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Author's Chapter Notes:
This would be the 2nd episode Part 2 of Season 5 in Angel. REVIEWS ARE REQUESTED AND APPRECIATED.

I thank ImmortalAngel08 for brainstorming with me.

Episode Summary: Team Angel is shocked when Spike appears out of an amulet that someone sent to Angel. Spike was suppose to have died back in Sunnydale, but now he's returned as a ghost. And he's really unhappy about it. Angel has to deal with an evil necromancer and with Spike, who might just be willing to turn on Team Angel if it'll make him corporeal again. [IMDB]



When Buffy reached the hotel, Dawn was already in the kitchen, cooking.

“Hey Buffy. Made dinner for you. Nothing fancy. Hope it’s okay for you.” She knew her sister was still hurting and she was trying to make her feel as comfortable as she could.

“Hey Dawn. We can eat later. We need to talk.” Buffy said. She wasn’t sure how she was going to explain this to Dawn.

“Okay. Whatever the school told you about me, nothing is true. I didn’t do anything.” Dawn replied, petrified. Oh God. Please tell me they didn’t tell Buffy about me getting caught in the supply room with Johnny. She said a quick prayer.

“What? School? Why would they call? Dawn…” Buffy felt a lecture coming on. Even though Dawn had grown up in the last year; she was still someone who needed to be guided in the right direction. And after the tragedies they had faced, Buffy expected her to act out at times, which was why Buffy was being extra careful about Dawn’s behaviour at school.

“Later with the advice. What’s the what?* Is anybody hurt? Is Giles okay?” Dawn looked alarmed. She had wanted to distract Buffy from her slip up, but she realized that any news Buffy may have other than the regular lecture on proper behaviour must be due to a life threatening situation.

“Everyone’s fine.” Buffy saw her sister relax. “Something happened at Wolfram and Hart when I was out picking you up and I think you should know.” Buffy hesitated, not knowing how to proceed.

“What else is new? It’s an evil law firm. Whatever happens there must be evil too.”

“Yeah. Mostly, you’re right. But this is a surprise. Something we wouldn’t have predicted in a million years.” Buffy replied with a smile. Even now, she still couldn’t believe that Spike was back. However if it was expected of anyone, Spike would be it. The vampire could never stay away for too long.

“Out with it, Buffy. Got loads of stuff to do.” Dawn replied, impatiently. She couldn’t wait to find out what could be considered a good surprise at an evil law firm.

Buffy looked at her sister, who she had started to trust more and more in the past year. She could talk to her about anything and didn’t have to worry about upsetting her. After a moment, Buffy decided to tell her sister straight.

“Spike’s back,” she said, in a calm voice, trying to control her excitement about the news.

Dawn didn’t say anything for a moment. She just stared at her sister’s face, emotionless. When she didn’t see any sign of a practical joke or delusional behaviour, she asked, “What did you say?”

Buffy, expecting this, replied in a calm voice. “Spike’s back. He came back to Wolfram and Hart whilst I was gone.”

Dawn shook her head disbelievingly. Seeing the way her sister looked and sounded, she knew it must be true.

“How is he? How did he come back? What happened?” She started to ask all the questions that Buffy had expected from her sister at a mile a minute.

“The amulet. It trapped him inside. It was sent to Angel’s office today and when Angel opened it, Spike popped out of the amulet. But…” Buffy paused, wondering how to tell Dawn the rest.

“But what?” Dawn asked, impatiently. She wanted to see him right that moment. But she knew Buffy had left something out. So she waited patiently.

“He’s kinda a ghost. Can’t touch, going through the walls type.” Buffy repeated as much as she could remember from what Wesley had told her.

After a moment of silence, Dawn asked, “Did he say anything? Did he ask about me?” She looked at her sister hopefully.

“I don’t know, Dawnie. I haven’t seen him yet. Apparently, he had a fight with Angel and Spike walked off. I’m going to go back and wait for him.”

“I want to come with you,” Dawn begged. “Please Buffy, I want to see him.”

“Not today, Dawn. I’ll see him first and talk to him and after that, I’ll take you to him. I need to make sure it is definitely Spike and not the First pretending to be him.” Buffy hoped that would satisfy her sister.

