Changing
Tomorrow 6
by
Danielle
** emphasis
// thoughts
The vampire opened his eyes and realized that he was sitting with his head on
the table. Spike sat up and wiped his face. It was damp from crying.
“Bloody hell! Our future sucks!” the blonde vampire shouted as his
shaking hands wiped tears from his face. He remembered each image as if he’d
already lived it. Around them, the dancing and drinking continued and nobody had
noticed the scene.
“But you feel the truth in it, don’t you? This is a
really interesting layout we have here. I’m putting these memories in my special
volume. Remember that this is just a version of the future and that you have a
chance to change this, if you haven’t already. Here, you’ll want these.” Priya
brought over a tray full of shots; Xander and the vampire started working their
way through them.
“I leave a girl named Anya at the altar; I cheat on
Cordelia; Buffy dies again—I lose an eye?” Xander broke down.
Without
thinking, Spike leaned in and turned the boy’s face to look at him. The human
was slick with sweat and cold to the touch.
“We’re changing this
bollocks. Make sure it never happens...I’m not getting a fucking soul--” Spike
was in a panic. “--And I’m *not* shagging the sodding Slayer!” He punctuated the
last by slamming his shot on the table.
Xander snagged two cigarettes
from the blonde vampire’s pack and lit them, giving one to Spike. He coughed and
gagged after the first puff, but smoking seemed to settle him. “Angel is
supposed to go all evil on Buffy’s birthday, so w-we won’t start the whole
process with Acathla—how do I know that name?”
“You’re given enough
knowledge about each situation to know vaguely what each vision is about. Plus,
you’ll remember details, smaller events later. You just crammed about five years
of information into your heads--give yourselves time to adjust. You know, I’ve
collected a lot of stories, but yours is one of the most exciting.”
“So
the first thing that happens in all this is the poof losing his
soul?”
“No, more current things will start coming to you. The only thing
is this: You can’t tell anyone what happened tonight. You were the ones chosen
to receive this information, not them.”
“And if we do?” Xander
asked.
“That’s just the thing. You can’t. Something will happen to you to
prevent it. You’ll lose your voice or your lips will swell up or your writing
hand will get a cramp.” She grinned. “It’s a protective measure, you
see.”
Priya glanced at her watch and said, “Well, I’ve gotta go, but it
was nice meeting you. Thanks for the memories!” She chuckled as she turned and
left the shell-shocked duo.
`*^~--.;'.--~^*`*^~--.;'.--~^*`
A
depressed and tormented Xander took another shot and handed one to Spike.
“So…where were we? Something about you killing me dead?” The hopeful tone in the
youth’s voice was only half-kidding. The vampire had to admire the sense of
humor.
“Oh no, you’re not getting off that easy, mate.” Spike downed his
shot and waved the waitress over for a few beers. When she tried to I.D. Xander,
the vampire let his eyes go yellow as he ‘persuaded’ her to bend the rules a
bit. When she set the mugs down and left, he said, ”Not gonna eat you. Yet.”
Pheromones assaulted his senses, and he glared disbelievingly. He had chosen to
disregard the boy’s signs of interest throughout that night. No way was Xander
having the warm fuzzies for him.
Xander studied him for a second before
speaking, “You know, aside from you being the most frightening vamp I ever met,
I couldn’t help but feel like that other you was a good guy. Future Spike
withstood torture and sought out a soul, then died to save the world--anyone
with that kind of guts might actually be able to change the screwed up future we
have.”
The admiration in the youth’s voice had touched Spike deeply. //I
do *not* care what some sodding child thinks!//
“Are you *trying* to
make me kill you?” Spike snapped and glared hatefully at the human. The vampire
leaned close enough to feel hot breath on his face. “Let’s get this straight,
whelp. I’m doing this so I don’t get flash fried. If you happen not to catch
syphilis--which is bloody hilarious in my book--so be it.”
“Okay, okay!
