The first thing she realized as Buffy blinked groggily against some unreasonably harsh florescent lights was that her head felt like someone had it in vicegrips. This was quickly followed by the sensation that her mouth seemed to be stuffed with cotton. The darkness just beyond her called out and she swam toward it willingly when she was suddenly yanked back to the present, and the pain, by a tired sounding voice.
“Rise and shine, dumpling.” Whose voice? It took her a moment to place it. Faith. Right. She and Faith, attacked by Lilah and her minions. Taken down by a gun that was never fired.
Which led Buffy to her second realization. Being captured by that bitchy lawyer, smacked upside the head with a gun nonetheless, was humiliating.
“Hey, you in there?” Faith asked in a tone that Buffy couldn’t identify between annoyed and concerned.
“I think so. Hang on a second and let the drummer in my head pause between solos and I’ll let you know,” she rasped, and blinked her eyes hard to try and clear them. When she opened them again she wished she hadn’t. Okay…so they weren’t restrained. No ropes, no chains, no nothing. But that didn’t really help the situation, given that the room they were in was just that…a room. No doors, no walls, no means of entry or exit at all. Just…space. White space.
“Uh…okay,” Buffy muttered, throwing a glance at Faith. “I’m guessing you’ve already given this the once over.”
“More like the twenty-over,” Faith nodded with disgust. “White room, but no black curtains. Any ideas?”
Buffy struggled to her feet and shook her head to help clear it before taking a few hesitant steps. “It’s just space,” she noted. “No walls.”
Faith nodded. “Just a floor. Time, or space, or something like that…it’s different here. I walked for what seemed like ever, but when I turned around you were always the exact same distance behind me.”
A sinking feeling began to swell in Buffy’s belly. “I’m guessing shouting for help isn’t going to cut it.”
“You really were out,” Faith smirked. “Tried that. Felt like a damned idiot while doing it, too. Never cried for help in my life.”
“I’m serious,” Buffy said, beginning to look, and feel, troubled for the first time. “Faith, this could be bad. Angel and the others, they don’t know where we are. And we can’t contact anyone…” Her eyes widened suddenly.
“What?” Faith wanted to know, looking on with interest.
Buffy screwed her eyes shut. Willow she called with her mind. Willow? Anyone? Hello?
A moment later, deflated, she opened her eyes again. “Never mind.”
The girls stared at each other a second before Faith opened her mouth, then shut it again abruptly.
“What?” Buffy asked.
Faith hesitated.
“What’s wrong?”
“Buffy… Angel and the others…”
“What about them?” Buffy asked testily.
“Spike and that lawyer were going to raise Gy-ra.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Faith raised her eyebrows pointedly. “What if they did?”
Buffy followed her train of thought. “You don’t think… No. It’s not possible. If they were dead, I’d know. I’d feel it.”
“How’s that, exactly?” Faith asked gently.
“I’d feel Angel, Faith,” Buffy told her simply. “I’d know. Trust me on this. He’s alive. They’re alive. Angel would never let anything happen to them.”
Faith watched her carefully for a moment, then nodded. “Okay then. They’re alive. And they’re going to figure out pretty soon how to get us out of here.”
Buffy glanced around dubiously. “Wherever here is. Gotta give the lawyer her due…I never saw this coming.”
“You should have seen the looks on their faces though when they realized we’d been working together this entire time,” Faith smirked with satisfaction. “They had no idea.”
“Bonus points for us,” Buffy nodded.
“You really didn’t tell Angel?”
“I told you not to tell anyone outside of Willow…same went for me,” Buffy told her offhand as she began to pace the room. “God, what is this place?”
Faith shrugged. “Mystical portal, space in-between dimensions, how should I know? We’re just the muscle, girlfriend. The brains got left behind in the form of a witch and two stuffy Brits…although, have you checked out Wes lately? He’s got that scruffy Indiana Jones thing going on I noticed.” When Buffy glanced at her worriedly Faith grinned. “Chill out, they’ll get us out of here.”
Buffy nodded after a moment. “Right. They will.”
She took a seat on the floor next to Faith and the girls sat side by side for several moments in complete silence. Finally, Buffy turned to Faith. “Don’t suppose you have a deck of cards on you.”
*~*~*
“I say we hit him again. Hard. With sharp, pointy, wooden things. Say about, yea-high?” Xander indicated his chest with a swoop of his hand.
“I’m for it,” Gunn agreed, nodding. “But that would defeat the purpose of me doing this.” With a swing he backhanded Spike across the face. “Wake up, vamp.”
Spike’s head lolled to the side for a moment before he blinked. His face stung, but more importantly, that his body was on fire. He hoped not literally or he was wasting the blissful unconsciousness that beckoned him, licking at his mind with soft, feathery strokes. What the hell was going on?
“Hit him again.”
From behind closed eyes he recognized that voice. That was Angel. And his grand-sire sounded none too pleased.
“Much obliged,” someone else said and Spike’s head rocketed backward once again.
“How long are you going to do this?” Cordelia asked from somewhere nearby.
Angel snorted. “Until he’s awake.”
