Old Enemies... (S/X)
folder
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer › Slash - Male/Male › Spike(William)/Xander
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
47
Views:
12,763
Reviews:
75
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer › Slash - Male/Male › Spike(William)/Xander
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
47
Views:
12,763
Reviews:
75
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Old Enemies Part 29
* * * * * * * * *
Part 29
Buffy had been frowning for what seemed like hours, although she knew it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes.
“Spike,” she said, still trying to wrap her mind around it. “He’s really alive…? And he didn’t want me to know…? But… why, Andrew? I mean, okay, he was right. I never really loved him, but… he was a part of the team! I deserved to know… didn’t I?”
Trevor found himself sighing as he reassessed his opinion of the woman. The Maiden-Crone had given him the short version of the events leading up to this moment, and he supposed he could see how they’d drawn the conclusions they had. Hell, it was almost admirable that the Slayer took her responsibility to her people so seriously. Still…
“We have to break the spell. You know that, don’t you, Buffy? Harris NEEDS those memories if he’s going to do what the Powers have planned for him.”
Willow’s eyes widened but she wisely didn’t ask about the Powers. Yet. For the moment she simply sighed. “That means you need to give me the crystal back, Buff. It’s the only way to restore his memories.”
The blonde blushed deeply and looked down at the couch, her fingers plucking nervously at one loose thread. “That… might be harder than it sounds, Will. I, uh… I kind of…” She blushed more.
“Oh, no,” Andrew said, suddenly worried. “Buffy, what did you do?”
“I… I didn’t want to take a chance that the spell could get broken like it did that one time, Willow, remember?” The Slayer bit her lip. “So I… I put the crystal in a box and… dropped it in the Thames…?”
And suddenly Trevor was back to hating the bitch. His hands clenched repeatedly into fists and he forced himself to turn away. “It’s hopeless, then. All these years of Watching! Waiting for the chance to… and it’s ruined! GODS! Now I’ll NEVER be…”
“Yes you will, Trevor,” Andrew interrupted. “So the crystal is gone. It’s not lost. It’s just… misplaced. We’ll find it.” He meant it, too. They had twenty potentials in the house, most of them highly trained. They had the Maiden-Crone and the Slayer. They had Mr. Giles and Trevor, not to mention himself. “We’ve got the dream team here, guys. There’s nothing we can’t do, right? RIGHT? It won’t be the first time we’ve succeeded against insurmountable odds.”
Buffy stood up from the couch in full repentant-mode. “Right. Okay.” She thought for a minute. “Andrew, you find Giles. Get him to call Robert. We need him back here, with Xander, as soon as possible. Willow, you’re gonna need to come up with some sort of spell to find the box. You know the one. Xander sent it to me for my twenty fifth birthday. The lacquer one with the blue flowers?” She sighed with relief when the redhead nodded.
“Good,” she continued. “And I’ll get the potentials to go down into the cellar. I think that scuba diving equipment from a couple years ago is still down there. Trevor, I’m betting you’re good with the research. Go with Andrew. You guys and Giles need to hit the books. See whether you can find some way to break the crystal from a distance if we can’t find it. Meantime, I’ll hit the phones and canvas all of Robert’s known haunts, just in case Giles can’t reach him. Someone will have seen him or will know where he went.”
Her eyes swept over them and she crossed her arms as they stared at her, stunned. “Well? Get moving people! We’ve got work to do! Shoo!”
And Trevor found himself walking quickly through the house with Andrew. They stopped at the smaller man’s room so he could put some clothes on then continued towards the library.
“The Slayer,” Trevor said as they neared their goal, “She’s… good with the planning.”
Andrew chuckled at the other man’s surprise. “Yeah. But she’s even better when she’s under pressure.”
The brunette nodded. “A commander. She must be going crazy now that she’s not in the field much anymore.”
The former geek nodded, sighing a little. “I know she doesn’t like it, but… she’s stationed in Italy. That’s where the fully trained potentials go when they leave here. Buffy’s the… last line of learning, I guess.” He sighed again. “We can’t risk losing her. She’s lasted longer than any Slayer EVER. That means she’s the best one to teach the girls… to let them in on the realities of what they are and the best ways to fight the… death wish. We Watchers can only tell them so much. We’ll never know what it’s like to be them.”
Trevor nodded slowly. “But Andrew… if you don’t let her be what SHE is, how well can she teach them? She doesn’t get to feel the joy or satisfaction of defeating even a little bit of evil anymore, or not on a regular basis. I’m surprised she’s not really… bitter.”
