| Mazzy & Prebuffy present |
| ****Mazzy**** A pleasing little music jingle sounded as the Magic Box door opened and Xander did a double take to see what had happened to the omnipresent bell that always sounded. It had been replaced by a small, white mechanical box where the music had emanated from. Its sound had caught Anya�s and Willow�s attention and they walked toward him with confused looks on their faces. �Where�s Buffy?� Willow queried as Xander checked out the place�s new lounge-like interior. Distractedly, he answered �Drunk as a skunk in a runk.� He turned his head slightly as he realized that that had sounded wrong. �Yes, those two crazy chicks, after praying to the porcelain goddess, have been summarily been sent to bed by Dawn, and so, that leaves me.� �Oh,� Willow said disappointedly, as she stepped back and plopped herself down into a red velvet armchair. Xander looked hurt. He stepped down and stood in front of her. �Is that a problem? I mean I know I don�t have any demon or slayer powers but I have been known to bag and tag a few hostiles in my day.� �No, it�s not you Xander, I just hoped, THOUGT that Buffy would want to help more. It seems like she just kinda wants out on this.� �Can you blame her?� Xander crouched down to meet her hopeless gaze. �It�s bad enough that she�s gotta kill vampires on an almost daily basis, but there�s also some evil thing hanging out on the fringes ready to devour us, and on top of that she�s gotta worry about Spike in LA and Cordy shaking up the dust of this town. And that�s just the Slayer portion of the spectacle that is her life.� �Yeah, I know, it�s not easy for her. That�s what Dawn said.� Willow turned suddenly hopeful, �Well maybe after she sleeps off the al-key-hol, she�ll feel better and want to be more a part of things?� Anya stepped forward to them, her nose in a book �Willow, I don�t think research is going to help us figure this out.� �Well, well,well,� Xander stood up to properly greet his ex. �If it isn�t the proprietor of the aptly named �Anya�s Magic Box�.� Xander snickered and gave her a look of pride. �Looks pretty snazzy from where I�m standing.� �Thank you,� Anya smiled, revealing a slight blush. Xander noticed, but wondered if it was because of him. He knew he still had feelings for Anya and probably always would, but it seemed time for him to move on. Being with Cordelia stirred up a lot of older feelings. Being with her excited him, and he was happy at the prospect that things could turn out well this time. Ah, but it was complicated, better to focus on the problem at hand. �So what exactly did you guys see?� �Cordelia,� Anya answered in her infamous curt style. �Plain and simple.� Willow narrowed her eyes in the shop owner�s direction. �Well actually, it�s not that simple. We don�t know exactly what we were looking at.� She explained further, hoping to rid Xander of his now confused face. �You see, I did a locator spell to look for her memory and asked Anya to help me focus it a bit to see where it might be.� Willow stood up from the fuzzy chair and animatedly explained the experience, her face alight with excitement. �We did see some sort of glowy-visiony thing of Cordelia, but I don�t know where it was from or if it was even real.� Her voice grew soft. �She asked for help.� �Help?� Why would �she� ask for help? I mean, Cordelia�s fine, well except for the recent incessant upchuck.� At the too-much-information comment, Anya wrinkled her nose in disgust almost as if she was trying to hold it without using her fingers. �Sorry. I mean, she seems the same more or less as the Cordelia we�ve always known. Tact-free, shallow, yet with a heart of gold,� he offered with a sense of pride. �I can see how frightened she is, even though she�s trying to hide behind it all. THAT is the Cordelia that needs our help, not this poof of white you�re talking about.� He referred to the space where he assumed the vision had appeared. �I know Xander,� Willow said soothingly as she gently touched his forearm. She tried to put the pieces together in her mind. �Anya helped me by fine tuning her ability to sense pain, so maybe it�s her memory that�s in pain?� Anya carefully listened to every word, pacing the shiny wooden floor as she attempted to draw her own conclusions. �You know, the more I think about this, the more it just doesn�t make sense. Unless of course, all her memories were painful.� Anya smiled gleefully at the prospect and Willow and Xander shot her a look. �All right fine. What I mean is, maybe you saw something that happened at a specific time she was in pain?