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~*~
Chapter 10
~*~

Buffy needed to know what had really happened with the events that had led her to finally put an end to her relationship with Spike. She knew that in some way they had both been manipulated, but why, and who besides Riley was involved? Somehow finding those answers would lead her to finding the missing vampire. Buffy wasn’t sure how she knew that was true, but she would have bet her life on it being the case.

Spike really had few friends, well, none that Buffy could think of offhand. Then she remembered the strangely cute, floppy-eared demon from Willie’s backroom poker game. She remembered Spike bringing Clem to her last disastrous birthday party when her wish for more time at home had been answered by Anya’s vengeance demon friend Halfrek in a typically unpleasant way.

Spike had worn the still visible reminders of the beating she’d given him the week before. She expected him to use guilt to wheedle her favor, but he never even mentioned the fact that she had taken her rage and impotence out on him and left him
in that alley without another thought. They had been trapped for over a day in the house and he never tried to use what she had done to him to his advantage once! Buffy remembered that she had never once said she was sorry, either. And she was sorry, so terribly sorry for every undeserved blow, for every cruel, hate-filled word that called him things she knew did not apply anymore.

Buffy wasn’t sure where Clem lived, but remembered that her coworker Sophie had mentioned going to a movie with him a couple of weeks after they met at Buffy’s party. She’d start there. Sophie would give her Clem’s number and Clem might be able to give her some answers.

Clem lived in a small boarding house in the part of town that catered to demons and asked few questions. He was rubbing his eyes and had obviously been awakened by Buffy’s knock when he opened the door to find the Slayer.

"Buffy! Girl, nice as it is to see you, you better get in here quickly. Wouldn’t do for the neighbors to see who’s knocking on my door, and not with threats and
weapons either", he said. He moved to the side to let Buffy enter the small, dark room and glanced nervously down the hall to be sure they were unseen. Clem might like the Slayer, but none of his neighbors were that open-minded. A human friend might be acceptable and even normal in some homes, but the Slayer was not just some human.

"Clem, I don’t mean to bother you and I’m sorry if I woke you up, but I really need to ask you some questions …about Spike", she began.

"Well, I don’t know where the big guy is if that’s what you want to know, Buffy. I went by to catch a VH1 special about the Ramones last week and he wasn’t there. Didn’t say he was going out of town to me or anything and I can’t believe he’d miss that program! He didn’t even have a tape set up, so I set one for him. I haven’t seen him around in, gee, I guess a couple of months or more really. Did you two have a lovers’ spat? I mean, not that it’s any of my business or anything and not that I’m saying there’s any ‘lovers’ to spat about or that I know anything at all
really", he continued nervously.

Buffy sighed deeply and moved further into the living space. "I didn’t really hold out any hope that you’d know where he is right now. I think you might know something that can help me find out, though", she said.

"Sure thing, Slayer, always glad to help out. Um, maybe you’d better not spread THAT around, okay. It could get kind of unhealthy for me if some demons knew I was on speaking terms with the Slayer, let alone helped you in any way. As many times as I’ve patched up Spike after some demon or other’s objected to his working with you and defending your honor and all … well, I’m not a fighter like he is--that’s all I’m saying. I don’t heal as fast".

Buffy smiled at the jittery demon with the sad eyes and almost comical appearance. She really liked Clem, even if he did have cat issues. Well, so did the Koreans, for that matter.

"I’m not going to ask you anything they’d care about you answering, Clem. I won’t put you in the middle of the whole Good/Evil war thing, I promise. What I really hope is that Spike confided in you about a project of his that might have gotten him into trouble, maybe really bad trouble. This is important, Clem. Anything you know might help me to help Spike", Buffy implored.

"I’m all for that Buffy, Spike’s been a good friend to me. Met him when he saved my life. I owe him. I hope I can help". Clem’s face became very serious. He motioned for Buffy to have a seat on his worn sofa and offered her something to drink. He listened to her explain what little she did know as he made a pot of coffee for them to share, his face showed increasing concern for his missing friend as he listened to the tale.

