The Real Slayer

Single ' ' marks indicate thoughts while regular " " marks show actual talking out loud.



People all around the two dark figures screamed while the two vampires roamed down the street without a care in the world. Neither one knew that their lives were about to be changed eternally in the eclipse of a moment.



"Listen to all the beautiful screaming, my Spike." The dark haired vampiress giggled with glee. "I don't think they like the music we made for them, but I love their music." She turned to her Childe in delight.



"That just proves what idiots they are, pet. Looks like Prague needed us to come along and liven things up." The bleached blonde vampire known as Spike looked around at the chaos. His demon reveled in the screams. He was pulled from his daydreaming by the whimpers of his Sire at his side.



"No! Bad pixies!" Drusilla slapped at the air. "Telling stories to upset Mummy." She curled into Spike's arms in fear.



"What did you hear, luv?" Spike always paid attention to Dru's ramblings and mutterings. Sometimes the dark haired vampire's mind held the truth of prophecies and portents. At other times she spouted jibberish. He wondered which it would be this time.



"Miss Edith has spoken to me, Spike." Drusilla looked up at Spike with saddened eyes. "She told me that soon Mummy will be no more. It is time for my boy to go to the Master's resting place." She cupped Spike's face in her hand. "The Master will eclipse the sunshine and bring her forth into the moonlight. The pretty moonlight will need my Spike's help."



"Don't talk like that, Dru." Spike held Dru tighter in his arms. "I won't let anything happen to you, even if I dust."



"Shhh … you can't stop this, William. This is what you were made for." Drusilla closed her eyes and burrowed into Spike's chest. "The pixies tell me that my Spike must not seek the sun with Mummy's death. Promise me that you will help the moonlight when Mummy's gone. Please?"



Spike inwardly shook his head back and forth. Obviously her mind wanderings were nonsense this time. He would fight anyone that tried to take his dark princess from him. He would do anything to make his Sire happy. So, he agreed to her request. "Of course, luv."



"Good, Spike. Mummy will be most proud of you." Drusilla cooed.



"Anything to make you happy, pet." Little did Spike know that there was an angry mob forming in the town square to kill Drusilla and send him on his way to a town called Sunnydale.



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Buffy arose from the murky water she fell into when the Master dropped her. She snapped her neck from one side and then to the other. She growled. Golden eyes glowed in the dark, searching out any sign of the Master. She’d passed out momentarily when the Master took her blood. Whether it was out of panic or shock at the quick blood loss, it mattered not. She was back with a few perks, and she was out for vengeance.



Angel and Xander arrived in the main cavern shortly after Buffy stood back up. Xander shrieked. “Um, Angel, Is she supposed to have fangs?” He quivered in fear. “Is it just me or are her eyes glowing?”



‘This is not good.’ Angel started to move ahead of Xander. His demon felt the primal draw of the Slayer’s demon. He snarled low. Xander was in no position to challenge Buffy right now. Angel was the one that had to stop her. “Don’t move, Xander.”



Buffy growled again in defiance of Angel’s challenge. ‘So he wants to play?’ She grinned deviantly. Somehow she knew she was supposed to know who these two males were, but names didn’t matter to her right now. All she cared about was finding the Master and killing him. If they wouldn’t help her with her goal, she would kill them.



Angel stalked towards Buffy in a low offensive stance. He watched her movements and waited for an opening in her defense to attack.



Buffy countered Angel’s movements. Something inside of her told her that this was a vampire. It told her that he might be worthy of her time if he put up enough fight. She needed someone to fight by her side as her equal, her partner.



Angel dove in to kick at Buffy’s left side. He was countered with a left hook to his jaw. Caught unawares by her jump in the air, followed by a right punch, Angel hit the cavern floor with a crack.



Xander ran off back through the tunnels. He called out to Angel that he was going for Giles. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him.



“Do you submit?” Buffy snarled at the fallen Angel.



For a moment Angel’s demon took over his body. He lunged for Buffy and clawed down her arm. “Never!” He growled.



