In for a Penny...
Prologue...for those who missed Sunnydalopolis I-XXVIII
Spike has fallen in love with and lost the robot copy of Buffy Summers, Buffy Rebecca Summers
created by Warren the robot maker and "cybergenius" for him using a neural recording of Buffy
and perhaps a little help from the powers that be...
Realizing now that Buffy Rebecca was a genuine soul, the one Buffy Summers of all potential
Buffy Summers across the infinite universe that had called out to him in pity for his suffering,
Spike waits in hope that he will, if he can preserve the humanity he has partly regained, one day
find her again...
Despite the method in which her twin was created, using her mind without her knowledge, Buffy
has gradually come to acknowledge Buffy Rebecca as a true soul...her sister...in the course of
which she has also dealt with her mixed emotions regarding Dawn...likewise created at her
expense by the fanatic monks who wished to prevent the loss of the Key...
She and the gang have come to forgive Spike for his action in creating the robot and to regard
him in light of Buffy Rebecca's faith in his redemption as almost a brother-in-law...Albeit one
who must still, even by his own admission be watched carefully...
Part I
Eternity is Ours...Spike and Buffy Rebecca love theme(Ebbtide)
‘Dr.’ William Walthrop (aka Spike) was holding court in his office at the cybernetics
firm he and Warren the "cybergenius", his partner in the creation of Buffy Rebecca,
had founded after the destruction of their former employer, the immortality-seeking Dr. Severn
and his company, Xortox Labs...
His hours were, admittedly, unusual...But the remnants of the old Xortox Labs staff who had
been recruited by Warren were used to ridiculous schedules and crazed demands, having
long worked for a dying, demented maniac...
Of course they generally had their suspicions about the limits of
‘Dr.’ Walthrop’s genius...
Spike clenches his pipe firmly between his teeth, his eyes firmly set...on the future...Time to
inspire the troops, he thinks...
"Bionetics...Ladies and gentlemen...is the wave of the future..."
They nod in agreement...Yeah, so?...
"If we follow through to our proper course, holding firmly to our ideals...Overcoming the
obstacles blocking our way..."
I just wanted to ask about stock inventory...one assistant thinks...
"To the bright future our products can offer..." Spike has picked up some of
Severn's bombast...
Warren enters, saving the staff...
"Spike?...er Walthrop..."
...Spike!...The staff loves that nickname...Where did he ever come up with that one...
Tweedy, pipe-puffing Walthrop...Spike?!...
Must be that hair...
"Ah, Warren..."
"Umm...time for our conference...If you're not too busy..."
Nothing will get done tonight if I don't get them out of here...Warren sighs...Nothing...
"Just inspiring the gang...Alright..." Waves a fist in the air...
"Folks...lets to it..."
They look at each other...To...?
***
Warren looks at ‘Dr.’ Walthrop , his friend...the vampire...more or less
reformed...but still...
"Spike, you realize we have to get things moving here?...We have schedules to
keep, even if they must be adjusted to suit...your needs..."
Spike is a little hurt...He's been doing his bit, after all...And it was the missus who
was really the expert on cybernetics in the Walthrop family, naturally...he just does
what he can...Just doing his bit...
Warren can't help feeling sympathetic, a feeling which has gotten him into quite a
lot of trouble in the past few months...
After all, Spike was educated in the last century...It's taking time to catch up...
"Say, how was patrol last night...?"
Spike brightens...Now you're talking...That he can handle...Well, ok...Buffy handled
most of it...
"Grand time, Warren...Sis was in excellent form..."
It's nice she tolerates him coming around Warren thinks...
Perhaps he should encourage him to join her more often, say...almost every night...
***
Giles was in a rather foul mood at the same time...
He was speaking on the phone to the long-delayed Mr. Hank Summers...
Hank Summers...who had been unable to attend his ex-wife's funeral...who had called
his elder daughter the day after that funeral to encourage her to sell her home as quickly
as possible...who was now graciously planning to make a visit...No doubt to speed real
estate arrangements...
"Well...Mr. Summers...We'll all be looking forward to meeting you...Yes, I know
Buffy and Dawn have been a little hard to reach..." Just risking their lives to save
the miserable necks of worthless wretches like you, you ridiculous piece of... Giles thinks...
"So glad you're finally able to come...Must go...I will certainly tell the girls that you're
coming...Ah, yes...Well...two days, then...Ah yes..." Good-bye, you loathsome little...
He called Buffy to let her know the glad tidings...
***
Normally it would have been Giles' first thought to ensure that Hank Summers was properly
watched during his journey to Sunnydale from the Los Angeles airport where he would be
arriving...But having suggested to Summers that he would be safer in LA, traveling by day
only, to avoid the criminal element...Somehow he couldn't bring himself to care...
