(no subject)
Title: Meno Delle Due Malvagità {The Lesser of Two Evils}
Author: Vixen
Characters: Spike & Dawn, Buffy, Illyria
Setting: Post Not Fade Away
Warnings/Ratings: PG-13
Summary: As Dawn starts to suspect something isn't right with The Immortal and his relationship with Buffy, Spike and Illyria arrive in Rome.
Meno Delle Due Malvagità
(The Lesser of Two Evils)
The apartment smelled of Buffy, of course there was the familiar scent of Dawn in there as well, but the first thing that hit Spike upon entering their abode was the Buffy-smell. They were there to look for evidence, possibly some leads on this Immortal bloke, but her aroma, even hours after she had been home, was intoxicating. Drunk on the old familiar scent of her favorite peaches and cream shampoo, sweet slayer sweat, power and sunlight, Spike couldn't concentrate.
Hell, he couldn't even walk the first time it hit him, making him freeze in the doorway and flashback to a happier time. Memories of her and him, a hundred different positions and a silver pair of handcuffs filled his mind. Then, he looked at the Nibblet. She was starring at him, probably wondering if he had suddenly lost his mind so dazed as he was. “I'm fine, bit. Just..”
“It's okay,” Dawn cautiously shut the door behind them. “I get it. You miss her.”
“Haven't been around her in years,” He moved past Buffy's bedroom, looking in and half wishing she was here now and thanking fate that she wasn't. “Dreamt of her though. Every night. Still wasn't nearly the same as being here, so close to her. It does things to a man.”
“You lower beings put such stock in old memories,” Illyria said as she busied herself by the table full of Dawn's cluttered research on the sea monster that had been spotted off the coastline. “You seek to cling to dreams that have gathered dust and fallen to ash. No wonder you don't last long.”
Spike shook his head and shoved his feelings aside. For an egotistical god without a kingdom, Illyria was right. He couldn't feel these feelings anymore, the longing and need, not after everything that had happened between the Slayer and him. Besides, he wasn't a man, wasn't the one who got all Shanshued after all. The Powers had spoken; he would always be something less.
Dawn simply nodded, sidestepping the issue and giving Spike some room with his past as she went to retrieve a few books from Buffy's room. Returning to the living room, she sat with Spike on the expensive Italian leather sofas, yet another extravagant gift from the man they were now researching.
She put a small black book on the coffee table and explained, “It's Buffy's address book. I think it has some contact info on the Immortal.” She held up another book, this one dark purple, “And I also have her diary, which probably has some background info on the Immortal and what they've been doing together these past few weeks.”
Spike gave her a sideways glance, “Really think we should be going through big sis' stuff like this?”
Dawn rolled her eyes, “Geez, when did you decide to grow a conscious?” Spike nearly growled at her reply, he hadn't lost that much of his edge, just didn't want to deal with a pissed off Slayer. “Besides,” she continued, “This is part of what makes being the little sister so great. We're expected to do this kind of thing. At least it'll be more interesting this time than when I was reading her tales of Angel and their 'destined true love'.” She gave a laugh, obviously as disinterested with those two as Spike had been.
“You sneaky little platelet,” Spike smiled as the two of them began looking over the information Dawn had found. As she read the diary entries aloud, the tale it was beginning to tell was more than a little disheartening. The more time that passed, the crazier Buffy began to sound until eventually she didn't sound like herself at all. At first Buffy just mentioned Immi, as she called him, in amongst the other things that made up her daily life. Then, little by little, she began writing more and more about him, falling head over heals and oddly obsessive over this man she still knew very little about.
For almost an hour, all was quiet as Dawn and Spike found themselves in the middle of a mystery they still could not figure out. They had few answers to Buffy's questionable behavior even now, though they had at least managed to find an address for the Immortal.
Illyria spent much of this time on a different mystery, the one Dawn had been previously engaged with. Suddenly, the ex-god stood and placed her hands on the drawing of the sea monster one of Dawn's eye-witnesses had made. “I have put together the puzzle, sorted the pieces until they fit into their rightful place.”
This got Dawn and Spike's attention, as they both turned to her with equally questioning looks. Finally, the vampire asked, “What are you going on about, Blue?”
“The truth which you have failed to see. The problem lies within that which you have no time to acknowledge.” She crossed the room while both of them watched her, “Why do you busy yourselves with what is so plainly of no consequence? The Immortal is a lesser being, kicked out of the holy order and meanstwhile, Old Gods have returned once more.”
They starred at her as if she had grown another head. Though, that would have made more sense than how she was acting now. Illyria drew two fists and slammed out the door, not bothering to wait for them to understand her ramblings.
Slowly, Dawn asked, “Um.. what was that about?”
“Of all the crazy women in my undead life,” Spike answered with a shrug, “Illyria is the one I understand the least.”
They had no time to continue their research, since a moment later a rather ragged looking Buffy barged through the apartment door. “Dawn,” she cried, for the moment not even seeing Spike on the couch, “Dawn, who was that who just left the apartment? Are you okay?”
When Buffy saw that Dawn was sitting on the couch, the Slayer's careful gaze traveled over to the vampire next to her sister. Their eyes met and the world fell off-kilter. She shook her head in disbelief, “Spike?” Buffy put a hand to her mouth and then to her chest, “Spike?! What? What are you doing here? Why aren't you--”
“Buried where you left me? The amulet somehow fixed that.” Spike stood, feeling a rather strong urge to leave all of a sudden. Still, he stayed in order to try to put things right, like he had promised Dawn. “Look, the bit was worried about you. Said you got in over your pretty little blond head over some bloke. Figured I might be of some service here, help you get back to being yourself.”
All the worry for Dawn and the shock at seeing Spike left her at these words, falling away until all that remained was one pissed off Slayer. “You mean Immi? What, did you think, after two years of being gone that you would come here and take me away from him? Did you think that soul and your dying meant anything to me? You know what, Spike, get out of my apartment.” He was about to react to this, about to scream at her for acting crazy but Buffy cut him off, “Now!”
Spike laughed to himself. He knew coming here was a bad idea from the beginning, could feel it in his gut. Thing was though, when it came to Buffy, he rarely listened to his instincts, “Fine. Don't want my help, I'll leave. Easy as that.”
“Good.”
“Fine!” He growled deep in his throat, yanking open the door and making for the exit.
Dawn watched as the two of them went at it, disrupting right before her eyes. “Buffy.. Spike..” She tried to catch him just before he left, but he shook her off. “Please, guys..” She sighed and the door shut on her face, leaving her standing alone with her sister. “Did you have to do that?”
“Did you have to go through my diary?” Buffy shot back, holding up the purple book with a deep scowl. “You had no right to do that. I can't believe--”
“You can't believe, what? That I would try to figure out what the hell is going on with you when you're acting so completely self-absorbed lately? I mean, come on, Buffy, is this guy worth what you're doing to yourself, what you're doing to me?”
“He's everything I have right now, Dawnie,” Buffy said sadly as she dropped to the couch. Her voice held a listless tone that worried Dawn even more, “I don't understand why you can't just let us be happy. He's all I want, Dawnie. Everything.”
Dawn held back on her tears, finally having heard the answer she dreaded but knew had to come. “Everything, huh? So I guess I don't count?” When her sister didn't reply, Dawn made for the exit. It was then that Buffy started calling after her, asking her to come back but Dawn was already gone, heading out to find Spike.
Dawn ran until she spotted him, not that far away from the apartment building. Rushing over to him, she latched onto his arm, halting him in his tracks. “Please, Spike, don't leave.” She could feel the tears coming now and cursed herself for breaking down in front of him. “I need your help. Can't you just go back in and apologize--”
“To that bird? Oh, you're out of your mind.” Spike detached himself from her. He stopped before he could yell at her, before he could tell her it was all pointless and she was barking up the wrong tree. Instead he told her, “I know you're worried about her, Dawn, but I can't help if she doesn't want me to. Call Giles or that Xander whelp.”
“I've tried them,” Dawn grit her teeth, why was no one listening to her. She needed help and no one was doing any helping. “I can't reach them. But you're here and you could help if you just--”
“Look, sorry, bit.” Spike told her pointblank, “But this is my stop and I'm getting off.”
She watched angrily as he walked off into the night, leaving her no room to follow. She'd been so close to getting somewhere with Buffy. She'd heard the cavalry arrive, could still picture Spike saying the right words to get her to snap out of it. But there he went, off into the night as she rubbed tears away from her face in annoyance. Under her breath, she muttered, “Coward.”
Dawn hadn't seen Spike for the past few days. He was probably too busy nursing his wounds, she mused. She still couldn't believe he had just left like that, after promising to help her and delivering nothing in regards to that promise. She hadn't spoke to Buffy since that confrontation. It was like they were living in two separate worlds.
Tonight, her sister had left on yet another date with The Immortal. She didn't even tell Dawn she was going out, leaving without saying a word. Dawn wasted no time that night before heading to the streets. It had become a ritual for her, some way to clear her mind. Whenever she didn't want to think about what her sister was doing, she went out slaying. She wondered just how far she had gotten from those self-destructive middle school days, but at least if she died it would be for a good cause. Apparently, that was one thing she had learned from her sister.
Hearing a woman screaming from the alleyway that ran between two stone buildings, Dawn jumped into action. “Hold on, I'm coming,” She muttered and reached for her self-carved stake. “I may not be a slayer but I still know how to handle one of these.”
After reaching the end of the alleyway, Dawn knew she had made a wrong decision. There was no screaming woman, just a bunch of cloak and dagger types. One of them stepped forward as the rest circled around her, “The Key has come to free the beast. Spill none of her blood until the ritual.”
