Taking The Hard Way Out
PART: 1/?
AUTHOR: Pandora aka Golden Spike aka InFury8ed
FEEDBACK: Spike-is-Sexy@att.net
______________________________________________________________________________
"Just a moment. It is here somewhere!" Giles told them as he shuffled through
the papers on the library table. He kept running his hand through his hair, as
if he had found something extremely important. While he was doing this, the gang
lounged about in different places, thinking about anything BUT what Giles was
saying.
**I really need to do my nails tonight,** Cordy realized as she examined her
hands.
**I wonder if Cordy is thinking about sex,** thought Xander as he watched his
girlfriend look at her nails.
**Willow. Sex.** Oz mused as he looked at the pretty redhead seated next to him.
**We had sex. We had SEX! We HAD SEX! Oz and I HAD sex. I can't believe that Oz
and I had sex! I have to talk to Buffy. I just have to!** Willow thought as she
turned her head to look at her best friend.
**Hmmm.. I didn't know he was so James Spader-like. If he wasn't a vampire, he
could be a movie star, I'm sure,** Buffy speculated as she sat on the stairs
near Angel, who was standing there against the wall, looking broody as usual.
She turned to look at him, then realized what she had just been thinking. She
gasped and brought her hand up to her mouth. **OH MY GOD! I did NOT just think
of Spike in that way. No way. I did not. God, I SO have to talk to Willow.**
Her gasp caused Angel to look at her. His mind had been blank, other than
feeling guilty for wanting this innocent golden girl, and her gasp had
interrupted this pleasant, not-there, sensation. Looking at her caused his mind
to start up again, though. **I love this girl. I do. But I don't deserve her. I
don't. I should leave her alone, but I can't stay away from her. I need to
suffer. I CAN'T be happy...---** his brooding cogitations were suddenly broken
off, interrupted by Giles who had yelled out to the assembled group in his
excitement.
"Yes, I knew it was here!" He started waving his hands in the air, with a small
piece of ragged parchment held up in his right hand. "This is most profound!
Most. You will all be extremely surprised by this..." his voice trailed off as
he brought his hand down to have another look at the paper and then seemed to be
stopped in his tracks.
"Uh, Giles... could you.. maybe.. reveal the deal?" Buffy asked her watcher, and
upon seeing his inability to translate her words, added, "You know, let us in on
your little thrill? Y'know, the thingie you found." **And please hurry. I HAVE
to talk to Willow right now.**
"Uh, yes, that is right." He fumbled around with his glasses and then began
reading the words on the paper.
"There will come a day
When the Slayer of Gold
Meets the One of the Night
Who is not as he seems
And although they are lost
They shall be found
When they stand together
On holy ground."
"Uhm, that's nice," Buffy responded, "but what's it have to do with us?"
"Well, Buffy, you are the Slayer of Gold," Giles told her.
"Yeah, Buffy, your hair is sorta golden," Willow added her words in agreement
with Giles.
The rest of the group sounded out with 'yeahs' to show they also agreed.
"Okay, fine. I'm the Golden Slayer. So, that must mean that Angel is the One of
the Night, right?" Seeing Giles nod his head, she continued. "Well, even if this
is all true, what is supposed to happen when we stand on this ground?"
Giles took off his glasses and rubbed them with his handerchief. "I don't know.
Part of the page has been ripped off, and...unfortunately, this is all that I
have right now. But based on our past experiences with prophecies, we DO need to
find out what it means. After all, a dire situation will undoubtedly occur if we
don't discover what needs to be done."
At his words, Buffy sighed. She had hoped for an early night, but it looked as
if they would be stuck here. She was, therefore, quite surprised when she heard
his next words.
"There is nothing more that you can do here tonight. I suggest you all go home
and come back in the morning. I need to ring the Watcher's Council to get some
more information. I'll see you all bright and early," Giles finished his
statement and started gathering his papers together in order to head to his
apartment. Soon the gathered group was walking out the door.
No one noticed a flickering gold light shoot across the top of the room...
