Trial
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: A challenge, a trial, a discovery.
Reviews: Oh, yes please. I love reviews, adore reviewers. Readers Rock but Reviewers RULE!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
It had been a frustrating and stressful day in the old hotel. Spike was still cooped up in Wesley's office refusing to consider doing anything other than stare at his hand. He had insisted to Krista that it was the only thing keeping him together. She'd come out several times to eat and take blood to the troubled vampire.
Dawn and Jake had spent the day sitting quietly talking together. The others just shook their heads; they hadn't figured the young couple would find anything more to talk about. They had spent the entire previous day locked in together in the clutches of Wolfram and Hart but didn't seem to be any the worse for wear from it. The two of them were now united in their concern for Spike.
Buffy had dragged Angel down to the basement to work off some pent up anxiety. After the night she'd spent with Spike, his mental snap had come as a nasty shock. She reacted with anger. She was mad at the younger vampire for not telling her about the choice. Giles had pointed out to the blond slayer that if Spike had told her about his dilemma, she might have attempted to sway his decision. She'd denied it but Cordelia had backed up Rupert's assessment saying if it were Angel she would do everything in her power to convince him to stay with her.
Wesley had gone with Susan to the grocery store to restock the sorely depleted pantry. Angel had grumbled but had reimbursed Gunn for the groceries he'd already bought. He and Fred had left again telling Angel to call if he needed them otherwise they felt as if their presence was unnecessary.
Faith and Xander had taken Lindsey to the airport and put him on a plane to England. They then decided to spend the rest of the day exploring LA, as they hadn't had the opportunity or inclination to do it when they'd been there before. It was bordering on sunset when they returned to the unusually silent hotel. They made straight for the kitchen where they found Willow, Wesley and Cordelia starting dinner.
Xander drew the young Englishman to the side. "Wes, how's Spike?"
"About the same." Wesley told him. "I don't know what to do. Krista's nearly at her wits end."
"Guess Spikey's one tough nut to crack." Faith reached past Willow to snag a slice of cucumber from the large salad she was mixing.
"The problem is that he's already cracked." Willow said solemnly, smacking Faith's fingers.
"Why is Krista having such a hard time helping him?" Xander asked.
"Because Krista has never run into anyone who's had such a tug of war in his heart." Krista said from the door. "Do we have any cold drinks?"
Cordelia reached into the refrigerator and got out a bottle of sparkling water for the pixie. Wes had stocked up on the beverage knowing it was favored by the female population of the agency. Krista took it gratefully, twisted the cap off and chugged a large swallow. She sighed in bliss when she lowered the bottle.
"That is one stubborn vampire." She stated. Xander, Willow and Faith burst into laughter at her declaration.
"Nothing like stating the well known." Faith chuckled. Angel and Buffy entered the kitchen in time to hear Krista's observation.
"He was the most mule-headed childe I ever sired." Angel shook his head mock-sadly.
Buffy poked him in the side. "You didn't sire that many, Silly." She reminded him.
"Maybe, but he's still the most stubborn. How is he?" The dark vampire directed the question to the pixie.
"Physically, he's fine. His hand is all healed up. But his mind…it's just fried." Krista answered.
"Is that a professional diagnosis?" Xander teased.
"Yup." The auburn curls bounced as she nodded and smiled.
A clatter by the stove caught their attention. Cordelia had dropped the fork she'd been using and had her hands clasped around her head. Wesley was closest to her and caught her as she fell. Angel's vampire speed took him to her side seconds later and he eased his love from Wes's arms.
Wesley ran a glass of water and reached into a cabinet for the aspirin they kept close for such occasions.
Angel cradled the seer in his arms. "What did you see?" He asked softly.
Cordy panted as the pain in her head began to ease. "Vamp nest. Big one. You'll need Spike. Buffy can't go."
The blonde slayer gasped in outrage. "Why not?" She demanded.
Cordy looked at her. "If you go and he doesn't, you'll die. That's what I saw." She said.
