Chapter 1

"Hello, Mr. Giles? Are you in here?" A young female voice sounded through the quiet Sunnydale High School library. As the librarian came out of his office, the blonde teenager continued on, "Hi. My name is Cassandra Linnell, but you can call me Cassie. I'm the new Vampire Slayer."

"The new Slayer? You aren't Buffy Summers?" the flabbergasted Watcher asked. He whipped off his glasses, and he began to polish them. He was slightly confused since the Council hadn't felt the urge to call and inform him of this news.

"No, I was only called four days ago, Mr. Giles. The Council rushed me right here to you. I only started my training last month. So, I hadn't been assigned to a Watcher yet," Cassie replied as the bell rang for the next class, "I better get to class. I'll see you after school."

A perplexed Rupert Giles, school librarian and Watcher, went into his office to make a phone call to the head of the Council. In his preoccupied state, he failed to notice the brunette teenager, Xander Harris, in the upper stacks of the library wearing his own perplexed look.

Xander shook his head back and forth in disbelief. He stayed a few minutes more before he scooted around the libray door and into the hall. "Will and Jesse are so not going to believe this one."

~~~~~~~~~~

Joyce Summers answered the door to find a very dapper appearing older gentleman standing on the porch. She just stood there in apparent shock when he quickly launched into his explanation of his appearance on her doorstep. If she wasn't recently divorced, she would consider getting to know the man better.

"Mrs. Summers, my name is Rupert Giles. I am the librarian at the high school, and I wanted to inquire about your daughter. She was supposed to start classes this week." Giles kept his voice as even as possible, but he hated that this task fell on his shoulders.

"My ... my daughter didn't take well to the idea of moving here and ran away when she found out. I have no idea where she is. I pray nothing has happened to her," Joyce whispered, and her eyes filled with tears. She quickly grabbed a hankie from her pocket and dabbed her eyes.

Rupert Giles was, for once in his life, at a loss for words. How could he tell this stranger that he knew her daughter was dead? How could it be explained without sounding strange? For whatever else this woman was going through, he owed Joyce Summers the truth.

"I guess between her trying to convince us of some farfetched tale of being a vampire slayer, the divorce and moving here, she just couldn't handle all the changes. She ran away while we were still living in Los Angeles," Joyce sobbed. She kept her eye on the librarian to see his reaction to her words and was rewarded with a little start when she said the words, 'vampire slayer'.

"It wasn't a tale, Mrs. Summers. Your daughter was a vampire slayer. I believe that your daughter is dead because another slayer has been called," Rupert informed the distraught woman.

"Vampires are real? Buffy's dead?" Joyce's voice grew small and weak as her sobs became more pronounced. "No, that can't be true. Not my baby girl!" She wept harder.

"I'm afraid so, Mrs. Summers. Vampires are very real. Never invite anyone into your home with words, always use gestures. I was to be your daughter's Watcher, her mentor, but a new slayer showed up this afternoon. The only way a new slayer can be called is for the old one to die. I am so very sorry to inform you of this," Rupert expressed his sympathy gently. Even with his stiff British reserve, he longed to draw the distraught woman into his arms to comfort her.

"Oh, Buffy, my beautiful, beautiful daughter," Joyce cried out while she began to sob in earnest.

Rupert Giles was at a loss of words now, and he had no clue what to do for the poor woman. So, he awkwardly patted her on the shoulder before turning to leave. Most Slayers were discovered and taken away from their families early. This was one of the reasons why. Watchers had very little experience to call upon about how to handle informing families of their daughters' passing.

Joyce watched Mr. Giles get behind the wheel of his old gray clunker before she closed the door. She turned to watch a petite blonde girl slowly make her way down the stairs from the upper level of the house.

That was an Oscar winning performance, Mom." Buffy clapped her hands togehter. "Thanks, Mom," Buffy stood in front of her mother. "I... I don't think anyone would understand what happened to me."

"Are you sure, honey?" Joyce and Buffy had been through a lot in the past few weeks. If she hadn't seen the vampires with her own eyes on their last night in L.A. she would have thought Buffy was hallucinating or acting out. "Shouldn't that Watcher fellow be more knowledgeable about who've become?"

Buffy shook his head sadly. "Somehow I don't think so." She inhaled a deep breath that although she didn't need to breathe, it seemed to relax her. "Merrick was pretty straight forward about vampires. See a vamp... kill a vamp. I don't think they have room for Slayer vamps."

Joyce sighed. "I wish there was more I could do." She moved over to touch her daughter on the cheek. "Well, it looks like you have to make a bit more of a drastic new start than we thought we moved here."

"Yep, Buffy Anne Summers is dead. Long live the Slayer," Buffy muttered sarcastically. She moved away from her mother and into the living room. She snapped back around to face her mother with a big grin on her face. "But hey, no more school for me."

"There is no need for sarcasm, young lady. Just because you're now a vampire, don't start thinking you can get out of finishing your education," Joyce announced as she followed her daughter out of the foyer. "Your options are more limited, but you will need a good education to find something suitable. It's going to be hard for you to get an adult job when you look underaged."

That is how Elizabeth Anne Sowle was born. Joyce and her finger picked the new last name from the Sunnydale phonebook. She was the one that found the evening G.E.D. class for the newly nicknamed Beth to attend. Joyce was also the one that dragged Beth to the hairdresser (who promptly ignored that her client lacked a reflection) where the vampiress had her hair trimmed into short curls and returned to its darker honey blonde color.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassie walked down the darkened street towards the Bronze, eager to join her newly made friends. Before she made it to the nightclub, she sensed someone behind her. Her newly acquired vampire detector tingled, and as soon as she was able to, she ducked into an alley. She started to search for a place to dust the vampire without alerting anyone. Cassie reached inside her coat to pull a stake out of its hiding place just as a dark-haired vampire entered the alley.

"Ah, hey, is there a problem, ma'am?" the vampire asked. He noticed the tightened fist around an object. He assumed that he'd followed too closely, and the Slayer was alerted to his presence. He was willing to bet she clutched a stake.

"Ya, I would say there's a problem. You're following me, vampire," Cassie stated more bravely than she was currently feeling. This would be her first fight as the Slayer. "Not wise thing for a vampire to do to me, I can tell you."

"I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, I don't bite." The vampire held his hands up in the air. "I'm not here to hurt you."

This caused Cassie to back off and study the vampire. He was really quite handsome with his dark hair and his dark puppy dog eyes. His white shirt gaped open at the collar, and Cassie could see the top of his nicely muscled chest. Too bad he's a vampire, she thought.

"Buffy Summers," The vampire regarded the young girl more closely. Somehow I thought..."

"My name isn't Buffy. It's Cassie," she interrupted the vampire before he could go any further.

"What? When did this happen?" Angel asked, his confusion evident in his voice.

"About four days ago. So, what do you want?" Cassie demanded.

"The same thing you do."

"Okay. What do I want and why would a vampire want the same thing as me?" Cassie asked as she quirked her eyebrow. She let her guard down just a little, but she didn't totally relax.

"To kill them. To kill them all," the vampire replied as he took a step closer to her, "We are standing on the Mouth of Hell, and it's about to open."

Cassie began to chew on her lower lip before she started to speak again, "That must be what Mr. Giles was talking about. So why is it going to open?"

"The Harvest," the vampire answered as he threw her a small box, "Here, I was going to give this to Buffy Summers but it looks like you are going to need it instead." He memorized every feature of the young Slayer. He hoped that he would be seeing her again. Buffy hadn't been called long, but there was already a replacement for her. He hoped this Slayer would last a lot longer.

Cassie stuck her stake under her arm. She opened the small box and was surprised to see a cross necklace nestled inside. Cassie took the necklace out of the box and threw the box into a nearby garbage can. She put the necklace on, feeling the cool metal slid down her upper chest and settle between her breasts.

"Who are you?" Cassie asked.

"Just a friend," the vampire replied as he watched the descent of the cross.

"Uh, no, buddy, I am not going to accept that. Who are you?" Cassie demanded.

"My name's Angel. The Powers That Be sent me to help Buffy Summers," Angel answered.

"Why would whoever the Powers That Be are, send an evil, soulless vampire to help the vampire slayer?" Cassie questioned the validity of the claim put forth by Angel.

"I have my soul, and I want to help," Angel replied, "To make amends for past transgressions."

"Fine, you find out about the Harvest and meet Mr. Giles and I at the high school library tomorrow after dark," Cassie ordered as she turned to leave the alley. She didn't look back to see Angel melt into the darkness.

Cassie hurried towards the Bronze searching for a pay phone so she could call the Watcher. She knew she needed to let him know about the mysterious soulled vampire and whatever the Harvest meant. When she found an available phone, she pulled the paper with his number out of her pocket and began dialing. Cassie was glad when he answered on the second ring.

"Giles, here."

"Um, hi? It's Cassie. I'm on my way to meet the gang at the Bronze, but I met a vampire," Cassie announced as she kept an eye on the movement around her.

"Did you dust him?" Giles asked casually.

"No, he said he had his soul and that something called the Powers That Be sent him here to help Buffy Summers. He mentioned The Harvest. Does that sound familiar to you? Oh, his name is Angel, and he's meeting us after dark in the library tomorrow. I'll be home at eleven. Gotta scoot. Bye," Cassie said, quickly hanging up on the Watcher.

Once Cassie entered the Bronze, she noticed Willow sitting at the bar sipping a ginger ale. She went over to join the redheaded girl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next evening found Cassie, Xander and Willow listening to Giles explain to them about vampires, Slayers, and all the other things that went bump in the night in Sunnydale. The three teens told the Watcher how they couldn't find their other friend Jesse and that he hadn't shown up to school that morning. Willow had found out from Cordelia that she had seen him talking to a blond girl in the Bronze and how happy she was he wasn't trailing her around like a lost puppy.

"The vamp's here," Cassie announced. She suddenly sat up straight surprising the other teenagers and the Watcher with her actions.

At the same time the dark haired vampire appeared from the upper stacks of the library, another dark haired person entered the library. He pushed the swinging doors open with wild abandon.

"You should have seen it, guys. I was walking with this pretty blonde girl named Darla, and the next thing I know a figure dressed all in black appeared in front of us. Then, something really weird happened. Darla's face got strange looking. Then, the figure in black shoved a piece of wood into Darla and she turned into dust," Jesse babbled. He threw himself down in the chair next to Xander. "It was quite a night!"

"Where were you today, Jesse?" Xander asked.

"Didn't I tell you?" Jesse's brow furrowed in concentration. "Mom had an appointment in L.A., and she made me go with her."

Angel sighed, "I thought I felt something last night. Darla was my sire and the Master's favorite childe. I found out through some various minions that Luke, the vampire destined to be the Master's Vessel, was dusted just a few days ago. They said he was killed by the Slayer."

"What is going on here?" Jesse demanded even as the others ignored him.

"So we don't have to worry about the Harvest after all?" Giles asked. He was confused by the information the vampire was telling them. Cassie was called only four days ago, so that would mean that Buffy Summers would have been the Slayer. However, Mrs. Summers assured him that her daughter had run away while back in Los Angeles. Something didn't compute here.

"No, it would appear not. It takes a master vampire to be the Vessel, and I am the oldest Aurelius vampire in the area, outside of the Master. There is no way he would accept me anyway," replied Angel.

"Will you be sticking around, Angel?" Cassie asked. She was starting to feel an attraction for the dark vampire, even as she told herself it was very, very wrong.

"The Powers That Be have assigned me to helping the current Slayer," Angel answered. "That would be you, the Chose One."

Giles adjusted the glasses on his face. Perhaps, and perhaps not, he thought to himself. He opened a new notebook and jotted down a few notes for future reference.

