An
Unaccomplished Fate
Author: enigmaticblue
Rating: PG-15
Disclaimer: I don’t own most of these characters, and I’m not making any money off of the ones that are mine.
Summary: The sequel to Avocation and Under the Sun. Spike and Buffy’s relationship is on solid ground at last, but a new prophecy threatens everything they hold dear. The bonds of family and friendship will be tested, lives will be threatened, and the entire world will hang on the choice of one vampire.
A/N: Any resemblance to canon is pretty
much
accidental.
Chapter 24
“Escape is such a thankful
Word/I often
in the Night/Consider it unto myself/No spectacle in sight/Escape—it is
the Basket/In which the Heart is caught/When down some awful
Battlement/The
rest of Life is dropt—/’Tis not to sight the savior—/It is to be
the saved—/And that is why I lay my Head/Upon this trusty word—”
~Emily Dickinson
Dante
had searched for any sign of his brothers and had come up empty handed.
Orlando
had failed to report back, and after a week of silence, the General had
sent
Dante to locate the missing Knights.
The
Slayer and Guardian had been celebrating the holiday, and giving no
indication
that they were in danger. They had not appeared particularly concerned,
or
wary, and he wondered if the Watchers’ Council had been mistaken about
the Key
being present in Sunnydale.
He
would never question the General to his face, but Dante didn’t trust
these men
who watched but did not act. And yet he had seen the prophecy with his
own
eyes, and he knew that the General would not have agreed to work with
the
Watchers without reason.
With
no sign of Orlando or the other Knights, he had been ordered to
continue
surveillance, and he was less than a block away from the Guardian’s
home,
heading towards the Slayer’s residence. So far, he’d determined that
there were
two possibilities as to who the Key might be: the infant and the young
sister of
the Slayer. Neither possibility had pleased him; he knew his duty,
however, and
he would perform it, even if it meant killing a child.
“What
have we here?”
Dante
had not expected to be confronted. He’d dressed to blend in, and had
pulled a
hat down low on his head to hide his tattoo. The woman advancing on him
was not
someone he recognized.
“What
do you want?” he asked coldly, not sensing danger.
“Mostly,
I want a snack.” She smiled. “It was nice of you to show up just when I
was
looking for the Slayer. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to talk to her
tonight.”
Dante
didn’t have a chance to respond. She moved much faster than he’d
thought
possible, her hands seizing his head, and then delving into his skull.
He was
a soldier and prided himself on his strength, but the pain caused him
to
scream. And he wasn’t sure he’d ever stop.
~~~~~
The
first thing Buffy thought of when she heard the sound was that it
sounded like
a wounded animal. “Spike!”
“I
heard it.” He paused just long enough to shove his feet into his boots
and grab
his ax while Buffy did the same, although she retrieved her new sword—a
Christmas gift from Spike—instead. “You’d think we’d get one evening to
relax.”
“It’s
Sunnydale,” Buffy replied, as though that explained everything, and
maybe it did.
They
rushed out the front door, running towards the screams, which continued
relentlessly. As Buffy neared the location, she saw Glory, her hands on
either
side of a man’s head. He didn’t look familiar, but as she got closer,
it became
clear that Glory’s hands were buried
in his skull.
“Bloody
hell.” Buffy knew that Spike had just realized the same thing she had,
and he
shouted to get Glory’s attention before she could. “Hey, Hellbitch!”
Glory
released the man, who slumped on the sidewalk, his screams tapering off
to
whimpers. “It’s you. Just the people I wanted to see.”
Buffy
swallowed, not liking the sound of that. “Oh, yeah? What did you have
to say?”
“I
want my Key,” Glory replied, stepping over the man’s body. He was
curled into a
fetal position on the ground, and Buffy heard him mumbling.
Buffy
shrugged, feigning nonchalance, trying to keep one eye on the Hellgod
and one
on Spike, who was moving to flank her. “I can’t help you. Sorry.”
“I
know you have it,” Glory replied. “I just want to go home.”
“And
destroy the world in the process,” Buffy shot back. “Sorry, no can do.
I like
the world the way it is.”
“This
world?” Glory scoffed. “It smells, no one recognizes my greatness, and
I want to go HOME!”
Her
voice rose in a crescendo, and Spike swung just as she said the final
word. For
a moment, Buffy thought he was going to be successful, but she raised a
hand
and stopped the blade inches from her head.
Glory
caught the blade with her hand, however, and she howled with pain as
she
snatched it away from Spike. “Son of a bitch!”
The
Hellgod swung the ax at him, and Spike raised his arm to protect his
neck—Buffy didn’t think that even the Gem of Amara would save him from
dusting if she managed to behead him. His arm caught the shaft, and
Buffy heard
the crack of bone. She swung the sword, and it bit deeply into Glory’s
side.
Buffy
was gratified to hear Glory’s shriek of rage and pain, but as soon as
she
pulled the sword free, she could see the wound close through the tear
in
Glory’s dress. Spike had used her distraction to escape the swinging
ax,
however, and he went low, head-butting her in the stomach, and taking
both of
them to the ground.
