I Don't Need You: Fear.
"Higgy? Where's DL and Spike?" Red turned and looked deep into the Carer's eyes. "Where are they? Higgy? Higgy?" Red grabbed her friend by her shoulders and shook her forcefully. "Higgy? Where are they?"
Higgy couldn't speak. She tried, but the words got caught in her throat. Looking into Red's eyes she couldn't see any hope, nothing but fear. She didn't know where they were. Why should she?
Releasing Higgy, Red spun round and went to the back room of the shop. Looking round frantically she called for first DL then Spike. When she got no answer she hit the wall. She continued pounding away with her fists as if it would bring them back. She stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"DL?" she whispered and turned around quickly, only to find herself facing the current slayer. Averting her gaze to her red knuckles she tried to hide her emotions. "Sorry." She continued. "I thought you were..." she was cut off when Buffy pulled her into a hug.
Not knowing what else to do she buried her face into the other girl's shoulder. She tried to hold back the tears, but couldn't. She cried softly into Buffy's top and tried to calm herself down. Buffy was rubbing her back and telling her that everything would be okay.
"How?" she managed between sobs. "How will everything be okay? We've lost DL and Spike. DL. She's the vessel of the spirits. If anything happened to her..." she couldn't finish. Sobbing hysterically she pulled away from Buffy and went back to the main shop with tears flowing down her cheeks.
Higgy was sitting at the table. Books in front of her and a notepad open to her side with doodles on it. She was biting her lip and a frown was creasing her brow in concentration. Red came in and stood by her. Without even looking at the girl, Higgy pushed her chair back and let the potential sit on her lap. She placed an arm around the girl's shoulders and the other one flicked through pages in the book. "Calm down." She whispered to the other girl.
"But DL..."
"I know."
"The spirits..."
"I know."
"Then why are you..."
"There's no use panicking yet. If something had happened to DL then we would have been notified. Do you really think that the spirits would have given DL her powers if she wasn't worthy?"
Red sniffed and looked at the book Higgy was still gazing at. "I guess not." She muttered and grabbed a book off the nearby pile. "She can look after herself can't she?"
"Have you ever seen her with a scratch after a battle?"
Red shook her head. "She's the lucky one." She mumbled and began looking at the other book. Intent on finding the demons that had attacked the shop.
"What?" Giles had been listening and had no idea what the girls were going on about. "What's all this about spirits and DL?" Red looked at Higgy. Should they tell?
Higgy sighed and looked at her friend. "I think they deserve to know Red. They've known us for a month now, and I think we can trust them." Turning to the confused watcher and his slayer who had joined them she began the explanation. "DL is an ancestor of the spirits. She was the one deemed worthy by them over 300 years ago. You see. Long ago these spirits had a lot of power. It was too much for one person to hold without being corrupted, so they decided to split it into five parts. DL was chosen to be a vessel and was given her power. She had been trained to protect it and is a source of a lot of power. Luckily she can fade in and out to get rid of attackers and can fight like the devil in a fight, as you've seen."
"She's over 300 years old?" Giles was astonished as usual. "How is that possible? She looks barely older than you."
"She looks good for her age. But she still has to perfect her powers, she can't quite fade completely yet." Higgy went back to her book and began frantically reading for the demon.
"So when she was about 50 years old, she met Angelus and Darla in England." Red continued. "Although they never really became friends, they knew each other and she would help them out from time to time, and they would help her in return. She was there for Spike's siring and used to watch over him when Angelus was away. Of course, Spike never knew and Angelus didn't tell anyone in case they found out about her secret. He knew she was powerful and had a higher purpose."
"Wait, Angel knew Amy?" Buffy was shocked. "She never said."
"You never asked. Plus she met him again when Higgy was caring for him after he left here. You see, DL knew so much about the Aurelius bloodline that she came to help Higgy. Then they found out I was a potential and I came along too." She grinned and went back to her book. "So now we just have to find her and Spike..."
She was cut off by a very loud, "Ah ha!" from Higgy. "And I don't think I would be wrong to say eureka either."
"Red immediately turned her head to the book in front of her and Higgy. "You found it?"
"Indeed. Chimera Demon. Pray to the ancient female beast of chimera. However, instead of being invulnerable to fire as their god, flames are the only thing that can destroy the beast."
"Great." Buffy began. "We have a demon and how to destroy it. Now what do they want with Spike and Amy?"
