Chapter 3
Spike doubled over in pain, gasping, as he materialized in Buffy and Angel's office at Wolfram & Hart. He looked around him, panic-stricken, at the familiar faces. He saw Harmony, Lorne, Fred, and Wesley. "What.. what.."
"What the hell are you doing here, Spike?" Harmony asked.
"Harmony, please." Wesley said.
"Spike?" Gunn asked.
"Easy, slim. Easy. No one's gonna hurt you." Lorne said.
"Speak for yourself, green jeans."
"You're dead." Buffy said behind him.
Spike spun around and looked at her as Harmony said, "Well, yeah. Who here isn't? Besides him," she pointed Wesley. "And him," Gunn. "And her." Fred. And her." Buffy. She looked at Lorne. "What are you again?"
Buffy looked at Angel and then back at Spike. Angel's hands were still holding her hips and she stepped away and up to Spike. "Spike? Are you.."
"What the hell is going on?" Spike asked.
"It's ok." Buffy reached out to touch Spike's arm, but she went right through him, eyes wide. "Um.."
"What? What's happened to me?"
"Well, I'm no doctor, but I think you're a ghost." Harmony said.
Buffy yanked her hand out of Spike. He looked at her. "I'm no.. I'm no bloody ghost."
"Hey, Buffy's hand went right through you, pal. And you can't talk to me like that. We're not going out anymore."
"Where'd he come from?" Gunn asked.
"From this." Wesley said.
"What is it?" Fred asked.
"Something I gave to Spike before.." Buffy said, staring at Spike guiltily.
"It's ok luv."
"Oh God.. Faith.."
"Faith! Is she.."
"She's ok." Angel said.
"Where.. where is she?"
"Europe, last we heard from her and the others." Buffy said.
"Wanna see her.. Wanna talk to her."
"That's gonna be tough." Angel said.
"You can't keep her from me."
"She's not mine to keep.. or yours."
"Says you. You got no idea what we had."
"No, I don't.. But you never had her."
"HEY! Back off you two." Buffy said, stepping between Spike and Angel.
"Oh.. my.. God!" Harmony screeched. "You and the other slayer actually.. Yecch. That's just.. yecch." She walked away and stopped. "I.. yecch!"
"I must be in hell." Spike said.
"Uh, no. L.A., but a lot of people make that mistake." Lorne said.
"So if I remember right, Spike's a good-guy vampire like Angel?" Gunn asked.
"He's nothing like me." Angel scoffed.
"Got that right. What have you done to me?" Spike asked. "What is this place?! What the bloody hell is happening?!"
"Spike.." Buffy said sternly. "Calm down. We'll figure this out. I promise."
The gang moved on to the science lab. Wesley was looking into a microscope while Fred scanned Spike with a beeping instrument. "So what are you then? Scanner girl?" Spike asked Fred.
"I head up Wolfram & Hart's Science Department." Fred said.
"Wolfram & Hart. Buffy told me about it. I've always been under the impression that it was a law firm."
"It is, among other things."
"Also heard they represent the worst evil in the universe."
"It did, among other things, but now we're in charge." Buffy said, standing in front of Spike.
"Weird." Fred picked up a folder. "I'm getting electromagnetic readings consistent with spiritual entities, but there's no ectoplasmic matrix."
"Meaning?"
"Ectoplasm's what makes ghosts visible to the human eye. If he's a ghost, technically we shouldn't be able to see him. And I'm detecting brainwave activity."
"On Spike?" Angel asked. "That is weird." Buffy shot him a look and he shrugged.
"Also, ghosts generally absorb light and heat energy making the area around them a few degrees cooler. Spike's radiating heat."
"Think I'm hot, do you?" Spike asked.
"Mm.. lukewarm. Just above room temperature." Buffy joked.
"Well, what the hell am I then?"
"Whatever he is, it's clearly tied to this amulet. Spike's essence, for lack of a better term, must have been held within it." Wesley said. "Do you have any memory of a strange sensation when it released its energy?"
"What? You mean my skin and muscle burning away from the bone? Organs exploding in my chest? Eyeballs melting in their sockets? No. No memory at all. Thanks for asking."
