The Crypt: Kindred Series Book Two: The Past Revisited by DizzyB

Although he was beyond pissed, Spike had to stop in an entirely male bout of appreciation when Tessa entered the chamber. How he had never made the connection all those nights he'd dreamed of the cloaked woman beckoning him further down the path was still a mystery. He should have recognized her immediately regardless of the time that had passed since he'd last seen her. No one moved like she did, no one. Her walk was regal and sexy and confident and gave you the impression that she was the Queen of the Universe. But then again that quite possibly is Tessa's title, so not so surprising is it? She approached him without saying anything until she was directly in front of him. Only then did he notice the bottle of beer in her hand. As she offered it to him, she smiled knowingly. "Something vexes you, dear heart?"

Spike growled and swiped the beer from her hand. Raising it to his mouth and gulping down the refreshing taste brought a groan of remembered pleasure to his lips and calmed his ire considerably. When he was finished wiping his mouth, he stared at her steadily and repeated his request in a friendlier, but no less demanding manner. "Tessa, please tell me what the bloody hell is going on here before I lose my mind."

"Why, William, haven't you figured it out yet?"

"Don't call me that. I'm not bloody William."

"Is that so?"

"YES, it's bloody so! The ridiculous git down there screwing up my life and my image is William."

"Well, if he's William, then who are you?"

"You damn well know who I am, woman. I'm Spike, the Big Bad, part of the Scourge of Europe."

"Really? So you feel like marauding and murdering, raping and pillaging, leaving piles of savaged bodies in your wake?"

The images her words brought to mind sickened him and he responded vehemently. "Bloody hell, NO. I don't want to do those things. Just the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach. How can you ask that of me after..." He paused as something he'd said hit him. "Wait just one minute. There's nothing in me that desires any of that, and while I don't do that anymore and the soul harps on that p'ticular part of my past heavily...my demon has never regretted that time. Why don't I hear or feel that now? I... Bollocks!" The truth smacked him abruptly between the eyes and he gawked at Tessa as he asked slowly. "Tessa, where exactly is my demon?"

"Well done. I knew you'd figure it out eventually." Tessa grinned approvingly at him as she walked over to the scrying pool again and leaned over the basin. She waved her fingers over it and mist began to rise from the surface. "Come and see, dear one. Come and see."

A shiver of trepidation ran through him, but Spike walked quickly over and risked a glance at the pool. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd expected to see, but it certainly wasn't this. His bloody demon was sound asleep on what had to be the most comfortable looking bed he'd ever seen in his life or unlife. Not soddin' fair. Why does he get the comfy bed?

Tessa grinned at him almost as if she'd read his thoughts. "He is at rest, my darling, and he will remain that way until the time comes for him to awaken. Until then he shall renew and replenish his strength."

Multiple thoughts swirled through his mind in rapid fashion, but the overwhelming one was... "I don't get it."

Tessa waved her fingers over the basin and the scene changed again to show Harris and William sitting down at a table with beers in hand. She looked at him in a penetrating manner and said simply. "Tell me what you see."

She waited patiently while he studied the scene below. Since he'd witnessed Harris' invitation earlier, Spike wasn't as freaked out as he would have expected by the image before him. He took his time studying the nuances of each man, facial expressions, body language, the setting. When he looked up again, he said "I see William and Harris havin' drinks together. Looks like a serious discussion, and they both look a bit uncomfortable, but Harris doesn't look like he wants to murder anyone. And that's a first for him when he's around me...in any version of m'self, that is."

"Exactly. Alexander does not wish to do you any harm. As a matter of fact, he's attempting to understand things better..." Her explanation was interrupted by a loud snort and a muttered 'That's a first' from Spike. "Hush now. Alexander sees a lot of himself in William and would actually like to be his friend, but is scared to do so."

That was a startling proposal to Spike and he swiveled to stare back into the basin again. The men had apparently ordered dinner and seemed more relaxed together as they ate and talked. He was perplexed by this development. It had honestly never occurred to Spike that he and Harris could be real friends under any circumstances. Grudgingly work together for the Slayer? Sure. Look out for each other in battle? Of course. But friendship? Not even a remote possibility. Yet, there was the proof in front of his very eyes.

Tessa placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as he continued to stare at the two men. "Do you see what is happening here? The possibilities that exist now, but didn't before?" At Spike's confused look, she changed tactics and asked him the question that had been haunting his existence for some time now. "Are you a man or a monster?"

A long pause followed before Spike could answer her. His first response was to protest the question. He was a vampire and that made him a monster, but the man was still inside. He had been trying to show the others that for so long, especially the Slayer. He could be more than a monster, but they refused to acknowledge this as a possibility... Until now. And as he considered the scene in the basin, the answer came to him. "Both. Neither. More."

Tessa beamed at him and he felt like a blushing student receiving praise from an admired instructor. "Exactly, my sweet. You are more. Below you see the man. The monster is resting quietly. And you, you are the product of the two and years of choices and experiences. You are my Warrior. Together the three of you are so much more than you are alone. Without one aspect, the other two cannot triumph. But together..."

Spike felt like he was beginning to get the picture finally. "So, the reason we're separate entities now is to understand this about our self?"