Buffy cackled with glee at the fight. She open-handed slapped Angel across the face then kicked him in the ribs. She bounced up ready for another round of bashing when she noticed Angel lay limp on the floor.



Angel blinked, trying to will the pain away. The power of Buffy’s punches was nothing like when they’d previous sparred. Before he regained his senses, he felt all of Buffy’s weight on top of his back.



‘How disappointing.’ Buffy frowned in displeasure. “Weak.” She muttered. She jumped on Angel’s back, sank her fangs into his neck and shook her head to tear the wounds a bit. “Do you submit now?”



Angel realized that the only way he could save face now was to submit to this creature with his love’s face on it. He needed to get back to Giles to find out what was going on. He nodded. “I submit.”



Buffy dropped his head to the floor and jumped off of Angel. “No killing unless I give permission, and find me the Master.” After she gave her instructions she disappeared in a dash down a separate tunnel than Xander left by.



Angel stared off towards the tunnel that Buffy vanished through. He wasn’t sure which he should feel more: fear, pride, or revulsion.

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Spike stared at the black nail polish on his shaking hands. He inhaled a deep breath. It wasn’t necessary, but he found it helped to calm his nerves. ‘My dark princess is dead. I’ve lost my ripe wicked plum.’



Spike repeated the mantra that followed him from Prague onto the steam liner until he reached the States again. ‘Stupid mob. They took away the one thing that made my unlife worthwhile.’ He flipped through various CD’s before he selected one of his favorite Ramone’s albums to listen to.



Spike knew that he had fought as hard as he could. There was no way that he could have reached Drusilla in time. His mind was haunted by the screams of his Sire through the flames. She wouldn’t allow him to stay with her. She’d used her Sire voice to command him to leave her there.



Spike wept silently for the beautiful woman who brought him from mediocrity into the passion and power of vampirism. He had now become a Master Vampire in his own right, but he was still forced to obey the call of his Sire’s voice.



As Spike ran down the “Welcome To Sunnydale” sign, he clutched onto the last wishes of his Sire. There was hope to be found in the form of ball of sunshine that was now shining in moonlight. “I really hate the Master.” Spike said out loud. He knew that he had to find the Master if he was to find his moonlight, but that didn’t mean he liked the task any.



Spike caught the familiar scents of family as he drove through Sunnydale. He rolled the window down further and concentrated on the scent. ‘Peaches?’ He distinctly caught the traces of his grand Sire, Angelus here. ‘That is a surprise.’



Spike figured trailing Angelus was a good place to start to find the Master. If he wasn’t with the Master then perhaps he could tell Spike where he could find him. The trail stopped at what appeared to be a high school.



Spike parked the DeSoto and wandered into the building. He smiled to himself as he read the welcome sign. “You’d think they would be smart enough not to put something like that up.”



The sign read: “Enter all ye who seek knowledge.”



“Don’t mind if I do.” Spike chuckled at the irony of it all. He slipped down the hall towards several voices. He hadn’t heard Angelus yet, but he’d heard his grand Sire’s name mentioned. ‘Looks like I just got lucky.’

Chapter three: Angel

Single ' ' marks indicate thoughts while regular " " marks show actual talking out loud.



"I'm telling you, G-man. The Buffster has flipped. She was attacking Angel like she didn't even know him." Xander was trying to tell Giles about what he saw in the Master's cavern. He was frantic, and his hands waved through the air around him to emphasize each point.



Jenny, the computer science teacher, had an ice pack against Giles' brow. It looked like the Watcher was already in a fight of his own too.



"Xander, please. I've asked you not too ..." Giles' eyes wandered to the beat up figure wandering into the library. "Good Lord! Angel, what happened?"



Angel heaved a sigh. "Buffy is what happened." He managed to say out loud before he slumped down in a chair near the table.



"What do you mean? Is she in more danger?" Giles took off his glasses and wiped them clean. He put them back on and stared at Angel, waiting for him to answer the question.



Angel was reluctant to tell Giles about what he'd witnessed after Xander left. He was worried about what Xander would think of him. He had to admit that he was pretty pathetic in the battle against Buffy. From the look on Giles' face he knew he had no choice but to explain.



