Author:
Becca (cowritten by Allison)
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 21:13:21 01/13/02 Sun
In reply to:
Becca (cowritten by Allison)
's message, "TCO Episode 3: Truths Revealed Chapter 1" on 21:06:11 01/13/02 Sun
Chapter 2
"Why would you think something is going on?" Luke asked, placing a hand on Laura's shoulder.
"Hmm ... let me think for a moment," Laura paused, glaring up at her husband, then looking around the waiting room for an answer. "My youngest son is lying in that hospital room after coming this close to dying. There are people in this room that I've never met, that I've never even heard of. Carly comes in here, a person who didn't even care about her cousin a day ago. Liz, someone I've never seen as the violent type tries to attack her - with a wooden stick. And finally, this entire accident is blamed on Stefan. Somehow everything is connected, and before anyone makes another move I want to know how!"
"It's a long story Mrs. Spencer, dating back centuries," Giles began as Luke led her to a seat.
"Centuries?"
"You know all the stories about vampires and werewolves and demons that you may have heard?" Laura nodded, allowing Giles to continue. "Well, they are all true."
"The big nasties all exist," Buffy noted glumly.
"You see, for every generation a young girl is chosen to do battle, to fight these forces of darkness," Alexis cut in. "Buffy is that young woman, she's the Slayer."
"Slayer?" Laura gasped.
"When she died, another slayer was called . . ." Alexis started again, getting cut off by Laura.
"Died? She looks rather alive to me," Laura noted as she crossed her arms anxiously.
"This is where it gets confusing," Willow perked up with a smile.
"Ok, long story short . . .I died on Prom night a few years ago. Xander saved me, but technically I died. So the council . . ."
"Oh, the council oversees the slayers and tries to keep everything under control. I used to be in the Watcher's Council, but I quit . . .Alexis still is though," Giles cut in, sensing another question from Laura.
"Anyway, another slayer was called, but then she died," Buffy continued, almost bored with the story already. What she really wanted to do was find out exactly why Angel was with Liz when she found Lucky. Not that she was angry, she was thrilled he saved Lucky, she was just curious. "Then Faith was called . . .she turned out evil and died a few weeks ago. Once she died . . ."
"I was called," Liz spoke up, smiling at Laura. "I didn't know until then what my destiny was. But it explained so much; why I felt so different from my family, why I never felt like I belonged. It was because I was a slayer, that was my calling in life."
Laura nodded, trying to let everything sink in. "I'm still confused as to why all these people are here?"
"Because Witchy Willow decided to close the Hellmouth and ended up moving it to Port Charles," Xander noted with a laugh.
"Hellmouth? Witches? Vampires? Slayers? This is all insane," Laura exclaimed. "So what does Stefan have to do with this?"
"He's a vampire, and according to Carly it looks like he bit Lucky," Angel spoke up.
"And you are?" Laura asked, smiling at the darkly attractive, what she thought, young man.
"I found Liz on the docks with Lucky, I brought them here," he noted humbly.
"So you helped save my baby?" Laura asked happily, rushing to his side to hug him.
"Yeah, but he's also a vampire," Xander said quickly.
"A vampire . . ." Laura gasped, recoiling with horror.
"But he's not bad darlin' . . .not unless he gets horizontal," Luke cracked, unable to resist the joke.
"I have my soul," Angel said simply, slipping back into the shadows.
"Oh, well, that makes all the difference," Laura said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She looked over at Nikolas whose face was twisted with confusion. "Honey are you ok?" she asked, sitting down next to him.
"My father . . .he's a vampire?" Nikolas asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, we've known for a little while now . . .I just wish we could have gotten to him before he got to Lucky," Liz noted angrily, walking over the to soda machine to cool off for a minute, in the exact direction of Angel.
"That would explain why he's been acting so strange lately," Nikolas thought aloud.
"Count Vlad, acting strange? Who'd have thunk it?" Luke joked, avoiding Laura's harsh gaze.
"What do you mean?" Alexis asked.