"Yeah, I remember the egg deal. I was never supposed to tell anyone about it because he didn’t want you to know where the money came from. See, Spike worried
about you having to work at that awful place. Said it was killing you, sucking out your spirit and that you were too good to have to be there at all, let alone all
the extra hours you’ve had to put in since your sister left. Now, Sophie likes it there, but she doesn’t work as much and she’s still in school, not out saving the
world every night. He was working on a way to get the money to you without you knowing it came from him. Figured you wouldn’t take it, even if you were starvin’, if you knew it was from an ‘evil vampire’. You ’wouldn’t believe it was all legal and moral and all’ is what he said", Clem continued.

Buffy blanched when she heard how well Spike had known her and how he had just come to accept her attitude without complaint. She remembered how he had been the
only one to even notice how unhappy the Doublemeat Palace made her. Everyone else was supportive, but in a "yay, Buffy, you got a job and free food" kind of way. Spike just wanted her to not have to be there. He could always tell.

"So, what was the deal, Clem? What kind of eggs were they? Why did he have them there at his crypt? What kind of ‘legal and moral’ deal would pay for big bug
eggs?"

"Spike said some Ravnar demon offered to broker a deal where Spike would egg-sit some Ferrisite eggs. Yeah, they do look like bugs, don’t they? They have this
venom that some human doctor wanted collected. You milk them when they hatch, see, like snakes or scorpions. They aren’t fatal to humans but no human would be quick and strong enough to pull that job off, that’s for sure! Anyway, this doctor was using the venom in his research….some disease that was found in some small place in India or Iran or somewhere like that. He was going to pay top dollar, too, because of the danger and all. Spike wasn’t worried, said he wasn’t about to get all ‘jelly-legged over a bunch of overgrown ants’ and all. You know Spike! The eggs
had been delivered the day before you guys blew them up. They were near to hatching and Spike had expected to do the job, kill the Ferrisites and have it all cleaned up before you came by next time. He didn’t want you to know".

"So these Ferris Wheel demons, they kill people?" Buffy asked.

"Ferrisite. No, they don’t kill. It’s a kind of poison that works through the nervous system of some demons and all humans. Kind of like Botox, in a way. I don’t know what happened to the deal after the eggs got destroyed. Gee, Buffy, do you think that doctor was so mad he staked Spike? I didn’t think doctors hurt people, I thought they were only supposed to help them". Clem shook his head sadly at the thought that all those wonderful TV doctors might have only been fiction in their high morals and desire to do good.

"No. Well I guess I don’t know really, but I doubt it was some human doctor that caused Spike to disappear. I really don’t think he’s been dusted, Clem. Somehow
I think I’d know if he had been. Did you ever hear the name of this doctor? Did Spike ever give you the name? He may know something anyway. If not, I guess I owe it to Spike to at least take the blame for those eggs, too".

"I only heard him called The Doctor. The Ravnar demon might though since he was the middle man. His name is Argot, but I heard he took his twelve kids and three wives and left Sunnydale right after the whole egg mess. Maybe there was some reason to be afraid of someone over that whole thing, huh? I think I overheard Argot say something about the Doctor once though. Of course, he was drunk and Ravnars don’t hold their liquor well so it might have been just blowing smoke, you know", he warned.

"Tell me. I’ll take any clue I can get at this point", Buffy pleaded.

"Well…. Just before he left town, Argot was in Willie’s mumbling about how the doctor wasn’t so human after all. Said something about a tail. I remember because the Gack demon he was talking to thought he meant tale and Argot explained that he meant the twitchy kind, you know, in the back, like a cat. He said the doctor had turned around once and he’d seen it. He looked human enough otherwise. Kind of like that guy in the musical "Caberet", he said. Ravnars love musicals. I wish I could help you more, Buffy, but that’s all I know really", Clem admitted.

They finished the coffee and Buffy thanked him for his help before leaving. She took care not to be seen by any of Clem’s more hostile neighbors as she left.

It might not be much, but Buffy had one clue at least. The Doctor had been a demon and Spike didn’t know that. Had some demon gotten even with Spike for his helping her? That guy Argot had been the one to approach Spike. It was sounding more and more like a set up to her. But how did Riley and Sam Finn fit into this?.

