By the Cellar Dweller

Alrighty, this takes place post season 5. Glory was defeated but neither Dawn nor Buffy died. Thanks to Spike. Now Buffy and he are somewhere at a deserted house on a mission to find something dangerous. I wrote this in answer to a challenge of my lovely wife.

BTW this will not be as long as my last story;-)

Disclaimer: Joss owns all. If *I* owned all, you think I'd be posting on here??

CHAPTER 1: ENTER FREELY………

** * *

"So this is the place? You sure?"

"Yeah, this is it." Buffy switched on her flashlight and pointed it inside the dark house. She and Spike were standing on the doorstep while in the background the rain poured down, lit up by an occasional lightning bolt.

"I can't hear or smell anyone inside. And even if there is someone, I'd prefer fighting for my life inside where it's dry over just standing here in the rain," Spike grumbled.

Buffy gave a playful little scoff. "Oh now the Big Bad is scared of few drops of water?"

Spike gave her a look. "Not. Scared. Bloody annoyed, more like. We've been out in the rain all night. Let's get on with it. Can't be much in there the both of us together can't handle."

"Famous last words," Buffy said softly. "But I agree, we can't just stand here. Lighting a dark hallway with my flashlight is not going to STAY this interesting." She opened the door wider and stepped inside the house, Spike following right behind her.

They walked through the dark, deserted house, glancing into rooms as they passed doors and closets. They found a kitchen in the back, just as old, dirty and abandoned as the rest of the place. There was a door leading to the outside again, wooden debris blocking it. They turned around and went into the largest room they had passed earlier. It had a large fireplace.

They looked at it, then at each other as they remembered the wooden debris. Spike shrugged. "Should work."

They filled the fireplace with a good pile of dry wood. Then Spike used his lighter to set fire to some old newspapers lying around. He stuck that into the wood pile in the fireplace and blew as the flames started to grow. The room turned brighter at the light, which immediately gave it a whole different atmosphere. Some warmth slowly crept into the air and they both held their hands in front of the flames, rubbing them to absorb the warmth quicker.

Buffy looked around. "Wow, still old, dusty and fungy but you can tell better now this used to be real nice." Spike nodded as he followed her eyes. "Yeah, fancy place. Or used to be anyway. If only the same could be said for the buggers who used to live here."

Buffy's thoughts turned to the history of the place. "Well, they were fancy, if fancy means richer than god."

"So, we found the place. Now how much time we got?"

Buffy checked her watch. "About an hour. Well, at least we can get dry first. And take a breather." She yawned and stretched. Then she stood up and took off her long red-brown leather coat. Underneath it she wore a black sweater and light brown leather pants. Spike watched her from the corners of his eyes. Trying not to be too obvious how such simple movements as removing a coat or stretching took his breath away. Or it would, if he had any.

She hung her coat on the corners of one of the tall old chairs in front of the fireplace and checked it out. "Oy, I pick several leather clothes, and of course it starts raining so hard we could have used a boat to come up here! This stuff wasn't cheap you know."

"Still looks fine to me," Spike muttered looking at her leather pants. Okay it was impossible not to be a little obvious about it. She turned a little and gave him a 'tsk' look and a little headshake. But it was almost playful by now. They'd come a long way. Good deeds do get rewarded.

It seemed a lifetime ago they were battling Glory, trying to rescue Dawn. Oh, and preventing Armageddon while they were at it. Who knew there'd be a moment, a split second, when it would all hang on him?

The Scoobies had fought to a standstill, Buffy had her hands full with a weakened Glory, and he had spotted Dawn wasn't alone at the top of the tower. And as soon as her blood would have started to flow…….. Thanks to Willow and a good little magic shockwave, he'd made his wave through the crowd defending the tower and then all the way to the top, where he saw Doc, ready to cut Dawn.

His anger was all the greater when he remembered actually introducing Dawn to the old bastard, when she was trying to resurrect Joyce. It wouldn't have made any difference if he hadn't but it still stung. The scrawny old demon served Glory. Spike didn't know until almost too late.

So he came to the top, ready to scrap, but he wasn't at his best. Hadn't fed in a few days with all the road tripping with the Scoobies. And he was so anxious. No fight had mattered as much as this one in…..well, forever. Dawn could die, the little bit……Buffy's little sis. He really had some strange connection to the Summers women. Joyce's death had saddened him too. Buffy he was crazy about…..and the nibblet almost felt like his own little sister sometimes. Plus, he'd sooner die himself than face Buffy after failing to save her sister.

So he'd been anxious. Too anxious. Something he wasn't all that used to anymore in a fight. Fights had usually been for fun.

And the weak-looking Doc had been much more formidable than he thought. And far, far faster than he could have guessed. He felt the knife enter his back before he knew it. Couldn't kill him, but sure as hell hurt like the Dickens. So they had fought and dodged and a wrong move had made him lose his balance. The old bastard had held on to him, holding him right on the edge, keeping him from falling for a moment, just to taunt him before he'd toss him off. Spike had locked eyes with Dawn, saw the fear in her eyes, for both him and herself, as she realized her savior was about to take a tumble.

But the old coot's gloating had been his mistake. As he gave the last shove that would start Spike's fall, at the last split second, Spike had managed to grab the arm that pushed him, pulling the small demon figure with him off the tower.

