Subject: [BA_Gutter] Dream Once More 34 Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2004 04:13:51 -0000 From: "Tracy" Dream Once More 34 Author: T. Claybourne Rating: up to NC-17 Disclaimer: 20th Century Fox Film Corporation and Mutant Enemy own all the characters except for my little Mary Sue named Emma. I do this for entertainment purposes not money. Comments: Please pretty please! Summary/ Teaser: Buffy comes to LA but things are different. Angel is not as she remembers and Spike is with some one else. Angel's head felt fuzzy. Trying to clear it, he ran his hands through his hair. A few chunks of hair stuck to his hand. It confused him; how could he lose his hair? He was a vampire. Maybe the product he used in it had done something. He wondered where Dru was and saw her chasing a few rats about the sewer in his mind. The power he was feeling was exhilarating. Deep down, he knew he should be wary, but it felt like he was being born again and the thrill was fantastic. His dark and wonderful thoughts made him impatient, but for what? Trying to calm himself, he looked around the room. He found an old book in French that he recognized as one he had read before, but for some reason he could not remember the words. How could he have forgotten them? * * * * * Wes gave Emma a cell phone and told her to hit the send button if she got in trouble. Getting ready to head into the warehouse, Emma purposefully didn't look at Spike, who was still in the tinted- windowed car. She was afraid she might break down. Emma knew in her heart he thought she might die. Her dream from the night before caused her emotions to swirl. She had to get in there, change Angel, and get out. Emma's slayer senses were on overload, almost to the point of feeling like cramping. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind. She tried to focus completely on Angel: no distractions. As she walked into the musty-smelling building, she sensed eyes upon her but couldn't see anyone. She walked confidently in the direction of the location where Buffy had told them she had seen Angel and Dru. Her footsteps pounded in her head. Not exactly as stealthy as Spike, are you? She berated herself. Walking down into the lair, she could see that the other vampires Buffy had mentioned were not present. Emma thought this was strange since it was still daylight but continued on to the bedroom, her mission directing her every move. Angel, bare-chested, sat with his back against the headboard of the bed, reading a book. "What ya reading?" Emma asked nonchalantly. Angel's brows knit together. "Emma?" She smiled at him. "Angel?" Emma used his confusion to raise and fire the dart gun. A dart hit him in the shoulder. "Oops, sorry, guess I'm little nervous over here, or this is a tricky trigger," grinned Emma. Angel stared at the dart and then at Emma, and then he pulled it out and threw it to the floor. Emma used his momentary distraction as another chance to fire, hitting him in the neck. This time Angel growled and tore the dart out of his skin. The growl suddenly brought the other vampires to the room. Angela stood there, smiling at her. The girl looked no different until her face erupted above the brow and her fangs showed. Emma went on instinct then; grabbing two stakes, she staked Angela and another brunette. Angel stood; his game face distracted Emma briefly. The others stood fast as if waiting for Angel's order. He headed her direction. Emma scrambled, dropped down, swung her leg around, and took down the others in one move; then she ran. Buffy had said that the first rule of slaying was staying alive. As Emma hit the stairs, one of the vamps grabbed the tails of the duster and pulled her backwards. The cell phone dropped out of one of its pockets. Emma started to lose her footing but fell into it, using the momentum to flip backwards and throw the vamp to the side. She started up the stairs again. A flaming arrow came from behind her. Turning to look, she saw the vampire Harmony had been dating reloading a crossbow. The next arrow brushed by her so closely that she felt the heat through her leather-clad arm. As Emma jumped up the stairs, she saw Wes, Gunn, Buffy, and Spike spread out from one another working their way towards her. Just as she cleared the top step, she felt something pulling on the bun of her hair. Angel had her and was ready to bite. An arrow caught him in the shoulder, giving Emma a chance to move. She pulled the syringe from her coat and plunged it into Angel's chest as if it were a stake. Angel looked down and saw the empty syringe sticking from his chest; then he fell back, tumbling down the stairs. Emma didn't stop but ran towards the flanking line of friends. Suddenly there were over twenty vampires swarming the line. The fighting became frenzied and Emma