Chapter 6: Starting Over
Disclaimer: Here’s what we own: Jack and crap, and Jack left town.
Willow pushed the speed dial on her cell as she and Kennedy ran through the streets of Rome back towards Buffy’s apartment. Meanwhile in the sewers, Buffy told Spike what had been going on in the months following the Battle of Sunnydale.
“…And after Giles got money from the secret off shore accounts of the old Watchers Council, we started setting up the new one. We spent three months in England setting it all up, we even managed to track down the surviving Watchers. And once headquarters was set up, we split up to different continents to find other Slayers.” Buffy continued as she and Spike trudged through the tunnels. Now she wanted to here what Spike had been up to. “So, what all happened to you in LA?”
“Long and fascinating tale, ghost story in fact. See…” Spike began, but was cut off by Buffy’s cell phone ringing.
“Hello?” Buffy said into the phone.
“Buffy, it’s Willow!” came the voice of the frantic redhead.
“Willow, what’s wrong?” The Slayer asked, recognizing Willow’s “Oh crap, the world is ending” voice.
“We found Dawnie.”
“Oh, well isn’t that a good thing?” Buffy asked, dreading the answer.
“No, a bunch of guys took her and sped off in a black van!”
“What?!” Buffy shrieked into the phone, almost causing Willow to drop the phone. “How? Who? Did you see their faces?”
“No, they had masks on. Kennedy and me are heading back to your apartment. I’ll call Xander and Giles, you and Spike should head home.”
“Got it, bye Will.” Buffy said, hanging up her cell phone. “Shit! Willow says someone kidnapped Dawn.”
“Again? Bloody hell, that girl’s a trouble magnet.” Spike grumbled, as they ran back through the sewers. “After we save her, we need to implant a homing beacon in her head or something.”
At the Summers’ apartment, Andrew had gotten bored waiting, so he called up a friend to get the latest comic book news.
“No, you are out of your mind!” Andrew said into the phone “Tobey Maguire IS Spider Man! …You’re crazy, Tom Lenk can’t act and he’s to skinny to be Peter Parker! Oh you’re crazy…”
“ANDREW!” A voice shouted out of nowhere, jolting the young watcher from his conversation and sending him crashing to the floor. He looked up and saw the other Scoobies looking at him, weapons in hand.
“Um, I gotta call you back.” Andrew said hanging up his phone. “What’s going on?”
“Somebody kidnapped Dawn.” Buffy said, scowling down at the geek.
“WHAT?!” Andrew said, jumping up horrified. Since they left Sunnydale he and Dawn had become the best of friends, and her being in trouble was a terrifying prospect.
“Me and Kennedy were walk her home and a van screeched in and some guys took her.” Willow said, extremely scared for the youngest Summers girl. “We tried to stop them but they were so fast.”
“It’s OK, Will. Right now we need to find her…again.” Buffy said, grabbing a sword. “Andrew, call Maria, Clarice, Isabella, Carmella, Rachelle and Teresa, we might need some Slayer assistance
“On it!” Andrew said, speed dialing the resident Slayers.
“I have a few informants around the city, they might tell us something.” Buffy said, “In the mean time, Willow search the net for any info on black vans that were sold in the last six months or try to match the license plate.”
“It went by too fast to see the plate, but I’ll look it up.” Willow said, pulling up to the computer.
“Me and Spike will check the local demon haunts, see if there’s a new player in town.” Spike grabbed a crossbow and started for the door with Buffy. “We’ll meet up here later if we don’t come up with anything.”
******
Dawn slowly regained consciousness; her head was throbbing from when they, whoever they were, knocked her out. She looked around; she was in an office type room full of vampires and guys with guns.
“I say we kill her.”
“No, we need the girl alive.”
“There’s too much money in this deal to kill her.”
She tried to move but she was tied to a chair. She tried to speak, but saw that they had gagged her. Her muffled squeak got the attention of the kidnappers.
“Ah, I see our fanciulla is awake.” Said a Goran demon in a tuxedo with a bad comb-over who seemed to be the leader. Dawn grumbled through her gag some more as the demon approached her. He pulled the gag from her mouth and addressed her politely. “And how are you feeling singorina?”
“Screw you, pal.” Dawn hissed, spitting in his face. The demon pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face, then produced a carpenter’s knife and held it to her neck.
“You really should respect your elders.” The demon said calmly. He set the knife down on the table behind her, replaced her gag and smacked her hard.
“I still want to eat her. After what her sister did last night, a little payback is in order.” Said a large vampire who was obviously the alpha of the bloodsuckers. “I mean come on Alfonso, what’s a little bitch like her worth?”
“Twenty five million, Mr. Bart.” The demon responded. The group looked at each other, considering the prospect of how much their shares would be.
