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Hell Is In the Details	By : SpikesHeart Category: Angel the Series > Het - Male/Female Views: 2390 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Angel: The Series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Hell Is In the
Details � Chapter 19
� All the World�s a Stage

I will!�

Loud and strident, with all the defiance of an angry
teenager well remembered by those who had watched her grow up � Dawn Summers
burst upon the scene� with Rupert Giles, Xander Harris
and Willow Rosenberg trailing behind her.

While the others gathered around Buffy, Dawn took her place
at Spike�s side in front of the Tribunal, and looking up at the imposing
figures, she squared her shoulders.

�I�ll stand for him. What do you need from me?�

�Who are you, young mortal, that you presume to speak on the behalf of this once
powerful vampire?�

�I am Dawn Summers, formerly pure mystical energy older than
the ages and a key to dimensional portals, now a younger sister to the Slayer, Buffy Summers.� She turned
to Spike, blue eyes level with his own, and stroked his cheek in wonder �
amazed that he was actually back amongst them. Taking a deep breath, she
continued. �And adoring brat sister to Spike.�

As the three robed figures conferred with each other, Spike
reached out, holding onto his Niblet�s shoulders and
staring wordlessly into her eyes. Finding the love he never thought he�d see
there again, he pulled her tightly to him, whispering, �We�ll talk later, pet�
if I�m still here. I promise.�

�You leave us again, and I swear I�ll hunt you down and kill
you myself. I�m so sorry for��

Silence. We have decided to allow you to speak on
behalf of the vampire you have called brother. Proceed.

�Okay, so� obviously you�re looking for character witnesses,
so I�ll keep talking and you just tell me if I�m going in the right direction,
okay? The first time I met Spike was about 7 years ago. He was making a deal
with Buffy, to take out Angelus� who was trying to suck the world into Hell by
awakening Acathla.�

A
soulless demon preventing the demise of humans � going against the wishes of
his Sire?

�Yes, your Honor.� Dawn paused, and
looked expectantly at the seated figures. When no further response was
forthcoming, she continued.

�Then there was the summer that Buffy died. She jumped off a
tower to seal a rift in dimensions that my �keyness�
opened when my blood was spilled. She saved my life, and the world, but left me
with no family � just her friends. And Spike. Who had fallen in love with her.�

A
vampire in love with a Slayer?
The same Slayer his Sire had professed to love? What did he do upon her death?

Dawn�s body shook. Recalling this time in her life was never
easy, and Spike had to hold her steady, whispering �It�s okay, pet� and �Do the
best you can, Niblet� in her ear, attempting to
control his own emotions as well.

�He stayed with me� moved into my house and watched over me
when everyone else had to go back to work and school. He cooked for me, and
made sure I went to school, and stayed up and held me when I cried for hours.
ryonryone else tried to move on, but Spike let me cry and usually cried with me.
We missed her so much. He had promised her he would take care of me...�

Angel snorted in derision, contempt obvious on his face.
�This is beyond ridiculous. You�re making him out to be Mary fuckin� Poppins.�

Be quiet, Angelus!
The Judge thundered. Your time for
judgment will come. If you cannot keep quiet, we will have you gagged.

It paused. Go on,
child. Did the vampire stay or leave after the death of the Slayer?

�That�s just it. Everyone expected him to leave... they wanted
him to leave. They told him he wasn�t needed anymore and that I�d be better off
without him. But he wouldn�t leave. He fought against them for months until it
was just us, mostly. Then he patrolled at night with them and alone after everyone
went to bed, he��

Once more, the judges whispered amongst themselves before
addressing Dawn.

To keep the facts
straight, please confirm the following: William the Bloody, vampire of some
renown, voluntarily kept company with humans, based solely on a promise made to
a dead woman he cared for. Were his attentions returned?

Dawn snorted. �Hardly. Most of the time Buffy couldn�t stand to be around him. None
of the people here could.�

The vampire stayed
amongst humans � his natural food source � who hated him, and yet not only did
he not attempt to kill them, but worked with them, killing his own kind? And
when the object of his affections ceased to exist, he honored a verbal promise
to take care of her remaining family?