***
When they reached Buffy's house, both girls said goodbye to Oz and headed up the
stairs. Joyce was out of town on business, so the two had the house to
themselves. They quickly changed into their PJ's and went to her room. As soon
as the door was closed, Willow pounced on the bed.
"Oh my God, Buffy. You'll never guess what happened. What I did!" she babbled.
"Okay, calm down, Wil." Buffy laughed at her friend's antics. "What's the big
secret, 'cause I've got one of my own," she told her with a sly grin on her
face.
"What did you do, Buffy?" Wil questioned.
"No, you go first."
"No, you..."
"C'mon, Wil, I can tell it's something mega important. So...let drip," Buffy
told her friend while waiting expectantly. She watched as Willow changed from
white to red and back to white and was amused at her friend's obvious
embarrassment. Finally, the redhead worked up the courage and opened her mouth
to speak.
"Well, Oz and I..we.. well.." Buffy laughed out loud at her friend's
discomfiture.
"You know, Wil, the coffee will never get made this way and it IS a slow drip,"
she teased.
"Ha ha. Hold your horses." Willow took in a breath, then started to tell Buffy
her news, but before she could finish the second word, a flickering gold light
shot through the room and both girls were swept up in it. All across Sunnydale,
the same light appeared in select rooms at seven other residences and those who
were in the rooms vanished...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PART: 2/?
AUTHOR: DivaDelilah
FEEDBACK: divadelilah@aol.com
______________________________________________________________________________
The occupants of the ornate lobby looked at each other in
complete disbelief. Ignoring their innate reactions to panic,
they all gazed about the room before them. It had high cathedral
ceilings, and lush décor, including gilded paneling, and velvet
curtains blocking any light from coming in. The front desk
loomed before them, a huge monstrosity of polished cherry wood
with a mirrored top. Everything gleamed like new, though it was
obviously pre-Revolutionary in era.
Giles stared at the glimpse of history before him. **Was this
some sort of spell? A minute ago I was in my flat, and now...I'm
in an inn that could easily date back to Angel's pre-vampire
days.** He looked at the group surrounding him, noting all of
his young charges were there as well as Angel.... and Spike?!?
**What in God's name is 'he' doing here?**
Buffy looked around her in complete confusion. A moment ago, she
and Willow were drinking wine coolers and starting to dish about
men. They hadn't gotten to either of their 'important secrets',
but they were well on their way when that little firefly of
light... **Oh, no! Pleeeeeease tell me I didn't start some silly
spell by drinking. I'll never do it again, I promise, she
thought glancing worriedly around the room.** Her Slayer sense
pricked up and she located Angel, who gave her one of his gentle
smiles. She smiled back weakly, her mind fleeting to her earlier
daydream about Spike, and her cheeks flushing.
"Buffy, are you okay?" Willow asked, noting her friend's red
face. At Buffy's nod, she cleared her throat. "Well, good,
because if you hadn't noticed, Spike and Drusilla are hanging
out over there in that corner."
"What?" Buffy asked loudly, her face going aflame again. She
looked over where Willow had indicated and groaned. She got up
and went to the desk, banging her head on its shiny surface in
frustration. "Why me? Why me?" she muttered.
Spike relinquished his place holding up the wall, and walked
over to Buffy. "Well, well. What has my least favorite Slayer
done to muck up my life this time?" He looked down at her and
when her eyes met his, he felt a jolt of electricity run through
him. Her breath had sped up along with her heart rate, and his
grin spread. In the barest of whispers, he said, "Something
bothering you, Buffy?"
At the sound of him saying her real name, she gasped. Everyone
turned to look at her, and she backhanded him to save face.
"Spike, I don't know what the hell you and that looney tune are
doing here, and for that matter, I don't even know why 'we' are
here. So...Get. Out. Of. My. Face."
Giles looked at the two blondes warily, then interrupted. "If I
may..." When the group turned to look at him, he continued. "I
think this may have to do with the prophecy we read earlier.
While this may be completely random and perpetrated by any
number of Buffy's enemies, I think the timing is too
coincidental."
"Great. So you bloody white hats go all Reading Rainbow, and me
an Princess are stuck here...why?" he asked, his voice dripping
with sarcasm.