“So you can just beat the truth out of him until he’s unconscious again?” Dawn? Dawn was here, too.
“Something like that.”
The last strike to his face felt like it might have loosened a tooth and Spike played his tongue over the sore spot to check when Angel gave the order to hit him again. As Gunn’s arm swung toward him, Spike’s right hand came up and stopped it. “I’m awake,” he said unnecessarily, and dropped his hand.
Gunn’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, so?” he said through gritted teeth, and let his fist fly sending Spike’s head snapping back.
“Stop it!” Dawn shouted angrily and Spike almost grinned. Always on his side, good girl. “He’s awake,” she continued. “Just find out what we need to know and then get him out of here. He’s a traitor.”
So maybe not. Blearily Spike opened his eyes, well, eye, actually, since the left one seemed too puffy to actually open at the moment, and wiped at the blood on his lips. Wasn’t as much fun when it was your own blood you were licking off your fingertips.
“That’s so gross,” Xander commented.
“Save the etiquette lessons,” Spike spat. “What do you want?”
“What do we want?” Xander replied incredulously. “Are you serious?”
“Where’s Buffy?” Dawn snapped. “And Faith? We know you had something to do with all this. Tell us where they are.”
Spike’s good eye moved around the crowded room and trained on the littlest Summers girl. “I don’t know,” he told her.
“You’re lying,” she bit out. “You’re in on this, with that law firm. You helped them capture Buffy and Faith.”
“No, I didn’t,” Spike insisted, struggling to his feet. The moment he was on them Xander and a black man he didn’t know had him by the arms. Angel leaned back on a table before him, arms crossed and looking thoughtful…and more than a little put-off by Spike’s presence.
“You might as well make it easy on yourself Spike,” Xander told him. “If you don’t tell us what we want to know, we’ll just have Willow concoct a truth spell or something and get it out of you that way… And I have to tell you, that’s the easiest plan we have for getting you to talk. Gunn here,” he nodded to the black man, “his way involved hot pokers through your extremities.”
Gunn nodded and tightened his grip on Spike’s weakened arms. “Angel told me how much you used to like playing with them…got some jolly’s running a few through my man there, huh?”
He had. Long time ago, but he had. And damn if that hadn’t been fun. “Look, I’m telling you the truth,” Spike muttered. “I don’t know where they are, that bitch screwed me over same as you.”
“And what, we’re supposed to feel sorry for you ‘cause you’re not going to end the world?” Dawn asked, tears in her eyes. “You let her take my sister, Spike. You let her take Buffy. You’re supposed to love her and you let her get caught like this, maybe killed. You wanted to end the world with them and their stupid demon you guys tried to raise!”
“Little bit,” Spike began.
“No!” she shouted. “Don’t talk to me. Ever again.” With that she turned and headed up a flight of stairs, followed by an angry looking teenage boy.
The group watched her go when Giles stood up and removed his glasses, cleaning them in a familiar gesture. “Spike,” he said softly, concentrating on the task, “this isn’t a negotiation. If you refuse to tell us what you know we aren’t going to just tie you up in the bathtub or to a chair and wait it out.”
Spike’s eyes raised to meet the Watcher’s and for a moment, Spike was almost nervous. He’d never seen Rupert look so…cold.
“You will tell us,” Giles continued, putting his glasses back on his face and walking toward the vampire, “what you know. You will do it now, and you will do it quickly. And then we will decide whether to end your miserable existence…or not.” His voice was low and threatening, and his eyes didn’t waver as they trained on Spike’s own.
“Step off, Rupert,” Spike murmured. “I don’t know anything, as I’ve already told you. The lawyer used me to get the Slayers. End of story. She never had any intention of making me a supreme power. I’m the bleedin’ patsy here, okay?”
“Not okay,” Gunn told him. “A couple lines over from okay.”
“Look, Shaft, when I want your opinion on the matter--” Spike’s head snapped back as Gunn yanked his hair and Xander held a stake to his heart.
“I’d watch it with the slang, vampire,” Gunn growled, the whites of his eyes huge and round with anger.
“This is useless,” Cordelia concluded. “He’s not going to tell us anything, even if he does know something.”
“Then he’s going to help us get them back,” Angel told her, pushing off from the table.
“I’m not stepping foot back in that building,” Spike told him.
Angel didn’t seem to care. He simply moved his vicious eyes from Spike to Gunn and nodded. Gunn stepped up again and this time when his fist came down, Spike gratefully slipped into unconsciousness.
*~*~*
There was no noise this time, no chatter, no yammering on about getting the Slayers back. Just quiet. But there was something else, too. A presence. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to open his eyes because what he sensed was angry, dark and evil. And he was fairly certain that anger was directed at him.
When he managed to inch open his good eye he was alone in the darkened basement room except for a loan figure standing across from him, arms folded over a broader than broad chest.
“More interrogation? Wait, no…I’ve seen this. On one of the hundred or so Law and Order spin-off’s. You’re gonna get rough with me, I’ll sing and we’ll save the day, that it?” he choked out, pushing himself up against the cement wall so ease that crick in his neck.
