It's Just Too Easy

Disclaimer: I own nothing worth suing for. Just like to take em out and play once in a while.

Reviews: Yes, please. Suffering major withdrawal symptoms. Readers Rock but Reviewers RULE!

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'Why?' The question hung in the air as if Spike had shouted it. One could have heard a pin drop in the complete stillness of the shop. Spike stood in front of his friend and waited for her answer. The betrayal seared his heart as he tensed with the effort to control the demon screaming to surface and wreak havoc on the humans he'd been forced to depend on. His eyes flickered with gold as he gazed at the witch. Everyone waited tensely for Willow's answer. Tara watched as the darkness in her love's aura grew and twisted through Willow's essence. Fear seeped into the blonde witch's heart. She was losing her love to dark magic.

Willow's green eyes flashed and turned dark. She looked up into the vampire's strained face and began to laugh. The harsh sound startled the onlookers.

"It's just too easy. You, all with your 'I know what it is, I speak its language and I know how to kill it'. You left and Buffy had to kill the thing by herself. I didn't mean to do it and I really didn't know I had until just now. Xander wanted you to be speechless so I guess I sorta granted his wish. The magic is so cool, so powerful. I can feel it coursing through me." Willow smirked at the stricken look on Spike's face. He took a step back. "Oh come on now, it wasn't personal."

She looked around at the others. "Really, all of you look so surprised. You knew I was gaining power. I mean that spell to bring Buffy back was pretty awesome if I do say so. So why shouldn't I use magic to make life a little easier. I didn't hear any of you objecting. All I needed was control and I'm getting that really fast."

"Willow, d-don't you think the magic is getting a l-little too m-much?" Tara stuttered slightly as she fluttered closer to her lover.

The redhead glared at the blonde. "No." She growled. Tara backed away and took refuge behind the counter with Anya.

Xander approached her cautiously. "Wills, we all love you and want the best. But you're scaring us. Come on, let's go home and talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." Willow took a look around at the rest of the Scoobies.

Dawn was half-hidden behind Faith, an action that caused Buffy to frown angrily. "Dawn, come over here please."

The teenager glanced fearfully at where her sister stood. There was no way to get to Buffy without passing close to Willow. She cringed behind the younger slayer a little more. Spike noticed her fear and moved over to wrap his arm around the girl's waist. She snuggled up to him, immediately feeling safer. He guided Dawn across the floor to stand near the blonde slayer. His blue eyes bored into Buffy's green ones. 'Get her home.' The silent words were clear.

Buffy bristled at the order. "I see your lips move but I just can't get what you're saying." She smirked.

Dawn grasped her sister's arm. "Please, Buffy. Take me home." The fear was clear in her young voice.

Willow heard it and approached the sisters. "Don't worry Dawnie, I won't hurt you." The fake concern was evident in the witch's tone but Buffy disregarded it.

"Good idea, let's leave. Come on Dawn, Willow." Buffy turned toward the door.

"Willow, you haven't returned Spike's voice." Giles spoke for the first time since his surprising revelation of Willow's magic use.

She sneered at the blond vampire. "And I don't intend to."

Spike closed his eyes and turned away slightly. Dawn tightened her arm that was still around his waist. "I'm sorry." She whispered. He wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her for a moment before Buffy tugged the teenager free and shoved her toward the door.

Willow turned and gazed at Tara, noticing for the first time that the other witch was making no move to leave with them. "Baby? Are you coming with us?"

"N-no. I-I want to t-talk to Mr. G-giles." Tara stated unsteadily. Her distress increased her infrequent stutter.

"I'll make sure she gets home all right." The watcher told them.

Xander strolled over to the counter. "Ahn, honey. I'm going with them. Are you coming?"

Anya watched Willow carefully. "I have a few things I need to do here. I'll meet you at home later for orgasms."

The carpenter blushed. "Ahn, too many details. 'I'll meet you at home' is enough." He reached over and kissed her. "I love you. See you soon."

"I love you too. You really should stay here with me." The ex-demon gazed at Xander with worry in her brown eyes.

Xander's chocolate gaze held hers calmly. "It will be okay." He said. He joined Buffy, Willow and Dawn at the door.

Willow paused and turned back to the others. Her eyes were completely black. She gazed at Giles, Anya and Tara. "Just remember, you're either with me or against me. I would not be happy if you went against me. What I did to Spike was an accident, a good one but still an accident. Just imagine what I could do on purpose."

Dawn's terrified blue eyes met Spike's dark sapphire ones. He nodded comfortingly wishing he could tell her it would be all right but at that moment he wasn't sure it would be.

Faith grasped Spike's arm and rubbed her hand up and down the tense bicep. Tara's smoky gaze dropped to the floor as she bit her full lower lip. Giles frowned and removed his glasses, his mind racing to find a way to convince the young witch that her power was beyond her control. The door closed as the foursome left.

Faith caught her vampire as he seemed to crumple into himself. The thought that he would never speak again was just too much for him to contemplate. The slayer pulled him close and murmured in his ear. "It's okay, Baby. She's not the only witch in the world. We'll get this fixed I promise. Don't give up."

