"Fred?"
She blinked, "
"What'd you do?!" Buffy
asked.
"I...don't know,"
"Well, I'm not exactly the
brightest of the bunch sometimes," The Immortal said, "But I think
the spell went wrong."
Fred's eyes were wide as she
stared around, "What's happening?"
"War,"
"Buffy! Duck!" Dawn
yelled behind her.
Buffy didn't even bother to turn
around and fell to the ground seconds before a sword whipped through the air
where her head would have been. She jumped back up and spun around,
"Thanks, Dawn!" she yelled as she turned to fight the demon that had
moments ago attempted to decapitate her.
Dawn nodded as she watched the
last of the demons fall.
"
"I'll stay," the
Immortal told her as she walked away.
Spike, Angel, and Faith stood
around what Wllow could only assume was Xander.
"There, that should do
it," Spike was saying.
"He's still bleeding!"
Angel yelled.
"Well I'm sorry," Spike
said sarcastically, "Why don't you try to bandage him while staring at
nice warm, delicious, human blood?"
"Do you have any idea how
gross that is?" Faith asked.
"Guys!"
They all turned towards her.
"Yeah?" Faith asked.
"Uh...we've got a
problem,"
Angel and Spike shared an annoyed
glance.
"Stop it,
Fred's looked over at him,
"Angel?"
"Oh, that's cute,"
Spike rolled his eyes, "Let's change forms and mess with emotions because
today hasn't been nearly complicated enough!"
"But..."
Angel took a few steps closer to
her and stared directly into her eyes, "Stop it, now," he
demanded, "That's not funny!"
"Angel, I don't know what
you're talking about," she took a step back.
Angel took another step forward,
"
"Angel!"
"What?!"
"She's telling the
truth."
Angel looked over at her,
"What?"
Angel dropped his hand,
"Oh."
There was an awkward moment where
both he and Spike felt equally stupid. It ended when Angel grabbed Fred and
pulled her into a rib-crushing hug. Fred looked surprised, and then happy, and
then pained as she realized how hard he was squeezing her.
"Angel," she sputtered,
"Can't breathe!"
Angel let her go,
"Sorry," he said, "It's just, you know, when people come back
from the dead you tend to have strong emotions."
"You didn't hug me when I
came back from the dead!" Spike objected, walking over to them,
"'Course, if you had, I'd've thrown myself onto a stake."
"That's all it'll
take?" Angel asked.
Spike ignored him and turned to
Fred, "Its really you? Not
Fred slowly nodded, "I don't
know who she is, but I don't think I'm her."
Spike smiled and reached out to
hug her, "Missed you, pet." he said.
Fred pulled back and smiled,
"Yeah, um. That's sweet you guys, really. I'm enjoying all the attention.
But if you don't mind me asking, what the hell is going on?"
-----
Buffy was disturbed by the images
she saw. Lifeless bodies lay everywhere .She turned just in time to see
Kennedy's body fall to the ground, covered in blood. She gasped, and her hand
flew up to cover her mouth.
"Oh God," she said,
"Willow..."
"Buffy!" she heard Dawn
call.
Dawn ran up to her side,
"Buffy, I think we should go. What's..." she followed Buffy's gaze,
"Oh no."
Buffy shook her head, tears
pooling in her eyes, "We should go?"
Dawn nodded, still looking at the
dead slayer's body, "Yeah," she glanced at Buffy, "How're we
gonna tell
"God Dawn," Buffy said,
walking forward and crouching next to her body, "I don't even want to
think about it," she gently rolled her over, "Get the rest of the
girls and head back to the Hyperion. I'll be right behind you."
Dawn nodded and walked away,
leaving Buffy to think about how she was going to tell her best friend that
another person she loved was dead.
-----
"So let me get this
straight," Fred said, sitting cross-legged on the floor and sipping a
glass of water, "I died, some ancient god took over my body, then she
disappeared and I turned back into me?"