“Key?” Dawn yelped as she swung at the first who neared her. This wasn't even a fair fight, she was outnumbered and outmaneuvered. Still, she'd fight as long as she could. “Would it help if I told you I didn't know what you were talking about?”
“Liar.” The leader stepped forward, holding a glowing ring, “The Stone of Persephone has spoken. You are the chosen one, the one that will usher in a new era of glory for Nereus.”
“Great,” Dawn said as one of them hit her on the head and her feet fell out from under her, “I always wanted to be a Chosen One.” She was losing consciousness as one robed figured picked her up. “It's.. not quite.. as advertised..”
Spike noticed the abandoned wooden stake while wandering past the apartment building that houses the Summers' residence. He still didn't know why he'd been there in the first place, crawling back to Buffy as if he didn't have better things to do than lose even more of his dignity to that bint of a slayer. However, after enough whiskey to make him lose his vampire constitution it had seemed like the next logical step.
He bent down to retrieve the stake. It was just like Buffy used to make, hand-carved out of a table leg with the initials D.S. painted on it with what looked to be sparkley red nail polish. One guess who it belonged to. She wasn't the type to leave her toys lying about either. He glanced down the ransacked alleyway, the smell of fear was still about. Dawn had been there, he was sure of it. Spike was also sure that wherever Dawn was now, it was not a place she wanted to be.
“Bloody hell! Why do Summers' women find it so bloody easy to get into trouble?” He was beginning to sober up, feeling the grip of new worry as it seized him. Intent on finding whoever took her and making them pay until they cried for mercy. Luckily, he knew just where to start the search.
The vampire spotted his old rival and new enemy in the middle of the crowded club, partying the night away without a care in the world and Buffy in his arms. This was the third place Spike had been tonight, one of the Immortal's regular places though the ponce had so many. The vampire's frustration had grown with each failed search until it nearly boiled over once he had his prey in sight.
Spike moved amongst the dancers, silently stalking his prey, reading to make the first move. If the worry over Dawn wasn't enough to make him want to pounce on the guy and beat the bloody hell out of him, the jealousy at watching the Immortal and Buffy twist around each other, pushing against each other's bodies to the slow hypnotic music was enough to send Spike over the edge.
He pushed forward, weaving through the crowd until he was behind the Immortal. Grabbing the other man by the arm, Spike yanked him around until they were face to face. Spike dug his fingers into the Immortal's neck, pleased with the shocked look in his eyes as he gasped and pleaded for air.
“Need to talk to you,” Spike growled over the music. Pulling the Immortal out the back door and into the empty alleyway. The slayer followed looking less than pleased but Spike paid her little attention as she began screaming at him.
“Who are you?” The Immortal asked as he was shoved against the brick of the building wall.
“Where is she?” Spike shouted, wasting no time answering questions. He felt his face change, growing fangs and forehead ridges. “If you've hurt her, for the rest of your immortal days you're going to wish you could die.”
“A vampire,” He showed no fear, even with Spike holding him against the wall, the vampire's fangs only inches away from his throat. At most he seemed surprised by the sudden intrusion on his time, “What could I have done to have earned this fury?”
“Oh, let's think, shall we?” Spike gave an exasperated laugh, throwing his hands up into the air. Buffy stood beside them, trying to edge her way into the fight and protect her new lover. Spike was having none of that though. Pushing the slayer away, he picked the Immortal up by the lapels of his fancy suit jacket. “First you brainwash Buffy into acting like a brain-dead, lovesick bitch and now--”
“Spike, he did no such thing,” Buffy yelled and ripped Spike away from the fray. As The Immoral slid down the wall, coming to rest on the floor, the slayer threw a solid punch at Spike. “Just where do you get off barging in here, accusing my love of such ridiculous lies? Immi would never do that. He loves me. He treats me like a lady and would never hurt me.” Buffy shot an accusatory finger at him, “Unlike you.”
Spike stood there, with all of the fight knocked out of him. There was nothing he could say to that. Nothing that would make up for the rocky past and worlds of hurt between them. He sighed, “Look, Buffy--”
“He's right,” The Immortal cut in, causing both of them to look at him. He held a hand to his temple, massaging away what looking like bucketfuls of remorse. Brushing himself off, the Immortal tried to make himself look presentable after the previous fight. “Mi amore.. Buffy,” he swallowed, squinting at her guiltily and continued, “I have, how you say, a gift that's also my curse. The power of seduction. I did not mean to use it on you, but before either of us knew it, I had attracted you and caught you in my little web. I was attracted to you before I knew it and feared your desertion, as you are such a rare and beauteous flower but I release you now, my rose. I only hope you will continue to adore me as I do adore you.”
“Oh, this is rich,” Spike grinned. Somewhere deep inside, he felt himself forgive Drusilla for getting mixed up with this man decades earlier. “Can't wait to see how hard she kicks your ass.”
As if on cue, Buffy stepped forward, still appearing a bit dazed from the new reality setting in. Without warning, she delivered a powerful kick to the Immortal's groin. He clutched at the area, a small moan escaping his lips and bent forward.
“I think you made her mad,” Spike smirked at him as he hovered above the Immortal with Buffy right beside him. “Really wouldn't want to be you right now.”
“You put those thoughts in my mind,” Buffy shook her head, trying to clear the rush of images and left over thoughts that had been planted there. “You son of a bitch!”
“Buffy, before you knock Mr. Can't-Get-A-Date-Without-A-Love-Spell unconscious, and boy am I going to enjoy that,” Spike put a hand on her shoulder, drawing Buffy's attention away. As the Immortal tried to recover and prepare for what promised to be one entirely long session of ass-kicking, Spike spoke, “We've got bigger problems. Dawn. Wanker here did something to her. We were researching him--”
“Reading my diary,” Buffy cut in with a deep scowl.
“And that.” Spike nodded with a smirk, “Then suddenly she goes missing. Found her stake three blocks from your apartment. Funny how that happened to her right after we were getting close to finding out what he was up to.”
That threw Buffy into full kick-ass mode. As the Immortal threw his hands into the air to protect his face, she grabbed his wrist. Twisting, she moved behind him until his arm was pinned to his back and he couldn't escape. Seething in his ear, Buffy asked him, “What did you do to my sister?”
“Buffy,” The Immortal spoke through the pain, “I never touched the little one. I swear it. I don't know what the vampire is talking about.”
“The hell you don't,” Spike replied, “I saw it with my own eyes. Alleyway completely ransacked, smell of Dawn's fear in the air-- hit him again Buffy, he's obviously lying.”
“No,” Buffy let go of his arm. “He's lied to me long enough. I know the difference by now.” She suddenly looked lost, “But that means Dawn's still out there and still in trouble.. or worse.” She couldn't say it, couldn't give words to the deep fear growing within her. Spike knew what she was thinking though, had thought it himself in fact. Dawn might not be alive anymore. Another hole could have opened up in the world, creating yet another void in the world.
“This is my fault,” Buffy said softly as she inspected the crime scene. They still had only a few leads to go on; only the stake found in the alleyway and the bag Buffy found in the street that had belonged to Dawn. Who had taken her remained a mystery, along with where they had taken her. “She could be halfway to Bangladesh by now or lying in a ditch somewhere or--”
“Buffy.” Gone were the pet names he had once called her by but even her name on his lips angered Spike. It was the name of a warrior, a slayer, not fit for the tongue of such a deceitful, lying wanker. The only reason they had agreed to bring him along was his connections in that city, they ran deep and were exceedingly numerous. The Immortal spoke again in regretful tones as he surveyed the scene, “Dios mio, if I had but known. I take full responsibility for this.”
“You'd better,” Spike said from where he was inspecting the tracks in the dirt. He could make out a few sneaker prints, but there were too many to figure out where each one had gone. “If you hadn't been playing around in Buffy's head, this never would have happened.” He stood, trying to reign in his hatred for the man who stood before him but finding that task nearly impossible. “Dawn would have been safe and we wouldn't be playing 'Where's Waldo' in the middle of the night in this hellhole of a foreign city.”
“Spike. This isn't the time.” Buffy stepped in between the two of them, just as the vampire was getting ready for another fight. Cutting through the bull, she started getting down to the bulk of the plan. “Dawn's in trouble. We need to stop arguing about who's fault it is and find her before whoever took her does anything else. I found this,” She produced a silver amulet that hung on a black cord. Two twin snakes were curled around the letter N. “Either of you know where this might have come from?”
Spike studied it, but couldn't say much more on the topic. The Immortal was able to produce some knowledge, however. “It looks like a pendant from the Nereus' cult. They were much bigger in Rome a few years ago. I knew their hideout years ago, they threw magnificent parties.” He paused as a frown crossed his face, “But I am not sure they are still there. There were rumors that the Carabineri were to shut them down and torch their lair. I could get better information from my informants.”
Buffy nodded, her mind setting up the plan as she spoke, “Okay, we'll split up then. I'll go with The Immortal to talk to the locals and Spike, you head out to where the Immortal thinks they used to be.”
“Yeah, sure,” Spike rolled his eyes at her. “You go with the one we can't trust while I go do all the dirty work. Are you sure you're not still under his spell?” He tilted his head at her, trying to discern the look in her eyes and whether or not that look was a sober one. All he got was an angry glare in reply. “Okay, fine, I'm going. Just tell me where it is.”
The directions the Immortal had given him led to a building at the edge of the river, an old shipping warehouse if Spike figured it correctly. He wandered into the back of the warehouse, remarking to himself how young cults always chose the most dingiest of places to hang out in. Not that he was much better, since his last residence had been a crypt in the middle of the Sunnydale graveyard, but at least something about that had been classic. This place though, with it's broken windows and boarded up doors was nothing more than run down.
