Chapter 21
Gathering
"What do you mean Buffy didn't come back with you?!" Xander exclaimed, horrified.
The Scooby Gang, Angel and Andrew had gathered at the Slayer's house like every night. The blond vampire had arrived a few minutes earlier and brought a huge book that he had given to Giles. Then, he had started to talk and Xander had listened skeptically. Until Spike had told them that Buffy had wanted to stay a few more days in China. At that moment, he was completely in disbelief.
It was absolutely unthinkable that his best friend hadn't come home immediately after getting the book. There was no way she would leave her sister and friends to fend for themselves when a big battle was brewing. And it was simply unimaginable that this damn vampire would tell the truth about the Slayer.
Of course, he had witnessed the vampire's willingness to help them the year before, but he had never been able to understand why Buffy had defended him so much. Even if the Slayer's determination had allowed Spike to definitely defeat the First, Xander was not ready to give him the slightest chance of redemption. In his eyes, Spike remained a bloodthirsty vampire who had hatched the most terrible plans to kill them before sinking into a morbid love for the Slayer that had almost destroyed her.
From this point of view, this was the only plausible explanation: Spike was still morbidly obsessed with Buffy and he had found a wonderful excuse to keep her away from her family. God only knew what he had done to her and where she was now, he thought angrily.
"Where is she?" Willow asked anxiously.
Spike sighed. He knew this evening was going to be long and painful, but he thought to his promise to the Slayer and calmly re-explained what he had just said.
"She's in the village temple. She'll be back in a few days."
"Why did she stay there?" Angel asked him.
"Because she didn't feel well enough to come back now."
"Not well enough? Do we look like idiots?" Xander exclaimed again.
"She wasn't feeling well," the vampire tried to explain.
"What do you mean?" The Slayer's sister asked, frowning suspiciously, "Is she sick?"
"No. Well, maybe, I don't know!" The vampire replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Did she tell you she wasn't feeling well?" Willow asked.
"Not really, she-
"So how do you know she's not feeling well if she hasn't told you?" Xander pointed out triumphantly. "I'm sure you're full of crap!" He added aggressively towards the vampire.
"And what do you think?" Spike replied, feeling his annoyance getting the better of him. "That I killed her and hid her body but that I took the trouble to bring you this damn book?!"
"No, that's not what he meant," the witch immediately chimed in, feeling the tension rising everywhere in the room.
"Willow's right. That's not what I meant," Xander sneered. "I think you're a big sicko and you've imprisoned her somewhere to keep her for yourself! We all know you're completely obsessed with Buffy! What are you gonna do, huh? Make her drink a love potion and keep her locked up on the other side of the world?!"
The vampire's blood boiled and he approached the young man threateningly.
"Spike, knock it off!" Dawn suddenly exclaimed, placing herself between them. The two enemies looked at each other with contempt and then took a step back. "Spike, tell me how my sister is!" The young woman continued, turning to him, "But I'm warning you, if you did anything to hurt her, Xander will be the least of your worries," she added threateningly.
"I haven't touched her, for God's sake!" The vampire got angry, "You didn't get her mail?"
"I did, but I don't really understand," the Slayer's sister admitted with annoyance. "She told me she needed to train, but you tell us she doesn't feel well!"
"That's why she's training!"
"That doesn't make any sense!" Xander groaned, "Buffy doesn't need to train on the other side of the Earth, she's the Slayer! She defeated the First!"
"Technically, she didn't defeat the First," Andrew chimed in innocently. Spike ran a hand over his face while Dawn and Xander glared at the young man, making him shrivel up in his chair.
"That is enough!" Giles slammed his hand down on the table, freezing the audience. Faced with the deafening silence he had just created, the watcher took off his glasses. "All these remarks are useless, and we have a major threat to deal with. Spike, explain everything you know from the beginning," he then ordered the vampire, turning to him, "We'll decide what to do then."