Buffy's eyes skittered to the vampiress, who was still lurking
in the corner clutching her doll. She seemed agitated, but since
she wasn't doing anything... **Let looney dogs lie, I always
say.** "Well what the hell is this place and what does it have
to do with me and Angel?" she asked impatiently.
"Even better. Some lovey dovey Romeo and Juliet rot," Spike
muttered.
A small man appeared behind the desk and cleared his throat. "Do
you have reservations?"
Cordelia looked at him as if he had three heads. "Duh. Do we
'look' like we're here for the B&B?"
The man clucked his tongue and turned to a book that appeared
out of nowhere. "There are several reservations made, and the
hotel is booked completely. Unless you are some of the parties
listed...you'll have to leave," he replied gravely.
"Good. It's settled then. We'll all go home, and Spike and the
looney can stay here forever," Xander said, rubbing his hands
together. "Now, my good man, if you'll just show me the door..."
"Wait! Did you say a Mr. Spike?"
Spike rolled his eyes. "There's no Mister about it, mate. I'm
Spike; can I help you?" he said, vamping out.
The man tsked again. "No need to be rude. I have your room all
ready. I'm sure the others are part of this weekend's party as
well then. If you could just sign here for your room...I'll get
your keys."
Spike stalked over to the desk and growled. "Let me guess. We're
stuck here until the prophecy's fulfilled? I'm gonna puke if I
have to watch Peaches and Slutty paw each other for a whole
weekend." He leaned over the register to sign, ignoring Buffy
and Angel's threats in the background. His eyes lit up when he
read the room listings. **Now 'this' is interesting...**
Pretending to be angry, he pounded his fist on the desk. "What
in the bloody hell is wrong with this thing? The names for my
room should be Spike and Drusilla. Not Spike and the Slayer! Are
you out of your bleedin mind?"
"What? No way! He'll kill her. She won't be able to sleep!"
Angel shouted.
Dru started rocking in the corner, moaning to herself. "Wrong...
it's all wrong... my daddy...my Spike....wrong!" she screeched.
Spike looked at the man. "I have to take care of her. She's
helpless, and I'm the only one who cares. Fix it, 'now'." For
emphasis, he grabbed the man's lapels and pulled him face to
face with his demon.
The man sighed, flicking a finger at the vampire, making him fly
across the room and land on a chaise lounge. "The room
arrangements are pre-made and absolutely unchangeable. You will
have to deal with it. This house has enough magick in it to make
sure the wishes of its owners are followed, and I suggest not
tempting them to get angry. Getting angry with me is no help,
either, because I am merely the desk clerk, nothing more,
nothing less."
"And how the bloody hell are we supposed to eat? Not likely we
can snack on the kiddies here without a heavy penalty I
suppose." Spike growled from his landing spot.
"You will find that your needs will be met as the time comes.
You will not even feel the need to hunt; therefore, everyone is
safe in Huntington Manor. You have a big weekend ahead of you,
so I suggest you make you way to your rooms and retire for the
afternoon."
Angel stomped up to the desk, his demon sliding into place. "And
whom, exactly, am I rooming with?" he demanded.
"I have you with a Miss Drusilla. Room 237. Here's your keys,
and take the stairs to the landing...make a right...follow the
numbers from there. Who's next?" he replied, moving on
efficiently.
Angel growled in frustration, and Buffy put her arm on his
comfortingly. "I'll be okay. I don't think even Spike is evil
enough to kill me while I can't fight back. Right, bleach
brain?" she asked, her voice daring him not to agree.
"Oh bloody hell. Right, Slayer. No killing at...moments where I
have the unfair advantage. Scout's honor," he said smiling in a
way that melted her bones.
Somehow, Buffy knew he wasn't just talking about when she was
asleep. And for some reason, it excited her. A lot. Pushing
those thoughts aside, she smiled up at her love. "So grab
yourself a looney and I'll see you later. Okay?"
He nodded, and Drusilla clapped her hands excitedly, frolicking
towards the staircase.
"I think someone must have been a good little girl for Daddy to
come home!" she cried as she followed him.