***
In for a Penny...
Part II
***
The next day found Willow visiting Spike...in his apartment...In Warren's building...
A vacancy had opened up and "Dr. Walthrop", cybergenius and businessman
had to have a permanent address anyway...
She'd come to discuss a request Spike had made of her...
"A seance...for Buffy Rebecca?..." Willow is intrigue but...still...a seance
for a robot?...
"I need to know...what's happened to her..." Spike tries to seem casual...But
clearly his future is hinging on this one...
"I...don't know...Spike, we might not be able to reach her...even if..."
"I believe she's out there...But I have to know...I can wait if I know...As long as it
takes...But..."
She nods...
"I believe she's out there too...Let me see what I can do...But, Spike...I have to
have your word...You won't give up if we fail..."
"Certainly not..."
No one impugns Walthrop's Brit pluck...Besides it would be just like BR to tease him
by not saying anything...The first time...
"We'll be back tonight..."
Red's a peach...Glad I didn't kill her that time...Spike thinks as Willow leaves...
***
Los Angeles, that night...
Darla was fretful, angry, and sorrowful by turns...She'd failed to win Angelis
back...And he'd...failed to save her...
And yet...one night with that foolish girl, that Slayer...
That Slayer, now by repute the victor over the Goddess of Glory and Victory...The
Greatest Slayer of all Time...even vampires who had fought with her were
sheepishly praising her glories now...Excusing their failures...
"Well, we ran into the Slayer and..."...disgusting...
Even that fool Spike, an idiot from the day Dru had turned him...Even he was
hers now...
Not that Darla had ever concerned herself with that fool...A poor job of transformation
by Dru if ever there was one...But she was too young when they'd allowed her to do it...
Not to mention...
Dru comes over...Sighing...
"My Spikey boy...all lost...all lost...Daddy Angelis all lost too..."
"Enough, Dru...Enough..." I should never have let her go to Sunnydale, Darla
thinks...Depression on top of homidicial psychosis does not make for a fun companion...
"The Bad One took him...all away...But?..." Dru pauses in confusion,
something's wrong...
"Not our Bad One?...And our Bad One?..." She's sensed Buffy Rebecca's
hold on Spike...
Psycho...Darla thinks...This is what I'm going to be putting up with for all eternity?...
She pulls Dru up sharply...
"Well, my love...What do we do about our Bad One?..."
Dru grins...She likes this part...
"We...make her cry..."
"Yes, my love...Yes...We make her cry...But how?..."
"Mommy all gone...No fun for us...The little one?..." Dru puzzles again...
"She's all...blank...No coloring in the spaces..."
I wonder if Wolfram and Hart could refer me to a good shrink, Darla thinks...
"The Slayer's got a daddy...He's all slippery, slippery...ooh..."
Darla has had quite enough with Drusilla's rambling...She's as weak as that human
soul of hers...hiding in terror in the farthest corners of limbo from what she has
become...
She grabs Drusilla and backs her up against the wall...
"He's a stupid fool..." Dru...
Suggested theme...Darla and Dru (Girls Just Wanta Have Fun)
Drusilla grins...Darla pulls back...Finally, a sensible remark from her...
"He's com...ing..." Drusilla sang to her...
"He's coming?...To Sunnydale?..." Darla looks at Drusilla, who smiles
and puts her hands to her
face...
"Hee..re.."
***
In for a Penny...Part III
At the Magic Shop, Buffy and Dawn were sitting with Giles...The sisters trying to avoid the
other's eyes...Dad...coming at last...
Do we embrace him?...Or lead him on a night tour of Sunnydale's favorite demon haunts
and lose him...
Willow dropped by with some news following her meeting with Spike...
"A what?!.." Buffy and Dawn were startled by Willow's announcement...
"Spike wants me to do a seance for Buffy Rebecca..."
Giles was not especially surprised...It made good sense to him...If you're going
to spend eternity waiting for your lost love...Besides Spike was the impatient type...
***
Back at Will and Tara's dorm...
Tara had fully recovered from her brief encounter with Glory...
"Will, I don't know, reaching a dead robot's soul?..." Tara is uncertain,
though interested...
"I've reached some pretty interesting characters...you have to admit..."
"But if Spike learns she's not out there?...That she was just...well...
a dream...a fantasy?..."
"No, there was something real there...I believe it...Anyway I promised to try...
And he's promised not to give up if we fail..."
"Well, she did have a nice aura...I'll try if you want to..." Tara grins
sheepishly... "It is romantic, I admit...Just your style..." She beams...
That's my girl...
***
Flat failure...
