Make Me
by T. C. McGonigle
Buffy and the gang belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Thanks for the inspiration.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part Four
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Drusilla sat at her vanity table brushing her hair. One hundred strokes to make herself pretty. Spike liked it when she was pretty, so did Angel. It was wonderful to have her Angel back. Spike didn't feel the same way, but he would learn to love their old friend. It would have been nice if they could get along. Drusilla smiled to herself. She knew why her boys didn't get along.
"Dru," Angelus appeared behind her, glowering, "Where's Spike?"
"Not here," Drusilla set down her hairbrush and stood up, "He went to find me a present, I think. Spike always brings back presents."
"That was before he became a two-wheeled freakshow," Angelus fingered a lock of Drusilla's hair. Abruptly, he twisted it cruelly, drawing her closer toward him. "Seriously, Dru, where is he?"
"From what I've seen, making new friends." Melinda walked quickly into the fire damaged room. Stars twinkled through the holes in the roof, clearly the vampires found other accommodations to spend their days in. "Buffy's on her way here. I had to distract them by giving them another place to look to get here in time."
"What does she want now?" Angelus growled and released Drusilla, "That girl is never happy. I try to see her, show her some affection and she wants me to leave, I leave her alone and she's banging down my door."
"She thinks you have Willow, or rather that Spike does."
"Willow?" Drusilla frowned. Spike didn't like other girls, only her, "Which one is she?"
"The shy, pretty redhead," Angelus answered Drusilla distractedly, "How did the cripple manage to capture Willow? She's not the boldest of the bunch, but she's got spunk."
"I don't think she was captured. They seemed awfully friendly," Melinda smiled at Drusilla's obvious agitation at the notion that Spike was fraternizing with a human.
"If he brings her across, Buffy'll kill him," Angelus mused. It would be an interesting situation, Willow, a vampire. Buffy would never be able to kill her, but as a vampire Willow wouldn't have such misgivings. Angel almost wished that he had thought of this himself.
"Spike would not do that!" Drusilla vamped out on them. Before either of Melinda or Angelus could respond, they heard the distinct sounds of Buffy breaking everything in her path to get to them.
"I don't have time to argue, I have to leave before Buffy sees me," Melinda slipped into the shadows.
Melinda had no interest in listening in on Buffy's confrontation with Angelus and Drusilla. Her carefully laid plans were not going exactly as needed and she didn't have the energy to think on her feet. First Willow and Spike resisted her and now their friends refused to believe that Spike and Willow were plotting against them. Angelus even seemed to like the idea of Spike bringing Willow over, although Drusilla had behaved predictably.
Blackness briefly clouded Melinda's vision and she stumbled against a wall of a building. Her influence was slipping and the soul was dying. She didn't have much time.
Willow shoved the last of the boxes to the back to the shed. Hopefully, her father wouldn't get a sudden gardening urge and notice the extra junk that was stored here. The last thing she needed was to explain Spike to her parents. Willow chewed at her lip as she walked back to the bomb shelter in her backyard. She wasn't even sure she could explain Spike to herself.
She found him rifling through the stuff that she hadn't removed. "Find anything interesting?" Willow sat down on the bunk.
"Just you," Spike put down an old photo album and surveyed his new surroundings, "Nice place you have here, Ducks."
"Willow. My name is Willow. This is an old bomb shelter that was built by the previous owners. We use it for storage so my parents shouldn't bother you," Willow said quickly, "I'm not inviting you into my home."
"Smart," Spike grinned approvingly. By now he was more than just impressed with the Slayer's friend. No wonder the girl was still alive, with friends like Willow, your enemies didn't stand a chance.
"You said you would tell me how we can stop Miss Quick," Willow prompted uneasily. She didn't like how Spike was smiling at her. "What is she anyway? A witch?"
"No, nothing that human. As I told you, our good friend Melinda is a Manipulator. A lost soul with the ability to suppress the soul of another and possess its body. It can also influence people, cloud their judgments and instincts about it. Some say that it used to be a witch whose original body died while the soul was astral projecting itself. I don't care much how it came to be as it is, I just don't like it."
