"I'm detecting a large electromagnetic field..." Pale, powder blue eyes narrowed slightly as the numbers jumped, "Ion readings through the roof..."

       "Yeah!  Getting that!  Psychic, remember?!"  A voice snapped, and Alora lifted her head, glaring at her partner.

       "Stop panicking.  You do this everytime...and I tell you the same thing..."

       "Ghosts are only imprinted memories, blah blah...yeah, I know," Jack Winter jumped when he heard something move, "What was that?"

       Alora sighed, running a hand through her short, blond hair, "Rats, most likely, concentrate please.  Temperature dropped ten degrees."

       "You know...everyone else goes to those nice, beautiful castles in the country...but no!  You have to go all Sixth Sense on me and find the creepiest places on the planet..."

       "Will you please shut it?  I'm about to lose my Southren grace over here."  Alora shook her head as she straightened, eyes on the screen of the small, black box strapped to her wrist, "Five more degrees."

       "I know they're imprints...I get that...but...come on...who the hell wants to be in the Borden house?  Violent crimes aren't my area, Alora...I signed on for nice places...like the Tower of London..."

       "Which held a torture chamber, and the headless spirit of Anne Bolen.  Jack...you did sign on to help me detect imprints.  So get to detecting..."

       The dark-haired man sighed heavily as he closed his eyes, and touched his hand to the wall.

       His head snapped back as images assailed his mind, and he gasped, pulling back from the wall, squeaking hoarsely, "Well...she did it."

       "Excellent," Alora smiled as she knelt beside her black backpack, still partially paying attention to her little black box as she pulled out a camera, a spray can and a orange, flourascent light, which she switched on.  She then slipped a headset on, postioning the mouthpiece above her pink, full lips.  

       "It's...eleven-thirty AM...the approximate time the Bordens were murdered," She said aloud into the microphone as she sprayed around the room with a foul-smelling substance.  "Ion reading is 2040.  When I checked last night, it was 200.  The temperature outside is approximately 64 degrees, while indoors, it's 40 degrees, and still dropping."

       Jack watched as Alora held up the floursecent, and he paled as he watched the bare room light up as vivid bloodstains appeared, even though the walls had been painted over many, many times.  They weren't of this world.

       "Ectoplasmic blood is appearing...shit.  I missed my window..." Alora looked annoyed as she switched off the light.  "Great.  I have to wait another year before the event takes place again."

       "I, for one, am fucking glad.  Do you get your rocks off watching violent crimes happen or something?"

       Alora pursed her lips together, brows knitting together slightly.  "Which murder happened first...the father or the mother?"

       "No way..." Jack shook his head, "I'm not climbing up those stairs so you can watch Miss Lizzie give her mommy a few whacks."

       "Fine..." Alora glanced at her watch, a frown marring her pretty face, and Jack smiled slightly as she began to pack everything away.  

       "You know...there are other hobbies, darling."

       "Don't call me that," She stood up, slapping the pack into his chest, watching as the Ion readings faded with a sigh.  "And it's not a hobby."

       Jack shook his head, packing up the rest of the equipment, glancing after the woman as she strode towards the door, still talking distractedly into her microphone, and he cocked his head slightly, his eyes on her butt.  "The things I do for that woman," He sighed, standing up, and brushing off his jeans.

       Of course, even after working with her for two years, the beautiful, Georgian woman still wouldn't give him the time of day.  He slung his backpack over his shoulder, sighing a bit in relief as he stepped out into the safe light of day.  He had heard her theories about spirits simply being imprinted memories, reenacting past events...but he still always got an uneasy feeling whenever they did their work.

       His handsomely rugged features crossed in a frown as he glanced back at the house they had left, feeling a cold, slithing feeling crept through his skin, and he narrowed his eyes as they traveled up the length of the house, sure he could see a shadow move past an upstairs window.

       "...I'm almost finished with the Ecto-glasses..."

       He glanced towards Alora, having missed the first part of her sentence, and returned to the car, tossing her his backpack, "What was that?"

       "I'm almost finished with the Ecto-glasses.  And Diedrich tells me my lasers and computer will be online by early next week.  I want to do a field test on them as soon as possible..."  She caught his look, and sighed, "What?"

       "Don't you ever get tired of doing this?  Running all over the place, looking for things no one else will believe exists?"

       "If you don't like it, leave," She answered, and Jack shook his head as she tried to get past him, and stepped in front of her, preventing her escape.

       "I would, Al, but I worry about you.  You know that," Jack shook his head, "Your father was just as bad..."

       "My father was a great man..."

       "I know," Jack sighed, "Al..."

       "The computer's completly new techonology," She pushed past him to stow the rest of the equipment, trying to change the subject, "It'll do all the readings for us...and I managed to combine the flourscent with the spray, creating a fine, clear film I can paint onto the glasses...combined with the videofeed they'll have, we'll start picking up spirtual evidence that even the hardest skeptics won't ever be able to deny."

       Jack sighed again, giving up as he climbed into the passenger side of the car, "Where are we doing the field test?"

       "You finally get your wish, Jack," She smiled at him, "Pretty little countryside, complete with a castle."

       "Uhuh...and the catch?"

       "It's Holden castle...in England."

       "Should I know that name?"

       "The last people to live in it was over two hundred years ago...a family of ten.  They were all massacred."

       "Of course...it wouldn't be an Alora Dearing special if it wasn't.  And massacred how?"

       "Name it.  Disembowlment, impalement, decapation, throats ripped out, blood drained...local legend has it that vampires did it."

       Jack snorted, "Great...local legend..."

       "Inconsquential.  The area around Holden Castle has it's own, sordid, bloody history.  One ruler in the castle, during medieval times, had a habit of luring children from surrounding villages, and he killed them...that's just one.  The history of the castle is full of such things."

       "Great...so we're basically walking into an entire funhouse of ghosts."

       "Memories, Jack," She corrected, "Once the equipments ready, we ship out."

       "Have Ouija board, will travel..." Jack sighed, "As always."

       "Hmmmm..."  Drusilla weaved back and forth, her eyes closed, "It calls to me, Spike..."

       "Wonderful, luv..." Spike grunted as he lifted a heavy trunk out of the back of the truck, then dropped it on the ground to grab another.  He grimaced as he stepped in a dark substance congealing in the dust of the drive, and glared at the former owner of the truck.  "Great!  It's all over my boots!"

       Drusilla glanced towards the body lying on the ground, the driver's throat torn out, and blood spreading out in a wide pool by the truck's wheels, on which Spike was trying to scrape his boot on with minimal success.

       He finally gave a snarl of disgust, and grabbed the last trunk, dropping it beside the first, and slammed the back of the truck closed, "Bloody nuicance," He muttered beneath his breath, then glared at the castle looming up before him.  It was more of a manor home then a castle, but the man who had built it was considered somewhat of an eccentric, and had made it with many of the same fortifications of a castle, hence it's name.  

       "Don't know why you wanted to come here.  It's bloody morbid."

       "It's ours, Spike..." Drusilla danced over towards him, and dragged the tip of her fingernail across his lips, smiling as he sucked her finger into his mouth, "Don't you remember?  All the pretty colors...and then there was you...all in your glory..."  Her eyes had a dreamy cast to them, "You were born here, my luv."

       "In more ways then one," Spike muttered, letting go of her finger, to grab the handle of a trunk, "Still...this place gives me the creeps, pet.  Always had..."  He glanced up at the black face of the cold stone, the windows dark and dismal, "There's eyes here."

       Jack gritted his teeth together as the truck there were riding in bounced and jostled along the old, country road, the wheels sinking into pits that hadn't be repaired in years.

       He glanced to his side, where Alora was dozing in the passenger seat, her short, golden blond hair flopping into her face, and he glanced out the windshield, watching as Holden Castle loomed in the distance, looking dark and forbiding from his position.

       The countryside wasn't what he had imagined it would be.  It was bleak and desolate, the air cruelly cold, even though it was still fall.  There wasn't even farms around the castle, which was strange, since there were large amounts of land that could be used for it.

       He shook his head slightly, pushing aside all superstitious thoughts that he knew Alora would disapprove of.  For a ghost-hunter, she was really against the whole black cats and voodoo talk.

       He smiled as she murmured softly in her sleep, reaching over to fondly brush her hair out of her face as he turned up the long drive, and she opened her eyes.  "We're there."

       "Oh, good," She sat up, then frowned when she saw a truck sitting in the front, "Who else is here?  The caretaker said the place has been empty for years..."

       "Well...maybe someone decided to take a tour of it without telling anybody," Jack suggested, stopping the truck behind it, "Relax...we'll boot them, and get our work done...and go home."

       "Fine," she sighed as she climbed out, grabbing several bags, and Jack grabbed the last of their equipment, trudging behind her as they headed up to the heavy wooden doors.

       Alora unlocked them with the key the caregiver had given them, and pushed them open with a grunt of effort.

       Jack followed her in, then paused, glancing around the grandeur foyer, "Nope...not creepy at all..."

       A thick layer of dust covered everything, and large, dirty white cobwebs was strewn between the dirty, white pillars.  A great stair case led upstairs, but the rug was pitted with holes and stained with what looked like blood.

       "Grreeattt...next time, I pick the place."

       "Whatever," Alora looked around in annoyance, then noticed two sets of footprints marring the dust, "They're upstairs."

       Jack yelped as the door slammed behind him, and whirled around, "SHIT!"

       Alora glanced over her shoulder at the door, then snorted in annoyance, "You're not supposed to be here," She addressed the shadows, and Jack let out a sigh of relief when a figure detached from them, a white-blond man stepping out, dressed in a pair of black jeans, and a black t-shirt.

       Spike's eyes narrowed slightly as he took in all the bags the intruders had brought in with them, and then glanced at the somewhat nervous man, his brown eyes narrowing somewhat at the vampire.  "This is private property, you know."

       "Yeah, I know..." Spike looked towards the beautiful woman, who looked merely annoyed, "I own it...and I'm going to ask what the hell you're doing here."

       "That's bullshit," The woman answered in a Southren accent, running a hand through her hair, "No one's owned this castle for years.  It's the property of the Shire, and we were given permission to perform our study here."

       Spike's eyes narrowed slightly, his cold eyes boring into hers, but she stood firm, while the man fidgeted a bit, glancing around the room.

       "Alora...you feel that?"

       "Yeah, notable temperature drop," She answered, "Maybe about twenty degrees.  Very noticable, at the least."

       Spike frowned as the woman turned her attention from him, instead kneeling to grab a bag, and he watched as she removed a laptop, and flipped it on, "Jack, could you run an extension cord?"

       "On it," Jack took another bag, and removed a large cord, then glanced around, "Uh...Alora...place isn't exactly outfitted for power..."

       "Battery pack is in the blue bag," she answered, frowning as the computer took too long to boot, "Goddamn you, Diedrich..."

       "Got it," Jack hooked it up as Alora started to run a program, "Ion reading's at...holy shit...5819...I never seen a reading this high...there has to be at least twenty ecto-readings in this room alone."

       Spike raised an eyebrow as he watched the pair work, a bit confused as to what they were doing, and Alora frowned when her screen suddenly went clear.  "I...lost them.  They all disappeared."

       "I don't like this, Al...can we just say the field test was successful and go home?"

       "Not a chance..." She stood up, frowning slightly as she glanced around, "We should set up the table in here."

       "No...I'm not doing that," Jack shook his head, "I'm the fucking psychic, Al...I'm not letting those...memories touch me."

       "Stop being a baby,"  She finally noticed Spike watching them, "You're still here?"

       "And not planning on leaving," Spike replied, looking over their equipment, "What the hell is all of this shit?"

       Alora sighed, glancing at her watch, "Fine...you can stay...just...keep away from my shit, and we'll get along fine.  Jack, set up the table..."

       "I told you, I'm not doing it..."  Jack looked up when he heard a soft voice humming, and jumped when Drusilla glided down the stairs.

       "Spike..."  Drusilla smiled when she saw the mortals, "You brought dinner?"

       "Uh...no, pet...they're just doing some work," He answered, going up to the vampiress, and whispered to her discreetly, "Just let them do what they need too, pet...people know they're here, and if we want to stay, no snacking."

       Drusilla pouted, but nodded, looking towards Jack interestedly, "He sees too..."

       Jack glanced at Alora, who was busy messing with her computer, then looked back towards Drusilla, "So...uh...psychic too?  Interested in participating in a seance?"

       "It's not a seance," Alora said, then glared at Jack, "And you're the professional."

       "Professional or not, you know they make me uncomfortable.  You're southren...aren't you supposed to be God-fearing and all that?"

       "Oh...can I, Spike?"  Drusilla pleaded, "I want to talk to all the little children."

       "Not sure that's a good idea..." Spike glanced at the others, "Uh...what are you studying, exactly?"

       "Ghosts," Jack said, earning a glare from Alora.

       "Ectoplasmic images," Alora corrected, "Ghosts aren't spirits, as in souls bound to the earth.  They're simply memories being played over and over again, imprints, really...traces of a past life, still retained within the walls of a building or an area of land."

       "Ghosts," Spike repeated, raising an eyebrow, "People pay you to study this?"

       Jack snorted, "Her father left a trust for her to do this," Jack shook his head, then shot Alora a look, "He was just as crazy as you, by the way."

