[Reviews - 49]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 2312 times

- Text Size +




Chapter 12

"So…these Bringer guys…how do they make with the traveling, exactly?" Xander asked, as the foursome drew closer to the old high school. "To take the little girl across the county. Do they teleport? Can they fly?"

"No," Asher said. "But they can drive."

"They drive? With no eyes? That's…that's…that's worse than letting Buffy behind the wheel!"

"Collective consciousness," Asher said. "I don't really understand it myself, but they have a combined ability to sense things. Movement."

They approached the ruins of the high school. Though Buffy was well aware of the current state of the building (and the reasons behind its current state), it never failed to surprise her to see the dark, crumbling mass that had been her former school. This was where she'd met the friends she imagined she'd keep for as long as she lived, where she'd accepted her fate as a Slayer, where she'd come to rely on her Watcher as both a mentor and a father figure.

Where she'd fought Spike for the first time.

"At least it isn't creepy here," Xander said. "How the hell did Riley hide our here last year without contracting tetanus or falling through the floors? This place is a complete danger zone."

"Agreed," Buffy said, pushing away thoughts of Riley for the moment. "There is no way on earth this place is structurally sound. And not exactly with the well-lit, either. Be careful inside." With Xander and Asher in front of them for the moment, Buffy impulsively grasped Spike's hand and squeezed, looking quickly into his eyes. She dropped his hand.

"Stop." Spike's voice brought them all to a standstill, and they watched as two Bringers came out of the shadows and moved through the half-collapsed entryway into the school.

"Already rounding up the troops," Asher said. "Who knows how many we'll find inside. Be prepared to fight the minute we walk through the doors."

"You know the whelp can't actually fight, don't you?" Spike mused. "Probably be out cold before we even make it inside."

"Really?" Asher said, surprised. "Huh. He fights quite well in my time."

"I do?" Xander piped up, eagerly. "I fight well? You mean I don't get knocked out in every fight? Did you hear that, Buff? I fight well!"

She laughed at his excitement, and Spike shook his head. "Took you long enough, didn't it?"

"Hey!"

"Quiet, now," Asher said, as they stepped through what used to be the school's entrance. "Head for the library."

Buffy pulled out a small flashlight and waved it carefully through the hallway. "Weren't they supposed to demo this place and rebuild?" she whispered. If that was the case, then they weren't making the fastest progress on it. Dented lockers lay topsy turvy all across the hallway, a layer of ash and debris having settled over them, along with shreds of notebook paper and bits of ceiling insulation.

Spike vamped, relying on his night vision and his hearing to guide them to what used to be the school library. "They're here, all right," he confirmed. "I can hear them. Sounds like some kind of chanting again."

"Probably a way to communicate with the other Harbingers," Asher said, quietly.

"Incoming," Spike said, sensing a new heartbeat nearby. Spike, Buffy, Xander, and Asher all flattened themselves against what was left of a wall, fading into the shadows as a robed Bringer moved swiftly through the entryway and into the hallway, apparently headed for the old library as well.

Or he was, until Buffy jumped out and punched him—hard enough to knock him out cold, but not enough to send him sailing across the hall and into another crushed and beaten row of lockers, thereby making a lot more noise than was really necessary and alerting the other Bringers to their presence.

"Should of killed him, luv," Spike said. "He'll be up again pretty quickly. Remember the one I knocked out in the cavern?"

She nodded, but didn't waste time admitting that it bothered her that the Bringers were human. Strictly speaking, she wasn't supposed to kill humans. In fact, she was supposed to protect humans. The idea of twisting one of these guys' necks until it made that satisfying crack that she loved to hear when fighting demons made her feel a little queasy, and more than a little guilty.

But it didn't matter. She thought of Eden's pretty face, and knew that she'd kill every Bringer in this building if that was what it took to make sure that her daughter was returned home safely.