Still, as he noticed the one dock that led straight into the Tiber and was decorated with an elaborate alter, there was no mistaking that they had been there recently. Spike whispered to himself, “this looks to be the place.” He turned back to building. When he'd searching around it, Spike hadn't noticed any entranceways. “Now how to get in and meet the locals?”
As if on cue, three robe-clad humans stepped out from the shadows. They all wore pendants similar to the one Buffy had found in the alleyway. “Well, that solves that problem,” Spike muttered as they came closer. One held a glowing ball of red energy while the other two flanked him with swords held at the ready. The Immortal had warned him not to be taken in by the fact that they were human, they still contained great power. Nevertheless, being the impetuous vampire that he was, Spike took a step closer and within seconds was surrounded by the glowing energy. The fight ended quicker than it had even begun.
Still blindfolded, Dawn was unaware of how long passed each time one of her captives entered her cell. They'd come in to feed her or make her drink some kind of herbal drink that was supposed to be good for those about to be sacrificed to the dark gods. She'd spit it out the first few times, receiving only a slap across the face in return. They barely spoke to her, never told her what was going on or what would happen to her, just hit her if she went against their wishes.
She pulled at her chains that held her in place, each metal bracelet attaching her securely to the wall. They didn't even budge but there was nothing else she could do to control the panic that sat in the pit of her stomach.
The door opened, the same metal clank she'd heard before. Each time one of them came in could be the last, Dawn was unsure of when they would use her key-energy-filled blood for their purposes, whatever those purposes were. Someone entered the cell with her, their presence lingering over her. Even blindfolded, she could feel them hovering over her, waiting to do whatever they wanted to her.
Screaming, she kicked at the figure, hoping to at least inflict some violence before they got their wishes. She made a solid kick to one of its calves but it only muttered out a familiar, “Bloody hell. Not fair attacking your rescuer.”
“Spike?!”
The presence knelt besides her, taking off the blindfold. As the darkness gave way to clear vision, he smirked at her, “Ta da!” He went to work on the chains that held her to the wall. “Figured I would let them capture me just so I could find out where you were.”
Dawn gave a half-hearted laugh, “They caught you too, huh?”
Spike sighed with a bit of defense in his voice, “Well, I was outnumbered. And they had magicks. Big , powerful magicks. Tossed some energy thing at me that put me at their mercy, made me do whatever they wanted.” Dawn heard him add a muttered, “Much like being in love with Buffy.” Then louder he continued, “Thankfully, it wore off. Couldn't take much more of their games.”
The chains snapped under the vampire's strength, breaking off the wall but remaining attached to Dawn's wrists. At least she could move now. “Buffy's coming with back up but its no use waiting for her. Let's say you and me get out of this together.”
“Oh, hell yes!” Dawn wasted no time getting to her feet as soon as Spike broke off her chains. “The only problem is that door. No chance you're strong enough to knock it off its hinges?”
“Nope,” Spike shook his head as he examined the door. “Solid steel, a foot wide. I couldn't budge it.” He paused to think the situation through. “But I've got another plan.”
More waiting followed but it was different this time. With the blindfold gone, Dawn no longer had to fear the unseen. If anyone was going to attack her, she'd be prepared. Plus, with Spike there she knew she would be safe. The summer that Buffy had died, he told her of his promise, to protect Dawn till the end of the world. Somehow, she knew he would always keep it, if not for Buffy's sake then for her own.
To pass the time, Spike had told her everything that happened while she had been held captive, starting with The Immortal's love spell and ending with the fight that had gotten him captured. She was still mulling it over in her head, trying to figure out who to blame for this whole debacle.
“So, he's not evil?” She mused, “He just has like an extremely high charisma attribute?” She received a questioning look from Spike from where he sat against the wall. Dawn laughed at her obvious slip into geekdom. “I must have RPGed far too much with Andrew while he was still living with us. He's rubbed off on me.”
“Least he never made you play an Ork.” Spike said as he let go of his own deep, dark secret. He rubbed his chin, trying to appear as handsome as he could. It wasn't that hard of an impression to pull off. “Told him I was far too good looking to play one, but did he listen?”
There were no walls between them now, just as it had been before Spike and Buffy had their falling out a few years ago. By luck and perseverance, they had made it through the changes life had thrown towards their friendship, arriving in a place where they could be themselves again and trust each other again. Dawn was glad, even at her angriest she had missed his companionship. He was the only one who ever talked to her on the same level, the only one who could see through the smoke and mirrors she sometimes put up.
She heard a guard coming down the hall and the door started opening. It had been a while since anyone had come to check on her, they probably needed to chant something or use some other mumbo-jumbo on her in order to prepare her for the upcoming ritual. Moving into position on the floor, Dawn played the part of the helpless vampire victim. It was all part of Spike's plan, which hopefully would work to get them out of there. Before she closed her eyes completely, Dawn asked, “Ready?”
“Always,” He replied, standing across from the door so that he could meet their captor head on. “Now go back to playing dead, like a nice little girl.” Dawn could tell he was burning for a fight, ever fiber of his body tense and ready to spring. Still, they couldn't move too fast, had to play by the rules of the game and go by the plan.
The door swung open, pouring light into the dark cell. One robed figure stepped forward, holding the ball of energy out in front of him. “Back, beast! Or else I'll make you my puppet like I did before.” Spike raised his eyebrows but obliged, moving to one side of the room so the guard could get a better look at the supposedly dead human lying across the floor. That caught the guard's attention, causing him to gasp, “What have you done, filthy ingrate?! We needed her to be pure!”
“What can I say?” Spike answered, “Got hungry. And she was such a tasty little morsel.”
The guard knelt down besides Dawn, his attention growing unfocused as he lost the ability to maintain the energy ball. He lifted Dawn's neck, checking for spots where the vampire had bitten her. “She must live. We need her for the ritual.” His voice fell away as he found no evidence of violence. There was no blood, no bite marks and what surprised him even more was the fact that her pulse was strong and steady. “What is this?”
Jumping awake, Dawn flicked her eyes open and starred up at him. “Surprise!” Before the guard could react, she lifted one of her wrists. The metal cuff was still attached to it, the piece that Spike was not able to break off. She slammed it into the guard's head with all the force and strength that she possibly could, knocking him out in one easy maneuver. As she untangled herself from the guard and stood up, she brushed herself off and kicked him once for good measure. “Jerk.”
“Nice job, platelet,” Spike said. As he started for the door, he stepped over the guard's unconscious body. “You learn that from Buffy?”
“It must just come naturally to us Summers' women,” Dawn surged with pride at Spike's words. No more did she have to rely solely on others to take care of her, she'd been learning and training, preparing for the moment she took her place as a champion. After giving her handiwork one more glance, she headed out into the hallway.
The warehouse was a maze of doors and hallways, leading into each other and driving Spike and Dawn further away from their cell but no closer to finding the exit. Spike couldn't help wondering when Dawn had grown up. Sure, he had never treated her like a kid, never really thought of one either. Nevertheless, the way she handled the guard gave him a new respect for her skills. They'd grown stronger since Sunnydale.
“Spike,” Dawn nudged him in the ribs. “Look.”
He stopped pondering her inevitable maturity and followed her gaze. The hallways they had been following had led out onto the second floor of an atrium. They were now overlooking a gathering of the robed figures as they chanted to their god. Something about 'Nereus.. lord of all and highest of the mighty'. Basic cultist sheep bleating. If Spike had encountered a few different cults in his time and if he knew anything it was that they were all the same.
“That must be the leader,” Dawn spoke in hushed tones, careful to keep her voice out of earshot from the group below. The man she was speaking of stood on a dais, a little higher than the bottom floor. He waved his hands over the crowd and they stopped, shutting up so he could talk.
“Those who have joined together here, near the river that the mightiest has chosen as his own, they will soon be rewarded for their loyalty. After we sacrifice the key, our god shall rise from the depths and devour the city that has turned its back on us.” He raised his hands again and a cheer arose from the crowd, jubilant and eager to give their god the blood sacrifice they believed it required. “Go fetch me the Key and we will put an end to--”
“Sire,” a voice called from the side of the throng of people. The timid sound came again as Spike searched his field of view for the speaker, “Sire, there appears to be a problem.”
The leader stopped his speech and looked at the one who had dared to interrupt them. Whether the anger that shown in his face was because of the apparent problem or because someone had dared to interrupt him, Spike couldn't tell. Probably a little of each. “What.. 'problem' would that be?”
“The Key. It has escaped, sire.”
The order of the crowd was lost, giving way to chaos as the leader grew red in the face. People were beginning to scatter, coming to look them without even having to be given orders first. They knew what the leader wanted, knew the sacrifice couldn't be halted. Calling to his people, the leader yelled, “Find her! Wherever she is! I want every inch of this place combed until the girl is caught!”
“Uh-oh,” Dawn breathed, reaching for Spike's hand as she stepped back away from the balcony. She started heading down another corridor, with Spike following close behind.
They needed to leave. Now.
“Looks like they figured out our dastardly plan, eh?” Spike cocked his head towards her. He was ready for this, still feeling the need for a fight in his veins. Looking at Dawn though, Spike knew there were more important things to take care of first though. The girl needed to be kept safe. Maybe there would be time for ass kicking later. “Who'd of thought those guards were smart enough to find us out so quickly?”
The first hallway they chose ended in a dead end, causing Dawn to whirl around and curse under her breath. “Who the hell designed this building? It just goes in circles.” By the time they had turned around however, they had been cornered by a half dozen robed figures. “Spike? What do we do now?”
