Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.
Summary: Post AtS and BtVS, Faith and Xander are approached by a secret government agency. Surprises all around.
Rating: PG-13
Chapter 3: l'Eterno
The cell was deep and dark, with pools of blackness shielded entirely from the sight of the guards. The guards who were waiting, outside, stood behind a second set of bars, with supersoakers filled with Holy Water, stun guns capable of dropping an elephant, and stake-guns capable of killing a vampire from nearly a mile away.
Inside the cell sat a woman, or something that had formerly been a woman, ensconced in the darkness and just waiting for a chance to escape, to destroy, to continue her single-minded pursuit of the destruction of the earth.
Into this hall of death Spike moved like a shadow, clearly more comfortable here than in the fluorescent halls nearby.
Drusilla moved to the cage door, a sad expression on her face. She didn't say anything, staring at her Dark Prince, as if somehow she could take them back to a time before they had been enemies, before he had offered to stake her for Buffy.
As if reading her mind he sighed. "Buffy won't help me." He said it slowly, as if to himself. "All the white hats in the world rode off into the sunset, leaving us between the cracks trying to finish the job."
"It's not you," mewled Drusilla. "All this fighting for ashes and nothing, it's not you at all."
Spike moved closer, leaning against the cage she was held in, reaching into the cell with one arm. His hand rested on her shoulder. "Come on, Dru. Give me a conduit," he whispered. "The stars can tell you how to get into hell, can't they?"
She smiled, a dark, secretive smile. "There's a demon who rends worlds at will," she whispered. "Miss Edith tells me that he has found a home deep in the darknes." She smiled. "He's my own little brother."
Spike shook his head. "We all know about Connor, love. Tell me about something else, something that can get back in."
She shook his hand of her arm, sulking backwards. "You live to destroy me now, just like him."
"No, love," said Spike patiently. "D-boy's just neglected, s all. Tell me how to get back to hell!" His voice began to rise impatiently, anger taking over and flushing his effort at appeasement away. "Tell me!" he roared.
She smiled. "Little brother and I have nothing in common but a deep love for blood," she said, her voice sing-songing. "You want your answers? Ask the lawyer."
Spike hesitated. "All the lawyers are dead, love. Long dead." He said it calmly, his tantrum past.
"Not all of them," she said. "One of them is still out there, still hiding—and she hates you so bad, she'll kill you." She giggled. "Because you stabbed her in the back. She'll kill you."
Spike thought about it for a minute. "Eve," he muttered, triumph in his voice. "Thanks, Dru." He pulled away and marched off quickly.
She watched him go sadly. "And you'll destroy yourself," she whispered.
--
Faith finished smoking her cigarette and tossed the butt into the waist-high airport ashtray, glaring at the crowd nearby, almost daring them to get closer to her.
Xander, sitting beside her trying to read a thick tome, shook his head. "What does 'lemniscate' mean?" he asked.
"Dunno," shrugged Faith. "Do you see tweed? I don't see tweed."
"Maybe he'll know what lemniscate means," said Xander. "Because if the moon does this, whatever it is, then it's a portent."
"Maybe it means change colors," suggested Faith.
"Then wouldn't it say change colors?" Asked Xander. "I hate Giles-books. They never say what they mean."
"Actually," said a familiar, almost warm voice, "they say exactly what they mean."
Faith turned, an accusatory look on her face. "You snuck up on me!" she said to Giles, who had indeed managed to move up behind them without being noticed.
Giles smiled. "It wasn't too hard. Hello Faith, Xander," he nodded his head to both in turn, and Xander stood up, holding the book open in front of him.
"What does lemniscate mean?" asked Faith quickly.
"It's a curve, a figure eight shaped curve, I believe. The prophecy you're referring to is about the moon changing directions two or three times, Xander—and it was fulfilled in 92."
Xander closed the tome grumpily. "We should start marking fulfilled prophecies in red ink," he said. "So, we do a handshake, right? Cause we're manly."
"Indeed." Giles offered his hand, and Xander shook it quickly.
"Does that make us hug material?" asked Faith a little too brightly, her eyes sparkling with what could only be interpreted as an evil glint.
"No," said Giles with a shudder. "And you don't even get a handshake, now. Can we go?"
