WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2. Willow entered the kitchen where Giles was frowning at the microwave. "Mr. Giles? Mrs. Summers told me you were having lunch out here."
Giles turned and brightened. "Oh, Willow, hello. Well, yes, I suppose that last night's pizza qualifies as lunch in some circles. What might I do for you?"
"Actually," said Willow timidly, "It's kinda what I might be able to do for Buffy."
"For Buffy? I-I thought Angel told you that Buffy... Willow, I am afraid that something dreadful has happened. That-that Buffy has met with what can best be described by the cliche 'a fate worse than death'..."
"She's a vampire. I know," said Willow.
"Then I'm not sure I understand what you propose to do for her—or why."
"I'm going to try to restore her soul."
"What?"
"It worked for Angel," argued Willow. "Based on the same principle it should work for Buffy."
"But the two situations are different," Giles objected. "Angel had already been cursed, so it was simply a matter of restoring his soul. Buffy's soul has been lost. You can't just restore it... unless...unless you intend to place upon her the very same curse!" Giles eyes widened in rare excitement accompanied by something akin to horror.
"That's it," said Willow.
"Dear Lord," said Giles, removing and beginning to wipe his glasses. "Do we even have the orb of Thesulah?"
"That's only a slight problem," said Willow. "It's in the library at school, which is kinda off limits at the moment."
"We shouldn't wait too long."
"That's why I'm going to the Magic Shop right after the services today. And I can gather all the other things I'll need by tomorrow. I would like it if you would help me perform the ritual."
"Of course I'll help," said Giles setting his glasses on his nose.
After the memorial services for the slain cheerleaders, Willow hurried to the Magic Shop. It was open late today for the Christmas season, but she did not want to wait another moment. It was dusk when she arrived at the shop, but her spirits soared for the first time that week as she left with a fragile orb of Thesulah wrapped in newspaper and safely stored in a box and double plastic bags. She had not gone far from the shop when she ran into Angel and Spike. Excitedly, she drew them aside and in hushed tones told them what she planned to do.
"Another vampire with a soul!" complained Spike a bit too loudly. "Bloody cliche, if ya ask me."
"Nobody asked, Spike," said Angel. Then, to Willow, "You think it will work?"
"It has to," she said.
Hours later and having slipped away from Angel with no difficulty, Spike found Buffy and Cordelia's hideout. Trick was correct in his suspicions about how to find them. The gang of renegade vampires were in the abandoned warehouses across the tracks, and Spike simply followed the smell of fresh blood from the nest's victims. As he rounded the corner of a grimy building, someone lunged from a doorway and swept Spike's legs out from under him.
"Darn!" said Harmony, "Another vampire! There's not enough food in this part of town, you know. Why do vampires keep coming here?"
"I dunno," said Spike picking himself up. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, of course, this is our turf."
"And who's we?"
"Wouldn't you like to know. But, you know, you are kinda cute. If you'll be nice to me, I might take you to our hideout."
"That'd be thrilling, pet."
"I'm not your pet, buster," Harmony told him. "I'm empowered. My sire, Malicia, says so. And she says it's sexist to call it 'siring' when a female vampire makes a new vampire. I'm going to suggest we call it 'maring'."
"That sounds like something to put in the suggestion box," observed Spike. "I'd like to meet this Malicia."
"Then follow me. But don't expect anyone to be happy to see another vampire."
"Nobody ever is," said Spike.
Fortunately, the two dozen vampires sharing their last few victims needed little light to see. The entire warehouse was dimly lit by two ancient electric lamps, the rest of the lights having burned out long ago. Entering the room, Spike took in the entire scene in a glance. The place was a mess: dusty, full of broken tables and chairs, vampires grunting and noisily sucking dead and dying bodies, carcasses piled like cordwood in the corner in front of a chute that probalby led down to a dumpster at street level. "This is the life," said a suspirant Spike.
An exotic-looking woman in tight-fitting black garb, her black hair pulled back, approached them. Behind her was a tall, relaxed yet alert man with long dark hair similarly pulled back. He wore worn, brown leather from shoulder to foot and a black kerchief around his neck. He reminded Spike of a cowboy, although he had no hat or sixshooter.
"Malicia, guess what I found wandering around outside?" enthused Harmony. "Another vampire."
"Coal to Newcastle by the looks of it," ventured Spike.
"That's about the size of it," said the tall male vampire. Spike noticed that he drawled like a cowboy, too, but had a telltale continental accent that might have been Dutch.
"I'm Spike."
Malicia identified herself and thrust her thumb at the Dutch cowboy. "And this is Andreas."
