A/N: Tw for alcohol and destructive behaviour. I know I'm crap at Tws so if you ever think I've missed something tell me xoxo
Chapter 51:
The rest of the day had passed slowly. There had been a panicked knock at the door and Xander rushed downstairs to see Spike and Saffron lounging on a mattress, one of the only things in the room. They had an open book resting beside them as Saff lay on her front twisting her new ring and Spike lay on his back, an arm resting behind his head. His eyes were closed as she had been reading aloud.
"Buffy's invisible!"
"She's fucking what?! The day just keeps getting better and better" Saff sighed.
"There's an invisible slayer on the loose? Catch her if you can" Spike muttered, this was typical. Saff had just started to relax when Xander barged in. Not to mention he finally got Saffron to himself and the Hellmouth had to come along and bugger it all up. Xander explained that Buffy had interrupted their seating arrangement and had been turned invisible by people she (ironically) didn't even see. Willow had taken a look at the blueprints that Spike had swiped and figured straight away that it had been an invisibility ray. She also figured that the molecular structure of the objects that had been hit by the ray were compromised. It wasn't a far jump for Willow to conclude that it had been the three boys who had been tasked to mess with Buffy. Spike and Saff split up, trying to catch up with her. Saffron was worried.
Meanwhile, Buffy had gone to the social worker's office and did her best to make her appear unhinged. It worked and Buffy dusted her hands off as she started to leave the office, but noticed the anonymous tip off had been somebody identified only as 'Lee'. She got rid of the file and left to see what else she could do while she had been given a break from living. This was a holiday to Buffy. She didn't want to be seen. Walking around with no care, no responsibility. She could get used to this. She didn't even feel the need to go somewhere she had been frequenting of late. Somewhere she was so guilty over.
It was late evening now and everyone, except Willow and Buffy, had reconvened at the Summer's house. There was a call and Saffron ran at the phone. She had a feeling. The feeling was so strong she didn't answer in her usual way. She was much more blunt.
"Hello?"
"Is that the traitor- uh, is this the Summers' residence?" Somebody asked, trying to mask their voice.
"Yeah, Jonathan or Andrew it is" Saff sighed not putting up with their crap, "You guys aren't bad people. You need to understand that Oleander isn't your salvation. He's not going to change anything. Only you can change-" Saffron started another rousing and emotionally charged speech that got cut off. Andrew was in a rush to get off the phone before Oleander or Warren overheard.
"Uh, I called to tell you that if you don't do something soon Buffy will die. Her molecular structure will turn to this icky goo. We were only meant to mess with her... not kill her"
"Thank you" Saffron said, pointedly. She already knew this information, Willow was incredibly smart after all, but she wanted to try to appeal to his better nature, hoping it hadn't been corrupted by, well, the corrupted one.
Saff and Dawn went straight over to see Willow in an internet café. She was doing things the old fashioned way and Saff was ready to tell the witch how proud of her she was for resisting the temptation. Dawn had an argument earlier in the day with invisible-Buffy and Saff was still trying to calm her down as she followed the pair sullenly. However, when they got there Saffron asked the guy at the front who said she left in a rush. Willow decided to go to their lair. She got taken hostage. Saffron got a call on her cell but nobody said anything. She could hear arcade games in the background. And she knew. She didn't have time to drop Dawn at home they just ran for it. They didn't have time to waste so Saff and Dawn ran to the arcade.
They all ended up at the arcade-turned-hostage-situation, with Buffy being forced to come and bail the three out. It was hard to figure what was going on, what with everyone being invisible.
"We are your three arch nemesises- uh -nemeses" Warren stated, "O Leander! He shall, um, guys? We're supposed to be chanting here" Warren chastised as the other two appeared to be playing an arcade game. Buffy held up the air hockey puck to show where she was so Warren had a clear shot.
"Will he really know if we did it or not?"
"Fine. I'll do it in my head" He said, pausing for a second, "Hold that up and, uh, stand still" Warren warned, and Saff felt bad intentions just as Willow saw the gun.
