AN: I put up a site for the fanfics with char pics and links to my rpgs and stuff. You can find a link on my author page. I forgot to ask in my last author note, would you guys like for Hannah to stay around?
The Reincarnation
Ch.3
Willow sat back with a frown and glanced up at the other who were standing around her expectantly. She got up and brushed her hands off on her jeans before facing them fully. "I didn't get anything at all. That's just strange. If it was just that he wasn't in town anymore or he was dead I still would have gotten something, but the nothing is a good and a bad sign. It means he's probably alive, but also that someone must be cloaking his presence really good."
Anya was leaning on Cassidy for support and Dawn patted her back. "So... how are we going to find him then...?" She wiped her nose in the hem of her violet shirt.
The petite slayer cocked her head slightly, sky blue eyes thoughtful. "I suppose we just patrol and keep our eyes open... keep our ears to the ground for any information on anything that could account for his disappearance..."
Spike cut off Cassidy. "I could go beat up Willy. Care t' tag along, slayer?" He flicked her ponytail playfully.
She glanced up at him, hooking her thumb in the pockets of her navy jeans. "Sure, I guess." She grinned up at him and teased, "For once you just might have a good idea, Spike."
"Ha bloody ha, luv. Got plenty of good ideas... most of them not fit for anyone's ears but yours." He gave her a smoldering look as he brushed past her to head for the basement of the Magick Box. "Hurry up, pet, before his place gets crowded."
The others watched the exchange, realizing how close the two had gotten. If they weren't already boinking then it was probably going to start up soon, the way they acted around each other. Not too long ago, that would have bothered them. Heck, it did bother them when they saw the Buffybot with him and thought it was really Buffy. But, things had come a long way and they almost trusted Spike. They had seen the genuine grief and anguish he felt both times Buffy had died on him. Also, they way he looked after Dawn as if she were his own. Mostly because of their bond and partly because he wanted to make Buffy happy, spare her the grief of losing her sister... etc.
Cassidy patted Anya's back gently. "It'll be okay. We'll find him." She transferred the distraught ex-demon's head to Dawn's shoulder before turned to hurry after Spike, straightening her red shirt and checking for tear stains on the half-sleeves. She caught up to the vampire and hit him in the shoulder, delighting when he yelped but then putting on her stern face. "Did you absolutely have to make that come-hither comment in front of the others? I mean really... you just enjoy embarrassing me, don't you... punk."
He chuckled and curled an arm around her small frame as they walked. "Couldn' help m'self, luv. Whenever I'm around you, you inspire the most... randy thoughts t' go crowdin' in my head, pushin' out all other thoughts. Be grateful I'm better at keepin' it t' m'self than I could be..." He arched a brow down at her. "But don' need t' censure m'self when we're in private, do I?" He chuckled and stopped briefly to steal a slow kiss.
A brief kiss had turned into a few minutes of making out down in the sewer. Very romantic... Cassidy rolled her eyes as she watched Spike pull Willy into the back room where she waited. She quickly retied her ponytail that had been an utter mess when they emerged from the tunnels. She scuffed her shoe, trying to keep from blushing like a giddy school girl. Gawd, it wasn't the first time she had made out with the guy...
"Hey, new girl, Spike? Sure got over the slayer quickly enough," Willy waggled his brows at Spike after glancing Cassidy's way.
With a low growl, Spike punched him hard. "Shut your gob! That's the bloody slayer."
"The slayer? As in Buffy or as in they sent another one already?" the snitch turned his head and blinked at Cassidy with a different sort of interest.
"Both. Now get off it an' lets get t' why we're here. Xander Harris, dear friend t' us, has gone missin'. Do ya know about any new bads in town that may have grabbed the local butt monkey?" He lifted Willy and held him against the wall, putting on his game face so that the snitch knew he meant business. "An' don' give us the run 'round; he's got a cryin' girlfriend at home waitin' for us t' bring him back."
"Woulda figured you would've known right away when the guy came back to town." Willy commented and then grinned again, motioning with a nod of his head towards Cassidy. "She keepin' you that preoccupied, eh?"
