Soul Blooded
by Wispr
Ch 3
[reviews]
Buffy The Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and 20th Century Fox. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of Wispr.
Sorry for the delay, I started a new job, that involved starting my own business and on top of that I had a nasty case of writers block. Also I'm embarrassed to say that I got my episodes mix, the story takes place after "This Year's girl / Who Are You", my bad... :(
I really appreciated all of the feedback I gotten so far, thanks a bunch.
Wispr
Soul Blooded
CH: 3
Buffy sat in the wheelchair with the stillness only the undead could achieve, remembering how it would unnerve her when Angel would go from being so ALIVE in motion to a sudden stillness when he would concentrate his whole awareness on something, reminding her that he wasn't alive. Well her awareness was on the form before her, the pale form of her best friend Willow. Buffy watched the slow rise and fall of Willow's chest as she breathed. She listened to Willow's heart beat and the slight delay beep of the EKG monitor that was connected to her.
She still had trouble believing what had happened to her. She could recall walking in the graveyard while on patrol hoping to run into a few vampires that she could question about the rumors of some new Big Bad that even had the demons that the Initiative have been bringing in nervous. Suddenly six vampires charged out of the shadows in a coordinated attack. The next few moments were a blur of bodies and dust exploding in the air and suddenly she felt the sting of a tranquilizer dart on the back of her left thigh. She was hit two more times, but by the time the third dart had hit her in the stomach she was already rapidly loosing consciousness.
She remembered regaining consciousness for a moment, but was not able to see due to being blindfolded, and she was gagging on a thick liquid (Now she understood that it was blood, but at the time she couldn't tell what it was she was so drugged), that was being poured in her mouth while someone had her nose pinched shut, forcing her to swallow so she would be able to breath, and then there was darkness.
She remembered waking up in one of the many of crypts located in the same graveyard that she was patrolling earlier that night and that her new vampire senses were telling her that there was no other of her kind close by when suddenly she heard the sound of a frantic heart beat near, and then...
As her mind shied away from the memory something brought her back to the present. Through all of the background noise Buffy could hear Gile's voice coming through the open door behind her as he asked for directions to Willow's room. She tried to prepare herself for what was to come, but still found herself starting to shake as his tread grew ever so closer and she had to close her eyes to concentrate on her Demon as it fought to come forth, the fear she was feeling was feeding it.
She heard the soft gasp he gave on seeing Willow's unnaturally pale form, with the multiple IV's hooked to each arm, replacing the blood and fluids that was stolen from her; it made for a nightmarish sight. Following the sounds behind her she could tell from the soft sigh when he set his burden of cloths and manacles on the empty bed that shared the room with them. After softly clearing his throat to alert her to his presence, which was unnecessary. Even before the Change she would've heard him.
After purposely giving a little twitch letting him know she knew he was there, Giles came up beside her and laid his hand on her shoulder giving it a slight squeeze of support. She covered it with one of her own, or at least attempted to with her hand being the smaller of the two. Buffy savored the support it represented, fearing she was about to loose it very soon.
"How is she?" Giles asked as he gazed down at Willow.
"The doctors say she's stable now, though it's a miracle after what she's been through. She's not in a coma, just a very deep sleep," With a catch in her voice as she fought back the tears that threatened to start again which she couldn't afford now because they would be tears of blood, Buffy continued to speak, "Giles, she was dead and I was responsible for it."
"Buffy, listen to me," Giles said, his voice fierce but quiet so as not to disturb Willow, "It was not your fault, it was the Vampire who did this to her and", his voice suddenly taking on such a deadly tone that she knew Ripper was making his presence known and surprising to her she felt a burst of fear from her Demon at that presence, "where is the Vampire by the way?"
When she didn't answer right away, Giles bent down as he turned her chair forcing her to face him, at the same time turning his hand that she was covering so to hold hers in it. He did notice in the back of his mind the coldness of it but he mistook it to her being in a state of shock.
Looking her straight in the eyes he asked, "Where is it?"
She knew by "It" he meant the Vampire.
