Sorry about the long wait, I've been super busy but I think a lot of you will like this chapter!
Spike hadn't meant to make Buffy mad at him but it had been too easy to make fun of the kid. He had been right there wearing the same grating expressions he could remember seeing on the adult Angel's face and things had just slipped out. And Christ, he hadn't even hurt the kid and the damn chip had acted up. His head still hurt and as he lowered himself into his below crypt lodgings he thought about about the weird feeling that had shot through his fingers when he's flicked the boy.
His hand had felt tingly and warm and whatever it was that had happened he had been feeling distinctly light headed since. At first he had written it off as nothing important, most likely a side effect of the chip but by now he was beginning to feel slightly woozy and as the room began to spin he lay down on his bed, boots and coat still on. Everything felt funny and. . .
William opened his eyes feeling distinctly disoriented. He was a little dizzy and as he sat up he came to realize that he had no idea where he was or what was going on. For one thing, the place he was in looked nothing like his room. The bed he was lying on certainly wasn't his own and the clothes he was wearing were far larger than anything he owned. Panic over took him and after some struggling, he extracted himself from the belt and trousers. They weren't his and he felt a little worried. "Mummy?" He called out, getting to his feet.
There was no answer and he felt a stab of fear. At least there was some light but still. . . it looked as though he was in some kind of cave. He took a few steps from the bed and began looking around, calling out occasionally for his mother and growing increasingly worried when no one answered him.
The final straw came when he found a coffin and a small pile of bones. Feeling terror over take him he ran back to the bed and the pile of clothes and curled up in a corner crying. There were dead people down here! He wanted his mother and he wanted out and he couldn't believe what was happening. The last thing he remembered was taking a nap. He had lain down in his bedroom to rest around noon, his mother encouraged naps and. . . and now he was here in some dark cave full of bones and dead bodies.
He continued crying and hiccuping, drawling his legs closer to his chest. Someone had put him down here. Someone or worse something! He was too old to believe in monsters but what else would live in a hole like this? Or maybe a killer! A cut throat or some other form of madman. Maybe he was being held for ransom! The thought made him cry even harder.
The next day Buffy took Liam to the park and let him run about and play. He seemed to enjoy the sun and fresh air. She wondered how much the adult Angel missed the sun and she hoped when all was said and done and he was back to normal that he would remember these days.
Giles had called her earlier that day and asked her to come over. He had a few questions and after lunch they swung by his house. "Ah, Buffy." He said, greeting them.
"I just had a few questions regarding what Spike said. I know he said they were in Heidelberg and I have a few documents on German witches being sent but I wonder what he would remember about local rumors. Witches like that are often high profile and human populations inevitably hear about them."
"He didn't say much about that. Just the youth stealing part."
"Do you think you could ask him? There are two witches I'm particularly interested in and I was wondering if he could remember the names Hildagonda or Regalinda the Repugnant."
"Yeah, I'll do it tonight. He came over yesterday and got into a fight with Angel."
"A fight? Did he hurt him?"
"No, just made fun of him."
"Oh that's mature."
"Then he flicked him in his face and ran off."
A look of pain crossed Giles face although it was more exasperation than actual pain. "Wonderful. Well if you can get him to behave and answer a few more questions then we might actually have a solid lead."
"Alright. I can do that."
"And he's still getting along alright? He gestured at Liam.
"Yeah, just like any other kid. He learns everything fast and is happier than I've ever seen him."
"I know this must be difficult for you."
"It's not. It's kind of nice. Sometimes I feel a little bad for liking him like this."
Giles gave her a rather sad smile. "You're handling it remarkably well."
"Thanks." They talked for a while more before she headed out, Liam in tow and they met with Willow and the others who were waiting. Tara was with them and after a round of introductions they headed out for supper, picking a dinner and enjoying a rather long meal. Liam seemed to like Tara very much and the two of them got along well, making Willow very happy. Xander finished recounting Invasion of the Body Snatchers then The Blob that Ate Everything. Lilam liked both immensely, never having heard the like before and Xander liked the awe he inspired.
When they finished eating she left Liam with them and headed out for a bit of patrolling and after a while swung by Spike's crypt, half wanting to question him, half wanting to yell at him for the previous night's escapade.
"Spike!" She called out, poking her head into the crypt. The Television was off and all of the lights were out. She groaned, hoping he was not out. She poked her head down the ladder and called out again. "Spike!" She could see lights but couldn't hear anything.
"Spike!" Still no answer and so with a groan she descended the ladder into the cavern. She could hear a faint noise in the distance. "Come on, I can hear you. I've got another question."
No answer and now slightly suspicious she stepped cautiously towards his 'bedroom'. "Spike!" No answer but she could hear a faint noise that sounded like crying. "Spike?" She called out, feeling unsure of the situation. "Spike, where are you."
She searched the bedroom, seeing his clothes and boots by the bed. "What?" A small sound in the corner made her jump and she wheeled around, stake ready but found only a little boy curled up in the corner. He was crying and his eyes were so red she thought he must have been crying for hours. Her blood went cold at the sight and she lowered the stake slightly.
"How did you get down here?" She asked. A million scenarios ran through her mind. All of them said Spike's chip had stopped working. Something had gone wrong and he was back to his old self. "Come here, I'm gonna get you out of here." She said gently. The boy looked up at her, cheeks shiny from crying and hair a mess. "I need to know though, is he still here?" The boy just stared at her. "The man, with the blond hair. Is he still here?"
He shook his head, he had not seen a man or anyone at all since he had woken up.
"What's your name?" She asked.
