"Don't worry, Spike, I have called an old friend of mine. He is an expert in Ghosts and surely knows how to rescue you."
Spike looked terrified as he had to face Hell more and more. "Did you tell them about the amulet?"
"Yes. They had hired new members who also had experience with the demon world and the occult. They have sent an expert team."
Spike looked a bit more relieved. "Please," he almost begged, "I don't want to go to Hell. I deserve better as a hero."
"They can be here any minute now."
"I love you, Fred," Spike said gratefully.
Fred looked a bit angry. "Don't say that, Spike. I might be a geek and the sex was great, but I know you love Buffy." She sighed, a bit disappointed. "You don't love me, Spike."
Spike flashed his typical smile. "That's the past, Fred. I love you."
Fred smiled.
Angel was sitting behind his desk as he watched how four people wearing white suits and strange looking canons on their backs. He looked up as he recognized their faces. "Faith, Xander and . . . you are?"
The dark man growled as he was absolutely not happy with this.
"That's Robin Wood, my boyfriend," Faith introduced.
Angel looked at Faith's face and saw some annoyed features behind her mask of happiness. "Nice to meet you, Robin," he welcomed the former principal politely, "My name is Angel."
Wood nodded politely back as he was a gentleman himself, but sure as hell he was not amused.
"Wicked cool place you have here, Angel."
Angel grinned, but before he could speak Xander interrupted. "No time for chit chat. We are for business. We have heard that this company of yours has been possessed by a Ghost," he said questiongly, while they already knew what had happened. "By Spike."
Angel frowned. "How do you know that?"
"This employee of yours, Fred, told Willow. She told Buffy. And she ordered us . . . me," he corrected at the look of angry faces, "to help you, uh, or rather Spike."
Angel blinked, stood up and looked out of the blinded windows and then back to Xander again. "Why would you want to help him?"
"Buffy!" Wood snapped, before Faith could. "She wants to help that piece of shit and you, Vamp."
Angel turned his head to Faith and looked questiongly. "He hate vamps," she muttered.
"Oh, he knows that I am ensouled, doesn't he?"
"Just like that bleeched ghost? Not much worth," Wood commented, disgusted.
"Calm down!" Xander ordered, "We are here to do our jobs, remember?"
Wood had respect for the young man, but it was running up. "I just don't get you. For seven years you have done everything for the Queen Slayer. I know you hate Spike, he destroyed Buffy. You're so loyal while you take every crap she throws at you."
"I'm used to it," he said calm while looking at Faith, "She is not the only one."
Even though Faith still felt the guilt, comparing her with Buffy wasn't making it any better. "What!?" she snapped.
Xander sighed. "Look, it's the past, that's all I want to say. Let's do our job and get over with it."
Wood looked between the two. "What was that supposed to mean?" "Nothing," both answered, irritated.
He held up his hand. "Ok. But that still doesn't answer the question, Xander. Why do you insist in helping that creep? He got what he deserved." Faith turned her head to Xander again, with the same question written on her face. "You're still Buffy's geek."
Xander didn't answer and turned his head to Angel, his eyebrows raising. "I will bring you to them . . ."
The four are standing together with Fred in her room in front of the amulet, waiting for Spike to appear.
"Can't we summon him?" Faith asked after a while, breaking the disturbing silence.
Before the silence was broken, Spike appeared and looked around. Then he saw the faces of his rescue team. "What!?" he yelled and looked at Fred. "They are not going to help me!"
Fred blinked. "W-why not?" she asked nervously.
"They hate me."
"We are here to help you, Spike," Xander said.
"Ordered by the blond queen herself," Faith interjected.
"Buffy? She knows? She sent you to help me?" he asked hopefully and looked at Fred. She nodded back with a sly smile on her face.
"And him?" he asked pointing at Wood.
"I have nothing to do with this crap. I just want you to burn in Hell," Wood simply said.
Even though he was facing Hell, he still had to chuckle a bit about Wood irritation. "The boy can't stand that Buffy chooses me over you. And she want me free so that we can get together."
Fred looked at him, a bit angry. "What did I tell you?"
Spike looked ashamed at her. "Uh, sorry, just . . ."
"Forget it, Spike."
"Well, Buffy's boy what are you waiting for, obey her orders," Spike said annoyed, knowing that his white knight complex for Buffy forced the boy to help him.
"Ok. Set the proton canon on electromagnetic readings and non- ectoplasmic matrix. Let's set him free."
The three blasted electromagnetic waves with a specific frequency on Spike. A few moments later he started to scream, louder and louder as he slowly disappeared into the amulet.
The group, except Xander, stared stunned at the amulet. "W-What happened?" Fred asked.
