TITLE: Convergence Pt 3 Time to Deal
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: Not owning, just borrowing some of JW, ME and Fox's property.
SUMMARY: Xander and Spike have THE confrontation, Buffy fades, Giles and Willow get the lowdown from the CoW, Big Bad revealed
FEEDBACK: Well, heck yeah! I mean, I know it has been slow going the last two chapters, but it's picking up now. I promise. Again, let me know what you would like to see happen, and I'll see what I can do. Anyway, enjoy and thanks for reading.
Time to Deal
Xander and Spike examined each other across the hood of Xander's truck. Not wanting the encounter to degenerate into a scene, Xander started moving again, toward the driver's side of the truck, digging his keys out of his pocket as he moved.
"What do you want Spike?" he asked the blonde vampire dejectedly. "Come to gloat? Rub it in my face that you have now taken every woman I care about in this town and turned them over to the dark side?" He jammed the key in the lock and pulled the door open. "Well, don't. I really don't want to hear anything else you have to say to me, ever again." He stepped up into the truck and before closing the door said, "See ya 'round, Spike."
"Xander." Spike's use of his given name stopped Xander from shutting the door. He frowned and looked at Spike in confusion.
"Yeah?"
"I came here to speak to Anya, but as you're here, and I saw you first, you'll do for now." Spike stated matter-of-factly. "You think you and I could go somewhere and have a little chat, mate?"
"Umm, no, Spike. You want to talk to me, you do it from right there. I'll listen from in here."
"Right then. Here it is." He cleared his throat and started. "Harris, you are a complete ninny, ya know?"
"Really? This is not making me want to listen Spike."
"No really. You have, or had, a really good thing goin with that bit of fluff in there. But you blew it. You are so scared to be who you are, cuz you think you'll end up as someone you're not. I smell fear on you all the time, it is really rather disgusting. It isn't even a good healthy fear of dying or being maimed. You know, that fear that all good victims have." He sighed and looked up at Xander. "I really miss that fear, ya know? I miss the taste of it in their blood, the smell of it comin from their skin."
"Yeah, I can just imagine." Xander rolled his eyes in disgust. "Spike, let's skip all this, and let me tell you that I have already figured all that stuff out. Yup, you are right. I was, perhaps still am, a coward. I got no problem admitting that. Thinking back, I don't think I ever did have a problem admitting that particular weakness. But do ya know what I never was? Not once?"
"No, but I am reasonably certain you're about to spill it." Came the snarky reply.
"I was never an evil person," he frowned, "well, except that time I was possessed by a hyena spirit, but that doesn't count. I was never the kind of scourge you were - are. I never fed off people, or killed them for the thrill of it. I never took part in planned mayhem. On the other hand, you did. You are evil, and I just don't understand how the people I love and cherish could forget that fact. Even if you are neutered by that chip in your head." Xander shook his head in wonderment.
"So, Harris, you're not even going to give me credit for those 147 days that I worked with you and your scoobs? You're not acknowledging the times I spent taking care of Dawn? Saving your hide?"
"Spike, everything you did that you think was for us, I believe you did it for selfish reasons. Even after her death, you wanted Buffy to love you. All those things you did were for your own sake, for your own selfish reasons, that had nothing to do with us. That is what I believe, and it is going to take an awful lot of convincing to change my mind."
"Fair enough, I reckon." Spike conceded that Xander's opinion may have some merit. "But you are wrong. I know I have been selfish, I AM a vampire, hello?? But that summer? I did what I did for Buffy. Not so she would love me, that was a lost cause, she was dead. But I did it because she would have wanted me to. And because I couldn't save her, so I figured I might be able to save you guys. I may not have been doing it for you all, but I wasn't doing it for me either, Harris. I think you really ought to know that."
"Whatever, Spike. But don't expect me to ever like you, or trust you. You'll always be a vampire, ergo you'll always be evil, it is the nature of your inner beast."