Spike punched him in the gut again. "Careful what ya say in front of the lady." He growled warningly and flashed fang. "Now who are you yammerin' 'bout? Who's back in town?"
"Dracula," Willy grunted out. "Like I said, figured you woulda known by now. You two bein' old chums and all that." The irate bleached vampire dropped him and he rubbed at his sore neck. "Besides that, just a rise in vamp killings lately. Males. Doesn't seem to be Drac's style, what with him being better at disposing the bodies to cover his tracks and such."
"Well, considering what happened last time Dracula was here, he's most likely the one who has Xander." Cassidy nodded, looking at Spike. She turned and walked with him out of the back door of the bar. It was dark so they didn't have to take the sewers back. "But doesn't mean that someone else didn't happen to come along at the same time, too. Just as Angel feared, they heard I was dead and have come to take advantage of it. Though, I would have thought Dracula would be coming back to try for me again, and that would be bad timing if I was dead."
He tilted his head in thought as they walked. "Now that you mention it, does seem a bit odd. Unless, its not 'xactly t' get you back. Was right scared of you an' all, so now he's here t' get revenge on your friends? Maybe even me... pro'bly figures I'm the one t' send you guys on your merry way t' him. But, only talked t' Captain Cardboard an' he already knew of Drac, jus' gave him a fair warnin' that Drac was bad news."
"And maybe being self-centered here thinking I'm the only girl he obsessed over. Maybe, he's just like you and just thinks it amps his name to have slayer conquests under his belt. Must burn him you had two, nearly three. And so, he came knowing there would be another slayer and hoped she would be sent here? Figured since she was a new slayer she wouldn't be as bad ass as I was?" She arched a brow.
"Could be, but he's a fool if he thinks anyone could ever replace you," he gave her a soft smile and then glanced away. "But I'm aimin' somewhere around the middle of all that, nice little mix of all those theories."
"So I should probably watch my back again, well... my neck that is. Well, you know, a little more than usual." She blinked for a moment as she wondered if that made sense, lower lip poking out a bit.
"Love that little pout," his finger traced the protruding bottom lip before she drew it back in.
She rolled her eyes and nipped at his finger. He growled lowly, eyes moving over her hotly as he pulled her close. He pressed her to the wall and bent his head to capture her mouth, tongue exploring her mouth eagerly. They started to pick up where they left off in the sewers when there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. Instantly, Spike straightened and pushed Cassidy behind himself protectively, then relaxed a bit when he saw it was Angel. But not completely.
Cassidy stepped out from behind him when she saw Angel, blushing slightly at him of all people catching her making out with Spike. "We uh... just came back from getting information out of Willy. We pretty much figured who might have taken Xander, considering he apparently has like for the Xan-man." She nodded. "And as well, you might be right about bads wanting to take advantage of my death. He says there's a rise in vamp kills... mostly male. That threw me..."
"Who kidnapped Xander?" He looked between them, trying not to feel the jealousy that had threatened to bubble up inside him. Cordelia. He was interested in Cordelia now. He had to remind himself of that when he saw those two together. "And a vampire that prefers to feed on men?"
"Seems like it, or it might just be coincidence they've only come across men mostly while out feeding. You never know. But, as for Xander... good bet that Dracula has him. Willy says he's back in town and last time he was in town he made Xander his Renfield so that he could use him to get to me. Probably plans revenge on my friends who don't have me to protect him or so he thinks, and maybe to set his sights on the possible new slayer. Which would still be me... but he wouldn't know that..." Then she blinked up at Angel, "So what were you doing wandering about?"
"Gets his kicks spyin' on couples makin' out in dark alleys," Spike hooked his thumbs in his beltloops and smirked up at his grandsire.
"Better than getting my kicks by dragging nice girls into alleys to feel them up." Angel retorted with a frown before looking at Buffy, his face softening as he looked at her. "Been out patrolling, so has the rest of my crew. I figured you wouldn't be doing it much until you got yourself retrained. Even when you are ready to start patrolling again, you'll need some extra force with Dracula and this other vampire, maybe more, in town. And who knows, there might be more on their way."