“Oh. Okay then. But promise me you’ll take me first thing tomorrow morning.” Dawn asked.

“Definitely. Tomorrow morning, first thing.” Satisfied that her sister wouldn’t sneak out and go to Wolfram and Hart by herself, Buffy sat down to eat her dinner.

When she’d finished eating, Buffy got ready to go back to the office and face Spike.

“Lock the door and windows,” Buffy ordered, “this is a big place, so be careful.”



When Buffy arrived at Wolfram and Hart, most people seemed to have gone home. It was relatively quiet except for some of the staff who were working late. She walked around the halls, mindlessly looking at the people who were still around, although her main focus was on one particular person – or rather, ghost - at the moment.

The only person she knew who was in his office, was Wesley. He seemed to be researching, as always. Buffy knocked on the door, and waited for Wesley to invite her in.

“Hey Wesley.” She greeted.

“Hello Buffy. Have you just got back from the Hyperion?” Wesley smiled as he welcomed her in.

“Yeah,” Buffy replied. “Dawn was making dinner when I arrived, and I explained about Spike and his magical return from the dead. She wanted to come back with me but it’s too late. I promised to bring her tomorrow.”

“How did she take it?” Wesley asked, curiously.

“As well as I thought she would. She was excited about his return. They had a good friendship for a long time.”

“A vampire befriending the Slayer’s sister. I still can’t wrap my mind around it.” Wesley confessed, guiltily.

“That’s Spike for you. Walking, talking contradiction. Speaking of Spike, where is he?” Buffy asked. “He must have come back by now.” She looked around, as though hoping he would suddenly appear in the room.

“Actually, he hasn’t shown up yet,” Wesley said. “But I did find out something more about the amulet.”

“What did you find out, Wes?” Buffy asked. She could see Wesley hesitating to tell her and a sudden chill ran down Buffy’s spine.

“After a fair amount of reading about the amulet in Wolfram and Hart’s records, I concluded that he is bound to the amulet for eternity. He will remain as a ghost for the interim until he is either released from its confines or the amulet is destroyed.” Wesley summarized.

“So? All we have to do is release him from the amulet and everything will be fine.” Seeing Wesley’s guilty look, Buffy asked loudly, “What are you not telling me Wes?”

“When he came out of the amulet, Spike was furious about his ghostly state,” Wesley began. “He said that he didn’t want to be a prisoner of the amulet, unable to interact with anything. He confessed his desire to move on. Having concluded that we won’t be able to find a way to release him, I suggested to Angel that letting Spike move on would be the wisest decision.”

“What? No. We haven’t tried everything. There must be something else we can do. There has to be.” Buffy was crumbling inside. She’d finally got a second chance only for it to slip away.

“No, Buffy. I’ve looked up everything,” Wesley said. “Nothing magical that we know of can release him from its hold. The only way to release him is by breaking it which will then force him to move on. I’m sorry but this is the only way.”

“No. There must be something we can do.” Buffy refused to accept what Wesley had told her. She had a sudden thought, and smiled.“Willow! She’ll be able to do something. She released the power from the scythe, she might have the power to release him.” Buffy was proud of herself for coming up with a solution.

“I rather doubt it. The amulet is ancient magic unknown to any practicing witch or wizard. Even if Willow finds a way to help, it’s too late. Angel has taken the amulet to the cemetery to destroy it. It can only be destroyed on hallowed ground.”

“No. No!” Buffy uttered, while moving toward the door. Once out of the office, she took off like a bat out of hell. Her feet barely touched the steps as she flew down the staircase, reaching the bottom in record time. She ran towards the cemetery faster than she’d ever run before, faster even than when she’d tried to stop Riley from leaving with the army. The cemetery was close by and she didn’t bother driving to end up caught in the traffic.



When Buffy reached the cemetery, she saw Spike and an older man standing over Angel. She hid behind a tree, and watched. She saw them carrying Angel towards a nearby crypt. From the outside, it looked very much like Spike's Sunnydale crypt. She followed them from a distance and went into the crypt without making a noise.