They crept along, trying to hurry and keep quiet all at the same time. They passed the charred doorway to what used to be the basement, with its steps that used to be rickety and were probably non-existent now—not that they were going to be checking—and Buffy found herself thinking of Cordelia back in high school, how she'd fallen through the old steps at the factory and had been in the hospital for what seemed like forever. It had all happened because of Spike, because he'd kidnapped Buffy's friends. Her shoulders tensed in sudden anger as she remembered. She'd slept with a monster. The evil thing that had kidnapped her friends and tried to kill her more times than she could count.

Oh, and that evil thing? Eight years from now he would be her husband. What the hell was wrong with her future self? What the hell was wrong with her now?

"Slayer!" Spike hissed. "Pay attention!" She looked down to see a jagged shard of glass (from an office window, maybe?) sticking up out of a pile of what looked like parts of a desk. Her foot was poised in the air, just inches from sinking onto the pointed edge. She skipped lightly over the scary piece of glass that might not have been life-threatening, but still wouldn't have been pleasant lodged in her foot and would have totally ruined her boots.

Maybe that was why. Because Spike wasn't the same the same vampire she'd known back then. He was changing into something…different. Someone who wanted to keep her safe, keep her from stepping on sharp objects, keep her alive. Not good, not yet…but maybe one day? And a soul. How would he manage to get one of those, and why would he ever want it? How many times had she heard him badmouthing Angel and the soul that had tamed him? And speaking of…Angel. If she was with Spike in the future, then she wasn't with Angel. At no point would Angel come back to her, would he realize that he couldn't be without her anymore. Or, she guessed it was possible that he would, but that would mean that she would reject him for some reason she didn't know of yet. There wasn't a future place, like she'd imagined, where they would find a way to be together. And oddly, she found that she didn't mind too much. Her love for Angel was a child's fantasy, a dream that existed in a little bubble of perfection. It was a part of her, yes, but it didn't even feel real to her anymore.

But Spike was real. What had happened earlier was real. And their daughter—there was no denying how real she was.

She shook her head, trying to shake out all of her confused thoughts, and a Bringer slipped out of the shadows and lunged at her.

Asher may have sensed her hesitation at killing a human, but he clearly had no such qualms himself. He had the Harbinger around the chest and had slit its throat in a clean line before the Bringer had even raised its dagger to Buffy. She must have looked mildly surprised by the violent action, because he squared his shoulders and said, "Nothing stops me from getting to her. Not human, not demon. Shouldn't stop you either. It wouldn't, where I come from."

She nodded. Right. She had to focus. Only one thing was important right now, and that was getting Eden out safely.

She heard the voices chanting at the same time she saw the light glowing from the room that had once been the school library. She could feel Spike at her side as she moved toward it. Finally, she saw Eden, seated in a metal chair on the dirt floor amid the debris, once again in the center of a circle made up of Bringers. And outside the circle…more Bringers. There must have been at least twenty of them, crowded around the room, all chanting. But the Bringers voices were soft and muted compared to the sing-song voice of the dark-haired woman in the flowy dress who moved around the little girl.

Drusilla.

"Such a lovely little dolly," Drusilla murmured, her hand a whisper against the light strands of Eden's long hair. Tears streamed quietly down the girl's face. "Don't be afraid. I'm your daddy's mummy. The stars sang sad songs to me and told me you'd come to change it all. Naughty, naughty girl." She snapped her jaws at the girl, her eyes taking on a frightening expression. To Buffy's immense pride, Eden didn't cry out or jump in surprise; her wet little eyes just continued overflowing with those silent tears.

Buffy looked wide-eyed at Spike. "Get your crazy ho ex-girlfriend away from our daughter," she said in a clipped, furious tone.

"Would, luv," Spike replied. "But that's not Dru. Not nearly batty enough."

"Great googly moogly," Xander said, glimpsing Eden for the first time. "She's…she's…so obviously…"

"Ours," Spike and Buffy said in unison, then looked at each other in astonishment. "Got to stop doing that," Spike muttered, shaking his head.

