CONSEQUENCES
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Katy, Michelle, and Morgan.
CHAPTER 24-SO, IT'S COME TO THIS, SOMEHOW
The announcement woke anyone up in the house that had tried to turn in early. Angel and Spike had been talking with Nina about what was going on with Connor and Morgan while Dawn was trying to find something good on to watch. Michelle was upstairs in her room looking at herself in the mirror in the outfits that Dawn had picked out when she heard Willow yelling. Oddly enough Wesley and Faith both looked as if they had just taken a shower when the two slowly came down the stairs and listened to an ecstatic Willow explain everything.
"Things are finally starting to look up," Gwen said with a cautiously optimistic expression on her face as she sat down in one of the chairs by the fire.
"At first glance yes, but now the hard part will be finding the location to actually perform the spell, after the last spell that we tried Wolfram and Hart is going to be watching our every move," Angel said with a relieved but yet very serious look on his face as he began to pace back and forth in between two shelves of books.
"Well whatever we do we can't hide here forever," Connor interjected softly with a very calm and truthful tone to his voice, as his gaze never left his father.
"You're both right, but what we need is a secondary diversion, if only to buy our main diversion enough time to fully work," Wesley said with a tired and worn out look on his face, though he looked very content, as Faith helped him over to the chair nearest to the fire and sat down on the armrest.
"This shit is getting more complicated every time we talk about it," Faith grumbled with an annoyed scowl on her face as she chose to ignore the glare from Michelle at her cursing.
"How soon can you cast this spell Willow," Angel asked with a very hurried and overwhelmed look on his face as he stopped pacing to look over at the witch.
"I need twenty four hours and I'll be good to go Angel, but it'll take me all of that time to get the spell ready so I won't be able to help you in finding out the proper place to use it, that'll be up to you and Spike," Willow answered with an excited but at the same time daunted at the task in front of her, being glad that she knew what she had to do and didn't have to scour the city for the correct location to actually cast the spell.
"I'll help," Katy offered with a cheerful grin on her face, as she half raised her hand and shifted in her seat on the couch, before she couldn't help but yawn as the hour started to grow late.
"Me to, though not sure how much I can help in my condition," Morgan chipped in with a scared but helpful smile on her face before she turned and looked over at Connor.
"Fine, Gwen, tomorrow morning I want you to take Groo, Katy, Morgan, and Connor out to try and find the location to best use the spell while Spike and I check the tunnels underneath the city and everyone else stays here and helps Willow with the spell," Angel announced with an unwavering look of determination in his eyes as he walked around the room.
"And just how are we supposed to find this…perfect location…for Red's spell, stop and ask someone on the street corner for directions," Spike asked with a confused look on his face as he sat up and leaned forward in his seat.
"I'll give each search group a talisman that I've charmed, it'll glow a special color when it comes close to a location that could be used as a location for the spell," Willow replied with a tired smile on her face as she walked across the room to stand by Spike, making sure to not look in Illyria's general direction. The ancient demon appeared to not be happy about this but kept her questions to herself and remained silent. After her run with Groo Illyria had done an odd thing for her and taken a shower, and changed into something that hid her shell's previous occupation better than her previous outfits, something that she had decided to do after catching a few late night movies on cable.
"Hopefully by tomorrow night all of this will be over and life can get back to some semblance of normal," Angel told everyone with a very commanding tone to his voice and way that he carried himself before most everyone retired for the night, with Wesley and Faith staying downstairs for several more hours, staring off into the fire and telling each other ghost stories until Faith drifted off to sleep and slid into the chair beside Wesley and the two fell asleep there.
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"What color did Willow say that this bloody thing was supposed to turn when we found the location for the spell," Spike asked with an impatient and frustrated pout on his face as he stopped walking and lifted his head up and gazed up through the dim light of the tunnels beneath the city.
"Blue…I think…or was it yellow," Angel replied quickly, at first with a very confidant half smirk on his face, before he had to stop and think of exactly what color Willow had said that it would glow when they neared the location. In response Spike looked like he was desperately searching for just the right comeback but he couldn't find one and finally settled for just a useless sigh and shrug of his shoulders before he continued follow Angel through the next section of tunnel.
"Angel wait…we really should…Wolfram and Hart guards on the streets," Spike finally said as the two passed through a set of tunnels without anything as a whiff of a breeze brought up scents that both had quickly come to know as the scent of Wolfram and Hart guards.
"I think you were right about not getting our hopes up," Angel said with a very serious and anxious look on his face as he walked back towards Spike.
"I hate it when I'm right," Spike grumbled with an unhappy scowl on his face as he leaned back into the darkness and shook his head.
"Why, I always thought that you loved to be right," Angel asked with a confused look on his face and an eyebrow arched as he briefly glanced up towards the surface before turning back to Spike.