~~~~~~~~~~

While Cassie tried out for cheerleading and fought for her life against the witch, Amy, Beth started her evening G.E.D. classes. Beth was happy to discover that there were several other peaceful demons in the class, including a saggy-skinned demon named Clem who told the teacher he had a genetic skin disease.

While Cassie rescued Xander and Jesse from the teacher that was really a gigantic preying mantis, Beth tried to convince Joyce she needed her own apartment. Joyce told her vampiress daughter that if she passed her classes, and could hold down a job then, and only then, would she allow Beth to move out.

While Cassie was busy worrying about The Anointed One and dragging her date through the morgue, Beth was busy applying for evening shift jobs. Beth got lucky when a busboy from The Bronze ended up vamped. She dusted the guy in front of the manager, and he offered her a job right on the spot. The nightlife in Sunnydale was dangerous, and the manager felt safer with the strong little woman working for him.

While Cassie fought off hyena Xander's rape attempt and the other students ate Principal Flutie, Beth perfected her staking technique. Beth patrolled cautiously, always staying out of the path of the live Slayer. Soon the demons and vampires of Sunnydale called her The Black Specter in reference to her black outfit and the fact that she appeared and disappeared like a ghost on the wind.

While Cassie shared her first kiss with Angel, Beth avoided the dark vampire like the plague. The vampire gave the vamped Slayer the 'wiggins'. To insure that he didn't notice her, she engaged her new friend Clem to buy her blood for her at the all night butcher. The cursed vampire was said to shop there as well, but Beth didn't want to be anywhere near him.

While Cassie battled to save her friends from a demon inadvertently unleashed by Willow scanning the book he was trapped in into the computer, Beth argued with her mother over college courses and normal lives. The vampiress finally gave in and grudgingly told Joyce she would attend college after she passed her G.E.D classes.

While Cassie, the gang and Sid the Puppet did their thing in the high school talent show, Beth and Clem studied hard for the G.E.D. finals coming up. Beth was happy when her new friend got a job at the butcher shop after scaring away some vamps that were terrorizing the owner. Clem brought her blood to her apartment directly after work. He was a great friend to have.

While Cassie battled against her nightmare of being eaten alive, Beth's nightmare that her father discovered she was a vampire came true. When his apparition attempted to drive a stake through her heart, she spent the evening crying in Joyce's arms with her mother reassuring the girl that no one knew she was 'alive'.

While Cassie and the gang dealt with the invisible girl, Marcy, Beth was taking her G.E.D. tests. Beth was elated when she passed them all with high scores. She, Joyce and Clem celebrated by moving Beth into her own loft apartment in one of the warehouses near Joyce's gallery. Joyce was happy to have her daughter nearby, and Beth was happy to have her freedom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No one's gonna go with me to the dance." Xander banged his head on the table. "Why did Jesse have to move away? At least if he was here the three of us could go stag together."

"Can't you just ask Cassie?" Willow asked. She had high hopes that maybe Xander would see her as more than just a friend, but for some reason he disappointed her once again.

"Cassie talked Angel into going with her," Xander muttered, "I mean, look at them over there whispering to each other. I really hate that guy."

"They have been spending a lot of time together lately," Willow said quietly, "What with the Black Specter chick ... thing taking care of most of the vamps in town, she has more time on her hands than Giles says a Slayer should."

In one of the many Sunnydale parks, Cordelia Chase, head cheerleader and rich bitch, made out with her date until the windows fogged up. A thud outside the car caused Cordelia to pull away from the kiss.

"Kevin, what was that?" Cordelia asked in a whisper.

"What was what?" Kevin's voiced was dazed. God, Cordelia is hot and a great kisser, too. the boy thought to himself.

Outside the car, a figure in black laid on the ground. A growling vampire approached the figure.

"Someone's out there," Cordelia whispered again.

"That's silly! Who would be out there?" This question got the boy an incredulous look.

"Obviously you are oblivious to the nightlife in Sunnydale," Cordelia said haughtily.

Outside, the figure in black rolled in a reverse somersault away from the vampire, and she came to a standing stance ready to fight. When the vampire growled at her, she pulled a stake from behind her back. She twirled it like a baton in her glove clad fingers. This just made the vampire even madder, and he launched himself at her.

"Specter," the vampire snarled, "I will take great pleasure in removing your mask and revealing your identity to the world."

The Specter answered by giving the vampire two swift kicks that stunned him. He fell to the ground, and she plunged the stake into his undead heart. The Specter placed the stake back into her belt. She turned towards the car when she heard the door open.

"Who's out there?"

Across town in the school library, Giles went into his office to make himself a cup a tea. While the tea brewed he took a book down from the shelf, and he laid it on his desk. Giles placed the cup of tea next to the book as he turned the pages. He studied one passage carefully.

"Ho korias phanaytie toutay. Um. Tay nuktee. 'The Master shall rise...'" Giles muttered, "Yes, this is it. 'The Master shall rise, and the Slayer ... '" The Watcher looked up in disbelief. "Oh my God."

Giles was lost in thought as he considered what he had just translated. He reached for his cup of tea, but it began to jiggle. Giles watched it for a few seconds before he came to the conclusion he was experiencing his first earthquake. Everything began to shake, and his teacup vibrated off the desk. It smashed to the floor along with several of his books.

In the Bronze, the people began to panic. Xander grabbed Willow, and he guided her towards the stairs.

"Wills, under the stairs!" He shouted as loudly as he could. Cassie and Angel soon joined them. The four friends huddled together, and they waited out the quake.

Deep underground in the Master's Lair, the ancient vampire stood with his hands outstreched above him as he screamed, "Yes! Yes! Shake, Earth! This is a sign! We are in the final days! My time has come! Glory! Glory!" When the quake subsided, the Master looked at the Anointed one. "Whadaya think? 5.1?" he asked the child vamp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning after the quake, Cassie entered the library. She surveyed the damage, and she turned to stare at Giles when he came out of his office. She was surprised to see that he looked tired and disheveled.

"Giles, you didn't come home last night. I was getting worried," Cassie declared. She hurried to the Watcher's side where she studied his face. "What's going on? I can tell by your face that something's up."

"What? No, of course there isn't." Giles rushed to reassure the Slayer. He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. Giles had no idea how he could possibly tell this bright and beautiful girl she was going to die within the next few days.

"Don't bullshit me, Giles. I can tell by the look on your face. Spill the beans." Cassie gave Giles a pointed look. There was no way her Watcher was going to hide something from her.

