《Once Bound》


 Rematerialized

    "Is this gonna be our lives now? Fighting our own employees, our own clients?" Fred leaned onto a chair in the middle of Angel''s new office. "Are we really gonna do any good?"


    "Yes, we are," stated Angel confidently, trying to convince himself as much as his friends. "We''re gonna change things. We came to Wolfram and Hart because it''s a powerful weapon, and we''ll figure out how to wield it."


    "Or kill ourselves with it," pointed out Wesley.


    "Yay, team," Fred added sarcastically.


    "Sooner or later, they''ll tip their hand, and we''ll find out why they really brought us here." Angel was getting excited now, his own enthusiasm picking up, despite the reservations of his friends. He picked up an envelope out of the mountain of papers, files, and mail on his desk. "Meanwhile, we do the work our way, one thing at a time." He tore open the envelope. The amulet he''d given to Buffy a few weeks prior slid from the envelope, landing with a quiet thud on the floor. Angel''s enthusiasm and confidence shifted to confusion midway. "And deal with whatever comes next."


    The amulet began to glow while Angel and his friends looked on in surprise and confusion as smoke began to curl out of the gem. It quickly swirled into sparks, then materializing into a skeleton while fire seemed to regenerate muscles and skin. Suddenly there was screaming as Spike finished rematerializing, his immolation from weeks ago completing its reversal. He started panting.


    "Spike," Wesley stated in his confusion, finding no other words for what had just happened.


    "Spike." Angel confirmed, mentally preparing himself for what might come next from the bane of his existence, his grandsire.


    "Blondie bear?" Harmony popped her head in around the door hopefully at hearing his name and the familiar sound of his yelling. Spike stood gasping, looking around confused at the faces he saw before him. Some he recognized, while others he did not.


    "What? What?" he searched for a question he didn''t even know how to ask. The pain was slowly ebbing, but the memory of it was seared into his skin, his brain, his muscles. He had trouble focusing his eyes, his senses still completely overwhelmed by the smell of his own burning flesh that wasn''t fading nearly fast enough from his nostrils.


    "What the hell are you doing here, Spike?" Harmony demanded.


    "Harmony, please," Wesley interjected, trying to be a calm voice as he took in Spike''s confusion as he looked from face to face.


    "This is Spike? THE Spike?" Gunn said alarmed.


    "What a minute, who''s¡­" Fred began.


    "Easy, slim, easy. No one''s gonna hurt you." Lorne interrupted also trying to help calm the obviously scared Spike.


    "Speak for yourself, Green Jeans," Gunn clarified.


    "Would somebody please tell me," Fred tried to ask before being interrupted again.


    "William the Bloody. He''s a vampire." Wesley jumped in to provide the much-needed explanation. "One of the worst recorded. Second only to ¡­"


    "Me," Angel finished for him. Spike spun around, just noticing Angel behind him. "But you¡¯re dead," Angel said as confused as everyone else in the room.


    "Well, yeah. Who isn''t?" Harmony stated as though it was obvious.


    "Are you bloody kidding," an astonished and irritated voice cried out from the far end of the room. "Well, isn''t this a right piece of bloody fucking garbage. Man can''t even die properly around here! Shoulda known William wouldn''t be done yet." Everyone in the room suddenly turned to assess the second surprise guest in the office who was throwing up his hands in frustration. "Bloody hell," the voice cut off as the figure vanished through a wall, but they could hear the irritated shouting down the hall as the man rematerialized on the other side of the wall. "can''t make it stop, can''t¡­" the man suddenly appeared in the office again as he appeared to be pacing through the wall, "¡­just be done. I just wanted to be done. I''m so tired." The man wasn''t even looking at anyone but turned around and paced his way back out of the office waving his arms about as he ranted.


    "Who''s that?" Fred asked.


    "I don''t know," said Wesley, who turned to Angel, then Spike. Everyone stared in confusion at each other trying to make sense of what was happening.


    "You think you''re done. You think you''re bloody well good and done. Been a good boy, did all the right things." The man continued as he paced back and forth through the wall oblivious to everyone. Angel was beginning to think this was some new plot the Senior Partners had come up with. Maybe Spike was working with them, but who was the person now pacing back and forth through the wall of his office, who sounded for all intents and purposes like a crazy person.


    "I''m done now! David''s done. Didn''t you get the memo?!" the man shouted to the ceiling before collapsing to his knees with his head in his hands. "We''re supposed to be done. Done, done, done, done," he kept repeating to himself while rocking back and forth.


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    Angel and his friends looked back and forth at the two men who had appeared. Spike spun around back to Angel. He didn''t know who this crazy ranting lunatic was, but he was sure that Angel must be as responsible for that as he was for Spike himself suddenly rematerializing. That or maybe the First had somehow followed him and was trying to torment him with some fresh new hell. "What''s going on?"


    "I don''t know," said Angel. "I could ask you the same thing." Spike was having none of this. The crazy man started to get louder. Spike roared, his anger and frustration at the situation boiling over. His face shifted as his demon took over and he launched himself at Angel. Angel braced himself for the impending collision that didn''t come as Spike passed right through him, coming to a stop in the middle of his desk. Spike looked down to find he could no longer see his lower half, as much a ghost as the man who had been pacing through the walls.


    The man had quieted when he heard Spike roar, his hands dropped to his lap, and his eyes got very wide.


    "Bugger?" Spike said confused and scared. Everyone was now staring at Spike.


    "Yup. Can''t even die in peace," the man said to himself.


    "What ¡­ what''s happened to me?" Spike demanded.


    "Well, I''m no doctor, but I think you''re a ghost," Harmony volunteered.


    "I''m no," Spike sputtered, "I¡¯m no bloody ghost."


    "Ha! Well neither am I yet here I am," the man continued bitterly, again seemingly to himself.


    "Hey, you''re the one sticking out of the desk, pal," Harmony retorted to Spike annoyed, ignoring the ranting lunatic at the other end of the room. "And you can''t talk to me like that. We''re not going out anymore."


    The man giggled to himself. "Right bloody funny you are," he muttered. Harmony ignored him, too irritated at Spike to pay him any mind.


    "Where did they come from?" Gunn asked, as Wesley noticed the gem on the floor all but forgotten in the commotion.


    "From this," Wesley said as he bent to pick up the amulet.


    "What is it?"


    "A right bloody joke, that''s what that is. A right bloody joke. But it''s not funny anymore, innit? Not funny at all," the man continued to mutter to himself. Spike was starting to get even more irritated. Would that crazy person not just shut up already?


    "Something I gave to Buffy before ¡­"


    "Buffy?" Spike interrupted Angel. "Is she?"


    "She''s okay."


    "Thank god," said the man relieved, while at the same time Spike asked "Where is she?"


    "Europe, last I heard." Angel answered, glancing at the man across the room before looking back at Spike irritated. He really didn''t have time for this. He didn''t want to deal with Spike or whoever the crazy man was in his office either.


    "I want to see her, talk to her," Spike said as the man laughed, falling backwards onto the floor.


    "That''s gonna be tough," said Angel.


    "You can''t keep her from me."


    "She''s not mine to keep or yours."


    "Says you? You got no idea what we had." Spike declared. The man snorted. Spike was about to rip his head off if he didn''t rip Angel''s off first.


    "You never had her!"


    "More than you, you poncey¡­"


    "Oh my god!" Harmony interrupted the two. The man began to laugh again as he stood up and wandered back through the wall shaking his head. Spike spun glancing first at the man as he disappeared, then back at Harmony. "You and the Slayer actually ¡­" She paused as the realization began to sink in. "I mean, I know you had that twisted obsession with her, but ugh. That''s just ¡­ ugh" she exclaimed disgustedly. Harmony turned and continued out the door, turning a couple times to exclaim at him in continued dismay. Everyone watched her go. Lorne had slowly made his way towards the wall where the man had walked through.


    "I must be in hell," Spike concluded. Lorne turned, right as the man appeared through the wall beside him startled that someone had arrived in the space he''d considered his own.


    "Uh, no, LA. But a lot of people make that mistake," Lorne clarified for Spike.


    "LA?! Bloody Los Angeles? What in the bloody hell is in bloody Los Angeles?" the man continued to curse. Lorne turned back to him with concern in his eyes. "Lost again. Lost to the angels we are. Couple of ghostly devils, more like," he said softly. "Don''t deserve to be back. Deserve to be done we do. Did what we had to. Finished the job, we did. We did."


    "We?" Spike asked alarmed and a little angry.


    Fred furrowed her brow watching the man. His rantings felt familiar. A little like how she''d talked to herself when she''d been lost in Pylea, alone in her cave. "So Spike and Buffy¡­" Fred started, trying to piece together what everyone was talking about.


    "He was, um, an ally of hers for some time. At least, that''s what Angel told me. That''s all Angel told me," Wesley explained.


    The man looked up, confused as if suddenly aware that Spike might have been responding to what he¡¯d said. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Spike, trying to process what was happening. "I think hell is right because now I''m hallucinating," he said as he shook his head vigorously and walked back through the wall. Spike was at the end of his rope.


    "Hey! I was talking to you," he shouted after the man knowing he could be heard through the open door into the hall just as he''d heard the man ranting while he''d paced minutes before.


    "No, you weren''t," said the man as he popped just his head through the wall. "Isn''t possible. Because no one can see or hear me. Not ever. Not for your entire bloody unlife. So no, it''s not possible," he spat out, pulling his head back through the wall. Spike wasn''t sure what to say to that. Suddenly the man popped his head through one more time, staring, then tilted his head and looked Spike up and down.


    "So Spike''s a good guy vampire like Angel?" Gunn asked.


    "He''s nothing like me." Angel shot back.


    "Got that right! What have you done to me? Or to that lunatic for that matter?" Spike demanded, waving his hand towards the crazy man who was still standing with just his head through the wall. "What is this place? Who are you people? What the bloody hell is happening?"


    "Hey there partner," Lorne said calmly to the man. "Why don''t you just come on back in and we''ll figure this out?" The man turned his head now to regard Lorne.


    "Figure what out? Figure out why I''m hallucinating in hell?"


    "What''s your name?" Lorne continued. The man took a breath and stepped the rest of the way through the wall and back into the room.


    "Bloody hell. Alright. I''ll play. David Pra¡­" he stopped himself, then continued "Pryce. David Pryce at your service." At that, he bowed out of habit. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, um ¡­" he looked at Lorne questioningly.


    "Lorne. And this is Angel, Fred, Wesley, and Gunn. Harmony was the lovely lady who just left, and it sounds like you already know Spike."


    David snorted. "Yeah, I bloody well know William and Angelus." He stared daggers at both of them, then softened suddenly and sighed.


    "Well I don''t know you," Spike said angrily. "Who in the hell are you?"


    "I''m David, and you shouldn''t. No one should. I shouldn''t even be seen." Then he suddenly dropped to his knees, and clasped his head between his hands. "My head. Oh god my head." Then he suddenly disappeared.


    "What the ¡­" Spike started and then he too vanished. Angel and his friends were left staring at each other in confusion and horror at the situation they''d found themselves in.

 Initial Investigations

    Usually when the memories hit, David could ride them out, like he''d watched surfers do on tv. They''d pump their arms hard while a massive ocean wave came up behind them, set their boards up right and slide along with the water. He''d always wished he could try that. They seemed so brave. It wasn''t until he''d heard a surfer describing the act of riding a wave that he realized it was the same way that he tried to ride out the memories when they overcame him. He''d be minding his own business and suddenly be pulled under by a memory, reliving it again. Sometimes, he could control the flow and which memory came, other times he was simply swept up in the undertow of images and feelings. It was hardest when they were his. When those surfaced, he was helpless to the flow.


    He was accustomed to the feeling by now, but it was still disorienting when he felt the memory wash over him. Except this time was different ¨C it wasn¡¯t just him caught in the tide, witnessing the memory unfold. Spike had been drawn along for the ride. He shouldn¡¯t be able to access the memories that David carried; the memories he¡¯d safeguarded for over a century. It was impossible. David knew the scene that played out by heart; both sides, he experienced everything that had happened twice over, once through his own eyes and once through the memories he held safe. He felt what they both felt, saw things through both of their eyes. Twin perspectives, twin sensations, everything doubled. Because of this, he much preferred when it was just his own memories he was being assaulted with. Now, it seemed it wasn¡¯t just him, Spike was experiencing it too.


    Bugger, thought David.


    ***


    "Did he just say Pryce? David Pryce?" Wesley sputtered and looked at his friends, who were all in varying states of shock or confusion. Angel was furious. He didn''t want to deal with this ¨C not with Spike, not with whoever David was either. It had to be some plot the Senior Partners had cooked up, some sort of distraction. Just one more thing to add to their plate. David seemed to be completely bonkers and Spike was, well, Spike.


    "That''s what he said," Lorne agreed but seemed thoughtful. "Though it sounded like he was about to use a different name too, which was strange. I don''t know. There''s something about him I can''t quite put my finger on."


    "Kind of reminds me of the ramblings I used to do when I was stuck you-know-where," Fred blurted out. "I had no one to talk to, of course, so I ended up talking to myself. And, well, rambling a lot too."


    "Yeah. He did seem very surprised when he realized we were speaking to him," Wesley said thoughtfully. "And Spike certainly didn''t seem to recognize him."


    "So he says," Angel interjected. "You can''t trust anything Spike says. He''s only ever out for himself. He''ll say anything and do anything so long as it gets him what he wants. We just have to figure out what that is."


    "He just seemed scared and confused to me. They both did." Fred suggested with a shrug. Angel eyed her warily. He couldn''t deny that both men appeared surprised to be there, but decades of experience had taught him that Spike was always up to something. He just wasn¡¯t sure what it was yet.


    "What do we know about this amulet?" Wesley wondered. "Is there any record of it being used before? Should we call Buffy and see if she knows who this David character is?"


    "No!" Angel answered quickly. "Let''s not bother her with this until we know more."


    "Alright," Wesley agreed. "We can research some first."


    "I''d like to take the amulet to the lab and see if I can run some tests on it," Fred said. "Maybe there''s something going on that might shed some light on what happened." She reached her hand out to Wesley who was still holding it.


    "Yes, I think that''s a good idea," he agreed as he extended the necklace to her. "Do let me know as soon as you¡­" Wesley was cut off, the necklace dangling from his hand, as he heard a voice cry out from the same corner of the room that David had disappeared from. Spike suddenly appeared standing in front of him and looked around the room in confusion.


    "What the bloody hell was that?" Spike asked no one in particular.


    "You both just disappeared," Lorne answered as he knelt next to David, who was sitting on the floor and rocking back and forth, his head in his hands.


    "Where did you go?" Fred asked.


    "I ¡­ I don''t know. First we were here, then it was like I was a kid again. Or I was remembering being a child?" Spike said confused.


    "Piss all," David muttered to himself. "First we get stuck back, then we gotta surf the bloody riptides. What''s next? We gonna drown too? Bloody hell. Don''t think I can do this."