Andrew frowned. “You actually have a point, Trev, but… one problem at a time, okay? We break the spell on Harris, then afterwards we can talk to Mr. Giles about maybe getting Buffy out more, okay?”
* * * * *
It would have been easier for Willow to find a spell she could tweak if she had her books with her. As it was, though, she hadn’t come to London prepared for much casting, and truthfully the books she knew they had in the house were far too… basic… for what she needed.
Much as she hated to admit it, there was only one thing to do.
She almost ran back to her room, staring from place to place until she saw her cell almost hiding behind the potted plant on the bedside table.
Snatching it up, she scrolled through her contacts, hitting the call button when she reached the one she wanted.
The three rings before the call was answered had her biting her lip almost hard enough to draw blood.
“Willow! Hi!” Dawn chirped. “How’s Operation Xan-man going?”
The redhead frowned. “It… could be better, Dawnie. Um, do you still have my grimoire, by any chance, or did you take it back to my place?”
“No, no… it’s here. Uh, in the bedroom, I think. Uh, Ricky and I were doing some… studying last night…”
Willow couldn’t help but laugh at the sheepish tone of the girl’s voice. “Suuuuuuure… and we’re gonna have a talk about not using THOSE spells just for fun. But right now, I’m just too glad you’ve got it there to be mad, okay?”
Dawn’s relieved smile was right there in her voice. “Fine with me, Will. So, uh, what did you… Hold on.”
“Be quiet!” Willow heard the girl call out. “Can’t you see I’m on the phone with Willow?”
“Tell Red we say hi, BJ,” she heard from a distance.
“Um, Dawnie… who was that? And notice me NOT asking about what BJ means.” Willow blushed.
The younger woman laughed. “Faith and Robin say hi. They stopped by on their way to Japan, or so they say. And Faith seems to think it’s still funny to call me Buffy Junior. BJ.” Dawn snorted. “Hold on, let me get into the other room, okay?”
Willow heard a door closing, the sudden ceasing of background noise a welcome relief. “Um… how do you pass through Guatemala on your way to Japan from Australia?” the witch asked curiously.
Another snort. “The world may never know, Will. I think they really just wanted a Scooby night and I was probably closest. They’re sitting in the living room with Ricky, drinking tequila and telling him stories from the ‘good old days’.” She laughed. “So anyway, what’s up?”
Willow sighed softly and began explaining what she needed and why.
* * * * *
Part 29
Buffy had been frowning for what seemed like hours, although she knew it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes.
“Spike,” she said, still trying to wrap her mind around it. “He’s really alive…? And he didn’t want me to know…? But… why, Andrew? I mean, okay, he was right. I never really loved him, but… he was a part of the team! I deserved to know… didn’t I?”
Trevor found himself sighing as he reassessed his opinion of the woman. The Maiden-Crone had given him the short version of the events leading up to this moment, and he supposed he could see how they’d drawn the conclusions they had. Hell, it was almost admirable that the Slayer took her responsibility to her people so seriously. Still…
“We have to break the spell. You know that, don’t you, Buffy? Harris NEEDS those memories if he’s going to do what the Powers have planned for him.”
Willow’s eyes widened but she wisely didn’t ask about the Powers. Yet. For the moment she simply sighed. “That means you need to give me the crystal back, Buff. It’s the only way to restore his memories.”
The blonde blushed deeply and looked down at the couch, her fingers plucking nervously at one loose thread. “That… might be harder than it sounds, Will. I, uh… I kind of…” She blushed more.
“Oh, no,” Andrew said, suddenly worried. “Buffy, what did you do?”
“I… I didn’t want to take a chance that the spell could get broken like it did that one time, Willow, remember?” The Slayer bit her lip. “So I… I put the crystal in a box and… dropped it in the Thames…?”
And suddenly Trevor was back to hating the bitch. His hands clenched repeatedly into fists and he forced himself to turn away. “It’s hopeless, then. All these years of Watching! Waiting for the chance to… and it’s ruined! GODS! Now I’ll NEVER be…”
“Yes you will, Trevor,” Andrew interrupted. “So the crystal is gone. It’s not lost. It’s just… misplaced. We’ll find it.” He meant it, too. They had twenty potentials in the house, most of them highly trained. They had the Maiden-Crone and the Slayer. They had Mr. Giles and Trevor, not to mention himself. “We’ve got the dream team here, guys. There’s nothing we can’t do, right? RIGHT? It won’t be the first time we’ve succeeded against insurmountable odds.”
