Prophesy After the Fact

Part Nine

By Marie Nomad

Spike had been through many things in his long life as a vampire. He had been killed, turned into a ghost, made into a sex slave of a slayer, and even had fought a puppet Angel. Now, he looked down at himself in Buffy's arms. "Am I dead again?" He wondered.

"Not really dead, just incapacitated."

The vampire turned around to see a young pink haired girl standing there. "Oh great, so you must be this goddess bint that took Peaches away and did that forced reincarnation sort of thing to him."

"How observant of you. You had always been more intelligent than you let on." Shanshu walked around him. "Just so you know, you're not dead. You're suffering an out of body experience and you're not going back in unless you agree to leave Sunnydale and take your mortal friends with you."

"Like hell I'm not. I've been a ghost before and I can reach them." Spike said as he tried to focus and then a painful headache struck him. He fell over and held his head.

"Not on my watch." Shanshu warned. "I'm not like Glorificus who is restrained by a mortal. I can kill you with a thought."

"Then, why didn't you?" Spike asked, "Why spare me?"

"Because if I kill you, your friends would want revenge and they wouldn't leave. They didn't bother with Angel before, why do they care for him now?"

"The hell that I know but you should just butt out of this." Spike warned, "Willow and Illyria are powerful people and they can get you. Buffy killed a goddess or two herself."

"I don't care."

"Well, I do." The two turned around to see Cordelia in her glory. "Hi, Spike."

"I thought you were dead."

"I did but I got promoted." Cordelia said as she glared at Shanshu. "You really took things to the next level. What's the deal with Angel! You mind raped him."

"I was just making things comfortable for him and I have that right."

"Well, now that you did all this, I can counter act. First, with Spike." Cordelia waved her hand and Spike vanished. "Now, I can be more active. I will stop you and show what a huge mistake you're making."

"You can't stop me. I've had eons of experience."

"Well, I grew up in Sunnydale, California." Cordelia vanished in a bright light.

XXX

Spike opened his eyes and found himself in bed with his jaw fully healed. "Did I die again?" He asked Willow.

"No, but you really had us worried. You were out cold but not dead because if you were dead, you would've been dust." Willow said, "I tapped into a tiny amount of dark magic to heal you."

"Thanks." Spike rubbed his jaw. "Feels good to talk again. Look, I met the goddesses that are fighting over Peaches. They are grwh khikh ligh miss." He stopped when gibberish started to come out of his mouth.

"What?"

"Brhak croosh!" He yelled and then he closed his eyes. The pink haired goddess must've done this to him. "Bullocks!" He cursed and then looked at Willow. "Sorry, I can't tell you anything, literally."

"Damn." Buffy came up and said, "So, you figured out this mystery but a goddess is keeping you from saying anything?"

"Pretty much. Just like with Glory but less annoying." Spike sighed. He wanted to let Buffy know about what he found out. It was just a theory but now he was positive that whoever, whatever that goddess was, she have her claws in the ex-vampire.

"Swell. Can't you offer any clues at all?"

"Brok kah vrous." Spike replied.

"Guess not." Buffy held her head. It was just like that time she had to deal with Glory and Spike knew what was going on but the spell kept on mind wiping the humans of that precious information about Ben and Glory. "Okay relax; as long as Angel is safe, then we can still look for him on our own."

XXX

"Have you seen Will?" Leia asked her mother who was preparing dinner.

"I'm right here." Will said as he came in with his puppy in his arms. "Hi, Mom, Leia." He came up and hugged them with one arm, the other holding his puppy.

"Will, there you are." Elizabeth sighed in relief. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"Great." Will started to set the table. He couldn't help but smile. He loved eating, especially with his family. It made him feel so normal.

Soon, they sat at the table with only a faint fog of discomfort around them.

"So, how was your day?" Will asked Leia.

"Oh, fine. Fine." Leia smiled at him.

"How are you at finding Debbi?" Elizabeth asked.

"Who? Is she a friend of yours?" Will said as he looked at his sister who was looking down.

