Chapter 5: The Calling
Spike looked at Angel holding out the phone out in midair for a minute before taking it. Spike had a confused look on his face. 'Willow?' he thought to himself, 'Why would she be calling me?'
"Willow?" Spike spoke into the phone.
"Hi Spike." Willow said on the other side of the line. Her voice wasn't as cheery as it was always. Spike could tell by Willow's voice in an instant that something was wrong.
"Hi...how are you Red? Something wrong? You don't sound like your cheery cheepy self...did you break up with Oz?" Spike asked.
"No..." Willow said in her soft voice and sighed. "It's not about me...or Oz..."
"Well...what is it?" Spike questioned.
"It's Buffy." Willow simply said in her saddest voice.
Sunnydale
Mr. Quentin Travers had it all planned out from the start. He kidnapped Buffy, took her to Giles, and told her to start her Calling. There was just one big part of the plan that Travers needed to complete to make his mission a success.
"I need a spell." Quentin said to a woman in Giles apartment.Quentin and the lady were the only ones in apartment. Giles and Buffy had left earlier, Giles was going to take her to the graveyard for the first time and teach her a few things.
"What kind of spell?" the lady questioned.
"A forgetting spell..." Quentin simply said.The woman looked down in distress, "I joined the Council for the good pay and I'll help you do spells to help people Mr. Travers but...but this..." she said quietly.
"Olivia...you must...name your price...I need this spell...the world is depending on this." Travers said and paused, "The Council wants Buffy to have no contact with her family and friends...she has a Calling and will be distracted if she is always looking over her shoulder to see if her family is alright. The Slayer travels alone." It was cruel and the lowest thing anyone could do. However, cruel and low was right up Travers alley. He didn't care about anyone else but The Slayer doing her job and saving the world. He didn't care about The Slayer as a person though; he only cared about the title "The Slayer". He respected The Slayer...not Buffy Summers."Mr. Travers I understand but...this spell will affect so many live...you say you also want me to put Mr. Giles under a spell?" Olivia said.
"Yes...the old man can't know that this is happening. Perform a spell on both of them...a spell that will make Buffy think her parents died years ago and she just moved here from LA. Don't let her remember about me and the kidnapping. Make her believe Giles found her. With memories that she has no more family she won't have anything to hold onto...she can focus on her slaying." Travers explained.
"But...what about Buffy's real family and friends?" Olivia asked with curiosity.
"Don't worry about that..." Travers said, "Just do the spell."
Olivia sighed, "I'll get started on it." Olivia got up and opened one of her spell books.
"Also..." Travers said, "Make Buffy believe her name is 'Elizabeth Summers' not 'Buffy' anymore."
"What-why?!" Olivia exclaimed.
2 Days Later...
The last two days Spike felt completely numb. He was not aware of his surroundings or his actions. He just felt like someone took his will to live, took his soul, or took his dreams away.
When Willow called him to tell that Buffy was missing in LA after someone broke into her dorm and kidnapped Buffy Spike was in a loss state of mind. He didn't know if he should cry or not. He didn't know what to say, what to do, or who to be anger with.A few hours after Willow's call Spike knew only one thing to do. Go to Buffy's house. Go to Mrs. Summers and Buffy's sister Dawn and comfort them.
Spike knocked on the door softly but loud enough for someone to hear. When the door opened Xander stood at the entrance."Hey." Xander said softly and pulled Spike into a hug. Without thinking Spike accepted the hug and tried to take his friend's comfort, and at the moment he would take comfort from anyone.
When they both backed away from the hug there was an awkward pause until they both entered the house in silence.
"I came over as soon as I heard." Xander said softly while shutting the door, "I wanted to check up on Joyce and Dawn. Willow is driving down with Oz tonight and Cordy will be by in about an hour, she went to get them something to eat for Joyce."Spike nodded and kept his eyes to the ground. "How are they?" Spike asked about Dawn and Joyce. "In shock." Xander simply said, "I can say the same for me...for all of us I mean...how could..." Xander didn't finish his sentence, he just shook his head. He just couldn't believe that something like this could happen to his friend. He never in a million years thought this could happen. Somewhere in world Buffy was being held captive and no one knows if her friends or family will ever see her again.