“That’s fine with me.” Said one of the humans. Dawn shuddered at the hungry looks Bart and the other vampires. She was panicking, how could she get out of this? She scanned the room looking for something, anything to get her out of this. Then she remembered the demon guy set the knife on the table behind her. She tried to reach out with her fingers, see if she could get the knife. She moved her hand and she felt a twinge of pain and a drop of blood drip down her fingers, it was the knife. She strained and gripped it between her middle and ring fingers, slowly dragging it towards her. Inch by inch she was able to pull the knife into the palm of her hand. Now she just had to wait for the opportunity to escape.
******
“Nothing.” Xander said as he and three of the Slayers entered Buffy’s apartment.
“Same here.” Said Faith as she entered, followed by Maria and Clarice. “I beat up most of the demons in local bars and nobody knew anything.”
“Times like this, I miss Sunnydale. At least there when she disappeared there was limited group of places to find her. She’d be at the Bronze, Spike’s crypt, the hospital that once, uh…the Bronze. Here, it’s a city full of ten million people and the cemeteries are so much bigger. You’d think people would wanna be buried in a more cozy grave yard.”
“Big city life, big city trouble.” Spike said, seething that they still couldn’t find her.
“Anything on the net, Will?” Buffy asked, desperate for any information.
“Nope, nobody has bought or sold a black van in the last six months.” Willow said morosely, she hated it when she couldn’t get something done.
“How about stolen cars?” Buffy asked. “Maybe the van was stolen and someone reported it missing. I mean, kidnappers; not exactly the guys who buy what they can just steal.”
“Bingo.” Willow said, pulling up the file. “A black van was stolen near the club down the street about a month ago. Ooh, there’s a picture.” She turned the laptop around and showed off the picture of the stolen vehicle. It was the exact same one they saw.
“That’s the one.” Kennedy said, pointing at the screen.
“Well, now that we have established it was stolen what do we do?” Giles asked, cleaning his glasses. Buffy was silent, she didn’t know what to do. Her element was in small town Sunnydale, this was one of the biggest cities on earth and her baby sister was out there somewhere. She hadn’t felt so lost and unprepared. The group stood in silence and tried to think of something to find Dawn. Then Spike’s eyebrows shot up.
“Wait, I got an idea!” the bleached vamp said, getting the Scoobies attention. “But it’s a little strange.”
“Anything’s worth a shot.” Buffy said,
“Right then, let’s go.” Spike said, and the group filed out of the apartment, hoping that whatever Spike’s plan was it would work.
******
Dawn anxiously sat and waited for any opening to cut the ropes and escape, hoping against hope that her kidnappers wouldn’t find the knife first.
“Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me I have to make a call.” Alfonso said, leaving the room. Dawn looked around the room; seven vampires and eight men with guns, escape was looking not likely. She tried to think of any possible way that she could distract them, but nothing came to mind. Dawn was jolted from her thoughts by a snarling vampire inches away from her face.
“You’re not leaving this place alive.” Bart growled, brandishing his fangs.
“Back off, Americano!” said Carmine, one of the Italian thugs, pressing a stake dangerously close to the vampire’s chest. “Alfonso says the girl lives, then she lives.”
“Like I give a damn what he says!” The vamp said, fully intending on starting a fight. The other humans and vampires began approaching their comrades in preparation for the imminent brawl. “Besides, I gotta get some decent food, everything here is too greasy.”
“Say that again?” The thug said, gripping the stake harder. The other Italians and vampires closed in, hoping to keep things from getting out of hand.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Bart said sarcastically. “I said all the people here are too gre…”
The vampire didn’t get a chance to finish as Carmine lunged at him. Their counterparts grabbed the two hotheads and tried to hold them back.
“Io omicidio tu bastardo!” Carmine shouted, trying to escape the grasp of his friends and drive the stake through the vampire’s chest.
“Lemme at him!” Bart shouted, barely being held back by the other vampires.
“Will you two break it up?” one of the humans shouted trying to separate the pair.
“After your buddy is dead!” Bart shouted getting out of his colleagues’ grasp. Carmine broke the grip of his men and the two began struggling. The others tried to break them up, but got pulled into the fight instead. In less then two minutes it was an all out battle, humans vs. vampires.
The mêlée was just the opportunity Dawn needed. She cut the ropes with the carpenters knife, the guards were to busy beating the shit out of each other to notice anything beyond their fight. The ropes on her wrists fell to the floor and she slowly stood up, still nobody noticed. ‘For once, being ignored has an advantage.’ Dawn thought to herself. She cautiously inched towards the door, going virtually unnoticed by the mercenaries and vamps. She was out the door and down the hall before she heard a gun go off. Alfonso came back in and he was mad as hell.
“What the hell is going on here?!” Alfonso said, firing a shot into the air to get his cronies’ attention. “I had to tell my employer that I had to call him back, and he is not the sort of fellow to hang up on. I hired you to help me get the girl to the drop off point and…where is the girl?” the gang looked at the chair she was tied to and around the room, she was nowhere to be found.
“You lost her!” Bart growled to Carmine, ready to start another fight.
“ENOUGH!” Alfonso shouted, getting the attention of the group. “Find that girl or, not only will you not receive a share of money, you will either eat lead or kiss daylight! NOW!”