"She can definitely take care of herself, Giles." Angel frowned. He reached for an ice pack. Although the wounds were quickly healing, they still stung. He placed the pack over the twin puncture marks on his neck. "She's the one who did all of this to me."



"Go Buffster." Xander cheered. It was about time that Angel got his ass kicked. He laughed at the irony of it. "Although I'm happy she did it, she has to have flipped out for her to kick Dead Boy's ass instead of save it."



Angel grumbled. 'I really don't like that boy.' He wondered for a second if he could get away with taking a bite out of him. He remembered Buffy's order not to kill. He knew he wouldn't kill the idiot, just chew on him a little. He figured Buffy would be upset with him when she was back to normal if he bit Xander. He realized that he'd missed Giles talking to him. "I'm sorry, Giles. What was that?"



"I said," Giles repeated angrily. He was livid to be kept in the dark like this. He needed some answers, and the only two who could give them to him were acting like errant toddlers. "How is it that my Slayer did all that damage? You have a bite mark, which appears to be created by fangs. Do you honestly expect me to believe she did that?"



Giles wanted to demand answers from Angel? Well Angel was ready to lay it all out as bluntly as possible. He was a pissed off vampire now, and Giles was going to get the brunt of it. "Oh, she not only bit me, Giles, but she forced my demon to submit to her. That is no small feat."



Giles stared open-mouthed at Angel in disbelief.



"It was just like she was a vampire, fangs and all, but I could still hear her heartbeat. So, she hasn't been turned. The Master didn't have enough time to anyways."



Xander bit his lower lip. He wanted to make a comment about Buffy forcing Dead Boy to submit to her. He practically had to sew his lips shut to keep from making it.



"Say one word, Xander, and I swear I'll bite you." Angel growled out. He knew what was on the boy's mind.



Xander paled for a moment. A small snort echoed from the stacks in the back of the library. Angel felt the stirrings of family nearby for a brief instant. He shook his head to clear it. He figured that he'd only imagined it. Angel turned his attention back to Giles. "What's going on with Buffy?"



"Was she bitten by the Master?"



"Yes. We saw the bite marks." Angel confirmed. "When we got there, she was standing up from a pool of water. She was alive and biting."



"I have no idea what is going on." Giles sighed. "I shall contact the Council to see what they have to say. For now you, Jenny and Xander can look through all the books I have on Slayers and see if anything like this has ever happened before." He walked into his office to make the call to England.



Jenny, Xander and Angel grabbed separate volumes from Giles' collection. 'This is going to be a long night.' Angel thought to himself.



===========================================



'So, my moonlight is a Slayer. Now that's just neat.' Spike jumped down from the window onto the grass. He strolled across the school grounds back to his car. 'She dominated, Peaches. That's just too bloody funny.'



Spike thought about all that he'd heard as he drove around Sunnydale. He opened his senses out to help narrow his search. "A Slayer biting a vampire. That's something you don't see every day." He parked outside one of the cemeteries. He was going to have to locate her on foot.



Just as Spike started to turn in one direction he felt a power unlike anything he'd ever come across in his 100+ years. He turned in the direction of the power. Something told him that his girl was going to be right at the head of that power.



Spike walked further down the main drag of Sunnydale. He turned down one of the back alleys. He stopped to watch the Slayer, or what he assumed was the Slayer, battling 4 vampires. She was just a slip of a blonde girl. If he hadn't seen her kicking the other vamps asses, he would have ignored her as not being the Slayer.



Spike leaned against the wall of one of the buildings that lined the alley. From the amount of dust floating about the air, he could tell that there had been a lot more than 4 vampires when the battle started. One by one he watched the last four fall to the vicious fighting skills of the Slayer.



Buffy pummeled the last vampire into the ground. Like all the rest before him, she asked the demon if he submitted to her. No matter how many she'd dusted before, each vampire refused to submit. This vampire was the first one wise enough to submit to her. "Good. Drink!" She tore at her wrist to feed the vampire a little of her blood to heal him.



