Chapter 11 - A Room with a View

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Peering around the corner, Buffy could see that the hall intersected with another hall where numerous demons were passing by. All that passed in and out of view were dressed for a fancy evening out. Men in suits, women in nice dresses. And the stream of demons just kept flowing. Why in the world would so many demons be gathering here?

A heavy hand came down on Buffy’s shoulder. Jerking, Buffy looked around to see Vassilious standing behind her with six other vampires behind him. “Get your exercise, little slayer?”

Buffy tried to shrug under his grip. “No, not yet. Let me walk around the block, get some fresh air, and I’ll be back in a sec. Promise.”

“I see that you have seen some of the guests arriving.” Vassilious politely took Buffy’s elbow and guided her down the hall, heading towards her cell. “Actually, you are the guest of honor.”

When they arrived back at her cell, she wasn’t surprised that he immediately injected her with the sedative. What was surprising was that the sedative didn’t seem to be as strong as usual. Her head was clearer, but she was still weak. Buffy suspected that the different drug had something to do with the demons arriving and Vassilious’s cryptic words, “the guest of honor.”

Vassilious was back in thirty minutes. “We’re ready. Slayer, I am going to escort you to the great hall, but know this, I don’t trust you one bit. You are going to wear shackles and chains and will have six guards at all times. If you try anything, it will be simple. No matter how valuable you are, you will be dead.” Vassilious could see the defiance in her face, but truth be told, he hoped she didn’t make any attempt to escape. For some incredible reason, he just didn’t think it would be a fitting end for this warrior to be cut down while in chains. And as for her appearance, it was atrocious. No one deserved to be shown to an audience looking like that, Vassilious told himself. With a few sentences of Latin and a spinning motion of his hand, he washed away the dirt and grime from her hair and skin, and with a few more words, Buffy’s dirty and torn clothes were replaced with a tasteful black dress and shoes. Vassilious looked her up and down, nodded his approval and left the room with no further words of explanation to Buffy.

First “guest of honor” and now “valuable,” what was going on? Buffy soon found out. When Buffy stepped out into the hall, she could hear the den of what she was to find out was a large crowd. Thirty yards away, and they turned into a very short passageway that led into a great hall. Vassilious led her up four steps and seated her on an ornate wooden chair. Buffy didn’t know what to think. Her mind just swirled round and round.

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Argonia loved grand entrances. Of course she did, thought Vassilious. She loved for all eyes in a room to follow her and only her. Her burgundy dress was translucent and slit down to her waist, which exposed a good deal of her chest. He had to admit that he enjoyed the view, but he wasn’t thrilled by the leers directed her way from both men and women all over the grand hall.

At one time, he would have felt pride at being with this beautiful creature. Vassilious didn’t know when it had changed, but tonight, he felt no pride. What he felt was…acceptance. Yes, he accepted his place by her side, a lover that just shares her time. He accepted her flirting with one and all that they met in the crowd. Actually, flirting was way too tame of a word to describe what Argonia was doing. He accepted the leers at her scantily clad body. What he was having a hard time accepting was his own feeling of disgust when she overstepped the bounds of flirting to intimate physical contact, rubbing up against those that particularly caught her eye, and her hand slid down to fondle them upon occasion. Problem was that there was nothing new about that behavior either.

But he was so confused. How could he feel both love and disgust at the same time? Unexpectedly, he thought of the slayer, that slip of a girl had been loved by two vampires, loved her enough to change their lives. Here he couldn’t get one vampire to love him, let alone let that love change her life. That is if Argonia could love him at all. Vassilious stopped. Where had that thought come from, he wondered. Who was he kidding? He knew where it came from, he thought as he watched her run her hand under a vampire’s waist band.

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“Pretentious bitch.” Spike burned. Boiled. So this was the woman that dared to take his slayer. This was the woman that would pay. Pay by turning to dust. That is after a slow, satisfying session of torture.

“Bitch? You got that right. Actually, bitch in heat is more like it.” Cordelia stood up on tiptoe to watch the mistress of the Sepatucci clan’s progression through the crowd. “Her frizzy hair looked like it has been set on fire. And that dress. Can you say S-Lut! But whoa, who is that guy walking with her? The one with the black hair. Now he looks yummy. Shame he has to die, too.” Sensing that Spike was approaching a breaking point, Cordelia pulled on Spike’s sleeve to gain his attention. “It’s blendy time again.”

Cordy had declared that eating some of the buffet food would help them blend in more. Personally, Spike suspected she was just hungry. So while they were moving down the buffet line with Spike pointing out the food that was safe for Cordy to eat, the din of the crowd suddenly rose. Curious, Cordy and Spike looked over their shoulders to see the side of Buffy being led to a chair on the dais.

Even though he had been expecting the head of the clan to display the top item of the auction, he was still taken by surprise. He took a deep breath, preparing to look her over. However, Cordy grabbed Spike’s arm before he could see much. Nevertheless, he tried to shake her off.

Cordelia wasn’t letting go. “Sp…Franco…Franco!” She jerked his arm hard. “Franco…” She was relieved when he looked down at her. Cordy stood up on the balls of her feet to get her face as close to his as possible. “You remember what you promised Ang…the big guy.” Damn, it was hard avoiding the use of their real proper names.

“No, I don’t remember,” Spike lied as he started turning back towards the dais.

Unrelenting, Cordy jerked him until she had his attention again. “Liar, liar, pants on fire. Flaming. I smell smoke here.”

Shutting his eyes, Spike drew in a deep breath, not for the oxygen but to calm himself down. He blew it out slowly. “I remember. No looking at her.”

“Because you would do something stupid like try to save her now instead of later,” Cordelia finished for him. “So be cool and get us another glass of champagne.”



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Cordelia was facing the dais when Spike returned, and she quickly made sure that Spike wasn’t.

“Bloody hell, you chit, I’m not a top that you can spin around,” Spike snapped in frustration.

