Usually when the memories hit, David could ride them out, like he'd watched surfers do on tv. They'd pump their arms hard while a massive ocean wave came up behind them, set their boards up right and slide along with the water. He'd always wished he could try that. They seemed so brave. It wasn't until he'd heard a surfer describing the act of riding a wave that he realized it was the same way that he tried to ride out the memories when they overcame him. He'd be minding his own business and suddenly be pulled under by a memory, reliving it again. Sometimes, he could control the flow and which memory came, other times he was simply swept up in the undertow of images and feelings. It was hardest when they were his. When those surfaced, he was helpless to the flow.

  He was accustomed to the feeling by now, but it was still disorienting when he felt the memory wash over him. Except this time was different – it wasn’t just him caught in the tide, witnessing the memory unfold. Spike had been drawn along for the ride. He shouldn’t be able to access the memories that David carried; the memories he’d safeguarded for over a century. It was impossible. David knew the scene that played out by heart; both sides, he experienced everything that had happened twice over, once through his own eyes and once through the memories he held safe. He felt what they both felt, saw things through both of their eyes. Twin perspectives, twin sensations, everything doubled. Because of this, he much preferred when it was just his own memories he was being assaulted with. Now, it seemed it wasn’t just him, Spike was experiencing it too.

  Bugger, thought David.

  ***

  "Did he just say Pryce? David Pryce?" Wesley sputtered and looked at his friends, who were all in varying states of shock or confusion. Angel was furious. He didn't want to deal with this – not with Spike, not with whoever David was either. It had to be some plot the Senior Partners had cooked up, some sort of distraction. Just one more thing to add to their plate. David seemed to be completely bonkers and Spike was, well, Spike.

  "That's what he said," Lorne agreed but seemed thoughtful. "Though it sounded like he was about to use a different name too, which was strange. I don't know. There's something about him I can't quite put my finger on."

  "Kind of reminds me of the ramblings I used to do when I was stuck you-know-where," Fred blurted out. "I had no one to talk to, of course, so I ended up talking to myself. And, well, rambling a lot too."

  "Yeah. He did seem very surprised when he realized we were speaking to him," Wesley said thoughtfully. "And Spike certainly didn't seem to recognize him."

  "So he says," Angel interjected. "You can't trust anything Spike says. He's only ever out for himself. He'll say anything and do anything so long as it gets him what he wants. We just have to figure out what that is."

  "He just seemed scared and confused to me. They both did." Fred suggested with a shrug. Angel eyed her warily. He couldn't deny that both men appeared surprised to be there, but decades of experience had taught him that Spike was always up to something. He just wasn’t sure what it was yet.

  "What do we know about this amulet?" Wesley wondered. "Is there any record of it being used before? Should we call Buffy and see if she knows who this David character is?"

  "No!" Angel answered quickly. "Let's not bother her with this until we know more."

  "Alright," Wesley agreed. "We can research some first."

  "I'd like to take the amulet to the lab and see if I can run some tests on it," Fred said. "Maybe there's something going on that might shed some light on what happened." She reached her hand out to Wesley who was still holding it.

  "Yes, I think that's a good idea," he agreed as he extended the necklace to her. "Do let me know as soon as you…" Wesley was cut off, the necklace dangling from his hand, as he heard a voice cry out from the same corner of the room that David had disappeared from. Spike suddenly appeared standing in front of him and looked around the room in confusion.

  "What the bloody hell was that?" Spike asked no one in particular.

  "You both just disappeared," Lorne answered as he knelt next to David, who was sitting on the floor and rocking back and forth, his head in his hands.

  "Where did you go?" Fred asked.

  "I … I don't know. First we were here, then it was like I was a kid again. Or I was remembering being a child?" Spike said confused.

  "Piss all," David muttered to himself. "First we get stuck back, then we gotta surf the bloody riptides. What's next? We gonna drown too? Bloody hell. Don't think I can do this."

  "Hey. It's gonna be ok. My friends and I are here to help." Lorne leaned in to reassure David.

  "The hell you are," David shot back, startling himself in his reaction. Then he looked up at Lorne and his face softened. "Bloody hell. Look at you." David said as he and Lorne regarded each other. "Never seen a demon like you before," He paused, then nodded approvingly. "I like it. You see too."

