"You can´t be serious Dru!" She couldn´t be serious, no way!


"But you must eat Spikey; you won´t heal if you don´t." She was giving him a persuading look, swaying slightly to her own rhythm. "I brought her in just for you. Go ahead, be a good boy and mummy will be so happy."





Spike hated his unlife, it was now official. Not only had he gotten buried under the church organ, not only was he in a bloody wheelchair, not only was his girl sleeping and fucking and hunting with the Grand Poof, not only did said Poof torment his existence every sodding day by snide remarks and flaunting his sexual escapades with Dru in Spike's face, now she wanted him to drain a baby. Yeah, there was a baby girl, about six months old, sleeping in his arms, and Dru wanted him to eat that baby!





He had never drained a child. Not a baby, not a six year old, not a twelve year old. He didn´t do that. That was Angelus´ gig, and therefore Dru´s too. But not his. He was evil, of course, a cruel, bad man, but he liked the fight, the hunt. Where was the glory in snatching a baby? There was none. Also, there wasn´t that much blood in a baby. Maybe that was why Angelus liked orphanages so much; there were so many kids to feed from, that it didn´t matter how little blood there was in one.





What Spike didn´t want to admit, was that the idea of draining a child was just too cruel to him. He didn´t want to admit that the humanity that lingered in him found that repulsive. He was a monster, but not that kind of a monster; he just couldn´t find the evil in him to do such a thing. Which brought him to that very moment. The baby's face was so small, all scrunched up and pink, and she smelled a bit like sour milk. She looked, well, cute, as much as he hated to say that. But Dru was waiting for him to do something, eat. He had to find a way out of it.





"I won´t let you feed me. I´m not a child. I eat when I want to, not when you´re hovering over me. Don´t you have somewhere to be?" He raised one eyebrow and tried to look pissed off, which was pretty easy considering he was pissed off.


"Like going to hunt with your Daddy, maybe? Don´t let me keep you here, Dru; I can manage on my own."





She looked puzzled. Spike had always tried to keep her there with him, disliking it when she went out with her Sire. She could feel something was wrong, just couldn´t quite put her finger on it.


"Why do you want me to go? Don´t you want Princess to stay here?" she asked, trailing one finger down Spike´s cheek and under his chin so she could lift his face to hers.


"You always want me to stay here. Look into my eyes, Spike."





Spike hadn´t spent all that time with her without learning her tricks, though, so he just snapped his head away from her, feeling even more pissed off than before.


"Dru! Stop trying to do that to me! It won´t work. I need to be alone every once in awhile." With a sigh, he added, "Just go already."





Drusilla still looked confused, but a shout from Angelus made her smile and forget there ever was anything odd about Spike.


"Daddy is waiting for me outside; we will go and have a party. Daddy always throws the best parties." She got that far away look in her eyes again, smiling like an excited little girl, and with that she was gone.





Now what was he going to do? Spike stood up, walked to his bed, and carefully put the still sleeping baby down. He began pacing in his room trying to come up with some sort of plan.


Where should he take the baby? He didn´t know where Drusilla had taken her from, and she was too young, small and vulnerable to be just left somewhere. Some nasty would find her, and all his troubles would be for nothing.





Maybe he should just take her to the police station. Her parents were probably looking for her. Yeah, that could work. Just leave the baby to them and be gone. Liking that idea, he took an extra blanket from a trunk, wrapped it around the baby and took off trying his best not to wake the little girl up.





The police station was a public place, so he had no need for an invite, and it wasn´t that far away. He would just take a shortcut trough the cemetery and be right there. Having plotted out his route in his head, Spike moved fast, but as smoothly as possible. He didn´t want to end up with a crying baby; he just wanted to go unnoticed.





That just wasn´t his night, though. He was so engrossed on his thoughts, he failed to notice a certain vibe, and was yanked back to present moment when a stern Spike was shouted.


The Slayer! The night just kept getting better and better. Not. Grimacing, he turned around, and, true enough, there she was, wearing one of those obscenely short dresses of hers, her long blond hair falling freely around her shoulders. The look on her face was one of confusion and anger.





"Since when have you been able to walk again?" Her arms were crossed over her chest, a stake held firmly in her right fist.


Spike held the baby against his body a bit more firmly, trying not to look suspicious. He didn't want to get into a fight, not now.


"Is it any of your business if I can walk? It´s not like I´m going to ask you for a little stroll is it?"





"It is, if you can hunt again." Her voice was very matter-of-fact. "And what is that you´re holding? Did you steal something?"


Buffy looked like the stake she was now twirling around would be in his heart soon, if he didn´t answer. The problem was, the answer was probably going to make that stake pierce his heart even sooner.





Sighing, Spike thought that the truth was his only option, even if it got him staked.


"This is a baby." Seeing the Slayer's eyes narrow in accusation, he hastened to add, "And I bloody well haven´t nicked her! Satisfied?"





"A baby? Oh my God, that´s the sickest thing! Are the adults too fast for you now?" The look on Buffy´s face was disgusted and made Spike want to defend himself somehow. He also wanted to get out of there, though, so he just extended his arms for Buffy to take the baby.





"You can have her! Please! You´re just making things easier for me."


"What do you mean?" Confusion was clearly visible on her face.


"I was going to town so I could take her to the police" He shrugged. "That's up to you now. I don´t know where Dru took her from, but isn´t this what you do? Save innocents? Well, she´s one."





Buffy took the baby from him and retreated few steps, making sure it really was a baby and not something that would kill her.


"Why were you taking her back? I thought you were going to eat her."


"Well you thought wrong, didn´t you?" Spike didn't quite understand why her accusation both hurt and angered him.





"So, you´re telling me Dru brought you this baby for you to drain, but you decided to take her to the police instead? Why on earth would you do that?" She squinted slightly. "You are still evil, right?"





"Of course I am you daft bint! Just not that evil." Rolling his eyes exaggeratedly, he rushed to explain.


"I mean, Angelus has always munched on kids, but not me. I like to work for my food. You know, hunt." He looked at her expectantly, and she nodded for him to go on. "Doesn´t seem too manly to go snapping children's necks", he said looking somewhat proud.





Buffy was having a hard time making sense of what was happening. Angel had always said what a cruel monster Spike was, like Spike was worse than him, but what he just said kind of turned the tables. In that light, Angelus and Dru seemed to be much worse than the blond vampire who now looked at her with a very bored expression. Who would believe that a vampire would return a baby girl to her parents while others expected him to eat her? She couldn´t just go and dust him now; he had actually done something good. It didn´t erase over a hundred years of killing, of course, but it did earn him the get-out-of-jail-card for the night.





"I can´t believe I´m saying this, but thanks. You did something decent tonight."


Spike looked like she had seriously offended him.


"Don´t you go thinking that I´m somehow less evil, ´cause of this! I´m the Big Bad Wolf, and you remember that, Little Red Riding Hood!" His eyes were flashing gold and his mouth was an angry line.





"I do. I remember that. You just did this one good thing, no more, right?" Buffy didn´t want to get into a fight since there was the baby in her arms. That could wait 'til the next time.


"Bloody right. Now do make sure her mum and dad find her, okay? I want that something good comes out of this experience that smudges my image too much for my liking."


He had to remind her that he was evil, but for some reason he also wanted to be sure the baby would be all right.





"I´ll take care of her. But won´t Dru and Angel find out about all this when there isn´t a tiny corpse around?" The last words made her wince.





"It´s Angelus. Don´t forget that little girl. You go soft on him, and he destroys you. Not that I care about you, but I care about him even less."


In the dim light Spike didn´t see how Buffy´s face paled the second Angelus was mentioned, so he kept going.


"He´s a right bastard even for a vampire." He wanted to have a smoke, but decided against it; there was a baby nearby, after all.


"Anyway, we can´t forget the fact that he has Dru attached to his dick most of the time. I think they won´t even remember the baby, they´ll be too busy shagging."





It suddenly became obvious to him that something wasn't right with the Slayer.


"What´s wrong?"





Buffy was holding back the flood of tears that threatened to spill out of her eyes. She couldn´t break down in front of Spike, no way. No matter how much it hurt to hear about Angelus, and Dru, she wouldn´t show it to him


"Nothing", she muttered, but she couldn´t stop a small sob coming out. And that was enough for Spike to realize what the matter really was.





"Right, you´re still mooning over the Poofter. Should´ve guessed." His voice softened a bit as he added, "He´s really not worth it you know."


Buffy looked at him, confusion and grief mingling on her face, but didn´t say anything.





Spike didn't know why, but he had to warn her.


"He will try to break you like he broke Dru, and from where I´m standing it looks like he doesn´t have to try very hard. I thought you were stronger than this, but I guess I was wrong." Now he really wanted that smoke.





He wouldn´t stay there and give her a pep talk; that was his change to get away, and he took it, waving his hand quickly.


"Well, I´ll be going. G'bye. And thanks for your help with the baby."





Then he was gone, and Buffy was left standing there, holding the baby, and still fighting back the tears. She knew she was weak when it came to Angel, but at that moment she started thinking that a bit of toughening up would be in order. Yeah, she refused to let him break her completely. With that thought, she started walking towards the police station, Spike´s words swirling around in her head.





TBC

Spike had been right: Angelus and Dru were happily fucking in their room, and being unbearably loud on top of that. What was he supposed to do? Wheel around in the mansion, read, make friends with the minions, write bloody awful poetry? Fuck no! He was the one that should be in bed with Dru, hunting with her, and hell, even listening to her mindless ramblings and having tea parties with those blasted dolls! He was supposed to be making plans with others to take down that Slayer and rule that bleedin´ town! But no, not with Angelus around.

He tried to block out the sounds, but vampire hearing made it very difficult. Plopping down on his bed, he pulled a pillow over his head to muffle those grunts and moans a bit. Spike tried to concentrate on something else, anything else. Why was it that Angelus had to be the boss there, again?

Every minion admired Angelus, respected him more than Spike. Why, Spike couldn´t figure out. What had Angelus done that made him the boss? Killed any Slayers? No. Even tried to kill the current one? No. Oh, he danced around, making stupid little pranks that probably only pissed the Slayer off, sure. He was older, all right, but what did that mean? Nothing. Angelus had spent decades with that borrowed soul of his, and the last two years playing nice with the Slayer, believing that they had this otherworldly love going on. Yeah, right.

Like that drunken, whoring, sorry excuse of a man would be destined to be with a seventeen year old California Valley girl, who happened to be the Chosen One. Did that girl really think that Angel had fallen in love with her heart the moment he'd seen her? How stupid could she be? He might have called himself Angel, but Liam was still in there, and he liked them young and pretty. It was a miracle it had taken him that long to get her into bed. Angelus loved virgins, and while he'd had a soul when he slept with Buffy, it hadn´t stopped him, had it?

Now, Spike had to listen to Angelus brag about popping her cherry, like it had been some sort of achievement. Pffft! That chit was obviously so in love with the great prick-head that she had been willing and able. No great seduction schemes had been needed, and there was therefore no reason to brag. That Slayer needed to see what kind of a guy her honey- bear really was, and Spike was just the guy to help with that.