“Buffy has been seated on the dais.” Cordelia was glad to see that Buffy was in good shape. “Remember the black haired vampire that was with the red headed bitch that kidnapped Buffy? He’s the one who brought her in. I’m guessing that he must be in charge of her.”

“Then he will be one of the first to die.” Spike’s eyes turned to a cold, artic blue.

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Shock. Buffy was shocked by what was to be her fate. Auctioned off like a lamp or an antique table. What were they going to do? Check her teeth like she was a horse? Well, let them find out that she bites, Buffy thought. She watched as a grey demon with white hair in a tuxedo stepped up on the dais and stood next to her chair.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let us first thank Mistress Argonia for our most prized item in this auction.” While the crowd clapped, Buffy wanted to spit. Her captor, Argonia, waved her hand to the crowd and preened under the attention. Standing next to her stood Vassilious, but his expression on his face didn’t look the same as Argonia’s. His face was expressionless. No, that wasn’t right. He was too expressionless, like someone that is trying to cover his or her true feelings. Interesting. Maybe she could get him to do a little talking about himself next time he visited her cell.

The announcer continued. “As you know, vampire slayer auctions are few and far, far between. The last one was over one hundred sixty years ago. In view of that, the items we have now amassed are truly magnificent. Please take your time looking over the rare items in the cases spread around the room. For instance, in case twelve, you will find the Spectre of Alganis, which the great Louis Artan killed a slayer in Paris in 1923. Over in case twenty-one is the dagger used to kill the Mexico City slayer in 1869. But please, explore the cases and discover the other treats. But the sweetest treat of all sits beside me. The Slayer of Sunnydale. Who here has not heard of her and her murders? No one. There has never been such an offering at a slayer auction as this killer of our kind.” He had to pause until the applause quieted down. “Should you purchase her, you can end her life, keep her as a pet or whatever you like. With this slayer…”

Cordy could literally see Spike shake with anger. Damn, damn, double damn. Just what she didn’t need at that moment. Big mouth demon in the penguin suit. “Hey, Franco, chill. They’re just words. Now these words: liquidy, bubblely, goodness. Drink up and let’s get some more. Shoo.” Cordy patted him on the tush and sent him towards the bar, which was luckily away from the dais.

From then on Cordelia kept Spike’s back to Buffy or kept someone blocking his view of her if at all possible. And after the introduction, they played it safe and walked back over to a case far away from the dais and pretended interest in the Scepter of Halic used to kill a slayer in Morocco and the other objects in the case.

Cordy whispered so only Spike could hear. “…a bone from the Master? Ha. Let me tell you, I was there when B…she took a sledge hammer and smashed the master’s bones to dust. See, she was acting kinda funny when she got back from…”

Spike suddenly stiffened and stared off into space.

Cordy jerked on his sleeve. “Helloooo. I was talking here, rude-o boy.”

“She’s looking at us.”

Cordy didn’t need to be told who “she” was. Stepping to the side to look at Buffy, Cordelia was caught off guard when she immediately made eye contact. Startled, she quickly stepped back out of view. “How did you know that?” she asked Spike.

One corner of his mouth lifting up, Spike gave Cordelia the smallest of smiles, but his eyes were sad, as they had been since she had first seen him here in Crete. “I can feel her eyes; I can feel her attention focused here, now specifically on my back.”

Quickly, Cordy went from holding Spike’s sleeve to holding onto his arm. “We’ve been over this. You know what Angel said; don’t look at Buffy. You promised because both of you know that you would do something crazy and go after her now. She saw me and knows that a rescue is coming. So keep your eyes off her. Be satisfied with that.”

“What would a look hurt? No one has recognized me.” Now Spike sounded like a petulant, little boy.

“Because no one thinks you are on this earth anymore. So keep all eye business this way, towards me.”

Closing his eyes for a moment, Spike visibly composed himself. “I know, but how does she look?”

Cordelia peeked around Spike again, and gave a slight nod of her head to Buffy. “Good but a little spacey. She looks like she may take the air head crown away from me.” She watched his fists ball up and knuckles turn white.

“They’ve got her drugged. Bloody bastards are going to pay.” Spike sightlessly scanned the crowd again and then looked back at Cordy. He knew Buffy was taking comfort in seeing Cordelia. To her, Cordy meant the cavalry was on the way. They have given the maiden in distress hope. But damn his promise. He couldn’t stand it anymore and started to turn around before Cordelia grabbed his arm again. “Don’t, Sp…Master Perez.” She dropped her voice down to a whisper. “You would not help her. What do you want? Her freaking out up there at seeing a ghost? No one, and that means no one can know that you are back.”

Spike knew she was right, and froze. He stood like that for a few moments, deciding. To look or not look? Bugger it, he still took a quick look before facing Cordelia again, earning a slap on his chest.

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Buffy scanned the room and made a mental note to thank Vassilious for the new dress and cleaning up. She would have hated appearing a pathetic mess to a crowd such as this. Her second pass looking over the crowd, her eyes were drawn for no apparent reason to a specific man with his back to her. When a woman leaned to the side of the man, Buffy’s eyes met Cordelia’s, and she saw Cordy nod. After the initial shock wore off, Hope blossomed. Buffy quickly looked down on the floor in case anyone was watching her face. Taking a moment, she tried to think it through. If Cordy was here then Angel was, too. And that meant they were going to try to save her.

Oh, she wanted to look back but was scared she would start crying with relief. In her drugged state, she feared accidentally doing something to give them away. When she thought she had herself composed again, she looked back up. What she wanted to see was Angel and feel that comfort that he was near. She looked at the man standing with Cordy whose his back was to her, and her heart sunk. No way that man was Angel. This man was shorter and leaner. She scanned the room again, trying to find Angel but again with no luck. It would make sense that her captors would be looking for Angel, her ex-lover. As a result, it would make sense that Angel wouldn’t and couldn’t be so visible in the crowd.

