DISCLAIMER: The Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters are the property of Mutant Enemy, Joss Whedon, and Fox Studios. The story contents are the creation and property of Djinn and are copyright (c) 2001 by Djinn. This story is Rated PG-13.
Gravity
Part 3 -
Surrender
by Djinn
"Come on, put your back into it. A Watcher scoffs at gravity." – Giles to Spike, Restless
Dawn hated to admit it, but
she was bored. If she had to look at one more musty old magic book she was
going to scream. She snuck a look at the rest of the Scoobies.
Willow was taking copious notes. Tara was looking something up in a dictionary
of magical terms. Spike was translating bits of an obscure Latin text. She was
surprised that he seemed to be getting into it. Xander and Anya were both
leafing intently through the first two of a new stack
that Giles had brought in from his apartment. And he was walking through the
door with another box of books.
She sighed. Why couldn't she
concentrate? When Giles had called them together several weeks ago and began
this hunt, she'd searched the old works for clues as eagerly as the others. It was
for Buffy, and she'd do anything in her power to get her sister back. But Dawn
was beginning to realize she just wasn't cut out to be research girl.
Not that she didn't have
plenty of incentive. The dreams were becoming more frequent and very intense. Dawn
woke from them feeling as if she'd never gone to sleep. And the pain of her
sister's loneliness and fear haunted her during the day.
She looked over at Faith, who
looked exhausted too. In fact she was falling asleep.
"Faith," Dawn said
softly. "Let's get out of here."
The older slayer perked up
instantly. She shook her head as if clearing out the cobwebs and stood,
announcing in a voice that brooked no argument, "Patrol time. Dawn and I
hate to ditch, but you know...chosen two and all that."
Spike looked up, his expression torn.
Dawn could tell that he
believed he was making progress with the translation. "Stay here and
finish what you're doing. We'll be fine."
He held her gaze for a long
moment then, seemingly satisfied that she was on her game, nodded and turned
back to his work.
Giles looked down from the
bookshelves in the loft. "Be careful." His tone held confidence in
them despite the warning.
They both nodded and hurried
past the others and out the front door. Faith immediately headed to the
Espresso Pump. She ordered double shots for them both. Dawn moved ahead of her
to pay the tab. She knew that Faith didn't like to borrow from Giles and didn't
have any of her own funds, although her watcher was working on that. According
to Wesley, Faith's first watcher had left a small amount of money to 'her ward'
in her will. It was being held by the Council, but Giles was working to get it
released.
"Thanks," Faith
smiled at her. "I'll pay you back."
"Whatever." Dawn
tossed her some sugar packets and added some to her own drink. "You as
tired as I am?"
"These damn dreams. I
keep telling B to leave me alone, that we're doing what we can. But it doesn't
seem to help."
"I know," Dawn
followed her to a high table. "The last couple of nights though..."
"I know. She's losing
strength."
"Yeah." They both
fell silent for a second, then Dawn whispered, "Do you want her back,
Faith?"
The other slayer didn't
hesitate or look away. "No." She saw Dawn flinch and made a sheepish
face. "But I know you do. And Giles does. And I care about both of you. If
what you need to make you happy is Buffy, then I'll work like hell to get her
back."
Dawn smiled. "You said
that so easily. That you care for us."
Faith rolled her eyes. "Don't
get all mushy on me or I'll toss you into that wall."
"Like you could."
Dawn giggled.
"You think I
couldn't?" Faith pretended to be mad but her eyes gave her away.
"I think you
wouldn't," Dawn answered gently. "I know you wouldn't. I trust
you."
Faith looked down and fiddled
with the empty sugar packets.
"I know you don't like
sharing feelings and all, but I don't think I could have handled all this—the
slayer thing—without you. You mean a lot to me too, is all." She grabbed
her cup and rose quickly, tossing it in the trash before looking back at Faith.
She pretended not to notice how bright the other slayer's eyes looked. "You
coming or what?"
"Yeah." Faith
blinked hard several times. "I'm coming."
##
"Any progress?" Giles
asked Spike a few hours after the two slayers had left.