"Ok, he's connected to the amulet. Last I remember it was buried deep inside of the Hellmouth. How did it end up here?" Angel asked.
"Maybe he's here for a reason. You know, some higher purpose or something he's destined for. Sent to us by the powers that be to help us or.." Fred started.
"Who gave them the bloody right to do that?" Spike asked. "Can't a man die in peace without some high almighty deciding it's not his time. Let's have a little more fun with him, eh? You think that saving the sodding world would be enough to earn me a rest. You'd think.." Spike started to fade.
"Spike?" Buffy asked.
"Hmm?" He looked at his body. "Oh, balls." Then he disappeared.
Fred went over to scan where Spike was standing and Gunn asked, "Now what?"
"I don't know. He just.."
"Where'd he go?" Buffy asked.
"Hmm? What? What?" Spike asked from the other side of the room.
"Took the 'what's' right out of our mouths." Lorne said.
"Where'd you go?" Gunn asked.
"Don't you know?" Fred asked.
"I'm.. I was.." Spike stopped and looked at Angel. "You! This is your fault."
"Mine?" Angel asked.
"You brought that bloody amulet to Sunnydale. You would have been the one to use it, until you chickened out."
"What did you.."
"You heard me! You didn't want to wear it, so you pawned it off on me! I see how it is."
"Buffy made me. She wouldn't let me wear it!"
"And this, bloody hell, wasn't mine. I'm not you. I don't give a piss about atonement or destiny. Just because I got me a soul doesn't mean I'm gonna let myself be led around by.."
"E-excuse me?" Fred asked.
"Did.. did you just say.. Spike has a soul?" Wesley asked. "Neither of you ever said anything about that!"
"Didn't seem worth mentioning, you know." Angel said.
"We just.. We didn't think it was necessary." Buffy said.
"Seems to be a lot of that." Gunn said.
"Or maybe Captain Forehead was feeling a little less special. Didn't like me crashing his exclusive club.. another vampire with a soul in the world." Spike said.
"Spike.." Buffy warned.
"You're not in the world.. Casper." Angel shot back and then walked away.
"Angel!" Buffy went after him. Angel walked down the hall toward the lobby, and Spike materialized behind him and Buffy.
"Running away. Nice new M.O. I can see why heroes like you get rewarded with the shiny new glass and chrome. Why didn't I think of that?"
"I'm not responsible for what happened to you." Angel said.
"Angel, it's almost three o'clock. You and Buffy have a meeting scheduled.." Harmony said.
"Not now, Harmony." Buffy said.
"And here you've even managed to get my ex-tumble, the littlest vampire, fetching coffee for you. Nice perks for the sell-outs."
"Hey! What'd I do to you?"
"Little tip, Spike: Try not to talk about things you don't understand." Angel said.
"I'm not the prat here. I know you, Angel. What do you think you two are doing? Made some devil's bargain to take over this company. Thought you'd use it to fight the evil of the world from inside the belly of the beast. Trouble is you're too busy fighting to see you and yours are getting digested."
"Not gonna happen."
"Oh, you think you're in control here? Guess again, mate. Neither of you are more in control than I am. Except I'm not gonna bloody stand for it, while you're just a blind.. Grox'lar Beast."
"What?" Angel and Buffy turned to see the Grox'lar Beast had just stepped out of the elevators behind them. Angel threw a punch at the demon, but the demon punched him back, knocking him down. Spike threw a punch at the demon's head to distract it from Buffy, but his fist went right through without making an impact.
"Oh, brilliant." Spike said as the demon went toward Buffy. She ducked and punched, giving as good as she got and they continued fighting hand-to- hand. Buffy finally overpowered the demon, throwing him against the wall, and knocking him out. She helped Angel up.
"Somebody want to tell me how a Grox'lar Beast got past security? We don't have time for this." Angel said.
"Of course not. Man's gotta stay focused on profit margins and power lunches."
"Angel.." Harmony said.
"Yeah, Spike? Buffy and I've got a business to run. That means responsibilities, appointments to keep." Angel said.