"It's nothing really. Just a bit of bad news I came across," Giles replied as mildly as he could muster. He decided to discuss the prophecy with Angel before 'spilling the beans', as she put it, to the Slayer.

That night, Cassie was in the locker room when something strange happened. When the Slayer went to wash her hands, she was absentmindedly looking into the mirror when she turned on the faucet. When she looked down, instead of water pouring out of the tap it was blood. Cassie decided this was something that Giles needed to know.

Cassie headed towards the library. She had just entered the library when she heard Giles talking to someone.

"It's clear. It's what's going to happen. It's happening now!" the Watcher stated emphatically.

Cassie saw Angel move into the light. He held a book in his hands that he was reading. "Angel?" Cassie muttered to herself. She edged closer to the office door.

"It can't be. You've got to be wrong," Angel exclaimed.

"I've checked it against all my other volumes." Giles swept his hand towards several other books on his desk. "It's very real."

"Well, there's got to be some way around it." Angel's voice held a pleading quality.

"Listen to me. Some prophecies are a bit dodgy. They're mutable," Giles tried to explain. "Cassie herself has thwarted them time and time again, but this is the Codex. There is nothing in it that does not come to pass. Even with the help of that mysterious Black Specter girl."

"Then you're reading it wrong," Angel proclaimed loudly.

"I wish to God I were!" Giles shouted in return, "But, it's very plain. Tomorrow night Cassie will face the Master, and she will die."

Cassie gasped, and she revealed herself to the two men, "This is what you were trying keep from me, Giles? That I'm going to die?"

Giles had the grace to look ashamed of himself. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to. That there was some way around it."

"But there isn't is there?" Cassie asked dejectedly. She knew she was supposed to die young. She was just hoping that it wouldn't quite be so soon. "I'll die, and another Slayer will be called. Will you train her? Or will they send someone else?"

"I doubt I'll train her, Cassie," the Watcher answered softly, "They only assigned you to me because my first Slayer died before I ever met her. You're irreplaceable in my heart, Cassie."

"I need time to think, Giles," Cassie murmured, "I'm going to go patrol. See you both later."

The next night Cassie stood outside the entrance of the Master's lair waiting for her guide. Her mind was so intent on how to avoid dying that she failed to notice the shadow hiding within the shadows. Cassie had overheard Giles and Miss Calendar earlier when they talked about the Anointed One being a child. She felt bad about deceiving him, but the stubborn Watcher had tried to tell her he would face the Master instead of her, like it was his job instead of hers.

"Help me," a child's voice cried.

There's my cue, Cassie thought to herself. She lowered her crossbow, and she walked over to the little boy she saw standing nearby. "It's okay. I know who you are," she said tersely.

The boy held out his hand. He, too, failed to notice the shadow within the shadows. The boy smirked to himself as the Slayer took his hand, and he lead her towards the Master. The pair moved further into the tunnels followed by their shadow.

In the library, Xander and Willow found out from Giles and Miss Calendar about the prophecy and Cassie's plan to practically sacrifice herself to the master vampire. Xander decided he couldn't take this laying down, and he decided to go find Angel.

Xander talked Angel into going in search of Cassie. He used the vampire's obsession with the Slayer against him. The pair exchanged insults the entire journey to the entrance of the Master's lair.

Down in the tunnels, the Anointed One stopped abruptly, and he caused Cassie to stumble a bit. He pointed down into the buried church. The Anointed One invited her to enter the lair, and then he turned back up the tunnel they had just come down.

Cassie watched the boy leave. Then she turned, and she made her way down into the church where she could see hundreds of candles flickering. Cassie glanced around curiously.

"Welcome." The voice boomed from all directions.

"Thanks for having me," Cassie said sarcastically. She raised her crossbow into a more defensive stance. Cassie stared ahead as the ugliest vampire she had ever seen stepped into the light. She continued to make quips. "You know, you really oughtta talk to your contractor. Looks like you have some water damage. Not to mention some electrical problems."

"Oh good. The feeble banter portion of the fight. Why don't we cut to the chase," the Master sneered.

Cassie spun around, and she shot a crossbow arrow in the direction of his voice. She quickly reloaded her weapon as she watched the vampire deflect the arrow. Unfortunately, when he tossed the arrow away from him, it hit one of the candles. The candle fell over, bumping the one next to it, and it caused a domino effect. Soon, half of the candles were lying on their sides. A small fire had started in some old fabric. Smoke started to fill the room.

"Nice shot," the Master muttered.

In the tunnels, Angel stopped abruptly at an intersection to sniff the air. This caused Xander to bump into the vampire.

"What? Why did you stop?" Xander asked. He sniffed the air, too, but couldn't smell anything.

"I smell smoke," Angel growled. He looked down one tunnel and then the other. Angel pointed down the right tunnel. "It's coming from this way. We have to hurry."

Cassie circled the lair wary of the flames that were starting to leap higher. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she came upon a half rotten body, and then she continued her search. "You know, for someone who's all powerful, you sure do like to hide."

"I'm waiting for you. I want this moment to last," the Master's voice boomed from the darkness.

"Well, I don't," Cassie grumbled. She continued to search for a few more minutes. The vampire's signature was very wonky in the church for some reason. She wasn't sure if it was because it was a church or if it was because he had been trapped there for so long. Cassie failed to notice the master vampire standing behind her.

"I understand," the Master said quietly.

Cassie whirled around, but the Master knocked her crossbow out of her hand. He grabbed her around the neck, and she tried to swing her arm to knock his hand away. The Master used his thrall on the Slayer, and she couldn't move. He swung her around so that her back was flush with his front.

"You tried," the Master crooned in her ear, "It was noble of you. You heard of the prophecy that I was about to break free, and you came to stop me. But prophecies are tricky creatures. They don't tell you everything." The Master's voice dropped to a whisper, and his voice became gloating, "You're the one that sets me free. If you hadn't of come, I couldn't go. Think about that."

Cassie froze in fear while the Master waited a few more moments before he bent over, and he sunk his teeth into her throat. He drank a few sips, and he let her go.

"Oh God! The Power," the Master screamed. Cassie fell to her knees.

"And by the way," the Master said softly. He gave the Slayer a little push. Cassie fell forward into pool of water. "I like your dress."

The Master stepped over the Slayer, and he pushed against the field of his confinement. He forced his hand through the barrier. The barrier fell with a burst of light, and he started out of his lair. The Master was so intent on gaining his freedom, that he failed to notice the black shadow that followed him out of his lair.

The Specter looked from the fallen Slayer to the escaping vampire as she tried to decide what to do. When she heard the quiet footfalls of the Slayer's friends approaching, she made the decision to follow the vampire.

"Cassie," Xander cried. He rushed to the fallen girl's side, and he pulled her from the water. "She's not breathing."

"She's dead," Angel said morosely.

"No, she's not breathing. If she drowned, there's a shot. CPR," the teenage boy announced. He quickly took off his jacket, and he laid it over Cassie. He opened the girl's mouth to clear her airway. With one hand he pinched off her nose while the other tilted her head back to unblock her throat. Xander looked at his friend for a moment before he put his mouth over hers, and he began to blow air into her lungs. After several deep breaths into her lungs, he compressed her chest.

"C'mon, Cassie. Breathe." Xander continued to breathe into the Slayer's lungs and pump on her chest. He shook Angel off when the vampire attempted to pull the boy away from the young girl's body. "C'mon."

A few seconds later, Cassie opened her eyes, and she inhaled deeply. She stared up at her rescuers dazedly. After a few moments she looked around the lair, and she noticed the fire was getting bigger.

"Fire," Cassie croaked.

"Cassie," Xander cried. He and Angel helped the Slayer to her feet, and the three of them hobbled out of the lair to escape the encroaching flames.

In the parking lot of the high school Miss Calendar and Willow were trying to avoid being captured by the amassing vampires that advanced on them. The two females looked around the lot wildly as they searched for an escape. They heard a car screech to stop behind them.

"Get in," Cordelia screamed at the teacher and fellow classmate. "Where the fuck are they coming from? I was sitting in my car where Kevin and I liked to go park, and the next thing I know they are swarming the car."

"What do we do now?" Miss Calendar screamed when a vampire jumped on the top of the car.

"We've gotta get to the library!" Willow yelled.

"Library! Great!," Cordelia snarked, "Just how do you expect us to do that?" Cordelia swung her car around in a U-turn, and she headed directly for the school building. She gunned the motor.

"We generally walk there, Cordy," Willow cried when she realized what the cheerleader was going to do.

"Do you really want to get out right now?" Cordy asked. She looked at Willow, who considered the question before shaking her head negatively. "That's what I thought. Hang on, ladies, it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

Inside the library, Giles looked up suddenly when he heard a loud crash. In a few moments he was surprised to see a car go by the library door windows. Giles watched in amazement as Miss Calender, Willow and Cordelia slammed into the library, and they leaned back against the swinging doors.

"What's happening?" Giles asked in a dazed voice.