"It's simple Peaches, usually when I'm right someone gets the shit kicked out of them, and this time that someone's probably going to be us," Spike grumbled back with a sly grin on his face as he slid the knife out of his boot and was ready for anything. He didn't have to wait long before the tunnel in front and behind them was filled with a long line of vampires.
"Guess Wolfram and Hart aren't the only ones that would like us dead…gee, and here I was feeling unwanted," Angel said softly with a darkly humorous grin on his face as he pulled out his own dagger and rushed forward after hearing a growl behind him and knowing that Spike had done the same.
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"We're supposed to be looking for the best location to cast the spell Morgan, not window shopping," Katy stated with a frustrated scowl on her face as she walked up beside the other slayer and shook her head.
"I'm not…just wondering…if Connor would hate me less if," Morgan mumbled back weakly with a very sullen and retreated pout on her face as she slightly shifted her wounded arm in its sling.
"If you got him something…please Morgan, Connor's not that materialistic and you know it, besides I have it on good authority that he does not hate you, he thinks that you hate him," Katy replied with a bored expression on her face as she looked away from the store window and scrunched up her face and used her hand to try and shield her eyes from the glare of the nearby car window and spot Connor and Groo.
"What, how could he think that," Morgan snapped with a scared gasp as she whirled her head around from the store window to stare over at Katy.
"Well perhaps it's got a little something to do with your crush on Spike…that and the fact that since we met you've barely said five words to him, and when you did you usually weren't in the best of moods, a guy could easily get the wrong impression, and from what I hear Connor's not exactly to smooth in this department," Katy answered with an anxious sigh as she shrugged her shoulders and checked the small talisman that Willow had given her to try and find the proper place to cast the spell.
"But I didn't mean to make him think that I hated him, I just didn't notice that he…God how could I have been so stupid," Morgan grumbled with a very frustrated and angry at herself scowl on her face as she tightly clenched her fist and looked ready to hit something.
"So you like him back then," Katy asked softly with a sly and restrained smirk of excitement on her face as she leaned in a bit towards Morgan.
"What, no I…okay maybe, I don't know," Morgan exclaimed with a very surprised and shocked look on her face at first before she blushed furiously and quickly looked away.
"I think that there's the rest of your problem, when you don't know the answer to something you clam up and look like you're pissed off about something, no wonder Connor thinks that you hate him," Katy said with a very certain and confidant look on her face as she lightly patted Morgan on her good shoulder before shrugging her shoulders and glancing over at Connor, who was busy discussing something with Groo several feet away.
"Well what if it is, what then, huh Katy, you act like you have all the answers, what if I do like Connor or might like Connor, what's my next move then," Morgan snapped with a frustrated and anxious expression on her face and in the pit of her stomach as she spun around to stare straight ahead at the other slayer.
"Tell him," Katy said back softly with a borderline arrogant grin on her face before she left Morgan alone at the window and walked back over to where Connor and Groo were.
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"I should be out there ya know, searching for that alpha site or whatever," Faith mumbled lazily with a content smile on her face as she lazily traced a line down Wesley's arm with her finger as they lay snuggled up tightly together in bed.
"Perhaps, but then again you're still recuperating," Wesley said back with a tired yawn as he stared up at the ceiling and began to idly count the number of off white specks on the ceiling.
"I have slayer healing remember, I've been perfectly fine since before Will's little wake up call," Faith shot back with a bit of sarcasm in her voice before a large yawn interrupted her.
"I know, however there's very little that I can do now…actually I really haven't done very much at all since coming back, Willow found the spell that I was supposed to be the one to find and soon she's going to cast the spell instead of me, almost makes me wonder why they brought me back in the first place," Wesley said softly with a somber frown on his face as he turned his head and stared out the window, letting out a troubled sigh before Faith jumped in.
"So you didn't find the damn spell…big deal, Angel didn't plan on getting Will on his side when they decided to bring you back, but look at it this way…there are a few things that you can do now that you wouldn't have otherwise," Faith interjected with a serious look on her face as she pressed herself up off of the bed at his side and then down directly on top of him so that she could look him straight in the eye.
"Such as," Wesley questioned with a confused look on his face as he raised his eyebrows and eagerly awaited Faith to explain her idea rather than force him to figure it all out for himself.
"Well we could give your jackass of an old man a heart attack if we wanted, we could find your obituary and frame it, guess you're done with paying taxes since legally you're dead…that could come in handy if we…," Faith surmised with a growing look of energy on her face before Wesley silenced her with a kiss that threatened to lead to other things before Wesley pulled back.
"What's with all of this we…talk Faith, you don't really strike me as the buddy type, more of a loner," Wesley interjected back with a half smirk on his face as he separated a few of her lusciously chocolate locks and twirled them around his finger.