"No, not at all." Leia laughed nervously. Will narrowed his eyes. His parents suddenly became very interested in their food.

"So… Will." Joshua said, "How are you feeling?"

"Okay." Will replied and then poked at his dinner. "Mom, Dad, Leia… what's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth asked perplexed. "Everything is fine."

"Then, why are you being overly cheerful? Leia forbid me from leaving the house and there's something out there hunting me."

Elizabeth and Joshua looked at each other. "There's nothing wrong, sweetheart." Elizabeth said as she put more food on his plate. "You have no enemies and you're perfectly safe."

Joshua snorted and dug into his food. Will saw that and frowned again. "Say… son." Joshua said, "Maybe next week, we can go and do some fishing sometime."

"Fishing. Sounds great." Will smiled a little at the idea of spending quality time with his father. It had taken some doing but he felt that his father was finally warming up to him. Then, he saw his family just staring at him. "I'm full." He concluded as he put away his dishes and walked off.

XXX

Giles looked in the bomb shelter where Spike was playing video games. The vampire was playing 'Mortal Kombat'. He had to laugh, it was just like Spike to play such a gruesome game. He watched as Spike played on gritting his teeth, letting out his anger.

"I did that combo!" Spike yelled at the TV and bashed his hand into the game. He paused when he saw Giles standing there. He sat back down and glared at him.

Giles could see the look of anger and hurt in his eyes. "Spike, I understand that you are angry but we must talk."

Spike just stared ahead. A long uncomfortable moment of silence passed between then.

"You are behaving immaturely. You haven't spoken directly to me since I came here." Giles explained, "I'm sorry about Fred but we all made mistakes."

"You hate my soul."

Giles blinked as he took off his glasses and cleaned them. "E-excuse me?"

"You hate the fact that I have a soul." Spike said clearer. "We weren't best friends but we were mates. Fellow Englishmen bonded by our love for Buffy, money, and Passions. Then, I went off to get a soul and when I came back, you stayed away from me. You even made it possible for Wood to beat me up. Admit it, you can't stand the idea of another vampire with a soul. That's why you hate me and Angel."

"Now… now that is absolutely absurd. I'm glad that you have a soul voluntarily."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Nice try but I can smell a lie a mile away. You watchers lived in a black and white world. You are the good guys and we are the bad guys. Angel and I, we're a huge blob of gray. When I had my chip, I couldn't hurt you or any other Scooby. I was at your mercy and so you and your friends used me. That was why you were so nice to me. Because you know that I can't hurt anyone. But, when I ditched the chip and got the soul that changed everything. I can hurt you. I could kill you right here, right now if I want to. You hate the idea of you not being able to control me, have me as your personal vampire pet/companion. That's also why you hated Angel too. We may have souls but you know that we could still be evil and that scares you." Spike got up and stood up in front of him. "You let your guard down around Angel before and your girlfriend died because of that. So, that's why you refused him help every chance you have. Because, you can't trust a demon with a human soul. You can't before and you can't again."

Giles stared at him. "No. No, that's not it."

"You're lying again." Spike waved his finger.

"All right! I don't trust any demon with a human soul because I can't kill you! You're not human, you're not all demon, I can't figure out what to do with you."

"So you ignore us. Even with an innocent girl's life at stake." Spike mused, "To think that you watchers believe that you are the good guys. But in reality, you are a wanker who abandons people because you don't like them. You abandoned Buffy, Angel, and who knows what else."

"I left Buffy because she needed to stand on her own." Giles argued, "You know that."

"Oh, brilliant. Let's abandon an emotionally wrecked girl with super powers when she needs help the most. Great job, the world nearly went to Hell because of that. Buffy told me about Willow's dark period."

"It was a mistake and I regret that."

Spike reached into his pocket and got out a cigarette. "Yeah right. You loved the idea that you get to play the hero for a moment and proved how much Buffy needed you. You didn't abandon her just so she could stand on her own, you abandoned her just so she could come crawling to you!"

"No."

"And why didn't you call for help when you found out about me having a soul? Did you hate me and Angel that much so you can see me suffer?"