"Guess!" Miss Calendar snarled. A vampire punched through one of the small windows above the girl's head, and tried to grab a hold of their hair. Giles hurried to grab a bookcase to carry towards the door, while Willow grabbed a nearby sign, and she hit the vampire's arm. Miss Calendar and Cordelia moved out of Giles's way as he positioned the bookcase in front of the door, and he dragged the nearby copier to hold the bookcase.

"Why are they coming here?"

The four of them failed to notice the green tentacle worming its way up through the cracks in the floor as they piled more stuff in front of the library doors.

"They're coming through the stacks," Giles pointed towards the back of the library, "Grab the bookshelves. I'll secure my office." The girls scurried to comply with the Watcher's wishes.

On the roof of the school, the Master looked around at the view, and he smiled. It felt so good to be out of the ground after so many years. He walked to the edge of the roof, held out his arms and surveyed the scene. Below he could see his vampires swarming the school. "My world! Oh, my beautiful world."

The Master heard a snarl behind him, and he whirled around to find a small girl dressed all in black standing behind him. She tilted her head to one side, and she said something to him in a language that he didn't understand.

"You're that Black Specter that my minions grumble about," the Master growled. He advanced towards the girl. The Master extended his senses towards the girl, and he was confused by the different auras coming off of her. Before he had time to process the feelings, she attacked him.

The Specter kicked the Master's feet out from underneath him, and he fell heavily to the roof. She snarled at him again, and she repeated her unrecognizable words. The Specter jumped backwards when the Master leapt to his feet. She kicked him in the jaw on his way up.

The Master stumbled just a bit, but not before he sliced the Specter with his fingernails. The scent of the blood confused him even more. It said Slayer, vampire and family, and his own words came back to haunt him. But prophecies are tricky creatures. They don't tell you everything. The Master remembered a prophecy he had heard over 250 years before about how his grandchilde would be the one to finally dust him. It was the reason he had been so wary of Angelus for all these years, but it appeared that he had been leery of the wrong family member. The Master silently cursed whichever family member created the Slayer/vampire grandchilde

The Specter punched the older vampire in the kidney, and he retaliated by punching her in the jaw. She tried to punch him again, but he blocked her. The next thing she knew she flew into the wall behind her.

Below them in the library, Giles and the girls were fighting off both the vampires and the creature attempting to emerge from the Hellmouth. Giles swung his axe to hit the creature, but he overextended himself. This caused him to fall off the upper level of the library onto the research table. It broke under the weight of the Watcher. This caused a huge wooden spike to point upwards towards the skylight.

Xander, Angel, and Cassie were fighting their way into the school towards the library. The trio dusted vampires left and right. Xander was feeling quite pleased with himself for not running and screaming in the other direction like his instincts told him to.

On the roof, the Master was ready to continue the fight. He hid his fear from the small female he was fighting. The Master attempted to thrall the girl like he had the Slayer just a short time before, but for some reason it didn't work on the Specter. This confused the older vampire, because he knew the other vampire was just a fledgling.

The Specter launched herself into a front tuck over the Master's head, and she landed between him and the skylight. She kicked him in the side, but he quickly turned to grab her by the neck. The Specter looked down into the library via the skylight where she noticed the large wooden spike that the Watcher had made earlier.

"Who are you?" the Master growled.

The Specter hissed at him, and she lifted him up into the air. She flipped him over her body and through the skylight. The Specter stood at the edge of the window, and she watched him fall through the air unable to catch himself.

Xander, Angel and Cassie made it into the library just in time to watch the master vampire make his descent. The other fighters stopped to watch as the Master became impaled on the big wooden spike, and he slowly turned to ash until the only thing left was his skeleton. All eyes turned upwards. The group caught a glimpse of the figure in black before she disappeared from view.

The Hellmouth creature disappeared back into the floor, and the vampires either disappeared or ran away when they felt their master die. The group stood and stared at the body of the Master for a few minutes. Each one of them lost in their own thoughts.

Chapter 2

Summer came and went, as summers usually do. Soon it was time for the schools around Sunnydale to start up classes again. Cassie, Xander and Willow started their junior year of high school while Beth began some evening elective classes at the local college.

Their paths rarely crossed. In fact, the three teenagers hadn't really noticed the young girl who worked at The Bronze as a bus person. Beth kept her head down and suppressed her usual quipping tendencies when the humans were in the club. More times than not the ensouled vampire was with them, and Beth didn't want any of them to realize she was a vampire. She had no idea why the other Slayer or the other vampire couldn't sense her presence.

Everything was going along smoothly in Beth's life until the night HE walked in. She was filling in for a few hours for one of the other girls when she noticed the platinum haired, black clad vampire circling the nightclub studying the dancers. The Slayer in Beth told her to lure the vamp outside to dust him, and that plan worked fine until she deliberately bumped into him. As soon as she looked up into his beautiful blue eyes, Beth the girl and Beth the vampire hit Beth the Slayer over the head and tied her up in the corner.

"S-sorry," Beth stuttered. If she had been alive she would have blushed crimson red.

"It's okay, luv," the vampire's British accent sent shivers down Beth's spine. He tilted his head, and studied her, "'m Spike. What's a lovely young thing like you workin' in a place like this?"

Beth shrugged her shoulders when she realized he knew she was a vampire. She wondered how he could tell when the Slayer and the cursed vampire couldn't. "It's a job. The Specter tends to burn down the whorehouses when she finds them, not that I would do that." Beth scrunched her face up, and she shuddered.

"The Specter?" Spike asked, "What about the Slayer?" He tilted his head towards the dance floor and the petite blonde dancing with her friends. Spike watched the vampiress turn to study the dancing teenagers. He could tell she was quite young, but she had amazing control of her demon. Spike found himself pulled in by her bright green eyes, and he was intrigued in a way that he hadn't been since the last time he met a Slayer. The girl on the dance floor paled in comparison to the vampiress in front of him.

Beth turned back to Spike. She realized he was studying her intently, and she dropped her eyes to the floor. "Jill just got here. I have to clock out, but we can sit and talk if you like." Beth turned, and she indicated a nearby table.

"That sounds like fun, luv," Spike smirked, "Can I have the name of my lovely companion?"

"Oh. I'm Beth." Beth stuck her hand out in a gesture of goodwill. She ducked her head again when the male vampire bowed over her hand and raised it to his lips. "Give me a few minutes, okay?"

Spike curled his tongue his teeth, and he nodded. He had no idea why he wanted to talk to the cute little vampiress when he had his wicked ripe plum back at the factory waiting for him. Hell, as soon as Spike saw Beth he forgot all about checking out the Slayer, too. At least until the flunky the Annoying One sent with him came over to remind him of his mission. Spike told the minion to go find something to eat. Then he shouted out that he needed to call the police because there was someone being attacked in the alley. Spike watched the Slayer and her little friends run out of the club. Instead of following them, the vampire sauntered over to the table Beth indicated, and he sat down to wait for her.

"Do you want a drink?" Beth's voice startled the male vampire. He indicated he wouldn't mind a shot of whiskey.

Spike watched Beth's gently swaying hips as she strolled over to the bar. The vampire was fascinated with how her petite lithe body moved so gracefully. Spike was reminded of a dancer ... or a Slayer. He shook his head at that thought. Every vampire knew better than to turn a Slayer. They were wicked bitches when vamped. Then, he wondered how she was going to get him an alcoholic drink. Spike was pretty sure she hadn't been much over sixteen when she was turned. When she returned with his drink, he asked just that question.

"So, luv, how old were you when you were turned?"

"Sixteen." Beth took a sip of her Diet Coke. "If I were still alive my seventeenth birthday would be this coming January."

"Who and where is your sire, pet?" Spike asked. He arched his eyebrow in surprise when he realized she was even younger than he first thought, not even a whole year undead. He knew if she was his childe that there was no way she would be alone in the world. Spike had sniffed her hand when he had kissed it. All he could smell on the vampiress was the scent of her own bath products.

Beth bit her lip for a minute before answering, "His name was Luke, I think. He was killed by a Slayer about the time I rose." She took another sip of her drink, and her eyes drifted to the Slayer on the dance floor.

"That Slayer?" Spike jerked his head towards the dance floor.

"Oh. No, not her. The one before her," Beth said.

"Luke? Big, ugly git the size of a linebacker? He was your sire?" Spike chuckled. "Well, well, well, cousin. I'm glad to meet you."

"Cousin?" Beth's eyes opened wide. "You're an Aurelian? Like that souled vamp, Angel?"

"Angelus has a soul? Oh ho, now that's an interestin' tidbit of news," Spike chortled, "You wouldn't happen to know the details would ya?"

Beth shook her head, and she giggled a little. She leaned in to whisper to the master vampire, "He's dating the Slayer over there."

"You gotta be kiddin' me? Angelus is shagging a Slayer?" Spike took a swig of his whiskey as he speculated this bit of information. He looked over at Beth, and he realized he was having fun talking to the charming little bint. "So tell me about this Specter git you were talking about."

"The Specter isn't a git. He's a she," Buffy said in an informative voice. "She showed up about the same time I was turned. She runs around killing vampires and such. She killed Darla and the Master. The Specter's another reason why I buy my blood from a butcher and don't munch on the natives."

