FAMILY FEUD
PART SEVEN
Spike ambled into the Hyperion Hotel following the setting of the sun and spotted the cheerleader. What was her name? It started with a "C". Candy perhaps? He would wager she was very edible.

Swaggering forward, he rolled his eyes at her obliviousness. How had the twit survived this long if she could not even recognize the frontal approach of a vampire? He reckoned that this month's edition of Cosmopolitan must be pretty alright. She was riveted by it.

He "ahemed" and dryly remarked, "Sorry to intrude on your higher learnin', cheerleader... I want to have a t�te-�-t�te with the poof."

A shriek escaped Cordelia and she leapt in startlement. She promptly scoured the vicinity for a weapon which induced a smirk from him. "If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. I'm just here to see grandda'."

Cordelia was disbelieving. "Yeah. You're last trip to the big city went so well. We should make these reunions annual."

The Gem of Amara. All that torturing and chaos. Indeed, his last trip had been downright pukka. "The ol' man's healed by now. 'Sides, torture isn't my dish this stint. We have family business."

"Cordelia, what's the racket?"

Cordelia. He filed that tidbit away. Frankly, she looked more like a Candy to him. Tasty.

Pivoting, he saw Angel on the staircase, cuddling an unidentified object swathed in a blanket. A baby?

Fireworks were imminent.

"What are you doing here, Spike?"

Picking up on his father's incense, the child fussed.

Alert to Cordelia's antics behind him, Spike ducked as an ax whizzed by. Giving her a mock scowl, he seized it and reprimanded, "Tsk. Tsk. Behave, Candy. Don't go spookin' the tot with blood and gor."

"Candy?"

"Plus, I've got me a chip and am a bona fide do-gooder for the time bein'." Unable to leave well enough alone, he added, "But, don't forget, I'm still evil."

"Evil without any bite. Whatever shall we do with such a terrifying vampire in our midst?"

"So says the vampire that fed off rodents for nearly a century 'cause his conscience got the better of him." He switched topics, "Who's the bundle of joy?"

"He isn't your concern." Angel rejoined. Catching Spike's amusement at his brevity, he relented for reasons unknown, "This is my son, Connor."

"Fuck me. How'd you swing that?" A new thought struck him. "Hey, does this mean I'm an uncle?"

"Spike," Angel re-asked, "what are you doing here?" He whispered sweet nothings to the infant, ruining the intimidating demeanor he wanted to exude.

"First things first, who's the mum?" Buffy. Was she privy to this? Angel shagging on the side?

"Is this twenty questions?"

He persisted, "The cat's nippin' at me. Don't be so close-mouthed. Spill."

"Darla. Happy now? Moving on..."

Guffawing and clutching at his stomach as if it were too much, Spike wheezed, "She's just been spittin' out brats left and right, hasn't she? Can't keep her legs or veins shut!"

"Spike," Angel admonished. Then, trepidation was given birth. "What do you mean 'left and right'?"

Creel. His sport at Angel's expense faded. Grimacing at the man who was the love of his love's life, he opted to get straight to the point.

"We have a problem."

PART EIGHT
Her father had left her. Angel had left her. Riley had left her. Giles had left her. Spike had left her.

Oh, sure... they had all declared how much they loved her beforehand, but they had abandoned her anyhow. The result was the same. Always the same. She was alone. As alone as she could be with Dawn and her friends hanging around, that is.

Buffy perused the Magic Box regulars. Willow and Dawn were studying, Xander was messing with a shrunken skeleton head and Anya was calculating sales. This was her family. Her extremely dysfunctional family.

Everything had gone downhill subsequent to Giles' move to the mother country, especially with Willow. Willow and Dawn were still not on speaking terms and Tara had unofficially retired from the Scoobies. Buffy was trying to hold them together but felt like she was failing miserably. It had improved somewhat after she had been made invisible by her arch nemeses [insert uproarious laughter here], though an underlying tension lingered.

Curiously, Sunnydale had been quiet as of late. However, experience told her that this was the calm before the storm. Something was in the works. Lack of vampire activity was a major ut-oh in the Hellmouthy sense. This was indubitably so since Tara had overheard vampires conversing about a "challenge," "Master of the Hellmouth," and "Creel". What were those crazy vamps cooking up for her?

Shaking her anxiety, Buffy joined Dawn. "Watcha' studying?"

Dawn's nose scrunched in distaste. "Algebra."

"Want any help?" Were crickets chirping? The silence was deafening. Everyone was staring at her as if she had sprouted a second head.

Xander teased, "Who are you and what have you done with our Buffy?"

Dawn giggled. "Uh, no thanks, Buffy. You're the first I'd choose for an apocalyptic situation... for studying? Nuh uh."