It would be so nice to make sure that Buffy dusted Angelus good and proper. If he could make that happen, he could get rid of that bugger and have Dru back; he could be the master of that Hellmouth again.

There was this voice nagging in his mind, that said some disturbing things, though. For one, that he shouldn´t want Dru back. She was the cheating kind, to begin with, and her dead heart obviously belonged to Angelus. Spike could do better than that. Much better.

It was difficult to even think about that. Dru was his salvation, his princess. They belonged together. Or at least he had always believed so. But could he ever be happy with a woman who wasn´t really his? Had he ever actually been happy with her? He had made himself believe that, had ignored her cheating and angry tantrums when she'd longed for her Daddy. What had he been to her? A caregiver at the best, someone who made her life easier. Sure, she praised him like a good puppy when things went well, but screamed bloody murder and attacked him when they didn´t. Sex had been good, that was true, but even that hadn´t been often in the last few years. Well, not with him. With every sort of demon, or even humans, when she'd felt like it. In their bed, a few times. Dru didn´t seem to have a faithful bone in her body. Of course, it was a different thing with Angelus; she didn´t as much as think of any-one else now.

When he considered it for a while, it wasn´t such a difficult thought anymore. She had never been his. Never. She had needed him, but never loved him. There just wasn´t any one but Angelus in this world for her. That idiot with his giant forehead!
Spike felt his anger rise; how could he have been so stupid! It took just a bit of hard thinking to stop living in denial. He might be love's bitch, but there wasn´t any loving coming in his direction, was there? It felt like his heart went black with all the angry thoughts he was having. He smashed his fist trough the door of his room, pulling it back only to punch trough it again and again, till his fist was bleeding badly and the door was in pieces. "Never again," he swore.

He needed to make both Angelus and Dru pay, big time. And as much as it pained him to admit, he needed help. It pained him even more when he came to the conclusion that the annoying little Slayer was his best, maybe even only option in the helping department. He would have to start thinking of her as an ally, not an enemy, at least until he had no use for her anymore. Then he could kill his third Slayer. He smiled widely, thinking of that. No more grand-poof, no more cheating, crazy girlfriend, and no more Buffy Summers. He would totally rule that town. Yeah, Spike had great plans.

He needed to put things into action, and soon. He would go to the Slayer and offer his help in destroying Angelus and Dru. She would hopefully give him the chance ´cause of the baby incident. Spike just needed to make his offer so good that she would look past his history and find it in herself to work with him. In order to do that, he would have to play nice with the minions and Dru, find out every bit of information there was to find, and even play the supportive grandchilde part with Angelus when it came to the Broody One's plans, not mock them. He would still be his snarky self, still long for Drusilla in front of them, but just with a bit more respect. And boy, did that make him want to barf!

He would also keep his ability to walk again hidden. It would do no good to spoil the element of surprise; they might very well need that. Angelus was a sneaky bastard who had all the minions on his side. One could never guess what he'd come up with, but Spike would do his best to find out. There was Drusilla to consider, as well. She was in her full strength, those days, and, with Angelus letting her take sire´s blood from him, she was a powerful opponent. She was also barking mad, which made the job of guessing her plans extremely difficult. Her visions would be a problem, but at least Spike had learned how to guard his mind from her probing.

All in all, he had a lot on his plate, and he'd need some time to get things in order before he could go to the Slayer, no, to Buffy. He needed to start calling her Buffy then on; it would show more interest and make him appear more friendly and human. Yeah, he knew how her mind worked, having followed her movements and studied her from every aspect, to kill her of course. He would put all that knowledge into work now. Buffy Summers would help him destroy his sire and grandsire, make him the master of Sunnyhell and eventually be the third Slayer he killed.


tbc

Buffy had never been a great thinker, and it had never bothered her. Since becoming a Slayer, she'd had to start using her brain a bit more, but she still had her Watcher who did the research and plans, and took the big decisions. It was different this time, though. She hadn't been able to go and talk with Giles, or with anybody; it would have been too weird, talking about how certain vampires were different, how she had begun thinking that Spike might not be as bad as everybody thought. She also didn´t tell anybody that Spike could walk again, or what had happened on the night they'd met.

She frankly didn´t know why she kept those things to herself. Why did she keep questioning the things Angel had told her about Spike? At the same time, she thought a lot about Angel, and Angelus, and for the first time she saw them as the same vampire.
She had secretly read some of Giles´ Watcher Diaries in an attempt to find out more about Angelus, Spike and Drusilla. What she'd read had filled her with fear, a true fear that she had felt only with the Master.

Angelus was something else, all right. He was obviously a master at mind games, and he had already started those with her, doing those little cruel things that separately seemed pretty harmless, but together formed a clear plan. A plan to make her unbalanced, make her forget the bigger picture and plain old make her annoyed and sloppy. She was not going to fall for that again, however. So she'd read through all the horrid details of the things Angelus had done all around the world, and she'd read about Drusilla, how she had the talent to thrall her victims, and how devoted she'd been to Angelus.

That had changed when Angel had gotten his soul, Buffy found out, while putting all the things she knew together. Dru had been with Spike since that, and their history together was bad for humankind. Only thing was, Buffy wasn´t sure which one of them had done all the things she'd read about. Spike had said that he had never drained a child, and Buffy believed him. What reason had he to lie? He had always bragged about his past, so if this time he said he hadn´t done something, she believed him. So, how much of all that had been Drusilla´s work and how much Spike´s?

Buffy knew it shouldn´t matter to her. A monster was a monster--the end. It was a dangerous thing to start putting them into categories: evil, less evil, just a bit bad. What was wrong with her? Why did she keep thinking of Spike, anyway? At least she knew that one good thing coming out of this was realizing how dangerous Angelus really was. Add Dru with that thrall thingy to that, and, yes, Spike who now could walk, and she was in deep trouble. The little training she had done lately put her in a serious disadvantage. She needed to train hard, and with weapons, no matter what Giles said. Merrick had included swords, knives, and other weapons to her training, but that had been quite some time ago.

She missed Merrick so much sometimes. Giles was great, but he seemed to not make use of all her abilities. Buffy knew that she needed the physical training with someone who could hold his own against her. Merrick had let her train with an ex-marine soldier who was his friend´s son, and with a real professional swordsman. She had suggested those to Giles, but he seemed to think that she wasn´t ready, and instead tried to teach her himself. Buffy didn´t want to hurt his feelings by saying what a total waste of time that was, so she held her punches and kicks. She had thought that with Angel she'd finally found a decent opponent, but he'd refused to spar with her. Instead of sparring, he had tried to teach her some slow paced martial art that only managed to make her yawn.

And now she had three master vampires against her, with all the other monsters on top of that. She was so screwed. Or she would be, if she didn´t take the initiative. She needed the training, and there wasn´t much of a chance that Giles would come around. He seemed to think that she did just fine, that the Council-based training was enough. Well, it wasn´t. Buffy had gone and checked out every place in Sunny-D where they taught self-defence or martial arts, and had finally found a guy. He was in his thirties, an ex soldier, had won numerous competitions and was a very nice guy. After a short sparring session, Danny--that was his name--had told her that he could teach her every trick he knew since she obviously wasn´t a beginner. Buffy had smiled, thanked him, and told him that she would come to training two times a week. On her way back home she'd hummed a little tune, very pleased with herself.

That had left weapons. And that wasn´t gonna be so easy, she'd thought. Sometimes life gives you a nice surprise, however, and it sure had one for Buffy this time. A few days after finding Danny, Buffy had heard her mom talking on the phone, and had picked up a few interesting words. There was a collector who specialized in swords and knives. The more interesting tidbit was that he had a son there in Sunnydale, who had been fencing from the age of eight. After Joyce got off the phone, Buffy announced that she wanted to continue her fencing lessons. She had told her parents about them when Merrick had started her training. Of course they had thought that it was purely for sports, but who cared?

"You want to start fencing again? I thought you didn´t like it anymore; you said so in LA." Joyce put the papers she had been going through on the table and looked closely at her daughter.

Buffy came up with a great reason quickly, pouting ever so slightly, just for extra effect. "Well, I´ve noticed that I miss it. It was such a good work-out. It isn´t easy to stay this size with your cooking, you know."

The pout and the flattery had the desired effect, and Joyce smiled warmly at her. "Well, if Mr. Carlington´s son agrees to teach you, why not? It would be nice for you to have a sport as a hobby again. I´ll call him in a while."

Buffy hugged her mom tightly, a bright smile on her face. She was sincerely thankful. "Thanks, Mom, so much. You're the best!" Without waiting for an answer, she went bouncing up the stairs to her room, leaving her, slightly confused but smiling, mother behind.

That night Buffy was even more pleased with herself. She was in charge again. She would do what was best for her, and everybody else could just go to... well, not Hell, but some other not so deadly, unpleasant place. Buffy had started to feel very protective of her secret. It was something that was just for her. It made everything else feel more bearable. She lay in her bed that night and thought about Giles. He wasn´t that bad... just pretty close minded, and stubborn, and quite Council-y. When she thought about it, shouldn´t it be that they worked for her, not the other way around? If she decided to quit, they couldn´t just go and hire a new Chosen One.

She wasn´t going to go on a strike or become too power-happy. She just wanted to think for herself now that she had really started the whole thinking deep thoughts gig.

It had been only a few days after her meeting with Spike, and so much had happened in her mind since that. And it had been that meeting that had started it all. Spike had made her think--really think--about Angelus, about herself, and degrees of evil. Buffy wasn´t sure if the last one of those things was good or bad. Was it bad for a Slayer to see the shades of grey? Could it make her hesitate in a fight and get herself killed? Or could it make slaying easier, since she wouldn't have to waste time killing creatures that were not so evil, or not evil at all? Could it even make her gain new allies?

"This thinking stuff is a pain in the butt. Thanks a lot, Spike."

tbc

It was almost two weeks after Buffy had taken charge that they met again.
 
Spike had gathered enough info so he would have something to offer Buffy, and went on searching for her. She wasn´t very hard to find; sounds of a fight were easy to follow. Spike watched her from afar, admiring her. She fought well, there was no denying that. She was quick on her legs and had real power and grace, but what put a smile on Spike´s face were her puns. She was a quick thinker when it came to throwing insults, a gift which Spike appreciated very much. If there was something Buffy Summers wasn´t, it was dull.
 
Buffy sensed him the minute he entered the cemetery, since she could easily tell a difference between a fledgling and a master vampire. She didn't know how she could tell it was Spike and not Angelus or Dru. She just knew it was him. As soon as there was only dust left of her opponent, she spun around to face him, a slightly angry look on her face. "What are you doing here, Spike? Do you want to lose the ability to walk again? Or not to exist at all? Cause I can arrange that."
 
Spike could see the dangerous look on her face and noticed that her fighting stance hadn’t fallen away. He knew he had to be very careful. "Calm down Slayer. I'm here to help you."
 
