Hero's Reward by Pfeifferpack

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Chapter 10: Out of Chaos

“I think you should call him,” Dawn insisted. She was as worried as Buffy. “I mean, at least we’ll know if somebody dusted him.”


“Don’t even say that!” Buffy had done everything short of contacting Angel to try to discover what had happened to Spike. She no longer saw Angel as the Dawson to her Joey, so she wasn’t trying to spare his feelings. No, she was simply sure that her former boyfriend wouldn’t easily help search for her current one, not without countless lectures and a possible bit of violence once Spike was found.

“Really, Buffy, you have to consider the possibility. Spike’s made lots of enemies since he’s been helping you out.” Willow just had to join in. If Buffy didn’t know the girl better, she would swear that the witch was enjoying this in some sick and twisted way. “Riley certainly wanted to turn Spike into Dustbuster food and that was just a few weeks ago. Maybe he came back? Besides, your boyfriend is always pissing someone off, so it could be a local.”

Dawn had grown more and more pale with each scenario proposed by Willow. “Why would his stuff be gone though?”

“Maybe to throw off the Slayer,” Willow suggested and left the room humming a soft tune.

The cup in Buffy’s hand splintered from the pressure she had unconsciously been putting on it as she listened in growing horror. “God, what if he’s dust?! What if I waited too long and now he’s gone forever?”

Dawn pulled out of her own haze of worry for Spike and anger at Willow long enough to really notice the fragile state of her sister’s emotions. She put a reassuring hand on Buffy’s arm. “Come on, Buffy. Do you really think Spike would let someone take him out NOW, when he’s finally got your heart? He’s a great fighter, he wouldn’t go down that easy.”

“If it were a human though….”

“There’s another explanation, we just haven’t found it yet. But we will,” Dawn pledged. “Meanwhile, do you have any objections to my mixing some Nair into Willow’s hair conditioner?”

Buffy had to laugh in spite of her agitated mood. “I’d rather you didn’t tell me, then I won’t have to feel guilty or punish you.”

Dawn imitated zipping her lips and grinned at her sister as she made her way upstairs to see about a bit of mischief. ‘Okay, maybe nothing to make her hair fall out. She’d probably turn me into an iguana or something gross. I’ll think of something though. Bitch!’

Buffy picked up the phone and steeled herself for the inevitable yelling and deep sighs of disapproval. “Hey, Cordy. I need to talk to Angel….. Well, when will he be back? How about Wes then? … What do you mean he doesn’t work there anymore? Cordy, this is important, just tell Angel I need him…. Well, tell him anyway. Yeah, someone’ll be here.”

Xander entered as Buffy was getting off the phone, “Dead Boy going to join in the hunt for Junior?”

“Cordy said Angel had something a lot more important going on than the problems of ‘an old girlfriend.’ I always did hate that girl!” Buffy couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something gleeful in Cordy’s voice when she said Buffy wasn’t that important to Angel any longer. “She’ll have him call when he gets a chance. No guarantees when though.”

“I’m headed to the airport to pick up the G-man. Wanna tag along?”

“Yeah. Somehow just seeing someone actually come back has got to help.”

