Out of Joint -- Chapter 11 (Part 2)
May. 11th, 2009 06:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sharelleOkay, as I mentioned the other day, I'm trying to take steps to complete the unfinished stories I still have lying around. So here's a small segment of what I managed to write of Out of Joint before life got in the way. I apologize in advance for any glaring problems, as it hasn't been beta'ed. But it does feel good to accomplish even a small posting, so I hope those of you who are still sticking around enjoy!
(All previous installments can be found here.)
(Chapter 11 – Part 2)
***
Buffy was restless and jittery. It had been difficult to keep quiet all day about what Giles had told her, and constantly thinking about it was leaving her beyond wigged. The entire gang had met earlier that morning in the library, and Buffy had sat to the side nibbling on her thumbnail while Giles told the others that the information sent by the Council was inconclusive. He explained to them that he would keep looking, and even contact England again if necessary.
He did manage to toss in an assurance that Spike's ability to enter Buffy's home had nothing to do with the eviction spell used to bar Angel. This, at least, seemed to lift some of Willow's and Cordelia's anxieties in regards to the safety of their house and car.
Buffy, in the meantime, couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about what Giles wasn't telling them. And, at the same time, regardless of her insistence that she not be left out of the loop, a part of her wished she was in the same boat with them. She was definitely a little envious of her friends' ignorance right now.
Definitely gotta be careful what you wish for, Buff.
Giles had concluded their morning discussion with the announcement that Ms. Calendar probably had some good news for them as well, and that she would be bringing it to him tonight. Willow interjected a minor grumble that her five hours of lesson planning the night before had been for nothing since Jenny hadn't been as late for class as she had thought.
The meeting adjourned, and everyone seemed more noticeably at ease than they had been over the last few days. Everyone, that is, except for Buffy . . . and probably Giles, she imagined, though the Watcher seemed to have repressed his anxiety a lot better than Buffy felt she was. Must be the Englishness.
That night, Buffy sat with her friends around a table at The Bronze, still lost in thoughts she couldn't share with them and itching to do something about it. Giles had warned her against taking action; he told her it could result in terrible consequences regardless of her intentions. He had promised that he would continue to research a solution very carefully and that he would keep her updated as to further developments. As long as she didn't do anything rash.
Buffy trusted Giles' judgment – she always did. It was a certain bleached third party that was involved, however, who made her slayer senses buzz with warning.
Oz joined the table when his band finished their set, slipping in beside Willow with a quiet smile. Xander and Cordelia spoke in low tones across the table. Buffy couldn't help but feel like an outsider. Not in terms of couple-dom. That was nothing new. Even before Angel had turned to the dark side of the Force, he had never really been a "joiner" when it came to her friends. There had never been a triple-date-night. No, Buffy was simply nagged by the fact that she knew something the others didn't. Even if the secret was necessary, keeping it from them still made her feel all shady.
Her resulting irritability wasn't fair to them. Her friends were obviously having fun; she so obviously wasn't. Sooner or later she was going to start bringing the mood down, then they would ask what was wrong and she wouldn't be able to tell them. Better to duck out now and avoid the friendly concern and inescapable guilt that would inevitably follow. Buffy couldn't even stop in to see Giles, the one person who knew what was going on, because he was meeting with Ms. Calendar tonight. She so did not want to walk in on that.
She thought, maybe a nice solid patrol – do some damage and actually feel in control of something. Buffy sighed heavily and glanced in the direction of the door.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of shocking blond hair through the crowd. Her eyes shifted and focused on a spot beside the bar. It was definitely him – Spike.
Buffy scowled at the cause of her most recent turmoil. He was reaching across the counter to remove a beer bottle from the bartender's outstretched hand. With a nod to the other man, Spike leaned backward against the bar, took a drink and glanced guardedly around. He probably sensed the Slayer in here somewhere. Buffy tried to remain inconspicuous as she watched him.