He remembers the wind rushing past them as they struggled in mid-air. Just before the hit the ground he'd managed to get on top, completely crushing Doc's body on impact. Of course the blow had been so hard he himself had been out for the count for a few minutes, but that didn't matter. The bones would heal. Dawn was safe. No blood had flown, no portal opened.

Apparently Buffy had managed to beat Glory to the ground, after weakening her in several ways, before going blow for blow with that troll hammer. Glory'd turned into Ben, and Buffy had left him after a stern speech. She was good at stern speeches but this was not the brightest move she'd ever made. Of course, Spike'd seen the Watcher around that area where Ben was lying just when he came to. And he had a feeling ole Rupert had made sure that this story had a more definite ending. Well, good for him.

When Buffy had freed Dawn, she'd heard how Spike had basically saved the day. If Doc had managed to start Dawn's bleeding, everything would have been for nothing. So when he was trying to get up, he found himself suddenly surrounded by a worried Dawn, a grateful Buffy and a couple of Scoobies who wanted to know if he was alright.

Quite a new thing.

Of course it actually helped that he defeated Doc with this dramatic moment of taking him with him in that big scary fall. Sounded all heroic and stuff. In his own mind he still nearly lost an important fight because he got clumsy and stupid……a fight he should have won easily, but hey…… The look in Buffy's eyes had wiped all that away. Like the look she'd given him before, when she learned he'd not betrayed Dawn to Glory……..like that, except a lot more. He'd definitely earned his keep now.

And in the following months he'd been more accepted than ever. He was Dawn's hero for a good long while. The Wiccas treated him like he was part of the group, and had surprised him with a gift one night in his crypt. When he asked why, he expected them to say it was because he'd saved Dawn, but to his surprise she'd said it was because of what happened in the camper. Tara, still gaga then, had opened the blinds letting the light in, burning Spike's hand. When everyone reacted Tara had started to cry and he'd try to soothe her, by saying it was alright, that she could play with the light any time.

Willow had remembered that little gesture and it had apparently made a bit of an impression. And they'd given him a plant pot that Willow'd put a spell on, so now he had a ongoing supply of burba weed. When they saw his surprised face, they just smiled.
Well, this kind of treatment from the Scoobies beat the 'what are you doing here, you vampire monster' of old, but then the birds had always been kind of decent to him. Still…..even though part of him protested and felt this is no way for a feared vampire to be around people…….there was a another part that liked it. And the part that really liked to have his burba weed in his mug of blood as he sat down to watch some TV.

The whelp still didn't like him one bit, but there had been slightly more…..respect in him after all this. They still bounced insults off each other but hey, that was fine with him. And the Watcher was still weary of him, and as long as he was a soulless vampire, that would probably never change. But even though Spike could tell Giles kept his eyes wide open, he had generally accepted his presence, going on patrol with Buffy and things like that.

And then there was Buffy herself. He watched her now, in the house, falling into one of the big chairs, coughing at the dust that stirred up, but then making cutesy remarks with the words 'comfy' in it. She had changed towards him too. Granted, her utter contempt of him had already disappeared after he'd protected Dawn with his silence under Glory's torture. After that, she had brought Dawn to him when she wanted to put her somewhere safe, she had pulled him into her plans as much as the rest of them, and despite their protests, she'd basically……accepted him. Of course being a strong vampire fighter helped there too, especially in a fight against Glory. But even still, she had accepted him. Accepted that his feelings were real.

And now, after he'd saved Dawn at the top of the tower, it had been like all doubts had been lifted. She'd come to him often later, to see if he would patrol with her. He could tell she enjoyed fighting vamps with someone she didn't have to worry about. It was a thing none of the Scoobies could really share with her like he could. So he'd become her regular 'patrol-buddy'.

Of course he still loved her. And it still wasn't easy. But he was with her in a way and she let him. And he could tell as the months had gone, he'd become a steady thing in her life. She'd sometimes come to him just to vent, or complain about things. Apparently he was the kind of 'ear' that she didn't have in her other friends. She didn't have to worry about him being shocked by her and she didn't have to pretend she was fine when she wasn't. Especially when the financial trouble had started, and the job hunting. She could unwind with him and he had taken to that role like a drowning man clings to a piece of floating wood. Trying not to show his burning love and desire too often, worried it would scare her off. But even when he did, she reacted amicably.

Hey, it was a far cry from "you evil monster, get out of my town"! He thought back to his stupid act with chaining up both Dru and Buffy. Not his brightest moment. Guess that can happen when soulless vamps fall in love with noble champions. They go a little nuts.

The fire was burning brightly now. He tossed in another bit of wood and reflected that his life was actually a lot better now than it had been in the last few years. He was with her, part of her life, she enjoyed his company on several levels and she trusted him when push came to shove. Oh, and she didn't seem to 'mind' that he loved her. He smiled wryly to himself. Well, still better than the past 2-3 years put together…….

"Helloooo," he heard her say. "Boy, where are you? Somewhere on Mars? Earth to William the Bloody!"

He looked up. "Sorry, luv. What? You say something?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Uh, yeah. I said I think that fire can live without you now. Let's get practicing on the chanting."

"Oh, right." He got up and sat down in the other chair. "Still not quite sure watcher boy is on the mark here. You know we could just have spent all night out in the rain just to find some empty old house where bugger all is going to happen."