In an instance, her appearance changed to skeptical, but the fighting stance remained. "Help me? That´s got to be the stupidest thing I´ve ever heard. You´re a vamp, and vamps don´t go around helping Slayers. Did Angelus send you here to trick me?"
 
Spike didn´t even need to fake an angry look; it came to him naturally. "Yeah, like I want to have anything to do with him! You need to remember this: Angelus is a really annoying, obnoxious, too-much-hair-gel-using pain in my arse! I want him gone real bad." He almost spat the words out, his true feelings about Angelus showing clearly. "I hate to admit this, but I need your help in eliminating him and Dru. And you need my help in achieving the very same thing."
 
Buffy's posture loosened somewhat, and she actually laughed out loud. "Did you just say you want Drusilla gone, too? Now I know you´re lying. You've devoted your whole unlife to her and suddenly you want her gone? I´m not that stupid, you know."
 
She wasn´t stupid, Spike knew that. She had a sharp look in her eyes, clearly saying that nobody was going to fool her. That was, however, what he was going to do. "Yeah, I have devoted my time to her, but she really hasn´t returned the favor. Only one who's on her mind or in her unbeating heart is Angelus." It wasn't easy, saying these things to the Slayer of all people, but he had to make her understand why he was doing that. "She has been cheating on me this whole time, crying for her Daddy, and punishing me for not being him. And now that the poofter is back she hardly even remembers me anymore. I need her like a tooth-ache—if I had those, anyway."
 
Buffy didn´t know what to think. Spike seemed honest enough, and she kind of felt sorry for him for loving a woman who could never love him back, but was that enough to start working with him? On the one hand, he wasn't to be trusted, but on the other, she did need the help. Why did her life have to suck like that? It really wasn´t fair. Being in charge had its down sides, like deciding things by herself. She could feel a headache forming and frowned.
 
Spike could see she was trying to make a decision. He had to tip the scale so she would make the right one, to his favor. "I understand if you don´t believe me. Hell, I wouldn´t believe me if I were you, but I have some information that can help you. Can you at least listen to what I have to say? I won´t try anything funny, I swear." He held his hands up in a surrendering gesture and waited for Buffy´s response.
 
Spike seemed sincere enough, and even if that was some sort of trick, she could take care of herself. Her body relaxed visibly, and the frown disappeared. "I´ll listen, as long as you stay right where you are. Don´t come any closer. And I mean that."
 
Smiling, he lowered his hands again, took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a drag. "That´s all right with me. Now listen: I haven´t told them I can walk again, just so I have the element of surprise if I need it. I want to keep it that way. So please don´t go yapping your mouth about this if you haven´t done so already."
 
Buffy watched with interest as the smoke floated in the air before dissolving, then looked Spike in the eye. "I haven´t told anyone, and if you don't give me a reason, maybe I won't."
 
This was going much better than he had expected. He had guessed right; that Slayer was kindhearted, not just an efficient killer. "Good. Now, what I've put together is that Angelus is planning something big. Not world ending-big, I think, at least not yet. He has sent invitations to the five biggest vampire clan leaders to come here in few weeks time, though."

Spike sat on a tombstone, still smoking his cigarette, and continued when Buffy didn't say anything. "It could be just some territorial thing, but... it could also be something like gathering enough vampires in one place to kill everyone in town. I think I can get it sorted out, but I haven´t just yet."
 
That was bad. On the badness scale of one to ten, that was a clear ten. Five clans worth of vampires in the same place, which by the way had to be her town, was so not of the good. If what Spike was telling was the truth, they were all in deep shit. So maybe she really did need him. Giles hadn´t told her much about vampire clans; in fact, the only one she knew was the Aurelius clan. Great! Again there was something she should know but didn´t. Had she been that much against learning, or was it Giles who hadn´t taught her what he should have? "Let's say that I believe you. I don´t want that many vampires in Sunnydale, no matter what their purpose is. Can you tell me about those clans?" She sat on the tombstone opposite to Spike, still keeping her guard up.
 
Spike's brow furrowed in confusion. "You don´t know the vampire clans? Not even the big ones? What do you have that tweedy Watcher for?"
 
Buffy sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Apparently for slowing me down. I really don´t know any of them, only your clan. And that´s because I´ve met five of you: the Master, Darla, Angelus, Drusilla, and you. I haven´t been the keenest student all the time, and Giles has probably given up on me, thinking that I wouldn´t learn anything anyway."
 
That angered Spike for some reason. Why it bugged him when the Slayer thought too little of herself, he didn't know. It just irked him, and he stood up, the anger showing slightly on his face. "It´s not your fault. He should be training you from every angle. And you´re not stupid." His look softened, and he let out a deep sigh before continuing. "I´ll tell you enough, but it takes some time, and I'm not too eager to risk being seen out and with you. Can we go somewhere not so open?" Throwing away the butt of his cigarette, he gestured at the open graveyard with his hand.
 
Trying feverishly to decide what to do, Buffy bit her bottom lip, her left foot tapping against the stone. Her mind finally made up, she lifted her gaze to Spike. "Well, I know a place, but I´m not sure I want to be alone with you anywhere inside. Too much closeness can get me killed."
 
Spike looked her straight in the eye, and spoke slowly, trying to sound as trustworthy as possible. "You need to believe me, Slayer: right now I don´t want to kill you. I need your help and, as it seems, you need mine. I know you think vampires can´t be trusted, but desperate times call for desperate measures." He had a serious look on his face. No bravado, no smirk. "I give you my word, not as a vampire, but as William Pratt, who by the way was a right gentleman." Spike managed to avoid grimacing at his name, but just barely. It brought up unwanted memories, which was why he never said it to anyone.
 
Buffy couldn't help the amused smile that formed on her lips when she saw how difficult it was for Spike to say what he did. That was Spike's given name? Wow! She bet there weren´t many who knew it. The Watchers' diaries sure didn´t.
 
Accepting his word would be such a huge leap of faith for her. Spike was right, though; this was a desperate situation. Since she couldn´t trust her Watcher to tell her all that was needed, and her friends were blissfully ignorant of how deeply in trouble they all were, there really wasn´t anyone better than William the Bloody to help her. She had started the physical training, but inside info was very much welcomed. So she made a deal with the devil.
 
Hopping down, Buffy wiped some dust from her jeans, and pointed to an area behind Spike. "There´s this cottage just over that hill; I don´t think you need an invite, since it's abandoned. It´s easy to get inside. I go there sometimes when I want to think and be alone. None of my friends know about it, and I didn´t tell Angel either. So move; I´m in a hurry."
 
Spike fell in step after her and, being a male, stopped for a little while to take a look at her firm behind. She was juicy, all right. No wonder ol´ Liam's soul went bye-bye after a round with her. Spike knew that, while Angelus told everyone how lousy she had been in bed, that wasn´t true. He was sure of that. Even if it had been her first time, she was a Slayer: a sensual, powerful being. There was no way she could be bad between the sheets. And didn´t she give that git so big a happy that there was no soul in him anymore? Yeah, Spike wasn´t stupid. Angelus just didn´t want anyone to realize how much this chit affected him. That could be a very useful piece of information when used right. And he planned to use it right.
 
Right now, he had a lesson to give. God, how weird his life was sometimes! Still, he had his plans, and Buffy was part of them. He was going to kill her, of course, but all in the right time. He had given her his word that he wouldn´t kill her "right now,” and he always kept his word.
 