Spike's gaze shifted to the opposite corner and his posture immediately stiffened. Buffy was reminded of a Discovery Channel wildlife show. Spike suddenly looked just like one of those African antelopes getting wind of a predator. It was a strange mental image. She craned her neck to catch a glimpse of what he was looking at, and was surprised to see Harmony Kendall across the dance floor. The girl's smile widened significantly as she glanced in Spike's direction.
The vampire put his beer down on the bar and began walking purposely for the door. Harmony broke away from her friends to do the same.
Buffy grabbed her jacket and hopped down off her chair. "Sorry, guys," she blurted suddenly. "I'm sort of beat. I think I'm going to call it a night."
Willow looked surprised. "A-are you sure?" she asked. "Well, -- we could come with you, if you want . . . ."
"No," Buffy said, smiling but moving quickly to take her leave. "You guys go ahead and stay. I'm a little concerned about Mom, anyway; I really think I'd like to check on her."
She heard Xander say, "Okay, Buff," to her back as she turned and made for the door, where she immediately intercepted Harmony.
"Word of advice, Harm," she said, pulling the other girl to a standstill with a firm hold on her upper arm. "Stay away from the ones in leather. They're nothing but trouble."
Harmony turned to face Buffy with a curl of her upper lip. "Ew, let go of me, you freak!" she whined as she tugged her arm out of Buffy's grip.
"Seriously," Buffy reiterated with a long-suffering look. "Stick to the detention hall delinquents, Harmony. Definitely a safer kind of bad boy."
Harmony scoffed scathingly. "What's your deal, Summers? Who died and made you keeper of the hotties?"
"Who died?" Buffy muttered irritably as she left Harmony in her wake and turned toward the door. "Actually, he did."
Buffy jogged outside and pulled her jacket on. Taking a moment to glance up and down the alley that led to The Bronze, she began to walk swiftly away from the club, trying to determine what direction Spike might have gone.
***
Jenny Calendar tapped her fingers anxiously upon the desk as she stared at the computer monitor. This was taking longer than she'd expected, but if it worked it would be worth it. She shook out her wrist until the face of her watch was visible. Definitely running behind.
"Come on," she muttered impatiently. "Come on." She wondered if Rupert would be curious as to what was keeping her. But she was just about ready to go – the main door to her classroom was locked, the lights were turned off. This program was the only thing she was still waiting for.
The Rumanian text on her computer screen was partially obstructed by another window. In it, a status bar climbed, indicating how much of the program had yet to be completed. Jenny shifted in her chair and waited.
When the bar reached 100 percent, the smaller window disappeared. On the monitor, another screen popped up. This one included a series of translated scrolls beside the original text. Jenny's eyes lit up and she smiled. "That's it," she breathed with great relief. She reached for a disc and slid it into the drive. "It's going to work," she said. Her face glowed with confidence as she copied the program from the screen onto the disc and ejected it from the machine. "This . . . will work."
She set the disc aside and punched a few more buttons on the keyboard. The printer buzzed to life and began to reproduce a hard copy of the information on her screen. Jenny smiled again. This was going to work! She couldn't wait to tell Rupert when she saw him; she was eager to see his reaction.
As the sound of the printer filled the classroom, Jenny wheeled her chair over to it. She peeled off the first of the perforated pages and looked it over while the others printed out. As she held up the paper to read, she noticed something at the back of her classroom that made her jump out of her skin.
There was someone sitting there.
She shot to her feet. Her first thought was Rupert. She'd kept him waiting too long, so of course he'd come to look for her. But something about the way the person was sitting – all swagger and slouch – swept that thought away immediately. She saw his cold smile in the moonlight, and the sight chilled her blood.
"Angel."
Jenny instinctively sidestepped toward the door behind her. "How did you get in here?" she asked shakily.
Angelus continued to lounge lazily in the chair at the back of the classroom. "I was invited," he replied matter-of-factly. "The sign in front of the school . . . . Formatia
trans sicere educatorum."
"'Enter, all ye who seek knowledge.'" Jenny felt her blood roaring in her ears. This was a public building, of course. Vampires didn't need an invitation. Leave it to Angelus to find one anyway.
