Disclaimer: I'm a college student. All I own is a pack of Ramen Noodles. I don't own Buffy, Roswell, Dawson's Creek, Wheaties or any other trademark used in the story.
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Part Three
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Spike was beginning to wake up…he hadn’t had a headache like this since the last time he acquainted himself with Jack Daniels. He could tell he was in the back seat of a nice sized car. He was mad as could be… Probably one of my old lacky’s out to get me now that I’m defenseless. Great, what a way to die at the hands of some half-wit vampire. He stopped for a moment. No, whomever captured him wasn’t vampire, he could feel the human vibe in the room and now in the car. So, I’m being sold to someone. No, that didn’t make sense either. He tried to sit up, but couldn’t. The driver didn’t take notice of this. He couldn’t see through the mask on his face. He started thinking through his plan. He slowly started working up his anger…if he could just get mad enough, he could break the rope that was holding him. It wasn’t that thick at all, and as the anger arose, the rope became slowly weaker and looser. He finally got loose. He stayed quiet until the car made its stop. He would wait for his attacker to make the first move.
* * *
Buffy had made her way over after Willow beeped her while she was on patrol. Giles was as dumbfounded as the rest of the group. “I don’t get it.”
Buffy didn’t either. “Those chains were full-proof…there is no way he broke out of them. They look as though they’ve been cut through.”
“Like with bolt cutters.” Xander was glad he actually knew what he was talking about. The time he spent with the construction crew wasn’t a complete failure.
Willow looked as though a light bulb had just gone off in her head. “So, then he had an accomplice?”
Buffy was quick to answer. “But, that doesn’t make sense. Spike was the one to come to us for help. Granted, these last few weeks haven’t been the best for him, but he needs us right now to survive. Besides that, even if he wanted to break out, when did he ever have the chance to gain an accomplice? He’s been tied up from the moment he got here.”
Giles was the best suited to answer that. “He didn’t. He’s been under my constant supervision since Thanksgiving. However, now given the chance to roam free, no matter how desperate he may get for food, I doubt he’ll be running back to the comfort of the bathtub any time soon. Eventually, yes, but not for now.”
Buffy knew what that meant. “So, I’m back on the hunt?”
“Well, we aren’t completely sure that he is unable to harm others…these effects could be temporary… and being the slayer…”
Buffy wasn’t about to let him go into the “It’s your duty” speech, she could feel coming. “Yeah, yeah…I know the drill. Willow, don’t wait up for me. Have Xander and Anya walk you back to the dorm. I don’t want you out by yourself.”
Willow knew that was coming…Spike may be in the non-dangerous section of the zoo for now, but the rest of Sunnydale’s vamps were not. “Ok, be careful.”
Buffy loved it when Wil said that…it made her feel like part of her mother was still around. “I will.”
* * *
They would walk to the crypt in the cemetery from here. She unlocked the back door and was about to pull out the restrained prisoner when she was kicked so hard it threw her back at least three feet. She landed flat on her back, but quickly rolled over to her stomach to hide her identity. Spike didn’t bother to look. He simply ran and shed the ski mask once he was away from the car. He didn’t know where he would go, but he surely wasn’t going to hang around here.
Once he was out of sight, she regained her composure. She had blown the only chance she would have to get him to The Mochbor passage way. She thought to herself, She gathered her things and left in her car. She had to track him down and watch over him. She knew the slayer would be out looking for him. She also knew that just because Spike was unable to harm others didn’t mean he wouldn’t try. Buffy was in no position to have to kill him, but she would if she thought he was a threat. This bothered the stranger, but it gave her the extra push she needed right now. She pushed her foot down harder on the gas.
* * *
Buffy had been looking for almost an hour now and was ready to give up for the night when she finally found Spike hiding behind an old crypt in the cemetery. “Forget about it slayer, I’m not going back to the bathtub.” Spike was ready to endure as much pain as necessary to avoid going back to a life of imprisonment, but he would try running before fighting. He was off, but Buffy was right on his trail.
“You can run…but you can’t hide.” Buffy knew that was terribly cliché, but she had always wanted to say it. The two had run nearly half way around the cemetery before Buffy caught up with Spike. She quickly tackled him and began her assault delivering several painful punches. It was all Spike could do to avoid receiving direct blows. He was getting tired of it and decided to fight back.
“Well, if I’m gonna be in pain, I might as well take out a slayer while I’m at it.” He punched Buffy hard in the stomach and kicked her off of him. The pain in his head was almost unbearable, but seeing Buffy thrown back made him quickly forget the pain. He countered every move she made and gave back as good as he was getting. However, having not “really” fed in weeks, he was the lesser of the two and she was consuming all of his energy. She finally got the upper hand and was ready to use her stake.
As she lunged toward him, she heard it.
“I don’t think so.” Before she knew it, Buffy was down. She was disoriented, and could feel the blood begin to run down her head. She wasn’t sure what had hit her, but it was hard. She hadn’t been given a blow like that in quite some time. Whoever had hit her was now on top of her, holding her down. All Buffy could see was a black ski mask.