Fred took another sip and
continued to look confused, "But how? And where's this 'god'?"
"Two wonderful
questions," Angel said, looking over at
Spike was pacing the room, his
arms crossed over his chest and looking very peeved, "It hate the
bloody sun!" he yelled, kicking a chair. How are we supposed to just sit
here while knowing that they're out there in danger and fighting and possibly dying?"
he flopped down into the chair opposite Angel and continued, "And now I'm
out of cigarettes!"
"Well maybe if you didn't
smoke them all so fast and stopped pacing..." Angel said.
Spike glared at him, "Shut
it, Peaches!" Spike yelled, "And how can you just sit there so calmly
Mr. Oh-Buffy's-cookie-dough! I love her and she's still cookie dough!"
he mocked.
Angel reached behind him and held
up a large bottle of Jack Daniels.
Spike blinked a few times,
"Oh. Yeah, that helps."
Angel held the bottle out
further, and Spike took it, bringing it to his lips and downing a few large
gulps.
"You're taking the whole
back-to-life thing pretty damn well, Fred," he said when he finished,
handing the bottle back to Angel.
Fred shrugged, "I'm too
confused to be upset."
Just then, the doors flew open,
and the army of girls and a few other select individuals walked in. They looked
bruised and wounded, but still victorious.
Everyone else stood at their
appearance,
"Kennedy's dead," she
said quietly.
Spike's face fell, "Poor
Red," he murmured, looking at
Angel and Fred looked confused,
"Who?"
Dawn looked over at Riley and
Buffy as they walked in, Riley carrying Kennedy's body as Buffy tried hard to
keep tears from falling. He gently lay her down on one of the tables, and
turned to Buffy.
"Thanks Riley," she
said, almost in a whisper.
Riley nodded, "You
okay?" he asked.
Buffy shrugged, "Better than
Riley sighed and shook his head,
not knowing what to say. Instead, he pulled Buffy into a hug, and she hugged
back.
Both Spike and Angel felt a bolt
of jealousy run through them, and they looked over at each other. They knew it
was a comfort hug. Nothing more. But Spike's train of thought was going
'comfort hug', 'comfort kiss', 'comfort sex', and he could tell by Angel's face
he was thinking something along those lines. And even though they were both at
a silent war for Buffy, one thing was becoming clear: If Buffy couldn't be with
Spike, he'd rather see her with Angel, and vice versa. Which confused things
even more, and no one had the time to try to figure it out at that moment.
Especially now since
She was unwrapping a bandage,
obviously preparing to hand it to Buffy, when she saw the expression on
everyone's faces. She knew what had happened before she even saw her. When she
did, she dropped the bandages and rushed over to the table. Tears streamed down
her face, and Buffy pulled her against her for comfort and physical support as
she sobbed.
The rest stood in an awkward,
dismal silence as Faith strutted over.
"What's going...oh,"
she looked over at Buffy and
"Damn," Faith
continued, shaking her head, "You lose everyone you love in this line of
duty don't you," she looked down at her feet as sadness filled her eyes,
and everyone who heard her silently nodded.
The Immortal stood next to the
bar, talking quietly on a cell phone. When Spike saw him, so calm and smiling
while the rest of the room was grieving, he felt a flash on anger, and caught
Angel's eye, gesturing towards him.
Angel looked over his shoulder
and back at Spike, before the two of them turned and made their way over to the
Immortal.
He was just finishing his
conversation when they reached him.
"That's nice," Angel
commented, "You know, rest of the rooms in tears, you're over here
chatting it up and laughing on the phone. What a supportive boyfriend you
are!" he added sarcastically.
The Immortal glared at him, but
slowly, it turned into an evil looking smirk, "Yeah, well while you two
were sitting inside drinking, the rest of us were out fighting a war," he
picked up his bottle of beer, "At least I'm useful."
Spike, who had taken a seat on
one of the bar stools and had downed another shot of whiskey, slammed the shot
glass down on the bar and turned to him.