He giggled a little and eased up out of the chair. "What can I say?" he shrugged. "I'm a knowledge seeker." He began to take deliberate steps toward her . . . prowling.
Jenny started, frightened. "Angel," she floundered, scanning her surroundings for a way out. "I - I've got good news."
She could tell by the look on his face that she wasn't going to be able to appeal to any vestige of morality in him. There was none. Angel wasn't in there . . . and the only way to get him back was feeding out of the computer right now. But Jenny had to say something – distract him, keep him talking. If she stalled long enough, maybe it would be enough time for help to arrive.
Rupert. She was late to meet with Rupert. Surely he'd be wondering about her by now. He would have to come looking for her, wouldn't he? To see what was taking so long?
Rupert, please. Her hands were sweaty and her heart hammered against her chest as she stretched out her will like a lifeline – a prayer. Please, come. Please.
Angelus was nodding his head in response to Jenny's last statement. "I heard," he said. "You went shopping at the local boogedy-boogedy store." Angelus glanced down to her desk, where the glass orb she had bought that morning sat nestled in the velvet lining of its box. "The Orb of Thesulah," he mused as he picked it up. Jenny felt her heart give a lurch when he touched it. She began to edge cautiously away.
"If memory serves," Angelus continued as he gazed into the orb in his hand, "this is supposed to summon a person's soul . . . from the ether . . . store it until it can be transferred."
The Orb of Thesulah began to glow between Angelus' fingers. It cast an eerie light onto his face, deepening the creases in his skin when he smiled. It looked unreal, terrifying. Jenny tried to back away.
"You know what I hate most about these things?" he asked conversationally.
Without warning, Angelus hurled the orb across the room. Jenny screamed. It narrowly missed her, exploding into countless pieces against the blackboard behind her and falling to the floor like glittering vampire dust.
"They're so damn fragile." Angelus smiled.
Jenny backed up. She could feel her entire body trembling and almost needed the wall behind her to keep her upright. She pressed against it, her mind racing in a searing panic.
"Must be that shoddy gypsy craftsmanship, huh?" Angelus said. The smile slipped from his face as Jenny reached the classroom door. He directed his attention away from her for a moment and turned to look at the computer. He swiveled the monitor toward him to see the screen. "I never cease to be amazed how much the world has changed in
just two and a half centuries," he mused with an air of wonder.
Jenny jiggled the door handle, only to be cruelly reminded that she had locked this one not long ago. The key was in her purse. Angelus' voice continued to filter into her head and she felt dizzy, as though this wasn't really happening.
This can't be real. God, not like this. Rupert. Rupert. Rupert . . . .
"It's a miracle to me." Angelus' said. "You, you put the secrets to restoring my soul in here . . . ." He practically caressed the computer, then violently shoved it from the desk. Jenny jumped as the monitor shattered on the floor. Sparks ignited as the bare electronics flared and burst into flame. Angelus removed the pages from the printer. ". . . and it comes out here. 'The Ritual of Restoration,'" he shook his head at the first sheet as he read. "Wow. This, . . . this brings back memories."
He tore the pages down the middle.
"Wait!" Jenny unconsciously protested. "That's your—"
"Oh, my cure?" He paused, a steel glint in his eye as he looked back at her. "No, thanks. Been there, done that. And déjà vu just isn't what it used to be." His face seemed to light with interest as he noticed the computer on the floor; a small fire was still consuming it. "My . . . isn't this my lucky day. The computer . . . and the pages," he said as he held the remnants of the restoration spell over the open flame. The pages curled in upon themselves as they blackened and burned. "Looks like I get to kill two birds with one stone."
As Angelus crouched over the fire, he raised his hands to the flame, making a show of warming them. Jenny saw this as her only chance. She started slowly toward the rear door of the classroom – the one she knew was unlocked – the one Angelus had entered – the one that would be her only way out.
As she moved, he raised his head. His vampire features glowed dangerously in the light of the flame. He grinned viciously.