  "Why don't we all go down to the lab? I'd like to run some tests on this amulet, and on both of you. See if we can't figure out what's going on," Fred suggested. Spike shrugged, having no other helpful suggestions and at a loss himself.

  "What kind of tests?" David asked nervously. He wasn't sure he wanted to do whatever they were suggesting, but he couldn't see any way out of participating, especially if Spike was going.

  "Oh, just some spectrometer readings, have a look at your ectoplasmic matrix and such," Fred started to explain some of what she thought she might find but David found himself distracted staring at Lorne again, whose eyes seemed to be boring into his soul. David started to squirm under Lorne’s gaze.

  "Alright, I guess if we have to. Sounds like something out of Ghostbusters. Who you gonna call?" David quipped, unable to help himself. He really didn't want to know. He just wanted to be gone, invisible again. It felt too vulnerable to be seen, let alone have them run whatever tests she was blathering on about.

  "It won't hurt. I promise," explained Fred thinking his hesitancy was fear at the tests themselves. David let it go, unwilling to admit that he was afraid of what the tests might say.

  ****

  David eyed the scanner warily, backing away and accidentally through the wall before cautiously popping his head back in apologetically. Spike rolled his eyes. "It's not gonna hurt you. You just saw her scan me, and I didn't feel a thing." David stepped back through the wall, nodding but no less nervous. Fred regarded both of them holding their arms across their chests tightly. Spike in his black t-shirt, jeans and leather boots, holding his black leather duster close around him, and David in his baggy blue jeans, skater shoes, and loose navy blue hoodie with an alien emblazoned on the front, hands tucked in the front pocket. Two different types of rebels, she thought to herself. If I didn't know any better, I'd wonder if they were brothers or something. "Honey of a story," mused Lorne.

  "Story?" Wesley prompted; his attention focused on examining the gem.

  "Yeah. The vampire slayer both men loved, both men lost. Oh, I could sell that to any studio in a heartbeat. I see Depp and Bloom," Lorne mused to Wesley. David burst out laughing, unable to stop himself. Both Spike and Angel turned to stare daggers at him. He attempted to stifle his laughter, unsuccessfully, but did manage to appear sheepish enough that they went back to ignoring him. Lorne glanced at David, furrowing his brow briefly. "Sorry. Hazard of running the Entertainment Division. Gotta get out more."

  "So, you're what? Scanner girl? Fred, was it?" Spike asked Fred, trying to distract himself from David, who had finally managed to stop giggling.

  "That's me! I head up Wolfram and Hart's Science department." Fred replied brightly, always happy for an excuse to talk about the lab.

  "Wolfram and Hart. Heard of that. Thought it was a law firm" Spike commented.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "It is, among other things," Fred confirmed, tinkering with the equipment.

  "Also heard they represent the worst evil in the universe," Spike offered.

  "It did, among other things. But now I'm in charge," remarked Angel from his seat on a stool, where he reviewed some papers with Gunn looking over his shoulder.

  "Are you now?" Spike and David asked him at the same time in an amused tone, then smirked at each other and turned back to Angel. Maybe there were some okay parts to this bloke after all, as annoying as he is, Spike thought to himself.

  "Weird. I'm getting electromagnetic readings consistent with spiritual entities, but there's no ectoplasmic matrix." Fred murmured, ignoring the men.

  "Cause we aren't ghosts," David muttered to himself.

  "Meaning?" Gunn asked.

  "Ectoplasm is what makes ghosts visible to the human eye. If they’re ghosts, technically we shouldn't be able to see them. And I'm detecting brain wave activity on both of them," Fred answered.

  "On Spike? Huh. That is weird," Angel said. David snorted. Spike took back his earlier estimation of David maybe being okay.

  "Also, ghosts generally absorb light and heat energy, making the area around them a few degrees cooler," Fred continued, ignoring Angel's barb at Spike. "Spike's radiating heat, but David's not."

  "Think I'm hot, do you?" Spike teased Fred. David pointedly rolled his eyes, turning to wander back towards the wall he'd left while Fred was running her scans.

  Fred wasn't amused. "Hmm. Lukewarm. Just above room temperature. David's at exactly room temperature for some reason."

  "Well, what the hell am I then?" asked Spike.

