[Reviews - 147]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 2678 times

- Text Size +




Chapter 47

Spike watched as Joan explained to one and all what had happened to her while she’d been with the Powers. He felt the bile rise to his throat as he thought about the higher ups insistence that Angelus be redeemed. His demon screamed at the unfairness of it all. Unsouled, the bastard had a kill rate that could be compared to the entire Nazi faction; souled, he had been a simpering, gutter-trawling, rat-eating, useless, waste of space that had spent a hundred years in a self-involved pity party before being tempted by his paedophilic tendencies to actually do something and even then he’d screwed it up. How in the HELL did he rate special consideration from the bloody Powers-That-Liked-To-Mess-With-You? It just wasn’t bloody right!

William watched as his younger self struggled to keep his displeasure to himself. ‘Displeasure?’ He thought derisively. Displeasure didn’t even begin to cover it. He couldn’t fault Spike for anything he was feeling - the Pure Vampire shared his ire. There had to be more to the whole situation than he was seeing. This couldn’t be just about Peaches. Turning to the giant redhead, William ground out his question. “Why? They didn’t want to use him before, what’s bloody changed? What is so all fired important about Peaches?”

“He’s not important…but his team is,” the giant explained calmly.

“What?!” Buffy asked with wide eyed disbelief. “What team? Angel has a team? When did Angel get a team? Shouldn’t I like know about that or something?”

Joan gazed at the Sasquatch speculatively. “Not yet, he doesn’t, but in my time he had a group of people working for and with him.” She idly wondered just how much she didn’t know about the goings on in L.A. and if the PTB’s had even more surprises for her. She was fully aware that she didn’t have the whole story, but in all honesty she would have to admit that if Angel was doing his job and his job was not in Sunnydale then maybe, this once, ignoring the situation was of the good.

Wolfie nodded in agreement. “Those that will join him have important destinies to fulfil, but he’s what brings them all together. The Power’s need them and unfortunately that means they need the cursed one too.”

“People actually work for Dead Boy?” Xander asked, shocked.

Joan grinned at the brunette. “Kinda depends on if you consider Cordelia a person, I guess.”

“Queen C works for the Incredible Forehead? Strangely, I’m more surprised by the thought of her actually working at all!” Xander quipped.

“Yeah, isn’t that like against her religion or something?” Willow felt the need to add.

“Yeah, there's Catholic, Protestant, and the extremely wealthy.” Buffy snarked.

Spike snickered and set off the rest of the room.

“I hate to put a damper on things, but do we know anything about the condition of his soul?” Jenny asked quietly once the laughter had settled down.

“The Power’s have stabilized it and made it permanent. They said it was the least they could do,” Joan replied, scrunching her nose up in derision. Considering that he’d had his soul when he started his whole Buffy-obsession, she really didn’t think much of the soul in question.

Jenny felt an overwhelming sense of dread. If the soul was permanent and under no conceivable threat, what was left for her to do? Would the Clan allow her to stay? She hadn’t even informed them yet that he had dusted, fearful that they would remove her from where she was, but even if he was being brought back, if his soul was anchored, would they now say that her duty was over? That she had to return to the fold? The thought that she would have to leave now that her relationship with Rupert was starting to move forward upset her much more than she would have thought possible given that they hadn’t even been on a date yet. What was she going to do?

Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them out of habit as he tried to organize his thoughts. A distasteful thought came to him. “How long will we be forced to endure him before we are no longer obligated?”

Joan mumbled something as she looked down at the floor. Not even William’s close proximity allowed the Pure Vampire to understand her words.

“What was that, Kitten?”

“Till…um…graduation,” she offered, embarrassed by feelings of guilt. She was the one that had offered him clemency after all.

The out-pouring of ‘good Lord’s, bloody hell’s, what’s, and a single ‘craptastic’, were not altogether unexpected.

It didn’t take long for Joan to give them the rest of the news. Angel would be back soon, but because of the differences in time between the dimensions no definitive arrival time could be stated. They would all just have to be on the lookout for him.

Grumbling aside, the rest of the meeting was dedicated to Joan and William’s descriptions of what had happened to them for the benefit of Jonathan and Andrew. General consensus seemed to be that the two ‘experts’ were to have been party to creating the problem in their future, so maybe they could help prevent it in the older blonde duo’s past.

As the meeting continued, Spike watched as Xander drew further into his shell. It wasn’t like he could point a finger and say ‘there, that’s what you’re doing wrong’ to William. The Pure Vampire wasn’t exactly saying anything that was wrong. He was polite and answered all questions, but it was there, the indefinable something was there for everyone to see and it was really beginning to piss Spike off. He had an idea on what his older version had against his friend, but the blond could not stand by and watch the teen get hurt. It was getting time to have a little chat with, well, himself!

Wolfie watched as William’s aura slowly darkened; insecurities and past grievances eating away at his purity. The giant forest dweller steeled himself, intuitively knowing that he needed to give the blond the same peace that the Power’s had given Joan. “William? Can we go for a walk and have a chat?”

“Oh you can bloody well count me in on that little convo, mate. Tink and I are definitely gonna have some words!”





You must login (register) to review.