"That's the wrong setting!" Willow shouted, noticing that Warren was about to make Buffy's molecular structure turn to goo faster. Buffy hit wildly as Saff ushered Dawn behind her, the poor girl didn't need any more injuries. Buffy managed to beat the three guys up and Willow made it so that everyone became visible again much to everyone's relief.
When Buffy returned from the invisibility, everyone's eyes widened in shock. Her hair had been jaggedly cut in a way that Saffron was all too familiar with. The three guys scuttled off as the others were distracted by Buffy's hair. Buffy looked around awkwardly, she had a moment of madness and cut it off while Saffron and Spike were reading in the basement. She didn't feel like she had anyone to confide in and so that was the result. Jaggedly cutting her hair and crying in front of the mirror. Everyone looked around awkwardly, everywhere except Buffy's hair. Saffron sighed, moving to Buffy and hugging her, inspecting the damage she had done to her hair.
"You know, three's a really fucked up number" Saffron muttered, referring their 'nemeses' as Buffy snorted. Dawn had walked to their side, still horrified by the state of Buffy's hair but too nervous to mention it as Buffy had been so snappy with her recently. And when she hadn't been snappy, she hadn't been in the room.
"Yeah, say that again – nothing good comes of it" Buffy agreed.
"I think we should declare it an unlucky number, all those in favour?" Buffy, Saff and Dawn raised their hands, "It's settled then! Fuck the number three!" Saffron shouted into the now deserted arcade.
The next day, Saffron went with Buffy to the hairdressers, the way Joyce had taken her those years ago.
"It looks cute!" Saff said, smiling as Buffy checked it out in the mirror, nodding as she adjusted the turtleneck she was wearing. She was apparently satisfied too, not that Saffron could tell, "Hey, who's copying who now?" Saff smiled as their hair length almost matched, with Saff's even a bit longer which hadn't been the case for a long time.
"Thanks" Buffy said, nodding at her cousin and hugging her for a second before pulling away and bouncing her hair in the mirror.
"No problem, you did most of it yourself and uh, Courtney did the rest of it. But I suppose without my supervision…" Saff smiled, tailing off. Courtney, the hairdresser, smiled at them as she saw how pleased Buffy was with her hair.
"I meant for this, being here. Things haven't been great" Buffy admitted.
Saffron decided this wasn't going to be the only conversation they had until next week, what with Saff's shifts and opposite patrolling schedules keeping them apart, so Saffron took the next two days off and set up a 'sleepover night'. Yes, the girls grew up together so technically every night was sleepover night, but this was a tradition. They got in their pyjamas, turned off all the lights and settled in front of the tv with a stack of movies and the butteriest popcorn (the way Joyce used to make it for them).
They played a game of stake, marry, kiss with all the actors on the screen and saffron encouraged her cousins to see how many pieces of popcorn they could catch in their mouths, making a little competition. When Dawn fell asleep, having scowled for half the night and joined in towards the end, Buffy and Saffron seemed to relax more.
"Hey! You're wearing the earrings I bought you! What's the occasion?" Saffron noticed.
"I like them" Buffy smiled, shrugging. The earrings had dangling silver crosses that landed on either side of Buffy's neck. When saffron had first moved in, Buffy and her went shopping together and bought each other a gift they thought the other might like. Saffron had the leather jacket that she still wore to this day and Saffron had got Buffy those earrings, not realising how helpful they actually were at the time. She had found out about vampires two days after, ironically. Buffy hadn't worn them since High school, so Saffron was surprised and pleased when she noticed her cousin wearing them.
"But they went out of style like two years ago" Saffron said, still smiling at them.
"Vintage is back in" Buffy shrugged, wrapping the blanket further around her subconsciously. She smiled, Buffy had always been up on the trends of the week whereas Saffron was happy taking influences from some popular fashion (mainly encouraged by Buffy), she mainly stuck to her faithful t-shirt and jeans combo.