       "I told you once, I'll tell you again...don't like it, hit the road."

       "Would, but I'm utterly, and completely in love with you," Jack replied, only half-jokingly, but Alora rolled her eyes at him.

       "Where do you want to set this up?"  Alora asked Jack, "Since you're the psychic."

       "There's a library through there," Spike pointed towards the left, "I cleaned it up a bit for a place to sit, so it's not as dusty."

       "Great," Alora grabbed her computer, and a bag, and headed in, and Jack sighed, glancing at Spike.

       "I'm Jack Winter, by the way...an associate.  She's Alora Dearing."

       "Spike, she's Drusilla," Spike grabbed Dru's hand as she tried to touch a piece of extremely expensive looking equipment, "Let's not touch, all right, pet?"

       Drusilla pouted, but obeyed, "Miss Edith wants to play..."

       "Who's Miss Edith?"  Jack asked, and Spike sighed.

       "It's...her doll.  Dru's not all there, you see..."  Spike shook his head, "Dearing...why does that name sound familiar?"

       "She's been in Life, National Enquirer...and...uh...she's been described on the news once as the Mumler for the Nineties.  Mumler was a ghost photographer..."

       "I remember that...during the Civil War, was it?" Spike replied, "He got busted by the circus bloke..."

       "Barnum.  Complete hoax...but Alora really isn't...she's dedicated to this work..." A small smile flitted across the man's face, and Spike raised an eyebrow.

       "You like her?"

       "Love her to death," Jack sighed, "Which I would have to be before she noticed me..."

       "Jack!  Equipment...I want to get set up before dark!  And could someone find me some candles!?  It's darker then a elephant's ass in here!"

       Jack shook his head, then grabbed up the rest of the bags and went into the library as Spike turned towards Drusilla, looking a bit uncomfortable, "Why don't we leave them to this, luv?  I don't like it..."

       "Please, Spike?"  Drusilla pleaded, "It's fun!  We can play with the children..."

       "Pet..."

       Drusilla started to whimper, and he saw the beginning of tears forming in her eyes, and he sighed, giving in.  "Fine...let's find those candles...and you can help."

       Drusilla clapped happily, then hurried to find the candles, leaving Spike to look around the old castle with big misgivings.  Spirits were meant to be left alone, in his opinion.  Well...this oughta be a barrel of fuckin' laughs.

       "I told you we should have brought a generator..." Alora said to Jack as Drusilla lit candles around the somewhat musty library, and Spike watched the dark-haired woman worriedly, making sure she didn't light herself on fire by mistake.

       "Well, I thought the place would have power," Jack replied, plugging in the last of the equipment.  "I got three more battery packs.  They ought to last us."

       "Fine," Alora sighed as finished setting up the seance table, "Dru, honey?  Can you put a candle in the middle for me?"

       Drusilla was happy to oblige, all thoughts of snacking on her new friends the furthermost thing from her mind.  They had brought great games with them.

       "Ion reading?"

       "Normal," Jack read from the screen, "What about the ecto-thingys?"

       "Glasses...simple word.  In my pouch."

       Jack pulled out four pairs of goggles, and he glanced at her, raising an eyebrow, and Alora shrugged, "Call me psychic."

       "I would, but you're not," He tossed Spike a pair, and the vampire glanced down at them in confusion.

       "What are these?"

       "My own design," Alora said with pride, "They pick up ectoplasmic readings and make them visible to the naked eye.  They haven't been tested...so if you start to feel dizzy...I'd take them off."

       Spike slipped them over his head, and glanced around the library, "What's the red spots?"

       Alora slid hers on, "Minor blood splatter..."

       "Blood spatter?"  Spike repeated, "How old?"

       "Can't tell...but..." Alora picked a book out of the case, showing Spike the splatters along the spine, "It's not older then this book."

       "Look at all the pretty colors," Drusilla breathed, looking through her own.

       "So...these are like...ghost goggles?"

       "In essence...yes..."

       "So...blood is haunting this place?"

       "Techinically...yes."

       "Sweet."

       Jack rolled his eyes, "Al, darling...can we get this show on the road?  I kind of like to be back in town before nightfall...I'm serious when I say this place gives me the big creepy-crawlies."

       "Every place we go to give you the creepy crawlies," Alora said, then lifted out several pairs of headsets, and passed them around.  "Good thing I always come prepared.  Just...hook the packs to your belt, and speak into the microphone.  I'd like to record all of what you're seeing, and use it in my study.  Please start by stating your name, and the time."

       "I don't have a belt," Drusilla let out a whimper, and Alora smiled as she took the pack from Drusilla, then dug around in an old desk till she found some string.  She tied it around Drusilla's waist, and helped the vampiress to slip the headset on.  "Comfy?"

       Drusilla nodded, and Alora switched it on, then did hers, "Alora Dearing...the time is about 12:43 in the afternoon."

       "Jack Winter, 12:43.  For the record...I disagree with Al about all of this."

       "Spike Holden, 12:43."

       "Drusilla..." She glanced at Spike for help, and the vampire smiled indulgently.

       "Holden, pet."

       "Drusilla Holden...12:43..." She looked towards Alora for approval, and beamed when the woman gave her a small smile.  "It's like those pictures..."

       "Movie, pet...and it sorta is, isn't it..." Spike kissed Drusilla's cheek as Alora directed them to sit down and link hands.

       Spike took the chair between Drusilla and Alora, and Jack took the chair between the two women, and glanced at Drusilla as they linked hands, "Christ...your hands are cold."

       "They always are," Spike replied casually, "Where's the Ouija board?"

       "Please...we're not going to summon the spirits with a game by Milton-Bradley."  Alora answered, "12:45...we're starting sequence."

       "You know...it's not any less creepy if you make it sound scientific," Jack muttered, then glanced towards Drusilla, "All right, darling...since we're the two psychics in the room, it's up to us."

       "Wait...what do you want her to do?"  Spike asked, and Alora smiled at him reassuringly, "They'll use our energy to produce a electromagnetic field...ectoplasmic energy eats it up.  It'll force activity out of them, and I'll get the readings I need for my study.  With both of them, it'll reach a whole new level."

       Spike glanced at Drusilla, who was pleading with him with her eyes, and sighed heavily, "Fine...do it."

       Jack and Drusilla turned their eyes on each other, and the room went silent as the two psychics made a connection, and Spike felt a strange, draining sensation as his energy was borrowed.  He watched out of the corner of his eye as Alora's shoulders slumped a bit, and the computer started to beep as it read the growing electromagnetic levels.

       As the field grew, Spike watched as the blood splatters become more vivid, and more lifelike, and he cocked his head as it started to move.

       "Good...the blood's showing signs of life.  Ectoplasmic activity visible."

       Alora glanced over her shoulder at the computer screen, "Ion readings jumping...temperature drop..."  She waited a few moments, "All right...I'm going to sequence the lasers..."

       She broke her grip with Jack to hit the enter button, and Spike jumped a bit when small, silver spheres he had to fail to notice before were set up all over the room switched on, blue light shooting from them.

       They formed a web above their heads, and Alora watched the computer, pleased.

       "Uh..." Spike saw shadows start flitting along the edge of his vision, "Did you see that?"

       "What?"  Alora tore her gaze away, and glanced towards Spike.  Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open as she watched a woman in an old fashioned red dress glide by the door behind him.  "We have a visual...woman in red."

       Spike glanced over his shoulder, and he arched a brow when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

       "We shouldn't be hearing anything from the foyer," Alora frowned in confusion, "Jack...how far are you reaching the field out?  It's not supposed to go past the library."

       He didn't answer her, his eyes still linked with Drusilla's, and Spike paled slightly when he heard a loud, shrill scream.  "Is this supposed to be happening?"

       "It's fine...the field is weak around the edges, so we'd only hear sounds from that end..."

       Spike heard footsteps outside the door, and they watched as the woman in red started to pass by again, and Spike went rigid as she turned, and entered the library, his eyes going wide.  "Oh...fuck..."

       Her dress wasn't red naturally...it was instead white, stained with the blood pumping from a jagged hole in her chest, right over her heart, and Spike let out a pained whimper, "Mum?"

       "Fuck..." Alora frowned as the appariation approached Spike, reaching out a hand, "What the fuck...? She's interacting!  She's not supposed to be interacting with non-ectoplasmic entities..."

       Spike drew back as the woman stopped at the back of his chair, his eyes closing as her hand drew along his cheek, shuddering as her cold flesh made contact with his.  

       "JACK!"  Alora snapped as the woman curled her fingers, and Spike hissed as she slashed at him with her nails, tearing his cheek open.  "Break the field!  NOW!"

       They were all suddenly shot backwards in their seats, Drusilla and Jack's gazes loosing contact, and Alora gasped as the table exploded, showering them with bits of wood and candle wax, and the woman disappeared.

       "What happened?"  Jack asked dazedly, then watched as Drusilla cooed over Spike, who sat up, four, diagonal scratches visible on his cheeks, blood spilling from them.  "What the hell...?"

       "She made actual physical contact with him..." Alora breathed in awe, "This isn't happening..."

       Jack looked sickened as he watched Drusilla licked Spike's cheek, then stood up, "You're telling me that one of your memories slashed him?"

       "This isn't right...a spirit isn't a real thing...it's just a memory...going through a ordinary routine...maybe we imagined it...maybe it had something to do with that field you put up..."

       "I've done it before, Alora...none of this shit happened before."

       "Cameras..." She scrambled to her feet, heading towards the laptop, and removed her glasses.  She took a small cord, and hooked the goggles up to the computer, and downloaded the information from them.

       She waited a few moments, then played back what had happened, and the four people watched as the woman in red slashed Spike.

       "Not your imagination," Jack said, "You can fool people...but you can't fool a camera."

       "This isn't right..." Alora muttered, and Spike cleared his throat, looking towards the door.

       "That field thing is done, right?  So...I shouldn't be seeing anything big..."

       "Right," Alora said, distractedly, "Without that energy, they can't materlize..."

       "Then what am I seeing?"

       Jack and Drusilla glanced towards the door, and Jack watched as a man glared in banefully at the group, his throat slashed, and Drusilla clapped.  "It's the nice man who gave us a ride, Spike!"

       Jack and Alora started in surprise, then looked towards Spike, their eyes wide.

       Spike met their gaze as the wounds on his cheek finished healing, and Jack grabbed Alora's hand as she slowly stood up.  He suddenly bolted for the door, dragging Alora behind him, and they passed through the dead truck driver, and he disappeared.

       Jack nearly collided with the door, and he yanked at it, trying to pull it open, "Key!  Now!" He snapped at Alora as Spike slowly sauntered out of the library, coming towards them in full vamp-face.

       "Afraid I can't let you leave," Spike growled, as Alora gave Jack the key, and the man moaned as it broke off in the lock in his haste to get it open.  "SHIT!"

       Jack turned, and then pressed himself against the door when he saw Spike's face, "Holy...fucking...shit...please tell me that's one of your damned memories, Alora!"

       She only shook her head in shock, and Jack grabbed her arm, and started to drag her towards the stairs, and they pounded up them, and Spike let out a snarl, and leapt up, flying over the edge of the railing, landing above them.

       Alora nearly screamed, and they started to back down, but Drusilla appeared at the bottom, also in vamp face.  "Can I keep her, Spike? I like her...she has fun games..."

       "Not much of a choice, pet...we have to make sure she returns the key to the caregiver when she's done here," Spike replied, and Jack glared at him, stepping protectively in front of Alora.

       "You stay the fuck away from her, you bastard!"

       "Him, on the other hand...we don't really need..."

       "Spike...don't move," Alora said suddenly, and Spike frowned.

       "Huh?"

       Jack's eyes widened as he watched a small girl walk slowly down the stairs behind the vampire, carrying a large, wicked looking dagger, an evil look on her face, her face torn up so that it was barely recoginizable.  "Oh...shit..."

       "Just...slowly come towards us," Alora directed, "Don't make any sudden movements...you don't want to startle her..."

       Spike's entire body was tense as his vampiric ridges melted away, and he took it a step at a time as he made his way towards the pair, who was moving down together as well.  "What is it?"

       "Little girl...and I don't think she's happy...she may have been one of the victims of the prince that lived here once...he liked to have fun with knifes..."  Alora said quietly, then glanced over her shoulder at Drusilla, who was watching Spike a bit worriedly, "Drusilla...back towards the door, honey...slowly."

       Drusilla nodded, and did as the woman asked as she and Jack stepped off the stair case, Spike a few feet in front of them.  "Can you get the door open?"

       "What's the weather like today?"  Spike asked, "Is it overcast?"

       "Not when we came in..."

       "Shit..." Spike stepped off the stairs, "Is she still there?"

       "Yeah...she's not dematerlizing like the others."

       Spike slowly turned, body tensing even more when he saw the knife, "Not going to do me and Dru any good then...we can't go out.  Sun's not compatible with us."

       "Right...library.  We'll build a protective field around us..."

       "Al," Jack hissed, "Why are we helping the murderer?"

       Alora glanced at him, "Because, we have one behind us, and one in front of us.  What do you suggest we do?"

       Spike stumbled on a bit of carpet, and he fell on one knee, eyes widening as the girl let out an inhuman shriek, and lunged at him, knife held high.

       He rolled out of the way of the ghost, and she charged past him, and then disappeared into thin air.