"He tried to . . .I guess you'd say bite me the other day. This is just . . . Luke was right," Nikolas admitted in defeat.
"Listen Junior, I would like nothing more than to be wrong about this particular aspect of your family," Luke sighed, looking in the direction where Lucky was.
"So now we've got to worry about Stefan and Spike working together . . .at least maybe now Stefan will stay in hiding, he has to know we know," Alexis mused.
"Um, I'm going to head back to the dorm," Willow announced suddenly as she jumped to her feet.
"Why?" Buffy asked curiously.
"There's something . . .something I have to work on, I'll let you know when I'm done. Let me know if anything happens with Lucky," Willow said hurriedly as she rushed out of the hospital.
"She's an odd girl," Laura noted. "Hell, you are all odd."
~*~
Luke was at Kelly's the next morning, covering for Bobbie so she could stay at the hospital. He was busy grumbling at the cash register when Xander staggered downstairs. There was a loud ding as the drawer popped open, and Luke gave a triumphant shout.
"A-ha! Damn ancient piece of machinery. I knew there had to be a trick to it."
Xander chuckled and leaned against the counter. "What are you doing here, Luke? I didn't think you worked here."
He turned and smiled. "Not usually, but Barbara needed to be at the hospital, so I let her talk me into covering here for her."
"Have you heard anything about Lucky?"
"He's stable, they're just waiting for him to wake up. I think Liz stayed all night with him. Laura went back first thing this morning. They promised to call me if there was any change."
He nodded and turned to survey the room, smiling when he saw Cordelia at one of the tables, quietly sipping at a cup of coffee. He walked over and sat across from her, ignoring the dirty look she gave him.
"So, dining with the peasants this morning?"
She rolled her eyes and set down her cup. "Wow, you've been here less than a minute, and you're already annoying me. That's a new record for you. Bravo."
Xander grinned, bowing his head slightly. "I'll pretend I didn't hear the heavy sarcasm in your voice and just accept the compliment. So, what's for breakfast?"
"Do I look like a waitress? Wait, don't answer that, I'm not in the mood to deal with your lame jokes."
"Fine, what are you having, then?" he asked, reaching for a menu.
"Just coffee. Hey, I know, why don't you order some eggs, maybe I'll be lucky and you'll get salmonella!"
He pouted at her, batting his eyelashes. "Aw, Cordy, you don't mean that. I thought we were back together."
She let out an irritated sigh and shook her head. "Give me a break, we both know that was just for Anya's sake. Like I'd ever go out with you again. Please!"
"Well, as long as you're asking nicely," he cracked, grinning wickedly at her. She groaned and sat back in her chair in a weak attempt to put more distance between them. The worst thing was, the idea of going out with Xander again wasn't nearly as nauseating as it used to be. Flashes of their past relationship went through her mind, sending a warm shiver through her body. When she realized what she was doing, she quickly shook her head to erase the thoughts and found Xander watching her with a bemused smirk on his face.
"What's wrong, Cordy, brain come loose again? Didn't use the extra strength hair spray this
morning to keep it in place?"
"You know, you're a funny guy, Xander. You should take that sense of humor of yours on a road trip. Preferably a long one. To Canada. Or, even better, overseas. I bet people in Siberia would think you're hilarious."
Xander leaned forward and smiled, refusing to back down. "Oh, but you'd miss me too much. You know you only fight with me like this cause you love me."
She snorted loudly and folded her arms in front of her. "Love you? Sure I do, when pigs fly!"
"Hey, we've seen stranger things happen. In fact, I'd bet Willow has a spell somewhere that could do just that. Want to ask her?"
Sonny walked into the diner and made his way to the counter, casting an amused glance over at the young, bickering couple near the door. Luke looked up from the register and smiled warmly at him.
"Haven't seen you around lately. What have you been up to? Or do I not want to know?"
Sonny smiled and sat on one of the stools, glancing over at the stairs. "Not much. I heard about Lucky. Is he going to be okay?"