It was time for a Scooby meeting. Willow was still in intensive care and Buffy wasn’t going to pull Tara away from her love’s side, but Xander and Giles were
available. They would just have to put aside their problems with Spike and help her on this. She feared they might need more help than just the three of them, though.

"Angel! Yes, I’ll call Angel to help. He might even have some vampire-y way of knowing how to locate Spike. I’ll call tonight, after he’s sure to be up and awake and I’ve worked out the start of a plan with Giles and Xan", she decided. Angel may not like Spike either, but he would help her, she was sure. Besides, Spike was kind of like his family or something. You always helped family, even when you didn’t like them.


~~~

Hunger was beginning to take a toll on Spike’s mental condition. So far the doctors had left him alone. ‘They must have done all the diddling about they wanted in my insides. Guess they don’t need me anymore’, he thought. "Well I’ll be bloody well happy to leave then, if it’s all the same to them", he said aloud.

"They may be finished with you for their purposes, but one more danger has yet to begin, vampire. The one with a personal reason to see you suffer has been planning ways to continue your journey here in purgatory. He will put payment upon you for your sins", the dark, cloaked figure said.

Spike wasn’t sure the figure was real or not. Sounded real, but the sound was like it was inside his own head. "Great, now I’m getting as bug-shagging loopy as Dru. Can’t eat, but I’d better find some way to keep it together or I’ll be namin’ the bleedin’ stars like she did", he said to himself.

"Dante prays for you, son. He has been on this journey, but only as one viewing the events. He says that you may deserve an escort to Saint Bernard as well. The poet seems to feel you are not as evil as you might once have been considered, that you have made a journey of your own. Dante will continue to pray", the voice finished. Then the dark figure disappeared.

Spike sank to the floor and shook his head. "Dante….. journey …. What’s this then, the Big Bad starring in the Divina Commedia? Who was that supposed to be then? Bloody Virgil? I’m going starkers here. Fittin’ that it’d be poetry in the end", he said with an ironic burst of laughter.

The wounds were not healing very fast. In fact, without feeding, Spike was losing both weight and blood at an alarming rate. He was going to have to start accepting the tainted food supply after all if he had ANYONE’S prayer of surviving and getting out of this place, wherever he was.

~*~
Chapter 11
~*~

Angel was near exhaustion. By some miracle, Connor had been returned to him from the Quor-toth hell dimension. His son was now, however, a teenager who not only hated his vampire father, but could give him a run for the Broody Boy of the Year award.

Cordy kept trying to reassure him that the boy would come around in time. Their damaged relationship, not mention the lost years, was the result of Holtz and his obsessive hatred of Angelus. In time, Cordy kept promising, Conor would see what a
good guy his dad really was and things would be better.

In the meantime, the cause of all of Angel’s current misery, Holtz, was playing court to the boy he referred to as HIS son. Angel wanted to simply whisk Connor far from Holtz and his evil influence but realized doing that would only add to Connor’s distrust of him, his real father. The one who truly loved him.

The gypsies who had cursed Angel with his soul would be delighted at how well punished the vampire had been in the last few years. He’d loved and lost, both the
girl and his soul. The lesson learned was that such pleasure and love were not something he could ever experience again without a terrible cost to himself and anyone around him. Then Angel had been given a miracle child, a son of his own flesh and blood. He’d been allowed such a brief time to cuddle Connor and make plans for the bright future he would provide for the boy when the infant had been stolen and taken to a hell dimension by Angel’s worst enemy. No, there could be no joy in Mudville, Angel thought. Not even a glimmer.

Angel was in a decidedly grumpy mood when the phone in his office rang, disturbing his wallow in pain and sorrow. He waited, hoping Cordy or Fred would pick it up, but they had either gone deaf or gone out.

With a deep sigh, he answered. "Angel Investigations. We help the helpless. Angel speaking. How can I help you?" He only hoped it would be a paying client. At least Cordy would have a moment of joy then.

"Angel" One word and he knew instantly who it was.

"Buffy. Hi, Is something going on, an apocalypse maybe? What can I do for you?’ he asked his first true love and the forbidden fruit that had once cost him his soul.

"Angel, I’m glad I got you instead of Cordy. I really don’t want a half hour conversation on this year’s designs right now. No apocalypse, but I have a problem that I think you may be the only one able to help me with".

"You know me, always willing to fight the good fight. What’s up?" he responded.
Angel was surprised to find himself hoping he could handle whatever it was over the phone, so he could get back to trying to figure out how to woo back his son. The days of the world revolving around Buffy Summers had come and gone, it seemed.

There was silence for a brief while and it seemed that Buffy was working up courage to ask him for something. ‘I wonder what would make Buffy hesitate to ask me
straight out? Surely she knows I’ll always be there for her. I’d never turn down her request for help’, he thought.

He heard her take in a deep breath and then blurt out, "It’s about Spike."

"Spike! What’s he done now? I thought he wasn’t a problem anymore. What has he done, who has he hurt? Buffy, you need me to stake him?" Angel never quite knew what to expect from Spike, except trouble.

"No! No staking of Spike". Buffy was quick to come to Spike’s defense. "I mean, he hasn’t done anything wrong. Well, at least nothing to earn a dusting that is. You remember! I told you about the chip in his head and how he’s been helping out here"..