He heard her call to him but her voice sounded like it was coming from miles away. The glowing energy had already surrounded his body, cast by a spell one of the guards had just performed. Not now, he told his unwilling body as it failed to cooperate, can't let them hurt the girl. Can't let them hurt Dawn!
His mind sent words to his mouth, telling Dawn to get out of there, to save herself, that he was sorry for whatever they would try to get him to do to her. His mouth refused to voice those words though, remaining frozen in place like the rest of his body. He hated feeling helpless like this, unable to beat the hell out of those who were threatening them.
“Spike?” Dawn called, her voice drowning out in his muddled mind. “Spike, please, snap out of it.”
He felt something snap within in, shaken from her words and the scared tone in her voice. A migraine started within his brain, dropping him to his knees as he held the temples of his head to keep his brain from together since it seemed like it would explode any moment. “LET ME, GO!!”
The words came out in a startled screaming, as he willed his mouth to work again. He wasn't going to stand by and let them hurt her while he was still there. No matter what spells they tossed at him, no matter their power, he just would not let them hurt Dawn.
At the sight of their failed spell, the guards started backing away. Meanwhile, Dawn knelt besides Spike, holding a hand to his face so he would look at her. She spoke clear words now, unfiltered by any magick, “Are you okay?”
“If you are, then I am.” It was simple. Honest. He stumbled to his feet, still feeling a little wobbly from the effects of their failed effort to control him. She put an arm around him as they watched the guards retreat.
The guards were doing a good job at running away like cowards until they stopped a few feet down the hallway. One by one, they began to fall down, knocked out by a very pissed off slayer and The Immortal, who had finally chosen to get his hands dirty with the fight. A few moments later, Buffy
and The Immortal stood within a pile of scattered unconscious bodies. “Nobody messes with my sister.”
Those were the words Dawn was waiting for, Spike knew. He let her go, steady again in his own skin. As his Nibblet ran to her sister, each of them wrapping their arms around the other, the world began to pull itself back together again.
Everything that had transpired between Dawn and her sister was forgotten the moment she saved both her and Spike. All the hurtful words and forgetting her sister had done had been part of the spell The Immortal had placed on her anyway. Dawn could forgive that. After all, they had gotten into bigger fights before, ones that didn't have the benefit of being waved away with an it-was-because-I-was-under-a-spell excuse.
As they made their way through the warehouse, heading down the steps to the bottom floor where only a few members of the crowd remained, Dawn glanced over to the Immortal. She couldn't bring herself to completely trust him or to vilify him either. Redemption was a funny thing. Dawn wasn't sure if it was fair to allow it to some people and not to others. Time would tell whether he remained in their lives, however.
Buffy was making great headway clearing a path for them to follow. A kick here, a few punches there and Dawn had little to fear from these wanna-be sorcerers. They were only human, after all. Her sister had dealt with great obstacles, had faced down a few apocalypses too. For some reason, she seemed immune to their magic. Dawn chalked it up to the being-the-slayer thing. “Come on, this way,” Buffy ushered them down the stairs that led to the bottom floor.
A few guards were left on the floor, making sure the exit out of the warehouse was blocked off. One of them stepped saw the group and stepped forward, meeting Buffy head on. The slayer frowned, “I'm getting really tired of you freaks!”
The opponents stepped closer, each sizing up the other's moves before jumping into the fray. Buffy lunged forward, landing a solid kick and knocking the guard to the floor. Before he could react, a figure of blue and leather steeped up the dais. In her hand, she held the head of what looked like a man with skin that shimmered like water.
“I have slaughtered the old god you call Nereus.” Illyria spoke to all those who would listen. An audible gasp fell over the cult, as their god's head hung from it's hair in her grasp. The wound at its neck steamed and hissed like it was on fire. “I knew him when he was little more than atoms coming to form a single creature, pieces of dirt forming flesh and the sea giving life to such a failed king of the ocean waves. He was weak, as are you.”
The cultists looked in awe at the one who had destroyed their hopes and dreams. Glancing at each other, they dared one another to say something and make a move against this woman. Instead, they seemed to come to a group consensus that they didn't want to tangle with this warrior. Rushing in all directions, wasting no time in getting the hell out of there before she turned her attention towards them.
“Where the hell did she come from?” Dawn asked Spike, her eyebrows knitted in a curious expression. He only shrugged in response. The last they had seen her, she had been storming out of Dawn's apartment, intent on taking care of some business of hers. This must have been it, Dawn began to piece it together and grimaced as the head dripped some kind of greenish liquid.
Illyria dropped the oozing thing to the floor and stalked over to Dawn. Standing before her, Illyria spoke in reverence, “No one shall come near the Key again while I have conscious breath in this shell's form. You will be safe, now and forever.” Without waiting for Dawn's reply, which was a good idea since she was still at a loss for words when it came to deal with this ex-god, Illyria turned to Spike, “How many points did I score from the death of that Roman?”
Spike paused to do some careful figuring in his head, coming up a rather random answer. “For killing that Roman ass, it raises your score to an even 200.” Then, as their group started walking back home, Dawn heard him add a whispered, “But if you kill this Immortal fellow, the game is yours.”
Other than the sounds of Illyria and the Immortal, who had begun retelling tales of their glory days once they realized they had both been divinities in the early, mucky days of the world, the walk home had been especially quiet. Dawn was okay now, nothing more to fear from the cult that wanted to spill her blood to prepare a feast for their god. And Buffy was beginning to feel like her old self, with just a bit of overcompensation for the days she'd been mentally absent by overmothering Dawn.
They'd be okay.
Spike was glad. They were the two most important humans in his world and they'd seen some really bad days. Both in Rome in the past few weeks and in Sunnydale, which had caved in around them just a few years ago. A part of him needed them to be happy, needed them to be safe but the other part, the one that watched them from a careful distance across the room, knew that if they were okay, then they didn't need him here. His job was done.
He put his coffee mug of warm blood down on the kitchen island, the simple subconscious barrier that stood between Buffy and him. Dawn watched him carefully from her seat at the island. He could tell she was doing the 'quietly watching but seeing everything' bit.
“Thanks for running by the butcher shop, luv,” Spike paused awkwardly and turned away, towards his traveling companion. It was easier than looking at everything he was about to leave behind. “But me and Miss Blue have to be going. There's a ship that'll be taking us to Egypt in a few hours.”
“Ever the masochist, Spike?” Buffy tried to smile and it came out a wrinkly sort of grin. He thought he saw a glimmer of regret in her eyes, followed by just a touch of hope. “You know, you could stay here? The sunny skies of Egypt could wait a while. You can't just fight and run, can you?”
“It's all I've ever done, luv, I don't know any other way.” Spike said with the honesty only a poet could know. She was right though, he was running away, the ship could wait, there'd only be another one. Still, he couldn't fathom sticking around while Buffy and the Immortal figured out whether their relationship was salvageable. Quickly, he asked, “Illyria, ready?”
Illyria pulled her attention away from her conversation with the Immortal, coming to stand beside Spike. She cocked her head towards Dawn, “I have succeeded in my quest to behold the key in all it's infinite wisdom and glory. I am ready to travel onward now, refreshed by the knowledge that the form it has taken is once more preserved.”
“Yep. What she said.” Spike gave a tiny chuckle and began to take his exit.
“Spike?” Buffy called out to him, her voice a siren's sound whose spell he was trying to avoid falling under. He turned towards her again, pulled by his own selfish desire. Love's bitch, once more. “Is there some way I can get in touch with you?” She covered up her own need with excuses plenty, “I mean, in case there an upcoming apocalypse or something?”
“I'll send you a postcard,” He promised. Trying to capture her beauty in his memory, he starred at her a moment and then walked out of her life again. It hurt too much to be there now, so close and yet unable to attain what they once had, he couldn't stay. He needed to start putting distance between them, so for once he followed his head instead of his unbeating heart.
It was raining the next time Spike saw her, on the shipping docks while Illyria and him waited for their transportation, only an hour since he'd left Dawn behind in that apartment. She was carrying an umbrella, the rain never touching her youthful features. Nevertheless, her cheeks were wet and the darkness of the rain clouds seemed to follow her.
“So, you thought you could just pull a 'Come back, Shane' and that would be it?” Dawn brushed her tears away before she neared the two of them. He'd never meant for her to get this hurt. Hell, part of the reason he was leaving was for her own good, didn't need a vampire in the mix mucking up things again.
He said nothing at first, only watched as Illyria studied the raindrops. There was little he could say to apologize for leaving her again, for walking away when they'd had so little time together. “Dawn.. I couldn't stay, not with Buffy and the Immortal wanting to try again, wanting to piece broken things together. Didn't want to be in the way, didn't want to see if they'd find a way.”
“I understand. Everyone else may think of me as a little kid, even now, but I know how it feels when you love a person and they only have eyes for someone else.” She sounded like she spoke from years of experience. “You could never see me while her shadow got in the way, I get that now. I don't blame you for walking away, but I wanted to know that you'd really keep in touch.”
“I promised you a postcard, didn't I? One of those dopey ones with the touristy traps on them, with 'Wish you were here' scrawled on the back.” Then he turned serious and added, “I just need some space, I'll be back.”
“I'll be waiting.”
It was another promise he swore he'd keep.
Written For the CYA Ficathon with this request:
Characters/Pairings you want the story to focus in: Dawn/Spike friendship or romance
Characters/Pairings you want in the story too: Illyria tagging along would be cool, kudos if you can pull it off.