tbc

Buffy sat on a coffee table, her hands gripping the edge hard, her face pale in the moonlight that found its way in trough the open windows. "So, what you´re telling me is that, even though these clans don´t usually work together, they might do it for power, honor, a challenge, or—let me see... more power?"
　
Spike sat in an old, battered comfy chair, his fingers dancing on the armrest, almost as if he was listening to some music and tapping along. "Pretty much. Vampires do have a sense of honor, some more than others, so some clans are tighter than others. They have strict rules and a hierarchy." His look clearly told her just how little Spike cared for strict rules. "Me, I don´t care that I´m planning on killing my elders, my sire even, and for most that is one of the biggest no-nos there is. What I do care about is my word. I don´t give it easily, so I tend to do everything in my power to keep it."
　
Buffy gave him a stern look; she trusted him pretty much as far as Willow could throw him. "You better, or you'll end up being dust in the wind." She sighed deeply, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that the supposed love of her life was in fact planning something colossally nasty. "Now, you say that Angelus wants power. Lots of it. What could he be planning with these other clans in order to get it?"
　
Trying to get more comfortable, Spike sat sideways in the chair, his legs dangling over the armrest he had been tapping his fingers on. "Not sure, as I said. The worst case scenario for humans would be that all vampire clans unite."
　
Frowning slightly, Buffy tried to get why that would be so bad. "So... they form a union? What, do they want better work-hours, or something like that?"
　
Spike let out a deep, rumbling laughter. "I can't believe　you and your ditzy friends ruin my plans time and time again. Embarrassing for me, really." He got more serious when Buffy started to twirl the stake in her hand again. "Look, as it is now, the clans are busy competing against each other and guarding their own territory. Imagine, however, that they unite and focus all their energy, money, and power to overrule humans. Vampires would be masters, and you humans would be, well, slaves. Like cattle, kept alive only to feed and serve vampires."
　
Buffy thought she could actually feel her blood chilling. She felt fear settle inside her heart—fear not only for herself, but for humankind. Could Angelus pull something like that off? How many vampires were there in the world? Would there be wars, or would they just turn a lot of people in a rapid pace, so there wouldn´t be enough of them to fight back? This was just too much. She was only seventeen, for God´s sake! Buffy had always known she was the Chosen One, but in that moment she realized just how alone she was. What could she do against all the monsters there were? How was she supposed to stop all the clans from taking over the world? It was all just too much. Way too much.
　
Spike saw the exact moment she gave up. She was so young, and he had just told her that humans could be heading towards eternal slavery, so it was not a surprise. It bugged him anyway. She was a warrior for light, after all! Did she think that the Powers That Be wouldn´t assist her if the threat was that great? Spike wanted her dead, of course, but he didn´t want it now! He wanted to kill her himself, after the prick-head and that cheating whore were gone. He wanted to mess up Angelus´ plans big time. He wasn´t interested in ruling the world, no. He liked the challenge hunting provided him with. There were so many things in the world that he liked.
　
"Come on, kitten, don´t you dare quit fighting! Do you think that the Powers would have left you to deal with this kind of shit without help?" Seeing her scrunch her nose in thought, he went on. "I can´t believe how little you know! Bloody hell, I know more about this stuff than you do, and I´m supposed to be the enemy here!"
　
Snapping out of her gloomy thoughts, Buffy fixed her gaze on Spike's face again, hoping that she had understood him right. "What do you mean, Spike? What help?"
　
He couldn't believe she really had no idea. He turned to sit properly again, taking a deep, unneeded breath before speaking. "Do you honestly think that one girl could prevent every apocalypse around the world, alone?"
　
Once Spike's words had slowly sunk in, realization hit Buffy so hard, she actually gasped out loud. Of course she couldn´t do that. There was someone or something else besides her that kept the world in order! This was huge, or more like beyond huge. How come Spike knew this and she didn´t? How could she have been so blind, that she hadn´t even thought about it? And what about Giles? He was supposed to be her mentor, help her see things more clearly. Did he know about it? As much as it pained her to admit it, she knew he had to know. The whole situation stank like...
　
"The Council knows. There is only one Slayer, but there are other beings that help. Warriors." Spike knew he had to say these things now that he had started, no matter how painful they might be for Buffy to hear. That was why he kept going when Buffy didn't say anything—or maybe she couldn't. "They don´t want their Slayers to know that. They want you to eventually be convinced of how hopeless the fight is, give up, and get killed. Then the next young, manageable girl will step up."
　
Buffy´s hands felt numb, and her tongue seemed to have given up moving all together. It felt like there was a dull ache all over her body. She was barely able to whisper, "And Giles?"
　
Spike suddenly felt sorry for her. She had been betrayed by someone she had trusted a lot. "He knows, trust me. I believe he honestly likes you; he has fatherly feelings for you. This, however, is something he has been trained to do for God knows how long. His first loyalty is towards them, not you." Buffy looked like she was either going to faint or throw up. For some reason, it felt important to make her feel even a tiny bit better. "For what it´s worth, I´m sorry. I can see how badly you’re hurting, and, even if you are my enemy, I didn´t want that. Nobody deserves to be betrayed by those they love."
　
Buffy lifted her sad, tearful gaze to look him in the eye. And she didn´t see a vicious monster; she saw a man, young man, who had been hurt too many times. He had told her the truth, she was sure of that. She needed to find out what Angelus was planning with the clans. She needed to find out more about this help she could get. Spike seemed to be the only one she could ask. And she wanted to know. She didn´t want to go to Giles; he would probably contact the Council right away, and who knew what they would do? "Can you tell me more? I need to know who can help me. And if Angelus' plan is that worst case scenario, I also need to get that help." She felt so alone that she wasn't above begging her enemy for help. "Please. I know you don´t like me and you only want revenge against Dru and Angelus, but there really is nobody else."
　
Spike tilted his head a bit and studied her face. He had thought that she’d given up, and maybe she had done that, but only for a moment. She still looked beyond sad, hurting, but there were no tears, and he could see determination written all over her features. Buffy was seventeen, felt all alone, heartbroken because of Angelus and her Watcher, but she was a warrior. Spike could see it in all her being: her chin was up, her muscles tensed but in control, and there was fire in her big green eyes. She was someone he could respect, even if she was the enemy. His mind made up, he gave her a smile—a genuine one. "I´ll help. In whichever way I can. I like this world just the way it is. I have no desire to change it, just so you know. Angelus has that huge forehead where these ideas probably come from. I hope other clan-leaders aren´t as stupid as he is."
　
That actually got a smile from Buffy, and she felt some of the tension leave her body. "I really appreciate this, Spike. I know you are going against your nature by working with me, and I want you to know your input is very welcomed, crucial even."
　
That made him feel good, better than he had felt ever since Angelus had come back into the picture. The fact that it was the Slayer making him feel like that was something he didn't want to linger on for too long. He killed Slayers, he didn’t socialize with them. That was what he had to keep in mind. Buffy could think differently, though; that would make killing her easier. He gave her a smirk and stood up. "Yeah, I´ve always been a rebel, so it's okay. I´ll try to get more details about those plans, and I´ll have to pinch a few books, so I can make sure what I tell you is accurate."
　
Why didn't it bother her much when Spike talked so casually about stealing something? Maybe because it was for a good cause... "Steal the books from where? Giles´ library?"
　
Spike had hoped she would let the stealing matter slip this time, and it seemed like she would do just that. "One or two from there, yes. But there´s this bookstore near that Magic shop, and I bet they have what I need. It´s only a matter of knowing where to look."
　
She gave it some thought for just about ten seconds, before nodding her consent. "Okay, but be careful. Make it so Giles doesn´t immediately know there are books missing. I don´t want him to know that I´ve found out about this. Meet me here in a week. If we have that much time?"
　
Quickly calculating things in his head, he nodded. "At least a couple of weeks. After that we must take some action." He moved to the window, that had no glass panel, and turned to look at her one last time. "A week. See you, Slayer."
　
A whirl of leather, and she was alone again. Her heart was heavy, and she longed to talk about it all with someone, like Willow. But that wouldn’t be wise. So she would train hard, in and out of patrol, and maybe take another peek at those Watcher diaries. Maybe there would be something in the older ones.
She felt alone, but she had a mission. That would have to come first.



tbc

"Take that you stupid, drooling, badly dressed, sorry excuse of a vampire! Being dead doesn´t mean you can´t take care of yourself, does it?!" Buffy kicked the vampire's legs under him, taking her stake in hand when an amused voice reached her ears.


"Kitten, will you stake the poor guy already? You´ve hurt his feelings enough, I think."


She kept the vampire on the ground with a foot on his chest, not bothering to turn her head towards the owner of that voice. "Spike, since when do you worry about big A´s minions?" She brought her arm down, staked the vampire and straightened up right after, swiping vamp dust from her jeans, where it always seemed to stick, smirking at Spike. She couldn´t believe she’d just made a joke about Angelus. Not long ago, even a small mention of him would have made her tear up. Whatever the reason for the change was, Buffy wasn´t complaining.


Spike walked closer, laughing. He didn't mind having some fun with the Slayer when it involved ridiculing Angelus. "By all means, go ahead and stake them; they´re all morons anyway. I just think your bantering is wasted on them. They probably don´t get even half of it." He sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "Good minions are so hard to find and, since they have his blood in them, they tend to be even more stupid."


Spike's antics amused her a lot. Not that she was enjoying his company—of course not. It was just some post-slayage thing, finding things funny. Yeah, that was it. "I bet. How are you? They haven´t found out you´re healed, have they?"


Spike never would've expected her to ask that, to be genuinely interested in his well-being. He had a slightly awed expression on his face, before he shook it off. "Thanks for asking, Slayer, and no, they don´t know. They are bound to find out soon, though. We just need to choose the when and how."


His use of "we" felt important to Buffy for some reason. It reminded her that she wasn´t alone and that Spike let her take part in making the decisions. He didn´t think she was some stupid kid who needed to be guided all the time, like Angel had made her feel. Spike treated her like the Slayer she was, a warrior capable of forming her own future. That future involved staking Spike at some point, but she wasn't thinking about that. "We´ll have to give it some thought. Come on, let´s go. I want to get inside so we won't be seen together."


They started walking towards the cabin side by side, both feeling a bit awkward; they weren't friends, but right at that moment they weren't enemies, either.


Spike kicked away small stones with the toes of his boots while he walked and finally managed to say something when the silence stretched too long for his liking. "I was going to go straight there, but I saw you fighting and just had to watch and listen. Your puns are getting better every week, luv."


No-one had ever called her particularly funny. People mostly laughed at her jokes if they got them, which wasn't very often. Then they laughed at her, when she misspelled words, couldn't remember names correctly, or understood things the wrong way. Spike seemed to think she was funny, though, and it bothered her somehow. Why did her mortal enemy find something in her that all the others didn't? "Thank you. I aim to please. Mostly just myself, 'cause the vamps usually don't get the joke before they're gone."


"I think their sense of humor is just different than yours. For some reason, I've kept mine. Or, more like, developed one..." He really hadn't been the most funny or fun-loving young man when he’d still been alive.


They walked the rest of the way to the cabin in silence and got in through the window, to settle in two old but still fairly comfy chairs.


It was Buffy who spoke first, looking very unsure of how to say what she wanted. "I want to ask you something you may find offending, but please try not to flip out, okay?"


Spike had no idea what she was talking about, but acquiesced anyway. "I suppose I can try, yes. What is it, then?"


Buffy drew in a deep breath and lifted her gaze to look him in the eye. "I know you were badly injured when..." She paused, not wanting to say it out loud, not wanting to remind Spike of what she'd done to him. She suspected it would get him offended more easily.


Spike didn't seem to feel that way, and just finished her sentence. "When you dropped a church organ on me. I remember; I was there. Good fight, that. You almost got me."


She winced. "Yeah, when I did that. And I know you were in a wheelchair for a longish time." She sighed and shook her head a bit. "Why is this so hard? I did what I had to do, what was my job... Anyway, my point is, you haven't done much since that. I mean hunting, fighting." She hoped Spike would guess what she meant without her actually having to say it.


He looked angry, but not quite as angry as she’d thought he would be. He did get up, however, and stood in front of her, scowling. "You mean to say I'm weak. Is that it?"


"No, that's not it. Well, maybe it is. Only a bit, though, and in a good way", she rushed to add, then realized those weren’t the right words to say either. "No, not in a good way... I just mean that you haven't really done much, fight-wise. That might be bad, ‘cause we're heading towards a big fight, I think, and in a big fight you have to be on the top of your game, or you get killed." She looked at Spike, trying to find out if he was going to get mad at her or not. She really hoped it was the latter. It wouldn’t be good if he decided to storm out now.


Her babbling actually made his anger almost vanish. She was more worried for him than insulting him. How could he be angry about that? He had to give her a bit of a hard time, however, so he wouldn't appear too soft. "I'll let you know my game is just fine! Maybe I haven't done that much, but I have experience. Much more than you, little girl."


Spike didn't sound all that upset in her opinion, which was of the good. Now she only had to get him to agree with what she had in mind. "You do; I know that. But you could use my help. It would help me, too. I train with a really good guy, but he's still human. I can't use my full strength with him. With you, I could. We would just spar together, sometimes. If you want to, that is?"


Would he like to fight the Slayer? Hell yeah! It wasn´t the right time to fight to the death, but it would give him the much needed workout. More than that: it would be fun!


"Sure, I´ll spar with you. I think it is secluded enough out here to do some training. But first we have some serious topics to suss out." He sat back down, finding a comfortable position in the battered chair.


Relieved because he hadn't made a big thing of it, Buffy gave him a small smile. "I know we have. I just wanted to ask. You don´t have to do it, you know. But if we do fight, you have my word that I won´t go for the kill." That was the one thing she wanted to make clear. "I´m not too proud to admit that I need you, and killing you would kind of mess with that."


Spike could see that she really meant it. He was pretty good at reading people, and there were no signs of her trying to trick him. "I believe you."


"I don´t know how the Powers work, and if someone else would save the word if I failed, but they picked me for a reason. Maybe I´m supposed to find my way now, grow up and learn more about this world and how it works."


Bugger! That girl could make him feel lower than low for wanting to kill her! Here she was: all brave and idealistic, eager to fight till the end, willing to trust the enemy even if it could cost her her own life, to save the world. That was when the thought of not killing her first entered his mind, but was crushed as soon as he detected it. He wasn't going to get all soft for anyone, least of all the fucking Slayer! He had to play along, however; he needed her, for now. "I won´t go for the kill, either. I trust you to keep your word. I said it the other day: I tend to keep my word, and now you have it again. I´m not sure what will happen in the future, but as long as we work together I won´t try to kill or harm you."