"Yeah, he's tough. They're just waiting for him to wake up. You want some breakfast? It's on the house." He grinned, tying an apron around his waist. "See, if you didn't know any better, you'd think I was Tammy!"
Chuckling softly, Sonny shook his head. "Sorry, man, Tammy's got better legs than you do."
"Possibly, but they're behind the counter, so no one can tell. So, what about that breakfast. Eggs? Pancakes? Waffles? Surf & Turf?"
"Depends. Are you making it?" he asked with another laugh, surprised that Luke could be so chipper with his son in the hospital. Then again, that was how he coped with stress, so it was probably normal for him.
"Nah, Barbara has forbidden me to go within ten feet of the kitchen. Something about nearly burning the place down last time..."
Sonny shook his head and smiled. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not really hungry. Hey, have you seen Hannah around? I haven't seen her in a few days, I'm starting to get a little worried."
Xander snorted loudly from his table, having listened in on pretty much the entire conversation. "Unless she's that pile of dust by the front door, I doubt she's around."
"Excuse me?" he asked, turning to frown at the stranger.
"You know, the sun's out right now, if she were here, she'd probably be - owe!" He turned to glare at Cordelia, who had kicked him under the table. "What did you do that for?"
"Ix-nay on the ampires-vay," she whispered through clenched teeth.
"On the what?" he asked, leaning closer to her. "The vampires? Oh..." He grimaced as she kicked him again, but it was too late.
"Vampires? What are you talking about, kid?" Sonny asked, glancing at Luke in confusion.
"Not much for subtlety, are you, Xander?" Cordelia groaned, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, like you're one to talk. I can't even count the number of times you've nearly blown everything with a careless comment!"
"No more than you have!" she shot back. "At least I realize when I've slipped up, unlike you, who's totally oblivious. I'm surprised you didn't keep going and tell him that Carly's a vamp too!... oops."
"Yeah, oops is right. Now we're even, baby!" Xander said triumphantly, turning to look back at Luke and Sonny. Luke was glaring at him, and he immediately shrunk back in his seat. "I mean, just kidding. Ignore us, we don't know what we're talking about. See, we were just released from a mental institution this morning, but obviously we need to go back...."
"Speak for yourself, you loony," Cordelia muttered, rolling her eyes again.
Sonny sighed and slid off of the stool, smiling briefly at Luke before starting for the door. "Anyway, if you see Hannah, could you tell her I stopped by?"
"Sure thing, man. See you later." He waved as Sonny left, then glared at them. "You two almost blew it."
"Sorry," Cordelia said with an exasperated sigh, "but how are we supposed to keep track of who knows and who doesn't? Every time I turn around, someone else knows!"
"Just try to be a little more discreet next time?" he asked, shaking his head. "Maybe think about what you say before you actually speak?"
"Well, that's all well and good for me, but what's poor Xander supposed to do? I don't know if his tiny little brain can handle that much activity." She smiled sweetly at him, ignoring the angry glare he was giving her, then stood up. "Thanks for the coffee, but I really have to get going. Bye!"
Xander watched her hurry out of the diner and sighed, then got up and went to sit at the counter. "Might as well give me some eggs. Who knows, compared to her, salmonella might be kind of fun."
~*~
He looked so peaceful, so rested. If she didn't know any better Liz would have enjoyed watching Lucky, he looked like he was sleeping. But she knew better, she knew he was really fighting for his life. She cursed herself, feeling as though she should have protected him. After all, he had always been so diligent in protecting her, walking her home after school, making sure she never got in trouble when she missed her curfew, then when they got to college, he was always there, watching her back. And now, when it was her job, her duty to protect others, she let the one person she cared most about, down.
She had spent the entire night in the room, Bobbie allowing because of the special circumstances. Laura had returned right as visiting hours started, but had to leave a few hours later to spend some time with Lulu. So Liz was back on guard, watching, praying, hoping that Lucky would wake up.