Things you want: Post-NFA, Spike and Dawn capturing their S5 friendship again, and Illyria scoring her some hot Roman ass
Things you don’t want: Dawn being a whiny brat
Extras: Anything you desire
Author: Vixen
Characters: Spike & Dawn, Buffy, Illyria
Setting: Post Not Fade Away
Warnings/Ratings: PG-13
Summary: As Dawn starts to suspect something isn't right with The Immortal and his relationship with Buffy, Spike and Illyria arrive in Rome.
Meno Delle Due Malvagità
(The Lesser of Two Evils)
The apartment smelled of Buffy, of course there was the familiar scent of Dawn in there as well, but the first thing that hit Spike upon entering their abode was the Buffy-smell. They were there to look for evidence, possibly some leads on this Immortal bloke, but her aroma, even hours after she had been home, was intoxicating. Drunk on the old familiar scent of her favorite peaches and cream shampoo, sweet slayer sweat, power and sunlight, Spike couldn't concentrate.
Hell, he couldn't even walk the first time it hit him, making him freeze in the doorway and flashback to a happier time. Memories of her and him, a hundred different positions and a silver pair of handcuffs filled his mind. Then, he looked at the Nibblet. She was starring at him, probably wondering if he had suddenly lost his mind so dazed as he was. “I'm fine, bit. Just..”
“It's okay,” Dawn cautiously shut the door behind them. “I get it. You miss her.”
“Haven't been around her in years,” He moved past Buffy's bedroom, looking in and half wishing she was here now and thanking fate that she wasn't. “Dreamt of her though. Every night. Still wasn't nearly the same as being here, so close to her. It does things to a man.”
“You lower beings put such stock in old memories,” Illyria said as she busied herself by the table full of Dawn's cluttered research on the sea monster that had been spotted off the coastline. “You seek to cling to dreams that have gathered dust and fallen to ash. No wonder you don't last long.”
Spike shook his head and shoved his feelings aside. For an egotistical god without a kingdom, Illyria was right. He couldn't feel these feelings anymore, the longing and need, not after everything that had happened between the Slayer and him. Besides, he wasn't a man, wasn't the one who got all Shanshued after all. The Powers had spoken; he would always be something less.
Dawn simply nodded, sidestepping the issue and giving Spike some room with his past as she went to retrieve a few books from Buffy's room. Returning to the living room, she sat with Spike on the expensive Italian leather sofas, yet another extravagant gift from the man they were now researching.
She put a small black book on the coffee table and explained, “It's Buffy's address book. I think it has some contact info on the Immortal.” She held up another book, this one dark purple, “And I also have her diary, which probably has some background info on the Immortal and what they've been doing together these past few weeks.”
Spike gave her a sideways glance, “Really think we should be going through big sis' stuff like this?”
Dawn rolled her eyes, “Geez, when did you decide to grow a conscious?” Spike nearly growled at her reply, he hadn't lost that much of his edge, just didn't want to deal with a pissed off Slayer. “Besides,” she continued, “This is part of what makes being the little sister so great. We're expected to do this kind of thing. At least it'll be more interesting this time than when I was reading her tales of Angel and their 'destined true love'.” She gave a laugh, obviously as disinterested with those two as Spike had been.
“You sneaky little platelet,” Spike smiled as the two of them began looking over the information Dawn had found. As she read the diary entries aloud, the tale it was beginning to tell was more than a little disheartening. The more time that passed, the crazier Buffy began to sound until eventually she didn't sound like herself at all. At first Buffy just mentioned Immi, as she called him, in amongst the other things that made up her daily life. Then, little by little, she began writing more and more about him, falling head over heals and oddly obsessive over this man she still knew very little about.
For almost an hour, all was quiet as Dawn and Spike found themselves in the middle of a mystery they still could not figure out. They had few answers to Buffy's questionable behavior even now, though they had at least managed to find an address for the Immortal.
Illyria spent much of this time on a different mystery, the one Dawn had been previously engaged with. Suddenly, the ex-god stood and placed her hands on the drawing of the sea monster one of Dawn's eye-witnesses had made. “I have put together the puzzle, sorted the pieces until they fit into their rightful place.”
This got Dawn and Spike's attention, as they both turned to her with equally questioning looks. Finally, the vampire asked, “What are you going on about, Blue?”
“The truth which you have failed to see. The problem lies within that which you have no time to acknowledge.” She crossed the room while both of them watched her, “Why do you busy yourselves with what is so plainly of no consequence? The Immortal is a lesser being, kicked out of the holy order and meanstwhile, Old Gods have returned once more.”
They starred at her as if she had grown another head. Though, that would have made more sense than how she was acting now. Illyria drew two fists and slammed out the door, not bothering to wait for them to understand her ramblings.
Slowly, Dawn asked, “Um.. what was that about?”
“Of all the crazy women in my undead life,” Spike answered with a shrug, “Illyria is the one I understand the least.”
They had no time to continue their research, since a moment later a rather ragged looking Buffy barged through the apartment door. “Dawn,” she cried, for the moment not even seeing Spike on the couch, “Dawn, who was that who just left the apartment? Are you okay?”
When Buffy saw that Dawn was sitting on the couch, the Slayer's careful gaze traveled over to the vampire next to her sister. Their eyes met and the world fell off-kilter. She shook her head in disbelief, “Spike?” Buffy put a hand to her mouth and then to her chest, “Spike?! What? What are you doing here? Why aren't you--”
“Buried where you left me? The amulet somehow fixed that.” Spike stood, feeling a rather strong urge to leave all of a sudden. Still, he stayed in order to try to put things right, like he had promised Dawn. “Look, the bit was worried about you. Said you got in over your pretty little blond head over some bloke. Figured I might be of some service here, help you get back to being yourself.”
All the worry for Dawn and the shock at seeing Spike left her at these words, falling away until all that remained was one pissed off Slayer. “You mean Immi? What, did you think, after two years of being gone that you would come here and take me away from him? Did you think that soul and your dying meant anything to me? You know what, Spike, get out of my apartment.” He was about to react to this, about to scream at her for acting crazy but Buffy cut him off, “Now!”
Spike laughed to himself. He knew coming here was a bad idea from the beginning, could feel it in his gut. Thing was though, when it came to Buffy, he rarely listened to his instincts, “Fine. Don't want my help, I'll leave. Easy as that.”
“Good.”
“Fine!” He growled deep in his throat, yanking open the door and making for the exit.
Dawn watched as the two of them went at it, disrupting right before her eyes. “Buffy.. Spike..” She tried to catch him just before he left, but he shook her off. “Please, guys..” She sighed and the door shut on her face, leaving her standing alone with her sister. “Did you have to do that?”
“Did you have to go through my diary?” Buffy shot back, holding up the purple book with a deep scowl. “You had no right to do that. I can't believe--”
“You can't believe, what? That I would try to figure out what the hell is going on with you when you're acting so completely self-absorbed lately? I mean, come on, Buffy, is this guy worth what you're doing to yourself, what you're doing to me?”
“He's everything I have right now, Dawnie,” Buffy said sadly as she dropped to the couch. Her voice held a listless tone that worried Dawn even more, “I don't understand why you can't just let us be happy. He's all I want, Dawnie. Everything.”
Dawn held back on her tears, finally having heard the answer she dreaded but knew had to come. “Everything, huh? So I guess I don't count?” When her sister didn't reply, Dawn made for the exit. It was then that Buffy started calling after her, asking her to come back but Dawn was already gone, heading out to find Spike.
Dawn ran until she spotted him, not that far away from the apartment building. Rushing over to him, she latched onto his arm, halting him in his tracks. “Please, Spike, don't leave.” She could feel the tears coming now and cursed herself for breaking down in front of him. “I need your help. Can't you just go back in and apologize--”
“To that bird? Oh, you're out of your mind.” Spike detached himself from her. He stopped before he could yell at her, before he could tell her it was all pointless and she was barking up the wrong tree. Instead he told her, “I know you're worried about her, Dawn, but I can't help if she doesn't want me to. Call Giles or that Xander whelp.”
“I've tried them,” Dawn grit her teeth, why was no one listening to her. She needed help and no one was doing any helping. “I can't reach them. But you're here and you could help if you just--”
“Look, sorry, bit.” Spike told her pointblank, “But this is my stop and I'm getting off.”
She watched angrily as he walked off into the night, leaving her no room to follow. She'd been so close to getting somewhere with Buffy. She'd heard the cavalry arrive, could still picture Spike saying the right words to get her to snap out of it. But there he went, off into the night as she rubbed tears away from her face in annoyance. Under her breath, she muttered, “Coward.”
Dawn hadn't seen Spike for the past few days. He was probably too busy nursing his wounds, she mused. She still couldn't believe he had just left like that, after promising to help her and delivering nothing in regards to that promise. She hadn't spoke to Buffy since that confrontation. It was like they were living in two separate worlds.
Tonight, her sister had left on yet another date with The Immortal. She didn't even tell Dawn she was going out, leaving without saying a word. Dawn wasted no time that night before heading to the streets. It had become a ritual for her, some way to clear her mind. Whenever she didn't want to think about what her sister was doing, she went out slaying. She wondered just how far she had gotten from those self-destructive middle school days, but at least if she died it would be for a good cause. Apparently, that was one thing she had learned from her sister.
Hearing a woman screaming from the alleyway that ran between two stone buildings, Dawn jumped into action. “Hold on, I'm coming,” She muttered and reached for her self-carved stake. “I may not be a slayer but I still know how to handle one of these.”
After reaching the end of the alleyway, Dawn knew she had made a wrong decision. There was no screaming woman, just a bunch of cloak and dagger types. One of them stepped forward as the rest circled around her, “The Key has come to free the beast. Spill none of her blood until the ritual.”