Dawn looked out from her hiding place in the air vent. ‘At times like this, it pays to be thin.’ Dawn thought to herself as she crawled through the vent system. She felt like Bruce Willis in Die Hard, she was stuck in a building with Eurotrash bad guys who wanted her dead. Too bad she didn’t have a machine gun or some plastic explosives like he did. Or at least be a little taller and a lot stronger.
She was crawling past a vent into a small office, when she heard voices, one with an Italian accent and one with an American accent. She figured that the American was a vampire since none of them were Italian. She felt her heart stop from fear when she saw the door fly open and a vampire and a large man with a gun entered the room.
“Have you found her?” came the Italian voice.
“No, I haven’t found her!” The American voice gritted out. “I don’t get it, her scent is all over the place. Where is she?!”
“Well maybe she marked her territory before she ran.” Said the Italian voice sarcastically.
“You know, you really shouldn’t make fun of someone who eats your species kind for breakfast.” The vamp snarled.
“You don’t have the guts to spill Italian blood.” The mercenary said, getting into the dead man’s face.
“Yeah you’re right, Italian food gives me indigestion.” Dawn sensed a scuffle was about to start and decided to move on. She began crawling again, hoping that their fight might give her time to escape. She was almost clear of the grate when she moved her leg wrong and inadvertently kicked the grate. The rattle of Dawn’s foot hitting the grate jolted the two kidnappers from their quarrel.
They ran over to the vent and the vampire ripped it off the wall like it was a candy bar wrapper. He stuck his head in and saw her legs moving away from the vent. He pulled his head out and stuck his arm in after her. He flailed around trying to grab her leg, but she was just out of reach.
“She’s in the air conditioning system!” The Italian said, into a walkie-talkie.
“That’s why I could smell her everywhere, the A.C. was carrying her scent all over the building.” The vamp growled. “Come on, we gotta tell the boss.”
******
“Oy, this is guy is murdering Bobby Mcferin.” Lorne groaned as a Senorch demon sang the most off key rendition of “Don’t Worry Be Happy” ever.
“The landlord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy.”
There was a scattered applause as the bloated demon walked off the stage, as well as a few shouts of “You suck”. Buffy, Spike, the Scoobies and the Slayers entered the club.
“Hold it.” Said a tall, muscular demon who, they guessed, worked the door. “Your weapons stay here, there’s no violence in Caritas.”
“I don’t know about this, Buffy.” Giles mumbled, not fond into a room full of demons unarmed.
“Relax, Giles.” Buffy said, handin her stakes over to the demon.
“You betcha chief.” Spike said, handing over his weapon. The other Scoobies surrendered their weapons as well, but it took a little convincing to get Giles to hand over his axe.
“This is your plan, we sing karaoke while we wait for the kidnappers to send a ransom note?” Xander asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“No, Fred once told me that when Angel and his team hit a dead end, they’d sing for Lorne.” Spike explained. “Since he’s psychic he can tell us where she is.”
“He’s right, Lorne saw Spike come back after I sang last night.” Buffy explained.
“Still would like an explanation on that.” Xander said, earning him a glare from Spike.
“After we save Dawn, promise.” Buffy said, surveying the club for Lorne. She saw dozens of demons and humans commingling, but no Lorne.
“Oh you’re kidding!” came a voice from the bar. The Slayer turned and saw the green demon getting some obvious bad news. “We can’t be out of bat’s milk, I just bought a case yesterday!”
“Lorne!” Buffy called as they went over to the bar. The Pylean turned and saw the blonde Alayer, the blonde vamp and their friends looking like something bad went down.
“Oh, hey Buffy, Spike, everybody. What can I do for you?” Lorne asked, sensing that they were in distress. “Oh, I see the troops are assembled and you’re probably not here for the free nachos.”
“My sister was kidnapped, we need your help.” Buffy said shortly.
“I haven’t heard anything from my clientele, but I’ll…” Lorne began but he was interrupted by Buffy.
“No, we need you to read us so we can find her.” Buffy said hurriedly.
“Oh! Right, silly me.” Lorne said, slapping his forehead. “OK, who’s going to sing?” The group looked at each other, none really feeling in a musical mood. They just stared at one another for a few minutes. “Oh come on, somebody has to sing.”
“Oh sod it.” Spike said, marching up to the stage. A short Glurg demon was looking through the songbook, until suddenly he was grabbed from behind by Spike. “Shove off, mate.” Spike said pushing the demon off the stage. “OK, here’s a song by one of the best groups ever. Don’t like it, tough.”
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
You cunt, I'm not a queer
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
And each and every highway
And yet, much more than this
I did it my way
Regrets. I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention.
But dig, what I have to do
I'll see it through with no devotion
Of that, take care and just
Be careful along the highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
There were times,
I'm sure you knew
When there was but but
Fucking else to do
But through it all,
When there was doubt
I shot it up or kicked it out
I faced the wall, and the wall
And did it my way.