    "Hey. It''s gonna be ok. My friends and I are here to help." Lorne leaned in to reassure David.


    "The hell you are," David shot back, startling himself in his reaction. Then he looked up at Lorne and his face softened. "Bloody hell. Look at you." David said as he and Lorne regarded each other. "Never seen a demon like you before," He paused, then nodded approvingly. "I like it. You see too."


    "Why don''t we all go down to the lab? I''d like to run some tests on this amulet, and on both of you. See if we can''t figure out what''s going on," Fred suggested. Spike shrugged, having no other helpful suggestions and at a loss himself.


    "What kind of tests?" David asked nervously. He wasn''t sure he wanted to do whatever they were suggesting, but he couldn''t see any way out of participating, especially if Spike was going.


    "Oh, just some spectrometer readings, have a look at your ectoplasmic matrix and such," Fred started to explain some of what she thought she might find but David found himself distracted staring at Lorne again, whose eyes seemed to be boring into his soul. David started to squirm under Lorne¡¯s gaze.


    "Alright, I guess if we have to. Sounds like something out of Ghostbusters. Who you gonna call?" David quipped, unable to help himself. He really didn''t want to know. He just wanted to be gone, invisible again. It felt too vulnerable to be seen, let alone have them run whatever tests she was blathering on about.


    "It won''t hurt. I promise," explained Fred thinking his hesitancy was fear at the tests themselves. David let it go, unwilling to admit that he was afraid of what the tests might say.


    ****


    David eyed the scanner warily, backing away and accidentally through the wall before cautiously popping his head back in apologetically. Spike rolled his eyes. "It''s not gonna hurt you. You just saw her scan me, and I didn''t feel a thing." David stepped back through the wall, nodding but no less nervous. Fred regarded both of them holding their arms across their chests tightly. Spike in his black t-shirt, jeans and leather boots, holding his black leather duster close around him, and David in his baggy blue jeans, skater shoes, and loose navy blue hoodie with an alien emblazoned on the front, hands tucked in the front pocket. Two different types of rebels, she thought to herself. If I didn''t know any better, I''d wonder if they were brothers or something. "Honey of a story," mused Lorne.


    "Story?"  Wesley prompted; his attention focused on examining the gem.


    "Yeah. The vampire slayer both men loved, both men lost. Oh, I could sell that to any studio in a heartbeat. I see Depp and Bloom," Lorne mused to Wesley. David burst out laughing, unable to stop himself. Both Spike and Angel turned to stare daggers at him. He attempted to stifle his laughter, unsuccessfully, but did manage to appear sheepish enough that they went back to ignoring him. Lorne glanced at David, furrowing his brow briefly. "Sorry. Hazard of running the Entertainment Division. Gotta get out more."


    "So, you''re what? Scanner girl? Fred, was it?" Spike asked Fred, trying to distract himself from David, who had finally managed to stop giggling.


    "That''s me! I head up Wolfram and Hart''s Science department." Fred replied brightly, always happy for an excuse to talk about the lab.


    "Wolfram and Hart. Heard of that. Thought it was a law firm" Spike commented.


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    "It is, among other things," Fred confirmed, tinkering with the equipment.


    "Also heard they represent the worst evil in the universe," Spike offered.


    "It did, among other things. But now I''m in charge," remarked Angel from his seat on a stool, where he reviewed some papers with Gunn looking over his shoulder.


    "Are you now?" Spike and David asked him at the same time in an amused tone, then smirked at each other and turned back to Angel. Maybe there were some okay parts to this bloke after all, as annoying as he is, Spike thought to himself.


    "Weird. I''m getting electromagnetic readings consistent with spiritual entities, but there''s no ectoplasmic matrix." Fred murmured, ignoring the men.


    "Cause we aren''t ghosts," David muttered to himself.


    "Meaning?" Gunn asked.


    "Ectoplasm is what makes ghosts visible to the human eye. If they¡¯re ghosts, technically we shouldn''t be able to see them. And I''m detecting brain wave activity on both of them," Fred answered.


    "On Spike? Huh. That is weird," Angel said. David snorted. Spike took back his earlier estimation of David maybe being okay.


    "Also, ghosts generally absorb light and heat energy, making the area around them a few degrees cooler," Fred continued, ignoring Angel''s barb at Spike. "Spike''s radiating heat, but David''s not."


    "Think I''m hot, do you?" Spike teased Fred. David pointedly rolled his eyes, turning to wander back towards the wall he''d left while Fred was running her scans.


    Fred wasn''t amused. "Hmm. Lukewarm. Just above room temperature. David''s at exactly room temperature for some reason."


    "Well, what the hell am I then?" asked Spike.


    "Annoying?" David volunteered, then giggled to himself. Spike shot him a look. David coughed and turned away.


    "And what the hell is he?" Spike added, annoyed, pointing a thumb in David¡¯s direction. David shot a look at Spike then stuck his tongue out.  They really do act like brothers, Fred thought again. Wonder if they¡¯re related somehow?


    "Whatever they are, it''s clearly tied to this amulet," Wesley answered. "Their essences, for lack of a better term must have been held within it. Do either of you have any memory of a strange sensation when it released its energy?"


    "What, you mean my skin and muscle burning away from the bone? Organs exploding in my chest? Eyeballs melting in their sockets? No. No memory at all. Thanks for asking," answered Spike sarcastically.


    "Okay, they''re somehow connected to the amulet," Angel continued without waiting for an answer from David. "Last I heard, it was buried deep inside of the Hellmouth. How did it end up here?"


    "Maybe they''re here for a reason. You know some higher purpose or something they''re destined for," suggested Fred. "Sent to us by the Powers that Be to help us or¡­."


    "Who gave them the bloody right to do that?" Spike scoffed. "Can''t a man die in peace without some high almighty deciding it''s not his time?" David nodded along enthusiastically. "Let''s have a little more fun with him, eh?" Spike said. "You''d think that saving the soddin'' world would be enough to earn me a rest!" Suddenly, Spike started visibly flickering, like he was fading away. David''s eyes bugged out. "You''d think¡­"


    "Spike?" Fred interrupted. Spike paused his rant for a moment.


    "Hmm?" He looked down and noticed he was fading out. "Oh, balls," he said as he faded out completely. David stared at the space where Spike had been standing, and started backing up clearly terrified as Angel, Gunn and Fred walked over. Fred started to wave the scanner in the air where Spike had been.


    "Now what?" Gunn asked.


    "I don''t know. He just ¡­" Fred started. David was starting to rock back and forth, muttering to himself but not loud enough for anyone to make out. "Wait, what did he mean, saving the world?" Fred asked. Everyone turned to Angel.


    "Oh, that? Well," Angel stuttered then scoffed. "Buffy did most of the work." David scoffed. "Well he helped but¡­"


    "You sodding arse!" David exclaimed, then took a deep breath to start yelling as Spike reappeared on the other side of the room. "What did you do, hmm? What did you bloody well do?"


    "What?" Spike asked, staring first at David who was so relieved to see that Spike had returned he forgot was he was saying.


    "Where''d you go?" Gunn asked. Spike just looked at them confused. David furrowed his brow and started rocking again.


    "Don''t you know?" Fred added.


    "I''m," Spike started then stopped. "I mean, I was¡­" His anger and frustration overtook him. "You! This is your fault," he said to Angel.


    "Mine?"


    "You brought that bloody amulet to Sunnydale. You would have been the one to use it, until you chickened out!" Spike accused Angel. David snickered, as Angel started walking towards Spike menacingly.


    "What did you¡­" Angel started.


    "You heard me! You left town in the nick of time, din'' you, before the death and the mayhem. Abandoned the woman you claimed to love." Spike shouted, both angry and annoyed.


    "She made the call. It wasn''t my choice," Angel defended himself.


    "And this bloody hell wasn''t mine!" Spike retorted angrily. "I''m not you! I don''t give a piss about atonement or destiny. Just because I''ve got me a soul doesn''t mean I''m gonna let myself be led around¡­"


    "Excuse me?" Fred interrupted, as Angel''s friends looked at each other confused.


    "Did you just say Spike has a soul?" Wesley asked as they all turned to look at Angel. "You never said."


    "Didn''t seem worth mentioning," defended Angel. David started pacing and mumbling to himself again.


    "Seems to be a lot of that," said Gunn irritated.


    "Or maybe Captain Forehead was feeling a little less special," Spike suggested only a little gleefully, walking up to face Angel. "Didn''t like me crashing his exclusive club. Another vampire with a soul in the world." David snorted.


    "You''re not in the world, Casper," Angel threw back, then turned to leave the room. Spike walked through the wall to follow Angel. They watched him leave, then turned to each other.


    "What else do you think Angel left out?" Wesley wondered aloud, forgetting for a moment that David was still there.


    "Does make you wonder, doesn''t it," said Fred, then turned to David. "Anything you think you want to add, David?" David looked at each of them in turn before looking down at his shoes and shaking his head.


    "Nah. Nothing. Nothing in this ol¡¯ noggin''. Nope." He glanced up briefly, hoping they''d leave it at that. Fred decided not to push, but Wesley raised his eyebrow curiously.


    "You sure about that?" Gunn asked. David nodded while continuing to look down at his feet.


    "Sorry, I just ¡­ um ¡­ gotta go," he stammered, gestured awkwardly after Spike and then followed him out through the wall.


    "Well, that boy''s definitely hiding something," said Gunn.


    "I''d have to concur. We should stay wary. He could have come from anywhere, or could have even been trapped in the amulet before Spike was," Wesley agreed. They nodded to each other. "What do you think might be causing the temperature differences?"


    "I''m not sure yet, but I''m working on some theories," Fred answered. "One is that they didn''t enter it at the same time. The energy signatures are almost identical, though, so that seems unlikely. Could be that there was a different mechanism that captured their essences, but again, without more information to go on, I''m not sure¡­"


    "Or David was already a ghost," Lorne interrupted. They all turned to look at him and he continued. "There''s something different about him, I mean aside from the side of crazy pants he seems to be carting around with him. He''s got energy coming off him, but it''s like reflected back somehow. I dunno. The best way I can describe it is it''s like I''m seeing double when I look at him. His energy comes out in waves, but instead of just one wave like I''d normally feel, it''s double or even tripled like someone turned on three radio stations at once. I''m still trying to figure out what to make of it." Wesley and Fred nodded.


    "That sounds ominous," Gunn said.


    "Oh I don''t know that I''d go that far. He¡¯s definitely in pain. Lost and confused," Lorne clarified. Fred again thought of her time in Pylea and wondered if she shouldn''t try approaching him. Gunn glanced at his watch.


    "I''ll follow up with you all later. It''s 3 o''clock and I''ve gotta go help Angel with his Grox''lar meeting. Let me know what you find out." Gunn said as he picked up his briefcase and walked out the door.


    "I think David knows more than he''s letting on," Wesley pondered. ¡°There¡¯s one other thing though. I hate to suggest it, but it could even be the First. From what I¡¯ve read, it can come in the form of anyone who¡¯s died. It¡¯s entirely possible that it figured out a way to follow Spike through the amulet, especially considering the difference in readings you were seeing Fred. I believe the First was there when Spike was pulled into the amulet. I suppose it¡¯s possible that this David is the First pretending to be someone who died previously. Someone we might feel a connection to in some way,¡± Wesley suggested thinking of the name David had used.


    "I mean, it¡¯s certainly possible, especially considering he comes up at a different temperature. How about I try to talk to him? Try to feel him out a little and see if he reveals any more information or tries to dig up any from me," Fred volunteered. "Though he did seem to like you too Lorne."


    "Sure sweetheart. Why don''t you give it a try and see if you can come up with anything. And if that doesn¡¯t work, I can give it a try. Maybe he''ll be more forthcoming without the two vampires around. You never know," Lorne suggested. Fred nodded.


    "Yeah, alright. I''ll see what I can do."


    ***


    David watched the events in the lobby unfold with his head sticking through the wall. Now that people could see him, he''d rather be hiding but he needed to stay close to Spike. He remained there as Spike and Angel exchanged more barbs at each other, then watched as Angel took on a Grox''lar demon, chuckling to himself as he watched Spike try to join in the fight but remember too late that he was now as intangible as David. He''ll get used to it eventually, David thought to himself. But do you ever really get used to it, or do you just get numb, he wondered.


    Harmony tried to approach Spike after Angel and Gunn walked into Angel''s office. She was hoping to talk to him about their relationship, but he just looked at her and walked away. David sighed. He was visible now. No excuses. His heart won out. He finished stepping through the wall as he heard Harmony muttering to herself, loud enough she was sure Spike could still hear her, "Slayer-loving freak," David sighed again. Not worth it, he reminded himself.


    "Do yourself a favor and just ignore him. He can be a right wanker, luv," David said. Harmony turned to him, the disgust from Spike''s actions still on her face. "You deserve better. Don''t waste your energy. He ain''t worth it." She looked at him confused.


    "Aren''t you two, like, friends or something?"


    "Or something," he said and shrugged. "Just trust me, alright?" He smiled at her reassuringly. She rolled her eyes.


    "Yeah. Right. Whatever." She said annoyed, but not unkindly. He hoped she''d listen to him.

 Contact

    David sat down on the stairs in the main lobby, where he could people watch and still keep an eye on Angel¡¯s office, while Spike wandered over to talk to Angel. What on earth am I going to do now? I¡¯m supposed to be done. I¡¯m not supposed to be here. Not supposed to be seen ¨C don¡¯t particularly want to be seen, if I¡¯m  being honest. He was so lost in his own head that he almost missed Spike walking past him, headed for the doors of the building.


    ¡°Where you off to?¡± David asked, trying to sound nonchalant.


    ¡°Gone. Out of LA. I am not gonna get stuck haunting this place forever. Screw that.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Yeah. Where we goin¡¯?¡± David realized what he¡¯d said as soon as it left his mouth, but he was already on his feet and tried to keep up as Spike started walking faster.


    ¡°We? We aren¡¯t going anywhere. I am leaving by myself. And you¡¯re barmy if you think I¡¯m letting you tag along.¡± David tried to fight the rising panic back down.


    ¡°Oh come on. It could be fun. I don¡¯t exactly want to just hang out around here either, you know.¡±


    ¡°Then you can walk in the opposite direction as me. Now piss off!¡± They¡¯d reached the doors to the lobby now and Spike was getting irritated. He was not about to spend anymore time with this lunatic. He¡¯d done his time with crazies. Dru alone was more than enough insane travel partners for multiple lifetimes. He paused at the door, looking out at the sunny day. It had been a long time since he¡¯d been able to step into the sun and not turn to dust. Spike had wanted to savor that first step into the sun, but with David close on his heels he rushed out trying to get away from him faster. He held his coat tightly to him, and walked through the doors squinting into the sun waiting to see if there was some great cosmic joke and he would in fact burst into flames. He didn¡¯t. But he didn¡¯t feel the sun on his face either. He still felt nothing at all.