"I don't know," the
vampire said, not looking up.
He nibbled on the pen while
he looked down at the text. His normally cocky attitude was abandoned for the
moment, and Giles realized that at some point, Spike might have been a bit of a
scholar.
"See here. And
here." The vampire pointed to several phrases. "I've never seen these
words used like this before. The rest is pretty rudimentary magic, but these
are bollixing me. And I'm just not sure if they're crucial to our understanding
of it or not. If they are, this could be an important document for us."
Giles studied the words that
Spike was having trouble with. He didn't recognize the usage either. He walked
over to the counter and dialed the phone, then moved back with it to where
Spike sat. "Oh hello, Cordelia? Yes, it's Giles. I'm fine, thank you
for...no, Faith hasn't killed any of us yet. No, I don't expect her to. No I—listen, is Wesley there? Well, Angel then? No, I don't
need a gun. Oh, I see. No, I don't think he can help. Yes, well, have Wesley or
Angel call me as soon as they get in, will you? Thanks. Good...what? No, I
haven't seen that commercial. Yes of course, I'll be sure to look for it. Right
then. Good-bye."
He clicked off the phone with
a sigh of relief and realized that everyone in the room was watching him with
varying degrees of amusement.
Xander shook his head in mock
disbelief. "I give you Cordelia Chase. God broke the mold making that
one."
Everyone laughed except Spike,
who said, "Don't know about your Wesley fellow, but Angel never struck me
as the academic type."
"Perhaps not, but I
think that with his soul came a desire to help, to understand. He's had access
in the past to volumes that were very helpful."
Spike shrugged. "If you
think he can help. I'm just saying..."
Xander sighed dramatically. "Man
does this moment suck. If I insult Angel, I have to side with Spike. If I don't
agree with the Bizarro Watcher, then I'm choosing to pass up an opportunity to
rag on dead boy."
Spike glared. "You
cannot possibly compare me to that wanker."
"You've got me
there," Xander said as he went back to his book.
Willow held out her hand. "Give
me the phrases. I'll see if the Net has anything on them." She smiled as
she teased Giles. "Unless you want to do the search this time?"
"No," he rushed to
assure her. "That's fine. You go ahead." He turned and headed for the
loft. "The rest of us back to work, right?"
##
"Jerk!" Faith
thrust savagely and the vampire went up in a cloud of dust. She looked at her
shirt. The vamp had ripped half of her sleeve off. "Damn it. This was my
favorite."
"Quit whining,"
Dawn said breathlessly as she parried a blow from another vampire. A third was
getting up slowly from where it had landed when Faith kicked it. "It's
just a shirt. And a little help here would be nice."
Faith pretended to examine
the wreckage of her sleeve. She wasn't really that into the shirt, was actually
studying Dawn's fighting style, assessing how she was handling herself. Her
roundhouse was good, but her jabs were sloppy. They would have to work on those
the next time they trained together. Faith wondered when it had become second
nature for her to pay attention to someone else this way.
"Hey!" Dawn yelled
angrily. She stabbed the vampire and lost control of the stake. It disappeared
with her opponent.
"Sloppy," Faith said.
The third vampire was already moving toward Dawn.
"He totally ruined this
jacket. I love this jacket."
"What happened to 'it's
just a shirt'?"
"Faith, dammit, a stake
would be nice."
Sloppy and becoming too
dependent. She looked around and counted at least three nearby objects that
could serve. "Fresh out, Squirt."
"Faith!" Dawn
looked panicky as she traded blows with the last vampire.
"I won't always be here.
You won't always have a stake. Be creative, Dawn."
"Damn you!" Dawn
yelled, hitting viciously and buying herself some breathing room.
"You talking to him or
me?" Faith asked with a laugh. She moved her own stake into throwing position
just in case.
"I'm not sure." Dawn
looked around then ran to her left and pulled down a branch from a nearby tree.
Breaking it off, she turned and slammed it hard into the vampire who'd come up
fast behind her.
At the same moment, just in
case, Faith let her stake fly. Dawn pulled the branch out of the vampire before
he exploded into dust. Faith's weapon was history.