  "Annoying?" David volunteered, then giggled to himself. Spike shot him a look. David coughed and turned away.

  "And what the hell is he?" Spike added, annoyed, pointing a thumb in David’s direction. David shot a look at Spike then stuck his tongue out. They really do act like brothers, Fred thought again. Wonder if they’re related somehow?

  "Whatever they are, it's clearly tied to this amulet," Wesley answered. "Their essences, for lack of a better term must have been held within it. Do either of you have any memory of a strange sensation when it released its energy?"

  "What, you mean my skin and muscle burning away from the bone? Organs exploding in my chest? Eyeballs melting in their sockets? No. No memory at all. Thanks for asking," answered Spike sarcastically.

  "Okay, they're somehow connected to the amulet," Angel continued without waiting for an answer from David. "Last I heard, it was buried deep inside of the Hellmouth. How did it end up here?"

  "Maybe they're here for a reason. You know some higher purpose or something they're destined for," suggested Fred. "Sent to us by the Powers that Be to help us or…."

  "Who gave them the bloody right to do that?" Spike scoffed. "Can't a man die in peace without some high almighty deciding it's not his time?" David nodded along enthusiastically. "Let's have a little more fun with him, eh?" Spike said. "You'd think that saving the soddin' world would be enough to earn me a rest!" Suddenly, Spike started visibly flickering, like he was fading away. David's eyes bugged out. "You'd think…"

  "Spike?" Fred interrupted. Spike paused his rant for a moment.

  "Hmm?" He looked down and noticed he was fading out. "Oh, balls," he said as he faded out completely. David stared at the space where Spike had been standing, and started backing up clearly terrified as Angel, Gunn and Fred walked over. Fred started to wave the scanner in the air where Spike had been.

  "Now what?" Gunn asked.

  "I don't know. He just …" Fred started. David was starting to rock back and forth, muttering to himself but not loud enough for anyone to make out. "Wait, what did he mean, saving the world?" Fred asked. Everyone turned to Angel.

  "Oh, that? Well," Angel stuttered then scoffed. "Buffy did most of the work." David scoffed. "Well he helped but…"

  "You sodding arse!" David exclaimed, then took a deep breath to start yelling as Spike reappeared on the other side of the room. "What did you do, hmm? What did you bloody well do?"

  "What?" Spike asked, staring first at David who was so relieved to see that Spike had returned he forgot was he was saying.

  "Where'd you go?" Gunn asked. Spike just looked at them confused. David furrowed his brow and started rocking again.

  "Don't you know?" Fred added.

  "I'm," Spike started then stopped. "I mean, I was…" His anger and frustration overtook him. "You! This is your fault," he said to Angel.

  "Mine?"

  "You brought that bloody amulet to Sunnydale. You would have been the one to use it, until you chickened out!" Spike accused Angel. David snickered, as Angel started walking towards Spike menacingly.

  "What did you…" Angel started.

  "You heard me! You left town in the nick of time, din' you, before the death and the mayhem. Abandoned the woman you claimed to love." Spike shouted, both angry and annoyed.

  "She made the call. It wasn't my choice," Angel defended himself.

  "And this bloody hell wasn't mine!" Spike retorted angrily. "I'm not you! I don't give a piss about atonement or destiny. Just because I've got me a soul doesn't mean I'm gonna let myself be led around…"

  "Excuse me?" Fred interrupted, as Angel's friends looked at each other confused.

  "Did you just say Spike has a soul?" Wesley asked as they all turned to look at Angel. "You never said."

  "Didn't seem worth mentioning," defended Angel. David started pacing and mumbling to himself again.

  "Seems to be a lot of that," said Gunn irritated.

  "Or maybe Captain Forehead was feeling a little less special," Spike suggested only a little gleefully, walking up to face Angel. "Didn't like me crashing his exclusive club. Another vampire with a soul in the world." David snorted.

  "You're not in the world, Casper," Angel threw back, then turned to leave the room. Spike walked through the wall to follow Angel. They watched him leave, then turned to each other.

  "What else do you think Angel left out?" Wesley wondered aloud, forgetting for a moment that David was still there.

  "Does make you wonder, doesn't it," said Fred, then turned to David. "Anything you think you want to add, David?" David looked at each of them in turn before looking down at his shoes and shaking his head.