"Erm...there's a ritual, as usual. They need the power of a spirit, DL and the blood of a vampire."
"But why Spike exactly? This is the hell mouth, there's more than one vampire and they're a lot less protected than he was." Giles had joined Buffy and was looking at the text over the blonde's shoulder.
"He's going through Sinco. He's no threat to them. In his slightly weakened state his fangs were too sensitive when he bit them and he said they tasted like charcoal. When his fangs felt their skin it must have made him hesitate for a second, giving them enough time to get him and DL and get out."
Walking over to the desk Buffy picked up the phone and dialled Xander's number. "If we're going to take them all out we're going to need backup. I'll get Xander, Willow, Tara and Anya over here. We can take on these demons."
* * * * *
Xander loaded his crossbow and put two more bolts in his back pocket. "I hope this is worth saving dead boy junior." He sighed.
"Spike's done a lot for us Xander. And DL's been captured too." Willow tried to reason with her best friend. "Besides, there's a ritual and last time we had one of those, we almost lost the world. So I think that's a good enough reason."
Anya just kissed her boyfriend and whispered something in his ear that made him blush. Deciding not to get involved, Higgy just pulled a sword from the weapons chest and swung it around to get the balance correct.
Tara and Willow had done a location spell and had pinpointed the exact location of the demon. Tara was now holding the slightly charred map with her and was planning the shortest route there. Red was standing around impatiently twirling a stake around her finger. "Can we go now?" she asked for the seventh time in five minutes.
"Yes." Buffy gave the answer the girl was waiting for and pulled open the magic shop door, only to find someone there waiting.
Holding out a black leather coat in front of her, with tears rolling down her cheeks DL could only whisper, "It's all I could find."
Okay guys what did you think? If you still have any questions about DL and her past then just ask and I'll explain. This fic is set in the first half of series five but after Riley has gone coz I really didn't like that guy. Tara had finally made an appearance after my wonderful reviewer pointed it out that she seemed to have disappeared. (Thanks for that) I know there was no Spike in that chapter but just in case you were wondering if he was dead...well you'll have to wait and see. *Laughs evilly* god I love cliff- hangers...*wanders off in search of something shiny mumbling to self*
"Higgy? Where's DL and Spike?" Red turned and looked deep into the Carer's eyes. "Where are they? Higgy? Higgy?" Red grabbed her friend by her shoulders and shook her forcefully. "Higgy? Where are they?"
Higgy couldn't speak. She tried, but the words got caught in her throat. Looking into Red's eyes she couldn't see any hope, nothing but fear. She didn't know where they were. Why should she?
Releasing Higgy, Red spun round and went to the back room of the shop. Looking round frantically she called for first DL then Spike. When she got no answer she hit the wall. She continued pounding away with her fists as if it would bring them back. She stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"DL?" she whispered and turned around quickly, only to find herself facing the current slayer. Averting her gaze to her red knuckles she tried to hide her emotions. "Sorry." She continued. "I thought you were..." she was cut off when Buffy pulled her into a hug.
Not knowing what else to do she buried her face into the other girl's shoulder. She tried to hold back the tears, but couldn't. She cried softly into Buffy's top and tried to calm herself down. Buffy was rubbing her back and telling her that everything would be okay.
"How?" she managed between sobs. "How will everything be okay? We've lost DL and Spike. DL. She's the vessel of the spirits. If anything happened to her..." she couldn't finish. Sobbing hysterically she pulled away from Buffy and went back to the main shop with tears flowing down her cheeks.
Higgy was sitting at the table. Books in front of her and a notepad open to her side with doodles on it. She was biting her lip and a frown was creasing her brow in concentration. Red came in and stood by her. Without even looking at the girl, Higgy pushed her chair back and let the potential sit on her lap. She placed an arm around the girl's shoulders and the other one flicked through pages in the book. "Calm down." She whispered to the other girl.
"But DL..."
"I know."
"The spirits..."
"I know."
"Then why are you..."
"There's no use panicking yet. If something had happened to DL then we would have been notified. Do you really think that the spirits would have given DL her powers if she wasn't worthy?"
Red sniffed and looked at the book Higgy was still gazing at. "I guess not." She muttered and grabbed a book off the nearby pile. "She can look after herself can't she?"
"Have you ever seen her with a scratch after a battle?"