She smiled again, happy that they had an agreement. "That's very decent of you. Very un-vampire like. Far from the usual Grr, argh, kill, maim, guts and gore."


He smiled back—an amused smile. Her way of speaking was ditzy blond at one moment and all cunning Slayer the other. "Helping a Slayer in becoming even more powerful and gaining allies is rather far from my usual agenda but, what the hell, I´m man enough to dance to my own tune."


"You dance? And sing? I would pay good money to see that. William the Bloody shaking his tush while women scream his name," Buffy said with a laugh. She still couldn´t explain where this finding-things-funny-while-being-in-deep-trouble thing had come from, but didn't fight against it.


"Oi! Quit laughing at me! You know what I meant. Silly bint..." He really wasn't angry and he was having trouble trying not to laugh with her.


Buffy hiccuped and managed to stop laughing. "Sorry. The mental image was just downright hilarious."


Spike rolled his eyes. "Now, if you´ve had your fun, I know what Angelus is up to. Want to know?"


And just like that she was serious, all the mirth gone. "You know I do. Tell me. All of it."


　

tbc

Spike could tell he had her undivided attention, so he finally delivered the news. "He knows clan leaders are very suspicious about everything. That's why he has kept his plans very much in secret. I´ve still managed to gather bits here and there, and the bottom line says that he tries to do what I suspected."



Buffy tried to keep the fear off her voice, but didn't quite succeed. "So he wants all clans to unite. Great, just great..." She took a deep breath to calm herself before getting more involved into the matter. "How would that work, in reality? I need details."



Of course he had picked up on the fear, but could hear there was also strong determination and courage in her tone. She was obviously the right girl to stop Angelus. "If they unite it will stop clan wars, since all areas will be divided in advance."



"What about people? Just what would that mean for everyone?" Buffy kept telling herself to concentrate on the details, think about it all clinically to keep the panic away.



Spike stood and walked a few steps further away, to look out of the window. What he was about to say wouldn't make her any friendlier towards vampires, including him, no matter that he was helping her. "They plan to turn enough people to form a whole new society where humans will be slaves. They won't be more than sources of blood, servants, some sort of amusement maybe..."



When Buffy didn't say anything, he turned back and found her staring into nothing. Spike wasn't sure what she was thinking, but she didn't look all that well. He had something positive to say, though, and thought that maybe that would help. "The plan is now only in its early stage. That´s why the leaders are coming here: to discuss about it together, figure out how to pull it off. We still have plenty of time to stop it. There's no need to... fall into depression."



That seemed to sink in, and Buffy pressed her face into her palms, her elbows on her thighs. "I thought about this after you told me what you suspected, but to hear he really wants to enslave all people is chilling." Her words were a bit mumbled, but Spike had no trouble hearing them. There was a pause and what sounded a lot like a sniffle. "I can´t believe I loved him just a while ago... I kissed him, made love with him, and now this." Another sniffle, strangely followed by a hiccupped laugh. "Bad breakup doesn't even begin to describe this mess." Finally, she lifted her head, but her eyes stayed down-casted and her voice was sad. "And to think that if it weren´t for me all this wouldn´t be happening."



The amount of guilt in her voice stabbed him through the heart. She was obviously blaming herself for everything Angelus had done or meant to do. Spike knew better, however. He knew Angelus, how his mind worked, what he was capable of doing and why. Buffy wasn't the one to blame, and it was time to tell her just that. "Yes it would! Maybe not at the exact same time, but it would. He would've found someone else to have his happy moment with, and personally I think he would've thought some sort of world domination scheme even with the soul."



Buffy listened to him, amazed. Everyone had pretty much told her it was her fault. They hadn't said it out loud, directly, except for Xander, but it had been written on their faces, in their eyes. Every single one of them had somehow expressed the opinion that she had acted the wrong way by hooking up with Angel. She had caused Jenny's death and the deaths of many others; Angelus had been very active with the killing, after all. Now, Spike of all beings, was telling her it wasn't her fault. "I can't—it was me. I'm the reason Angelus is back. It's no use trying to think otherwise."



Spike crouched down in front of her and held her gaze. "Listen to me, and listen to me good. I know Angelus, and Darla told me and Dru what kind of bloke Liam was. He was a drunk, used women as he liked, got into fights nearly every day, and spent all the money he could get out of his parents and friends."



Buffy looked like she didn't believe him. "He wasn't anything like that when he was still Angel."



He should've guessed she wouldn’t be able to picture it. "Becoming a vampire changes you, but some personality traits never disappear. Liam is still there, and he and the demon are too strong. There's no way that borrowed soul could've kept him in line forever."



The guilt had been a huge part of her life for a long time. First she had been feeling guilty when her parents had started to fight, when her being the Slayer had landed her in trouble time and time again. She always carried with her the suspicion that their divorce was her fault. Later, it had been Willow, and Xander, and—heavens—even Cordy she’d felt guilty about. Helping Buffy had put their lives at risk so many times, and that shouldn´t have been so.



And then there was Angel. She had known from the get-go that it wasn´t right to get involved with him. Not only because he was a vampire, but he had been so secretive and cryptic and stalkery that everything about him should have screamed "don´t go there" right away. If she were to be honest with herself, everything had, but she’d been sixteen and truly in love for the first time, and that had made her ignore that scream. Now Spike was kind of lifting part of her guilt off her shoulders. She wanted to believe him. Badly. "It isn't easy, letting go of the remorse. They all—my friends, they blame me on some level. These things don´t just go away, you know."



"Maybe they don´t, but they stay or go regardless of how responsible you feel."



There was truth in Spike's words and an understanding in his gaze, and both caused a warm feeling inside her, easing her pain. "Is it really that simple?"



He smiled then, a thoughtful smile, gentle almost. "You can´t concentrate on fulfilling your part in this play we call life if you don´t let the guilt go. You have to see the big picture and where you fit in it, not dwell on things you couldn´t possibly have prevented. Can you do that?"



Well that was the question! Spike was right, though. She couldn´t give her undivided attention to things that needed it while pondering whether she was the one to be blamed. Her parents had assured her time after time that she hadn’t been the reason for their divorce. She tried to make Willow and Xander stay away when she went slaying, but they came along anyway. And if what Spike had said about Angelus with or without soul was true, this whole current mess was not on her shoulders, either. So she decided to at least give a go at not blaming herself. Who knew? Maybe it would work… eventually.



"I can try. What you said about Angel... Thank you. It helps. You are very insightful, you know. Where do you get that? Did some of Dru´s mind-reading get into your system at your turning?" Her words had a teasing tone; riling Spike up was proving to be quite fun.




"I can be insightful on my own just fine, missy!" Wriggling his forefinger in front of her, Spike made a show of being angry, though in reality he was anything but. "When you live over a hundred and twenty years, you learn a lot about reading people. That is, if you put your mind into it. I´ve always found it interesting, watching others, so I´ve become pretty good at knowing how their minds work."



Buffy laughed at his mock anger. "I bet that can be useful. Is that how you managed to find out this tiny little diabolical surprise my ex has come up with?" There she went again, joking about things that were scary, dangerous! Buffy decided she should give it some good, long thought when she got back home.



Spike was pleased that she laughed and joked. It was a good sign. He didn't want the Slayer to be depressed; that would only make her a lousy ally. Then there was the small part of him that just liked to hear her laughter—a part that Spike ignored. That way lay badness of the worst kind. "Partly. And speaking of coming up with surprises, I’ve thought of one that’s my own."



She knew Spike and plans were not so mixy, but she didn't want to say it and make him really angry, so she smiled instead. Her tone was interested when she asked, "You have? Are you gonna tell me?" Of course she really wanted to know what he had in mind, so it came easily.



Spike gave her a that-was-a-stupid-question look. "Yes. That´s the whole point of our working together, isn´t it? Now listen. We are taking out the clan leaders. Every single one, including Angelus and Dru. That's not all, however. We also need to eliminate some of the ones who're next in line to be a leader, so they won't have the same uniting idea again."



Buffy seemed to think that Spike had just gone crazy. "Are you serious? Seriously insane? We´ll never be able to do that."



A big, sly grin spread on Spike's face. It was obvious he was about to share something juicy. "That´s why we need the help of those other five Warriors of Light."



tbc

Chapter 7

Buffy just barely managed to squash her squeal of surprise. Had Spike really said there were five other Warriors? Oh, this was—well—good? It had to be good, but why hadn´t she known anything about this? Did the Council, and even her own Watcher, want to keep her in the dark so much?

Spike could clearly see what she was thinking; it was all written on her face. That girl really couldn't keep her feelings hidden. "Yeah, you heard me right. There are five others. Five immortal beings that basically do what you do, each in their own way."

He seemed to be very sure of what he was telling her. Buffy just found it odd, that a vampire would have knowledge of that kind of thing. "How do you know all this? For an evil creature of the night, you sound a lot like... Giles. He always knows everything about everything."

"Oy! I'm nothing like that tweed-wearing nancy- boy!" Spike's eyes briefly flashed yellow. He had no time to start a big argument, so he forced himself to calm down. "Look, there's a lot you don't know about me. I was never like Angelus. He reveled in the art of death, going for the emotional pain and new ways of killing. I wanted the brawl, the challenge. You know: fists and fangs."

That did sound very much like Spike. He was a straight forward kind of guy, and definitely not big with the planning. Spike was also right about Angel. He didn't come and fight her face to face; instead he wanted to break her mentally first. "Yeah, that sounds about right. What that has to do with you knowing about the Warriors, I don't know."

Spike smiled again, like at a fond memory. "It has everything to do with it. Humans aren't much of a challenge to a strong vampire, unless there's a huge mob of them. I got bored pretty soon. Then Angelus told me about Slayers, and I was hooked. I wanted to know all there was about the ultimate enemy of my kin and face them, kill them."

Something flashed in Buffy's eyes too, though their color never changed. She hated the look of joy on Spike's face. "You know, talking about how much you love to face and kill Slayers, to a Slayer: not such a great idea."

The poison in her voice didn’t bother him one bit. It was expected, so Spike just shrugged. "I've never tried to hide what I am, Slayer. I sure as hell am not going to start that now. Main thing is that I was obsessed. I found out everything there was to know about your kind, and then, about sixty years ago, I ran into one of the other Warriors." Spike knew that all that wasn't going to be the shortest of tales, so he leaned against a wall and lit a cigarette, not caring about the disapproving look Buffy gave him. "His name is Wesley, and he's a demon hunter. He has these special weapons that must be enchanted; they are nothing like I've ever seen."

Buffy let out a small laugh. "Wesley? That name doesn't sound like it's striking fear among demons. He sounds more like a stuffy Brit."

He had to admit she was right, but that wasn't the point. "Well, he really isn't stuffy. English, maybe. He wasn't born immortal; that was something he gained after dedicating his life to fighting evil, sometime in the fourteen hundreds."