"Yeah, yeah, chips ahoy Spikey. I remember", Angel sighed. "Buffy, Spike is evil--evil and dangerous. I know him better than anybody. Chip or no chip, he’s doing something nasty out there. I’ve told you that you can’t trust him". Angel took a deep albeit unnecessary breath himself before continuing.

"Look, Buffy, I’ve met two other rejects from the government lab with chips. I ran into them after you told me about Spike last year. They moved through L.A. after you closed down the lab in Sunnydale. I understand what the chip means now. Listen, Buffy, the fact that they can’t do the killing doesn’t mean a thing. These two losers had minions do the kills and then they fed. Spike is smart, always has been, even if he is too impulsive sometimes. If those two figured it out, what makes you think Spike isn’t eating in every night when you can’t see him? I know
for a fact that Dru went to see him just last year. She’s probably taking care of her 'dark knight' right under everyone’s nose".

Buffy jumped into the conversation while Angel was gearing up for the next round. "Angel, he’s not, okay? I’d know. I’ve not exactly trusted him like I should have. But he has earned my trust, Angel. You don’t know all the things Spike’s done. The chip didn’t cause it either. All it did was keep him from hunting his own dinner, except at the butcher’s counter. He’s been on a strict animal-only diet for almost three years now. He’s even found things to add to pig’s blood to make it taste better, or so he says. I’m not tasting it to see and Giles won’t eat Wheetabix
anymore either. Spike is killing, but on our side. He slays demons and vamps. He’s been patrolling with me. He patrolled FOR me when I was dead, Angel", she said
softly.

"Why on earth would he do that? No, don’t answer. There had to be something in it for him. He’s a demon, Buffy, he’s evil. Vampire here, remember? I know what I’m talking about".

"Look, I don’t know why Spike made the choice to try to change, or how he’s been able to do it, but he has. And I know all about Dru coming to Sunnydale last year.
Spike offered to stake her for me", Buffy said.

"I’ll bet! What, did he find out you knew about her and came to cover his bases? You can’t trust a demon, Buffy", Angel reminded her.

"I trust you", she replied.

They were both silent as all the implications drifted about their respective minds.

"Yes, Buffy, I am a demon. I know demons. I know Spike, but I have a soul and he hasn’t got a thing but a shock collar and all that does is make a dog mean", Angel said quietly.

"You may have known Spike in the past, the long agopast. You don’t know him now. You haven’t even been around him but a handful of times since I’ve known you both and he’s changed a lot since then. Your memories of what Spike is like go back to last century, Angel. He’s changed. It’s not a game or a trick…God, do you think I’m that stupid? No, don’t answer that. You don’t really know me either right now".

"Look, Spike fell in love with me after the chip", Buffy confessed. He’s been tortured by a hellgod, protected my family and friends, tied Dru up in my presence and offered to stake her. He hasn’t had an easy time of it and he hasn’t always made the right choices along the way, but the change is real. He’s trying to be a good man. It’s what he wants to be. For me, because he loves me. I didn’t believe it at first. I thought you had to have a soul to love and I didn’t believe him,
called him obsessed. Spike’s proved it over and over though, even though I’ve been a real bitch to him, especially lately", she admitted.

"He stayed after I died. He had no reward to expect for that. Giles and the Scoobies were barely civil to him. But he stayed, he stayed and took care of Dawn
and patrolled and saved all of their lives more than once. He did it because I love them. That’s the kind of 'evil' he is now, Angel. Look, this must have been a
mistake. I’m sorry I called. I just thought that Spike was family to you and even if you don’t like him, you’d want him to be okay. I’ll talk to you later. Bye", she said and hung up the phone.

Angel sat, phone in hand, just staring for a few minutes after Buffy had hung up. She was right about a few things. The Spike she described didn’t fit the Spike he remembered. And he DID care if Spike was in trouble. He was family, as Buffy had said.

Angel still knew Buffy well enough to pick up on the undercurrents of the conversation he had just had. He could almost feel the emotions through the phone wire. She hadn’t said it, but it sounded a lot like Buffy might love Spike, too. Bet Giles was loving that. Angel smiled at the thought of the Watcher having a seizure. Not only having his slayer fall in love with a second vampire, but one that could be irritating enough to tempt the Pope to go off on him eventually. Priceless!

Angel didn’t have to be convinced that William was quite able to love. He wasn’t even really that surprised to find that he had fallen in love with Buffy. The boy lived for love. Even at his most depraved and vile, William was always capable of
tenderness and love. He had loved Dru faithfully for over a hundred years and it was only her choosing Angelus over Spike that had put an end to that epic tale. Dru had always preferred her daddy over anyone else, after all. No, Angel had no trouble believing.


"I guess I see why he’s on a non human diet and wearing a white hat all of a sudden", he said to himself. Spike always did manage to live up or down
to the expectations of those he loved the most.

Angel then remembered the end of Buffy’s conversation and her implication that Spike was in some sort of trouble. "Damn! I suppose I’d better call her back and find out what kind of mess he’s gotten into and what Buffy thinks I can do about it. Family is family, like she said. I can’t do anything for my flesh and blood family at the moment, might as well see about the other kind", he decided.

Angel picked up the phone and dialed Buffy’s home number.