When Buffy looked back, the man with Cordy was turning towards her, but Cordy grabbed his arm and turned him so that he faced away again. All Buffy got was a glimpse of his profile. It took a second for her fuzzy brain to process the flash of the side of the man’s face. Off handedly, she guessed he must be one of Angel’s men. This man wore a suit well, adding weight to her assumption that he was one of those lawyers that worked for Angel. His hair was dark brown, short and a riot of curls. She concentrated on what she had seen of his face. His skin was pale, making her think he might be a vampire. He also had chiseled cheekbones.

And it was those cheekbones that started her line of thought in another direction. The drugs caught hold, and she saw Spike in the man’s place. His blonde hair that she liked to mess up out of his heavily gelled hairstyle. His tight black t-shirt and tight black jeans all under a black leather duster. Yummy. She closed her eyes and could see him in one of her frequent dreams. He was standing in profile, and when he sensed her presence, he turned to look at her, already smiling a smile meant only for her, hot and loving all at the same time. …

Looking back up, then the man in the suit glanced at her again. Buffy was anxious to see his stunning blue eyes, but in reality, what she saw was brown eyes looking back at her. Hope crushed, she looked down in her lap, staring at the cuffs around her wrists and didn’t look up again until she was put back in her cell. No Spike. No Angel. She started to wonder if Cordy was an impostor planted in the crowd just like the Spike she had been chasing in Irakleio when she was kidnapped?

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Spike saw her just before she looked down, seeing her disappointment. It took all of his self-control and then some help from Cordy to not go to her and kiss her worries away. But he also saw sadness. No, it was mourning, which made him want to get in her face, “Don’t you dare give up!” But he would be satisfied with another quick glance and not storm the gates. He wasn’t known for such control, but he would for his slayer’s safety. She had recognized Cordelia, and that’s all that they could afford for Buffy to know.

No shock that Spike would disobey Angel. When did he ever obey? Actually, she was impressed how well he had done staying away from Buffy. Cordy thumped Spike on the chest when he took another quick peek at Buffy. When he looked at Buffy the first time, her expression was one of curiosity and hope, but when they looked eye to eye the second time, he could see her hope leave before she cast her eyes to her lap. “She didn’t recognize me. I think she was suspicious until she saw my eyes. Cordy, you did your job well if Buffy doesn’t recognize me.” Maybe he should have been sad that she didn’t recognize him through his disguise. But no, he was more energized, more determined than he had been a few hours ago. No one was going to auction his slayer off. No matter what happened to him, he was going to get her to safety. Make her smile again.

Drawing his attention, Cordy elbowed Spike in the ribs. “Remember. Jewelry. I’m thinking we’ll go with rubies.”

An hour later, Cordelia watched as the dark haired vampire that had been with Argonia stepped up on the dais and led Buffy off towards an open archway leading to what appeared to be a hall. “Oh, oh, there they go. They are leading her out that side door. This is my part. How do I look?”

Spike rolled his eyes. He turned to watch Buffy and her entourage leave. Two guards walked next to her, one on either side, while four walked behind. All were armed with automatic rifles. The most interesting part was the stakes they also carried. So they were expecting his grandsire after all.

Cordy prepared herself as she approached the exit that Buffy had exited. As soon as all of Buffy’s guards cleared the archway, two different guards stepped back to their post in front of the door less passage way. One in a black tuxedo and one in a midnight blue one.

Cordelia continued unperturbed. She had been expecting them, but even better, they weren’t expecting her. Before she caught their eye, she gripped her handbag tightly and started to sway, appearing to be slightly unsteady on her feet. Acting oblivious as drunks often do, Cordy headed for the space between the two. Taken unawares, they didn’t catch her until she was half way through. Each grabbed an arm and hauled her back into the main hall.

Cordelia acted befuddled. “Huh? What?”

The one in the blue tuxedo spoke up. “I am sorry, ma’am. No one is allowed beyond this point.”

“What?” Cordy slurred her words. “That lady over there, ya know, the one with that floppy pink thingie she calls a hat, she said that the ladies room is down this hall.”

As she said it, using the arm with which she was holding her handbag, she gestured wildly, flinging it into the guarded hallway. Luck was with her. Both guards went for her purse allowing her an excuse to step into the hallway. She glanced quickly down the hall and saw guards by a doorway and the black haired vamp leaving the room. Bingo. ‘We are a step closer, Buffy.’ Cordy thought. ‘Just give us some more time.’ With a grin on her face, Cordelia accepted her handbag back and made a beeline for Spike.

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TBC

Chapter 12 – Ganging Up

'Damn it!' Vassilious berated himself. He should have known that this was going to happen. Since the viewing had been a colossal success, his mistress had been riding a natural high all evening, giddy with delight. Due to this, he should have thought it through because she always associated joy with pain, but he hadn't. It wasn't until the clan had returned to the mansion and Argonia told an errand boy to fetch her favorite cat-o'-nine tails and take it to the Slayer's cell that he realized what Argonia planned to do. Vassilious cursed himself for not heading this off. Cursed himself, that is, until he heard the door being unlocked. What the hell was he thinking? He shouldn't care so much for a human. Why did he have to remind himself of that? He was a vampire, and she was a vampire slayer. She kills his kind. He was a vampire that should want to kill her kind more than he did. What was he thinking? "Should," he thought? "Would," he told himself. Would he?

Before he had time to examine his attitude towards the slayer and the current situation any further, Argonia swept into the cell, and he followed closely. Vassilious could tell that the small woman inside was surprised and wasn't quite sure what to make of this visit.

He was right. Buffy wasn't sure what to think of this invasion of her cell. She hadn't seen the clan's mistress since the one visit shortly after she had been taken captive. Even though Buffy didn't know what was going on, she didn't need her slayer senses to tell that this wasn't going to be a pleasant second meeting.

"Well, slayer," Argonia cocked her head to the side and considered Buffy carefully. "You did well tonight, and the best part is that we are not even finished yet. Actually, I have wanted to conduct an experiment, and this is a good chance to do so." The errand boy brought in the whip and laid it in Argonia's hand. "I want to see how fast a slayer heals. You have a week to heal up, after all."