"Thank you. And started training this morning with Spike to assess how much work I have to do with this body. Luckily, not too bad. I... Cassidy... whatever... was somewhat athletic. Played tennis, volleyball, did a bit of cheerleading when she was younger... and random acts of sportyness... so actually, my arms are more muscular than they were as Buffy," she looked down and flexed one, poking at the little bit of bulging muscle. "My legwork is okay from tennis, but could use some more work strength wise. That and just other general fighting stuff that I know how to do in my head, but my body needs to learn how to do better." She shrugged.
"That's good." He smiled brightly, dismissing the twinge of jealousy at the thought of them training together. "It won't be long before you're out there fighting again then. Know how you like that, getting out your aggression and stress by beating on some vampires that are unlucky enough to cross your path." He chuckled and made a motion with his head in the general direction of the house he was renting with the others. "We'll see about figuring out who else is in town besides Dracula and might try to pay a visit to the guy myself. Had my own dealings with him in the past, see if he's willing to let me near so I can see his hand."
"And see if you can see how Xander is, if he's okay... though, if he's just being used as a Renfield again he should show up soon to try to get to us for Drac. I'm sure the old vamp will think we haven't figured it out... and even if we have, be so glad we got him back safe we let our guards down. I'd be worried about that with Anya, even after we warn her about Drac using him to hurt us. Xander might even pretend he got away on his own and is not under Drac's thrall. Will have to chain him up for his own protection." She nodded thoughtfully.
Spike tilted his head and smirked. "Chain him in the bathtub, luv. Right fittin' place t' put him."
"And what, you're going to tempt him with your neck, call him flaccid, and make him drink blood through a straw?" She rolled her eyes.
The whole reference was lost on Angel, who was watching them in confusion. His brows went up at Cassidy's comment. "Um... probably don't want to know."
"Spike's just mad cause when he came to us for help after the initiative put the chip in his head, we weren't sure if we could trust him so while we refrained from taking the chance to stake him, we chained him in the tub just in case. I, uh, had a good time heckling the once big bad..." She gave Angel an innocent grin and shrugged, figuring that since he couldn't stand Spike he probably wouldn't have acted much better... or simply would have staked Spike outright no matter how pathetic the guy looked.
Angel was thinking the same thing. "You are a much kinder person than me, Buffy... Cassidy." He swallowed.
"Thanks," she smiled uneasily, not willing to tell him that a marriage proposal had accompanied his time in the tub. One of the first twinges of feelings between them, even if it had blown way out of proportion by Willow's spell. She just headed out of the alley and thumbed over her shoulder, "We better get going and tell the others what we found out. Don't know when Drac might try and send Xander, so they need to know a.s.a.p." She nodded and turned to go.
Spike glanced up at Angel with a small smirk. "Mus' gall you greatly t' see her with me. T' know you let her go, that I got her an' know how you hate me, always have. If you got any designs on tryin' t' break us up, you know she'll see right through it an' hate you for it. Not t' mention, you cause her any pain or any other sort of problem, you'll have me t' deal with." He gave Angel a threatening look.
"Spike... if I was trying to cause problems between you two, you would know. I would start by telling her stories about the good ole days of Angelus and William." He leaned in close. "But, I also would hurt anyone who did anything to Buffy. Just because I care for her... heck, because I care for her I want to see her happy... and for some reason, at the moment, that means her being happy with you." With that he turned and walked back towards the house he was staying at to share his new information with the rest of his crew.
"You really understand, Anya?" Cassidy was looking down at the other woman, who was sitting in the chair with a worried expression that had been permanently on her face since she had figured Xander was missing. The slayer leaned forward, resting her hands on her jeans as she looked closely at Anya. "Even if he comes back saying he's okay, or gives any number of excuses for being somewhere besides with Dracula, we can't totally trust him until we take care of Drac. Maybe he is telling the truth if he is, but even then, Drac could come and start with the using him for bad. We might even have to be prepared to chain him up for his own safety and our safety. Got it?"
Anya nodded slowly. "Yeah... won't like it... but I can do my best... have gotten so close to you guys that I wouldn't want to put you guys in danger. Started out just hanging out with you guys to make Xander happy... but now you guys are like a family." Her fingers worried at the hem of her lavender skirt.
