Chapter 7 – Disharmony


Sunnydale, 2000


Spike spent the duration of the daylight hours in the lower level of his crypt, trying to ignore the scent of Dawn that was in the air and figuring out a way to both tell the Slayer and confront Harmony, knowing that if Buffy found out it had been Harmony who was responsible for Dawn’s death, she’d make good on her threats and would stake them both.

As he sat on his bed, images filled his mind of how Dawn looked and the damage that had been done to her, feeling ill at the thought, which was uncommon for him, a master vampire who had done equally as much to the bodies of his victims, if not much worse.

He willed himself to rest for a couple of hours, wondering deep down if it would perhaps be the last time he would ever sleep.

By the time the sun went down, Spike returned to the upper part of the crypt and looked at Dawn for a long time, his mind racing as he tried to piece together what he would do and say once he left.

It was after about half an hour that he realized he couldn’t go to the Slayer - he didn’t have it in him to inform her of Dawn’s death and didn’t know if he would survive the night if he went to her with the news.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, looking one last time at Dawn before walking to the door of the crypt. “I’m so sorry.”

He felt tears forming in his eyes and quickly blinked, trying to get them to go away as he walked out, angry with himself for feeling guilt despite not having a soul over a situation he couldn’t fully control.

He passed through the gates of the cemetery and found a payphone, quickly dialing a number he had come to know and waiting impatiently for someone to answer.

“Hello?” a tired-sounding British man asked.

“Giles, it’s me,” Spike said. “Before I say anything else, I need you to believe one thing.”

“Pardon me?” Giles asked, confused. “This is Spike, yes?”

“Yes,” Spike answered, clenching his jaw. “Giles, I know where Dawn is.”

“What?” Giles asked, his tone instantly changing.

“While I was at the Slayer’s house early this morning to find out if anyone had gotten any news on Dawn’s whereabouts, someone… left her in my crypt,” Spike explained as calmly as he could. “I didn’t do it, Giles – I need you to know that.”

“I didn’t think you had,” the older man replied. “But do we know who did?”

“I might have a lead,” Spike muttered. “But I don’t have concrete evidence, no.” He paused for a long moment. “I need you to tell the Slayer, Rupert – I can’t do it.”

“I think it’s best if I do it, anyways,” he said. “Is Dawn… still at your crypt?”

“Yes,” Spike answered. “I thought I’d let you figure out what to do now.” He hesitated as he heard the sound of sniffling on the other line. “I need to go.”

“You know she’ll come for you tonight, don’t you?” Giles asked. “She’ll need to hear every detail that you know, Spike. And I suppose I should warn you that she might not take what you have to say very well – you might not live to see the sunrise.”

“I’m making my peace with that as we speak,” Spike replied before hanging up, shoving his hands in his pockets as he began to head towards Willy’s Bar, in desperate need of any leads as to where Harmony could be.

As Spike entered the bar, Giles left his home on the other side of town, trying to collect both his thoughts and emotions as he prepared to leave to speak with Buffy and Joyce. He had called the coroner, giving him directions to Spike’s crypt and being as vague as possible when it came to questions of why she was in a crypt and what had possibly happened to her.