Spike caught himself just in time to keep from laughing. **It's
been so long since Peaches has had to deal with her. To be a fly
on that wall...** Then his thoughts turned back to his own
predicament. Buffy was giving him death stares from over by the
desk. He sighed and grabbed the keys from the man, waiting for
him to give them instructions.
"Room 230. Up the stairs, take a left, the suite all the way on
the end. Next?"
"Suite?" Buffy exclaimed. "I'm am sooooooo hoping there's a big
bathtub full of bubbles waiting for me."
She closed her eyes, and the expression on her face almost made
Spike wish he'd been responsible for it. It was one of pure
ecstasy. Shaking his head free of those disturbing thoughts, he
followed the Slayer up the stairs to what surely would be the
end of him.
Buffy whispered in a very low voice. "Try anything and you fit
in an ashtray. Got it?"
"Right. Like I'd want to dirty one finger on your skinny little
body," he muttered.
Buffy's surprised eyes flew up to his. "I meant... I didn't
mean... No blood drinking. No 'grr'," she finished, trailing
off.
Spike took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "S'what I
meant, Bu-Slayer. No... what you said."
Buffy noticed her body flaring in reaction to the gravelly tone
of his voice and swallowed hard. **What is with me lately? First
I defile my favorite underwear while fighting him, then I
daydream about it during research time, and now I'm just about
ready to jump his sexy undead bones! Did I say sexy? Bad Buffy!
Bad! Bad!** She reached out and opened the door to their room,
her eyes flying open when she saw their surroundings. After her
shock died down, she noted Xander and Cordy taking the next room
over, Giles heading towards Angel's hallway, and Willow and Oz
opening the door between the two. Thinking quickly, she poked
Spike. "Spike?"
"Yeah, luv?" he asked distractedly. For some reason, he felt
compelled to draw a bubble bath in the huge claw footed tub in
the bathroom.
"Can you... go check on Drusilla? I need to talk to Willow for a
little while. Please?"
She made a doe eyed face at him that resembled the pouty one
Drusilla gave him when she wanted something. He rolled his eyes,
and cursed his bloody poofiness. "Sure, Slayer. I'll just... be
gone for awhile. You... do whatever." He stalked out of the
room, fighting the urge to do something stupid, duster flapping
behind him.
Buffy watched, trying to figure out what she was feeling, and
moreover, why she was feeling it. Sighing at the complexity of
her life, she walked over and knocked on Willow's door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PART: 3/?
AUTHOR: Richess a.k.a. A.N.H. Richards
FEEDBACK: richess78@hotmail.com
______________________________________________________________________________
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Buffy waited a couple of seconds then impatiently knocked again
adding, "Willow!" She had to talk to someone level-headed. **I
need someone to tell me that lusting after Spike is completely
insane.**
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Just a second!" Willow called.
Buffy heard a brief scurrying around and some hushed whispers.
Suddenly, the door flung open, and Willow emerged, smiling like
a cat that had just swallowed a canary.
"Took you long enough to answer the door. What were you guys
doing?"
"Um...we were uhm...uhmm looking around the room."
"Not much to tour, Wil. Four walls, a bed, a bathroom, and a
balcony," Buffy replied, looking suspiciously over Willow's
shoulder.
"Why don't we talk about this somewhere else?" Willow gulped
nervously, straightening out her pajama top.
"Ok, Wils."
The two walked the short distance and entered Buffy's room.
"It's cold in here" Willow commented offhandedly, noting the air
visibly leaving her lips.
"Yeah it wasn't a minute ago," Buffy replied, shivering. "I wish
it would warm up in here." **Even better, I wish Spike would
come and warm me up. Bad Buffy!**
Almost instantly the room temperature changed. The teens looked
at each other warily then sat down on the plush bed.
"This place is creepy," Willow muttered, looking at the dark
wallpaper.
"I know."
"But you and Spike in a room together that must be even
scarier." Willow looked around the Victorian-styled layout
thoughtfully. "One bed. That should be interesting. You know,
you and Spike. I mean, he is sexy and hot and boy I would jump
him in a heartbeat. I sure know that you want to."
"WHAT?!" Buffy shrieked, shaking her head, forcing her mind back
to reality.