"How come this ability to cloud minds didn't work on you or me?"
"Maybe we're not as stupid as our friends," Spike shrugged. That was his preferred explanation, but from the look on her face, it wasn't Willow's. "Or maybe she has sapped too much energy from the body she's using and the original soul is dying. She needs to find another."
"She wants Buffy," Willow jumped up from the cot, "I have to warn her."
"That would be a bad idea," Spike rolled in front of the entrance to block Willow's way, "If it is the Slayer's body the Manipulator is after, and I suspect you're right, then she will have made sure that Buffy is very firmly entangled in her lies."
"Then what are we going to do?" Willow stood uncertainly before Spike. The extreme stupidity of her actions were finally hitting home in a big way. She was trapped in here until Spike let her out, if Spike let her out.
Spike noticed the flutter of panic flit through Willow's eyes. He smiled slightly and briefly considered fanging out. Fear was an aphrodisiac, one he hadn't indulged in for a long time, and wouldn't at this moment. Right now he needed this very interesting girl.
"Why are you helping me? You hate Buffy," Willow tried to restart the topic of conversation.
"Au contraire, my sweet, you have done nothing but help me. I'm returning the favor," Spike flashed his most sincere smile, hoping to put the girl back at ease.
"I don't believe you," Willow settled back down onto the cot.
"You're right not to," Spike conceded, "Melinda wants the Slayer's body for a reason and it probably would not be good for me or Dru."
"Or Angel," Willow finished.
"Angelus can take care of himself," Spike grimaced and rolled away from the doorway. "You should get some sleep so that tomorrow you can see what your friends believe is going on. It might give us a clue to what Melinda is up to."
"Okay," Willow stood up and started to leave. "I'll come back tomorrow evening. She won't try to kill me, will she?"
"Not tomorrow and certainly not during the day. She would have to make it look like one of us," Spike caught Willow's hand as she passed by, "Don't worry, Ducks, I won't let anything bad happen to my new friend." Spike's thumb lightly caressed the inside of Willow's wrist.
"M. . .my boyfriend is a werewolf."
"Better not make him jealous then," Spike kissed the back of Willow's hand and let her go, "Good night, Sweet Willow." Spike watched Willow turn her back on him and leave. Courage, that was something to value in a partner.
Willow opened her door the next morning to a not so surprised attack courtesy of Buffy and Xander. Fortunately, she was ready for them. At least she hoped she was, lying wasn't her strong suit.
"What happened to you?" Buffy's voice had risen in that agitate way of hers, "Do you know how many vampires I beat up looking for you last night?"
"A lot," Xander answered before Willow could, "And she whupped Angel's ass too. Miss Quick said that Spike had kidnapped you."
"Do you believe everything Miss Quick says now?" Willow pushed her way past her friends. Their undying faith in Melinda Quick's word was annoying her. Mostly because she had told Spike that they would never believe what the Manipulator said.
"So, Spike didn't kidnap you?" Buffy frowned.
Willow knew she had to answer. The trouble was she had forgotten the well rehearsed lie she had formulated last night. "He let me go," Willow picked up the pace a bit. They were almost to the school and once there she could disappear down the halls without further explanation.
"He let you go? Why would he do that?" Buffy kept up Willow's pace easily, "Not that I'm complaining, mind you."
"Good," Willow mumbled, "I think he just wanted to scare me."
"That doesn't make sense," Xander scratched his head, "Spike 's not a game player, now if it had been Angel or that weird Drusilla chick. . . ." Xander shuddered at the thought of being at the mercy of Drusilla.
"I don't care what makes sense," Willow snapped, "He let me go, that's all I care about." Willow broke into a run at the sight of Oz waiting for her at the school steps.
Buffy and Xander watched Willow throw herself into her boyfriend's arms.
"Wow," Buffy slipped on her sunglasses, "This is the first time that Willow has lied to me."
"Me too. But why would she protect Spike?"
"I hate to say it, but maybe Miss Quick was right," Buffy sighed, "Maybe Willow isn't one of us anymore."
Previous Part
Next Part
T. C. McGonigle's Stories
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