"We have set his soul free," Xander answered.
"B-But he was sucked into the amulet and that's not the same as being freed from it . . ."
Xander turned his head and walked over to the door, leaving a still stunned group. "Where do you think black souls go to?" he simply said.
On the way back Wood and Faith stared at him. "You knew?"
Xander nodded, but his expression stayed unfazed.
"How are you gonna tell Buffy this?" Wood said, wondering.
"Why should I?" he asked.
"Buffy is not going to be happy when you tell her this."
"I'm not going to tell her this."
"Fred isn't much bothered by it, he betrayed her afterall, but she *will* tell it when Buffy asked her."
"Why would Buffy ask her?"
Wood frowned. "She did order you to help Spike, didn't she?"
Xander shrugged. "Oh, that?" He flashed a grin. "I lied."
Xander sat on his bed, looked around the dingy hotel and sighed. He winced as he moved, the wounds from the beating Buffy had given him when she'd found out about Spike still tender, but not as tender as his bitter memories. He'd expected Buffy to react badly, but this and no support from either Willow or Faith too.
He was ripped out of this recurring thought when he suddenly saw an envelope in front of his door. Surprised he walked over to pick up the envelope and ripped it open.
"What is this? . . ." he wondered as he saw an amulet fall out of the envelope.
The amulet fell to the ground and laid there. Xander stared at it in stunned surprise. "What the heck?"
He rushed out of his room looking around and then ran downstairs to the lobby. He rushed out of the motel and looked in both directions seeing nobody. He walked over to the receptionist, a big bald guy, at his desk. "Did anybody asked for my name or room?"
"Alexander Lavelle Harris?"
Xander nodded.
"Nobody."
<Shit! This can't be done by Buffy or . . . Faith . . . Willow?> he shook his head, <No, they wouldn't hate me that much.> <Angel?>
"I just don't understand why you want to find that son of bitch?"
"Faith, he's wandering over the streets, alone and with one eye missing, remember?"
"So what? He got what he deserved."
"You can't be that harsh."
"Yes, I can. I just don't understand you. He also sent you to Hell."
"He had the right motives, Faith. You can't compare it with Spike."
"He lied then, he lied now. He is just a liar. He did that only to get Buffy, just with Spike now."
"Faith, if he hadn't lied then . . ."
"I know your arguments. That was just a lame excuse which luckily came in handy for him."
Angel sighed. Every time since Wood had broken up with her on this, she got easily pissed. He tried one last time. "Faith, you know we have never discussed this before, but you know . . . he *did* try to save you back then . . ."
Faith went furious. "Only to impress B." She stared at him. "Don't you get it? It's always been B. B this, B that. The glorious Buffy." She calmed down a bit. "I thought that we might had something going. And when he told his lie to us about Spike, I got so horny that I could fuck him right away. But then Red told Buffy and Red told me . . ." A small tear appeared, "I should have strangled him, that whole White Knight complex of him is fake . . . nothing more than a mask."
Angel just stared at the emotional dark Slayer, speechless. But they were quickly interrupted by Fred as she rushed in. "The amulet . . . A-Angel. It's gone . . ."
"What!?"
A black car arrived at the motel where Xander stayed. Its driver, clothed in a black suite, parked the car in front of the motel and stepped out it and walked over to the lobby. He pulled out a picture from his wallet and showed it the receptionist.
"Hello, do you have seen this guy?" he asked politely.
"Why do ya wanna know?" the big man asked
He exused himself and showed the receptionist his ID. "FBI," he said.
The desk clerk frowned at his ID and checked out the man standing in front of him with the picture on his ID and nodded. "What do ya wanna know?"
"Have you seen him?"
Somehow the man in front of him seemed too smooth, he had seen their sort before. "I might," he replied carefully.
"Thanks."
The man walked out of the lobby, to his car and pulled out a telescope and began to check out all the windows.
Xander studied the amulet. He had thrown it out of the window and tried to get rid of it by flushing it through the toilet a couple of time, but everytime it came back. As if it wasn't linked to W&H anymore, but to him. He studied the thing carefully. He remembered how it had been used by Spike to seal of Sunnydale's Hellmouth. He sighed, thinking what to do now. While he absently continued to study it, he used his shirt to rub it. <It looks ancient,> he thought.
Immediately, the amulet activated and Xander let it fall. A black whirlwind erupted from it and started to glow with flecks of orange as something began to materialize inside it. A man's skeletal form became visible, then it gradually filled out until it's complete. The wind faded and Spike was standing there, screaming and grunting, in the middle of the office, right where the amulet had fallen.
