Introductions

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Part 15

"Alright, gents," Hypatia finally said as she placed her napkin over the remains of food on the plate in front of her and sipped the strong black coffee she'd brewed earlier, "I'm sorry. I should have mentioned the whole thing with the alcohol." She chuckled quietly. "Of course, you shouldn't have tried getting me drunk, either, so I suppose in a sense we're even, yes?"

Spike growled even as he finished off the last of his omelet. "Hardly. Your bloody stunt with whatever you gave me ta drink before leaves you still on th' owin' side."

Harris laughed and reached out the few inches to pat his vamp's hand. "Stop pouting, babe. At least we feel better than we would have until like tomorrow."

The blond glared at his beloved, his bottom lip pooching out a bit more. "Not poutin'."

One warm brown eye rolled, then Harris shrugged at the black-haired woman slightly. "Sure you're not, love. Of course, it looks good on you."

Hypatia grinned. "What doesn't?" She took another sip of her coffee then leaned back in her chair. Ignoring the vampire's expression completely she sighed softly. "Alright, then. Where were we?"

Spike lost his pout and arched a brow at the woman. He'd figured it would take a good bit of effort to get her talking again, but apparently not. "Your white room, pet... an' Dawn bein' th' third one of... whatever you are."

"Were," Harris corrected gently, squeezing his lover's hand gently. "What you WERE. Because you're human now... right? You and Trev?"

She sighed again, violet eyes staring at the table top. "Yes... for the most part. Let's just say that we're as human as your friend Willow, Xander. A good bit more power than most ordinary humans, but... we still age, we still get sick... still want things that could be bad for us." She nodded, raising her eyes to flick back and forth between the two men. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. So. The white room."

"Yah, luv... because I don't think me an' Xan are gettin' how you got from there ta here."
Harris shook his head. "I'm not sure I even know what 'there' is... was. But that's okay. You guys can tell me later. I kinda want to know what happened more right now."

"It's simple, really," Hypatia said after a moment. "We were there. We were one being finally and had been for centuries. We existed within that place and we... watched. We saw things. The world, the ever changing balance between light and dark... and people." She swallowed and looked down at the table again.

"People everywhere, holding souls and disregarding them. FEELING things and acting on those emotions... free will was fascinating to me. To US, as we are now. And as time passed, we wanted so much..."

Hypatia frowned. "It's so very difficult to explain this in human terms. When we were... THERE, we were one being. an 'I', not a 'we'. And yet now... it feels as though 'we' is the appropriate term, even though it wasn't then."

Her eyes rolled slightly at the vampire's annoyed growl.

"Fine. I was trying to be clear but..."

"Just get on with it, pet. Enough with th' stallin'." Spike demanded with another irritated growl, forcing himself to stop when his beloved's hand stroked his arm soothingly.

"You have no idea of the sort of power we held then," she said softly. "We could have shifted the balance in and of ourselves with less than a thought if we hadn't been so close to balanced as one being made of two. We were good and bad, light and dark, all swirled irretractably together and directed mostly by the intentions of those who used us. Much as the same fire that can warm can be used to destroy, you understand?" She nodded slowly. "And we all felt the battle coming. The battle you intended to be a part of, William."

"There was little chance of surviving, not intact. Not even for me. Us. We would be too great of a prize, you see. Whoever won, I... we... would have been taken, turned to one end or another and... that last year spoiled us. Made us want things we shouldn't have and... we were afraid."

Hypatis nodded once more, finally looking at the men again. "Thanks to Angel, Wolfram and Hart was no longer closed to the lighter Powers and so we... made a deal. We would become human and seek our redemption. Or not, as the case might be. But we would be allowed to experience free will. To CHOOSE who and what we would be... and reap the rewards or punishments we earned with our mortal lives."

"As it turns out, you see, the Powers had plans for us. They knew what we wanted, knew it was in everyone's best interests for us to be... lessened. And we are. We're nowhere near as powerful as we were when joined and... I'm convinced that it's a good thing. So there. Now you know."

Spike frowned, trying to wrap his mind around the new information. It was Harris, however, who cut to the chase.