Tara, Willow, and Spike...at his apartment...gave up after four tries to reach
Buffy Rebecca...They'd exhausted everything they could think of that might have
attracted her spirit...
Besides, Spike was "needed" at his office...
But Willow had an inspiration...Buffy Rebecca's body was at the Greenwood
crypt, placed in an empty chamber...They should give it a try there...And perhaps
if Buffy could be persuaded to come along tomorrow...
No, tomorrow was Dad arrival night...Buffy was sure not to be available, even
if she were willing...Still, Spike was so desperately eager to continue...Will and
Tara agreed to try there again...
***
Buffy called about the time they gave it up...Spike was touched that she wanted
to know if they'd succeeded...All the times I wanted to rip her throat open, he thought...
She couldn't be there tomorrow night but...she was willing to let them use
something of hers...in hopes that BR would be attracted...Dawn would bring it
by Willow's in the morning...Something she knew BR would be fond of...
She couldn't help admiring Spike's determination...It wasn't exactly returning
from Hell, but...
***
Xander decided to join them for the next attempt on Buffy Rebecca...He couldn't
quite face the idea of encountering her again at first...He didn't think he could
stand to lose a sister a second time...
But he thought it over...Maybe if he was there too...and they had chosen the
right place...
Anya thought it was a good idea...The dead, from her experience, love to have
the family around...Well...maybe that was the evil dead...No, no...good dead
like it too...
***
Hank Summers arrived in LA the next day a little ahead of schedule...He had
places to go, babes to meet before he would be off to meet his little girls...
And help them with their financial arrangements...
***
In for a Penny...Part IV...
***
Hank Summers was a happy man...A day to kill in LA, West Coast metropolis...
If only cash flow wasn't a minor problem...
But for a wheeler-dealer like Hank, there are no obstacles to having a good time...
Especially if your daughters have real estate ready to go on the market...
Not that he doesn't feel bad about old Joyce...But...
After all, life must go on...rolling...
***
Drusilla was pouting...She did not like Grandmother Darla's plan...No...
To let the Slayer have her daddy more or less intact...and join their family...With
them...forever?...Didn't seem fun at all...Would that make her cry?...Not likely...
She sulked...
She'd been hoping for something nice...To leave the Slayer her daddy's body...As
a present...
And Buffy Summers seemed such a bore...Even if she joined them...Still the
little one, so strange and blank...No coloring in the spaces...
She'd be fun to have around...A dolly for Drusilla to play with...
And hee...what fun on old Spikey...that silly boy...
***
Darla's cryptic card to Angel fell flat as he was not available, having left for Tibet
to consult with learned monks on the Wolfram-Hart efforts to bring about the
Apocalypse...
Cordelia got it and looked it over...Just a blank card...A smiling dad and
daughter...and the words inside... "Condolences on your dear friend's loss..."
"Anyone we know die...recently?" She asked Wesley...
"No one we would care about...unless it was Mrs. Summers up in Sunnydale...
But not likely anyone would send Angel a card about that..."
"You don't suppose he lost a dear friend...and didn't tell us...Maybe some demon or thing we'd
rather not know about?..."
Wesley shrugged...
"We'll find out when he gets back..."
They forgot about the card...
Tibet, Wesley thought...What a loony idea...Sometimes Angel just...
***
Xander, in the Magic Shop, stares at the pictures Dawn had brought that morning...
for Buffy Rebecca...
Young Joyce and Hank Summers...and their two girls...before divorce and Slaying
had done their work...
And, in the corner of the frame, a small photo of Buffy Rebecca...given to Buffy by
Spike...
Yeah, he thought...She'll like it...
He'd been relieved to see Dawn that morning...As he was every time he saw her now...
After all, who knew what would happen to her after Glory was vanquished...Maybe
Keys dissolve when they're no longer needed...
***
As the day wore on, Dr. Walthrop paced his apartment, shrouded in darkness...
a necessity under the circumstances...
He stops...
He has so much hope in tonight's efforts...Just to hear from Buffy Rebecca
again...To be told he was a worthless coward for not having faith in her...That
she always knew he'd wuss out and run to Willow for a little spirit help...That
when she caught up with him, his miserable unlife would be worth...
Oh, the joy...
***
At the Summers' home, pandemonium...
The sisters race around, stumbling over each other, fighting constantly...
determined that the house will be in each other's version of apple-pie
order for the coming of the long-awaited Hank...
A man who prefers not to change his underwear more than once in a
week unless forced...
***
Darla was quite put out... She, who had gone to considerable risk, entering
the airport terminal in daylight by sewer and basement tunnel, during the
time when she, presenting on the phone as Buffy, had learned Hank
Summers' original flight was due... And now, no sign of the fool...At least
in the areas she could safely venture...