The vampire meekly drank from the Slayer's wrist. He looked up at her hoping that she wouldn't stake him for taking her blood. He shook from head to toe. He'd watched all of his clan become dust at the Slayer's hands.



"You are mine now," Buffy's voice echoed through the alley with the timbre of her power. "You will not kill humans, and you will find me the Master. Now get up and go."



The vampire, although glad that he wasn't dead, soon wished he was when he heard her request. The Master was not someone you wanted to mess with. Then again, neither was this woman. He scurried away. He may not find her the Master, but he was getting as far away from Sunnydale as he could.



"You know luv," Spike spoke while he pushed himself away from the wall. "I think you need to forget about the Master. He's not a nice man you know."



Buffy turned around to face Spike. Her eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight. She looked Spike over from head to toe. 'It would be a shame to mar such handsome features.' She licked her lips. "Do we really need to fight?" She asked in a purring voice as she slinked towards Spike. "Or will you just submit to me?"



Spike chuckled. "Oy, I get a choice?" He pointed in the direction of the many dust piles. "Didn't look to me like you gave those jokers a choice, or Peaches for that matter." He smirked at Buffy.



"Well you look so scrumptious just as you are." Buffy continued her walk forward. "I'd hate to break you before I get to truly play with you properly." She practically slithered the last few steps before she came to a stop in front of Spike.



"I think I'd prefer a good rough and tumble, luv." Spike stood his ground in front of her. There wasn't a huge height difference between them. He gazed into her golden flecked, emerald eyes. "You never know ... I might win." He teased.



'Ohhhh. This one I like.' Buffy circled Spike slowly. All of the others had been weak, beneath her notice. This one was different than all of them. He called to her. Maybe it was the fact that he still challenged her after he witnessed the decimation of the previous clan. "Perhaps you are the one who will be strong enough to help me kill the Master."



"Never liked him much anyways." Spike counter circled Buffy's movements. He loved a good fight. Dru's vision was good so far. He liked this slip of a girl. She had sass and fire. "Always a bit too full of himself."



Buffy growled and leapt at Spike. She agreed with Spike's assessment of the Master, but she wanted a piece of this one. She knocked Spike to the ground and straddled his waist.



Spike easily flipped Buffy over his head and behind him. He stood up to face her at the same time she managed to get back on her feet. He threw a left hook to her jaw that she dodged, followed by a kick that she blocked.



Buffy giggled in delight as they exchanged punches and kicks. Each kick was blocked and punch was evaded or knocked to the side. The battle was even, and both of them were getting into it. It was a glorious fight. Both partners danced and sparred from one end of the alley to the other without a care.



Satisfied with the fight, Buffy stepped back and dropped her fists. She noted the puzzled look on Spike's face.



"That was fun, Slayer. What's the matter? Is the little Slayer tired?" Spike mocked.



Buffy barely restrained the urge to fly at him with fists and fangs again. She growled low instead in warning. She looked at him as calmly as she could. "Do you know what happens when two equals meet?" She continued before he could give a smart aleck answer. "They either kill each other or they help each other."



Spike tilted his head to the side in curiosity. She couldn't be a full grown woman yet, but she intrigued him. Her spirit was older than even him. He felt it.



"I think we would make a good team." Buffy stretched her hand out towards Spike. "Will you be my partner?"



Spike faltered slightly when his fingertips touched Buffy's. Something electric sparked the touch. "That wasn't exactly what I had planned when I searched for you." He knew that Dru told him that the moonlight was for him to have now, but he wasn't sure if he could go through with it. "I'll tell you what, if you want my help with the Master I require a form of payment, some of your blood."



Buffy hadn't thought about offering any kind of payment for his help. His request seemed reasonable enough. She thought it over for a couple minutes before she bare her neck to him. "You may take enough to be stronger but not enough to weaken me. Cross me on this, and you will be dust."



Spike licked his lips. Slayer blood was the most powerful blood a vampire had the treat of sampling. He'd killed two Slayers in his time, but it had been a while. He pulled Buffy into his arms, rubbing up and down her arms while hips lips danced up her jugular.