"No, it isn't. Not anymore. There have been some changes over the summer, Harris. Changes that I am sure you'll not appreciate, but changes just the same. I am not the same neutered monster you seem to think I am. I wasn't that monster even before these changes, but you won't understand that." Spike spoke quietly, but his words oozed contempt for Xander's limited capacity for understanding.
Xander waited for further explanation from the vampire standing outside his truck. When none was forthcoming, he opened the door and stepped onto the pavement again. "Well, spill it, Spike. When exactly did you cease being that monster?" he advanced toward Spike. "Hmmm? Let me see, was it before you assaulted Buffy in her own house? During?" Still no answer from quiet watchful vampire. "What? Did the Big Bad Vampire have an attack of conscience after hurting the woman he professed to love? That is laugh riot, Spike. You, as a vampire, are not capable of remorse and attacks of conscience. You're. Just. A. Demon." He scoffed at Spike and turned around, heading back toward his truck.
Before he knew it, Xander found himself slammed against his truck door. Spike, with his game face on started to speak.
"Harris, I don't owe you a damn thing, not an explanation, not pity, not even respect. I put up with your dismissive, derogatory attitude over the last three years for one reason only: because deep down I knew you were right. I was evil, just couldn't act on it outwardly. But you have no idea just how wrong you are about me now. So just shut up and pay attention, whelp. You're going to get an earful."
Spike let go of Xander and the game face at the same time. Xander stood in shocked silence at him, and settled down onto the pavement, sitting, waiting to hear what the hell Spike was talking about. "Fine, bleach boy, out with it." He grimaced when Spike whipped his head around at the perceived insult. "Sorry, habit. Go on."
"I did indeed have an attack of conscience, or something, after. It was foreign, and painful, and I wanted to get rid of it. This damn chip had me so screwed up, I din't know what to think about myself. Not a monster, not a man. Something needed to change." He looked up at the night sky in realization and laughed a dry humorless laugh. "You know, Harris, I may have been the first vampire to develop a conscience. Looks like that bloody chip worked, eh?"
He sat down next to Xander and continued. "I made a decision, an interesting one at that, I think you'll agree. I went in search of this demon I know. I had lived 122 unproductive years as a monster. Yeah, I wreaked havoc on so many lives, but didn't really accomplish anything noteworthy, except my relationship with Dru," He looked over at Xander. "And you know how that turned out." He looked back up at the night sky. "Anyway, I decided that the best thing to do was to be the man. I went to Africa and got my soul returned to me."
Turning to look again at Xander, Spike gauged the younger man's reaction to the news. Seeing no marked change in his countenance, Spike asked him what he was thinking.
"Well, Spike, honestly I don't' know what to think. I mean, I have seen a souled vamp before, and I saw what happened as a result of that."
"Hmmm. Good point, but I asked for mine back, mate. I wasn't cursed with it, I don't have any clauses attached to it. I cannot lose this shiny thing." He got thoughtful for a few minutes. "It hasn't changed my demeanor much, not that I can tell. I mean, I am still Spike, but my motivations are definitely different."
"What about remorse?" Xander asked him. "Don't you feel guilty for all that stuff you did for the last 122 years?"
"Well, yeah, I felt bad for all those things I did. But, no I didn't go all broody and sorrowful. I never had a taste for destruction like Angelus did. I was always more of an adventurer. Sure, yeah, I killed a lot of people, but torture was not my game. I guess I didn't have that huge bag of sins bearing down on me." He shrugged. "At any rate, my guilt I dealt with in Africa. I was there for over three months. And wheesh, try finding a place that doesn't get sun in that wasteland. I was nearly toasted so many times, I can't count them."
"So why are you back here, Spike? Why did you come back to Sunnydale? You might as well know, I am way skeptical about your soul having. I really don't think it is going to make that much of a difference. This past spring proved that much to me. Having a soul doesn't preclude evil ya know. " Xander shuddered at the memory of Warren waving the gun and firing, and of Willow flaying the skin from his body.