"So they... what? Made bodies from nothing and... shoved you and Trev into them? Because I'm not sure how that would work. I mean, the paper trail most people have, alone, would be kind of..."

"There's ways around that, luv," the vampire murmured, having used just such ways himself after what had happened in LA. "Even if th' Powers left them ta fend for themselves, there's ways ta build a past..."

"If only it were that simple," Hypatia whispered, her fingers trembling until she clenched her hands against the smooth table top. "If only it were..."

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"Well, she wasn't lying," Harris admitted a few hours later, after Hypatia had left to do some 'business' although she'd promised to call them when she was finished, if only to update them on anything she might find herself KNOWING about the guys.

"When you know what to look for, it's easy to find." Harris blushed a little as his claimed plopped down on his lap to stare at the computer screen. "It's right there. I put in her name and Trev's and... it's just like she said."

One arm wrapped around his beloved's shoulders and he gazed at the screen for a while. "Trevor Arcady an' Hypatia Lee. Yah, see it, luv." His lips pursed a bit as he read the bits about both their friends, although the word might be stretching it a bit with regards to the woman. "Not clear on what th' terms mean, though..." he shrugged slightly, ashamed to admit it.

Harris smiled and hugged Spike close, pressing one soft kiss to his shoulder. "I wasn't either. That's why I looked them up, babe." He almost glowed at the look his vampire gave him.

"Basically...? Trevor Arcady got hit in the head with a hockey stick when he was fifteen. He was in a coma for like almost five years. The hospital said he went brain dead and really dead... for a second. Then... he wasn't." Harris frowned. "When he woke up, he was... different, according to his usual doctor... but since his parents died in a car accident after he was hurt there's no other info to go by."

Spike arched a brow, knowing his lover wasn't telling him everything. "And?" he demanded insistently, meeting that lovely brown eye.

Harris sighed. "And... Trevor wasn't gay. Or not the ORIGINAL Trevor, anyway. That seems to be something the... entity... brought into the mix."

The vampire frowned although he supposed that made sense. It was also in keeping with what Hypatia had told them. "An' Hy? What's it say 'bout her?"

The brunette smiled a bit, catching the more interested tone to his claimed's voice. "Something similar although the thing that put the first Hypatia Lee in the hospital-- and in a coma too, incidentally-- was a gas line explosion at her home. Her parents and two younger siblings died in the blast but she was apparently leaving the house at the time and was blown head-first through the windshield of the family car." Harris sighed and moved the mouse, clicking on the relevant link.

"She was sixteen at the time but managed to hold on for seven years or so. And again, she was all kinds of dead for a moment just about six years ago... but she got better all of a sudden." Harris sighed. "It almost seems like... the Powers maybe killed off their families...?" He swallowed hard, wondering if the 'lighter Powers' were maybe just as bad as the darker ones.

Spike frowned again, shaking his head. "Luv... Trev an' Hy's first fams died before th' 'entity' made its deal with th' Powers, yah? So I'm bettin' they just took advantage of what they could find, right? I mean... how many people are in comas world-wide on any given day? Must be a bleedin' lot!"

Harris smiled, feeling a little relieved. "Yeah... you're right, babe. I don't know what I was thinking. They're the POWERS, right? They would never do anything like that."

The blond didn't bother to respond to that even though he questioned his beloved's belief in inherent goodness. He merely ran his fingers through the wavy brown hair and pressed a yearning kiss to his lover's lips. "Right... so can we go ta bed, pet? Kinda want you ta shag me unconscious, if you don't mind..."

And as always, Harris didn't have a problem with that. He returned the kiss slowly, wickedly, needily. "No..." he murmured with a soft and pleased chuckle, "Don't mind at all, love..."

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(A/N: I know... you guys just want the porn in the next bit, right? *snerk* More coming soon... pun intended. LOL

Many thanks to TheShadowCat, DaniKitten, Zephyr, RemityGirl and Kat for the reviews! Always appreciated, guys.

*sticks tongue out at TheShadowCat* And the threat SO worked! I got FIVE! *snerks again and runs away*)