A/N: Thanks to James Birdsong for your kind comments. And omg, Crossbows-and-moonshine: you absolutely made my day when I read your comment! I'm so pleased you have been enjoying my fic - I really enjoy writing it! Things are gonna start to get serious, stay tuned ! xoxo
Chapter 48:
Saffron and Dawn were waiting around in their kitchen and Saffron couldn't help thinking about missing Giles. He had left for England. He never left Buffy high and dry in the middle of a big prophecy she sulked. She did understand and he had told her that the reason he could leave was that he had faith in her, but it was hard without him. He had been calling often, to ensure she was keeping up the schedule he had devised for her to train and study her prophecy. She sighed, replying to Dawn having only been half-listening. Dawn was complaining about Tara leaving, it had hit her hard. The break-up. Saffron had tried to convince her it was best for them for now, but it might not be forever.
"Hey, at least you got our fun night-time adventure!"
"Aren't I miss popular? Tara took me for movie and milkshake fun, now you and Spike are taking me out. It's almost as if people are trying to make up for something"
"Dawny, granted, it's been a rough couple of years-"
"Try a rough life"
"Yeah, okay so you were a mystical key who blah blah blah and your sisters died to save you blah. Whatever. But we-I'm back now, I'm not going anywhere. Neither is Spike. You can count on us, always" Saffron confirmed, showing her cousin that she was serious. Dawn smiled a little, grateful for her cousin. Buffy didn't seem to be in the room when she talked about herself but Saff always understood exactly how she was feeling. As the pair hugged briefly, Amy and Willow walked into the kitchen dressed as if they were going out.
"Oh, uh hi Amy. I thought you were a rat?" Saffron was taken aback at the girl stood in front of her, she looked at Will suspiciously, realising this must mean she's been using magic yet again. Saff gestured with her head to talk to Willow and the red head reluctantly followed her into the hall as Dawn tried to make conversation with the ex-rat.
"Will, you need to try and take a break with the magics"
"Saffy, it's okay, she couldn't be a rat forever!" She insisted, "It's nice, you know, uh, having a magically inclined friend around. She understands" Willow looked down, she was missing Tara.
"Will, its shit. You want the escape. I get it, okay? Just don't get caught up in this stuff without talking to one of us"
"We're just going to the the Bronze, Mom" Willow teased her friend. But Saffron could sense something. Willow walked back into the kitchen as Saff followed her, trying to offer her to come with them tonight instead (so she could keep an eye on her). Amy promised Saff that she would be with willow the whole time. Saffron wasn't completely convinced but Spike had entered the kitchen and him and Dawn were itching to leave for their own night outing.
"Okay then… Just make sure you look after our girl, Amy!" Saffron pointed mock-threateningly at the girl, shrugging on a jacket, "Well, we're off out. There's cheese in the fridge!" Saff called to Amy as she followed Dawn and Spike out of the door.
Sunnydale had a lot of attractions, despite its size. Tonight, the three of them were at Sunnydale's answer to mini golf. Saffron still hadn't known where they were going until they arrived and when she realised, she raised an eyebrow at the pair. Crazy Golf? Really? Both shrugged and she followed them inside.
"Is this the one robot-Ted took us to?" Saff asked sceptically, "You said it was for babies when he brought us here!"
"They've made it cool now, there are clowns and windmills to get the balls through" Dawn insisted, going up the booth and asking for their clubs and picking different coloured balls for each of them. When the youngest girl left, Spike turned to his girl and explained that Saturday was Dawn's night to choose while she was dead. Saffron smiled widely, she knew he would be there for Dawn, but taking her to do fun stuff like this and her actually agreeing to it made her smile so wide. She grinned and pulled him in for a kiss, one that shouldn't be allowed in public. It was slow and she smiled into it, enjoying the contact. She felt lucky. Lucky to be with him, to be alive again. The pair sprung apart when they heard choking sounds. It was Dawn's protest at their kissing although Saffron could tell she thought it was cute. Dawn handed them each a club, asking them to drum roll as she revealed their colours. Spike crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. There was no bloody way. But saffron rested the club against spike and drummed against her thighs as Dawn revealed the colours. She enjoyed encouraging the theatrics from her younger cousin.
"For the lady, a yellow for her sunny personality" Dawn giggled, as Saff flipped her off, "And for the kind sir, a pretty pink for your consideration!"
"Not bloody likely, I want yours! Now, little bit!"
"Okay" Dawn smiled a little too widely as she handed the final ball that was hidden behind her back. It was neon pink with white polka-dots. She giggled, explaining it was all that was left. Spike groaned, but took his original colour. The three of them walked to their first course and started their game.
Towards the end, the game had descended into chaos. Dawn had been accused of cheating multiple times by the older players as she was freakishly good at getting hole-in-ones. Saffron had bent her club almost in half as she leaned against it, waiting for her go and forgetting about her newfound strength. They were on their penultimate course and Spike had taken almost twenty shots without luck. He blamed the fake grass, Saffron's loud breathing and the size of the clown's head before dramatically giving up.