"Town's dangerous for a fledge, innit?" Spike arched his eyebrow at the Slayer and her friends. "Slayer, Angelus, some bint known as Specter."

"Can be," Buffy sighed, "But for some reason the Slayer can't tell I'm a vampire and neither can her boyfriend. I think it would be healthy for me to keep it that way."

"Your secret is safe with me, pet." Spike looked at the dance floor, and he noticed that the Slayer and her pals had left the club. "Wanna dance?"

Beth looked at the dance floor, and then back at the male vampire who was holding his hand to her. She nodded shyly, and the couple moved to the dance floor. Beth couldn't believe how well they fit together. She laid her head on his shoulder and let her body move to the music.

Spike had no idea what he was doing. He should have been out watching the Slayer fight, but instead he found himself in conversation with a shy, young vampiress. He was mighty curious as to why her demon didn't seem to want to rip and tear through the populace of the small town. He knew that sometimes lazy vampires would become whores that catered to humans who wanted to take a walk on the dark side, but he had never met one that took a job to buy pig's blood. He was glad that Beth hadn't taken the whorehouse route. For some strange reason he found her innocence and shyness refreshing.

"What do you do besides work here, Beth?" Spike whispered in the girl's ear.

"I passed my G.E.D classes, and now I'm taking some evening courses at the local college," Beth answered. She waited for the master vampire to laugh at her, but was pleasantly surprised when he didn't.

"Well, there's more to unlife than murder and mayhem," Spike drawled, "Any boyfriends?"

"No, not really," Beth replied, "I can't see dating a human and I can't see most vampires being willing to not kill humans to be with me. You have any boyfriends?" Beth glanced up at the vampire slyly.

Spike gave a hoot of laughter, "No, luv, no boyfriends, but I guess I got a girlfriend of sorts. She's my sire."

Beth was filled with jealousy. "If you have a girlfriend, why are you chatting me up? I'm not a ho." Beth cried. She pulled herself away from Spike, and she hurried over to their table. "Just because I was turned young, doesn't mean I'm naive and stupid!"

"Beth, luv, that's not what I was thinking at all." Spike assured Beth as he followed her to the table, and he took his seat. "Besides, 99.9% of vampires will fuck anything that moves. Somehow I have a feeling that you and I don't fall into that category."

"Does your girlfriend fall into the bigger or smaller category?" Beth inquired. She took a sip of her now tepid Diet Coke. Beth's heart broke when she saw Spike look down in what could only be called embarrassment. She realized that his girlfriend had cheated on him, and she suddenly wished the ho vamp was standing in front of her so she could slap the bitch. Beth laid her hand on his knee and gave it a gentle squeeze.

The two vampires continued to talk until Jack the bartender made the call for last drinks. Both were surprised that the time had passed so quickly for them. Beth had revealed everything but her two biggest secrets to the male vampire.

"Let me walk you home, sweets," Spike offered. He found himself very reluctant to leave the girl's presence.

"Shouldn't you get back to Dru?" Buffy hid the jealousy that still seethed below the surface. She decided that Spike really needed a friend right now.

"Yes, but I want to walk you home first," Spike answered.

~~~~~~~~~

Spike dragged the sniveling little man into the factory behind him. He had a feeling that Dru might not be too pleased with him. She preferred her food younger and more tender, but at three in the morning most of the nicest morsels were home in bed. The only human Spike could find had come out of the local high school while he chortled about how he was going to make 'that troublemaker Cassie Linnell' pay for her crimes. Spike recognized the Slayer's name from his conversation with Beth.

Spike entered Dru's bedchamber as he ignored the chanting going on in another part of the factory. He stood in the doorway as he watched his wicked ripe plum lifted one of her dolls and turned it to face the wall.

"Miss Edith speaks out of turn. She's a bad example, and will have no cakes today." She turned to Spike, and she put her finger to her lips. "Shh."

"You need to eat something, darling," Spike said. He walked up behind Dru, and he pushed the man he was dragging down on the floor.

"I'm not hungry," Dru said petulantly, "I miss Prague."

"You nearly died in Prague. Idiot mob. This is the place for us." Spike lead Dru to the bed. "The Hellmouth will restore you, put color in your cheeks, metaphorically speaking, and in a few week's time..."

Dru laid down on the bed, and interrupted Spike's speech, "The stars will align, and smile down on us."

"And then, this town will burn," Spike said. He put more conviction into his voice than he was feeling. Spike carefully erected mental wards against Dru's probes. She might not want him exclusively, but she got very jealous if he showed any interest in other women. Spike didn't want the crazy vampiress to find out about Beth.

"A pretty fire," Dru giggled, "Did you bring me a present, my dark prince?"

"Yes, luv." Spike jumped up, and he grabbed the man he brought with him, "I'm sorry he isn't the sweetest of morsels, but he knows the Slayer. I thought you might have a bit of fun findin' out what he knows."

"They're preparing," Dru said when she heard the chanting become louder. She kept her eyes on the weeping little man as she tried to get inside his mind to find out what would make him sing for her. Dru could feel that her Spike was hiding something from her, but she knew that she could sneak into his mind later while he was sleeping. His dreams were the window to his heart, and his defenses were lower when he was lost on that plane.

"St Vigeous is coming up. It should be a party," Spike said sarcastically. He moved to the doorway to check for eavesdroppers.

"You should go with them and cleanse." Dru glanced at Spike when he muttered her name. "The boy doesn't trust you. They follow him." Dru stood and glided towards the sniveling man.

"Alright, I'll go up and get chanty with the fellas, while you find out about the Slayer," Spike muttered, and he left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Can you believe that Principal Snyder didn't show up the past couple of days? He didn't even call in," the school secretary said in a confidential voice to Mrs. Chase as the two watched the principal speak to another parent.

Cassie and Willow looked at each other. They had wondered why Cassie hadn't been harassed the past few days, but they hadn't realized that he had been missing. Cassie knew Angel was in the library waiting for the Parent/Teacher Meeting to be over so they could go out on a date. She had figured that was the vampire signature she was feeling, but now she realized it was Principal Snyder.

"We need to get to the library for a you know what," Cassie whispered to Willow. The two girls backed away from the group, and when they had rounded the corner they ran for the library.

In the lounge area where the teachers and parents were congregated, two vampires crashed through a large picture window. They were followed by several more vampires who moved the humans into a circle. A bleached blonde, black clad vampire in full game face stepped into the room. Several of the parents screamed when Principal Snyder's face changed into that of a demon.

"This should be fun," the blond vamp growled. He addressed the principal, "Where's the Slayer?"

"She ran towards the library." Before the vamped principal could continue he turned to dust from a stake to the heart. The blond vamp looked in the direction that the stake was thrown from. Instead of being the Slayer like he expected, it was a small female figure clad in black.

"The Specter, I presume." Spike grinned when the girl nodded and then ran down the hallway into the darkness. She was taunting him to follow her. "Nobody gets out. Especially the girls." He turned to the minions. "You three find the Slayer, the rest of you take care of this lot. I have a Specter to find."

The three minions started down the hallway opposite the one that Spike was going down. The vampire chuckled to himself when he heard a young girl's voice cry out 'oh no, you don't', the sound of flesh being smacked, and the howl of one of the minions. It appeared that some of the students weren't as scared as he first thought.

Spike circled the school until he ran into the minions he had sent in search of the Slayer. It appeared that they were as unsuccessful as he had been in finding his quarry.

"We cut the power, Master Spike. Nobody got out," one of the vampire's informed Spike.

"And either of the two young ladies we're searching for?"

"We didn't pass anyone on the search for the library. Neither of them could have gotten by us," replied a second vampire.

"Well keep searching, pillocks," Spike snarled. He whirled and marched down the hallway that he just came down. He sing-songed on his way. "Specterrr! Here, kitty, kitttyy. Where are you hiding? Come out and play with me."

One of the vampires ran up behind Spike. He touched Spike on the shoulder, and then he pointed towards the ceiling. "Spike! Listen..." The two vampires listened and they heard some activity above them inside the panels.

"Someone's in the ceiling," Spike continued to sing-song his words. He heard movement behind the door to the right of him and the other vampire. Spike nodded towards the door, and the other vampire threw himself at it in an attempt to knock it down. Spike heaved a sigh when the minion bounced off the door. Why didn't anyone make decent minions anymore?

"Use your head," Spike growled. He grabbed the minion, and he shoved its head into the fire emergency case. Spike pulled an axe out. He thrust it into the minion's hands, and then he shoved the other vampire towards the door. Spike swaggered down the hallway where he passed two other minions pounding on another door. "You. Come with me!"

Spike and the two minions made it back to the lounge area. He wasn't surprised to find several piles of dust, because he really had no confidence in the Anointed One's minions. They were stupid beyond compare. Spike stopped to listen. He smirked when he heard scratching around in the ceiling again. He found some nearby metal poles. Spike took one for himself, and he threw another to one of the minions. He paused for a minute before he poked the pole through the ceiling. When the minion saw what Spike was doing he did the same thing.

Spike continued to poke the ceiling a few more times, but he had a feeling that whoever had been up there was gone. He suddenly stopped when he felt a familiar tingle on the back of his neck. Spike turned and saw Angelus holding one of the Slayer's little friends.

"Angelus!" Spike announced happily. Oh, this was going to be good.

"Spike! I didn't know you were in town," Angel declared. He was stunned at this discovery. Usually the brash vampire announced himself to the Slayer right away and issued a death threat.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Spike tossed his pole aside, and he greeted the elder vampire with a hug. He snickered to himself when he realized the ensouled vampire was trying to play him for a fool. Spike silently thanked Beth for all of her information the other night at the Bronze. He wondered what time she got off, and if he would have time to walk her home before he had to get back to the factory.

"I taught you to always guard your perimeter," Angel said, "You should have someone out there." Angel gestured to the outside of the building.

"I did." Spike sniffed in disgust. "I'm surrounded by idiots. So, what's new with you?"

"Everything," Angel answered. He tightened his grip around Xander's neck and the boy squeaked in pain.

"Oh yeah? Come up against this Slayer yet?" Spike questioned, "How about that Specter bint?"

"Slayer's cute. Not too bright, though," Angel replied laughingly, "Gave the puppy dog 'I'm all tortured' act. Keeps her off my back while I feed. Now, the Specter, I keep out of her way. I hear she's a demon."

"People still fall for that Anne Rice routine. What a world!" Spike chortled. He glanced down at the fuming boy who muttered something about lying vampires. Spike raised an eyebrow as the boy continued to insult the vampire holding him even though his death might very well be in the next few seconds. The vampire felt a grudging respect for the human. Oh great, knowing Beth is going to be the death of me.

"Why don't you let the boy go, and we'll go find something a little more ... soft to eat?"

Growling from the nearby darkened hallway caused all three males to turn to search the blackness. Their eyes opened wide when the petite black clad figure of the Specter glided into the light.

"Come play with me, Spikey," The Specter growled, "I'm so much more fun then those two." She melted back into the darkness.

"Oh luv, I just bet you are," Spike growled. He turned back to Angelus and the Slayer's friend. "Specter wants to play."

"You understood her?" Xander asked. He was still staring at the dark hallway. That had been the closest he had ever been to the Specter.

"Didn't you?" Spike watched as the other two shook their heads. "Well, tata, gents. I'm off in search of a Specter to have fun with." He bounced off into the darkened hallway leaving the other two behind.

"You know a lot about this Spike guy, don't you?" Xander asked, "Why did he understand that chick and we didn't?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike moved down the hallway trying to figure out where the Specter went when he felt her presence behind him. "Fe, fi, fo fum. I smell the blood of a nice ripe girl." Spike whirled around to see the Specter standing in a doorway carrying the axe his minion had used before.

"Do we really need weapons for this?" The Specter asked, and she indicated the axe she was holding.

"I just like them. They make me feel all manly." Spike slid his hand up and down his chest. "Came here to fight the Slayer and found something much more interesting to play with."

The Specter wondered how the vampire could understand her. She knew they had connected the other night as vampires, but this was totally unexpected. The Slayer part of Beth was starting to like the boastful blond vampire. Here might be a worthy opponent.

The two superbeings threw themselves at each other. They exchanged a few blows before Spike realized that the girl really was just playing with him. She wasn't trying to kill him, if anything he would say that she was sparring with him. Spike ducked a punch and got in one of his own. When he went to smack her a second time, she ducked much like he had, and landed four quick thrusts of her own to his nose. Spike grabbed her arm, and he shoved her into the wall. His fist went through the wall when she slid down the wall. Voices coming from the hallway caused Spike and the Specter to jump apart.

"Till next time?" The Specter asked. She inched away from the vampire, and she kept her eye on the hallway where the voices came from.

"Nice workout, luv. Oh," Spike tried to catch the Specter's attention before she disappeared. He liked sparring with her, but he also like his vampiress friend. "There's a cute little vampiress about your size working at the Bronze. She's my friend. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't bother her. She's not harming the populace." Spike smiles.

"Till next time," the Specter responded. Then, the two black clad figures ran down opposite hallways away from each other.

"Are you sure they came this way, Xander?" Cassie asked. She searched the hallway for any sign of the two combatants.

"Yes, they came this way," Xander muttered snarkily, "Yes, I'm sure that Angel knows this Spike. Yes, this Spike understood the Specter. Maybe you should get Giles on the research right away!"

"Yeah, sounds good."

