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Chapter 24
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The group gathered for the now routine morning meeting. Giles looked from face to face and saw the same grim determination on each countenance. If sheer willpower were all it would take to get Buffy back, then they were assured of victory. He noted the battered body of Buffy’s once and future Champion, Spike. The vampire had been driving himself hard and taking quite a beating in his preparation for the battles to come.

"Spike, much as I laud your commitment to training, I think you need to take some time out between your daily beatings from Illyria." Giles smiled slightly to ensure Spike saw his remark as a humorously phrased expression of concern. "In all seriousness, you must be certain that you go into this more than simply well trained, but well rested also. I truly don’t believe that Buffy could deal with seeing you again only to watch you dust before her eyes. She barely recovered from the last time that happened. It won’t be enough for you to get in there and get her out, you must get yourself out as well."

Spike was not accustomed to HIS survival mattering to anyone. He wasn’t sure how to respond at all. The look on his face clearly showed his confusion.

"I’m completely simpatico, my powerful yet sentimental friend! It’s a feeling that takes getting used to, mattering to these brave warriors of good." Andrew patted Spike’s arm and nodded his head in understanding … and not a little empathy. "Having been rogue dark knights, lone big bads on a course of evil, it feels strange to have a team of white hats behind you, rooting for your victory. I know the feeling well."

There was dead silence around the table as everyone except Spike and Andrew did all in their power not to laugh out loud at the incredible attempt at camaraderie by the young nerd. Spike himself was fighting an entirely different urge. Much as he felt sympathy for the awkward boy, it took all the willpower he had not to throttle the lad. "Unless you want a live, up-close and personal demonstration of what a real Big Bad looks like, you’ll take that hand off of my arm right quick."

Dawn lost control first, breaking into gales of laughter. "Oh, yeah, Andy, you and Spike are soooo two of a kind!" She whooped in glee. Everyone, with the exception of the two "big bads" in question and the confused blue demon god, doubled over in laughter.

"Oh, please, I really think we should leave these two alone to continue that macho bonding none of us saw coming." Xander was beyond delighted at having such easy targets handed to him.

"Not plannin’ on hornin’ in on your romance, Whelp. Don’t need to get your knickers in a twist. Andrew here still loves you best, right?" Spike glowered at both of the thorns in his side.

"I don’t know, Willy, I seem to remember when you were first fledged … Maybe the boy has a point." Angel began.

"Right, then. Think the Pope here needs to get a grip on the lot of you so we can get down to the serious business at hand. Wouldn’t you say so, Giles?" Spike was torn between anger and desperation for the conversation topic to change.

Giles was wiping his eyes at that moment. He hadn’t laughed that hard in years. "Actually, I think we must all have needed this release of pressure. Thank you, Andrew, for that comic relief. And yes, Spike, we shall gather what’s left of our wits and get back to business as soon as I can get the image of the pair of you playing at Black Adder from my mind."

"I fail to see how this increasingly annoying child and my pet would benefit from handling a serpent. None of the Partners are reptilian in form. What purpose would such play serve?" Illyria looked both confused and irritated.

At that, even Spike joined in the much needed laughter as Xander attempted to explain yet another pop culture reference to his charge.

"I do not understand how you humans are ever able to successfully communicate with all of these ridiculous references that only have meaning when there is a point of common understanding," Illyria pronounced.

"I think you may be onto one of the reasons for modern warfare, my lovely lady", said Xander.

Spike saw the hurt and humiliated look on Andrew’s face and his soul painted a long ago picture of a young, eager poet being made the butt of the jokes. Before he could stop himself, he offered, "That’s all right, Andrew. I get what you were tryin’ to say ‘n’ all. You’re spot on, too. Takes a bit of getting used to, having anyone give a rat’s arse what happens to you. Wouldn’t go so far as to say you were ever a Big Bad, but you did walk on the dark side. Glad you finally found somethin’ to guide you besides misquotin’ Yoda and Dr. Who. Pay no mind to this group of comics. Need a bit of a laugh, what with all the high drama, yeah?"

Spike turned to the surprised group gathered at the table and mildly chastised them. "Leave off the lad, right. He’s strugglin’ to do the right thing and means well. Doesn’t deserve to be the tag line of everyone’s joke fest. How ‘bout we get to work now."

The team sobered up at the realization that feelings had been hurt and only the former evil vampire seemed to care, much less notice. It was a humbling moment all around.

"Quite right, Spike. Andrew, I see you have your usual large number of notes with you. I know you have been working diligently on decoding that song for possible relevance. If you would like to start…" Giles nodded at the Junior Watcher and sat down, ceding the floor to Andrew.

Andrew stood and cleared his throat a couple of times before beginning. His voice began a register above his normal tone. "As you all know…" He cleared his throat again and started over. "As most of you know, I’ve been trying to discover anything in the song ‘Hotel California’ that might help Spike in his upcoming battle. That whole song is, like, crazy weird! Every other line sounds like some kind of secret message. I’ve tried to look for the most likely stuff though. The guys down in encryption have been going nuts on this. We think the ‘head growing heavy and sight going dim’ might be about the cloaking stuff that the orb is supposed to fix. We’re not too sure about the ‘pretty boys dancing in the courtyard’, but I’m working on that line ‘cause I think it’s probably important, too."