He looked at her with watery eyes before croaking out: "William."
"Alright William, I'm gonna get you out of here. Can you stand up." He got to his feet, legs shaking. She looked him over, he didn't look hurt but he was wearing nothing except for an over sized t-shirt. What the hell was going on? She got him to walk towards the ladder, guiding him when he shied away from the bones and cobwebs. It took a little work to get him up the ladder, his legs were shaking and he was crying again.
Once they were above ground she ushered him out of the crypt, walking faster when he began crying at the sight of graves. All the while she kept a close watch, praying that no vampires decided to jump out at them. None did and once they were a little way down the street she stopped again.
"William I need to know what your parents' names are."
He sniffed. "I want my mummy." He said in a cracked voice.
"I know, can you tell me her name?"
"Anne. Where am I?"
"You're still in Sunnydale."
He looked up, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "Where?"
She felt her heart sink, this was worse than she had imagined. "Sunnydale. California. Don't you live here?"
He shook his head. "London." He said miserably.
"London? How did you get here?"
A fresh wave of tears began to spill over and he started whimpering. "I-I don't know."
She stopped suddenly. Something wasn't right. It didn't make sense. Spike's chip had been working the night before. She had seen it. There was no reason for it to stop and now this boy. . . She studied him for a moment. He had curly blond hair and big blue eyes and the more she looked at him the more she began to realize that something was familiar about him. He was. . . "Spike?" She asked softly.
He looked at her, expression lost and terrified. "What?"
"Okay, I'm gonna take you to a friend and we're gonna find your parents."
He nodded sulkily and took her hand. She almost made him let go but thought the better of it. His hand was small and warm and felt strange in her's. The whole walk he continued to sniffle and cling to her. She wasn't sure what to make of it. If this was Spike he was nothing like she had expected. She lead him back to Giles's house, hoping he would know what to do. Everything was so surreal.
Giles answered the door in his pajamas. "Buffy, it's very late. What. . ." He broke off as she jostled the boy into his line of view. "Good Lord. . . who is this?"
"I think it's-" She mouthed the word SPIKE.
He opened the door wider. "That's impossible."
She pushed past, dragging the boy along. "I found him down in Spike's crypt. He was all alone and Spike's clothes were on the bed."
Giles folded his arms and looked at the boy who was still holding Buffy's hand tightly and sniffing. "Has he said his name?"
"William." She tried to shake her hand loose but he refused to let go.
"William what?"
She looked down at the boy who looked up, eyes red and puffy. "Pratt." He said softly.
"That is Spike's real name." Giles said, suddenly much more awake. "But I don't understand how he could have gotten cursed."
She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess he is though." She glanced down at the boy who was blinking miserably and still gripping her hand. "Can he stay the night? Maybe you can figure it out?"
She glanced at the boy who looked up at him. He had finally stopped crying and was now standing, sawing slightly.
"I suppose he can stay the night." They stood for a moment before Buffy guided the boy over to the couch and set him down, finally forcing him to let go of her hand.
"William, this is Giles." She said gently. "You're gonna stay the night with him. I'll see you in the morning. Okay?" He sniffed again but nodded. "Alright, we'll figure everything out tomorrow. I promise."
She stepped away to speak to Giles. "You said he flicked Angel the other day. Perhaps the curse was transferred when they made contact. Like a virus." Giles said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"He did stop and look at his hand before he ran off." Buffy said. "I didn't think anything of it at the time."
"That complicates things. The spell it's self may be more complex than we originally thought. If it's transferable to other vampires it's an incredibly powerful spell."
"It just means we have to turn them back even faster."
"Perhaps it would be better if we didn't. At least with Spike."
"I don't know. He's got the chip as an adult."
"Yes well, I was thinking of his personality." He smiled slightly as they stepped outside.
She grinned a little. "I'll bring some clothes by tomorrow morning."
He nodded. "I'll go see what I can do about Spike. . . er William."
They parted and Buffy headed home, feeling weighed down by her new found trouble.
Giles for his part was not looking forward to this. He could only imagine the hell the child Spike must have been. However when he stepped back inside he found the boy sitting on the couch crying yet again. "I'll um, go get you some blankets." He said awkwardly.
William took a sharp intake of breath and looked up. "I want my mummy." He said, choking on the words.
Giles hesitated. "I know. I-I understand but she's not here right now. Can I get you anything?"
The boy nodded and wiped his eyes with his shirt. "I"m hungry." He said.
Giles blinked. Of course the child was hungry. he had been down in the crypt for at least the better part of the day. "Of course. I'll warm something up." He set about heating up some oat meal porridge hoping that would be enough. When he was done he motioned for William to sit at his table and the boy did, taking his spoon and eating quickly.
"Is there anything you remember from before you awoke?"
"I was taking a nap." He said, voice creaky from crying. "I don't know anything else. There wasn't a man."
"A man?"
"The lady asked if there was one but there wasn't."
Giles scratched the back of his head, figuring out what Buffy had meant. "Well it's alright now. You're safe here. Why don't you get some sleep?" He motioned towards the couch and William nodded, climbing out of his chair and getting back on the couch. Giles watched him curl up and make himself more comfortable before heading off to his own bed. This was not how he had expected his night to go but if anything made up for it, this version of Spike did not seem to have the attitude problem his adult self possessed and with that thought he drifted off.
Thanks for sticking with me!
So I thought Spike would be a bit of a crybaby and a mommy's boy based on his flash backs in the show. But for now I think his crying is justified, he's pretty shaken up. Oh well, I hope you guys like it! I'll try to get more regular with my updates.
Thanks for reading.