"Right, that's bloody it!" He shouted, his vamp face flashing as Saff had to bite back her laughter. He stalked towards the pond that was next to their patch and unceremoniously threw the golf club into the pond in a sulk. Dawn couldn't bite back the laughter and giggled almost hysterically which meant that Saffron caught the laughter too. He started to rant about draining them good and proper if they didn't quit it, but the empty threat made Dawn snort which made Saffron laugh even harder. The teenager that was manning the booth came out to shout at them and told Spike he wouldn't be allowed back if he didn't retrieve the golf club. This caused a scene, and in typical fashion the three of them found themselves running as fast as they could away from getting in trouble. All of them had a big grin on their faces as they ran away, enjoying feeling alive and free again.
After their game, they went to a burger-joint for milkshakes and fries. Saffron was practically sat on Spike's lap with how close she was to him, she didn't want to leave his side for a second. Dawn pretended to be thoroughly grossed out by the pair as Spike wiped ketchup from the side of Saff's mouth earning him a soft kiss for the gesture.
"I think I won, considering the game was cut short and all" Saffron stated with a fake confidence she knew would wind Dawn up.
"How many shots did it take you to get the third one?" Dawn asked, appalled that Saff could suggest that she had won.
"…Two"? Saffron questioned, the corners of her mouth twitching. She shoved a handful of fries into her mouth as Dawn called her out.
"And I'm the cheat!? It was at least twelve"
"I only saw two" Spike backed her up, enjoying annoying Dawn as well, "Maybe you should get back to that school of yours, nibblet, learn to count properly past ten"
Dawn sulked, realising they were teasing her and she slurped loudly on her milkshake. They were all enjoying themselves, they could see this becoming a tradition, although somebody else was definitely going to pick next time. They probably wouldn't be allowed back seeing as Spike made excessive use of his vamp face to intimidate the teenager on the booth.
Saffron's face went blank as if she had disappeared and left her body behind by accident. The pair stared at her. She wasn't blinking and she seemed to be confused about something, a frown painted across her face. Spike clicked his fingers in front of her and started to shake her to snap her out of it. Her mouth opened slowly and a loud, piercing scream rang through the burger joint. Before Spike and Dawn had chance to react, her eyes fluttered closed and her head smacked on the table. She was out cold.
Oleander was back. He adjusted his septum ring and cracked his knuckles, as if he was psyching himself up for this. She watched from where she was kneeling. He moved his head to each side, cracking his neck before turning to face her properly. A cruel smirk, cartoon villain-like as if he had been practicing in the mirror, was painted on his face. She heard faint music in her ears playing in the distance. Some classical crap she wouldn't usually listen to if you paid her.
"What is this shit?!" She groaned trying to get to her feet. The light surrounding them was blinding to all except the man himself. Every time she closed her eyes she had green spots of light behind her eyelids, which caused a searing pain like acid being poured onto her eyes.
"It's Tchaikovsky. The Seasons. Nice of you to ask, sweetheart… I'd call it the perfect accompaniment to our darling little pow-wow"
"Fucking get out of my head!"
"But that wouldn't be any fun would it? Don't tell me you weren't aware of our connection, haven't you been able to see my mind like a moving picture? Oh, you haven't? Pity… almost as if someone were blocking you" he moved to stroke his chin as if in deep thought, "Do you remember the sound it made, darling? When she turned to ash and bone? Went a little something like this…"
Saffron tried to close her eyes, knowing what was coming but she was being made to watch. Hayley moved towards her neck, almost salivating as she opened her jaw. Saffron moved her arm from behind her back and staked her directly in her heart. The sound was sickening, the image of her turning to dust with that horrible sound killed her.
"You killed your parents so perfectly, do you know that? I love this one, take it from the top!" he cooed, enjoying her torment. He was in every corner of her mind, as he always had been.
The smell of hot rubber was nauseating, the sound of the tires on tarmac as her father tried to brake. The anger that was licking at the metal surrounding them was terrifying. The car was in a panic, everybody shouting as the car tipped over several times. Screeching. Fire. Anger. Then silence.
"You couldn't follow a prophecy to save your life, Honeysuckle… literally" he winked when he had said Honeysuckle, before he cackled. The sound echoed like thunder around her head, she felt as if her head was hollow and the vibrations sent her into a wave of sobs. She had tried so hard not to cry in front of him.
Saffron was falling to her death. She was desperately frightened, gripping Buffy's hand, she died knowing that she was ruining everything. She started to cry as she plunged from a great height; the green glow was almost blinding as she hurried to meet her fate. She was so scared, unable to scream as Buffy grabbed her hand tightly, squeezing it in reassurance as they braced themselves for the portal.
"Only thing to hold onto was the slayer, and now she's let go" He laughed further.
"Please… stop" She held her head fighting back tears. She was so sad. She wasn't sure where she was but she was feeling her own pain and sorrow in the way she had felt strong emotions from groups and it was almost physically painful.
"Oh begging, that's cute. Thought it might take longer to hear something so precious…"
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because I can" He smiled with a shrug.
xoxoxo
Spike carried Saffron through the streets bridal style as she was unconscious. She started thrashing around every so often and he almost dropped her but he held on as tight as he could. It was made even more challenging as the youngest of the family was anxiously looking on and asking lots of questions.