�Well, for years Spike had an electrical chip in his head
that hurt him when he tried to hurt humans, and he used to hang around, hoping
for a handout and bagged blood. Buffy wouldn�t stake him because she said he was
harmless and just annoying� but he was strong. The money sitch
didn�t last long � the gang stopped paying him after only a few months. Then he
found out he could kill demons, but he still stayed and helped. Nobody liked
him but me. Buffy came to appreciate his strength, and the
fact that he would always watch her back. She could trust that, if
nothing else. And she did� trust that. And trusted him with me and Mom, before
she died � Mom died, I mean, and then just me. Oooh,
and he�d been tortured by a HellGod, and he never
gave up the information that would have given me away as the Key.�

The cessation of
killing humans was not due of his own volition, then, but
caused by a man-made device. The vampire was forced to quit killing his natural
food source, and chose to channel his desires into killing demonnstenstead � at
first for remuneration and then for� pleasure.

Dawn was frustrated. When stated like that, it put Spike in
a really bad light. �Look, your Honor� Spike made so many choices for the good
and right reasons even before he got his soul. And that was when nobody would
give him the time of day. In the end, he saved the��

We have heard enough
from you, child. All of your words
will receive equal weight in our judgment.

Crestfallen, the teen tried to apologize as she turned to
walk away. She hadn�t even been able to talk about how Spike had saved the
world. Dawn hoped the others would fare better.

�S�all right, Niblet. Nothing said that wasn�t true. S�all been long done.� Spike sighed. �Time
to pay the piper, I s�pose.� He pressed a kiss
to her forehead, and swatted her behind. �Go on, now � off to big sis.�

Lorne clapped Spike gently on the shoulder before turning to
face the Tribunal. �I am Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok clan, of Pylea. I haven�t
known Spike for long, since he�s only been conscious for the past 3 days, but I
do have several things to say.�

Speak your piece, Pylean.

�I�ve only known
Spike for less than a week, but I was there when he popped out of the amulet in
Angel�s office. He was frightened and disoriented; apparently having died some
weeks before in Sunnydale.

�Angel was furious from the moment he first saw him. For two
days they did nothing but argue � about Spike�s being there, with an occasional
fist-fight thrown in for good measure. They fought about money, a place to
stay, the right to exist; family helping family and all that.

�The next day things were so quiet and Angel was so
peaceful, we asked what had happened. Angel told us all that Spike had decided
to �do the smart thing� and leave, since they weren�t getting along.�
cla class=MsoNormal>

For two days, the vampire was argumentative and demanding and
then gone from the premises. Do you have anything that bears bringing to light
about your interaction with him?

The Anagogic demon was nonplussed. �Don�t
you want to hear about what we found out? What happened to Spike? How he was
treated?

The only thing we are interested in is your interaction with the
vampire in question. What has happened to him is of no

A chorus of indignant cries from Buffy,
Dawn and Gunn turned the attention of the judges in their direction.

If there are further disruptions, we will simply dust the
vampire in question, thereby negating the need for trial and judgment. As you
wished for Justice, it would be wise to adhere to our procedures. His
disposition is of no consequence to us.

Thoroughly chastened and deeply frustrated,
Spike�s supporters bit back their outrage. This was not the way they envisioned
the trial going. This was almost a condemnation of the very person they were
trying to help. Angel smirking down from his high horse was not helpful. Buffy
wanted nothing more than to take him down a peg or twenty. All she could do was
pray he�d get his when and if the
time came.

Last chance, Pylean. If you have nothing
further to add�

�No, no� I�m not done. You want character?
I�ll show you character. I�ve been in this dimension for the past ten years,
and have been around demons of all shapes and sizes. There is one universal
truth � corner an injured demon, and he�ll lash out at
you. The younger the demon, the less control, but even the old ones tend to
lose it in the face of overwhelming pain and uncertainty. I�ve seen Angel tend
the worst of his injuries alone, to avoid the temptations of flesh and blood so
near his injured demon.