Spike nodded and began to resume everything, detailing it as precisely as possible.
"When we got there, everything went smoothly," he began. "We looked for where the book was and asked around. We quickly located the place thanks to the monk of the main temple in town. We went up there, but the welcoming party was larger than expected and we couldn't retrieve the book that day."
The vampire paused and glanced at his audience, hanging on his every word.
"I was pretty hurt that time and I stayed unconscious for a day or two," he continued. "A little later, Buffy came to tell me that she didn't feel up to fighting. I suggested she spend a few days in the temple so she could train with the monks and she did. We got the book back the second time but she preferred to stay with the monks a little longer."
Silence accompanied the end of his explanation as everyone tried to understand what Buffy's absence implied.
"There's something I don't understand," Angel suddenly said. "If she can't fight, is it because she's hurt?"
"No, it means she can't fight," Spike retorted, "She's tired of all this fighting!"
"What do you mean?" Willow asked in surprise. "She doesn't wanna fight?"
"Let's say she's feeling down," the vampire said.
"I don't get it," Dawn murmured, "She didn't tell me about all this…"
"She didn't want to worry you, that's all."
"I can't believe you're buying this!" Xander exclaimed, "This is Buffy we're talking about! The Slayer! She can't just be tired of it!"
"Yes, she can," the blond vampire retorted.
"What do you know?" The young man replied sharply.
"I know the Slayer."
"You don't know her!"
"I know her much better than you, you idiot!" Spike hissed under his breath.
"Say that again and you won't have another chance to see your dear Slayer!" Xander threatened him, grabbing a stake from the living room chest. "You think you know her, but who are you to her? Care to remind me? You're nobody! We are her family and friends and you're nobody!" He told him again with all the hatred he was capable of towards the vampire.
"If you were a friend worthy of the name, you'd have noticed that she wasn't well," Spike sneered. "But you're too busy worrying about saving your own ass to care about her!" He then spat to all of them. "Just because she's the Slayer doesn't mean she doesn't feel anything!"
"This time I'm gonna kill you, you degenerate vampire!" Xander roared, tightening his grip around the stake before throwing himself at him.
Before the others could react, the young man had punched Spike in the face and the vampire recoiled in shock before rushing at him in turn. He sent Xander crashing into the table then hit the carpenter's jaw with his own fist. The Scoobies finally came out of their stupor and rushed to separate them, but the blond vampire was much stronger than them.
"Stop!" Angel intervened in turn, trying to hold the other vampire back. "You're gonna kill him!"
"I don't care," Spike growled, struggling to free himself from his grip. "We need to settle this once and for all!" He violently shoved the dark-haired vampire who lost his balance and Spike took the opportunity to throw himself again on the young man on the floor. Xander was already bleeding profusely and Spike punched him again in the nose.
"Separate!"
In a split second, Spike was thrown to the other end of the room and he hit the opposite wall head-on before collapsing on the floor. He immediately tried to get up but the force that now surrounded him pinned him to the ground.
"Willow!" He yelled, "Let go of me right now!"
"You're both idiots!" The witch said sharply. "While we fight each other, the First gains ground and Buffy needs our unity to replace her until she comes back! If you're not able to coexist, you have no business being here!"
Dawn had rushed towards Xander to assess his injuries and she glanced anxiously at Giles who had also come closer. The young man's face was swollen and he lay unconscious among the wooden debris of the broken table.
"Andrew, go get some bandages and clean cotton," the watcher ordered. "I think he's gonna need several stitches," he then noted as he grabbed the phone, "I'm calling an ambulance."
While Dawn, Andrew and Giles were busy with Xander while waiting for help, Willow ended her spell and released her hold on the blond vampire who was finally able to get up. She glared at him and then walked towards her best friend without a word.
Furious, Spike stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him. As he angrily crossed the garden, Angel came out in turn.
"Willow's right, you know," he said.