~~~
The meeting in the doctors’ lounge of the underground facility was nearing its end. The roomful of former Initiative medical personnel and newly recruited zealots was attentive to each speaker in turn.

"What of 17? Are we quite finished with the information gathering and testing? I’m given to understand that it has been taking some of the food instead of continuing to starve itself. I don’t see any indication we have further use for it, if we have
everything. We’ll still need to study the chip, of course, find out why it was still functional without killing the host. Most strange!" The doctor in charge sounded both awed and irritated by the phenomenon.

"Didn’t we promise it to one of the militia brass for training or some such when we didn’t need it any longer? We might want to inform them to come take 17 off of our hands then", he added..

"We did a modified vivisection, Dr. Holstein", reported the doctor who had "operated" on Spike. "I’m sure the results are quite accurate. We ran tests multiple times to be certain. We didn’t want to remove the organs entirely as we weren’t exactly sure if they would turn to dust when detached from the body. This specimen is much older than others of its kind that we have had for study. The body originated in the mid- to late 1800s according to the members from our London contingent. We had speculated that might be a factor in its survival. We have documented the longevity of the other chipped specimens and they fell well within
expected parameters".

"As the hostile attempted to kill and feed, the current was administered, weakening the hostile a bit more each time until eventual internal hemorrhaging occurred in the brain cavity. This led to near constant electrical charges being fired until the subject lost consciousness. A short time after that, the host body became incapable of supporting the demon’s life force and, after bleeding out from the
hemorrhage, the hostile became dust. The average time from implant to dust appears to have been two months, with six months on the high end of the spectrum".