Knocked out in bed last night
I've had my fill, my share of looting
And now, the tears subside
I find it all so amusing
To think, I killed a cat
And may I say, oh no, not their way
But no, oh no, not me
I did it my way
For what is a brat,
What has he got
When he finds out that he cannot
Say the things he truly thinks
But only the words,
Not what he feels
The record shows,
I've got no clothes
And did it my way!
The more unruly patrons of the bar applauded at a rendition of “My Way” worthy of Sid himself, everyone else just stood shell shocked.
“Vamp’s got some pipes.” Faith said, applauding the song.
“I think ‘My Way’, I think Sinatra.” Lorne said, gulping down his Sea Breeze.
“That wasn’t Sinatra, that wasn’t Sinatra at all.” Willow said, reeling from the loud and crude song the vampire just sang.
“OK, there’s your bloody song, now where is the Nibblet?” Spike asked, coming back from the stage.
“She’s downtown in an old hotel down on Via Gaeta street.” Lorne explained. “She’s being held by eight humans, seven vampires and a Goran demon with a really, really comb over.”
“Thanks Lorne, we gotta go.” Buffy said, quickly.
“Wait!” Lorne called after them. “I have something that might be useful.” The green guy ran in back of the club and returned with a small case. “These are very good against vampires. Spike’s used them so he can show you how to use them. Now get goin’!”
******
Dawn continued to crawl through the vents; she hadn’t heard any voices for almost fifteen minutes. Maybe they thought she got out already and ran out to head her off. She had to find a vent that led to a room she could get out of. Then she heard…
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG
Dawn froze, the sound of gun shots reverberated through the tunnel from somewhere below her. What were they doing?
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG
She gasped as several holes were blown in the duct ahead of her. ‘They’re shooting into the vents to get me!’ Dawn thought panicking. She tried backing up through the vents.
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG
The shots rang out again. The junior Summers looked behind her and saw the way back was shot up. She had to go forward. But then she heard the voices again.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!” came the voice of the demon Alfonso.
“We’re trying to get her, Alfie.” Growled a vampire.
“No, you fool! We need her alive!” the demon shouted. Dawn heard them start arguing again, this was her chance. She started moving down the shaft, trying to get out of range of the voices. She was right over the bullet holes when she stopped. Her weight was making the tunnel creak, and vampiric hearing could pick it up. She slowly tried to put one arm forward, no creaking.
“Well, I’m sorry Alfie, but a human bitch like her isn’t worth this much shit.”
The vamp Bart hissed. Dawn moved her other arm, nothing.
“Did I forget to mention to you vampiros how much this deal is worth?” the demon raged. Dawn moved her left leg forward, not a sound.
“I don’t give a damn!” the vamp hollered. Dawn moved her other leg, and her luck ran out. Her leg moved and it made a loud creak, the voices stopped and knew they heard it. She had to bolt before they shot at her again. Unfortunately, the bullet holes had weakened the duct enough that the weight of a full-grown teenage girl collapsed it.
CRASH!!!
Before she knew what happened, she had fallen through the ceiling and was on the floor surrounded by bad guys.
“Um…hi there.” Dawn said weakly.
“Hello signora.” Alfonso said as the Italian guys grabbed her and hauled her to her feet. “Take her back and tie her up. And I want two of you to guard her.” In five minutes Dawn Summers found herself right back where she started, tied up, surrounded by bad guys and trying to think of a way out.
“Yes signore, we have the girl… Ah excellent, and where do I take her?” the demon asked into his cell phone. “Of course, I will inform you as soon as we get her to your men. Arrivaderci.” The demon jumped and whooped in delight. “We’re gonna be rich!”
“Good, then can me and my boys eat the brat already?” the vampire Bart asked, sick and tired of this deal.
“No, my friend, she is not for snacking she is for my buyer.” Alfonso said, putting away his cell phone.
“Fine, then how about I just rip a limb off?” the vamp growled again.
“No, why must you Americans be so violent?” Alfonso asked, getting irritated by these hired vamps.
“That bitch’s sister killed my brother last night!” The vampire raged. “No, not just killed. She fuckin’ DESTROYED him! I heard what she did, beat him to a pulp, stabbed him with a stake eight times before dusting him! I want some payback!”
“Ascoltare tu arruso, io noleggiare tu …” The demon hissed, but was cut off by Bart.
“SPEAK ENGLISH!” The bloodsucker snarled, smacking the former butler.
“I hired you to keep the Slayers off my back until I can get the girl out of the country.” Alfonso said, grabbing the lapels of the vampire’s jacket. “You want to get your payback then you wait until this deal is done and I get my money!”
“Fine! But when she gets here the Slayer is mine!” Bart said, throwing the demon’s hands away.
“So…” She asked a man standing close to her, trying to sound confident. “What do you evil henchmen guys get paid?”
“Shut up!” The taller man said, brandishing his rifle.
“OK.” Dawn said fearfully.
“No, no, the girl’s right Alfie!” Bart raged. “when the hell are we going to get our cut?”
“Listen you…” But Alfonso before could finish that sentence they heard a loud crash. “What was that?” the demon asked, looking around nervously. He was answered by the door being kicked open to reveal several Slayers, two watchers, a witch and a really pissed vampire.