Xander felt his heart lurch knowing Buffy was hurting so badly when he could end the misery of not knowing. ‘How come the secrets I have to keep are never the cool birthday present kind?’

~~~

Into the mist came another figure, this one decidedly not Joyce-like. Her dusky skin was flawless and beautiful and the wings that unfurled as she stretched her arms were delicate and somehow feminine. She wore an ostrich feather in a crown on her inky hair and kohl around her deep brown eyes.

“The order must not be disrupted, son of Sekhmet, she who fed on the blood of humanity to bring punishment in the name of Ra the eternal. It must be maintained. The warrior has been returned to you. All has shifted. You may be her champion, her companion, but this you must do without that which was removed. Already too much has been compromised, adjusted.”

“I know you. Seen your statue at the British Museum. You’re Ma’at. What the bleeding hell do Egyptian gods have to do with this mess?”

The Joyce-like being intervened before the goddess could be affronted by his tone. “Willow called upon Osiris in her ritual. It was through those channels that she was returned.”

“The Slayer’s soul made my feather the weight of a hippopotamus it was so pure. Such a one had earned her rest, but the call for her return was answered by the generosity of Osiris. He saw the same grief in those who called for her return as once he saw in his beloved Isis upon his passing. His mercy permitted her return. As the Slayer line had already divided, it did not upset the balance. That had already been factored. If you choose to ally yourself, it will not upset the scales since you remain a demon and soul-free. However, this must remain your state until the other son of Sekhmet has made his final choice and either let his soul leave the body or he has been rewarded and restored. This is Universal Order and must not be made a game for children. My ruling is just and fair.”

“Right then. So I take my unsouled self back and fight at Buffy’s side and the bloody FE can’t pop out and try to suck the world into chaos this time.” Spike thought for a moment and was more than happy to make that trade. All those lost little girls and Anya, even Sunnydale itself seemed worth going without his soul. Besides, they did say he could have it later if he wanted old William around a bit stronger. “Not like I could force you to give it back anyway.”

“You could not. We seek the return of one of ours now. He who ferried the Warrior back to her earthly shell seeks to manifest in your world and such cannot be. Aken the ferryman is required to return. His duties weary him, but he is not for your world. Those who worship the murderer of Osiris have connected with him and feed from his power, from our power. This cannot be permitted.”

“Fuck.” Spike was stupefied. “Consequences! I told the bloody berks there were always consequences. Let me guess, this Aken wanker hitched a way back through Willow during that mess of a ritual. No wonder the chit’s been superwitch lately. Accounts for the attitude problem too. Wanker don’t want his vacation cut short.”

“You are correct, drinker of blood. Aken resides within the spellcaster, but another both feeds from Aken, and through him, all the Old Ones. This acolyte of Set gives back energy to the flame-haired sorceress and makes her power grow beyond containment. She is jealous to guard this power and that is why she sought to send you far from herself. You and the other are far too knowing.” Ma’at lowered her arms to her sides, resembling a lovely woman more than an ancient god, and charged Spike with a mission. “You must stop this heresy by returning and informing the researcher. He will be able to sever these ties and return Aken to us.” Her eyes narrowed. “I shall judge him for his foolishness at that time.”

“And you expect me to…what?”

“We expect you to make the correct choice.” The answer came from both the Egyptian god and the Joyce-like entity at the same time.

“Boatload of faith in me there.”

“We have weighed your heart as well, drinker of blood, and we fear not.”

~~~

“My shaman friend Khaldun owed a debt and has repaid it quite nicely. He is quite the expert in the sorts of dark magic Willow used to return you to us. He is one of the very few practicioners to have studied the Book of the Dead and the Rites of Osiris in their totality. A remarkable man.” Giles fairly glowed with Watchery joy as he recounted his successful mission.

“You look like a happy camper.” Xander grinned at the exuberant man. “You British type guys DO camp, don’t you?”

“Of course we camp!” Giles was outraged at the implied slight on his skills as an outdoorsman. “I’ll have you know that scouting was begun in Britain by Sir Robert Baden-Powell! I have many a fine memory of Brownsea Island. My patrol was among the first to have the pleasure of that fine facility after it was reopened in ’61.”

Xander threw up his hands. “I surrender to your outdoorsy mastery.” His mood turned serious then, as the reason for Giles’ trip occurred to the boy. “So can we fix…you know…anything Willow may have oopsied?”

“As it happens, Buffy was quite fortunate,” Giles gazed with fondness at the girl in question. “Yes, there needs to be a reconnection ritual performed to bind all your emotions back to you. The mending that has naturally begun on its own will be done instantly when we perform it and you will finally be in complete control of the full range of your emotions once again.” He smiled warmly at the look of relief on Buffy’s face. “There is one other issue, however, that we are not certain about. The wording used by Willow may have implications to the Slayer line. She called back the Warrior of the People, and that is, according to some, the Slayer essence itself. We aren’t really sure what sort of complication might arise from that, but it is likely to impact the Potential Slayers more than Buffy.”

“I thought the Slayer line went through Faith now?” Buffy was puzzled. “I mean, no one was called when I died this time, right?”