       He was back on his feet in an instant, and rushed Alora and Jack, and he shoved the psychic out of the way to grab the woman by the throat, and lift her off the ground, "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?"  He roared angrily.

       Jack jumped back to his feet, but he was grabbed by Drusilla, and held tightly as he watched helplessly as the vampire fairly strangled Alora.

       She gasped for breath, and Spike scowled, dropping her with a growl, "Well?!"

       Alora rubbed her throat with a grimace, straightening up, and meeting Spike's eyes levelly, no fear showing in them.  "I don't know.  I've never this sort of activity before...let alone actual contact."

       "You want to know what it is?"  Jack tore free from Drusilla, and backed away from her, "This place is full of really pissed off spirits," The man pointed at Spike, "And you seem to be the focus of their anger, buddy."

       "Listen...I lived here...two hundred years ago," Spike told Alora and Jack as they set up their lasers, meant to disrubt the electromagnetic field, and protect the people inside them.  At least, till nightfall.  "Me and Dru...we're vampires.  You know...the whole spiel about drinking blood and whatnot?"

       "That's impossible," Alora stated matter-of-factly, and Spike gave her a look.

       "About thirty minutes ago, you said it was impossible for these things to interact with non-ectowhatever entities."

       Alora sighed, and nodded for Spike to go on, and the vampire fidgeted as Drusilla drifted about the room restlessly, "Dru, me...and my stupid soddin' sire...we must've killed at least thirty people...twenty were servants...the rest was...my family.  The first one we saw, the one that scratched me...that was my mum.  I don't know who the little girl was, though.  Never seen her before."

       "You killed...your entire family?"  Jack said, looking disgusted, "Nice."

       "It's what we do.  In order to avoid being recoginized after we're dead, we kill our closest family members.  It's a necessity, rather then choice."

       "But you didn't give them a nice, easy fare-thee-well," Alora said, standing up from a laser, and glancing around the room.  They were now fully-protected, "That woman had her heart ripped out."

       "Well..." Spike sighed, "Yeah...my Sire was one for display...I would've just killed them and been done with it...he...and Dru...they liked to play first."

       "Nice," Alora shook her head as she went to her computer, frowning as she stared down at it, "Negative readings in this room, Jack...shit...we should've put sensors up first..."

       "Alora, in case you haven't noticed, but we were being chased by the nice demon over here.  I wasn't exactly worried about your fucking, goddamned sensors."

       She ignored his comment, muttering beneath her breath as she switched on her microphone, and Jack stalked towards her, and ripped the headset off, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"  She snapped, and he glared at her.

       "Al, we're locked in a room with two fucking bloodsuckers!  I don't think he's going to be nice and write up your research paper after he kills us!  Give it a rest already!"

       Alora didn't answer him, only frowning as she glanced around, "Where's Drusilla?"

       Spike looked around the large library, then let out a string of harsh curses when he saw the library door swinging closed.

       Drusilla hummed as she walked up the stairs, adjusting her goggles on her head as she looked around dreamily, "Little children..." She sing-songed, "Come out and play with mummy..."

       She smiled when she saw a little boy appeared above her, and started to walk along the hallway that ran the length of the foyer and disappeared into the depths of the castle, and continued to hum as she followed him.

       "DRUSILLA!"   Spike shouted out the library doors, his eyes traveling over the length of the foyer from his postion within in the laser field, and he chewed on the inside of his cheek when she didn't answer.  "I have to find her..."

       "You can't just go out there," Jack said, shaking his head, "Listen, man...those things are extremely pissed...and they're taking out their anger on you.  Not a complete surprise there, by the way."

       Alora gave Jack a look, then frowned, "Does anyone know if Drusilla was still wearing her headset?  Did anyone turn it off?"

       "Uh...I think she still had it on," Spike answered, and Alora went to grab her own, and slipped it over her head, turning it on.  She flipped a button, and she listened as she heard Drusilla humming on the other end.

       Spike followed her lead, and did the same, and breathed a sigh of relief, "She's still alive.  Can she hear us?"

       "No...she has to turn on her switch too...but I doubt she'll think to do that," Alora sighed, glancing at Jack, "Can you use the connection you formed with her before to find out where she is?"

       "Yeah..."

       "Great...I can outfit one of the lasers..."

       "Wait a minute," Jack interrupted her, then glared at Spike, "Before we help you, I want a deal..."

       "A deal?" Spike raised an eyebrow, "The lady seems willing to help."

       "She's a philantrophist.  I, on the other hand, kind of like not being dead," Jack replied, "To find her, you're gonna need my psychic abilities...to get out of here alive, you're going to need her equipment."

       "How about I snap her neck, and you help me?"  Spike growled, and Jack only raised an eyebrow.

       "Do you know how to read an Ion meter?  Do you know what it means when it drops or jumps?  Do you know what different temperature readings mean?  No.  If you want to get out of here with Drusilla, you're going to need us.  You're going need Alora here, at her computer, watching our backs.  You're going to need me so you don't run around the place, trying to find her.  I can find her in an hour.  Without me, you'll could search this place till doomsday, and still not find her.  Admit it, Spike.  You need us.  You want your woman back?  Then you let me and her go if we help."

       Spike narrowed his eyes, and then tensed when he heard Drusilla start talking to someone, and then hissed when there was a loud, squealing in his ear, and Alora yelped as she ripped her headset away from her ear at the sound.  On the other end, the air went dead, and Spike inhaled sharply.

       "Fine!  Let's go!"  Spike snapped, and Alora bent, picking up one of the lasers.  "Listen...when you see a ectoplasmic image..."

       "Just say ghost," Jack sighed, "For the sake of simplicity."

       "Fine...when you see a ghost," Alora rolled her eyes, "Aim the laser at them to disrubt their electromagnetic field.  They should demateralize."

       She bent and dug around in a bag, and removed two small, black boxes with straps on them, and handed them to the men, "Strap them to your wrist.  It'll send me back information, and I can watch for Ion and temperature changes.  Keep your radios on to transmit..." She removed another laptop, and set up a live-feed from the goggles they were wearing, so that she would see what they were seeing.

       She then unhooked two of the silver, laser spheres from the others, disrupting the web, and walked towards Jack and Spike, explaining them, "These lasers are specially made to disrupt electromagnetic fields.  Without a field, the ecto--ghosts...aren't able to materilize.  Push the small, red button on the side to activate them, and if you point it at a ghost, it should force it back or to dematerilize.  But they  have a short battery life if they aren't hooked to my main pack.  You have twenty minutes with them...and then I need you back here to grab new ones."

       "That doesn't give us much time to find her..."

       "I don't care, Spike.  You can't find her if you're dead.  Back here, twenty minutes."

       The blond nodded before turning his set on to transmit, as did Jack, and Alora went to sit behind her computers as the men headed out.  "Good luck."

       "So...you two waltz around the countryside...playing ghostbusters or something?"  Spike asked as he and Jack walked along a black hallway, listening to the sound of Alora breathing on the other end of his headset, the sound somewhat disconcerting.  Jack held up a blue, floursecent light, illuminating part of the darkness in front of him.  Spike was carrying one as well, and he held it up, looking around warily.

       All around them, there were vivid bloodstains visible, all of them dripping slowly down the wall.  "Not exactly," Jack answered, "To really understand what we do...you sort of have to know about John Dearing...Al's dad."

       "Yeah?  Name sounds familiar."

       "He was a famous adventurer," Jack said, "He was also somewhat of an eccentric.  His methods were more unorthodox...he believed in traditional seances...with a mystic, crystal ball...Al's a lot more pratical then that.  But he did the same thing...traveled to these places that were reportedly haunted, and tried to flush out the spirits.  Unlike Alora, though...he believed that they were actually souls...trapped within walls, unable to escape to a better plane of existance.  He made it his duty to free them..."

       "But daughter dearest doesn't agree with daddy, obviously..."

       "No.  She believes firmly in the ectoplasmic image theory.  She developed it herself...and so far, it's been true as far as I can see.  We've never had interaction with them before.  Before, we both thought that the ectoplasmic entities existed on an alternate plane...not just unable to interact with a non-ectoplasmic entity...but unable to see us.  Drusilla and I manipulated the electromagnetic field, to make them visible to us...but never before have we been visible to them.  But something happened today...it might have had something to do with Drusilla's mental state...or maybe the power we managed to accumlate between us...hell...it could've been a combination of all of them, including your less then human status."

       "Guys?  If you're done chatting each other up, I'd take a look around.  Ion readings spiked, and I'm getting a signal from Drusilla's headset. It's weak...but it's something..."

       "I can't hear anything," Spike said, and heard Alora sigh on the other end, "Maybe if you two would shut your mouths, you would."

       Spike rolled his eyes, then frowned as he listened intently, hearing soft murmurs on the other end, "That's not Dru..."

       "We're getting audio from an ectoplasmic entity," Alora told him, "She must have removed her headset, and dropped it somehow..."

       "Yeah," Spike replied, needing that tiny bit of reassurance, "She probably got bored with it..." He glanced at Jack, "You know where she is?"

       "She's alive...that's all I know right now," Jack replied, "It doesn't work like an on and off switch."

       "Well, if you fancy your skins, you better switch it bloody well on," Spike said testily, and he heard a sharp intake of breath.  "What?"

       "Nothing...visual on the lady in red," Alora answered, "Outside the library...she's looking in at me, but the lasers are preventing her from getting in."

       "Are you sure you're all right?"  Jack asked worriedly, "Al, don't fuck around..."

       "I'm fine.  The lasers are still working.  Relax, Jack, and focus on Drusilla.  You have ten minutes now.  And if the lady in red is still hanging around here, you want to be able to use the lasers without them fizzing out."

       "Girl's got a level head on her," Spike muttered towards Jack, "Admirable."

       "Yeah..." Jack swiped at his forehead, some sweat popping up as his nervousness increased, "But she's not picking up the vibes I am."  The man paused, then gestured towards a door, "Through there."

       "That leads to more stairs.  She's gone to the third floor."

       Alora glanced at her computer screen as Spike and Jack went to open the door, and frowned slightly, "Spike, I'm saw something move out of the corner of your glasses...to your left.  Shadow entity."

       "What's that?"  Spike looked to his left, unable to see anything in the dark hallway, then vamped out to see better, "I don't see anything."

       "It may have moved into the wall.  And a shadow entity means an ectoplasmic entity that doesn't fully materlize.  It'll be sticking to the shadows...but you can see it since it has a slightly milky cast to it."

       "Bloody great..." Spike shook his head, "I hated this place when I was little...there was always the shadows...no matter how many candles we lit, there were always shadows..."

       Alora glanced at the small box beneath Spike's visual window, "What's a vampire's normal body temperature, Spike?"

       "Uh...I recently fed...so maybe...around 70," The vampire answered, "Why?"

       "All right...just checking.  Your body temperature is throwing off my readings."

       "Alora, we're going in through this door..." Jack interrupted, "I think Drusilla's nearby.  I'm getting increased vibes from her."

       "All right...slowly then.  You don't want to startle an entity that may be on the other side." Alora glanced up when she heard a sound, "I'm getting a new entity by me.  Audio entity."

       Jack paused with his hand on the knob, tensing slightly when he heard Alora exhale sharply into her microphone, "Al?"

       "Oh God..." She breathed, watching as a shadow detached from the walls, shuffling towards the hallway.  It was the entity of a man, a sharp, spike jutting from his abdomen, blood pouring from the wound.  The man stared in at her, a sneer on his lips, and she felt bile rise in her throat as she watched him wrench the spike from his body, and he hefted it up in the air.  She let out a startled shriek as he flung it towards her, javelin style, but it hit the barrier of lasers, and disappeared.

       "ALORA!"  Spike snapped into the microphone, "Pet!  Are you there?!"

       "I'm...I'm fine, just startled," She closed her eyes, forcing herself to regulate her breathing, "Starting to understand where you got your nickname."  She opened her eyes to study the man still staring in at her, the spike back in his body.  "Do you know a man with dirty blond hair...maybe blue or gray eyes?  Spike sticking out of his stomach?"

       "My father," Spike shook his head slightly at Jack's look, "Is he wearing a suit...uh...red tie?"

       "Yeah," Alora said, watching as the man proceeded into the library, right up against the barrier, staring in at her banefully, "He's not happy looking."

       "Who would?"  Jack asked sarcastically, "What did he do?"

       "He threw his spike at me.  It hit the barriers and disappeared.  Now he's just watching me."  Alora turned her gaze back down to her computer, trying her best to ignore the spirit staring at her.  "I'm fine.  Stop wasting time."

       "I feel like I'm in a bloody house of horrors," Spike muttered beneath his breath, and Jack glared at him before opening the door.  The stairs were covered in darkness, and Jack held up his light, frowning as he looked ahead of him, then glanced at the vamped out Spike.

       "After you."

       "Thanks ever so much," Spike said sarcastically, and started to climb up them, his light held high so that he could see in front of him, his eyes flickering back and forth behind his goggles.  If he was human, he was sure his heart would've been pounding just as fast and hard as Jack's was doing at that moment.

       Spike froze suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck raising.

       "Ion reading's through the roof, Jack.  Temperature drop ten degrees.  How long will it take you two to get back here?"

       "If we run...five minutes..."