Buffy closed her eyes. She wasn't afraid of the pain. In a strange way she wanted the pain that his bite would bring. She craved to feel him pull her blood into him. In that small way she would be a part of him, something he longed for.



Spike's fangs pierced the smooth flesh of Buffy's neck when he could no longer fight the pulsing throb of the blood flowing beneath the skin. With the first long pull of her blood, Spike felt his cock harden. His control to only take a small sip slipped from his grasp. She was pure nirvana. He wanted more of her, all of her.



Buffy tightened up in Spike's arms. She felt as Spike tore harder into her neck to draw more of her blood into his mouth. Instead of pushing him away, she pulled him closer. She felt the pulse of Spike's demon calling to her own. She growled in response to his call. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.



Spike ripped himself away from Buffy's neck. Rivulets of blood dribbled down her neck while he stared at her dress. Frantically he pulled the buttons of his jeans apart to release his hard cock to the outside air. His hand dove under her dress to push it up to her waist. He ripped her underwear right off her body.



Buffy gasped at the cool air hitting her heated sex. She growled in pleasure, her eyes locked with Spike's. "Yes." She ground out rocking her hips in the air towards him. She wrapped her hands around his neck to lift herself up.



Spike surged forward. He impaled Buffy on his thick member, piercing through her virgin barrier in one swift thrust. The brief scream of pain from her was music to his ears, one that he had not heard in a very long time. This woman was his wholly and fully. No other had her before, and no other would ever touch her.



Buffy felt the tears slip down her cheeks from the initial pain of his thrusts. The pain quickly shifted into full blown pleasure. She rocked into his thrusts to match his rhythm and movements. She wanted to be as close to him as possible. Nothing would ever feel as good to her as being one with Spike.



When the scent of Buffy's virgin blood scented the air around them, Spike's demon went nuts. He buried his fangs back into her neck and pulled two more full gulps down his throat. He growled, "MINE!" He was possessive in all ways that mattered. Both his demon and the man wanted this woman. He claimed her in the only way his demon could. He cut his tongue on his fangs then applied the mixture of blood and saliva to Buffy's wounds to make sure they scarred.



Buffy screamed out her orgasm with the plunging of Spike's fangs back into her neck. He channel contracted around his member. She yelled out "YOURS" just before her own fangs sank into the same side of Spike's neck where Drusilla's mark lay. She tore into the flesh of his neck and supped his blood, "Mine." She echoed.



"Yours," Spike howled. His cock shot thick jets of his cold seed into Buffy's womb. He felt complete for the first time in his entire existence. He felt the claim snap into place, and he collapsed against the building to the ground.



Both of them rested against each other, panting and sated.

Single ' ' marks indicate thoughts while regular " " marks show actual talking out loud.



'Oh shit!' Spike's back pressed against the wall. His arms wrapped around his new mate who sat on the ground in front of him. 'Shit! Shit! Shit!' He knocked his head back against the wall several times. 'What the hell was I thinking? I just claimed the Slayer. That wasn't supposed to happen.'



Buffy nestled herself further into her new lover's embrace. She turned half to the side and nestled her head against his chest. Her lust fogged mind was a whirl of various thoughts and emotions.



Spike ran his fingers through Buffy's hair. He practically purred at the softness of her long blonde tresses in his hand. He nuzzled her shoulder and inhaled her scent: vanilla, blood, power, and all woman. 'I took her blood, and it was the sweetest on this Earth.' He estimated that she could only be about 16, but the power and maturity that emanated from her blood to his went far beyond her actual years. 'She calls to my demon. She ripped him from the background to the surface the moment my fangs pierced her neck to taste her.'



Buffy felt Spike nuzzle her neck near her shoulder. Her senses were on fire. Even in the aftermath of their joining, she still felt him in her blood as if she was still joined to him. She turned her emerald eyes to gaze into the now blue orbs of her choice of mate. Closing her eyes she memorized his scent: cigarettes, leather, whiskey, power, and earthy male musk.