Finally sensing the presence of outsiders, "Dru" turned to the foursome. "My pretty, pretty prince," she said in that sing-song voice that Buffy suddenly found infuriating.

"Piss poor imitation," Spike said.

She laughed, a dark, frightening chuckle, and spun in circle after circle. "How about this one?" she asked, shifting before their eyes…into Buffy.

"Even worse."

"Mummy?" Eden said, her gaze moving back and forth between the real Buffy and the imitation.

"It's okay," the First said, leaning down to her. "I'm here, sweetie. I'm always right here."

The little girl sniffled. Buffy clenched her fists together tightly. "That's not me, Eden," she said, addressing her daughter for the first time. "You know that's not me."

The imitation Buffy laughed and spun in a circle again, this time morphing into Angel.

Angelus, actually.

"I'm rather partial to this look, myself," the First said. "So evil in his own right, isn't he? Fitting." He smiled at Buffy. "You're looking good, Buff." Then he turned to Eden, running his finger along her cheekbone, almost touching her, but not quite.

"Get your homicidal ex-boyfriend away from our daughter," Spike growled to Buffy from the side of his mouth, his eyes never leaving Angelus' face.

"You know it's not him," she whispered.

The First leaned into Eden, drinking in her sweet features. ""We're going to have so much fun, together, aren't we? Such a pretty little thing, and so young. William, remember all of the…fun things I used to do to little girls her age? This will be even better, just knowing she's yours."

Buffy and Spike moved as one, Spike roaring with pure, animalistic rage. Buffy's face was red and angry, and her body was screaming for blood. "Get away from her, you sick, twisted bastard!" Spike yelled. He knew it wasn't Angelus. He knew it, but he couldn't help the instinctive reaction. The pair lunged together, hitting the ground as "Angelus" disappeared. And reappeared behind them.

"Ah, ah, ah William," the First taunted. "You can't stop me. Nothing can stop me. She belongs to me now."

"Enough," Buffy said through clenched teeth, squaring her shoulders and making her move to Eden.

During their little interlude with Angel's less-souled alter-ego (or the First's spot-on imitation), Buffy had failed to notice that the chanting had stopped. But suddenly the Bringers were on their feet and rushing at them foursome. One moved into her path, effectively blocking Eden from her grasp. He lunged at her with a dagger identical to the one that had sliced her skin earlier, but this time Buffy ducked the blade and lashed out with her foot, kicking the robed man squarely in the stomach. She could hear the others fighting behind her, could feel Spike at her back, bobbing and weaving to avoid the Bringers' blows. She caught a glimpse of Asher in the flickering torchlight, and was impressed by his astonishingly accurate punches. Figures, she thought, remembering his confession that she'd been the one to train him. Even Xander seemed to be holding his own…until a Bringer shoved him into a corner and knocked him out cold.

One of the robed men moved to Eden, obviously hoping, in all the commotion, to grab her and run before anyone noticed.

Asher noticed. "Eden!" he yelled. "Fight! Don't let them take you! Remember what your dad says…fists and fangs!" The little girl looked at Asher uncertainly, her face still streaked with glistening tears. "Fists and fangs, Eden!" he yelled again.

Buffy slit the throat of the Bringer she was fighting, tearing neatly through the flesh with the robed man's own knife. Hey, if Asher could do it, so could she. She spun around to Spike, who'd just ducked a blow from the Harbinger who now fought with Asher. She raised her eyebrows. "Fists and fangs, daddy?" she asked, pointedly. She shook her head. "My child has fangs."

Spike's eyes were shining, pride evident in the curve of his small smile. "This I gotta see."

Eden nodded, her mouth suddenly a determined little line. Her fist lashed out at the Bringer, landing a hard punch across the robed man's jaw with her small knuckle. She was on her feet on the metal chair instantly, her body in fighting stance, when suddenly her mouth opened and a pair of tiny fangs slid into place. No game face, no bumpies, just those sharp pointy teeth and a golden glint in her eye.

