Turning the Tables
Chapter 12
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SUNNY HEIGHTS
"What is that smell?" Spike asked, wrinkling his nose from his position on the couch. Willow stretched, very feline in appearance, and resettled herself on his lap.
"I dunno." There was clattering and clanking from the kitchen and the pair rose cautiously, kicking aside the unconscious bodies of the apartment's former owners. Rounding the corner, they found Buffy, humming slightly by the stove.
"Cross? Bloody hell, what are you doing?"
"I made pancakes!" She proclaimed excitedly, gesturing towards a stack of lumpy, lopsided dough piles that were an odd shade of pink.
"Why are they that color, luv?" He watched the 'pancakes' warily, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.
"Well, I found this box of mix, and I thought 'whoa! Why use water? We don't drink water' So, I put in blood instead."
"Blood from where?" Willow asked, sniffing the air with an undecipherable expression.
"The Watcher. Oh don't worry, he's still alive. Just a bit light-headed." With a wide smile, she turned back to her cooking. Spike and Willow backed away slowly, until they were back on the couch.
"We have to do something about her," Willow hissed at him, careful to keep her voice low, unheard by even Buffy's enhanced ears.
"I know," Spike replied, "It's that bloody mother of hers. She misses her," he growled with disgust, "We have to take care of her."
"What do we do?"
"I don't know…"
"I could look for something in that book Charlie gave me. I'm sure there's something-"
"No…no, that won't do. Don't get me wrong pet, the majicks are bloody brilliant, but this is a vampire problem. We're gonna have to settle it the old-fashioned way."
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LIBRARY
"Are we gonna be here much longer?" Cordelia whined from the stairs.
"If you were actually doing any work we would have been through hours ago," Giles snapped. She shot him a hurt look and turned away with an indignant sniff, "I'm sorry Cordelia. I'm very tense right now."
"Yeah, I mean, we've got freaky symbol carving vamps, plus we don't know what Angel's doing. Not that I'm complaining, but why hasn't he tried to murder us all recently?"
"That poses an interesting dilemma indeed Xander," Giles removed his glasses and began to clean them, "It's possible he is attempting to lull us into a false sense of security. Or, he may have simply moved on to a more populated area. Buffy seemed to be what was holding Angelus to Sunnydale…and, of course, she is no longer here."
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SUNNY HEIGHTS
Willow stared out at the afternoon sun and sighed. If everything went according to plan all this waiting might end. She turned back and looked at the still bodies of Kathy and Jim Thompson. She sighed again. Might as well. Walking lazily over she raised her left hand, which had a pentacle carved into it and held it over the bodies.
"Awake," she said firmly. Immediately they stirred.
"We must have fallen asleep on the couch," Kathy said with a light laugh to her husband.
"Must have," Jim grunted, pulling himself up on the coffee table. Neither of them seemed to notice the vampire who was watching them curiously.
"Breakfast?" Kathy asked after he helped her up. They headed jovially into the kitchen. Willow smiled. Worked like a charm. That was definitely a useful spell. They acted like perfectly normal people, while they were actually her puppets. No suspicious people or suspicious behavior to clue the remnants of the Scooby gang as to where they were hiding.
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SUMMERS RESIDENCE (evening)
Joyce was carefully carrying her mug of herbal tea into the living room when the kitchen door opened. She spilled some of the tea onto the floor and cursed mentally. That would leave a watermark on the wood.
"Rupert?" She called, heading back to set down the cup and get some paper toweling. Maybe if she dabbed it up quickly it wouldn't stain. She entered the kitchen and the cup fell from her hands and shattered, letting tea flow all over the kitchen floor.
"That's going to stain," Spike commented casually from his perch on the counter. Joyce felt frozen to the spot. She should back away. She should run away. But she was transfixed by the man who murdered her daughter.
"You…" she whispered. Spike looked pleasantly pleased.
"Me. It looks very nice in here, Joyce. Have you repainted?"
"You killed her…how dare you come back here…" her voice was choked with rage and wavered dangerously. She should run. She should get a stake. He killed her. He killed Buffy.
"Well, you see Joyce, it's darling Buffy that I've come to talk to you about. As it happens, even though she's now dearly departed and running with my gang, she's attached to an aspect of her human life," He gave her a sideways glance, as if to gauge her reaction, "That's you, luv." Joyce stared at him. Was this some kind of trick? Buffy…
"We have to do something about that little problem. Now, in my experience, the whole 'turn the mother' scene never plays as well as expected," He told her with a 'sympathetic' gaze, "But don't you worry about a thing. I've already come up with a new plan." Simultaneously, he hopped off the counter and slid into game face.
