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 29
“My heart is tuned to
sorrow, and the strings/Vibrate most readily to minor chords,/Searching
and
sad; my mind is stuffed with words/Which voice the passion and the ache
of
things:/Illusions beating with their baffled wings/Against the walls of
circumstance, and hoards/Of torn desires, broken joys; records/Of all a
bruised
life’s maimed imaginings./Now you are come! You tremble like a
star/Poised
where, behind earth’s rim, the sun has set./Your voice has sung across
my
heart, but numb/And mute, I have no tone to answer. Far/Within I kneel
before
you, speechless yet,/And life ablaze with beauty, I am dumb.” ~Amy
Lowell,
“Frankincense and Myrrh
Dawn flipped a page in the
enormous book someone had brought
to the research party. From the conversations she’d overheard, Dawn
knew that
Quinn had told Tara about the book of tales that had been collected
about
Spike, and Tara had told Willow, who had told both Wesley and Buffy,
and pretty
soon everyone had wanted to read it.
Now, it was getting passed
around, much to Spike’s
embarrassment, and as soon as the group’s attention was elsewhere, Dawn
had
grabbed it for herself.
She wasn’t supposed to be
there, of course, nor was she
supposed to be listening to the discussion of how best to avoid and/or
kill the
bad guys, but they were generally on lockdown. Dawn wasn’t allowed to
go
anywhere alone, and if Joyce hadn’t been under the same restriction,
she
probably would have put up more of a fuss.
Joyce was at the gallery,
however, with Thomas, Quinn, and
Oscar O’Mara, who had been taking turns guarding Dawn and Joyce. Dawn,
who was
on spring break, had been relegated to tagging along with either Buffy
or
Spike, depending on who was least busy at that moment.
With her spring break projects
completed, and rather boring
talk of strategies and meetings and possible spell ingredients,
however, Dawn
had seized on her chance to find out more about Spike’s past. It was
kind of
like reading about Robin Hood—but better, because Spike was her
guardian, and he was sitting right
there in his living room.
“You sure you want to come
with us, Tara?” Spike was asking,
and Dawn glanced up from the book, trying not to be too obvious about
the fact
that she was actually paying attention now. “I don’t want you to feel
obligated.”
“No, I’d like to talk to
Robert about finding my real
father,” Tara said firmly. “I’ve had plenty of time to think about it.”
“That you have, but—”
“Stop worrying about me,
Spike.” Dawn could tell that Tara
was torn between amusement and annoyance, and she understood that
feeling
completely. Spike was often worried over her, but unlike Tara, she
didn’t have
the luxury of telling him to not worry and mind his own business.
Spike took the rebuke
graciously enough, shrugging and
moving onto the next subject. “Assuming that this weapon Robert has
found is
something that will actually work against a Hellgod,” he continued,
“we’ll
still need to find a way to lure Glory into a trap.”
Tara cleared her throat. “I
still think—”
“No.” Buffy was the one to
speak. “We are not using anyone
for bait. We’ll find another way.”
Willow spoke up. “I think
we’ve found a spell that will make
it look like a physical object is the repository of great energy, like
a
mystical Key, but they know it’s a person.”
“We’ll have to make them think
that the prophecy is wrong
then,” Buffy said stubbornly.
Wesley suddenly sat up
straight. “Not necessarily. As long
as they believe that we’re going to great pains to hide something, that
may be
enough to draw the Knights and the Council out of hiding. We’ve seen
that they
prefer to attack when they believe they have the upper hand.”
“What about Glory?” Buffy
asked, her interest clearly
piqued.
Wesley shook his head. “Who
knows how we gain her attention?
I suspect, however, that if both the Council and the Knights make a
show of
force, she may be inclined to join in to preserve her interests.”
Spike’s eyes narrowed in
thought. “So, we find something to
hide, make a big show of it without letting on that it’s nothing
special, and
wait for them to take the bait.”
“We could tip our hands,”
Willow suggested. “The Council
still doesn’t know that the geas is gone, so maybe Spike could let them
know
that he’s found the Key. They might send either the Knights or the
Council
goons after that.”
“It’s something to think
about,” Spike agreed. “But let’s
wait until we’ve seen this sword that will supposedly kill a Hellgod. I
want to
have a weapon in hand the next time we face Glory.”
They went back to talking
about boring stuff after
that—lists and patrolling schedules—and Dawn continued reading
about how William the Bloody had helped a family loosely connected to
the
Watcher’s Council to sneak over the Berlin Wall in the 1950’s.
Dawn’s attention was captured
again when Willow said, “Come
on, Buffy. It’s spring break.”
“There’s too much going on,”
Buffy objected. “What about
Dawn? We’re already going out of town to visit Robert.”
“I already talked to Giles,
and there’s Xander and Mr.