But she'd arrived well ahead of the flight...and positioned herself where
he would have to pass?...
She used a phone to reach the flight desk...Where she could not yet go...
With a little tearful persuasion... from a young woman lost in LA,
desperate to hook up with her dad...the attendant told her that her
‘father' had been a passenger on an earlier plane...
And had taken a bus into the city...
***
On hanging up Darla felt quite unconcerned...A silly fool, loose in LA,
wandering around...She was certain he would not be heading out to
Sunnydale until the last possible moment...and it would soon be dark...
Drusilla would find him, no doubt about it...
***
In for a Penny...Part V...
***
Back "home"...the Greenwood crypt where Buffy Rebecca
and Spike had lived their "common-law" married life for a
few short weeks...
And where her robot body lay...Not too far from the grave of her mother...
The gang...Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya...and Spike...
The thought was plaguing Xander... He had to get it out...But Spike
anticipated him...
After all, Xander'd been staring at the space where BR's body lay for
the better part of fifteen solid minutes...
"It wouldn't be her..."
"Umm?..." Xander looks at Spike...
"Yeah, Warren has that last neural recording of Buffy's...but that's
Buffy not Buffy Rebecca...Not the memories we had..."
He grins...
"Besides...he says the odds are overwhelmingly in favor that we'd
wind up with another April...Can you imagine what BR would do to me?...
Let alone Buffy..."
***
Willow is ready to go...The candles are set...Buffy's gift to her sister
dominates the center of their circle...
Xander can't resist giving Spike a pat on the back...reassurance...
"Why, Harris...I didn't know you cared..." Spike winks at
him... "Later..."
Anya looks nervously at them...Spike grins at her...Leering at Xander...
Xander glares...Same old Spike...
And what's worse this dead guy makes more money than I ever will...
***
At the Summers'...
Dawn looks at Buffy...Buffy looks at Dawn...Zero hour...All right, where is he?...
The door bell rings...
***
"Well...the candles are flickering..." Tara notes hopefully...
"I think it's the wind..." Willow.
So far...nothing...
Spike, as a "scientist" can't help feeling he should express
a little skepticism, show a professional attitude, a little reservation...and
yet...he is after all a vampire...Hard to be skeptical about the supernatural
if you're supernatural yourself...
He sighs...Buffy Rebecca is determined to make him work for this...
Still, Harris is always available for a little amusement...
"Xander, would you hold my hand?...You've such a strong, manly
grip...And I'm afraid of the dark..."
"Spike!..." Willow hisses...
I am gonna bop that vampire if he doesn't knock it off...thinks Xander...
Chip or no chip...Well, preferably chip...Definitely preferably chip...
"Spike, leave Xander alone..."
For heavens' sake Buffy Rebecca...Spike thinks...Harris can care of
himself...He doesn't need...
He looks at the gang...
"Did any of you hear that?..."
Xander is annoyed...
"Very funny, Spike...We get it... ‘Gee, Spike..Hear what?'...
Will you now tell a Bloody William campfire story?..."
"William...am I dead?...Oh God, I'm dead aren't I..."
Spike jumps up...
Suggested for Buffy Rebecca's Theme...(Here Comes the Sun)
"I hear her...You hear her don't you...?" He looks hopefully at
them...They look at each other...Well...
"I'm telling you idiots...I hear her..."
"What did she say?..." asks Willow...She looks a little nervously
at Tara...What do we do if he's getting a little...
What do you do with an insane vampire in love?...
"Some nonsense about Harris...beat him soundly I think it was..."
"Spike...!" She is putting her hand to her head to glare at him...
spiritually...causing him to put his head to his head...
The gang nervously recognizes the gesture as typically Buffy...And
Buffy Rebecca was Buffy, after all...
"Alright, alright...she wants me to lay off him..."
Xander ponders...He can either believe that Spike is going insane,
probably a curable condition, or... that Buffy Rebecca is inside his head,
berating him perhaps for the rest of his eternal existence...
"Congratulations, Spike...Guess we did it..."
***
"Hi, girls..." Hank grins at his daughters...
"Dad...come in..." Buffy tries to sound reasonably welcoming...
He enters, a little sheepishly...
"Dad...Hi..." Dawn says nervously...Will he know who I am?...
she wonders...I remember him, but maybe the monks didn't get everybody...
"Dawny...My little girl..." Hank hugs her...
Buffy starts to close the door...
He looks up from Dawn...
"Oh, wait, honey...There's someone with me...I hope you don't
mind my bringing her...She's out in the car..."
Gr...eat, Buffy thinks...Dad brought a girlfriend...Comes home late for
Mom's funeral...and brings his latest...