"Is she okay?"
"She will be, nibblet"
"Do we need to keep her head elevated? I think I read that somewhere"
"Bit hard when I'm elevating the rest of her at the moment"
"How long until we get her home now?"
"About one minute less than when you last asked! You're slowing us down with all your bloody questions! Will you walk faster!"
"Sorry…" Dawn all but choked out, her throat caught in a sob. He rolled his eyes, now he had this to deal with too.
"Come on, no crying, that's her job aint it?" He joked, making the girl smile slightly through her tears but he wished he hadn't said anything when Saffron's eyes snapped open and tears started to fall.
"Honeysuckle?" He asked. A strange smirk landed on her face, she winked and then blacked out again, the tears leaking from her closed eyes. She was gone again.
When they got to Revello, Dawn was pacing in a way she had picked up from Saff when she got nervous and restless. Spike had contacted Tara, asking to come over and check in on the bit because he knew he would be busy if Saffron couldn't come back into consciousness. Dawn and Tara got on, and Spike knew the younger brunette missed having the witch in the house, so he was doing a public service as well. Maybe this would mean the powers would look kindly on them and bring his girl back. He really couldn't lose her. Not again.
Saffron was coming in and out of consciousness, her eyes fighting to open but every time they did she saw the acid-green light, still recovering from the light. It hurt to move, even blink and she started to cry. She didn't know what else to do. The most recent time she came back into consciousness, a sharp twinge of pain was evident on her face, and Spike could tell Oleander was doing something. Saff had managed to mumble his name, but apart from that she had reached for Spike's hand and then lost consciousness.
Saffron was sleeping and Spike couldn't move from her side. He was sat on the arm of the couch where she had fallen asleep, a much needed respite from whatever that had been inflicted on her. He was slowly stroking her hair, unable to move his eyes from his girl as a light frown started to line her face from within her dream.
She moved from within him, it was obvious that the events she was experiencing were real. His eyes as hers. She had a bad feeling as she started to move closer to the painful feeling of dread.
She walked through the dusty streets, a spring in her step as she felt it. She had learnt to enjoy the things others would find unbearable. You have to adapt to survive, and that is exactly what she has done. To truly feel someone you must be them and to truly be them, you must enjoy the pain. She smirked as she felt it, the truth. The basic human trait. Hatred. The real human condition. Anger.
She watched them through the window, the curtains hadn't been closed. Usually, she would stick out in such a close-knit community, but he made sure they felt a little acceptance and warmth whenever she was near. As far as they were concerned, the outsider was a good honest harvest worker. Seasonal and transient, just as they liked. She wasn't harming anyone as far as they knew.
And she felt that in his mind, he wasn't. He was just watching as they harmed each other, willing it to continue. He learnt to see the beauty in it. The sweet destruction. Sweeter than the peaches he supposedly picked. He moved closer to the window, his breath against the pane almost obscuring his vision. He didn't need to look to enjoy the scene, but he liked to.
Saffron tried to close her eyes, stop herself from seeing or feeling this memory that wasn't hers. But he didn't close her eyes so she couldn't. There was a couple stood in the front room, the tv was blaring behind them, something they had learnt to do early on so that the neighbours wouldn't hear them shouting.
"And today, in the red corner we have Mrs Harrison" She found their names by checking their post that had been left in their mail box on his way in (they wouldn't be needing it anymore), "Which means, in the blue, is Mr Harrison! Let's get ready to ruuuumble!" she chuckled cruelly, rolling her eyes at how predictable all the sheep were. She threw the post to the ground and watched intently, not able to stop the smile curling on her lips. The pair had started to fight, a fist went through the wall close to the woman's head. A delicious threat. Her eyes widened as she saw the object in the woman's hand.
"Oh, no honey. Too quick. Put that away, darling" She chuckled, influencing her to put the small gun down, "That's better, see?"
Time for her big entrance. She cracked her knuckles and stroked her shaven head. She walked in during their argument, the front door was unlocked. She stood behind the woman as they were screaming at each other. She watched the way that the man screamed, almost frothing at the mouth and she smiled. He's the one. She grabbed the woman from behind and snapped her neck quickly.
"W-what did you do!? You killed her! You killed my wife!" He said, staring down at the crumpled body on the floor.
"Only because you wanted her dead. I felt it" she smiled before noticing his disappointment that he didn't get to do it himself. Beautiful. She smiled and said, "Lie to me, I dare you"
"I-I-" Oleander put his hand on the man's cheek. He felt it. The guilt slipping away as he felt the truth. The anger in his soul was warranted. That bitch never did the dishes properly anyway. She deserved it. The world deserved it.
"Delicious. We have work to do!" He kissed him softly on the lips before pulling him to the shell of the warehouse he had found to start his vision. The Order of the Eye. He shall be the leader, the bringer of the World's Truth.
There was incense burning and the rites had been long and arduous. But worth it. Luckily they had made it to the Hellmouth in good time.