"Sweet, so I can safely wear my hoops again without you stealing them?" Saffron grinned as she took Buffy's hand in hers. Buffy had chosen a mauve colour for her nails and Saffron was applying it for her. There was a pause where Buffy seemed happy just watching the film and Saffron was concentrating on doing her cousin's nails. Eventually, Saff remembered she had some gossip and Buffy's eyes lit up as they exchanged information they had heard. It was like old times, the way it had been in high school, giggling over boys and drama.
"So, I heard from Martha who heard from a customer who heard directly from Snyder's niece that he was actually half goblin"
"I totally knew it! Didn't Xander and me call it in high school?" They both laughed at this as she let Buffy's nails dry. They continued their fun conversation, catching up properly for the first time in ages. The only problem, in the back of Saff's mind no matter how much she was enjoying herself, was that she couldn't feel anything from Buffy.
Saffron realised that she was being purposefully blocked. It appeared that Buffy knew exactly what was happening. Buffy appeared to be in too much of a good mood though - it hadn't been like this since they had died and she had missed it, so she wouldn't dare ask. In taking on everyone's emotions and trying to help Buffy without being able to influence her, Saffron felt the crushing responsibility that she didn't know Buffy was feeling too. She longed for something to take the edge off.
xoxoxo
Saffron stumbled into the magic box, knowing she had a shift. She was late again and Anya was starting to know why she had been sacked from her previous employment. However, she was good with the customers and they just seemed more generous around her.
"Saff, people have been asking for Tarot readings all morning, I need you to get over there and make us more money! I'm thinking we could up the prices, $20 for a reading, plus $5 for extras!" Anya beamed at her brilliant business plan. Saffron stared at her for a while, knowing that didn't seem right to her. She shrugged over exaggeratedly and walked towards the table, bumping into the chair before sitting on it. Anya squinted in suspicion but shrugged herself, pleased she had managed to up the price without a fight.
A man came up and sat opposite Saff who was busy shuffling her cards. She looked up at the silver-haired man, who seemed a little out of place in the shop. He adjusted his glasses and settled into the seat opposite her.
"Whatdoyouwant?" Saff asked, blinking slowly.
"Uh, can you read me?"
"Sure, what's your name… for the cards"
"Wayne… Wayne King" He said, waiting to see what would happen next. Saffron started to laugh. She descended into fits of hysterical laughter.
"What? Wan-?" She cut herself off as she realised his accent had thrown her off, "Oh! Wayne King!? I asked for your name not your… not your hobby…!" She laughed even more, repeating his name again, "Wayne-fucking-King!" with a giggle. The man seemed a little embarrassed, but she didn't let herself focus on that.
"I don't understand, sweetheart, what's so funny?"
"Doesn't-doesn't matter! That'll be five quid please Wayne…Wayne King" She tried to stifle a giggle as she addressed him with his full name again.
"Quid?"
"Pounds, Sterling!" She said, as if it was obvious, "I'm no charity, mate. Hand it over" She said, her palm out, swaying slightly as she waited.
"Uh, I'll give you ten dollars. The going rate, am I right?" He said, putting the note into her hand. She took it, shoving it in her bra and shrugged and put her hands up in a surrender, closing her eyes and swaying a little. She shuffled the cards and asked him to split it. He did, looking at her unconvinced but he had paid now. Besides, she smelt really strongly of alcohol.
"Seven of cups" She slurred, smiling proudly at herself. The voice was back and she was smug about it. "Your ego… is full as the cups. You may feel that money and fame sounds appealing but you must look into the deeper meaning of life…. Especially with a name like Wayne King!" She giggled. Dawn went up to Saff's tarot corner to watch through the curtain as she spoke and instantly spotted something was wrong. She rushed over to the others, to mention Saff was acting strangely.
"You're a crook and a drunk! I want my money back, you fucking whack job!" He screamed in her face at her words and she just laughed. She took all of the money from her bra and threw it over him, showering him in notes. He snatched his ten dollars and stalked away, calling her names on the way out. The Scoobies and Spike, who had arrived to check on his girl, all turned from Dawn's words just as Saff had launched into a rant having overheard the man's shouting.