"What what?" Willow asked, standing in the doorway of her room.
"I asked you to hold on a sec. Then you like stared at me and
wouldn't talk. Are you okay, Buffy?"
Oz peered over the redhead's shoulder, examining the Slayer.
"Yeah, I think so," the Slayer answered, sounding unsure.
"I'll be back in a bit, Oz." Willow gave her beau a quick peck
on the cheek, grabbed her best friend's hand, and lead Buffy
back to the Slayer's hotel room.
***
"Okay, what was that about Buffy?"
"I dunno; it was weird. I don't want to talk about it. What I'd
rather talk about is the discussion that was about to happen at
my house before we were so rudely transported into the vacation
from Hell."
"Ohh, that."
"Weren't you going to tell me something about you and Oz?
Something very important, if I remember correctly," Buffy
teased.
Willow blushed as red as her hair. "I can't believe that you're
staying in a room with Spike." **How am I supposed to tell Buffy
about me and Oz if I'm scared witless?**
"It's way wiggy, but I BELIEVE we were talking about you, Ms.
Rosenberg," Buffy said sternly.
"Ooooooh you got a four poster bed. Wouldn't that be useful if
you and Spike were being naughty.... Not that... you and Spike
would ever... I mean..."
Buffy's eyes widened with shock, then she quickly regained her
composure. "Avoiding subject much? Come on, Willow. Spill!"
Buffy pursed her lips, and Willow knew that she meant business.
"Well, you see, me and Oz. I mean, Oz and I.... Well, we....
Kind of ... sort of...."
Buffy leaned in toward her friend, eagerly awaiting what had to
be a juicy confession.
"OzandIkindofhadsex," Willow said, jumbling her words so much it
was almost unintelligible.
"No way! Really?"
At Willow's small nod, Buffy grinned, intrigued.
"So how was it? Did it hurt? Was it fun? Was it anything like
the book with the vampires we found in Giles' locked cabinet? I
mean, without the biting and the blood and stuff," she amended
quickly.
"It was good. Well, I mean the first time, it kinda hurt, you
know. The next few times, it's like 'whoa', and it gets so much
better. Especially if the guy knows what he's doing, like Oz
does," Willow said, her face aflame.
"TIMES?! Willow, you slut!" Buffy said, giggling as she teased
her friend. **It's so unfair! I wanted to be the first of us to
'do it' and now Willow and Xander both beat me. You'd think with
all his experience, Angel would be more eager to...experiment,
but he treats me like a little girl. I bet Spike would teach me
and how! Mmmmm... ** Her eyes flew open and she almost gasped at
her train of thoughts. "So I mean... wow I can't even think. I
mean. Wow. Now tell me everything, knowledge girl. And I mean
everything -- the where, the when, the how, the size; I mean it
all."
"Buffy!" Willow laughed.
***
Spike looked at the door briefly; he lifted his hand to knock
but didn't bother.
"Peaches!" The Blonde vampire exclaimed as he entered the room.
"So what have you and my Dru...."
Spike stopped mid-sentence and mid-stride as he saw Angel
sitting Indian style brushing Miss Edith's hair. He couldn't
help but laugh when saw Dru dancing around the room with an
imaginary partner.
"Now that's what I always envisioned you as Angelus, a
hairdresser," Spike scoffed.
"Oh shut up, Spike." Angel growled, as he got up and handed Miss
Edith back to Drusilla who just continued to dance.
"Who are you dancing with, Pet?" Spike asked, turning his
attention to the vampiress.
"A ghost." She replied simply. "The spirit tells naughty lies.
Naughty. Naughty lies." Then she began to hum a vaguely familiar
tune that Spike couldn't quite put a fix on. "Daddy doesn't
believe in the ghosts. Daddy is evil with his dirty little soul;
he killed mummy, and now mummy is away in that little box. Heart
going thump, thump. Thump, thump."
Angel sighed heavily. "I'm going to go check on Buffy."
"Can't, mate, she's in with Red."
"Her name is Willow."
"I don't bloody care what her..."
Drusilla stopped dancing and began to moan wildly before
dropping to the floor. Both Spike and Angel reached her side at
the same time.