"Sloppy," Dawn said
with a laugh. "And thanks."
Faith shrugged. She'd never
seen Dawn fight so poorly. For a new slayer, the girl was usually inventive and
effective. The dreams were taking too much of a toll on Dawn, and probably on
herself.
The younger girl seemed to be
reading her mind. "I pretty much sucked tonight, huh?"
"You're just
tired."
"So are you, but you
didn't stop thinking."
"I've had more
experience, had to think to survive. I never had the luxury of another slayer
being there to depend on."
"What about Buffy?"
Faith thought back to all the
times she and Buffy had slayed together. "I think that I was so busy
trying to prove myself as good as her that I could never admit I needed the
help."
Dawn nodded. "I get
that." She threw the branch down. "I think maybe if she were here,
I'd feel kind of the same way." She looked down.
Faith hadn't considered that
Dawn might share her inferiority complex when it came to Buffy. "Maybe so.
But you know what, kid. If she comes back, we'll be the chosen three. And you
and me, we'll be the majority." She grinned wickedly.
Dawn giggled.
The sound reminded Faith how young
the other girl really was. How innocent. Faith knew that no matter how much she
might resent Buffy if she did come back, they would be united by one thing. They
both loved Dawn.
##
The portal no longer seemed
dark to Buffy. As it twisted its hold on her, she
could see the bright lights held within. Lights that seemed neither good nor
evil. She feared them anyway. They promised oblivion.
"Surrender," they
seemed to whisper.
"No," was all she
could manage.
She thought frantically of
Dawn, waited for her to come. But she didn't appear. Faith then, she thought,
calling to her former nemesis.
Faith arrived quickly and not
in a good mood. "Buffy, you have to let us sleep. We can't help you if you
destroy us."
Buffy felt panic fill her. Faith
didn't want to stay with her, to help her. Maybe she was trying to keep Buffy
in the portal. She rushed Faith and lashed out with limbs that had no
substance.
But Faith flinched as the
energy hit her. "I don't want to fight you, B."
Buffy didn't believe her. She
attacked again and again. Faith stood mute.
Buffy could feel her strength
failing so she retreated. "Help me."
"We're trying. Just hold
on."
"Help me!" Buffy
screamed as she felt the portal sense her weakness and dig farther into her
energy.
Faith disappeared. Buffy was
alone again.
##
Giles watched Faith as she
slept. He could tell she was dreaming by the small jerks and cries she gave
out. He debated waking her. She was often upset and disoriented if he did. Better
to let her pull herself out of the experience.
He studied her face. She was
clearly not enjoying the dream. She'd said the times with Buffy were getting
worse. For both her and Dawn. Much as he loved his first slayer, he didn't want
to lose the current two to her cause.
If they couldn't get Buffy
free soon, he feared they would truly lose her forever. But would that happen
before she'd so exhausted Dawn and Faith that they could no longer effectively
patrol? He'd debated calling them off the nightly hunt, but he knew what that
would do to Faith, how edgy she would become. Dawn seemed to have developed the
same excess energy since being called. Sitting around would do neither any
good.
Faith had told him how the
slaying had gone earlier that night, how tired Dawn
had seemed. He decided that Spike, no matter how useful he was turning out to
be in the research department, needed to stick close to the slayers.
Giles settled back down next
to Faith. Even in the midst of the dream, she still reacted to his presence,
pushing herself against him till there was no division between their bodies. How
different she was from when this relationship had first begun. Then she'd been
wary, moving away from his touches with an instinctive fear. It had been slow,
but she'd come to trust him. She reminded him of an injured falcon he'd rescued
long ago as a boy. It had taken time, but eventually the bird had come to trust
him. It was a bad analogy though, Giles thought ruefully. The falcon, once
healed, had flown away without a backward glance. He hoped Faith wouldn't be so
quick to leave him.
"Unnh!"
she jerked violently as she woke but did not strike out. That too had changed.
"Another dream?" he
murmured into her ears, tightening his arm around her.