"You don't fucking know me, man! I don't even know myself! And with the amount of wild prophecies thrown at me I know the world doesn't have a fucking clue either!" She screamed at the man before looking up to the ceiling, as if addressing some cosmic entity, "Hello are you enjoying yourselves hearing about my misery?! Are you fucking entertained?! Do you enjoy seeing me in pain or are you here just to see me fuck my boyfriend?!" she continued, staring and pointing at the sky, as if there were invisible spectators she was suddenly mad at. The scoobies and Spike looked around each other, it was hard to see her like that. Something really wasn't right. She threw her pack of cards up at the ceiling, landing it smack on the floor as everyone got to their feet to talk to her.
"Why don't you go and count up all the amulets, nibblet, I'll sort our girl out alright?" He hissed to Dawn, guiding her towards the stairs. She scurried down, not wanting to see Saffron like that again. Tears were streaming down her face as she stared at the pack on the floor. Spike was the first to get to her side, taking both her shoulders in his hands and looking at her.
"Have you been drinking?" He asked firmly.
"No!" She shouted, gesturing her hands out wildly.
"Saff, love, please don't lie to me… I can smell the booze on you" He said, squeezing her shoulders, willing her to snap out of it.
"I haven't! I-I wanted to but I- I haven't!" She claimed loudly, making the others wince. Hearing her not only so obviously drunk, but obviously lying was painful for them to see.
"SP, I'm the first to say that Spike's wrong, but you smell like a liquor store after an earthquake"
"It's okay, Honeysuckle" He whispered, taking the top of her left arm so that he could take her home, guiding her to the exit. She shook her head and took her arm away from his grip, falling to the floor as she moved herself and overbalanced.
"Why can't you just fucking trust me! You don't trust me around men, now I can't walk to work without assucations- assumations-" She shouted from the floor, breathing and trying again, "Accusations!" she finally claimed as she wiped her watering eyes on her sleeve. Spike backed up a little as Buffy walked over and stood in front of her cousin, a solid expression on her face.
"Saff, get up" Buffy said firmly, offering a hand to help her up.
"I see two Buffys! That's more than none!" She giggled moving her head to the side as everyone continued to look around uneasily, "I like your hair Buffys! It's nice and shiny and new!"
"Saff, stop it! You need to get up" Buffy said, her hand still waiting for her cousin to take. Buffy knew she was hurting, and she didn't want to admit that she had been waiting for this to happen. She had faith in her, but Saffron had confided in how hard staying sober is although she still flat out refused to go to a professional.
"You can't tell me what to do!" Saff shouted at Buffy's tone, misreading it and thinking she was mad. The drunkenness and not being able to feel Buffy's emotions numbed her ability, "Who are you my mother? She's dead! You can't be my mother" She laughed bitterly, pointing at Buffy. As she said this, Buffy's eyes started to water and she had to turn her face away. She couldn't be strong for Saff, she could barely look after herself at the moment. She wanted to be invisible again. Willow dropped to her knees beside Saff, stroking her arm.
"Hey sweetie, it's just a relapse, remember what you said to me? As long as you're trying... let's get you cleaned up" Will said softly, despite her having her own stuff going on. Even being in the magic box had been hard for her, but she was determined to come to a Scooby meeting.
"You're kind… you should be the emapth, Will… it comes so natural to you" she said, patting Willow "I don't want it" She admitted, tears starting to roll down her cheeks again.
"It's natural to you, Saff. You are so caring, you're going to be okay. One foot in front of the other right?" Willow said quietly, understanding the girl's pain, "This doesn't make you bad. You're the best friend ever. Your fighting your addiction, you're going to be okay" Saff looked at Willow's own tear-filled eyes and nodded. Trusting her. Saffron allowed herself to be pulled to her feet by Willow and guided to the corner.
"She can't stay here! Not in front of the customers!" Anya spoke up, horrified as Willow sat Saffron down.
"An, it's the safest place. We were all supposed to meet here to discuss the Corrupted. Nobody would be able to keep an eye on her"
"What if someone recognises her! You heard what the wanking man said! She's a drunk!" Anya shouted, she liked Saffron, but she liked making money more.
