Dark are the Shadows
Ms Hunter Ash
Pairings: Xander/Anya, Willow/Tara, Giles/Angelique, Buffy/Quentin
Rating: PG13
# # # #
Angelique was surprised to find Joyce by the door to the bedroom Angelique shared with Giles at sunset. The vampire witch took in the mug in Joyce's hand and frowned. “Where's Rupert?” she asked as she swung her legs off the bed.
“Working some things out,” Joyce said. “I suspect he'll be back soon. I gave him a baseball bat and pointed him in the direction of the wreck of a greenhouse.”
“Ah, good idea,” Angelique said and accepted the mug of blood. “How long has he been at it?”
“Over an hour,” Joyce said as they headed for the stairs. “I'm hoping he'll sleep tonight.”
“I'll encourage that,” Angelique said.
“You were at the Old House last night, how is Barnabas?”
“No real change,” Angelique said with a frown. “He's not fighting back either. I've never seen him this hopeless.”
“What does Julia think?”
“That it's going to take longer than any of us anticipated,” Angelique said. “Hello, Carolyn, you look tired tonight. No offense.”
“None taken,” Carolyn said as she set the dinner table. “I'd consider hiring a cook to help out but servants notice everything. I might think about it for the winter holiday season, however.”
“Might be a good idea,” Joyce agreed.
“I'll probably stay at the Old House with Barnabas,” Angelique suggested. “That'll reduce the chance of someone finding us sleeping and discovering what we are or going through a panic until we decide who to let in on the secret and not.”
Carolyn nodded. “I'm probably going to retire early tonight. I need to go into the office a little early tomorrow. We've got an important meeting and I want to go over figures again before the meeting.”
“Sound like fun,” Joyce said. “Not.”
“I'm going to go find Rupert,” Angelique said. “I'll bring him in for dinner.”
“Thank you,” Carolyn said. “It'll be ready in about thirty minutes.”
Angelique nodded and headed outside and started down the path towards the old greenhouse, a iron framed building with fallen beams, a mountain of broken glass and broken ceramic tiles. She didn't hear any destruction happening as she approached and extended her senses.
The vampire witch sighed as she drew closer and saw Giles sitting with his back against a rusted I-beam with his arms and head on his knees, a broken baseball bat at his feet.
“Rupert,” Angelique called as she walked up to him. She didn't want to startle him.
Giles looked up and it was clear that he had been crying. He had also been sweating and was grime covered. “Hullo, luv. I didn't mean to stay out here past sunset.”
“It's fine, my love,” Angelique said. “Joyce was waiting with blood and let me know where you were. Ready to come back inside before it gets colder? You're not wearing a coat.”
Giles nodded and accepted her hand as he got to his feet. “I....feel incredibly tired. Drained.”
“Did it help?”
“I think it did,” Giles said as they began walking slowly. “I broke things, yelled, cried and curled up in the grass for awhile and then broke more things.”
“Good,” Angelique said softly. “Men take this strong, silent type stereotype too far most of the time. Are you up for dinner?”
“I don't know,” Giles said. “I'm asleep on my feet.”
“I'll have Carolyn save you a plate for later.”
“Thank you. I'm sorry I've been distant,” Giles said.
“I haven't been offended or hurt, Rupert,” Angelique said. “I know how much all of you are hurting.”
“You're amazing, you know,” he said.
“Not quite the insanely jealous and evil witch you heard about?”
“Well, it sounds as if none of that was handled well by any of you,” Giles said. “Been there.”
“Here we are,” Angelique said as they entered Collinwood. “Go on upstairs and crawl into bed. I'll be up later.”
“Tell everyone goodnight for me,” Giles asked.
“Of course.”
# # # #
SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA
“Will?” Tara called when she sat up in the bed she shared with her lover.
“I'm here!” a voice called from the hallway.
Tara smiled as Willow entered the bedroom and then looked concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, Xander is pretty against bringing Buffy back,” Willow said as she climbed onto the bed and curled up in Tara's arms.
“Maybe he just needs time,” Tara said. “We need to do a lot more research and then get the materials together and see if we can and if we should.”
“It's just that I can't sleep thinking about her suffering in some hellish realm,” Willow said softly. “She and Xander were my only friends. Well, Giles too.”
# # # #
COLLINSPORT, CALIFORNIA
“Barnabas?”
“Maggie,” the vampire responded and cocked his head slightly.
“Julia told us what happened,” Maggie said as she sat down next to him by the fire in the Old House and touched his arm. “I'm sorry about Roxanne, it was very obvious how you felt about her.”
“Thank you,” Barnabas said softly. “I tend to fall for amazing women.”