"Take my hand and accept the light. Surrender to it. The hatred you harbour shall be seen by all. As the truth. I am selecting you, my eye sees your potential. You shall be my second in command!" She said as Mr Harrison took his hand, seemingly entranced by the man. Hell's mouth would serve as the power, the battery to operate his follower's power and understanding. How fitting that Hell would bring about something so honest about the earth.
"Say it, darling! Tell me the hatred you harbour and promise me your soul! Your soul for the truth. The hatred you feel shall be spread until we have the world on it's whore knees!" She smirked, licking her lips, "Together, we shall reign over the hell-scape of this world and allow it to be seen for its true nature. Anger and Horror will be major fixtures, no hollow hope that these people cling to in desperate torment shall be allowed. For it is not the truth. There is no hope for them!"
"Take my soul, oh enlightened one! O Leander!" She smiled, turning his right hand into a fist and pressing the knuckles over his heart. The signet ring on her right finger went white-hot as he extracted it. The soul, replacing it with the sight. His truth. The feeling was euphoric, as if the man would never feel anything good again. It also hurt, really badly and Saffron smiled as she felt it. He was craving more, to feel it as long as the euphoria was there too. Finally, the man's scream of pain subsided and he faced her, staring adoringly in his eyes.
"Welcome, Brother Harrison!" She smiled at the man, whose face was now lit up from within. His face seemed to have melted as the light shone, almost as if a flashlight was being shined from inside his head.
He hadn't lasted long, the man was the first in a long line, but he lasted longer than the rest. This was the start of it all, the Order of the Eye.
Saffron woke up suddenly. She knew exactly who she had been in the dream. How he felt, how she felt. The followers had signed away their souls to him, it had hurt the extraction, but he revelled in the pain as she had during the vision. It was horrible. Thinking those things, feeling them. He had promised salvation and they felt so good in his presence, inside the hatred that the man would have done anything if he asked. Barely any influence needed. Something had shifted. When he had let her know what he could do to her, something changed. He had allowed her into his head. Maybe it was an accident or another trick, knowing how killing another would make her feel.
Tears were streaming down her face as Spike wiped a tear with his thumb looking around the room and glaring when Tara and Dawn, who were sat at the table, were staring. At his look, they acted as if they hadn't heard Saffron's panic and went back to the large, dusty books they had been reading intently. She leant against Spike, her strength from his love. She clung to him, winding herself around him like a vine. She never wanted to leave his side.
It had been a few hours and Saffron was still on the sofa with Dawn and Tara joining hands over the stone of Gataar and chanting. They hadn't been able to find out what was wrong with her, but decided it wouldn't hurt to give her the stone. She looked around for Spike, feeling worse without him beside her, she wanted to call out for him but the two women came over to her, having completed their spell.
"How are you?"
"Got a bitch of a headache but I'm fine really…" She winced, sitting up and Spike rushed in hearing her voice. He came and glared at Tara and Dawn for bothering her, but Saffron rolled her eyes, stroking him to show him it was okay. She wanted to speak with them.
"Drink up, pet" He said, handing her a glass of water as Tara passed her the stone.
"Thanks guys, sorry for being such a drama queen" She joked, gripping the stone until her knuckles went white. Spike clasped his hand over hers, hoping she took comfort from his action.
"You're in pain, not a drama queen. We were worried…"
"Yeah you totally screamed in the middle of the diner and I had a major crush on the server there! I'll never live it down!"
"Sorry Dawny, how about I buy you some ice cream from the mall when I'm feeling better to make up for it?" Dawn pretended to think about I for a second before she nodded excitedly, hugging Saff allowing the older brunette to tell just how worried she was about her. Poor Dawn she was concerned for both her older siblings, "Will you really be okay?" Dawn dropped her voice as Saffron nodded which convinced her. She said she was going to call one of her friends up and tell her about the cute guy at the burger place. That left Tara with the pair. They stayed and spoke for a while, Tara had only been around while Willow wasn't which made Saff sad. Tara decided it was time for her to leave, not just because Spike had been looking from her to the door a few times, a not so subtle hint for her to give them some space. She understood and Spike could have been a lot meaner about it, so she was pleased that the vampire seemed to like her as a friend of Saff's. Tara hugged her ill friend, saying her goodbyes and Saffron promised they would have a proper catch up as soon as she was feeling better to which Tara nodded and Saff felt that she needed it. When their friend left, Spike started to get up, clear away the empty glass and medical box that he had thrown everything out of in a panic when he couldn't find anything to help her. But when he started to turn away she clung to his sleeve, her eyes wide and he felt how frightened she was. He could feel everything she was feeling.
"Don't leave me again? Not tonight at least…" She pleaded quietly, ashamed of asking, "When you weren't here when I woke up I panicked…"
"'Course love. Won't move from your side" He sat back down next to her, wrapping her in a blanket and hugging her shoulders, "I've got you" he whispered, kissing her temple as she leant into him.
"He-he's in every part of my mind… he sees everything" Saff choked out, "And now-now I can see him and I don't want to. I really fucking don't" She shook her head, hating the feelings. The enjoyment she had taken from killing in his memory.