"That was your three o'clock."
"That.."
"We're meeting with Grox'lars?! They eat babies!" Buffy said.
"Just their heads. You were supposed to open negotiations with his clan." Harmony said.
"Negotiations for what?" Angel asked.
"Get 'em to stop eating baby heads." Gunn said, walking in.
"Oh. So that's good. Oh, so this.. this is bad." Buffy said.
"No, actually the Grox'lar clan respects someone who takes a strong opening position. Wolfram & Hart didn't just jack me up here with the human laws, also demon laws from every dimension. Probably should have been briefed you about the Grox'lar, but we got a little.. sidetracked. Plus I've been implementing our reforms. Mostly staff overhaul. I've fired 40 employees in the past 2 days."
"How's that going?"
"As expected. Anger, tears, venomous death threats." Buffy followed Gunn into his office, Angel close behind. "Caught an associate we laid off trying to smuggle this out of the voodoo division." Gunn held up a voodoo doll that had black skin and was wearing a suit just like Gunn's.
"It's a nice likeness." Angel said.
"This place just goes on and on, doesn't it? Like a ruddy theme park attraction." Spike said.
"We're in a meeting, Spike."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't care."
"Buffy!"
Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Angel, I don't have time for this. I suddenly have a headache and I can't figure out why. Gunn, let's just get back to the matter at hand and Angel and Spike can work out their differences later. Ok?"
Gunn nodded. "Look, we're ruffling a lot of dangerous feathers out there. There's gonna be a backlash. Count on it."
"Well, we'll just have to ride out the ripples for a while."
"I'm sensing a ripple on its way now."
A man wearing a loud blue dress shirt and a spotted yellow tie walked in the room. "Yes, uh.. Novac. Uh, what's this about you guys shutting down the Internment Acquisitions Division?"
"Internment Acqui.." Buffy started.
"Grave-robbing." Gunn clarified.
"Listen, I know you all are in charge now, and you're doing a bang-up job. I'm with you 110%, but that department brings in mucho revenue to this company." Novac said.
"Well, Novac, we'll just have to tighten our belts and do without." Angel said.
"No, you're not getting it.. sir. I.A.D. is under contract to provide fresh bodies to Magnus Hainsley. You know who he is, right?" Buffy, Angel, and Gunn stared. "Oy. Ok. He's one of our oldest clients. Big potatoes. We stop delivering, and he is not gonna be.. thrilled."
"Then he's probably not gonna like it when you advise him that he's no longer our client."
"Me?"
"You got it, counselor. You tell Mister.."
"Hainsley." Buffy said.
"Hainsley, that Wolfram & Hart is under new management and out of the grave- robbing business. Now, run along and go argue your case."
"Me?" Novac asked.
"Go."
Novac walked toward the door, shuddering at the thought of his assignment, when Spike addressed him. "You don't have to take that from him, mate."
"Stay out of this, Spike. You don't work here."
"Damn right I don't. Look at you. This is what you do now? Delegate the dirty work to spineless, low-level flunkies. No offense." Spike added to Novac. "The mighty hero reduced to a bloody bureaucrat with his wife running behind the curtains."
"Get out of here, Spike."
"Gladly. Cruel enough punishment being stuck here as a spook while you play 'Chairman of the Boring.' But hell if I'm gonna spend my afterlife in your stinking city. Get stuffed." Spike walked away.
Buffy stared angrily at Angel and then walked out. Angel looked at Gunn and then followed Buffy. She went into their office. "Sweetheart.."
"Did you have to be so damn mean to him?" Buffy asked.
"What?! You're taking his side?"
"You're acting like a three year old!"
"Buffy.."
"No. I don't want to hear it. Why can't you play nice with Spike? He was a friend. Still is in my book. He sacrificed himself to save us. He didn't have to wear that amulet, but he did."
"I know."
"Then why so mean?"
"You've been all 'YAY SPIKE' ever since he showed back up here."
"Because he's a friend. Angel, this is ridiculous. Will you just play nice?" Angel sighed and stared at her. "Angel?"
He rolled his eyes. "Fine."