Gently she took his hand into hers, trying to will it to tighten around hers. But it just stayed limp and cold. It would have scared her, if she wasn't already frightened. She couldn't lose Lucky, he meant more to her than she ever realized. It was beyond friendship, probably even beyond a possible romance. It was about two young souls finding each other. She didn't want to lose him before she really had a chance to enjoy what it felt like to be loved by Lucky Spencer. Because Liz knew, it would be the greatest thing to ever happen to her.
Right before her mind drifted into another Lucky centered fantasy she heard a light tapping on widow of the ICU room. She looked up tiredly to find Buffy waiting with a pensive smile on her face.
"I'll be right back," she whispered, kissing Lucky's hand before returning it to the bed. She slipped out into the observation area of the ICU, greeting Buffy quickly. "Hey."
"How is he?"
"The same . . .the doctors hope he'll wake up today. I guess they sounded confident . . .I just know he has to wake up, he has to Buffy," Liz whispered, rubbing at her exhausted eyes. "Is that the only reason you are here?"
Buffy shook her head, "Not really, I guess you can say I'm here on business."
"Slayer business?"
"Is there any other?" she joked before continuing. "Anyway, Willow has been working on a spell . . ."
"Oh no," Liz grumbled, knowing what happened the last time that Willow worked on a spell: the Hellmouth moved.
"That's totally understandable but . . . this one could work. See, Willow has this spell that will get Spike to tell us the truth as to what the Gem of Power is, maybe even tell us for sure who did this to Lucky."
"Stefan did it."
Buffy nodded skeptically, "Probably, but I've learned to cover all the bases. Anyway, if this works it'll really cut down on the research time and allow us more for the butt kicking time."
"So what is this? A truth spell? What if it backfires?" Liz wondered, nervous about delving into witchcraft.
"It won't, I promise. We're going to do it over at Alexis's tonight, Giles is a little skittish about Will and her spells," Buffy noted with a smile. "So stop by the penthouse at around eight . . .that is if you . . ."
"I'm sure Luke or Laura will be here. Besides, maybe Lucky will wake up before then," she said hopefully as she cast a glance back into the room. "I'll see you then."
"Later partner," Buffy smiled, patting Liz on the arm as she left.
Liz turned and returned to her spot at Lucky's bedside, suddenly feeling rejuvenated by the idea of going back into slayer mode. Must be one of the perks of the job, she surmised as she recaptured Lucky's hand.
"Lucky, it's me, again," she began, her voice soft and soothing as she spoke. "Everyone's thinking about you, asking how you are. You know, you're really loved in this town. Even the group from Sunnydale are worried sick. But you know Lucky, you have to wake up, there's no way around it. I mean . . .we can't tell Lulu her big brother died, she'd be crushed. And what about Nikolas, who'll put him in his place when he gets too arrogant and cocky. You're the only one he trusts to do that. Emily will be heartbroken, I even think Buffy will be too. And your parents . . .Lucky, they never let you down, don't let them down. If Luke lost you he'd lose himself . . .so would I.
"But don't just wake up for us Lucky, do it for yourself. Cause I know that you've got so much to offer, so much love to give, and joy to spread. Don't lose your chance, don't leave us."
After crying for a few moments Liz wiped the tears from her cheeks and cleared her throat. "Last night we had to tell Laura about everything. If it wasn't because of what happened to you, Lucky it would have been hysterical. I've never seen Laura so completely confused. Oh, how could I forget? Carly, your concerned vampire cousin who tried to bite you, stopped by as well. You know, if she weren't a vampire right now she'd be really cool," Liz noted with a chuckle. "Don't you worry Lucky, I'm going to find Stefan and make him pay for this. I don't care how dangerous or foolish Buffy or Angel says it is, I won't let him get away with almost killing you. You mean the world to me Lucky, you're my best everything, and when someone tries to take that away . . .I don't like when that happens. So you can't even argue with me by saying not to do it for you, because I'm not. I'm doing it for me."
Liz stopped when she heard the door open, "Any change?" Laura asked as she walked in.
"Not that I can tell, but . . ." she sighed, sliding over so Laura could pull a chair up as well.