~~~~~~~~~~

Spike stood outside the backdoor of the Bronze, and he smoked another cigarette. After the fight with the Specter, he had gone back to the factory, destroyed the Annoying One and had settled Dru in for the night before coming to the nightclub to find Beth. Spike knew that his actions were crazy. He should be home cuddled up with Dru, but instead he was waiting to walk another woman home. It had been so long since anyone had listened to him like his words mattered that he found himself unable to keep away from the girl.

Beth stood in the doorway and studied the blond vampire. The fight earlier as the Specter with Spike made the Slayer inside Beth go wild. All three parts of Beth clamored for the master vampire, and she had to tell herself that patience was a virtue. He was still totally enamored with his Sire or so she thought. She would bide her time until they were both ready.

"Hey Spike," Beth called out a greeting.

Chapter 3

While Cassie rescued Xander from his second demon date, Beth introduced Spike to Clem. She sent the two male demons off to a kitten poker game together. She was glad Clem was easygoing. Clem didn't take offense from anything the sardonic master vampire said.

While Cassie and Cordelia fought against being sacrificed to a big snake, Beth was trying desperately to decide what kind of costume to wear to work on Halloween. She was glad to see advertisements for a new store called Ethan's. It was going to open the next week, just in time for the holiday.

~~~~~~~~

The Specter landed flat on her back on the top of a lit candle. She rolled off before she could go up in flames, since she was so much more flammable now. The Specter looked at the vampire that had just tossed her, and she saw that he was coming towards her. She grabbed a nearby pumpkin, and she tossed it at the vampire, momentarily stunning him. The Specter hopped to her feet. She grabbed her last stake, and she flung it towards the vampire.

The vamp saw the stake coming his way. So, he grabbed a nearby scarecrow to block the flying piece of wood. Then the vamp shoved the scarecrow away, and he launched himself at the Specter in the hopes that now that she was stakeless he had an advantage.

Neither one of the combatants noticed a minion nearby videotaping their every move. The minion moved closer to get a better view. He watched as the Specter continued to pummel the other vampire, even without her stakes. The low battery light came on, and the minion shook it till it started to work right.

In a few minutes, the Specter was knocked into a haywagon. She held onto the side of the wagon, and she kicked out catching the vampire in the head. The Specter tightened her hold on the wagon. When the vamp tried to rise up off the ground, she grabbed his head in a scissor hold between her legs. She flipped him to the ground, and she searched around for her stake. When she didn't see it anywhere, she settled for a nearby sign. The Specter grabbed the sign, and she jammed the sign down into the vampire's chest.

The minion videotaping the scene watched as the Specter appeared to sniff the air. He didn't realize that the creature in front of him could smell him.

The Specter could smell that the minion had been with Spike lately. She wondered just what the master vampire was up to sending a minion to spy on her. Maybe I might have to have a talk with Spike about that somehow, she thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beth slipped into the costume shop just after dark. She noticed Cassie and Willow as they admired an old-fashioned ball gown. Beth gasped when someone bumped into her. She looked up and discovered it was the Slayer's friend, Xander.

"Hey, sorry," Xander said. He looked down into the face of the girl he bumped into, and recognition passed through his eyes. "You work at the Bronze, don't you?"

"Yeah," Beth answered quietly. "Hafta work. I need a costume. You should get back to your friends." She turned to the nearby costumes, and she started to look at them closely.

Xander raised an eyebrow at the strange girl, but then went back to his friends. He promptly forgot about Beth, because, hey, she wasn't the strangest thing he had ever witnessed in Sunnydale.

After the teenager left, costumes in hand, the proprietor turned his attention to his last customer of the day. Ethan nearly gasped in surprise as he realized who and what she was. This was not good. This was the one creature that could really mess things up for him. Ethan had the feeling that his old good friend Ripper had no idea what lurked in the midst of this quiet little town.

"Hello, miss. Can I be of service?" Ethan asked politely. He gulped when the girl turned her bright green eyes on him, and he worried that she would see right through him. His little plan for Chaos depended greatly on no one realizing he was here.

"I have to work, and I need a costume," Beth said. She continued to study the variety of costumes. This was such a hard decision to make. She knew it couldn't be to risque, but she wanted something cool. She tried to ignore the dark vibes that she felt emanating from the shopkeeper.

"I have the perfect costume for you." Ethan walked over to one of the racks, and he pulled out a little girl costume. "Your hair is already perfect. All you need is some Mary Janes and a dress."

Beth looked at the costume, and she desperately wished she could check herself out in the mirror. She nibbled on her lip as she debated with herself.

"I'll even give you a discount since it's the last sale of the day," Ethan offered. He really wanted to make sure this girl took this costume. It would do him no good having a powerful being running around to muck up his fun.

"Okay. I'll take it." Beth nodded. She laid her money on the counter, and she took the bag from Ethan. "Thanks for your help." Right before she left the shop, she turned back tosay something to Ethan, "You could be a nice man if you wanted to be." She rushed out the door leaving a perplexed Ethan Rayne behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike watched the video of the Specter fighting. He had so many things on his mind, and not one of them was the Slayer that he had come to town to kill. Spike wanted to fight the Specter and coddle Beth the girl almost as much as he needed blood to live. The one time he had seen Beth in game face, it had taken all of his control not to jump the girl. He was terrified of his own reactions to the vampiress, and he strove to hide it all from his insane and jealous Sire.

"God, she's tricky. Baby really likes to play," Spike muttered. He rewound the tape to watch where the Specter staked the vamp she was fighting with the signpost.

"Miss Edith needs her tea." Dru's voice called from the other room. Spike hastily turned off the VCR and television. No one knew of the tape he had made of the Specter since he dusted the minion who had made it for him.

"Coming, poodle," Spike replied. He sauntered to the other room where he found Dru making the minions have a tea party with the dolls. Spike had no idea that he didn't need to hide his obsession with the Specter and Beth from his Sire. Dru had seen the coming of the dual natured female into his life many years before in a vision.

"Do you love my insides, my Spike?" Dru asked dreamily, "The parts you can't see?" She knew she was losing Spike. It was only a matter of time before he understood the truth, but that didn't mean she had to share him too much any time before then. On the other hand, Dru didn't want her dark prince to hurt anymore than necessary.

"Eyeballs to entrails, my sweet," Spike replied, "That's why I'm trying so hard to find a cure for you. Soon you will have your run of Sunnyhell, and you'll get strong again."

"Don't worry. Everything's switching. Outside to inside." Dru leaned in to blow on Spike's neck. "Better hurry, my prince. It will make your Moonlight weak and vulnerable. You will be with your Moonlight, my Spike, just not yet." Dru danced over to her dolls. "I'll let you know when it's time. She needs time to glow and glisten. To become ... effulgent."

"Really?" Spike asked suspiciously. From past experiences he knew Dru might just be playing with him, but he was intrigued by what she was saying. "Did my pet have a vision?"

"Do you know what I miss? Leeches." Dru ignored how Spike still called her his pet even though she knew the truth of things.

"Come on, talk to Spike. This thing that makes my Moonlight weak? What is it?" Spike suddenly felt worried. If Beth was in danger, he really wanted to know about it. He knew the feisty little vampiress could protect herself, but something about Dru's warning told him that Beth wouldn't be able to fight the events coming.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's Halloween. Nothing is supposed to happen on Halloween, Dru. It's the one night demons take off," Spike growled.

"Someone's come to change it all. Someone new," Dru crooned. "Someone who's not a demon."