O’Mara for backup.” There was a triumphant note in Willow’s voice that
caused
Dawn to stifle a sigh. She really hated feeling like a burden.
Buffy and Spike did that thing
where they looked at each
other and communicated without words, something Dawn was all too
familiar with
since they did it all the time around her.
“Fine,” Buffy finally said. “I
guess we could use a night
off.”
Dawn huffed and went back to
the book. She wanted a night off, too, one where she
could be just another
normal teen, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
It just wasn’t fair.
~~~~~
The farther they got from
Sunnydale, the more Spike relaxed.
They would have to go back in a few hours, of course, but for right
now, the
only thing he wanted to think about was being on the open road.
“You know, it’s kind of odd
that the only two times I’ve
gone to Los Angeles was to visit Robert.”
He glanced over at Tara, who
was staring out the window at
the passing scenery. Buffy had decided at the last minute not to go,
not
wanting to leave Sunnydale, and pointing out that this trip was more
about
Spike and Tara than it was about her.
“Is that right?”
“I went straight to UC
Sunnydale when I came, and I’ve just
never had any reason to go to L.A.”
“We’ll have to fix that once
this is all over.”
Silence fell, but it wasn’t
uncomfortable. Spike had found
Tara to be excellent company; she wasn’t one of those who couldn’t let
the
silence ride.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, luv. What’s up?”
“You said you’d heard
stories.” Tara turned in the seat to
face him, tucking one leg up underneath her. “About—about what I am.”
He had, and Spike remembered
his promise. There simply
hadn’t been enough time between their farewell at the airport and now.
“You know, it doesn’t mean
much to call someone a demon,”
Spike began, warming to his subject. “Sure, there are evil bastards who
fit the
stereotype, but there are those who aren’t much different than your
average
human. And then there are those who are as good as the nasty ones are
evil.”
Tara shook her head. “I don’t
think I understand.”
“All those stories about
angels? Where do you think they
come from?” Spike could see her processing the question, shaking her
head in
denial. “Healing, protecting… Robert’s clan are nomadic, true, but it
seems
anywhere they go, they leave it better than it was.”
“I’m not that special!” she
protested.
Spike just smiled. “That’s
because you live inside your own
head, pet. If you could see what the rest of us see, you’d know
different.”
And the rest of the trip was
made in silence.
~~~~~
Tara couldn’t help but find
her current situation ironic.
She was a half-demon, traveling in a car with a souled vampire, to meet
another
half-demon—who was likely a relative of some sort—to get answers
about her background and pick up a weapon that might help to save the
world.
And then she finds out that
the demon blood running through
her veins likely resembled far more the blood of angels.
She had to swallow her giggle
at the thought of what her
father’s reaction would be.
Following Spike up the wide
steps of Robert’s mansion, Tara hung
back, feeling a little shy and uncertain. She had disowned—or been
disowned by—her blood kin, and now she was unaccountably nervous given
that she’d met Robert before.
Spike and Robert greeted one
another with a handclasp and an
embrace, then Robert looked over Spike’s shoulder. “Hello, little
sister.”
“Hi.” Tara ascended the steps
to meet him, finding herself
charmed when he put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her on both
cheeks.
“Welcome.” He motioned them
both inside. “I will give you
all the answers I can,” Robert said, looking at Tara. “But I imagine
that Spike
will want to see this sword.”
“I do.” Spike gave Tara an
apologetic look. “Sorry,
but—”
“We’re on a deadline,” she
finished for him. “And you have a
party to go to tonight.”
“A party?” Robert inquired.
Spike shrugged. “It’s spring
break, and Buffy needs some
time off.”
“And you do not?”
Robert’s tone was arch, and
Tara hid a smile. “The sword?”
The smile on Robert’s face
made it clear that he knew he’d
managed to get a rise out of Spike. He led both of them to his study,
and asked
them to wait. “I’ll be right back.”
“I hope you don’t mind
waiting.”
Tara shook her head. “We need
this more, Spike. I understand
that.”
“But that doesn’t mean you
don’t need answers.”
She shrugged. “I’ve lived with
the questions for most of my
life. I can survive a little longer.”
Robert came back into the room
a moment later, holding a
long object swathed in a black, silky fabric. “Others have touched it
with no
adverse effects, but I’d rather not risk it,” he explained. “I believe
that it
was meant for you, Spike.”
Tara watched as Spike took the
sword, unwrapping it slowly.
“I feel a bit like Arthur with the bloody stone,” he muttered with a
wry
chuckle.
“Maybe you are King Arthur,”
Tara suggested.
Spike paused to glare at her,
then turned back to the sword.
He removed the last of the silk wrappings and allowed them to drift to
the
floor as he closed his bare hand around the hilt for the first time.