And the whipping began, eventually leaving peeled strips of flesh and thin rivers of blood running down her back and onto the floor. When the whipping was over and Argonia was lapping at Buffy's wounds, Vassilious found himself astounded by how well the slayer had held up. This little slayer's strength, her tolerance of pain, and her will was truly impressive.

What he didn't find impressive was what happened after leaving the cell.  As soon as they were in the hall, Argonia was all over him, hands clawing at his clothes and her open mouth locked onto his.  Before he knew what was happening, she was clawing into his pants and pulling out his cock.

"Come on, lover.  Get hard for me.  Rock hard so you can give it to me."  Argonia had a firm grip on his cock and was pumping it with her hand.  With the other hand, she was rubbing her sex through her skirt.  "I need it.  I'm so hot from the taste of that slayer's blood."

Vassilious' realized that his shaft was definitely not connected to his brain as it responded to her advances.  He felt like a piece of meat.  All she needed was a hard cock, no matter who it was connected to.  Right.  He felt disconnected as she pulled him around so that her back was against the wall, lifted her skirt and push his cock into her dripping cunt.  shove

When it was over, she walked away without a word, already dismissing him from her mind.  Vassilious was left, looking down at his shaft as it slowly shrank, shriveling just as his feelings for his mistress were.

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While Spike was parking the car after the viewing, Cordelia slipped into the villa. Accordingly, she was the first to come face to face with Willow, Xander, Dawn, and Giles. Angel was pacing behind everyone, but froze when he saw his lover enter. All eyes were on Cordelia; she took the focused attention in stride. After the night she had just had, this was nothing. She waved and smiled. "Hi, guys. How are you all doing?" Cordelia didn't even pause to let anyone answer. "Be back in a sec. Honey, could you come unzip my dress?" Angel wasn't sure he was ever going to ever get used to her calling him "honey" in public, but that was certainly not what he wanted to talk to her about. Heedless of whether she had asked or not, Angel followed her into their bedroom.

Once in the bedroom, Angel was amused when Cordy immediately walked over to the mirror to admire her reflection. "Don't I look great? You weren't here yet to see me before we left for the viewing. This dress is a knock out, isn't it?"

Angel reached out, turned her around and kissed her deeply. How he had missed the taste of her. When he let her come up for air, he whispered in her ear. "You look better than great, and you know it."

"Yum." It took a moment for Cordelia's brain to get back on track. "Well, unzip me then."

Angel did as asked with pleasure. "And that view will be better than 'great'."

"So what did they say?"

While admiring her lovely back that he had exposed, Cordelia's question broke into his thoughts. "What?"

"What? What did the gang say about Spike being back?"

"I didn't tell them." Angel's eyes sparkled with mischief.

Cordy whipped around and looked at him. "Oh...OH! When he walks out there, it's going to be like...wow."

"Exactly."

Cordelia threw on the first comfortable clothes she could lay her hands on. "I love it when you're Mr. Mischievous. Let's go watch."

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After Cordelia whisked by, the others stood out on the balcony, looking at each other in confusion. Nobody spoke for a couple of moments. Huh? What? Why wasn't Cordelia standing in front of them telling them about the viewing she had just left?

Clearing his throat, not surprisingly Xander broke the silence. "Uh...that's obviously an impostor. The Cordelia we all know and put up with would never pass up an opportunity to be the center of attention. In fact, she..." Xander's voice trailed off when a newcomer stepped through the entryway of the balcony.

Spike was shrugging out of his suit jacket as he walked out onto the balcony where the others were gathered. When he saw them, he nearly tripped and fell out of shock. Willow and Dawn were sitting near a table that had an offering of food spread out. Xander was leaning against a pillar, and Giles looked to have been pacing. All froze when he entered. He knew this was coming, and how he had dreaded this reunion. Now he was so glad that he hadn't known that this particular moment would be this night.

Looking back across their expressions again, Spike was surprised to see no recognition. Just as in the viewing, no one expected to see him because that was impossible - they thought. 'You've got to be kidding me,' he thought, 'it's only hair dye, curls, and contacts. Ha ha, Angel.' Spike inwardly groaned. 'You didn't tell them, did you? Well, let's have some fun.'

For the moment, Spike kept his cleaned up accent. "Hello all. Have a good trip over? Sight better weather here than Cleveland, I would imagine." He walked over to a vacant chair and laid his jacket over the back. At this point, Angel and Cordy came out of their bedroom. Cordy just grinned, letting him know that they were not going to say anything to help him, to which Spike gave her a quick glare.

"So Rupes, what do you know about the Sepatucci clan? Have you talked to Angel's watcher in LA and seen if he has come up with anything yet?"

Not surprisingly, Rupert bristled when the stranger used such an annoying nickname for him. "I don't just answer questions from a stranger carte blanche."

Ignoring Giles' implied question concerning his identity for a moment, Spike moved to the table and looked the food over. After popping some cheese into his mouth, thankful that he made the shot since his hand was shaking from nervousness, he again focused on Giles with one last taunt. "Why, Rupert, you don't recognize me with my upper class accent, do you?" Spike loosened up his tie as he turned to Xander, who was still leaning against a pillar. "And, whelp, looks like you've missed a donut or four. Looks good."

After the reference to his weight and eating habits, it was Xander's turn to bristle. He pushed away from the pillar. "Thanks...no...hey, where'd you get that name for me? I haven't heard it since..." Squinting his eyes at the stranger with suspicion, he left the rest unsaid.

Spike turned his attention to Willow, who sported an "it can't be" expression on her face. "Red, how about some mojo to get my blonde locks back. A little gel would be nice, too." When she didn't reply, Spike pushed on. "Maybe later, hmm?"

But Willow turned the tables and surprised him. She blinked a few times before she stood up and slowly walked towards him. Five feet away, she stopped and just stared.

