Something Wicked This Way Comes
Chapter 6: It's a Sure Thing
By: Rogue-Slayer13
Disclaimer: The characters of Btvs and Ats belong to Joss Whedon, not myself.
Summary: See pervious chapters
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"This looks bad, oh so very bad." Andrew looked at the laptop in front of him and then at the book resting on the desk next to it.
"What did you find?" asked Giles.
"Well, the book, the scroll, and the tablets all say the same thing, and it's not good news." Andrew looked back at the screen which was translating the ancient texts as he typed them in, quick translation software was one of the perks of working with equipment from the old council. "It's a sure thing, the Senior Partners are going to try and resurrect the First."
"Do you know the specifics?"
"Sometime soon, I'll have to cross reference this Z'Jan calender to our calendar to get an exact date."
"What else?"
"What's orbis ater spina mean?"
"Well orbis is circle and ater is black and . . . oh dear lord." Giles took off his glasses and began to clean them.
"What's it mean Giles?"
"The Circle of the Black Thorn."
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Spike was the only one at home when someone knocked on the door. Buffy and Dawn had gone to see their dad, Angel and Gunn were patrolling still, and the others had gone to see if they could get anything useful from The Hyperion. Spike got up and answered the door to see Willow and Kennedy standing on the other side.
"Been expecting you."
"We got here as fast as we could," replied Willow as Spike closed the door behind her and Kennedy.
"Well, welcome to our base of operations," said Spike.
"How many people do you have staying here?" asked Kennedy.
"It depends," said Spike. "Buffy and Dawn stay at the hotel, Peaches and Charlie Boy are usually 'ere. Wes and Fred go to his place at times, and Lorne's got a place not far from 'ere."
"Well, we'll need a bigger place once everyone gets here," said Willow.
"Yeah, everyone kind of moved into my place when I took Blue down to Rio." Spike sat down on the couch. "The only other place we can go is The Hyperion, but the Senior Partners know about that place."
"I can look around during the day and see if I can find somewhere." Willow set her suitcase down and took a seat next to Spike.
"That'd be good," said Spike.
"When are Giles and the others getting here?" asked Kennedy.
Spike didn't get a chance to answer because the phone rang and he had to answer it instead.
"Ello?"
"Spike, it's me Giles," said the voice on the other end of the line.
"What's going on?"
"We have an emergency of sorts."
"Of sorts? How the 'ell can you have one of sorts? I thought that was an all or nothing kind of thing."
"Andrew found some texts that mention the Circle of the Black Thorn as well as the Senior Partners, working together."
"Damn."
"What's wrong?" asked Giles.
"We've already got both of 'em practically knocking on our door."
"Well, Andrew and myself our in New York. We got an earlier flight and should be in Los Angeles in a few hours."
"What about Faith and the slayers?"
"I've called them, as well as Xander and they should be on their way as well."
"I'll let the Slayer and Peaches know."
"All right, well, I must be getting on the plane now."
"See ya."
"Good-bye Spike."
Spike hung up the phone and looked at Willow.
"Watcher and the boy are on their way."
"What about everyone else?"
"Should be 'ere in a day or two."
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"You've got to be joking."
"I'm as serious as I am dead."
"There's no way we can go up against the Senior Partners, the First, and the Circle of the Black Thorn." Buffy sat down on the arm of the couch.
"I'm just telling ya what Rupes told me," replied Spike.
"Jesus, we're not ready for this kind of thing," said Gunn.
"It's a little late to be getting him involved," commented Lorne.
The group fell silent as things began to sink in for them.
"I have an idea."
Everyone turned to look at Spike.
"There's no way in 'ell, we can take them all on at once, but we can if we get 'em alone."
"What do you mean?" asked Kennedy.
"They're at their strongest when all three of 'em are together, divide 'em up, you've just got three really evil organizations on your hands and divided up further, you've just got an evil bunch of people."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Spike's right," said Angel. "And I think I know a way we can put his plan into action."
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Giles and Andrew arrived to find a very tense atmosphere at Spike's apartment.
"I can see Spike's informed everyone about the situation at hand," said Giles as he set down his suitcase.
"Yeah and we think we might have a plan," said Fred.
"Oh good, I was hoping everyone wouldn't wait to do the planning until I arrived." Giles took his glasses out of his pocket and put them on. "What's the plan?"
"The members of the Black Thorn are only a threat when they're together," said Angel. "If we divide up and hit them when each member's alone, we actually stand a chance."
"Are you planning to do this with the Senior Partners and the First as well?"
"The Senior Partners have minions that we'll need to dispatch and I'm the sure the First will have something up its sleeves," said Buffy.
"You seem to have a well-thought out plan," said Giles. "We'll just need to fill in the others and find the necessary supplies."
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To Be Continued . . .