"And you're being awhinybitch, we all have our crosses to bear, An!" Saff spoke up, The redhead passed her a filled water bottle and told her not to put it down until she finished it while she hid her laughter at Saffron's put down. Saffron was still muttering under her breath about the others and not even being drunk. She would know wouldn't she?
Buffy pulled Spike off to the side, their truce intact when it came to Saff. They cared about her, but they didn't know what else they could do to help.
"Maybe she really should try rehab or something" Buffy whispered, so saff couldn't hear. She had one eye on her cousin, as did Spike. Saff was muttering under her breath to Willow who was trying her best not to laugh.
"With what money, Slayer? She stays with me. End of" Spike said firmly. There was no chance he was missing her like that again. He would find a spell to help her if he had to, the best thing for them was to be together. He knew she would agree.
"Well that's clearly helping" Buffy said, crossing her arms, not convinced by Spike's conviction.
"She's been managing, but she's been working herself into the ground. For you and the kid. She's human, barely, she was always going to crack under the pressure. The pressure you've put on her, might I add"
"We're all under pressure" Buffy said, hugging herself. The slayer's eyes were tired as if she wasn't getting much sleep. She seemed to hunch over herself more than she used to as if she was ashamed or hiding something. Spike had never really looked twice at her but the pair knew they could rely on each other in some sense when it came to caring about Saff. He started to move away from his conversation with the slayer as he saw Saffron trying to light up a cigarette in the middle of the shop. Saffron took her pack out of her pocket, putting the filter to her lips as she patted her pockets down to find a lighter ignoring Willow's protests. She had finished the water bottle and was restless so she lit the end up and inhaled, leaning back in the chair that she forgot didn't have a back. She almost fell but Spike grabbed her before she could slide onto the floor.
"I can take it from here, Red" Spike sighed, nodding his thanks to the witch. She looked around at everyone's faces, feeling the concern. She frowned. She really didn't understand why they were so convinced she was drunk.
"Guysss I'm not drunk! It'sss something Hellmouth-y" she slurred, unconvincingly. She had spoken loud and they all just stared at her. Spike took the opportunity to remove the lighter and cigarette from her hands, in case she set fire to something. He sat next to her and asked Anya if she would mind making her some coffee or something. Anya reluctantly agreed when Xander gave her a look.
"I make good coffee" She said, nodding along with herself.
"The best, pet" He confirmed, stroking her hair softly. She leant into him as he sighed, closing his eyes. It hurt to see her like this but he wouldn't leave her side. They started to discuss everything that they had on the corrupted, which wasn't much and Buffy tried to create a plan for them moving forward. Saffron wasn't listening, but nobody was expecting her to. She was sat in Spike's lap now, clinging to the back of his neck. He held her firmly in place as he willed the meeting to come to an end so he could take her home. She started to kiss his neck softly, mumbling apologies before he steered her head away telling her she would have to wait until she was sober. As the meeting went on, Saffron kept trying to kiss him and he had to reluctantly pull her mouth away, shaking his head at his girl. Her eyes got wider as if she would cry at the rejection, but it was for her own good.
When the meeting was paused so that Anya could speak to a customer, Saff turned to Spike and rested her head against his.
"Do you hate me? For shouting?" She asked, sadly.
"I could never hate you"
"Cross your heart?"
"Hope to die" He replied as Saffron used her own finger to cross over his heart. She smiled and he expected her to say something about him already being dead, but her face faltered. She slid off his lap just in time and started to throw up on the floor in front of the tall shelves in the corner of the room.
"Blood hell!"
"Gross!"
"Not on the jars of Sicilian bone powder! They're expensive!" Anya screeched.
"S'okay, pet. I've got you" He said, pulling her hair back and taking her to the back to clean her up as Anya started to rant as she cleared up the shop floor. Spike looked at his girl, eyes brimming with tears as he soothed her. It was taking its toll. The others watched the lovers leave, staring at her with a pity that made her even more nauseous.
xoxoxo
Saffron had had a dangerous amount of coffees in an attempt to sober her up, although nothing seemed to be helping. She was an unusual shade of green and she looked as if she was getting worse despite not having had any alcohol since she had arrived for work. Spike was looking after her.