"But Spike's eyes were blue." Dawn gained everyone's attention not just because of the eye color observation but because she was the first to have the courage to say the vampire's name. The name took rocketed the situation from unbelievable to reality.

Willow took another step closer. "Yes, his eyes were an intense blue that saw into your soul." Moving her head, she looked at his eyes from different angles. "Contacts. Right?"

Raising his eyebrow that sported his poorly disguised scar, Spike nodded his head. "Right on, Red. You were always a smart poppet."

The easily identifiable scar that Spike shared with the man standing in front of her had was not lost on Willow. Her smile was slow in coming, but it spread ear to ear when it came. She was now officially a believer.

"Good lord," Giles sputtered, "you don't actually expect us to believe you are a resurrected Spike. Those are a dime a dozen now. I say balderdash." He said the words with conviction but felt little. Actually, he felt more like he was going to have a heart attack from shock. He had gotten used to Buffy always coming back, but now Spike...?

Spike slipped back into his customary accent. "Believe it or not, watcher, but...now, follow me here...why would an imposter try to disguise what he was trying to show off?" That logic gave Giles pause. After shrugging, Spike set his glass down, and he turned his attention to Dawn. He started to say something glib as he had with the others, but he just couldn't bring himself to taunt her. Any subterfuge was thrown to the wind. "Nibblet...I missed you."

Willow smiled while Rupert and Xander watched in wonder as Dawn approached the stranger, whispering, "Spike? But you are...were gone. There's a tombstone for you and everything." He barely had time to open his arms before Dawn moved into them.

She pulled away only far enough to look up at his face. "Now I'm sure we will save Buffy. You won't fail."

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Buffy looked up when Vassilious entered her cell, and in a flash, she knew something was wrong with him. He was even paler than usual. He said nothing when he came in, and his clothes were askew, which both were again very unusual.

After he sat down, Buffy took the lead, using her new nickname for him, instead of "keeper." "Vass, you have mega trouble face. Do you want to mega unload? To tell the truth, it would be good to hear someone else's problems for a change."

He turned his dark eyes in her direction, but they were unfocused. "No."

That abrupt, negative answer made Buffy believe that he just had sat down out of habit, not because he even saw the pillows littering the floor. 'Let's start a little more basic and get the vamp talking,' Buffy thought. Buffy hated to admit it, but over the past few days of her incarceration, this vampire had starting to grow on her. At times, when they were having one of their exchange of views, Vass would remind her of Spike back when he still had the chip, fighting the urges to think along the light side instead of the darker one. Spike had just needed a push here and there. Maybe the same could be true for this vampire. "Ok then, I've been answering your questions when you visit, now it's your turn. Tell me about yourself. What were you before you were turned? When were you turned and where?" Finally, his eyes focused on her. Better, Buffy thought. "Tell me about the young Vass."

It took several moments for Vassilious to gather his thoughts, and then he gave her a sliver of a smile. This little slayer had a way about her, a brightness that made her shine in such a dark situation. Surprising even himself, he started talking as she had requested.

Actually, Vassilious had to tell his tale over the course of two visits since Buffy's medicine made her fall asleep during the first half of the tale. During the second visit, he stopped the tale right after he had joined the Sepatucci clan, hesitant to say anything of his time with Argonia. His current feelings for that particular period of his unlife were approaching too close to shame and embarrassment to even consider admitting such feelings to the little slayer.

Buffy knew that there was more to the story; she could read it all over his usually stoic face. For some strange reason, she guessed that the missing bit of the story had to do with what was bothering Vass when he had first come into the cell. Just call her Intuitive Buffy. "So what happened to make you so upset last time when you started telling your tale?"

He would never know why he started talking. Maybe he could blame it on his lips being possessed. Ha. What he had really needed was to talk out his woes, his conflicting feelings. He needed someone to listen, whether the person understood or not, even heard or not. He thought back to the visit he had with Argonia just before he started telling his history to Buffy.

The young vampire pulled a naked Vassilious around by the shoulder and locked with him in an open mouthed kiss. More of a devour on the boy's part.  Argonia  had summoned Vass to her chamber for the supposed privilege of participating in a torture session of a young boy and his sister and then an orgy, and Vass was trying to convince himself that he was enjoying the festivities.  When he did not take a turn feeding off the children, his mistress took the lead and playfully pushed him away into the waiting arms of a young blonde vampire, who leered and immediately wrapped an arm around Vassilious' waist.  Then the fledgling snaked his free hand between them, grasped Vass' shaft and began stroking from the base to the head and back.  His cock responded even though his mind didn't.  Licking and biting his way around Vassilious' upper body, the vampire changed their positions so that his front was against Vassilious' back and Vassilious could now feel the boy's cock rubbing against his hip.  As the vampire reached around and continued stroking Vassilious' shaft, the boy stroked his own shaft with his other hand while kissing and nipping Vassilious' neck and shoulder.

Vassilious knew that Argonia was watching.  He could see her tongue running across her top lip, savoring the view.  That was her type of love, watching one of her favorite vampires having sex with others.  Vassilious could see that now.  But he loved her.   He had to keep up the show for her, didn't he?   He would do this for her, wouldn't he?  The head of the boy's cock started rubbing and delving between the cheeks of his ass.  When the vampire put a hand on his back and start pushing to bend him over, Vassilious could stand no more.  Not caring whether Argonia was watching or not, he pushed the boy towards another group of writhing bodies.  Grabbing his clothes, he fled the chamber.

The last thing Buffy wanted to hear was a tale of sex between vampires, but the only redeeming value was that she gained more insight into Vass. "So you left..."

Vassilious closed his eyes as if trying to block out the memory. "Yes...as if hell hounds were on my heels."

"You took charge. You made a choice. So, with a capital 'So'?" She looked at him expectantly, and he gazed back nonplussed. "So, how did it feel to make a Vass choice instead of a demon driven choice?"