       "Then get running, your time's almost up on the laser life."

       Jack started to turn, but Spike reached out, grabbing Jack's arm with a growl, "We're not going back without Dru."

       "None of us are going back alive if we wait!"  Jack protested, but Spike snarled at him, then shoved him ahead of him, "GO!"

       "Gentlemen...prudence before passion," Alora advised, "Spike, you're not going to help Drusilla if you're dead."

       "I'm losing her," Jack said, "She's getting farther away."

       "Keep going!"  Spike ordered firmly, "I'm not ditching her!  Would you ditch Alora up here?"

       Jack glanced back at the vampire, then sighed heavily before proceeding up the stairs.  Spike could smell the fear coming off the mortal in waves, and steeled his nerves.

       "Shadow entity, ahead of you, Jack."

       "I saw it," Jack breathed, watching as a milky shadow flitted ahead of him before disappearing, "Christ...we have to go back..."

       Spike pressed him on, and Alora watched as the ion readings climbed, "I'm getting major activity up there, guys.  I really don't think you should keep going."

       "No one died on the third floor," Spike said, "It was closed up for the winter..."

       "That's when you were living here," Jack said, "And Alora was telling me about this prince guy that tortured children...those are the worst...to see those poor children..."

       "Jack," Alora's voice soothed over the radio, "Focus, please...you're not doing yourself any good.  Just...focus on Drusilla...then focus on coming back here to me, safe and sound...all right?"

       "Right..." Jack took a deep breath, "She's getting farther away..."

       Alora glanced up from her console, relieved to see that the spike man had left her, and then glanced around as the candle flames surrounding her flickered.  "I got a draft."

       "A draft?  In the library...?"  Spike frowned, "There's no windows..."

       Alora darted to her feet as a bookcase started to swing open, then watched as the lasers resting on the shelves were repositioned, and gasped as her web of protection was moved, "SHIT!"

       Both men froze at her tone, "What?"

       "The bookcase opened and the lasers moved...guys, I'm going to have to abandon the computers.  I can't sit here anymore..."

       "Do it!"  Jack ordered, "Stay with the lasers!"

       "What the fuck...?"  Spike looked confused, "The book case opened?!"

       Alora moved, staying within the lasers, and tensed as she watched something move in the shadows of the opening made by the book case.

       "We're going back, now!"  Jack grabbed the vampire and started to shove him down the stairs, "We can't do this without her."

       "Get back by the computer!"  Spike snapped into the microphone, "You bloody well watch the thing till we get Dru!"

       "I have Drusilla..." Alora said as the vampiress walked back into the library, looking immensely pleased with herself as she cradled Miss Edith to her chest, and Alora moved from the lasers, and grabbed a flourescent, and held it up to gaze into the opening revealed by Dru, her eyes going wide, "And you have to see what she found."

       "My Spike!"  Drusilla looked pleased as Jack and Spike appeared in the library doorway, and the blond vampire swept her up in his arms, and started to feather kisses all over her face happily.

       Jack glanced towards Alora, who had repositioned the lasers so that they were once more protecting the library, and she lifted an eyebrow in his direction, "Don't even think about it."

       "Dru...you don't run off like that again!"  Spike chastised her sternly, "Nearly had me in fits down here...where did you get off too?"

       "I followed a little boy..." Drusilla pouted, "And then he ran off and didn't want to play..."

       "I think she wandered into one of the secret passages," Alora interrupted, "Castles are always full of them," She gestured at the bookcase that had swung outward into the room, "I only got a peek in there...but there's some shit I don't understand and don't care to understand."

       "What is it?"  Spike peered into the blackness, but Alora grabbed his arm, and pulled him back.

       "I wouldn't go in there till we set up a web," She warned, "I have never seen Ion readings that high."

       Spike vamped out once more, and felt the contents of his stomach shift uneasily, "I wouldn't go in there, period..." He muttered, but Jack and Alora were already unpacking more lasers, and hooking them up to a battery pack.  "But no one listens to me anyway."

       Alora snapped on a flourscent, and tossed it into the depths of the darkness behind the bookcase, lighting up a small area, and Drusilla whimpered a tiny bit as she watched the shadows skitter away from the light.

       Jack was sweating nervously, the smell of fear thick on him, while Alora was all business as she finished stringing the lasers together.  She carried the string in, partly draped around her body, and Jack watched anxiously as she set them up, creating another web.

       "Al...darling...you know I love you...but do you know what you're doing?"

       "Not really.  At this point, it's mostly guesswork," She answered, and Jack raced across the small space between the library and the new web of lasers, sighing with relief as he passed within them.

       Spike and Drusilla followed just as swiftly, the blond vampire holding several more lights in his hands.

       Together, he, Jack and Alora spread out the web, and as the lights brightened the room, Spike felt his stomach turn with a lurch.

       "I hate this place..." Jack moaned as he set up his final laser and glanced around.  It was like a secondary library, but bigger then the first, dusty, ancient tomes lining the shelves.  Alora kicked something with her feet, and frowned as she bent, picking up a partial, human skull, and lifted an eyebrow towards Spike, "One of yours?"

       "Not likely...I never knew this place existed," Spike muttered, shuddering in revulsion he couldn't explain.  It's just a library...

       "Look at these books..." Jack said, and lifted one off the shelve, and flipped it open, frowning slightly, "Latin...Alora, what does Ave--"  

       Spike yanked the book out of the man's hands, glaring at him, "Don't EVER read Latin in front of a book," He hissed, then glanced at the title, "Especially these books."

       Alora picked on up herself, frowning, "They're..."

       "Spellbooks..." Spike shook his head slightly, "Dark spells, kiddies.  Don't be reading nothing out of them, trust me on this."

       Alora snorted, "Spells?  That's nonsense..."

       "Says the ghosthunter to the vampire," Jack replied sarcastically, and Spike chuckled.

       "I don't get why my readings jumped...it's just a library..."

       "Does no one else feel it?"  Jack asked, "The energy in this room...it's breathing evil, Al."

       "Dru?"  Spike glanced at the vampiress, who had began to weave slightly, a dreamy look on her face, "What are you seeing?"

       "Little screaming babies..." The vampiress muttered, "Tiny little babes...pulled out of their cradles...anointed in blood and fed to the black man."

       "Christ..." Jack stared at her, "She's seeing that?"

       "Yeah," Spike shook his head, "I...heard stories when I was little...my nanny used to tell me about a sorcerer that lived here once.  He was very evil...and babies disappeared from the village all the time...and they believed that he performed rituals here...to invoke Satan in his secret library.  Sort of a...Dr. Faustus sort of thing.  He tried to placate Satan with the sacrifices, using the blood of the purest innocents, and when the demon lord grew trusting, the sorcerer tried to bind his powers, to use it for his own gain.  They say that Satan carried him back to hell, where he burns in internal damnation.  Since then, misfortune and madness has beset all the inhabitants of the castle."

       "Guys?"  Alora said a bit breathlessly, her lit held high, "Tell me I'm not seeing this..."

       Spike glanced towards the woman as she tossed her light into the farthest corner of the library, illuminating a great, black altar, a cross hanging upside down over it.  Ectoplasmic blood dripped from the cross onto the altar, and ran along the floor, pooling around the barrier, but not passing through it.

       Near the altar, stood a sort of palpat, where a book lay on top of it.  Alora removed a laser from her pocket, and Jack's eyes widened, "You're not doing it."

       "I just want to get a closer look..."

       "Forget it, Al!  You're not breaking the web!  So forget it!"

       She gave him an annoyed look, "Who's employing who, Jack?"

       "He's right, pet," Spike laid a hand on her shoulder, "Leave it be...I want nothing more to do with this place.  It's evil...pure evil..."

       She shook him off, and turned on her laser, sweeping it out in front of her before breaking the web.  The blood retreated from her laser, and Spike scowled as he removed a laser from the web, following the stubborn woman.

       "You're going to get yourself killed," He muttered beneath his breath, stepping beside her, and she shot him a look.

       "You don't have to come if the big, evil vampire is scared," She replied, stepping towards the altar, and reached out for the book.  Spike tensed when he heard the sound of a baby crying, and glanced towards the altar, paling as he took Alora's arm.

       "Pet...grab it and come..."

       She followed his gaze, tensing when she saw the little baby lying on the altar, kicking it's tiny little feet.  She had her hands on the book when Drusilla cried out, and Spike looked back towards them, seeing the vampiress pointing at something.

       Alora hissed in pain when sharp, jagged nails dug into her hands, and she turned her eyes forward, staring into the face of a disfigured woman, her nose, ears and lips cut off from her face, and screamed as the woman's nails dug more deeply into her hands, drawing a thick flood of blood.

       Spike swept the laser towards her, and the woman let out a shriek as she released Alora and disappared, and the vampire swung Alora into his arms, and grabbed the book before racing for the library, passing by Drusilla and Jack.

       Spike stepped into the protective laser web in the library, and shoved a bag off the desk, and laid Alora on top of it with an angry snarl, "You stupid bitch! You almost got yourself killed!"

       Alora groaned a bit as she sat up, and Drusilla and Jack came into the library, the lasers wrapped around them, and Drusilla vamped out when she smelled the blood.  "Spike...I'm hungry..."

       "Not now, Dru," Spike gave the vampiress a look, "No snacking.  You'll do till tonight."

       She pouted, but obeyed as Jack slung the lasers aside, and he watched worriedly as Spike tore part of his t-shirt into bits and wrapped them around Alora's hands.  "How bad is it?"

       "Once the bleeding stops, she'll be fine," The vampire grunted out, "At least she didn't break any bones."

       Jack shook his head as he went up to Alora, and took one of her hands in his, looking down at the nasty looking wounds, paling a bit as he watched Spike lick a bit of blood off of his fingers.  "Could you not do that?"

       Spike only gave him a look, "It's going to waste anyhow," He said, then glared at Alora, "I hope that bloody book was worth it."

       "Where is it?"  Alora asked and Spike rolled his eyes as he handed it to her, and Alora frowned as she looked down at the cover, "It's made of some kind of strange leather..."

       "Try human skin...probably baby skin," Spike replied, "All the evil books are.  Written in blood too, I'd wager..."

       Alora opened the book, and shuddered as she stared down at a depication of the Whore of Babylon riding the seven-headed dragon, the ectoplasmic blood dripping along the pages.  "Looks like..."

       Spike shook his head, sighing as he glanced at his watch, "Jesus...it's still only 3 in the afternoon.."

       "Feels like we've been at this for hours," Jack said wearily, slumping down in a chair.  "I'm not moving from this spot till we leave.  That's it, I'm done...Alora, I'm handing in my formal resignation as of right now."

       Alora shook her head slightly, then winced as she flexed her hands, "Shit..."

       "You're gonna need a hospital before those get infected," Spike told her, then glanced at Dru, who was staring into the darkness, then went towards the bookcase, and threw his weight against it, shoving it closed once more.

       Spike's lips were pursed around a cigarrette as he looked through the book Alora had retrieved from the black library, the smoke slowly curling around his head.  He glanced up when he heard giggles from the foyer, and then looked back down, deciding he had just had about enough of the spookies at the moment.

       Drusilla was sitting on the ground near Jack's feet, playing with Miss Edith, and the brown-haired man was dozing in his seat, oblivious to everything around him.

       Alora was sitting in front of her computer, watching the screen as it ran off readings from the sensor she had thrown out into the foyer just for something to do.

       Spike glanced at her as she sighed heavily, and then she winced as she attempted to type something into the computer, her hands hurting everytime she moved or flexed them.

       Spike set the book aside, and moved behind her, leaning over to rest his hands over the keyboard, and she gave him a grateful look as she told him what to type, and Spike watched as a new window popped up, and she removed her goggles to hook them up to the computer and download the images from them.

       Both blonds looked up as a milky, white shadow drifted past the library doors, and Spike watched as an unreadable look crossed Alora's face, and his lips brushed against her ear as he asked softly, "What's wrong?"

       "Nothing," She answered, shuddering a bit at the contact, and sat back in her seat as she rubbed her arms, "It's just...I'm wondering if my father was right about the whole...trapped soul thing..."

       "You're starting to doubt your theory?"

       "Everything that happened tonight...it blows it all right out of the water," Alora pointed out, "These entities show anger and intent to harm...they're not going through a routine that never ends.  Memories don't do this.  These...are seperate forms...these things are something else then I have ever encountered..."

       "William..."

       Spike looked up in surprise, and Drusilla turned her attention from Miss Edith, glancing towards the doorway, but there was nothing there.

       "William..." Alora frowned as she switched on her headset, "We have an audio entity, perhaps addressing another one as William..."

       "They're talking to me," Spike straightened, his eyes riveted to the empty doorway, the hackles on the back of his neck raising, "Temperature dropped...a lot."

       "Noticed," Alora exhaled, watching as her breath plumed out in front of her face.

       "William...dearest...come to mother..."

       Spike glanced down at Alora, "Does this fit in with your little theories?"

       Drusilla started to stand, but Spike gave her a look, "Stay," He admonished her, then slowly lifted his head as a girl of about fifteen walked into sight, swallowing heavily.

       Golden, blond hair was stained crimson, as was her night-dress, and her throat was nothing more then a jagged hole that pumped blood steadily, her blue eyes boring into his coldly.