"Hey, hush pet, that's it. I'm yours, for as long as you want"
"Can you do forever or is that another vampire myth?" she smiled weakly as he nodded, confirming he would stay with her forever and a day if that's what she wanted. They lay together on the couch, bundling up in blankets. Saffron thanked him and he hushed her, whispering that it was a given that he would be here with her. By her side. She wrapped herself around him trying her best not to cry again and instead focused on the love that surrounded the both of them. They clung to each other softly through the night.
xoxoxo
It had been a week since Saffron had met Oleander inside her head and he had been dropping in every so often since that day, but nothing as horrific as that first day. Spike had been with her almost every day, joining her for some of her shifts. Saffron was at the Magic Box, Spike had been to the crypt, having disagreed with Buffy about something that neither of them told her about. She had missed seeing the pair trading blows leading to Spike clutching his head half-heartedly and leaving. The phone rang and Saffron answered.
"Hey, this is the centre of all known pain in the universe, also known as Sunnydale, how may I be of service?" Saffron said into the phone cheerily.
"Yes, hello Saffron, very humorous"
"Ah, hey G, nice of you to remember we exist! How's the County of Stuffy-posh-twat-shire?"
"Wiltshire is lovely this time of year, thank you for asking. I am just checking in, I know our scheduled call is on Sunday afternoons for our, ah, research discussion but I would like to talk to Buffy if she is there?"
"Well, I'm glad you're so eager to chat with me, G. I'll grab her, she's just been training for hours. Not sure what she actually does in there" Saff muttered, and Giles rolled his eyes at her words. She really should train more. She started to walk off, but something made her stay on the line and admit, "G, I'm scared. He's so much more powerful than me… he's in my head. He's been tor-tormenting me" Her breath hitched in a sob, but she was determined not to cry on the phone and beg Giles to come back. She was aware he needed a break from the Hellmouth, she didn't blame him.
"It, ah, appears that this is the test that the prophecy speaks of…" he realised this wasn't very reassuring and so imparted some further advice, "Take control, Saffron. Use the Sight, do not let it use you"
After the call, she centred herself, closing the curtains of her Tarot corner and putting her palms flat on the table, a flash of dark purple nail varnish that she would have usually admired on herself if this wasn't so important. She asked to speak to the powers. Nothing. Then she demanded it. She was going into everything blind and she was scared. When she opened her eyes, she was surrounded by white light, with a familiar figure stood in front of her.
"Ah, the true sight, our dearest Azafrán" The High priestess spoke softly, "You have learnt well, calling on your birth-given rite to speak to those that wish to guide the path of the Truth"
"Yeah, alright, whatever… where's fish-features?"
"Ah, yes, our messenger. He has been transferred, something about a formal complaint. Besides, his job was for you to understand your role and, he did not complete it in time"
"Don't punish him, babe. He tried his best, I mean it was my fault. The dying"
"Do you not see, that this was what was expected?" She said breathily, her golden curls framing her face, "You would have died either way, it is the way it is written"
"Where? Where is it fucking written because I'm starting to think you're making it up as you go along?!"
"Ok, you want me to get real with you? Fine. You fucked up, big time" The woman's whole demeanour changed, "You created a rift in the powers, nobody is talking to each other and that scaly little bitch is making a fuss about losing his job"
"Finally, you give it to me straight! I can handle this much better than the touchy-feely crap you usually peddle. That's why I liked fish-features, he was sort of an arse but he made me listen to him even if I didn't know what the fuck I was supposed to be listening to"
"You really shit the bed on this one, Az. You were supposed to work out that you were the one to stay behind, comfort your key and not leave it to some morally ambiguous vampire to protect it"
"Her. Not it. She's a girl, my cousin" Saff corrected firmly, "And who isn't a little morally ambiguous these days? Being good or evil is so boring! Live a little!"
"You are the True Sight! You are the universal-fucking-good! Will you fucking grow up and at least act like you can take the responsibility!"
"Look who's woken up on the wrong side of the proverbial rain cloud"
"It's just- Ugh! I fucking hate my job! Par example, I wanted to change my look. Dye my hair, simple request oui? Wrong. I have to 'maintain the good girl schtick'"
"Shit, you don't want your gig either? We have more in common than I thought" Saffron sighed, this really wasn't what she had expected. But she wasn't mad at the revelation, everyone was faking it until they made it, it seemed, "Fag?" she offered as she lit up for herself, handing over the pack to the High Priestess.
"Sure, just don't tell them" she gestures upwards, and Saff shrugged, she never cared for the rules very much. Not that she knew what any of the fucking rules were around here.
She sat, as if on air, pulling up her long skirt to reveal her thighs and sitting with one leg tucked under her and the other dangling. She didn't show much skin often, it was porcelain white. Doesn't get much sun, Saff decided. She sat relaxed, savouring the nicotine hit she hadn't experienced in centuries.
"You were expected to die, just not then. Accidents happen. But I suppose now your dying is out of the way, the sight can only get stronger, now at least you have more than a slim chance against the-"
"The corrupted. Yeah, I was getting to him. So I don't stand a chance then?"