"And teacher makes three."
***
To be continued . . .
Also, I'm still hoping for some inspiring Spuffy to help get my mind back into writing this. So if you have any great new Spike/Buffy recs, I invite you to shout them out here! I'd be most grateful!
(All previous installments can be found here.)
(Chapter 11 – Part 2)
Buffy was restless and jittery. It had been difficult to keep quiet all day about what Giles had told her, and constantly thinking about it was leaving her beyond wigged. The entire gang had met earlier that morning in the library, and Buffy had sat to the side nibbling on her thumbnail while Giles told the others that the information sent by the Council was inconclusive. He explained to them that he would keep looking, and even contact England again if necessary.
He did manage to toss in an assurance that Spike's ability to enter Buffy's home had nothing to do with the eviction spell used to bar Angel. This, at least, seemed to lift some of Willow's and Cordelia's anxieties in regards to the safety of their house and car.
Buffy, in the meantime, couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about what Giles wasn't telling them. And, at the same time, regardless of her insistence that she not be left out of the loop, a part of her wished she was in the same boat with them. She was definitely a little envious of her friends' ignorance right now.
Definitely gotta be careful what you wish for, Buff.
Giles had concluded their morning discussion with the announcement that Ms. Calendar probably had some good news for them as well, and that she would be bringing it to him tonight. Willow interjected a minor grumble that her five hours of lesson planning the night before had been for nothing since Jenny hadn't been as late for class as she had thought.
The meeting adjourned, and everyone seemed more noticeably at ease than they had been over the last few days. Everyone, that is, except for Buffy . . . and probably Giles, she imagined, though the Watcher seemed to have repressed his anxiety a lot better than Buffy felt she was. Must be the Englishness.
That night, Buffy sat with her friends around a table at The Bronze, still lost in thoughts she couldn't share with them and itching to do something about it. Giles had warned her against taking action; he told her it could result in terrible consequences regardless of her intentions. He had promised that he would continue to research a solution very carefully and that he would keep her updated as to further developments. As long as she didn't do anything rash.
Buffy trusted Giles' judgment – she always did. It was a certain bleached third party that was involved, however, who made her slayer senses buzz with warning.
Oz joined the table when his band finished their set, slipping in beside Willow with a quiet smile. Xander and Cordelia spoke in low tones across the table. Buffy couldn't help but feel like an outsider. Not in terms of couple-dom. That was nothing new. Even before Angel had turned to the dark side of the Force, he had never really been a "joiner" when it came to her friends. There had never been a triple-date-night. No, Buffy was simply nagged by the fact that she knew something the others didn't. Even if the secret was necessary, keeping it from them still made her feel all shady.
Her resulting irritability wasn't fair to them. Her friends were obviously having fun; she so obviously wasn't. Sooner or later she was going to start bringing the mood down, then they would ask what was wrong and she wouldn't be able to tell them. Better to duck out now and avoid the friendly concern and inescapable guilt that would inevitably follow. Buffy couldn't even stop in to see Giles, the one person who knew what was going on, because he was meeting with Ms. Calendar tonight. She so did not want to walk in on that.
She thought, maybe a nice solid patrol – do some damage and actually feel in control of something. Buffy sighed heavily and glanced in the direction of the door.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of shocking blond hair through the crowd. Her eyes shifted and focused on a spot beside the bar. It was definitely him – Spike.
Buffy scowled at the cause of her most recent turmoil. He was reaching across the counter to remove a beer bottle from the bartender's outstretched hand. With a nod to the other man, Spike leaned backward against the bar, took a drink and glanced guardedly around. He probably sensed the Slayer in here somewhere. Buffy tried to remain inconspicuous as she watched him.
Spike's gaze shifted to the opposite corner and his posture immediately stiffened. Buffy was reminded of a Discovery Channel wildlife show. Spike suddenly looked just like one of those African antelopes getting wind of a predator. It was a strange mental image. She craned her neck to catch a glimpse of what he was looking at, and was surprised to see Harmony Kendall across the dance floor. The girl's smile widened significantly as she glanced in Spike's direction.
