Chapter 25: Revelations.


Spike didn’t know how long he had been out cold for. It could have been seconds, minutes, or even hours. It really didn’t matter.

“Look who’s awake.” A voice spoke from the far corner of the room. Darla slunk towards him with the predatory grace of a jungle cat. Save for Angelus, he didn’t think he’d ever met a creature so sadistic, so… evil.

Spike frowned at the coppery taste inside his mouth. He spat the liquid out of his mouth that splattered all over the floor, the redness identifying it as blood. His blood. Looked like Darla had gone a few rounds with his face whilst he’d been out.

Kinda explains the splitting headache…

He strained against the manacles again, the small action sending barbs of pain reverberating across his skin. Oh that’s right… holy water.

“So now where was I?” she said slowly as she lowered herself to the wooden seat that she had been sitting on earlier. “Oh yes. I was about to tell you all about how your little slayer is going to die.”

A growl echoed throughout the room, which only caused Darla to laugh even more. “I must say, I am quite impressed with this unwavering desire to protect the slayer. It really is quite commendable. But it won’t do her a lick of good.”

“Now. On to brighter topics. Should I start with the slayer or her sister first?” Darla asked.

“You’ll stay AWAY from them.” Spike snarled. “Buffy won’t let you anywhere near the bit, and whilst I’m still alive she won’t get hurt. Not one hair on her head.”

Darla stared at Spike for a moment, before tipping her head back and laughing. Loud, shoulder shaking laughter. She wiped at her eyes. “Oh this is just too much. Don’t tell me that she actually bought that prophecy crap I fed to all the big mouths in town.”

If Spike’s heart were still beating it would have stopped right now. Darla seemed to find his reaction amusing because she began laughing again.

“There is no prophecy. At least not concerning you.”

Spike’s jaw dropped open in shock as he inhaled a deep, unneeded breath. This, this couldn’t be happening.

“In fact.” Darla continued. “The entire prophecy regarding you and the slayers sister was completely made up.”

Spike clenched his eyes shut as he took in what Darla was saying. She could be lying; she could just be trying to cover her tracks. But she wasn’t. She had a tone in her voice when she was being deadly serious about something, a voice she was speaking with right now.

“But she’s still going to die.”

His eyes snapped open. “Why? What do you want? Why her?”

A snicker left Darla’s lips and she leaned in a little closer to him. “Her blood. It’s always… about the blood. Her blood is the key to all of my problems.”

~~~

“Giles!” Buffy shouted as she descended the stairs two at a time. “GILES!”

A rumpled Giles lifted his head from the pillow he had been resting upon, and rubbed his eyes as he reached for his spectacles from the side table. “Buffy, is everything alright?” he asked as he forced himself to sit, even as his body protested against the movement.

“We have to go now, we have to go get Spike.” She said as she joined him in the living room.

“Buffy we don’t even know where to begin our search. Not to mention that --“

“I know where he is.”

~~~

“Are you certain?” Wesley questioned the speaker box for the fast food restaurant.

“Do NOT question us. Our knowledge is absolute.” The speaker box boomed in response.

Frazzled by this news Wes ran his fingers through his hair before pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. “So Spike isn’t in anyway connected to the phenomenon?”

“No.” came the response. “Your question has been answered.”

The lights began to dim and Wesley frantically tried to pursue his questioning. “But what about Angel? How do we destroy the dagger? Can this be stopped?”

“SILENCE! Your question has been answered.”

The unseeing hand of the mystical wind pushed Wesley in the chest, sending him sailing backwards into the garden where he landed with a thump. The static charge that had been in the air second prior dissipated, the lights dulled and the speaker box shrank back to it’s original shape and size.

