CrossingShadowRiver 26/28 by dutchbuffy2305
Rating: R
Timeline: About ten years after season 5 of AtS; sequel of sorts to Crossing into UnchippedTerritory
Author's note: Thanks to my dear betas, ayinhara & mommanerd.
Author's website: http:home.planet.nl/dutchbuffy2305
Feedback: Yes, please, to
Spike's footsteps sound loud in the deserted pre-dawn street. It's deliberate, because definitely still stealthy vamp, and the resulting twitch in one of the shadow porticos gives away the old man's position. He speeds up, silent now, and slides in neatly next to Giles before the other man can even get an annoyed expression o his face.
"Morning, Giles," he nods.
"Spike? Didn't expect you to show up for this. Will you join us afterwards? How's Buffy today?"
"Utterly enslaved to the puling brat, of course. Hungry little bugger. But I actually got three hours of sleep last night, so, big improvement."
Giles smiles tightly. From that, Spike knows he's nervous about all this, because Giles has shown himself a disturbingly frequent visitor, making noises of grandfatherly concern all over Buffy and the baby the past few weeks.
"Everything set?" Spike asks.
Giles seems to be the only one around so far. Giles check his watch. "Andrew and the troops should be coming in just about now," he says.
As on cue, a double decker tour bus rolls into the street opposite. Spike gasps with laughter. "A bus? You arranged a fucking bus full of witches? Christ. You are taking this seriously, aren't you?"
Giles makes an abrupt, cutting gesture but ends with putting his angry hands in his pockets. ": I have to, Spike. This is my responsibility. I failed Willow. Not just the first time, but twice, by sending her back to battle the First when she wasn't done with her training in the coven. I should have ended this before. Instead, I ran way and played at supernatural detective with Andrew. I owe it to Willow and myself to make this better."
He gets out a pipe and clamps it hard between his teeth. "And you too, Spike. You and Buffy. God knows what you suffered because of Willow's delusions of grandeur."
"Grandeur? Raving psychosis, I'd have said."
Spike stares at the pipe. Wasn't that Andrew's pipe? Why was Giles smoking it? He decides not to ask. Wrong moment.
The bus disgorges a slew of witches and warlocks of all ages and shapes, Andrew easily recognizable among them. His hair's bleached gold by the Australian sun and he's carefully rewinding another of his Dr. Who scarves around his neck. Bright red and white, this time. Man U colors.
"Spike!" Andrew squeaks and hugs him tight. "So happy to see you! I promise to visit soon with Australian gifts!"
"Buffy's knitting you a scarf, actually," Spike says. "A green one."
Andrew looks panicked for a second and then punches his arm. "Ha! You're kidding. I knew that. As if Buffy can knit."
"Motherhood takes people in a weird way," Spike says, shaking his head. "Don't discount the knitting until you've actually seen her wrestle with a pair of bootees." He shivers.
"Really? Bootees?" Andrew grimaces but rallies. "Awesome. Knitting. The picture of happy maternity, huh?"
Spike grins. "Well…"
"Don't believe a word he's saying, Andy," Giles says. "Buffy's carving him a little stake, actually."
"Huh." Andrew eyes him and Gils with the same wariness. "Right. Okay, people, last check. Everyone knows what they're supposed to do?"
"Surround the block," one of the witches says
"Wait for your signal," a warlock grumbles.
"Then slam down n the force field," a motherly woolly haired type finishes.
The magic force troops off in the misty pale grey street. The street lights wink off. Spike checks the sky. "Gotta be off any minute now. Take care, he? It's going to be a beautiful day."
The one thing he adores about London is the weather. It's the only place on earth he can predict the weather with any certainty. Like today; morning haze and chill means a bright spring day, with temperatures in the upper fifties. A mild spring day. For the rest he can't wait to finish up his obligations here and take Buffy and Phoenix out of there, back to Florence.
"Giles?"
"Yes?"
"Some advice?"
"Of course," Giles nods and Spikes hears the words "I'll never want your advice, Spike" echoing down the years. Things change for the good, sometimes.
"Make it seem you're taking Tara prisoner as well," Spike says. "I think she's the only person in the world Willow trusts. Give her something to hang onto."
Gils looks at him sharply for a moment. "Yes. I'll give orders to see to that. You have a pretty high opinion of Tara seventeen, have you?"
"Seventeen," Spike says. "Christ. You found that out?"
"Yes. The Gatekeepers have brilliant records of everything. They can't undo the sacrifices, of course, but they have consented to give no dimensional passage to Willow ever again, except on our say-so."
Spike can't stop shaking his head. "Seventeen. And we never knew. We really let Willow down, all of us. Se must have thought we didn't care anymore."
"That's one of way of looking at it," Giles says implacably. "The fifteen Tares she sacrificed might see that differently. With huge power comes huge responsibility. She needs to contained and punished."
"How? You gonna kill her?"
Giles frowns, "Of course not. That would be too easy on her. No, we've arranged for a wonderful Hell…wonderful cloistered little world, which she won't ever be able to leave unless she learns true humility. And has spent considerable time atoning."
"What? A private nunnery for Miss Rosenberg? How ironic," Spike says, smiling in spite of himself.
"You could look at it that way. Or a prison, of course, with a life sentence of community service. Whatever. She'll pay, don't worry."
"If you guys manage to capture her safely, of course."
"We will," Giles says. "Don't underestimate Andrew and his Magic Corps. They've got loads of experience assisting slayers all over the world. They'll get her aright."
Spike throws down his fag and extinguishes sit with his boot. :"Right. Have to get into the shade now, Rupes. Good luck!"
He hurries off in the direction a small block of shops. The pubs are still closed, of course, but he knows a Paki all-night market with access to the tunnels. He gets a cup of bad coffee form the dispenser and looks on from afar, leaning in the doorpost while he chats with the owner. At first, he can't see much. There's a faint ripple at the edge of his extended vampires senses, and then he sees two colorful figures being hauled away, sealed in a magic bubble.
They have to pass him on their way to the bus. Tara's head lifts, as if she knows someone's there, but she keeps her grasp on Willow's hand. Giles comes walking up, stopping to talk to the two women, precisely in front of Spike's lookout place. Very kind of old Rupes. There's a bit of a standstill until Andrew comes bounding up.
"Giles, have you said your thing?" Andrew asks blithely, and although Spike can't hear Willow's answer, obscured as it is by the magic bubble, he can see every line of body strain and her head bob with the force of the words she's spitting out.
Tara puts her arm around Willow and strokes her hair. Then she steps away from Willow. The bubble parts for her and closes back in on itself. Willow shrieks soundlessly, her face working, her fists balled. She throws herself at the magic restraints but to no avail. Spike's sorry for her. He knows that she didn't start out 'evil', which is a pretty dumb catchphrase anyway. He used to be evil, and he's okay now. Power corrupted Willow, and nobody loved her enough, or was strong enough, to curb her excesses and teach her how to deal with herself. He bites his lip and changes his mind again. Nobody but he himself taught Spike that, when he had enough incentive to go out and get a soul. Who bears the blame for Willow, if not Willow herself? Never mind. He'll never figure out a definitive answer to that one.
Tara waves at Willow, tears sliding down silently on her face. So this Tara's not coming to Willow's place of exile. He can't blame her, but poor, poor Willow. Maybe Tara will join up with Andrew and Giles, reforming the New Council. He shrugs. Her choice.
He finishes the coffee and makes for the tunnels, without waiting for Giles and Andrew as he promised. He doesn't particularly want to celebrate their success right now. Besides, he has another obligation to fulfill. He has to go apologize to Dawn.
TBC