“Key?” Dawn yelped as she swung at the first who neared her. This wasn't even a fair fight, she was outnumbered and outmaneuvered. Still, she'd fight as long as she could. “Would it help if I told you I didn't know what you were talking about?”
“Liar.” The leader stepped forward, holding a glowing ring, “The Stone of Persephone has spoken. You are the chosen one, the one that will usher in a new era of glory for Nereus.”
“Great,” Dawn said as one of them hit her on the head and her feet fell out from under her, “I always wanted to be a Chosen One.” She was losing consciousness as one robed figured picked her up. “It's.. not quite.. as advertised..”
Spike noticed the abandoned wooden stake while wandering past the apartment building that houses the Summers' residence. He still didn't know why he'd been there in the first place, crawling back to Buffy as if he didn't have better things to do than lose even more of his dignity to that bint of a slayer. However, after enough whiskey to make him lose his vampire constitution it had seemed like the next logical step.
He bent down to retrieve the stake. It was just like Buffy used to make, hand-carved out of a table leg with the initials D.S. painted on it with what looked to be sparkley red nail polish. One guess who it belonged to. She wasn't the type to leave her toys lying about either. He glanced down the ransacked alleyway, the smell of fear was still about. Dawn had been there, he was sure of it. Spike was also sure that wherever Dawn was now, it was not a place she wanted to be.
“Bloody hell! Why do Summers' women find it so bloody easy to get into trouble?” He was beginning to sober up, feeling the grip of new worry as it seized him. Intent on finding whoever took her and making them pay until they cried for mercy. Luckily, he knew just where to start the search.
The vampire spotted his old rival and new enemy in the middle of the crowded club, partying the night away without a care in the world and Buffy in his arms. This was the third place Spike had been tonight, one of the Immortal's regular places though the ponce had so many. The vampire's frustration had grown with each failed search until it nearly boiled over once he had his prey in sight.
Spike moved amongst the dancers, silently stalking his prey, reading to make the first move. If the worry over Dawn wasn't enough to make him want to pounce on the guy and beat the bloody hell out of him, the jealousy at watching the Immortal and Buffy twist around each other, pushing against each other's bodies to the slow hypnotic music was enough to send Spike over the edge.
He pushed forward, weaving through the crowd until he was behind the Immortal. Grabbing the other man by the arm, Spike yanked him around until they were face to face. Spike dug his fingers into the Immortal's neck, pleased with the shocked look in his eyes as he gasped and pleaded for air.
“Need to talk to you,” Spike growled over the music. Pulling the Immortal out the back door and into the empty alleyway. The slayer followed looking less than pleased but Spike paid her little attention as she began screaming at him.
“Who are you?” The Immortal asked as he was shoved against the brick of the building wall.
“Where is she?” Spike shouted, wasting no time answering questions. He felt his face change, growing fangs and forehead ridges. “If you've hurt her, for the rest of your immortal days you're going to wish you could die.”
“A vampire,” He showed no fear, even with Spike holding him against the wall, the vampire's fangs only inches away from his throat. At most he seemed surprised by the sudden intrusion on his time, “What could I have done to have earned this fury?”
“Oh, let's think, shall we?” Spike gave an exasperated laugh, throwing his hands up into the air. Buffy stood beside them, trying to edge her way into the fight and protect her new lover. Spike was having none of that though. Pushing the slayer away, he picked the Immortal up by the lapels of his fancy suit jacket. “First you brainwash Buffy into acting like a brain-dead, lovesick bitch and now--”
“Spike, he did no such thing,” Buffy yelled and ripped Spike away from the fray. As The Immoral slid down the wall, coming to rest on the floor, the slayer threw a solid punch at Spike. “Just where do you get off barging in here, accusing my love of such ridiculous lies? Immi would never do that. He loves me. He treats me like a lady and would never hurt me.” Buffy shot an accusatory finger at him, “Unlike you.”
Spike stood there, with all of the fight knocked out of him. There was nothing he could say to that. Nothing that would make up for the rocky past and worlds of hurt between them. He sighed, “Look, Buffy--”
“He's right,” The Immortal cut in, causing both of them to look at him. He held a hand to his temple, massaging away what looking like bucketfuls of remorse. Brushing himself off, the Immortal tried to make himself look presentable after the previous fight. “Mi amore.. Buffy,” he swallowed, squinting at her guiltily and continued, “I have, how you say, a gift that's also my curse. The power of seduction. I did not mean to use it on you, but before either of us knew it, I had attracted you and caught you in my little web. I was attracted to you before I knew it and feared your desertion, as you are such a rare and beauteous flower but I release you now, my rose. I only hope you will continue to adore me as I do adore you.”
“Oh, this is rich,” Spike grinned. Somewhere deep inside, he felt himself forgive Drusilla for getting mixed up with this man decades earlier. “Can't wait to see how hard she kicks your ass.”
As if on cue, Buffy stepped forward, still appearing a bit dazed from the new reality setting in. Without warning, she delivered a powerful kick to the Immortal's groin. He clutched at the area, a small moan escaping his lips and bent forward.
“I think you made her mad,” Spike smirked at him as he hovered above the Immortal with Buffy right beside him. “Really wouldn't want to be you right now.”
“You put those thoughts in my mind,” Buffy shook her head, trying to clear the rush of images and left over thoughts that had been planted there. “You son of a bitch!”
“Buffy, before you knock Mr. Can't-Get-A-Date-Without-A-Love-Spell unconscious, and boy am I going to enjoy that,” Spike put a hand on her shoulder, drawing Buffy's attention away. As the Immortal tried to recover and prepare for what promised to be one entirely long session of ass-kicking, Spike spoke, “We've got bigger problems. Dawn. Wanker here did something to her. We were researching him--”
“Reading my diary,” Buffy cut in with a deep scowl.
“And that.” Spike nodded with a smirk, “Then suddenly she goes missing. Found her stake three blocks from your apartment. Funny how that happened to her right after we were getting close to finding out what he was up to.”
That threw Buffy into full kick-ass mode. As the Immortal threw his hands into the air to protect his face, she grabbed his wrist. Twisting, she moved behind him until his arm was pinned to his back and he couldn't escape. Seething in his ear, Buffy asked him, “What did you do to my sister?”
“Buffy,” The Immortal spoke through the pain, “I never touched the little one. I swear it. I don't know what the vampire is talking about.”
“The hell you don't,” Spike replied, “I saw it with my own eyes. Alleyway completely ransacked, smell of Dawn's fear in the air-- hit him again Buffy, he's obviously lying.”
“No,” Buffy let go of his arm. “He's lied to me long enough. I know the difference by now.” She suddenly looked lost, “But that means Dawn's still out there and still in trouble.. or worse.” She couldn't say it, couldn't give words to the deep fear growing within her. Spike knew what she was thinking though, had thought it himself in fact. Dawn might not be alive anymore. Another hole could have opened up in the world, creating yet another void in the world.
“This is my fault,” Buffy said softly as she inspected the crime scene. They still had only a few leads to go on; only the stake found in the alleyway and the bag Buffy found in the street that had belonged to Dawn. Who had taken her remained a mystery, along with where they had taken her. “She could be halfway to Bangladesh by now or lying in a ditch somewhere or--”
“Buffy.” Gone were the pet names he had once called her by but even her name on his lips angered Spike. It was the name of a warrior, a slayer, not fit for the tongue of such a deceitful, lying wanker. The only reason they had agreed to bring him along was his connections in that city, they ran deep and were exceedingly numerous. The Immortal spoke again in regretful tones as he surveyed the scene, “Dios mio, if I had but known. I take full responsibility for this.”
“You'd better,” Spike said from where he was inspecting the tracks in the dirt. He could make out a few sneaker prints, but there were too many to figure out where each one had gone. “If you hadn't been playing around in Buffy's head, this never would have happened.” He stood, trying to reign in his hatred for the man who stood before him but finding that task nearly impossible. “Dawn would have been safe and we wouldn't be playing 'Where's Waldo' in the middle of the night in this hellhole of a foreign city.”
“Spike. This isn't the time.” Buffy stepped in between the two of them, just as the vampire was getting ready for another fight. Cutting through the bull, she started getting down to the bulk of the plan. “Dawn's in trouble. We need to stop arguing about who's fault it is and find her before whoever took her does anything else. I found this,” She produced a silver amulet that hung on a black cord. Two twin snakes were curled around the letter N. “Either of you know where this might have come from?”
Spike studied it, but couldn't say much more on the topic. The Immortal was able to produce some knowledge, however. “It looks like a pendant from the Nereus' cult. They were much bigger in Rome a few years ago. I knew their hideout years ago, they threw magnificent parties.” He paused as a frown crossed his face, “But I am not sure they are still there. There were rumors that the Carabineri were to shut them down and torch their lair. I could get better information from my informants.”
Buffy nodded, her mind setting up the plan as she spoke, “Okay, we'll split up then. I'll go with The Immortal to talk to the locals and Spike, you head out to where the Immortal thinks they used to be.”
“Yeah, sure,” Spike rolled his eyes at her. “You go with the one we can't trust while I go do all the dirty work. Are you sure you're not still under his spell?” He tilted his head at her, trying to discern the look in her eyes and whether or not that look was a sober one. All he got was an angry glare in reply. “Okay, fine, I'm going. Just tell me where it is.”
The directions the Immortal had given him led to a building at the edge of the river, an old shipping warehouse if Spike figured it correctly. He wandered into the back of the warehouse, remarking to himself how young cults always chose the most dingiest of places to hang out in. Not that he was much better, since his last residence had been a crypt in the middle of the Sunnydale graveyard, but at least something about that had been classic. This place though, with it's broken windows and boarded up doors was nothing more than run down.
