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Author's Chapter Notes:
Just a reminder, I originaly put this story together while Buffy was in its 6th season, and of course was religiously watching Angel as well so go with me on this and I think you'll enjoy the little tour.
Intrusive Memories

Angel's eyes tried to focus. The light that engulfed him seemed brighter than the sun's.

Slowly, the area darkened and he found himself standing in a cavern closely resembling the one he had been in a moment ago. Facing him, although not face to face with him, was a duplicate of Buffy. His eyes roamed her form again, remembering that the other copy had looked so different.

"Why do you look like Buffy, or at least the Buffy from my past?"

The blonde looked up at the dark Vampire. "Angel, you and your Second have been called here because of the unusual connection you have with the Slayer. Both of you." Angel's anger began to rise again. "Your need to protect her is as deep as his passion for her."

Angel looked up into the image of Buffy and shook his head in defiance.

Without warning flashes of memories began running madly through his brain. Darla fighting Buffy, Buffy face down in a pool of water, Spike declaring his wish to kill Buffy, watching from the inside as Angelus tortured her and her friends, the High School's last stand against the Mayor, the wish to The Powers to take back his humanity...

It took the soulful Vampire a moment to gain his balance. "What the hell was that?!" Angel fumed at the being.

"Memory Intrusion. Not usually a hit with most, but I never get to try it with Vampires. Only works with souled beings. I wondered what your memories would feel like." She looked into Angel's eyes. "Interesting."

Angelus had made it clear to Dru that "peeking into daddy's mind" would get her into trouble. She never dared. Angelus hated the probing. His mind was his own. Angel felt no different.

He looked over at the woman and asked, "So, you've never had Vampires here before?"

"I didn't say that, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, OK?" She led Angel a ways down the cavern. After a few minutes the pair came to a stop. When Angel looked to the right, he saw a vision, through some sort of window, of Spike arguing with the other copy.

"Your grand-childe is an interesting specimen," his guide said. "Did you know that The Powers had much of his Vampiric existence planned even before you turned Dru?" She looked up at Angel as he watched the pantomime of the blonde Vamp arguing with Buffy's mirror image.

"You see, for generations, his demon has taken the body of a mild-tempered human. Man or woman, they were all quite similar."

Angel stopped scrutinizing the silent scene, and turned to listen to his version of the Slayer.

"The demon that inhabits William's body has spent more than 1000 years changing. Each time he has possessed a human, more of the human qualities that Vampires despise come through. Not the human's personality, more like a humanized demon. His is not the only one that has gone through this transition, but these demons are watched closely. His has been a favorite for his ability to draw on his humanity so vividly, without realizing it."

Angel looked again at the scene. He saw Spike looking at the granite wall. He was watching something intently, but Angel saw nothing.

"He always has been…different." Angel's own memories, without manipulation, came to him. "We always thought it was because Dru changed him." He laughed to himself. "Darla always used to say we never should have let an insane Vamp turn anyone, even if it had been her idea at the time."

He remembered the talk below the mine shaft where he had to explain almost all aspects of Vampire etiquette to the untrained Childe. "He not only suffered from a slight case of humanity, Drusilla had never trained him like a sire should have. He didn't know a damn thing until we met back up in Yorkshire." Angel's mind revisited Sunnydale. "It's one of the reasons he referred me as his Sire for a time."

Angel's focus returned to the conversation at hand. "But he always did seem to appreciate humanity. He even fought for it with the Slayer against Angelus."

"The effect of your childe’s insanity was not what made him more human, all she did was make him feel needed, and for a while...loved." She turned and studied the younger of the Vampires through the window she had created just for this conversation. He was arguing with her sister again.

She shook her head before closing the gate that had revealed the scene. "But that point is moot. The demon is who it is because it has taken a bit of humanity from each host. Not so much as William, though. His passions, his fears all transferred to his demon.

Unfortunately, he has no idea, so any feelings he has against his Vampiric nature are discomforting. Are yours?"

"Are my what? My feelings discomforting?" The Buffy copy nodded. "Some feelings are...hard to deal with. It's part of the curse, but I haven't got any problems with my day to day feelings."

His memories began flashing through his head once again. This time filled with the face of Cordelia.

First sighted in Sunnydale...simple conversation at The Bronze, again at Sunnydale High's demise. Then in LA.kissing Doyle, pregnant, pain from visions, training to fight, floating from a vision, kissing him, leaving." Pain filled Angel's eyes when he opened them.

"Yes, that's what I thought." She looked at him. 'He is ready. He just needs to accept a few things.'

~~`~~

Spike’s Buffy tipped her head to the side. "Disappointing, this could take some time."

"What time? I made my wish."

"You did not," she stated simply.