    ¡°Come on William!¡± David called out. At that, Spike couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    ¡°I said piss off!¡± Spike practically shouted at David as he spun around to face him, emphasizing the last two words before punching David square in the face. David fell backwards onto the ground, completely unprepared for the fist that had come flying at him. They stared at each other for a minute in shock.


    Finally David spoke. ¡°You ¡­ you punched me!¡± He seemed surprised and hurt, but not angry like Spike would have expected.


    ¡°So I can¡¯t touch anyone except the crazy bloke. This day just keeps getting better and better,¡± Spike exclaimed as he spun around and started walking away. David sat there for a moment struggling to process what had just happened. It had been a very, very long time since he¡¯d felt anything at all, let alone the pain that had lanced across his entire face. His nose was stinging so badly that his eyes started to water. As the shock began to wear off, the realization of what had just happened began to sink in. He''d felt something. A painful something. William had just punched him. No, he corrected himself, Spike had just punched him. Was that the man or the monster? Did it matter now that he had his soul back? He wasn''t sure anymore.


    Years ago he would have been happy to have felt something. Anything. For so long, he''d wished he could. Wished for anything. Any kind of contact. Now, the pain that had started in his face was spreading over his entire body as his nerves seemed to come back to themselves. They''d felt something. He both wanted to never have to feel again and to feel everything all at once. The tears that had been stinging his eyes began to spill, while his throat felt like a knot so tight he''d never be able to untie it. People sidestepped around him, pointedly avoiding any type of direct eye contact. He didn''t want to talk to any of them anyway. They couldn''t help. No one could. His body was on fire and he couldn''t speak, couldn''t see, couldn''t even hear anything anymore. He pulled his hands to his ears and pinched his eyes tight trying to remember how to find himself again. His head began to pulse hard, and he could feel another wave ready to come crashing down on him.


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    He tried to take ragged breaths. Spike was hurriedly walking away and he was about to lose sight of him. The memories came in flashes. Little blips this time instead of a full wave. The first time he''d punched that boy in the school yard. Lessons when his father had taken him to learn to box. His father reminding him to breathe through the pain. That the shock would fade. The time he''d accidentally cut his hand with that knife. The feeling of embarrassment and wanting to hide the cut, but the blood was dripping on the floor. His mate¡¯s concern seeing the bandaged hand later and the chastising he''d received.


    The last part was what finally made him undone and he lost himself again, the memory spilling over from a splash into a full blown wave and he was drowning in it.


    ***


    "I was careful!" David defended himself.


    "Had you been careful, you wouldn''t be wearing a bloody handkerchief around your hand, now would you?" William said more than little upset. He clucked and fussed over David''s hand, pulling the handkerchief off to examine the damage. "Does it hurt?" David nodded, grinning sheepishly at William.


    "Yeah. But it''s not as bad as it looks," David tried to reassure William. He was lying of course. His hand hurt like hell and throbbed where the knife had sliced clean through the skin. He''d been trying to practice throwing a knife around and had caught the wrong end.


    "Good! Maybe that will keep you from being so careless next time!" William said angrily. He was worried about his friend. Ever since he''d lost his parents, he''d been acting more and more careless, like he wanted to get hurt. Sometimes William was even afraid to leave him alone. Afraid that in his grief, he''d do something just as careless as this. William busied himself cleaning up the wound and wrapping it in a fresh bandage. His voice had been a little harsh, but his hands were gentle as he wiped away the dried blood and applied the ointment.


    "Sorry," said David as he watched William cleaning the wound. His skin felt like it was lit on fire where William''s hands were, and he would have happily died in that fire. It was one of the only times he felt anything these days. Food had lost it''s flavor. Sounds seemed muted. Colors dim. Every time he closed his eyes he saw their bodies. Saw the flames. Smelled the burning flesh. When William was done, he kept holding David''s hands and looked into his eyes.


    "I mean it. I don''t know how to re-attach fingers, and I don''t fancy explaining to Mother why there''s a pool of blood on her favorite rug," he said looking David squarely in the eyes to be sure he was listening. David couldn''t help but smile at that. "Sorry Mother, David just couldn''t resist testing how sharp the blades were on his own. I did tell him to try it with an apple first, but you know how stubborn he can be when he really puts his mind to something!" That did it. David started to laugh, and William allowed a smile to show on his face.


    "Oh alright. Alright. I''ll be more careful," David said, rolling his eyes. William nodded, mollified for the time being. He squeezed David''s hands gently before reluctantly letting go to clean up the evidence of what had happened before his mother could find it. He wasn''t kidding. He didn''t fancy listening to her chastise either of them. Besides, their tutor would be there soon, and they''d both neglected to finish  the work they¡¯d been assigned  the day before. William moved over to his desk and began to work while David moved to stand and look out the window humming to himself. He stood there for a long time, not even looking at anything in particular, just humming the tune that had become second-nature to him by now. Some days he would sing the lyrics, while others just the feeling of the humming in the back of his nose or lower in his chest was enough to help him find his center.


    "Early one morning, just as the sun was rising ¡­" suddenly there was a knock at the door. The tutor had arrived. David cursed to himself. He''d really meant to sit and do the work too, but had gotten so lost in his own thoughts. Hopefully their tutor would be in a forgiving mood today. David flexed his hand, feeling the throbbing become more intense as he took a deep breath and stepped away from the window and moved towards his own desk next to William''s.


    ***


    David came to himself in front of Wolfram and Hart. His body still felt as though it were on fire, the tears hot on his face. He was humming to himself, and he could feel the knot in his throat slowly loosen. He took a few ragged breaths, and opened his eyes. Men and women in suits, dresses, skirts were still filing around past him. He looked in the direction Spike had gone, but realized he''d likely gotten lost in the crowd. He stiffly rose to his feet, sniffling as he arose. He wiped his face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt, first one side and then the other. He stuffed his hands back in his front pocket, and took off walking quickly after Spike. He needed to stay close by, but he really didn''t want to be punched again. The moment he thought about the punch, his body became tense all over again and his head throbbed. Just bloody brilliant, thought David. First I¡¯m stuck here back again, and then I¡¯m getting punched. At least the wave wasn¡¯t too long this time, he consoled himself.

 Hainsleys Mansion

    David settled down in his new favorite spot on the steps at Wolfram and Hart where he could see the activities all around, right as Spike walked through the lobby, headed to Angel¡¯s office again. He seemed determined to pretend David didn¡¯t exist and deliberately ignored him as he passed by. Just as well, thought David, I¡¯d really rather not get punched again. He was pretty sure Spike hadn¡¯t noticed him following earlier; he¡¯d been careful to keep as much distance as possible. He looked around the office area again, noticing that it was much quieter now than it had been earlier in the day. Night had fallen while they''d been trying to leave the city but kept getting pulled back to Wolfram and Hart.


    As he watched, two men entered the lobby carrying buckets of blood, one with a torn yellow tie. This should be interesting, David thought intrigued. The men exchanged words with Harmony at her desk; she grimaced and went to tell Angel who the buckets belonged to. Apparently, it had been a lawyer who Angel had sent to deal with a client who hadn''t appreciated the news. Angel came out of his office a few short moments later to lean in and speak to Harmony in hushed tones. Gunn walked up to him as Wesley joined them, and David could hear them discussing something about a necromancer. From the sound of things, this law firm had been providing a necromancer with bodies. Lovely, thought David, we''ve left Sunnyhell for a fresh new den of evil. After the men finished discussing whatever their plans were, David followed Spike down to the car garage.


    "What do you think you''re doing?"


    "What''s it look like I''m doing? I''m bored, and watching you two is entertaining." David shrugged.


    "Just sod off, would you? Bad enough I''m stuck here haunting Captain Forehead. I''ve had enough crazy in my life, thanks. Or was the fist to the face not a strong enough message?¡± Spike snarled as he claimed the front seat of a sleek black Viper. David promptly squeezed himself into the cramped backseat. Spike turned to look at him.


    "Make me," challenged David, meeting his gaze steadily. Mentally, Spike weighed the pros and cons of forcibly ejecting the interloper from the car. He probably could - the bloke hadn''t put up much of a fight earlier. Or any fight at all, really. Then again, while he was busy brawling, there was every chance that Angel would sneak off and leave him behind. And that wouldn''t do at all. On the other hand... could be that the added crazy would piss Angel off enough to make it worth dealing with him. While they sat locked in a staring contest, Angel leaned down and opened the door of the car.


    "Knew you¡¯d pick the Viper! So bloody predictable," Spike announced smugly, pleased at being proven right. Some things never changed; Angel¡¯s penchant for flash was one of them.  "Spike. Get out of the car." Angel ordered; his annoyance palpable. He didn¡¯t have time for more of Spike¡¯s nonsense. Not today.


    "No." Spike¡¯s response was mulish, and David smiled to himself. He managed to stay quiet, waiting to see what happened next.


    "What?" Angel asked, tensing.


    "This ''haunting you until the end of time'' idea of yours is starting to sound appealing," Spike  smiled mischievously up at Angel, warming to the idea as he spoke. "I could drive you completely starkers. Right out of your gourd. Yea, and you wouldn''t be able to do a soddin'' thing about it." David snickered as Angel slammed the door to the car and went to move to another one. Spike glanced back at David, who raised an eyebrow and smirked. Both moved to the next car without another word. David found there to be no more room in this car than the one before but figured there was no way he was gonna win out for shotgun, so once again, he folded himself tightly into the backseat.


    "Fancy a road trip? This''ll be fun, eh? You and me together again. Even carting along a sack of crazy just like old times," Spike said, motioning towards David in the back who rolled his eyes. "So, where are we off to?"


    "To see the wizard," replied Angel tersely, as he squealed out of the parking space.


    David leaned forward between them to stare out the window as they drove through LA. The vampires tried to ignore him despite his obvious excitement at the surroundings.


    "Can we drive down Hollywood Boulevard?" David asked excitedly.


    "No," said Angel flatly.


    "Aw, come on ol'' man. Could be fun!" Spike added in, enjoying how irritated Angel was as David kept making audible gasps and swinging his head back forth taking in the sights like a little kid. Spike started to wonder how long it had been since the bloke had been around other people. He didn''t seem to have a filter or even awareness of their personal space. Was almost like having Anya around again, he thought a little wistfully. Though, to be fair, Spike had to acknowledge that the cramped backseat of the car didn¡¯t leave David much personal space of his own, forcing him to practically straddle the back of Spike¡¯s seat, his knees banging against Spike¡¯s elbows every time Angel hit the brakes.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    When they arrived at the mansion, a butler let them into the foyer and asked if they had an appointment.


    "Let''s just say he sent us an invitation," Spike said.


    "We''re ¨C I''m from Wolfram and Hart," Angel continued. The butler looked at first Spike and then David.


    "I''m his date," Spike answered the unspoken question.


    "And I''m his," David said, gesturing at Spike. Spike shot David a look of sheer exasperation.


    "What, are you guys some sort of freaky throuple or something?" The butler asked, raising an eyebrow.


    "Or something," David agreed and turned away to look at the space they''d found themselves in. He could hear Angel audibly sigh heavily.


    "Indeed," the butler said. "Mr. Hainsley is with a customer at the moment. I''m afraid he does not suffer interruption lightly."


    "I''m not so worried about his suffering. Go ahead and interrupt," Angel said.


    "As you wish. Please wait here," the butler looked from one to the other, lingering on David as he looked him up and down, "gentlemen?" He finished with an almost questioning tone at David then walked away. David cursed under his breath.


    "Oh, life among the power elite. It''s all so civilized. Hainsley grinds up one of your people into chum, and you drop by for tea," Spike commented, investigating the lavish decorations of the mansion¡¯s foyer


    "I''m hopin¡¯ to avoid a body count here," Angel grumbled.


    "No worries. Looks like this Hainsley keeps one on hand," Spike said gesturing to the room in front of them. They walked into the room before them to find it set up with different people configured in varied positions like a wax museum.


    Spike scoffed softly. "Man likes to play with dollies."


    "This isn''t for him," said Angel, hitting the light switch and they looked around as the room lit up with spotlights on the different bodies. Some stood arranged as though they were in conversation, even holding empty glasses, while others were sitting. One was even arranged at a piano. "It''s a showroom."


    "Eww, gross," David said before he could stop himself. Spike glanced at him as he walked up to one of the figures and examined it more closely, bending down slightly and looking up one of the corpse''s noses curiously. "Bloody necromancers. Dead things should be left dead." Spike couldn''t help but agree, especially given their current situation.


    "Would be nice, wouldn''t it?" Spike commented mildly, provoking yet another heavy sigh from Angel.


    "You think he talks to them?" David pondered as he walked through the room, examining each corpse in turn.


    "I don''t know. Maybe the geezer''s just lonely. Throws himself a surprise party every night. Takes out one of these painted pigeons and shows her a good time, if you know what I mean," Spike replied with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.


    "Gross," David exclaimed while Angel looked at Spike questioningly.


    "What? I''m sure they don''t mind," Spike defended.


    "Yeah, I mind," said Angel.


    "Why?" Spike asked, inspecting one of the posed bodies. "They''re the lucky ones, aren''t they? It''s over for them. They''ve shuffled off, cleanly, the one time. Nobody''s shoving them back into this stinking world against their will." Spike looked first at Angel, then at David who was nodding to himself in agreement.


    "I mind," Angel said again, more forcefully this time as he and Spike stared daggers at each other.


    The butler arrived then. "Mr. Hainsley has asked that I send you back to Wolfram and Hart, gentlemen. In a manner of speaking," he said brandishing two butcher knives from behind his back and swinging them back and forth in front of him menacingly.


    "Uh oh! Looks like it''s buckets for you!" Spike snarked gleefully, stepping back to watch the show. Even David chuckled softly. Angel watched the butler calmly, then grabbed a spoon from a teacup held by a corpse next to him and chucked it right into the butler''s head. The butler cried out and reached to pull the spoon out of where it was now lodged into his skull. David couldn''t help himself as he started laughing out loud. Spike looked at Angel incredulously.


    "A spoon?!! That''s just ¡­" they watched as the butler pulled the spoon out.  "Well, ok, that''s just more¡­" Spike started to say, relieved Angel hadn''t won the fight by throwing a spoon. Then he watched disappointed as the butler fell to the floor. David clapped and continued to laugh out loud, unable to contain himself. "Disappointing really," Spike finished, trying to ignore David who coughed then and managed to stifle his laughter.


    "I know you can''t help, but could you not root for the other team?" Angel snapped at Spike, ignoring David, whose lips were still twitching with suppressed amusement as he watched the two vampires square off.


    "I''ll root for anyone with half a chance of taking you down a notch," Spike shot back.


    "What is your problem?" Angel demanded.