***
Suggested theme...Come Softly to Me
This was driving ‘Dr.’ Walthrop crazy...
Buffy Rebecca was fielding questions from the gang via his mind...No
external evidence, no proof that he wasn't heading out over the deep
end, just an increasing steady stream of chatter which he was to relay
to Willow and the others...
Now she wanted to chat with Willow about Giles...How's he getting
along?...Did Buffy go easy on him over the negotiations with the
Knights before the fight with Glory?...Was Spike making sure he
got reimbursed for the wall she had smashed through in the Magic
Shop the day the gang had learned of her existence?...
And Xander...she remembers how sad he was when he learned she
could not be saved...Oh...
And couldn't forget dear Anya...Oh, no...
And Warren...her dear ‘Dad'...
On and on...He hadn't counted on this...
What about old Spikey?...Remember...the guy who was ready to spend
eternity waiting for you...Hey...
She was busy...She'd get to him...
But she was definitely there...
He sighed...Oh, well...
If you love a Summers girl, Walthrop thought...Much is required of you...
Well...In for a penny, in for a pound...
***
In for a Penny...Part VI
It had occurred to Giles that perhaps he had been a little remiss in not
taking a few more pains regarding Hank Summers' safe arrival in
Sunnydale...He decided to call Buffy and see if her dad had come...
He was relieved to hear from Buffy that her dad was newly arrived...
Safe and sound...
After all, the loathsome little thing mattered to her and Dawn...
Though Buffy seemed a bit piqued about something...
***
At the Greenwood crypt...
The gang, Tara, Willow, Xander, plus Warren had decided...well it had
been delicately hinted to them...by Buffy Rebecca via Spike...to let
the Walthrops have a few minutes of seance time to themselves...
Not that they completely accepted the idea of Buffy Rebecca speaking
through Spike...but it seemed better than trying to restrain him if he
was indeed losing his mind...The group being pretty evenly split on
the issue...
While Xander by nature favored insanity as an explanation...He couldn't
resist the pleasurable idea... Spike...with Buffy Rebecca in his head...he...
desperately trying to get a word in...she...explaining the correct course of
action in every social situation, describing and correcting his every flaw,
emphasizing the need for improvement in his treatment of a certain
brotherly figure in their lives...Forever...
Yeah, he voted for BR...
Warren found himself leaning in the BR direction as well...much to his
own surprise..."Dad" winning out over scientist...
Tara and Willow were surprisingly skeptical...But they were used to a
little more pizzazz in a successful seance...Where were the light
dimmings, the moans, the wind, the flash?...
Still they hoped...
Anya felt Spike fit the classic pattern of a vampire going over the
edge...If there were a classic pattern of a vampire going over the
edge...If not...well, Spike was breaking new ground...good for him...
They had gone outside...while Spike...and Buffy Rebecca?...if she was there...
"What is...are they...doing in there?..." Warren asks...
"Oh...the usual..." Anya helpfully puts in the benefit of her
experience...
"The usual..." Xander wisely nods...
"The usual...?" Tara asks...
"Oh, going over finances, composing letters to friends, intense
mental sex, letting him know where she put things he'll need..."
"Intense mental sex?..." Xander asks...Hmmn...Insanity for
Spike is looking like a more pleasing option after all...
Whoa...intense mental sex with a copy of my friend Buffy...Spike...and
a copy of my practically sister Buffy...
"Well, if I understand what you people said...Spike and Buffy Rebecca've
never really..." Anya looks at Xander who is running for the crypt entrance...
***
"This is Abigail..." Hank smiles as he introduces his daughters
to a lovely, shy, please-I-don't want-to-intrude-but-he-made-me-looking...
Carefully madeover and quite unrecognizable...Darla...
"Hi, girls...Your dad's told me so much about you...Buffy.." She
nods at her...
"And you have to be Dawn..."
Dawn nods...smiling a little...Well, she looks fairly classy...Just
the right touch of proper nervousness at barging into a family event...
Darla "Abigail" twists a little shyly...
"I really feel terrible coming along like this unannounced and all...
But your dad thought it was time we all met..."
Buffy smiles a little...Well, could be worse...This one seems
house-broken...
"So you know Dad...from Spain?..."
"Well...there and here as well...See I travel there on business
from LA pretty frequently... In fact Hank had stopped to see me for
a few minutes before he headed out here...Then he just insisted..."
Hank smiles...
"Of course...It was nice of him to bring you..." Buffy
tries another smile...
Yes of course...too much to ask that he visit us for a single day
without dragging his West Coast girl along...Buffy thinks...
Still, she doesn't seem too bad...A little anxious to please but that's
understandable...