"Uh-huh. She's losing
it, Giles." Her sleepy voice sounded somewhat sad.
"I know. We haven't much
time. Hopefully Angel or Wesley will be able to help us with the passages Spike
found."
She nodded, already falling
back to sleep. "Angel's a good guy."
For a moment, he felt a pang
of jealousy. He was unsure of the extent of Faith's feelings for the vampire. Then
he realized how silly he was being. She was sharing his bed, not Angel's. But
still he wondered if that would be the case if the curse didn't prevent Angel
from indulging in certain pleasures. But it didn't matter and he had to let it
go: the curse was fact and Faith was here.
Smiling at his own
insecurity, he buried his head in Faith's hair and drifted off to sleep.
##
Dawn wandered the downstairs
restlessly. She was tired, exhausted really. But she didn't want to sleep. Didn't
want to face Buffy, or whatever her sister was becoming.
The house was quiet. Willow
and Tara had gone to bed hours earlier. She was glad they'd moved in, enjoyed having
them around and not just because of the way they tended to mother her. They
were fun. But not right now. They didn't even know she was down here.
Spike was out or she would
have gone down to the basement. He'd moved in also, mostly at her insistence. She
hadn't liked his living in a moldy old crypt that anyone could walk into. Inside
her house, no other vampire could get him. He was safe, and she felt better
having him close.
So much had changed for her. Physically
she was a match for almost anyone, but emotionally she was still only fifteen. At
times a very scared and lonely fifteen. Spike had been the only one to help her
celebrate that birthday, back when they'd been in training for their return to
Sunnydale as slayer and watcher. He'd given her the leather jacket that had
been trashed earlier tonight. She hated that it was ruined because it made her
feel safe. The same way that he did.
She sensed his presence
before she heard him bounding up the front steps. "Hey," she said as
he came through the door.
He looked at her in surprise.
"What are you doing still up? And what the hell happened to you?"
She filled him in. Even told
him how Faith had forced her to think for herself. "I'm just so tired, I
totally blew it," she finished quietly.
He was concerned and seemed
angry with himself. "I'm not letting you go out alone again. Not till this
is over."
"But Buffy?"
He cut her off. "Buffy'll have my balls if I let anything happen to you. Even
to get her back. I know that."
"Okay." She didn't
want to admit it, but she felt better knowing he'd be with them. Faith was
back-up for now, but she was tired too. Eventually they were going to screw up,
and all it would take was one mistake for something really terrible to happen.
Spike headed for the kitchen,
reaching for one of the blood bags he'd stashed in the refrigerator.
"So
where've you been?" she asked as she watched him heat up his dinner.
"I decided to go pay Doc
a visit."
Dawn's eyes widened. "Why?"
"Wesley called back. The
bugger knew that those Latin mystery phrases I thought were significant didn't
mean squat. So we're back at square one. I got to
thinking about Doc, how he knew what to do up there on that platform. Didn't
seem to want or need Glory. I think he has all the answers. I'm just sorry it
took me this long to think of going to see him."
She felt a frisson of dread. Doc
was more powerful than any of them knew. She'd felt that when he'd cut her that
horrible night. He was pure evil. "You went all alone? He nearly killed
you!"
"Simmer down, pet. He
wasn't there. Landlady said he moved out months ago, I make it to be just after
Buffy died."
Dawn remembered Buffy
throwing him off the platform. But they'd never found the body. In fact, no one
had seen his body hit the ground. She shivered again. Then she yawned.
"Go to bed, Dawn."
"I'm okay," she said
even though she knew her eyes were drooping.
"You're not." He
watched her closely. "Afraid to go to sleep?"
She nodded. "She'll be
there, wanting things from me I don't know how to give."
She could tell he didn't know
what to say.
"Maybe, if you stayed
with me for a while? You know, to watch over me, wake me if you can tell I'm
dreaming? Faith says Giles does that for her when she can't get away on her
own?"
His eyes softened. "When
Dru was at her weakest, I used to do the same for her. You go get ready for
bed. I'll be up in a bit."
