| Subject: Ficlet (Spoilers) Sleeping Beauty (Storm Front Part 2) |
Author:
Heather Long
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Date Posted: 13:03:26 03/16/02 Sat
Spike watched her departure with a mixture of concern and regret. Slanting his eyes back towards, Giles he considered the older watcher towards whom he now felt a measure of respect. Respect mixed with some form of awe. It was a Watcher's dream to be assigned to the Slayer. Only a handful appeared to stay with the Council once their Slayer departed, so this was William's first real opportunity to meet an Offical Watcher.
"Mr. Carstairs." The look that Giles favored him with now lost all befuddlement or gentleness. His lips pursed and his gaze was frankly assessing. "I think one thing you need to understand now that you are in the field is that personal involvement with the Slayer is usually unadvised."
"Really?" Spike cocked a brow. "Explains why your engaged to her mum then." The belligerance was familiar and he embraced it eagerly. Nancy boy didn't need to be telling him what to do.
"That...that is a moot point. Buffy has been through a great deal, I don't expect you to understand. But take my advice, give her some space. She's a very troubled young woman with a lot of reason. She does not need to be confused or upset, especially right now."
A denial dying unspoken on his lips, Spike nodded grudgingly. There were memories of a report he'd read recently, something to do with the Slayer and a companion who'd been killed. He wasn't sure of the identity of the companion, he'd have to review that. He shifted, uncomfortable for the first time since he'd arrived. Everything seemed relatively straightforward, but something in Buffy's expression earlier warned him that he was misinterpreting something.
He reviewed his wish one more time and fidgeted with the lapel on his jacket. He was an accomplished scholar and something of a magician. The latter surprised him given his distrust for spell and whatnot. More often than not, magic always carried a price tag. A price tag he wasn't remotely interested in paying. Yet, given a few moments, he could recall reams of information from grimoires imported from all over the world.
Leaning back in the chair, he found himself contemplating the pencil. The problems they faced were enormous. An out of control witch with a grudge to bear and a Slayer who was too close to the situation. His orders from the Watcher's Council crystalized in his memory, as if summoned by merely thinking about them.
Curling his lip with distaste, he scratched at his chin. There was a hint of stubble. He'd neglected to shave before departing from the hotel room that the Council reserved for him. A slow blink interrupted his flow of thought. The terms that flowed through his quiet mind were disciplined, educated and refined. He felt the urge for a smoke, then wrinkled his nose in distaste at the direction in which his thoughts moved.
Bloody hell.
"Carstairs?" Giles repeated, he realized, for the second time. "I suppose your jet-lagged. If you leave your notes, I'll go ahead and work on them."
"Beg pardon?"
"I said you looked jet-lagged. If you want to leave your notes, I'll go through them and what we have and see if I can discover a course of action."
Spike shook his head. "No, I'll be fine." Now that he thought about it, he was tired and a bit hungry. A shower sounded like a divine plan. There was another sense of pressure and it took him a moment to reconcile memory to physical fact. "Perhaps another cuppa to get the blood flowing?"
"Of course." Giles reached for the pair of cups and moved around the kitchen. His efficient ease bespoke of a familiarity beyond the occasional visit. The idea that Joyce could have done better warred with this sense of profound respect. The confusing aspects of what he knew and what were starting to grate on his nerves. Yet, his sense of magic gave him a deeper understanding of the mechanics of this wish-verse. He created this reality based on a single premise, the premise itself then expanded to fill a waiting void. As he interacted with the creations within the void, the premise expanded to bring about the physics of the situation.
Absently jotting down some notes, Spike considered the alternatives that could come to play. Everything not specified within the specific wish were superfluous and remained fluid. The decisions that were made as the premise expanded were neither gratuitous nor expected.
He was a Watcher for one.
Giles and Joyce were engaged for another.
Both were within the specifications of his wish. Other factors, such as Willow's path towards darkness seemed unchanged, yet they must be. What sent her spiraling down that path before was the power of the spells she worked against Glory. "The witch grew more powerful last year, didn't she?" He asked abruptly, sitting forward at the table and reaching for the journal that Giles was using for a reference.
