[Reviews - 8]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 1568 times

- Text Size +




Chapter 10

"But, I didn't die at the hands of the Master in my dimension." Anne pointed out. "Do you have any proof that the Master turned my counterpart? Angel and his soul aren't goodie-goodie, you know."

"What did he do in your dimension?" Giles asked with trepidation.

"Well, he let Dru and Darla munch on some lawyers," Anne replied. "I only found that out in the past couple of months, though." It was something she had discovered after she mated with William.

"Darla's dead," Giles and Spike said at the same time.

"Yeah, I know, but there's an evil law firm in Los Angeles that was trying to recreate what happened between me and Angel." Anne shrugged. "Guess they thought Darla would do it."

"What's this about the poofter?" Spike was curious. The Slayer seemed to know something that they didn't.

"That soul of his is cursed. One moment of happiness and it goes away." Anne gave a short, mirthless laugh. "Apparently, I'm really good at that, or at least I was. I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole now." She heaved a sigh as she thought about her Angel's willingness to let Dru and Darla eat the WRH lawyers, and how he unleashed Black Willow in her original dimension. It hurt to know that he held her relationship with William against her when he wasn't the wonderful paragon of virtue he always seemed try to be in front of her.

Giles watched the less than happy Slayer for a few minutes as he thought about what tortures his Slayer could be enduring at that very moment. He found himself feeling very guilty that he took Angel's word that Buffy was indeed dead. He just hoped she would forgive him if she was still alive. He knew it would be a long, long time before he forgave himself. "I don't think you or Spike should allow yourselves be seen here until we know for sure if what we suspect to be true really is," Giles announced.

Spike didn't know what to think. He had come back to Sunnydale on his Sire's whim, and he had not expected for her words to be anything but a bunch of shite. With the new information that his Grandsire wasn't all that good even with the soul, and how attractive this particular Slayer appeared to be, the blond vampire wondered if Drusilla was hoping that he'd be distracted enough not to notice she was attempting to have her 'Daddy' back in her bed. He tried to shake that thought of his head, but the Slayer's next words brought his brain to a halt.

"She'll have her soul, you know?" Anne said quietly and sadly. She remembered how it felt to be broken, and she could feel William reaching out to comfort her. "Buffy, I mean. She might be broken, but I guess Angel likes us that way, doesn't he?"

Spike nodded his head in agreement at Anne's statement. His own Sire was as broken as they come. As much as he adored his wicked ripe plum, there were times when her dependence on him was tiring. He just hoped that if the Slayer was turned, she wouldn't be as broken as Drusilla.

"Do you have somewhere to stay, Anne?" Giles asked. He wasn't sure he had the extra cash to get the woman a hotel room, and he knew that Spike could hang out just about anywhere. The Watcher didn't want to think about the people that the vampire was going to eat.

"Yeah, that's all covered. Just let me use the phone, okay?" Anne pulled RoseSeri's card out of her pocket. When Giles waved her towards the library phone, she made a quick call to the lawyer. With a few well chosen words, the Guardian's house was ready to be occupied. Anne turned around to smile at Giles and Spike. "All done. Now, I think I'd rather have a ride rather than walk. No need for anyone to see us and have the word get back to Angel."

"I have just the person," Giles replied. He went to the hallway, and he waved to someone.

"Oz," Anne cried happily. She knew he didn't know her since he hadn't joined the Scoobies until after her first brush with death, but she was happy to see him anyway. He had always been a good friend to her.

"Careful, Slayer." Spike sniffed the air as he put a hand on Anne's arm. "He's not human." He wasn't sure why he warned the Slayer, or held her back, but he seemed to instinctually want to protect her.

"Oh, I know." Anne nodded her head. "He's a werewolf, but I don't think there's a full moon tonight. So, it's all good." She gave Oz another smile.

"Could you please give Spike and Anne a lift, Oz?" Giles asked. "I must warn you now that Angel is not to know anything about them. We will have a Scooby meeting tomorrow at Anne's place."

"I understand," Oz replied. "I'll pick up the others and bring them along for the meeting." He wasn't too sure about the two blonds; one he only knew by her reputation from before he was a Scooby, and the other he had meet briefly while the Scoobies had been running for their lives from him. However, he trusted Giles, and if Giles was okay with it, then it was good enough for him.

Anne said good-bye to Giles, and she herded Spike out of the library. She wasn't all that worried about him. It wasn't like she couldn't beat him up if he got out of line. Anne smiled in memory when she saw Oz's van. It'd been a long time since she had seen the stoic werewolf, and she realized that she had missed him more than she had realized. After Anne gave Oz the address to the Guardian's house on Hadley Drive, she asked him about the other Scoobies. She was quite pleased to find out that all her friends were alive and well in this dimension.