"Elizabeth, I heard what you were saying . . .you can't do that, you can't get revenge for this," Laura told her honestly.
"I have to . . .it's my job Laura, I'm the slayer, I slay vampires. Stefan's a vampire."
"Yes, but honey, this wasn't just a vampire picking an anonymous victim," Laura explained with a whisper. "This was a Cassadine attacking a Spencer. This is a war that I hoped Lucky and Nikolas would stay free from, they haven't. But Liz, I don't want you to get hurt because of this war. It's not right."
Liz shook her head obstinately. "I don't care, Spencer/Cassadine war be damned, I'm still the slayer. Age-old rivalries don't mean a hill of beans to me or to Buffy. Tomorrow night I'm going out and I'm finding Stefan and I'm making him into a pile of dust, and there is no talking me out of it."
"Oh Liz . . . .there is no talking you out of this is there?" Laura asked, quite concerned.
"It would take magic or a spell to keep me from doing this Laura," Liz noted, looking protectively down at Lucky's motionless body.
~*~
Buffy huddled back against the stairway, her eyes scanning the docks for movement. She was safely obscured from view by the thick shadows; human view, that is. It's hard to hide from a vampire since they can smell people from a mile away... made it kind of hard to sneak up on them.
After leaving the hospital, she had helped lock Oz in the cage Alexis and Giles had set up for him. It was in an abandoned crypt, one that had been empty for centuries. Alexis had sleuthed it out under the excuse that it was for a client. Tonight was the night before the full moon, so he needed to be behind bars or else he'd go all beasty and try to eat people. He didn't want to do that, which was good, because she didn't want to have to kill her best friend's sweetheart. It might make things weird with Willow. Not to mention, she liked Oz, even if he was monosyllabic most of the time. He was good to Willow, and he was a loyal friend. Those qualities were hard to come by these days, so who was she to judge just because he got furry three nights a month?
Her reverie was interrupted when she heard footsteps approaching. Since vampires were usually quieter than that, it was most likely just a normal person, but she stayed still, just in case, gripping onto her stake.
The source of the steps came into view a few seconds later, and she let out the breath she had been holding, a little too loudly. Jason turned, squinting into the darkness.
"Is somebody there?"
She couldn't help noticing the way his hand went to his pocket, hovering there as he stepped closer.
Was he packing? Heat, that is. She blushed a little at the way her mind was working and shook her head. *Get out of the gutter, Buffy, you're supposed to be patrolling, not scoping out guys.* She cleared her throat and stepped out into the light.
"Hey, Jason. Fancy meeting you here." She flinched at how cheesy she sounded.
He frowned, stepping back now that he could see who it was. "Buffy. You shouldn't be out here alone. I heard that Lucky Spencer was attacked here last night. He almost died."
"Man, news travels fast around here," she said, eyes wide. "That must be some newspaper you've got."
He smiled a little at the joke. "I have connections that keep me informed. Besides, the Spencers are good friends of mine. How is he? I know you and Liz are good friends, so I figured...."
She nodded, cutting him off. "He's going to be fine, once he wakes up, which we're hoping is soon. Liz is a wreck though."
"Well, he's a tough kid. But you never said why you were lurking around here like that."
"Lurking? I wasn't lurking....I mean, just because I was standing really quietly in the shadows so no one would see me... okay, maybe a little. But you never said why you were here either."
"You never asked."
"Oh, right. Okay, why are you here?"
"It's a shortcut home. You?"
She looked down at the ground, trying to think of something, then decided on the truth. Well, part of it. "I was looking for Stefan Cassadine. I know he lives out there," she pointed to Wyndemere. "Have you seen him around lately?"
Jason shook his head. "No. Why would you want to see Stefan?"
"Um... School project! Yeah, I have a project on, um, Greece, and I knew that he used to live there, so I thought I could maybe ask him some questions, get some first-hand views for it." She knew it was lame, but she hoped he bought it anyway.
He nodded, then frowned. "So why don't you ask his son, Nikolas? Aren't you friends with him? He lived there, too."