"What the fuck!?" Xander yelled.
Spike doubled over in pain, panting, glaring ferociously. "Aah!"
Xander looked first stunned and then spoke angrily. "Spike!"
Spike looked dazed and then moved his head in the direction of Xander.
The man had seen the light as well and watched for a few seconds the room. He recognized the subject of his search and walked towards his car. He pulled out a shutgun and walked over to Xander's room.
The lobbyist tried the stop him, but was held back by the man's ID.
He stopped in front of the door when he heard not only Xander's voice, but also another familiar one. Intrigued he decided to listen before interrupting.
Fred, Faith and Wesley are standing in front of Angel's desk. "You mean Xander is here in LA? And the amulet is with him?"
Wesley nodded. "We have measured readings from the amulet and several location spells discovered Xander, close to those readings."
"Why couldn't those location spells not find him earlier?"
"He must have had some protection, an necklace? Or an a. . ."
"Amulet?" Angel asked.
"Somehow the amulet must counter effect it."
Angel nodded.
Spike recognized Xander. "Bugger."
"Spike, what are doing here? What is this?"
Spike looked at him up and down. "This is all your fault. You bloody hell sent me to it."
"Everybody gets what he deserves, Spike. Well, not everybody. What are you doing here?"
"I got burned, ripped apart, tortured, over and over again!" he yelled.
"Met one of your friends?"
Spike clenched his fists, but got his usual calm quickly enough. "Spike, what is going on? Why are you here?" Xander asked again.
Spike placed his ghosty face in his hands and sighed. He looked at Xander and swallowed. "Sir, you have freed me from the lamp! Uh, sorry, wrong item."
Xander eyes widened. "You gonna grant me 3 wishes??" he asked as if this was ridicilous.
Spike flashed a grin. "No, Master. For this I will grant you only one."
"I don't need a wish."
Spike shrugged. "Then I will stay with you until you die."
Xander blinked. "What!? What is this for devilsh game?"
"You unleashed the Genie from Hell, but I'm still stuck in the damned amulet. And it is stuck with you as well."
Xander thought for a while. "One wish?" he asked to be certain. Spike nodded.
"No world peace, I guess?"
"You saw that X-File's ep too?" Spike asked wondering, "Was great, wasn't it?"
"Yes, they made a good point. Every human vanished from earth. That will give peace."
He remember something of the Aladin tale from when he was young. He knew that Aladin in the end could choose between getting the princess or freeing the Genie from the lamp.
"I guess I'm supposed to free you, don't I?"
Spike shrugged. "Didn't expect you to."
"No, you didn't."
"Or I could wish for the love of my life?"
"If you want too."
Xander couldn't take it any longer. "What is in it for you, Spike!?"
Spike shrugged. "Not much. Unless . . ."
"Unless? Forget it, Spike!"
In the mean time the man behind the door was listening every word with high interest, while keeping his shutgun ready. "C'mon Xander, don't give in . . . Choose the princess."
Angel's stretched limo arrived in front of the motel and he and Faith stepped out. Angel saw the black car and frowned. <Who would that be?>
The two rushed into the motel. "Room 45, according to Fred," Angel said. Faith kept the big desk clerk back by her Slayer strength and then followed Angel. When they arrived at Xander's room they saw the door open and heard alot of yelling. They quickly ran in and saw Spike staring at Xander with a shutgun against his head. Then they saw it's owner.
"Robin!?" Faith shouted. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"What is going on here?" Angel asked, stunned at the situation in front of him and then blinked when the vision of the Ghost hit his undead brain.
"Spike!?"
Spike smiled. "Hey, mate. Nice of you to join the party."
"Why are you holding a gun against his head. I thought you were in awe of him?"
"I was, that's why I followed him. Protection him from you and the other Slayer," Wood answered in disgust.
Before she could reply a harsh comment, Spike interrupted. "Buffy's boy here wanted to wish me free."
"Wish?" the newcomers asked.
"He is a Genie in an amulet, Xander freed him from Hell."
"Huh?"
"You know, rubbing the lamp?"
"Aladin?" Angel asked reduciously.
Both understood immediately what was going on. And then stared at Xander. "Not the princess?" Faith asked, stunned.
"I said so," Angel commented, rewarding an wide-eyed look from Faith.
"I'm gonna shoot you if your lips are forming the word free!" Wood threatend the young man.
"That's one murder from you," Xander replied surprisingly calm, holding back a crack about freedom of speech.
"Just get your girl and be over with it," Wood commented. Xander's stared at him. "You think it works like that, don't you? A wish and all problems are gone? Newsflash!? It won't!"
"That over there is a bastard, a piece of shit that belongs in only one place: Hell."