He had no idea how he would get through the night, knowing that the next few hours would be some of the hardest ones he’d ever have to live through.

~~~~~~~~~~

Spike stormed out of Willy’s an hour later, blood still fresh on his hands from the vampire he had beaten for information. He followed the directions he was given and came to stand in front of an old house minutes later, running the mile outside of town as quickly as he could. He kicked down the front door and let himself in, keeping a close eye on his surroundings and making sure he wasn’t being watched.

He could hear pop music playing down one hallway and followed it, reaching the room that had the music and studying the door for a moment before bending down to smell the doorknob, catching Harmony’s scent instantly.

He growled and kicked the door down, not caring that it was unnecessary. Harmony was lying on her bed, reading a magazine, and shrieked when she looked up to see Spike charging at her. He grabbed her upper arms and hauled her off the bed, his face changing when hers did, too.

“What’re you doing?” she asked, beginning to feebly hit him as he increased the pressure on her arms.

“You know why I’m here,” he ground out, his eyes flashing. “Did you think you’d get away with it?”

“Away with what?” she asked, feigning innocence. “What are you talking about?”

“You killed Dawn,” he replied sharply, shoving her backwards and watching as she fell back onto the bed. “And you brought her to my crypt. To torture me? To keep me trapped with her while the sun was up?”

“Because it sounded like the best idea,” she answered, narrowing her eyes at him. “What does it matter?”

He grabbed the stake in his duster and gripped it, bringing it out and letting her see it. Her eyes widened as she realized what he had come to do.

“You wouldn’t dare!” she yelled, getting off the bed and backing away from it as he rounded the bed and began to corner her. “It wasn’t me!”

“Like hell it wasn’t!” he shouted. “I smelled you on her!”

“But I didn’t kill her,” she replied quickly as she felt her back hit a wall. “I swear I didn’t, blondie bear.”

“Do you think I’m that dumb?” he asked, furious. “Did you think I wouldn’t figure it out?”

She began shaking as she saw his knuckles turn white from the force of how tightly he was holding the stake. “No, I know you’re not dumb.”

“But you are,” he replied. “You know that, right?” She nodded quickly as he aimed the stake at her heart. “Tell me, why did you go after Dawn? The Slayer was your target, not the girl. Didn’t you learn after the first time?”

“I didn’t do it!” she yelled. “I didn’t kill her!”

“I wonder why I don’t believe you,” he said as he shoved the stake through her heart, watching as she disintegrated into dust, which formed a pile at his feet.

Tessa, who had been standing a few feet away from the room ever since she had seen Spike walk into the building, listened to his conversation with Harmony with avid interest and grinned when she heard the sound of a stake piercing Harmony’s body.

She quickly left the house before he did, not wanting him to know she was around yet, and ran down the road for about a mile, finding a new home to break into and call her own.

As she stopped at the porch of the abandoned house, she smiled to herself. “The plan is going exactly the way it should be. He thought the stupid cow killed Dawn and took her off my hands for me – I couldn’t have asked for anything more.” She paused and added as an afterthought, “Too bad my minions are out feeding – he could’ve dusted a few of the dumb ones for me.”

~~~~~~~~~~


London, 1880


“William, I wish to feed,” Drusilla said the next night, latching onto his arm and smiling coquettishly at him. “And perhaps when we return, we can…”

“I would like that,” he replied, grinning.

“You can what?” Tessa asked curiously, appearing out of nowhere behind them.

“Nothing for a child’s ears,” William answered quickly.

“Would you like us to take the girl out?” Darla asked, Angelus standing beside her. “That will leave you two alone for a few hours.”

“Thank you, grandmummy,” Drusilla said excitedly, pulling William to the door.

“I told you not to call me that,” Darla replied pointedly.

“I am ever so sorry,” Drusilla said, laughing as she opened the door before turning to look at Tessa. “Goodbye, pretty girl.”

“Have a good night, poppet,” William said, smiling at her before following Drusilla out of the room.

“What are we going to do while they are away?” Tessa asked, looking at Darla and avoiding the wicked look in Angelus’ eyes.

“Well, I thought perhaps we could-” Darla said, cutting herself off as Angelus punched Tessa, watching her fall to the ground and hit her head against the hardwood floor, remembering what had happened before when the same events took place.

“Is it time to play now?” Angelus asked, pulling Darla to him.

“That is not in the plan,” she answered. “Not for tonight, at least. We need to leave while she is unconscious.”

“Where is the amusement in leaving so soon?” he asked.

“You know what we need to do,” she replied, motioning to Tessa. “Pick her up. I will get the last of our things and take them down to the carriage.”

“Does the coachman have the rest of our belongings?” Angelus asked as he lifted Tessa’s limp body.

“He is prepared to leave,” Darla answered, grabbing a bag filled with Tessa’s clothes and one of her own before following Angelus out of the room. “Ready to make a new life for ourselves?”

“A life with two beautiful blonde women?” Angelus asked, smirking. “I cannot think of anything better.”