" I Googled everything I could find on the year 1969 ‘cause, you know, they made sure to put that date in the song, so it must mean something. Um, a bunch of stuff happened like the moon landing and Golda Meir becoming the first woman premier of Israel and Pompidou becoming the President of France. None of that seems like the work of evil, except maybe Pompidou. There was good stuff, too, like the Boeing 747 launched, Monty Python was first shown on BBC2, and Woodstock -- the real one." Andrew bounced on the balls of his feet with that list.

"Yeah… Woodstock …good times." Spike smiled dreamily. He noticed the stares of the others and tried to cover. "What! I like music! Me and Dru wanted to see Santana live and Hendryx was rockin’ the house. There’s more to life than killin’ and eatin’ people!"

Andrew cleared his throat again and resumed his report. "Of the things clearly bad, there was hurricane Camille, but that’s kinda like an act of God, not lawyers. The Tate/La Bianca murders happened, too. You know, Charlie Manson and his family. There might be a connection there. We’re checking on that one."

Andrew took his seat and smiled awkwardly at the group. He was still working on poise.

Giles nodded and said, "Dawn, have you anything to report? I see you have a sketchbook there."


Dawn’s cheeks pinked in embarrassed excitement. "I’ve put together some sketches for an outfit I’m going to make for Spike to wear in to battle. Willow is working on an enchantment to make it like a kind of armor, without all that heavy metal ‘cause Spike’s more the punk kinda guy." She laughed at her own joke and wondered how long it had taken Buffy to perfect the perfect pun. "Okay, lame, I agree. Anyway, this will cover as much of Spike as we can and still be flexible. Since he’s such a fashion poophead, I’m going to mostly use black denim so we don’t have to listen to him whine. We figure it can be made to work a lot like magic Kevlar. Those ‘steely knives’ should just bend once we’re through with it. I wanted to do a ski mask thing like a lot of terrorists wear and protect his curly head, but Willow thinks that might be too much. So we decided to make the neck high to prevent accidental decapitation and a dusty end." She passed the sketches around the table, watching Spike’s reaction most closely.

"This looks good, Bit. You thinkin’ of a change in career plan and becomin’ a fashion designer? Not too nancy boy for my taste and lots of freedom of movement. Won’t look like I just escaped from some stupid comic book movie either. Yeah, this’ll do fine." Spike was pleasantly surprised. "Be right
nice havin’ that mojo’d protection, too, Red. Thanks."

Nina’s offer and Angel’s suggestion of how they might utilize her idea were discussed and decided upon. They had no way of knowing how closely a werewolf might move and fight compared to the Senior Partner who resembled a wolf, but any information was better than none at all. Illyria seemed to feel there were some similarities and that settled the issue. A plan was put in motion to set up a large holding area for Nina to use at the time of her three-night lock up during the full moon. Cameras would be positioned all around to permit observation and taping for review. Discussion included how they might entice Nina’s werewolf self into stalk and attack mode without endangering any living thing and Connor agreed to head up the group working on that detail.

"I hear you offered to actually dance a bit, Pup. ’Preciate that. Glad Peaches talked you out of it though. Wouldn’t want to have to really hurt you and don’t fancy havin’ any chunks taken out of my hide either." Spike smiled at his sire’s lady. He clearly respected her show of bravery in having made the offer.

Angel spoke up and asked the group, "So, has anyone seen anything of Lilah since her little act as tour guide for Giles?" He would never allow himself to trust the lawyer and vowed to make sure no one else let their guard down either. Any mistake involving Ms. Morgan would no doubt be lethal to someone.

"Actually, no, although I am not really surprised. She is not precisely among the living and her activities need to be even more carefully planned than our own. I expect we will hear from her at her leisure and not before." Giles had taken full measure of the lady and suspected she would show up only when absolutely necessary to further her own ends.

"I still don’t know what we’re waiting for. I mean Spike’s in as good a shape as he’s likely to get and we can put the rest of this together almost overnight. I think we need to strike while the iron is hot. Go over, get in, get Buffy out and get it done." Angel was chomping at the bit to do more than plan and research and train. There was a damsel to rescue and it was hard enough being prevented from being the one to mount the white horse and ride to the rescue.

"Yes and that attitude has led us to this point, has it not? You are every bit as impetuous as Spike. Having a sound plan and as much information as possible before it is needed will win the day. To simply charge in willy-nilly will only result in defeat and death. I would have thought your premature opening volley against the Black Thorn would have taught you something. The oracle has assured me that Buffy is not experiencing time in the same manner as we are here. She is not languishing in some tower awaiting her rescue. She wouldn’t be doing that in any case, Angel; she is the Slayer and a warrior in her own right. She may require assistance, but not saving, and she would resent your attitude. She is not the fifteen-year-old girl you have frozen in your memory. She is a seasoned leader." Giles felt good getting some of those issues dealt with.