"I bloody well did!" Spike yelled in answer. He was becoming more agitated by this woman. 'Not fit to be the image of Buffy.' He thought to himself.

"Possibly not, but it is the link you and the dark haired one have that brought you to us."

"What?!" He knew he hadn't said that last part out loud. 'Oh wonderful, she reads minds, too. Well at least that's a trait the real Buffy doesn't have.'

"But she reads you often, does she not? Is she not able to tell when you are near?" Spike began to open his mouth to answer, but she went on. "She knows it is not just a Vampire, but you."

"You could stop that now. Don't much care for my mind being used like the Scoobies' old library. You can't just look up the answers in my mind."

Dru used to look into his head when he was a fledgling. After nearly ten years, he asked her to stop. She did, but some things could not be hidden (especially when you didn't know you had anything to hide). This experience was no more comfortable.

"You are afraid, afraid I will see something. What do you have to hide, young William?"

She sunk her mind into his and searched. "Quite interesting, strange." She looked into his blue orbs. "You truly love The Slayer, you love her sister..." another short pause

"Scoobies?"

Shaking his head, trying to get her out of his brain, he slowly answered. "They're her friends."

"Ah yes, the newest of the Slayers has had help from those not chosen to join the battle.

They have done this of their own accord?" Of course she knew the answer, but this might get things rolling in the right direction.

"Yeah, well the whelp liked the look of her and stalked her. He was lurkin' in the ol' library and found out about Buffy being all chosen and whatnot. 'Course he went and told the witch, but she wasn't a witch then. After that came the cheerleader."

"Yes, Cordelia. She has become a vital part of Angel's mission."

"Right." He nodded, and smirked at her not knowing what she was talking about. ''Then the wolf." Spike thought a moment and continued, "That's when their school blew up, but at least they graduated, a lot of kids don't survive high school. Especially in Sunnydale, but then Angel and the queen left. Then came the demon."

"Anyanka, yes. My sister and I were quite surprised with that turn of events. A vengeance demon found out and her powers stolen by a man. It is sad. She was always quite good at Monopoly. We have missed her in our weekend games"

"Monopoly, eh?" He wasn't sure if he believed that the PTBs, or anyone involved with them, sat down and played themselves a happy game of Monopoly. Then again, why couldn't they?

"Might explain her fascination with money."

The Buffy copy gave him a quizzical look.

"Right. So then the wolf left, but the other witch joined."

"And you, when did you?"

"When did I what?"

"Join these 'Scoobies'."

"Never!" Spike tried to sound angry. He would never join their little band of merry demon killers. "I help a bit 'ere and there, but never was asked to actually join. It's not like they invite me to the meetings much."

"So, you are not part of them, but you help a bit?"

"Yeah." Spike watched as Buffy raised an arm over her head and placed it on the cavern wall that he had been leaning against. He immediately felt a warmth through his duster and pushed himself up off the wall to turn and see what resembled a movie screen appear on the surface of the wall.

Curious, Spike tentatively tried to touch it, but his hand only felt the stone wall. He saw as his hand rested against the material of the screen, but his eyes were lying to him. So he stepped back and asked, "What's this all about?"

The screen became alive with faces and movement. Faces he knew, but wasn't happy to see.

There, in living color, was Glory, her minions, and the worst face of all. His. Bloodied from a beating he had decided no one should ever have to live through. Technically he hadn't, he would have to have been alive in the first place. He watched as the Hell-Bitch crushed a glass into his face, and winced at remembered pain.

"This was 'helping a bit', right?" and Buffy chuckled. "What do you end up looking like if you work your ass off?" She spoke taking up the familiar Buffy-isms Spike recognized.

"I was just...I was making sure Dawn was safe," he answered while staring with awe at the only vision he had seen of himself in more than 120 years, and he looked like hell...on a bad day.

"Why, she's a Key. That blood must be as invigorating as any Slayer's. It opened a portal to another dimension. Tell me, if you had no chip, would you taste The Key?" Buffy asked sarcastically.

"Dawn! 'Er name is Dawn!" Spike yelled suddenly furious.

"And she's no Key!” He paused. “Not anymore," he finished quietly, with a slight smile.

"But the blood would still be so-"

"No! The Niblet isn't a bloody snack!" Spike's eyes were cold and hard as he tried to stare down this infuriating image of the woman he loved. Finally, he looked back at the screen, only to see himself once again. This time attacking Red in her dorm room 2 years ago. At least he looked better.

"And her?"

Spike took in the scene. He had just escaped the Initiative and was looking for Buffy.

Instead he found Willow, but he was hungry so it was convenient, he had thought at the time. Then he tried to take a bite, and the pain in his head hit like an anvil. It was stranger then, but not anymore, how Red sat back and tried to make him feel better.

