| Summer Series 2002: The Journey of the Fool Story the 12th ~ The Hanged Man By Kuzibah |
| Disclaimer: Spike is not mine, more's the pity. Spoilers: For "Grave� and possible rumors/spoilers for Season 7. Archive- Please email request. Feedback- Absolutely. ******************* ~ London, England Spike walked out of the underground parking garage and breathed in a lungful of unneeded air. For good or ill, he was in the place that felt like home. He�d been born here, spent his whole life here, had died and been reborn here. And even though he hadn�t been back in more than the span of his human lifetime, he felt a sense of belonging. Which is why he was staying instead of pressing on to Liverpool, even though it was not even 10 pm. He felt a need to see the old places again. He doubted he could find the livery Drusilla had killed him behind, but his mother�s house should still be there, and the house Angelus had taken, where he�d first lived as a vampire, possibly the office where he�d worked. He wondered if he�d be able to find his grave if he jumped the wall at Highgate Cemetery. And, in spite of himself, he wondered if Angel had felt the same compulsion to revisit his past. If he had traveled to Galway to see the scene of his birth into darkness. Spike rather suspected he had. But he should begin at the beginning, he thought, and headed for the house he�d been born in. ~:~:~:~:~ Rupert Giles snorted in frustration and slammed closed the enormous, ancient tome he was studying. Honestly, he was beginning to think he�d get more useful information from these Watcher librarians by sticking his finger down their throats. It was bad enough they�d made him jump though all sorts of ridiculous hoops to even gain access to the library, but he was becoming convinced they were deliberately concealing any useful information. He�d only come to the Council�s Motherhouse for two days, and between the stonewall in the research library and the meetings with senior Watchers to discuss his work, both in Sunnydale and England, the whole trip was looking to be a waste. He was half-tempted to return to Willow and the others at the manor without what he�d come for. It wasn�t strictly necessary, really, just helpful. He needed to clear his head, he thought. Go out, get some dinner, go back to the inn, and figure it out in the morning. He stacked the books and returned them to the desk, then headed out into the street. ~:~:~:~:~ Spike leaned against the corner of a building and lit his last cigarette, still slightly stunned with disbelief. He had expected changes, naturally, but the complete gentrification of his old haunts was making him feel every minute of his 120-odd years. His mother�s house, once in a respectable but firmly middle-class neighborhood, was now surrounded by snotty actors and supermodels. And Angelus�s house? A Benetton. Darla would have self-combusted if she wasn�t dust already. Spike glanced up and down the street until he spotted an all-night chemist. At least they still made Player�s, he thought. ~:~:~:~:~ Giles was looking for a cab when he caught something at the edge of his vision that made him turn. White hair? Could it..? No, it had to be some teenager, following some retro trend. Still, something had been familiar enough to draw his eye. Giles headed towards the shop the white-haired person had stepped into. He was nearly there when the person stepped out again. It was. �Spike,� Giles said aloud. The vampire�s head jerked up from his examination of his purchase. When he saw Giles a look of complete surprise crossed his face, replaced a second later by his usual disinterested mask. �What are you doing here?� Giles asked. �Well, you know,� Spike said evasively. �Thought I�d travel a bit. Knock the dust of Sunnydale off my boots.� Giles�s eyes narrowed and he stepped in for a closer look. Spike twitched away from the examination, and Giles�s face opened with shock. �My God,� he breathed. �You have a soul.� �No, I don�t,� Spike said at once. Giles took hold of Spike�s forearm, and the vampire was too stunned to resist. �Come with me,� Giles said. �There�s a place just round the corner here�� ~:~:~:~:~ �Two Bushmill�s,� Giles told the server when they�d been seated. �And bring the bottle.� �How did you know?� Spike said when the server had gone. Giles took a deep breath and let it out slowly. �After�� He took another breath, uncomfortable with what he had to say. �Angelus tortured me, you�ll recall,� he said, and Spike nodded. �I had ample opportunity to look into his eyes, to examine just what set him apart from the creature I had trusted.� Giles removed his glasses and polished the lenses with his handkerchief. �Later, when he came back with his soul restored, I paid very close attention to the differences. My greatest fear was that the next time he lost his soul we would be caught unawares, that he would use our trust to destroy us.� Giles replaced his glasses. �I suppose we were fortunate he didn�t think of that the first time.� �Yeah, well, Angelus was never half the evil genius he thought he was,� Spike said. �At any rate,� Giles went on, �I got in the habit of checking for the soul every time we met, making sure I saw that little flash in the back of his eyes before I let him in. Then, when I met you on the street just now, it was there.� He chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief again. �I have to say, I don�t believe I�ve ever been more surprised.� Spike blinked, trying to take this in. �This spark thing,� he said. �Is it like an actual light? I can�t see it myself, you know, and if you can tell me what it looks like�� Giles began to laugh a little more heartily. �No, I didn�t mean it literally.� He grew serious again. �I don�t know if I can describe it to you, really,� he said. �Not what it looks like, anyway.� �It doesn�t matter,� Spike said. �I was just curious.� �So how did it happen?� Now Spike was uncomfortable. �It�s a long story,� he said. �I wasn�t cursed, if that�s what you�re worried about. No �moment of happiness� for me.� �Thank God for that,� Giles said. �I guess,� Spike half-heartedly agreed. �What are you going to do now?� Spike shrugged. �Go back to Sunnydale first,� he said. �I hadn�t really thought any further along than that.� �You could go to Los Angeles,� Giles said. �And do what?