Spike paused and turned slowly towards him. "You are not gonna lecture me," he replied disdainfully, "You can go and bandage that jerk's wounds if you love him so much!"
Angel shook his head and joined the vampire at the end of the alley. "I don't like Xander either," he admitted with a shrug when he reached him. "I even hesitated to intervene," he said after a second.
"Well, you should have listened to your instincts and he'd be history by now!" Spike stated angrily.
"That's not a good idea."
"Anyway, Willow won't let me in now. He's won," the vampire growled as he took a cigarette out of his pack.
"Of course she will," Angel said and the other vampire glanced at him questioningly as he flicked the flame of his lighter. "There's not a lot of us as you've noticed. We'll need everyone until Buffy gets back."
"I don't know if she'll come back," Spike said darkly and Angel was surprised. "She really wanted to quit everything…"
"What are you talking about?"
Spike sighed and leaned against the low wall between the Slayer's house and the alley that bordered the street. He didn't want to expose Buffy's vulnerability too explicitly, especially to Angel. But he was aware that even if they were enemies, in a way, the dark-haired vampire could continue to defend the Slayer if he himself was removed from the gang. So the message needed to be clear enough for it to be taken seriously.
"The day she came to tell me she wasn't feeling well, she wanted to go back to LA," he murmured. "To stop everything and go home… I managed to dissuade her, but it wasn't easy. She was supposed to spend a few days with the monks and make her decision then."
"So she hasn't made her choice yet," Angel understood. Spike nodded and blew the smoke from his cigarette upwards. "I promised her that if she decided to retire, I'd support her."
"You serious?" Angel sighed, "She's the Slayer, Spike! Without her, this world will quickly become nothing more than an open-air supermarket for thirsty demons! What got into you?"
The other vampire shrugged. "We can't force her to continue. She's earned her retirement."
Angel rolled his eyes. "You've always been too emotional," he sighed again.
"And you've never been emotional enough."
The two vampires remained silent for a few moments, both thinking anxiously about what the future might hold for them.
"What are you gonna do now?" Angel suddenly asked.
"If Willow lets me in, I'll probably stay until Buffy comes back and kicks the new bad guy's ass. Or until she decides not to come back," Spike replied, throwing his cigarette away.
The dark-haired vampire shook his head, "What are you gonna do about her?"
"What do you mean?" Spike frowned.
"You decided to reappear when you swore a few days ago that you never wanted to see her again. So I wonder if you'll stay and help her…"
"I don't know," the vampire muttered.
"If you hurt her, I'll kill you," Angel said very seriously.
"Why does everyone think I wanna hurt her?" Spike got angry, "Haven't I proven enough I'm on her side?!"
"If you break her heart, I'll kill you," the dark-haired vampire specified.
Spike's eyes widened. "For your information, that's not how it works between us. And as if you're not an expert on that!" He sneered.
"Spike…"
"Either way, I intend to stay out of the way even if I stay to help her while we get rid of all this shit," he cut him short. "And then I'll leave. Goodbye the Slayer, goodbye trouble! I've made my decision," he added firmly.
It was Angel's turn to snicker.
"I'm telling you, I've made my decision!" Spike repeated, annoyed, "As soon as we're done with all this, I'm out!"
"If only that could be true," the dark-haired vampire sighed, rolling his eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Spike groaned, "I won't make the same mistakes!"
"Believe me, Spike, if there's one thing you should be wary of, it's that," Angel continued, shaking his head.
"What?" The blond vampire asked, puzzled by the turn this conversation was taking.
"Open your eyes! This isn't just anyone! It's Buffy. And I'm not talking about the Slayer, about this fascination that we vampires naturally have for the Chosen One. Buffy's different."
Angel fell silent and looked at the other vampire, annoyed. He didn't know why he was about to share such intimate things about his relationship with the Slayer. Yet, he felt it was his duty to do so. If only for her. So that she would avoid another disappointment, and more suffering.