He had thought of turning Willow once. She was exceedingly bright, had a powerful mind, lovely.

"Wouldn't change her. Not now. Couldn't kill her." He wanted to explain himself but all he could muster was, "I can't kill her. Not now."

Over time he had grown to respect her. Especially in the last few weeks. Magics were more than difficult to quit, he had heard it was nearly impossible. It was worse than a Vampire's inability to kill, or feed. It was power, the kind that wasn't out of habit, but from addiction.

"Her then?" And the picture shifted to The Bronze. Spike was sitting next to a very unhappy and confused ex-demon. The lights were flashing, and although he could not hear it, he remembered the conversation.

Spike's grin was literally from ear to ear. He was unable to hide the feeling of camaraderie and empathy for Anya. Kindred in their lost power. He had tried to convince her vengeance was in order. Anya had been strong, and had turned down the idea of revenge against Xander in the end. "Don't think I would like the taste of a thousand year old demon. Old blood, you know."

"OK, well then, her maybe?" Once more the vision shifted. This time Tara was seen folding clothes and packing up to move from the Summers' house.

"That was just wrong," Spike stated shortly. Tara had left Willow after an argument over magics went very badly. That was all he knew. Ultimately though, he had to admit that she left because Red was scaring her, and had hoped 'tough love' was the answer. It had been.

Tara loved Red so much, she let her go in hopes that it would persuade her to stop practicing Witchcraft.

"Please, William, tell me what is wrong?"

"She left 'er. Red was just being herself, and instead of trying 'er damndest to help, she picks up and leaves. If I had someone who loved me that much, I couldn't leave. I wouldn't leave," he finished.

"And that has always worked out well for you?"

Spikes eyes widened as he watched Dru's manic face fill the makeshift theater screen. His

Dark Princess. His Savior. "Now that's playin' dirty. She’s the reason I am, she made me. I was amazed at my own power after she changed me. I had to show her...had to make sure she was ok. I loved her," he finished.

"She introduced you to life in a way no one could, by killing you."

"You silly bint, she didn't kill me. She helped me be reborn. I didn't have to follow the rules anymore. No more whimpering William the Bloody Awful Poet, no more snobby aristocrats, no more weakness, no more rules."

A laugh reverberated through the cavern. Buffy was doubled over barely able to stand up, her shoulders shaking. "Oh." giggle "I'm sorry." giggle "I just...oh my..." She tried once more to subside her laughter and finally was able to breathe normally.

Spike gave her his most wicked Big Bad look and wondered what was so bloody funny.

"I'm sorry. You're all hyped on the Vamp thing 'cuz you don't follow rules? All you ever did was follow the rules, unless The Slayer was involved."

"Think a moment, William. You were aristocratic, honorable, moral, reputable-"

"Yeah, yeah. I was the whelp of all whelps. Get on with it!"

"As a human, you did as you were told. Correct?" She saw him nod in agreement. "Then you became a vampire?" He nodded again. "The rules changed, but you followed them."

She watched his reaction. She had his attention, that much was certain.

"Your rules changed, you were no longer a man of money but little else. Suddenly a world of freedom was unleashed upon you. You could kill, were supposed to. So your did. You could make slaves of men or women, were supposed to, so you did. You were supposed to be evil, so you were. You were supposed to follow and support your sire until you either died, or were dismissed, which you did."

Spike was beyond anger. "Where in the BLOODY HELL do you get off telling me what I have been doing for more that 120 years you-"

"Oh, get over yourself. You want to break the rules...that's what you like?" Buffy clone asked.

"I did, I do...I always have. Killing a Slayer, all alone, that isn't in the rulebook is it!?" He stopped. He was too angry to think past the most obvious rule he'd broken. No Vampire, Master or fledgling, had killed a Slayer alone before. Therefore, going after one alone was most definitely not in the Vamp rulebook. Spike hadn't cared. He had wanted to kill a Slayer, so he did. He had surpassed his own record by killing a second alone.

"Like I said, you follow the rules, unless it involves the Slayer." She paused a moment and watched Spike's face. His anger rose into his eyes as they shifted to a golden hue, then back to a brilliant blue.

"Your own senses tell you I'm right. I can see it in your eyes. You have respect for things most might call 'against the rules,' but even these things are influenced by Slayers."

"Slayers. Lady, the only other two Slayers I ever knew, I killed." Spike smiled. "And I did a bloody good job of it, too."

"Once again, William, you are incorrect."

"Now look here you-" Spike began.

"No, look here." With that, the screen lit up once again showing the darkened sky and coastline of New York City. Large military ships lined the docks.

"Why do women always have to bring up the past?" Spike shook his head and stared at the dark haired woman on the docks.


Chapter End Notes:
I'm really surprised at all the kind reviews. Thanks everyone for taking the time.



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