Maggie laughed softly. “I'd agree with that.”
“I'm glad you came,” Barnabas said after a few moments. “Everyone is worried about me.”
“We are,” Maggie agreed.
“I'll heal,” Barnabas said. “I agree I'm not...fighting as much as I should.”
“Why not?”
“Remember how I said the curse was that I would never rest and any who loved me would die?” Barnabas asked.
“Yes,” Maggie said softly.
“I thought we could get around that twice,” Barnabas said. “When Julia died and became a vampire and again when Roxanne reappeared and she was already a vampire. Now I've lost them both. Perhaps I should avoid getting close to anyone.”
“Too late,” Maggie said and squeezed his hand. “There's a large number of people that love you, myself included.”
“That's probably not wise,” Barnabas whispered.
“We can't control feelings, Barnabas,” Maggie responded. “The only solution might be for you to leave and none of us will accept that.”
“Well, there's also the fact that I would find it difficult to exist on my own at the moment,” Barnabas said with a hint of a smile.
Maggie laughed and laid her head on his shoulder and held his hand. “I've missed our friendship.”
“As have I,” Barnabas said. “It hurt all these years to be away from everyone.”
“We have a lot of time to make up for,” Maggie said. “you have to want it, however, Barnabas. I don't believe that curse can take everyone around you. Angelique doesn't....how to put it? She doesn't give that curse any energy any longer.”
“You've been catching up on what happened in 1795,” Barnabas said.
“Some of it,” Maggie acknowledged. “Carolyn doesn't know the details and Julia wouldn't tell me a lot. She told me the basic story.”
“Why ask?” Barnabas questioned. “You weren't going to explore what was behind your nightmares.”
“Because you're hurting and I want to help,” Maggie said. “You've always been a mystery, Barnabas. As a friend, let me in.”
The vampire was quiet for several moments and then nodded.
“Julia, Thomas and Quentin know the entire story,” Barnabas said. “I was in the port of Martinique and.....”
# # # #
SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA
“Guys, I need you on board here,” Willow said to the small Scooby group of Xander, Anya, and Tara.
“It's just...” Xander shifted on his feet. “It feels wrong.”
“It is wrong,” Tara agreed and Willow was startled. “It's against all the laws of nature, and practically impossible to do, but it's what we might need to do.”
“We do need to do it and everyone will be involved,” Willow said firmly. “Xander, I can do this, I promise, but not without you.”
“Should we tell Giles?” Anya asked. “I mean you have almost all the ingredients and I really didn't think you would gather them this quickly.”
“No,” Willow said. “No one else. Not Giles, not Spike, not Dawn, not Joyce. They might not understand.”
“What if something does go wrong?” Tara asked.
“I'm telling you it won't,” Willow insisted.
“Scenario, we raise Buffy from the grave and she tries to eat our brains,” Xander said. “Do we, a) congratulate ourselves on a job well done...”
“Xander, this isn't about zombies,” Willow interrupted.
“Zombies don't eat brains anyway unless instructed to by their zombie masters,” Anya added. “A lot of people get that wrong.”
“This isn't anything we've dealt with before,” Willow said. “Buffy didn't die a natural death, she was killed by mystical energy.”
“Which means we do have a shot,” Tara added.
“It means more than that. It means we don't know where she really is,” Willow said to Xander.
“We saw her body, Will,” Xander protested. “We buried her.”
“Her body, yeah, but her soul... her essence, I mean, that could be somewhere else,” Willow argued. “She could be trapped in some sort of hell dimension like Angel was. She could be suffering eternal torment, just because she saved us, and I'm not gonna let....I can't leave her there. It's Buffy.”
Xander stared at his friend for a long minute. “How long until you get everything together?”
# # # #
COLLINSPORT, MAINE
Giles smiled as Joyce's door opened as he walked out of the guest bathroom toweling his hair. “Hullo, I seem to have slept a bit.”
“Through dinner and breakfast,” Joyce agreed. “Ready for some lunch?”
“Sounds good,” Giles said and dropped the towel inside the room he shared with Angelique. “Joyce, thank you for the suggestion.”
“I'm glad it helped,” Joyce said. “We need to find a way to keep the Council from finding out that you're connected with Angelique. I can't pretend Buffy is alive for the next year.”
“We will,” Giles said softly. “Hello, Amy. Hello, Elizabeth, how are you both doing today?”
“Not too badly,” Amy said. “Elizabeth and I are going to take Dawn into town. I promised them a milkshake if they passed their math exams today. They were really hard tests.”
“Oh good idea,” Joyce said. “Dawn has been studying hard in addition to learning about the Collins history.”