~~~~~~~~

The next night, Spike left the factory and hurried towards The Bronze. He knew Beth was supposed to work that evening until closing, but Dru had assured him that if he wasn't there to watch over her that his Moonlight would be hurt.

Spike strolled into The Bronze, and he was pleasantly surprised to find Beth already in costume and working. Her cute little girl outfit made her look innocent and sexy at the same time. Spike smirked at her when she gave him a little girlie wave while she skipped over to Jack the bartender. In a few minutes she skipped back over to him.

"Hi, Daddy," Beth said in a little girl voice, "Can I sit on your knee?" She didn't wait for him to answer, and she sat down primly on his leg. Beth looked at him shyly from under her eyelashes, and said, "I have no clue where that came from."

"Neither do I, pet, but it's ... bloody adorable," Spike replied. He snaked an arm around the girl to pull her closer to him. "Come tell Daddy about your day," he snarled near Beth's ear.

Across town in back room of the costume shop, Ethan went through the curtains, and he kneeled in front of the statue of Janus. He pressed his hands together. Ethan winced in pain, and when he opened his hands, there were freely bleeding wounds on his palms.

"The world that denies thee, thou inhabit." Ethan daubed the blood on his left hand, and he smeared it over his right eyelid.

"The peace that ignores thee." Then Ethan daubed the blood on his right hand, and he smeared this blood over his left eyelid. "Thou corrupt."

Ethan daubed the blood from the palm of his left hand again, and he smeared a cross onto his forehead. "Chaos. I remain, as ever, thy faithful, degenerate son. Janus, I invoke your spirit. Hear my plea. Seize the night for your own reason. Come, appear and show to us that which is infinite power.

At The Bronze, Spike watched in horror as the young woman on his lap shrunk until she was once again the size of a little girl. He hugged her closer as she clutched at him in terror. "Shh, it's okay, pet. I've got you."

Beth looked around the nightclub, and she wondered where she was. She looked up into the nicest blue eyes she had ever seen. Not even her best dolly, Suzy, had eyes as pretty as this man. "My name's Beffy. What's yours? Are you a stranger? Where's my mommy?"

Spike chuckled. Beth had babbled to him on a couple of occasions, and he was happy to see it was something that she had always done. "M'name's Spike. No, 'm not a stranger, 'm your friend. Your mommy's busy, and 'm watching you for awhile. Is that okay?"

"Yes, sir," Buffy murmured. She really liked Spike's accent. It gave her funny shivers up and down her spine. "Can we have some I scream?"

"Of course, we can, sweetness," Spike said. He noticed the bartender looking at them strangely. Spike got up, and he carried Beth over to the bar. "So Jack, how long you lived here in good ole Sunnyhell?"

The woman bartender looked the vampire up and down carefully, "Long enough to have seen some very strange things. I'm under the impression that our Miss Beth isn't quite herself this evening." The bartender's eyes lit on the little girl in the vampire's arms.

"No, the little bit isn't herself. She wants a bite of ice cream." Spike snuggled the little girl closer to him. She clung to him so willingly that the vampire actually felt guilt for the little ones he had helped kill over the last century. "She's my friend. 'm not goin' to hurt her. We'll be back when she's feeling like herself."

Jack watched as the master vampire left the nightclub with the little girl attached to him. She shook her head. She decided that the sight was probably one of the oddest things she had ever witnessed, but she could see the caring in the vampire's eyes as he watched both the little version of Beth and the grown up version of Beth. Jack wondered if Beth noticed it, too.

Spike strolled down the street admiring the chaos. He could see why Dru had been worried about Beth. A sweet little girl wandering the street with all these demons around would be munched on in a matter of minutes. Two blocks from the ice cream store, Spike realized the Slayer was across the street struggling with a pirate.

"Spike, that girl needs help," Beth whispered.

Spike sighed. He just knew this might get him smacked around at some point in the evening, but he was unable to resist the pint sized version of Beth any more than he could the adult version. Spike crossed the street towards the struggling pair, deftly sidestepping demons as he went. He flashed some fang at the pirate, but put the fangs away before the Slayer turned towards him.

"Kind sir, thank you for helping me," Cassie cried. She wrung her hands in front of her. Cassie looked around as she tried to figure out where she was.

"Only helped you because my Nibblet here asked me to. Ta." Spike started down the street towards the ice cream shop. He heard the Slayer stumble along behind him.

"Don't leave me, please. I saw a demon, and I'm scared," Cassie cried. She tried to keep up with the long strides of her rescuer.

"Don't leave her, Spike." Beth admonished her friend with a slap on his shoulder. "That's not nice." She smiled and clapped when he sighed and slowed down.

The man behind the counter of the ice cream shop watched as the unlikely trio entered. The man had bleached hair, a pale complexion, and was clad almost entirely in black. He carried a little girl dressed in a white dress, black Mary Janes, and she carried a doll. The pair was accompanied by a dark haired girl wearing a pinkish ball gown.

"What kind do you want, sweets?" the man asked the little girl. He took her along the glass enclosure so she could see all the different flavors.

"I want that chocolate one with the nuts and marshmallows, Spike," the little girl answered. She pointed to one of the tubs.

"We'll take three," Spike ordered. He dug around in the pocket of his duster. Spike slapped some money down on the counter to cover the sweet treat. Normally he would have flashed some fang at the counter help and just taken the ice cream, but he didn't want to scare little girl Beth. Spike put the little girl down. "Take the Slayer and find us a spot to sit, sweets."

"Okay," Beth agreed. She wasn't sure what a Slayer was, but she wasn't worried about it. The innocence of a child overrode any fears Beth had of the Slayer as an adult vampiress. She grabbed Cassie's hand and dragged the older girl over to one of the booths. "Spike sits next to me," the little girl practically growled. "He's mine."

The amnesiac Slayer stared at the possessive little girl. "Of course he is, dear. I wouldn't think of sitting next to him." She looked up at Spike, who was on his way back from the counter. "Even though he rescued me, he certainly looks like a ruffian."

"Are you ladies all settled?" Spike asked. He had heard Beth growl her possession at the Slayer, and the vampire would have thought it was hilarious if hadn't been for the fact that he wished that the grownup Beth felt the same way.

