SUMMARY: Sometimes, just when you thought you had everything figured out, you realize that you know nothing. And that's exactly what Spike is about to find out when going to Italy to warn his former lover of impending doom.

RATING: NC-17

DISCLAIMER: BTVS is property of Joss Whedon. I own nothing.

SPOILERS: Inspired by the first book of the comics Buffy season 8. You don't need to have read it to understand what's going on, but it will spoil you if you haven't read it yet.

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CHAPTER 13: Outside help

Inside a former pub and Inn on the outskirts of town, the activity was almost frantic. Outside, the night was dark as ink, but inside, the candles cast a warm glow on the old patina of the wood furniture and the terrifying faces of thirty or so vampires. Most of them were newly risen and didn’t have control over their demonic features yet. They were busy emptying the boxes that had been unloaded from the boat the night before, or aligning weapons on a side table.

Daniel was slumped in a large chair at the end of a long table, arms on the arm rests, looking gloomy and dangerous. His minions were all doing their best to avoid getting near him, or even looking in his direction. In his violent mood, he’d already staked two of them and nobody wanted to be the next one to turn to dust for no other reason than existing. Even Juliette was keeping her distance, trying to remain inconspicuous while painting her nails on the other side of the table.

The previous night had been nothing but fun and games, but now Daniel had an inkling that maybe, out of sheer luck, he’d stumbled into Slayer central and he was getting ready. He still wasn’t over his rage at finding one of his own working for the other side. He hated the Slayers, but it was nothing personal. Until now. William was personal. Daniel wasn’t too fond of his family to start with, but this was a shame he wasn’t about to forgive.

Daniel’s cell phone rang and he picked up immediately.

“Yeah.” He almost yelled into the receiver.

There was a laugh on the other end. “Someone is on edge today.”

“Spare me your comments, Rayne, I’m not in the mood.”

Ethan Rayne sighed dramatically. “All right then, have it your way. Why did you call me?”

“I have news.”

“Good ones I hope.”

“It all depends. I think I might have found the Slayer’s base of operations. ”

He heard Ethan inhale sharply on the other end of the line.

“We got into a fight with a few Slayers last night, and before long, ten more girls joined the fight. They must not have been too far because it only took about twenty minutes for them to show up.”

“If you’re right, this is fantastic news. It must mean that Miss Summers is close by.”

“Yeah well, the not so good news is that one of my family members is working with her.”

“Angel is in Scotland?”

Daniel sounded horrified at the idea. “God no! And thank the Heavens for that.”

“Who then?”

“William the Bloody. I think he goes by Spike now. He fought my minions last night.”

“And you didn’t kill him?”

“Not for lack of trying.” Daniel drummed his fingers restlessly on the thick wood table. “I had him, but they saved him before I could finish him. He’s severely injured though and it might take him out of the fight for quite a while. Even a vampire like Spike doesn’t recover too quickly from being almost cut in half.” He laughed, pleased with himself.

“Good, good. Now that we narrowed down the location, it might make it easier for Amy to pinpoint the exact location of Buffy Summers. She won’t hide from us much longer.”

“What do you want me to do until then?” Daniel hated taking orders from the human wizard, but he had to indulge him a little while longer.

“Stay put and wait to hear from me. Even when we do find her, you don’t do anything until I get there.”

The vampire huffed. “You can’t be serious? We’re here! We could find her much faster than you’re little witch could. If we stir up trouble, the Slayer is bound to eventually show up to stop us.”

“No, she won’t.” Ethan enunciated slowly, as if talking to a small child. “She’s smart and she has an army at her disposal. There’s a good chance she might be aware the U. S. Army is looking for her. If it’s the case, she will stay hidden no matter what. Or relocate everybody. I don’t want to take any chances. Besides, it is imperative that I be there when we attack.”

“Why?”

“Because Miss Summers and I have a score to settle. I will be the one to kill her and no one else. Understood?”

Daniel inhaled deeply to calm himself down. “Fine. We’ll stay put.”