"Lean on the people around you. Try to take your strength from them, you're gonna fucking need it"
"Wise words from the gatekeeper in chief, you don't get to be honest much huh? More about the 'sweetheart, dearest let me give you a strange line from a prophecy that has only just been made up, you are the sight, we are equals, blah blah'"
"Well, my dearest, you are my equal. Our fates are entwined, as you are entwined with many. If you fail, I'm out of a job, which isn't as simple as it sounds. It means I will be no fucking more, much as you will be"
"Rather be living and unhappy than not living at all?"
"It can be worth it, every few centuries I meet someone like you, I can be myself" She sighed, inhaling the smoke and closing her eyes at the sensation.
"Took you long enough. Any parting words about my sight? The corrupted? Anything?"
She took a last drag of her cigarette, flicking it into the light. Smoothing down her dress, making sure no hair was sticking out from her perfectly coiffed style, "Just good luck" she shrugged before snapping her fingers and leaving, "Yeah, I'm gonna need it" Saff sighed as she started to slip out of the vision herself into the light.
Saff opened her eyes, back in her tarot corner. Great, that was helpful. They know less than her, it seems. Buffy, now off the phone, was researching with Anya and Xander. They were researching a recent robbery where the security guard had been frozen solid and two precious diamonds had been taken. Saff walked over and sat with them as Anya concluded that there was no such thing as a frost monster that ate diamonds, which was their working hypothesis. Buffy suggested the demon might just find diamonds pretty but couldn't even convince herself for long.
"We suck" Buffy concluded and Saff nodded her agreement, having not even picked up a book.
"We need new brains. What's up with Willow?" Xander asked and Buffy muttered something about Amy. This was the third night in a row they had been out together.
"Great, someone to do more magic with" Anya said and Saff braced herself for the conversation that was coming.
"At least she's not all cooped up and crying. That's forward momentum. Now, I know that I don't... know everything that happened with her and Tara-"
"Tara thinks Willow is doing too much magic. And she's not the only one"
"Look, talk to Will about it. Let's not do the murmurs and the whispers behind her back. It's not fun feeling like everyone's talking about you" Saff tried to explain. Makes it fucking worse, she added to herself, but knew better than to tell them that.
"She'll be fine. You know, it-it's Willow. She of the level head" This stung Saffron slightly, feeling the implication that she had succumbed to addiction because she wasn't level-headed. Anya launched into a rant about how the responsible ones were the ones that needed to be watched out for, leading them to talk about the lure of the power she must feel. Saffron knew how that felt, because Oleander knew how it felt. She hoped Willow would stop before she became as warped as him.
"Yeah, she was getting out of control with it before Tara left, and now that she's gone..."
"It's gotta seductive just giving into something… Going totally wild, giving into it that much…"
"Okay. Okay, we-we'll keep an eye. But we can't assume that everybody's getting seduced, you know-" Saff watched as Buffy floundered, adjusting her top and hugging her middle as she continued to plead the case for Willow that seemed a lot more personal than appeared on the surface.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Sunnydale:
Andrew, Warren and Jonathan were in their 'secret lair' plotting how best to mess with Buffy, having been ordered to do so. The three boys had found each other in the most unlikely of circumstances, a group meeting on how-to-pick-up women. The three recognised each other and had bonded over their mutual simultaneous hatred and longing for women. They had even tried to brainwash a woman into complying with their every whim. This was how Oleander had found them, Sister Elizabeth had been controlled by these boys and it had pissed him off. He was the only one allowed to do the influencing around here.
Oleander instantly didn't like them, but he did decide he could put them to good use. It was all too easy to get them to see things from his point of view, barely any influence necessary. The nerds had a hatred for the world that only self-professed nice guys with misogynistic undertones and an entitlement to being the protagonist in every story could bring. Warren had the biggest belief in Oleander and his teachings, making sure the other two followed suit to bring Saffron to her knees and get credit for taking over the universe. With a little help from Oleander, of course. If Oleander didn't hate the trio so much, he would have been in awe of the arrogance and single-mindedness that Warren possessed. Even so, they were part of the plan. For the Truth. For the fate of the human condition.
Not knowing any of this, Spike had decided to swing by and give his least-favourite robotics expert a quick visit (read: threatening) before he went to see Saffron at the Magic Box. He had met Warren once before, having threatened him for the blueprints to the robots he made for Willow when she had hit a firewall when she tried to hack into his system to make the bots. He was here today because his chip hadn't fired when he had shoved Buffy out of his way and he hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. He hadn't mentioned it to Saff yet, not sure if it had been a really good dream or not.
"Hello, it's called knocking" Andrew called as Spike backed Warren up against a pole.