"Gee," Willow noted, "you must be bored."

"I wanna kill sumpthin'." Buffy was petulant.

Xander jested, "Where's Spike when you need him?"

The atmosphere tautened. She had not apprised them of Spike's disappearance, but they were aware that something was up. His absence illustrated as much.

Trekking to the back of the shop, Buffy informed no one in particular, "I'm going to train. Don't interrupt me unless Giles phones."

Dawn and Willow returned to studying. Xander mumbled, "Do I know how to end a conversation or what?"

PART NINE
He hated Spike's car. He hated Spike's music. He hated Spike's smoking. He hated Spike!

"What's on your mind, peaches?" The source of his mental ranting inquired over a blaring radio.

The attempt at idle chitchat received a narrowing of the eyes. "Where's the medallion?"

"Somewhere safe."

"You don't have it with you?" Angel was outraged. "You know how vital it is!"

"I've been expectin' a poundin'. Didn't want to lose it if I got myself offed. Yanno, I'm not makin' heads or tales of this challenge. Not one goon has tried to dust me. Creel must have balls of steel to want to fight mano e mano..."

He was not just talking out of ego. It was nuts to want to face Spike in conflict. He was more than good, he was remarkable. And deadly. He fought with a beserker's rage. Why, he was the only vampire to have fought Buffy, the finest slayer ever, and continually manage to walk away. Not counting the wheelchair incident. Not even Angelus, the supposed right hand of the Master, had survived. Huh, not even the Master, himself, had survived. Yet, Spike had... on numerous occasions. That, in itself, was to be boasted of. Yes, this challenge was bizarre.

"...so the medallion is hidden in Sunnydale. I figured Creel would guess it was with me. Wouldn't it be a blast if I got dusted and he never found it?"

So like Spike, Angel mused. If he did not thwart his enemy one way, he would another. The Medallion of the Order of Aurelius had been inherited by each master from their forerunner since the cadre was created in the twelfth century. Only Spike would break from tradition to spite his foes.

The Master would be turning in his grave if he could see his family now. Well, if he still had a grave. During his reign, the Order worshipped the Old Ones, an ancient race of demons, and spent most of their time underground paying homage through elaborate ritual. From his, Dru, and Spike's inception to the Aurelius bloodline, things had significantly changed. If Darla had only realized the chain she would unleash upon siring Angel...

As they advanced to the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign, Spike reduced speed and was contemplative. Should I or shouldn't I?

Angel noticed this. "No, Spike. I'm not in the mood to be an accessory to defacing public property."

"You're no bloody fun, with or without a soul." Slamming on the accelerator, Spike peeled rubber past the sign. Then, he hit the brake and caused Angel to lurch at the sudden stop.

The poof was not going to order him. Reversing, he sped backwards until his rear bumper made contact. The cracking of wood meeting metal was heard before the sign fell.

"Bullseye!"

"Spike!" Angel bellowed. "You act like a two year old!"

Spike was indifferent and resumed their course, driving at a reasonable speed. "I like seein' how many times they will put it back up. It's twenty-four now."

Angel was not impressed.

"Reminds me of the human spirit. We, that's demons if you forgot what 'we' are, knock them down and they get back up. Makes for great entertainment."

"I'm sure Buffy will love your philosophy on the welcome sign, " Angel replied. "Are we going directly to her house?" Professionalism was out the window. He was obviously eager to be with Buffy for intentions other than the challenge.

Spike trampled the compulsion to beat the wanker to a bloody pulp. Gripping the steering wheel, his mien was blas�, "Buffy's in the dark about this and I would prefer it to stay that way."

"It's her town. She should be briefed on potential threats."

"Actually, recent events suggest Sunnydale belongs to me. Wouldn't you say, poofter? S-p-i-k-e, that's me and equals Master of Sunnydale."

"Becoming territorial? I never knew you were into the whole 'I'm the King of the World' bit."

"That's an interestin' analogy, Angelus. The ship sunk and the boy died, correct? Fortellin' my future? Isn't that what Candy's for?"

"Just wishful thinking."

Spike spoke more to himself than his passenger, "I don't want the slayer involved. She has enough to worry about. You and I should be able to handle this and she'll be none the wiser. Shit, I could handle it myself if tradition didn't require me to have a second. Tradition sucks."

Angel agreed, as much as he disliked agreeing on anything with Spike. Buffy had definitely been through the ringer this last year and she did not need something else on her plate if they could prevent it.

When he did not get a vocalized response, Spike prodded, "Sucks? Get it? We're vampires, man! It's humor. You remember what that is, don't you? What you go 'ha-ha' at..." As he kept blabbering, Angel morosely thought, it's going to be a long couple of days.
BACK    E-MAIL    NEXT
RETURN TO THE INDEX