Faith smirked, happy in her ability to disquiet Giles. "Aw, come on, just a small hug? I promise not to cop a feel this time."
"Let's talk about Spike," said Giles forcefully. "He's about, I take it? Here in Boston?"
"Yes, and a resounding yes," said Xander. "First I was happy to see him, then I was disturbed, and then I was angry. Scared showed up at last, however, showing my sanity is not all gone."
Giles nodded. "We'd better go back to your apartment," he said grimly. "There's a lot to talk about."
When they reached the car Xander took the backseat, ensconcing Giles in the passenger seat, with his lone suitcase beside Xander. "So," said Faith. "This is the part where you talk at great length."
Giles sighed, rubbing his eyes behind his glasses. "It started just after we closed the Hellmouth," he admitted. "I began getting reports that Angel...was working for an unspeakably evil organization. I went to Buffy immediately. At first we were able to deny it, to rationalize it, but then we received reports that he was gathering others to him. Vampires. At first it was just Harmony, but then there was...there was another odd report."
"And you're sure it was Angel, not Angelus?" asked Faith.
"Yes." Said Giles. "He had a problem, a Slayer who'd gone insane. We sent Andrew to spy on him. And his organization. Andrew's report..."
"Why Andrew?" asked Faith.
"Because Andrew's not someone Angel knows," said Giles. "Andrew could spy without him realizing anything was off. And Andrew's surprisingly good at spying. He said that Angel was definitely, um, in possession of his soul. And he told us that Spike had been resurrected. But Andrew also reported that they were deeply, deeply involved in the darkest magic, the darkest intrigues... it was disturbing."
"And that's enough to turn you against him? Half-formed reports of involvement in unnamed evil?" asked Faith, still holding on to her loyalty to Angel. Giles glanced at her, a sympathetic look on his face.
"No. We thought perhaps that it was a trick—that he might be trying to destroy them from the inside. But then things started happening. Strange things."
"Strange?" asked Faith.
"You are familiar with the Old Ones?" asked Giles.
"Not a bit," said Xander.
"Pure demons that roamed the earth before mankind," said Giles flatly. "Imprisoned. They would be the death of all we knew, if they were released, but they were trapped, sealed away, guarded. Until Angel freed one."
"Angel freed one?" demanded Faith, more than a little shocked. Even though she'd thought that she couldn't be shocked, not any more.
"At the cost of the life of one of his friends," said Giles grimly. "Then he allied with the creature—an ancient evil of unbelievable power. Together with Spike and this ancient evil, and all the allies he had gathered, they struck out. I don't know how many died, but I do know that a senator who was considered by many to be a great hope for America died. I know that he killed the Guardian of the Well of Souls—the one Champion of goodness who might yet have stopped what he was doing. And he joined a circle of darkness, a secret society of evil. I have tried to see what he might have been doing, to see some goodness—but it's all very dark, and very damning."
Xander and Faith were silent, trying to absorb all this. "That's all?" asked Faith quietly.
"Even before this there were signs." Said Giles. "I've heard that he destroyed something...I'm not clear what...that would have led to world peace. That he let Darla and Drusilla kill a roomful of humans. All this long before he joined the evil organization."
"And all as Angel, not Angelus." sighed Faith. "My god."
"Indeed," said Giles. "It was nearly five months ago that Spike came to Italy, searching out Buffy. He was raving, told her that Angel was dead, and that he needed her help. She sheltered him for a few days, gave him succor—until he told her his plan."
"Break into hell?" guessed Faith.
"He wanted to go to Cleveland and open the Hellmouth," sighed Giles. "At first she tried reasoning with him, but he just became more incoherent. Then when the Immortal returned, he became even more unreasonable."
Faith nodded. "Great," she muttered. "Ex meets present boyfriend. Was there a fight?"
"No," said Giles. "Spike ran off. We increased the Slayer presence on the Hellmouth in Cleveland, but...well, we didn't hear anything about Spike until your call."
"When will Buffy get here?" asked Faith.
"Tomorrow or the day after," said Giles. "Could you find their headquarters again?"
Faith shook her head, trying in vain to concentrate on her driving. "No," she said.