He hung up before Ethan could add anything, then put the phone down on the table and shattered it with his fist.

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Spike woke up slowly. It took him a little while to remember where he was, but as soon as he did, he opened his eyes to look around. He was alone.

Shocking.

He carefully sat up, testing the pain in his torso. It was mostly gone. The only reminder of his injury was the scar he would probably have for a while, and a tightness that reminded him of muscle exertion.

Vampires didn't usually feel things the same way humans did, but there were exceptions. When the chip fired in his head, back when he was still on the leash, it had reminded him of the migraines he used to get when he was human and had read all night by candle light, only the pain from the chip was much worse. Now his sore muscles had brought back memories too. Memories of his father--not too long before the man had died--trying to toughen him up by making him chop wood until well after the sun had set. William would wake up in the morning and barely be able to move. Then his mother would spend all day fussing over him, defeating the purpose of his father's lesson. He had been a real mama's boy at that time, no doubt about it. Maybe the old man had had a point after all.

Spike bent down to get his pants from the floor and winced a little. “Spike my man, toughen up. ‘S not worse than when the silly bint dropped an organ on you." He smiled and shook his head, amused by the memory. "At least you’re not in a wheelchair this time around.” He mumbled to himself.

He put his pants on then only took a look at his t-shirt to know it wasn’t salvageable. He shrugged and sat on the edge of the bed to put his boots on.

It was dark outside, which might explain why Buffy was gone. Good intentions or not, he couldn’t expect the girl to stay in bed all day and all night. She probably didn’t want to disturb him. Spike congratulated himself on his attempt at a positive outlook. Normally, he would have been pissed and jumped to conclusions about her breaking her promise of talking and shutting him out again. Benefit of the doubt, he reminded himself.

He cracked the door open and looked out into the hallway to make sure the way was clear. He needed to find Buffy, but the last thing he needed at the moment was a gaggle of teenage girls fussing over him and asking him a million bloody questions.

He wandered the halls of the castle without much luck until he came across Xander.

“Look, it’s alive!” Xander exclaimed.

“’M fine, whelp, thanks for asking.”

“Sorry, man.” And he did look sheepish. “You might not believe me, but I’m glad you’re in one piece. A little shocked and confused that you recovered so fast though.”

“I had help.“ Spike answered cryptically. “And you may not have noticed but I’m hard to kill. Speaking of, everyone made it out of there OK last night? It was last night, right? I slept so long I lost track.”

“Yes and yes.”

“Good. Bleedin’ bastard, I should have known he would pull something like that.” Spike shook his head and there was some guilt in his blue eyes.

“Not your fault. If you hadn’t taken his offer to leave, a lot more girls might have died.”

“Probably. Where‘s Buffy? I‘m looking for her but this soddin‘ place is like the Buckingham palace.”

“Training room. First floor, west wing. Just turn right when you go downstairs and follow the hallway all the way to the end. Big wooden double doors.”

“Thanks, mate.”

“No problem. Hey... What was the deal with that guy yesterday? I didn’t hear much but it sounded like you were related. Well, in a creepy vampire way I guess.”

“Nothing to be proud of. He’s Darla’s offspring. He never really stayed with us though because turning him almost got her killed.”

“Not that I think Darla dying is a bad thing, but why do you say that?”

“The Master had taken her on a trip to Paris and she had a little too much fun at a ball. She ended up turning this wanker at the end of the night without asking for permission. She was young--or at least she was for an Aurelian--and the Master liked to keep a tight leash on all his ‘children’. He wouldn’t have known about it for a while though if Daniel hadn’t turned Juliette a few weeks later. That got him into trouble with Darla, who got into trouble with the Master. The only reason the Master didn’t kill her is because she was his favorite. He locked her into a dark room without food for months. The bastard was twisted. Daniel and Juliette buggered off into the sunset and only stopped by to cause trouble once in a while. I don’t know them well, just enough to know they’re bad news.”

