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Chapter 3

Ask Spike what he thought he’d be doing in 2004, and it would not be playing Chutes and Ladders. He hadn’t even heard of it before now. The chit grinned when he announced that fact, and he started to wonder if he was in trouble.

“You tell anyone I played a game for pre-school-ers, and I’ll eat you,” he threatened.

“Promises, promises…”

Rules seem simple enough, he thought. 15 minutes later, he was cursing again as his character slid down another chute.

“I keep telling you, you’re spinning the arrow too hard. It’s just going to keep falling on the same number. Can’t vampires use a delicate touch?” she taunted.

“Oh, we can be delicate, luv. You have no idea the things I can do,” he purred, giving her his best leer.

Charlotte just rolled her eyes. “Does that actually work?”

“Hey! I’ll have you know I can pick up any woman I wanted to.”

“Sober or drunk?”

“You’re askin’ for it, missy.”

“Oooo, I’m so scared!”

“Just take your damn turn!”

Charlotte – 1, vampire – 0. She spun the arrow with a delicate touch, landing on the exact number she needed to win.

“I win. You can’t call me Shorty anymore.”

“So, what am I supposed to call you? Luv, pet…kitten?”

“How about Charlotte, my actual name,” she replied.

“Last name?”

“Taylor.”

He picked up her hand, raising it gallantly. “Well, Miss Charlotte Taylor, it is a pleasure to meet you,” and kissed her knuckles.

She let out a big fake sigh, touching her free hand to her forehead and falling over to the floor. She giggled at his scowl.

“Oh, that’s it! You’re going down, you little brat.” He pounced, tickling both sides of her ribs, making her shriek and fold into a ball.

“Aaaaaah! No, no…Spike! Aaack, quit it! I’ll be good, I promise…please stop…”

“That’s more like it. Any more smart comments, and I might have to take you over my knee.”

“Promise?” she replied, leering just like he’d done earlier.

He leaned closer to her face for emphasis. “Oh, definitely.” He had her hands pinned above her head, and all the laughing had her cheeks flushed and eyes bright. He leaned further as if to kiss her, when someone male cleared his throat. Both of them turned their heads towards the door.

“Peaches, you’re up! How’s the bum leg?”

“Holding. What are you doing?” Angel asked suspiciously.

“Having a tickle fight, can’t you tell?”

“I heard screaming,” Angel replied.

“Then you must have heard the laughter, too. Charlotte, meet my grandsire, the Great Poof.”

“The name’s Angel,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Hi. I hope you don’t mind me taking a room. I lived in the building next door, and Spike was kind enough to offer me a clean bed for the night.” Spike rolled to his feet, then gave her a hand up. She crossed the room to shake Angel’s hand.

“Oh. Sorry we, uh, put you out on the street. Stay as long as you need. Spike, make sure she’s comfortable and has use of the phone.” Angel nodded to them, then took off down the hall as fast as his healing leg would let him.

“Is he always like that?” Charlotte asked, closing the door.

“Pretty much. The git is uncomfortable around humans. Finds it hard to relate.”

“He’s a vampire, like you, right?”

“He’s nothing like me, but as for being a vamp, yeah, you’re right. The Broody One has a soul, too, only his was cursed on him by gypsies. He gets too happy, he goes evil again.”

“Well, that’s a stupid curse. Why would you leave a get-out-of-jail clause on someone you wanted to curse?”

“Insane gypsy logic…I couldn’t tell ya. He has to always remember his guilt for all he’s done as long as that curse is active. He ate the favorite daughter of the clan,” he relayed helpfully.

“Ah…then the happiness clause makes even less sense. The whole point was eternal revenge…”

“Enough about him. Tell me about Charlotte Taylor.” Spike dumped the game back in its box and sat on the bed, his back against the headboard.

“What time is it?” She flopped onto the bed.

“You’re the one with the watch, pet.”

She blushed, embarrassed, and looked at her left wrist. “11:30! God, no wonder I’m tired! I was at the apartment at 8:00 to start packing.”

He smiled sympathetically. “I’ll let you get some kip, then.” He rose from the bed, then turned to say, “Oh. The girls downstairs are Slayers. They’re the good guys, don’t worry, and most of them are friendly. If you want to get breakfast in the morning, I suggest you hit the kitchen early. They eat everything that isn’t nailed down.”

“Good to know.” She rolled off the bed and walked over to give him a brief hug. “Thanks, for everything. Where’s your room, in case I need something?”

“End of the hall, where it’s quiet. Peaches is downstairs, unless he’s moving now that he’s…moving.”

“Okay. Good night, Spike.”