    "You are, you ponce! You''re my problem! You''ve got it too good. You''re king of a 30-floor castle, with all the cars, comfort, power and glory you could ever want. And here I save the world, throw myself on the proverbial hand grenade for love, honor, and all the right reasons, and what do I get? Bloody well toasted and ghosted is what I get, isn''t it? It''s just not fair." Angel and Spike walked past the dead butler and down the hall to look for Hainsley. David stared at the butler on the floor, wondering if he wanted to follow. He was starting to feel that pull, like the undertow about to grab him away, and needed a moment to steady himself.


    "Fair? You asked for a soul. I didn''t!" Angel retorted angrily. "It almost killed me. I spent a hundred years trying to come to terms with infinite remorse. You spent three weeks moaning in a basement, and then you were fine! What''s fair about that?!"


    "Are you getting blurry or is it¡­." Spike started as he faded from view. Angel glanced back in the room they''d come from and saw David was gone too. Good riddance, he thought to himself, as he groaned and tried to dismiss his frustrations with Spike and tried to focus on the actual problem at hand - Hainsley.


    <hr>


    [GU1]</a>Like how you combined the tone with the actions here.

 Necromancers Deal

    The light from the lamp was blinding in the darkness of the sickroom, hurting his eyes.


    ¡°Too bright¡± a high-pitched, childish voice complained.


    ¡°I know little one. We just need to get these bedclothes changed, alright?¡± His mother¡¯s voice was rough, as though she¡¯d been crying, even though her tone was soothing. He felt his father¡¯s strong arms scoop him up from the sweat-stained sheets. He looked around the nursery fretfully. Where was Davy?


    Seeing his distress, his mother looked over at his father. ¡°Should we tell her yet?¡± His father nodded, his voice breaking as he continued, ¡°Your brother, God rest his soul, is no longer with us. The fever¡­ it was too much. He¡¯s gone, lovey.¡± His father was crying. His father never cried.


    ¡°Gone? Gone where? Is he coming back?¡± he wondered aloud, confused. It didn¡¯t make sense. Nothing did, except that his head ached something fierce and his throat felt all scratchy.


    ¡°He¡¯s gone to be with the angels, love.¡± His mother interjected, bringing a handkerchief to her eyes.


    ¡°Like Nurse?¡± He asked, still slightly confused.


    ¡°Yes, love.¡± His father replied, laying him back on the clean sheets as his mother pulled fresh clothes from the clothespress in the corner, ordering him to lift his arms so she could slip his soiled things over his head, and washing him down with a wonderfully cool rag before helping him into a new gown.


    His father had left the room briefly while he was having his bath; he returned carrying some sort of amulet on a thin cord. ¡°It¡¯ll be ok. You¡¯ll start school next fall and make friends. Things will be different now. Things are going to change for you, and it might feel confusing for a while. That¡¯s to be expected. But you¡¯ll be able to live as you want from here on out too, David. This will keep you safe.¡± He slipped the thin cord over David¡¯s head, the amulet dangling down.


    ¡°David? But...¡±


    ****


    The world began to slide out from under him again. Childhood memories of the dead continued to flood his consciousness. He struggled to push himself up, suddenly realizing again that he wasn¡¯t alone. Was Spike here for these memories as well?


    ****


    The boy slipped down the stairs in the darkness, feeling his way down the steps carefully in the dim glow emanating from the parlor. It didn¡¯t seem real that his brother was laying down there, cold and still. He reached the parlor door and pushed it open quietly, relieved when the hinges didn¡¯t squeak and give away his presence. The big mirror over the fireplace was covered in black fabric, and he could see the shrouded figure in the box laid out at the front of the parlor. He crept forward, slowly, some tiny desperate part of him still hoping that this was all a grand prank, that Davy would pop up like a jack-in-the-box and grab him with a laugh.


    As he made it to the front of the parlor and peeped into the coffin, he gasped. He knew it was his brother because his parents had told him so, but it felt like he was looking at himself. The body was wearing a dress and one of his old hair ribbons, with Davy¡¯s hair carefully set in ringlet curls. The face was drawn and pinched looking, with eyes sunken slightly, and a faint unpleasant odor hung in the air. He poked the body tentatively ¨C it was cold and stiff to the touch. He didn¡¯t care what his parents said; that wasn¡¯t his brother in there. It was some sort of doll, or mannequin ¨C a wax figure maybe? The skin certainly looked waxy enough ¨C it was a strange greyish yellow shade, not Davy¡¯s ruddy-cheeked complexion at all. The boy heard a noise in the kitchen and scampered for the stairs, fleeing back to his bed before Cook or John the butler could catch him misbehaving.


    ****


    He knelt at the top of the stairs in his new black suit, looking down through the railing at the people milling about. The suit was itchy and uncomfortable, and chafed terribly, but boys wore suits, not dresses, and his parents had made the decision to put him in breeches a few months early to save the expense of ordering two mourning wardrobes. He carefully crept forward, listening to the hushed whispers of condolences for ¡°poor Elizabeth.¡± He shook his head. It was like a nightmare he couldn¡¯t wake up from. He wanted to cry out and scream that they were wrong. His brother would be ok. He would wake up! But he also knew that if he spoke up and made his presence known, they would hurry him back to the nursery and he didn¡¯t want to upset his parents further.


    ¡°David,¡± said an older male voice. It was his Uncle George. ¡°You¡¯re not meant to be here lad.¡± The child squirmed under the older man¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°Had to see,¡± he squeaked, looking forlorn. George nodded. He understood the lad was curious, just like his own son who was David¡¯s age.


    ¡°Sorry that you lost your sister my boy. Elizabeth was a sweet girl.¡± The boy just stared at his uncle, unsure what to say and nodded. Tears began filling his eyes. It was all so confusing. How was he supposed to go on? His brother was gone, and now he was going by David¡¯s name. At least, as his father said, he could be himself now and stay safe. That¡¯s what his father had emphasized. Staying safe. He unconsciously laid his hand to his chest, where the amulet hung under his clothes. ¡°I¡¯ll bring your cousin by soon. Let you two boys play some, alright?¡± The child nodded numbly. It was all too much. He just wanted his brother back. And he didn¡¯t trust his uncle. He¡¯d been in the vision of them taking him away from his family. The memory of the vision flashed in his mind again and he ran back down the hall to the nursery as fast as his small legs could carry him, accidentally slamming his door.


    He threw himself on the bed and let his tears flow.


    *****


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    David came to still standing in the show room. He looked around but found he was alone. As the panic started to grip him, he moved in the direction he¡¯d seen Spike and Angel walking. Spike was slowly walking into a room where he could hear Angel and another man, the necromancer presumably, speaking. David stood just within hearing distance. He wasn¡¯t particularly interested in meeting any necromancers today; though he wasn¡¯t sure whether or not he could be manipulated in his present form, he wasn¡¯t too keen on finding out.


    ¡°Gunn, do it,¡± he heard Angel say followed by the click of a cell phone closing.


    ¡°And what was that,¡± the necromancer scoffed. ¡°Just call in an air strike?¡±


    ¡°I just froze all your bank accounts, terminated your paper assets, and turned your books over to a very motivated contact we have at the IRS. Five minutes from now you¡¯ll have nothing but this house. Ten minutes from now, that¡¯ll go into foreclosure.¡± David nodded to himself. I suppose that¡¯s one way to take down evil, he mused to himself.


    ¡°You can¡¯t do that,¡± the necromancer responded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let myself out,¡± Angel said smugly.


    ¡°It¡¯s not legal. You think you can get away with that,¡± the necromancer chuckled dryly. ¡°I¡¯ll sue you to hell.¡±


    ¡°Good luck,¡± responded Angel. ¡°We¡¯re your lawyers.¡± Angel walked confidently out of the room he¡¯d been standing in, and Spike was on his heels.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t over vampire,¡± the necromancer said menacingly.


    ¡°That¡¯s how your gonna fight the forces of evil now. Call the IRS?¡± Spike asked.


    ¡°Whatever it takes.¡±


    ¡°Hello, IRS,¡± Spike mocked holding an imaginary phone up to his ear. ¡°Could you fight my battles for me. And while you¡¯re at it, could you wipe my wide spot here¡­¡± Suddenly Spike disappeared.


    ¡°Oh thank god,¡± Angel said relieved and continued out the door.


    ¡°Hey, where you going mate?¡± David continued after Angel. He wasn¡¯t sure where Spike had vanished to, but so far the bloke had been quick to come back and he didn¡¯t fancy walking all the way back to the law firm on foot if Angel left.


    ¡°What does it look like I¡¯m doing. I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    ¡°But Spike ought to be right back. Just popped out for a moment.¡±


    ¡°Good riddance.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we wait just a few minutes for him.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Bloody hell.¡± David stopped at the door as Angel continued to his car. He knew he wouldn¡¯t make it very far if he did try to follow, and he could tell that Angel wasn¡¯t going to listen to him pleading. ¡°Thanks for nothing grandpa!¡± Angel climbed in his car and slammed the door. Dust kicked up as the tires spun out a little in his rush to leave the grounds and get back to Wolfram and Hart. David hurried back into the mansion, hoping to figure out where Spike has disappeared to. He¡¯d vanished only once before, but maybe this time the necromancer had something to do with it. David retraced his footsteps.


    As he approached the room Angel and Spike had come out of earlier, he was relieved to hear Spike¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s it to you.¡±


    ¡°I can give you back what¡¯s been taken from you. Freedom. Power of choice. I can put your destiny back in your own flesh and bone hands,¡± the necromancer spoke confidently. David wondered how often he¡¯d practiced those lines. ¡°That¡¯s right, a corporeal body. I can make that happen. But to do that, I need you to do something for me. Something that might require ¡­¡±


    ¡°Hurt Angel? That it? You want me to hurt Angel?¡± Spike sounded excited. David rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve come to the right ghost.¡± The necromancer continued to lay out his proposition for Spike, to trick Angel and take over his body. Spike would have a body again, though not his own. He would be the king of his own castle, with access to all the perks and benefits that came with it, so long as he restored the necromancer¡¯s steady flow of bodies. David stayed in the hallway, unsure of how serious Spike actually was about taking the deal. Sure he hated Angel, but to take over his body and basically kill the bloke? He didn¡¯t think the vampire had it in him even without a soul. It was still Angel.


    Spike came out of the room and face to face with David and scoffed.


    ¡°You¡¯re still here?¡±


    ¡°Ride left.¡±


    ¡°Figures,¡± Spike shook his head. They fell in step walking through the door together.


    ¡°So you think you¡¯re actually gonna take the deal?¡±


    ¡°So what you¡¯ll just eavesdrop on any conversation now?¡± David just stared at Spike waiting for an answer to his question. ¡°It¡¯s certainly tempting. Captain Forehead doesn¡¯t deserve all those riches he¡¯s got. I mean who does he think he is? King of a bloody castle? Cars, money, power. It¡¯s not soddin¡¯ right.¡± David nodded, and waited for him to continue. ¡°It shoulda been me, ya know? Saving the world and all. But no. Burned to a crisp then turned into bloody ghost. Can¡¯t touch. Can¡¯t taste. Can¡¯t smell. Can¡¯t do a bloody thing but talk and observe. I don¡¯t want to live like this. It¡¯s no life at all!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s tough. No doubt about it,¡± David agreed. ¡°Not that I want to stick around as a bloody ghost any longer, but it¡¯s not so bad. At least people can see you. You can talk to them. Interact with them. Have some kind of agency in the world.¡±


    ¡°Agency?¡± Spike scoffed. ¡°I don¡¯t want bloody agency. I want a body. I want to be able to do things!¡±


    ¡°You can annoy Angel. That¡¯s something.¡± David offered. Spike wasn¡¯t amused. ¡°Seriously. It¡¯s not that bad. I mean what¡¯s the alternative?¡±


    ¡°The alternative is I take that deal with the necromancer,¡± Spike admitted.


    ¡°Come on. You can¡¯t possibly trust the bloke!¡±


    ¡°I most certainly do not. Just saying, is all. Really don¡¯t have any other options now do I?¡±


    ¡°You seriously think that he isn¡¯t going to turn around and keep trying to get more and more out of you if you take his deal? It¡¯s a devil¡¯s bargain.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t I know it! I don¡¯t trust that man as far as I can throw him, which isn¡¯t far. He was pretty round,¡± Spike admitted and David chuckled.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t actually see. Didn¡¯t think he needed to know there were two ghosts, or whatever we are, there. Heard enough though. Heard you making plans with him.¡±


    ¡°And what are you gonna do about it?¡±


    ¡°Back you up,¡± David said, surprising Spike. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was expecting, but the crazy bloke going along with the plan he and Hainsley had laid out wasn¡¯t it. ¡°You got something up your sleeve. I know you say you hate Angel and all, and got good reason near as I can figure anyway. But, you¡¯re all soul-havin¡¯. Killing him like that. Wouldn¡¯t be right, would it?¡±


    Spike studied David as they walked. How much did the bloke actually know about him? Suddenly David smirked at Spike. ¡°You¡¯ve got a plan, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What? What makes you say that?¡±


    ¡°¡¯Cause you¡¯ve got that look in your eye.¡±


    ¡°What look. I don¡¯t have a look. Just drop it, ok?¡±


    ¡°Fine. Fine. Have it your way,¡± David put his hands up in the air in mock surrender. ¡°Nice night, isn¡¯t it? Too bad you can¡¯t see the stars through all this light pollution. I miss them, ya know? Trying to find the constellations. Used to make them up when I was a lad, ¡®fore my da taught them to me. Then I taught my best mate. Sometimes we even renamed the stars together,¡± he started rambling. ¡°You ever learn the constellations?¡±


    ¡°Look mate. Just because we¡¯re walking together doesn¡¯t mean we have to have a conversation.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± David wasn¡¯t able to hide his disappointment. ¡°¡¯S ok. We can walk in silence. That¡¯s fine too.¡± His throat tightened despite himself and he swallowed hard trying to clear the feeling away. He busied himself instead, naming the stars in his own mind and imagining the chaos when he gave them all the same name. Then he chuckled to himself remembering when he¡¯d played that game with his old traveling companion. Spike shook his head but didn¡¯t ask why David was laughing. David sighed. What did you expect mate? William? Not gonna happen, he reminded himself.

 Another Plan

    As soon as they walked into the upper lobby of Wolfram and Hart, Harmony started in on Spike. ¡°Fine, don¡¯t talk to me,¡± Harmony said petulantly.


    Spike stopped, staring at her in confusion. ¡°What?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Whole time we were a thing, you treated me like day-old rat blood. Why should now be any diff? Just ¡®cause you¡¯ve gone all Patrick Swayze?¡±  Harmony continued, still moving things around on the reception desk.


    David closed his eyes and mumbled under his breath about how she should have listened to him but kept walking. He didn¡¯t want to be caught in the middle.


    ¡°What are you on about?¡± Spike asked curiously, trying to puzzle out what was wrong with the blonde vampiress.


    ¡°Well, gee, nothing much. Just since you¡¯re all soulful now, I thought maybe, just maybe you might have learned to open up a little. You know, talk. But I guess a leopard can¡¯t change its stripes.¡±  Spike took a deep breath as he rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Spots, you dink. Leopards have spots,¡± Spike corrected Harmony.