� �Like maybe right before she lost her memory?� Xander offered while raising an eyebrow. �I think it could�ve been recent �cause she had the short blond hair thing going. Oh and she was all white and glowy in the apparition! Didn�t Buffy say that when she first came back from �up there� was when her memory was gone?� Willow cutely motioned with her eyes to show exactly what she meant by �up there.� �And well, in the vision she did look like she could�ve been �up there�, you know all higher-being-y and all.� Ideas suddenly flowed to Xander�s brain. �Ok then, so maybe that was like a clue, you know? You didn�t get her whole memory, just a figment of something.� He pointed at them. �But it was the most important moment, what happened to her to make her lose her memory. And if we figure out what happened, then we can figure out the why, and if we figure out the why, then we can figure out the how. And the HOW is gonna be the thing we need to get her memory restored.� He felt proud of his linear thinking. �Or, I can just try to do the reverse mind-meld Tabula Rasa thing I was gonna do in the first place, and we can get all the answers after that.� Willow suggested. Xander stopped and faced her, his eyebrows raised in surprise. �Is it really that simple?� Both Xander and Anya looked toward the powerful witch. �Well, sure if the definition of simple includes me pinpointing exactly where her memory lives and you know, I can find the conduit I need to fix it all.� She looked back and forth between their blank faces. �Well, that�s not that hard. I mean, I�ve already got an idea on who can help us and you know, now kind of a clue where the memory is, thanks to the apparition.� They continued to stare at her in disbelief. She darted her eyes between them again. �Really, it�s not that much of a pain!� *********** �AAAAAAHHHHhhhhhhhh�, Cordelia woke up screaming, pain tearing through her head like it was going to explode, waking Buffy and sending her flying into the bedroom, ready to fight whatever 'caused her to scream. �Cordelia? What is it? Are you OK?� Any remaining traces of Buffy�s having been drunk completely disappeared as she attended to her houseguest with concern. Must be part of the Slayer healing powers that made her suddenly lucid. Cordelia rubbed her temples. She appeared almost to be crying. �I had some kind of dream, but it seemed so real, and Lord did it hurt like a...� �A vision of some sort? Did you have a vision?� Buffy pressed, �What can you remember?� Just then a groggy Dawn appeared at the doorway, yawning and rubbing her eyes. �What�s going on? Demon about?� Buffy looked at her sister silhouetted in the doorway. �It�s okay, Cordelia has had some kind of vision.� �First, it was just me and I was wearing that white outfit I had on when I came back. All in white.� Cordelia pondered that for a second. �Why would I wear that?� Buffy nodded giving an almost impatient indication for her to continue. Dawn watched with interest from the doorway, hands on hips and suddenly wide awake. The pale moonlight shone in from the nearby window and highlighted the contours of Cordelia�s face as she described her vision in the darkness. �I was just kind of there. I don�t know. I don�t exactly remember what I was doing.� Cordy laughed for a second. �Me, not remembering? That�s something new! But then I saw that guy.� She looked straight at Buffy, peering into the whites of her eyes. �You know that cute one that was at the station.� �Spike,� Buffy grew alarmed, �you saw Spike?� �I guess. That�s his name?� �What was he doing?� Buffy felt her impatience rising. �He wasn�t alone. He was with Angus and they were fighting�I don�t know, these big roach-like looking monsters.� She shuddered. �Ew, it was gross!� �Were they in trouble? Were they hurt?� She tried to catch her breath. �I don�t think so. They were fighting and they looked pretty strong�I don�t know, that kinda blurred out and then Spike wasn�t with that guy. He was here.� �In Sunnydale?� Dawn piped in as she stepped into the bedroom. Cordelia looked around the darkened room. �No, well yeah, but I mean HERE, in this room.� �What was he doing?� Buffy�s concern never left her face. �I remember this part. I remember it pretty well. He had an axe. A sharp, steel axe and it was covered with blood, and he had this really sadistic look in his eye, you know, like he had just viciously attacked something.� Buffy tried not to show any panic, Dawn drew closer to the bed to try and comfort her sister. �And then this part is so burned in my brain.