"Look, I know it must be
tough for you, being the rebound guy and all..." he started.
Angel bit his lip to keep from
laughing. He could already tell this was only going to lead to a fight, but he
didn't care. He'd been waiting for years to get back at the Immortal.
The Immortal looked taken a back
for a moment before he said, "You're really one to talk about
'rebound guys', Spike."
Spike stiffened and moved to
stand up, but Angel cut him off.
"Yeah, well, why exactly are
you so interested in Buffy anyway? I mean, there's how many other girls out
there..." he paused, "Why is it that you always seem to go after all
the ones either Spike and I have already had?"
He knew he was crossing lines
that he should've stayed far away from, but he was upset, angry and confused,
also partially intoxicated, so he really wasn't caring.
The Immortal snorted, "Don't
flatter yourselves," he said, taking another sip of his drink, "Just
because all your girls happened to move on to bigger and better things, doesn't
mean that I seek them out."
"Right," Angel said,
"Out of all the women in
Spike shook his head, "I
don't get what the big deal is with you," he said, "What exactly
do you have that either the poof or I don't?"
The Immortal shrugged, "The
ability to go out during the day, a pulse," he stopped, "Oh yeah, and
I haven't tried to kill her or rape her."
He hit a nerve in Angel, but the
nerve he hit in Spike crossed a line, and he snapped. Before he could control
himself, his fist hit the Immortal square in the jaw and he flew over the bar.
There were loud crashes as glasses and bottles broke, and everyone in the room
turned to stare. Angel was stared in shock and shook his head.
"What the hell are
you talking about?" he asked as the Immortal picked himself up off the
ground, "Neither Spike or I ever.."
He looked over at Spike, who was
avoiding his gaze, and he knew. He gaped for a moment and then sputtered,
"You raped her?"
Everyone in the room was staring
at them, including Buffy, who had let go of Willow. Giles took Willow's arm and
led her to a chair where she slipped down into it, not really hearing what was
going on.
The Immortal had climbed back
over the bar, and was wiping the blood from his lip, "Well," he said,
looking down at the blood on his hand, "I see we're going to make this
physical," he shrugged, "That's okay, I don't have a problem with that."
He raised his fist and aimed for
Spike, who ducked. Instead, the Immortal hit Angel. Angel grabbed his nose and
held it for a minute, as Spike stood back up and stared between them. There was
a completely silent moment where you could have heard a pin drop, before all
three of them were fighting.
It was all a blur to the
spectators, who were all far too afraid to try and get in the middle of it.
Buffy watched them for a moment, before she rushed to step in. Chairs and
tables were being broken. At some point, Angel had been thrown into a wall, and
was picking himself up as Spike and the Immortal rolled around on the floor.
The Immortal's hands were around his neck, and Spike rolled his eyes.
"Oh brilliant, try to
strangle a dead guy," he said between punches, "Good idea. Cut off my
air supply, because I really need it!"
Buffy looked around for some
help, "Faith!" she yelled spotting her.
Faith shook her head, "Hell
no," she said, "I'm not getting in the middle of that!"
Buffy glared at her,
"Please! Faith, there's no one else!"
Faith sighed, "Fine,"
she walked over to her, and the two of them took a deep breath before running
in to break up the fight.
At one point, Angel tried to get
back in, but Buffy glared at him and he stepped back, looking completely ticked
that he wasn't hitting anyone and Spike was.
Finally, the two girls managed to
break them apart, Faith pushing the Immortal away, and Buffy hauling Spike back
by his arm. She spun him around and glared at him, "I don't need
this right now!" she hissed.
Spike's expression softened,
"I know," he said, not meeting her eyes, "but you heard what he
said."
Buffy sighed and shook her head,
"Yeah," she said, turning back around.
The Immortal was arguing with
Faith, and Buffy feared that if she didn't break it up, another fight would get
going.
"Guys!" she yelled.
They stopped and looked over at
her.