"I know, Harris. I am sorry about Tara, and about Red's losing it. I have always had a respect for those two, especially Willow. Even as a plain ole vamp, I liked her, saw her potential." He was quiet for a few moments as Xander worked through the memories. "Anyway, to answer your question: Sunnydale, as sick as it sounds, is my home. This is where I have roots, as you people like to call them. I have a network of friends here, and I like it here. I feel at home here. 'Course being around everyone at the same time is like having all the family over for Thanksgiving: there is bound to be a fight sooner or later. I don't want to be your enemy, Harris, but I know we can't be friends – at least not yet. And that I can accept. Just step to the plate and be a man, Xander. You could be a really good one, ya know. You got the heart for it."
"Thanks Spike, coming from you, that means… well it doesn't mean as much as you'd like, but it does mean something." He stood up and opened the truck door, getting ready to leave. "The air between us is cleared, Spike. I still don't trust you, not as far as I can throw you, but I am willing to suspend judgment." He slammed the door shut, putting the key in the ignition.
"Thanks, Xander. I think you should also know that while I am not sorry for what happened 'tween Anya and me, I am sorry you two couldn't make a go of it."
"Yeah, well, so am I. I love her. But I ruined it." He shrugged off the pain. "See ya round, Spike."
Spike watched as the truck took off through the parking lot and disappeared down the street. "Yeah, Xander, see ya 'round."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
England: Council of Watchers Headquarters.
Giles and Willow entered the conference room together in silence. The faces that looked back at them from around the table all shared a common look: extreme concern. They made their way to the head of the table, where Giles took a seat to the right, and Willow next to him.
Giles was the first to finally speak up, "Alright. I know, ah, we know, rather, that something is brewing in Sunnydale. Willow informs me that some sort of mystical force is gathering. And when we come here to seek permission for her to return, we get greeted by news that we were expected." The gathered watchers looked around silently, not really speaking. Giles quickly became irritated by their lack of forthcoming information. "What the bloody hell is going on, that has you people so wary?" His voice took on the understated violence of his days as Ripper.
"Ahem." Sidney Hunter, the new head of the Watcher's Council finally spoke up. "Well, Rupert, as you know, we have had several very old scrolls turn up recently. So old, in fact that the languages are nearly unheard of. We have a few language experts working on them, trying to decipher them, but they are not making great progress."
"Yes, I know of the old scrolls. I bet you are wishing now that you hadn't fired Wesley when you did. His knowledge of ancient languages and their origins would probably be quite useful now, don't you think?" Giles smirked. He so enjoyed being the one to point out the council's many mistakes.
"As a matter of fact, Giles, no. Mr. Price has made every effort of late to prove to us that we were indeed right about firing him. But then I don't expect you to know that." Hunter's tone indicated that further insolence should not be forthcoming. "Are you finished pointing out this council's flaws, Mr. Giles."
"Not unless the council is finished making stupid blunders, Hunter. Don't pretend to think you threaten me. This council has proven itself to be untrustworthy, sneaky, underhanded and damn near ridiculously incompetent. If you want people to stop pointing that out, then I suggest you change the circumstance. Now, tell us what is happening on the hellmouth. I too, will not tolerate insolence."
Resigning the issue, Hunter began his exposition on the upcoming events believed to be taking place in Sunnydale. "It appears that a new prophecy has been uncovered concerning your Slayer, Giles. It seems that the power Ms. Rosenberg is sensing is converging on the hellmouth in a concerted effort kill her."
"Well, what is so special about that?" Willow raised this question, pointing out the different mystical threats Buffy has had to battle on the hellmouth. "It is not like there haven't been other forces with the same ideas" She ticked them off on her fingers. "I hope you remember Glory? Oh wait, the Master, Angelus and his plan with Acathla. Oh yes, and Mayor Wilkins with the great Ascension. The kind of threat to which you are referring is not enough for me to be able to sense it across the world. This is something else."
Hunter expressed his impatience with the many interruptions by asking, "May I please finish? You will know exactly what we know by the end of this briefing." Giles and Willow both reluctantly nodded their ascent. "Thank you."