“You kidnapped my sister, not nice.” Buffy said as the Alfonso’s men raised their guns. “Uh oh, Willow little help?”
“Sure, Buff.” The red head waved her hand and their guns flew out of their hands and melted. “No gunplay allowed.”
“Thanks.” Buffy said as the Scoobies charged the gang. The vamps launched into the fray as the demon tried to reach Dawn and make a get away.
“Where do you think you’re goin’?” asked a very angry Spike, coming between Alfonso and Dawn. The demon butler tried to back off, but then it clicked in Spike’s head where he’d seen this guy before and he snarled into his game face. “You bloody pillock! You’re the bastard who stole the Capo’s head! Oh now I’m really gonna enjoy killing you.”
“Signore, can’t we talk?” the little weasel asked.
“No.” Spike answered, grabbing Alfonso by his collar. “I’m not an Yank but I’m going to do, as you put it, the American thing and rely on violence to solve my problems.”
“O Dio.” The demon whimpered as Spike threw him across the room and through a window. Spike ran over to Dawn and started undoing the ropes.
“You alright, Bit?” Spike asked, as he took out the gag.
“Watch out!” Dawn screeched as she pushed Spike out of the way of one the Italian mercenaries with a stake. The sixteen-year-old former key grabbed the chair she was tied to and smashed it over the thug’s head so hard it splintered into pieces.
“Damn,” Spike said, impressed by Dawn’s attack. “knew there was a bit of violence in you.”
“Come on, we gotta help.” Dawn said, and they leapt back into the fight.
“Hello bitch.” Bart said, landing a punch on the Slayer. “You don’t know me, but you met my brother last night.”
“Oh?” Buffy said, remembering the vamp she beat to a pulp the previous night. She blocked another punch and hit him with a roundhouse kick in the jaw. “Oh, him. Sorry about that.”
“I’m gonna rip out your throat and bathe in your blood!” The vampire lunged at her; she jumped out of his path and drove her forearm into his lower back.
“God you bad guys need to learn a new tune.” Buffy said pulling out a stake. Bart flipped onto his back and kicked the stake from Buffy’s hand. He jumped to his feet and pinned her against the wall.
“Lost your stake, Slayer!” Bart laughed, bending down for a bite. His fangs were an inch from her skin when he felt his chest get pierced. He looked down and saw a stake protruding from her sleeve and sticking into his chest.
“Wrong.” She said as Bart crumpled to dust. She reset the stake into the pop action sheath; these new gadgets Lorne gave them were so cool. “These are neat!”
“Buffy!” Dawn cried as another vamp rushed the blonde Slayer. Spike ran over, closely followed by Dawn, and punched the vampire out. The opposing undead man got back to his feet and was met with a stake from the British vampire.
“Better get back to the fight, Luv.” Spike said and they ran into the brawl. It lasted almost twenty minutes before the vampires were dust and the kidnappers were unconscious and tied up.
The gang returned to the Summers’ home, each sporting a few cuts and bruises from the fight. And they all seemed in a nostalgic satisfaction.
“You know, that was kinda fun, like old times.” Xander said, setting his axe down.
“Oh yes, truly wonderful.” Giles said sarcastically, rubbing the knot on his head. “Once again I accompany you people on a mission and once again I am knocked unconscious.”
“Oh come on Giles, didn’t feel good to be back in the trenches?” Willow asked, feeling a buzz she hadn’t felt in almost a year.
“As much as I am loathe to admit it, there was a certain feeling of nostalgia to tonight’s events.” Giles relented after a moment of thought. “Did you see how hard I hit that ponce? He was like ooohh and uuhhh and…Oh Lord, I sound like an American.”
“I’m just glad we got Dawnie back without any major collateral damage.” Willow said, applying iodine to Kennedy’s forehead. The brunette Slayer hissed as it was applied. “Sorry sweetie.”
“And these pop action stakes Lorne gave us are cool.” Faith said unhooking hers.
“If you don’t need us anymore, we need to go patrol.” Maria said, as the other Slayers walked towards the door.
“Sure, you guys can go, and thanks for the help.” Buffy said, shaking hands with them as they left.
“OK, now if everything is out of the way, could someone please fill me in on how Spike has returned to the unliving?” Xander asked as he bandaged his cut hand.
“All right already.” Buffy said, sitting down. “I went to Lorne’s club last night, and I sang a song. After I sang, a portal opened on stage and Spike came through it. Well actually he flew out of it and crashed into a table.”
“Where did the portal come from?” Giles asked, interested.
“Spike said it was some higher plains like Heaven or something.” Buffy said, looking at Spike.
“You were in Heaven?” Xander asked disbelievingly, earning him glares from Buffy, Dawn, Spike and Andrew. “Sorry, didn’t mean it like that. Please, go on.”
“Well um, Spike knows more about the details then I do.” Buffy said, asking for Spike to continue the explanation.