"Knock knock, robot boy. Need you to look at my chip"
"Is that like, British slang or something? 'Cause we're not-"
"In my head, the chip in my head! I already have a honey to attend to anything else" He glared as the other two backed away. Warren tried to get out of helping him, but spike looked around and quickly found their weak point. He picked up the figurine of Boba Fett and Spike holds the action figure in one hand and takes its head in the other hand as if he's going to pull the head off, "Examine my chip, or else Mister... Fett here is the first to die" He threatened, a satisfied smirk as he felt their anxiety over the threat. He had missed this. The three tried to get him to let go of the figurine but he continued to pretend to pull his head off until Warren finally decided to bargain with the vampire. He knew who he was and he wasn't aware he had a chip that could stop him from killing them. The nerds complained, making Spike grin further, ready to trash the entire set just for the fun of it.
"Right… You don't wanna hurt the Fett, 'cause man, you're not comin' back from that. You know, you don't just do that and walk away!"
"That right? Let's find out…" Spike fakes pulling the head off again. Warren yelled, agreeing to help as long as he put the Fett down.
Spike was sat waiting for his results, he wasn't sure what this meant for him. What this meant for the Slayer or even for Saff. He knew Saffron would never forgive him if he tried to kill Buffy, but a small part of him, that made him feel so guilty it hurt when he was around Saff, had long detailed fantasies of taking Buffy on and winning.
"So how's the tr- how's Saffron? I think we, uh, went to high school together"
"None of your business how she's doing, and if she ever hears that I was-"
"Hey, hey no need to get snarky, it was just conversation"
"Well, try conversation again and I will track down Mr. Fett and throw him into the great abyss"
"The uh, H-Hellmouth?"
"Bowl-o-rama" He said and they both made an 'ah' sound and nodded their agreement. There was a long pause where the pair seemed to have taken what Spike said seriously, but they were awkward in conversation and didn't like leaving long pauses.
"You're English, right?" Andrew, the least annoying out of the three, asked. Spike frowned but nodded yes, "I've seen every episode of Doctor Who. Not Red Dwarf, though, 'cause, um..."
"'Cause it's not out yet on DVD" Jonathan finished as Andrew nodded along. Spike rolled his eyes, scowling at the pair who seemed to shrink into their seats.
"Warren!" He shouted as the pair tried to start another conversation. Warren appears from another room holding a pile of paper.
"Here I am, here. I just need to… talk to the guys for a minute" He said, gesturing with his head. He had stalled for a long time, trying to figure out a way to contact Oleander. But he was a bit busy and didn't want to hear from the three. Oleander had been screening both actual calls and telepathic calls from them. Warren shoved the papers Spike's way and pulled the pair away with him. Spike looked at the papers for a second and chucked them on the coffee table, waiting for them to come back so that he could ask what the hell any of it meant.
While he was waiting, he saw something sticking out from the sofa and tugged on it, "Oh balls" Spike muttered, pulling the robes from where they had been shoved down the back of the sofa when he had stalked in to threaten Warren. He found a beret and threw it down onto the sofa. How had he not made this connection? He found a roll of papers and some blueprints tucked into one of the robes and scanned over them. Bollocks. He shouldn't have come here.
He could hear the muttering now that he hadn't been bothered to listen to from the other room.
"Dudes it's the Spike"
"Spike from the vid-?" But Warren clapped a hand over Jonathan's mouth, knowing vampires have good hearing.
"Yeah, duh, the traitor has him wrapped around her naïve little finger!"
"He can't know that we want the traitor dead, h-he could kill us with one attractive, smouldering look…" Andrew tailed off, imagining the look before shaking himself out of it.
"If O Leander finds out that we lured him here then he might finally take our souls and elevate us to the higher being that we deserve! We would be allowed to join the Order and like, sleep with all the hot chicks"
"That does seem to be the main activity, after destroying the world and all"
"Yeah, but sister Liz will have to sign off on it though" The three looked off into the distance dreamily before snapping out of it. Sister Elizabeth was the reason that they hadn't been allowed in yet, or so they believed.
"No, if we do this, we bypass that bitch's judgement and take ourselves straight to second-in-command level! I'm tellin' you, it's her boyfriend after all. If we kill the vampire, Oleander will be happy with us" Warren convinced them, which is when Spike decided it was time that he did something. Spike subtly grabbed their batman-shaped phone and dialled up the magic box, slicking his hair back and rubbing his neck, feeling stupid for coming here.
"Hello, this is the magic box, if you've got the cheques, we've got the hex!" Saffron's too-cheery work voice told him.
"Love, it's me-"
"Are you calling me? On a phone?" She asked, surprised as she dropped her voice to its usual register. He wouldn't usually touch a phone unless he had to.
"Yeah, we-"
"Did you work out the buttons by yourself?"
"Honeys-"
"And you're actually talking into the speaker?!"
"You're hilarious, love. You can fall over yourself in shock later, we've got a problem" He started, explaining quickly what he had found with the three guys and their membership to the Order, as well as the blueprints he had found.
"Shit, I'll tell the others"
"Gotta go, Honey. Stay with the Slayer until I get back" he said quickly putting the phone down before she could ask why he was there and shoving the robes back behind the sofa as the three came back in. They were holding their hands over their eyes, white berets on their heads (maybe they had back up berets). They started trying to do prayer but bump into each other. Start squabbling. Warren had started on prayer but the other two where reciting another. Spike laughed, moving out of his fighting stance.