"At least I don't need any sugar! Because you're so sweet to me!" She smiled dreamily at him, pointing at the spot next to him rather than actually at him. She was still seeing double.
"Keep your voice down, love. Don't need a reputation" He said softly as she giggled. She giggled until she almost fell off her chair. Again. It broke his heart. Or it would have done, if it worked. She wrapped her hands around the warm cup, enjoying the feeling as she sipped on it slowly. She noticed the solemn faces in the room and decided to try to cheer them up.
"What's it called when you steal someone's coffee?" She looked around expectantly, waiting for someone to reply, but nobody did. She sighed loud and answered the joke anyway, "A Mugging! Get it? Because you drink from th-"
"I got it, Honey…"
The others had closed the shop. Nobody was sure what to do about Saff. She hadn't been as bad as last time, but the fact she was drunk was worrying them. She must have had a lot too, she just didn't seem to be sobering up. Dawn walked upstairs, finally having finished counting up the amulets. She was sure Saff would be gone by now, she couldn't bear to see her like that again.
"Dawny!" Saff shouted with glee, setting the coffee cup down with a smash as she rushed over to her cousin and grabbed her in a tight hug, "Have I ever told you that I love you Dawn of time? You're my favourite little cousin in all the land!"
"I, um, loveyoutooSaff" Dawn said it as all one word, clearly uncomfortable. She had been drinking. She could smell it. It made her sad and saff frowned, feeling a slight twinge of the emotion from her cousin. Buffy watched the pair, it stung that she was so kind to Dawn in her drunk state but had screamed at her. But she understood, she must have been drinking at the thought of losing Dawn so it made sense for her to be kind to the girl.
"Don't be sad, sweet girl! Did you know why I call you that?" Saffron smiled, stroking her hair.
"Because you find me sweet… and I'm a girl?" Dawn asked. Saff fell over herself in laughter, forgetting about what she was about to say. Dawn was about to ask why she did call her that when the bell to the front door chimed and a man dressed mostly in white swept into the store. The man had an air of arrogance and a smirk that could only be characterised as villainous stamped onto his features. Everyone stared at differing levels of perplexed. They could have sworn that door had been locked.
"We're closed"
"It's him" Willow whispered to the others, "That's Lee, um, Oleander, or well, um The Corrupted…" Willow babbled, clearly ashamed and nervous that she had been friends with him. Spike's jaw tensed, shielding Saff and Dawn from the man. This was the worst fucking time he could have come.
"Oh, don't you worry, I'm here for something more… priceless" Oleander clicked his fingers and Saff immediately sobered up. Even the smell of alcohol has gone from the room. Saffron held her head, the worst hangover she had ever experienced. Everyone saw it happen and a sudden guilt for not trusting Saff filled the room as well as anger at the man which made Saff wince further. She was clutching her head hoping the feeling would lessen but it never did. The man felt everything she did but he merely smiled at the feeling.
He clicked his fingers and Saffron instantly dropped her hands to her side and walked towards him. She had a wide smile on her face as she turned to stand next to Oleander, facing the others. A cruel smile extended across oleander's face as he saw how she smiled for him. He moved his fingers, allowing the others to see the way he had been able to control her. She moved as if she was a marionette being controlled by him. Acting in his image.
"She is the tumour I need to cut from the world. A stupid bitch who you all look upon with pity and distrust. A burden to all, especially the powers" Saffron's eyes started to water as she said the words, half were her own thoughts and half were his. But she was being made to say it all in front of them, "The naivety that fuels her lifeblood only enhanced by an innate need to sabotage her own life. When will it end, huh? She cares so much, gives out so much advice and yet can't even keep a handle on her own life. This is the mark of someone that is corrupted. This is someone that deserves pain" She stated, as Oleander mouthed the same words from behind her. He nodded, pleased, handing her a lighter, "Light it up, darling" and she did, putting her hand over the flame as he laughed. Making her laugh along too. But her eyes were in pain. Spike could feel her pain and winced.
