All the Stops: Transfiguration Ch. 6

“Yes, but in a good way, bit.”

“You smell like us.” Angel offered. “You don’t ‘smell’.”

“I’m not seeing the good here.” Dawn said. Someone knocked on the door. “Who’s there?”

“Dawnie, is that you?” The knock became more insistent. “Open up.”

Spike and Angel exchanged looks. By all accounts, Buffy sounded upset. They didn’t want to think about what she would do if she found out this whole ordeal was all for naught. “Wait a second, Buffy.” Angel said. He needed a moment to collect his thoughts. He needed to present this to his former love in just the right way.

Buffy didn’t have a second to waste. She landed a kick and the door fell down. Her eyes darted around the room until they rested on her sister. “Dawnie?” She ran forward and embraced her.

“It’s me.” She confirmed, around a lock of Buffy’s hair. She spit it out. “Come on. Let go, you’re embarrassing me.”

Angel stared down at the ornate door that he had rescued from one of the more dilapidated rooms in the hotel and hauled on his back. Up ten flights of stairs. As he dodged bits of daylight that streamed in through broken panes of glass. “I liked that door.”

Buffy didn’t care. She released her sister but then her hand reached out to stroke her cheek. “Hold up. Why are you still warm?” She released her cheek and reached for her wrist. “And you have a pulse.” She looked over at Angel. “You couldn’t go through with it?” Her voice was laced with relief. It had seemed like a good solution. And it wasn’t like they had many options. But Buffy couldn’t stand the thought of Dawn being trapped into the kind of life Angel was forced to lead.

Dawn lifted her hair from her neck, it had shielded the bite mark from her sister’s view. “No, we went through it alright. I’m not sure if it worked. Exactly.”

“Huh?” Buffy said. “I’ve been fighting vampires for 6 years now. I know an undead person when I see one. You have a pulse, you’re warm, and no lumpies. Definitely not a vampire.”

“But she isn’t human either.” Angel finally said. “I think Dawn is immortal. She can’t be made into a vampire.”

“Immortal?” Buffy asked. “Because of The Key?”

“In theory at least.” Angel agreed. “But she has my blood. She is no longer pure.”

“She smells like us.” Spike offered.

Buffy swung her eyes Dawn’s way. “I know, I know. It’s so weird. They keep on talking about how I smell. I don’t get it either.”

“Alright then. Who’s confused?” Dawn and Buffy raised their hands. After a moment, Angel and Spike did so too. “Let’s go get Giles. He’s the authority on weird.” ***********

Gunn threw a white towel to Faith who caught it deftly. “How you feelin’?”

She scrubbed at the fine sheen of sweat that made her forehead glow. “Good. I always feel this away after a fight though. I think it clears my head.”

“Mine too. Nothing like it in the world.”

“I don’t know about that.” Faith said, giving him a wicked grin.

“Well, maybe THAT.” He teased back. “So, what’s with you and Buffy? That had the stench of grudge match written all over it.” “They didn’t tell you the full story?”

“Nope. I’ve managed to piece together that Wes doesn’t like you too much. Cordelia’s doesn’t seem to care one way or the other. And Buffy has some full blown hate still goin’.”

“You’re not wrong. But we’ll save that story, I think. That might take a few hours to tell. Let’s just say that there’s some bad feelings between me and Buffy over quite a few things.

“Like?”

“Like flirting with one boyfriend, stealing another. Joining forces with an evil mayor and fighting to the death on a rooftop.”

“Okay. Now, I’m gonna hold you to the rest of that story.”

“Deal.” She sat down and picked up a bottle of water. “She still beat me tonight. Even after all that practice.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. She’s pumped up right now. Her sister in danger. That’s enough to send your adrenaline into overdrive.”

“True.” Faith agreed.

“You were really something out there. You’ve got a wicked right hook and your head butt looks pretty tight too.”

“I’ve had some practice.” Faith said humbly, then she grinned. “And the supernatural Slayer strength doesn’t hurt either.”

“You know, I’ve been thinking about what it must be like. Being a Slayer.”

“Because of your mom?”

He nodded. “And because you and Buffy are here. What was it like when you were called? What did you do?”

“I freaked. A Watcher caught up to me in a pool hall.” Gunn’s eyebrows rose. “I used to sneak in to scam these old guys at the pool joint into playing a few games with me. It was easy money. My mom was usually too drunk or high to buy food. So, I used it to get us groceries. I got really good at taking care of myself.” She broke off. “But that’s not what you wanted to know. They send a Watcher to tell you. He gave me this big speech about how I was the Chosen One and how I was destined to kick the crap out of demons.”

“For the record, I know what it’s like to only be able to depend on number one, you.” She smiled at him. “So what did you think about his speech?”

“I thought he was a looney tune. But he wouldn’t leave me alone. The only way I could get him off my back was to agree to go to a graveyard with him.” She sat back in her seat. “I just figured he was some kind of perv, you know. I was prepared to mace him and help myself to his wallet when he handed me a stake. That’s when two vampires rose from the grave. Right under my feet. But I got ‘em both. It wasn’t a clean staking by any means though. It was one of the hardest things I’d ever done at that time.”