       "Will...come out and play with us," The girl called to him, "Don't you want to come home?"

       Spike started to reach for a laser, but Alora held up her hand as she stood, and approached the edge of the barrier.

       "Why do they seem to want you?"  Alora asked in confusion, and Spike rolled his eyes.

       "Maybe because me and Dru brutally murdered them two hundred years ago?"  Spike suggested sarcastically.

       "Visual on Lady in Red," Alora said suddenly, watching as the woman drifted towards the girl still standing at the barrier.

       "William...come to me," The woman called, "Come to mother, dearest..."

       "Hey, Doctor Death...could you get rid of them?!  They're freaking me out!"  Spike snapped, and Alora sighed, throwing a look at him before looking towards the ghosts.

       "Why do you want him to come to you?"  She asked more to herself, and jumped a bit in surprise as the woman answered.

       "He belongs with us...he belongs to all of us," The woman hissed evilly, and Alora leapt back as the girl slammed up against the barrier before disappearing.

       "GIVE HIM TO US!"  The ghost shrieked angrily, and Alora gasped as a wind kicked up in room, blowing out all the candles, and plunging the room into darkness.  The ghost on the other side of the barrier abrubtly disappeared.

       Alora stumbled in the dark, then nearly screamed as Drusilla's pale face appeared in front of hers, "Jesus...Drusilla...you scared the--"  

       Drusilla braced her hands against Alora's chest, and the blond woman gasped as she was shoved backwards, and she fell to the ground, sliding out into the foyer.

       "Al?!"  Jack called, trying to find a flourescent light in the darkness, and Spike flicked on his lighter with a swear, "Al!  Where are you?"

       "I'm fine...Drusilla shoved me..." The blond woman called, standing up and brushing off her pants, then glanced around, "Uh...shit...where am I?"

       Spike lit a candle and she looked towards the sudden illumination, "Oh...shit..."

       "Fuck!  Get back in the web!"  Spike snapped, looking for a laser, and Alora started towards the library when the lady in red appeared in front of her, blocking her entrance to the library, and the blonde paled.

       "Ah...fuck me..."

       Spike looked towards Drusilla, who was murmuring quietly to Miss Edith, and then looked back out towards Alora, who was backing away from the ghost of his mother.

       Jack found a charged laser, and stood up, and pointed it at the back of the lady, but she disappeared before it could hit her, then reappeared right behind Alora, and the man cried out a warning.

       Alora whirled, then gasped as the woman grabbed her around the throat, and lifted her off the ground.  The woman tossed Alora with barely any effort, and Alora went flying through the air, landing near the foot of the stairs, and cracking her head on the banister.

       "SHIT!"  Spike grabbed the laser from Jack, and charged out of the web, then drew up in shock as a huge shadow detached from the walls and swooped down on the girl, enveloping her so that he couldn't see her body.

       When it lifted, Alora was gone.

       "You BITCH!"  Spike whirled in time to see Jack rush Drusilla, and slam her up against the bookcase, "You killed her!  You FUCKING WHORE!"

       Spike rushed into the library, and grabbed Jack by the shoulder, yanking him off of the vampiress with a snarl, "Don't you fucking touch her!"

       "She killed her!  She shoved her out there!"  Jack snapped at the vampire, trying to lunge at Drusilla, but Spike held him firm,  "She killed her!"

       "Listen..." Spike drew Jack away, "We don't know she's dead...she's just not here at the moment..."

       Jack glared at Spike, tearing out of his grasp to grab a flourescent light, "I'm going after her."

       Spike glanced at Drusilla, then back at the determined young man, his face set in a hard mask as he slipped on his headset, and slipped a few lasers into his pocket, then sighed heavily.  "I'm coming with you," The vampire growled shortly, then glared at Drusilla, setting her down in a chair.  "You don't move from this spot, poodle.  Wait till I get back...all right?"  

       Drusilla pouted, "I want to come too!"  She protested, but Spike shook his head, switching on her headset.

       "Here...you can listen to us, all right?  And you can talk to me if you get bored...just...stay here.  I don't want you to get hurt..." He kissed Drusilla's forehead, then straightened, meeting Jack's angry gaze.  Well...there's one more person in this bloody place pissed as all hell at me...no surprise there...

       "We got twenty minutes," Jack said coldly, "Then we come back and get new lasers," The man said firmly.  "And if she's dead..."

       "She's not," Spike said firmly, running his hand through his hair, then sighed, "Let's go."

       Spike was cursing profusely beneath his breath as he made his way down the black hallway, wondering how he convinced Jack to get them to split up and start searching different floors.

       That's how all those movies went.  Some moron suggests they split up, and then whoops...everyone's dead.  Well...not everyone...they always leave at least two around to shag at the end.

       Spike ran a hand through his hair as he glanced upwards, hearing footsteps, but it was only Jack passing above him as he searched the second floor for Alora, and sighed heavily, his nerves on edge.

       "Al...darling..."  He heard Jack call over the radio, "Can you hear me?  Shit...she had her radio on, right?"

       "Yeah," Spike replied, "But I don't know if she had it switched on to transmit...she was recording before Dru shoved her..."

       He heard Jack do a fair imiation of a growl, and he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he opened the door to the parlour, and glanced around briefly, ignoring the swaths of ectoplasmic blood all over the walls.

       "Spike...I'm hungry!"  Drusilla whined over the radio, "I want to eat..."

       "Not now, Dru," Spike said, "Poodle?  Does Miss Edith know where Alora is, luv?"

       "Yes..."

       He heard Jack exhale sharply into the radio, "Where?"

       "She doesn't want to tell you," Drusilla replied cooly, "She says that the ghost lady belongs to them now."

       "Belongs to who?"  Spike asked as he opened another door, then abrubtly slammed it shut again, taking a deep breath as he tried to shut out the image of four maids impaled on large, rusty spikes, looking everything like an insect collector's display.  "Fuck...forgot about those..."

       "Wonderful place you have here," Jack said sarcastically, "Don't you have any normal hobbies?!"

       "Yeah...I collect stamps," Spike replied sarcastically, "I'm a vampire, mate...what did you expect?"

       Jack ignored him as he called for Alora again, his voice edging a bit on desperation.

       "Dru...luv...can you please get Miss Edith to tell us where she is?"

       "She doesn't want to tell you," Drusilla's voice dipped into a low whisper, "They wanted you, my Spike...but I wouldn't let them have you...so I gave them her instead.  Aren't you happy for princess?"

       "Ecstatic," Spike muttered half-heartedly, "Shit."

       Alora groaned as she groggily opened her eyes, then winced as she touched her forehead, her fingertips coming away sticky.  She licked them, grimacing at the taste of blood.  Great...just...great...

       She glanced around, but was unable to see in the darkness, and then rolled onto her hands and knees, her stomach clenching in protest at the movement.

       Minor concussion, maybe…some bleeding…head and hands hurt like a bitch…but hey…at least I'm not dead, she thought, priding herself on her Southern optimism.  Now…just to figure out where the fuck I am and not die before I get back to the library…not a problem…

       She forced herself to her feet with another groan, and swayed a tiny bit as she tried to settle her stomach, and she blinked rapidly as blood ran into her eyes, and she swiped at it with a scowl.  Her goggles were gone.  This was not looking too good for her future.  Now anything could sneak up on her and she wouldn't know it.

       She was relieved, however, to find that she still had her head-set on, and felt along the cool, black box before finding the switch.

       “…FUCK!”

       “What is it?”

       “Shit…nothing…fucking spooks…bloody nearly gave me a heart attack…”

       “We got ten minutes left on our laser life…”

       “Boo,” Alora said, and smiled wanly as she heard Jack swear in surprise.

       “Al?!”

       “Hey people,” Alora ran a hand through her hair, glancing around the dark room, “Any idea where I am?  Cause I am severely lost.”

       “If we knew, we wouldn't be running around like bleedin' chickens with our heads cut off, now would we?”  Spike asked sarcastically, and Alora sighed.

       “Fine…Jack, I lost my goggles…but I still have my sensor on.  Go back to the library and use the computer to pinpoint my signal while I try to find a way to get out of here.”

       “Wait a minute…we've been running around here…and you could've done a little clickey-click on the bloody keyboard and found her?!”

       “In case you haven't noticed, I'm the psychic, she's the tech guy,” Jack replied irritably, “Not exactly my field of expertise.”

       “Will you two shut up and do it?”  Alora rolled her eyes as she walked around till she bumped into a wall, and frowned as she ran her hands along it, “Uh…I think I know where I am…and I'm thinking you should hurry.”

       “Where are you?”  Jack asked, already sprinting down the stairs, and he saw Spike appear at the bottom of the stairs.

       “I'm in the hidden library again, guys…” Alora paused when she heard a baby crying, “And I'm not alone.”

       “Shit, shit, shit…” Jack shoved past Drusilla, who was watching the walls with a strange look on her face, but he ignored her for the moment as he jumped behind the computer and stared at the screen.  “Al…Ion readings…”

       “Don't even bother,” The woman replied, “I'm just taking a wild guess, but I'm thinking that I'm severely fucked at the moment.”

       “Dru…” Spike turned towards the vampiress, “How'd you open the bookcase, luv?”

       She stubbornly refused to answer him, and Spike swore, grabbing another laser, “I'm going to retrace our steps from where we lost Dru…try to figure out how she got in there before.  You stay and watch the computer for me.”

       “Fine,” Jack tossed Spike an extra pair of goggles, “For Alora when you find her.”

       Spike nodded, then glanced at Drusilla, glaring at her firmly, “Stay here and don't touch him, all right?”  He snapped, and Drusilla whimpered softly.  The blond vampire ignored her look as he rushed out of the library and headed for the stairs.

       Alora glanced around the dark library, her eyes slowly adjusting to the gloom, but the sound of the baby crying was really starting to freak her out.

       Come on, girl…you're Alora Dearing…you've dealt with ghosts before…you've been trapped in dark rooms before…you can deal with this…

       “Al…?  I'm searching the bookcase to see if there's a catch or something out here,” Jack told her, “There has to be a way to open it from out here…”

       “No…forget it…watch the computer,” She told him calmly, “Make sure that Spike's way is clear…”

       “Don't worry about me,” The vampire growled shortly into his radio, “I'm fine.  Look for that catch.”

       Alora sighed, shaking her head slightly as she pressed herself against the bookcase, her eyes flitting about.  “Next time, remind me to get some plans for the place we're going into, Jack…this is entirely unacceptable…I wasn't prepared enough…”

       “You think?”  Jack asked half-jokingly, glancing at the computer worriedly.  There was all sorts of activity visible around her sensor, “Can you see anything?”

       “I lost my goggles, Jack…one of them could be right on top of me, and I wouldn't know it…” Alora answered, pulling a bit at the makeshift bandages around her hands.  “Christ…I'd kill for an aspirin.”

        Jack shook his head slightly as he started to remove books from the bookcase, hoping that one of them would open the door and release her.  “When we get out of this, darling…remind me to quit.”

       Alora chuckled, “You'd never quit, Jack…you like this too much.”

       “No, you like this too much…you and your Indiana Jones Complex…but at least Indiana Jones never screwed around with ghosts.”

       Alora was about to reply when she felt hands fasten on her shoulders, sharp nails digging into her flesh, and she gasped sharply.

       “Al?!  What's wrong?”

       There was a screech over the radio, but neither man could tell whether it was the blond woman or not before the radio went completely dead on her end.

       “Spike…” Jack said softly, “Please…find her.”

       Spike lit a cigarette, making a point of not noticing the way his hands were shaking as he listened to Alora and Jack's conversation in silence.

       He came to the door that Jack had felt Drusilla had gone through before, then froze with his hand on the knob when he heard Alora gasp.  His body went entirely rigid when the unearthly shriek screamed through his head-set, followed by an unnerving silence.

       He barely even heard what Jack said as he threw open the door and pounded up the stairs, his eyes narrowed as he ignored the shadows that flitted ahead and behind him, intent on getting to Alora before something happened to her.

       If something hasn't already…he shook his head, “Jack…can you feel her?  Is she even still alive?”

       “She's alive…I think…” Jack swiped at his eyes as sweat trailed into them, the burning sensation helping him to focus a bit more as he shoved an entire shelf of books onto the ground, “No luck on the catch yet…”

       “Shit…” Spike glanced around the third floor, surrounded by long hallways, filled with doors.  Fuck…it's like a friggin' puzzle…

       “Spike…” Jack said, “You lived here when you were little…right?”

       “Yeah…why?”

       “When you're a little kid…you explore a lot…you were probably all up and down this castle all the time…right?”

       “Yeah, your point?”  Spike asked as he mentally did his own version of eeiny-meiny-minni-moe to figure out which door to chose first.

       “Try to think…you're a kid in a family of ten…you had brothers and sisters…you probably played your own version of hide and go seek…you probably knew all the best places to hide…”

       Spike was losing patience, “Get to the point!”

       “These castles are full of secret passages, Spike…you had to have found at least one when you were playing…please…think…I know it was two hundred years ago…and you probably don't remember much…but this is important!  You have to remember…”

       “I remember one…” Spike said reluctantly, “But it was on the fourth floor…Dru never went up there…right?”

