Chapter 11

 

            In the darkened bar, Buffy gave vampire Spike a hard, cold stare that could have cut through the murkiest fog.  Her voice came out in a brittle staccato, “As a matter of fact, he did.  Celeste is their child. . . he and Buffy’s.  They were married, and she died.  He couldn’t even talk about her death because it hurts him too much.”  She realized she’d just stated what they all knew anyway.  “A-and you’re just jealous of all that because you didn’t get what you wanted. . . what you thought you deserved.”

 

            “Jealous of who?  Peaches?  Bloody unlikely,” Spike’s twin scoffed.

 

Buffy felt a familiar twinge of sharp anger at the vampire duplicate of the human Spike of her world.       

 

Her fist automatically clenched and raised, ready to crash down on his face. 

 

But something stopped her.

 

*Her* Spike’s hand closed around her fist, and with one look into his dark blue eyes, she allowed him to lower her arm. 

 

“Let’s just go find Angel,” he said, his voice a little hoarse. . . with what, Buffy wasn’t sure.  “We can deal with the rest later.” 

 

The green blaze in her eyes cooled to a low flame, and she nodded.  She hadn’t quite realized it before. . . or maybe she had, but it was just becoming clear. . . there was something amazing and wonderful about human Spike that rose above and beyond demon Spike, demon Angel, and perhaps even human Angel.  She averted her gaze to avoid having to deal with the emotions stirring within her.  She didn’t have time for them now.  “Right.  You’re right.”

 

“And you know where we’re going?” Spike asked.

 

Demon Spike huffed and lit a cigarette.  “It’s a trap.  You know it is.”

 

Buffy pretended as if the vampire Spike wasn’t there but wrinkled her nose as she fanned the smoke out of her face.  “Uh huh.  Angel’s waiting with the SUV.”

 

Spike and Buffy hurried through the quiet lobby and out the front door to the waiting vehicle.  Trudging with obvious reluctance behind them, Spike’s undead twin continued to smoke despite the glares from the hotel staff. 

 

Spike opened the vehicle door for Buffy, but before she could climb into the front seat, vampire Spike scooted around her and hopped up next to the Angel of this world.

 

Angel frowned as he saw the vampire Spike.  “What do you think you’re doing?”

 

Demon Spike grinned.  “Going along for the ride.  Nice night for a drive.”

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

“I do.”

 

Angel’s brooding mask threatened to slip over his calm visage.  “Well, you’re at least going to put out your cigarette.  You know the rules about this SUV.”

 

Vampire Spike cast a sidelong look at the empty car seat behind Angel, his eyes softening.  “Right, the munchkin.  Even if she’s not here.”  He rolled down the window and put out the cigarette on the side of the SUV.  “Done.  And it hasn’t been that long since I took a drive with you.”

 

“Four years,” growled human Angel as Buffy and Spike clamored into the back seat. 

 

In between buckling her seat belt and accidentally brushing Spike’s leg, Buffy filed that little fact next to the one that remembered that Celeste was four. 

 

“I hadn’t counted,” demon Spike murmured as the SUV lurched into drive. 

 

* * *

 

            “Back into the lion’s den,” Buffy whispered to herself as she stepped from the safety of the SUV into the heavy dampness of the Louisiana night. 

 

            “What did you say?” Angel asked, nearing her side and peering into the dark backdrop of trees.

 

            He was *human* Angel, not *her* Angel.  She had to put labels on them, or she got confused.  In response to human Angel, Buffy shook her head and shivered despite the heat.  “Nothing.” 

 

She turned to look for Spike who appeared behind her.  She felt better knowing he was there and whole even if she’d seen him dry swallow a painkiller on the trip.  With gentle fingertips, she’d touched his head then, and he’d offered her a smile to let her know he was okay. 

 

            In the moonlight from above, he bore a similar smile now, and she leaned back a bit to feel the reassuring warmth of his skin beneath his sleeve.  She found that if she focused on him, she seemed to have a greater handle on what was real.

 

            Human Angel eyed them, but in the shadows, Buffy couldn’t read him.  Her heart ached a little for how much it probably hurt to see her.  He and the Buffy of this world shared a child.  In this world, she. . . no, the Buffy of this world had chosen Angel to stand as champion.  The Spike of this world had remained a vampire, and she could cut his bitterness with a knife.  What did that mean for her?  Had she possessed the power to make or break two lives in this dimension as well as her own?  What if *she* had chosen Angel instead of Spike?  Would she be married with a child, perhaps two?  What would have become of her Spike? 

 

            Without a sound, the small party began making its way through the forest with human Angel guiding them.  The woods were silent except for the slight breeze rustling the pine needles and the sounds of three people trying not to breathe too loudly.  Buffy couldn’t even hear their footsteps.  Her companions had been vampires at some point. . . one still was, and she was a Slayer, able to blend with her surroundings as Giles had taught her years ago.  

 

Buffy closed her eyes and inhaled the pine scent that intoxicated her senses.  She had to keep a clear head about things.  She didn’t belong in this world, and they. . . she, human Spike, and vampire Angel. . . had a mission. 

 

Spike broke her train of thought with a question directed at human Angel, “So, what’s this info about Stephan that Buffy was telling us about?”

 

Human Angel shoved his hands in his coat pockets much the same way vampire Angel had a habit of doing.  Buffy could tell he was trying not to sound too eager in his response, “Stephan sent a messenger here a few days ago.  He had some important information to tell us about Vamp Villa, which we didn’t even know truly existed.  We learned about the vampire city and about Stephanie’s plans to unleash the city in your dimension.”

