The Road to Nowhere Leads to Me

Chp. 9

Some of the Answers

If I owned it. Do you think I'd be writing this?

Wes sits at the desk, leaned over the magical book, his hand running through his hair, yet again. The knock on the door, startles him from his intense reading. "Come in," he says his attention still intent on the findings of the book.

He looks up as the door starts to open. He sees that not only Angel, but also Buffy and Spike have entered. He looks the trio over, and slides his chair back from his desk.

Buffy grips Spikes hand tightly as she gazes around the room, her eyes slowly come to rest on him, and he can't help but smile. "What have you found, Wesley?" She asks as she rolls her eyes.

He ignores the rolling of her green eyes, and sits up straighter in his seat. "I've been researching the amulet." He clears his throat, and holds up the object for all to see. "The gem seems to have stemmed its power from the soul of the wearer" His gaze falls on the three standing in front of him.

Buffy has a tiny smirk on her face. "Well, yeah," she replies sarcastically. "Angel sort of mentioned that that was part of the information that he'd found when he gave the damned thing to me." She rolls her eyes again. "What was the explanation? OH! That it was to be worn by someone with a soul, but stronger than a human, and something or other about Scrubbing Bubbles, didn't really get that part, but whatever." She recants the conversation with a sarcastic tone of voice. "Please tell me something that I don't already know." Her shining orbs plead with the British man sitting aghast behind the desk.

He shuffles some papers around, trying to regain a modicum of composure back. "Well, from what research I've been able to do, it seems that Spike should have been brought back whole." He hears a slight growl, and knows that the information was bound to upset the ghostly vampire. "But it seems that you interrupted the flow of the energy from the amulet, by making physical contact with him at a crucial moment." The slayer gasps. "The amulet seems to have given you a piece of his soul, and in return he got a piece of yours, inadvertantly." His gaze falls on the two blondes, seeing the stricken looks upon their faces. "At least that's the only thing I can come to a conclusion on at the moment. I'm still doing more research, if I find anything more I will most assuredly contact you. As of this time I haven't found anything else." He watches the three people in front of him intently.

Spike nods his head in acquiescence. "Just make sure you do that, Percy."

Buffy's steely eyes glisten lightly as she takes in the information. He can see the wheels turning in her mind, as she tries to make sense of what she'd just been told. "So, I'm the reason all of this is happening?"

Wes is taken aback at the question. "No, Buffy." He can't believe that she'd come to this conclusion. "It's not your fault at all, it was destined, an unavoidable consequence to your actions. Anything could have broken the hold that the amulet had on Spikes soul. It is that you happened to be the one to do it. The information that I've come across, mind you I haven't been able to go over all of the information, but I think that it was meant to happen the way it did." His blue eyes find hers. "And from what I understand of your circumstances in the Hellmouth." His stern gaze falls on the ghostly vamp at her side. "You didn't want to leave her, and she didn't want you to go. I've come upon the hypothesis that with your souls being combined the two of you gravitate toward each other. Spike?"

The vampires blue eyes look up from his study of the flooring. "Yeah, Headboy." Wesley rolls his eyes at the nickname.

"You wanted to go to Buffy, when you came back?"

"That's bloody right, what's that got to do with anythin'?"

"Were you being pulled to her by any chance?"

"Wasn't rightfully payin' any attention to that, just knew I wanted to be with her. Make sure she was as truly okay, as Angelus over there made it out to be. Everytime I tried to go to her though, I'd get to the city limits and end up being yanked back to this bleedin' hellhole."

"That's because the amulet had been cursed by the Senior Partners. If it was to be brought back to them. Which inevitably it was. The amulet would be activated at a certain time. Angel just happened to activate before the appropriate time, is all."

"Wait a sec!" Buffy's hand clamps down hard on the hand in hers. "This is the unreliable source that you got that thing from?" Her gaze turns to steel as she turns to the souled vampire sitting beside of her. "Angel, how could you? You knew something would happen, I mean source where the amulet came from, EVIL LAW FIRM!" She rants and rages, her grip getting tighter on Spikes at every other word.

"Uh, Slayer," he grounds out between clenched teeth. "I'd like for my hand not to be hamburger." Her grasp loosens at his prompting.

"Oh, oh my god! I'm sooo sorry." She rubs the poor hand with her fingers, and raises it up to her lips for a healing kiss. "All better?"

"Not really, but it'll do." He smirks, making the remark less scathing.

Angel sits in the chair watching the exchange, envy exuding from his body. Wesley watches the three in interest, gauging their reactions. Angel seems to just wanna rip Spikes head off, Spike and Buffy gazing at each other. The emotions that play on their faces, do not bode well for the non-ghosty souled vampire's hopes of gaining Shanshu and running off to be with the original slayer. He sighs, taking his appraising attention from the scene in front of him, and shuffles more papers around in front of him.

"If you all would be so kindly as to excuse me, I'd like to find out more information on your situation."

"Right, Percy." Spike nods his head in acceptance as he drawls out the words. "We'll be goin', but as soon, and I mean as soon as you find any bloody thing else..." The rest of the sentence is cut off as Wesley starts to speak.

"Yes, yes, Spike, I will make it a point to contact you immediately."

He hears Angel get out of his seat, without say a word the whole time. His broodiness more broody as he walks to the door. The door clicks shut as the ensouled vampire follows the couple out of it. Wesley sighs, picking the book back up to start his research again. He hopes to find something, anything else. He hopes to find a way to make the two corporeal again. Atleast that's what he thinks they would want. He'd told them everything that he could about why they are the way they are, but he could see the hope in their eyes when they'd come to talk to him about the Hellmouth happenings. They wanted to be whole again, and he needed to find the answer. He's just very thankful that Buffy hadn't died before the Pavayne incident. She didn't deserve to be drug into the hell that was, even though Spike had been able to defeat him in the end, it could've proven too traumatic for her, after coming here in the state that she had shown up. He's sure Spike is greatful also, for that little mercy.

(Thank you yet, again Placid for the great beta, and to the people who reviewed last time. Hope you guys liked the explanation. Review me and tell me what you thought, and you may get another chapter by Wednesday.)