“I blew up the hotel in LA and when I woke up I was in the old Summers house from Sunnydale. Except it wasn’t really Sunnydale and it wasn’t the real house, it just looked like it to make me feel more comfortable. I met a weird guy, or maybe he was some type of angel, who said that I needed to come back.”
“Why did you need to come back?” Willow asked, as Kennedy gave her an ice pack for her head.
“The bloke, name of Emanuel, said that another apocalypse was coming and if I didn’t help out Buffy might not survive this time.” Spike said, taking a swig from his flask. “And I’m sure as hell not gonna let that happen.”
“This Emanuel guy, do you think we can trust what he told you?” Willow asked, suspiciously. “I mean, last time I got a message from beyond it turned out to be the First trying to get me to kill myself.”
“When did that happen?!” Kennedy asked alarmed, as was everyone else.
“It was before I met you, that night when that big Poltergeist thing happened at the house with Dawn.” Willow explained. “Could this guy have been lying to you?”
“If he was lying, why would he send me back?” Spike asked, not entirely sure about that weird angel or whatever the hell he was.
“Maybe you weren’t really in Heaven.” Xander speculated aloud, again getting glares. “I’m sorry but I’m just thinkin’, maybe it was some hell dimension in disguise and he wanted you back as part of his evil plan. Or not.”
“I don’t know.” Spike said, remembering his encounter with Emanuel. “Something about him, I don’t know how to explain it but if he was evil I would’ve sensed it. Even with the First I wasn’t completely convinced it was real. When this bloke talked it seemed impossible that what he was telling me wasn’t true.”
“Did…did you see? I mean, um.” Xander asked, stumbling on his words, but Spike saw what he was thinking. If he really was in Heaven, he knew who he’d want to know about.
“No, I didn’t see Anya,” Spike said, before looking around at everyone else. “Or Joyce, or Tara. Sorry.”
“Why you?” Giles asked, his Watcher training of considering every possible scenario that could pose a threat to the world. “I’m just wondering why they sent you back specifically. If this was such an enormous responsibility, why was it specifically you who could do something about it? Why not Angel or the First Slayer?”
Giles hadn’t intended on starting off with offending or fighting with Spike, but that’s what happened. Spike asked indignantly. “Well, why not me? Why is it so unbelievable that I could be trusted with saving the world and protecting the ones I care about?”
“I didn’t say that.” Giles backtracked. “I only meant that a vampire returning from death, final death, is unprecedented, and I’m just concerned as to what could be so disastrous to call for one to be returned to earth.”
“I don’t know what the Big Bad is, the ponce just said that if I don’t come back Buffy won’t win the fight.” Spike responded.
“But why you?” Giles prodded. “I don’t understand what affect you could have on such a…”
“Did you miss my exit? Died blowing up the Hellmouth, stopping the First’s army, and saving the world?” Spike asked angrily, Giles seemed to think this over. “Whatever.” Spike said, throwing his hands in the air. “I don’t know what’s coming or what I can do to stop it, but I do know that someone up there thought that I may be able to do something about it. And I’m going to, got a problem with that you gormless tit?”
“Did you just call Mr. Giles a tit?” Andrew asked after a moment of tense silence.
“OK everybody,” Buffy said, not wanting to get into a big argument. “We’ve all had a long day, so how about we just call it a night?”
“I’m with you,” Willow said, grabbing her coat. “All the excitement made me sleepy.”
“You really tired?” Kennedy asked, a hint of mischief in her voice.
“Well…maybe we could have a little fun before bed.” Willow whispered as they left.
“I think I’ll be headed out to.” Xander said, getting up. “Come on Andrew, I’ll order Dare Devil on cable.”
“Cool!” the geek squealed in joy. “Bye Buffy, bye Dawn. Glad to have you back, Spike.”
“Um, Andrew” Buffy said, catching them just as they were walking out the door. “If you want, you can move back into your room tomorrow.”
“Oh, thanks Buffy.” Andrew said, “I’m really sorry about everything.”
“It’s alright, but you and I need to talk about keeping secrets.” Buffy said jokingly, but there was an underlying seriousness.
“OK, see ya later.” Andrew said, walking out.
“See you in the a.m., B.” Faith said, shaking her sister Slayer’s hand. “Nice to have ya back, Blondie.”
“Goodnight Buffy, Dawn.” Giles said, and then grudgingly added, “Spike.” Buffy shut the door and she, her sister and Spike were alone.
“I’m gonna turn in, see you in the morning.” Dawn said, not looking directly at Spike.
“Wait, Dawn.” Spike said, walking over to her. “I know it’s kind of a shock me being back, but it’s gonna be alright.”
“I know, it’s good having you back. Goodnight. Dawn said, still being a little distant. With that she walked into her room. She sank to the floor as she shut and locked the door of her bedroom. She couldn’t face him, not yet. She still had so much to apologize for, so much to say and do before she could really talk to him. Before they could begin to be friends, assuming he could forgive her. But she wasn’t ready yet.
“So…I guess we talk now.” Buffy said, folding and unfolding her arms.
