight voice. "It's been five months!"

"Well the rest of aren't really sure. Just yesterday we experienced supernatural turbulence and a black mist that sucked us in. our only indication that all that time had passed was the size of Buffy's stomach"

"So you are all alright? I have a many concerned people wanting some answers"

"Yes, yes, we are all fine. We more or less have Spike pinpointed and Buffy already took off after him, taking Connor and her sister with her"

"Well that is certainly good" Wesley sighed in relief.

"What was up with Cordelia?" Angel finally asked.

"You weren't here Angel. Cordelia severe from a sever brain trauma and had been in a coma for a few months. When we weren't worried sick about you, we were worried sick about her"

There was silence from Angel and then with an unsteady voice, he spoke.

"I...umm...can I talk to her?"

Wesley looked over his shoulder at Cordelia. She got the hint and slowly got to her feet, walking silently over to take the phone.

"Cordy?" Angel's voice asked uncertainly at the other end.

"Hey Angel, sorry I yelled at you" she said sheepishly.

"Don't worry, I must have deserved it"

"Yes you did. Anyway... I'm glad that you all made it to Africa safe, albeit late"

"Well there was one good thing out of that"

"And what would that be?"

Cordelia could have sworn she felt Angel smiled through the phone.

"Connor and Dawn stopped fighting"

"So Hell froze over? Gee I'm surprised; I never thought I'd see the day. So how did it happen? One too many punches?"

"No, actually they managed to calm down enough to just talk. Dawn asked him what Quor-toth was like and he told her. Then as part of some weird deal, she told him about herself. I'm actually surprised that Buffy didn't ask us for help with that. I'm still having a hard time believing that Buffy beat a Hell Goddess; then again that's Buffy for you...but how are you? Well other then the accident and coma?"

"I'm doing okay, I guess" Cordelia sighed and sat down finally for the rest of everything to sink in. "Everything has just been up in the air of late"

"We will be back. I promise"

"What? Are you going now? No, you can't! You just got on the phone!"

"Sorry Cordy, but I have too. The connection is almost dead...though I really have something to tell you. Cordy...I –"

Suddenly the connection went dead in the seer's hands. Numbly she sat down where she stood. She was oblivious to her friends asking her what was wrong; all she was able to focus on was the one thing that Angel hadn't been able to finish telling her.

What had he wanted to tell her? She might never know now...

"– love you..."

But Angel never got to finish those last two words before the connection went dead. The souled vampire sat in his chair wishing the phone had just given him five more seconds. He had finally admitted to himself that he loved Cordelia now and not Buffy anymore. Buffy would always be a part of his heart, like he'd always be a part of hers. They had grown since then and their lives had moved on in different paths. She loved Spike and he... he loved Cordelia.

"Lorne... do we have another phone?"

"Sorry Angelcakes, but that was the only one"

So he just sighed and hoped that they would all get out of this alive.

– Two Days Later –

"So this is it?"

"Yes, this is the forbidden mountain of the Dark Heart that stores the Stone of Blood. Come, we still have further to go. Into the depths of the heart itself"

Spike followed Roho up the now rocky mountain path. Night had begun to fall as they reached the mouth of the mountain. Caverns that went on forever lay inside. It was like a natural pyramid; protecting its treasures for the outside world.

"So how far does it go" the tired ex-vampire asked as they entered.

"Forever" Roho replied and as his voice echoed off the walls, torches sprang to life everywhere, many leading down different tunnels.

Then without waiting for Spike to say anything else, Roho proceeded to follow his predestined path. As they continued on into the torch lit darkness, Spike couldn't help but feel that there were so many things with in the other caverns that were calling to him. He had only gone a few yards farther when he came to stop dead in his tracks before one. It had a glimmer of light at the center that seemed to whisper to him; calling him in.

Roho only had time to notice that his friend was no longer with him when Spike stepped into the darkness beyond the tunnels.

-------

And then Spike stepped out into the parlor of an old Victorian style house. Its colors, textures, smell reminded him of home. It was home. Looking down at his arms, Spike saw that he was no longer covered in warrior paint, but in a simple suit. He reach up to feel is hair and fond that it was it natural curly deep honey blond. He was in the past... it had to be the past.