Angel didn’t speak. He simply stood there in his black on black clothing and looked as he always had when it concerned Spike, Angelus or Angel, it didn’t really matter. Seething anger, utter contempt…yeah, that about did it. Though this time there seemed to be a bit of out and out rage mixed in, and in Spike’s present state of mind that worried him just slightly. He wasn’t afraid of his sire, wasn’t afraid of anyone to speak the truth. But generally he preferred to be on the less painful side of torture. The bearer of the brunt, not the other way around.
“If you’re going to just stand there, I’m going back to sleep,” Spike told him with a smirk, and even that hurt his face.
“I’m not playing games with you, Spike,” Angel said, so softly Spike’s vampiric hearing almost didn’t detect it.
“Not really in a position to play right now, so that’s good. Maybe next round,” Spike retorted.
“You allowed Buffy and Faith to be captured.”
“As I was on the other side of the fight, sweetums, let’s rephrase that. Seems to me you allowed them get nabbed. I was somewhat busy getting shot.”
“You violated her.”
“What?”
“How’d you do it?” Angel growled. “How’d you convince her that it was okay? That it was what she needed?”
Spike peered at his grand-sire. “Excuse me, I think someone’s reading ahead a few chapters. What the hell are you talking about?”
“Did you play on her weakness from being brought back to life? Ripped out of heaven? Did you pretend to console her, to be her friend, the person who could understand her pain until she felt like no one else could possibly know?” Angel’s anger was mounting but he remained annoyingly unflappable. “Did you tell her pretty lies and pay her petty compliments? Or was it the other way around? Appeal to that desire every girl has somewhere deep down for the bad boy?”
Spike stared. Angel’d lost it. Truly.
“Whatever you did, Spike, it doesn’t matter. It never will. Because you’ll never get another chance with her. You’ll never again lay a hand on her, not a finger, without me there to rip it off your body should you dare. Never again will you violate her.”
Spike blinked, then began to laugh. “Oh…I get it. So, that’s what’s really got your knickers in a twist, is it? Yeah, I wouldn’t think that would go over real well with you, but you know what? Get over it, Angel. I gave that girl more than you ever could. Several dozen times, actually. And no nasty side effects like my soul getting ripped out. Just a nice afterglow, sometimes a good smoke.”
“Touch her again and I’ll kill you.”
“And what if the girl wants touching, eh?” Spike teased.
Angel said nothing.
“It’s not like I had to force her, sonny. Though sometimes I did, and she liked that well enough, too.” God, he was going to enjoy this. He’d probably get staked through the heart for it, but damn if it wouldn’t be worth it. “Our girl has quite the knack for chains, you know? Oh, no…you probably don’t.”
“She’s not your girl, Spike.”
“I love her. I have a soul now, Angel, or hadn’t you heard? Two get to play at this game.”
His words made Angel sick. “You love her, yet you sold out to Wolfram and Hart at the first mention of a prophecy and the chance to be a power player.”
“She cares about me, too, you know.”
“I think you’re going to be disappointed, Spike. You went all the way to Africa to get yourself a soul, and twenty-four hours of being around me, she’s back in my arms,” Angel told him smugly. He stood up and turned to walk away before pausing and looking back once more. “I’ll get her back, safe. And when I do, you’ll be no more than a memory. You and your pathetic attempt at anything greater than what you really are.”
“Sticks and stones, mate,” Spike called back. The door slammed a moment later as Angel walked off and Spike stared at the room before him.
“Damn it.”
*~*~*
“Anything?” Cordelia asked as Angel entered the lobby. He shook his head.
“No. But I didn’t expect anything. That’s not Spike’s style. I could torture him for hours and it wouldn’t make a difference.”
“Fun as that sounds,” Xander said wistfully.
“So what’s the plan?” Willow asked.
Angel glanced her way. “Do a locator spell. Our dimension and others. Can you handle that?”
She swallowed. “I’m a little weak, but yeah, I think so.”
“I’ll help you sweetie,” Lorne offered. “Mi mystical energy es su mystical energy.”
Willow smiled gratefully and took his hand. “Let’s get going, then.”
“We’ll find her, big guy,” Xander told him. “We’ll find them both.”
“I know we will,” Angel nodded seriously.
“And then?” Dawn asked. “What happens to Spike when we get Buffy and Faith back?”
No one spoke.
“Angel?” she asked again.
The look her gave her had her backing off. When he stepped away she glanced over at Gunn and the others. “I’ll just say I hope Spike hasn’t made any long term vacation plans,” Gunn offered, and followed Fred out of the room.
*~*~*
The knock on Lilah’s door was expected.
“Come in,” she called, and glanced up as two of her team members filed in.
“The witch is performing the locator spell, as you said she would,” one of them informed her.
Lilah nodded. “Splendid. We’ll be ready for whatever they throw at us.”
“The girls are contained and being monitored, as you requested.”
“I expected no less.”
“Will there be anything else?”
Lilah smirked. “Only that you let me know the minute Angel arrives. I trust everyone knows what to do?”
“Of course,” they said together and left the room.
Lilah walked to the window and stared out over the city. “Ready or not, Angel, here I come,” she whispered to no one.