 

“Michael,” Spike said.

 

“That git?” vampire Spike broke in from the back of the group.  “The one dating Harmony?  Poor wanker.”

 

“Shut up, Spike,” Buffy reacted without thinking.  Quickly, she reached back for her Spike and squeezed his wrist.  “Not you.”  Good night, this was getting confusing.

 

“Anyway,” Angel continued, “Michael told us that Stephanie had the second half of a dimensional key that would all the emergence of Vampire Villa into your dimension.  He added that Stephanie had managed to set up a semi-permanent dimensional portal between our dimension and the vampire city.  She was said to have hidden the second half of the key here.”

 

“Interesting.”  Buffy could tell that Spike was turning that bit of information over in his head. 

 

“So, as soon as we find your Angel, we’ll be searching for that piece.”

 

“Got any leads?” Spike asked.

 

Demon Spike snorted, his cigarette lighter forming a tiny beacon against the darkness.  “He’s got plenty of leads.”

 

“What does that mean?”  Buffy was growing tired of Spike’s twin being so insistent that human Angel had ulterior motives when he was so obviously jaded.

 

Human Angel stopped short, and Buffy’s heart jumped at the sudden change.  She held her breath as he hissed back, “Spike, put out that cigarette!”

 

This time, demon Spike didn’t protest and did as he was told.

 

Buffy held her breath. 

 

That’s when she heard a familiar slithering sound that made her sick to her stomach.

 

“Kranooks,” Spike whispered nearby.

 

“Bloody hell,” his twin said.  “They’re coming straight for us.”

 

“Meaning they found your Angel,” human Angel added.  “And Lorne and Wesley.”

 

“What do we do?” Buffy asked. 

 

“We fight.”

 

“Great.  With what?”

 

Human Angel unsheathed a sword from his pack.  “Got one of these for each of you.”

 

* * *

 

            Buffy half-expected the kranooks to be slimy. 

 

            She’d never been more wrong. 

 

The human-snake hybrids were covered in layers of armor-like scales that flaked off when the swords hit them.  It took several dead-on swings to penetrate their thick hides.  To further complicate the situation, they had arms that were more distended than human arms and therefore had more length with which to grab at her and the others.  She was grateful that the swords they bore were long. 

 

            And their numbers were too many for her to count in the dark depths of the forest.  She lamented that she couldn’t even see them until they were right in front of her.  And more than once, she’d hit a tree and had to pry the metal from solid wood before the next kranook could grab her. 

 

            Unlike during the battle with the vampires earlier, the kranook battle was eeriely quiet as she and the others were too focused on their prey to banter.  Her arms ached, and she could see no end to the onslaught.  She hadn’t even caught sight of she and Spike’s Angel yet, much less Wesley or Lorne.  Hell, she couldn’t see her own hand in front of her face because of tree limbs blocking her view.  Where’s a witch with a tinkerbell light spell when you need one?  She missed Willow.

 

            She was getting worried about the wounded human among them.  “Spike?” she called over the sounds of the kranooks’ strident hissing, whirling and striking at a kranook behind her. 

 

            “Here, Slayer,” demon Spike grunted. 

 

            “No, other Spike,” she clarified, a bit annoyed, kicking a second kranook into a tree trunk that she’d hit with her sword multiple times.

 

            “He’s somewhere here.  I just ran across him,” human Angel threw at her, driving his blade home.

 

            “Is he. . .?”

           

            “He’s fine.  Holding his own despite being concussed,” he assured, ducking a kranook tail.  “I sent him after Angel and the others.”

 

            “Where are they?”  Buffy strained to catch a glimpse of her companions between attacks. 

 

Human Angel touched her arm, sending cold chills up and down her spine.  “Hold on.” 

 

He raised a small instrument to his mouth and blew into it.  The device emitted a sharp keening noise that made Buffy want to drop her sword and cover her ears.

 

At the sound, the kranooks began slithering backward, over their fallen companions and becoming undetectable against the black of night. 

 

Human Angel lowered the instrument just as the Lorne and Wesley of this dimension emerged from the brush with an unconscious, very pale Angel. . . *her* Angel.

 

“What happened?” Buffy cried as she rushed forward to inspect him. 

 

Lorne and Wesley exchanged uncomfortable glances and dropped their burdon to the ground.  Buffy knelt beside him and demanded, “Where’s Spike?”

 

Wesley stepped over Buffy as if she weren’t present and addressed human Angel, “It’s done.”

 

“What’s done?”  Buffy’s heart was tripping into overdrive. 

 

“You got the piece?”  Human Angel was eager. . . far too eager for Buffy.

 

Lorne withdrew something from his jacket pocket.  “Here.”

 

“Great.  Then, we have all we need.”  Human Angel sheathed his sword and took the object Lorne presented him.

 

Vampire Angel was stirring in Buffy’s arms, and something sticky and warm trailed over her forearm.  As carefully as she could, she laid him to the ground and rose, senses scanning the background for signs of either Spike.  “What’s going on here?”

 

“Now what?” Wesley asked.

           

            “Now, we pay a visit to Stephanie.”

 

            Before Buffy could react, she felt an electric current lance through her body, paralyzing her from further action.  She strained to push past the pain, but her brain was determined to protect her from going into shock and stole her consciousness even as words of protest formed on her lips.  Her last perception was of her body falling against the cool grass.