Angel looked over at Buffy. "It's settled then, you don't go."
"But…" The petite blonde stuttered.
"No, you don't go." Xander slung his arm over her shoulders.
Buffy gave everyone a mutinous glare but acquiesced.
Faith looked around. "I'll go get the stubborn one and we'll be on our way. Cordy, got a location?" She raced up the stairs and retrieved Spike's duster from his room.
Angel and Wesley wrote down the address as soon as the seer had taken the aspirin. Then they went back to the lobby to collect the weapons.
Spike felt Faith's presence rather than saw her enter the office. Refusing to break his intense concentration, he ignored her as she crouched next to him.
"Spike. We need you to come with us." She told him.
"No."
She held the bundle of black leather in front of him. "We need you. We can't do this without you."
"Bollocks." His scrutiny never wavered.
Faith sat back on her heels. "Well, I never figured you for a quitter."
He continued to stare at his now-healed hand but she could see a muscle bunch in his jaw. A smirk crossed her face. "Well, you can stay here and feel sorry for yourself but I'm gonna go out and dust me some vamps. I always thought you'd be up for some slaying but I guess you've gone all Gandhi on us and lost the need for a spot of violence before bed." She withdrew the duster.
"I guess you won't be needing this anymore." She shook it out and began to put it on. It was snatched from her fingers as he passed her in a blur of speed. She followed with a smile that was instantly gone from her face when he turned to look at her. Spike paused at the weapons chest long enough to pocket some stakes and pick up a sword.
Angel and Wes exchanged surprised smiles as the younger vampire strode angrily to the front door. Willow and Krista came down the stairs from Cordy's room where she was resting to rid herself of the migraine that followed her vision. Krista gaped at the black leather clad vampire waiting impatiently by the double doors. He disappeared outside as the pixie met Faith near Angel and Wes.
"What did you say to him?" She gasped.
Faith snickered evilly. "Told him he was feeling sorry for himself, called him a quitter, compared him to Gandhi and took his coat."
"That would do it." Angel shook his head in disbelief. "All day we treated him with kindness and sympathy. We should have kicked his ass."
Wesley used his cell phone to call Gunn and arrange for him to meet them at the address they'd gotten from Cordy. According to the seer's vision, the large nest of vampires had set up house in an older, rather posh neighborhood in Beverly Hills. They had killed the homeowners and were systematically working their way through the surrounding area. Angel recognized the tactic as one he, as Angelus, and his vampire family had used many times. The four of them crossed town in Angel's convertible. Spike ignored everyone in favor of staring out of the window at the passing scenery.
Arriving at their destination, they were pleased to see Gunn waiting for them. He had prudently stayed in his car. He got out and strolled over as soon as they pulled up and exited the car. Gunn noted Spike's presence with a smile.
"Hey, Superman, glad you decided to come out to play." The dark skinned man joked. He smile faded a bit when Spike snarled.
Angel gave his Childe a warning glare. "Now, they should be leaving to hunt any minute. We need to stop them here. If any of them get away, they'll just move on and take their business somewhere else."
"Too bad we don't know how many there are." Wes commented.
Spike stood still, staring up at the house, he appeared to be listening. "There's twelve of them." He stated.
"How do you know that?" Faith demanded.
"I can hear them." Spike told her simply. He took a step back and tilted his head. "They're coming out. Gunn, Faith and Wes, you guys need to get out of sight. They won't sense you right away. Peaches, let's go make some new friends."
Puzzled glances were exchanged as the three humans looked at Angel for guidance. "Do what he says." The elder vampire said softly. "Let's see how this plays out."
The humans melted into the darkness but tried to stay close enough to help. Faith especially chafed at hiding. She was a slayer and wanted to be in the thick of it. But in this instance she wasn't running the show and deferred to the two who had far more experience than she did. They watched the two master vampires approach the lovely old house.
They were met by a vampire coming out. While the vampire was not a fledgling, he wasn't as old as they were. The others were in varying degrees of age and experience. Angel and Spike sauntered up to the door. The lead vampire stopped at the sight of the two of them.