Her eyes widened in surprise. Hundreds of years of fighting demons? Had she really been complaining about her mere couple of years? "How did you meet him? Or, more like, how did you survive meeting him?"

"I didn´t fight him; I just happened to see him take out a herd of Beruan demons. That was some serious arse-kicking he did." There was genuine appreciation in his voice. Spike had always admired a good fighter when he met one, even if it was his enemy. "I know that he now works mostly in North America and sometimes in Europe. Never saw him since that time in Canada, but I´ve heard of things that can only be his doing."

Buffy did believe him, had believed him all along, but she still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that nobody had been planning on telling her about that. They would have just let her fight alone and die, when there were other, very experienced fighters, who could have helped her. More than the one Spike had told her about. "Then what? What happened after you saw him?"

"Well, after I stumbled into this Wesley bloke, I started to do more digging to find out if there were more like him, more threats to my kind. During these decades, I´ve found that there are, who they are, and more or less what they do. The books I had stolen confirmed what I knew. I don´t think there are too many of us out there who know about them, other than the Wankers." He dropped the cigarette butt on the floor and ground it with the heel of his boot, watching Buffy closely. He knew understanding all this was very difficult for her.

There was anger bubbling up inside her. She could feel it in her stomach, almost like lava, slowly rising up, up, up... Still, she had to know more—had to know about the others. First, however, she needed to know why she’d been kept in the dark by the Council, by Giles. "I simply can´t believe they don´t tell Slayers about this. It would be so great to know that we aren´t alone, can call for help if we need to."

Spike shook his head, a dry laugh coming out of his mouth. She was so trusting, too trusting, thinking that the so-called good guys couldn't do wrong. "Well, you wouldn´t feel lonely and unhappy if you knew, right? That way your death-wish wouldn´t be there, and they couldn´t have a new compliant Slayer every few years."

Her eyes flashed with fury again, more clearly now. "I don't have a death wish! The Council... they don't want us dead. Why would they want a new Slayer? That's crazy!"

He had been expecting the outburst and didn't stop to try and calm her down. "They need that in order to choose which demons to destroy and which to keep around for their own purposes. The older a Slayer gets, the more she knows and the more she realizes by herself. They don't want that. What they want is a scared young girl who'll trust them implicitly."

That took Buffy right back to the first time she had seen a vampire, while patrolling with Merrick. She remembered how terrified she had been, how much she had hoped that the whole Chosen One thing was a mistake. Was that really what the Council wanted? A scared little girl who would die soon enough? Was she just a tool to them?

Spike could tell when she started to doubt. He could almost see the seed of what he had told her start to grow in her mind. “You will realize this at some point; it might as well be now, when you have time to change things. You can reach out and get the assistance you need.”

That brought Buffy back to the here and now. Spike was right; she could get help, and she would do just that. “Tell me about the others.”

Spike sat down again, since the worst risk of an outburst was over, in his opinion. "There is this witch in South America; I´ve seen a picture once. A beautiful, blond, gentle-looking woman, called Tara. I’m not sure how much you know about witches, but she’s said to be as powerful as they come and to have telepathic skills. She was made immortal because of her power and her will to use it for good.”

Magic wasn’t something she gave a lot of thought to, ever. “I don’t know much. About magic that is. One of our friends’ mom was an evil witch. Oh, and Giles used to dabble with magic, in his wild youth. He and his friends used it to summon this demon and a while back it got loose and almost killed them all—me too, but that was thanks to Ethan Rayne, one of Giles’ old buddies who now worships chaos.”

Now it was Spike’s turn to look like he couldn’t believe his own ears. “Your Watcher summoning a demon? For the fun of it? I have to hand it to old Rupert: he has after all done something interesting in his life.”

She should have guessed Spike would hold on to that little detail. “Yes, he was a rebel. Let’s move on, shall we?”

There was still an amused smile slightly quirking Spike’s lips. “I just never would’ve expected that from your Watcher. He looks like he was born wearing tweed and glasses.”

“You know, I thought so, too.” Buffy couldn’t help but laugh. “We were both wrong. You should move on, however. I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of time.”

Spike pushed all thoughts about Rupert Giles away and moved on, just like Buffy wanted. “The third one is yet another person who was human first. She’s about eleven hundred years old now. Her name was Aud, and after performing some very nice hexes and spells, one of which turned her man into a troll, she was presented with a chance to become a vengeance demon and she accepted. Now she’s called Anyanka.”

A demon being a good guy? Girl, actually. That couldn’t be right. “Spike, I think you’ve got this one wrong. If she’s a demon, how can she be a warrior for the side of good?”

“I forgot you think all demons are bad to the bone… if they have bones.” He smirked when she rolled her eyes at his joke. “Some are totally peaceful. Vengeance demons are a bit of a border case. They can do bad things, but they are to make people suffer for the wrong they have done at some point. She plays for the good guys; just believe it, okay?”

Buffy wasn’t going to drop it completely, but she would for the time being. She was really in a hurry. “I want more details later, but I’ll let it go for now. Go on.”

“There’s this chick called Kaylen in Australia. She’s half Lummén demon.” He saw the look in Buffy’s eyes and rushed to continue. “Don’t you start with the demons-are-evil crap again! Do you want to know or not?”

Raising her hands, Buffy sighed. “I won’t start anything… And what kind of a demon is that, anyway?”

Spike gestured for her to lower her hands; there was no need for excess drama, there was quite enough of the regular kind. “They can stand extremely high temperatures and are ridiculously fast. Strong too, very hard to kill. They don’t usually reproduce with other species, but I believe her mum or dad was either human or very much human like, ‘cause you can only tell she’s a demon by her pointy ears and the tattoo like markings on her face.”

Buffy wasn’t even sure she wanted to hear more. This was proving to be nothing like she had expected. The line between good and evil was becoming blurrier by the minute, and she didn’t know how to handle it. Spike seemed to sense her troubled thoughts and gave her a moment to think. It was the thought of all humanity enslaved to vampires that made her decide to go on. She needed the help, and if these Warriors really were the good guys, she would just have to deal with it. “It’s a lot to take in. I will, however, try my best to do it. Please, the last one?”

He was pleased with her attitude. He had expected her to be more unwilling to accept demons as anything good. “The last one is the most powerful one of them. His name is Sangee and he’s a son of a god from another dimension. He usually stays in China, but goes wherever he’s needed.”

The hugeness of it all made Buffy laugh; she just couldn’t fathom it all. “A god from another dimension? Well of course!” She laughed harder. “If he’s so powerful, why doesn’t he just wave his hand and stop all the badness here?”

Her reaction now was beginning to worry Spike a bit. Maybe telling her all this at once wasn’t such a great idea after all. “Pull it together! I have no use of you if you’re having a mental episode. Think you can get yourself under control for a moment longer?”

“No, I really think not.” She just giggled more. “Demons, and witches, and gods… I don’t have anything to do with that merry bunch.”

This was going south, fast. Spike didn’t know what to do, but he knew it would be pointless to try explaining things to her right now. “Okay, I think it’s time for you to head home and think about it. We can meet here tomorrow night.” He looked at Buffy’s still laughing form. “Make that the day after tomorrow. Think you can get home by yourself?”

“Sure I can. I’m a Warrior!” The giggling went on and she sagged against the back of the chair, her hands clutching her stomach. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll just sit here for a moment.”

She didn’t look like she could fight off a kitten at that point, but Spike wasn’t going to babysit her. “Fine. Two days and we’ll meet here. See you.” He jumped out of the window and started to walk back to the mansion.

He’d made it maybe half a mile from the cottage when he stopped, cursed loudly, and turned back. He would just wait outside, follow her, and make sure she got back safely.

It was just because he needed her help. Yeah. He didn’t care what happened to her. No. “I’m such a pillock!”

tbc

Buffy wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there, in the cottage, first laughing at the absurdity of it all and then just thinking. It was slightly cold outside when she walked toward home, and the moon was bright, illuminating everything with its soft light. She tried to take in all that Spike had told her and was in such deep thought that she didn’t notice the vampire in question following her from afar, only staying behind when Buffy’s home was in sight.

She was startled out of her thoughts when someone called her name. She took a quick look around and sighed in relief when she saw Willow’s familiar form standing by the front porch. “Will—you scared the living daylights out of me. What are you doing here? It must be… really late.”

Willow took in her tired-but-clean-for-a-patrol look. “Where have you been, Buffy? It’s almost four in the morning. I’ve been waiting here for hours.”

Was it really that late? “I was patrolling; you know that.” She didn’t like telling lies, but that was only half a lie, really. She had made the usual rounds before talking with Spike.

There was something off with Buffy, and Willow had a feeling that there was more to this. “Your patrols never take this long. Was there something out of the ordinary?” She narrowed her eyes to see her friend’s face better, but the dim street lights made it difficult.

Buffy leaned against the porch and tried to look as sincere as possible, in case Willow got a good enough look at her. “Just more nasties than usual.” She gave the redhead a small smile and suddenly realized that it was very unusual for Willow to be at her house that late. “Has something happened? Is everyone all right?”

“Yeah, nothing like that. I just needed to talk to you.” There was a pause before she went on. “You’ve been avoiding me and Xander, I think.” Her tone wasn’t accusing—more like hurt. Willow wasn’t one to confront people like that, usually. “You’re lost inside your own thoughts all the time at school and you don’t even mind Cordelia’s snippy comments. What’s wrong, Buffy?”

Resisting the urge to avert her eyes, Buffy tried to look innocent. She really couldn’t tell her friends about Spike . They wouldn’t understand her allying with a vampire, not after Angel. Then there was Giles. Buffy still wasn’t sure whether he was in on the whole scheme, but she couldn’t risk his calling the Council. “Slaying has just been tough lately, when I stumble on one of Angelus’ victims or hear about him and his ways of having fun almost every night.” She blew out her breath noisily. “And there’s Drusilla and Spike to worry about, never mind all the other baddies out there. I have a lot on my mind; that’s all.”

Willow watched her friend closely, trying to figure out if she was being truthful. Buffy’s explanation made perfect sense, and still Willow thought Buffy was leaving something unsaid. Whatever it was, Buffy didn’t look or sound like she was about to share what that was. “I just want you to know that we are there for you,” Willow said finally. “I know Xander has been giving you a hard time over what happened with Angel, especially after Miss Calendar died, but he cares about you.”

That was part of the problem: Xander cared a bit too much. He never fully seemed to have gotten over his crush, even if he was now with Cordelia. It was like he was just waiting for Buffy to realize it had been him she’d wanted all along, and Buffy knew that would never happen. “I know he cares, just like you and Giles do. There are just things you can’t understand, no matter how hard you try or how much you want to help. Being the Slayer is a lonely job, despite what great friends I have.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll be my usual self soon enough.”