Anya brought out a book she'd hidden under the register. "If Tara is willing, I have the spell we need to fix your voice."

Spike jerked upright and stared at the blond ex-demon. He transferred his hopeful gaze to Tara and she nodded shyly. "You helped me when my family tried to take me away and you were so nice after Glory brain-sucked me. You were so sweet after I burned your hand in that camper."

Spike tilted his head in bemusement. 'You remember that?'

Tara frowned for a second before she realized what he'd said. She nodded, her smile tremulous. She pulled the book over to read the spell that Anya pointed out. "I can do this. Since Willow didn't use a specific spell, this regular reversal one should work perfectly."

Giles replaced his overly clean glasses. "I need to sit down." He went into his alcove and dropped into his chair. He sat at his desk in sick disbelief. He'd known Willow was a powerful witch but he had never seen the darkness consume anyone so completely before. Even his own experience in the dark arts hadn't prepared him for the total corruption of the young witch's personality. He listened to Tara as she recited the reversal spell and restored Spike's speaking ability. He smiled slightly when he heard the round of curses the young vampire used to exercise his voice.

"Blondie, you're scorching the air. Calm down, Lover. It's okay." Faith was soothing her vampire. "Damn, I've missed that voice. Come here and kiss me." Giles heard the slayer say.

Giles cleaned his glasses again and removed the file from the drawer. "Spike? A word if I may?" He raised his voice and beckoned the blond.

Spike reluctantly let go of his armful of passionate slayer. He cupped her face with a gentle hand. "Luv, why don't you, Tara and Anya go down to the coffee shop? I'll meet you there in just a tick, have to find out what's bugging the watcher." She nodded and the women left the shop. Anya locked the door behind them.

He walked to the back of the shop and leaned on the wall that partially protected the alcove from the main part of the store. "What do you want, Watcher?" He frowned as he spied the folder. "What's that?"

"This?" Giles held up the file. "This is some very interesting information about a human who lived and died just over a hundred years ago."

Spike's already pale face blanched ever whiter. His fears were realized. Giles knew. The older man frowned and stood up quickly. "Spike? Sit down. Are you all right?"

"Um… yeah. I'm just great. Where did you get that information?" The accented voice was lower and less rough than normal. The shaken vampire sank down onto a chair.

The human resumed his seat and leafed through the pages. "From the internet. The ancestry websites are a virtual font of information. I never knew how much one could learn about lineages. The ones in England go back several centuries. Especially the ones dealing with aristocracy."

"But aren't those sites dependent on information compiled by descendents of the people listed?" Spike asked.

Giles nodded. "Most of them in fact. A lot of public records have been posted as well. Birth, death, school records, things like that are getting more and more available." He was shocked when Spike groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"How did you know what to look for?" The question was muffled.

"It was really very easy. I started with death records in London for the year 1880. Eliminated everyone not named William. From there I looked for age and cause of death. It wasn't difficult to narrow it down. I was frankly very surprised. Did Angelus know just who he was turning when he did it?" Giles picked up a copy of a family tree and gazed at it in bemusement.

"No. Dru saw me on the street. She wanted me and Angelus came in just as she was draining me. She almost messed it up and killed me outright. He had to finish it. He always claimed that I turned wrong." Spike completely dropped his cockney accent and Giles was charmed by the gentility in the vampire's 'true' voice. Spike raised his head and trained his startling eyes on the human. "I made sure he never found out. I would be very unhappy if he happened to find out now."

"I don't intend to ever tell anyone else. It was something you said that night three weeks ago that…. no, that's not right. It was the way you said it that got me thinking. And I have to admit that in light of my investigation, I find myself in the position of having to apologize to you. Not a comfortable place for me to be, I assure you." Giles smiled to take the sting out of his words.

"Don't need any apology. I just want to know why you had to pry?" Spike was resigned. "Who was it posted all that stuff anyway? Didn't know I had any family left to do something like that."

"Well, as I said, a lot of the public records are there. The school records were a little harder to get into. What I found most fascinating was the family tree that a distant cousin of yours compiled. He died a few years ago. He didn't have any other relatives. At least none that were known to him at the time." Giles gazed at the tree. He hadn't really been able to keep his mind from wandering to the chart.

Spike was intrigued against his will by the expression on the watcher's face. "What's so interesting, Rupert?" He stood up to peer over the other man's shoulder. "Oh, Bloody Hell!" The chart covered Spike's family, going back from William by two generations. Spike saw his grandparents and his parents listed. His full name, birth date and date of death were all there in black and white. As an only child, his branch ended with his death. He had not known that he'd had an uncle on his father's side and that his mother had had a sister, both of whom were listed and their descendents were all detailed on the chart. He'd also been unaware that the estate and the title had been passed on to his uncle's children. With the death of his cousin, the estate was lying unclaimed in the English banks.

"If you were of a mind, you could go claim your inheritance." Giles commented mildly.

"Lord William Wordsworth died in a barn in 1880. He can't inherit." Spike sputtered. Agitated, he set the chart aside. "What else have you got there?" He reached for the other papers. "Oh Dear God." He breathed.