Spike followed the Slayer and the werewolf out of the high school. As much as he wanted to spit and snarl about the turn his life had just taken, he found himself oddly compelled to do what Anne told him. He had heard her tell the Watcher that he, or rather his counterpart, was her mate. It was a fact that he hadn't let his mind dwell on until this very moment. Spike hoped his counterpart hadn't turned into some kind of wimp. He knew he was Love's Bitch but a bloody Slayer?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel stood behind the two-way mirror watching his prized pet pace around her room. When he had turned the Slayer almost two years prior, he had been able to control her using his Sire's voice. At first, he had been able to make her as enthusiastic for sex as he was, but in the past few months she had been able to overcome the power of his voice. Angel didn't know what to think about that. She clearly shouldn't be old enough, or powerful enough, to overpower him. He had proved just the year before when Spike and Drusilla drifted through town that even after 140 years he still had power to make Drusilla succumb to his every demand.

Buffy seethed with an almost uncontrollable rage as she circled her cell. It had been a long, painful struggle to accept the different sides of her personality since being turned. The acts of debauchery she had performed with Angel had prolonged the experience of acceptance. Now though, she was sure that her soul, her demon, and her Slayer sides were all working in tandem.

Not debauchery, Buffy growled to herself. It was rape. He thought he could break me! I will not be broken. I will not be controlled by him anymore. In her anger, she didn't realized that she had shifted into a visage similar to her vampire one. Buffy hadn't dealt with her Slayer side much as of yet, and so, she gasped when she saw herself in the mirror for the first time since she had been vamped.

Angel stepped back in fear when he felt Buffy's power change. He was sure she couldn't get past the wards that kept her in her room, but maybe it was time to find a new way to control her. Angel decided to go back to the witch who had set up the wards. Maybe she had a way to magically control the turned Slayer. If that didn't work, there was always drugs, the dark-haired vampire thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Now I remember why I hate Vegas," William grumbled. He threw himself into one of the hotel room chairs. "Too many bloody demons."

"Are you sure there isn't a Hellmouth here?" Dee asked. She was busy going over the hotel's room service menu.

"Nah, the demons are just attracted to all the corruption and other sins," Anyanka replied in a knowing voice. "I remember one time just before Giles made me human, a man cheated on his wife with the entire chorus line of the Milagio."

"Is this gonna be one of those gory stories?" Dee interrupted. She was hungry, and she didn't want her appetite ruined by one of Anyanka's stories.

"Oh, yes!" Anyanka nodded with enthusiasm, her reddish curls bobbing around her face. "She made him wear high heels every day, get pinched on the bottom by strangers, and he never experienced another orgasm."

William chuckled. The demon-girl's story was less bloody than her usual ones but funnier than most. Only Anyanka would find the thought of no orgasms worse than blood and gore.

"The car rental place will call us when they get an RV in." Dee decided to ignore Anyanka's story and get the conversation back on track.

"When will that be?" Anyanka asked. "I sure hope we have a better trip this time." She shuddered as she remembered the last time the gang took an RV trip.

Dee shrugged, her attention back on the menu again. She picked up the phone to put an order into room service. All this dimension travel made her very hungry.

"I miss Anne," William muttered. Even though they were mentally linked, he knew he was going to miss her warm body next to his in bed.

D.G. grunted at the mopey vampire. Maybe they could pass the time going on a patrol.

"Excellent plan, Rupes." William perked up. "Some gratuitous violence sounds bloody good." He hopped to his feet, grabbed his duster, and the two male demons were out the door before Dee or Anyanka could protest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With unusual silence on his part, Spike watched and listened as Anne interacted with the werewolf. For the most part, she seemed happy, but every so often something in her demeanor showed him that she hadn't always been that way. Several times she tried to get him in on the conversation as if he was an old friend instead of a vampire who had killed two Slayers in the past.

Spike wasn't that surprised when the werewolf let them off in front of a typical Sunnydale house. What did surprise him was the fact that the house was keyed to his blood too, and he needed no invite. The Slayer didn't even act worried that he had an invite. In fact she didn't seem scared of him at all.

Once the vampire and the Slayer were settled, Spike demanded that Anne tell him everything. Hours later, as the sun started to rise, he stared at the petite woman in disbelief. He would have gleefully denied that she was telling the truth except for the claim mark on her neck and the look in her eye.

Spike spent the morning in silent contemplation. He had no desire to change his ways, but he had to wonder what it would be like to be loved like Anne loved William.





You must login (register) to review.