    ¡°Oh, excuse me, Mr. Brainy,¡± Harmony responded dripping with sarcasm. ¡°Thank you so much for sharing. Wow, what a breakthrough.¡± Harmony flounced off in a huff, leaving Spike standing there.


    Ignoring the drama between the two exes, David went to sit on the steps, still shaking his head. As he sat there, he overheard his name coming from Angel¡¯s office, so he walked over to listen by the door instead.


    Spike shook his head at Harmony¡¯s antics and continued through the lobby, pausing when he noticed David eavesdropping at Angel¡¯s office door. He walked over to see what was going on, motioning for David to move over so he could listen in without being spotted.


    ¡°Yes, this is an unusual situation, but I think it¡¯s our only choice. It¡¯s what we¡¯d do in any case of a haunting, isn¡¯t it? An exorcism of sorts,¡± Wesley said. Spike and David looked at each other warily.


    ¡°I mean, I know they¡¯re already gone, but they¡¯d be gone dead. Forever. It just doesn¡¯t seem right,¡± Fred argued.


    ¡°I agree, but neither is leaving them there,¡± Wesley continued. ¡°Trapped between realms, with no control over their fates, not able to touch anything, affect anything. Unable to fight. Letting them cross over seems the most merciful thing we¡­.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, mercy,¡± Angel interrupted. ¡°You know, I¡¯m all for it. Just tell me how we do it.¡±


    ¡°The amulet¡¯s protected, invulnerable to anything,¡± Wesley explained.


    ¡°Coulda told you that,¡± David scoffed under his breath. Spike shook his head and kept listening.


    ¡°But the magic that¡¯s protecting it doesn¡¯t work on hallowed ground.¡±


    ¡°Hallowed? Like a church?¡± Gunn asked.


    ¡°Or a cemetery, yes. It has to be taken there and destroyed.¡±


    ¡°Destroyed? How?¡± asked Fred.


    ¡°I think a sharp blow would probably do the trick,¡± Wesley guessed.


    ¡°Angel, what do you think?¡± Gunn asked.


    ¡°Think I want to sleep on it.¡± Angel said quietly.


    Spike sighed while David looked down at the floor. They could hear movement and steps approaching, and both automatically stepped away from the door and walked out of sight.


    ¡°Guess he means to put us out of our misery,¡± David pointed out softly.


    ¡°Sounds like it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯re you going to do?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking me? What about you? What are you going to do about it?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t think I had much of a choice in this, to be honest. And you¡¯re not exactly known for your ability to work with others, you know. I¡¯ve done my time. I¡¯m ready to go. Was already done what feels like ages ago.¡± Spike just stared at him. David shrugged. ¡°Just sayin¡¯ is all. I¡¯m really good and done. Being a ghost. Ready to shuffle off if that¡¯s what¡¯s next.¡±


    ¡°And if I take Hainsley¡¯s deal?¡± Spike inquired, raising an eyebrow. David studied him for a moment, then grinned.


    ¡°Could be interesting too, I suppose. But you won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°And what makes you say that?¡±


    ¡°Just know is all. You can¡¯t do it. You might want to. Real bad. But you won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh,¡± Spike studied David, who looked back down at the floor and shrugged again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll back you up though. Should things go wonky. Sometimes the world flies sideways, yeah?¡± David glanced back up at Spike awkwardly, who nodded.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re ready to die?¡±


    ¡°Just said I was, din¡¯ I? Ready and then some.¡± Spike nodded, satisfied for the moment that David wouldn¡¯t get in the way of his plans.


    ****


    ¡°Well, look at you,¡± Spike said to Angel as he turned off the light and crawled into bed. Spike had stayed in thought for a while before finally making his way up to Angel¡¯s apartment. David had followed silently. Now they stood there, looking out the window.


    ¡°Oh, no, no,¡± Angel said in exasperation. ¡°No! No! No!¡±


    ¡°Sitting in luxury¡¯s ample lap,¡± Spike sighed. ¡°Top of the world. Looking down at, well, everyone.¡± He turned to look at Angel. ¡°It¡¯s good to be king, isn¡¯t it?¡± David sat on the armrest of a chair, continuing to stare out the window silently.


    ¡°Ground rules: Haunt me all you want during business hours, but this space ¨C off limits!¡±


    ¡°Relax beef-cake. I didn¡¯t come for a fight.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Not that I could, right? Can¡¯t touch. Can¡¯t affect anything. Yeah, we overheard your little group powwow.¡±


    ¡°How much?¡±


    ¡°Enough of enough.¡±


    ¡°Look, Spike¡­¡±


    ¡°Necromancer tried to make a deal with me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Angel asked surprised.


    ¡°Said he could bring me back, body and soul, if I used our close personal relationship to double-cross you.¡±


    ¡°Tempting. And what¡¯d you say?¡±


    ¡°You see, right there!¡± snapped Spike, pointing his finger at Angel. ¡°That¡¯s the problem. You having to ask me that. I don¡¯t play for that side anymore, or haven¡¯t you heard. Besides, even if Mr. Death could do what he promised, I trust him about as much as you trust me.¡±


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡± Angel asked, staring at Spike as he paced by the windows, moonlight through the blinds painting him in dark and light stripes.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I can¡¯t live like this, Angel. Bein¡¯ useless,¡± Spike sighed. ¡°Bein¡¯ nothing. I want it to end. We both do,¡± he gestured towards David who nodded his agreement.


    ****


    The ride to the cemetery had been quiet. Angel had been kind enough to take a larger vehicle so David hadn¡¯t felt the need to lean forward and into their space. He still spent the time staring out the window, taking in all the lights and people going about their business, lost in his own little world.


    They walked in silence through the cemetery as well. David wasn¡¯t sure what kind of place one needed to do what they had in mind, but he followed along, figuring they must know what they were doing. Finally, Spike spoke up, ¡°I suppose this¡¯ll do. Feels hallowed enough.¡±


    Angel pulled the amulet out of his pocket. ¡°You sure you want to do this Spike?¡±


    ¡°What? Think I could really stand hanging out with you and your lot now and forever? Wise cracking ghost side kick. No bloody thanks.¡± David chuckled to himself and then sighed as Spike continued. ¡°Come on. You know as well as I do, it¡¯s for the best.¡±


    ¡°David? It¡¯s your afterlife too.¡±


    David nodded. ¡°Where he goes, I go. I¡¯ve done my bit and then some. Time to shuffle off. Surf the sands of time. Well past time, ifn¡¯ I¡¯m being honest. It¡¯s been ¡­ well, it¡¯s been interesting.¡± He flashed a quick smile, then turned and looked up towards the sky trying to make out the stars. Angel nodded and set the amulet down, grabbing a nearby urn.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad it¡¯s you though,¡± Spike added hastily. ¡°Finally doin¡¯ me in. Feels right, you being my grandsire and all. Circle of death, eh?¡±


    ¡°Goodbye David.¡± David turned and nodded to him, then looked back up at the sky. Angel looked at Spike. ¡°Goodbye Spike.¡±


    ¡°See you around Angel.¡± Angel raised his arm and went to bring down the urn and ended up hitting himself in the head.


    ¡°Uh, I think you missed,¡± Spike noted and David spun in time to watch Angel slam himself in the face next.  David couldn¡¯t help but chuckle just a little, despite the turn of events, but the humor quickly left his face when he heard Angel groaning as he was lifted into the air.


    ¡°And the dead shall rise!¡± The necromancer, Hainsley, shouted triumphantly as he walked up to them holding out the hand that was making Angel rise into the air. ¡°Just ¡®cause I say so.¡±


    ¡°Hainsley,¡± Angel grunted.


    ¡°Vampires should think twice before messing with a man who wields power over all things lifeless.¡± With that, Hainsley flung Angel against a wall with a loud thud, knocking him out cold. ¡°If you ask my advice,¡± he added.


    ¡°Took your sweet time steppin¡¯ in, Hainsley. I came this close to getting a one-way ticket to the great beyond,¡± Spike gesturing with his hand to indicate how close he¡¯d come to becoming truly dead.


    ¡°Relax, son. I wasn¡¯t going to let anything happen to you. You¡¯re the linchpin of my plan.¡±


    ¡°Our plan,¡± Spike corrected him. ¡°And you bloody better well hold up your end of it. I¡¯m not gonna be used by you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are. But afterwards, I¡¯ll give you your rewards, just as you asked. I¡¯ll put you back in the driver¡¯s seat of your afterlife,¡± the necromancer retorted, turning to look back down at Angel on the ground. David scoffed. ¡°Control. That¡¯s all anyone really wants, isn¡¯t it? And who are you?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s nobody,¡± Spike answered quickly, and David nodded.


    ¡°Just a casual observer. Along for the ride.¡± Hainsley looked David up and down as though measuring him up.


    ¡°Yes. Seems you are, aren¡¯t you? Speaking of control. Wouldn¡¯t you like to have yours back?¡±


    ¡°Save it for someone who cares,¡± David brushed him off. ¡°Not interested in having you sell me anything, thanks though.¡±


    ¡°Quite the predicament you¡¯ve found yourself in. Stuck as you are. You sure you wouldn¡¯t want to be able to feel again? Live in the world as you¡¯ve been missing for¡­ how long now? You could even have a body that suited you even better than before?¡± Hainsley seemed to be reading him in a way that made David feel too vulnerable, and he started fidgeting uncomfortably despite himself.


    ¡°Still no, mate. Keep your observations to yourself. No way in hell I¡¯m making any deals with you, so can it,¡± David snapped and turned away.


    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± Hainsley¡¯s voice raised in a mocking way. ¡°Just so long as you don¡¯t cause trouble with my plans, I¡¯ll leave you be.¡±


    David rolled his eyes and turned back to face the necromancer. ¡°And you can save your threats old man. Not impressing anyone, yeah? I¡¯ll back him up.¡± David pointed a thumb in Spike¡¯s direction. ¡°Not gonna cause issues for you so long as you leave us be, right? Hold up your deal with him, and you¡¯ll see no trouble from me.¡± Hainsley studied him for a moment as David stared him straight in the eye, then nodded.


    ¡°Alright. But when you¡¯re ready, and I¡¯ve no doubts that you¡¯ll grow tired of being a ghost soon enough, I¡¯ll be here to make a deal.¡±


    ¡°Can we just get on with it?¡± Spike interrupted Hainsley before he could continue trying to plant more seeds into David. Hainsley just shrugged.


    ****


    Back at Hainsley¡¯s mansion, Hainsley set Angel on table and cut open his shirt. ¡°Shall we get started then?¡± He grinned maliciously to Spike and David, then turned to Angel, who began to stir. ¡°Hello vampire. Have a nice nap?¡± Angel tried to sit up and began protesting, but Hainsley threw out his hand and pushed him back down using his powers. ¡°Don¡¯t get up. You¡¯ve had a rough day. You know, so have I, thanks to you.¡±


    ¡°Yours is about to get a hell of a lot worse,¡± Angel retorted.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Me, necromancer. You, dead. You can¡¯t lay a finger on me.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not. But what do you think the senior partners are gonna do to you when I show up missing?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not going to be missing. You¡¯re going to show up to work bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow morning when you reverse the seizure of my personal assets and reinstate the Internment Acquisitions Department.¡±


    ¡°And why would I do that?¡±


    ¡°Not you. Me, wearin¡¯ your body,¡± Spike chimed in.


    ¡°And to think I didn¡¯t trust you,¡± Angel didn¡¯t seem too surprised.


    ¡°Come on Angel, what choice did I have?¡± Spike walked around to stand next to Angel as he spoke. ¡°Bloody exorcism? Letting you and yours banish me to oblivion? No, thanks. Necro here¡¯s gonna give me my body back after I take yours for a test drive. Fix his little problems. And here¡¯s the kicker. I go in, and you go pfft off to Never-Never Come Back Land,¡± Spike flicked his fingers as Angel¡¯s eyes widened, then noticed David standing against the wall arms crossed and tucked in his sweatshirt pocket. David met his gaze before Angel looked back at Spike. ¡°And then, yours very truly will be running the show. Your cars, your digs, everything. Every one I deserve will be mine. And maybe I¡¯ll have a go with that Fred. She looks like a goer. And she seems to really look up to you.¡± David started pacing and shaking his head.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Angel interrupted, then noticed David¡¯ pacing. ¡°You¡¯re gonna let this happen too?¡± David looked over at Angel with a slightly pained expression, then glanced at Spike and Hainsley who were looking at him intently. He scowled.


    ¡°Save the great Angelus? Now why would I want to go and do a thing like that? Might have a word with Spike about Fred, because I¡¯m a gentleman, but saving you isn¡¯t what I¡¯m here for.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? And what¡¯s that then?¡± Angel inquired, grunting as he continued to try and fight the necromancer.


    ¡°Backin¡¯ him up,¡± David thrust a thumb towards Spike and shrugged.


    ¡°You know what? You¡¯re right. Enough talk. Let¡¯s do this already. I¡¯m itching to get physical,¡± Spike interrupted, annoyed, before David could say anything else.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never installed anyone in a conscious dead body before. I imagine this is going to be extremely painful,¡± the necromancer gloated before he closed his eyes and began his ritualistic droning. David moved closer to Spike and Angel, watching Hainsley intently, as he brought his hand up and thrust it into Angel¡¯s abdomen. Angel grunted and groaned in pain. Spike chuckled to himself while David grimaced. Hainsley reached out to Spike and drew the ghost into himself. David¡¯s entire body tensed as he stared at Hainsley, studying the man for any sign he was going to change the plans Spike had agreed to. He had no idea what he might try if that happened, but he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to just stand by doing nothing either.


    A reddish glow went through Hainsley as Spike¡¯s essence moved from one arm to the next but stopped before it reached Angel. Hainsley grunted and stammered. ¡°What? What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Spike ¡­ Spike?¡± Angel prompted. David smirked recognizing that Spike was finally wrestling control from the necromancer of his own body.


    ¡°No! No!¡± Hainsley argued with the ghost inside of him, as he withdrew his arm, Spike having finally taken over some control of the body. Angel finally hopped up and punched Hainsley.


    ¡°I can touch you now, Hainsley.¡± Hainsley used his powers to throw Angel over the table, causing David to jump back.


    ¡°Think you¡¯re clever, eh? But ¡­¡± Hainsley grunted as he fought for control over his own body again. ¡°Your ghost can¡¯t control me for long. I hold the power. I rule the dead!¡± He threw out his hand and tried to move Angel¡¯s body again, but his arm moved away as Spike wrested control back.