***
At the meeting place in Sunnydale appointed by Darla, Drusilla
tries to drum up some enthusiasm among the few members of
Sunnydale's surviving vampire population who'd worked up the
nerve to come out...
Thanks to the activities of Buffy Rebecca over the past month,
times have been very tough...And everyone's heard their fill of
"We've got the Slayer...we're gonna get the Slayer..." tales...
In fact proposals for peace negotiations with the Slayer have been
floated...They could get used to feeding on cattle...It's not all that
bad really...Long as it's not English cattle...
And so they're just a wee bit skeptical...Especially after seeing and
listening to Drusilla...
Still, free blood is provided...And everyone's scoped out their quickest
exit routes...Just in case the Slayer actually does put in an appearance...
***
"In the cycles of time, you will find the answers you seek, my
son" The Lama nodded wisely...
The seeker of wisdom bent his head in awe at the profound answer and
glowed with an inner...
"Wesley...This is what Angel is doing?..." Cordelia asked
as they watched the movie he had rented...
Well, she wanted to know what Angel would be doing in Tibet...And
this was the best Wesley could come up with...
"Pretty much, I'd say...Though hopefully he's asking questions
more specifically dealing with Wolfram and Hart..."
"Seems pretty loony to me..."
"Well, at least we managed to get the trip charged to Wolfram
and Hart..." Wesley has a new hobby...Computer hacking...
"How come we didn't get to go on vacation?..."
"Well, now... it was vital that the two most experienced human
team members stay on...I mean with the firm down to half-strength..."
"We're half-strength?...Just us two?..."
"Well...perhaps...quarter-strength..."
***
Spike was running out of the crypt almost as fast as Xander was
running in...
"Willow, we have to get home...Buffy and Dawn are in
terrible danger..." he calls...
Xander pulls up flat next to him...Home?...
Willow and the others look at Spike...Home?...
"I've got to go...Hurry..." Spike tells them...
He looks at them...What?...
"William, I love you..." A faint whisper as Buffy Rebecca
fades away from him...
"Spike, you need to go home...?" Willow asks...very gently...
"What are you talking about?..." This isn't the crypt...he thinks...
"You just said we had to get home...That Buffy and Dawn were
in danger..."
"Did I?..." But he is preoccupied...She said it...She
actually said it...He could just leap over...
Wait...Buffy and Dawn?...
But she actually said it...
Seeing the exultant look on Spike's face...The gang has decided
that insanity is definitely in the lead...However they decide to
check out the Summers'...Just in case...
***
In for a Penny...Part VII...
"Abigail" did her best to seem causal but shy as they
drove along in Hank's rental toward the great new restaurant he
wanted to try...
Trust old Hank to spot the hot new place in Sunnydale...
Dawn was sitting beside her...and commented on the beautiful
pendant "Dad's West Coast girl" wore...
She smiled at Dawn...
"It's an heirloom, passed down...oh, longer than anyone
in my family could say...It's said that it blocks hurtful or
negative feelings coming from the wearer..." She beamed...
"So you're only seeing my best side..."
Dawn chucked a little...She was warming a little to Abigail...
Buffy was in front with Hank...She had a slight headache...
understandable given all that was going on...In addition she was
feeling a little...lethargic...
Nice girl, thought Darla looking at Dawn...I wonder...will she
retain any humanity?...Or will she be another innocent like
Drusilla...hiding forever in a corner while her demon rules triumphant...
***
Before they headed out to Buffy's, Willow called Giles who
assured them that all had been well at Summers' Central when
he called a few moment before...Still...He agreed it never hurt to
check things out...Especially if Buffy Rebecca's spirit might be
giving the warning...
He felt a little uneasy on hanging up...Perhaps he should head over as
well...One never knew...Besides...
If Spike was losing his mind...They'd need all the help they could get...
***
Just a few minutes more...
The plan was full of weak links, Darla realized...Dangerous in the
extreme...Which was why Dru had been won over to it...
Dru...The weakest link of all...
But it was exhilarating...
To risk everything in a confrontation with the Slayer at her own home...All
hinging on Wolfram and Hart's little contributions to the effort...A full
make-over...and the Montir pendant...
But so far...so good...
The make-over was working...Buffy hadn't recognized her...Perhaps
no great problem there, but a concern...The pendant was working...
She hadn't sensed the vampire presence...Definitely a major hurdle overcome...
And both of them were in her grasp...
Of course the poor girl's agitation over her mother...and her father's
thoughtless behavior...didn't hurt...Strengthening the effect of the pendant...
But...she'd soon have a new mother...Why Darla felt positively maternal
already...She could feel those vengeful thoughts just fading away in the glow
of upcoming motherhood...