"Not just you, my heart. The others must also see the different aspects of who you are so that they can accept you entirely. And by the same token, you also must see them as more than what you have believed them to be in the past. See each other. See the flaws and the strengths, the ugliness and the beauty within, the sorrow and the joy. See and understand and accept each other. Without that happening, you and your friends will not be strong enough to face what's coming." His head whipped around at that comment and he opened his mouth to ask, but she shushed him gently laying a soft finger across his lips. "Shhh. No time for that now. Now is the time to watch and learn. As you understand more, you will continue to grow...into what I had always intended for you to be." A surprised look. "Yes, my love, I have watched you for a long time. I had plans for you that were derailed when you became a vampire. All seemed lost, but Spike surprised me on many levels and I was relieved that you retained your humanity to such a degree, but the time was still not right. So much had to come to pass before you were ready for this. But we are here now and the time is nigh for you to achieve your long awaited destiny." She kissed him gently on the lips and departed the chamber. Overwhelmed by these insights and revelations, Spike shook his head dazedly and looked again into the scrying pool so he could see what was going on.

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Xander glanced across the table at William and was surprised again by how right this felt. It had been awkward to begin with, but as they talked it had grown easier. William was surprisingly easy to talk to and without Spike's perspective and prejudice, he had openly listened as Xander explained his intense hatred of all things vampire and vampire-related, particularly Spike and Angel. Surprisingly it was the subject of Angel that had been the common ground and allowed the conversation to develop more naturally. Turns out that William wasn't a fan, and not just because of his childhood horrors. Angel made William just as uncomfortable as he made Xander. As they discussed the creepiness with which he suddenly appeared when you thought yourself alone, they shared a smile and the awkwardness was broken. William was very sympathetic about what Xander had experienced by losing Jessie and the justification he received from someone actually understanding this and agreeing with his reaction was overwhelming. He had never realized how much it had bothered him that the others accepted Angel and got after him about not doing so back in High School until now. That it was Spike, or rather William, that was giving him this much-needed validation was ironic, but helped to soothe the pain that had never healed when Jessie died. William had listened with an open ear to all he had to say, and it surprised Xander greatly to learn that just by having someone listen to him as if his opinion mattered affected him in other ways. In addition to the validation, Xander found that he was weighing his words carefully and really thinking about what it was that he was saying instead of just spewing off at the mouth, as he was prone to do. William turned out to be rather insightful and asked excellent questions that made Xander stop and consider the answers before speaking. And although the whole experience was a bit unnerving on one level, for the most part Xander was enjoying the evening and William's company.

For his part, William had been very surprised when Xander had approached him wanting to talk and had suggested they grab a drink and a bite to eat. Unsure what to think of this development, but wanting to get out of the house and away from Angel had been just as much motivation as wanting to have a less than hostile relationship with Xander. It had been odd to sit with someone who hated what you were without really knowing you at all. And yet he had not felt as uncomfortable as he would have expected. Rather they had sat in silence until the waitress brought the beers. They had both slammed their first bottles in an effort to gather liquid courage, and this similarity in behavior had not gone unnoticed by William. He had held his tongue, waiting for Xander to speak first. And it had been painful to hear the hatred and anger in his voice at first, but as Xander had talked more and the evening wore on, William had come to understand the source of the anger and that the hatred was not fully directed at him, per se. William well understood what it was like to feel helpless in a situation having experienced that many times in his life, and he recognized that quality in Xander easily enough. The more he learned about Xander, the more alike he realized they were.

The two of them sat and talked until well into the night, and both were surprised to learn that it was closing time. Both men were reluctant to part, which sounded a bit odd to each of them, but in reality wasn't. Xander had no desire to go home to his empty apartment. He always felt alone there now that Anya had moved out. And he felt like he had finally found a friend – in a rather unlikely place, but a friend nonetheless. William likewise had no desire to return 'home.' Angel would be there and he was making William more uncomfortable as each day passed. The way he stared at him was just creepy and William hated it. He also felt that a bond of friendship had been built that night and was afraid that it might not last. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments as each wondered what to say. When Xander offered to walk him back to the mansion in case there were any vampires out, William was greatly appreciative of the gesture. As they walked, Xander remembered the one question he had forgotten to ask and brought it up. William smiled in answer and invited Xander to go to the hospital tomorrow with him and see the answer for himself. Rain was projected and work would likely be canceled, so there was no reason for Xander not to agree and the two made their plans for the next day, each unaware that they were being watched by a glaring pair of eyes filled with hatred.

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Xander arrived at the mansion promptly at 8:30a.m. the next morning ready to learn the secret of William's mysterious hospital visits. He had been right about both the weather and work being canceled and was feeling rather pleased with himself at the moment. Although he had to fight the wind to get his umbrella to stay put and not turn inside out, he noticed at once that something was different from the previous evening. It took him a moment to figure it out. A moment in which he stood still and allowed the whipping rain to drench his jeans. What was different? Let's see, now. I've got it. Angel's car isn't parked in the driveway today, and it was last night. And how stupid is it for a vampire to drive a convertible anyway? Why can't I be lucky enough that he'd drive it on a cloudy day and a stray sunbeam would take him out? Xander smirked as he imagined a flaming column and then a pile of dust in the driver's seat of the black convertible. He shook his head figuring that Dead Boy had probably just moved it to the garage before the rain came, and began walking toward the front entrance again. As he stood dripping in the entryway and waited for William to answer the doorbell, he shook his head in disgust at the worthless umbrella. It wasn't until he had rung the doorbell for the second time with no response that he started to become worried. The door was unlocked and he let himself in quietly. Brandishing the umbrella as a makeshift weapon, he crept further into the house. As soon as he entered the living room though, it all became too clear what had happened. The umbrella hit the floor with a resounding thud, which echoed in the big house. Xander turned and vomited at the sight before him, his mind unable to comprehend the horror.

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