Spike felt perfectly content with the woman in his arms. 'God, I could dust happily from the heat she radiates.' He looked down at Buffy. A pang of sadness tapped at the outer walls of his heart. The realization of what brought him into this woman's life pained him. 'My Dark Princess. She's gone forever.' He frowned. 'I hadn't planned on tying myself to anyone yet, but I couldn't stop myself. This feels so right.'



Buffy opened her eyes, cupped Spike's face with the palm of her hand and smiled. She instinctively knew that her choice for a mate was a good one. Her Slayer power swirled around in her blood. Her mate was strong, just as she was. They were evenly matched.



'At least I know that this is what my Sire wanted for me. She told me to find the moonlight; the one whose sunlight the Master darkened.' Spike rested his forehead on Buffy's. He rubbed his nose against hers in a playful kiss. 'I haven't betrayed my Sire's memory. She wanted me to find this luscious creature.'



Buffy felt the sadness pass through the connection she now shared with the vampire. She worried about him. In a flash of images she saw the loss of his Sire recently. Other images of intimacy crossed her thoughts. Although a part of her wanted to be jealous of the dark beauty, she realized that it was that beauty who sent this man to her.



Spike watched the confusion, pain, and slight jealousy cross his mate's features. She looked so small and fragile like this, not at all like the girl he fought earlier. "Don't worry about it, pet. She wanted me to come here to care for and be with you." He made a promise to himself to do whatever he could to keep her alive, just as she was. Not even his demon felt the urge to cross her over completely.



Buffy relaxed in Spike's arms. She mourned along with her mate over his loss. She rarely paid attention to Giles when he sputtered on about vampire families and traditions, but she knew enough to know that the loss of a Sire was very hard. "This day hasn't turned out anything like I expected it to."



"She would have liked you." Spike brought Buffy's lips up to his. He tenderly kissed her before he pulled back to look at her again. "Then again, you did dominate her Daddy. She would have been cross at you for that."



"Who?" Buffy quirked her head sideways. She wasn't familiar with many vampires on a personal basis. She had no idea who his Sire's Daddy was. She'd made a lot of vampires submit to her tonight in her quest to find the Master. 'Perhaps it was one of them.' She started feeling odd as memories flashed through her mind.



"Angelus." Spike smirked. "I tasted him in your blood. With what I saw earlier, I'd say you had a piece of him the same way you did those other blokes."



That one word, Angel, unlocked the floodgate to all of her memories from the time the Master sank his fangs into her neck until now. "Oh shit! I bit Angel!" Buffy sat up panicked. "I growled at Xander."



Spike tried to calm Buffy down. He rubbed circles around her back. "We'll suss it all out, pet. Calm down."



"Calm down?" Buffy started to become more frantic. "I just had sex. Oh my gosh! I had sex with a vampire." Her voice quivered. "I'm mated to a vampire, and I have fangs. Oh my God! Why do I have fangs?" She slapped her hand to her chest to check for heartbeat. "I'm not dead. Why am I not dead if I have fangs?"



Spike wrapped his arms around Buffy tightly. "Nothing is going to kill you while I'm around." His demon snarled in agreement with each word. Nothing was touching its mate if he could help it.



Buffy looked up sorrowfully into Spike's eyes. "I don't even know your name." She dropped her head to Spike's shoulder and wept. She wanted to avoid looking at the vampire she'd lost her virginity to. Right now she couldn't look at her mate.



"Names Spike, luv. What's yours? I know you're the Slayer." Spike loosened his grip a little. His poncy William side was hurt. This beautiful woman was acting ashamed of what they'd shared together. His demon side who claimed the Slayer as his mate wanted to comfort her. Neither side of his being handled rejection well. 'What if she doesn't want to be mated to me? What if it was just a fluke?'



"Buffy. My name is Buffy." Buffy lifted her gaze to meet his eyes again. She saw and felt the sadness in him. "So, I guess we're together then. I mean I chose you, right? That has to mean something." She started to get more nervous. The tingling sensations of his vampire presence informed her that this was a Master Vampire holding her. What if he was just toying with her? "Unless of course you don't want me. Then I guess Giles has books about how to reverse claims, right?"