       “I don't know…” Jack glanced towards the vampiress, who was watching him, her eyes gleaming brightly, “I can't see if she did or not…she's blocking her mind…”

       “Shit…” Spike ran a hand through his hair, before sprinting down the hallway that led to the left till he came to a door at the end, then threw it open, and proceeded up the stairs rapidly.  

       Which room was it?  One of the spare rooms, I think…Spike felt like screaming as he looked down another hallway filled to the brim with doors upon doors.  Why couldn't we have lived in a smaller place, huh?!

       He made a split decision, and he entered the closest one, and drew up short when he saw a little boy standing in the room, glaring at him banefully.

       “Bingo,” He muttered beneath his breath, then turned the laser on the boy, watching as he dematerialized.  It had to have been the same one Drusilla had followed before.

       He glanced around the room, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to remember, and he closed his eyes, picturing what the room had looked like over two hundred years ago.

       He opened his eyes again, and headed towards a door that lead to a water closet, and opened it up.  He sighed in relief when he saw the secret passage still opened from when Drusilla had gone down it, making his life that much easier.  "Found it."

       "Then get your ass in gear.  You got ten minutes on your laser."

       Alora slipped in and out of conciousness, unable to remain awake for very long.  Things seemed to move in the darkness around her, but she couldn't focus on anything as she shifted between sleeping and waking fitfully, feeling as if she was trapped in quicksand, slowly being sucked down into the dark depths.  She felt the cloying safety of the darkness calling her, and she finally gave into it.

       Daddy!

       They're memories, dad...they don't have feelings...

       You're wrong about that, Allie...and you're going to learn that the hard way.  These are people you're dealing with, granted, they're dead...but they still deserve the release from this coil, to go on to better things...

       This place is full of really pissed off spirits...and you seem to be the focus of their anger, buddy...

       When you learn that you can't fit everything into a nicely labeled scientific box, Allie, I want you to remember what I taught you.  This world isn't pretty, Allie, it isn't always nice...you're going to see things that won't be explained away by science...and when that happens...I hope you're smart enough to realize it...and right things.  You can't change the past...but you can right the wrongs of it...

       "Pet...wake up..."

       Alora frowned as the alien voice penetrated the darkness around her, and opened her eyes groggily to stare up at a pale face in the darkness.

       She nearly screamed, thrashing out at the appariation, but Spike grabbed her hands, and pulled her against his hard body, holding her tightly, and she slowly relaxed her tense body as he stroked her hair, murmuring soothingly into her ear, but she wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying.

       He picked her up in his arms, stepping away from the black altar, keeping a firm grip on her head so that she wouldn't see what she was lying on, and was glad she couldn't see or feel the ectoplasmic blood dripping along her skin.

       "I got her," He said softly into the microphone, and heard Jack sigh in relief.  "I don't have much time left...and I don't think I'm going to dick around in here to find the catch."

       "Great...run," Jack advised, and Spike rolled his eyes at the obvious statement, cradling the frightened mortal, feeling her heart pounding frightfully against his chest.

       Jack sighed with relief as he slumped back in his seat, running a hand over his face, and taking a deep breath.  He glanced at his watch, then glanced towards Drusilla, who was weaving back and forth as she gazed out into the hall, and he frowned, slipping his goggles back over his face.

       He jolted when he saw the girl with the gashed throat standing out there, whispering something to the vampiress, and the ghost looked towards him, grinning evilly.

       Drusilla whirled then, in full game-face, and Jack's eyes widened as she marched towards him, and swept the computers off the desk, and they smashed against the ground.  "SHIT!  What are you doing?!"

       Drusilla snarled at him as she grabbed the battery pack the lasers were connected to, and smashed it beneath her foot, and Jack watched in horror as the protective web disappeared.  "SHIT!"

       "No heartbeat..."

       Spike glanced down at Alora as he made his way through the secret passage, running up a set of stairs, watching as she tentatively placed her hand against his chest, where his heart should have been beating.  He could feel the heat of her skin burning through his t-shirt, and he inhaled a bit too sharply, and she glanced up at him, her pale, blue eyes still dazed.  She wasn't all there just yet, and the gash in her forehead was turning a nasty purple.  

       There were holes in her blouse, made by clawed fingers, and blood was trickling from the wounds.  He felt bloodlust flare up in him, but shoved it aside as she closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder with a small sigh.

       She looked up when Spike suddenly went rigid, and he stopped in his tracks as he pressed his headset to his ear, eyes narrowing.

       "...Are you fucking crazy?!  SHIT!  SPIKE!  She destroyed the laser field!  She fucking trashed it!"

       "What?!  Dru!  Dru, what the hell are you doing?!"  Spike snapped into the radio, then paled when she ignored him, instead addressing Jack.

       "Be in me...be in my eyes..."

       "Fuck!  Jack!  Get the hell out of there!  Don't look at her!  Don't look at her eyes!"  He shouted as he picked up the pace, and Alora was listening to his side of the transmission with wide eyes.

       "Tsk, tsk..." Drusilla tutted into the radio, "No fair changing the game, my love..."

       "Jack?!  Jack!"  The man didn't answer and Spike swore profusely as the radio went dead for the second time that night.  "SHIT!"

       "I can walk...my legs work fine..." Alora shoved at Spike's chest, and the vampire set her down as he reached the end of the stairs, and she staggered a bit on her feet.  Spike reached out, and steadied her, and she took a deep breath as they approached the library together.

       "Jack...?"  She called softly, peeking inside, "Jack...answer me...now!"  

       "Drusilla?"  Spike walked in beside Alora, drawing up short when he saw the destruction.  Books lay all over the place, the computers were smashed, and all of the lasers were crushed, as well as the remaining flourescents.

       Alora bent, wincing as she sifted through all of her equipment, looking for anything of use, then dropped her head, shaking it slightly, "All my lasers, my sensors...everything...destroyed.  And Jack and Drusilla are missing..."

       "I'm not so worried about her at the moment," Spike replied, shaking his head, "They're using her...using her madness to get to her...making her do these things..." Spike shook his head, "She thinks she's protecting me."

       "She just killed us," Alora straightened, running a hand through her hair, not noticing the swath of blood she left in the blond locks, "Christ on a pony..."

       "Your hands are bleeding again," The vampire told her, but she ignored him as she tried to think.

       "No lasers...one headset which does us no good at the moment...one pair of goggles..."  

       Spike cleared his throat, and she looked towards him, smiling wanly as he tossed her the pair Jack had given him, and nodded gratefully.  "So...how's inventory?"  He asked.

       "We got exactly jack-shit," Alora replied, and Spike sighed.

       "I was afraid of that..." Spike glanced at his watch, "Nightfall...I can leave..."

       "You go ahead and do that," Alora replied distractedly, frowning a bit as she tugged at her bandages, removing them, and glancing down at the gashs in her hands, the wounds leaking blood still.

       "Well...come on then," Spike said, raising an eyebrow as Alora crossed to the desk, and picked up the heavy, human-skin bound book, "What are you doing?"

       "They laid a trap for us.  They knew that without me, Jack would have to stay by the computers while you looked for me...they laid an 'effin trap!"

       "Yeah, I was kinda getting that vibe too...your point is?"

       "My father was right...God!"  She raked her hands through her hair, thinking of her fractured dream, then muttered beneath her breath, "Past wrongs made right..."

       "Huh?"  Spike looked distracted as he glanced out into the hallway, itching to get out of there, then turned to meet Alora's determined gaze, and his eyes widened, "No...no way.  I'm getting my ass out of here."

       "They're your family, Spike...they're trapped in here...don't you feel anything for them?  For what they've become?  Slaves to whatever darkness that's living in the very walls?"

       "They're dead.  Their problems are over," Spike took her arm, "We, however, are still alive and kicking and need to get our asses out!"

       "I'm alive, you're an animated corpse," Alora replied, "You can leave if you want, but I have to do this...and I can't leave without Jack anyway...not if there's a chance he's still alive."

       "You're daft...and I'm out of here," Spike let go of her, and stalked towards  the door.

       "You're running away, William," Spike turned at the use of his natural name.  Alora was standing  with her legs set wide apart, bleeding hands on hips, blood drying on her bruised and cut forehead, her blond hair streaked crimson.  "You have a chance to fix what you did two hundred years ago, Spike.  You have a chance to set your family free...send them back on to the afterlife they deserve."

       Spike slowly sauntered towards her, allowing his game face to come forth, amber eyes boring into her fearless blue ones, "In case you've forgotten, pet, I'm a bleedin' vampire," He growled threateningly, sliding into her personal airspace, and dropped his hands on her shoulders, "I don't give a flying fuck about you or anyone!"

       "OW!  SHOULDERS!"

       "Oh...sorry..." Spike lifted his hands, then rolled his eyes when she smirked at him, then grabbed her about the waist and slung her over his shoulder.

       "HEY!"

       "I didn't bloody well risk my neck to help you just so you could bloody well go running about and get killed," The vampire growled, stalking towards the door.

       "Put me down, you bastard!  I have work to do!"

       "Frankly, my dear..." Spike said in an horrible Southren accent, "I don't give a damn.  Eh...I always thought I'd make a good Rhett..."

       Alora glared at his back, feeling extremely insulted and humilated by both his accent and her current position, then lifted up his t-shirt and made a cross with her fingers and pressed it against his skin.

       "AHHH!"  Spike dropped her, and Alora yelped as she hit the ground head-first.

       "OW!"

       "Fine!  You want to get yourself killed!  Go to it!  Can't say I didn't try!"  Spike snapped at her, "Go on!  Have fun with your little spooks!  Have fun haunting this place!  It's all yours!"

       Alora didn't answer him as she whirled and started racing up the stairs, sprinting for all she was worth, and Spike watched her go with a sneer.  Stupid soddin' woman...gonna get herself killed...he thought, then turned to head towards the door.

       He nearly let out an unmanly scream as he ducked a flying spike, "Shit!"  He glared at the man standing in front of the door, entrails hanging out of the hole in his stomach, "You were always a prick, dad," he muttered, then whirled and sprinted up the stairs after Alora.

       "Hey!  Allie!  Wait up!"

       You're in way over your head...you don't know the first thing about this...she sighed as she glanced down at her still bleeding hands, then sighed heavily as she glanced around at the long hallway.  "You were always better at this, daddy..." She muttered sadly, then drew herself up, taking a deep breath.

       She squared her shoulders and continued on her way.  Behind her, a shadow took form, molding into the form of a man dressed in princely regalia, black eyes burning in his face as he approached the woman from behind, removing a curved, sharp dagger from a sheath at his side.

       Alora heard the sound of metal sliding against leather, and looked over her shoulder, and her eyes widened behind her goggles.

       She heard a roar and she tensed, closing her eyes as the man rushed her, and then she was slammed from the side as Spike fairly flew through the air, and she let out a cry of alarm as they crashed through the door to her left, rolling along the floor together.

       Spike lifted his head up as the prince entered the room, still holding the dagger, and glanced around for some sort of weapon.  What the fuck kind of weapon do I use on a friggin' ghost?  He thought as Alora staggered to her feet.

       Alora glanced around, then unslung her bag and swung it at the entity, and blinked in surprise when he shrieked and disappeared.

       Spike raised an eyebrow at her, "What the hell are you packing?"

       "Nothing...it's...that book..."

       "The book?"

       Alora smiled as she removed it from her pack, "Aren't you glad I grabbed it now?"

       "No.  I just wish I stole it from you before I tried to get out," Spike scowled, "Let's just go..."

       "No," She shook her head, "I started it...and I have to end it," She said softly.

       "Ah...gotta hate a girl with a sense of responsibility," Spike sighed, "If we get out of this alive, remind me to tell you about this Slayer chit I knew..."  He frowned as she sat cross-legged on the ground, and opened the book, "What are you doing?"

       "For some reason...they don't like this book," She told him, her brow furrowing, "Do you understand this language?"

       Spike shook his head, "They probably don't like it because it's evil..." Spike said somewhat sarcastically, "And the thing makes me soddin' uncomfortable."

       "The thing is going to get us back down to the library, hopefully in one piece," Alora said, glaring at him, and Spike sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair.

       "Bloody hell..."

       "I could've gotten a cozy little phone job, reading tarot cards for bored housewifes or whiny women whose boyfriends left them for someone younger and cuter...but nnnnoooo!"  Jack stumbled in the darkness, swearing beneath his breath, "Had to take the job with the cute girl with a thing for dead people...stupid!  She doesn't even pay me that well!"

       Jack barked his knee on something in the darkness, and fell to the ground.  He scowled as he rubbed his shin with a wince.  I can see the headlines now.  Incredibly handsome and sexy psychicperishs in haunted castles.  DOESN'T foresee his own goddamn death.  PRICELESS.

       He had been wandering around in the darkness since he had fled the library, having to chose between a completely beserk Drusilla, or a bunch of spooks.  He chose the spooks.  At least they were a tiny bit predictable.  Whereas, Drusilla was a ticking time bomb of complete insanity...and not even the fun insanity they liked to show on TV.

       You know...when I said castles and countryside...this REALLY wasn't what I had in mind!  So much for that romantic getaway he had been planning.  On the bright side...if he became a ghost himself, he might have a chance with Alora.

       He wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose as he shoved himself to his feet, and leaned against the wall to catch his breath.  His body suddenly went rigid as he was assailed with visions, and he squeezed his eyes shut against them.