No need to get all fang-y about it. I-It was a compliment.” Xander took his last
shot and frowned at his mug. Was it bad etiquette to refuse a beer that a Master
Vampire had ordered for you?
He hadn’t had much beer in his life, but
now certainly seemed to be a good time to start. The absurdity and direness of
the situation sunk in. “And how can we love someone who won’t even exist for two
years?”
“*Dawn.*”
The longing and affection in the vampire’s
voice startled them both. Their eyes met, and something like understanding
passed between them.
“First things first: how do we keep Angel’s soul
where it is without telling them?” Xander took an experimental drink of his
beer, gagging to keep the dark ale down.
“We don’t.” Spike absently
looked around the club.
“What?”
“Look, if we bollocks up the
future too much, we’ll just end up with something worse in the end, right?”
Xander was beginning to understand, but it just seemed too
complicated.
“So,” Spike continued, “we go on and act like nothing
happened. Meet in secret if something comes up. I won’t kill you or your bloody
pals, since too much of our futures are intertwined. And when it comes time to
re-soul him, we’ll be ready.”
“Okay, but can’t we just make sure someone
else finds out about the happiness clause before they do it?”
Spike
drained his mug, slammed it on the table, and stood. “Or that. Finish your
drink, we’re leaving.”
Xander gulped down the last of the beer, grimacing
as Spike pulled him out of the Bronze and into his blacked-out DeSoto.
He directed Spike to his house, knowing it would probably cost him
dearly later.
The vampire explained the bizarre act of driving him home,
“How am I gonna keep an eye on the Slayer if you’re dead? Can’t sodding plan
this with anyone else, now can I? I’ll find you in a few days. ‘Til then, try to
remember if anything happens between now and that Acathla bollocks. Anything
that might help us later.”
They walked to the human’s front door and
Xander stole glances at the seemingly nonchalant vampire. //Yep, still gorgeous.
What the hell am I thinking? //
“What are you gonna do?” the human asked
when he was safely across the threshold.
A shadow passed over the
vampire’s face as he turned away. “Got a loose end to tie up…”
Xander
frowned as he closed the door and snuck up to his room.
//Let’s see…I
just spent the night drinking with a vampire that I’m lusting after and trying
to change the future! It doesn’t get any better than this!//
The visions
had been horrendous, and Xander was pretty sure he’d be scarred for life no
matter what happened. You didn’t experience that kind of reality without it
destroying something inside you.
Already, the human felt like he’d been
through a war. If he didn’t put a concerted effort into thinking of something
else, the scenes in his head replayed in agonizing detail, steeping him in
powerful emotions that threatened to overcome him.
Only Spike knew what
he was going through. Xander went to bed, plagued by a nightmare full of blood
and heartbreak.
`*^~--.;'.--~^*`*^~--.;'.--~^*`
Spike had reached
a grim conclusion. One he thought he’d never have to make. Drusilla was going to
choose Angelus over him, then run off time and time again. She would alert
Angelus to Jenny Calendar’s restoration spell and to where Acathla was buried.
He couldn’t carry on with her. Not while he knew what was to come and her
visions would be a constant threat to the plan to repair the future.
Heart heavy, the vampire entered their bedroom. His ripe plum was in
deep slumber, waiting for her prince to arrive. Spike cuddled close, tipping her
neck and whispering words of love and regret. His face rippled as he brought the
demon out and he sank his fangs into her neck.
He would never have been
able to do this if it weren’t for the feelings he’d experienced in the visions.
As it stood now, the vampire felt like he had already lost her at least twice
over. The worst thing was that some of the ‘sacrifice one to save all’ mentality
had rubbed off from his future self.
“Mmmm, my Spike…” she mumbled. The
blonde was sure that his sleeping beauty thought this was foreplay, not murder.
She cooed and writhed, blissful to the end when he drained the last of her blood
and she scattered to dust.
Drusilla filled his senses, amplifying the
vampire’s grief. He curled into the ash-filled bed and sobbed himself to
unconsciousness.
Index Fiction Gallery Links Site Feedback Story Feedback