When she entered the crypt, she saw Spike standing close to the old man, who in turn, was taunting Angel. She was shocked and disappointed. She didn’t believe that Spike would betray anyone, including Angel, to get what he wanted. ‘Maybe I don’t know him as much as I thought I did.’

She saw the old man stick his hand into Angel’s belly, who was wincing in pain. She was about to interfere when she saw Spike getting sucked through the man’s other hand. She didn’t know how to stop it or what to do to help. She moved closer and closer when she suddenly saw the old man twitch.

The old man seemed to struggle with himself and she saw Angel taking advantage the situation. They traded punches with each other, and Angel threw the old man to one side, sending him crashing into a table. The man quickly stood up and started to attack more furiously. For an old guy, he seemed to be quite forceful until Angel threw a plate that cut his head clean off.

Spike was inside the man’s body, his ghostly head sticking out of the neck. Buffy gasped; seeing him up-close for the first time was a shock, and almost too unbelievable to be true.

Angel and Spike were talking when Buffy decided to intervene.

“Oh come on. Had to get a few licks in, didn’t I?” Spike said smiling to himself about the situation.

“You sure are lucky you’re a ghost, bleach head.” the voice came from behind and both Spike and Angel whipped their heads around to see the Slayer standing before them with her arms crossed.

“Buffy. What are you doing here?” Angel asked surprised.

“Buffy?” Spike’s eyes widened when his eyes landed on the person standing before him. He had been hell-bent on finding her in Europe and now here she was, his golden angel standing right in front of him. She looked pissed off which, in his eyes, made her look even more beautiful.

“I went to Wolfram and Hart to find Spike. Wesley told me that you were going to kill him. I arrived to see you being taken by Spike and that old guy.” She pointed at Hainsley on the floor. “And when I come here to find out what’s happening, both of you are at it again, fighting like kids.”

“Hey. I didn’t try to kill him. He told me to do that. And it was part of the plan. A plan to get rid of Hainsley.” Angel explained, quickly. He knew very well that Buffy harboured feelings for Spike and if she thought he was trying to kill him, he would have a pissed off Slayer on his hands.

“You could have told Wes that in the first place. I wouldn’t have had to come running like a crazed woman.” Buffy said, still looking angrily at both of them and Spike tried very hard not to smirk at his grandsire who was getting chewed up by the Slayer.

Angel was looking uncomfortable at Buffy’s tone of voice. He knew he was still in the hot seat even after his explanation. He didn’t know who had told Buffy about Spike’s return but he was sure that Buffy wouldn’t like the fact that he had tried to keep her away from him.

“Can you leave us alone for a minute? I need to talk to Angel.” Buffy asked Spike, politely.

“Yeah. Right. It’s always the same.” Spike said disapprovingly and his demeanour changed from pleasant to angry and he stormed off.

Buffy looked at the angry vampire-ghost as he left the crypt before turning towards Angel. She had to talk this out with Angel before she chased after Spike.

“I know all this was part of a plan but in the future, whether it’s a plan, or if it’s real do not do it. Don’t even try to break that amulet. Because if you or any of your goons do, I swear to God all of you will end up dead or a pile of dust.” Buffy warned. “And you won’t be coming back, again.”

“Buffy. I was only trying to defuse the situation and Spike offered to be the pawn.” Angel tried to make the slayer see reason.

“And what ever reason could you have for not telling him I was here?” Buffy asked.

“The matter never came up. We were too busy trying to figure out what he is.” Angel tried to hide the fact that he had said she was in Europe.

“Don’t even. I know that vampire like I know myself. He would have asked about me first thing. I know you purposely hid it from him.”

“I was just trying to protect you.” Angel tried to justify himself. “If you found out that he was a ghost, and he faded away completely, it would have upset you. You would have suffered.”

“Angel. Please... Stop trying to protect me. Stop trying to make decisions for me. I can take care of myself. I’ve done it for a long time, now. I’m not the same girl you knew when you were in Sunnydale. I’ve made my own decisions about my life for years. Some of them were good, and some of them were bad, but all I know is that I made them and lived with them. If you try to interfere again, I will leave L.A. with Spike and Dawn and will never look back.”