    ¡°Not today.¡± Angel walked up and punched Hainsley in the face repeatedly, before landing one in the gut and throwing the man into the table. Hainsley landed head first with a loud crack. David couldn¡¯t stop the cheer that erupted from his lips as he stood and watched smugly. The man landed heavily with a thud, then suddenly hopped back up. Angel stared in shock, sure he¡¯d managed to kill the man by the sound and way he¡¯d landed. Hainsley started punching the vampire hard across the face with more agility than either David or Angel would have expected. David¡¯s eyebrows rose and his mouth dropped open as Hainsley kicked Angel square in the chest, sending him falling into another table, nearly knocking over a lamp.


    Angel spun around with a silver serving tray and spun it through the air, straight through Hainsley¡¯s neck. As Hainsley¡¯s head rolled to the ground, David laughed out loud and clapped despite himself, while Spike¡¯s head remained sticking out of Hainsley¡¯s now decapitated body. Angel¡¯s jaw dropped open as he stared at Spike, the realization he¡¯d been fighting the ghost and not the man dawning on him.


    ¡°Oh, bollocks,¡± Spike said in disappointment as the body fell to the floor, leaving him standing there. ¡°I was just getting warmed up.¡± David continued to giggle softly to himself watching the shocked look on Angel¡¯s face.


    ¡°That was you hitting me?¡± Angel asked incredulously.


    ¡°That last bit, yeah,¡± Spike admitted with a slight shrug. ¡°Hainsley¡¯s been dead since he hit the table.¡± Seeing the look of betrayal on Angel¡¯s face, Spike scoffed,


    ¡°Oh, come on! Had to get a few licks in, didn¡¯t I?¡± Angel continued to stare in annoyance at the blond vampire staring back at him smugly. David just shook his head and started walking towards the door without waiting for the others to follow.

 Ignored

    The familiar pull started, but this time, something was different.  He felt like he was being yanked crooked ¨C all twisted up. The unusual sensation was colored by a feeling, almost like the memory had a flavor that was a little unfamiliar. Similar but different. An image began to form. They were in William¡¯s house, and Anne was sitting in her favorite chair. But William seemed different somehow. Suddenly David knew why it felt so different. This was Spike¡¯s memory. Not one of his or even David¡¯s. He was seeing Spike¡¯s life.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mother! This will be the best birthday ever!¡± A small voice came behind him and he spun as a little William walked through him. This was his eighth birthday.<sup> </sup> David recognized the suit. He¡¯d been so proud, bouncing and showing it off as David had chased him through the house. This William was calm as he reassured his mother how happy he was with her company. He insisted that he couldn¡¯t imagine a better birthday than spending it with her, his beloved mother. David remembered this day vividly. The fun they¡¯d had. The laughter. Anne and Cook smiling. The cake she¡¯d made. The presents. This had been one of his favorite childhood birthdays with William. Suddenly the scene shifted, and he saw the day as he remembered it, automatically jumping out of the way as the boys ran through. It was a memory he¡¯d revisited many times before. Anne was stifling her laughter as she shouted for them to slow down or simply go outside. The boys shouted and raced out the door, letting it swing closed with a loud bang.


    The two memories seemed to be overlaid on top of each other, like a doubled film exposure. He was aware that Spike must be there, but could he see them both as well? His younger self sat poised in a chair smiling at his mother, but David knew that look. The boy was lonely. That was the face he wore for his mother. The dutiful and doting son. Oh, he loved her. Adored her! Always had. But he also tried to protect her feelings. David had cheered up William plenty of times, and helped make Anne smile himself. He adored Anne of course, but he¡¯d always worked extra hard to make sure William was smiling. It had felt like his calling as a child. David realized how different this man¡¯s life must truly have been. And if Spike could see the two existing side by side, what must he be thinking? David knelt in front of the young William and studied his face. There was a sadness he didn¡¯t like to see. It cut him to the core. This was William without David. This was Spike¡¯s childhood. He reached out to the boy, even knowing he couldn¡¯t make contact, to put his hand against the child¡¯s cheek wishing he could cheer up this little one too. The world began to split, and yank and tilt like his ship, the Endymion, during a bad storm at sea and everything shifted again.


    William was older this time. David recognized the new journal William clung to, along with his pen. That was his prized possession that year. He¡¯d also begun to write his poetry in earnest. Took the notebook everywhere. David smiled at the familiar scene as William pondered his latest creation. This was his thirteenth birthday. The last one before David was living with them, but of course David had been here anyway. He was usually at their house and often preferred it to his own.  After all, it was where his best friend was. He¡¯d thought it was boring at home. Now he¡¯d give anything to go back and spend just a little more time with his parents. Time had a funny way of teaching appreciation.


    William¡¯s mother walked in and asked him what he was working on, and he excitedly began to read the poem. It was an early one, but one of David¡¯s personal favorites and he recited it with eyes closed softly along with him, enjoying the sound of the younger William¡¯s voice. His mother clapped delightedly as it came to a close and David couldn¡¯t help but clap too. He opened his eyes to find the other William looking at him confused and frowning. ¡°You aren¡¯t supposed to be here,¡± the boy said.  As a surprised David began to answer, the scene shifted, like someone had turned on a light. The grey feelings that he realized had been pressing down on him were suddenly gone and he saw his younger self standing against the door clapping. William beamed with joy, a vibrant contrast to the calmer pleasure of a moment before. Anne was still clapping, and David turned to see that her smile was far more animated as well. The pride in her eyes glistened as she listened to William recite.


    This is awful. His life. It was so sad. So lonely. No wonder I saw him so much as a child in his dreams. No wonder he didn¡¯t dream about his past. I don¡¯t want to see this anymore. How do I make it stop? David was beginning to feel desperate as the scene shifted again and the grey feelings pressed in. If he had to find a name for the sensation, he likened it to depression or maybe melancholy. The happiness felt muted. It didn¡¯t touch the joy of his memories that David carried. The memories continued to layer over each other. All familiar times they¡¯d shared, but the quiet of Spike¡¯s memories left him unsettled. This was the life the man had known. And they were just reliving the highlights, like a life flashing before a dying person¡¯s eyes, but disjointed and out of sequence. It was a familiar sensation, as David had spent so much of his own ghostly existence in memories, even those overlaid with William¡¯s, but the triple exposure was making him sick to his stomach as much as it made his heart ache. Did I cause this somehow? Whatever it was I did, did I make his life a miserable imitation of the one he should have had? David wondered.


    David abruptly found himself back in Wolfram and Hart, standing in the middle of Angel¡¯s office. The sun was up now. How long had he been stuck in those loops? He heard a scoff and turned around.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Angel huffed. David could hear the annoyance, and it grated on him likely as much as he grated on Angel.


    ¡°Came here special just to see what the great Angelus was up to,¡± he retorted. ¡°Destroying any lives today, are we? Or have you managed to actually save anyone yet?¡± He let his sarcasm drip, his frustration and heartache from the memories he¡¯d just emerged from still too fresh for him to want to put on airs for Angel of all people.


    ¡°I¡¯m kind of in the middle of something.¡± Angel grumbled bad-temperedly, hoping that David would leave and go wherever it was he went when he vanished into thin air.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t care.¡± David replied, smirking at Angel¡¯s obvious annoyance.


    Angel groaned at the too familiar phrase. It was almost like having two Spikes sometimes and was driving Angel crazy. Gunn cleared his throat and David turned to see him standing there, papers spread out on the table. Apparently, they were going through contracts, one of David¡¯s least favorite parts of business dealings.


    David paused for a moment then wandered over to the table. ¡°Gonna sic the IRS on any demons today?¡± Gunn ignored him completely.


    ¡°You know, you really don¡¯t need to stick around for this,¡± Angel prodded him, hoping he¡¯d take the hint.


    David shrugged in response. ¡°I¡¯m bored. Maybe reading can help pass the time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll just ignore him,¡± Gunn tried to distract Angel, hoping to keep things boring enough that David would leave on his own.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t ignore ghosts. They can get a might testy,¡± David remarked airily.


    ¡°I¡¯ll risk it. Angel? I¡¯ll need you to sign these two papers here for the litigation proceedings. It¡¯s a pretty straightforward case, though we¡¯re utilizing some loopholes in a rather obscure statute.¡± Gunn began to describe his legal strategy, but Angel waved him off uninterested in hearing the details. So long as it worked, that¡¯s all he cared about. David continued reading the contracts and found that while he could still follow the legalese, he also still found it incredibly dull. Legal documents really hadn¡¯t changed much over the years, and he remembered why William had been the one to handle them. They made his head hurt with all the fancy language. Never could just be straightforward. Not for the first time he wondered if demons had designed the legal systems. This would not be the place to stem his boredom and hopefully avoid the flashes that he knew would get worse the less he had to do.


    At least this last time didn¡¯t feel like actual hell. Bloody vampire soul¡¯ll end up pulling us both down, he shook his head and wandered through the wall. Straddling the space between the earth and fiery damnation. Just my luck after everything we¡¯ll finally be sucked down there. Maybe Fred is doing something interesting, he mused to himself as he climbed the stairs to the lab.


    Fred and Knox were bent over a computer, discussing findings from a case they were investigating. He paused in the door of the lab, hoping they¡¯d explain more ¨C it sounded interesting enough, but Knox told him that they didn¡¯t have time to explain the intricacies of the science involved, effectively blowing him off. He sighed and wandered up to where Wesley¡¯s office was. Maybe something interesting would be going on there.


    Wesley also tried to ignore him, but he stood behind him anyway trying to read over the man¡¯s shoulder. He reminded David of family. A little like the cousin he used to play with when he was younger, before his parents had died and he couldn¡¯t go see the rest of his family anymore. Wesley was studying something that appeared to be in Ancient Greek, though David¡¯s was so rusty he could only pick up every couple of words.


    ¡°Can I help you with something?¡± Wesley finally asked.


    ¡°Just bored. Looking for something to do.¡±


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    ¡°Well, I¡¯m a bit busy. Maybe you could go look somewhere else?¡±


    ¡°Sure, mate. Cause there¡¯s so much going on around here for ghosts to do,¡± he replied sarcastically. ¡°Maybe you could use some help, yeah? Sure I could do something?¡± He tried not to sound too desperate.


    Wesley sighed. ¡°Can you read Ancient Greek?¡±


    ¡°Little rusty I¡¯m afraid,¡± he replied disappointedly.


    Wesley almost asked David how long ago he¡¯d studied ancient Greek to find himself rusty. Not many people had studied it period, but then he remembered how insistent Eve had been that they get to the bottom of a particular passage she insisted was important to something the Senior Partners deemed incredibly valuable. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to pass. This is my most pressing assignment and I don¡¯t have time to work on finding you something to do. Sorry.¡±


    David sighed this time. ¡°Yeah. No problem. I¡¯ll just go wander elsewhere I suppose.¡± He shuffled out of the office through the wall, aiming a kick he knew would go right through the wall. Might as well still be invisible at this rate, he thought. Lorne wasn¡¯t in his office. Probably off shmoozing some fancy celebrities, David mused. He ended up settling down on the stairs in the upstairs lobby where he could see Harmony behind her desk, and Angel¡¯s office door. Gunn was emerging now and continued to ignore him. Angel leaned over to ask Harmony something, but he couldn¡¯t overhear.


    He really needed to find something to do. Boredom didn¡¯t go over too well, and being around Angelus kept bringing back old memories he¡¯d tried to push out of his head for good. David knew that the longer the boredom lasted, the worse the flashbacks would get. He sighed. He definitely needed to come up with something or he¡¯d end up disappearing again for who knew how long next time.


    By the end of the day, he¡¯d managed to weather about ten more short flashbacks and come up with some ideas for how to pass the time. Spike either ignored him or walked away when he came near him, so he figured he¡¯d just have to entertain himself. He would have liked to try to talk to Spike, and see what he saw, but he remembered the punch all too well. So long as Spike stayed in the building, he was close enough that David could afford to leave him alone. Maybe stopping himself from the flashes would be enough? He went to Fred¡¯s office with the first part of his plan.


    ¡°Sorry you want me to do what?¡± Fred asked him distractedly. David could tell she hadn¡¯t really been listening very closely to his question. Knox had clearly tuned him out too. Yup, I definitely might as well still be invisible for all the attention anyone gives a ghost around here, he thought glumly.


    ¡°Leave a radio on when you¡¯re gone? It would really help with the boredom. Some music to pass the time with, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Oh. Ok. Yeah, I think I can probably do that. What radio station would you like?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know LA radio. Anything with some good classic rock ought to be a decent start. Really not into the pop or contemporary stuff if I can help it. Though rock and alternative aren¡¯t bad.¡±


    Fred smiled considering the different radio stations she was familiar with. ¡°A fan of the classics, huh?¡±


    David nodded. ¡°Yeah. Something familiar at any rate. Used to listen to music more often years ago. Really helps pass the time. Can¡¯t exactly pick up a good book, you know¡­¡±


    Fred frowned at that. ¡°¡¯Suppose not, what with you being all noncorporeal and all.¡± David just nodded in agreement and tried to smile. ¡°What if I printed off some things for you? I could leave them on the table or taped to a wall for you to read?¡±


    David lit up. ¡°You¡¯d do that for me?¡± He asked excitedly.


    ¡°Sure. Why not. What would you like to read?¡± David grinned from ear to ear trying to come up with a good answer and then frowned slightly when he realized he had no idea what he¡¯d want to read if given the choice. He hadn¡¯t had a choice like that in a very, very long time. His choices were usually picking who to watch in the choices that they made. When there was more than just Spike around at any rate. ¡°Hard to print a novel,¡± he mused aloud. ¡°Would you leave out some scientific journal articles for me? Maybe I can read enough to be helpful around the lab?¡±


    Fred gave him a surprised look and chuckled a little. ¡°Um, ok. Like what?¡±


    ¡°Dunno. You¡¯re the science queen, yeah? What would you recommend for your current project, your majesty?¡± He said, shaking his head deferentially as he gave her a bow.


    Fred giggled a little at the gesture. ¡°Hmmm. Let me see. I don¡¯t know where your scientific knowledge starts David, so that makes it a bit difficult.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a little rusty but I did study mathematics, literature and a little science at university. Physics, chemistry, and botany mostly. I¡¯m sure I¡¯d pick up whatever you put out quickly enough. Always was good at academics. Could be like a class of sorts! Maybe you could find time to answer questions that come up?¡± He said the last bit hopefully, going for a smile he hoped would win her over. He was terribly out of practice with people, but he remembered how to be a gentleman. He hadn¡¯t been there long, but his gut said she was a good and kind person, so he held out hope she might be the answer to his prayers.