"Thanks." She
pulled herself up the stairs, barely able to get her feet to climb. Moments
later she was in her pajamas in bed, her clothes strewn on the floor.
He came in and pulled her
desk chair over. "Go to sleep now. You're safe."
She smiled at him and closed
her eyes. Sleep claimed her instantly. It seemed like only moments later that
Buffy appeared. She was crying. And she looked less distinct than before. "Help
me," she pleaded.
"I don't know how,"
Dawn answered, her heart breaking.
She felt herself being shaken
awake.
"Okay, then, wake up, Niblet."
She realized she was crying. Grabbed
for him and felt him hug her close.
"We're losing her,
Spike. We're really losing her." She felt him sigh.
"Don't give up yet,
Dawn. Not till she's gone."
She didn't say anything, just
sobbed. He held her until she slept, cried into an exhaustion even Buffy
couldn't disturb.
##
"Is she going to be all
right?" Willow whispered.
Tara slowly closed the door to
their bedroom. They'd taken Joyce's room, neither of them willing to disturb
Buffy's room. At first they'd thought Faith might move
in, but she seemed happy at Giles'. Now they understood why. Tara wondered how
she could have missed the signs of their affair. She was normally quite
sensitive to those vibrations. She'd known of Spike's feelings for Buffy long
before the rest had found out.
She walked back to the bed
she shared with Willow and crawled under the covers. Willow pulled her in to
snuggle and Tara whispered, "Spike's with her, and I think she's
asleep."
"I feel so bad for her,
Tara. She's so young, and she's had to deal with so much this year. I'm really
worried."
"I know. Me too. But
we're doing everything we can."
"Are we?" Willow
asked.
Tara hugged her sleepily. "Of course we are."
##
Willow carefully moved Tara's
arm and eased herself off the bed. She tiptoed across the room and pulled on
some clothes, then searched through her jewelry box, finally emerging with a
small talisman. She let herself out into the dark hall.
Spike turned to look.
"Can I use the basement?"
she asked him. "It's for a spell."
"Now?"
She thought fast. "It's
the right moon alignment to Pluto and Venus. Won't happen again for twenty
years."
He didn't look convinced. "And
you're sneaking around to do this spell why?"
"I'm not sneaking, I'm
just trying to not wake Tara."
"Oh whatever, Red. Go
ahead." He waved her on then turned back to Dawn.
Willow hurried to the
bathroom and found Dawn's brush. She pulled some hairs out and stuffed them in
her pocket. Stopping only to grab some candles and a lighter on the main floor,
she headed to the basement and set up a circle. Lighting the candles, she began
the ritual. She held the talisman in her hand and as she focused on it, a chant
became clear in her mind.
"Blessed be the name of D'Hoffryn. Let this space be now a gateway to the world of Arashmaharr where demons are spawned. We come in
supplication; we bend as the reed in the flow of the river Narithe,
we move to you as the tall grass in the face of the storm winds. Receive us."
There was a bright light and
a great deal of nasty smelling smoke. Willow's eyes watered and she started to
cough.
"Change your mind,
little witch?" D'Hoffryn said. "Oh
my," he said as he walked closer, "not so little anymore. You're quite
the power now, aren't you? Been playing with the dark stuff too, I see."
She wiped at her eyes and
realized once the smoke cleared that she'd made it to the place D'Hoffryn had taken her before. "Oh, hi. Gosh, here I
am." She saw a bench, backed up and sat down quickly because everything
was spinning. "And, uh, no. I haven't changed my mind."
He looked irritated. "You
dare to bother me for something else? Do you know what I could do to you?"
"I'm sorry. Really. But,
well, I'm working on a difficult project, you know, really advanced magically
speaking and all. And no one seems to be able to help."
"And you thought I
would? Have I led you to believe I'm some kind of good guy?"
"Well. No. I mean if
that's a bad. But you were nice in letting me go the last time. And I bet you
know tons about magic, the really complicated kind."
"Are you trying to
flatter me into helping you?"
"Maybe. Is it
working?"