"Thank you."
Spike doubled over in pain, gasping, as he materialized in Buffy and Angel's office at Wolfram & Hart. He looked around him, panic-stricken, at the familiar faces. He saw Harmony, Lorne, Fred, and Wesley. "What.. what.."
"What the hell are you doing here, Spike?" Harmony asked.
"Harmony, please." Wesley said.
"Spike?" Gunn asked.
"Easy, slim. Easy. No one's gonna hurt you." Lorne said.
"Speak for yourself, green jeans."
"You're dead." Buffy said behind him.
Spike spun around and looked at her as Harmony said, "Well, yeah. Who here isn't? Besides him," she pointed Wesley. "And him," Gunn. "And her." Fred. And her." Buffy. She looked at Lorne. "What are you again?"
Buffy looked at Angel and then back at Spike. Angel's hands were still holding her hips and she stepped away and up to Spike. "Spike? Are you.."
"What the hell is going on?" Spike asked.
"It's ok." Buffy reached out to touch Spike's arm, but she went right through him, eyes wide. "Um.."
"What? What's happened to me?"
"Well, I'm no doctor, but I think you're a ghost." Harmony said.
Buffy yanked her hand out of Spike. He looked at her. "I'm no.. I'm no bloody ghost."
"Hey, Buffy's hand went right through you, pal. And you can't talk to me like that. We're not going out anymore."
"Where'd he come from?" Gunn asked.
"From this." Wesley said.
"What is it?" Fred asked.
"Something I gave to Spike before.." Buffy said, staring at Spike guiltily.
"It's ok luv."
"Oh God.. Faith.."
"Faith! Is she.."
"She's ok." Angel said.
"Where.. where is she?"
"Europe, last we heard from her and the others." Buffy said.
"Wanna see her.. Wanna talk to her."
"That's gonna be tough." Angel said.
"You can't keep her from me."
"She's not mine to keep.. or yours."
"Says you. You got no idea what we had."
"No, I don't.. But you never had her."
"HEY! Back off you two." Buffy said, stepping between Spike and Angel.
"Oh.. my.. God!" Harmony screeched. "You and the other slayer actually.. Yecch. That's just.. yecch." She walked away and stopped. "I.. yecch!"
"I must be in hell." Spike said.
"Uh, no. L.A., but a lot of people make that mistake." Lorne said.
"So if I remember right, Spike's a good-guy vampire like Angel?" Gunn asked.
"He's nothing like me." Angel scoffed.
"Got that right. What have you done to me?" Spike asked. "What is this place?! What the bloody hell is happening?!"
"Spike.." Buffy said sternly. "Calm down. We'll figure this out. I promise."
The gang moved on to the science lab. Wesley was looking into a microscope while Fred scanned Spike with a beeping instrument. "So what are you then? Scanner girl?" Spike asked Fred.
"I head up Wolfram & Hart's Science Department." Fred said.
"Wolfram & Hart. Buffy told me about it. I've always been under the impression that it was a law firm."
"It is, among other things."
"Also heard they represent the worst evil in the universe."
"It did, among other things, but now we're in charge." Buffy said, standing in front of Spike.
"Weird." Fred picked up a folder. "I'm getting electromagnetic readings consistent with spiritual entities, but there's no ectoplasmic matrix."
"Meaning?"
"Ectoplasm's what makes ghosts visible to the human eye. If he's a ghost, technically we shouldn't be able to see him. And I'm detecting brainwave activity."
"On Spike?" Angel asked. "That is weird." Buffy shot him a look and he shrugged.
"Also, ghosts generally absorb light and heat energy making the area around them a few degrees cooler. Spike's radiating heat."
"Think I'm hot, do you?" Spike asked.
"Mm.. lukewarm. Just above room temperature." Buffy joked.
"Well, what the hell am I then?"
"Whatever he is, it's clearly tied to this amulet. Spike's essence, for lack of a better term, must have been held within it." Wesley said. "Do you have any memory of a strange sensation when it released its energy?"
"What? You mean my skin and muscle burning away from the bone? Organs exploding in my chest? Eyeballs melting in their sockets? No. No memory at all. Thanks for asking."