The vampire put his beer down on the bar and began walking purposely for the door. Harmony broke away from her friends to do the same.
Buffy grabbed her jacket and hopped down off her chair. "Sorry, guys," she blurted suddenly. "I'm sort of beat. I think I'm going to call it a night."
Willow looked surprised. "A-are you sure?" she asked. "Well, -- we could come with you, if you want . . . ."
"No," Buffy said, smiling but moving quickly to take her leave. "You guys go ahead and stay. I'm a little concerned about Mom, anyway; I really think I'd like to check on her."
She heard Xander say, "Okay, Buff," to her back as she turned and made for the door, where she immediately intercepted Harmony.
"Word of advice, Harm," she said, pulling the other girl to a standstill with a firm hold on her upper arm. "Stay away from the ones in leather. They're nothing but trouble."
Harmony turned to face Buffy with a curl of her upper lip. "Ew, let go of me, you freak!" she whined as she tugged her arm out of Buffy's grip.
"Seriously," Buffy reiterated with a long-suffering look. "Stick to the detention hall delinquents, Harmony. Definitely a safer kind of bad boy."
Harmony scoffed scathingly. "What's your deal, Summers? Who died and made you keeper of the hotties?"
"Who died?" Buffy muttered irritably as she left Harmony in her wake and turned toward the door. "Actually, he did."
Buffy jogged outside and pulled her jacket on. Taking a moment to glance up and down the alley that led to The Bronze, she began to walk swiftly away from the club, trying to determine what direction Spike might have gone.
Jenny Calendar tapped her fingers anxiously upon the desk as she stared at the computer monitor. This was taking longer than she'd expected, but if it worked it would be worth it. She shook out her wrist until the face of her watch was visible. Definitely running behind.
"Come on," she muttered impatiently. "Come on." She wondered if Rupert would be curious as to what was keeping her. But she was just about ready to go – the main door to her classroom was locked, the lights were turned off. This program was the only thing she was still waiting for.
The Rumanian text on her computer screen was partially obstructed by another window. In it, a status bar climbed, indicating how much of the program had yet to be completed. Jenny shifted in her chair and waited.
When the bar reached 100 percent, the smaller window disappeared. On the monitor, another screen popped up. This one included a series of translated scrolls beside the original text. Jenny's eyes lit up and she smiled. "That's it," she breathed with great relief. She reached for a disc and slid it into the drive. "It's going to work," she said. Her face glowed with confidence as she copied the program from the screen onto the disc and ejected it from the machine. "This . . . will work."
She set the disc aside and punched a few more buttons on the keyboard. The printer buzzed to life and began to reproduce a hard copy of the information on her screen. Jenny smiled again. This was going to work! She couldn't wait to tell Rupert when she saw him; she was eager to see his reaction.
As the sound of the printer filled the classroom, Jenny wheeled her chair over to it. She peeled off the first of the perforated pages and looked it over while the others printed out. As she held up the paper to read, she noticed something at the back of her classroom that made her jump out of her skin.
There was someone sitting there.
She shot to her feet. Her first thought was Rupert. She'd kept him waiting too long, so of course he'd come to look for her. But something about the way the person was sitting – all swagger and slouch – swept that thought away immediately. She saw his cold smile in the moonlight, and the sight chilled her blood.
"Angel."
Jenny instinctively sidestepped toward the door behind her. "How did you get in here?" she asked shakily.
Angelus continued to lounge lazily in the chair at the back of the classroom. "I was invited," he replied matter-of-factly. "The sign in front of the school . . . . Formatia
trans sicere educatorum."
"'Enter, all ye who seek knowledge.'" Jenny felt her blood roaring in her ears. This was a public building, of course. Vampires didn't need an invitation. Leave it to Angelus to find one anyway.
He giggled a little and eased up out of the chair. "What can I say?" he shrugged. "I'm a knowledge seeker." He began to take deliberate steps toward her . . . prowling.