"Pleased to meet you," said Spike. "So who's in charge around here?"
"Don't ask so many questions," said Andreas.
"I've only asked one," objected Spike.
"That's too many," drawled the Dutch vampire.
"Not that I can't guess the answer," said Spike.
"Then why ask?"
"Reckon I'm curious to see whether I'm right."
"Well, if it isn't William the Fucking Bloody!" Descending a rickety staircase with the grace of a princess making a ballroom entrance, was Buffy, outfitted in a red dress with matching pumps and black elbow-length gloves.
"How now," said Spike. He noticed Cordelia leisurely sauntering down the stairs not far behind Buffy.
"I suppose you're here to join our merry band of vampires," said Cordelia.
"I admit the thought had crossed my mind."
"Forget it, Spike," said Buffy. "I may have been reborn yesterday, but I remember your record as a team player."
"What? I play well with others."
"Not!" replied Buffy.
"For instance?" Spike ventured to ask.
"Let me see. There was the Annointed One; you joined his team."
"That worked out all right for you," said Spike.
"Of course it did—when I was the Slayer." All of the vampires who were not previously paying attention now viewed Spike with especial distrust. Buffy continued, "After that there was—oh yes, Angelus. You helped the Slayer—me—send Angelus to hell."
"Well, now, there were what you call extenuatin' circumstances."
"Right," said Buffy. "You weren't getting your way so you betrayed your friends."
"Well, that's a bit harsh..."
"Of course, you couldn't really betray your friends 'cause you never had any. By the way, you still don't—unless you're working for the Mayor and Trick at this very moment."
"Now, why would you think that? Here I come all the way down here to warn you that your old mates are schemin' to re-ensoul you, an' you go off makin' very hurtful insinuations."
Buffy looked stunned for a moment. "Who's re-en-whating who?"
"Ah, there, ya see? Now I've got your attention."
"OK, Spike, what is it you want—that is, if your information doesn't turn out to be a load o' crap as usual."
"Careful, careful about making hurtful insinuations."
"What do you want?"
"Me? Just a little fellowship amongst my own kind, is all."
"You want to join us. Anything else?"
"Wouldn't want another thing in the world. Except my next meal, of course. Which I can help with. I'm a good provider."
"They 're not planning to ensoul me, are they?" asked Cordelia.
"Not that I know of, but, of course, they might change their minds. If it works on Buffy, they might try it on all of us." This remark frightened all the other vampires: except for one.
"What's re-insoling?" asked Harmony. "Sounds like something people do when they can't afford new shoes."
"That's re-soling you half-wit, and it's not that kind of soul," Buffy said. "So who and how, Spike?"
"What? You don't remember the drill from last year?"
"The orb of Thesulah," said Buffy.
"And guess who's doing the honors—again," said Spike.
"Willow," said Buffy.
Suddenly, Buffy's crew was surrounded by other vampires. "You're a hard girl to find," said Trick as he appeared on the catwalk above them.
Buffy turned furiously toward Spike. "You son of a bitch!"
"It was my idea, actually," said Trick. "All that electronic surveilance I picked up after the Slayerfest was just going to waste, so I decided: might as well put a bug on Spike and let him lead me to you."
"No hard feelin's, Love?" asked Spike.
"Damn if I can muster any, Spike," replied Buffy. "I suddenly find treachery an admirable quality." Buffy turned to Cordelia. "In the future, remind me to search people for wires."
"Future?" fumed Trick. "What makes you think you have any future?" He came down and addressed Buffy's crew. "The rest of you—including Cordelia—have amnesty if you join me, but Miss Buffy, here, is dust."
"Yeah," said Buffy. "You only want to bring them back because the Mayor will have you dusted if you don't. Otherwise you'd eliminate all of them, wouldn't you?"
"Anybody got a problem with their good fortune?" asked Trick. There was silence. "Guess not. Which reminds me, I am sick and tired of you running your mouth," Trick said to Buffy.
"That's funny," replied Buffy, "considering that running yours is about all you do."
"All right. You want to go mano a mano with your sire? Let's do it," said Trick, smiling as he put on his game face. "Everybody stand back and watch a master wipe the floor with little Miss I-Used-to-Be-the-Slayer."
"In your dreams, Trick," said Buffy as the two vampires squared off.
Trick came at Buffy with a roundhouse right punch. Buffy started to duck but then Trick pulled his punch and jabbed with a left. Buffy dodged the jab at the same time that she spun around and kicked at Trick's head. He ducked and then moved in again. Buffy retreated but soon advanced a counterattack. The two fighters scuffled across the floor, onlookers dodging out of the way. Buffy was more stylish and Trick was more of a street-fighter, but both were devious and aggressive and evenly matched.