Buffy shook her head as she read the documents on her lap. "I've seen some stuff scribbled on the fireplace that matches this. No, that amulet is supposed to appear here tonight, at zee stroke of 2 o'clock. Or at least it could. There are a few other locations as well. But if we do it right we'll see it appear in this luxurious dump."

"Which it does every year."

"That's the story," she nodded. "And whoever is here or in one of the other places and chants the right chant, can take it, or 'claim' it before it disappears again. And if it's true that some of the wrong type of people are looking for it….."

"Then that's bad news. Right, so we come here, get the trinket, knock out any possible opposition and bring it back to Rupert."

Buffy smiled. "You know he hates it when you call him that."

Spike smiled wider. "Yeah, he really does, doesn't he?"

She looked at him. "And you just love getting under people's skin. Or mostly other guys' skins. You're much nicer to Dawn or me or Tara and Willow……But with Xander or Giles it's all head-butting. Why is that anyway? Vampires still produce such large quantities of testosterone?"

Spike shrugged. "What can I tell you, luv….."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. You've 'always been bad'. I think I speak for all of womanhood when I say I'm just SO impressed."

Spike winked at her. "Hey luv, hard to keep a bad man down. And who's badder than the Big Bad?"

"Indeed," a voice said from behind both of them. They both instantly jumped to their feet, expecting an attack. What they saw made Buffy frown in surprise, and Spike's eyes nearly pop out of his head. He tried to speak but it resulted in him standing there with his mouth open.

In the room stood a man in his early twenties, dressed in a Victorian suit, with sideburns to match. His hair was dark blond and a bit messy. He wore small spectacles and had an air of a man fully aware of his finer manners. He looked at Spike and said, "Do tell me of your 'badness', then." Spike could still only gawk.

Buffy frowned even deeper as her eyes confirmed what she thought she saw when she had jumped up. It was hard to tell for a second, but now that she saw it, it was actually impossible to miss. He had Spike's face.

She looked at Spike and back at the Victorian young man who nodded politely to her. Then she looked back at Spike again.

"Spike……….is that……..YOU??" she said.

** **

TBC!
 

CHAPTER 2: VISITATIONS

** * *

"Do go on, tell us all about how 'bad' you are. You seem to revel in it."

Spike's face started to vamp out. "Look mate, I don't know what your bloody game is here but I'm not amused!"

"Spike! No!" Buffy said as she moved to stop his advance on his look-alike. "Giles told me to expect weird things to happen in the last few hours before the amulet appears. Things get wonky in places where the amulet is about to pop up. The books were sketchy but……"

"Pardon me, dear Lady…….Summers, I believe," the man said. "I am terribly sorry you are here to witness this, since a ruffian such as himself should not even be allowed to touch the ground that your shadow has previously blessed, but…."

"Uh, yeah, great, sorry to interrupt…..uh, 'Spike'..?" She raised here eyebrows questioningly.

The man straightened his glasses with a slight gesture not entirely free of indignation. "No, milady, that would not be my name! I am W…"

"William!" Buffy said, before he could finish himself. "Oh my god. Spike this IS you. Is this……who……how you were? I mean how you used to be before….."

Spike didn't answer. He had been standing there, glaring at his counterpart. He had stopped because Buffy asked, but he was not about to take much more of this. Someone or something was playing with him. Maybe reading his memories and throwing illusions around or something, but…..damned if he was just going to stand there and take it.

"That'll do mate. Show who you really are or things will get ugly….."

'William' walked towards him, slowly. He looked Spike over with a disappointed look. "I'd say, my friend, things got 'ugly' a long time ago."

Spike fully vamped out now and moved forward with a snarl. Buffy caught him and pushed him back by his shoulders, moving herself in between them.

"No, Spike! We don't know what's going on." She turned to the other man. "Look, 'William' if that's your name, what exactly is going on here? What do you want with us?"

William straightened his cuffs and said, "The question is, milady, what does HE want? Or you perhaps…..?"

"What? We don't…..we didn't…." She looked at Spike. "Did we? Did we call up something?"

Spike kept his eyes on William. "I know I bloody didn't."

"Oh really," William said to him. "Goodness, is this what I've become?? This monster? This barbaric beast? It wasn't your fault you got turned into this, perhaps, but……you could have kept SOME semblance of our dignity and refinement! We were of a high social circle! We were well versed in opera, theater, literature and poetry. Especially poetry! And now what are you? Some lowlife who gambles, drinks and fights………and kills."

He said the last word with considerable distaste. "How many have you butchered throughout the years?"

"That's enough!" Spike snarled. He didn't know what was worse to him, to be confronted with his old, poncy self, to have Buffy watching it, or to have the many crimes of his past listed in front of her. Not after he'd come this far, made all those changes for her, to prove he could be a man as much as a monster could be.

Buffy looked back and forth between them, not sure what to do.

"Were those other vampire beasts who 'adopted' you that great and inspiring as role models? No, then again, even Angelus had a higher sense of class than……."

"ENOUGH!" Spike roared and jumped his counterpart, moving with vampire speed past Buffy, ramming into the thing that wore his face. And though that was his intention, part of him was actually surprised when he found his prey to be as solid as he was himself. He had half expected it to be like a ghost.

They flew through the room, out the door and into the dark corridor outside the main living room. He heard Buffy scream his name and expected her hands on him any second, to pull him off. So he decided to get as much damage done as possible before she did! He smashed into what was essentially his own face as fast as he could, lifted the man up by his jacket and rammed his head into the wall. Then he turned and threw him across the corridor, seeing him crash into what was left of a small cabinet.

