WELCOME BACK
by perletwo
OI!!!
Get'off, this is MY space!
where am i?
Good ol' terra firma, wanker. Don'cha recognize your old body?
...what?...what happened to me?...
'Course, it *has* been an awful long time...
...i remember...that woman...pain...then...no pain. ...how long...
Long time, wanker, loooong time.
...?
You've landed in the early 21st Century, mate, an' lemme tell ya, f'r the likes'a me it is a *rockin'* century! The Church is in collapse! An' people shag all the time without a thought!
Ah. The Bohemians finally achieved that particular revolution, did they?
*snort* *Really* good birth control did 'at, more like. Anyways. Misery an' despair are everywhere, an' 'umans kill each other for sport all'a time now!
Oh, an' booze is cheap now, too.
All those things were beginning in...in my time. But, but there were...good things as well...refuges...beauty...love...
...umm...
Is there nothing such in this time too?
...umm...yeah.
Yes?
Yeahhr...
Beauty?
oh yahrrr...
Love?
*whimper* yeah.
Show me?
The quality of the light changes, and noise surrounds them - a woman singing over an acoustic guitar. People swirl all around them, but they are aware only of wet warmth under their mouth, sparks flying through them in random spots at the brush of a pair of soft hands, and heavy, pulsating pleasure.
Occasionally they pull back and their eyes focus briefly on a young woman's heart-shaped face, framed by long blonde hair. Her skin is flushed, her swollen lips are an 'O' of pleasure, and her grey-green eyes are alight with joy.
They can focus on her for only seconds before her beauty drives them to kiss her again, and the scene dissolves into darkness.
!!Magnificent!!
Yup.
!!Beautiful!!
Yup yup.
She is !!glorious!!
Poor choice of adjectives, but - yup.
...radiant...glistening...
Oh for fuck's sweet sake. Don't start tryin' to rhyme again!
She is...She is...
Yeah yeah. She's all that.
She is...not here.
!!....
Is she?
....nope.
Do you love her?
...yup.
Show me.
The light around them shifted again, and sounds and images hit them rapid-fire.
"Just say yes, and make me the happiest man on Earth."
"Oh Spike...of *course* it's yes!"
"You're beneath me."
"Is there something I can do?"
"She shouldn't have found out like that."
"You didn't think you could keep the truth from her forever, did you?"
"Something's happening to me. I can't stop thinking about you."
"You don't know what you mean. You don't know what feelings are!"
"What you did...for me, and for Dawn...that was real. I won't forget."
"I know you'll never love me. I know I'm a monster...but..."
"Her *hands*..."
"...I do know a thing or two about torment -"
"I was happy."
"A vampire with a soul? How lame is that?"
"Tell me you love me."
"I love you. You know I do."
"Tell me you want me?"
"I always want you. In point of fact -"
"'Shut up."
"I'm sorry, William."
You love her.
Yup.
You've based the whole of your existence upon her.
Yup yup.
Then why are we here, when here is where she is not?
....!
Show me.
*grrrrrllllllrrrrrrr*
Show me. *Now.*
"...personal favor, from me to you, I'll make it quick. Won't hurt a bit."
"No, Spike. It's gonna hurt a lot."
"I lost a *friend tonight -"
" - I wasn't in on that raiding party!"
"- and I may lose more! The whole earth may be sucked into Hell, and you want my help 'cause your girlfriend's a big ho? Well, let me take this opportunity to *not* care!"
"I wish I was dead."
"Well, if you close your eyes and wish *real* *hard*..."
"Wow. That was *pathetic!*"
The light changed again, becoming harsher, brighter, glaring off tile and chrome.
"No - Spike - "
"I'm hurt -"
"Stop! - "
"Ask me *again* why I could never love you!"
More than a century you've had this body and *this* is what you've reduced us to?
OI! More'n *you* ever did wi'it, innit?
How you could *ever* raise a hand to such an angel!
Again wi' the poor adjective choices, mate, but - you're wrong. She don't belong on a soddin' pedestal. She's real. Flesh an' blood an' bone, mate. She's got courage an' strength an' in 'er way, she's as ruthless a killer as I am.
Even if those *are* the things she should be worshipped for, the essential question still remains. How you could!
*grumble*growl*snarl*squirm*
Very well.
What *now?*
You have had ample time to make an impression upon our beloved. This is the impression you have chosen to make -
Now WAIT just a bleedin' second! -
- therefore, when we return to her - and we *shall* - we proceed according to *my* rules.
BLOODY HELL!
Shout all you like. We *are* going to redeem ourselves to her. Even if we can't win her, we can at least do that much.
*grrrrr*
Now then. How do we go about getting ourselves home?