Faith knew that her ex hated vamps, but not that it was so bad that he was willing to kill for it. "Robin . . ."
"Keep out of it, Faith," he said, trying to stay calm.
"You can't kill an human being for revenge, Robin," Angel tried.
Wood ignored him. "This is still about Buffy, isn't it? Free Spike and hoping that she will forgive you."
The young man just stared at Wood in disbelief while Faith was scanning Xander's eye for his reaction.
Wood went one step further. "That she will respect you for this noble gesture of you."
This pissed of Xander completely. "What!? You think I do this for respect?" He shook his head in anger. "This is all such a joke. That I have parents that used to beat me up. That I'm alone, always seen as the class clown. That no matter how hard I try I'll never get any respect for what I did." He sighed. "It doesn't make me Aladin." Then he pointed at Spike, angry again. "And that over there is certainly not a good Genie!"
"What!?" Spike replied.
"That monster stalked Buffy for years. Almost raped her. Then he thought he could get a soul . . . from a *Demon* in god's name." He brought his attention to Spike now. "Not much different made it, did it? You are still the same old cunning and selfish Spike. But it made Buffy choose *you*, an evil corrupted devious asshole, over her own sister, Dawn."
Then he looked back at Wood. "With your help! In your lust for revenge!"
Spike blinked. "I love Buffy . . ."
"You want to own her. You don't love her. If you did than you would have left her alone! From the first moment she rejected you. You corrupted her soul, so she could love you."
Then he turned his face to Wood again. "And if you kill me, then you are not any better."
He turned his head to Angel. "And you! Do you think you can redeem yourself by working together with *Evil* to fight Evil?? Have you totally lost it this time!?"
Angel and Faith where simply too stunned by Xander's outburst. Then he looked at Spike. "And for the wish . . ."
Spike suddenly grinned inwardly, but stayed calm outside. No matter which wish Xander would choose, he would always win. The group looked intense at Xander. Wood had lowered his gun after Xander had finished his rant.
". . . I wish for Cordy to wake up in good health . . ."
Spike eyes widened in mortification and screamed as he slowly disappeared into the amulet again.
The group looked stunned at Spike's disappearance. "W-why did he got sucked into Hell?"
Xander looked up from the amulet. "'Cause he lost. He must have made a deal with Lucifer or something. Freeing him or wishing something for myself would have gotten him free. Both bad for the world and good for the, well, you know the devil."
He looked at Angel. "You can't work with Evil to save the world, Angel. It can only lead to doom. You can only hope to help people," Xander explained and walked away. "Like you did for Faith," they heard him say from a distance.
They stared at the door for a moment almost in shock. After a short moment they recovered and Faith stared at Angel. He nodded and Faith went after him.
"Xander!" she yelled. "Xander!" She easily shortened the distance and walked beside him. "Xander, I-I"
Xander continued walking without paying any attention. But Faith was rushed up. "I-I am sorry," she slipped out of her mouth.
Xander stopped and stared at her, surprised. "You are what?"
"Look, I'm sorry for having thought wrong about you. I-I . . ." she tried to continue, but felt silent again. Xander just stared at her. "I . . . we had a connection . . ." His eye widened at her sudden revelation. "I-I thought you wanted to use me to impress B." Xander's mouth opened. The dark Slayer continued. "Angel convinced me otherwise, but then Wes came and everything went black for me." She felt silent for a moment. "When I came back, I wanted to talk to you, but I couldn't . . . I just couldn't."
Xander understood her completely and his anger had faded away. "You always helped her, Xander. Always was there for her. It's easy to think you, well, loved her."
Xander sighed. "I do, Faith. She and Willow are my best friends. Without them I am lost, I am nothing."
Faith nodded slowly in understanding is motivations.
Xander and Faith laid in bed together in a room at W&H
"B and Red talked with you?"
"Yeah, we are fine now. Angel had explained the whole situation."
Faith grinned. "Angel said that they have apologized big to you. They felt really bad."
Xander moved his head to her and stared her in the eyes. He grinned. "They still do."
Faith flashed a smile. "It seems to me that you got your wish for respect granted."
"You mean that Cordy doesn't insult me anymore?"
Faith nodded. "And respect from B, Red and the whole Angel team." Xander laughed and gave her a little kiss. "That are two wishes granted. I just hope the third will never happen," she said smiling.
Xander flashed a smile back. "Well, I don't know," he teased.
Faith's eyes darkened, but she also grinned as she thought it was a joke to pester her with Buffy. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, you know, sometimes fairy tales do come true, princess . . ."
Faith stared incredously as she realized what he meant. "What!?"