Xander rolled his eyes. “And there I was thinking my family was screwed up.”

“If my family history makes you appreciate your drunk loser of a dad more, you’re welcome.”

Spike smirked and turned on his heels.

Now that he knew were to look, it didn’t take him long to find Buffy. He made a pit stop in the kitchen first and was pleasantly surprised to find fresh blood in the fridge. The pigs blood might not have been as efficient as Slayer blood, but it still made him feel stronger.

Spike pushed the door open and just as Xander had said, Buffy was there trying her best to destroy a punching bag. Time to talk.

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"Well hello gorgeous! Do you have any idea how unpleasant it is to get to someone's place through the sewers?"

Angel's only reaction to Faith's grand entrance was a raised eyebrow and slightly amused half smile. He was sitting in his armchair with a book in his lap. "Hi Faith, how are you doing?"

"Five by five, hon. Can't say the same of those kick ass boots I just got though. They were expensive too."

A tall, slender woman with wavy auburn hair down to her waist and an outfit that revealed more than it hid, pushed Faith aside and walked in as if she owned the place. "Whatever, Faith. You got them on sale."

The brunette shrugged. "I was just trying to guilt him into buying me a new pair."

Faith dropped her duffel bag by the door and, without bothering to remove her mud covered boots, she made her way to the couch. She stopped moving when she finally noticed a woman slowly sitting up from where she was laying down under a blanket. The woman looked a her with sleep heavy eyes.

Faith's mouth dropped open in mocked shock. "Oh. My. God. I'm so sorry! Was I interrupting something fun? Wait. Guess fun is not the word if the poor girl's asleep and you're reading a book. If you forgot what to do with a woman, it would be my pleasure to refresh your memory."

Angel gave her a disapproving look. "Thank you, Faith, but I'll pass."

Faith sat on the unoccupied couch and put her feet on the coffee table. "Sorry to say but you're getting dull, Angel."

The other Slayer laughed. She was sitting at the kitchen table, straddling a chair, and helping herself to a cookie in the open package of Oreos. Faith turned to look at her.

"Alice, were you raised in a barn?"

"Look who's talking." The Slayer said before shoving the entire cookie in her full pouty mouth. Her mischievous honey colored almond shaped eyes, milky white skin and porcelain doll features hinted at some Asian blood. She looked young, around sixteen. Her left arm was covered in a sleeve of tattoos, mostly dragons, flowers and Japanese symbols.

Looking at Angel, Faith motioned with her head in her friend's direction. "This is Alice." She smirked smugly. "My bodyguard."

Angel nodded at Alice. "Bodyguard? Who did you piss off this time?"

Faith huffed. "Can you blame a girl for being careful?"

"Guess not."

Faith smirked. "Supposed to keep her out of trouble. Ironic isn't it?"

Angel nodded. "Very."

She bent down and stage whispered. "Apparently, keeping them busy is the way to go. She thinks I'm keeping her around cause I like the company."

"I heard that." Alice chimed in from where she was sitting at the end of the table.

Faith ignored her. "Alright, enough of this. Let's talk about something more interesting... like your sex life for example. Who's the chick. She's hot."

Molly had done a good job of making herself almost invisible so far. Or so she thought. So when Faith suddenly switched her attention to Molly, she had to stop herself from gasping. The beautiful and charismatic brunette was looking at her as if she was a juicy steak she was dying to sink her teeth into.

"Got a name?" Faith asked her directly, not waiting for Angel to make the introductions.

"I'm Molly Stevens."

"Molly is the soldier who came to me last night, Faith." Angel clarified. "She's the one who gave me the information about Willow."

"Nice to meet you, Soldier Girl."

Suddenly, Faith's entire demeanor changed. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees, her face serious.

"Now," She said in a tone of voice that meant she wasn't playing around anymore, "I did not stay up all night, put myself through the painfully boring phone call to Scotland, and get my ass on a plane at an ungodly hour of the morning just to catch up with an old friend. So let's get down to business, shall we?"

