Turned
by Bob Head
Part 7
[reviews]
Disclaimer: None of the characters below belong to me. All the BtVS/Angel people belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox. (Damn it!) I'm just trying to have fun.
Pairing: Buffy/Willow, of course.
Spoilers: A few general ones for Season Six and a few more specific ones for 'Once More With Feeling'.
Distribution: IKOLY and the Immortal Slayer. Anybody else, just ask.
Rating: NC-17 for language, violence, and the occasional sexiness between B/W.
Feedback: Yes please! frank_8281@yahoo.com
A/N: I know that many people don't like the musical episode of BtVS. I am NOT one of them. I liked it. The only part that I didn't like was that damn kiss at the end. So what if that kiss had ended... differently.
A/N 2: For the purposes of this little AU, the so-called Trio are not an issue so I'm just gonna ignore them.
A/N 3: (Buffy's demon.)
Turned
PART SEVEN
Buffy woke to the sound of her demon chuckling in her head. ('Bout time you woke up. Nothing like a long sleep after a good feed though, is there? And if the feed is a good fuck as well, so much the better.)
Angrily Buffy thought, 'You sooo need stop talking about my Willow like that! Especially out loud! '
(Okay, okay. Sorry.) The demon grumbled. (Don't know why you're upset though, you'd never have gotten her without me. And... uh, 'your' Willow? So possessive and butch, I like it!')
Feeling Willow begin to stir, the Slayer firmly shoved the demon to the back of her mind. (Hey! Don't I even get to listen?) 'No!' firmly closing a mental 'door' in its face, she turned her attention to her lover
'Lover, yeah, I like the sound of that.' She thought as she listened to Willow breathing.
Sleepily the redhead opened her eyes. "What time is it?"
"Sun's almost down." The vampire replied.
Willow looked up at her lover and asked, "How can you tell with no windows?"
"It's a vampire thing Will." She said, gently kissing her.
~~~~~BtVS~~~~~
Preparations for the 'Great Spike Hunt', as Xander christened it, didn't take long. Buffy had a large variety of weapons on hand, from the standard wooden stake, to a couple of large swords and battleaxes. Xander took an axe and a sword, tucking them into his duffel.
Willow, having several offensive and defensive spells ready to go, took only a crossbow as a backup. Buffy, all in leather again, including a long leather coat, took a sword and Mr. Pointy, her favorite stake. If anyone noticed that Willow was wearing a turtleneck, no one commented on it.
Wearing a determined expression on her face, Dawn asked, "Are there any more stakes?"
Distracted, Buffy answered "In the closet." Looking up to see Dawn headed that way, "But you don't need one, you're not coming."
Turning to face her sister the brunette snapped, "The hell I'm not!"
"Dawn." Willow said warningly.
Xander, meanwhile, wisely concentrated on the sword he was sharpening.
"Willow was younger than me when she first started patrolling with you."
Taking a firm hold on her temper, Buffy replied, "This isn't a routine patrol Dawn..."
"Don't you think I know that?" She interrupted, "Spike murdered you! And if I see him," she made a gesture and Mr. Pointy rose into the air and swooped around the room. "I'm gonna turn him into a very dusty pincushion."
Buffy looked to her lover questioningly.
Shaking her head, Willow responded, I didn't teach her that." Giving Dawn, a stern look as the stake returned to Buffy's hand. "But we are going to have a really long talk when this is over young lady."
~~~~~BtVS~~~~~
They determined that Dawn could comfortably handle five stakes at once. She'd tried for six but lost control of one and forced Buffy to dive behind the sofa for cover. She was given a backpack full of stakes and strict orders to stay close to Xander.
"And try not to stake me!" Buffy added.
~~~~~BtVS~~~~~
Once outside, Xander asked, "So where are we headed?"
"There a couple of cemeteries nearby," Buffy replied. "I thought we'd check out some of the crypts there and see if he's squatting again."
"You don't know where he's staying?" asked Dawn.
"No." she said curtly. "I haven't seen him since... shortly after we got here."
Realizing Buffy was keeping something from them her sister asked quietly, "What else did he do to you?"
"Let it go Dawn."
Taking Buffy's arm, she pulled her around so that they were facing each other. "No. You came here with him and now you don't know where he is? What did he do?" she repeated.
Xander looked from the two sisters to Willow who was just as confused as he was.