“’Night, luv. Sweet dreams.”
~+~
Charlotte woke from a sound sleep, positive that she was being watched. She got out of bed and shut and latched the window, drawing the curtains, too. Her neck throbbed where she’d been bitten.

She must have tossed in her sleep, loosening the scabs, for there was a trickle of blood from each fang hole when she looked in the mirror in the morning. She showered, wrapped her long hair in a bun, and put a fresh bandage on the wound. A sleeveless turtleneck and jeans later, she was ready to head downstairs to find food.
~+~
Nobody seemed to be up, yet. Typical teens – they were probably sleeping in after a late night chatting. Charlotte picked a direction, which turned out to be the right course. She ended up right in the kitchen, and started foraging in the refrigerator. Two eggs, an apple, a peach, and two slices of toast perked her right up. She had to start looking for another apartment right away, so lunch would be grabbed somewhere while she was out.

A tall redhead who looked all of 19 walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes.

“Oh! Hi…I didn’t realize Angel had someone else on his team. My name’s Vi.”

“Nice to meet you. And I’m just a stray Spike picked up. I used to live next door.”

Vi’s face was immediately sympathetic. “Oh…we wrecked your home…I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t in the damaged section. I just had to move my stuff since they’re tearing the whole building down. My name’s Charlotte. You, uh, have a lot of girls here.”

“Well, we got word that something really big was happening in L.A., so we came to take care of it. That’s what we do, fly all over the world protecting people, though my team is based in Cleveland. It was a good thing we came, too, ‘cause they were really outnumbered, and there was a dragon,” Vi shared.

“As in fire-breathing, with scales?” Charlotte wondered, shocked.

“Yep! We shot it in the air ‘cause it had Angel in its jaws, and it crashed into the building. Hence the big pile of rubble. It really wasn’t that big, as far as stories go, so it must have been a pretty old building,” she answered. Geeze, this girl was peppy.

“Wow…Spike told me there was a big battle, but I never would have guessed they had a dragon. What else was there?”

“Well, have you seen the Lord of the Rings movies? There were a couple of really big demons that looked like mountain trolls. Luckily, they were just as dumb, and slow. Lots of other really ugly nasty types. Most of them didn’t originate in this dimension, we think. Giles – that’s our boss – only recognized a few of the descriptions, and he’s a major expert!”

“Huh…well, I’ve got to go apartment hunting. Oh…Vi, do you usually drink coffee in the morning?”

“Most of the time.”

“Stick to decaf.”

The teen looked puzzled for a moment, then blushed, realizing that she’d been talking very fast. Charlotte patted the girl’s shoulder, and left.
~+~
When Charlotte got back in the late afternoon, the girls were all in the lobby.

“Hey, Charlotte! We ordered pizza. Help yourself,” Vi offered.

Never one to turn down free food, she grabbed three slices of mushroom and olive, and had a seat on the round sofa. The teens closed in, looking bored and curious. Uh-oh. I’m fresh meat.

“Something on your minds, ladies?” she asked, adopting her “teacher voice”.

“We were just curious what your story is.”

“Well, I’m a music teacher. I direct a high school orchestra, and introduce music appreciation to 2nd graders. I grew up 2 hrs south of here, and moved to L.A. a year ago for my job. As Vi might have mentioned, I lived in the building next door, until last night. Spike saved me from some vampires when I was loading up my car, and offered me a place to stay until I find a new apartment. That’s about it.”

“Did you know about vampires before?” another girl asked.

“Nope. Found out by being face to face. I was in for a world of hurt when Spike showed up.”

“How many were there?”

“Five.”

“Were you scared? I was scared the first time I had to stake one,” mentioned another.

“Of course I was. I was pretty much in shock for a while afterwards. I doubt I’ll ever forget it,” she answered seriously.

The girls murmured in assent, remembering their first times.

“So, you’re an army of warrior girls. How come no one’s ever heard of you?” Charlotte wondered.

“Oh, well, it used to be just one Slayer, and then there were two, and there are only lots of us now because of a spell. All of us with the potential got the full juice. Rona, how many have been found, at last count?”

“Close to 500, I think. It’s slow going where we don’t have interpreters.”

“Has Giles responded to your report, yet, Vi? L.A.’s getting boring. We’ve got work waiting in Cleveland.” The rest echoed the sentiment, eager to move on.

“I’ll call and remind him to check his e-mail,” she sighed.

Charlotte took advantage of the diversion as a chance to escape the bored teens. She tossed her empty paper plate in the trashcan, and looked in the refrigerator for a soda.

“You are new, and yet you carry the scent of my pet. Explain yourself.”