Shakily lifting himself to his feet, thankful for the cover the receding darkness had offered him whilst speaking to the conduits he slowly moved towards his car. He had answers. None that he had expected, and it left him with even more questions. But at least he would be able to inform Rupert of what he had ascertained. Deciding to wait until a respectable hour before calling he pulled the car out of the parking lot and began the return trip to the Hyperion as the first rays of morning broke over the horizon.

~~~

“The Initiative? Are you kidding me?” Xander asked as he glanced from Buffy to Willow, and then to Giles. The solemn expressions on their faces answered that question for him. Looked like they would be taking a trip down memory lane. “So when do we saddle up?”

Buffy blinked in surprise. That was probably the last thing she would have expected to hear coming from Xander. Spike wasn’t exactly one of his favourite people, vampires. Xander was very much a firm believer in the policy of, if it didn’t have a heartbeat, it was evil. And Buffy understood that.

The other reason why she was surprised by his offer was also the fact that he had been UNCONSCIOUS for oh… up until about thirty minutes ago. He was shaky on his feet, and the lethargy had yet to give up its hold on his muscles just yet. But that hadn’t stopped him from offering.

Buffy’s eyes misted at her friends kindness. No matter what she knew Xander would be there for her. And Willow, and Giles. “Y-you’re with me on this?”

Xander nodded in response.

“But you hate, and I mean HATE Spike. Why are you offering to help?”

“This is for Dawn. So I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” Xander said calmly. Buffy was family to him. And Dawn was Buffy’s family, so by extension, also his. “Besides, Spike’s not all that bad. He kinda grows on you.” He paused for a moment, grinning at the shocked expressions of everyone in the room. “Like syphilis.”

“No sweetie, syphilis makes things fall off.” Anya sat with a there-there pat on his shoulder.

Buffy burst out laughing, laughs which tapered off and slowly became sobs. “I have to keep her safe Giles.” She said staring at her watcher with shining eyes. “She’s all I’ve got left.”

“No.” Willow said with a shake of her head. “You’ve got us too.”

Anya and Tara kept on the outer as the three friends embraced tightly. When they separated Buffy turned her hugs to Giles, who was both surprised, and happy for the affection shared. “We’ll get through this Buffy.” He promised when she pulled away a few seconds later. “We always do.”

The sound of footsteps on the stairs alerted everyone to Dawn’s arrival. She was the only person not in the room, besides Angel who was currently holed up in the basement.

“I know.” She said with a teary smile, as she wiped at her eyes when Dawn entered the room.

“You know?! Why am I always the last person to find things out?” Dawn said with a pout as she moved to sit beside Buffy on the sofa. A frown crossed her face when her attention turned to the television, which was notable off.

“Hey? How can you know if you don’t even have it switched on?”

Everyone frowned, looking at Dawn like she’d grown a second head. It was Tara who opened her mouth first. “Dawn, what are you talking about?”

“TV! ON!” she said pointing at it in a frenzied manner.

Xander obliged, switching it on before leaning against the arm of the sofa. He was still sore at the site where the tranquilizer had hit him, and he was still tired even though he had slept longer and deeper than he could ever remember.

A newscaster appeared on screen, microphone in hand. A gurney with a black zipped up bag on it was being wheeled behind her.

“The victim of this senseless hit and run was found only recently when a passing motorist noticed the man in the middle of the street. Unfortunately it was too late to do anything to save him, who as irony would serve, was on his way to begin a shift at the hospital behind me.” The newscaster stepped to the side and pointed at the front entrance of Sunnydale Memorial, which was looming behind her.

“Hospital?” Buffy repeated, only to be met with a shushing sound from Dawn.

“If anyone has any information regarding this matter, please contact the Sunnydale Police Station.” The reporter flashed off screen and the weather forecaster began giving the weekly temperature run down.

“Dawn. What was so special about --”

“It was Ben.” Dawn interrupted her sister, her eyes filling with tears. “The doctor who helped Mom, and looked after me. It was him.”

“Dawnie, how do you know that?” Willow asked.

“You missed the beginning of the report. They mentioned him by name… a-and showed a picture of him in his hospital uniform. They said that he didn’t have any surviving relatives.”

Buffy felt bad for the young doctor. He had been so great to them when they had been in and out of the hospital for Joyce. “Oh Dawnie I’m sorry.” Buffy said as she reached for her sister. Dawn had liked the doctor a great deal. The two sisters embraced, her friends slowly making their way to the kitchen under the guise of making coffee to give the sister’s some alone time, Giles being the only one who remained behind.

“We could go to the funeral… if you wanted?” she suggested.

Dawn nodded meekly, wiping at her eyes. “So. What was everyone talking about before I walked in the room and killed the conversation?”

Giles looked at Buffy for consent before offering a small piece of information. “We may have a possible location for where Spike is being held.”

Dawn’s face instantly brightened. “That’s GREAT!” she said, continuing in a rush. “When are you going to go get him? What can I do to help? Do you think he’ll be okay? I could help with a spell? Or go to the butchers and collect some pig’s blood, or…”

“Ok firstly.” Buffy said as she lifted a hand to shush her sister. “Eww. You will not be going anywhere near pig’s blood. Is that clear?”

Dawn nodded with a dejected sigh. She just wanted to help.

And Buffy understood that.

“You want to help?” she asked. At Dawn’s vigorous nod in response Buffy smiled. “Then you can start by getting the first aid kit and making sure we have enough bandages and antiseptic.”

At Dawn’s worried start Buffy rested a hand on her shoulder to calm her. “It’s just a precaution. In case. I’m sure he’s fine.”

Dawn seemed to calm a little at Buffy’s conviction, which was good. Buffy just wished that she had been able to convince herself as well.

~~~

“So you see Spike. You being here, locked up like you are… all it does is make my job of killing the slayer, and her sister easier.” Darla laughed for the umpteenth time. “You’re merely a distraction for the slayer.”

“It won’t work.” Spike said unconfidently. “She’ll see right through it.”

Darla arched a brow. “Oh really? Then why hasn’t she?”

Spike was unresponsive. The bitch was right. Buffy was going to fall right into her trap. And it was all his fault. If he hadn’t gotten himself captured, if he hadn’t been so sloshed, if he hadn’t left the house… the what if’s taunted him.

“Bitch.” He snarled at Darla. “If you lay one finger on either of them I’ll…”

“You’ll what Spike? Strain against those chains some more?” she said sarcastically. “Give up. There’s nothing you can do to save her. Them. Either of them.”

Spike struggled against the manacles just as Darla had mocked. He had to get free. He had to save them.

“Now.” Darla said as she stood up from the wooden seat. “I’m thinking you need to be reminded of your place.I am your relative, your blood. I think you should be punished for that ‘Bitch’ comment.”

“Oh sorry.” Spike said regretfully, his eyes sincere for a whole three seconds before his voice filled with malice and his eyes expressed his defiance. He titled his head up at her, sticking his chin in the air as he addressed her. “Meant to say whore.”

Darla face clouded with rage. Picking up the chair she had been sitting on and smashed it against the chained vampire, grabbing one of the splintered legs in her right hand and gripping it tightly. “You really aren’t that bright, are you William.” She stated.

Without waiting for a response she lunged forward and shoved it into Spike’s chest.



~~~~~~~~~~