“It's all pretty fascinating,” Amy agreed. “What's wild is realizing that very little was actually written down.”
“It is,” Joyce agreed.
“Sit,” Amy urged. “We're having tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.”
“Sounds great,” Giles said as he held a chair out for Joyce. “That storm rattled the shutters last night.”
“That? That was a gentle rain storm compared to some of the ones we'll get this season,” Amy said with a laugh.
“Wow,” Joyce said softly. “Where's Dawn?”
“I'm here,” Dawn said. “I helped out in the garden so I had to wash my hands.”
“Good girl,” Joyce commented. “I wonder how everyone is doing back home?”
# # # #
COLLINSPORT, MAINE
“I've got the door, Barnabas,” Thomas said in front of the vampire. “Right through the door.”
Barnabas moved inside the Blue Whale as he tried to remember just how far the step-down was....how many times had he crossed that floor?
“I'll lead you to a table,” Giles offered and placed Barnabas' hand on his arm. “Three steps and then down.”
“Thank you,” Barnabas said softly as he carefully stepped down.
“Dawn and Joe have pushed tables together about five feet in front of us.”
“Imagine all of us in here over Christmas,” Barnabas said as his cane found a chair and he pulled it out and sat down. “With Carolyn and David's kids, all of the Scooby gang and us.”
“We'll have to rent the entire place,” Joe suggested. “Glad you all came out tonight.”
“We needed out of the house,” Carolyn said. “Elizabeth, don't you dare scare that fish in the fish tank.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Who all is here?” Barnabas asked.
“Me, Elizabeth, Amy, Julia, Thomas, Angelique, Giles, Joyce, Dawn, Maggie and Joe,” Carolyn answered.
“Quite the crowd already,” Barnabas said.
“Hi, can I start bringing drinks?” a voice asked. “What will you have?”
“Canadian on the rocks,” Barnabas ordered.
“Definitely a native,” the waitress commented and Barnabas smiled.
“Yes, I am.”
“Barnabas, have you talked to Willow or Tara in the last couple of nights?” Giles asked.
“No, not since we got here, why?”
“I talked with Willow last night,” Giles said. “The energy just...seemed odd but she brushed it off.”
Barnabas frowned. “I'll call when we go back to Collinwood. Do you think they're having trouble adapting?”
“No more than expected,” Giles commented. “This felt like...she wanted to shut down the conversation before I asked something she didn't want to answer. She's terrible at lying.”
“I'll see what I can find out,” Barnabas said with a nod.
Angelique squeezed Giles' hand. If they could keep Barnabas engaged and possibly working through his grief...
“Thank you,” Giles said. “Sounds like quite a storm brewing out there.”
“Yes, probably the first real storm of the season,” Barnabas agreed.
“Excuse me, I need to call the night manager,” Carolyn said and left the table.
“Uh, Barnabas....”
“Yes, Maggie?”
“Mr. Collins?” a voice asked off to his right. “Are you all right, sir?”
“Alex,” Barnabas said with a smile. “I'll be all right. A faulty propane tank burned me slightly. How are you doing?”
“Really good, thank you,” Alex Jr. said. “I'm working down on the docks and volunteering with stroke patients like you suggested. I wanted to thank you for giving me the chance to...grow up and I'd like to apologize to Maggie and Joe for giving them a hard time.”
“Uh, thank you, Alex,” Joe said. “We appreciate that. It sounds like you are doing well. In the spring come see me if you want to step out on your own.”
“Thank you, I will,” Alex said with a wide smile. “I'm helping get boats in dry dock for the winter season. Speaking of, I need to get back to it. We're hoping to beat this storm with a couple of the yachts. I apologize for coming in but a buddy said he saw you were injured and I, uh, wanted to check it out. I gotta run. Goodnight, everyone.”
“Goodnight, Alex,” Barnabas said and smiled. “You wanted to ask something, Maggie?”
“What....? How did you accomplish that?!” Maggie asked. “He... he's totally different!”
“That will be an interesting story to tell back at the house,” Barnabas said and sighed. “It was before Roxanne and I went back to California.”
“It was definitely a fascinating night!” Julia agreed. “Maggie, did you ever meet Tony Peterson?”
“Yes, he came in the diner a few times,” Maggie responded.
“Young Alex there is his grandson,” Barnabas said. “And they trace their lineage back to the 1790s in Collinsport to the Trask family.”
“I know that name,” Maggie said with a frown.
“The Trask that moved to Collinsport in 1790 was a Rev. Trask,” Barnabas said. “He made a name for himself by pushing for the prosecution of Victoria Winters for witchcraft. You probably heard the name from her.”