Buffy saw the attacker look toward Spike and yell, “Go…!” Spike sat for a second, not believing his ears. “I said go…run…leave.” Upon the second time, he ran away. Buffy was struggling to get up, but her assailant was stronger than she realized. “I’m not going to hurt you…just sit still and I’ll let you go once I know he’s out of danger.”
“Danger?” Buffy found that ironic As she lay there, she started to realize that this was her dream. She was shocked that a common girl was able to hold her down. She continued… “Do you even know who you’re talking about…I highly doubt he’s the one in danger.”
“Believe me, I know him better than you could ever imagine.” The stranger was watching as Spike ran off in the distance. She was concentrating on him and not on the person she was restraining. Buffy took note and couldn’t let this opportunity pass her by. With one quick move, Buffy flipped the stranger off and gained a quick pin over her. She removed the ski mask to find a beautiful young English girl with long, curly brown locks and crystal blue eyes. “Fine, we can do it this way…but he’s still getting away. That’s all I care about.”
Buffy was angry that she was right. “Who are you?” The girl said nothing. Buffy was tired and this had to end. “Alright, we’ll just let Giles figure out who you are.” Buffy picked the girl up to put her on her feet.
“Listen, as much as I would love to speak to an old, stuffy man, I’ve really got to get back to my job.” The stranger was getting agitated with this girl.
Buffy was angered with the girl’s response. “Job? What, letting murderous demons roam free? Is that your job?” The girl broke the hold that Buffy had over her and started to walk away. She had heard enough and Spike was getting away. Buffy wasn’t going to let her leave. “There is no way I’m letting you leave.”
The girl didn’t want to have to fight Buffy unless it was necessary, but she was well prepared in the event that she would have to.
“Listen, little girl…I don’t want to fight you, but if I’m not allowed to perform my duties, then you will leave me no choice.” She started to turn toward her vehicle so she could leave when Buffy made her attack. Buffy grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around to deliver a punch to the face. The stranger took it in stride and returned an even fiercer blow than she had received.
Buffy’s head snapped back like a twig. Buffy was shocked at the strength and power this girl had. The two fought with all they had…each giving their best until they were spent. Both were growing weary and tired, but it was Buffy that managed the upper hand by knocking the stranger out with a punch to the back of the neck. She dragged her to the car she had been headed toward earlier. Buffy went through her pockets and found a set of keys. With that, they were off to Giles’ apartment.
* * *
Spike didn’t look back once he was given the command to go by the masked girl. He couldn’t think about that now…he had to get to the sewers. He was in no condition to face any foe. He reached the sewers and found an adequate hiding spot…this would do till the next nightfall.
* * *
All she could feel was a sharp pain in the back of her head. She recognized the man standing in front of her. He was Giles. He placed a cold pack on the back of her neck. “Hello, my name is Gi…”
She didn’t need to hear what he had to say. “I know your name, and I know who all of you are.” She began to look around the room. She recognized everyone there. She knew the red headed brain of the group, Willow. She knew the attractive young man who was always hiding his feelings with a smart remark, Xander. She knew his “girlfriend” who had once been immortal like herself, Anya. She definitely knew the girl she had confronted earlier, Buffy. She knew the inquisitor who now stood in front of her, Giles.
“I have a feeling that we could all gain from you and from why you are here, but we’re going to need your cooperation.” Giles was hoping his words would penetrate the front that this girl was putting up. She didn’t know what he was talking about, but she had to find out.
“What makes you think that I have something to offer you?”
Giles was relieved that she had answered him. “Can we first have your name? It’s sort of a pleasantry.”
She contemplated what she was going to do while in the custody of these people. After a moment of thought, she decided that perhaps they could help her if she explained herself to them. She was afraid, but she would do it for the good of William. “My name is Michaela.”
“Michaela? That’s a very pretty name.” Giles knew that flattery never hurt when talking to females. He continued. “We’re eager to hear why you’re in Sunnydale, but more importantly, what your business with Spike is. We also have reason to believe you have something to do with a prophecy that is about to take place.”
“Prophecy?” that caught Michaela off guard.
“Well, yes. Buffy had a dream about you before she met you or even knew about you. We also have reason to believe that the prophecy called ‘The Balance’ could very well be upon us. Do you know anything about either of these?” The words Giles had spoken caused her great grief. She tried not to let it show, but it had. Tears began to well in her eyes. She hadn’t allowed that since she had lost William over a hundred years ago. However, she knew her time was approaching.
“That explains a lot,” was all she could muster.
“Explains what?” She looked up to hear the question coming from Xander.
“Can you please untie me? I will tell you anything you need to know, and I give you my word that I won’t hurt anyone.” Buffy eyed Giles looking for a yes or no from him.
“I suppose that would be acceptable.” He allowed Buffy by to untie her. She was free and took the opportunity to walk over to the window.