Buffy stood up from the couch in full repentant-mode. “Right. Okay.” She thought for a minute. “Andrew, you find Giles. Get him to call Robert. We need him back here, with Xander, as soon as possible. Willow, you’re gonna need to come up with some sort of spell to find the box. You know the one. Xander sent it to me for my twenty fifth birthday. The lacquer one with the blue flowers?” She sighed with relief when the redhead nodded.
“Good,” she continued. “And I’ll get the potentials to go down into the cellar. I think that scuba diving equipment from a couple years ago is still down there. Trevor, I’m betting you’re good with the research. Go with Andrew. You guys and Giles need to hit the books. See whether you can find some way to break the crystal from a distance if we can’t find it. Meantime, I’ll hit the phones and canvas all of Robert’s known haunts, just in case Giles can’t reach him. Someone will have seen him or will know where he went.”
Her eyes swept over them and she crossed her arms as they stared at her, stunned. “Well? Get moving people! We’ve got work to do! Shoo!”
And Trevor found himself walking quickly through the house with Andrew. They stopped at the smaller man’s room so he could put some clothes on then continued towards the library.
“The Slayer,” Trevor said as they neared their goal, “She’s… good with the planning.”
Andrew chuckled at the other man’s surprise. “Yeah. But she’s even better when she’s under pressure.”
The brunette nodded. “A commander. She must be going crazy now that she’s not in the field much anymore.”
The former geek nodded, sighing a little. “I know she doesn’t like it, but… she’s stationed in Italy. That’s where the fully trained potentials go when they leave here. Buffy’s the… last line of learning, I guess.” He sighed again. “We can’t risk losing her. She’s lasted longer than any Slayer EVER. That means she’s the best one to teach the girls… to let them in on the realities of what they are and the best ways to fight the… death wish. We Watchers can only tell them so much. We’ll never know what it’s like to be them.”
Trevor nodded slowly. “But Andrew… if you don’t let her be what SHE is, how well can she teach them? She doesn’t get to feel the joy or satisfaction of defeating even a little bit of evil anymore, or not on a regular basis. I’m surprised she’s not really… bitter.”
Andrew frowned. “You actually have a point, Trev, but… one problem at a time, okay? We break the spell on Harris, then afterwards we can talk to Mr. Giles about maybe getting Buffy out more, okay?”
* * * * *
It would have been easier for Willow to find a spell she could tweak if she had her books with her. As it was, though, she hadn’t come to London prepared for much casting, and truthfully the books she knew they had in the house were far too… basic… for what she needed.
Much as she hated to admit it, there was only one thing to do.
She almost ran back to her room, staring from place to place until she saw her cell almost hiding behind the potted plant on the bedside table.
Snatching it up, she scrolled through her contacts, hitting the call button when she reached the one she wanted.
The three rings before the call was answered had her biting her lip almost hard enough to draw blood.
“Willow! Hi!” Dawn chirped. “How’s Operation Xan-man going?”
The redhead frowned. “It… could be better, Dawnie. Um, do you still have my grimoire, by any chance, or did you take it back to my place?”
“No, no… it’s here. Uh, in the bedroom, I think. Uh, Ricky and I were doing some… studying last night…”
Willow couldn’t help but laugh at the sheepish tone of the girl’s voice. “Suuuuuuure… and we’re gonna have a talk about not using THOSE spells just for fun. But right now, I’m just too glad you’ve got it there to be mad, okay?”
Dawn’s relieved smile was right there in her voice. “Fine with me, Will. So, uh, what did you… Hold on.”
“Be quiet!” Willow heard the girl call out. “Can’t you see I’m on the phone with Willow?”
“Tell Red we say hi, BJ,” she heard from a distance.
“Um, Dawnie… who was that? And notice me NOT asking about what BJ means.” Willow blushed.
The younger woman laughed. “Faith and Robin say hi. They stopped by on their way to Japan, or so they say. And Faith seems to think it’s still funny to call me Buffy Junior. BJ.” Dawn snorted. “Hold on, let me get into the other room, okay?”
Willow heard a door closing, the sudden ceasing of background noise a welcome relief. “Um… how do you pass through Guatemala on your way to Japan from Australia?” the witch asked curiously.
Another snort. “The world may never know, Will. I think they really just wanted a Scooby night and I was probably closest. They’re sitting in the living room with Ricky, drinking tequila and telling him stories from the ‘good old days’.” She laughed. “So anyway, what’s up?”
Willow sighed softly and began explaining what she needed and why.
* * * * *