She
stood, watching the action, wishing she could get involved, but Spike
was too
close to the Hellgod, and Buffy had no opportunity to intervene, not
without
risking his life, too.
Finally,
Spike kicked Glory off of him, and Buffy thrust the sword through the
Hellgod’s
body, pinning her to the ground. “Spike!”
He’d
grabbed the ax, and he swung it at her neck and would have at least
come close
to decapitating her when Glory managed to pull the sword free, rolling
out of
the way. This time, she went after Buffy, and with a cry of triumph,
managed to
pierce her shoulder with the blade.
Buffy
gasped in pain, stumbling backwards. She would have landed on her ass
if Spike
hadn’t caught her.
Glory
sneered as she broke the sword across her knee. “You’ll need more than
that to
kill me. I want my Key, Slayer. Next time I won’t come after you.”
The
Hellgod walked away, probably knowing that neither of them could best
her, not
with Buffy injured.
And
maybe not even under the best of circumstances.
“Are
you alright?”
“It
looks worse than it is,” Buffy assured him. “Although it hurts like a
bitch.”
“We
need to get you to the hospital.”
“No
hospitals,” Buffy said forcefully. “I’ll be fine, Spike.”
“And
him?”
Buffy
looked at the man whose brains Glory had apparently scrambled. He was
mumbling
incoherently about searching, and lost men. “Spike? Look at his
forehead.”
Spike
swore when he rolled the man over to reveal the tattoo Buffy had just
caught a
glimpse of. “He’s one of the knights. They’re like bloody roaches.”
She
couldn’t agree more. “Spike, I don’t know if we’re going to be able to
kill
her. There’s too much to contend with—the Council, the knights, Glory.
If
she goes after my mom, or Tommy…”
“We
won’t let that happen.” But he didn’t sound convinced. “I’m calling an
ambulance,” he insisted. “For both of you.”
“What
are we going to tell the paramedics?”
Spike’s
smile was grim. “Let’s see if they ask any questions.”
Buffy
looked at her broken sword. “She broke my Christmas present.”
“I’ll
get you a new one,” Spike replied. “And next time, I’ll make sure she
can’t
break it so easily.”
~~~~~
Giles
wasn’t sure whether he should be annoyed that Spike and Buffy hadn’t
called
immediately, or if he should be relieved that he’d been able to sleep
through
the night. Since it was the first night he’d been able to get at least
six
hours of uninterrupted sleep, he decided that the latter was the better
option.
Besides,
what was done, was done, and there was no sense in being upset about it.
Giving
thanks that it was Sunday, and that neither he nor Joyce had to go to
work,
Giles sipped his tea. Buffy was leaning into Spike on the couch, the
blue sling
on her arm a testament to how badly she’d been injured, no matter what
she said
to the contrary.
“And
what happened to the knight?”
“He’s
in the hospital, in the psych ward,” Buffy replied. “The doctor said
that there
wasn’t a mark on him, and that there was no outer indication as to why
he’d
have gone crazy.”
Giles
cleared his throat. “Is it possible that being out in the sun did it?”
Spike
shook his head. “He wasn’t one of the ones I dropped in the desert.”
“You’re
certain?”
The
vampire gave him a dirty look. “I bloody well left them for dead,
didn’t I? So
yeah, I think I remember.”
“Of
course.”
“Giles,
the doctor mentioned that there had been a huge upswing in the number
of crazy
people lately.” Buffy’s right hand reached inside her sling to scratch.
“Considering that we saw Glory’s hands go inside that knight’s skull, I
think
we know the cause.”
“I’m
less concerned with the brains Glory is scrambling than I am with
killing her,”
Spike growled. “We didn’t even make a dent.”
“It
might be time to talk about getting Mom, Dawn, and Thomas out of town,”
Buffy
said slowly.
Giles
shook his head. “I don’t think it’s come to that quite yet, although I
will
agree there’s cause for concern. I would suggest we wait until after
the others
return from England. Sending anyone away right now may only draw
unwanted
attention.”
“Unwanted
attention to what?”
Giles
wondered how long Dawn had been standing there, listening to them.
Buffy was
clearly unhappy that the girl had overheard any part of their
conversation. “I
thought you were sleeping. It’s Sunday.”
Dawn
glared at her. “When were you going to tell me that you wanted to send
me
away?”
“We
don’t want to send you away.” Spike
rose, putting his hands on her shoulders. “We would like to keep you
alive,
however, and we’re going to do whatever has to be done to that end. Got
it?”
For a
moment, Giles thought that Dawn was going to argue, but she nodded.
“Okay. What
happened to your arm?” she asked Buffy.
“A
run-in with a demon.” Buffy’s answer was vague, but Giles supposed that
was for
the best. “Is Mom awake yet?”
“She’s
feeding the baby, and don’t change the subject,” Dawn said, shrugging
Spike’s
hands off and plopping down in the spare chair.