"What is it, Pet, what do you see?" Spike asked softly.
"The naughty spirits want to play. They want to play with fire
and light." Dru snuggled closer to Angel, making Spike cringe.
**Typical. I stay with this bloody loon for more then a century,
and she turns to him still. The story of my life.** "They are
everywhere; even light can't fight them." Her insane laugh made
Angel pull away from her. "The light is dimming. The fire will
be the first to be lost. I like the spirits. They are very, very
bad. " She gnashed her teeth toward Angel who leapt back.
A scream pierced the air. Angel was the first out of the door as
all of the other hotel room doors opened except one.
"What's going on?" Xander stepped out holding Cordelia's hand.
"Where's Buffy? What room, Spike?" Angel turned toward the
younger vampire.
"I told you, she's with... Fire... And Light," Spike whispered.
Dru clapped wildly behind him, at which both vampires turned
around. "That's my Spike. Always the smart one."
"Buffy and Willow." Angel ran down the hallway and burst through
the door, only to be thrown back into the opposite wall by the
invisible barrier and knocked out cold.
"My Angel!" Dru screeched, while running toward her sire.
"Stay inside everyone," Giles commanded as a huge gust of wind
blew through the hallway.
"Willow's in there." Oz reached the doorway only to be toppled
by Willow who had been brought to the door by an unseen hand.
Spike stepped over the couple to see Buffy being thrown onto the
open balcony. Buffy's arms flailed as she tried to regain her
balance. Spike watched in horror as Buffy began to go over the
side of the balcony. He used his vampiric speed to reach her,
but it wasn't in time as she went over the balcony. He barely
caught her arm. Her hazel eyes looked up wildly at him. Nothing
was said between the vampire and the Slayer. He gripped her tiny
hand tightly before lifting her up over the balcony edge.
He instinctively wrapped his arms around her; the Slayer hissed
in pain at the contact. **Bloody Hell, Mate! This IS your mortal
enemy!**
"What's wrong, Pe...Slayer?" Spike let go of her and looked at
her as if she had grown a second head.
"My shoulder," Buffy gritted between her teeth. **God, I thought
that maybe for a second. He might have...nah never mind, Buffy.
Never gonna happen. It felt so good being in his arms.
Really...** "Ouch. That hurts."
"Your shoulder is cut. Take off your top."
Buffy was flabbergasted. "What? No!"
Their room door suddenly slammed, the lights dimmed and
flickered before returning to normal. They both looked at each
other.
"I think that means it's bedtime, love. Hopefully, no more big
bads will come out tonight."
"But Willow..."
"She's with her rock star, and the others will be fine. So let
me have a look at it. And hopefully there will be some first-aid
equipment around here."
"Thanks for the help out there, Spike. But I thought I made
myself clear. No." She kept her back toward him.
"Fine, suit yourself. Bleed to death; see if I care." He walked
toward an armoire to see it lined with black jeans, black cotton
T-shirt's and red-silk shirts. "Figures."
Buffy watched as he angrily snatched a pair of jeans and headed
toward the bathroom. She sighed as she heard the pipes groan at
the pressure from the shower. She carefully laid back on the bed
and suddenly felt the events of the last few minutes. But the
thought of Spike naked in a shower quickly took that tiredness
out of her. **God, Buffy can you be anymore of a horn dog? The
guy that you have been lusting after since well...forever. Ok,
ok not forever but since that night in the alley. Now he's a
behind a door naked and wet. Where is rational Buffy when she's
needed? I mean some invisible thing nearly killed me, maybe it's
like Marcy. An invisible person. That would explain everything.
Oh, get a grip, Summers. What if it's ghosts? Not like I haven't
experienced that before or it could be a ... Oh my god.**
Spike walked out of the bathroom glistening in water droplets, a
towel wrapped snugly around his waist. His muscular chest
unmoving and splayed with perfectly precisioned muscles. The
Slayer quickly averted her eyes.
"Here!" He handed her the first-aid kit before quickly walking
back into the bathroom, leaving her to take care of the injury
herself, just as she wished.
Parts 4-6: Kira, Raven & Shelby
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