"I could," said Xander. Faith almost glanced at him in surprise. "I was watching the landscape pretty closely. There were a lot of soldiers—and more. There was somebody there, a kid who called himself Connor. Spike called him the Destroyer."
"Yet another of Angel's associations that we'd worried about," said Giles. "Apparently some form of dimensional traveler who wreaked havoc throughout LA—and who Angel associated with."
Faith let out a long breath, remembering the way he had hit her. "He could fight like nothing I've ever fought," she said. "Like Buffy. No, harder than Buffy. Stronger. Quicker. And he said Drusilla was there."
Giles took a deep breath. "Spike...it has been very hard on Buffy, and myself. She, especially, trusted him. But the situation has been very difficult." He swallowed. "I don't think she'll be able to kill Spike, if it comes to that."
"I can," growled Faith, anger in her voice.
--
Riley moved through the dark underground tunnels purposefully, counting the doors as he went by. There was no markings on them to identify the occupants, but he knew Connor's was the fifth from the start.
As he reached the fifth he halted and took a deep breath, then knocked. "Hello?" said a muffled voice from within.
"It's Finn," said Riley shortly. Connor opened the door, smiling, as usual.
"Hey," said Connor, and for a minute he looked so much like just another well-adjusted teenager that Riley almost forgot to be afraid of him.
Riley handed the sheaf of papers he had carried in his left hand to Connor. "They're coming from all over the world," he said tightly. "Slayers, Watchers, even the occasional witch."
Connor stared at the list, sitting down on his bed. "I take it this is the part where we scream like girls and run for our lives?" he finally said.
Riley sighed, sitting beside the Destroyer. "Spike interrogated Drusilla again, and said that he was able to make some sense of the conversation. I listened to a tape, and it didn't seem altogether coherent to me. But under the circumstances..."
"Where does he want to go?" asked Connor.
"It'll be hard to stay ahead of them," warned Riley.
"You keep up the operation here," said Connor. "Spike and I will track this lead down."
"This had better be the time," said Riley. "These Slayers will probably crush us if it isn't."
Connor shrugged. "Ah, I doubt they'd kill you."
"They might kill Harmony and Drusilla," said Riley.
Connor's smile wavered, and he sighed. "That's a risk we may have to take," he replied. "Put the vampires under guard, and warm up the stealth chopper."
Riley shook his head. "You have no idea how to find this lead. All Spike knows is that she was in LA when Angel died." He said it in a very frustrated tone of voice.
"All right, we'll take Harmony with us, then," said Connor. "She can track for us. No problem."
--
Dawn climbed up the stairs to the apartment she and Buffy shared with Andrew, her key in hand. To her surprise the door was open, and she hesitated, doing a mental weapons check. Then she stepped inside, glancing around.
"Andrew?" she called out. "Buffy?"
A tall, dark figure stepped out of the dark recesses of the room, giving a half-bow. "Dawn," said a deep, gravelly voice.
"Oh, l'Eterno!" said Dawn, surprised by his presence. "Where's Buffy?"
The Immortal shrugged. "She is packing," he said simply, turning back to the shadows.
"And, and you're lurking," noted Dawn.
He shrugged again. "Vita eterna breeds patience," he said quietly. "She is running off to see the golden-haired William the Bloody."
"Oh," said Dawn, a bit slowly. "Somebody found Spike?"
"Fede—Faith, she found your wayward friend," said the Immortal. He gave a slow sigh, turning to Dawn and meeting her gaze with dark brown eyes. "Your sister, she is very special, but when William was here, I felt as if a part of her was with him, not me. And now at the very mention of his name she runs off."
"He was trying to end the world!" said Dawn defensively. "A little preoccupation is a healthy thing!"
"Fede could have taken care of it," dismissed the Immortal. "No, even now I doubt that she will ever return here." He smiled. "But we had a good time, and that is all I ask."
Dawn gazed at him. "You're a real piece of work," she said finally, unable to find any real praise in her heart or mind for the man in front of her. He shrugged again.
"Vita eterna," he excused himself. "It does perhaps breed a larger perspective."
Dawn shook her head. "You can't blame eternity. I've known other long-lived individuals, and they weren't as egotistical as you, l'Eterno. Your name, your arrogance, it comes from somewhere else."