"Bloody hell!" Spike shouted in delight. The Bringer reached for Eden and without hesitation, she sank her fangs into the skin of his arm. When he reached his other hand for her, she swung her leg up in a vicious little kick—connecting squarely with his groin. He grunted and made one more effort to grab her, but she waved one hand in front of her face and a shimmery barrier appeared between herself and the Bringer. His hand smashed into the magical wall with a crunch of bones breaking and he fell to the floor in agony.

A robed man jumped at Buffy, and she had to tear her eyes from the amazing child to do battle. But she'd just realized that the path to Eden was finally clear. "Go now," she yelled at Spike.

He saw the opportunity and ran for the girl, hoisting her up and into his arms. "Time to go, little bit," he said. She wrapped her arms eagerly his neck and held on tight. If she even noticed that he was in game face, she didn't seem bothered by it in the least.

"Get them!" The First yelled, suddenly re-materializing in the form of Buffy.

"Mummy?" Eden said, hesitantly.

"Not your mum," Spike said, holding on to the girl for dear life as he ducked and weaved around the Bringers running at him.

"Go!" Buffy yelled to him, throwing a knock-out punch to the Bringer she fought. She heard the swirl of Spike's duster as he ran at full vampire speed out of the library, and knew he wouldn't stop until he'd gotten Eden to safety. Now, to see that Asher got back there safely as well. But when she turned to help Asher, she saw him stabbing his foe in the stomach, the robed man falling in a heap on the floor. She looked around, and saw that they'd somehow managed to take down all of the Bringers in the room. Some were still conscious, groaning and thrashing on the dirty ground, but Buffy ignored them. Instead, she moved to pull the unconscious Xander into her arms.

"Help a girl out?" She asked Asher, who lifted Xander on one side, while Buffy held his other side.

"We need to move fast, just in case," Asher muttered, though it was hard to rush while carrying Xander between them.

Xander came to as they hurried out of the school and into the dark night. Or, well, morning now. "Where is she?" he asked. "Did we get her?"

"Gave you too much credit, I see," Asher said, shaking his head. "Not a good fighter now."

"Hey!" Xander said. "Is she safe?"

"She's safe," Buffy said. "Now let's get out of here."

They found Spike and Eden not at the Magic Box as agreed, but sitting on a bench on the sidewalk a few blocks away. They appeared to be deep in conversation, Spike using a tissue to wipe the streaks of tears from her cheeks and Eden's legs kicking casually in the air.

Buffy wanted to comment on the fact that Spike had so clearly not followed the plan to meet back at the Magic Box, but was too enamored with the sight of her daughter to even bother. Her daughter and her husband. God, they looked so much alike.

"Eden," Asher said, with considerable relief. "You scared us."

"Ash," she said, her little voice a melody, her sweet smile radiant in the dark early morning moonlight. Her fangs were away already and she looked just like any other little girl. Only prettier. At least, according to Buffy. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be," Asher said. "It wasn't your fault. We're so proud of you."

"You fought really, really well," Buffy said quietly, suddenly shy in the girl's presence.

Eden focused on Buffy, her vibrant blue eyes filled with hope. "I did?"

"You did." The little girl beamed and hopped lightly off the bench, rushing Buffy's legs with a bear hug. Buffy looked helplessly at Spike, who smiled at her and nodded. She bent down so she was level with Eden, and then wrapped her arms around the girl's small shoulders, pulling her close, drowning in her sweet little girl scent. She could feel Spike's gaze, knew if she looked up she would see that awestruck look in his eyes.

She couldn't remember ever feeling so warm, so content, so…complete.

"Great googly moogly," Xander said again, shaking his head.

Eden turned to him, giggling. "Uncle Xan!" she squealed, running to him. His eyebrows lifted in surprise as she scrambled up into his arms. He shook his head, and Spike chuckled.

"No more Bringers around?" Buffy asked.

Spike shook his head. "Can't sense any."

"Then let's get out of here," Asher said, and the quiet group made their way back to the magic shop.





You must login (register) to review.