fought to move in next to Spike. He was battling four vampires at once. Buffy had already staked three and Wes was just dusting his first. Gunn swung his axe, decapitating one. Dust flew everywhere. Emma watched in horror as the last of the four vamps Spike had been fighting charged Spike, stake in hand. The weapon hit its mark and both vampires disappeared. The flaming arrows were still coming and several small fires had started. The smoke filled the air, making visibility difficult. Emma moved as quickly as she could, fighting off other vamps to make her way to the spot where she had last seen Spike, willing him to not be dust. Last night's dream was fresh in her mind and panic rose within her. She didn't want to go on without him. That brief second of distraction cost her; she felt herself being lifted off the ground by a steely grip on her neck. She tried to turn but the grip was too strong and then fingernails broke through her skin; pain shot through her neck and shoulders. She could feel the blood run down her neck and over the scar Spike had left on her. She was moving, or rather her captor was, and she felt the jerking as they climbed the stairs to the catwalk and warehouse office above. Fred was behind the rest of the Scoobies and Angel's team, covering Willow as she bent to cast a spell. Fred saw Wes get pinned by two vamps, one of whom began to sink his teeth into his neck. Picking up the crossbow, Fred fired and dusted the one who was about to drink. She saw blood on Wes's neck and from that distance he seemed so still. Running towards him, she fired again, taking out the other vamp. Buffy glanced in Wes's direction and saw the vampire holding him disappear. Then she saw his blood, but she heard a crash coming from the direction where she'd last seen Spike. She saw the stake hit his chest and then Spike disappeared through the floor. Seeing Wes with Fred, Buffy ran towards the place where Spike had disappeared. Gunn managed to take down several of the vampires, including Jareth. Suddenly, everything grew quiet as a few of the other vamps retreated into the sewers. Buffy came upon a large hole in the warehouse floor and looked down into it. She saw an arm and, finally, platinum hair. Grasping the arm, she pulled Spike up. The stake had penetrated his chest but had missed his heart. He fell to his knees on the floor in front of her. "Spike? Spike?!" she cried. His eyes fluttered open, then grew wide. Buffy looked to where he was staring. There, high in the rafters on a catwalk, Drusilla stood, holding Emma. Spike could see the blood dripping from Emma's neck. He pulled the stake from himself, growling at the pain. Emma couldn't see down; Drusilla's grip made it impossible. She tried to envision what was happening but she just kept seeing Spike disappear in her mind. The sun was still up, so how long had they been here? Where had all the other vamps come from? Did she manage to save Angel? She hung limp; it was easier and hurt less, and she knew Drusilla had to use more strength to hold her that way. Suddenly everything went quiet. Emma could hear footsteps coming quickly up the stairs. Someone must be trying to save her. She didn't care, though. Then she heard his angry voice. "Dru, what do you think you're doing?" "Spike," Emma croaked as Dru's nails dug in further. "Playing with your slayer. She and I will be great friends; inn't she beautiful?" "Dru, what do you want? Let her live and you can have it." "No, I want our family! This one, she stole you and daddy and grandpappa; now who do I have?" "Me, love, you still have me." Emma heard him and her heart broke. He sounded so sincere, not panicked or like he was acting. He did still love Drusilla; hadn't he let her live earlier today? "Do I, sweet William? But won't it be fun, all of us together? We will fight for your attention; won't you enjoy that. I know best, though. I'll have you most." Emma struggled then. Drusilla was talking as though she would turn her. Her struggling distracted Drusilla, but not for long enough. Spike rushed his sire but she laughed and stepped away. Spike flew over the railing and only stopped himself from falling with one hand. His wounds screamed with pain and he felt close to passing out. He worked through it; he knew he had to save Emma. "Spike?" Drusilla cocked her head and stared at him. "Why does she have your coat?" Spike tried to pull himself up, but Drusilla stomped on his hand, breaking his fingers and causing him to almost lose his grip. He was still hanging one-handed. "Oooh, you naughty little boy. Gave her a taste, did you? Gave her your mark. I see it in her eyes and smell it in your blood." Buffy and the rest of the slaying crew were heading up the stairs but as Gunn reached the top Drusilla turned his direction. "Look at me." she said and