"What? Oh, yes. Though before hand I believe her dabbling was becoming significantly more than dabbling, but it was almost always in an associative capacity. The needs for battle magic grew exponentially last year."
Flipping through the pages, Spike scanned the data. "She was the one who began instructing the Slayer in the use of magic. That was how they discovered the key to begin with."
"Yes," Giles returned to the table and set the tea down in front of him, cradling his own cup. "Though she wasn't precisely instructing Buffy in the use of magic. It was related to the discovery of a brain tumor her mother had. She thought her mother was the victim of a spell."
Spike nodded, still scanning Giles' detailed notes. "What about the first time she abused the magic? What did she do?"
"She helped to destroy the hell god. At the time, none of us were aware of precisely how she gained so much power. I didn't learn about the pact until much later. It was unfortunate that Tara was the first one to stumble over the information."
"A pact with?"
"The demon G'luk'tash'ik."
"G'luk'tash'ik. Is she mad?"
"Is that a rheotorical question?" Giles asked dryly. "She made a pact, offering the blood sacrifice of a doe, I believe and then took his power into herself. She, along with Buffy, were then able to weaken Glory until she reverted to human form."
"At which point you killed the human form."
"Correct." Giles replied casually, as though daring him to comment on the matter.
Spike ignored it and continued to consult the diary. "You make several references to her continued studies throughout the summer and then a disappearance?"
"Yes, she and Tara were having difficulties. At the time, I thought it had to do with Tara's discovery of the pact. Unfortunately, what Tara neglected to mention to anyone at first was that Willow was tampering with our memories, all small stuff, disagreements forgotten and the like. Manipulation, nonetheless."
"Creating the perfect world for herself." Spike pursed his lips. "When confronted with it, she declared that she wasn't doing anything wrong, she just wanted everyone to be happy."
"Quite. She swore she didn't need her magic, could stop anytime she chose. She just didn't choose to and resented the implications we were presenting her with. Then shortly after the car accident, Joyce forbade her from being anywhere near Dawn. Buffy backed her mother up, it was a rather ugly scene. They didn' speak for some time, I thought things were actually on the mend a month or two ago, but then the incident with Warren and Tara taking the bullet that he meant for Buffy." Giles shook his head, sadness creasing the corners of his eyes. "Willow blamed Buffy for it. Blamed her for being incapable of preventing it. Blamed her for "forcing" Willow to give up the magic that might have prevented it."
Both men sighed.
"Ugly situation."
"And getting uglier by the day. She also hasn't forgiven Buffy for trying to stop her revenge on Warren."
"Well, the bloke killed her mate, I can see why the witch would be furious. Still, she and the Slayer are on the road towards becoming mortal enemies. This does not bode well."
"No, it doesn't. Buffy can't bring herself to fight Willow, either. She blames herself and unfortunately, she seems to develop these funks of guilt which immobilize her. I'm just worried she won't break out of this one before she has to confront Willow."
"There's still a chance that once the witch calms down," Spike offered. "She might be more amenable to talking, to proper training to harness her emotions so they don't send her spiraling out of control."
"I rather doubt that. She left a message for Buffy on the front porch three nights ago."
"A message?"
"Four burning vampires and a note." Giles replied. "One vampire for each life Buffy is responsible for. One vampire for each time it should have been Buffy and not an innocent. Her world view is narrowing."
"Four?" Spike frowned.
"The first was Jessie, a boy Buffy encountered around the same time she met Willow. She was unable to save him from the Master and later he was one of those staked during the Harvest. The second was Oz, he was a victim of the Initiative before Buffy was fully aware of Riley's connections. She was too late to prevent their culling. The third would be Xander, the young man Buffy was dating and who was close to both she and Willow. Glory left him as a message for Buffy in her bed. The last, would of course, be Tara."
"The git?" Spike blinked, riveted to the idea that Buffy and Xander -- he shook his head. It was implausible as hell. This was part of his wish? Another facet?
"Pardon?"
"Nothing."
Silence fell between them, both staring at the papers amassed on the table with introspection. "Right then," Spike finally broke the silence. "I had best get to work. I'll need a spell to incapacitate her as well as a few other things. You have some of her personal items?"
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