“As I said, we aren’t really sure what it may mean.” Giles bit his lip. He saw Buffy shuffle in unease and quickly rushed to reassure her, “Still, we are rather confident that it won’t cause a problem for you, my dear.”

“Good.” Buffy let out the breath she had been holding. “I’ve got enough problems without more getting dumped on me.”

“Really? Has something happened in my absence?”

“Spike’s disappeared.”

Giles struggled to dampen his delight in hearing this. He knew that Buffy had given her heart to the vampire and, for some astounding reason, it seemed to have helped her to heal from her trauma far more than anything short of magic. He put on his most expressionless face and inquired, “In what way do you mean disappeared? Have you had a falling out?”

“No, we were crazy happy.” Buffy felt the tears well in her eyes. “He was supposed to be at the house when I got home from the counselor’s. We were going to have dinner and just snuggle at home. He never showed and all his stuff was gone from the crypt. I haven’t been able to find any trace of him, Giles. I’m so desperate I even put in a call for Angel to see if he could sense anything--you know, from being his sire.”

“You had no argument? Spike can be quite annoying. It would be reasonable if you were to have a falling out.”

“No, like I said, we were happy.” The tears finally escaped and made a slow trickle down her face. Giles noticed for the first time the dark circles under her eyes and that Buffy had lost a bit of weight since his departure. “Spike was really cute, he was so happy. He was so domesticated, fussing around making sure I was taken care of. He has the sweetest smile when he’s happy and relaxed.” Buffy sniffed and continued to cry.

Giles was beside himself, never having been comfortable around a weeping female. “I see. Really, Buffy,” he patted her shoulder awkwardly, “Spike is not the sort to just leave if he is attached to someone. Look at the years he spent with Drusilla, for heaven’s sake. There must be a logical explanation for his disappearance and I’m sure you will have the opportunity to punish him suitably for not informing you of his plans.” He could see that he wasn’t helping. “How long has he been gone?’

“Since the Wednesday after you left,” Buffy sobbed.

“Good Lord! That is a long while to be gone without contacting you. Quite unlike Spike, I would have thought.” From the corner of his eye Giles noted the shifting eyes and shuffling movements of Xander and the Watcher had a flash of insight that the boy knew far more than he was saying. ‘Perhaps it will be better to get Buffy sorted first and question Xander in private later.’

~~~

Willow felt herself drifting, suspended in air by pure magic. She may not be the Chosen One, but she had something Buffy would never know: the feeling of real power. She felt strong enough to take on the Slayer herself--that is, if she wanted to. ‘Why do I keep having thoughts like that? Buffy is my best female friend!’

Rack looked nearly orgasmic as he fed on the energy and power that flowed through Willow from beyond. The Old Ones nourished him, making him crackle with energy and strength. Never had he a prize like Strawberry before; a treasure, she was!

‘My brothers at the Temple of Set would kill for a chance to connect like this. Soon I’ll surpass them all. I won’t just have the degree of Ipsissimus, I’ll be high priest. Aquino is going to retire soon and that cow Hardy will be no match for the power I command. The ferryman is not important, but he has let me channel the gods that DO matter.’ He gazed in affection at the little girl who had unknowingly gifted him with this opportunity. He had recognized the hitchhiker the moment he met the girl. Rack was nothing if not an opportunist. All it cost him was a bit of normal juice given to the girl and he got back far more in the process. Child had no idea what she could be capable of!

~~~

Willow’s eyes were solid black as she weaved drunkenly on her way home. She felt like she could command mountains, manage oceans. She wondered if she were actually evolving? Perhaps in the end she might attain the status of goddess! Take that, all you peons who had looked down their surgically enhanced noses at her all those years. A world full of Cordelia Chases and Harmony Kendalls would be bowing at her feet instead of making fun of her. Willow Rosenberg would be a force to be reckoned with--hell, she already was!

“Hey, Willow!” Amy hadn’t seen Willow in a few days and was eager to blow off some energy with her new best friend. “Did you just get a fill-up at Rack’s? Wanna party?”

Willow smiled with a hint of malevolence. “Paint the town red, you mean? Well, red IS my color!”

