“Take the first step, and your mind will mobilze, all its forces to your aid. But the first essential is that you begin. Once the battle is started, all that is within and without you will come to your assistance.”
~ Robert Collier
Buffy awoke to the sound of Spike talking on the phone with Willow. She couldn’t make out her side of the conversation but she could hear his side and snuggled in closer enjoying the feeling of the vibrations of his voice against her chest. Spike smiled at her noticing she was awake and gently began to run his hand through her hair. She placed a gentle kiss on his lips and settled down to wait for the phone call to be finished. She heard Spike, “Is that right? Well I don’t know what it is. As far as I know everyone I ever knew in L.A. died. Hmm. Could be a guess. Gunn definitely died before I even did. Angel was eaten by a dragon but inter-dimension travel wouldn’t be up his alley…. Yeah sorry Red but the ex-watcher was definitely dead before we even began the main fight. There is one who is capable of that, Illyria. She is some Old One God thing. Yeah she’s powerful but probably harmless by now. I can look into it. Buffy and I will go where the err...”
Spike watched as their bedroom began to get foggy. Buffy whispered, “Spike what’s happening?”
Spike put down the phone and demanded loudly, “Bloody Hell! Show yourself!”
Illyria boomed back, “I need your help.”
Spike looked as though he’d seen a ghost when he whispered, “Blue?”
Illyria stepped forward out of the fog as the fog poured out into the hallway under the door, “I’m being hunted, watched, whatever you mortals call it. I don’t know exactly by what but I don’t like it. It’s demoralizing. Everyone else I’ve ever known is dead. I’ve been hiding but it’s not enough. I’ve tried to follow you. You’re fast for a pathetic half-breed. I tried L.A. but you were supposedly dust. I traced you to Ohio but when I arrived you were already gone. I tried a big place with lots of rooms near here but you were already gone again. Then I tried Brazil..I think that’s what it was called but again I had just missed you. But you are here now.”
Buffy looked at Spike and asked unsure of what to make of the blue creature, “Who is this?”
Illyria responded almost glaring at Buffy, “I am a God’s God. My name is Illyria and you people should all shake with fear but instead you question me, yell at me and do not respect me. I’m being hunted like a common animal. I do not understand why.”
Spike frowned as he cocked his head to the side peering at Illyria, “Um Blue, not that I’m totally complaining but how are you able to transport yourself around like you have been. Red said you were traveling to other worlds again. Didn’t we take that power away from you?”
Illyria shrugged and turned looking around the room, “Such quaint living quarters. I had thought Wolfram and Hart was quaint but this is worse. How can you live in such a pathetic excuse of a house?”
Spike looked at her. Illyria turned towards Spike and noticed Buffy for the first time, “You are in love with a plain human. How can a vampire be in love with something so pathetic as a human? Shouldn’t you be in love with someone like me?”
Buffy jumped out of Spike’s arms and stood up on the bed. She then jumped down on the bed and tried to throw a punch at Illyria who merely ducked. Buffy threw a few more punches towards Illyria and she dodged them all. Illyria raised her hand to strike Buffy but Spike roared and jumped in the middle of the two tossing out an order towards Illyria even as his eyes flickered to gold, “Back off, Illyria. You don’t mess with my mate.”
Illyria cocked her head to the side to study Buffy and Spike, “Mate. Is that like what Fred was to Wesley?”
Spike shrugged pulling Buffy back from Illyria not liking how close they were knowing her power, “Sort of I guess. Buffy’s mine. I protect her with my life or unlife as you have it. Either way, you don’t bloody touch her especially if you want to stop being hunted.”
He turned towards Buffy and spoke softly squeezing her arms gently, “Go call Willow and tell her we need back up. This is bigger than any of us. It might even be bloody bigger than her witch’s circle. Best call Giles too. We might need his research help.”
Buffy took one last look at Illyria and then back to Spike still not knowing what to make of this. She wanted to demand answers, ask thousands of questions such as why Illyria was so stuck on following Illyria and how he even knew her. But instead she let out a deep breath calming her nerves, and walked back quietly to the bed where the phone was. Connor and Dawn chose that moment to enter the room and Illyria spoke loudly towards Connor, “We have met. You are Connor. You are a half-breed as well. You knew Fred.”
Connor nodded and responded, “You’re that God thing.”
Illyria shook her head looking clearly annoyed, “I am a God. You should worship and bow down to me. You offer me no respect, you are not worth my time.”
Dawn stepped forward bravely, “My name is Dawn. What is your name?”
Illyria studied her for a moment and answered a little more softly than before, “Illyria. I’ve come to get help. I’m being hunted. You glow green. You aren’t human. You can travel the worlds like me.” She cocked her head to the other side studying Dawn then nodded with some sort of understanding, “You were once hunted too. You would be very valuable to God’s in other worlds.”
Dawn backed away closer to Connor who immediately put his hand on her arm as though to protect her. Despite Connor’s fascination with Illyria, he would die protecting Dawn from her. Dawn studied Illyria even as she replied softly, “I’m happy in this world.”
Illyria spoke harshly waving her hands through the air as though annoyed, “How can you be? The walls here are so close and the humans are pathetic. They fight each other for no other purpose than to live and die. Your whole race makes no sense. You feel things that aren’t normal and can’t be understood. You are controlled by your emotions therefore making you weak. You smell of humanity yet you aren’t.”
Illyria turned around to look out the window speaking towards it ignoring the others, “This whole world is confusing. I still do not understand it.”
Spike held up his hand stopping the interaction, “Well hold up and I’ll see if I can find help. Half pint and you, Connor.”
He paused mumbling to himself, “I’ll have to come up with something better to call you. I don’t imagine you like boy too much.”
Then he said louder, “Take Illyria downstairs and show her the television or something. I have a play station. She did like that before.”
Dawn nodded and spoke towards Illyria being careful not to touch her, “Follow me?”
Illyria listened but asked, “Why do you bother listening to the vampire? He isn’t the boss of you or the boss of anyone. Why don’t you people have a real boss all the time? At least in the other place we were at, there was a boss who people attempted to listen to. Here it’s without ranks.”
Her voice trailed off as Spike turned to listen to Buffy’s conversation. She was on the phone with Giles and she was talking Giles into taking a normal plane without the rush. He didn’t appear to be listening though. Buffy finally sighed, “Do what you think is best. I’m thinking we are in deep trouble.”
She then hung up turning towards Spike to explain her results, “Willow and Oz are on their way over but Oz will have to leave by 3 today. He has a gig tonight. Giles is taking a plane in about 10 minutes because he insists on being here by tomorrow morning. Anya and Xander are on their way here. They were heading back to house hunt today. Is there any way we can set up the attic to at least be a room? Giles will need a place to stay and does that blue girl even sleep?”
Spike shook his head, “Illyria doesn’t sleep. She doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep but can pack a great punch.”
Buffy asked a little nervous, “Is she dangerous?” Buffy was still remembering Glory being a God and how horrible that was to defeat her. She had died as a result and didn’t want to deal with death again. She shuddered a little and Spike wrapped his arms around her in response trying to calm her.
Spike shrugged, “Saw me as a bleeding pet. Seems to like Dawn because she’s special like her. Doesn’t seem to care much for you or Connor but I think she’s pretty harmless. I’m just not sure whatever is hunting her is so harmless. To spook Blue it has to be pretty bad.”