Just one question...
How had poor mourning Buffy been able to defeat Glory in her
condition?...They'd have to have a long talk about it after her
transformation...
***
Dru was trying her best to be businesslike...Grandmother was counting
on her...
She had been disappointed at not getting to use the Montir pendant...
Imagine being able to go right up to someone like the Slayer...And
no trace of the vampire showing...So jolly...
But Buffy knew her too well, so Grandmother said...And she had
important things to do here...If she wanted to earn her dolly...
"The Slayer will be here shortly...We must have things nice
for her..."
The wretched remnants of Sunnydale's vampire legions sulked
visibly...Another wacko with another wacko plan...
Pretend to be waiters...waitresses...customers?...In the Slayer's
presence?...Ridiculous...
The peace plan...now there was an option with a little sense...
"Tell the weirdo we'll do it...When the Slayer gets here...We
hand the nutcase over as a peace offering..." one hissed to his mates...
Now you're talking...
Dru was pleased to see that the group was suddenly showing a little
enthusiasm...
***
All quiet on the Summers' front...
Front yard, that is...
The gang had found the house empty...Well, out to dinner with Dad...
But one strange thing...
Buffy had left the door unlocked...She'd have to have been...Well, maybe she
just was so excited about Dad...
They sheepishly strolled in...All but one...Who could not get through the
barriers still in place against him...
"Oh, bloody hell!..." yelps Spike as he's thrown back by the
force of the barrier...
I thought Buffy was going to clear things for me...How can I protect them if I
can't get through to the house?...
He wonders...What, am I still on probation?...Well...I suppose if you
consider past history...up until a few days ago...And I warned her not to
trust me blindly...Can't be 100% sure of the chip and all...Sensible
precaution if you think about it...Be terrible if I blew redemption over
a quick snack...
"Spike!...Stop standing there and come in..." Willow
calls... “I dropped the barriers five minutes ago...”
Well, if you're asking...
***
Giles recognized Buffy in the car stopped at the light across from
him...He honked but she didn't see him...
So that's Hank Summers...About what I expected...
Well...looks like Spike will be needing a sedative after all...
Still...Can't hurt to follow...No sign of the others...They'd probably
appreciate knowing for sure...
***
"So...Buffy Rebecca?...Any vibes we should know about?..."
Xander grins at Spike who glares back at him...
"Harris...Remember the other night at Xortox?...Mr. Willes?...
Me ready to crash through the chip like it was a mosquito bite and
tear him limb from limb?..." Spike smiles at Xander...
Willow looks...
They all look at him, even Warren...
"Come on, you know she'd kill me..."
He sniffs...Something's not right here...I smell...Harris?...Nope...
Oh, God...
"Darla..." Spike looks at them, shocked... "Darla...
has been here...Inside..."
They look at each other...
And frantically begin searching for some clue as to where the
Summers' might have gone...
***
"You alright, honey?" Hank asks Buffy as they leave
the car...She is wobbly...Something is definitely not right...Maybe
dinner out was a bad idea...But she doesn't want to disappoint Dad...
"Here, Buffy, why don't you take my arm?..." Darla
offers her an arm...and leads them into the hottest and newest
restaurant in Sunnydale...
Only about an hour old, as a matter of fact...
***
Giles pulled up and looked the place over quickly...Seems fine,
they're headed inside...
Must be a new place...
He went to call the Summers' in hope of reaching the gang...
Willow should have a key...Just to let them know all's well...
And to tell them to keep Spike quiet and happy until he got there...
***
In for a Penny...Part VIII
Giles reached Willow at the Summers' from a gas station down
the street from the "restaurant" where Hank had
taken his daughters and his girl...
She told him what Spike had said...He dropped the phone before
she'd finished and nearly ran out...But pulled himself together
told them where to meet him...
Then he ran for his car like a wild man...
***
Spike tried to get Willow and Tara to stay...Nothing doing...
Willow paused only long enough to restore the barriers she'd
dropped to let Spike in...No sense in letting any old vampire
stroll right into Buffy's home...All secure...
Xander had to remind her to lock the door...
Oh, yeah...Willow thought...sheepishly...
Spike feared the worst...If Darla could have gotten inside
the Summers' home, she'd either disguised herself or...
they were already too late...
And odds were that was true in any case...
Still...Buffy Rebecca was somewhere around...trying to
protect them...He knew that and it gave him some hope...
He was rather anxious not to fail on the first serious
"protective brother-in-law" challenge...
***
Service was a little slow...at the hottest new spot in Sunnydale...
And Buffy's headache was steady getting worse...
Dawn couldn't help noticing the staff seemed a little...well,
nervous...plus extremely inexperienced...