"Ok, he's connected to the amulet. Last I remember it was buried deep inside of the Hellmouth. How did it end up here?" Angel asked.
"Maybe he's here for a reason. You know, some higher purpose or something he's destined for. Sent to us by the powers that be to help us or.." Fred started.
"Who gave them the bloody right to do that?" Spike asked. "Can't a man die in peace without some high almighty deciding it's not his time. Let's have a little more fun with him, eh? You think that saving the sodding world would be enough to earn me a rest. You'd think.." Spike started to fade.
"Spike?" Buffy asked.
"Hmm?" He looked at his body. "Oh, balls." Then he disappeared.
Fred went over to scan where Spike was standing and Gunn asked, "Now what?"
"I don't know. He just.."
"Where'd he go?" Buffy asked.
"Hmm? What? What?" Spike asked from the other side of the room.
"Took the 'what's' right out of our mouths." Lorne said.
"Where'd you go?" Gunn asked.
"Don't you know?" Fred asked.
"I'm.. I was.." Spike stopped and looked at Angel. "You! This is your fault."
"Mine?" Angel asked.
"You brought that bloody amulet to Sunnydale. You would have been the one to use it, until you chickened out."
"What did you.."
"You heard me! You didn't want to wear it, so you pawned it off on me! I see how it is."
"Buffy made me. She wouldn't let me wear it!"
"And this, bloody hell, wasn't mine. I'm not you. I don't give a piss about atonement or destiny. Just because I got me a soul doesn't mean I'm gonna let myself be led around by.."
"E-excuse me?" Fred asked.
"Did.. did you just say.. Spike has a soul?" Wesley asked. "Neither of you ever said anything about that!"
"Didn't seem worth mentioning, you know." Angel said.
"We just.. We didn't think it was necessary." Buffy said.
"Seems to be a lot of that." Gunn said.
"Or maybe Captain Forehead was feeling a little less special. Didn't like me crashing his exclusive club.. another vampire with a soul in the world." Spike said.
"Spike.." Buffy warned.
"You're not in the world.. Casper." Angel shot back and then walked away.
"Angel!" Buffy went after him. Angel walked down the hall toward the lobby, and Spike materialized behind him and Buffy.
"Running away. Nice new M.O. I can see why heroes like you get rewarded with the shiny new glass and chrome. Why didn't I think of that?"
"I'm not responsible for what happened to you." Angel said.
"Angel, it's almost three o'clock. You and Buffy have a meeting scheduled.." Harmony said.
"Not now, Harmony." Buffy said.
"And here you've even managed to get my ex-tumble, the littlest vampire, fetching coffee for you. Nice perks for the sell-outs."
"Hey! What'd I do to you?"
"Little tip, Spike: Try not to talk about things you don't understand." Angel said.
"I'm not the prat here. I know you, Angel. What do you think you two are doing? Made some devil's bargain to take over this company. Thought you'd use it to fight the evil of the world from inside the belly of the beast. Trouble is you're too busy fighting to see you and yours are getting digested."
"Not gonna happen."
"Oh, you think you're in control here? Guess again, mate. Neither of you are more in control than I am. Except I'm not gonna bloody stand for it, while you're just a blind.. Grox'lar Beast."
"What?" Angel and Buffy turned to see the Grox'lar Beast had just stepped out of the elevators behind them. Angel threw a punch at the demon, but the demon punched him back, knocking him down. Spike threw a punch at the demon's head to distract it from Buffy, but his fist went right through without making an impact.
"Oh, brilliant." Spike said as the demon went toward Buffy. She ducked and punched, giving as good as she got and they continued fighting hand-to- hand. Buffy finally overpowered the demon, throwing him against the wall, and knocking him out. She helped Angel up.
"Somebody want to tell me how a Grox'lar Beast got past security? We don't have time for this." Angel said.
"Of course not. Man's gotta stay focused on profit margins and power lunches."
"Angel.." Harmony said.
"Yeah, Spike? Buffy and I've got a business to run. That means responsibilities, appointments to keep." Angel said.