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SUNNYDALE PUBLIC LIBRARY (construction site)
Xander ducked a flurry of punches from him vampire assailant and popped up quickly to stick the stake into his heart.
"Well," he said through heavy breaths as the dust settled, "At least somebody in this town still cares about reading." Looking around he saw that Faith had staked both of her attackers and Giles was finishing up on his. Why vampires were drawn to construction site for the new library…
"That was…invigorating," Giles wheezed.
"Those were newbie vamps, I wanna kick some fun ass!" Faith complained, fighting the air in demonstration.
"I just might be able to make that wish come true," Spike stepped out from behind some of the metal framework and was met with several stakes all put to the ready, "Hang on there, never said that I was gonna fight you. No, I think I'll let my new friend handle that part."
"Oh, just shut up already and fight," Giles rolled his eyes. Dramatics. That stupid vampire always had to be the thespian.
"Steady on there Rupes. You'll get your chance. Come on now luv," he turned back to the shadows and gestured to someone waiting there, "don't be shy."
In a clean white gown, a slightly confused looking Joyce Summers emerged.
"Joyce!" Giles started forward but Faith threw out an arm to hold him back, "For heaven's sake, let me go! Spike will kill her!"
"Already did," Faith said with disgust, "She's a vampire."
"You don't believe that, do you Rupert?" Joyce asked in a small voice. Giles was torn. His Slayer knew a vampire when she saw one but…Joyce. It was Joyce. He pushed forward again and Faith grabbed his arm and yanked him backwards.
"You're my Watcher, I'm not gonna let you get slaughtered because you won't believe your lady friend is a blood-sucking bitch!"
"Rupert, please, please help me. He…you don't know how horrible he is. So nasty, his mind is full of nasty things," she glanced at Spike with terror and her voice trembled. Spike sneered at Giles.
"You heard the lady, mate. Do you really want me to elaborate on the nasty things I've got planned for this tasty morsel? You read all about Angelus, didn't you? He taught me everything I know…except for the music. I learned about playing the music from Dru."
It was too much for Giles. In a burst of speed uncharacteristic of a man his age, he ducked away from Faith, whose grip had relaxed in the lull. He sprinted forward and grabbed Joyce's hand. It was cold. Very cold. He looked in horror into her eyes and they flashed amber.
"Joyce," he whispered, dropping her hand and backing away quickly. She followed slowly.
"Don't you want to save me anymore? Be the big hero and rescue the damsel in distress?" Faith stepped forward with her stake and Joyce stopped, clucking her tongue.
"So you're the Slayer now, are you? You aren't as pretty as my Buffy. Or didn't Rupert tell you about Buffy?" She glanced over at Giles and his stiffened shoulders told her everything, "She was Slayer before you were. And she was my little girl long before that. I loved my Buffy. This man," she pointed at Giles, but her eyes never left Faith's transfixed face, "let her die. He was her Watcher too, you know. He was supposed to protect her and teach her. Instead, he let Spike over there get at her. I'd be willing to bet my bottom dollar that you've fought Buffy. She's blonde, about this tall, and she hangs around him," she jerked her thumb back towards Spike who was grinning proudly.
Faith stared at this woman…this vampire…and found she had difficulty breathing. That blonde girl she had fought so many times…was the previous Slayer. But she had been more than just the Slayer. She had been Buffy. A trusted friend, a beloved daughter…things Faith had never been allowed to be. She heard scuffling from somewhere off to the right but couldn't tear her eyes away from the vampire who had been the Slayer's mother. Joyce was steadily advancing towards her, but before she was within grabbing distance, she felt a distinctly unpleasant sensation in her chest. Looking down, and feeling oddly detached, she saw some wood emerging from it. Looking up, she saw Rupert Giles, thin streams of tears running down his cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Joyce. I'm so sorry," he whispered. She fell forward and he held her in his arms until she was only dust falling to the ground. He looked up and he saw the source of the scuffling Faith heard. Standing on the scaffolding, in a state of shock, was Buffy. A couple feet away was a very pleased looking Willow. She exchanged a knowing gaze with Spike who was looking cockier than ever, but quickly adopted a look of horror when Buffy's gaze turned to him. Willow did the same. Buffy inched forwards to the edge of the platform she was standing on and stared at the ground where her mother had blended with the dirt.
"Mommy?" She whispered, eyes wide.
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Cliffhanger. And I'm so sorry about Joyce. I loved Joyce too, I really did. But she was needed for the plot. RRR