Buffy was the first to break the silence. “You’re not human are you?”
Michaela found that humorous. “On the contrary, I’m very human…I have been for one-hundred sixty-four years.”
Xander was the one who would inquire about that. “Ok, does that not make sense to anyone else in here?”
“She’s immortal.” Anya knew what they were dealing with here.
Michaela had been waiting for Anya to speak up on the subject. “Score one for the vengeance demon.”
Anya continued with what she was saying. “I’ve only run across a few immortals in my time, but most of them were cursed with immortality. They aren’t demons or vampires, so they don’t have evil doing to occupy their time. The immortals I’ve met would have given anything to die.”
Buffy concluded that wasn’t the case with Michaela. “You don’t want to die, do you?”
Michaela wouldn’t agree to that. “What are you talking about?”
Buffy continued. “When I first confronted you, you wanted to run. You didn’t want to fight. Someone who wants to die would have gone head first into battle.” Michaela was angered at this girl’s accusation, but she didn’t know if she was angry because of what Buffy had said, or because she was afraid that Buffy was right. She wouldn’t let them think the latter.
“Maybe I ran because I see battle as pointless. If I can’t die, why even bother with a fight?” Michaela hoped that would suffice.
Buffy was getting anxious…she wanted answers. “Alright then, what do you want with Spike?”
Giles was surprised at Buffy’s harshness. “Um…Buffy, why don’t you and Willow head back to your dorm. It’s been a long day for everyone here and I think we should get some rest. We can finish this all tomorrow.”
“Fine, you want to ‘baby’ her, go right ahead. I’m going to get some sleep.” Buffy picked up her bag and headed for the door. Willow looked at everyone and finally at Michaela and said goodnight to all. She followed Buffy out the door.
Xander and Anya picked up on the hint as well. “Well, I guess we’ll see you guys tomorrow. Nighty night.”
They left. Michaela turned back around to face the window. Giles sat on the couch. He hoped he could get through to this girl. He simply waited for her to speak. He would wait for as long as she needed.
* * *
She looked out the window and saw a poppy flower planted in a small garden. Her mind raced with memories. She was running through a field of poppies. Someone was chasing her, but she wasn’t afraid…this was all a game. He was closer everytime she turned around. She let out a laugh with every step she took. He finally caught up with her and tackled her. They rolled to a stop. He started to tickle her sides. She was laughing hysterically. She managed to get a phrase out in between laughs.
“William stop…”
She said it just to say it. She knew good and well that she didn’t want him to stop. But he did. He looked down into her eyes and just smiled. She looked up into his and knew she had achieved true happiness. “Do you love me?” She asked.
“Always and forever my sweet.” He answered. She closed her eyes… When she opened them, she was looking out a window in a dimly lit apartment.
“You know we had an entire field of poppies near where I grew up as a child. William and I played in them for hours when we were younger. We played in them for even longer when we were older.” Giles had waited for her to speak, and now it was his turn.
“You knew Spike?”
“Yes, I’ve known William since I was six years old. But, I have a feeling that you already knew that.”
“Well, I suspected a few things. I don’t know who you are, but I think you may play a major role in ‘The Balance.’”
She was surprised. “Then you know more than I do.”
“What do you know about the prophecy?” he asked.
“I know that at some time in the future, very near as it may be, that there is a shift in the balance of the sides of good and evil. Some how good gets the upper hand. Thus helping out our side for something bigger down the road.”
“Well, if I’m to learn about your role in this prophecy, I need to know about you.”
“Shall I start as every great story does with, ‘Once upon a time?’”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
* * *
Willow and Buffy hadn’t talked the entire walk home. Willow could tell Buffy was upset about something, but she didn’t know what. They reached their dorm and walked to their room. Once they reached their beds, Willow decided it was time to find out. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing. I’m just tired.” She hoped that would appease her.
“Ok, if you’re going to lie, you could at least come up with something more creative like ‘I’ve got herpes’…or something that gives off shock value.”
That caught Buffy’s attention. “Willow!”
“Well, are you gonna tell me or not?”
“I don’t know…there’s just something about Michaela. I don’t know what it is. I just get these really weird vibes from her.”
“Like evil vibes?”
“Well, that’s the weird part…they feel evil, but they’re mixed with good. Like I’ve the good makes me feel like we have a lot in common. Does that make sense?”
“Nope, but like you said, you’re tired. Try to forget about it for tonight, maybe Giles can get something out of her.” With that, Willow began to undress and put on her pajamas.
“You’re right. I’m going to be Michaela free for the rest of the night. Only naked Riley dreams here.” Buffy took off her shoes and socks and headed to the sink to brush her teeth.
“That’s my girl. Goodnight.” Willow climbed under her sheets and headed off to a peaceful sleep.
“Nighty Night to you to.” She finished with her nightly ritual of brushing her hair, flossing an extra time and then finally getting into bed. She fell asleep fairly quickly, but it wouldn’t be Riley that she dreamed of tonight.
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