Buffy got up and asked to be excused a minute...Hank
seemed a little anxious that she not rush off, but simply
smiled again when Darla eyed him...He was just so eager
to have his daughters with him, she told Dawn...
Well...we weren't on Pluto...Dawn thought...
***
Buffy reached the ladies room...and felt a little better...But
now rather uneasy...She emerged...
Still blocked from the view of the dining room...
Suddenly a small "waiter" came forward...She
faintly sensed...vampire?...She drew back instinctively...
He puts up his hands... "Slayer...I mean you no harm..."
She looks at him...Do I have to kill someone now?...With dad
thirty feet away?...
"We want peace between us...We have an offering
for you..."
Peace?...They want peace?...
He motions her to the back...the kitchen area...
Well, it sure will be easier to kill him there...
She follows...
***
Giles' car has died...He really should have listened to Spike
about it...Blasted thing...
He runs toward the "restaurant"...
***
"I am Leto...chosen emissary to you..."
Buffy tries to seem diplomatic...He does seem to mean it...
He leads her to the kitchen...
Where Buffy finds Drusilla...bound and gagged...And a host of
extremely nervous vampires dressed as staff and customers...
First Angel...then Spike...Now this...Where, oh, where have
those simple days of Slaying gone?...
***
Darla was nervous seeing Buffy disappear...She didn't know
the range of the Montir pendant...Wolfram and Hart had loaned
it out without much information besides that it had been successfully
used in assassinations...to cover that instinctive feeling one gets
when a maniac is looking at you or the person you're protecting
with an I'm-gonna-kill-you look...
Or to cover the traces of a vampire...
Still...it had worked for Lee Oswald...
***
"Slayer...we beg our lives...Take this unworthy offering...We
pledge to harm no human if you will spare us..." Leto pleaded
to Buffy, gesturing at Dru...who was struggling desperately as she
eyed Buffy...
Not jolly...No...
Buffy was not quite ready to trust them...but with Dad so close...
she made the best of it...
"I'll accept your offering...If you leave immediately...And I
don't find you hunting humans...I'll consider your proposal..."
Leto nods gratefully...His followers begin to slink out the kitchen door...
"Wait..." She stops Leto... "Why is Drusilla here?...
Why were you all here?..."
He points to Dru...who is now truly hysterical...but still gagged...
"She told us you were being brought here...helpless...a ready
victim..." He quickly continues..."We had no doubt of
your proving victorious over her schemes...And thought to
demonstrate our trustworthiness..."
He smiles, but as there is a little blood on his teeth...Buffy
grimaces and he quickly resumes his humble expression...
"Maybe peace succeed between us..." He ducks out
the back doors with the others...
Leto, formerly George Letos, Chamber of Commerce booster...
Sunnydale City Councilman...
Now..the Gandhi of Sunnydale vampires...
***
A trap...Buffy thinks...But who...
Dru continues to struggle...
Buffy shudders...It has to be Abigail...Something was wrong about her...
The thought scrapes at her...No, no...it's not true...He's just being
used...Some kind of hypnosis...Whatever Abigail had used on her...
No...no...Oh, God please no...Please don't do this to me...Oh please...
My dad is not dead...
***
The gang was rushing as fast as they could...
Suggested theme...Extremis...(Adagio for Strings)
Giles, on foot, was still a mile or so away...Berating himself...
How could he have been so careless as to let Summers go
unwatched anywhere near Sunnydale?...Just because they'd been
so lucky over the years with Joyce...And Dawn...
He didn't need to consult his books to know that relatives
were the prime cause of Slayer death...
***
There was no point in trying Drusilla...even if she could get her
outside for questioning with any semblance of quiet...Abigail was
bound to suspect something if Buffy did not return soon...
And Dawn...And Dad...she forced herself to include...were there...
She left Dru...And entered the dining room...
Empty...
***
The jig is up...Darla had realized...seeing the staff and customers
vanishing into the kitchen, all but a handful...
Sunnydale vampires...once...vanguards of the Apocalypse...
now...worthless cowards...
"Upstairs..." She ordered Hank...And grabbed Dawn...
before she could cry out...Or even begin to realize what was going on...
The few remaining loyal followed them...
There might be a plus to this, Darla thought as she dragged Dawn
upstairs...if Buffy should kill Drusilla before her own transformation...
***
"Buffy...they're upstairs..."
Buffy hears the voice in her head...Mom?...Oh please help me...
"It's me, sis...Mom can't come unless she's summoned...
But I'm here..."
Her own voice...Buffy Rebecca...Heard only once...Just before
the fight with Glory...When she told me Dawn was safe...
They went up the stairs together...
***
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