He began again. "As I said, the power you are sensing is converging, but it is not just one power. It is all power, particularly the dark powers. But yes, even the light powers are coming into focus there as well. It is all very confusing. The prophecy speaks of a convergence of all of the mystical forces, something about a key, a vampire restoration, a union of blood, and finally the death of the slayer and the rise of the new order. This is what our translators have deciphered so far. There is more, but they are having a rough time of it. The entirety of what has been transcribed will be handed to you before you leave here tonight."
"Ok, so you are telling us, Buffy's watcher and me, her best friend, that you don't know jack about what may be happening? You know, I never had a whole lot of respect for this council to begin with, but because Giles asked me to, I trusted you to help me." Her voice took on the cold confidence of her power while her green eyes glittered with fire. "It is coming to my attention that maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to do so. You people are just a bunch of academic wannabes who yearn for a taste of glory, all the while never actually contributing to the survival and well being of the people you are supposed to be watching." She stood to leave, indicating to Giles to do the same.
Being as he was of like mind and she just beat him to the vocalization, he rose as she continued her statement. "Give us the transcription of the prophecy and any other information that could be useful. We are so out of here." She and Giles walked calmly toward the door of the conference room. "And by the way, you never had control of me nor my powers." Her voice took on a chanting quality as she and Giles left the room. She waved her hand absently, and without an indication of physical contact, the heavy oak doors of the conference room slammed and locked shut behind them.
As they left the building Giles turned to Willow. "I hope you know what you are doing, Willow. I do not want to see a repeat of last spring. Watching you being so consumed was terribly painful, and I really don't want to have to go through that again, nor do I want you to."
The singsong soft quality of her voice returned as she reassured him. "Giles, when you were experimenting with the magics with Ethan, didn't you get consumed as well?"
"Well, of course, and I was not nearly as susceptible to those dark forces as you are; I didn't have the power you do, Willow." He was confused as to why she would ask that question.
"Well then, degree of power aside, who better to teach me how to not be so swallowed up in darkness than you? We both know that the darkness will augment any little bit of power in a person. Since I went ballistic last summer, I have sensed in you a power. Granted it is nowhere near the strength of mine, but it is there, and while I have been following Council rules these past few months, I have been watching you, and learning from you."
She stopped walking and turned to face him on the sidewalk. "Giles, you keep your darkness well hidden and under tight control, yet you use it when it is necessary. I have learned to do the same, simply by being around you. I know now why Buffy likes you as her watcher. You are a born teacher, Giles, and you don't even try." She surprised him by hugging him fiercely. "Now, come on. We have a phone call to make, and a plane to catch."
"Right." Nonplussed by her open affection after such demonstration of the darkness within her, it took Giles a moment to reorient himself. Regaining his wits, he told her, "But you know, brassing off the Council is not going to do you any favors, Willow." He shrugged away any vestige of concern. "What the hell, they are complete idiots most of the time anyway, and it is about time someone besides myself let them have it. Bravo!"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sunnydale: early Monday morning
Buffy entered her house in a state of confusion. The night's patrol had gone well, despite a brief moment where it seemed her powers had completely abandoned her. Luckily Spike showed up in time to bag the vamp she had been fighting. She was glad that she had someone to patrol with again. It surprised her how much she had missed patrolling with Spike, as she had the previous fall. Good thing he was on his way home, otherwise, it is entirely possible that she would be dead right now. Chalking her lapse in strength up to exhaustion, she decided to forget about it and made her way up stairs. The blinking light on the answering machine caught her attention. She walked over and played the message, delightfully surprised when she heard Giles' voice on the other end of the line. The feeling didn't last long, however
"Buffy, it's Giles. Umm, something has come up you need to know about. It seems that Willow has sensed a converging power in Sunnydale, and wanted to come home. We went to see the council, and to make a long story short, they were preparing to send us over anyway. We'll be arriving Monday afternoon around 5 pm. Hope everything is good for you at home, and, well, um, I look forward to see you all again."
She shook her head at the message. "What, Giles? I said when the apocalypse comes to beep me, not leave a cryptic message on my answering machine." She lifted her head, asking a question to the universe or who/whatever would listen, "Does this job EVER let up? Oh, hell, I am going to bed."