He cocked his head at her, tilting it at an odd angle, examining the insult. "Then it is the nature of mankind. Natura decaduta, Dawn."
"Fallen nature? Perdere la grazia di Dio." He smiled at her familiar usage of Italian, nodding.
"Fallen from grace, then?" he asked. "Perhaps I am. Will you leave with Buffy, or continue here alone?"
"I'll go with Buffy," said Dawn reluctantly. "If Spike is back...well, he was the Big Bad once. Maybe he is again."
l'Eterno nodded. "Then this is goodbye." He offered his hand to her. When she took it he swept her hand up, kissing it. "Arrivederci."
He swept out theatrically, and Dawn sighed, heading back for the bedrooms. "Buffy?" She called.
"We're over here," said Andrew, from his bedroom, and Dawn quickly moved into his room, shaking her head.
"I just said goodbye to the swelled head. Good lord, Buffy! Whatever possessed you to date him?"
Buffy, sitting on the bed with a book in her hands, glared at Dawn. "Well, for one, he treated me like his 'donna molto bella,' unlike some men I could name. And for two, I'm not discussing that reason with you. Ever."
Dawn shrugged. "Okay. So we found Spike? Faith spotted him?"
"Spoke to him," said Andrew, chewing thoughtfully on his thumb. "It sounds dangerous."
"Dea del sesso, more like," muttered Dawn. Buffy's eyes widened.
"WHAT?!" she demanded.
"Anyway," said Dawn hurriedly. "Do we have tickets yet? I should go get us tickets if we don't."
"We?" said Andrew. "No, no, no. You're staying right here." He put on his best brotherly face. "It's safer for you here."
Dawn glared at him. "And the last time Buffy got a guy to try and take me out of the big Apocalypse-y action, I hit him with a stun-gun and kicked her in the shins. You want in on that, Andrew?"
He wilted. "I did get you a ticket," he squeaked.
Dawn nodded, satisfied. "Good," she said. "I'll go pack." She turned and marched off.
Buffy leaned over to Andrew. "Andrew, does dea del sesso mean what I think it means?"
He turned red. "Uh, yes," he said. "Uh, that is, what do you think it means?"
"Never mind," sighed Buffy. "That girl has a dirty mind." She scowled at the door. "So, have we heard back from Tibet yet?"
"Yes," said Andrew, checking the notebook beside him. "Willow said she'd mobilize the remaining forces to London, where they'd stand by waiting for your orders."
Buffy nodded. "I can't believe I'm getting an army of Slayers ready to fight SPIKE!" she moaned. "It seems like just yesterday he was my only anchor—the only one who believed in me. In a house full of Slayers, Watchers and friends, he was the only one I could really talk to."
Andrew nodded. "I was so happy when I saw he was alive," he said. "And then at first it seemed like he was working at cross-purposes to Angel, and I thought we'd found an ally. I came very close to revealing my mission to him, I really did, until Dana got in the way. And then when he showed up here..." He sighed. "I really do look up to Spike." He said in a small voice.
Buffy nodded grimly. "I don't want to kill Spike," she said. "I'd rather chain him up in the basement again." Her eyes were slightly glassy, unshed tears fighting to break free. "I still can't believe..."
"That Angel's gone?" asked Andrew softly. She nodded mutely.
--
Connor glanced to Harmony. "Now, let's hear it," he said grimly.
She sighed, glaring at him. "I'm just here to facilitate communications. I'm not to fight, and if I betray you..." she trailed off, trying to remember. "I always forget this part!" she complained.
"We'll peel your skin off and set you on fire," supplied Spike helpfully.
She groaned, nodding. "Right. That."
"Good," said Connor cheerfully, glancing at the jet that was still being fueled. "Now, let's go find Eve."
--
Translations of Italian used above (although most of it spoke for itself, I hope):
l'Eterno: The Eternal
Vita Eterna: Eternal life
Fede: Faith
Natura decaduta: Fallen nature
Perdere la grazia di Dio: Fallen from grace
Arrivederci: Goodbye
Donna molto bella: Goddess
Dea del sesso: Sex goddes