       They ran like a disjointed thread through his mind, and he bit his lower lip, drawing blood.

       He could see the dark prince, holding a knife above a bound, crying little girl, tears trickling over the dirt smudged on her chubby cheeks.

       Spike grinning almost madly as he drove a rusted, sharp spike through the throat of a young man, obviously his brother from the resemblence.

       Drusilla draping herself in the entrails of a eviscerated maid, dancing in front a dark haired man, who was watching her with proud eyes.

       A figure draped in darkness, performing a ceremony over a motionless body, a woman huddled at his feet.  The woman lifted her head, her blond hair streaked with blood, and a gash across her forehead, her blue eyes filled with fear.

       The images kept on coming, and then Jack's head snapped back, his eyes going wide as they finally ended, and he gasped for breath as he fell to his hands and knees, his fingers curling into claws that dug into the thin carpet beneath him.

       He lifted his head when he heard voices, hoarsely croaking out Alora's name before forcing himself to climb back to his feet weakly.

       It's fucking alive...this whole fucking place is alive...he thought disjointedly as he felt the floor heave beneath his feet, as if breathing.

       He managed to stagger out into the hallway, and Alora and Spike looked up when they saw him, and the woman started to race towards him.  She suddenly skidded to a stop, her eyes going wide as she screamed his name.

       Jack slowly turned, watching almost disinterestedly as a huge, pitch black shadow rose out of the floor behind him.  

       Alora started towards him again, and then was thrown back as the floor exploded in front of her, and she flew into Spike, both of them sliding across the hallway to slam against the wall at the far end.

       She lifted her head, watching in horrified fasination as the shadow surrounded Jack, and his eyes met hers as he mouthed her name as the shadow seemed to form hands, careesing his face and throat before closing around his head.

       Jack felt a vice-like grip tighten around his skull, and he smiled slightly as he closed his eyes, feeling the shadow give his head a sharp turn.  As he slid into the comforting darkness, he idly wondered what caused the cracking sound that echoed in his ears.

       Alora screamed Jack's name as she watched his head snap to the side, the cracking of his neck loud enough to make her stomach clench, and she felt bile raising up in her throat, "No...no...Oh God..."

       "Come on," Spike held her tightly against him as she started to sob, tears rolling down her blood-streaked cheeks, "We're going...now..." He ordered her softly, but firmly, "We have to get out while we still can..."

       "Oh God...I killed him...it's my fault..." She gasped out between sobs, barely able to stand on her own two feet, and Spike pulled the majority of her weight against him as he started to lead her back towards the staircase.  "I killed him..."

       "Never mind that now...we have to get out..." Spike drew up short when he felt the floor ripple beneath his feet, "Shit..."  He started to back away from the staircase, his eyes on the 'breathing' floor.

       He jumped when the floor exploded in front of them, and Alora shrieked in surprise, clinging to him tightly as it continued to explode every few feet, driving the couple back.

       Spike glanced over his shoulder, then swung Alora up into his arms, grimacing, "Now this...is gonna fucking hurt..." He muttered beneath his breath before whirling and sprinting down the hall before making a flying leap over the edge of the railing, and Alora's arms tightened around his neck as they plummeted through thin air, the floor of the parlour rushing up to meet them.

       He turned his body in mid-air, snapping his eyes shut, and gritting his teeth together just before he slammed into the tile, his body cushioning Alora's as the tile shrieked in protest, splintering and cracking beneath him.

       The back of his head smacked into the tile hard enough to daze him, and he could feel a large gash open up in his scalp, and then cold, borrowed blood pouring out of it.

       He felt a warm hand cupping the back of his head, trying to staunch the bloodflow, and he opened his eyes, staring up at four different Aloras' looking down at him in concern, and her lips moved, but there was no sound coming out as far as he could tell.  Instead, a loud roaring filled his ears.

       Alora looked up as the stairs started to explode as the floor had done, showering them with bits of wood.  "Spike...come on...get up" She pleaded over the sound, then swore when he closed his eyes and slipped into unconciousness.

       Alora looked up as the shadow swept at her, and slammed her against the wall, a loud, snapping noise echoing in her ears before the world disappeared for her.

       Spike's entire body was a mass of pain, and he groaned as he opened his eyes, the darkness pressing down on him, and his head was throbbing, and when he tried to move it, a shooting pain traveled down his spinal column.  Fuck...this can't be good...

       "Alora?"  He called out weakly into the darkness, "You there?"

       There was no answer, and he swore beneath his breath, squeezing his eyes shut, Fuck...fuck...fuck...

       There was the sound of a match being struck, and a dull, golden glow alighted behind his eyelids.

       He opened them, and stared upward at the upside down cross hanging over his head, and started in surprise, then tried to move his body, finding it was lashed to the black altar.  "Fuck!"

       He turned his head gingerly as a dark figure glided about the room, lighting candles, and swallowed heavily, "Drusilla...poodle...what are you doing?"  He asked the figure, watching through narrowed eyes as she moved towards him, holding a candelabra in her slim, pale hand.  "Come on, pet...let me up, huh?  Really not the time for you bondage fun."

       She only smiled, then glanced to her side, and Spike followed her gaze as the hidden door to the library slid open, and his eyes widened as he watched a man in dark robes enter, "Drusilla!  Let me up now!"

       "Sorry, Spike," The newcomer leered as he stepped into the light of Drusilla's candles, and Jack nuzzled Drusilla's throat, and Drusilla turned her face too him, accepting his rough, hard kiss, reveling in the feel of his power and strength, and Spike stared at them in shock.

       "You're dead, Jack!  I saw you die!"

       "Yeah, you did..." The man winked at Spike, "But whoever said I was Jack?"

       "Al..."

       Alora groaned when someone nudged her, and tried to bury herself deeper into the darkness, where there was no pain, no regrets...and no ghosts, but the poking was persistant, and she forced her eyes open.

       She felt cool hands touching her skin, running down her arm, then nearly screamed when her shoulder was popped back into place by invisible hands, unable to see who was touching her, her goggles lost.  She felt the cloying darkness calling to her, and she longed to go back to it, but her chin was caught, and held firmly.

       "Al...stay with me, darling..."

       "Ja-Jack?"  She muttered weakly, wincing as she was helped into a sitting position and she closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall, cradling her broken arm to her chest with a pained wince.  She caught her breath, then opened her eyes again when her goggles slid over her head, and she blinked as she stared at the sadly smiling face of her partner for the last two years.

       "Come on, darling...you have to get up for me," He slid an arm around her waist, and helped her to her feet, "I don't have much time, Al...this place...it changes us...it perverts our perception of things.  It's why they're so hostile...the air in this place is evil...and you have to stop it."

       "I can't," She said softly, weakly leaning against him, her entire body radiating pain, "I can't...I'm too tired...I want to go back to sleep..."

       "No!"  He shook her a bit roughly, and she moaned in pain before slumping against him farther, "Listen to me, Al.  Your dad was right...these spirits have to be released for any peace can come to this place.  And you have to stop it from escaping."

       "Hmmm..." She closed her eyes, and he sighed as he shook her awake again, forcing her to meet his gaze.

       "This is an old evil, Alora...remember the guy Spike was telling us about?  The magic guy?  He's still in here...he's been trapped for a long time...and he wants out.  This whole thing...he's been using us, manipulating all of us so that he can use us to escape."

       Alora forced herself to focus a bit more, her mind feeling sluggish as she tried to connect all his words, "Huh?"

       Spike watched the man warily as he held the book bound in human skin in his hands, running his fingers over it almost lovingly, "It's been so long," He murmured.  In his previous form, he had been unable to access the powerful book, always in sight...but was untouchable to spirits.

       "You're one insane motherfucker," Spike tugged at his restraints with a snarl, "Let me up!"

       The thing that wore Jack's face scowled, and stalked towards the vampire, "I'm not insane!"  He snapped, "I've been trapped here!  Trapped in this goddamn castle!  But not anymore!  Now I'm going to escape!"

       "Fine, you do that!  Just let me go first...like I give a bloody fuck.  Shoo...destroy the world...have fun!"

       He cocked his head, looking darkly amused, "If it was that easy, don't you think I would have done that years ago?"  He shook his head, "I can only animate the dead," He sneered, "My Dark Lord made sure of that so I couldn't take advantage of his...generosity.  I asked for immortality, but this wasn't what I had in mind," He wiped at the human body he was wearing, looking disgusted.

       "He'll decay...fall apart.  He's only a shell...and there's nothing I can do about it..."  He looked towards Drusilla, who drifted to his side, and he wrapped an arm around her waist, leering in Spike's direction.

       "Two hundred years ago, I first witnessed my chance at escape...vampires.  Nothing more then the walking dead.  But my powers were too weak.  But thanks to that cute little blond with the wonderful gadgets, and a little bit of spellwork, I was able to manipulate the field they created, spreading it out throughout the house...and creating a power source that every spirit in this house could feed off of."

       Spike felt one of his restraints give a little, and his eyes narrowed as he slowly worked at it, trying to loosen it enough to get his hand free.  "So?  Why didn't you just take over my body?" He asked, trying to buy some time for himself.

       "I have to force your demon out first," He stroked the book, looking down at it with mad, adoring eyes, "I can't share a body with it.  It has...no restraint at all...and would be adverse to sharing it's host with me.  And I needed my book for that.  I can't touch it in...how did she word it?  Ectoplasmic form?"

       "You're nuts," Spike snarled at him, and the man looked at him, dark eyes burning brightly, and he waved his hand.  Spike gasped as the restraints tightened, digging into his flesh and drawing thin lines of blood.

       "Enough talk," He glanced at Drusilla, smiling at her indulgently, "Be a dear and fetch Alora for me.  I think she'd be waking up anytime now."

       Drusilla scowled a bit, "I'm hungry...can I eat her now?  You promised..."

       "Just bring her!"  He snarled, and Drusilla hurried off, a slightly frightened look on her face, and he turned towards Spike again, opening his book, "Now...where were we?"

       "Come on, Alora...repeat after me...'I call upon the south, west, east and north gates of the underworld..."

       "Jack..." Alora whimpered softly, "I can't...I just...I just want to die...I can't do this..."

       "Goddamn it, Al!"  He was shaking her roughly, and her head lolled to the side almost lifelessly, "You're stronger then this!  You've always been strong!  You have to do this!  You can sleep when it's over!  You have to stop it!  You started it, and now you will stop it!  You NEVER shirked your responsibilities!  Don't you fucking start on me now!"

       Alora looked over his shoulder at a spirit standing on the stairs, not moving, just watching the pair, longish, black hair flopping into midnight blue eyes, sharp, angular cheekbones shaping his familiar face.

       "Jack...how...?"

       "He's trapped here too, Al," Jack said, following her gaze, "He died here, and his soul was trapped, just like the others," He forced her too look at him again, "Just like I am.  End it, Al...please?  For all of us?"

       She nodded slowly, and he smiled, "I call upon the south, west, east and north gates of the underworld..."

       Drusilla hummed as she made her way towards the foyer, scowling when she saw Alora staggering towards her, and the vampiress let out a snarl as she went towards the woman, and roughly grabbed her by the broken arm.

       Alora let out a sharp cry and fell to her knees, and Drusilla's eyes glinted as she sniffed the air, the scent of blood hitting her strong, making her hunger throb and become sharper then ever, as if it was a living, breathing thing...tantilized simply by the scent of the blood escaping the mortal.

       She vamped out, and then tilted Alora's head to the side, and Alora gasped as her fangs slid into her flesh easily, and a sharp pain was followed by the sensation of being drained, and her eyes fluttered closed as the vampiress fed on the already weakened woman.

       Suddenly, there was a slight breeze, and then ash filled Alora's nostrils as she inhaled sharply, and she opened her eyes to stare upwards into midnight blue eyes, and looked down as a piece of sharp wood clattered to the ground.

       "Go," He ordered in a soft voice, and Alora dragged herself back to her feet, stumbling a bit, and William's cool hand reached out to steady her, and she looked at him in some surprise and fear.

       "Why...?"

       "She made me..." He muttered, watching as the ashes settled, "She made me turn on them..." His eyes met hers, and she was surprised by the sorrow in his eyes, "Go...time is short..."

       She nodded slightly, and then was limping towards the library, holding a hand over the bite wounds on her throat, and William glanced over his shoulder as Jack appeared at his side.  "Do you really think she can do it?"  He asked curiously, and Jack nodded, his eyes on the weak figure that seemed about ready to collapse.

       "She's stronger then she looks," He said softly, "She'll do it...but if she lives through it...that's the part that remains unseen, even by me."

       Alora was panting heavily by the time she reached the library, stumbling over her destroyed equipment.  She landed on her hands and knees, and the wounds on the back of her hands opened up again.

       I'm not going to have any blood left by the end of the night...she thought tiredly, then resisted the urge to just lay down and give way to sleep.  Jack...I can't leave him like that...

       She shook her head to clear it, then heard a faint chanting on the other side of the bookcase, and she crawled over to it, removing the books from the bottom shelf till she revealed a tiny, little hook in the back, and she flipped it, then braced her weight against the case, only letting it open a tiny bit at a time.  When it was opened enough to let her slip through, she glanced through, seeing Spike bound to the black altar, ectoplasmic blood dripping on his body.  A dark-haired man was doing the chanting, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

       She shook her head, chewing on her lip as she watched the man sat aside the book to pick up a curved dagger, and he held it over Spike's body before lowering it, still chanting as he cut Spike's wrist, and taking a bowl to catch his blood in.