"She has a soul now." She replied fearfully, the moment that she dreaded was fast approaching and she was terrified at what was about to or could happen.
"Buffy, who is it?" Giles asked, his voice gentle, for he couldn't understand why she was acting this way about the Vampire, but he could tell she feared for this creature. His mind raced trying to think of who it could be to draw forth such a reaction from her after literally killing Willow.
Buffy stared at him for a moment and then taking an unneeded deep breath she reached over with her other hand to grasp the back of his hand that was holding her own. Using both hands she guided it up and under her hair that she had instinctively arranged to cover her fresh bite mark on her throat. Hesitating for only a moment she firmly place his finger tips over her pulse point or as of now the nonexistent pulse point.
She watched the awareness of what she had become fill his eyes and she let go of his hand as he threw himself back from her. Even though it tore at her heart she understood his reaction and she had come to the decision that if he tried to stake her she was going to let him. She just didn't have the will to fight him on this.
Sitting with his back against the wall Giles kept muttering "Oh bloody hell!" as his eyes both filled with unshed tears for the loss of the Buffy he knew and turned deadly cold as he looked upon the thing that she had become. Looking away from him so to settle her gaze on Willow, Buffy began to tell him in a voice that was as dead as she was, what had happened from the point of her being captured. Her being turned, and then to her returning to the room Willow and her shared. When she got to the point when Willow walked out of the closet and what she herself was feeling, her voice started to crack causing her to stumble to a stop.
"Enough."
The single word was spoken in a tone that caused her jaw to snap shut with an audible click. Glancing over at him she blinked with surprise at the very small but still very deadly crossbow that he had produced from somewhere. Buffy wasn't surprised at the cross he held in the other hand.
"Who was it? He asked in a susceptibly calm voice. Buffy could feel the dark emotions that ran under the voice of his.
Bowing her head she gave a frustrated sigh before replying, "I don't know! There was no gloating or anything a normal big bad would do. It was just wham bam thank you your undead now ma'am thing!" Giving in to the frustration she was feeling Buffy punctuated her answer to Giles by slapping her hands down on to the wheelchairs armrest. This resulted in Buffy looking at two partially crumpled armrests and mumbling a quiet "Oops."
"Hey, someone's trying to sleep here."
The words were spoken softly but were heard by both Giles and Buffy, the latter started to get up from the now busted wheelchair to go to Willow's bedside but was stopped by her name being spoken by Giles in a tone of warning, as he himself slowly got up off the floor, all the while keeping the small crossbow aimed at Buffy.
Buffy herself having come to an abrupt stop half way out of the wheelchair gave out a hiss of pain. She had momentarily forgotten about the abuse her feet had taken. Gripping the damage armrest Buffy gently lowered herself back into the wheelchair, even though it was more painful for her. She had to fight the urge to let herself drop back down abruptly for fear any sudden movement would earn her a dusty demise from the crossbow in Giles hand. She was surprised to find herself wanting to live now, or at least live in an undead short of way.
Willow stared wide eyed at the crossbow Giles was aiming at Buffy as he moved to stand on the opposite side of her bed from Buffy. If he had stood between Buffy and the bed it would put in within Buffy's reach.
"Uh... Giles why are you aiming a baby crossbow at Buffy? I gave her my soul!" Willow asked with an indignant look on her face.
"Willow I know you believe that you gave Buffy your soul but there is a slight flaw that I feel I must point out to you," Giles paused, "you're alive."
"Oh," came the subdued reply from Willow, then her features shifted into Resolve Face, "But hey damn it I should fucking know if she has my soul!"
Buffy, Giles and Willow all blinked in surprise at the profanity that passed from Willow's mouth.
Giles could feel his eyebrows climbing his forehead as his eyes widen in surprise at Willow's verbalization, then his eyes narrowed in thought.
"Whoa, potty mouth there Will!" Buffy blurted as she stared in shock at her best friend.
"Oh no, you don't think I don't have a soul now do you?" A scared Willow asked Giles as she stared up at him with wide frightened green eyes.
"Of course you do Willow," Giles replied in a gentle voice, "Now do either of you remember what you felt when Willow... ah... came back to life?"