Then his mother walked into the room.

"William... what's wrong? Aren't you supposed to be at the party?"

His throat had swollen up and Spike found that he couldn't speak. His mother... his mother. This must be just before or just after he was turned. He hadn't come home for at least a week.

"No... nothing mother" he smiled. "I just...I was just remembering something"

He walked over and caught the fragile woman in a gentle, but firm embrace. When he let go, he lead her to a seat to sit her down so they could speak.

"Mother...do you believe in destiny?"

"What brought this up? You've never spoken like this before William...you're scaring me" she said holding tightly to his hands.

"Please, don't be frightened. Do you?"

"Yes William, I do believe in destiny. It was my destiny to be your mother and to raise you in honor of the Powers that Be"

Spike stiffened at her last words.

"How do you know of the Powers?"

"It was part of my training"

"What training?"

His mother laughed softly and smiled at him. Her face was a mired of different emotions and then the most shocking was to see the mask fall away to revel the true woman beneath it.

"You know something? Your getting to smart for your own good" she breathed a heavy sigh. "Very well, I'll tell you. In the past I never intended to say anything to you; to let you life a normal life"

"Well I hate to break it to you, but I'm not going to get a normal life" Spike gazed at the ground.

She looked at him oddly before going on.

"It had been in my family for years. It was our calling, our destiny; it was what made my family who they were. I was just a normal ten year old girl – just Ann Lavington, but then I went to go learn at the Council of –"

Spike suddenly shot to his feet and stumbled away from her; his eyes large.

"Bloody hell... you're a sodding watcher!"

It was his mother's turn to look surprised. It wasn't that her boy had spoken so rudely to her, but it was that he knew. Somehow he knew about the Watcher's Council.

"How do you know about that?" she demanded and found that she was met with a defiant look that she had never seen on timid William before – he looked like a man.

"Good god mother, you have no idea. I'm not the same William that you saw off this evening; I'm his future self"

"How far?"

"'Bout a hundred and thirty years"

"Then..." her voice trembled.

"Yes, become a vampire"

Ann sat still; a slender hand trembled over her mouth. It couldn't be possible, but when William continued, there was no way of denying it.

"It happens sometime tonight. That horrid Cecily bint broke my heart and off I ran out into the night. It didn't last long before she found me; got me to believe that she could give me a freedom I could never have without her... and she was right. It was Drusilla that sired me and after that I became the forth quarter of the Scourge of Europe"

"Oh god no" Ann cried out and Spike felt as if he were to cry too, but he forced himself not too.

"So with Angelus as my teacher I became the second most dangerous vampire of all time. But it was in my time as a vampire that I was revered as dangerous was because of my track record. I killed two slayers even before reaching my one hundredth birthday. I was a monster, I know that...but things have changed"

Ann looked at him with narrowed eyes. He wasn't a vampire right now; he was telling what was in his future.

"Two slayers... you know I shouldn't let go" she said grimly.

"How would you be able to stop it? The real William is out on the streets, and I have to go back to the future. I hated slayers, but then that was my downfall. You see mother... I feel in love one. The demon loved her and then he hurt her. It wasn't something I could ever forget. But the demon sought the one thing that could change everything – a soul. Things didn't turn out exactly how I'd planed... it was better in some sense. I became human again"

"So is that why you still alive for me?"

"Yes" Spike nodded. "But if you were to try and stop me, you'd end up destroying one life... that of my child"

That caused Ann's face to brighten.

"You have a baby?"

"Not yet. My slayer is still pregnant"

Then she stopped.

"A pregnant slayer? Oh god... its happening again"

"What do you mean?" Spike asked reaching out to take his mother by the shoulders. "Buffy told me that there never was a pregnant slayer before"

"Oh but there was William" Ann replied, tears pouring down her face. "The Council never knew because I never told them. It was my slayer. I had to keep the world from knowing the truth because I knew that they would take her child away. I did all I could to help her"

"Who was she?" Spike was compelled to ask her what he needed to know for the life of his own child. "Who was she?"

And then Ann raised her head to say softly.

"You're real mother"

Cliffhanger! So what do you think? I hope it was good enough for you. There is going to be lots more goodies in the chapter to come, so be patient. Later!