"When I met her, I didn't suspect anything," the vampire continued then.
Hearing his confidential tone, Spike felt his stomach twist with disgust. "I don't wanna hear it," he cut him short as he prepared to leave.
"Dammit, Spike! I'm trying to help you!" Angel got angry, "You think it's easy for me to tell you?"
"I think you'll never get tired of telling me that you shared unforgettable moments together!" The vampire hissed angrily, turning towards the object of his jealousy. "I haven't always been perfect, but I pay the consequences every day and I don't need you to come and tell me how to deal with her!"
Furious, the blond vampire strode away. He reached the street and crossed the road. Angel followed him with his eyes until his figure disappeared into the shadows. In the distance, he heard the ambulance sirens echoing in the night.
"Giles, tell me this book will be useful," Willow implored him when she discovered the watcher sitting at the kitchen table the next morning. Bent over the precious book, the man looked up. "Yes, I think it'll be useful. How is Xander?"
"He's fine. He'll keep marks for several days but he'll survive. Spike didn't hold back…" The young woman grimaced as she poured herself a cup of coffee. As soon as she had poured the hot liquid, the witch yawned and dropped into a chair next to the watcher.
"Did you sleep, Willow?" He asked, seeing her exhausted face.
"Not really," the young woman admitted. "When I took Xander home from the hospital, it was three in the morning. Then, Dawn called me around five."
"Any news from Buffy?"
"She had a lot of trouble reaching her but she finally managed. Her phone went right to voicemail. Dawn went through her old hotel, which gave her the name of a vegetable merchant not far from the temple. Afterwards, she had to arrange for Buffy to be taken directly to the merchant because the monks don't have phones…"
"What did she say?"
"She more or less confirmed what Spike said," the witch sighed. "That she didn't feel well enough to return to LA right now and she didn't know exactly when she would."
"She didn't say more?" Giles asked with a frown.
"No… The conversation was rather stormy according to Dawn," Willow added with a sigh.
"It's not that surprising," the watcher noted while taking off his glasses. "This situation is indeed totally new but the fact that a Slayer is wondering about her mission is not so strange…"
"But, Giles, in the middle of such a threat?" The witch said, "After all she has already experienced?"
"Exactly, Willow," he continued. "To my knowledge, a Slayer has never gone through so many ordeals or of such magnitude before Buffy. I don't remember a Slayer staying alive so long either actually."
The young woman bit her lip. "What can we do?" She murmured.
"For now, we have to draw all the elements we can out of this book and we need to stay united to protect the city."
"And for Buffy?"
"Buffy has always needed to be surrounded to give the best of herself. We need to show her our presence and support but the most uncertain will remain the task that we cannot do for her. Being the Slayer."
That same evening, the Scoobies were back together. Silence had weighed on the house all day and it was coming to life at the beginning of the evening. The atmosphere was becoming feverish and doubt was assailing each mind.
Dawn and Andrew had sat on the couch while Willow, Giles and Xander had gone around the kitchen counter which overlooked the living room. The pieces of the table had been cleared away and the empty space made the room too imposing for the small group of friends. A purplish bruise colored Xander's right cheek whose dark gaze betrayed his bad mood.
Suddenly, they heard the front door open and all eyes focused on the newcomer. Angel entered the living room and rested both hands on one of the chairs.
"The disappearances are now spreading to the major cities of Nevada," he began. "That means there's gonna be a surge in demons, like the other times when we noticed it wasn't just the city. I won't be able to handle this alone."
"We're gonna review the patrol schedules," Willow suggested.
"It won't be enough," the vampire cut her short. "We'll need to split up to cover more ground. We need at least five groups."
"That could be a problem." Giles sighed, "There aren't enough of us."
"Can't we call on other slayers?" Dawn asked.