She spun around to see a tall woman in leather armor step out of the shadows. Definitely not human.

“I arrived last night. Spike rescued me from a group of vampires. And you would be?”

“I am Illyria, the god-king. I slumbered too long, and now the stench of humanity covers this planet. I long to go home, but it is not there.”

“Uh, yeah…and Spike is your…pet?”

“He amuses me, especially with the noises he makes when I throw him into walls. Wesley was to teach me how to exist in this world, but he is dead. It – I feel – I do not like it. I should not feel anything for inconsequential beings…they are but dust beneath my feet…” The goddess said most of this to herself, thinking out loud.

“If his loss means something to you, then perhaps it is grief you are feeling. We experience a sense of loss and sadness when a person in our lives dies. It’s part of how we remember them.”

“This shell…it felt for him. I carry her memories still, like strands of time I can touch and replay. I do not understand how humans can value such a fragile body.”

“It’s the only one we’ve got, Blue. How’ve you been spending your time?” Spike said. He’d entered quietly behind Charlotte upon picking up Illyria’s voice.

“I hunted for all the demons I could crush until my vengeance was satisfied. Since then, I have been communing with the green. I wish to avoid the hormonal adolescent females.”

“That’s fine, pet. How about we find you a map to point you in the direction of more wilderness?”

“An acceptable offer. Find it for me, and I will leave immediately. The stench here offends me,” she replied.

Charlotte followed Spike back out the lobby. “You live in a strange world, Spikey.”

“You don’t know the half of it, pet. There has to be a Thomas Guide behind the desk somewhere…”

“How come you’re awake already?”

“I was asleep by sunrise, luv. A good 4 – 6 hours is all I require. The sun doesn’t have to be down for me to get around. Sewer systems are handy, as long as you don’t mind the smell. Aha! 2003 – well, they can’t have moved a forest in less than a year. Be a dear and hand this to Her Highness while I warm up my breakfast?”

“Oh, sure…send the new girl to the firing squad, in case she doesn’t like it,” Charlotte muttered. Spike smothered a laugh, knowing she probably wasn’t aware he could hear her clearly.

Illyria accepted the book and patted Charlotte on the head. “Your new pet is well trained, Spike.”

Charlotte calmly turned back to walk to Spike’s side, mouthing “you are dead!!” to the smirking vampire. Illyria slipped away out the back of the kitchen while Spike calmly sipped from his mug.

“You. Are. In. So. Much. Trouble! For setting me up like that. She patted me on the head like I was a puppy!” She punctuated each word by stabbing him in the chest with her finger.

“I know! It was bloody hilarious!” His brilliant blue eyes sparkled with mirth.

Her eyes narrowed, as she stood toe-to-toe with the vampire. “Mark my words, Spike. You are sooo going down!!” She stomped out, leaving the door swinging wildly.

“Congratulations, Spike. You managed to piss her off in less than 24 hours,” Angel taunted, coming in for his breakfast.

“Bugger off, Angelus.” The younger vampire left, grumbling under his breath.

Angel chuckled to himself, pleased that he could get to Spike first thing in the day, until he noticed the un-rinsed mug in the sink. I hate when he does that!

~+~

Angel stood at the door to his office, watching everyone mill about. The baby Slayers were warming up to go patrol, sharpening weapons, checking batteries on handheld radios… Vi was going over the patrol zones with her group leaders on a city map. And the new girl and his grandchilde were talking on the couch in the corner.
~+~
“Spike, why does Angel keep staring at me?” Charlotte whispered.

“Haven’t a clue, luv. You want me to make him stop?” he asked with a grin, anticipating a fight.

“No…it just feels…creepy.” She shivered for emphasis.

“Well, that’s the Poof, for ya. He’d rather skulk on the sidelines and watch people then just say what’s on his mind. The git should have had STALKER stamped on his enormous forehead centuries ago.”

“How come you two dislike each other so much?”

“It’s – can we go outside? I can hardly hear myself think in here.”

“Sure. I don’t mind a walk.”

They slipped out the doors, Spike lighting a cigarette as soon as they stepped on to the curb.

“I was turned in 1880, by Drusilla, Angelus’ childe. She mesmerized me instantly, and it was a few weeks before Angelus met up with us. His first rule for me was ‘You can take whatever you want, but you own nothing’. Said he was glad to have another rooster in the henhouse, to even the numbers. He’s been travelin’ with Dru and Darla, his sire, for years, and they were both pretty demanding for attention. With me around to distract Drusilla, Angelus didn’t have to watch over her all the time. I first learned what he meant when I came home to find he and Dru in our bed. Oh, I was angry, but he could swat me around like a fly, being nothing but a fledge at the time.
I spent the first 18 years of my unlife having it ground into my head that Dru was never mine. ‘Daddy’ always came first. He wanted to mold me in his image, and to gain Dru’s attention, I took on challenge after challenge. Often bringing down a mob on our heads.” He chuckled, and took another draw off the cigarette, before lighting a second one.