"Who are you and what do you want?" He demanded.
"I can't believe it. He doesn't know who we are. I have to say vampires these days are so undereducated." Angel feigned sadness as he spoke to Spike.
"Really. I would think that someone moving into your territory would make it his business to find out whom he might be dealing with. Don't you, Mate?" Spike addressed his question to the vampire staring at them as if they were insane.
"I-I should know you?" The confused demon asked.
"I should bloody well hope so, Prat." Spike snarled. "Didn't you know you were moving into Angelus's territory?" He smiled ferally at the pathetic excuse for a vampire. "You have heard of Angelus?"
The now very nervous vampire nodded. He felt some of his pack move up behind him, attracted by the disturbance at the entry. He felt a little bolder. He glared down at the smaller vampire blocking the door. "Who are you, shrimp?"
Spike's sapphire eyes turned glacial. "I am William the Bloody, you moronic git." The menace in the British accented growl further chilled the already cold blood in the vampire's body.
"He's dead. Went down in the Hellmouth while helping the slayer like a good little pet." The sneer vanished into a cloud of dust as he exploded from Spike's stake.
"He really shouldn't have said that." Angel commented mournfully. "Going around insulting your elders is never a good move."
The remaining eleven vampires pushed their way out of the door, surrounding Angel and Spike. A couple of them went a little further down the sidewalk attracted by a scent all of them dreaded.
"Hey! There's a slayer somewhere." One of them yelled. Faith stepped out of the shadows and flung a stake into his heart.
"You're right." She smiled. "Anybody else want to party?"
The remaining vampires froze for a second, a fatal error. Wesley stepped out and used his crossbow. Gunn slipped up behind one and used his hubcap axe to decapitate him. The remaining eight demons tried to retreat but none of them had counted on Spike's enhanced speed. In a blur of black, the British vampire staked two more and used his sword to behead another. The odds were now even. Angel briefly fought with one vampire but easily dusted him. He drew his human friends back and watched as Spike battled the remaining four. They had ganged up on him after seeing him take out so many of their group at once.
Faith protested. "Aren't we gonna help him?"
Angel shook his head. "He needs to do this."
"Can't claim these guys have brains, huh?" Gunn observed.
Wesley gasped. "My God. Look at him."
Spike, in full gameface, jumped six feet into the air. Somersaulting as his sword flashed, decapitating yet another opponent. The remaining three gaped as the smaller vampire landed gracefully. Spike took advantage of their surprise to stake two more. The last one was a very large vampire who looked as if he'd played football in life. He tried to use brute force against the master vampire who'd dusted so many of his friends. He swung a meaty fist at Spike's head. He ducked with a smirk and swung his leg out, knocking the hulk onto the sidewalk. Spike bounced up and laughed down at the fallen demon.
"What's wrong? Your mates up and leave you alone? Oh, wait. I killed most of them." He taunted.
The larger vamp hauled himself to his feet. "You are dead." He growled.
"News flash, wanker. Already there. Several times." Spike grinned humorlessly; a flicker of sorrow crossed his handsome face. "Didn't take."
Spike ducked yet another swing to his face. He jabbed the larger demon in the stomach. "You know." Punch. "Times were…" Jab. "Vamps chose…" Swing. "Who they…" Duck. "Turned…" Kick. "More carefully." A fist to the chin snapped the larger vampire's head back.
"Except for Peaches, there. He always regretted turning me. I was such a disappointment. But I survived. Because I'm smart." Spike knocked his opponent down again with a kick to the chest. The other vampire was bloodied and dazed from Spike's attack. The British vampire grabbed the fallen hulk by the shirt and pulled him up a bit.
"Your sire obviously couldn't be bothered to train you properly. Not that it matters because you're going to be dust in a second but who is your sire?" A stake appeared in Spike's hand, pulled from his pocket faster than the eye could see.
The answer surprised Spike so much that he staked the vampire without another thought. The single word echoed through his head.
"Drusilla."