"They're all over different territories and they're managing the growing flow of demons as best they can," the watcher explained. "And unfortunately, they're poorly trained. The task is immense…"
"We need a referent per group," the witch decided. "The referent must have enough experience to guide the others. Angel and Giles?" The dark-haired vampire nodded positively. "I'm not the best warrior but why not," Giles approved in turn.
"Xander, you feeling up to it?" Willow continued.
"I'll be there," the young man affirmed.
"Okay then with me, that makes four referents."
"What about me?" The Slayer's sister exclaimed, "I can take care of myself!"
"Dawnie, I don't think that's a good idea," Willow said kindly.
"She knows how to fight," Angel pointed out.
"Yes, I do!" Dawn added, delighted that someone was intervening on her behalf.
"I'm sorry, Dawn, but I promised Buffy I'd-
"Don't!" Dawn interrupted her abruptly, "Don't talk to me about my sister! If she really cared about us, she'd be here tonight! I'm here and I'm ready to fight!"
An awkward silence greeted her outburst.
"Don't blame your sister, Dawn," Xander pointed out to her. "You can't doubt her loyalty after everything she's done. She'll be back soon. But I understand that you wanna be part of it. You can come with me," he suggested, glancing at Willow to see if she agreed. She nodded positively and Xander turned to the young woman.
"Thank you, Xander!" Dawn accepted gratefully.
"What about me? Can I come?" Andrew asked in a small voice.
"You'll come with me," Willow decided, not wanting to see him slow down or endanger the others. "But that's only two groups and two people alone," she added with a sigh.
"Spike will come," Angel said as Xander rolled his eyes.
"You sure?" The witch asked.
"Sure."
"Alright. So that makes five referents," she continued. "Now, about the book Spike brought back, Giles and I have started reading it and I think we'll have some decisive elements soon. The translation takes a little time but the writing is quite clear. When Buffy comes back, I think we'll be finished."
"Did you discover something?" Angel asked.
"We had confirmation that Willow's theory was correct," Giles replied. "The necklace is an object as old as the First. It represents a scale between Good and Evil, an object to balance positive and negative energies in the universe. Demons use it to revive the First. They use the missing persons as a source of energy to strengthen it."
"How?" Xander asked, frowning.
"The disappearances almost only concern delinquents," the watcher observed, "And let's not forget that the part of Evil that the First represents is contained in more or less large quantities in each human being…"
"The demons reactivate the First by projecting this part of Evil onto the necklace!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Yes, that's what we think," Giles continued, nodding.
"In a sense, it's ridding us of the human scum and we just need to find a way to get rid of the demons afterwards! At the rate they're going, in a few months, they'll have cleaned the Earth and everything will stop!" Xander remarked.
"It can't be that simple," the witch chimed in. "If our reasoning is correct, the First will grow until it reaches enough energy to be at the level of Good. Yet we have activated tens of thousands of potential slayers. When the First has enough power to take shape again, imagine its power…"
"We must call for the new slayers then!" Dawn exclaimed.
"We're running out of time." Giles sighed, "They're all over the world and I've spent the last six months trying to form groups but the system is far from efficient. These girls are certainly gifted with combat skills but without training and especially without an explanation of their new power, they're not as efficient as a slayer."
Silence fell on the audience for a few seconds before Angel broke it. "If the First takes shape again before we've eradicated the source of the problem, we'll need Buffy."
"She'll be there," Willow said.
"We need to get the necklace to stop their ritual. It's our best chance," the vampire continued.
"Indeed," the watcher agreed. "But first we need to come up with a plan. Given our small numbers, organization is our best weapon."
"I'll go back to patrol the area to see if there's been anything new," Angel suggested.
"Good idea," the witch said. "We're all going out patrolling tonight. We need information directly about the demons' modus operandi so that we know where and when to attack them."
Everyone nodded and Angel headed first towards the door. As he was about to reach it, it opened abruptly in front of him. He only had time to quickly step back so as not to be knocked out while all eyes converged on the unexpected visitor.
"So, I heard you need a Slayer?"