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Chapter 29: What's My Line (Part 3 of 3)

Willy threw Spike's unconscious body down into the sewers. Then he jumped down after Spike. Sewer water splashed on his shoes and he frowned. Before he had time to worry about the damage to his footwear, Angelus and a couple of minions appeared.

"There you go, friend," Willy said. "He'll be as good as new in a day or so."

The minions grabbed Spike by the arms and started to drag him away. Willy held up his hand to stop them.

"Uh, hey, wai-wait. We had a deal, right?"

Angelus pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket.

"What's the matter, Willy? Don't ye trust me?"

"Oh, yeah. Like a brother."

"Well, I hope ye keep me confidences better than ye would yer brother's. Otherwise, we might have to have a bit of a talk."

"Wild horses couldn't drag it," Willy promised. "What are you gonna do with him anyway?"

"He has somethin' that belongs to my dear sweet Drusilla. We're only going to get it back."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Buffy burst through the door of Willy's bar, Kendra not far behind. Buffy had been forced to accept that she was no longer The Chosen One. She hadn't had time to really process that yet, especially considering Kendra might have killed Spike. Buffy silently vowed that things would not go well for the younger Slayer if Spike got a suntan.

"Spike?" she hollered.

Kendra walked into the cage where she had left him and looked around.

"No ashes," Kendra pointed out.

"What?"

"When a vampire combusts, he leaves ashes."

"Yeah, I know the drill."

"So I did not kill him."

"And I don't need to kill you."

Just then Willy showed up at the door.

"Whoa! There's a lotta tension in this room," he noticed.

Before he could comment further, Kendra pushed him out of the back room and onto the floor.

"Doesn't anyone just say 'hello' where you come from?" Buffy asked.

Kendra turned Willy over on the floor and grabbed him by the shirt, raising her fist to punch him.

"Dis one is dirty! I can feel it!"

"That's really good for you, Percepto Girl," Buffy pushed her aside, and helped Willy to his feet. "But we're not gonna get anything out of him if he's, oh, say. . . " She slammed him into the bar. "Unconscious. Where's Spike?"

"My buddy Spike? You think I'd let him fry? I saved him in the nick! He was about five minutes away from being a crispy critter."

"Where'd he go?"

"Uh, he said he was gonna stay underground. You know, recuperate."

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"I swear on my mother's grave! Should something fatal happen to her, God forbid."

"Den he is alright," Kendra said. "We can return to your Watcher for our orders." She turned to leave.

Buffy let go of Willy. "I don't take orders. I do things my way."

"No wonder you died."

Buffy ignored the comment. "Let's go," she instructed the other girl.

As they started to leave Willy called after them, "I, I have to ask. Has either of you girls considered modeling? I have a friend with a camera? Strictly high-class nude work. You know, art photographs. But naked."

Buffy and Kendra exchanged a look and walked out without a word.

"You don't have to answer right away," Willy let them know.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Spike grunted in pain as Drusilla dripped holy water on to his exposed chest. He had been chained to the foot of her bed and Angelus had left them together as he prepared for some sort of ritual.

"Do I hurt you?" Drusilla asked gleefully.

"Not anymore, pet."

She whimpered in disappointment. "But they hurt you. Nasty gypsies. You writhe for them. I didn't know."

"Didn't know what?"

He couldn't help but be curious. Dru was no longer his lady love, his dark princess. Instead, she was an exotic creature. She still fascinated him. Besides, puzzling her out distracted him from the pain.

"Why you glowed. You were supposed to be my knight," she said sorrowfully. "Once I'm better, Daddy says I can have a new toy." She leaned in close to him and whispered in his ear, "I want the boy. Angelus doesn't know about him. He wouldn't let me have him if he did." She laughed and clapped her hands together excitedly. "I'll have a dark knight this time. Black as night."

For a moment Spike didn't understand. Then understanding dawned on him. Fear gripped his heart. Robin! She was going to turn Robin. She threw back her head and laughed as she saw his fear.

Then she began to sing, "Run and catch. The lamb is caught in the blackberry patch."

She dripped more holy water onto him. Spike clenched his jaw. He would make his way out of this. He had to. He would never let Robin fall to the fate he'd been forced to save his mother from. Spike could still hear Nikki's last plea, asking him to watch out for Robin. Spike could still hear it - the sound as the sword cut off Nikki's head. He could still see the look in her eyes as he killed her.

Angelus had been careful to take enough blood to be fatal, but not to kill her right away. He'd wanted her to be conscious when he fed her his blood. Wanted her to know that she was going to become the thing she hated most.

When Spike had found them, Angelus had only put up a token fight. In those days, it was Spike that Angelus was after. So he had left Spike with the woman who was past saving, and a choice. To kill her, or let her live forever.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Buffy shoved Willy up against the shelves of liquor bottles in his own bar. Giles had finally pieced together the purpose of the items that Angelus's minions had stolen. They could be used in a ritual to restore an unhealthy vampire. All that was required was the sacrifice of a strong member of the sick vampire's blood line. No one doubted that his old family would eagerly offer Spike up.

Having nowhere else to turn, she and Kendra had returned to Willy's bar looking for a clue as to where Angelus had taken Spike. Buffy was still unsure of how much she could trust Kendra. She was scared that the other slayer might stake Spike rather than save him. But for now, she was an ally. She agreed that they couldn't allow Drusilla to be restored to a full state of health.