Jenny started, frightened. "Angel," she floundered, scanning her surroundings for a way out. "I - I've got good news."
She could tell by the look on his face that she wasn't going to be able to appeal to any vestige of morality in him. There was none. Angel wasn't in there . . . and the only way to get him back was feeding out of the computer right now. But Jenny had to say something – distract him, keep him talking. If she stalled long enough, maybe it would be enough time for help to arrive.
Rupert. She was late to meet with Rupert. Surely he'd be wondering about her by now. He would have to come looking for her, wouldn't he? To see what was taking so long?
Rupert, please. Her hands were sweaty and her heart hammered against her chest as she stretched out her will like a lifeline – a prayer. Please, come. Please.
Angelus was nodding his head in response to Jenny's last statement. "I heard," he said. "You went shopping at the local boogedy-boogedy store." Angelus glanced down to her desk, where the glass orb she had bought that morning sat nestled in the velvet lining of its box. "The Orb of Thesulah," he mused as he picked it up. Jenny felt her heart give a lurch when he touched it. She began to edge cautiously away.
"If memory serves," Angelus continued as he gazed into the orb in his hand, "this is supposed to summon a person's soul . . . from the ether . . . store it until it can be transferred."
The Orb of Thesulah began to glow between Angelus' fingers. It cast an eerie light onto his face, deepening the creases in his skin when he smiled. It looked unreal, terrifying. Jenny tried to back away.
"You know what I hate most about these things?" he asked conversationally.
Without warning, Angelus hurled the orb across the room. Jenny screamed. It narrowly missed her, exploding into countless pieces against the blackboard behind her and falling to the floor like glittering vampire dust.
"They're so damn fragile." Angelus smiled.
Jenny backed up. She could feel her entire body trembling and almost needed the wall behind her to keep her upright. She pressed against it, her mind racing in a searing panic.
"Must be that shoddy gypsy craftsmanship, huh?" Angelus said. The smile slipped from his face as Jenny reached the classroom door. He directed his attention away from her for a moment and turned to look at the computer. He swiveled the monitor toward him to see the screen. "I never cease to be amazed how much the world has changed in
just two and a half centuries," he mused with an air of wonder.
Jenny jiggled the door handle, only to be cruelly reminded that she had locked this one not long ago. The key was in her purse. Angelus' voice continued to filter into her head and she felt dizzy, as though this wasn't really happening.
This can't be real. God, not like this. Rupert. Rupert. Rupert . . . .
"It's a miracle to me." Angelus' said. "You, you put the secrets to restoring my soul in here . . . ." He practically caressed the computer, then violently shoved it from the desk. Jenny jumped as the monitor shattered on the floor. Sparks ignited as the bare electronics flared and burst into flame. Angelus removed the pages from the printer. ". . . and it comes out here. 'The Ritual of Restoration,'" he shook his head at the first sheet as he read. "Wow. This, . . . this brings back memories."
He tore the pages down the middle.
"Wait!" Jenny unconsciously protested. "That's your—"
"Oh, my cure?" He paused, a steel glint in his eye as he looked back at her. "No, thanks. Been there, done that. And déjà vu just isn't what it used to be." His face seemed to light with interest as he noticed the computer on the floor; a small fire was still consuming it. "My . . . isn't this my lucky day. The computer . . . and the pages," he said as he held the remnants of the restoration spell over the open flame. The pages curled in upon themselves as they blackened and burned. "Looks like I get to kill two birds with one stone."
As Angelus crouched over the fire, he raised his hands to the flame, making a show of warming them. Jenny saw this as her only chance. She started slowly toward the rear door of the classroom – the one she knew was unlocked – the one Angelus had entered – the one that would be her only way out.
As she moved, he raised his head. His vampire features glowed dangerously in the light of the flame. He grinned viciously.
"And teacher makes three."
To be continued . . .
Also, I'm still hoping for some inspiring Spuffy to help get my mind back into writing this. So if you have any great new Spike/Buffy recs, I invite you to shout them out here! I'd be most grateful!