Knowing she wasn't going to get out of this Buffy relented, "A couple of weeks after we got here... Spike tried to... claim his 'due' as my Sire."
"Huh?" said Xander.
Willow bristled with anger, "He tried to rape her."
Dawn's face darkened with sadness as she clutched her sister in a fierce hug. "I'm so sorry Buffy."
"For what?" asked the Slayer.
"For all those things I said earlier." She replied, "Willow was right, I didn't know anything."
Looking up at her 'little' sister, 'She's taller than me. When the hell did that happen?' Buffy said, "It's okay squirt. I screw up a lot too." Holding her hand out to Willow, she pulled her lover into the embrace.
Dawn looked over at Xander, standing off to the side looking morose and whispered, "I think someone feels left out."
Her eyes shiny with unshed tears Buffy extended her other hand toward him and said, "It's not a Scooby hug without my Xander-shaped friend."
Dropping the weapons bag on the sidewalk with a clank, he enfolded the three women in his arms. "I'm sorry for the stuff I said too Buff."
"It's okay Xander you had reason to doubt." Gently touching his bruised cheek.
Looking up in mock annoyance at her lover, her sister, and her best friend she asked, "How come I'm the only vertically challenged person here any more?"
With a typically goofy grin, Xander said, "I dunno Buffster, maybe it's just the Powers' way of compensating for all the extras you got that we didn't?"
"Stupid Powers." Buffy pouted, Dawn laughed and even Willow had to struggle to contain a grin.
~~~~~BtVS~~~~~
Once the group hug had ended, Buffy suggested that Dawn and Xander take the cemetery to the east while she and Willow checked the one to the west.
Suspiciously Dawn asked, "Are you just trying to get rid of me cause you think I'm gonna hit you with one of my stakes?"
With a 'who, me?' look Buffy replied, "No!" Then hesitantly, "Well, maybe just a little." Quickly continuing to head off a Dawn-sized temper tantrum she said, "Really, I just think we'll cover more ground this way."
Only slightly mollified, Dawn set off with Xander in tow.
"Remember, if you see Spike, call Willow's cell; don't try and take him on your own! Dawn, that means you!" Buffy called after them.
"Sure thing, Buff." Xander said loudly, trying to cover the string of invectives being muttered by the Slayer's sister.
~~~~~BtVS~~~~~
As soon as the pair was out of sight, Willow turned to Buffy and asked, "Are we doing the right thing? Sending them off alone like that?"
"Absolutely," replied Buffy. "I don't want Dawn anywhere near Spike. Xander will keep her safe and besides, the only thing they're likely to find in that cemetery is a couple of newbie vamps. I swept it just a few days ago." Pulling the blocking charm from her pocket, she handed it to Willow. "You ready to do your mojo?"
Willow nodded, dangling the charm from its chain. "I don't really need to cast a spell, I just need to tap into the one powering this. It'll take a few minutes though."
"Then let's get off the street," Buffy said, spying a coffee shop about half a block away and guiding the witch toward it. As they walked, Buffy remembered the conversation that had led to this plan.
~~~~~BtVS~~~~~
Reluctantly, they had gotten out of bed and were getting dressed. Not wanting Dawn and Xander to see the bite, Willow had asked Buffy for the loan of a turtleneck.
"Buffy, have you seen my shirt?"
"Over there Will," she said, pointing to the far corner of the room. "It's uh... kinda shredded. Sorry."
"As long as... ah," she said, pulling the blocking charm out of the remains of the garment.
Raising an eyebrow, Buffy had asked, "What do you need that for?"
"I think I can find Spike with it." Willow said seriously.
"How?"
"Well, you said that he told you they were a matched set." Said the witch. "That probably means they were made by the same person. If they were, then the magic within one," holding up the amulet, "should resonate within the other."
"Leading us to him," said Buffy thoughtfully. Willow nodded. "I'm worried about the 'us' part though."
"Don't you even think of leaving me behind." Willow said with fire in her eyes." I just got you back and I'm not taking a chance on losing you! Not to that bastard!"
Surprised at how aroused she became at her lover's reaction, Buffy shook her head, "I... ah was talking about Dawnie."
"Oh." Willow replied. "Well, that's okay then. But how are we gonna keep her from going?"
"I've got an idea about that." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Here's what I think we should do..."
~~~~~BtVS~~~~~
"Whatcha thinking about?" Asked Willow as they approached the entrance to the coffee shop.