"That was your three o'clock."
"That.."
"We're meeting with Grox'lars?! They eat babies!" Buffy said.
"Just their heads. You were supposed to open negotiations with his clan." Harmony said.
"Negotiations for what?" Angel asked.
"Get 'em to stop eating baby heads." Gunn said, walking in.
"Oh. So that's good. Oh, so this.. this is bad." Buffy said.
"No, actually the Grox'lar clan respects someone who takes a strong opening position. Wolfram & Hart didn't just jack me up here with the human laws, also demon laws from every dimension. Probably should have been briefed you about the Grox'lar, but we got a little.. sidetracked. Plus I've been implementing our reforms. Mostly staff overhaul. I've fired 40 employees in the past 2 days."
"How's that going?"
"As expected. Anger, tears, venomous death threats." Buffy followed Gunn into his office, Angel close behind. "Caught an associate we laid off trying to smuggle this out of the voodoo division." Gunn held up a voodoo doll that had black skin and was wearing a suit just like Gunn's.
"It's a nice likeness." Angel said.
"This place just goes on and on, doesn't it? Like a ruddy theme park attraction." Spike said.
"We're in a meeting, Spike."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't care."
"Buffy!"
Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Angel, I don't have time for this. I suddenly have a headache and I can't figure out why. Gunn, let's just get back to the matter at hand and Angel and Spike can work out their differences later. Ok?"
Gunn nodded. "Look, we're ruffling a lot of dangerous feathers out there. There's gonna be a backlash. Count on it."
"Well, we'll just have to ride out the ripples for a while."
"I'm sensing a ripple on its way now."
A man wearing a loud blue dress shirt and a spotted yellow tie walked in the room. "Yes, uh.. Novac. Uh, what's this about you guys shutting down the Internment Acquisitions Division?"
"Internment Acqui.." Buffy started.
"Grave-robbing." Gunn clarified.
"Listen, I know you all are in charge now, and you're doing a bang-up job. I'm with you 110%, but that department brings in mucho revenue to this company." Novac said.
"Well, Novac, we'll just have to tighten our belts and do without." Angel said.
"No, you're not getting it.. sir. I.A.D. is under contract to provide fresh bodies to Magnus Hainsley. You know who he is, right?" Buffy, Angel, and Gunn stared. "Oy. Ok. He's one of our oldest clients. Big potatoes. We stop delivering, and he is not gonna be.. thrilled."
"Then he's probably not gonna like it when you advise him that he's no longer our client."
"Me?"
"You got it, counselor. You tell Mister.."
"Hainsley." Buffy said.
"Hainsley, that Wolfram & Hart is under new management and out of the grave- robbing business. Now, run along and go argue your case."
"Me?" Novac asked.
"Go."
Novac walked toward the door, shuddering at the thought of his assignment, when Spike addressed him. "You don't have to take that from him, mate."
"Stay out of this, Spike. You don't work here."
"Damn right I don't. Look at you. This is what you do now? Delegate the dirty work to spineless, low-level flunkies. No offense." Spike added to Novac. "The mighty hero reduced to a bloody bureaucrat with his wife running behind the curtains."
"Get out of here, Spike."
"Gladly. Cruel enough punishment being stuck here as a spook while you play 'Chairman of the Boring.' But hell if I'm gonna spend my afterlife in your stinking city. Get stuffed." Spike walked away.
Buffy stared angrily at Angel and then walked out. Angel looked at Gunn and then followed Buffy. She went into their office. "Sweetheart.."
"Did you have to be so damn mean to him?" Buffy asked.
"What?! You're taking his side?"
"You're acting like a three year old!"
"Buffy.."
"No. I don't want to hear it. Why can't you play nice with Spike? He was a friend. Still is in my book. He sacrificed himself to save us. He didn't have to wear that amulet, but he did."
"I know."
"Then why so mean?"
"You've been all 'YAY SPIKE' ever since he showed back up here."
"Because he's a friend. Angel, this is ridiculous. Will you just play nice?" Angel sighed and stared at her. "Angel?"
He rolled his eyes. "Fine."
"Thank you."