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Chapter 18

“Let me tell you a story.” Angel descended the stairs. “A story about a vampire with a soul who did a really, really bad thing. As Spike will tell you, magic has consequences. It always has consequences.”

“What are you blatherin’ on about?” Spike grunted.

“I’m not the Angel from this dimension.” The dark haired vampire rubbed a shaky hand through his hair. He made his way to a chair, skirting around Spike and Buffy as he did. “The Angel from here dusted twenty years ago, and I was able to take his place.”

“Why?” Giles asked the simple question.

The dark-haired vampire looked at the gathered people, and he slowly told his story from the beginning. Angel didn’t look at any of the others as he talked. He told them everything; how he had gotten the soul, his years of brooding, seeing Buffy for the first time, his time as Angelus, and everything that happened in Sunnydale and Los Angeles. Angel talked about his dimensional trip to join his Buffy and her mate, their search for a place for him to fit in, and his life up to this moment.

“Is that why you never let Buffy get close?” Willow asked. She was still trying to process her role in everything that Angel had told them.

Angel nodded his head towards the red-haired teenager. “Anyanka was very specific about the curse she would unleash on me if I failed again.”

“Failed what exactly?”

“To make Buffy ready for her mate instead of breaking her heart and making her think he was beneath her.” Angel glanced at Giles. “Buffy, along with her mate, are the Immortal Guardians of this dimension. You can look the prophecy up in the Pergamum Codex.”

“That’s the book that got me killed, wasn’t it?” Buffy replied. “I’m not so sure that I want to hear anything that book has to say.”

“In every dimension the Codex is different,” Angel said softly. “It is written specifically for the dimension it resides in. Dying wasn’t a bad thing, Buffy. It prepared you for the next step in your evolution.”

“Is Buffy immortal now?” Giles asked.

Angel shook his head. “Not yet. To protect this dimension from the Shades, Buffy must be with her mate.”

“You have been very secretive about this mate, Angel,” Giles said. He gave the dark-haired vampire a suspicious look. “I suggest you give us his identity right now.”

Angel glanced over to where Spike was still holding Buffy in his arm and comforting her with little purring growls. Now that he knew they were destined to be together, he could see the connection that had been between them from the beginning. No matter how much he brooded or wanted it to be different, there was no getting around the connection that Spike and Buffy felt for each other. Angel turned to Giles, lifted one eyebrow, and quietly said, “Do I really need to spell this out to you, Rupert? Look at them.” He pointed at the Slayer and his grandchilde.

Giles stared at the two blonds. He wasn’t at all happy with Angel’s revelations, especially this newest one.

“You’re lying,” Xander sputtered. “There is no way that Buffy’s going to mate with that creature.”

“If it means saving the world, I’ll do it,” Buffy declared. She didn’t know why, but being in Spike’s arms felt like she was home for the first time since she had been Chosen. “Besides, from what Angel says it’ll happen eventually. I say sooner is better than later.”

Spike was still dumbfounded by his grandsire’s admissions. He had no idea that this Angel wasn’t the one that was supposed to be here. If what the broodin’ poofter said was true, the Slayer was right. It was only a matter of time before he fell for the girl and fell hard from the sound of it. After thinking about it, falling in love with another unobtainable woman sounded about his style. Only this time, maybe the girl wouldn’t be as unobtainable as he thought.

Spike realized that everyone was looking at him. He smirked at Buffy. “When should we get started, pet?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“We should spend one night taking out as many minions as possible,” Giles said. “If we situated people at the hot spots we should be covered.”

“What are the hot spots here?” Ripper asked his older double.

“Willy’s, the Bronze, and the Rusty Beaver,” Finch the deputy mayor answered. He thought the sets of doubles were weird, but this was Sunnydale. Things were always a bit odd.

“The Rusty Beaver? What’s that?” Anne asked.

“Demonic strip club out on the Route,” Giles replied.

“Not all the dimensions have a Rusty Beaver,” RoseSeri said. “It appears to be a random appearance.”

“Oh, okay. We didn’t have a Rusty Beaver. I mean I don’t think we did.” Anne glanced at William who shook his head. If anyone knew all the demonic haunts in their Sunnydale it would have been him.