Giles looked at the two vampires across the table from him, noticing even more differences between the two. Really, Angel had so often behaved as though Buffy were some fragile princess in need of a white knight sweep in and save her. The worst part was how often she would assume that very role and allow herself to become unsure and weak in Angel’s presence. At least Spike had always treated Buffy like the warrior she was and brought out the best in her, the strength. They fought side by side instead of Spike trying to push her behind him as he fought the battle, the way Angel had done. "Why did I never notice that before?" Giles wondered to himself, "So many differences between them."

Willow went over some of the spells and enchantments her coven was working on for weapons, as well as the clothing Spike would wear. Spike might have a healthy distrust of magic, but under these circumstances, he was willing to set them aside and use what they had to tilt the scales to their favor. No dark magic was even being considered, as it would more likely rebound and help the three demons.

Illyria seemed to feel that Spike was improving with each practice. She was not holding back much at all and he was quick on his feet, both literally and mentally. Both of those abilities would hold him in good stead once he faced the foes alone. She had also been attempting to help the Poisons & Potions department in synthesizing the poisonous effects of the paralyzing toxin generated by the Ram. If they could find a way to build immunity in Spike or formulate an antitoxin he could have with him, it would greatly help his chance of surviving that encounter.

Spike looked at Giles in a deadly serious way and asked, "So, anybody gonna figure out how I can kill ‘Eduardo-the-too-long-lived-already’, cause I’m thinkin’ he’s gonna be a factor and bein’ immortal and all, it may not be that easy."

Xander sighed and offered, "Hey, I’m research boy on the Senior Partners. Might as well add him to the mix. I’m on it."

"Good. Well, I suggest we all get about our assignments then," Giles said to close the meeting. "Angel, a word with you, if you have a moment?"

Angel stayed behind as everyone else filed out of the conference room. "Yeah, Giles, what’s up?"

"I need you to give a factual and highly detailed description of the vision passed to you by Cordelia. I have it on good authority that the vision was not intended for you and your actions based upon it were, to put it bluntly, rash and foolhardy. Perhaps if you relate the vision, we can discover what the Powers had hoped to achieve rather than the mess you made of it. I really do mean factual, Angel. Now is not the time for your interesting and creative definitions of truth." God, it felt good to stick a pin in the bloody pillock! It might not be fair to still blame Angel for Jenny’s death, but Giles was only human after all.

Angel narrowed his eyes and leveled a hostile gaze on the Watcher. "You know I’d never endanger Buffy, Giles. Of course I’ll describe the vision accurately."

"You have endangered Buffy, you ruddy, arrogant, fool! Why do you think we are having to mount a rescue at this very moment? You’ve done more to endanger her over the years than any other being, living or undead. Shall I run down the list for you? You have sought to reduce her to the insecure child you first met and left her with enough issues to keep a score of therapists busy and well fed for years. This is in addition to your forays into the dark side that only began with the Acathla disaster. You are a menace. I no longer care how well intentioned you may be with your soul, you shall toe the mark from here out and undo this latest danger you’ve put her in. Are we quite clear?" Giles was speaking quietly but there was no mistaking the fire within.

"I love Buffy. I always will. If not for that blasted curse, I would never have left her. There’s no way I’ve ever done anything but look out for her. I even came back that Thanksgiving, without even touching her, just to help out. I don’t know what your problem is, old man." Angel was as angry as Giles. His eyes flickered with gold as he rebutted the Watcher’s accusations and implications.

"Really? Where were you when her mother died? Oh, yes, she did relate to me that you came to hold her hand that night before heading back to L.A., after reminding her of how tragic your doomed love was and how it hurt you. Did you return to help defeat Glory or protect Dawn? Where were you when Willow brought her back broken and lost? She met with you and couldn’t even speak of what transpired when she returned. Suffice to say, her mood in no way improved after that meeting. For that matter, where were you the summer when she was in heaven and her little sister needed protecting? You have a very strange way of defining love, Angel. I think your curse is a blessing in disguise for her."

"I could ask you a lot of those same questions, Giles. You managed to skip out on her, too. You wanna go one on one with the ‘who let Buffy down the most’ contest,
bring it on", Angel challenged.

Neither man noticed Dawn, who had come back to fetch a sketch that had not made it back into her portfolio. "Maybe we should all just let the past lie for a while until we get Buffy back. Then if you guys want to have a duel at dawn--or maybe dusk would be better--okay by me. I think we all have issues from the last few years, but now’s not the time."

"Perhaps instead of the fashion industry or languages, your skills would be better used in the field of diplomacy, Dawn. You are quite right." Giles looked at Angel and said, "I still expect a full account of that vision given to our Prophecies & Omens division for dissection by morning." Giles turned and stormed out of the room.