As Willow's brow furrowed in thought Buffy's body became as still as a statue, Giles watched as the life that shown from her hazel eyes drained away as her thoughts turned increasingly inward. It chilled him to see yet another trait of her undead status exhibiting itself.
"I...I", Willow hesitantly began "remember waking up gasping for breath, the air..."
"Tasted so sweet and your heart was thundering in your chest." Buffy finish Willows description.
With surprise showing on her face Buffy looked at Giles and said, "Giles I felt what Willow felt when she took her first breath and," Buffy became still once again as her thoughts were drawn inward, then awareness flowed back as she focused her gaze on Giles. She began to talk once again, "I also could feel something stretching from here." She placed her right hand on the center of her chest just below her breast.
"I believe I might know what has happened, but first let's test my hypothesis," Giles said. He continued to speak while keeping the crossbow trained on Buffy, "Willow, I would like for you to close your eyes and think of Buffy. Create a mental image of her, if you will, and make it as real as you can. When you have one let me know, but keep you eyes closed."
As Giles spoke his voice became deeper and softer. Willow could herself relax, and in no time she was able to form a surprisingly strong mental picture of Buffy. When she felt ready she let Giles know with a softly spoken, "Ready."
On hearing that Willow was ready Giles caught Buffy's attention which had drifted back to Willow. Once she was looking at him Giles made a slight gesture with the hand holding the cross while he mouthed a word silently. Buffy eyes grew wide with understanding and then she nodded back while a look of grim determination settled over her face.
Giles tossed the cross.
Buffy caught it with her left hand, which immediately started to sizzle.
With a gasp Willow's eyes flew open while she shook her own left hand in a futile attempt to stop the burning sensation she was experiencing.
Buffy immediately dropped the cross when she saw what was happening to Willow. They both felt relief.
Willow and Buffy stared at one another with looks of amazement and wonder on their faces, the implication was startling to the both of them. When they turned to Giles for an explanation they were happy to see him breaking down the small crossbow.
"Cool," An intrigued Willow said as she watched Giles brake down the small crossbow; it was quickly folded down to what appear to be a small stylist case, which he slipped into the inner pocket of his tweed jacket that he was wearing.
Having put it away, Giles cleared his throat as he marshaled his thoughts. When he was ready he began to speak.
"I believe I know what has happened between the two of you. Willow, Buffy, you both are sharing a soul. In fact Buffy, you're sharing Willow's soul. That's why you both experience what the other feels at certain times. Also I think that you Willow are getting some..." Giles paused a moment as he thought of the best way to describe his idea, "leakage from Buffy's demon that now inhabits her body."
Giles reached out and grasped Willows hand, offering his support as her green eyes widened with fear as he finish his explanation.
"So what does this mean for Willow, besides cussing?" A concern Buffy asked.
"I frankly don't know, but I intend to find out and," He caught both of their gazes with his own, letting them see the sincerity in his eyes, "I will give what ever aid either of you need in controlling the darkness that's in the both of you. I do have a bit of understanding about that sort of thing," he said with a slightly abash look on his face. It only grew more so with the very sincere "Thank you," coming from both Buffy and Willow.
"Well now," Giles said has he gave Willow's hand a finale squeeze before letting it go, he was afraid of causing her pain from any jostling of the IV's in her arms. "First off I believe it would be prudent to contact everyone else so to warn them of this threat, you may not be the only target Buffy."
Even as Buffy was feeling fear for her friends and family, she was also feeling a grand sense of relief. Her Watcher and mentor were sticking by her. She could almost physically feel a great weight being lifted from her shoulders.
Willow gave a soft murmur of contentment as she suddenly felt her shoulders relax for no apparent reason. She started to drift off to sleep once again when a voice brought her back to wakefulness faster then a cup of coffee from the Espresso Pump.
"I'm sorry I'm late but I swung by to pick up Xander and Anya, his car wouldn't start," Joyce said as she entered the room. She was closely followed by a concerned looking Xander and tired looking Anya.
To Be Continued...
Wispr