"Hey, I can change…besides I doubt that this amulet or medallion or whatever the hell it is will ever let me go, better face it Wes, you're stuck with me whether you like it or not," Faith answered with a mock pout of hurt on her face before she leaned her head down and started to lightly nibble on Wesley's ear.
"Stuck with you…perish the thought," Wesley joked softly with an eager grin on his face as he kept a hold of the locks of Faith's hair with one hand while he tickled up the curve of Faith's ass with the other, eliciting a short giggle straight into his ear.
"I can be an ass sometimes can't I," Faith purred softly and seductively into Wesley's ear as he let go of her hair and brought that hand back under the sheets and down to join the other one in tickling from the bottom curve of Faith's ass to the top and then meeting in the middle.
"Quite right luv, you really can be an ass sometimes," Wesley complimented with a sly grin on his face before Faith slid her hands underneath him and brought the two together.
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"Wonder what they're doing up there," Dawn mumbled with a bored out of her mind expression on her face as she shut the book that she had been half skimming through and flopped back in her chair.
"You're joking right…you can't think of anything that Wesley and Faith would be doing together in their room," Willow asked with a calm look on most of her face as she peeked a glance at Dawn above the top of the book that she was steadfastly reading through but the edges of her lips curled up into a smirk all the same.
"What do you…oh, but them," Dawn started to wonder aloud with a confused look on her face before the answer struck her and she blushed deeply.
"Stranger things have happened…gotta say that I never saw those two as a couple coming, but they seem to be happy so…who am I to judge," Willow replied with a calm look of thought on her face as she sat back in her chair and seemed to ponder the state of the Wesley and Faith relationship.
"No one…just like me," Nina added with a nervous but warm smile on her face as she walked in and took a seat next to Dawn with Michelle carrying in a rather large book just behind her.
"Exactly, my romantic history is screwed up enough as is, it'd be like the pot calling the kettle black if I were to come down against them," Willow continued with a warm smile towards Nina before Illyria walked into the room, looking out of place.
"What is transpiring, the knowledge in these books will help us little, the true power lies within the blood of one of us, we must harness it," Illyria said with an eerily calm tone to her voice as if this were just any ordinary sentence that she was speaking rather than a riddle as it felt to those seated around her.
"What's that supposed to mean," Dawn asked with a very confused look on her face as she looked to Willow.
"Nothing Dawnie, it doesn't mean anything, she's just having some major delusions of grandeur," Willow replied with a frustrated and anxious scowl on her face as she glared across the room at Illyria, who seemed unfazed.
"I am not delusional, yet you address me with much scorn, have I committed some terrible sin against you that causes you to hate me so," Illyria asked with an uncertain look on her face as she turned fully towards Willow and began to walk slowly towards her.
"You mean other than murdering a friend of mine, and you don't even seem to care that you did it" Willow exclaimed with a quickly growing look of anger on her face as she stood up and set her book down on the desk in front of her.
"But you have killed as well, do you feel remorse for that act, do you…care," Illyria countered with a question of her own as she stopped walking towards Willow and cocked her head to one side.
"Every single second…of every single day, I…care…about what I did, I have to keep myself under control so that I never do that again," Willow stated with a very weary and serious scowl on her face as Dawn could have sworn that she was shaking, but whether from fear or anger she wasn't sure.
"Yet you continue to use magic, the root of your problem," Illyria added with a calm and collected look on her face as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Yes…I do continue to use magic, I tried to give it up once but it didn't work, it's a part of me and I have to live with that and make it work for everyone," Willow answered with a very serious expression on her face before she shook her head angrily, picked up the book that she had been looking through and walked out of the room.
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"Think we got them all," Angel asked softly as he stepped back up against the wall of the tunnel, using it to keep himself standing.
"I hope so," Spike said with a tired look on his face as he spit out a bit of blood and gently touched his split lip.
"I don't know what they were but those were not regular vampires, they were to strong," Angel said with a look of great concern on his face before someone walking down the tunnel interrupted him.
"You're correct Angelus, they were not normal vampires, they were my own special design," The Immortal said with a proud smirk on his face as he walked slowly into the area that Spike and Angel were.
"Who the hell are…," Angel started to ask with an angry scowl on his face as he pushed off of the wall and stood under his own power.
"Oh that's right, you and I haven't actually officially met," The Immortal said with a sad pout on his face as he shook his head in mock dismay.
"But we have…he's Buffy's new beau," Spike said with venom gushing from out of his words as he pulled his knife back out and started to circle around to The Immortal's other side.
"Not for long," Angel snapped with an angry vampiric growl before he and Spike slipped their game faces on and attacked.
END OF CHAPTER 24