Angel stood, silently trying to understand what had happened a moment ago. She was definitely not the Buffy he used to know.



Spike was storming away from the crypt angrily when he heard his name being called. Knowing there could only be one female who would be calling his name, he slowed down for her to catch up.

“Spike… wait.” Buffy called out, running towards him, standing next to him catching her breath.

“What is it, Slayer?” Spike was glad to see her again but with Buffy wanting to talk to Angel alone when he was standing right there pissed him off. Flashbacks of the time when he saw her kiss Angel when she went to fight Caleb came back to haunt him.

“I don’t know… I just—” Buffy was having a hard time trying to put what she was feeling into words.

Seeing the various emotions running through Buffy’s head reflecting on her face, Spike’s anger melted. “I missed you, love.”

“I missed you, too. I missed you more than you can ever imagine.” Buffy was glad he had eased up and started the conversation.

“Angel told me you were in Europe. I was all set to go find you only to realize I was stuck in his hell hole with the bloody amulet.” Spike shook his head dejectedly.

“I knew it,” Buffy seethed. “I knew he hadn’t told you the truth.”

“Bloody poof. Always sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong.” Spike stopped suddenly, mid-ramble and focused on Buffy. “Hold on, love. If Angel didn’t tell me about you, how did you find out about my return from the dead?”

“I—” Buffy shifted around uncomfortably. “I sorta work for him.”

“You bloody what?” Spike yelled out loud. Never in a million years would he have believed that Buffy would be dumb enough to be fooled by Angel’s plan to beat the evil from the inside.

“Don’t tell me you believe in his idea as well?” He asked her, still not willing to believe it was true. “Can’t you see what’s happening here?”

“I need to be with him to make sure he doesn’t fall to the dark side.” Buffy said softly. She knew it sounded lame but it was all she could say.

“Oh, yeah. That’s right. He’s Peaches after all. Of course you’re with him.” Spike replied accusingly. He’s the big love of her life ain’t he? She’ll always stay with him. What am I to her now that the big evil is gone?

“It’s not like that.” Buffy tried to explain frantically. He was taking everything she said the wrong way. She knew from the hurt way he was looking at her that he misunderstood the situation, like always.

“Save it, Slayer.” Spike started to walk away angrily, towards the car.

Buffy walked towards the car dejectedly. She knew that anything she tried to say now would be useless. That stupid vampire always jumped to the wrong conclusions and got irrationally angry. She knew he wouldn’t listen or believe anything she said until he cooled down. She just needed to give him space to vent his anger before she tried to explain again.

Angel walked over after a little while and saw both the ghostly vampire and the Slayer standing apart as though they were avoiding each other. He got into the driving seat and Spike sat next to him while Buffy sat in the back seat. The ride back to the office was spent in silence.



When they reached Wolfram and Hart, Buffy decided to talk to Spike once they had a moment to themselves. Once the elevator opened onto the office floor, Spike walked away quickly. Buffy tried to follow him only to see him disappear into thin air. She panicked at what she’d seen and looked back at the only person around, who happened to be Fred.

“What happened?” She asked, frantically.

“Oh, he’s done that before,” said Fred, casually. “He comes back after a little while. We just have to wait for him to show himself again.”

“Where did he go?” Buffy asked.

“We don’t know. Don’t worry, Buffy,” Fred consoled. “He’ll come back eventually.”. Inwardly, she was worried about it too. She didn’t understand what was making him disappear but she didn’t want to show her worry, as it would surely escalate Buffy’s current anxiety.

“Why don’t you go back to the Hyperion,” she suggested. “Spike will probably be back when you come in tomorrow.”

“Right. If you see him before then, please tell him that I’m worried and want to talk with him?” Buffy asked.

“I promise.” Fred assured.

“Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.” Buffy walked back to the elevator to go home. The sooner she went to sleep, the sooner it tomorrow would arrive and she would be able to talk to Spike again.

Fred looked around one last time for Spike’s appearance before she went to lock her office and go home.


Chapter End Notes:
Hope it is good. Let me know by your reviews. Hope it’s not too long to read. Please let me know if it is. REVIEW PLEASE.



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