"I know..." Spike said softly.
"How-I mean...how are you?" Xander asked and looked up at Spike. Xander knew how much Buffy was to Spike, and knew that this must be twice as hard on Spike than it is on the whole gang.
"I...I really don't know." Spike answered without looking at Xander, "I mean...is this really happening?" Spike asked softly and looked up at Xander. Spike's face showed a mix of emotions. Xander could see the frustration, confusion, fear, and anger on Spike's face. The problem was Spike didn't know which emotion to let out.
Xander didn't answer Spike's question. I think both of them didn't want it answered, because there was only one answer and neither of them wanted to face the truth of it.
Spike snapped out of his dazed look and looked around the house to see if he can spot Joyce or Dawn.
"They're upstairs." Xander said, "I think Dawn finally fell asleep."
Spike looked up the tall staircase and went up step by step. Once he got to the top of the stairs Spike looked to the left and saw three doors, the bathroom, Dawn's room, and Buffy's room. Spike couldn't stand looking at Buffy's door so he turned to his right and saw Joyce's bedroom door cracked open.
Spike knocked slightly to be polite and then opened the door the whole way. He looked around the big master bedroom and saw no one in site. 'Maybe she was in the bathroom' Spike thought and was about to turn around and go look for Mrs. Summers when he heard a tiny sniff of someone's nose. Spike recognized that nose. It was Dawn.
Spike walked into the room and saw the top of two heads, Dawn and Joyce, sitting on the floor leaning against the bed. Spike walked around the bed and looked down to see Joyce stroking Dawn's hair as she laid her head in her mother's lap. The picture of Joyce and Dawn on the floor almost let Spike let out a cry.
After a moment Joyce looked up with tears in her eyes at Spike.Joyce always loved Spike; he treated Buffy good and was like a big brother to Dawn. Of all of Buffy's boyfriends Joyce always hoped Spike stuck around the longest, more like forever.
Spike crouched down so he could be face to face with the Joyce and see Dawn a little bit more clearly.
"Hello Spike." Joyce said sadly and more tears fell down her cheek.
"Spike..." Dawn mumbled and lifted her head off of Joyce's lap. Instantly Dawn threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Spike put both of his arms around the thirteen year old and rocked her back and forth as he still had eyes on Joyce. Then Spike took one of his arms off of Dawn and pulled Joyce into a hug.
The feel of these two Summers crying on his shoulder made Spike's heart ache even more, if possible. Spike was almost ready to hit the deep end and cry along with the two ladies but somehow, in someway, he held back his tears.
Sunnydale
Travers was sitting outside of Giles apartment in the court yard reading the Los Angeles Times and came across a tiny article with the headline reading "UCLA Student Missing". Quentin continued to read the article, want to know what the police said about Buffy's kidnapping. He read that the family will never give up searching for Buffy and that it was just an average kidnapping. There were no suspects in the case and to Travers it meant that he was out of the woods.
Beside the article was a picture of Buffy smiling. Travers ripped out the article and picture and shoved it into his pocket. Travers started walking towards Giles door with newspaper in hand and knocked on the door.
"Hello I'm Quentin Travers...head of the Watchers Council...and you must be our new Slayer...I see Giles found you." Travers smiled.
"Yep." Buffy said as Elizabeth.
Quentin continued to smile to himself, his plan worked. Buffy AKA now 'Elizabeth Summers' and Giles don't remember anything about Quentin coming to Sunnydale and bringing a kidnapped Buffy. Now that the spell was set Travers knew that Buffy or 'Elizabeth' could now start to her job with ease; that Elizabeth Summers was now "Elizabeth the Vampire Slayer".
TBC...Reviews are nice