He looked at her sternly,
then burst into laughter. "You have courage, Willow. I like that." He
held his hand out. "Come. Let's go someplace where we can talk more
comfortably."
Gingerly she took his hand
and allowed him to lead her through a door and into a lavishly furnished room.
"Wow. Great
decorator."
He preened. "That would
be me. I dabble between cases." He motioned her to a chair and took the
one opposite.
A smaller demon came
scurrying out.
"Tea," D'Hoffryn ordered. "Do you take milk or lemon,
Willow?"
"Lemon. And honey."
"As you wish, witch
woman," the demon servant replied somewhat mockingly.
"You'll have to excuse
him. I don't get many non-business visitors. Especially human."
The servant was back instantly
with tea for both of them.
Willow eyed hers with
suspicion.
"Oh, don't worry. It
isn't enchanted. I was just sitting down for a cup when I heard you call."
He sipped at his tea. "So what's this project you
think I can help you with?"
Willow fished Dawn's hair
from her pocket and handed it to him. "What can you tell from this?"
D'Hoffryn reacted as soon as he touched the hair. "Oh my. The
Key. How fascinating. Good job by the way, stopping that Glory. She would have
put me out of business." He closed his eyes briefly. "Interesting. The
monks that formed her were quite advanced. What an intricate spell. Retro-active
memories, energy made flesh, most ingenious."
"Are any of the monks
still around? I really need to talk to them."
"Afraid not." He
handed back the hair. "All dead. Glory got them."
Willow felt dejected. "Damn."
"Why do you need
them?"
"I need the spell. Just
the one that makes energy flesh, not the whole memory changing thing."
"Oh. I have that."
"You do? That's great. Can
I...uh...have it too?"
"Won't do you any good
without two other witches. The spell must be performed by three powerful
magicians of like mind that know each other well."
Willow thought madly. "You
wouldn't happen to know a good de-ratting spell, would you?"
D'Hoffryn frowned. "The one in the Grimoire of Caumlaud is textbook. Who's training you?"
"Uh, me. I dabble too. But I bet the Council has that
book." She felt hope surge through her. "So
if I have three witches, I can do the spell?"
D'Hoffryn turned deadly serious. "Well, I have to give it
to you first. What do you think a gift like that would be worth?"
"I won't be a vengeance
demon. I just can't."
"Oh, forget that. I was
thinking of something more personal."
"You mean...you want
to...with me?" She gulped.
D'Hoffryn looked disgusted. "Of course not. With a human?
Please." He stood and walked over to where a state-of-the-art PC still sat
in the box. She joined him. "I just bought it. Need to get with the
information age. But I don't even know how to set it up, much less use it. You
could give me lessons in exchange for the spell. Say once a week for a year or
twice a week for six months, depending on our schedules?"
"Really? That's it? Computer
lessons?" She launched herself at him in glee and gave him a tight hug. "You're
the greatest lower being ever!"
"Yes, well, don't spread
that around. You'll ruin my reputation."
Willow pulled away and
noticed that D'Hoffryn was actually blushing. "I
won't tell a soul."
He closed his eyes for a
moment in concentration and a scroll appeared. "You just set up a standard
circle. You'll need a few special ingredients. They're all listed here. And
chant the enclosed text four times. Then tell it what you want."
"That's it?"
"Creating the spell was
a serious accomplishment on the part of the monks. But any idiot can activate
it if they know the words. Find the other two witches"—he handed the
talisman to her—"and you're in business. Now about my computer."
Willow put the scroll in her
pocket. "Well. There's no time like the present." She began to unpack
the PC. "This is the mouse."
"I see no resemblance to
a mouse."
She frowned at him. "I
know, but work with me here, okay?"
"Very well." He
sighed.
She started to read the
specs. "You have 500 megs of RAM. Good."
"There's a ram too? Who
invented this machine? Aesop?"
Willow laughed and made D'Hoffryn sit down and take notes as she led him into the
21st century.
##
Spike had just about dozed
off, hoping he might dream of Buffy, when Willow appeared in a puff of smoke. He
sat up with a start. "Bloody hell, woman! Give me some warning next
time."