"No."

"Or what about when you tossed Buffy out of the house? Was it in her best interest then?"

"No."

"You are a coward and a hypocrite." Spike said, "And blind as a bat since you don't see Angel." Spike got up. "If you excuse me, I'm going to spar with Blue." He walked off leaving Giles alone.

"It's not your fault. He's just mad." Willow said as she came into the room. "But, he's right, you and Spike were… friendly until he got that soul."

"He was a pawn for the First. We couldn't afford to trust him completely. I did try to help him."

"Yeah, by having him held captive by Robin and getting beaten to death." Willow clenched her fists. "I hate men. That year was Hell. First, there was Xander's stupid lie and then you and everything else. I'm going to save Fred while I can. I won't abandon her." She vowed as she walked off.

Giles frowned and wondered, "What lie?"

XXX

Will sighed as he sat at his desk sketching. There were various sketches of Buffy, his family, Spike, and a few others. Now, he was working on a brand new sketch. He had to do something, he was bored to death. "Hey! Will!" Josh gushed as he climbed up the tree and jumped into the room.

"Josh. Long time no see."

"Feels that way, huh." Josh sat down and admired the room. "So, did I hear right about your little sis locking you in your room?"

"I'm afraid so." Will sighed as he looked at his sketch. It was a vivid sketch of a dragon attacking a city.

"Cool drawing." Josh said as he held up the picture. "Maybe you can design our band's logo."

"If I will ever be let out of here. What's the big deal?" Will asked his friend. "I know that something is going on. Something… beyond my case of amnesia. I don't know what though."

"Well… I'm sure that it's just some paranoia caused by watching X-Files." Josh looked outside. "Just chill, Leia's just been overprotective since that accident."

"I guess." Will shook his head. "Say, do you know where I got this at?" He reached under the bed and got out his sword.

Josh's jaw dropped. "Whoa… I mean no. Not really. Maybe, you were getting into role playing before the accident."

"Maybe. I don't know. Just that I've been having this weird feeling that nothing is right. I'm not right." Will's heart pounded. Why was he feeling like this? When Buffy is gone, he couldn't help but feel like he needed to see her about something. "What's wrong with me?"

"Don't know." Josh muttered, "Look, I'm sure things will work out in the end. They always do."

At once, a chill crept up in his chest. "Do they?"

"Yeah." Josh glanced down and saw the puppy. "A puppy! So, the rumors are true, you finally got yourself a dog."

"I know. I haven't gotten a name for him yet." Will picked up the dog. "I was thinking… Scooby?"

"Cool." Josh nodded. "Like that cartoon dog. Gotta love that Scooby Doo."

"Oh yeah." Will grinned falsely. He put down the dog on his bed and picked up his sword.

Close your eyes.

Will gasped as he felt a strange knot in his stomach. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Will clenched his fists. "I'm fine." He looked out of the window and then at the door. "Let's go out."

"Say what?"

"I mean it. I'm seeing things and I need to get out." Will climbed out of the window. "I'm feeling very claustrophobic right now."

XXX

Willow rubbed her head as she tried to figure out what to do. She had to not only find Angel whom she had no idea what he was, break this stupid spell on Spike, figure out how to cure Will's amnesia, defeat a powerful demon, and get Fred back.

"Okay, one thing at a time, Willow." Willow said to herself. She can't take care of all the problems at once. The last time she tried, she became Dark Willow and she didn't want Buffy to try to save the world again. The first thing that she should do is find a powerful demon but what she really need to do was get Fred back. Spike and Gunn still hold a grudge against Giles for what happened and she couldn't blame them. She loved Fred, even thought about dating her if she was the type. Even if she wasn't, she still wanted to know her better. At least, if Fred could be restored, it would help heal the rift in the team and make things easier for everyone.

She flipped opened a spell book that she had been looking at for a while. It had various spells about exorcisms, curing demons, and other fun stuff. Finally, she found the spell she was looking for. She stared at it absorbing the spell's powers.

"You found something?" Gunn asked as he came in.