Spike blinked in shock. 'She thinks that I would refuse her?' He had no desire to leave Buffy. "There is no way to reverse it, pet. Vampires mate for eternity."



"Oh." Buffy smiled widely. Did that mean that Spike couldn't leave her or just wouldn't? She knew he fought well against her. What kind of a team would they be together? There was one thing in the way though, he was a vampire. "You don't kill people anymore, do you?" Her emotions took a downward spiral at the thought. She hoped that Spike was somehow like Angel in that he drank bagged blood. Did he have a soul too?



'I suppose this means I'll have to stop killing.' Spike's demon fought against that thought. 'I wonder if I can do it.' He gazed into the now fearful eyes of his mate. 'For her, I'd do anything.'



"Cause you know I can't let you do that. I can't let you kill innocents." Buffy stammered on. She saw the indecision in his eyes. He wasn't like Angel. She feared that she would have to kill her mate. She didn't think she could bear it. "There are lots of other ways to ..."



The voice of a growling vampire interrupted Buffy. He smashed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. 'The fire in this woman's spirit is amazing,' he thought while he continued the kiss. He broke away to bury his face in her neck. His fangs easily sliced through the golden skin. With the first pull of her blood into his mouth he roared out, "Mine!"



Buffy's Slayer side recognized the call of her mate. Something in the way Spike called out his claim told her that he would never leave her. She knew in her heart that he was telling her that she would not have to stake him. She sighed in pleasure and relief before her own fangs extended to be sunk into his neck. "Yours," she answered his claim.



"With that settled, why were you sending all of those idiots after the Master?" Spike questioned her about her strange dominance activities over vampires for the first time.



"The Master escaped after he killed me." Buffy stood up abruptly. She pulled Spike up with her. "I have to kill him before he opens the Hellmouth."



"I'll rip him apart." Spike snarled out in anger and fierce protectiveness. "Stupid wrinkly old man. I don't care if he is related. No one touches my mate!"



"Related?" Buffy stopped outside the alleyway. She had been tugging Spike along with her at a clipped pace.



"Great-great Grand-Sire or some other rot, but don't worry. I have no problems staking the git." Spike reassured Buffy with his words and a squeezing of their joined hands. "A mate is a higher priority than anyone except possibly a Sire, and my Sire is now dead. Besides she told me to find you in her own crazy way as they were killing her."



"I'm sorry that you lost her, Spike." Buffy brushed her cheek against his leather covered chest. She lifted her head to nuzzle the sealed mark on his neck from her bite.



"I am too, pet." Spike sighed softly. "Let's go kill the Master. Then we can find somewhere to spend some time together."



===========================================



Buffy and Spike found the Master at the top of the school, looking down at the library. They both peered over the glass to find out what he was looking at. Something was working its way up out of the floor.



Giles, Angel, Jenny, Willow, Xander and Cordelia were stuck between the thing emerging from the floor and a large group of vampires who appeared to be beating against the doors of the library to get in.



The Master cackled in delight at the human's predicament. Everything was going just as he wanted it too. He was pleased with his plans until he looked up and stared at the blonde couple sharing the roof with him. Whether the shock was more from seeing the Slayer alive or from seeing one of his heirs, the slayer of Slayers, standing next to her he wasn't sure. "I killed you."



"I know, but as you can see it didn't take." Buffy gloated over the shock in the Master's eyes. She flashed him a close up look at her new fangs and golden eyes. "Not quite what you expected?" She smirked. "Shame, really. Looks like I'm gonna have to ruin your party."



Spike snorted and looked at the Master. The decrepit head of the Aurelius family looked as confused as a new fledgling recently risen from the grave. He knew the Master could hear Buffy's heartbeat just as Spike did. It had to be driving the Master crazy to figure out what was going on. Spike was still confused about all of that himself.



Buffy prepared to make another snarky comment when Spike spoke up first.



"Yeah, granddaddy looks like they don't just stay dead like they used to." Spike took a defensive stance in front of the Master, right alongside Buffy. "By the way, Dru sends her regards. She was mad at you for putting out the sun."