"And here was me thinking you'd be all super-strength with the melting and the pyrotechnic faces, but none of you could light your way home in the middle of the bloody day!" He taunted, rolling his eyes at them, "You're pathetic! Call yourselves evil masterminds!?"
"Well, the traitor will meet her match on the strike of the hour and she will be his! The moon will soon be ripe for her essence to be removed!" Jonathan said as Warren nodded along.
"Quick stake him!" Warren shouted but Andrew just stared, the wood in his hand hovering near Spike.
"Bugger off!" spike shouted pushing him away, clutching his head in pain and then running as fast as he could to get to Saffron before she was left on her own.
xoxoxo
In true Saffron style, she hadn't listened to advice and decided to walk to her next shift, knowing that Martha was counting on her. Saffron hurried, she knew something was coming for her. She could feel it. She needed to get out of the dark before she was eaten. She didn't fancy dying again, it was so last year. She turned around, swearing she had heard something, but quickly carried on down the road. She cut through an alley, a necessary risk, she told herself. If it meant getting inside sooner, she was willing to take on the risk. She wasn't scared of the three nerds and she decided that Oleander wouldn't be so bold as to confront her in the diner. She heard a rattle from one of the bins and looked over, something was in there.
"Pauley? Is that you?" She called, wondering if the opossum was looking for something to eat again. She shrugged as the rustling stopped and carried on walking at a fast pace to the other side of the alley. To safety. She heard another sound, felt a sudden jolt of joy and anger, she had never felt the emotions together before. Coming from the same person. Shit. She wouldn't look behind her, she was nearly out of the alley. Two more paces and she was safe. She took the first step out of the other end of the alley but just as quickly came stumbling backwards into it.
"Boo" A cold voice chuckled, stepping towards her. She knew that voice. She walked backwards a few more paces, smacking into two hard figures. She whipped around. White berets. Surrounded. Absolutely fucked. Oleander put his palm on her forehead and just like that, she disappeared into the light.
At the same time, Spike was running as fast as he could to find her. He had picked up on her scent and he was desperately trying to get to her before he did. Before the ritual took her from him again. He needed her to be okay. The nerds seemed more interested in squabbling over who was going to have to tell Oleander that they had messed up than trying to stop Spike from leaving, so he took his chance and left. He was becoming desperate as he came to an alley. Her scent seemed to disappear. How could that be?
The room was lit only by fire, the kind attached to torches that stuck on the wall every so often. The glow was warm, almost cosy for the main hall. Rows of wooden benches were nailed to the floor, with room all around the edge for the members to form a circle at the end of each meeting. White material hung in huge swathes from the ceiling and in front of the windows. The yellow eye symbol was emblazoned on every other section, forming a pattern.
Saffron was on the furthest wall from the exit, firmly shackled to the grey stone wall. She was on a slight platform, the kind children would perform nativity plays on. Behind her, a large gold carving of an eye hung above her shackled form. There was a little stand and a microphone for whoever spoke at the front. It was definitely the nicest place Saffron had been taken hostage.
"Oo, kitten's not sitting so pretty tonight" He laughed as she rolled her head up from the position it had been in when she was unconscious. She winced, she had been hit pretty good in the head. She moved her arms from above her head, realising they were shackled to the wall behind her. She sighed, she could do without this.
"St-" she tried to ask him to stop, gritting her teeth and sending some guilt his way, making him laugh.
"Kitty's got claws but she hasn't been taught to use them. Pity"
"I'm not-" she was cut off by a horrible pain, but clenched her jaw and didn't make a sound, "I'm not a kitten or your darling, and I'm definitely not trying to take your place" She managed to rush out before her body contorted again. It was as if he was unlocking all the painful memories inside her brain and using them against her. But it was physically painful. Her head was throbbing as if she as being electrocuted.
"What could possibly make you think you're the apple of the world's eye, darling?"
"I don't" she muttered, wincing at the pain that he was inflicting on her without laying a finger anywhere near her.
"Sorry, did you say something? That was a rhetorical question, did they teach you anything in that backwater little high school?"
"Shut up" She whispered, her voice hoarse. The pain was unbearable. Worse than anything she had ever felt.
"You need to work on projecting, can any of you hear her from the back?" He asked, turning to the room which Saffron could barely see. There were a few murmurs of 'no' and she rolled her eyes, wincing the whole time. She had never felt pain like it. Her eyesight was going fuzzy and there was a shining light in the middle of her vision, making her unable to make any shapes out. She knew it must be the end. Her head started to roll as she felt the hopelessness weigh down on her, followed by a laugh from Oleander. He had felt it. She did everything she could to stop a tear rolling down her face. What Saffron couldn't see was that all of Oleander's followers that could fit inside the room were there. All the seats were filled and people were standing anywhere they could find space. They were all wearing their white robes, she felt anticipation and excitement fill the room as he addressed his followers. It was worship night and tonight they got to watch an imposter face the consequences. They were dedicated, she had to give them that.
He turned to the audience and asked with a smile, "Should we make her scream?"