"I think so." Willow showed him the spellbook. "It's a separation of essence spell. With enough power, I can separate Illyria and Fred into two different people."

"Great, so start with the spell casting."

"Not so fast." Willow held up her hand. "This type of spell is major tricky. There's no telling how this will affect Fred or even Illyria as individuals. They may not even separate into Fred and Illyira but two very different entities. Also, sometimes whenever I cast a complicated spell, there are unseen consequences."

"Like what?"

"Spike and Buffy getting engaged."

At that, Gunn's jaw dropped. "Say what?"

"I… accidentally caused Spike and Buffy to get engaged." Willow repeated sheepishly. "It was a long time ago and all they did was make out. I had to bake a lot of cookies to make up for that."

Gunn chuckled and then laughed. "Don't you just love magic. I remember this time, Lorne, lost his sleep, literally and ended up causing me to pee all over the place, Fred and Wes to be drunk, Spike to be optimistic, and Angel and Eve to have sex constantly."

Willow's eyes bulged. "Who's Eve?"

"She's… a long story. Don't tell Buffy okay?"

"Okay, anyway, I can't just jump into this without knowing what's going to happen. I know that you love Fred and all but I need time to make sure that she won't come back wrong like with Buffy."

"Buffy? I thought she was fine when she came back from the dead."

"No, not at all. I ripped her from Heaven. I swear, I didn't know but maybe I was being too greedy. I missed her and I brought her back against her will and it took her a long time to adjust to being on Earth again."

"But, this is different. Fred is trapped in the same body as a demonic old god." Gunn looked down, "But… if she is not there then you don't have to bring her back."

"I'll need time to really study this. And the second I know that it's safe, I'll do the spell. Promise."

Gunn just grinned. It dawned on him that this is the first sign of hope for his friend. That there is a chance that Fred will come back to him and Spike. "Take your time. I want this spell to go right." He grinned again and hugged the witch. "I could kiss you!"

"Uhhh…" Willow blushed and added, "I'm gay, remember?"

"Oh." Gunn let go. "I have to tell Spike." He ran off and Willow sighed in relief.

"Maybe, things will finally get better."

XXX

"You sure you want to do this?" Josh asked as he and Will walked down the street. They were alone and Will was carrying his steel sword.

"Yeah. Something is going on, Leia wants to protect me from something. I can feel it. I have to deal with this just so I can look at myself in the mirror." Will said as he waved the sword around.

"But… can't you let the others deal with this?" Josh asked, "You know, there are major bad things going on around here that you don't know about."

"You got that right."

The two looked behind to see a group of men with lumpy foreheads and huge teeth. "Oh my god." Will muttered as he clutched his sword.

"We're on a recruitment drive and you seem like worthy candidates." A vampire said as he adjusted his coat. They were all dressed in leather jackets straight out of the Grease movie. "You seem to have the potential to be a dangerous vampire and your relationship to two slayers makes things even better."

"Slayer?" Will repeated dumbfounded. "Look, I'm not interested in role playing or wearing make up or anything like that. I'm just trying to figure myself out." His heart pounded as he tightened his grip on the sword. Something deep in him is screaming for him to run away.

"Role playing?" The head vampire laughed. "This is rich! You really have no idea what's going on do you?"

"Let's book!" Josh yelled as he reached behind him and fired with his water gun. A stream of water hit the head vampire and smoke came off of his body. Josh grabbed his hand and pulled Will away.

"Yeow!" The vampire screamed. "Get them!"

"What did you do to him?" Will asked dumbfounded as they ran through the street.

"Less talk and more run." Josh pointed to a church. "In there! Hurry!" He fired more water at the vampires who scattered. They vanished and reappeared in front of them. "Oh shit."

"What's going on?" Will asked again.

Before anyone can answer, an arrow shot the head vampire in the chest. The two looked to see a lone figure dressed in black with a crossbow in each hand. He had an eye patch on his face as well as a five o'clock shadow. "Move away from the two."

"Who are you?" Will couldn't help but feel like he knew him before.

"Have no fear, Xander is here."

To Be Continued…