He turned for a split second to see where Buffy was and saw…….a wall. The door he'd just flew out of was gone. It was a wall, and it looked like it had been for decades. For a second he was disoriented, wondering if he looked at the wrong direction. But he hadn't. The corridor was simple enough. Left, right, wall in front, wall behind, staircase beginning at the far end.

The wall behind him should have a door.

"Buffy!" he yelled, hitting the wall. He got no reply. Not even some muffled sounds from behind it or something. "DAMN!" he cursed, knowing he got played like a fool and allowed them to get separated.

He turned and looked at the place where 'Willlam' fell. He was still there, trying to get up. No. That wasn't it. He was bent over, but……not because he was hurt. He held someone in his arms.

A woman. And he was feeding on her.

Spike stood for a second, realizing what he saw now. He heard gulps and smacks and the figure in front of him stood up completely. He thought the victim was going to fall to the ground when the man released her from his grip, but he still had her by her hair in his one hand. Her hands just touched the ground and her face was hanging against his leg.

The figure turned to him and once again he saw his own face. A vampire face now, but still from long ago. He still looked like William, just rougher and unkempt. This is what he was like shortly after Dru turned him.

"Ahhh, that's the stuff," the figure said, wiping his mouth with the back of his free hand. Then he turned to Spike. "Not that YOU'd know, would ya? Not for a while anyway. You're the eunuch vamp now ain't you, mate? Neutered. Drinking pig's blood from glasses. Pretty pathetic, really."

Spike's surprise had worn off now and his face turned grim as he gave a soft threatening growl. "Not against the likes of YOU, you git. Demons I can kill just fine. And since I can touch you, let me demonstrate!"

** **

When Spike had flown through the door, it had shut immediately. Buffy had reacted as fast as lightning and opened it almost the same second it closed. But when she did, she didn't see two Spikes rolling on the floor, but an empty corridor. She walked into it and look left and right.

Nothing. Nowhere. Not a sound either. Impossible.

"Spike!" she yelled out without much hope. "Damn!" she cursed. "Stupid, hot-headed vamp! And now the house starts getting weird on me! What is this, Halloween in Sunnydale?"

She went back inside the room to get the documents Giles had given her. Maybe there was something she hadn't read yet. Still an hour and a half to go before they had to get chanty, but…..

"Oh boy, you've changed!" Buffy turned around and in the other chair, she saw herself. Not quite as she was now, but like Spike, this was a former incarnation of her. Dressed in pastels and sucking on a lollipop. High school, pre-Slayer Buffy. The one more interested in commenting on people's fashions and boys in the classroom than the fate of the world.

"Gawd, you're like, so lame now. Became this total social spaz, completely forgot all your……."

"Great!" Buffy interrupted. "That it? We get confronted with our old selves who tell us we suck seven ways from Sunday and we're supposed to fall to the ground and cry?? First the 'Charles Dickens' version of Spike, which by the way, was actually kind of interesting to see, and now me? And I'm supposed to crumble because I'm not the illegitimate child of Cordelia and Harmony anymore?"

Her counterpart just looked at her.

"No really let me know. Should I now lose all hope because I'm not on the cheerleader team anymore? This is the best you can do? Please!"

"Maybe it's not about that," a voice behind her said. She looked around and saw Giles.
She looked back into the chair and the 'Buffy' was gone. 'Giles' moved forward slowly.

"Maybe it's not being done TO you…….maybe this is just the magic here reacting to your own mind. Maybe YOU are doing this…...." he said in that oh so familiar voice.

He took off his glasses and cleaned them. "And maybe there's a reason for it. Maybe you need to see certain things."

"Oh, shut up, 'Rupert'! I've done this okay? I've had the prophetic dreams, the meaningful visions, the spirit guide desert tours, the poetic artsy-fartsy predictions, got the t-shirt and wrote home about it! If you're going to do something or attack me, then DO it. If not, then go spook somewhere else and leave me alone. I have work to do!"

'Giles' looked at her and frowned. "Maybe this is necessary for your work. Do you know what happens when the amulet comes?"

Buffy sighed and picked up her documents again. "No, and I'm certainly not going to listen to you! I'm sure evil apparitions that like to play Freud are very trustworthy, but to quote Spike, why don't you just BUGGER OFF!"

She looked around and she found herself alone again.

"Huh, that was easy. Guess they don't make poltergeists like they used to." She stuffed the documents in her coat, put it back on and walked out of the room. "Well, let's see if we can find that pigheaded vampire. I swear, next time I'll keep him on a leash!"

She grinned at that visual. "Hm, that would work. One like those big mean dogs in the cartoons always wear, with *spikes*. Only fitting. What's he gonna do, say 'no' to me?"

She walked out of the room, feeling a teensy bit bad for that last remark, knowing his devotion to her.

And realizing she had been enjoying that devotion lately.

And sort of come to expect it.

** **

CHAPTER 3: FACE TO FACE

** **

Spike had been fighting his double for a few minutes. The bugger even had his moves. But that also meant he could use that against him. After all this was the Spike of about 90 years ago. He was stronger now and a far better fighter.

He kicked him in the ribs and watched him fly through the banister of the staircase. Wood splinters flew around and he quickly grabbed a big sharp chunk. He smashed into his other self's face, pinned him against the wall and drove the wood into his chest. The vampire looked at him for a second before his face turned to dust.