“Yeah, guess so.” Spike replied, becoming very anxious. Buffy and Spike sat across from one another in silence for ten minutes before they started talking.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” Buffy asked, Spike’s silence convincing her she already knew the answer. “Is it true? You didn’t believe me?”
“Yep.” Spike said, looking at the floor.
“I’m sorry.” Buffy said, sniffling slightly.
“Well, it’s not like I haven’t made bad decisions before.” Spike said, trying to alleviate her guilt.
“Yeah, but those screw ups didn’t make the two of us spend a year apart, thinking you were dead and mourning you.” The young blonde woman said, trying desperately to keep things from getting out of hand.
“You mourned me?” Spike asked breathlessly.
“Of course you bonehead!” Buffy cried. “Do you really think that I wouldn’t want to know you were alive?”
“Well, things weren’t exactly flowers and chocolates between us at the end.” Spike said, dredging up memories of when he found her kissing Angel in the crypt.
“Still doesn’t mean that you meant any less to me.”
“Well, when I saw that you moved on…”
“Moved on?” She asked incredulously. “I didn’t move on, I thought about you all the time.”
“But you were with the Immortal.” Spike said, remembering seeing her dance at the club with that bastard a few weeks ago.
“It’s not what you think. He and I…we were never serious. I mean I liked him, but…” Buffy sighed; trying to come up with the right words was never her strong suit. “I just hated the fact that you were gone. I thought that you’d want me to try and live the new chance of life you gave me. It was hard, really, really hard. After a while I met the Immortal. It was Parker Abrams all over again, only without him running after the first time.”
“Really didn’t need to know that part, Pet.” Spike said, trying to block mental images of her and the Immortal.
“I kept telling myself ‘look how much I’m over Spike, look how I’m with someone and it’s got nothing to do with Spike.’ I didn’t realize until we broke up that it was all about you. The Immortal, dancer, writer, mountain climber and rebound guy.” Buffy said, ruefully. “When ever I was with the Immortal, I never felt anything like I felt with you. I didn’t know it at the time but I didn’t want to feel anything. You were all I wanted, and I couldn’t have you. When I found out the Immortal cheated on me, I was more upset at his way of making up then the fact that he cheated. I don’t know if it was an unconscious decision, but I shut down after you died. I swore that I’d never give my heart to anyone else.”
“You really love me, don’t you?” Spike asked, still thinking that any minute she would say something like “You’re a soulless monster, I hate you.”
“Yes I do.” Buffy said, looking him square in the eyes. “And I want you to be in my life.”
“I guess we have a long road ahead of us, huh pet?” He said, shaking his head at what lay ahead of the two of them.
“Yeah we do, but I want to be with you. We can’t just start back where we were, but we can start over.” Buffy said, still holding his hand. “But maybe we should take it slow. Wait a little on the sex stuff, start with going out to dinner or taking walks. I want us to have a real relationship, I don’t want to screw this chance up.”
“Fine with me, Pet.” Spike said, “But we are going to get back to the sex stuff at some point, right?”
“Oh yeah!” Buffy said, emphatically. “Believe me, I’m looking forward to that too.”
“What about the Immortal?” Spike asked. “From what Dru and Darla say he’s quite the master in bed.”
“He slept with Darla and Drusilla?! When did this happen? No wait, I don’t even want to know.” She said, inwardly cursing that bastard. “Yeah we did have sex. He was good, but not the best.” She said, looking at the souled vampire intently. Spike felt like he could jump and cheer like a little kid, but decided against it. “Besides, even if he hadn’t cheated on me or suggested we have Dawn do it with us, which is just wrong, I would’ve dumped him eventually. I would’ve dumped him in a minute if someone had called me.”
“Again with the sorry.” Spike said, smirking his cockiest smirk. ‘Even the Immortal is nothing compared to me, choke on that Captain Hair Gel!’ he thought happily.
“I missed that smart ass smirk.” Buffy said, a wistful smile on her face.
“I missed that sweet smile.” Spike said, feeling happier then he had in a long time. Then it really hit that Spike was back, the dam broke and Buffy ran to him and hugged him. Spike returned the hug, holding her and stroking her hair saying that it would be all right. They stood there in each other’s embrace for several minutes, enjoying the feeling of being back together.
“Please say we can do this and not screw up.” She said, desperate for some assurance they wouldn’t mess up this second chance.
“We can do this.” He answered, holding her tighter.
“Good. Defiantly good.” She said smiling. After a few more minutes of hugging they broke apart, still wanting to be close to one another.
“So, where do I sleep?” Spike asked. Normally he would’ve asked that in a more seductive tone, but with the present circumstances it was an honest, innuendo free question. Buffy looked at him and wanted nothing more than to say “You’re sleeping with me.” but they had promised that they’d take it slow.
“The coach is pretty comfy,” Buffy said, coyly patting the coach. “And I can get you a blanket to cover up with, I’ll even check for one that doesn’t have Hello Kitty on them.”