Still, as he noticed the one dock that led straight into the Tiber and was decorated with an elaborate alter, there was no mistaking that they had been there recently. Spike whispered to himself, “this looks to be the place.” He turned back to building. When he'd searching around it, Spike hadn't noticed any entranceways. “Now how to get in and meet the locals?”
As if on cue, three robe-clad humans stepped out from the shadows. They all wore pendants similar to the one Buffy had found in the alleyway. “Well, that solves that problem,” Spike muttered as they came closer. One held a glowing ball of red energy while the other two flanked him with swords held at the ready. The Immortal had warned him not to be taken in by the fact that they were human, they still contained great power. Nevertheless, being the impetuous vampire that he was, Spike took a step closer and within seconds was surrounded by the glowing energy. The fight ended quicker than it had even begun.
Still blindfolded, Dawn was unaware of how long passed each time one of her captives entered her cell. They'd come in to feed her or make her drink some kind of herbal drink that was supposed to be good for those about to be sacrificed to the dark gods. She'd spit it out the first few times, receiving only a slap across the face in return. They barely spoke to her, never told her what was going on or what would happen to her, just hit her if she went against their wishes.
She pulled at her chains that held her in place, each metal bracelet attaching her securely to the wall. They didn't even budge but there was nothing else she could do to control the panic that sat in the pit of her stomach.
The door opened, the same metal clank she'd heard before. Each time one of them came in could be the last, Dawn was unsure of when they would use her key-energy-filled blood for their purposes, whatever those purposes were. Someone entered the cell with her, their presence lingering over her. Even blindfolded, she could feel them hovering over her, waiting to do whatever they wanted to her.
Screaming, she kicked at the figure, hoping to at least inflict some violence before they got their wishes. She made a solid kick to one of its calves but it only muttered out a familiar, “Bloody hell. Not fair attacking your rescuer.”
“Spike?!”
The presence knelt besides her, taking off the blindfold. As the darkness gave way to clear vision, he smirked at her, “Ta da!” He went to work on the chains that held her to the wall. “Figured I would let them capture me just so I could find out where you were.”
Dawn gave a half-hearted laugh, “They caught you too, huh?”
Spike sighed with a bit of defense in his voice, “Well, I was outnumbered. And they had magicks. Big , powerful magicks. Tossed some energy thing at me that put me at their mercy, made me do whatever they wanted.” Dawn heard him add a muttered, “Much like being in love with Buffy.” Then louder he continued, “Thankfully, it wore off. Couldn't take much more of their games.”
The chains snapped under the vampire's strength, breaking off the wall but remaining attached to Dawn's wrists. At least she could move now. “Buffy's coming with back up but its no use waiting for her. Let's say you and me get out of this together.”
“Oh, hell yes!” Dawn wasted no time getting to her feet as soon as Spike broke off her chains. “The only problem is that door. No chance you're strong enough to knock it off its hinges?”
“Nope,” Spike shook his head as he examined the door. “Solid steel, a foot wide. I couldn't budge it.” He paused to think the situation through. “But I've got another plan.”
More waiting followed but it was different this time. With the blindfold gone, Dawn no longer had to fear the unseen. If anyone was going to attack her, she'd be prepared. Plus, with Spike there she knew she would be safe. The summer that Buffy had died, he told her of his promise, to protect Dawn till the end of the world. Somehow, she knew he would always keep it, if not for Buffy's sake then for her own.
To pass the time, Spike had told her everything that happened while she had been held captive, starting with The Immortal's love spell and ending with the fight that had gotten him captured. She was still mulling it over in her head, trying to figure out who to blame for this whole debacle.
“So, he's not evil?” She mused, “He just has like an extremely high charisma attribute?” She received a questioning look from Spike from where he sat against the wall. Dawn laughed at her obvious slip into geekdom. “I must have RPGed far too much with Andrew while he was still living with us. He's rubbed off on me.”
“Least he never made you play an Ork.” Spike said as he let go of his own deep, dark secret. He rubbed his chin, trying to appear as handsome as he could. It wasn't that hard of an impression to pull off. “Told him I was far too good looking to play one, but did he listen?”
There were no walls between them now, just as it had been before Spike and Buffy had their falling out a few years ago. By luck and perseverance, they had made it through the changes life had thrown towards their friendship, arriving in a place where they could be themselves again and trust each other again. Dawn was glad, even at her angriest she had missed his companionship. He was the only one who ever talked to her on the same level, the only one who could see through the smoke and mirrors she sometimes put up.
She heard a guard coming down the hall and the door started opening. It had been a while since anyone had come to check on her, they probably needed to chant something or use some other mumbo-jumbo on her in order to prepare her for the upcoming ritual. Moving into position on the floor, Dawn played the part of the helpless vampire victim. It was all part of Spike's plan, which hopefully would work to get them out of there. Before she closed her eyes completely, Dawn asked, “Ready?”
“Always,” He replied, standing across from the door so that he could meet their captor head on. “Now go back to playing dead, like a nice little girl.” Dawn could tell he was burning for a fight, ever fiber of his body tense and ready to spring. Still, they couldn't move too fast, had to play by the rules of the game and go by the plan.
The door swung open, pouring light into the dark cell. One robed figure stepped forward, holding the ball of energy out in front of him. “Back, beast! Or else I'll make you my puppet like I did before.” Spike raised his eyebrows but obliged, moving to one side of the room so the guard could get a better look at the supposedly dead human lying across the floor. That caught the guard's attention, causing him to gasp, “What have you done, filthy ingrate?! We needed her to be pure!”
“What can I say?” Spike answered, “Got hungry. And she was such a tasty little morsel.”
The guard knelt down besides Dawn, his attention growing unfocused as he lost the ability to maintain the energy ball. He lifted Dawn's neck, checking for spots where the vampire had bitten her. “She must live. We need her for the ritual.” His voice fell away as he found no evidence of violence. There was no blood, no bite marks and what surprised him even more was the fact that her pulse was strong and steady. “What is this?”
Jumping awake, Dawn flicked her eyes open and starred up at him. “Surprise!” Before the guard could react, she lifted one of her wrists. The metal cuff was still attached to it, the piece that Spike was not able to break off. She slammed it into the guard's head with all the force and strength that she possibly could, knocking him out in one easy maneuver. As she untangled herself from the guard and stood up, she brushed herself off and kicked him once for good measure. “Jerk.”
“Nice job, platelet,” Spike said. As he started for the door, he stepped over the guard's unconscious body. “You learn that from Buffy?”
“It must just come naturally to us Summers' women,” Dawn surged with pride at Spike's words. No more did she have to rely solely on others to take care of her, she'd been learning and training, preparing for the moment she took her place as a champion. After giving her handiwork one more glance, she headed out into the hallway.
The warehouse was a maze of doors and hallways, leading into each other and driving Spike and Dawn further away from their cell but no closer to finding the exit. Spike couldn't help wondering when Dawn had grown up. Sure, he had never treated her like a kid, never really thought of one either. Nevertheless, the way she handled the guard gave him a new respect for her skills. They'd grown stronger since Sunnydale.
“Spike,” Dawn nudged him in the ribs. “Look.”
He stopped pondering her inevitable maturity and followed her gaze. The hallways they had been following had led out onto the second floor of an atrium. They were now overlooking a gathering of the robed figures as they chanted to their god. Something about 'Nereus.. lord of all and highest of the mighty'. Basic cultist sheep bleating. If Spike had encountered a few different cults in his time and if he knew anything it was that they were all the same.
“That must be the leader,” Dawn spoke in hushed tones, careful to keep her voice out of earshot from the group below. The man she was speaking of stood on a dais, a little higher than the bottom floor. He waved his hands over the crowd and they stopped, shutting up so he could talk.
“Those who have joined together here, near the river that the mightiest has chosen as his own, they will soon be rewarded for their loyalty. After we sacrifice the key, our god shall rise from the depths and devour the city that has turned its back on us.” He raised his hands again and a cheer arose from the crowd, jubilant and eager to give their god the blood sacrifice they believed it required. “Go fetch me the Key and we will put an end to--”
“Sire,” a voice called from the side of the throng of people. The timid sound came again as Spike searched his field of view for the speaker, “Sire, there appears to be a problem.”
The leader stopped his speech and looked at the one who had dared to interrupt them. Whether the anger that shown in his face was because of the apparent problem or because someone had dared to interrupt him, Spike couldn't tell. Probably a little of each. “What.. 'problem' would that be?”
“The Key. It has escaped, sire.”
The order of the crowd was lost, giving way to chaos as the leader grew red in the face. People were beginning to scatter, coming to look them without even having to be given orders first. They knew what the leader wanted, knew the sacrifice couldn't be halted. Calling to his people, the leader yelled, “Find her! Wherever she is! I want every inch of this place combed until the girl is caught!”
“Uh-oh,” Dawn breathed, reaching for Spike's hand as she stepped back away from the balcony. She started heading down another corridor, with Spike following close behind.
They needed to leave. Now.
“Looks like they figured out our dastardly plan, eh?” Spike cocked his head towards her. He was ready for this, still feeling the need for a fight in his veins. Looking at Dawn though, Spike knew there were more important things to take care of first though. The girl needed to be kept safe. Maybe there would be time for ass kicking later. “Who'd of thought those guards were smart enough to find us out so quickly?”
The first hallway they chose ended in a dead end, causing Dawn to whirl around and curse under her breath. “Who the hell designed this building? It just goes in circles.” By the time they had turned around however, they had been cornered by a half dozen robed figures. “Spike? What do we do now?”