“How did it feel though? Knowing what your purpose was? Having all that strength?”

She ducked her head. “I can’t lie, it was cool, Gunn. I went around that very night on patrol and killed a few more demons. I felt like I was invincible. Unstoppable. Before that, I was afraid of my life. That night, I became someone else.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“It was. For a while. I imagine being a vampire hunter is the same.”

“You’re right about that.” He smiled at her. “Thanks for telling me that. It’s good to know that my mom may have died young, but maybe she enjoyed being a warrior for awhile.”

“I’m sure she did. You know, Gunn, we’re a lot alike.” She held out her fist to him and they bumped them against each other.

“So we are.” He held out his hand to help her to her feet. “Now, let’s go find out some more about how we’re kickin’ this hellgoddess’ ass.” They walked up the stairs together, arm and arm.

*********

Ethan sat down next to Willow and picked up the globe. “Why won’t it glow?”

“Looks like you don’t have what it takes.” Giles said, stifling a grin.

“No, there’s just something wrong.” Willow said, she was out of breath. “Something that we can’t correct. I know we’re doing the spell right. It has to be something else.”

Giles drew closer to her. “Like what?”

“What if Dawn’s spirit didn’t reach limbo? We couldn’t take her soul if it didn’t.”

“Or if she didn’t die.” All three of them swung around to see Angel, Dawn, and Buffy stride in. Buffy looked at Giles. “Apparently she smells like a vampire but isn’t one. She’s not human either.”

“Oh, my, well that’s certainly. . .are you alright?” He asked Dawn.

“Fine. A little wigged but fine.”

“Good.” He stood up. “That certainly explains why the spell didn’t work. I need to consult my books.” ************

Cordelia was on the phone. Big surprise, Spike thought as he walked in the room. Not that he knew her well, but he thought he knew her type. Beautiful, shallow, and vain. He had eaten plenty of them in his day. They were quite tasty.

He had opted out of a round of asking the watcher ‘what the hell happened’. They usually received no satisfying answers. He played that game too often for his taste. To be honest, he really didn’t care. Nibblet was immortal and she wasn’t ‘pure.’ So, his concerns about her had been answered.

He saw Cordelia take a deep breath. “I love you, Dennis. If I don’t make it back. . .well, I’m not even going to let myself think that way. Negative vibes are bad luck. I’ll see you later. Goodbye, Dennis.” He saw her wipe a tear away with the back of her hand and put the phone down.

“Is that your boyfriend?” Spike asked, coming up behind her. He had to give her credit. She worked for the big, strapping poof and was smart enough not to fall in love with him. Maybe she had some taste after all.

“No, he’s my ghost.”

“Oh, so you called to say. . .did you just say ghost?”

“Yeah. He was living in the apartment when I got him. His mother’s spirit was there too. She was the mean crotchety type. Not like him at all. Did you know she killed Dennis? But I kicked her wrinkly old Bingo-playing ass out of my place. It’s just me and Dennis now.”

Spike nodded. “You don’t say, ducks.” He always thought it best to humor the insane. He had plenty of experience in that area. “And what do you and your ghost do? I imagine hide and seek would be easy for him.”

“We don’t play games.” She looked at him oddly. “He helps me around the house. You know, starts dinner, tidies up, and he does this thing with my loofah. . .let me tell you, it’s amaz–“ She blushed. “Never mind.”

“Don’t stop now, pet.” Spike grinned. “ Tell me more about this loofah ghost.”

“Shouldn’t you be upstairs hovering outside of Angel’s door?”

“I wasn’t hovering. I’m a vampire! I don’t hover, I stalk.”

“Whatever.” She looked at him carefully. “You just took a shower, didn’t you?” “Uh, yeah.” He fiddled with the collar of his duster. “What of it?’

“I’m just glad you decided to follow up on that.” She grimaced at his signature clothing. “Though you probably should have washed those before you put them back on.”

“Hey! I don’t sweat! Or get that dirty, I can wear a shirt many times before I–“

”Ahhhhhhh!” Cordy fell to the floor, screaming in pain. Her hands clutched her head and tears streamed down her face.

“You’re a strange chit.” When she didn’t get up or stop screaming he grew concerned. “Cordelia?” Spike said, kneeling down beside her. “What’s wrong, ducks?”

She instinctively moved towards him, seeking someone’s embrace. Spike hauled her into her arms as she rode out the rest of the vision pain. She clutched at his arm. “Oh, God. Oh, God.”

“What happened?” Spike asked.

“Vision.” She said simply, still lost in the terrible dream images. “I’ve had them for a while now.”

Spike reverently stroked her dark hair away from her wan face. “Tell me what you saw, luv.”

Cordelia nodded, struggling to stand up. Spike helped her scramble to her feet. “I’ll tell you everything but we need the others first. Everyone should hear this.”