She wasn’t getting anything more out of Buffy that night, Willow knew that. She was slightly angry; why did Buffy have to be so evasive and difficult sometimes? Still, Willow didn’t want to start an argument right then, so she smiled back and walked the few steps toward the driveway, where she took hold of her bike that had been leaning against a tree. “Okay. I really need to get back home. If my mom finds out I’ve been out this late, she may actually decide she cares enough to ground me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Buffy waved at Willow and watched her walk away. Then she climbed the tree outside her window with practiced ease and was inside her bedroom in no time. Everything in the room looked so utterly normal that she almost laughed. Her life was nowhere near normal—would probably never be. So why did she need the magazines, all the shoes she had around, the make up? Her life would always be filled with icky things like demons. Her nice clothes would be ruined by slaying. Maybe I should just start wearing ugly army clothes…

While she changed into her pajamas, she tried to wrap her mind around the things Spike had told her. I’m not one of them., I can’t be. She ran the brush trough her hair without even thinking about it; she just kept pulling and pulling, over and over again. I’m just a girl. A human girl. How could I be part of anything that big?

She made it to bed in a daze-like state, but sleep seemed to evade her. There was too much at stake for her to go all wonky, so she would just have to pull it together. Buffy knew Spike would tell her how to contact the Warriors, and she shouldn’t be a mess when she met them. I feel so alone.

That was when she realized something: she had gotten used to telling Angel everything, and had missed that connection for a while, but now the need to run to him was gone. I don’t miss Angel anymore. Not like I used to…

***

Spike had no trouble getting in and out of the mansion unnoticed anymore. Everyone was simply too busy to pay any attention to his comings and goings. He actually suspected that, even if he had just walked in on the main room, nobody would see anything weird about it. Even Drusilla looked like she was in another plane altogether most of the time.

When Spike wheeled in early that morning, he accidentally found out why. He could hear loud shouting coming from Angelus’ bedroom, the idiot himself yelling in his best superior-alpha-male voice. “Just look again! You can’t give me the same excuse every time!”

“There’s nothing to see. The stars are all hiding from me…” Dru’s voice was tired. “I’ve been looking and looking, but I don’t know what will happen. There’s something big coming; that’s all.”

So that was why she had been so out of it. Angelus was making her look into the future—or trying to, at least. Spike could feel a twinge of compassion toward her; she was being used by that jerk again. As fast as the feeling had come to him, it went away, when Spike heard just how Dru was distracting Angelus from the matter. When the grunting was getting too loud, Spike made his way to his own bedroom once more. Having locked the door, he only kicked his boots off before getting into bed. I won’t pity her! That prat is using her, and he’s still the only thing she thinks about!

His thoughts moved on from Drusilla to another female without his even noticing it. A female with a trusting nature that would get her killed, if she weren’t so bright and fast. A girl who took everything that was thrown to her and ran with it, never giving up for real. So very different from me, and yet… there’s something about her that appeals to me.

Spike groaned in frustration and hit his forehead softly with his fist a couple of times. That was a path he really didn’t want to walk down. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, think about the Slayer in any way except as a useful tool in achieving his freedom. Killing her should be the thing he dreamt about, the thing he craved. The fact that it actually wasn’t, at the moment, was just a glitch. Nothing more. She’s just a girl. A girl who is privileged enough to be able to call the Warriors here. An instrument in my plan. That’s it.

He was worried about the Warriors, a fact he couldn’t deny. Buffy might be okay working with him, but that didn’t mean the rest of them would be. He had taken the right first couple of steps though, asking for Buffy’s help and telling her about the other Warriors, and he was about to tell her how to contact them. He’d made his choice and now he had to hope that the agreement with the Slayer would extend to her peers as well. Why did I have to concoct such a big, complicated plan again? Something’s just going to bollix it up…

tbc

The following morning Buffy was still feeling a bit dizzy with all the things she had found out the night before. Her mom tried to ask what was wrong with her, yet again, and, looking out of the car window, Buffy gave her the same answer as always: “There’s nothing wrong, mom. I just have a long day at school ahead of me. Don’t worry.” Buffy turned to look at Joyce and smiled; she knew her mom meant well. “I mean it. Everything is just fine.”

Joyce sighed with defeat; life with a teenage daughter was sometimes unbelievably frustrating. At least Buffy seemed to be doing slightly better at school. She hadn’t burned anything down in a while, and that alone was a huge improvement.

Buffy stepped out of the car and into another sunny day at Sunnydale High. All the students looked so normal and carefree when Buffy let her gaze slide over the crowd. Girls in their wannabe-designer outfits, few genuine ones in the mix, the brainiacs, the cheerleaders, the outcasts—the boys in their own little groups: geeks, jocks, rebels, Joe-normals—everyone blissfully ignorant of what went on in their town. Every step she took across the yard made her feel more and more different. She lived in this world, but it really wasn’t hers. Buffy-world was filled with fighting for her life as well as for everyone else’s. It had incredibly disgusting- looking demons and world domination schemes in it. Honestly, dealing with plans that involved enslaving all humans was not what a seventeen year old girl should be doing. Thanks a bunch for picking me for the job…

Almost bumping into a boy, whose name she couldn’t remember, shook Buffy out of her thoughts. She averted the impact, spun around halfway, and headed towards the front doors, trying to find the right headspace for the day and forget the evil that lurked in the dark.

Willow and Xander were sitting on a bench outside the school, waiting for Buffy. As soon as she walked close enough, both jumped up, smiling.

Buffy heaved a sigh and put on her best-friend smile. Just act normal. They can’t possibly know what you’ve been doing. “Hi guys! You were waiting for me, huh?”

Xander threw an arm around her shoulders, which he only did these days if Cordelia wasn’t around—and now she wasn’t. “Can’t start the day without the Buffster, can we?! What’s the what on the monster fighting front?”

Well, of course they couldn’t just be interested on how Buffy the girl was doing—no. Ever since Willow and Xander had found out that she was the Slayer, that was what they were mostly interested in. Maybe she wasn’t just that interesting as merely her normal, human self? Buffy gave herself a quick mental kick on the rear. She shouldn’t think like that. She had good, loyal friends, so what was she bitching about? This time her smile was more sincere. “Same old: ugly demons, stupid vampires, tired Buffy. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

That seemed to be enough for Xander, but Buffy wasn’t so sure about Willow. She didn’t say anything more, though; just walked inside the building with them.

“We should go see Giles.” Willow directed her words to Buffy. “Yesterday, after you decided to skip the last classes--for a good reason, I’m sure--he was in deep research mode. Apparently, there are signs of something big happening.”

Buffy almost stopped in her tracks; that was not good. There was something big happening, yes, but she wanted her friends to stay as far away from it as possible. Angelus was in a suspicious, highly dangerous mood, and wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone coming too close to his great plan. She managed to keep on walking but no longer listened to what Willow or Xander were saying. She simply let herself be led to the library, hoping that Giles had found some ancient prophecy that involved any other kind of monsters than vampires. Yes, she would rather handle a fucking prophecy than let her friends and Watcher anywhere near Angelus and the vampire clans. They would only end up dead, every one of them. If by a miracle they wouldn't, their getting involved would probably reveal her current ally, and that—that--would also be of the bad. Of the worst kind of bad. Giles would probably call the council, and Willow and Xander would never talk to her again. And still they would keep getting involved more. They were brave—stupidly so sometimes—and would want to help saving mankind even if it meant working without the Slayer… who kept getting involved with vampires.

“Buffy! I was just about to go look for you.” Giles was barely visible, a stack of books in front of him. “Where were you yesterday? I was expecting you to train with me.” He stood up, balancing yet another book on top of the pile, looking like he hadn’t been sleeping at all lately. Clearly, he hadn’t shaved, his hair was a mess, and his eyes were a little on the bloodshot side.

Like fighting you with a stick is any kind of training. “I had some things to do. I can’t be here all the time. I’ve got a life, you know.” She put her purple backpack on the table and sat next to it, wondering just how good of a liar she could prove to be, if she had to.

If Giles thought something wasn’t quite right with his Slayer, he didn’t show it. He moved some of the books to another table, took one in his hand, and leafed through it until he found what he was looking for. He rounded the table and showed Buffy a drawing. "This is what I've been working on. It is a symbol of unknown origin. It has been exactly five hundred years since it was last documented seen. Does it look familiar at all?"

Buffy could honestly say she had never seen the symbol before. It was round, like a medal, and there was a snake-like spiral in it. “Nope, never seen it. What is it?”

Giles turned the book to himself again, looking more than a little frustrated. "I wish I knew. The only thing I do know is that, when it was last seen, it was in the possession of a vampire named Daerta."

“Never heard of him, either. Or is it a she?” Maybe this was a random thing that had nothing to do with her problems with Angelus. That would be so great…

"Daerta was an extremely powerful old vampire. He was the leader of his kind and had countless followers." Giles put the book away with a yawn, quickly covering his mouth with his hand when another yawn hit him.

"So he was the leader of his clan back when the Slayers had to probably wear a long gown when they kicked vampire butt. Why does that concern us, now?" Buffy's legs were dangling over the edge of the table, and she was absentmindedly checking up how much her nail polish had chipped. She had the ditzy blonde image to maintain, after all. Okay, maybe part of it was true, but she knew how to play it to her advantage.

Giles' attention was quickly back on her, and his glasses were just about to get a good polishing. "How do you know about the clans? You never want to read any of the material I want you to read."

Oh shit... Sometimes her mouth was quicker than her brain. "A while ago I had a sudden sprout of actually caring about the stuff you usually do—don't ask me why—and I might've read a couple of books. One of them must've mentioned the clans. At least the word clan. I mean, where else would I have gotten it? It's not like I have a habit of stopping to chat with vampires before I stake them." All of it came out without her taking a breath, and, when she stopped to take one, she found Willow, Giles, and Xander all staring at her with rather baffled expressions. She quickly put on a bright smile and her best California Cheerleader look, complete with twirling a lock of hair around one finger. "I know. Sometimes I'm weird. Also, I don't really remember that much about those books, since most of it was Greek to me. I'm definitely leaving the research to you, Giles."

That apparently did sound more like the Buffy they were used to, because Xander and Willow laughed, and Giles smiled his usual reserved smile and patted Buffy's shoulder. "I will be more than happy to do it. I'm sure I'll figure this symbol out eventually. You should keep your eyes open, anyway; you might see it somewhere while patrolling."

Buffy had a much better idea—one she couldn't share with them. She would ask Spike. If he had been able to find out all those things about the Warriors, one measly symbol should be easy. He might know it already, being a fairly old and powerful vampire. Now she would just have to avoid any more slips of her tongue and hope that symbol business wouldn't actually be anything serious.

***

Spike was beginning to get sick of both his unnecessary wheelchair and Angelus' pompous attitude. That annoying idiot with the overgrown forehead had taken the clan-leader role very seriously and expected everyone to show him proper respect, which made Spike want to hit him with the hated wheelchair. Oh, how he waited for the moment when the Slayer would dust that bugger!

Since he had time—lots of it—he used it to get as much information on the Warriors as possible. He would have to play this just right if he wanted to avoid getting dusted himself. Spike was fairly sure the Slayer more or less trusted him to stay in line, at least until Dru and Angelus were gone. Now he hoped she would be able to make the others believe that too.