Red shook her head. "She's the lucky one." She mumbled and began looking at the other book. Intent on finding the demons that had attacked the shop.
"What?" Giles had been listening and had no idea what the girls were going on about. "What's all this about spirits and DL?" Red looked at Higgy. Should they tell?
Higgy sighed and looked at her friend. "I think they deserve to know Red. They've known us for a month now, and I think we can trust them." Turning to the confused watcher and his slayer who had joined them she began the explanation. "DL is an ancestor of the spirits. She was the one deemed worthy by them over 300 years ago. You see. Long ago these spirits had a lot of power. It was too much for one person to hold without being corrupted, so they decided to split it into five parts. DL was chosen to be a vessel and was given her power. She had been trained to protect it and is a source of a lot of power. Luckily she can fade in and out to get rid of attackers and can fight like the devil in a fight, as you've seen."
"She's over 300 years old?" Giles was astonished as usual. "How is that possible? She looks barely older than you."
"She looks good for her age. But she still has to perfect her powers, she can't quite fade completely yet." Higgy went back to her book and began frantically reading for the demon.
"So when she was about 50 years old, she met Angelus and Darla in England." Red continued. "Although they never really became friends, they knew each other and she would help them out from time to time, and they would help her in return. She was there for Spike's siring and used to watch over him when Angelus was away. Of course, Spike never knew and Angelus didn't tell anyone in case they found out about her secret. He knew she was powerful and had a higher purpose."
"Wait, Angel knew Amy?" Buffy was shocked. "She never said."
"You never asked. Plus she met him again when Higgy was caring for him after he left here. You see, DL knew so much about the Aurelius bloodline that she came to help Higgy. Then they found out I was a potential and I came along too." She grinned and went back to her book. "So now we just have to find her and Spike..."
She was cut off by a very loud, "Ah ha!" from Higgy. "And I don't think I would be wrong to say eureka either."
"Red immediately turned her head to the book in front of her and Higgy. "You found it?"
"Indeed. Chimera Demon. Pray to the ancient female beast of chimera. However, instead of being invulnerable to fire as their god, flames are the only thing that can destroy the beast."
"Great." Buffy began. "We have a demon and how to destroy it. Now what do they want with Spike and Amy?"
"Erm...there's a ritual, as usual. They need the power of a spirit, DL and the blood of a vampire."
"But why Spike exactly? This is the hell mouth, there's more than one vampire and they're a lot less protected than he was." Giles had joined Buffy and was looking at the text over the blonde's shoulder.
"He's going through Sinco. He's no threat to them. In his slightly weakened state his fangs were too sensitive when he bit them and he said they tasted like charcoal. When his fangs felt their skin it must have made him hesitate for a second, giving them enough time to get him and DL and get out."
Walking over to the desk Buffy picked up the phone and dialled Xander's number. "If we're going to take them all out we're going to need backup. I'll get Xander, Willow, Tara and Anya over here. We can take on these demons."
* * * * *
Xander loaded his crossbow and put two more bolts in his back pocket. "I hope this is worth saving dead boy junior." He sighed.
"Spike's done a lot for us Xander. And DL's been captured too." Willow tried to reason with her best friend. "Besides, there's a ritual and last time we had one of those, we almost lost the world. So I think that's a good enough reason."
Anya just kissed her boyfriend and whispered something in his ear that made him blush. Deciding not to get involved, Higgy just pulled a sword from the weapons chest and swung it around to get the balance correct.
Tara and Willow had done a location spell and had pinpointed the exact location of the demon. Tara was now holding the slightly charred map with her and was planning the shortest route there. Red was standing around impatiently twirling a stake around her finger. "Can we go now?" she asked for the seventh time in five minutes.
"Yes." Buffy gave the answer the girl was waiting for and pulled open the magic shop door, only to find someone there waiting.
Holding out a black leather coat in front of her, with tears rolling down her cheeks DL could only whisper, "It's all I could find."
Okay guys what did you think? If you still have any questions about DL and her past then just ask and I'll explain. This fic is set in the first half of series five but after Riley has gone coz I really didn't like that guy. Tara had finally made an appearance after my wonderful reviewer pointed it out that she seemed to have disappeared. (Thanks for that) I know there was no Spike in that chapter but just in case you were wondering if he was dead...well you'll have to wait and see. *Laughs evilly* god I love cliff- hangers...*wanders off in search of something shiny mumbling to self*