Spike swallowed for a moment, feeling he was watching his own death in a way, but shook it off.

"There, ya soddin…….," he mumbled.

"Tha's right," he heard next to him. He turned and saw another one. This time his counterpart looked pretty much as he was now, including the bleached hair, the black clothes and the duster. Or maybe more how he was when he had just arrived in Sunnydale. His hair appeared to be slicked back a little tighter, for one.

"Stupid bugger deserved that," the new Spike said. "But then he had a bit of a point. First you're a bleedin' wimp, then a Big Bad, and now…… Tell me mate, what exactly are you nowadays?"

Spike growled under his breath. "Sick of this now. Especially of all the yapping! Think I'll just kill you straight away."

With that he jumped forward and drove the stake into his new double's chest. He instantly dusted like before, these apparitions apparently going along with their vampire imitation even down to their weaknesses, but even while that cloud was still swirling, Spike heard a movement behind him.

And he saw another one.

Looking just the same, talking on where the other left off.

Barely even missed a beat.

He just looked Spike over and shrugged. "Hey, just sayin'…….. At first it was the chip that put a crimp in your much beloved lifestyle, but by now? If you didn't have it, would you really be acting much differently than you have for the past few months?"

Spike faltered a little, more because the words he heard than because of the knowledge that fighting clearly wasn't doing much anyway. His double continued. "Let's face it, you're bending over backwards to impress the little lady left and right. When she found out about your feelings, she practically spat in your face, saying you were a monster. You said you had changed. She didn't believe you. Not until you nearly got killed by Glory. That made her see you in a different light. And then later you *really* save the day. And she accepts you, grows used to having you around as….…..what, a friend? A pal? A Slaying-Buddy?"

Spike opened his mouth to reply but his double interrupted. "And I suppose you're hoping that by going on this way, you'll maybe get promoted to Slaying-Buddy-with-Benefits?? That it?"

Spike growled. "She's beginning to see me…..….as more than a monster. She could….…."

"Could what?" His double lit a cigarette and looked at him, not really mocking, more earnestly asking. "………..…..grow to love you?"

Spike's jaw clenched. "She loved a vamp before."

His double shook his head. "Ohh, don't go there. Bad idea. You know what the next line is going to be. What HER line would be…….…"

Spike looked to the side. He didn't want to say it. Something which his double clearly was aware of.

"Hey, either you say it or I. But we're both already thinking it. Maybe you should try and see if you even can say it out loud. And include his name. Let's see if you can pull that off without going nuts."

Spike looked back at him, grinding his teeth but keeping his calm. "Fine………'Angel had a soul'," he said as calmly as he could.

His double smiled. "Ohh, nice. How'd that feel? Harder or easier than you thought?"

Spike didn't answer.

His double continued. "Well, it's the truth. And she believes it makes all the difference even if you don't. And really, are you SO sure you've changed? If you lost the chip today, had it out right NOW……..would you really not fall back into your old lifestyle? And don't get me wrong, I'm like you, genuinely wondering. Because you've adapted just fine, haven't you?"

"Like hell!" Spike snarled. "Damn thing is a pest!"

His double blew out some smoke and shook his head.

"No, only when you face humans. Only the notion that you are defenseless against certain things. When Riley or Xander grabbed you, trying to intimidate you. THAT'S when it's a pest. Because you could toss them around like poker chips without it and it was humiliating to have to stand there and take it from those gits. Otherwise, you're kinda fine, aren't you? Aren't you really?"

His smile was actually sympathetic and he shook his head as he went on. Spike by now had practically forgotten his whole situation as he stood there and listened.

"Come on, you're getting all your itches scratched and you know it. You hunt, kill and fight almost every night so THAT need is kinda met, innit? And demons make for better fights than humans anyway. So you actually get more action than ever in that department. You never even cared that much for helpless victims. You had your fun with them, but a lot of the time you went with along with whatever Dru wanted to do. What YOU had a taste for was a challenge! A fight! And as for blood……hell, warm cup of it with some burba weed, after a night's hard fighting………then crash with it in your comfy chair in your comfy pad of a crypt watching your favorite shows. No hassles, no worries……..and having Buffy come by, either to gab or ask you to come patrolling with her, giving you that ray of light several times a week………almost every night now…….....face it mate, you're loving it."

Spike said nothing, but his fists had relaxed completely now.

"So" his double continued, "the question here is again: if you had the chip out. Right now. What would you do? When Dru tossed you that girl in the Bronze, she was already dead, no Buffy around to see it………..and you hesitated. Why?"

Spike tried to shrug.

"No! Don't do that," his counterpart said sternly. "Face it! Why did you do that?"

"Because…" Spike said in spite of himself. "I……..knew how she would react…..…Buffy, I mean……if she saw. It would….….I was trying to………"

"No, you were wishing you could try to…… Try to woo her. To show her you were worth loving. But you thought you couldn't. So when Dru showed up you tried to fall back into your old life. But it was when you were feeding on that girl and you realized that what Buffy would think if she could see you mattered to you…..even if you knew you could get away with it……that's when you felt you really couldn't go back. That the life with Drusilla, your lovely Sire, was indeed a thing of the past. That's when you panicked and got stupid that night."