  "Nah. Nothing. Nothing in this ol’ noggin'. Nope." He glanced up briefly, hoping they'd leave it at that. Fred decided not to push, but Wesley raised his eyebrow curiously.

  "You sure about that?" Gunn asked. David nodded while continuing to look down at his feet.

  "Sorry, I just … um … gotta go," he stammered, gestured awkwardly after Spike and then followed him out through the wall.

  "Well, that boy's definitely hiding something," said Gunn.

  "I'd have to concur. We should stay wary. He could have come from anywhere, or could have even been trapped in the amulet before Spike was," Wesley agreed. They nodded to each other. "What do you think might be causing the temperature differences?"

  "I'm not sure yet, but I'm working on some theories," Fred answered. "One is that they didn't enter it at the same time. The energy signatures are almost identical, though, so that seems unlikely. Could be that there was a different mechanism that captured their essences, but again, without more information to go on, I'm not sure…"

  "Or David was already a ghost," Lorne interrupted. They all turned to look at him and he continued. "There's something different about him, I mean aside from the side of crazy pants he seems to be carting around with him. He's got energy coming off him, but it's like reflected back somehow. I dunno. The best way I can describe it is it's like I'm seeing double when I look at him. His energy comes out in waves, but instead of just one wave like I'd normally feel, it's double or even tripled like someone turned on three radio stations at once. I'm still trying to figure out what to make of it." Wesley and Fred nodded.

  "That sounds ominous," Gunn said.

  "Oh I don't know that I'd go that far. He’s definitely in pain. Lost and confused," Lorne clarified. Fred again thought of her time in Pylea and wondered if she shouldn't try approaching him. Gunn glanced at his watch.

  "I'll follow up with you all later. It's 3 o'clock and I've gotta go help Angel with his Grox'lar meeting. Let me know what you find out." Gunn said as he picked up his briefcase and walked out the door.

  "I think David knows more than he's letting on," Wesley pondered. “There’s one other thing though. I hate to suggest it, but it could even be the First. From what I’ve read, it can come in the form of anyone who’s died. It’s entirely possible that it figured out a way to follow Spike through the amulet, especially considering the difference in readings you were seeing Fred. I believe the First was there when Spike was pulled into the amulet. I suppose it’s possible that this David is the First pretending to be someone who died previously. Someone we might feel a connection to in some way,” Wesley suggested thinking of the name David had used.

  "I mean, it’s certainly possible, especially considering he comes up at a different temperature. How about I try to talk to him? Try to feel him out a little and see if he reveals any more information or tries to dig up any from me," Fred volunteered. "Though he did seem to like you too Lorne."

  "Sure sweetheart. Why don't you give it a try and see if you can come up with anything. And if that doesn’t work, I can give it a try. Maybe he'll be more forthcoming without the two vampires around. You never know," Lorne suggested. Fred nodded.

  "Yeah, alright. I'll see what I can do."

  ***

  David watched the events in the lobby unfold with his head sticking through the wall. Now that people could see him, he'd rather be hiding but he needed to stay close to Spike. He remained there as Spike and Angel exchanged more barbs at each other, then watched as Angel took on a Grox'lar demon, chuckling to himself as he watched Spike try to join in the fight but remember too late that he was now as intangible as David. He'll get used to it eventually, David thought to himself. But do you ever really get used to it, or do you just get numb, he wondered.

  Harmony tried to approach Spike after Angel and Gunn walked into Angel's office. She was hoping to talk to him about their relationship, but he just looked at her and walked away. David sighed. He was visible now. No excuses. His heart won out. He finished stepping through the wall as he heard Harmony muttering to herself, loud enough she was sure Spike could still hear her, "Slayer-loving freak," David sighed again. Not worth it, he reminded himself.

  "Do yourself a favor and just ignore him. He can be a right wanker, luv," David said. Harmony turned to him, the disgust from Spike's actions still on her face. "You deserve better. Don't waste your energy. He ain't worth it." She looked at him confused.

  "Aren't you two, like, friends or something?"

  "Or something," he said and shrugged. "Just trust me, alright?" He smiled at her reassuringly. She rolled her eyes.

  "Yeah. Right. Whatever." She said annoyed, but not unkindly. He hoped she'd listen to him.