She opened the door and ushering Willow through said, "About how mad you got when you thought I was gonna leave you behind."
Willow replied, "W-well, you have done that in the past. Take off by yourself to keep us out of danger. Usually getting in trouble in the process and sometimes putting us in more danger than we would have been if you had let us help in the first place and... what?" she said noticing Buffy's amused expression as they sat down next to each other in the furthest booth.
"I thought it was sexy." She said.
"R-really?" she asked.
"Really." Buffy replied, "And while I'd love to show you just how sexy..." pointing at the medallion still clutched in Willow's grasp, "Let's go to work."
"Work, right." Said Willow, focusing her attention on the blocking charm.
Taking a deep breath, the witch altered her vision to 'see' the tightly woven threads of magic that empowered it. Carefully she followed the intricate pattern, looking for one thread in particular.
"The trick," she told Buffy, "is going to be not just finding the right thread, but manipulating it to get the effects we want without unraveling the whole thing. Cause then all we'll have is a pretty ugly piece of junk jewelry."
The waitress chose that moment to come for their order, but the red haired Wiccan was only vaguely aware of it. Buffy ordered mochas for both of them as Willow continued to delicately probe the latticework of magic before her.
"What effect do we want?" the Slayer queried. "Aside from finding Spike that is."
Not taking her eyes off the medallion, "Well, I want to find the one piece of this spell that will resonate the most with the other charm. While at the same time I don't want to alert Spike. Cause him knowing we're coming, not so good." Willow replied. "And I think... yes! That'll do it.
As she spoke, the witch gently rearranged a single thread in the multitude, grinning she presented it to Buffy with a flourish. "Presto change-o! One Scrying Charm, at your service."
"How does it work Will?" Buffy asked.
The waitress arrived with their mochas. After she had departed Willow pulled a tattered looking map from her pocket and spread it on the table. "It'll still only work for you. That's too basic a level to alter without breaking the connection between the two charms."
"Okay... what do I do?"
"You take the charm and dangle it over the map." Miming the action, Willow continued, "Then the charm does the rest."
The Slayer looked doubtful. Willow sighed, "Just try it."
Shrugging, Buffy dangled the medallion over the map. For a moment nothing happened, and then the charm began to spin as if someone were twirling the chain in spite of the fact that the blonde's hand was perfectly still.
"Is it... supposed to do that Will?" The redhead nodded in the affirmative.
After a few more moments, Buffy started as the Scrying Charm began to exert a pull on her hand. "Uh... Will? It's... uh..."
"Just go with it Buffy. Let the charm guide your hand."
Nodding, the Slayer Vampire followed the pull until the medallion touched the map and stopped all motion just standing on it's edge.
Willow marked the spot asking, "Do you know this place?"
"Yeah," Buffy sighed, "he's at the club."
~~~~~BtVS~~~~
The two hunters set off in search of their prey. Unfortunately, they were so intent on their purpose that they were oblivious to the two pairs of eyes that were watching from a little distance down the street.
When Dawn saw Buffy and Willow leave the coffee shop walking quickly and with a definite direction, she elbowed Xander. Giving him an 'I told you so!' look the brunette silently motioned them forward.
~~~~~BtVS~~~~~
At the club, Spike was sitting at the bar drinking whiskey shots and glaring at the DJ setting up his equipment. "Hey mate!" he called to the bartender, "What happened to the band that was supposed to be here tonight?"
"They got fired." The bored looking man replied polishing a glass.
The bleached blond vampire narrowed his eyes, "Why?" he growled signaling for a refill.
"The girl singer decked a customer last night." He poured Spike another drink. "So the owner told her band not to come back. The DJ's all we could get on short notice."
"What happened when the girl found out?"
The barman shrugged, "Dunno. She ran out of here with the guy's chick right after. She was pretty hot too, some redhead."
Spike nearly choked on his whiskey, "Bloody hell!"
The barman suddenly found himself pulled halfway across the bar facing a snarling vampire. "A redhead? The man that got knocked out, did he have dark hair?"
"Y-yeah!" the man choked out.
Spike threw him into the liquor display behind the bar with a growl and stalked out of the bar. "Shit! If the boy and the witch are here then by now Buffy knows I tricked her. That I meant to turn her. That means that her and her little Scooby Gang are probably on the hunt tonight. Hunting for me." He got into his ancient Desoto and tore off with a screech of tires.
TBC...