“Vicki?!” Maggie exclaimed.
“Yes,” Julia said. “Somehow she was transported to that time and had a hard time fitting in and people were convinced that things went wrong in the village and at Collinwood because of a witch.”
“Vicki was unjustly accused,” Barnabas said. “It's written in some of the obscure family histories that most of the family supported her towards the end but it was of no use, she was hanged and somehow that brought her back to us in this time.”
“How was she brought up on charges?” Joe asked. “The colonies had stopped persecuting suspected witches before that.”
“Collinsport was fairly isolated and hadn't repealed those ordinances,” Barnabas explained. “Trask took advantage of that. Much like the witchfinders of Europe, he discovered that having the power to accuse and get someone convicted was seductive. Joshua Collins tried to get the Governor to issue a stay but it didn't arrive in time.”
“And then she disappeared again,” Maggie commented. “That's when I came to Collinwood to teach Amy and David.”
“Yes, and Barnabas went back in time to 1795 to save Vicki when she was tossed back into the same danger,” Julia added. “He was determined to change the past somehow.”
“And succeeded,” Barnabas said with a smile. “She was hanged but survived and left with Peter Bradford for the west.”
“And would you change the past again, vampire?”
Barnabas blinked and looked around at the almost familiar surroundings of pure white and turned to the strange beings he had encountered before.
“What do you mean?”
“What would you give to change the recent past?” the woman asked. “You have intrigued us.”
“That sometimes isn't a good thing, vampire,” the male added.
“Recent past?” Barnabas asked. “Please explain?”
“We're curious,” the male said. “If you could save one, which would it be, your lover or the warrior?”
“Roxanne or Buffy?” Barnabas found his head spinning. “But... why?”
“We didn't say we will reverse things, just that we're curious,” the woman clarified. “Perhaps we will...help rectify some things in the future. What would be your choice.”
Barnabas swallowed and looked down. “Buffy Summers.”
“Interesting,” the male said and Barnabas looked up. “Why that choice?”
“The world needs the Slayer and that Hellmouth needs her as a gate guard,” Barnabas said. “Her family and friends need her as well.”
“Your history is filled with selfish acts,” the woman stated.
“Yes,” Barnabas agreed. “I've worked at changing over the years.”
“You would choose the hero instead of your lover,” the male said. “We continue to be intrigued. There are other forces that remain to be played out. Enjoy the night, vampire.”
“Wait! Roxanne...her soul, was she taken to hell with Oberon?” Barnabas asked.
“That's not for you to know.”
Barnabas jerked and almost fell out of his chair.
“Barnabas?” Giles grabbed Barnabas. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” the vampire responded. “A flash of intense pain. It probably means my eyes are getting better. Don't worry.”
// Roxanne... forgive me. ///
# # # #
SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA
Willow held up a small urn and gazed at it and began to smile.
“The urn of Osiris,” Tara said softly.
“You really found one,” Willow said looking at Anya.
“It wasn't easy,” Anya said. “I went through every supplier the Magic Box has and beyond.”
“You used a Magic Box supplier?” Willow asked, her voice a squeak. “What if Giles finds out?”
“He's going to find out when we do the thing,” Xander pointed out.
“He's not here,” Anya said. “Besides, I ended up getting it on Ebay.”
“You found the last known urn of Osiris on Ebay?” Tara asked, disbelief in her voice.
“Yeah, from this desert gnome in Cairo,” Anya said with a smile. “He drove a really hard bargain, but I finally got him to throw in a limited edition of Backstreet Boys lunchbox for a...”
Xander coughed as Anya paused.
“...a friend,” Anya said.
“Will, you got your somber on,” Xander said. “Is the urn not up to spec?”
“It's the one,” she said as she sat it down. “Is Spike around?”
“Not so much with Dawn being in Maine,” Tara said. “Quentin left for San Francisco on family business this morning.”
“That mean's its time,” Willow said. “We've gotten lucky with the robot doing an occasional patrol but she got hurt the other night. If any of the vampires and demons realize... yeah.”
“It's time?” Xander asked nervously. “Like 'time', time? With the... timeliness?”
“Are you sure?” Anya asked.
“Mercury's in retrograde,” Tara said. “A void in some of the alignments. We have... do we have everything?”
“Just about,” Willow said. “Tomorrow night.”
“Whoa!” Xander exclaimed. “Let's apply the brakes and check the rear and side view mirrors here! This is deep stuff, Will. We're talking about raising the dead.”
“It's time we stop talking,” Willow said firmly. “We're bringing Buffy back.”
# # # #
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