"Aww," Dawn threw an arm around her and hugged her, resting her head on her shoulder. "Am I like your quirky little loveable sister, too?"
"Sort of," Anya's brows drew together.
Willow came over to them with one of the books she had got from upstairs. "When you said most of the victims lately were male I started thinking succubus, but really their victims shouldn't be confused with a vampire's kill since they don't feed on blood. They feed on desire and life force and such. So maybe a succubus and a vampire working together? You know, maybe they're a couple and stuff? I mean, not the first evil couple we had in town." She glanced at Spike and softly said, "Sorry."
"No problems, Red. It's true an' you could be right." Spike sat on the counter watching them.
"And just could be that a vampire likes to feed on guys... or just the luck of the draw when the vamp was out and about." Cassidy shrugged and moved away from Anya, going to lean her hip against the counter near Spike. "And there could probably be other explanations that we just can't see at the moment, but for now, it would probably be good to go get some rest. We can't do anything at the moment, and Angel is out doing patrolling. He'll tell us if he finds anything."
The others nodded and started to get ready to go. Willow and Dawn headed for the door while Spike slid off the counter and put an arm around the tiny slayer. Anya went around to the register, opening it with a pout.
"I'm going to stay a bit longer and fondle the money... it makes me feel better." She explained. "I'll be all right. I'll call you if I need anything."
"Try to get some rest." Cassidy said with a soft smile and waved before heading out the door with Spike. They headed for home in silence, and after awhile she looked up at him. "Do you ever... miss Dru... or you know, back then... when you could do what you want without the chip or the soul? Or think of what you might have done if you hadn't gotten the chip?"
"I missed Dru at first... an' after I thought 'bout it, was glad t' not be burdened with takin' care of her. Was like havin' a bloody child. Not t' say, wouldn' mind havin' a kid with the woman I loved if I could... but jus' sayin'... an' only took care of her cause I felt sorry for her, the way Angelus used her an' then dumped her when she wasn' useful anymore. Guess sort of like you takin' care of me out of pity?" He looked away. "But, of course, miss bein' able t' have a good fight t' get out the frustration without havin' m'head explode. But, no shortage of demons t' beat on an' the chip lets me do that all I bloody want."
"And... if you had never gotten it... do you... I mean, do you think it would have turned out a lot differently?" she tilted her head with a furrowed brow.
"Buff-Cassidy... why are you askin' this, luv?" He stopped and touched her cheek. "Are you worried I only chose you because the chip forced me t' or some such nonsence?" He shifted. "If I didn' care for you, would of jus' went t' livin' without beatin' on humans... still mischief t' be had other ways as you know. Wouldn' of helped you an' your friends. An' if I really wanted t' kill you still, would of jus' been able t' get some other demon or vampire t' help me who wouldn' get his brains fried every time he hurt you. Was at one point jus' goin' t' bare the momentary pain t' use a shot gun on you... but when I got there... you were cryin' an' I jus' couldn' take it..."
"You... were? When was this?" She blinked as she scanned her thoughts. Did she ever remember seeing Spike with a shotgun?
"After I told you 'bout the slayers I killed... and you threw your money at me... tellin' me I was beneath you... same as Cecily had... hurt so bad... and was so angry... but got there an' the look on your face..." He cupped her face and brushed a thumb over her cheek. "Didn' have the heart t' do it..."
"Oh... I'm so sorry I ever said that." She started to shake her head.
He made a shushing noise and bent to kiss her slowly. "All past an' over with. Moved on, both of us have." He held her against him and kept walking. "As for your question, luv, I'd like t' think that even without the chip... I'd have eventually realized how much I care for you. Might have taken longer... had a lot more fightin' between us that wasn' so one sided... but would of eventually realized it." He smiled.
"I like that theory," she smiled up at him and laid her head against his shoulder as they walked.
Dark eyes watched the two walk towards the house, narrowing as she took in the affection shown between the two. She wanted to rush towards them and claw out the light blue eyes of the small female. She came back and he had not noticed. The slayer was dead and he should not be preoccupied with the blonde human anymore, but instead he had moved on to another human. Instead of seeking her out... or even noticing she had arrived in town! He only noticed the girl! That human girl!