The fake Spike laughed for a moment. "Damn, mate, if Glory hadn't caught you, Buffy would never have believed your feelings, or your capability of good deeds. You should have thanked the old skank on your bloody knees!"

Spike nodded, slowly. "I know……….."

His double tossed the cigarette. "Yeah I know you do. That's why you're hearing this now. Because you do realize this all comes from your own brain, right? Now, remember, the main question is, if you lost the chip now what would you do? How true IS all that stuff you told Buffy? Do you really know yourself?"

He took another drag of the cigarette which was almost gone by now. He pointed to Spike to underline his last points.

"Really mate. Before that amulet arrives, work it out. And stop wasting time by standing here talking to yourself."

With that, he tossed the cigarette on the ground and stamped on it to extinguish it. Spike watched the boot grind it into the wood for a few seconds……..until he realized it was his own boot.

He looked up and saw he was alone.

** **

CHAPTER 4: GETTING CHANTY

** * *

"Spike!"

Buffy checked her watch. Time was slipping. She'd been through most of the house, but not a trace of him. And by now she had only twenty minutes left to set things up and start chanting before the amulet's moment of appearance would come.

She sighed. Time to get on with it. She would set things up, get the amulet and look for Spike afterwards. Maybe after that had all gone down well, and she had the amulet, things would automatically get back to normal, and he'd fall out of a wall or something. She'd seen stranger things.

She took out a candle from her inside pocket and checked a few doors as she walked through the hallway of the third floor of the house. 'Big place' she thought. One room she passed was especially empty. Not even furniture or much debris lying around. Not too big or small, only one entrance so she could see things coming……. 'Well unless they start popping out of thin air again,' she mused.

Giles had said it wouldn't matter which room she took as long as she was in the house. The ritual would draw the amulet to her. She put the candle down in the middle of the room. Then she took out some chalk and drew a circle on the floor. 'Always with the circles', she thought.
She was glad she'd had the foresight to bring matches and not just depend on Spike's lighter. As she lit the candle, she wondered where he was, and if he was alright. She knew he could handle himself, but still……. Was he trapped somehow? In another dimension? Was he still in the house, thinking SHE had disappeared? All about equally possible.

She blew out the match as the candle burned. It was odd to think how short a time ago she would have killed him sooner than turn her back on him. But the last few months he had proven himself. And in ways that were not just about sucking up to her……….

She never would have known he'd nearly died at Glory's hands protecting Dawn and her, if she hadn't managed to find out by pretending to be the bot. There was no gain in it for him. All the stuff he'd done before, trying to impress her on patrol, trying to bring her 'leads' and fight with her……it could still be seen as selfish since he wanted her and he could have been doing it only to get what he wanted. But this…….

So she'd kissed him. On a whim really. But he'd looked so hurt, so vulnerable…….and the revelation that he'd suffered all that just for her……..and now didn't even want her to know…… Well that was a different story wasn't it? So, she'd accepted his feelings as true and himself as trustworthy……leaving Dawn in his care, enlisting his help in the whole Glory war. Which had turned out to be a pretty good move considering how that went.

If it hadn't been for him……..she'd rather not think about that.

But she had wound up owing him. Everyone had wound up owing him. Ah, she had seen it so clearly in his face in those couple of days. He'd die for her. Without hesitation or regret. Strange. Still she couldn't blame herself for not believing him before. Honestly, Spike of all people.

She sat down in the circle and drew some more symbols on the ground, carefully trying to copy the documents.

Yes, Spike of all people. And after the Glory mess was over, color everyone happy of course, but it also had everyone heading back to daily life. Which had hit her hard. The big gaping hole her mother's death had left in their lives became more and more clear. She was now the parent, having to earn a living, taking care of Dawn, prove herself to social services as a guardian, trying to make ends meet……and keep up the Slaying.

And she hadn't really succeeded especially when money got tight. She'd had to drop out of college, not being able to afford it anymore, time wise or money wise. She'd tried working with Xander's crew and even at the Magic Shop. Didn't go well. Granted, she'd been under attack that day, but still, that stuff wasn't for her. Just wouldn't have worked out.

Her friends were supportive but that often turned into well-meant speeches and suggestions how to do things better. Sometimes she didn't want to hear all that. So that's when she'd gone to Spike. Especially on that day, after the mummy hand debacle. She'd gotten a little drunk, which hadn't ended all that well for her stomach, but it was the first time she'd consciously noticed she sought him out when she felt blah.

They'd patrolled together more and more and it had been great venting to him. He didn't give speeches, he didn't put pressure on her or feel sorry for her. It had been nice to be around him. He wasn't acting so obsessie anymore, and had his 'sod the world' attitude, which was refreshing sometimes, though she'd never tell him that.

Yet he'd still been nice and caring towards her. And slowly she knew she'd kind of taken to it. She'd started training with him too. Giles had grumbled a little but after the Glory thing even he'd had to admit Spike had been on the level. And had his good sides. And he was almost as strong as she was, making him an ideal training partner.

As she finished the last symbol, she frowned a little to herself. Yes, she was worried about him. He was, to her at least, part of the Scoobie clan. He'd earned it. She didn't know how he could even be capable of anything good, but then there were plenty of humans with souls who did evil all the time. 'Makes you wonder about souls at all,' she thought.

And now, with this house going all creepy on them, she'd apparently been able to see him as he had been. As a human. Goodness, not exactly the wild scoundrel he tried so hard to be these days. All Victorian and proper. Kind of cute in a dorky way. Oh, how she would tease him mercilessly with this one!