"You right tosser!" Spike shouted, stepping threateningly towards the man, "I'll bloody tear you to pieces and enjoy every sodding moment of the headache it gives me!"
"Oh, I wouldn't, you sexy vamp, you… she might not ever be able to sober up again" He warned with a wink. Saffron stood next to him, flicking the lighter off and staring through her friends with her smile still wide on her face although it never quiet extended to her eyes.
"Why are you doing this?" Buffy asked, her hand in a fist.
"She feels it too, so why does she pretend it's all sunshine and roses?"
"That is the last thing she thinks! She sees how it is but she cares, she wants to help make the world a better place – like we all do" Buffy said firmly as Oleander rolled his eyes. How predictable.
"I hate slayers" He said, "Are we going for a skip in rose-tinted meadow? They don't cut the grass there, darlings, they let the wild flowers grow photosynthesising only with good cheer" He dripped with sarcasm. If there was one thing he hated more than the Honeysuckle, it was the Slayer.
"We are gonna beat you. You know why? Because you're wrong, we're right. Saffron has us and all you have is scared, nerd-a-holic followers that have to do what you say"
"Aw, that poor, alcoholic bitch. The only hope she has is you-you freaks? And she still has the God-awful naivety she clings to? She's more doomed than you can even imagine" He cackled with a shrug.
"Enough of the talking, let's get to the part where I beat you into the ground" Buffy said, rounding on him.
"Oh, you have plenty of experience with that don't you, dearest? Wanting to climb back into it and all" He chuckled as she stopped dead without any influence, "do they know yet? Do they know where you go at night? I know sweet, oblivious Saffron doesn't… but do they?"
"Shut up" she warned as everyone looked around confused, except Saff who was smiling.
"Do you all know that she-"
"I've had enough of this" Buffy muttered tiredly, going to punch the man with Spike on Buffy's heels hoping to get a shot in as well. He didn't seem concerned that the Slayer and a vampire where coming for him, he slowly cracked his knuckles out in front of him. She went for him but he blocked her, pushing her back onto her ass, "You're… strong" Buffy muttered. He smiled triumphantly, his mirroring ritual had worked.
"I had to be, darling" He said, stroking Saff's hair, "We mirror each other and she just wasn't playing fair. It's a quick fix until I'm finally whole and I can retrieve the power she so clearly stole from those above. You're supposed to earn your power over the sheep, not steal it! Naughty naughty girl!" He teased, letting go of her hair with a slight tug before he made her slap herself across the face. Everyone winced and anger filled the room, even more so than before. He pulled his head back, almost in ecstasy as he felt it. Spike tried to go and still her hands but Oleander shook his head to stop him. He had other plans for them.
"I can make you feel this!" Influences pain on the entire room, all of them sink to their knees, "Or this!" influences them laughing and rolling on the floor before releasing them, "Or I could just enjoy watching the despair emanating as you see how weak your little friend is! Corrupted by empathy and a saviour complex I see. Inherited from a long line of do-gooders. Picked off one by one. Easy kills the emotional ones"
He winked as they got to their feet and made Saff, who was still stood beside him, sob uncontrollably. Oleander made his point and appeared satisfied by the mix of fear and anger in the room. They had underestimated him, "Bastard" Spike muttered trying to run at him but they were all rooted to the spot. Feeling like they didn't want to be anywhere else.
"Oh don't turn that frown upside down, darlings, I'm enjoying myself! The pain! It's so delicious I could just lick you all up and down…" He licked his lips savouring the feeling before backtracking, "Not you though, short stack, you look like you're one barbie doll short of a tea party if you catch my drift. Even I have my limits" He added to Dawn.
He felt Saff struggling against him, trying to influence him back or just break his hold on her. But what she didn't know was that this wasn't just influence in the usual sense. He had his followers' essence inside him as well. They were chanting while he was showing off in front of the occupants of the magic box. He turned to see her face which was still forced into a wide smile as she sobbed. Her mouth was aching, it hurt to smile that much.
"You're a true wanker!" She suddenly said, able to break his influence for a moment.