"I don't know." Looking back down at the floor, Vassilious slowly shook his head from side to side. "I just don't know – yet."

Buffy reached out as far as her chains would allow and was about to touch Vassilious' knee in a tentative show of comfort and understanding when she hesitated, thinking he might not find comfort or understanding in such a gesture from a slayer. She understood what was actually bothering Vassilious. It was not the close brush with homosexuality. It was not even Argonia's lack of feelings for him, as someone looking only on the surface would assume. No, Buffy saw a person floundering with his values, his now conflicting standards. She felt sympathy for him since she knew what he was going through, having watched Spike go through the same thing during the years after the Initiative put the chip into the blonde vampire's head. In fact, that little story might just cheer him up as well as help with his troubles. She patted his knee after all and set about trying to help dissipate some of his inner turmoil. "Did I ever tell you about the last time Spike came to town to kill me...I know. No shocker there...and he ended up with a chip in his head? Great story..."

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TBC

Chapter 14 – The Auction

Before they stepped into the portal that would transfer them to the grand hall, Willow reached over and grasped Spike's hand. He looked down into her face and winked. Her face might have looked like Cordy's, but he knew it was all Red inside. He squeezed her hand and then guided her through to the other side.

When they entered the grand hall, he could feel Willow tense more, almost as stiff as a board, so he adopted Cordelia's blending-in strategy. Put food or a drink or both in your hands and inspect displays. After gazing over the room in general to get his bearings, he guided her over to the bar. "Well, Red, what's your pleasure?" He felt safe using her nickname. A nickname that next to nobody used by a dead vampire shouldn't be a problem, plus it helped remind him that it was Willow in a Cordelia disguise.

"White wine would be great." Willow was having a very hard time believing that the evening was real. Here she stood among a couple of hundred demons with Spike, who was a demon that was supposed to be dead. She felt like sitting down on a chair, put her elbows on her knees, resting her chin in her hands and waiting for everything to soak in. Or click her heals and repeat, "There's no place like home...There's no place like home..."

Spike leaned down and whispered in her ear, bringing her back to reality. "Alright, pet. Let's mingle and see if we can spot Peaches." They walked around peering into the display cases in between looking around the hall. They quickly spotted Angel. Actually, they spotted an Angel in an upright alligator disguise. Willow mixed a potion for him, and after he drank, he looked like a demon. Still green like an alligator, but he had a stubby tail and shorter jaw.

Angle had already spotted Spike so when their eyes locked, Angel nodded his head before heading to his position near the dais. Similarly, Willow and Spike moved to their position on the opposite side of the room from the buffet, keeping a line of sight to Angel.

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Vassilious was at the entrance of the hall, looking the people over as they entered. He had little doubt that Buffy's friends and family will try to save her this night. That's who he was looking for. He scanned the crowd, moved his vantage point and scanned again. Finally, a beautiful brunette caught his eye because she kept glancing towards the dais. No, it wasn't the dais, but a demon standing by the dais that she was keeping an eye on. Definitely a possibility. Definitely worth a stroll over to the pair to size them up.

As he came to a halt in front of them, Vassilious greeted the two brunettes. "Good evening."

Spike didn't like this, not one bit, so he kept his voice cool. "Seems to be so far."

"Hi," was all Willow was able to squeak out. Willow had totally lost it. "It" meaning instead of thinking about saving Buffy, she was gaping at the vampire. He was gorgeous. 'No, no, I'm gay, but that's no reason I can't admire a male.' But Willow hated to admit that this may be more. When this guy's eyes were on her, she could feel a flutter in her stomach.

Something about the pair intrigued Vassilious. Both had a sense of power about them, even the female human. He could see the bite marks on her neck. "I don't think we met during the viewing. My name is Vassilious. "

The guy was really checking them out like he was trying to see all the way through them. So not good, Spike thought. "Nice to make your acquaintance. I am Franco Perez from Peru."

In the small amount of time, Vassilious had found out enough about the pair to ensure his surveillance on them during the auction. "Well, the auction should be starting shortly. Any object in particular that you are interested in?"

"Several actually. I think my strategy is going to have to be to not buy too much." All Spike wanted was for the black hair vampire to leave.

Vassilious chuckled, noting how charismatic Franco Perez was. "Oh, no, feel free to buy it all." He held out his hand to shake, a subtle signal that the conversation was over. "Let me wish you good luck."

"Thank you." Spike watched him walk away. "That, Red, was the second in command of this clan." Willow inhaled sharply. "Yes, he is someone that could be trouble. Big trouble for us."

Vassilious was thinking the same thing, that the human and vampire could be trouble. He was now ninety-nine percent sure that he had found the people here to save their slayer. When he reached Argonia's side, he looked back at the pair. Vassilious knew he didn't know the woman or the demon that she kept making eye contact with, but the vampire...something just wasn't right there. Just something about him. Even though he used a soft voice and was exceedingly polite, the man exuded power and attitude. Something about him was familiar, but he was sure he had never met him before. As he walked beside Argonia, watching her maul the guests, he abruptly halted and one word popped into his head. "Spike." It couldn't be, but after listening to the slayer's stories of her extraordinary vampire, he shouldn't be surprised.

Oh, he wanted to turn around and study the man again, but he didn't want them to get suspicious because they would in turn act suspicious. Even though he didn't have the picture he had drawn for Buffy to compare the vampire to, he remembered the distinct cheekbones and lips. The vampire was well disguised if you thought he was dead and gone, but Vassilious went with his instincts. Now he knew for sure that a rescue attempt was in the staging. Since the demon hadn't shown up in his research of the slayer, he looked over to where it stood by the dais and wondered who he was. Actually, giving it some thought, he wouldn't be surprised if it was Buffy's other vampire lover. She had explained the two vampires' love for her, but now he was seeing it in action. Vassilious wished he could hide away, take a minute in a quiet atmosphere to make an important decision, think it thoroughly through. Does he stop the slayer's rescue or not? No standing on the fence in this situation. It was time to make a choice.