"The exception, as you know, is 17", he continued. "It has survived for nearly three YEARS. Assuming the typically observed kill instinct taking over at least two times daily, the electrical charges it has withstood have been staggering to contemplate. Even if it only succumbed to the kill instinct every other day, it is impossible to view as anything short of miraculous. The chip seems to be perfectly functional based on preliminary tests. Of course, the obvious answer is likely to be a fault in either the chip or the placement at implantation. The creature has been reported to have received shocks on some occasions, however. One of the militia had up-close contact with Hostile 17 during the first several months after its escape and Colonel Finn assured me that the chip did, in fact, do its job".

"We have decided, in light of eyewitness observation of the hostile while implanted, the tests performed by our own team both here and prior to its escape, that further testing using the creature is not necessary. We will, of course, continue to look at the chip itself until satisfied that there is nothing peculiar with it to account for the abnormality. Other than that, I myself removed the chip and can swear that it appeared in every way to have been implanted properly. Aside from the age of the subject there is no other variable. We need not bother with the beast any further", he concluded.

"Yes, thank you, Dr. Holstein. Admirable summation of a job well done by you and your team. The electronics and weaponry department will continue the study of the chip itself. As you seem to feel we have every possible piece of information necessary from this demon, I’d say we can close this file. Sergeant Myers, you may release 17 to the custody of Colonel Finn now and let him know he can dispose of it at his leisure", the chief of staff ordered.

~~~
Riley was in the mess hall having lunch when Sergeant Myers arrived with the welcome news that Spike was finally his to play with. He pushed aside the plate of nearly untouched food and prepared to go claim his prize.

Sam looked at him with a slight frown on her forehead. "Ri, don’t you think you can wait at least long enough to eat? You haven’t eaten a decent meal since we teamed up and I don’t think I’ve known you to sleep a full night either. You better begin to watch out for your health or you won’t have the strength to play with your new toy."

"Sam, it’s not often a man’s duty and pleasure match up so perfectly. I’ve been waiting for the go-ahead since I first heard the board issue the order to retrieve Hostile 17. I have plans, Sam, and he’s healed just enough to make it worth my trouble".

Riley got up from the table and headed to the corridor leading to the holding cells. Sam noticed that he was still walking with the slightly awkward gait she had spotted when she was first reunited with her old friend. She kept forgetting to ask him about it. If he were in some sort of pain, the medical staff should look into it. She’d try to remember to ask later. After all, she loved Riley Finn like the brother she had never had.

~~~

Spike heard the voice in his head again. He didn’t always see the dark figure anymore. He was beginning to heal and the hallucinations were ebbing a bit. The
voice still echoed in his head on occasion and this was one of them.

"Spike, he’s coming for you. You must remember your Beatrice, hold to that and the journey could still end well for you. I will try to guide you as I can. Prepare for the worst for now, son. You are forged in the fires of adversity. You shall not be destroyed unless you so choose. Your journey is not yet complete", the voice whispered.

"Spike! Up on your feet! You’re moving to another holding cell. If you struggle or try to run, you’ll wish you were back on that lab table, got that? Now, move", Riley ordered.

"Better have Dante get back on his knees again, old man. Be needin’ those prayers ‘bout now, I’m thinkin’. Did Virgil send for you, soldier boy?", Spike asked. Confusion showed on his haggard face as Spike stood up to avoid the taser-ready soldier preparing to zap him.

"Virgil? That the name of the demon next door? Funny name, especially for a demon, huh? You’d best get up and let me get these cuffs on you or Colonel Finn will have to hit you with the megavolts he’s packing", said the freckle-faced boy soldier. He held his taser in front of the exhausted vampire and tried not to show how terrified that creature made him.

"What’s that, you twit? Wasn’t talkin’ to you, now was I? Move your arse and I’ll get up on my own. Just keep your bloody human hands off me", Spike said. He was suddenly very much in the real world and steeling himself for whatever games Finn had planned.

"Let’s go Spikey. Cut with the crazy vampire act and move it", ordered Col. Riley Finn, late of the U.S. Army, Initiative branch.





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