"Ah! Honest! I don't know where Spike is!" Willy claimed.

"What about this ritual? What have you heard?" Buffy asked.

"N-nothing! I-it's all hush-hush!"

"Just hit him, Buffy!" Kendra insisted.

"She likes to hit," Buffy told Willy.

"You know, m-maybe I did hear something about this ritual. Yeah, i-i... I-it's coming back to me. But, uh, I'd have to take you there."

"Let's go." Buffy started to drag him out of the bar.

Kendra didn't follow. "First we must return to de Watcher."

Buffy stopped. "Excuse me? While we run to Giles, this whole thing could go down!"

"But it is procedure."

"It's brainless, you mean! If we don't go now, Spike could die." She started toward the door again.

"Is dat all you're worried about? Your boyfriend?"

"No," Buffy stopped and looked back at the other girl. "It's not all, but it's enough."

"It's as I feared. He clouds your judgment. We can't stop dis ritual alone!"

"Are you listening to me? He could die!" Buffy shouted.

"He's a vampire. He should die. Why am I de only person who sees it?"

Buffy just stared at her a moment before turning around again and heading for the door with Willy in tow.

"Are you dat big a fool?"

Buffy didn't look back. She might feel sorry for Kendra, for her upbringing, but nothing was going to keep her from Spike. Angelus had already taken more than she was willing to give. Buffy didn't know what she would do if she lost Spike too.

Willy led her through Sunnydale to an abandoned church.

As she followed him inside he said, "Here ya go. Don't ever say your friend Willy don't come through in a pinch."

They went round a corner, and nearly ran into the female cop who had tried to kill Buffy earlier at school, and a vampire.

"Here ya go," Willy addressed the pair. "Don't ever say your friend Willy don't come through in a pinch."

A creepy looking man in a cheap business suit - whom Buffy assumed was Xander's bug guy - and another vampire blocked her escape.

Willy, the assassins, and the vampires escorted her into the church. There, in front of the altar, Spike and Drusilla hung from the ceiling, chained together. A knife had been thrust through their hands and there was a faint glimmer about the two of them.

"It's payday, pal. I got your Slayer," bragged Willy.

Angelus strode down the aisle to meet them, anger apparent in his face.

"Are ye mad, man? What are ye doin' bringin' her here, now?!"

"You said you wanted her," Willy reasoned.

Angelus only growled.

"Well, since she's here, we might as well have ourselves a little fun. After all, we wouldn't want Spike to go without a proper send off. Listnen' to his girl scream. Patrice?"

The cop took a knife out of her belt and handed it to Angelus. He took it smiling and placed the point of it at Buffy's throat. Then he slowly ran the knife down her collar bone - just barely nicking her - till it came to rest just above her breasts.

"Now, let's see-"

The doors to the church flew open and Kendra entered in a series of backflips that ended in a flying kick that knocked Angelus to the ground. Buffy used the distraction to rip herself free of the vampires that were holding her.

"Who the hell is this?!" Angelus snarled as he rolled to his feet.

Kendra grabbed him by the shirt.

"It's your lucky day, Angelus," Buffy said.

"Two Slayers." Kendra punched him.

"No waiting!" Buffy added a punch of her own.

Buffy noticed Patrice start to reach for her gun and turned to fight her, leaving Kendra to face Angelus. She kicked the woman's hand away from the gun. The lady cop extended her arms and a blade slid from each sleeve.

One of the vampires that had been holding her started to reach for her, but suddenly a bolt impaled him. Buffy glanced through the dust to see Giles enter the church with a crossbow. But there was no time for thanks. She was caught in a battle with Patrice.

She dodged the knives and landed a few blows of her own, but the woman was a good fighter. She managed to kick the cop back. Just then she saw Angelus knock Kendra to the floor. Kendra scrambled back up.

"Switch!" Buffy ordered.

She bent over as Kendra rolled over her back to face Patrice. Now Buffy was facing Angelus.

"Jealous?" Angelus asked her.

"Please." Buffy rolled her eyes as she blocked his punch.

She kicked him in the face, then against in the gut. He doubled over and fell to the floor. A third kick sent him flying into the pews.

As Angelus tried to disentangle himself, Buffy rushed to the altar and pulled the dagger out of Spike and Drusilla's hands. Then she started to untie them.

Before she could finish undoing the chains, Angelus tackled her from behind. He punched her as she tried to get up, knocking her back down. While she was down, Angelus grabbed a torch off the wall and threw it into a pile of drapes.

Buffy could hear Xander yell, "Look out!"

Angelus finished untying Drusilla and Spike and lifted Drusilla into his arms. Spike collapsed on the floor behind them. Buffy crawled over to him, but then she saw Angelus trying to make his escape. She got up and grabbed the censer from the altar and begun to swing it about her head. She launched it at Angelus, and it hit him in the back of the head. He stumbled into the organ, which collapsed under his weight.

"I'm good!" Buffy praised herself.

The rest of the organ collapsed on top of the vampiric couple. Bronze pipes clanged as they rolled all over the place.

Buffy turned her attention back to Spike. With Kendra's help she managed to get him out of the burning church. Buffy looked behind her at the wreckage they had left. With any luck that would be the last she saw of Angelus and Drusilla. In the mean time, she had a wounded vampire of her own to tend to.





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