“Thanks, Luv.” Spike said as he took off the duster and stretched out on the sofa. Buffy walked over to the closet and took out one of the few blankets that didn’t have cutesy cartoons on them. “See you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Spike.” Buffy said turning towards her bedroom, but stopped and walked back to him. She bent down and gave him a soft kiss much like the one she gave him when Glory had beat him up. “It’s great to have you back, Spike. I love you.”
“I love you too, Buffy.” Spike said expecting to wake up in bed any second. She turned and walked to bedroom, closing the door after one last glance back at the vampire. He curled up on the couch for a night’s sleep, assuming the excitement of this dream come true would allow him to sleep.
******
Alfonso paced back and forward in his little apartment, his right arm in a sling and a martini in his other. He knew he had to call his new employer, and if he knew this guy, it wouldn’t be pretty. He had already failed once when his former master, the Immortal, sent the Capo’s head to LA, and it was made clear that kidnapping the young girl was his last chance. He nervously picked up his phone and dialed his superior.
“Hello?” Came the voice on the other line.
“Uh hello Signore Rayne.” Alfonso said nervously into the phone.
“Hello Alfonso, what do you have to report?” Ethan asked, knowing something was wrong from the tremor of fear in the former butler’s voice.
“Well signore, the girl is no longer in my possession.” Alfonso said, sweating bullets.
“I see, and may I ask why?” Ethan asked irritated.
“She was rescued by the Slayer and one of the vampires that I encountered when I stole the Capo’s head.”
“What? The two vampires from Wolfram & Hart should’ve been obliterated in the devastation in Los Angeles.” Ethan responded, confused and angry. If what Alfonso was saying was true, it could mean huge trouble for his new employer’s plan.
“I thought so as well, but mio capo, it was him I swear!” Alfonso said, wiping the sweat from his face with a handkerchief.
“I see.” Ethan said shortly. “You know that my employers and I were trusting you then too, right?” The chaos worshipper asked his hired lackey. “We trusted you and the Immortal to get the Goran demon’s head and make sure it didn’t reach L.A. We paid you a hefty sum to make sure that the city became a war zone so we could acquire the amulet unnoticed. And your former employer and inspiration sent it right to the vampires to impress the Slayer, thus throwing us off schedule.”
“But Signore, Los Angeles did become a war zone. And you did get the amulet, no?” Alfonso said, desperate to stay on this wizard’s good side.
“True, no thanks to you. You lost us the head and the girl, not a very competent minion, are you?” Ethan said, a feeling of cruel amusement at the thought of this little weasel squirming. “Still, I guess I can overlook this rather large slip-up.”
“Oh thank you, Signore Rayne. Grazie, grazie mio amico!” Alfonso said, relieved and grateful for the chaos worshipper’s mercy.
“Yes I can, but my employers can’t.” Ethan said, smiling as he burst his bubble. “They’ve gone through way to much planning and trouble just to let some bloody incompetent like you ruin it.”
“But signore…” the demon tried to interject, but it was no use.
“But, since you have at least attempted to help us, I’m sending you on a little vacation.” Ethan said, pulling out a book of spells. “Ah here we go; there’s a little dimension called Azergorhk you’ll enjoy. It’s wonderful this time of year, just watch out for those tentacled fiends. Gorthoc zan zok Azergorhk plidslif!”
“No please, Signore…AAAAAHHHHH!!!!” Alfonso turned and saw a huge portal open in the ceiling of his apartment, and a dozen tentacles that ended in crablike pincers shot out of it. The demon tried to run for the door, but two of the tentacles grabbed him. The butler tried to reach his knife, but the tentacles didn’t allow enough movement and it dragged him kicking and screaming back through the portal, which closed after them.
“Good help is so hard to find nowadays. Well then, bye bye.” Ethan said, hanging up after he heard the scream subside. The chaotic wizard turned and faced his roommate. “I take it you hear all that?”
“Yep. Quite the x factor that little bastard can be.” Sirk said seething. This wasn’t supposed to happen; the plan was for the two souled vampires to be out of action when the big show went down. “Oh well, we can still make it work. My superiors haven’t spent the last hundred centuries working on this just to let that little popcorn fart mess it up. We won’t need the girl for a while and we can deal with Spike when the time’s right. In fact there’s an old friend heading to Rome to deal with him as we speak.”
“What do we do now?” Ethan asked, pulling out a bottle of scotch.
“We get ready for the next step of this operation.” Sirk said, smiling in anticipation.
“And once we get to the next step, you’ll give me the power you promised?”
“Would I lie?” Sirk asked innocently.
“Right cause you’re the epitome of honesty and decency.” Ethan retorted, smirking at the irony of the traitorous Watcher’s question.
“Touché, but let’s remember who got you out of that government detention center. Don’t worry, when we pull this off you’ll have enough power to make that little red head’s magic look like a rabbit out of the hat trick. In the mean time, we need to do a spell. Something special for that damned vampire.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
A/N Sorry if my Italian isn’t right, I only know what I got from an online dictionary. On the cast info for “The Girl in Question” it listed someone named Alfonso, I thought that name would fit the demon butler.