Finally Trick dropped his game face and turned to the assembled vampires. "Oh, the hell with it," he said. "Free for all! Anyone who can dust her gets first bite on every kill."
Everyone hesitated and no one moved until Cordelia stepped forward to stand by her sire. "I'm with Buffy," she said. "Who else is with us?" As Cordelia put on her game face, Buffy gave Trick a wicked smile. But no one else joined either side.
"You?" Trick asked. "You wanna side with her? Don't you remember she tortured you before she turned you?"
"Well," said Cordelia with an uncharacteristic pause for thought, "I seem to recall being unhappy about it at the time..." She paused again, then smiled, "but now it's one of my fondest memories."
"Suit yourself," declared Trick, and turning to the others he said, "Dust 'em both."
Buffy put her game face back on just as Trick turned his back. She charged toward him, and with a flying kick sent her sire sprawling into a pile of broken furniture. Trick disappeared into a cloud of dust that then settled around the shattered leg of an overturned chair.
The other vampires stared in awe. Cordelia and Buffy braced themselves for an attack, back to back facing down all of them.
"You killed your sire—when he wasn't even looking!" complained Malicia.
"So what?" said Buffy, her face twisted in perplexity. "You were expecting me to be Dudley Doright? We're vampires!"
"None of us would have taken up his offer to attack you," said Andreas. "But then you slew him—like... like a Slayer."
"They're right, you know," said Spike. "Killing one's sire is just bad form—tempting as it might be. It's the worst sin a vampire can commit." He thought a moment, and a dark shadow passed over his face. "Well, almost the worst sin."
"What do you mean by 'almost'?" Cordelia asked.
"I'd rather not say," said Spike.
"Besides," added Malicia, "the Mayor is going to be pissed now that Trick is gone. He may come after us, too."
"Oh, believe me," said Spike, "he won't care. He was tired of Trick."
"In that case, I propose we offer our services to the Mayor," said Andreas. "Buffy was leading us nowhere, anyway."
"I'll be glad to take you to the Mayor," said Spike.
"And who will you betray us to on the way?" sneered Malicia. "The other Slayer?"
"Now that's unfair," said Spike, putting on his best pout. "I was just doin' the old Trickster a favor."
Harmony boldly walked up to Spike and said, "Save it for someone who doesn't care." At the last moment, however, she flinched. Spike snarled at her, and Harmony retreated. She joined the exodus of vampires.
Malicia turned to Buffy. "We're leaving you unharmed because, unlike you, we don't slay our own kind. Maybe you will understand that some day."
"Well, that just leaves you and me, pet," Spike said.
"There is no 'you and me', Spike," replied Buffy.
"I understand," said Spike. "Their rejection hurts, an' you gotta lash out at whomever."
"You may not have noticed," said Buffy through gritted teeth, "but I seem to still be slaying vampires, and yet you're still here. Near me. Do you have a death wish?"
"Don't we all?" he offered casually. "Look, at least temporarily, neither of us has any allies."
"Not true," said Cordelia. "Buffy and I are allies. Who do you have?" Spike could not answer that. "Besides, they said they wouldn't come after us, so I say we're safe for tonight at least."
"'We' does not include Spike," said Buffy, not taking her eyes off of him.
"I say we get out of this part of town," continued Cordelia. "Go find something to eat and a new place to live." She brightened at a thought. "Hey! What if we go eat my family? They have a really cool house, and, besides, I miss my old room."
"I like the way this girl thinks," said Spike.
"Only you would mistake that for thinking," said Buffy.
"Hey!" said Cordelia. "I was ready to put my ass on the line for you. Don't be such an ungrateful bitch."
"And you knew when you were being insulted right off the bat, too," said Buffy. "The new and improved Cordelia."
"Just like with Angel," said Spike.
"What do you mean?" asked Buffy.
"You know what I mean: Angelus is a lot quicker on the uptake than the ensouled model."
"Which reminds me of something I almost forgot," said Buffy.
"What's that?" asked Spike.
"Willow. How soon is she planning this ensouling ritual?"
"Oh, not until tomorrow at the earliest."
"That gives me enough time to have an appetizer before the main course."
"Pretty sure you'll find her, are you?"
"I know Willow. I have an idea where to look."
"Oh, Willow, Willow!" said Cordelia. "Is that brat all you can think of eating? I'd rather eat Snyder."
"Hmm," said Buffy.
"What?" asked Spike.
"Talk about settling old scores."