"I get the...history between
the three of you," she said, looking between Angel and the Immortal,
"But this fighting, it's a big no. We don't need it. Especially not right
now."
"Right," the Immortal
said, "but if you think I'll ever leave you in alone with either
of them, especially him," he pointed to Spike.
"That's not your
business," she said forcefully.
The Immortal shook his head,
"Whatever," he said, "I just don't see how you can trust either
of them after everything they've done."
"Oh yeah," Angel said,
still trying to get his nose to stop bleeding, "And you're just a saint,
right? Never killed anyone or hurt the innocent?"
The Immortal turned to make a
smart remark, but Buffy stopped him.
"Stop it!" she
yelled, "We're not here to talk about who killed how many people or
who..." she caught herself and glanced at Spike, who was quick to look
away, "The point is," she continued, "As far as I know, everyone
in this room working towards the same goal here," she turned towards some
of the other slayers, "And that goes for you girls, too. The teen-aged
drama and bickering needs to stop. We're all here for the fight against
evil..."
On the other side of the room,
Andrew, who had been seated in a chair across a table from Dawn, leaned over
and whispered, "Uh oh, I feel a big, motivational Buffy speech coming
on."
Dawn rolled her eyes and sighed,
"Best get comfy," she said, crossing her arms and slouching down in
the chair.
"Speeches?" Fred, who
had been seated down the table a bit asked, "She gives speeches?"
"Yeah," Dawn answered,
"Big, long drawn out things that can possibly take over an hour. And they
all say basically the same thing."
"We're all together in the
fight against good and evil. This is a war for all of us," Andrew and Dawn
muttered in unison and sighed.
No matter what, some things would
never change.
Buffy didn't have time to start a
speech before Giles interrupted her, "Buffy," he said.
She stopped, looking annoyed that
he'd interrupted her, "What?"
Giles hesitated, "Not that
your lectures aren't...motivating," he started, "But we've got
bleeding girls and emotional wounds to tend to..."
"Oh," Buffy said,
glancing around the room at the very relieved looking gang, "Right. Sorry.
I'll save the speech-ing for later then."
Dawn groaned, "Note to self,
remember to bring iPod next time you plan to be around Buffy."
Andrew huffed, "No fair! I
don't have an iPod!"
Buffy however, had made her way
back over to Willow and was crouching down next to her.
"You okay?"
Willow shrugged,
"Yeah," she said, "I just...need to be alone, I guess."
Buffy nodded, "Okay, we'll
find you someplace."
Willow nodded back and wiped at
her eyes. The Immortal took this opportunity to walk over and tap Buffy on the
shoulder.
"Look," he said,
"I'm sorry about the fighting. It was just..."
"I know," Buffy said,
"Emotions run high. Especially in times like these," she stood back
up.
Across the room, Angel and Spike
both watched them with equal expressions of disgust.
"God, I hate
him," Angel muttered.
Spike nodded, "I just want
to snap his neck in half and watch him flop on the ground in pain!" he
made some sort of snapping motion with his hands.
Faith grimaced, "Thanks for
the visual."
Spike nodded, "No
problem."
Angel groaned, "There's got
to be someway to kill that guy," he said as he watched the Immortal and
Buffy embrace.
"Perhaps you're not grasping
the concept of the word 'immortal'," Xander said, sitting up on the table
and wincing.
"Xander!" Faith said,
resisting the urge to throw her arms around him, "My God, are you
okay?"
"Yeah, great," Xadner
said, "Just lost a huge amount of blood and broke most of my ribs, but
great!"
"Yeah well," Faith
said, gesturing over her shoulder with her head, "Looks like you're one of
the lucky ones."
Xadner looked past her at
Kennedy's body, and then over at Willow, "Poor Will," he sighed,
"Think you can...help me walk over there," he swung his legs over the
edge of the table with a hiss of pain.
Faith rushed forward, "Yeah,
sure," she threw one of his arms over her shoulders and lifted him off the
table.