Alice stood up and came to sit next to Faith on the couch.

Angel nodded. "Of course. Thanks for coming so quickly. Did you find out anything interesting?"

Faith's face darkened and she stared straight into Angel's eyes. Instinctively, he leaned forward too, giving her all his attention.

"I'm afraid I don't have good new, Angel."

"Really? What's going on?" He looked worried. Or as worried as he managed to. After all, he wasn't a very expressive man.

"According to my sources..." Faith started, her voice almost dramatic. "The entire left wing of the castle has been evacuated by the girls."

Angel looked puzzled. "What does it have to do with Willow?"

Faith shrugged. "Beats me. But you asked for news, so I'm giving you the juiciest news of the hour. Buffy and Spike, locked in the bedroom for three days fucking like rabbits on Viagra. Now THAT's fun news." She grinned like a mad woman at the horrified look on Angel's face.

Next to Faith, Alice was laughing her ass off.

"Oh come on! Cheer up, big boy, I'm just playin' with ya."

"Faith..." Angel growled.

"Fine, fine! If you can't take a joke..." She shook her head disapprovingly then pulled out a cigarette.

"How did you get on a plane anyway? You'd think fugitives would be on the no fly list." Angel asked.

"Oh, honey! You didn't know? Giles got the charges dropped. As far as the police know, it was all a big mistake." She beamed at the vampire.

Angel's face softened. "I'm happy for you, Faith. Just don't screw up this second chance."

"No way. I'm being a good--if slightly boring--girl."

“Uh, excuse me?” Molly interrupted. She was trying hard not to get intimidated by the two Slayers suddenly turning to stare at her. “No offence but, could we get back on topic? I’m really curious to find out what’s going on with this Willow girl. No offence.”

Faith shrugged. “None taken. Sorry, I tend to get sidetracked. So anyway, I called Giles in Scotland yesterday and turns out, Willow’s been missing. She went on a mission to recover two untrained Slayers from L.A., then never came back. He swears there was no fight between Willow and Buffy, they’re as chummy as ever and all was well in the world before she disappeared.”

“He had no explanation why Willow would help the Army find Buffy?” Angel asked.

“No. But one of their witches did a locator spell that went wonky. Something about two locations. He faxed me a map of L.A. on which he indicated the two possible places where she could be.”

Angel frowned. “How could Willow be in two different places at once?”

“Who knows. Magic, I guess. Knowing the girl, she probably tried to do something clever, like making a double of herself so she could grocery shop and get her dry cleaning at once, and she fucked up somehow. That or she has an evil twin. She might be one of the most powerful witches in the world, but she’s always had a way of screwing things up once in a while.”

“Do you have that map?” Molly asked.

“Sure. Here...” Faith pulled a folded sheet of paper from the inside pocket of her leather jacket and gave it to Molly.

Molly looked at it for a moment before saying: “I recognize one of the locations as being the military base right outside of L.A. If there’s really two Willows and one of them is helping the Army, it’s not surprising that she’d be there. I don’t know where the other place is though.”

“OK. We’ll go check it out as soon as the sun sets.” Angel said. “Did you tell Giles that the Army is after Buffy?”

“Yeah, but he already knew. Spike told him.”

Angel’s eyes darkened. “So Spike really is there, then?”

Faith rolled her eyes. “Don’t start.”

“What? I was just asking!”

“Why are you so surprised? You’re the one who helped him get there.”

“No, I helped him get to Rome. Where we thought Buffy was.”

She snorted. “And you thought he’d just give up and turn back when he’d noticed the Buffy in Rome wasn’t the real Buffy? Get real! It’s Spike we’re talking about. Friendly advice, big boy, stop obsessing over little Miss Perfect and get a life.”

“Excuse me?”

“Wake up and smell the hottie. You got a tasty piece of ass right here in your living room. And no, I’m not talking about me or Alice. Though we are quite tasty.”

If Angel could blush, he would have. But Molly could. And she did.

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