Although Tara knew that the
reaction wouldn’t be visible to
the naked eye, she could see the change as the metaphysical flames
leapt up
from the sword. Seeing the awe on Robert’s face, she thought that he
could
probably see it, too.
Spike, on the other hand, was
looking puzzled. “Can’t you
see it?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. I felt something, but…”
“It’s going to work, Spike.”
As Tara spoke the words, she
heard the certainty in her own voice. “It’s going to work.”
Spike stared at the blade,
then smiled. “Yeah. I think
you’re right.”
~~~~~
“Oh, crap,” Buffy muttered,
looking at herself in the
full-length mirror. “Spike, does this—”
“Don’t start that, Summers,”
he ordered, poking his head out
of the bathroom. “I mean it.”
“But—”
“You’re not fat. You’re
perfect, and I’m not about to get
embroiled in a discussion about what clothing you should wear tonight.”
Spike
went back to doing whatever it was he’d been doing in the
bathroom—probably shaving. He didn’t have to do it very often, but
vampires’ hair still grew.
Buffy pouted, and looked into
the mirror. The summery dress
was perfect for the on-campus party she and Willow had been invited to,
but it
had been months since she had dressed up for anything. She felt like
she was
out of practice.
Spike strolled out of the
bathroom, wearing a pair of dark
jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket—his usual attire. “Why is it so easy for
men?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’ll
have you know that it took me a
century to perfect this look.”
She snorted. “Why don’t I
believe that?”
His grin was bright, and he
gave her a brief, hard kiss.
“Let’s go. The others will be waiting for us.”
Buffy knew that a lot of
Spike’s good mood had to do with
the rather impressive sword he’d brought back from Robert’s. She thought it looked like any other
sword, but she had been assured multiple times by both Spike and Tara
and it
was special.
She sighed. She really wanted
a special sword, too, the
better to smite her enemies.
“Where’s Warren?” The female
voice rose above the din. “Have
you seen Warren? He needs me.”
Buffy’s eyebrows rose, hearing
the absolute certainty in the
girl’s voice. She had recently heard the same sort of certainty in the
Knights’
words about severing the Link and destroying the Key; it was the
certainty of a
religious fanatic.
Only it seemed that this girl
was more interested in Warren,
whoever that was.
Although Buffy would have
preferred to ignore her, the crowd
parted, and she watched as a drunk frat boy approached the pretty
brunette.
Buffy couldn’t hear what the boy said, but the girl responded with a
disgusted
expression, tossing him through a window a few seconds later.
Buffy ran forward. “Hey! You
can’t go throwing people
through windows!” Buffy skidded to a stop in front of the girl, who
showed no
concern whatsoever. “Look, I realize that he probably said something
really
rude, but we just don’t throw people through windows.”
“I have to find Warren,” she
insisted.
Buffy took a deep breath,
hanging onto her patience by a
small margin. “Okay. What’s your name?”
“April. Do you know Warren?”
“No, but I’m sure we can help
you.”
April smiled politely. “No,
that’s okay. I can find him.”
Buffy wasn’t about to allow
her to run around on her own,
especially since she seemed to be prone to throwing people around if
they
couldn’t tell her where Warren was. Reaching out to grab April’s arm,
Buffy
said, “If you’ll just hang on a minute—”
In retrospect, Buffy wasn’t
surprised that she went flying
through the air a moment later. Spike was there immediately to help her
up, and
Buffy heard April say, “I’m sorry, but I really must find Warren now.”
“Shit.” Buffy brushed ranch
dip off of her dress. “Okay,
this was a new dress. I bought this
dress especially for this party.”
“It might come out,” Willow
said hopefully.
Buffy watched as April stepped
through the broken window.
“You know, that was weird.”
“I’ll say,” Spike agreed. “She
doesn’t have a heartbeat.”
“You mean, she was a vampire?”
Willow asked, reaching for
Wesley’s hand.
Spike shook his head. “No, I
mean she didn’t have a
heartbeat.”
Willow frowned. “She was a
robot.”
Buffy stared at her. “Huh?”
“Like Ted,” Willow added. “A
robot. No heartbeat,
single-minded purpose. Robot.”
“So, what are we going to do
about it?” Wesley asked.
Buffy considered for a moment.
“Find Warren?”
Willow sighed. “It’s not a
terribly common name. I’ll start
looking around.”
Wesley draped an arm over her
shoulders. “Do you want me to
walk you back to the dorm?”
She shook her head. “I think
that Quinn and Tara are
probably there now. I’ll go back with you.”
As they left, Buffy let out a
sigh. “I should have known I
wouldn’t get an evening off.”
“Willow’s taking care of it
for right now, luv,” Spike
replied. “Let’s get out of here and enjoy our evening.”