She smiled at the prospect. Then she stopped her drawing for a moment. When she was totally honest with herself, the knowledge he had this thing for her also had become actually a pleasant side effect to being around him.

Sometimes she'd catch him looking at her as she shook her hair, brushed some dust of her boots…….or bent over to pick up a stake, she thought with a little smile. She'd catch him looking but she wouldn't let him know. And she'd hold this or that pose maybe a second longer……..

Probably just a girl naturally feeling flattered by a guy's attention, even an undead former enemy. But still……..just the other day it had hit her how much going to train and patrol with Spike was something she looked forward to during a hard day's work.

In the night, she was free. Training, patrolling, just chatting or playing games. From trivial questions about TV shows (sometimes with that awful looking but really nice demon Clem), to 'who could throw the stake deeper into the tree', or 'who can catch the most vamps in one night'.

Yeah. It had been nice.

"Maybe a little too nice?" a voice said in front of her. She looked up and saw Xander. "Really Buff, is he a 'bud' now? Or your faithful sidekick? Boyfriend material? Or more like your loyal dog?"

Buffy glared. "I'm not saying this again. Get. Out. I have work to do and this 'every ghost's a shrink' bit is really getting SO old!"

"Yeah, you're kinda good with the not seeing things aren't you? You focus completely on his wanting you, but what about you……"

Buffy interrupted him with an annoyed sigh. "Okay," she said. "I'm just going to use a different tactic now. This always seems to work for Dawn."

She closed her eyes, put her hands over her ears and shrieked at the top of her lungs: "Get out, get out, GET OUUUTTT!!"

When she looked up, she was alone again.

"Well, that IS effective," she mumbled. "Of course I know it works on ME. But really, wimpy ghosts here."

She picked up the documents and looked at her watch. "Okay, Spikey, I really hope you're okay, but I have to start this now."

She cleared her throat and noted she could at least take comfort in the thought no one was here to watch her do this. She started to chant in the monotonous melody that Giles had taught her, singing the words she didn't understand. The candle seemed to burn a little brighter as she went on.

Then, slowly, the light of it changed in color, and several lights and shapes seemed to spring forth from the flame, dancing in the air above it. Over the next 2 minutes of chanting this intensified until at the center of it all the lights seemed to clot together, creating a white light almost too bright to look at.

She started to chant louder as strange sounds almost started to drown her out. She didn't really know if it mattered how loud she was but instinctively she tried to remain audible. Then, in the heart of the bright lights she saw something take shape.

Okay, that was it. She could barely make out it's shape but there was no time to wait until she could. This was the tricky bit. She had to keep on singing, without pause and grab it before it would disappear again.

It was possible someone else at one of the other possible appearing points was trying this now as well, and her failure to get it could lead to them succeeding.

She kept on repeating the chant, while slowly getting up to her feet, then she braced herself, starting the cycle of the ancient verse again and jumped forwards, reaching out with her hands.

She closed her eyes against the light and in midair she felt her hands grab onto something. Then she hit the wooden boards of the floor as she landed. Old and rotten as they were, they were no match for the speed she had. With a slight yelp, she felt herself go through it, crashing into the room below her on the second floor with a loud noise of smashing old wood.

"Ohhhh, I hate magic rituals," she moaned as she shoved some wooden bits and dust off her face. She looked up and saw a bewildered Spike standing there, looking at her with some surprise. Judging by that expression it really was Spike and not another apparition. 'Well, give thanks for small favors', she thought. She wasn't in the mood for more pseudo-psycho babble.

"Buffy? You ……….you fell through the ceiling!"

She moaned. "Thanks, I noticed that."

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CHAPTER 5: MIND WHAT YOU SAY

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"Why………did you fall through the ceiling? You alright?" Spike said, still a little surprised.

He looked up for a moment at the hole in the ceiling she'd created. "What happened there? We fighting someone?"

She coughed at the dust in the air and crawled to her feet. As he always did while they were patrolling and she was on the ground, he offered his hand to help her up. She was so used to him being there, doing just that, she reached out and took his hand without even looking.

"No," she said. "No fighting, I don't think so. Those ghost things pretty much leave you alone if you tell them off harsh enough. I'm sure you noticed that too."

Spike cleared his throat softly. "Uh, yeah. Right. Pushovers, them. So what happened to you then? Quite a tumble you made."

"Yeah," she said, "old floors, couldn't hold me. I had to jump. But look, I got it!"

She proudly held up her hand and in it, Spike saw a gold amulet with a round glassy jewel in it, it's chain hanging through her fingers.

"Oh, good job. That's it, huh?"

Buffy looked at it. "Yeah it was hanging in some tinkerbell lights as I got all chanty. Pretty much how it was supposed to be. Huh, doesn't look all that powerful."

"Ah you can never tell. Magic stuff is tricky. Better not mess with it." Spike said. "Can't say I'm sad I didn't get to chant along. Not really my thing."

"Yeah, well, mine either. Next time Willow or Tara can do it. Okay, let's get out of here, I'm sure Giles will want to study it with one of those Sherlock Holmes magnifying glasses or something."

Spike chuckled. "Yeah, Rupert's gonna be giddy for days with this one. Probably won't be able to utter a word under 11 syllables for a while."