He knew two ways of contacting the Warriors, but the second one was out of the question, since it required magic and neither him nor the Slayer were big with that. The first one was simple, but he would only see if it really worked when Buffy tried it. Then the game would truly begin. The game he planned on winning. Most preferably, it would end with him as a clan leader, master of Sunnydale and its hellmouth, and the slayer of three Slayers. He had some minor troubles with his motivation to kill this Slayer, but Spike was sure the desire to snap her neck would be back in time for his victory.

Spike closed the book he had been reading and put it on the bed before starting to pace the room. He really wanted to just walk out and hunt, but he had to use the wheeled torture-device that made him feel like half the vampire he really was. What he really needed, was a drink. Actually, two drinks: first some blood and then something of an alcoholic nature.

Sighing with momentary defeat, he sat in the wheelchair, unlocked and opened the door, and wheeled to the hall and through it, to the big living room space. Angelus was luckily nowhere in sight, as was Dru—both probably hunting. Everyone who was around, seemed busy. A huge table had been brought to the room and it was covered with books, maps, schedules, timetables, and so on. Spike knew that those were just a part of the big picture, the part Angelus could allow everyone coming there to see. The core of his project was well hidden, and only a few chosen ones—his most trusted minions—were allowed to see the details of how the clan leaders were arriving and when, where they would stay, and how they would be protected. Angelus didn't want there to be even the tiniest chance of his former sweetheart ruining the whole thing.

Spike had no interest in looking at the papers; he knew what was in them already and much, much more. It was amazing what money, promises of future favors, and threats could get out of a vampire. Of course, he usually staked his informers; everyone would think it was the Slayer's handiwork, anyway, and it minimized the risk of Angelus finding out that his grandchilde was snooping around.

He got out without anyone even asking where he was going and ditched the wheelchair once he was far enough. One more day, and he would see if he had played his cards right.

One more day.


TBC

By the time Buffy arrived at the cabin, on the night they were supposed to meet again, Spike was already there, sitting on the porch steps, smoking, like he often did. Buffy found herself thinking about the time when she had drowned, and Xander had given her CPR, because Angel had told him vampires didn't breathe and couldn't resuscitate anyone. Spike seemed to have no trouble with the smoking, though. There was something fishy about that. "How can you smoke, if vampires don't breathe?"

Spike realized he wasn't alone anymore and lifted his eyes to see the Slayer standing a few feet away. She looked slightly disheveled, dirt on her clothes, strands of hair sticking out here and there. I hope she didn't stake those of the minions who had at least half a brain... "We don't need to breathe, kitten. Doesn't mean we can't. Why the sudden interest?"

It shouldn't have hurt as much as it did. Buffy had thought she was over Angel, that there was no way he could hurt her any more than he already had, but it stung anyway. Angel would've let her stay dead, when he’d had the means to bring her back. Did he even really love me? "Never mind. That's history anyway."

Her face looked suddenly harder, like she was fighting not to let her emotions show. Spike almost asked what the matter was, but he realized it would've shown way too much interest in her well being, or her in general, and held his tongue. "Not minding here. We have something to do, if you're done with your trip down ol' memory lane." He stood and made his way inside without checking whether Buffy followed him or not.

Buffy wasn't sure she liked the way Spike dealt with her. It somehow seemed rude that he hadn't asked what was wrong, but he was a vampire, which meant that not caring might have come with the package. On the other hand, it was refreshing that he didn’t question her over every look, every feeling she got; most people she knew were interested to the point of being annoying. She shook the thoughts off, to be dealt some other time; there were more important things to do, like Spike had said.

She followed him inside and sat on the opposite chair to him, just like on the previous times they had shared the small space. "Before we get to the reason why we're here, I need to ask you about this symbol Giles showed me. He doesn't know what it is but really wants to. It looks like a roundly shaped medal with a snake-like spiral in it. It's supposedly really old and vampire related."

Spike's hand holding his cigarette stopped midway to his mouth. "Buggering hell... I had forgotten about that. Angelus couldn't have found it; there's no way he could've. It was lost long before his time."

Buffy had a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach. It had apparently been way too much to ask that the symbol had nothing to do with Angelus. She really didn't want to know, but knew she had to anyway. "Just tell me what it is."

Her voice was tired, making her sound like someone waiting for yet another blow to her gut, and Spike knew what he was about to say would be just that. He took a long drag from his cigarette before discarding it. "I believe he showed you a picture of the Serpent's Seal. I don't know what, if anything, it has to do with real serpents. It is, however, the mark of ultimate power as far as vampires are concerned. It's been around ever since the old ones walked the Earth."

Ultimate power symbol possibly linked to the mess they were currently in? She should have guessed things could always get worse, really. "Does it have some magical power-boosting qualities, or what? Why is this thingy so ultimate?"

Spike chuckled a little at her use of words. Sometimes he forgot how young she really was. "Nothing magical about it, luv. It's more like the crown is to the Queen: a visible mark of reign. A vampire possessing it can get others to obey him or her without much questioning. As vampires see it, anyone powerful or cunning enough to get it has earned his or her place as the leader."

"If Angelus has it, he can get the other clan leaders to agree on pretty much anything. Is that what you mean? Would it be so easy?" She tried to relax and chase away the fear that was settling in her system by clenching and unclenching her fists, over and over again.

She was trying so hard not to let fear take over; Spike could see it in the tension of her body and in the movement of her hands. He once more felt respect for her, and his need to kill her was pushed back—even more than before. "It would be easier than without the Seal. If it’s around, and he can get it or has it already, we need help even more than before, and the sooner the better. I can't contact them, though; you'll have to do it."

Buffy had known the moment would come and she had even been waiting for it—waiting for a chance to meet someone who had the same destiny as she did. Yet, now that the time had come, she felt extremely nervous. What if the Warriors didn't want to have anything to do with her? What if they told her the mess with Angelus was her own fault? There was no other option, however; she needed their help, and that was what mattered. Buffy noticed Spike looking at her curiously, like he was betting on whether she would do it or not. "Stop looking at me like that. We agreed on this, and it's the best thing to do. So of course I'll do it. As soon as you tell me what it is."

He should have guessed she wouldn't back off now. Neither will I... "There are two ways to contact them, as far as I know. The first one requires magic, which means neither one of us can do it, and we can't go to some random witch or warlock either. That leaves the other one, the one easier for you."

She was relieved to hear magic wouldn't be needed; it was a volatile thing, as some previous experiences had shown. "Easier sounds good. What do I have to do?"

Spike's lips curled into a smirk. He would have to rile the Slayer up a bit, and that was always fun. "All you have to do is be yourself. Remember what I told you about Anyanka?"

Buffy had gone through the whole conversation in her mind so many times that she had no trouble remembering which one Anyanka was. "The vengeance demon. She makes people’s wishes come true. What about her?"

"There are different kinds of vengeance demons. Anyanka, as I told you, grants wishes to scorned women. They get pissed at their men for some reason, wish something bad to happen to them, and that calls Anyanka there—if she isn't around already, trying to lure them into making said wish herself . Can you see how that applies to you?"

Confusion was transforming into realization in Buffy's mind. Angel... "You want me to wish something horrible for Angel... Angelus?"

The smirk was getting wider now. Wishing something bad for Angelus was great on its own, but Spike could tell there was need for the riling up too, like he had guessed, in order to achieve his goal. The Slayer didn't look like she was about to just follow his suggestion. "It's that or we go look for a witch. Besides, shouldn't it be easy to get angry at your former love? He has been a very bad boy."

Spike's tongue was curled behind his teeth, in that almost obscene way Buffy hated. He was arrogant and openly sexual sometimes, and it made her uncomfortable in a way she couldn't explain. "What do you want me to do? Say that I wish Angelus had boils on his... parts?"

He had to laugh; she couldn't even say the word! "You have to mean it. Get pissed at him, and we're in the right track." It looked like Buffy was angrier at him than at Angelus at the moment, though. Spike knew he had to get her in the right mood. "Okay, listen to me and think about it. You were in love—sickeningly, obnoxiously in love. You finally decided to let him pop your cherry, probably had a real nice and lovely first time. Then you woke up alone."

Buffy remembered it all too well. She could feel her confusion when Angel hadn't been there, next to her, the panic when he hadn’t been around, and the horrible meeting at his place. "Why do I have to think about it? I've been trying to get over it for a long time!" It still hurt, more than she had thought it would. Reliving the whole thing was not what she wanted to do.

She looked restless, ready to start crying, probably, and Spike couldn't let that happen. The hurting had to be turned into anger somehow. "Don't dwell on it. It wasn't your fault! He's the prick who mocked you and ran back to his old lover as soon as he could. Are you just going to feel sorry for yourself for something he did? That's not the sassy Slayer I've thought you to be."

There was a small flame inside her, getting stronger by the second. Spike was right; this wasn't about whether she had been bad in bed or not. This was about Angelus being a jackass who had gone back to Dru and fucked her left, right and upside down, if Spike was to be believed—which he most likely was. How devoted could Angel have been to her, if without a soul he couldn't wait to ridicule her and return to his old ways? "You know what? You're right. Angel told me I was his whole life but, as soon as the soul was gone, all he wanted to do was make me feel like I was nothing!" She stood up and rubbed her temples, almost feeling the anger bubbling inside with her fingertips. "He has been nothing but a pain in my ass, taunting me, harassing me, and telling you—and apparently everyone—how lousy I was in bed! I really wish I could pay him back for all this in the most painful way possible!"

There was a puff in the room, and someone said, "Wish granted."

A brief look at Spike’s face told Buffy that he was pleased because his plan had worked. She hated that Spike could get her to do what he wanted so fast. However, she couldn’t deny it felt good to vent her feelings… really good in fact.

Her attention was turned to another person who had just appeared in the room. The young woman standing in front of the window was smiling brightly—oddly enough, considering the reason for which she was there. "I'm Anyanka. You wished for revenge against your ex. Do you have something specific in mind, or should I suggest an old time favorite, like emasculation?

Buffy was trying to recover from the surprise of someone appearing in the room out of the blue, as well as from her bout of anger. Anyanka didn't look much older than Buffy herself, and she didn’t seem demonic at all. She was wearing a midnight blue wrap dress with well placed ruffles—a very nice and expensive looking dress. Buffy found herself thinking how good the outfit would look on her in a different color… She shook her head; it was not time to think clothes. "No emasculations right now, thank you. I don’t want you to do anything to Angelus at the moment.”

Anyanka gave Buffy a long, curious look before turning her attention to the third person in the room. There was a flash of realization in her eyes, and then she was talking to Buffy again. “Tell me why you wanted me here then, and what the Slayer is doing with William the Bloody. You do know he’s a vampire, right? If you don’t, you’re not very good at your job, I’m afraid.”

Buffy looked slightly offended. “Of course I know who he is. I’m working with him—for the moment. We wanted you here because we're in big trouble and we need your help. We need the Warriors."

TBC