"Now that insult really pained me" mock hurt, "That's enough from you, sweetness" He clicked his finger and her mouth was closed. She couldn't speak again. His influence slipped on the others as he focused on her however, meaning Spike and Buffy were able to break free. He turned, his eyes widening only a fraction as Spike kicked out at Oleander at the same moment that Buffy aimed a punch for Oleander's face. But her fist never connected with anything. She stared, confused. Then saw that Saff's hand was wrapped around her wrist. Spike was shrugged off Oleander and paused as he watched, his mouth wide.
Saffron started to mercilessly throw punches at Buffy. Her strength and the surprise, giving her the upper hand. She hit Buffy's jaw sending her stumbling back. Buffy rushed to jump back up, blocking each offensive blow that Saffron started to land. That Oleander was making her land. He stood back, enjoying the show as Saffron aimed and struck Buffy in the gut, the breath knocking out of her body. Hate-fuelled fight was knocking Buffy off her game and her brow was split with the force of Saffron's blows. Nobody else could do anything, all they could do was watch. Giving the sickening fight an unwilling audience.
Spike suddenly threw himself forwards, tackling Oleander, to distract him from his influence. He rolls along the floor, hoisting himself over him and punching him successively. He was so hopped up on adrenaline and anger he couldn't slow. As he punched him, he went to hold his head but realised he's not quite human either. Just like Saffron.
Oleander kicked Spike off him and left the magic box. Gesturing with his hand to stop the influence. He had made his point.
"Should have quit while he was ahead" Buffy muttered as Oleander swept out a little more frantic than he had swept in. The strength of their bond was something he hadn't actually considered, but he had still proved his power was greater than Saffron's. By a long way.
Saffron was now crouched on the ground, with the worst hangover of all time. The influence was gone. He had just wanted to show them there was worse coming.
"Fucking hell" Saffron muttered, holding her head and getting to her feet. Spike rushed to her side, helping her up. Everyone was recovering from the power inflicted on them all. Saffron clung to Spike repeating her apologies over and over. She mumbled into his neck as she tried to stop crying. She could barely look at him, at any of them. She was the reason they had all had to feel that way. Spike reassured her the best he could, trying to soothe her the way she always would. She could feel the others around her too, knowing they didn't blame her. It would take more for her to stop blaming herself through. She released herself from Spike's arms, but still gripped his hand tightly. She nodded at everyone who had already grabbed some thick books on the corrupted.
"Thanks Will, for everything" Saffron whispered, walking over to Willow and hugging her softly as Spike watched Buffy suspiciously. What had Oleander meant? What could it possibly be that she was hiding?
"You would have done the same for me" She shrugged looking away.
"Yeah, but you didn't have to and I'm a horrible drunk person" she muttered, taking some tablets and throwing her head back after drinking some water with it.
"Ah, you weren't that bad, Anya had it coming" Willow smiled, referring not only what she said in front of the others, but the random slurred muttering to Willow in private as she finished her water. Saffron rolled her eyes, she really liked Anya and she was glad she didn't remember whatever it was that she had whispered to Willow. She remembered she used to be feisty and cruel when she was drunk or really affectionate and giggly, with little in between. She didn't want to recall herself being either of those options in front of everyone.
"You are strong for what you did today, Will" She whispered, remembering one thing.
"What? Try to fix you with the magics?" Willow whispered, she had mentioned sobering her up when they were sat together before Oleander came. But Willow had decided against it.
"No, stopping yourself from fixing me with the magics and for stepping back and not changing anything - allowing me to make my own mistakes. I'm proud of you, Will"
"Oh!"
"Maybe we should go out and celebrate! Drinks are on me!" Saffron winked, she had no intention of getting drunk in the near future. Hex or not. Spike overheard and rolled his eyes, giving her a look. She twisted her hand into his and squeezed. She glanced down at her ring, knowing she would have to practice everything she could to even use a fraction of the power Oleander had. It would be tough, but she might make it.
Everyone left the Magic box together, going their separate ways with their own separate thoughts and concerns. It was going to be hard going forward, but one thing she did know is that she would always have her family. Her spike.