    ¡°Maybe. Depends on how many questions you have. There¡¯s an awful lot to do around here.¡±


    ¡°I know. Or, well, I¡¯ve noticed. I¡¯d love to be useful. Learn something even. If you have time, I really would appreciate any assistance you could provide.¡±


    Fred nodded. She felt bad for him. Stuck as a ghost, unable to do much of anything. Spike hadn¡¯t really been around and mostly kept popping up around the others. Though, to be fair, she¡¯d been so busy the last couple of days since starting at the firm that she wasn¡¯t sure what anyone was doing. ¡°Alright. Let me see if I can put up some printouts of journals that talk a little about what we were doing in the lab today. It¡¯s not much. And the papers might be over your head. And I really don¡¯t have much time to teach you. And¡­¡±


    David couldn¡¯t contain his excitement. ¡°It¡¯s perfect. Thank you! Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.¡± He started bouncing up and down like a little kid. Fred laughed at his delight. ¡°Would you help me find a radio station you like? Then I¡¯ll see if I can find some journal articles to print.¡±


    ¡°If I had a body, I''d hug you. Air five?¡± He said holding out his hand in the air. Fred laughed and nodded.


    ¡°Air five,¡± and they pretended to high five. David pumped his fist in the air in excitement. It took them about five minutes to find a station that wasn¡¯t playing commercials to test the music, and then she printed out a bunch of articles, spreading the papers out on the tables and taping them to the walls so he could read them without needing to turn pages. By the time she was done, her walls reminded her a little of Pylea with writing covering so much of the surfaces.


    ¡°Alright. That¡¯s about all I can do for now.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, thank you milady,¡± he said, adjusting his accent to a more formal British one, then gave her a deep bow. ¡°You might just save my sanity yet.¡±


    She laughed a little and nodded. ¡°No problem. Have a good night and enjoy yourself!¡± He nodded and started on the first article she¡¯d suggested as AC/DC started to play in the radio.


    ¡°Ooo. I love this song,¡± he said and smiled wide, bobbing his head with the music as he started to read.


    ¡°Good night, David.¡±


    ¡°Night, Fred. Rest well!¡±


    The next morning, David had a series of questions for her about what he¡¯d read. But what surprised her the most was how well he seemed to follow what she¡¯d printed. He couldn¡¯t have helped them with their case yet, but he was picking things up quickly. He seemed happy and animated as they discussed some of the finer points she¡¯d expected to go over his head. Proves me wrong for assuming he couldn¡¯t keep up, she thought as she realized she¡¯d judged him a little prematurely. His knowledge was not just rusty, but also a bit outdated at times too. Though he seemed to adjust quickly when she¡¯d explain, he sometimes seemed embarrassed about how outdated his knowledge appeared. Finally, after about an hour, she noticed the time and apologized to him that she had to cut the conversation short. She could see the disappointment on his face, but he tried to cover it up quickly with a bow and words of gratitude for her assistance. Fred thought again about the suggestion Wesley had made when David first appeared, that he might be the First pulled through the amulet with Spike. Honestly, he just seems lost and lonely, she thought. Like a little kid at times even. Fred couldn¡¯t help but think about how she¡¯d felt when she came back from Pylea again.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not around this afternoon, would you still at least turn on the radio?¡± David asked hopefully.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you be around?¡±


    ¡°I guess I mean in case I pop out.¡±


    ¡°Pop out?¡±


    David nodded. ¡°You know, like when Spike or I disappear? We do come back, but I really don¡¯t have control yet over when we go. Not that I ever did,¡± he said the last part under his breath. As Fred went to ask him what he meant, a lab technician approached her with an urgent request. He had been waiting for over half an hour for them to finish up. She went to apologize to David, but he¡¯d already vanished.


    Over the next few days, Fred tried to print out articles that followed up with what she¡¯d had out the night before. David was there most of the evenings, excited to see what she¡¯d come up with for him. One evening he looked particularly worn out, though, and just smiled and thanked her softly.


    ¡°You ok?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, yeah. I¡¯ll be ok. Just need to distract myself. Popping in and out a lot today,¡± he said giving her a weary smile and shrugged. ¡°Some days are harder than others.¡±


    ¡°If you ever need to talk, David, I¡¯m here.¡± David smiled at her. He wanted to share. He just didn¡¯t think it was a good idea. He was still trying to figure out who these people were. She seemed trustworthy, but how could he be sure? Even if his gut said she was a good person, Angelus had always been a master manipulator. They were friends of Angel¡¯s, and that didn¡¯t say much. Not from what he¡¯d seen of Angel or Angelus over the years. Just because the vampire had been cursed with a soul didn¡¯t mean he¡¯d automatically become a good person. He was, after all, running one of the biggest firms for the forces of evil. No matter what he said, David hadn¡¯t seen much to dissuade him from thinking there was nowhere near as much good as Angel claimed.


    As he pondered, Knox walked up to them, pulling Fred away with a question.  She apologized, and said goodbye, with what seemed like a sad smile. Shouldn¡¯t keep pestering her, he thought. She¡¯s too busy for the likes of me.


    There was something about her he liked, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on it. A little like Wesley and Lorne. Maybe they really were good souls in a bad place. He really hadn¡¯t spent much time around Gunn to tell, and Harmony was, well, Harmony. He knew more about her than he¡¯d ever wished to know when Spike was dating her.


    He looked around to see that Fred had only printed off a couple of short articles this time. But she had remembered the music, so he could hopefully make it last the evening. If he managed to read the articles during commercial breaks, and the music was good, maybe he could remain distracted enough to stay present. Then he could avoid the waves of memories, or worse, the feelings of hell that were pressing in on him more and more as time went on. He made it through one article before the memories took him under. One way or another he was determined to make it through the articles, and each time he came back to the world, he focused harder on the music and the words. Even when they didn¡¯t make sense. He''d make them make sense. He had to.

 Flashbacks

    Fred hurried down the hallway of Wolfram and Hart, fishing her keys out as she approached the door of the lab. She smiled as she heard the faint strains of the radio from her office. She¡¯d left it on for David, even though she hadn¡¯t seen him in a couple of days. She assumed he¡¯d found a more interesting way to occupy his time. So, it was quite a shock when she opened the door to see a strange man dancing in the middle of the lab. Her first thought was that someone had broken in, but the stranger looked like he¡¯d been transported directly from 1969.


    The man¡¯s back was to her, obscuring his face, but he wore a pair of brown corduroy bellbottoms, paired with a loose-collared cream shirt printed with an eye-popping array of psychedelic flowers. The outfit was capped off by a fringed leather vest and long, wavy reddish-brown hair that brushed his shoulders. All Day and All of the Night by The Kinks was playing on the radio, and the man was grooving to the music, swaying back and forth and swinging his arms through the air. As she watched, he performed a little half-slide, bringing his feet into view. Fred realized with dismay that the stranger was barefoot. She winced at the thought of possible contamination issues; she¡¯d have to get a cleaning crew to re-sterilize the lab once she got him out of there. Suddenly, he put a fist up to his mouth like he was holding a microphone as he danced in a circle and spun around, eyes closed as he sang along to the music.


    Fred¡¯s jaw dropped as she realized that it was David, completely oblivious to his audience. His shirt was partially unbuttoned, and she could see that he wore a gold band hanging from a simple silver chain as a necklace. Curiously, he seemed to be covered in tattoos; from her position in the doorway she could see the edges of an intricate design in black ink covering the top of his chest. It appeared to wrap around the base of his throat before disappearing under his shirt. Even the tops of his feet looked like they¡¯d been tattooed!


    David hadn¡¯t struck her as the type of person to be heavily tattooed; she¡¯d certainly never noticed them before. Though now that she thought about it, the alien hoodie he wore like a second skin almost seemed like it was intended to cover as much as possible. He often wore the hood bunched close around the neck; Fred wondered if he¡¯d been judged in the past for his tattoos. She¡¯d heard plenty of lectures back in Texas about how heavily tattooed people were practically unemployable. Once again, she wondered about David¡¯s mysterious past. They knew so little about him.


    Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a noise in the hallway. She turned slightly to see Knox standing behind her and put her finger to her lips in warning before he could interrupt. She was curious to see what David would do next. She had to admire how he was enjoying himself; it was absolutely adorable.


    I believe that you and me last forever


    Oh yeah, all day and nighttime is yours leave me never,


    The only time I feel alright is by your side


    Girl, I want to be with you all of the time


    All day and all of the night


    All day and all of the night


    All day and all of the night


    As the song came to an end, David smiled happily and let his imaginary mic drop. He opened his eyes to see Fred and Knox in the door to the lab, and his eyes went wide as he realized they¡¯d witnessed his performance.


    ¡°Oh, um, mornin¡¯ luv. I, erm, didn¡¯t see you there,¡± he stammered. ¡°Thanks for, uh, leaving the radio on again. ¡®Preciate it! Have a nice day!¡± he squeaked, flushing bright red at being caught. Suddenly, his clothes were the ones she was used to seeing him in, and his hair reverted to its usual short-clipped cut.  He gave her a very awkward smile as she watched him literally drop through the floor.


    ¡°Oh wait, you don¡¯t have to ¡­ go,¡± she said as he disappeared from view, eyes closed in embarrassment. ¡°Awwww. That was kind of cute. It¡¯s nice that he can find a way to enjoy himself.¡±


    ¡°Nice? Cute?¡± Knox asked from behind her, in a surprised tone.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she said, ignoring the slight note of jealousy she heard. Apparently, David could change his clothes and hair at will. Being able to project a certain image of himself was an interesting development, and she wondered how much of his own appearance he could change. Could he make his face look different as well? Affect the shape of his body?  Could Spike do the same? Her mind was spinning with all the questions she wanted to ask, but she was unsure if David would be willing to answer them.


    The next time Fred saw him shift his appearance was when he thought no one was looking. She didn¡¯t catch what Spike said to him, but she could see the look of annoyance on his David¡¯s face as Spike turned away. Suddenly, David¡¯s hair went platinum blonde and slicked back like Spike wore his. David¡¯s outfit also matched Spike¡¯s, complete with black shirt, pants, boots and duster. He raised his hands in the air and mockingly pinched his fingers open and shut in the universal sign for blah, blah, blah, mouthing the words as Spike continued to talk. As Spike spun around, David¡¯s appearance instantly returned to normal, as he pretended to throw up his hands and rolled his eyes at Spike.


    ¡°Fine mate. Whatever,¡± he said as he turned and walked away. Fred couldn¡¯t help but laugh to herself. David heard her and turned, noticing her for the first time. He smiled sheepishly at her and shrugged, then laughed too and waved as he walked down the hall, blushing a little at being caught again. Another time, it was late and nearly everyone had gone home. She was coming out of the lab, and spotted David dressed like Angel, strutting behind him, then dropping through the floor when he turned around. Fred couldn¡¯t help but giggle. She suspected this wasn¡¯t the first time he was haunting Angel and inquired about it with the security team.


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s hilarious!¡± the guards laughed. ¡°The man can do some incredible impressions, but only we seem to notice. He always disappears before they catch him. We¡¯ve started a running pool to see who he¡¯ll do next and how long until someone actually catches him.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever seen him change his face, body, height, weight or anything?¡±


    The guards shook their heads. ¡°Nope. Just his clothes and hair, really. You should see him in your office at night. He¡¯s pretty good at the costumes and the dance numbers. The guy really gets into it. He¡¯s been popping in and out quite a lot.¡±


    Fred looked at the guards sharply. ¡°Does he disappear at the same time as Spike?¡±


    The guard frowned, thinking it over. ¡°You know, I guess I never really thought about it, but yeah. Usually when one is gone, the other is. It¡¯s pretty rare to only see one and not the other. Come to think of it, we¡¯ve actually been seeing them less and less lately.¡± Fred thanked them, silently chiding herself for not having started on the research she¡¯d promised to do for Spike. She¡¯d just been so busy. There was always something going on, but if the disappearances were becoming more frequent... somehow she¡¯d figure out a way. She¡¯d make time. She¡¯d made a promise and intended to keep it. She also vowed that she¡¯d make time for David. When he was around, he was always so eager to talk to her and talk about the articles she¡¯d left out for him ¨C when she remembered to do it.


    ****


    David had been doing his best to avoid Angel, but he kept popping back in at random places throughout the building when he came back from flashbacks or the hellish place he kept being pulled into.  Every time he saw Angel, it got harder and harder not to flash out. Angel would do or say something, and David instantly felt pulled back to the years they¡¯d spent with the Whirlwind. They¡¯d been a vampire quartet of destruction, infamous for the carnage and chaos they¡¯d spread wherever they went. Those had been the dark years when he¡¯d watched William become twisted into Spike, as his eagerness to belong had allowed him to be manipulated and pushed into becoming a dark creature. Angelus, in particular, had been determined to turn the sweet, innocent man into a vicious killer. Dru and Darla had certainly encouraged it, but it was Angelus who¡¯d boasted of wanting a male companion to kill with; a demon with a thirst for darkness that matched his own. David had watched Spike try to adapt, to belong. To be accepted. If the glimpses David had seen of William¡¯s life before he¡¯d been sired by Dru were any indication, that wasn¡¯t something the man had known.


    David walked around the corner into the lobby, trying to come up with something to do. He came face to face with Angel angrily yelling at one of his employees as Spike stood across the room watching the show. The harsh tone of his voice took David back before he even knew what was happening. He was sucked down into a memory so fast, it took his breath away.


    ***


    ¡°Come on Willy! It¡¯s best when they scream.¡±


    ¡°The name¡¯s William!¡± The fledge corrected Angelus, studying the vampire who was casually gripping a crying woman by her hair.


    ¡°There¡¯s an art to it. The innocent ones are the best. Their screams are always the sweetest.¡± David felt like he was going to be sick. If his body had been capable of it, he probably would have been already. Bodies lay scattered around them as Angelus gave the young fledgling lessons in the art of destruction and violence. He knew William well enough to see that the man was fighting his own level of illness, but the fledgling vampire hid it well as he stepped up to grasp the woman¡¯s neck. ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Angelus crowed. ¡°Have fun now!¡± He stepped back to let William take the woman as she whimpered and begged to be released. She¡¯d just watched the two slaughter her family, and her twin boys lay throats torn open at her feet.


    They reminded David of him and William, or of him and his brother so many years ago. Innocence and life stolen by these creatures of the night. David turned away, unwilling to watch William rip viciously into the woman¡¯s throat while Angelus coached him on the best way to bleed her dry as she continued to scream and cry. He wanted William to find out how long it took until she finally couldn¡¯t cry out anymore. David put his hands to his ears trying to drown out the noise. He ran through the wall, trying to escape but he misgauged the distance and popped back into the room as the woman¡¯s whimpering began to quiet. He wasn¡¯t able to slow himself quick enough and stumbled to his knees as William brought the woman down to the ground. He was face to face with the monster that had taken over William. Face to face with the woman whose face was wet with tears and blood. He watched helplessly as the light went out of her eyes.


    David scrambled backwards and turned to crawl towards the wall. He found himself right between the bodies of the two boys and cried out in anguish. Would he ever escape this nightmare? Surely this was hell. It had to be. Across the room, Angelus was congratulating William on how long he¡¯d drawn out the woman¡¯s anguish, telling him how he could do it even better next time. David curled up in the corner and tried again to cover his ears, humming to himself as loud as he could to drown out the voices. He could still hear screams from the other room where Drusilla and Darla were having their fun. He could never manage to get far enough away from them. Sometimes, if he was lucky he managed to find the furthest distance he could get from William without being snapped back like a rubber band. Other times it seemed the distance changed. He¡¯d think he was safe only to be pulled right back into the horror again. He cried and hit himself in his head trying to distract himself when he realized he couldn¡¯t escape the screams and cries tonight.