He heard her call to him but her voice sounded like it was coming from miles away. The glowing energy had already surrounded his body, cast by a spell one of the guards had just performed. Not now, he told his unwilling body as it failed to cooperate, can't let them hurt the girl. Can't let them hurt Dawn!
His mind sent words to his mouth, telling Dawn to get out of there, to save herself, that he was sorry for whatever they would try to get him to do to her. His mouth refused to voice those words though, remaining frozen in place like the rest of his body. He hated feeling helpless like this, unable to beat the hell out of those who were threatening them.
“Spike?” Dawn called, her voice drowning out in his muddled mind. “Spike, please, snap out of it.”
He felt something snap within in, shaken from her words and the scared tone in her voice. A migraine started within his brain, dropping him to his knees as he held the temples of his head to keep his brain from together since it seemed like it would explode any moment. “LET ME, GO!!”
The words came out in a startled screaming, as he willed his mouth to work again. He wasn't going to stand by and let them hurt her while he was still there. No matter what spells they tossed at him, no matter their power, he just would not let them hurt Dawn.
At the sight of their failed spell, the guards started backing away. Meanwhile, Dawn knelt besides Spike, holding a hand to his face so he would look at her. She spoke clear words now, unfiltered by any magick, “Are you okay?”
“If you are, then I am.” It was simple. Honest. He stumbled to his feet, still feeling a little wobbly from the effects of their failed effort to control him. She put an arm around him as they watched the guards retreat.
The guards were doing a good job at running away like cowards until they stopped a few feet down the hallway. One by one, they began to fall down, knocked out by a very pissed off slayer and The Immortal, who had finally chosen to get his hands dirty with the fight. A few moments later, Buffy
and The Immortal stood within a pile of scattered unconscious bodies. “Nobody messes with my sister.”
Those were the words Dawn was waiting for, Spike knew. He let her go, steady again in his own skin. As his Nibblet ran to her sister, each of them wrapping their arms around the other, the world began to pull itself back together again.
Everything that had transpired between Dawn and her sister was forgotten the moment she saved both her and Spike. All the hurtful words and forgetting her sister had done had been part of the spell The Immortal had placed on her anyway. Dawn could forgive that. After all, they had gotten into bigger fights before, ones that didn't have the benefit of being waved away with an it-was-because-I-was-under-a-spell excuse.
As they made their way through the warehouse, heading down the steps to the bottom floor where only a few members of the crowd remained, Dawn glanced over to the Immortal. She couldn't bring herself to completely trust him or to vilify him either. Redemption was a funny thing. Dawn wasn't sure if it was fair to allow it to some people and not to others. Time would tell whether he remained in their lives, however.
Buffy was making great headway clearing a path for them to follow. A kick here, a few punches there and Dawn had little to fear from these wanna-be sorcerers. They were only human, after all. Her sister had dealt with great obstacles, had faced down a few apocalypses too. For some reason, she seemed immune to their magic. Dawn chalked it up to the being-the-slayer thing. “Come on, this way,” Buffy ushered them down the stairs that led to the bottom floor.
A few guards were left on the floor, making sure the exit out of the warehouse was blocked off. One of them stepped saw the group and stepped forward, meeting Buffy head on. The slayer frowned, “I'm getting really tired of you freaks!”
The opponents stepped closer, each sizing up the other's moves before jumping into the fray. Buffy lunged forward, landing a solid kick and knocking the guard to the floor. Before he could react, a figure of blue and leather steeped up the dais. In her hand, she held the head of what looked like a man with skin that shimmered like water.
“I have slaughtered the old god you call Nereus.” Illyria spoke to all those who would listen. An audible gasp fell over the cult, as their god's head hung from it's hair in her grasp. The wound at its neck steamed and hissed like it was on fire. “I knew him when he was little more than atoms coming to form a single creature, pieces of dirt forming flesh and the sea giving life to such a failed king of the ocean waves. He was weak, as are you.”
The cultists looked in awe at the one who had destroyed their hopes and dreams. Glancing at each other, they dared one another to say something and make a move against this woman. Instead, they seemed to come to a group consensus that they didn't want to tangle with this warrior. Rushing in all directions, wasting no time in getting the hell out of there before she turned her attention towards them.
“Where the hell did she come from?” Dawn asked Spike, her eyebrows knitted in a curious expression. He only shrugged in response. The last they had seen her, she had been storming out of Dawn's apartment, intent on taking care of some business of hers. This must have been it, Dawn began to piece it together and grimaced as the head dripped some kind of greenish liquid.
Illyria dropped the oozing thing to the floor and stalked over to Dawn. Standing before her, Illyria spoke in reverence, “No one shall come near the Key again while I have conscious breath in this shell's form. You will be safe, now and forever.” Without waiting for Dawn's reply, which was a good idea since she was still at a loss for words when it came to deal with this ex-god, Illyria turned to Spike, “How many points did I score from the death of that Roman?”
Spike paused to do some careful figuring in his head, coming up a rather random answer. “For killing that Roman ass, it raises your score to an even 200.” Then, as their group started walking back home, Dawn heard him add a whispered, “But if you kill this Immortal fellow, the game is yours.”
Other than the sounds of Illyria and the Immortal, who had begun retelling tales of their glory days once they realized they had both been divinities in the early, mucky days of the world, the walk home had been especially quiet. Dawn was okay now, nothing more to fear from the cult that wanted to spill her blood to prepare a feast for their god. And Buffy was beginning to feel like her old self, with just a bit of overcompensation for the days she'd been mentally absent by overmothering Dawn.
They'd be okay.
Spike was glad. They were the two most important humans in his world and they'd seen some really bad days. Both in Rome in the past few weeks and in Sunnydale, which had caved in around them just a few years ago. A part of him needed them to be happy, needed them to be safe but the other part, the one that watched them from a careful distance across the room, knew that if they were okay, then they didn't need him here. His job was done.
He put his coffee mug of warm blood down on the kitchen island, the simple subconscious barrier that stood between Buffy and him. Dawn watched him carefully from her seat at the island. He could tell she was doing the 'quietly watching but seeing everything' bit.
“Thanks for running by the butcher shop, luv,” Spike paused awkwardly and turned away, towards his traveling companion. It was easier than looking at everything he was about to leave behind. “But me and Miss Blue have to be going. There's a ship that'll be taking us to Egypt in a few hours.”
“Ever the masochist, Spike?” Buffy tried to smile and it came out a wrinkly sort of grin. He thought he saw a glimmer of regret in her eyes, followed by just a touch of hope. “You know, you could stay here? The sunny skies of Egypt could wait a while. You can't just fight and run, can you?”
“It's all I've ever done, luv, I don't know any other way.” Spike said with the honesty only a poet could know. She was right though, he was running away, the ship could wait, there'd only be another one. Still, he couldn't fathom sticking around while Buffy and the Immortal figured out whether their relationship was salvageable. Quickly, he asked, “Illyria, ready?”
Illyria pulled her attention away from her conversation with the Immortal, coming to stand beside Spike. She cocked her head towards Dawn, “I have succeeded in my quest to behold the key in all it's infinite wisdom and glory. I am ready to travel onward now, refreshed by the knowledge that the form it has taken is once more preserved.”
“Yep. What she said.” Spike gave a tiny chuckle and began to take his exit.
“Spike?” Buffy called out to him, her voice a siren's sound whose spell he was trying to avoid falling under. He turned towards her again, pulled by his own selfish desire. Love's bitch, once more. “Is there some way I can get in touch with you?” She covered up her own need with excuses plenty, “I mean, in case there an upcoming apocalypse or something?”
“I'll send you a postcard,” He promised. Trying to capture her beauty in his memory, he starred at her a moment and then walked out of her life again. It hurt too much to be there now, so close and yet unable to attain what they once had, he couldn't stay. He needed to start putting distance between them, so for once he followed his head instead of his unbeating heart.
It was raining the next time Spike saw her, on the shipping docks while Illyria and him waited for their transportation, only an hour since he'd left Dawn behind in that apartment. She was carrying an umbrella, the rain never touching her youthful features. Nevertheless, her cheeks were wet and the darkness of the rain clouds seemed to follow her.
“So, you thought you could just pull a 'Come back, Shane' and that would be it?” Dawn brushed her tears away before she neared the two of them. He'd never meant for her to get this hurt. Hell, part of the reason he was leaving was for her own good, didn't need a vampire in the mix mucking up things again.
He said nothing at first, only watched as Illyria studied the raindrops. There was little he could say to apologize for leaving her again, for walking away when they'd had so little time together. “Dawn.. I couldn't stay, not with Buffy and the Immortal wanting to try again, wanting to piece broken things together. Didn't want to be in the way, didn't want to see if they'd find a way.”
“I understand. Everyone else may think of me as a little kid, even now, but I know how it feels when you love a person and they only have eyes for someone else.” She sounded like she spoke from years of experience. “You could never see me while her shadow got in the way, I get that now. I don't blame you for walking away, but I wanted to know that you'd really keep in touch.”
“I promised you a postcard, didn't I? One of those dopey ones with the touristy traps on them, with 'Wish you were here' scrawled on the back.” Then he turned serious and added, “I just need some space, I'll be back.”
“I'll be waiting.”
It was another promise he swore he'd keep.
Written For the CYA Ficathon with this request:
Characters/Pairings you want the story to focus in: Dawn/Spike friendship or romance
Characters/Pairings you want in the story too: Illyria tagging along would be cool, kudos if you can pull it off.
Things you want: Post-NFA, Spike and Dawn capturing their S5 friendship again, and Illyria scoring her some hot Roman ass
Things you don’t want: Dawn being a whiny brat
Extras: Anything you desire