While that comment hung in the air, the fight was on. Spike and Buffy worked in a tandem that rivaled life long fighting partners. The Master was old, and his vampiric power was strong, but Spike and Buffy were stronger. They finally kicked him onto the glass, and it shattered under the pressure. The Master fell through it with a cry of anguish.



Buffy and Spike jumped down the story or two after the Master. They aimed their landing for a safe part of the library, away from where the Master shifted to dust. A broken table leg disintegrated his body to ash, leaving only his bones behind. The creature from the floor disappeared, and the vampires at the door ran off.



"That's a first." Buffy stepped up to the Master's skeleton. She wiped her hands clean on Spike's pants. Her dress was already dirty enough. "Usually they go completely poof."



Spike shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it is because he was so old." He'd never seen anything like it.



Everyone in the room looked at the blond pair wondering what the heck was going on. Angel was the first to recover from the shock of seeing his Grand-Childe standing next to Buffy. He took a couple steps towards Spike. "Buffy, get away from him," he said in reference to Spike. He was prepared to battle Spike. "He's dangerous. He has a thing for killing Slayers."



Buffy cringed. She turned towards Spike. "You killed Slayers?" They hadn't gotten to the part of sharing their pasts with each other yet.



"Two pet." Spike sighed. Leave it to his stupid Grand-Sire to ruin things already. "I'm a vampire, pet. It's a part of me to kill."



Giles, Jenny, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia were frozen in place. Words between Buffy, Angel and Spike barely registered in their brains. Giles picked up only snatches of the conversation.



"But you won't anymore?" Buffy questioned Spike. She looked over briefly at Angel. She felt the anger pouring off of him. 'What right does he have to be angry at me for being near Spike? He left me to die at the Master's hand. Spike fought with me to kill the Master.' She looked back at Spike.



"I promised you I wouldn't, pet." Spike relaxed at little. 'At least she doesn't have a stake at your heart already, mate,' he thought. "We'll suss out all the details later when we don't have interference." He growled at Angel in warning.



Angel stepped forward further. "You can't trust him, Buffy." He returned the growl. Buffy was his little ray of sunshine. She may have dominated him earlier, but he still saw her as his. "You can't have her, Spike. She's mine."



Buffy realized that she was foolish to ever be interested in Angel. She finally saw through exactly what Angel was trying to do. The growling between the men ceased when a darker growl emanated from Buffy's mouth.



"Buffy?" Angel's demon wanted to force him to lower his head in submission even as it fought that it was being dominated. "I'm just trying to protect you. He'll kill you."



Spike and Buffy shared a little laugh over that. That twinge of darkness that gave her even more of an edge now made itself known. "I seriously doubt that." She flipped her hair back over her shoulder to expose the new bite mark on her neck.



Angel stared at the mark. He knew the Master bit her, but there was something different about the mark. It didn't look right to belong to the Master. His bite was usually wider.



"I find it hard to believe that Spike would kill his mate, Angel." Buffy wrapped her arm around Spike's waist. She tilted her head to lick along the twin punctures on Spike's pale skin.



"Oh dear, Lord." Giles snapped partially from his daze to nearly faint at the sight.



"Buff ... Buffy?" Xander stuttered. What in the heck was going on here anyways?



Buffy turned to face a shocked group of friends, Watcher, teacher, and ex-boyfriend. She brushed past Angel to stand in front of Xander. "Sorry about the growling earlier, Xander. I wasn't quite myself at the time."



Xander nodded numbly. Half of his mind told him to run and fast. The other half wanted to hug his friend.



"So ..." Buffy looked between everyone. "I got all prettied up today for the occasion." She looked down at her still half soaked and dirty dress. "Who's up for dancing after I change?"



Spike grabbed Buffy's waist from behind. "I am, pet. Lead the way." The two of them walked out of the library before anyone could respond further. She heard Angel storm off in a crash of books and furniture, but she didn't care.



Buffy wanted to enjoy herself for a little while. It had been one hell of a day. She knew that she had a hell of a lot of explaining to do once they all came out of shock.