Buffy giggled. "Yeah better stay clear before he starts expecting us to know what he's talking about."

They chuckled some more and walked out of the room into the hallway looking for the staircase that would lead to the ground floor. They walked for a while, turned a few corners, saw a lot more doors, a staircase or two leading up, everything but stairs going down.

"Okay…..I really think this house is not THIS big. And wasn't the staircase kinda closer to that room?"

Spike nodded. "Yeah, something's fishy. Like when we got separated. I turned around and the door was gone."

"Ah, thought so. I went to look for you through that door and you were gone. Great. Don't you love magic houses. I just hoped after I got this thing, it would all be normal again."

They walked back and forth, trying to find anything that led to downstairs. Not only didn't they find anything, but they found that every time they turned back, things were different from the first time they walked through.

Buffy kicked a door off it's hinges in frustration. "Ahhh! Crap! I hate this! I'm tired, I'm barely dry and I have to get back out into the rain again! I did my job, I got the thing, now I want to go home! I want that stupid staircase here now!"

Spike looked down and raised his eyebrows. "Uh, pet."

But she had already seen it too. There was the staircase. Going down. Except it hadn't been there. "Yeah…….that's…….."

"Yeah," Spike nodded. "And you notice how it didn't……you know……no 'poof, there it is'. No…..'whooom'…..it just….."

"It's just there like it has been all along. Yeah……."

They looked at each other and then their eyes simultaneously went down to Buffy's hand where she still held the amulet.

Spike whispered softly "Uh, pet, I'd be careful with what you say……from now on……"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah………still, pretty handy right now."

They slowly walked down the stairs, both a little surprised and relieved it was real, and bore their weight. Once downstairs however, the same problem continued. They were lost and all the old rooms and corridors with old doors leading to more old rooms seemed to go on forever. The door leading outside was nowhere.

Buffy groaned. "Okay, maybe I should carefully 'command' something to happen again, like maybe us back home already………" She frowned and stopped herself. "No."

"What?" Spike asked.

Buffy held up the amulet. "No, I already did that. Before the staircase appeared. I said I wanted to go home. But we're not. So…..maybe this didn't do it after all?"

Spike frowned. "Had to. I mean……..right when you said it…..…"

"I know," Buffy said. "But we're not home and I said that too. Hm, maybe I should test it. With something small." She looked around her seeing if there was anything that gave her an idea.

"Careful luv," Spike said. "That's dangerous stuff. If you say something wrong……..."

"I know, I know," Buffy waved him away, in that cute but ordering manner. "Just something small. Like this."

She stood in front of an old cabinet, broken on the floor. "I want this cabinet to be whole again."

And it was. And once again, no effects, no lights or moving parts. The cabinet simply was mended and whole. And it was like it had been all along.

"Huh," Buffy mumbled. She looked at her expensive leather coat and pants, kind of grungy after walking in the rain all night. "I want them as good as new," she whispered.

And with that they looked as new and smooth as they had been in the store. She smiled and turned to look at herself. "Hmmm, shiny again. I'd say this definitely works."

Spike nodded. "Yeah, looks like. Still say you better be careful, luv. And it doesn't explain why it won't send us home."

Buffy thought about it. "Yeah, maybe try that again? Maybe phrase it more clearly? Ahem, I want us both to be back in Sunnydale, uh, in the Magic Shop. To be……precise."

For a moment they stood in silence. Nothing happened.

"Okay, now I'm confused. Again then! I want…." But before she could finish Spike interrupted her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Luv, really. Don't. I've seen this sort of thing. Before you know it, we're in some other dimension or one of us is turned to stone for all eternity, or….I don't know. But it's dangerous. It's not helping us, so let's look for a door or a window."

Buffy nodded. "Okay, yeah. I mean. Yeah you're right. Tricky stuff. Let's crash through a window or something."

And they looked and looked. But the house kept changing, no doors led to outside and the few rooms that had windows were boarded up. And the boards were unmovable. Either by vampire strength, Slayer strength or 'amulet-commands'.

After another hour like that, they'd found themselves in the room with the fireplace again, where they crashed into the old comfy chairs. The fire was still burning albeit a bit smaller.

"Ahhh great! I hate, HATE magic houses!" Buffy pouted. "And what good is an all-powerful amulet if you have to stay in this dump?"

Spike shrugged. "I dunno, luv. We tried using it, just carrying it, and even leaving it on the floor didn't do much. And it may still be our only ticket out for all we know. Let's hold onto it for now, eh?"

"Yeah, yeah….." She dangled it in front of her face, sticking her tongue out at it. Her pout got even deeper. Spike suppressed a grin trying not to notice how sexy her lower lip got when she pouted.

"Ahem, anyway, let me get some more wood on the fire." As he got up from his chair to do that however, Buffy shrugged and said. "Oh why bother. 'Fire bigger'!"

And instantly the fire was bigger. Unfortunately, a little too big.

It flared out of the fireplace and nearly hit Spike head on. Only his vampire speed saved him from a fiery death. He fell several feet back, a little singed.

Buffy jumped to her feet. "SPIKE! No! Uh….STOP! I mean, 'fire small again'! How it was! Whatever! Back to normal!"

The fire went back to normal and she knelt down by Spike who lay on the ground looking a little flustered and singed. "Spike! I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"Luv…?" he said as he looked up.

"Why don't we……. put the amulet on the table for now?"

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