� Cordelia touched her head again, as if literally feeling her skull on fire. �He looked at the axe and reached his hand out to touch the blood, running his finger down the blade like so.� She used her long fingers to demonstrate the motion. She looked up at Buffy and stared into her eyes. �He was covered in blood and he was smiling like the cat that ate the canary.� Buffy drew back in horror; Dawn was behind her, steadying her shoulders and trying to keep her strong. ********** �So, are we gonna talk �bout this vision thing or what?� Spike stamped out his cigarette butt and looked toward his so-called partner in crime. �Doesn�t seem like there�s much to talk about, more like work to be done and things to avoid. Didn�t you guys clean out that nest?� Angel began to walk back toward the hotel. �Right off, we did. Toasted those little suckers to bits.� Spike fell naturally in step with him. �Not my fault Sir Charles let a few get away.� �He says he didn�t. There�s gotta be another nest somewhere in the city. It�s unusual, but..� �So that�s what you had Lorne get Wes to check out huh? Pretty convenient, init?� Angel stopped in his steps. �What do you mean by that�convenient?� Spike put his hands in his jacket pockets and faced his former mentor. �Just that when things got a little rough, you were kinda quick to blow off the chap, and now that you need him�� Spike trailed off, figuring Angel would get it. �I don�t have to draw you a diagram now, do I?� Angel lowered his head as he thought on this observation. Damn Spike always had a knack for pointing out the obvious and was never afraid to do so. It was a virtue mostly, but other times, it could be kind of aggravating. �Wesley wants to help. He still does right by this world.� They continued their walk. �I�m just saying that it couldn�t hurt for you to admit now and then that you might be wrong about something. You might be wrong about someone.� He kicked at a stone that was in his way. �Sometimes, people like to hear it.� �People? Boy, aren�t you the student of human nature.� �Well, I was once human before, and then had me a lot of time to learn �bout what makes them tick.� �So you might actually know what you�re talking about. Soul kinda gives a new perspective on things doesn�t it?� Angel smiled somewhat proudly, as if Spike had reached some kind of long ago set-goal and had graduated to a better place. �Usually, but it tears at me too.� Now it was Spike�s turn to look down. �You do know what I mean, right?� Angel nodded. �After I left Darla and Drusilla,� he turned to his grand-childe, �and you, I was even more of a basket case. To have the guilt of all those kills and the continuous hunger for the blood.� He remembered so much of his self-loathing and despair, and how he had teetered on the side between light and dark. �You�re handling yourself much better than I ever did. And I think I know why.� Spike nodded. �It�s her. I know I�m lucky. I know I don�t deserve her believing in me but for some bloody reason, she does.� Angel nodded silently, a dull ache tugging his inside, but he understood. �Buffy was born with a strong moral fiber and a diligent stubborn streak. She doesn�t give up easily.� It actually was kind of relieving for him to be able to talk about her to someone who really seemed to understand her. Something inside Spike went off, and he immediately displayed an air of uncharacteristic panic. �But you heard what the demon told me, and you know this soul�s tearing at my very sanity. Green guy just confirmed it for me. �Your soul�s got a loose anchor.� In� that what he said? That if I go back to Sunnydale, I might tear the place to shreds? And what I could do to her...� He broke away, in anguish. �I couldn�t let myself do that.� He turned back to his old companion, a desperate look in his eyes. �You can�t let me do that. Don�t let me hurt her. Chain me up if you have to.� Angel suddenly became very stern with him. �Spike, cut out the pity party. You�ll never be any good to anyone if you go on worrying about what MIGHT happen. I�m gonna get you through this, but you�re gonna have to put Buffy on the bottom of the list for a bit. First we have to deal with the Swagger hatchlings. "And then?" Spike asked searchinginly. Angel's tone grew even as he faced his prot�g�, delievering news he knew he wouldn't want to hear. "After that, you have to feed.� |
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| Note: The following story takes place prior to Buffy season 7 "Selfless" and prior to Angel season 4 "Spin the Bottle". This commences an AU B7/A4 |
| PART IX |
| Is Spike really nuts? Tell us here! |
| SWITCHED ON |
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