Spike
shrugged, as though to say “what can you do?” and returned to his seat
on the
couch next to Buffy. “Right. Rupert, I do think you’re right. Making
any major
changes could give the game away at this point, but I do think that
we’re going
to need a safe house.”
Giles
raised an eyebrow. “Do you have one in mind?”
“Robert.
He’s expressed his willingness to help in the past. I think it might be
time to
visit him again, see if he’s still agreeable.”
“When
will you go?” Giles asked.
“As
soon as Wes and the others get back.” Spike glanced at Dawn. “I know
this isn’t
easy, Dawn, but when this is all over, we’ll take a trip somewhere.”
“Are
you going to leave me there?”
“Are
you going to behave and listen to us when we try to keep you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Then
I suppose we’ll have to keep you around.” Spike’s wink softened the
statement,
and when Dawn gave him a reluctant smile, Giles was forced to wonder if
he
shouldn’t be taking parenting lessons from him.
~~~~~
Quinn
had been highly disappointed to arrive back in Sunnydale to find that
Tara
wasn’t in town—at least to all appearances. The dorms were closed for
the
holidays, something she hadn’t considered. Although she would have
preferred to
talk to Tara first, she knew that Spike and Buffy had a right to her
information.
She
had planned on patrolling anyway, and she swung by Spike and Buffy’s
place
first.
“Welcome
back,” Spike greeted her after she’d rung the doorbell. “Come on in.”
“Is
Tara around?” Quinn asked, trying to sound like she didn’t much care
about the
answer one way or another.
“She’s
in London,” came the rather surprising reply. “Coffee?”
“Yeah,
thanks.” Quinn was grateful for the option. She was still feeling a bit
jetlagged, and these days, she preferred coffee to tea. “London?”
“Fact-finding
mission.” He waved her to the kitchen table. “Cream and sugar?”
“Black,
please.” Quinn took a seat. She didn’t think she’d been in the kitchen
before.
Oddly enough, she felt more comfortable with Spike than with Buffy. She
sensed
the Slayer’s distrust, whereas the vampire seemed more willing to give
her a
chance. “Do I want to know what sort of facts she went to find?”
“Likely
not.” He sat down across from her, sliding her mug across the table.
She
hesitated. “And Buffy?”
“With
her mum and sister,” Spike replied. “There were some threats made.”
“More
knights?”
“We
found one. Glory scrambled his brain, so I doubt he’ll give us any
trouble.” He
raised a scarred eyebrow. “What are you doing here, ducks?”
“I did
some fact-finding of my own,” Quinn admitted. “I called a friend of
mine from
the Academy.”
His
eyes narrowed. “Was that wise?”
“He’s
not with the Council anymore,” Quinn assured him. “But his partner
still is.”
She smiled. “It was a bit of a scandal when he ran off with one of our
professors immediately after graduation and announced that he’d much
rather go
to culinary school, thank you very much.”
Spike
smirked. “I could see that.”
“Reggie’s
the sort who can get anyone to talk to him, and he collects bits of
information
like others collect stamps or coins.”
“And
what had this Reggie collected?”
“His
partner, our old professor, was asked to look at Wesley’s
interpretation of the
prophecy, and he realized there were pieces missing.” Quinn smiled. “He
raised
his concerns discreetly, and when he didn’t get a satisfactory answer,
he began
to make more noise.”
“I’m
not sure how this affects us.” Spike took a slow sip of his coffee. “So
what?”
“So,
Travers may soon have his hands full dealing with internal strife, too
full to
focus on what’s going on in Sunnydale. My parents are reaching out to
potential
allies as well.” Quinn warmed her hands on her coffee mug, remembering
the late
night planning session they’d had, and wishing that they hadn’t needed
to
include Brynn.
No
matter how much she wanted to protect her sister, Quinn knew that the
other
girl was going to have to grow up, and quickly.
“That
would be good news.”
“There’s
more,” Quinn said. “Reggie said that the word on the street is that
Travers is
collecting members of the wet works team. They’ve been scattered until
now.”
“I
don’t like the sound of that.” Now Spike’s eyes sharpened. “Do we know
what’s
being planned?”
Quinn
shook her head. “That’s all Reggie had heard, but he said that he’d
call with
more information if he found anything else out.”
“With any
luck, we’ll have more information after the others return.”
Quinn
opened her mouth to ask questions about the trip, but realized that
Spike was
unlike to share that sort of information with her. And maybe it was
better that
she didn’t know.
“Anything
else happened while I was gone?”
“We
had another run-in with Glory,” Spike admitted, describing the fight.
She
was at a loss as to how a person killed a Hellgod, but she suspected
that it
was going to take more than mundane weapons and said as much. “Where
you find a
sword to kill a god, I don’t know, though.”
Spike
rose from the table. “How are you at research?”
Quinn
sighed. “Passable, but I’d really rather beat something up.”
He
smiled. “Join the club. Unfortunately, with our best researchers gone,
it looks
like the burden is going to fall on us.” Spike saw her expression and
said,
“Look on the bright side, Watcher. Research generally means pizza.”