"He did? Oh, yeah, I guess I hadn't thought about that. Well, with everything that's going on with Lucky, I guess I've been a little scattered."
"So why didn't you find him during the day, when it's safer? He works at the hospital, you could have just stopped by his office." Something weird was going on with her, and for some odd reason, he felt the need to find out what. There was something about her that made him want to protect her.
"I know, but really, what else is there to do around here at night? I figured staking out his house would at least kill some time." She smiled weakly, hoping he'd get the joke, even if it was kind of sorry.
"Do you play pool?"
The question was so sudden, she was speechless for a minute. "Pool? Um, yeah. Actually, I played a lot at the Bronze."
"The Bronze?"
"It's a club back home. It was *the* place to be. Actually, it was the only place to be, Sunnydale isn't a very exciting town, nightlife-wise. At least not.... um, anyway, yeah I play." She had almost slipped and mentioned the Hellmouth, forgetting for a moment that Jason was one of the few people that still didn't know. He smiled, not catching the slip.
"Well, there's a place I go to relax sometimes, they've got pool tables. If you want, I could take you there, we could shoot a few games."
She grinned. Was he asking her out? Her first thought was, *What would Angel think?* which kind of unnerved her a little. Why did it matter? It wasn't like they were dating anymore. She was free to see whomever she wanted to, and at least Jason was a human. As if thinking about Angel had somehow called him, he appeared behind Jason, a look of distress on his face. How much had he heard? Was he jealous? Her smile widened a little more at that thought, then she quickly forced herself to be serious again.
"Actually, I can't. I told Liz I'd stop by tonight, see how Lucky's doing."
Jason nodded again, slipping his hands into his pockets, feeling a little disappointed. "Okay, maybe another time. Just don't lurk out here too long. I know you think that stick is a good weapon, but it's not."
She laughed, realizing for the first time that she hadn't put away the stake. "Hey, don't underestimate the stick. Remember, it's pointy."
He chuckled and shook his head, then hurried up the stairs into the darkness. Once he was gone,
she sighed and turned to face Angel.
"Eavesdrop much?"
He shrugged, his face stony and unreadable again, much like Jason's had been through most of their conversation. She really needed to get a little more variety in her love interests.
"I was just walking by and I heard your voice. I wanted to make sure you were all right."
"Well, it's a good thing you showed up, then, because I might have gone to play pool with him, and everyone knows that's trouble. Trouble, with a capitol T, and that rhymes with P..." He looked at her blankly and she sighed. "You know, Music Man? The song about pool... Nevermind. You're not much of theatre fan, are you?"
"Not really. And I wasn't trying to stop you. You could have gone." He tried not to let her see that he was jealous of Jason, but it was hard, even for him. Out of everyone he had ever met, Buffy was the one person he couldn't hide his feelings from.
"Actually, I couldn't have. I have to go to Alexis's penthouse tonight. Willow's doing a spell that's supposed to make Spike tell us about the Gem of Power. We all agreed to be there."
"Are you sure she should be casting spells? I mean, after the way the last one turned out..."
Buffy nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah, she swears this one's fool-proof. Besides, even if it did go wacky, it's just a truth spell. What harm could it do?"
He shrugged, taking a step closer to her. "I'd still like to be there, just in case. Do you think they'd mind?"
She swallowed, unnerved a little by how close he was all of a sudden. "Um, sure. I don't see why not."
"Good. Let's go. I don't think Stefan's going to show himself tonight."
They started to walk towards the hotel and she turned to look at him as they passed under a streetlight. "How did you know that's why I was here?"
He turned to her, a small smile on his face. "Because I know you. Your friend was almost killed, your first instinct is to find who did it and make them pay."
"That's why you were here, too, isn't it?" she asked, trying to ignore how warm and fuzzy his statement had made her feel. He nodded, and she grinned, turning to look at the street ahead of them. "See, I know you too."
(Part B In Reply To This....Just Click on it)
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
|
Feedback: 