"Ok, Red, let's get the bloody show on the road already." Spike looked to his right, caught Angel's eye and nodded.

Willow let out the big breath that she had been holding since Vassilious left. "We can't start soon enough for me. If I get anymore nervous, you will be able to call me Barf Girl." She closed her eyes for a few moments, finding her personal center to draw her power from. When she opened her eyes again, they were black, and her hair had darkened.

'Show time,' Spike thought as he studied her.

A demon at the buffet was about to enjoy something that resembled a shrimp when it flew out of her hand and down the back of a vampire's dress next to her. That caused a shriek that made those around her jump, while the contents of the vampire's plate flew onto the two people next to her. Thus, the domino effect began from the middle of the buffet and toppled out into the room of demons.

Spike would have thoroughly enjoyed the shenanigans that Willow was skillfully orchestrating, getting in the middle and helping with the fun, if Buffy wasn't the one whose freedom was on the line. But there was somewhere he wanted to be besides the grand hall. He had full trust in Angel, but Spike wanted to be the one to see her first and get her out of this hell for her called an auction. Spike wanted to train his eyes on the archway that Angel would be coming through with Buffy, but that would be a certain giveaway for anyone watching. No, not just anyone. Vassilious. Spike had a strong suspicion that Vassilious would be watching. Spike just had to hope Vassilious hadn't noticed and wondered about Willow's eyes turning black. That was something that couldn't be helped and would be very hard to explain.

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Knowing this slayer's friends' reputation, Vassilious had made sure that the number of guards was heavy during the viewing and especially during the auction. So with the commotion started, he knew exactly what was happening. As the guards rushed to the developing situation, he looked back at the suspicious pair in time to see the woman's eyes turn coal black and hair darken. A witch. That must have been why he could feel power coming off of her. As Vassilious continued to watch, the green demon by the dais shared a look with Spike before making its way to the hallway leading to Buffy. Smart. They had undoubtedly done their homework during the viewing.

Earlier he had realized that during this night, he would have to make a decision that could change his unlife. Now was that time, and the choice was easier than he had expected. He would help. He didn't know what he would do after this night, but with a smile, Vassilious promised himself that when the slayer was safely away, he would satisfy his curiosity and find out if the notorious vampire had truly risen from ashes.

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When the commotion began, Angel started making his way over to the archway to the hallway where Buffy's cell was located. Using the information Cordelia had obtained and passed on, Angel expected to find two guards outside of Buffy's door. He was two-thirds of the way to the archway when the black-haired vampire that Spike had warned him that was the second in command disappeared into the hall; he reappeared shortly followed by two guards. The vampire also ordered the guards at the exit to help with the commotion. Angel couldn't have asked for better luck, but he had better hurry and not look a gift horse in the mouth.

Angel easily found Buffy's cell and made short work on the lock before stepping inside. Since Vassilious had only given her a small dose of sedative, Buffy's mind was pretty clear when a green demon stepped inside her cell. So not what she expected or wanted. She didn't suppose that Vassilious had magically become a bizarro alligator or sent one. Despite herself, a drug-induced giggle escaped, but she was beginning to get nervous. This just wasn't right.

Angel took a step into the cell. "Buffy, it's me, Angel." He took a couple more steps towards her and winced when she tried to move farther away from him. "Buffy, it's ok. The cavalry is here like usual. We are all here on the island to save you." Angel noticed how wide her eyes were and remembered that he looked like a demon. "I know this is a very strange costume, but it is me."

"You can't be Angel." She starred hard. "I don't believe you."

Damn. Angel had hoped that it would go easier. "Willow said to remind you of the time that the two of you stole a book from Giles to read up on my past, Angelus' past. You told me that you two sat in the bathroom and read my history and looked at a drawing of a woman. Remember? That's why you picked out a similar dress for Halloween, trying to be like the women from my human days, and I told you that I liked you better because you weren't boring." He could tell she still didn't believe him, and he needed her to believe so she would drink Willow's potion that he had for her.

"Damn it, Buffy, you sent me to hell and then I came back. You would think you would remember me?"

Now desperate because time was passing, Angel looked over his shoulder and then back again. He didn't want to mention Spike's name and get her hopes up, especially since it would still be a dicey proposition to get Spike and Willow out of the auction, but now he was thankful that Spike had told him something private for Buffy and Spike. "When you defeated the First Evil, you told Spike that you loved him, and he told you that he didn't believe you but thanked you for saying it."

That was enough for her. "How did you know that? I never told anyone what he said." While she was thoroughly distracted with her memories, Angel handed her a small vial. Without realizing what she was doing, Buffy took the vial, drank its contents, then took and drank the contents of a second vial Angel gave her. "I didn't even tell Giles, Willow, or Xander. How did you know?" She passed out before Angel had to answer. The first potion had knocked her out so that she would stay out for the rest of the rescue. The second vial gave her the same disguise as Angel. While Angel watched, Buffy's appearance shifted from human to the same type of alligator-like demon as he.

'Good,' Angel thought, 'part one is successfully done.' He picked her up in his arms and headed back to the grand hall.

Before the demon made it to the archway, Vassilious called all the guards out of the passage to the portal to help with the disturbance. Mostly for the fun of it, Vassilious used his own magic to cause one guard by the portal entrance to stumble into one of the guests, one of the larger guests. A fight ensured. Vass smiled. After a few minutes that felt like hours, Vassilious saw the demon come out of the hall carrying another demon he assumed was Buffy in disguise. Vassilious was waiting for them.

Spike laughed and pointed over at the entrance to the hall leading to the portal where the guard had stumbled and started a fight. "That's a bloody classic, Red."

After glancing over, Willow focused back on the main commotion. "That wasn't me. Just good luck for us I guess."

"What? He looked like he had been give a little heave ho by invisible hands." Spike shook his head. Something about that just wasn't right. To Spike, the guard looked to have been pushed, but no one was within ten feet of him. Was there another witch or warlock in the room having some fun? Surely not.

