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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you Sotia for the beta job again! This fic would be much worse without you :)
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





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