�But Spike� a whole different enchilada.
He�d been in and out of consciousness for the better part of a year. He opened
his eyes to me, not knowing me from Adam� or the army of assorted demons he�d
been forced to face. In helping, I caused him more pain. Setting broken bones
and cleansing wounds isn�t a walk in the park for anyone, but to a vampire with
no controls in place, there�s usually no thought involved in ripping out the
throat of the person inflicting pain. Sort of drain now, don�t bother with
asking questions later, you know?

�He thanked me. I sat there, hurting him,
and he thanked me for being kind. He�s shown me nothing but gratitude � and loyalty
and devotion towards those he cared for. His only request was not for revenge,
but for the woman he�d fought beside for years� Buffy Summers, the Slayer.�

We have heard enough. You are dismissed.

A slight nod towards Spike, and Lorne was
off to rejoin Buffy, waiting for him with open arms.

�Thanks, Lorne,� the petite blonde
whispered. �At least you got a few words out in his defense. They certainly
aren�t making it easy.�

�They sure aren�t.� Gunn straightened his
shoulders, heading towards the fence and his position next to Spike. �Might as well put my two cents in.�

�Your
honors.� he addressed the Tribunal, bowing his head in a show of
respect. �My name is Charles Gunn, and I was with Lorne when we found out about
Spike being sold into slavery, and when we rescued him from that demon den of
iniquity known as Dante�s.�

We warn you once, human. Confine your comments to your
interaction with the vampire. Anything else has the potential to bring these
proceedings to an irreversible conclusion.

Got it said out loud, anyway. What�s been heard can�t be
unheard. Sorry, your honor. I�ll make my statement
brief. The fact that Spike managed to survive a year of captivity and
mistreatment is a testament to his inner strength. The fact that his mind still
functions amazes me. The capacity to reach out for help and to seek and offer
comfort shows me a spirit that won�t be denied.� Gunn paused to catch his
breath. �That more in line with what you were askin�
for?�

It is what we were asking for� barely. You are now dismissed.

�Stay strong, dude.� Gunn shook Spike�s
hand. �Wish I could have done more.�

Willow looked around nervously. �Guess it�s my turn. I mean, someone who knSpikSpike for years should speak, so it
might as well be me.� She gave one last look into Buffy�s imploring eyes, and
hoped her testimony would do some good.

�Hey, Spike,� she said, taking his hand in
hers for a moment. �Here goes everything.� Willow
turned and addressed the Tribunal:

�Your honor, sirs, my name is Willow
Rosenberg and I�ve known Spike for more than seven years now.�

We know of you, witch. You are responsible for the over
abundance of Slayers in this realm. There have been quite a few calls for
justice against you � for changing the balance of power between humans and
demons. We choose to ignore them� for now. Continue with your testimony

Willow gulped. This wasn�t the way to set her at ease, no �Um, when I met Spike, he was trying to
kill Buffy � the only Slayer back then. It was what he did, as I�m sure you�re
aware of. Slayer of Slayers, and all that. A while later, he�d also kidnapped me, wanting me to make a love
spell to get his old girlfriend back.�

She turned to Spike and mouthed �sorry.� He
simply shrugged his shoulders. As he�d said before, what was,
was.

�Angel once told me � us � that Spike was
worse than any other creature we�d ever faced. That once he starts something he
doesn�t stop until everything in his path is dead. Obviously me
and Giles and Xander and Buffy all put the lie to
that tale, what with still being here all these years later and all.

�But Angel was right in a way, too. Spike
was one determined person, for sure. I mean, yes� vampire � all scary and creepy
to a bunch of kids like we were. All that life, or unlife experience made us feel rather foolish� until he got
chipped. And then he needed us. He couldn�t hunt and feed and we took him in.�

You mean he was crippled and sought shelter amongst his mortal enemies,
and you treated him like a vicious dog. Kept him chained and
half starved � only letting him off the leash when you needed some extra
muscle. You see, Ms. Rosenberg � we see all sides, equally. I gather there was a point you were trying to
make, however?

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Hell Is In the Details