Upon entering the chaotic hall, Angel slid around the side of the room, practically brushing against the wall, until he finally made his way to the short hall leading to the portal that would take Buffy and himself to freedom. So far, so good. Very good.

When he stepped into the room with the portal, Angel tripped and had to catch himself from falling. Of course, he had been expecting the room to be manned by Argonia's people. To be exact, he had expected one person helping with the portal and one guard. Ah, hell, there was a third person there, too. The clan's second in command -- the one person who Angel absolutely did not want to see -- was standing next to the portal. Standing and smiling at .

'Well, an offense is the best defense,' Angle thought with resolve. "Excuse me. My mate here has fainted from all of the commotion, and I am really beginning for fear for her health. She is getting much to pale. I need to take her back to our home" Let's see if that flies, Angel thought.

Vassilious looked Angel up and down, and then closely inspected Buffy. Angel wanted to cross his fingers that the magical disguises would hold up under this vampire's inspection, but that just didn't work with the disguise. This vampire didn't strike Angel as any kind of fool. "Your mate does indeed look like she needs to seek some medical attention." He turned to the portal's attendant. "Cal, please allow this couple to pass through the portal." Turning back to Angel, Vassilious nodded to him. "Sir, I hope your mate will be feeling better soon."

"I certainly hope so, too. Thank you for your help." Without another word, Angel with Buffy in his arms stepped through the portal and was gone.

Vassilious watched the couple leave completely passing through the portal, before returning to the grand hall where the confusion was quickly calming down. To help facilitate the return to order, the auctioneer was standing at his podium, banging his gavel to gain the audience's attention and preparing to auction off the first item. Impassively watching the grand hall, Vassilious wasn't sure how he felt. The little slayer was gone, and he would probably never see her again. But he supposed she left him with ideas and thoughts that would last him a while.

How Angel wanted to run once through the portal, but he walked. As soon as Angel laid Buffy in the back seat of the car and got in the front next to Dawn, they were off, moving before Angel could completely shut his door. Dawn drove past the other cars waiting for their pick-ups. As they passed Xander, Angel gave him a thumbs up.

Now it was Xander's turn to wait, hoping Spike and Willow made it out alive. Actually, he wasn't worried about Spike. Xander had it all figured out. Spike was like a cat in that he had used up two of his nine lives now but still had seven to go. Who Xander was worried about was Willow. Her powers were stretched a little thin even for a witch as powerful as she. Not only was her magic keeping her disguised as Cordelia, but it also caused the disturbance in the hall that allowed Angel to sneak out with Buffy. Luckily, Spike had not only numerous lives, but he also had a very strong protective instinct. Xander knew Spike would take care of Willow, but he still worried. Thumping his hand on the steering wheel, Xander knew he could think all he wanted, but all he could do was wait for his turn to help.

After the fifth item, a knife carved from bone that was used to kill a slayer in 1702, Vassilious casually made his way towards Spike and Willow for the second time that evening. They didn't see him coming until he was practically standing in front of them. "Good evening. Again."

Willow took a step closer to Spike. Spike wasn't sure what to make of this special attention from Argonia's right hand vampire. "Good evening to you. Nice auction you've got going on here, but the floor show was more entertaining."

Vassilious nodded his acceptance of Spike's compliment. He held out his hand and a striking salmon-colored rose appeared in his hand. With a smile, he handed it to Willow. "I thought you might like to see this hybrid rose. Its color is unique, to say the least, and looks quite beautiful with your green eyes."

That almost put Willow in an even bigger panic than she was in already. First, this vampire used magic. He must have been the one that made the guard stumble and start the fight that Spike had mentioned. Second, Vassilious was looking at Cordy, not her, and Cordy's eyes were brown. She had known it could be a problem that her spell would not be able to change her eye color. But then Willow remembered Spike saying that he and Cordy had not met Vassilious at the viewing. With that, Willow relaxed some and enjoyed the aroma of the lovely rose. He may be on the wrong side, but the man did have style.

Then Vassilious did the same for Spike but instead of a rose, he presented a glass full of human blood. As the distinct aroma drifted to Spike, Vassilious watched subtle hints of indecision cross his face. Now Vassilious was sure of the vampire's identity.

Spike knew he should take the blood from his host as any other vampire would do but wanted nothing to do with human blood. He also knew that the black-haired vampire obviously noted his hesitation.

Enough. Vassilious decided to put the pair out of their misery. First he spoke to the woman. "A witch, I presume. Nice work tonight. I was very impressed." He gave her a wink before turning to Spike, and waved his hand casually over the glass. "Go ahead and enjoy your drink, clavo grande. It is only bovine blood now."

Spike wasn't sure what unnerved him more --- that this vampire could perform magic, which was rare, or that he had just been called Spike in Spanish, actually a "large metal nail" but close enough. Ok, the use of his name won out. Trying to mask how shook up he was, Spike took the glass before the black- haired vampire's words sank in completely.

Willow's curiosity got the better of her. "You called him, 'clavo grande? Clavo?'"

Spike looked down at her with eyes full of warning. "It means a large metal nail."

"A good example is a railroad...spike." Vassilious tilted his head and raised his right eyebrow at the pair, letting Spike know that he was no longer believing the charade. "Your demon acquaintances made it away. I'm sure his mate will recover." With that, he turned and gave Willow a small bow before walking off to join Argonia. As he walked away, he wondered what it was about the witch that made him want to play the gentleman by making the bow.

"He recognized you?" Gripping her rose in one hand, Willow pulled on his sleeve with the other. "How?"

"I don't know, pet, but we really have a mucked up mess now. Keep on those pretty little toes, missy." Buffy had made it out of the auction. He wasn't going to get caught now. Not gonna happen. He was going to make it out with Willow unharmed. No magical vampire was stopping them.

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TBC

Ok, begging for reviews here. Good or bad is fine. Feedback would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Dana
 
 

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