“Spike and I will take Willy’s,” the vamped Buffy said. She wanted some time alone with the older vampire. He made her feel safe which was completely strange to think about. She was smart enough to know that most rape victims were leery of men after an experience like hers, but she felt – there was no other word for it – safe with him.

“William and I will take the Bronze. We can blend in with the crowd a bit better now that William is letting his hair grow out.” Anne looked around at the others. “Who’s taking the strip joint?”

Ripper looked at Giles. He wiggled his eyebrows at himself. “What do ya say, old man? Wanna go watch some demon hussies strut their stuff?”

Giles rolled his eyes. He hadn’t realized how annoying he had been as a young man. That atrocious language was just over the top. He turned to look at one of the demons. “Clem, I would very much like it if you, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Hassib would join Ripper and myself for a drink at that time.” He was pleased when the three demons easily agreed.

“We still need some more weaponry though.” Anne stood up. She bit her lip while she walked back and forth. “We should stock up on crossbows and Mazal tav cocktails.”

William chuckled. “I think that’s Molotov cocktails, pet. Think you and the Scoobies are up to that, Harris?”

Xander thought about it for a moment. “I think so. I can hit a few bars for bottles. We’ll just need to come up with the fuel.”

“I need to look at the Codex while you’re all busy,” Dee said. “I need to find out what it says about us.”

“I’ll let the Mayor and the police know what’s going on,” Finch replied. “It’s been hard to hide the supernatural from the authorities lately.”

Anne snorted. “Wilkins is ancient. He already knows about the supernatural. You better hope he doesn’t try to turn himself into a snake here.”

“Serina, could you and Anyanka look into some magical help?” Giles asked the witch softly. When Serina nodded her agreement, he moved on to the next group of people. “Joyce, we may have injuries. Can you and Jack make sure our medical supplies are up to par?”

“Of course.” Joyce nodded. She moved over to the Bronze’s bartender.

“Two of my lovely wives are pregnant,” Hassib suddenly spoke. “I would prefer they left town for a few days while we pull this off.” He held up his hand when his wives protested, and then he gathered them in his arms. “I love you all too much to jeopardize our children.”

“I’m picking up Reginald at the airport the day after tomorrow,” Giles replied. “I’d be happy to see them off for you.”

“My thanks.” Hassib nodded at the Watcher. “Looks like we all have our assignments. I will bid you all good night.” He left with his wives surrounding him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Maggie’s nose wrinkled in disgust while the vampire continued to ramble on about anything and everything that came to mind. It would be a service to mankind if she dusted him right then and there, but the opportunity for experimentation was just too great to pass up. This one would be the perfect specimen to try the newest computer chip on. The old chips allowed the vamps to hit demons. The new ones didn’t allow them to hit anything with a life force.

“Do we really have to keep this one, Professor?” Riley Finn asked. “How could he hurt that girl that way?”

“She not a girl anymore,” Maggie replied.

“She was when he started,” Finn said in return. “No one deserves to be raped like that, demon or not.”

“You’re a good man, Agent Finn.” Maggie turned to the young man. “Prepare him for surgery, and then transport. I want a full detail of men to accompany him every time he is moved. This one will not escape.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Finn saluted his superior. He had been home on leave when Hostile 17 had escaped, but he remembered the handsome young-looking vampire with the naval record. Sam Lawson had disappeared into thin air once he reached outside the Initiative compound. He was still out there though. The chip still transmitted information to the computers, but Lawson was good at hiding it appeared.

“She’s not the only one,” Angel muttered in his drugged state. “Turned Lawson back in World War II.”

Maggie whirled around. “Did he just mention Lawson?”

Riley nodded with his eyes open wide in surprise.

Maggie grabbed the microphone. “Tell us all about Lawson, vampire.”

Angel opened his mouth, and the words spilled out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Willyria continued to move through the dimensions in search of her prey. She knew she was getting closer, but she couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t catching up. It wasn’t like Buffy or Spike was more powerful than her. She had already proved that to the Slayer once before. Willyria smirked to herself. It was only a matter of time before she found the right ones, and then they’d pay dearly for their insolence.





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