    Drusilla walked into the room and looked over at him. She was spattered head to toe in blood and gore; she¡¯d obviously been in a mood to play with her food tonight. ¡°Poor Puck isn¡¯t having fun. Did you not like the little boys? I thought they were so sweet, like you two were.¡±


    David looked up at Dru with tears in his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re monsters. The lot of you.¡±


    ¡°Of course we are!¡± Drusilla crowed merrily. ¡°The fairy comes to play with monsters in our garden. You¡¯ve fallen from your tower, but you¡¯re still just the fool, little pixie. Still so new.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s she on about now?¡± He heard Darla ask as she came into the room, daintily dabbing at her lips with a handkerchief.


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    ¡°Who knows? She¡¯s been talking about fairies, Puck and King Oberon¡¯s court since William joined us,¡± Angelus replied, sounding like he wished he¡¯d never heard of fairies. David rolled through the wall to get away from them. He¡¯d rather sit in a room with these corpses than be made fun of by those monsters who didn¡¯t even believe Drusilla about his existence. Such as it was, anyway. She thought him a fairy. He hadn¡¯t known what else to call himself and it had slipped out. In her insanity, the other vampires had simply accepted her latest ramblings as new hallucinations. They assumed it was a reference to Shakespeare. A joke or flight of fancy. David realized it said a lot about who she was that this didn¡¯t seem all that strange to her companions. It had certainly terrified him.


    Suddenly, he felt a sharp yank and then he was sitting in the cobbled street, watching the vampires walk away from the building they¡¯d just left as flames started to lick at the structure. William had his arms wrapped around Drusilla, whispering something in her ears conspiratorially as she giggled. David closed his eyes, willing himself to be able to block it out. He didn¡¯t have the will yet to get up and follow them, so he continued to sit as he was yanked again and again. Each time, he appeared next to William like a puppy on a leash. Finally, he climbed to his feet and trudged after them, tired of the feeling of his insides being yanked around. He tried not to look at them. It hurt too much.


    ***


    David popped back into Wolfram & Hart and found himself in Angel¡¯s office. He groaned. What did they do to deserve being stuck here haunting Angelus of all people? He knew the vampire had been cursed with a soul, and those who knew him talked like Angel and Angelus were two entirely different people. David would believe that when he saw it. So far, this just seemed like Angelus with a soul. Less violent and vicious maybe, but he hadn¡¯t witnessed any softness. Nothing that explained how he had the friends he had. From what he¡¯d seen the last few weeks, Wesley, Fred, Lorne and even Gunn seemed loyal to the man and were decent enough blokes. What had Angelus done to inspire it?


    Angel walked into the room and groaned when he saw David standing there. David rolled his eyes at Angel and deliberately walked through him as Angel attempted to back out of the way in surprise. The second groan he heard made him smirk as he walked away, pleased to have caused at least a little discomfort for the vampire.


    David decided to head back to the lab. He¡¯d begun to get a better handle on the science journals that Fred left out for him ¨C when she remembered anyway. Running the science department kept her incredibly busy. He¡¯d noticed that she had a worrying habit of forgetting to eat and take care of herself.  As a result, he¡¯d started to check on how recently she¡¯d eaten when he popped up there. He also paid attention to how Fred treated her employees. She was kind and fair, with a good head on her shoulders. She was brilliant as well and he enjoyed watching her work. At first, she was a little uncomfortable with him just hanging around the lab. He tried to stay out of the way as best he could, but so far the lab was his favorite place to be. If he wasn¡¯t there, he¡¯d be sitting on the main steps in the upper lobby people watching, or trying to read over Wesley¡¯s shoulder, much to Wesley¡¯s annoyance.


    David had found that if he wandered the building, he would inevitably run into Angel, Spike, or a demon species he recognized and be transported into a flashback. Even when he didn¡¯t wander, it still happened, but with less frequency.  In many ways, it was no different than when they¡¯d started happening so many years ago. He¡¯d wanted to escape the horror around him so badly that he¡¯d started trying to revisit memories. He¡¯d felt the strange echoes of his memories in addition to David¡¯s, and one day he¡¯d finally managed to enter one. He¡¯d tucked himself into a corner with his hands over his ears and humming, trying to block out the sounds of William and Drusilla as he started to imagine one of his favorite places.  He envisioned himself standing on the deck of the Endymion, as the ocean breeze drifted past. He tried to remember the smell of the salty air, the cries of the birds flying above, and even the sounds of the crew bustling around and swinging the crates up in their arms as they unloaded the deck.


    ***


    William came up behind him and leaned onto the railing of the deck next to him. David grinned. ¡°How much longer do you think until they finish unloading?¡±


    ¡°At least two more hours, I¡¯d wager. What are you thinking?¡± William replied, mopping the sweat from his face with a handkerchief.


    ¡°At this moment, I¡¯m just relieved the ship made it back. The storm last week had me worried.  We¡¯ve a good crew and a good ship. It feels good to be on her again.¡± David replied, turning to face his friend.


    William smiled at him and nodded. ¡°She¡¯s our pride and joy! And you¡¯re right. She¡¯s got a good crew. You helped put together a good group. Even the captain says so.¡±


    David waved aimlessly at William, brushing off the compliment. ¡°Captain Gantry did most of the work.¡± He replied modestly, uncomfortable with the praise.


    ¡°But you insisted on meeting every one of them!¡± William protested. ¡°Not many in our line of business would even care to meet with the captain, let alone the crew. And the captain said he was impressed with your instincts. Said most of the businessmen he¡¯s met with not only don¡¯t care but can¡¯t tell who would make a good crewman versus a bad one. They¡¯re too concerned with who¡¯s going to cost the most.¡±


    ¡°Gantry said that? Really?¡± David was surprised. It was high praise from the taciturn Welshman.


    ¡°Does that surprise you?¡± William asked.


    David shrugged. ¡°Yeah. I guess it does.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t surprise me. Though why you spend time around me with those good instincts still baffles me.¡± David laughed at that and bumped into William teasingly. William pushed him right back with a grin. ¡°You¡¯ve got to give yourself more credit! You¡¯re going to be a great leader here.¡±


    ¡°So long as you¡¯re by my side, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll make the business even more successful. In the meantime, I want to setup some kind of celebration. Show the crew some appreciation for a job well done.¡± David responded, already thinking of ideas.


    William smiled at him, remembering the times his own mother had insisted on the same for their employees. ¡°What have you got in mind?¡±


    ¡°Something simple. Maybe a banquet for the crew and their families.¡±


    ¡°Children too?¡± William inquired, already considering where to hold the banquet. If children were going to be present, they couldn¡¯t possibly hold it on the ship or at the docks ¨C the risks that a curious child would get injured were too great.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll talk to the captain, and we¡¯ll figure something out. You¡¯re going to end up with a loyal crew without even working on the ship you know.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s half the point!¡± David exclaimed.  ¡°Take care of your crew, and they¡¯ll go above and beyond for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fairly sure Machiavelli and a great deal of noblemen would disagree with you,¡± William said chuckling.


    ¡°Well, Machiavelli didn¡¯t have Mother. Maybe he would have learned a thing or two about caring for people!¡± David quipped, thinking of the lessons William¡¯s mother had imparted on them both.


    William laughed again. ¡°Too true. Mother certainly would have taught him a thing or two about taking care of others. Speaking of which, we should head home soon. She was upset we missed dinner yesterday, and I promised Madeline you¡¯d stop by as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, did you now?¡± David arched a knowing eyebrow at his friend.


    ¡°She pouted,¡± William said with a shrug.


    David laughed and nodded. That sounded like Maddy all right ¨C she knew full well that Will couldn¡¯t resist her pout. Not that David was any more immune to it. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head over there now. Don¡¯t want to break your promise on my behalf.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a good man!¡± William said as he clapped him on the back.


    ¡°Then I shall see you tonight at dinner.¡± They shook hands, smiling at each other, as David bid William farewell. David greeted each crew mate he passed by name on his way off the ship. He had to hurry. Maddy loved to talk and share the latest gossip and stories, and they often spent much longer than he planned together. He quickly tidied his desk and put his books away and headed out to the awaiting carriage.


    ***


    ¡°Meow!¡± Angel jerked his head up, startled at the noise. He looked around and listened, sure he¡¯d heard something. After a few moments, he decided he must have been imagining it and started to read the papers in front of him again. ¡°Mraow.¡± This time he¡¯d definitely heard it. It was a cat! Angel stood up and slowly walked around the room trying to place the source of the noise. He couldn¡¯t hear a heartbeat or smell the creature, but he knew that he¡¯d heard it meowing. Harmony walked into his office and Angel immediately held up his hand to silence her. Harmony froze and watched him pace around his office, clearly looking for something.


    ¡°Meooooow,¡± came the noise again. Harmony frowned, and Angel hurried over to a vent. ¡°It¡¯s coming from over here. I think there¡¯s a cat stuck in the vent!¡± Harmony walked over to listen as well.


    ¡°I dunno, boss. How did the cat get in?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I definitely heard it that time. Can you call maintenance and have someone look into it?¡±


    ¡°Sure, boss,¡± Harmony said a little hesitantly as Spike sauntered into the room, bored and looking to make some trouble.


    ¡°And what are you two up?¡± Spike raised an eyebrow as he saw them bent over a vent.


    ¡°Cat in the air ducts. I know I heard it. Have you seen anything?¡± Spike shook his head. As if on cue, another softer mewling was heard. ¡°Ah ha! You heard it that time, didn¡¯t you!¡± Angel exclaimed.


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a cat noise. Congratulations,¡± Spike said sarcastically.


    ¡°If you¡¯re not going to be helpful, you can leave, you know!¡±


    ¡°Think I just might. You¡¯re not nearly as entertaining as I¡¯d hoped today.¡± Spike walked through the wall and found David laying on the ground with his head stuck inside the floor. He stopped and watched for a moment, realization dawning on him. Suddenly he heard Angel call out from the other room again, and David pulled his head up, his entire body shaking with suppressed laughter. He was trying to contain himself, but was having a hard time keeping quiet. He looked up at Spike with a big grin and put a finger to his mouth.


    Harmony walked out of Angel¡¯s office, promising to call maintenance, and David lost it. He let himself fall through the floor out of Angel¡¯s earshot as he giggled helplessly. He looked up to see shocked faces peering at him, realizing that he¡¯d landed on a conference table ¨C in the middle of a meeting. The absurdity of the situation only made him laugh harder. He waved cheerily at the faces staring at him in shock and let himself fall to the next level, which was thankfully empty. It took him a while to pull himself together, but it felt good to laugh again. And the look on Spike¡¯s face! He¡¯d caught him, sure, but he¡¯d been amused too. David just hoped he wouldn¡¯t spill his secret.


    ***


    ¡°Did the maintenance men find anything out about the cat?¡± Angel leaned over Harmony¡¯s desk, and rubbed his eyes with fatigue.


    ¡°Sorry boss! They haven¡¯t found anything yet. Pretty sure it must have moved floors.¡± Harmony looked up at Angel¡¯s haggard face. He looked exhausted.


    ¡°Well, have them look in the vents in my apartment! Every time I dozed off last night it started yowling again,¡± Angel griped.


    Spike was standing against the wall near Harmony¡¯s desk listening in, and David was sitting in his usual spot on the stairs.


    ¡°Did you say something about a cat? You still haven¡¯t found it?¡± Spike asked, surprised.


    ¡°No. Do you know anything about it?¡± Harmony asked.


    ¡°Could have sworn I heard it actually. Maintenance men didn¡¯t find anything? That¡¯s weird!¡± Spike replied, his face the very picture of innocence.


    ¡°You heard it too?¡± she cocked her head, studying him.


    ¡°Yeah. You might want to have them go look again.¡± Spike jammed his hands in his pockets. At this rate, he¡¯d start whistling.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call them again,¡± Harmony shrugged. If Angel and Spike both insisted they heard it then maybe maintenance just needed to look again. Spike glanced at David who had to get up and move before anyone caught the smirk he couldn¡¯t hide.


    ***


    David had climbed onto the roof. He was pretty sure Spike was somewhere in the middle of the building so he thought it was safe. He wanted to fly again. He hadn¡¯t been able to visit dreams in ages and since he couldn¡¯t sleep himself this was about as close as he could get. He climbed up on a railing and then jumped and let himself fall through the floor, watching the floors of the building rush past in a flash. He quickly realized that he¡¯d  miscalculated. Spike was headed to the top floor. As he neared the basement, he felt the tug inside. Bugger!


    He crashed onto Spike, landing on top of him as they both fell to the floor in a tangle.


    ¡°What the bloody hell is wrong with you mate?!¡± Spike shouted as he shoved David off of him, dusting himself off. David couldn¡¯t help but laugh. Of course he¡¯d move the first time I try that move here.


    ¡°Is that a trick question?¡± He smirked at Spike who just rolled his eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t realize you were below me when I jumped.¡± David apologized, hoping that Spike didn¡¯t ask too many questions.


    ¡°Jumped? From where?¡± Spike asked, looking around.


    ¡°Roof. Planned to go all the way down to the lobby. It feels like flying, especially when it doesn¡¯t hurt to land. Of course, I don¡¯t usually land on top of anyone.¡± David rubbed his forehead gingerly where it had smacked directly into Spike¡¯s knee.


    ¡°You jump¡­ through the floors? For fun? And I thought Dru was barmy!¡± Spike was staring at him with a mixture of fascination and horror.


    ¡°Gotta stem the boredom somehow.¡± David shrugged, attempting to look casual.


    ¡°Right. Well, be more careful.¡± Spike straightened his duster and turned, prepared to continue whatever had brought him upstairs in the first place. Likely snooping around Angel¡¯s penthouse ¨C there wasn¡¯t much else up here in the building.


    ¡°Wanna try?¡± David offered.


    ¡°No.¡± Spike¡¯s reply was curt. He was still looking at David warily, like he¡¯d suddenly sprouted a second head or something.


    ¡°Well, your loss!¡± David shrugged and got up. ¡°Wanna mess with Angel?¡±


    Spike turned to him, with an interested look. ¡°What¡¯d you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°Could climb into the vents and let the ghost cat out to play some more?¡± David suggested, holding his breath.


    Spike considered this, then smirked back at David. ¡°Yeah, alright. Gotta get my jollies somehow.¡±


    David grinned back at him, already mentally going through the other pranks he and William had pulled as kids, trying to figure out which ones they could make happen without being able to touch anything. The phantom cat had been one of his favorites, despite how upset Anne had gotten when she¡¯d finally figured out what was going on. He was sure he could come up with something else too. After all, wasn¡¯t like he had anything else to occupy his time.