"Sorry." Her grin
was decidedly not contrite.
"Check out Ms.
Self-satisfied? Been stepping out on the little woman?"
"I found it, Spike. I
found someone that knew the spell."
He looked at her stupidly
till he felt her words register. "You mean?"
"Yes!" Willow
actually squealed. "We can get her back."
Spike felt a slow grin spread
across his face. "Red, did I ever tell you that I love you?"
She sobered slightly. "There's
just one catch. We need three witches to do the spell."
"So? Hire one. There
must be another witch somewhere in Sunnydale."
"Can't be a
stranger."
He felt his hopes sink. "So
where are we going to find this witch?"
She pointed up. "She's
probably in the habitrail even as we speak."
"Amy the rat is really a
person? I thought that was a running gag or something."
"Oh, no, she's really
human. I just haven't been able to de-rat her. Couldn't find the right
spell."
"But now you have
it?"
"Not exactly. We need
the Grimoire of Caumlaud. It has a spell that should
work according to my source. But I've never seen it in Giles' collection. I was
thinking the Watcher's Council might have it."
"How likely will they be
to share it if they do have it? Buffy gave them nothing but trouble. They might
think they're lucky to be shed of her. And they certainly won't give it to me. I'm
hardly welcome there even if I am Dawn's watcher."
Willow smiled. "Maybe
Giles needs a trip back to Mother England? Renew old ties, see old
friends..."
"Steal old books,"
Spike finished for her.
"I might have been
thinking along those lines."
Spike shook his head. "It's
a good idea, but we don't have the time. Dawn thinks that Buffy will slip away
soon."
"Right." She sighed
heavily.
"Let's go call
Giles," Spike said as he pushed himself out of his chair with a groan.
They hurried upstairs and
called Giles. Willow explained quickly what had transpired. "So we just need this Grimoire or really just the de-ratting
spell. And we thought you could go to England but there isn't time."
"They could fax
it," Giles said.
Spike leaned into the
speakerphone, "Not going to just hand it over no questions asked, are
they?"
"Well the Council might
not. But the Council librarian is another thing entirely."
Spike could hear the
satisfaction in Giles' voice. "I take it you know this bloke?"
"The bloke's a she. And
yes, we were close once. Quite close."
"And she still remembers
you fondly, I hope?" Willow asked.
"She does. Her husband
may be another matter."
Spike laughed. "There
are a lot of things we don't know about you, aren't there?"
"Oh, I daresay. You two
stay close to the phone."
"Should we tell the
others?" Willow asked.
"Not yet. I don't want
to get their hopes up if this is just another false lead."
"Right," Spike said.
"But if it's not, Red here may have found the way to bring Buffy
back."
"Indeed
she may have. Well done, Willow. Although it was a terrible risk. I can't
believe that this demon won't want something in return. I fear you've strayed
again onto the dark road."
"Yes, Giles, a Mac user
might agree with you." She giggled.
Spike stared at her. He
didn't get it. Neither did Giles, judging from the complete silence on the
other end of the line.
"Jeez, guys. I'm giving
him computer lessons. He just got a PC. You know. PC versus Mac. Get it?"
"Let it go, Red,"
Spike said when there was no response from Giles.
"Fine."
"Right then. I'm going
to call Rosalind. If I get anything I'll call." Giles hung up.
Willow put the phone down. "So what do we do now?"
Spike frowned, already
impatient. "We wait."
"Right. We wait."
As one, they both stared at
the phone, willing it to ring.
##
In the portal it was nearly
impossible to know where she ended and the rest of the energy began, and Buffy
realized, even as she tried to increase her grasp on her identity, that this
was the last round of her fight.
Faith had said they were
trying to help her. She hoped they'd find a way soon because she didn't have
much time left before the call of the portal would be too strong to resist.
Already it was sweet, filling
her with its seduction. "Surrender," it purred.
"No," she replied. Exhaustion
flooded her and she tried not to give in to despair.
Her friends would help her. Wouldn't
they?
FIN
Continue on to Part 4 - Rebirth