"Ribs!" Xander yelled
in pain.
"Oh, right," Faith
said, adjusting so she was touching them, "Sorry."
"Yeah," Xander said as
the two of them began to struggle towards Willow.
The two vampires watched them
walk away, and then stood in silence.
Angel was the first to break it,
"Rape?" he asked, still not sure how to approach it.
Spike shook his head, "Not
now," he said.
"It's true?" Angel
admitted that he was shocked.
Spike nodded.
As much as Angel wanted an
explanation, he doubted that it would have helped the situation. And he figured
now wasn't the best time for another argument.
"I'm going outside to have a
smoke," Spike said, walking past Angel and toward the doors, leaving him
to stand there wondering how anything could possibly get anymore complicated.
-----
Buffy stepped out of the room and
shut the door behind her, leaving Willow in privacy. She turned around to find
Giles staring at her expectantly.
Buffy sighed, "She's okay.
She's not black and vein-y, so be thankful."
Giles nodded, "I think it'd
be best for all of us if we went back to England tomorrow," he suggested,
"Now that everything seems under control here."
"Yeah," Buffy
agreed,"Yeah, that'd probably solve a lot of problems," she looked
past Giles to where Angel stood, talking to Fred.
In her heart, Buffy knew that
leaving wouldn't solve anything. Could possibly make things worse. But at least
she'd but some distance between herself and the life she didn't want to
remember. But deep down, she knew that it was impossible to run forever.
She turned back to Giles,
"I'm gonna go outside for awhile," she said, "I need air."
Giles nodded again as she walked
away. She pushed through the doors, and stopped. Spike stood there, idly
smoking a cigarette and staring at the ground.
"Hey," she said.
He turned to her,
"Hey," he said, glancing at her quickly and turning back around.
Buffy hugged herself and walked
over next to him.
"Sorry about the tif with
your super-honey earlier," Spike apologized.
Buffy rolled her eyes, "No
you're not."
Spike considered this and then
shrugged, "You're right, I'm not."
Despite herself, Buffy smiled,
and Spike smiled back. And there was an awkward moment where they both started
to wonder what could have been, before Buffy turned away.
Spike's smile fell, and he took
another drag of his cigarette, "You heard what he said though."
Buffy nodded.
Spike looked over at her, "I
can't believe you told him," he said, beginning to look pissed.
"I didn't!" Buffy said
quickly.
"Then how'd he know?"
Buffy shrugged, "He's got
'sources'. He's the Immortal, remember?"
Spike exhaled smoke into the air,
"How could I forget?" he asked sarcastically, "Makes himself all
high and mighty, being "The Immortal," he complained,
"Probably compensating for something."
He looked over at Buffy for an
answer she refused to give, so instead they went back to the awkward silence.
"I'm leaving for England
tomorrow," she said finally.
Spike looked over at her and
hesitated, "Do you want me to come with you?"
Buffy was silent. She didn't know
how to answer. A part of her wanted him there, and a part of her didn't. So she
stood there quiet until Spike shook his head and threw his cigarette butt onto
the ground.
"Buffy, I can't do this
forever," he started, "You not knowing what you want, and me getting
tossed around like garbage. I'm not doing the hot/cold thing again. I can't go
through it twice. And as much as I hate Angel, he doesn't deserve this
emotional roller coaster you're putting everyone on, either."
Buffy stared at him, completely
taken aback.
Spike was still going though,
"Buffy, I love you. And you know that. But until you've made up your
mind," he stopped and sighed, searching for the right words,
"Just...just don't. Because I cannot do this again."
He didn't even give her time to
react before he spun around and walked back inside, leaving Buffy in shock. She
stared after him for a moment, and then groaned and covered her face with her
hands.
"Love sucks!" she
muttered.
"God Angel" Spike
said walking up to the other vampire "Can this get any more
complicated?" Angel didn’t respond, he was only staring straight ahead.
Spike followed his gaze and saw what had just come through the door.