pointed to her eyes. Gunn did as told and then his sister appeared. He stopped cold, leaving the others to try and push by him. Gunn watched as his sister sank her teeth into Emma's throat. This woke him and he saw it was Drusilla. "No!" yelled Spike as he watched Drusilla drain his Emma. He had a rush of adrenaline and pulled himself up and over the railing, but Drusilla jumped past him and seemed to glide effortlessly to the warehouse floor, still carrying Emma. She smiled, her fangs showing up at him. Buffy was closest to where Drusilla and Emma had landed, so she jumped to stop Drusilla but landed too hard and felt her ankle give out. She watched as Drusilla ripped her own dress to expose her chest. Buffy had a stake in her other had and she moved to stop what Drusilla was doing. Too late; the vampire had cut her chest just below her shoulder and pulled Emma to the cut. Drusilla held the slayer to her as if she were a baby. Drusilla turned, still holding Emma, and ran down the stairs to the basement, jumping over the unconscious Angel and disappearing. Buffy ran after her, trying to ignore the pain in her ankle although it slowed her down a bit, but she couldn't see which way Drusilla had gone. * * * * * "She was right, you know," Spike said as Willow dressed his wounds. "It was the coat; she said it hadn't brought the last slayer luck." "Spike, it wasn't the coat, it was Drusilla," Willow insisted. It had taken quite a bit of Giles's dutyfree scotch to get him to let her tend to him. "Wish that damn spell would work, Red." "Me too. I could try it, but…" "No," Angel said. "One cursed and souled vampire in the world is enough. Besides, we can't do that to Emma; she doesn't deserve to suffer the curse as I do." Spike hadn't said a word to Angel since he had regained consciousness. Angel's blood had tested clear of the Master's DNA, and the First hadn't even appeared; it must have lost all its power when Angel discovered its hold on him. "I know you blame me, Spike, but…" "No, I blame myself. Should have killed Dru when she came visiting earlier today." .Buffy approached. "What, Dru was here in the hotel again?" Spike looked away; her accusing eyes were too much for him. "Why didn't you tell us?" "I did, slayer. Told your beau, anyway; thought he would…" Buffy turned and looked at Wes. "Time was of the essence and it didn't seem important since we were moving in on Angel." Buffy shook her head in disappointment. Fred spoke then. "Even if he had told you, how would it have made a difference?" "Did Emma know?" Buffy asked. "Yeah," Spike answered. "Well, we have to do something. Willow, can you do a locator spell? Maybe we can get to her before she rises." Angel didn't say anything but walked out into the night air. Emma was going to die for a third time this week, all because of him. He went to his car and sat behind the wheel. He started to drive, not knowing where or to what he was heading. Emma's face right before she had shot him with the dart gun came to his mind. No, he couldn't let this happen, not a third death for her. Angel had only met one other slayer that had been turned. She had been crazy, literally, killing humans to feed on and vampires because of her calling. Emma didn't need that type of life either. Before he knew it, he was outside the long-term care facility where Cordy lay. He snuck in through the back door. He was here; he might as well say hi. Even if Cordy couldn't hear him, he'd feel better. * * * * * Willow had to gather the items she needed for the locator spell. They all headed to Wolfram and Hart to get them and to look into alternatives while Willow set the spell up. Wes took Giles with him to his office, where they pored over books, trying to find some way to change the outcome of Emma being turned. Fred sat in a chair in Wes's office, skimming books as well. Spike paced about; none of them had felt comfortable leaving him on his own. Gunn went to his own office, saying he would search his resources. Gunn burst through the door to Wes's office a few minutes later. "I found something. A contract, with a Lurker demon." "A contract with a Lurker demon?" asked Wes "Lurker demon gave me my soul back," stated Spike. "Right, they have the power to grant wishes." "I had to go through trials. `M not thinking Emma, a newly risen demon, is going to go for that." Spike looked out at the night sky. "She won't have to. Contract is for the Lurker to provide Wolfram and Hart with a favor any time they choose. Seems they did some interdimensional legal work for it. For the first time since the warehouse battle they saw just a small bit of hope in Spike's eyes. "We still have to get the demon here and find Emma before she can rise," Spike stated flatly, his voice devoid of hope. Giles was the one to say, "Well, let's do it." TBC