She rushed back towards the abandoned store, tearing at her hair angrily. She waited until she got into the store before she screamed her rage. She grabbed a chair and threw it across the room, then stood there pouting.
She had seen Angelus... no, he was Angel now. He also liked that blonde slayer girl. What was it about that girl that she had two of the strongest vampires, most feared and lethal vampires, eating out of her palms? And he too had seem taken with the new girl, with her eyes the color of the sky and hair darker even than Drusilla's own. And about as pale, too. She was so short and small, though... would probably snap like a toothpick... Drusilla licked her lips at that thought, liking the idea of snapping this new girl in half. This new girl who seemed to be doing the same wicked things that the blonde slayer had. Taking her men from her, enchanting them with some sort of spell.
She went over to a man chained in the corner. He was looking at her with such frightened eyes, they looked ready to just pop out of his head. She tilted her head and studied him for a moment, running her finger down his cheek then hissed angrily. Men were evil. All of them! She stabbed her nail into his jugular and then bent her head to feed from the blood that flowed from the wound. A full tummy calmed her a bit, but she still made little crooning sounds of distress. Maybe another nice snack to settle her tummy a bit more. One less evil man to go about hurting pretty girls. She left and went wandering the alleys of Sunnydale.
She came upon a man she wasn't sure was familiar to her. She didn't care, would eat him anyways. He was warm and human, full of tasty blood. She crept towards him and could smell her sire on him. A wicked smile curled her lips. Her sire would not like it that she had taken one of his pets away. She started forward eager to take this precious gift when a foot sailed into her mid-section and she fell backwards.
Angel looked down at her angrily. She had been so intent on pouncing Gunn she had failed to notice him coming. "Drusilla... so you're the other new vampire in town..." He bent down and picked her up, pinning her to the wall. "But the question is, why do you seem to be feeding only on men?"
"Other vampire... you mean besides you..." She looked confused for a moment and then smiled darkly at his question. "Getting rid of the evil men. All men are evil, they hurt pretty girls. Protest love, but its lies."
"Not besides me. You didn't notice Dracula was in town? You would think you would notice you were competing with him for prey... surprised he hasn't confronted you yet, especially with you making it oh-so noticeable that there has been a rise in vampire killings. You never were too good at cleaning up after yourself." He cocked his head. "You are trying to kill all the men... nice... you do realize women need them to repopulate."
She hissed. "You and Spike... chasing after that blonde bitch... a human! Mooning over her... my Spikey left me for her!" She struggled, trying to get free. "And been watching you all... thought the blonde slayer girl was gone... that Spike would realize how foolish he's been... but no, has taken up with another human slut... and saw you making eyes at her too!" She glared up at him angrily.
"So she thinks-" Gunn began, but Angel cut him off with a sweep of his hand.
"Yes, but don't talk about it in front of her, obviously." Angel frowned at him for a moment before looking at Drusilla. He started to take out a stake. "I'm sorry, Dru, but I can't let you run around murdering people. I'm sorry that I am the cause for this madness in you and that you've lived tortured for so long. I'm sorry for everything I've done for you."
Before he could stake her, she slashed at him wildly with her nails and planted her feet in his gut to shove him away. He dropped the stake and broke his grasp, staggering back with slashes across his chest and right arm. Drusilla had taken off down the alley and Gunn went to shoot her with his crossbow, but she was turning a corner and the arrow went through her arm. They could hear her scream of pain fade away as she ran.
Gunn helped Angel to his feet with a sigh. "Well... at least we now know who is in town then, and why she's all feeding on men. Probably going to be even more pissed than ever, now." He glanced his leader over. "You okay there, Angel?"
"Yeah, just get me back to the house and we can tell the others what we know while I get patched up. There's aren't too bad. Definitely not as bad as the wound she received. Arm won't be much help to her for awhile. So, won't be feeding as much unless she has help and definitely will be keeping out of fights until she's healed." He started walking. "We'll call Buffy tomorrow and tell them she's here, probably already in bed."