       Alora gathered up her strength, and darted out, and he started to turn in surprise at the intrusion, and his eyes widened when Alora grabbed the book, and clutched it to her chest.

       He overcame his surprise, then narrowed his eyes at Alora, "Give me my book, you little bitch..."

       "I call upon the south, west, east and north gates of the underworld, I invoke thee.  In the name of the Great Mother, I ask thee to let loose the four winds..."  Her lips trembled when she saw she was standing across from Jack, but reminded herself that Jack was dead, so this couldn't be him.

       "You little BITCH!"  He snarled as he took a step in front of him, and reared up short when Jack and William appeared in front of him, their eyes narrowed.  "Get out of my way!"

       "Alora?"  Spike lifted his head, eyes crossing slightly as he tried to see what was going on, and was getting a semi-visible image of Alora, and two men standing in front of her.  "What's going on?"

       She looked towards him, but Jack barked at her to continue.  "I invoke thee, Mother Goddess, Gaia, antithesis of death..."

       Spike felt his restraints give a bit when the magician had turned all his attention from him, and he began to pull at them, grunting as they sliced into his skin, but he was determined to get loose.

       "Kill her!"  The magician ordered the two spirits, "I control you!  I command you to kill you."

       Alora's voice wavered as Jack and William looked towards her, their eyes narrowing, their faces growing cruel, but then the two spirits seem to gain control of themselves once more, and turned back towards the magician.

       Spike managed to get one of his restraints free, and he flipped to his side, using his teeth and hand to try and loosen the last one, half an eye on what Alora was doing, and his eyes widened when he saw the spirit standing with Jack.  "Holy...fucking...hell..."

       "I invoke thee, God of Death, call your children to their rightful place!  Mother Goddess...your light into the dark, to lead them back to their rightful place..."

       The magician grabbed Jack around the throat, and tossed him, and the spirit dematerlized as he hit the wall, disappearing from sight, and Alora's eyes widened.

       "Alora..." William glanced at her, "Time is of the essence..."

       "You!"  The magician pointed at William, "You are in my power!  You have always belonged to me!  KILL HER!  SHUT HER UP!"

       "Light into dark, winds of the earth, come and claim the spirits of this house..."  A sudden wind blew up, and Alora's hair blew into her face as William finally turned on her, his face twisted into a cruel sneer, and she staggered back, feeling weaker by the moment.

       Spike managed to get his last restraint off, and he slid off the altar silently.

       "Light into dark..." Alora took another step back from William, watching as his face flickered as he tried to maintain what little control he still had over his soul, but the evil there was too ingrained in him after two hundred years.  "Winds of the earth, Mother, Father, death and life..."  She gasped as he charged her suddenly, and grabbed her around the throat.

       Spike roared as he lunged at the magician, knocking him to the ground, and William let go of her throat, "Finish," He croaked at her, "Quickly..."

       "Light into dark!" She shouted, her voice hoarse as the unearthly wind ripped around the room and the animal snarls of Spike and the magician fighting together filled the dark library.  "Mother, Goddess!  Light into dark!  Life from death!  I invoke thee!  Release the spirits trapped within these walls!  Release!  RELEASE!"

       Alora gasped a surge of power tore through her, and then she collapsed to the ground, passing out as a the wind spun into a vortex, the candle flames jumping high into the high.

       The magician screamed as Spike pinned him down, feeling his power abating, and Spike lifted his head as a bright, pure white light filled the room, and he shut his eyes against the blinding luminosance, staggering to his feet.  He accidently knocked over a candle, and he smelled smoke as the room ignited.

       "Allie!"  He shouted, and then was struck from behind, and felt the magician's teeth sinking into his shoulder, "AHH!  BLOODY HELL!"

       Alora opened her eyes blearily, and William stooped down by her, "Finish it!  NOW!"

       "I invoke the south, west, east and north gates of the underworld," She muttered weakly, "I invoke thee..."  She started to cough, blood flecking her lips, and William touched her face gently, bringing her eyes up to his.

       "Finish it..."

       "Life into death...Mother Gaia...release...release..."

       William looked up as the bright light exploded outward, and the magician let out a final scream before dropping off of Spike's back, and Alora slumped down, ignoring the heat of the flames as they licked along the walls, spreading rapidly.

       "Allie!"  Spike shouted, his eyes narrowing against the burning light, his light-sensitive eyes tearing up a bit, "Allie!  Answer me!"

       He jumped when William stepped forward, staring at the spirit in confusion, "How are you...?"  He shook his head, "Where is she?"

       William gestured behind him, and Spike darted forward and saw Alora lying on the ground, her face slack and deathly pale, and he flinched when he saw the bite marks on her throat, Dru...he thought of looking for her briefly, then decided against it as he scooped Alora up, and wincing abit as he straightened.

       There was an unearthly roar, and the house started to shake, and he jumped back as a beam crashed down in front of him, blocking the trick bookcase.  "I thought she got rid of it!"  He called to William, who only shook his head.

       "They will collect us...but his power is gone...but the castle is as eternal as he.  Go while you still can."

       Spike got a more firm grip on Alora, meeting his doppleganger's eyes before whirling and racing towards the only exit, the one that led to the fourth floor, and William watched him go, a small smile on his face.

       Spike cradled Alora to his chest as the house shook and roared, falling down around their ears, and he thanked whoever would listen to him for a vampire's strength and speed as he burst out of the passage, and broke out of the room into the corridor, only to be confronted with shattered flooring.  SHIT!

       He looked behind him, and saw a window, then glanced down at Alora before taking a deep breath and turning slowly.  He felt the floor beneath him start to heave, and he narrowed his eyes as he charged the window, turning his body at the last second, and flying through the glass, howling in pain when he felt the jagged shards pierce his flesh, and then he was falling into oblivion.

       "You're a right bastard...but you did right in the end..."

       Spike slowly opened his eyes slowly, hissing as the pain hit him, feeling as if every bone in his body was broken, which, considering the heights he had fallen, that was probably not much of an exaggeration.

       Alora was still wrapped tightly in his arms, apparently, he hadn't let go of her, even after hitting the ground and passing out.  

       "Never really thought you'd have it in you...to save a mortal, I mean..."

       Spike glanced towards the side, where William was crouched near his head.  William glanced down at Alora, reaching out to tuck a strand of blood-stained hair behind her ear.  "Is it over?" Spike asked quietly, and William glanced towards the castle, which was burning brightly, even as the walls collapsed in on each other.

       "Yes...it's over..."

       "And Dru?"

       William scowled, not answering him as he kept his gaze on the house, straightening, "Alora's still alive...but barely.  She needs help."

       Spike looked down at the blond in his arms, then tried to stand, but pain shot down through his entire body, immobilizing him, and he hissed out a curse.

       He felt strong hands on his arms, and glanced up into Jack's face, and then both spirits were helping the vampire to his feet, and Spike swayed, but managed to remain standing.

       "It's time," William said, looking towards the house, watching as the white, pillar of light rose high into the sky, the spirits of the house gathering around it, all of them eager to go to their final rest.

       Spike peered towards the light, seeing nothing more then sillhoutes, then felt William's hand on his shoulder, and he glanced at him, "They know..." The spirit assured him, "They forgive you, you know...all of them..."

       Spike didn't answer him, and William moved away, heading towards the light, and throwing a parting shot over his shoulder, "Don't be a complete arse all your live, mate...would kind of like to see you here later if you can manage it..."

       Spike merely shook his head, as Jack looked down tenderly on Alora, reaching out to brush her cheek before leaning over to press his cold lips against her forehead.

       "She's gonna need help," The former psychic said softly, his eyes meeting Spike's, "She's going to have to reevaluate her entire world and her beliefs...but do me a favor, eh?"

       "What's that?"  Spike asked as Jack began to back away, and Jack smiled sadly.

       "Make sure she keeps up at it...she's doing her life's work...this is what she was born to do.  She'll want to quit sometimes...especially after tonight...but there's more people out there that need to be released.  Make sure she stays on track."

       Spike blinked in surprise, watching as Jack joined the others, "Wait a minute!  You want me to do what?!"

       "Take care of her for me," Jack called as the light surrounded them, "I'll be back if you don't!"  

       Spike averted his eyes as the light exploded outward, feeling a bit disorientated as the air seemed to be sucked from the area surrounding them, and then he was stumbling towards the truck.

>Epilogue:

One Year Later

       "When there's something strange...in your neighborhood...who you gonna call?"

       "A divorce lawyer, if you sing that one more time...and do I even want to know why you have a secret vendetta with the sign back there?"

       Spike only beamed in her direction as he pulled to a stop in a deserted parking lot, "Come 'ere," he muttered, and she scooted across the seat of the DeSota, and he pulled her in for a kiss.

       "Hmmm...work..." She muttered against his lips, and he grinned slightly as he broke the kiss.

       "Just a moment...gotta settle something first..."

       "And what's that?"

       "For one, no more calls...two weeks...and I'm thinking...Bahamas for the honeymoon..."

       "Oh...I was thinking more along the lines of the castles of the Ruhr Valley...in Germany..." She said, and Spike rolled his eyes as he kissed her throat, brushing his lips along the mark he had put there the night before.  Just to make everything a little more official for his species.

       "No way.  I want...making love on a moonlit beach...not setting up a laser field before I can touch you...and still worry about peeping tom spooks..."  He persuaded as he pulled her onto his lap, trying to deepen the kiss.

       "They're called metaphysical ectoplasmic entites that need closure..." She corrected, and Spike growled against her lips.

       "God, I love it when you talk all scientific..." He muttered, reaching into his pocket, "First...agree to Bahamas...no calls...no jobs...no metaphysical ectoplasmic entities that need closure in sight...and I'll give you your wedding present..."

       "Present?" She looked up at him with a radiant smile, "What present?"

       "Nope...not till you agree...blow this job off, and come with me to the Bahamas..."

       "I can't blow this off," She leaned towards him, and whispered in his ear, "This place is a veritable explosion of paranormal activity..."

       "Hell Mouth..." he jumped when she nipped his earlobe, "That's not playing fair..."

       "Please?"  She pleaded, and Spike sighed, "The nip was cheating...fine...this job...and then we're gone...agreed?"

       She sighed heavily, "Agreed...present!"

       Spike chuckled as he handed her a photograph, and she looked down in confusion at a photo of an old, Southeren plantation style home, "A picture of a house is my present?  I knew you were kind of cheap...but this...sucks."

       Spike growled playfully, and she giggled as he tickled her sides, "I am not cheap...and it's not the bloody photo, it's the bleedin' house in the photo...complete with a coupla of former occupants that need a nice little send-off party.  And it's an hour out of Atlanta, so we're near the airport..."

       She threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a passionate kiss that left him panting, and she hugged the photo to her chest, "Thank you so much," She said sincerely, her blue eyes shining brightly, and then she was slipping out of the car to start grabbing her things, and Spike chuckled.

       "And moment gone," He shook his head slightly as he climbed out, grabbing the rest of the bags as he watched Alora disappear inside the high school, then grinned widely, "This oughtta be fun."

       "I'm Alora Holden...I came as fast as I could..." Alora said, glancing in the swinging doors.  Books, papers, and even some pens and pencils were flying through the air, and the nervous, British man beside her cleaned his glasses, clearing his throat.

       "I thank you for your swift response," The man said a bit sheepishly, and Alora tossed a curious glance at the teenagers.

       "How long has this been going on?"

       "Ah...for a few days...we were doing a spell..."

       "Hmmm...were they helping?"  Alora gestured at the teenagers, and Giles nodded.

       "Willow's...uh...our main spell-caster...and any spells we tried to do to get rid of it...just made it worse..." Giles winced as he watched an ax get buried in the wall of his library.

       "Hmm..."  Alora frowned as she glanced in the library, "Seems like standard poltergeist activity.  Not an actual ghost, but we can disrubt it's energy field.  From now on, I wouldn't suggest doing spells after a make-out session.  Sexual energy just feeds a poltergeist..."

       Willow flushed, and Oz glanced away when Giles glanced at them sharply, "Sorry."

       "Be careful, luv..." Spike joined Alora by her side, accepting the goggles she handed him, "The Watcher likes to keep pointy things in there...can we disrupt the field from out here?"

       "Pretty sure," Alora answered him, not noticing the entire gang had gone slack-jawed at the sight of Spike, holding up an Ion sensor, "No ectoplasmic entities...it's all energy.  Shouldn't take long at all..." She smiled up at him, "Then two weeks, Bahamas..."

       Spike chuckled as she moved inside the library with the lasers that would disrupt the field, and picked up a blue backpack, throwing a wink at the Scoobies, then reached out and snapped Buffy's mouth shut, "Attracting flies, Slayer," He teased before disappearing into the library after Alora.

       "Am I going nuts...or...is Spike...the ghostbuster's dude?"  Xander asked after a few minutes, and Giles rubbed his glasses.

       "Well...uh...the...Holdens came...highly recommended...and...they were kind enough to interrupt...their...uh...honeymoon..." Giles stammered, then started to clean his glasses, "I think...I'm going to need a drink..."

The End

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