� Spike shot back angrily. �Become Saint Angel�s trusty sidekick? For God�s sake�� �I only meant,� Giles said above the outburst, �that he might have something of a healthy perspective. You must admit, for over 100 years he was unique. He knows things about souls even humans can�t understand.� Spike stared at his hands, which were folded in his lap. �But going to him for help� How can I�� �It might not be for your benefit only,� Giles said. �I would imagine learning there was another vampire with his same�� �Affliction?� Spike suggested. �Non-conformity, shall we say,� Giles went on. �To address this together may be of great benefit to you both.� �I�ve thought of him every day since this happened,� Spike said quietly. �For so long I hated and resented that soul, and I really had no idea what it was like for him. God� what seeing us must have done to him.� �Then you understand my point,� Giles said, and Spike nodded. �I imagine the Watchers, too, will be interested,� Giles continued. �I remember the stir my original report on Angel�s soul�� �Rupert, you can�t let them know,� Spike said fervently. �Not until I know what this means. I got into this mess because I was made into a research project. I can�t let that happen again.� �No, of course, you�re right,� Giles said after a moment. �Forgive me, it�s the academic in me coming out.� �In fact, now that I think about it,� Spike went on, �don�t tell anyone. Not Buffy, not any of them.� Off Giles�s concerned look he amended, �I�ll tell them myself. When I�m ready.� After a moment, Giles nodded. �You have my word,� he said. �Thank you,� Spike said. �That means a lot.� The two sat drinking in silence for several minutes, then Giles spoke again. �I could give you the information the council has already,� he said. �What do you mean?� �I�m actually in town to do research in the council libraries,� Giles explained. �It would be quite simple to photocopy portions of Angel�s file as it pertains to the effects of his soul.� Spike was surprised.. �You would do that for me?� Giles gave him an indulgent look, one Spike recognized from times when one of the children needed encouragement. �If I can help you deal with this,� he said, �and if I can help you become a better person, I will. Now� where can I meet you tomorrow night?� ~:~:~:~:~ They met in the drawing room of the inn where Giles was staying. The landlady, a middle-aged woman with a title but no money who�d turned her family�s London home into a Bed and Breakfast after the death of her husband, had insisted on preparing a pot of tea and a tray of cake for �dear Rupert� to entertain his guest. Giles couldn�t help wondering what her reaction would be if he�d told her his guest would greatly prefer a cup of warm blood, and would she be so good as to open a vein? Perversely, he thought her breeding might just lead her to do that, in the name of being a good hostess. Spike arrived shortly after sunset, looking very anxious. �What did you find?� he asked without preamble. Giles took the top folder from a much larger stack on the tea table. �I didn�t bother with most of Angel�s file, as it was pre-soul and not of much concern. That is what we know of his life pre-Sunnydale. As you can see, there isn�t much, and it all seems to have been collected after his reappearance in California.� Spike opened the folder and skimmed the pages, all short accounts of unidentified vampire sightings, dated between 1912 and 1989. In the margins were annotations, all in the same hand and obviously more recent, noting that the description seemed to match Angel (known also as Angelus), the �souled vampire� as described by Rupert Giles, along with a reference number. It was the quotes around �souled vampire� that spoke volumes to Spike. Giles handed him the next folder. �This is what we know about the curse,� Giles said, �along with the so-called �happiness clause.�� �No use to me,� Spike said, setting it aside. �I didn�t get my soul that way. And there�s no clause, as I said.� Giles gave a relieved chuckle. �Very good,� he said. �Going back through those files� well, never mind. This may be of more interest to you, then. It�s some speculation on the long-term effects of the soul , and some theories on how we could ensoul other vampires.� Spike flipped through the folder quickly, shaking his head at the various artists� renderings of Watchers casting spells across groups of attacking vampires. �But should you ensoul them?� Spike said. �That�s the question you need to ask yourselves.� �Yes, well�� Giles murmured, taking a moment to polish his glasses, then picking up the last folder, by far the thickest of the group. �This is the information we have on you,� he said. �It was all updated recently. Apparently they had you confused with another blond vampire in Angelus�s line. It took them awhile to sort it out, but they seem to think they�ve got the correct information, now.� Spike took the folder with a smug grin. �The thesis the Watcher bird write on me in here?� he said, �because I�ll bet that�s a real page turner�� His voice trailed off as he opened to the first photo. �Oh, my God,� he whispered. The picture was badly photocopied, grainy and dark, but the subject was unmistakable. It was William, the human that Spike once was, lying in bed, his eyes closed and his hands crossed over his heart. �It�s a memorial photograph,� Giles explained. �Your mother had it done after they found your� your body.� �Oh, God,� Spike repeated. �Poor mummy�� He covered his face with one hand. Giles busied himself pouring tea to give Spike a moment of privacy. When he looked up the vampire had closed the folder and set it aside, and was now pinching the bridge of his nose and taking deep breaths to compose himself. �I�m sorry,� Giles said after a moment. �I didn�t mean to�� �It�s alright,� Spike said. �I just� hadn�t thought of her in a long time.� He lowered his voice until Giles could barely hear him. �How she must have grieved,� he said. �I was all she had.� �Maybe I should take that folder back,� Giles said. �It might provoke some other unpleasant memories.� �No, let me keep it,� Spike said. �I remember everything, anyway.� �Spike, I�� �I need to go,� Spike said, rising abruptly. �Look, if you need anything,� Giles persisted, taking a card from his pocket. �You can call�� �Thank you,� Spike said, taking the card and gathering the folders. �Thank you for everything.� Go on to the next part - Death Main Menu ~ Return to Summer Series 2002 Menu |