The two girls headed towards the mall. They would have at least an hour before closing time to make some mischief that would make even the dimmest citizens of Sunnydale shake in wonder.

Neither noticed the shocked observer of their conversation nor noted they were followed by an unassuming girl who watched in horror as all her worst fears were shown to be true. Tara fled the mall in tears before the two wilding witches had even begun to do their worst damage.

“I could do this all night,” Willow sighed. “It never gets old.”

“Beats running in a wheel,” Amy agreed. “Wanna find some guys and party a different way?” She took in Willow’s cocked eyebrow and sardonic look and amended, “You could find a cute chick. I’m down with either.”

“No, gonna be getting my baby back soon. Savin’ all my loving for Tara.”

“Aww, how sweet.” Amy’s voice was too saccharin to be mistaken for anything other than sarcasm.

“You know, I still have that cage,” The threat of Willow’s words were matched by the cold look in her eye.

“Hey, just kidding!”

“Thought so.” Willow turned her attention to continuing her fun. Giles would be home tonight and she would have to be more careful about her magic use if she didn’t want the old fogey breathing down her neck, trying to reign her in. ‘Jealous! He knows I outclass him in every department and I’m only a college sophomore.’ She turned a wicked grin on Amy and suggested, “Bronze?”

~~~

“I would prefer not to have Willow take part in this. Her abuse of magic is dangerous and I do not wish to engage her in any ritual or spell until she has been properly grounded.”

“Wish you’d thought of that a long time ago,” Xander muttered.

“Pardon me?”

“Nothing, Big G.” Xander ignored the snort of irritation at that nickname. “Anya knows her magic; she could help, and Tara usually drops by to check on Dawn and see if Spike’s back. She could help too.” He headed for the phone to place a call to the Magic Box, where his bride was likely still counting the day’s receipts. “If I can pry my lovely wife away from all that green, she’ll be here before you know it.”

“You really think Willow is dangerous?” Buffy cast a worried glance at her Watcher. “Spike said the same thing, you know.”

“I fear he is right yet again.” Giles wondered just when that had happened. “While in London, I called a friend of mine in Devon who has one of the most powerful and well trained covens in the Western world. Athenea has assured me that they can handle Willow, train her in the proper use of magic and self-control. I’d thought to discuss it with her later this evening.”
“Think she’ll go?”

“One can but hope, for all our sakes.”

Tara burst into the house with streaming tears. “Willow’s using magic again. She’s out with that rat girl and they don’t seem to care who gets hurt. They’re laughing and causing all kinds of trouble for innocent people! She swore she wasn’t using magic anymore!” Tara sat at the counter and lay her head on her folded arms as she wept. “I don’t think I can stand this. I was so hopeful.”

Buffy gently rubbed soothing circles on the other girls back and tried to comfort her. Tara had been one of the few people to really get her feelings for Spike. She had been so supportive. Now it was Buffy’s turn. “I’m so sorry, Tara. Giles thinks he may have a way to help Willow, so don’t give up all hope yet, okay?”

Tara, ever concerned for others, sat up and hiccupped slightly from the crying. “How about you, Buffy, you still have hope about Spike?”

“He’ll be back. Spike wouldn’t do this to me. He’d never just gut me like this and leave me to die slowly.”

Xander jumped from his seat as if on fire and made an excuse to call Anya to put a rush her arrival.

‘Yes, that boy knows something and he’s not leaving here until we all know it. I may not approve of Buffy lowering herself to care for yet another vampire, but I’ll not have her in such pain.’

Fortunately for Xander, Anya chose that perfect moment to arrive and the need to perform the small ritual took priority.

“So just a few words in some dead language and I’m all completo-girl?”

“Indeed. Magic, when used properly, is a wonderful thing,” Giles said softly.

“So when all my emotions are online again, will I die from the hurt?”

Giles looked pointedly at Xander. “I won’t stand by and see you in pain. We will do everything we can to get to the bottom of this disappearing vampire problem, won’t we, Xander?”

Giles wasn’t sure, but the response seemed to sound like “Grlp” and that needed no translation to be understood as confirmation of his biggest suspicion.

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