“Angelus would punish me, of course, for breakin’ his rules, but I didn’t care. He left the three of us when they cursed him with the soul. Found out later it was because Darla couldn’t stand him anymore.
As much as I hated the bastard, he was also my mentor, and we even had a few good times. See, pet, a vampire family, is a dark, twisted thing. Affection and pain often go hand in hand. So, anyway, I thought with him finally gone, that Dru would be mine, but she was devastated that her beloved ‘Daddy’ wasn’t the same anymore. He tried to come back two years later, when we were in China, but Darla still didn’t want him if he couldn’t be as evil as he had been.
At the same time, I made a name for myself, becoming the youngest master vamp in recorded history, at least in the Council files. I killed my first Slayer, and Dru was so proud. Her favor lasted with me until she started moaning for Angelus again, but by that time, Darla had abandoned us, too, and we traveled the world alone. Anywhere she wanted to see, I made it happen. Fought Slayers along the way, of course. Didn’t kill my next one until ’77…
Anyway, I brought Dru to the Hellmouth to heal her, and Angel was there, dating the Slayer. She managed to release him from his curse, and Angelus came back to the fold. I was in a damned wheelchair at the time, so he made good use of making up for lost time with Drusilla. You see, Angelus has spent so long locked up behind the soul, that it’s made him mad, I mean stark raving lunatic kinda crazy, and he got it into his head to suck the world into hell to punish it for forcing the soul on him. I like the world how it is, you know…and I wanted Dru as far away from him as possible, so I made a deal with the Slayer. I help her take Angelus before he ends the world, and Dru and I get to leave, never to return.”

“You didn’t exactly keep with that rule, did ya?”

“Hush. It’s my story. So, I knock out Dru and get out of town. We make it down to Brazil, but she’s been blastin’ me the whole time since she woke up about leavin’ Daddy behind. Tried to make her see that I’d made the deal to keep her safe, but it was ‘Daddy this’ and ‘Daddy that’, and ‘you’re all covered in the Slayer’. The bloody ungrateful bitch finally topped it off with cheatin’ on me with a Chaos demon. They’re ugly, smelly, and the slime! It gets everywhere, dripping off their antlers. It’s hideous.” Spike had a full body shiver for effect.

“Why that, of all things? I mean, you’re totally hot, in a retro sort of way.” Ooops.

He preened in front of her. “You think I’m hot?”

“For a guy that never left punk behind…”

“Hey, that’s bloody good music!”

“For 1979!”

“Your point?”

“Punk, like every other modern genre, was temporary. I won’t deny that they put thought and feeling into their lyrics, but who’s going to remember it in a hundred years? There’s a good reason why I’m able to direct a classical orchestra in 2004.”

“And I have nothing against the old timers, pet, but I prefer my music blunt and brutal.”

She snorted. “You and my ex would get along great.”

“Well, maybe you should introduce us, then!”

“And let you pump him for dirt? Oh, no…”

He paused her mid-step with a hand on her arm. “Pet, you’re a beautiful, intelligent, feisty, young woman. What could he possibly say that would smudge your halo? I already know it’s held up by thorns,” he teased.

“Okay, that was lame, even for you.” Charlotte grinned, in spite of herself.

“Got you to grin, didn’t it? Seriously, one) I’m no one to judge another, and two) you’ve already won my loyalty just by accepting me as I am. I don’t know why I keep blabbin’ all this personal stuff to you…”

“Everybody does it. It’s just a vibe I give off…” she interrupted.

“Let me finish! The point is, you’re one of the few people in my life, or unlife, that I could ever call ‘friend’, just for listenin’ to all these sordid details, and not being disgusted with me. It means a lot.”

She smiled caringly. “You’ve really needed to get all this stuff off your chest for a long time, haven’t you?”

Spike bowed his head, shuffling his feet, embarrassed. “Yeah, I guess. I’ve never told the whole story to one person before. Well, you haven’t heard everythin’, but this has been more than enough in just 24 hours. Bloody hell…have I really only known you a day?”

“Certainly seems like longer, doesn’t it? Told you we were meant to meet,” she teased.

“Yeah, yeah…I remember. Wanna get some ice cream?”

“Is the Pope Catholic?” she replied.

He laughed, and offered his arm to her for their evening stroll.





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