The little girl Beth beamed up at Spike in adoration. She extended her hands for her bowl of ice cream with unmasked joy.

Maybe she growled because inside her mind she knows me as hers as an adult, too Spike put the ice cream down on the table. He slid into the bench seat next to Beth.

"There are demons out there," Cassie whispered when she peered out the window into the darkness. "I saw one up close. He scared me." She shivered at the memory of Angel in his vampiric face.

"Spike'll protec' you," Beth mumbled around her spoon. She smiled up at the vampire. Her little heart showed in her big green eyes.

"There was a ghost and a strange man who was waving around a musket of some kind at this other place too," Cassie continued on. She daintily ate her ice cream in a ladylike fashion.

Suddenly Beth was full grown again, and the Slayer looked around the ice cream shop wildly. Both girls stared at Spike who calmly continued to eat his ice cream. He looked up at them, and he shrugged his shoulders. "No clue either," he answered before they could ask the question.

Beth and Cassie sat quietly for another minute or two while they contemplated what to do. They each finished their ice cream in silence.

"Well, that was interesting," Spike drawled. "All set, gals? I paid cash for it." He finished his ice cream, and he sprawled in his seat.

"I'm supposed to be at work, Spike." Beth poked the vampire in the shoulder. She couldn't believe she was sitting at a table with the Slayer. Beth was very nervous. She'd been careful to avoid the Slayer as much as possible. Now she waited for the Slayer to realize she was sitting with two vampire.

"Told the bartender I would have you back when you felt more yourself," Spike replied, "Then, you made me rescue the Slayer here." Spike stood up, and he offered his hand to Beth. He smiled down at her when she took it.

"But..." Cassie started to speak. Before she could form a coherent sentence, Spike and Beth had left the ice cream shop. A very confused Slayer slumped in the booth wondering what else the Hellmouth was going to throw her way.

Chapter 4

"Hey, Jack," Beth said in a friendly voice, "Spike's here for my lunch break." She nodded towards the table where the two vampires regularly met.

"When are you going to tell that boy how you feel about him?" Jack asked. She poured a Diet Coke for Beth and a whiskey for Spike.

"That boy is over 120 years old," Buffy giggled, "Besides, he's not ready to leave his Sire yet. I'll tell him when the time is right." She picked up the drinks, and she strolled over to the table where Spike was waiting for her. Jack was one of the few good friends that Beth had now, and she was glad that her friend was trying to look out for her without too much pressure.

"Hey, luv." Spike lifted his hand in greeting.

"What happened to you?" Beth cried. She knew what had happened to the vampire. She, as the Specter, and the vampire had crossed paths the night before. "Does it hurt very much?"

Spike lifted his hand to his bruise. "Nah, it's a badge of honor to play with the Specter. We're not trying to hurt each other or anything."

"You're not scared she'll dust you?" Buffy sat down, and she handed Spike his drink. She knew she had no desire to kill the blond vampire, but she was terribly curious if he knew it, too.

"Not really," Spike answered, "I think the little bint enjoys beating me up too much to dust me."

"I saw Angel meeting with a dark haired vampiress on my way to work," Beth murmured to quickly change the subject before she said too much. Every time she was with Spike, she wanted to tell him that she was the Specter. "He didn't see me, but she looked in my direction. The Slayer saw it, too, and I don't think she was too happy about it." She motioned her head towards the Slayer and her friends as they bounced around the dance floor. Beth missed the wince and hurt look in the vampire's face.

Spike knew something was up between his Sire and his grandsire, and the male vampire was terrified to find out what it was. He hoped that the elder male vampire hadn't noticed his interest in Beth. Angelus was a cruel fuck, and he would take great pleasure in breaking the young girl. Spike knew he would dust before he let that happen.

"Luv, listen to me." Spike grabbed Beth's hand. "Be careful of Angel. Dru says something is going to happen soon that will change everything." Spike suddenly looked at the door of the nightclub, and he growled.

"What?" Beth swung around to look at the door behind her. She paled and that's saying a lot considering she was a vampire.

"That little pillock showed up today at the factory," Spike hissed, "Said he could deliver the Slayer for a price." Then he caught a glimpse of Beth's face. "What's up, sweets?"

"I knew him. Before I was turned," Beth whispered, and she scooted closer to Spike. "His name's Ford, and he thinks I'm dead."

"Bloody Hell. Damned good thing, too, Beth," Spike growled, "He wants me to turn him into a vampire as his price."

Beth looked at the master vampire in aghast. "He wants to be a vampire?" She turned to watch her old friend greet Cassie and the other teenagers. "You taking him up on his offer?" Although she was making a life for herself as a vampire, it wasn't her first choice of career paths. She couldn't imagine someone willingly asking to be turned.

"Not sure. The git puts off a weird vibe." Spike watched the group of teenagers and Angel interact with Ford. "Dru wasn't too pleased when he showed up at the factory. She bitched that if the Slayer's dead, her Daddy can't come back and make with the happy families."

"What are you planning on doing, Spike?" Beth asked in a worried voice. If Spike got in the Slayer's way, he might get hurt. She didn't want harm to come to her best friend in the whole world.

"Just gonna tail the git when he leaves here to see what he's up to. Later, I'm breaking into the Watcher's library. He's got a manuscript I need," Spike said. He dug his Zippo lighter out of his pocket and fiddled around with it.

Beth glanced at the clock, and she jumped to her feet. "I gotta get back to work. Please be careful." She took her glass with her back to the bar. She mentally made a note to keep an eye on Spike, or at the Specter would keep an eye on Spike.

Cassie noticed the blond vampire eyeing the group's newly found 'friend'. The Slayer found that highly suspicious, and on the premise of getting herself another soda passed Spike's table. On the way back she dropped her napkin on the floor. Cassie squatted to pick it up.

"Don't like our new friend?" Cassie asked casually.

"Not really, Slayer," Spike muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "Wants to make a deal with me. Immortality for your life."

"I'm surprised you told me so quickly," Cassie said. She stood up, and she pretended to offer Spike another napkin.

"Beth would expect it of me." Spike jerked his head towards the bar where Beth was standing watching the pair.

Cassie turned to look at the other girl. "You are an evil, soulless vampire. I know this because we read up on you, and yet a sweet little thing like that has you eating out of the palm of her hand. It's sickening." Cassie's voice took on a teasing quality.

"I came to see how you move, Slayer. I found her instead," Spike muttered. He glanced over at the Slayer's group. "You better toddle along before the boy gets suspicious."

In a few minutes, Ford left the nightclub totally oblivious of the vampire tailing him. Beth breathed a sigh of relief when her old friend left. She wondered what would have happened if she had been still alive as the Slayer when Ford showed up. Beth had the feeling that Spike and she would be mortal enemies instead of friends. For the first time, since she had come to Sunnydale, she was grateful for her vampiric status. Beth used her vamp hearing to listen in to Cassie's conversation while she told her friends and Angel what Spike had said to her.

Angel didn't seem to want to believe Spike, but Cassie reminded him that Spike saved her during Halloween. She pointed out that even if he was evil and soulless, he had no reason to lie to her about Ford.

When Beth got off of work, Spike was waiting for her at the back door. He walked her home in silence as he chained smoked several cigarettes. When they got to the door of Beth's warehouse apartment, Spike gave her hand a quick squeeze.

Beth looked up at him expectantly. She could tell he had something on his mind. She waited patiently for him to start speaking.

"The soddin' git has himself a little vampire cult," Spike growled, "They have this whole thing about 'the Lonely Ones' and new levels of consciousness. These idiots wouldn't even make good minions." He rolled his yes.

"What are you planning on doing, Spike?" Buffy asked in a sad little voice. She knew sooner or later his nature would go against hers. Beth was terribly saddened by this. All parts of her were slowly falling in love with Spike. Beth the girl loved William the poet that he only let out in private. Beth the vampire loved Spike the demon that got growly and possessive on occasion. Beth the Slayer loved the fighter that he showed her alter ego, the Specter, who loved to 'dance' with the blond vampire.

"Bloody Hell, Beth." Spike raked his hand through his hair. "Vamping the little fucker would mean killing him, and I haven't actively killed anyone since I meet you. Not even an all-you-can-eat moron bar strikes my fancy." Spike's undead heart hurt when he heard Beth's voice. He had no idea what made this vampiress different from all the others.

Beth's eyes widened in surprise. Did he just say what I think he said?

Spike knew he should be sickened by a vampire willing to get a job and drink pig's blood rather than hunt and feed. He knew that he should be debauching the younger vampire, but her innocence made her all the more charming to know. He didn't want to do anything that would change her inherent faith in him.

"Oh," Beth spoke softly in amazement over Spike's revelation.

"Yeah. Oh. Ya silly bint," Spike snarked, "You're my first friend ever, and I don't want to hurt your feelings." He sighed. "Now I have to go get the book from the high school. Will I see you tomorrow?"

Beth nodded shyly, and she reached up to kiss Spike's cheek. She ran inside where she quickly stripped down to her underwear. Beth opened the secret panel in her bedroom, and she removed her black Specter garb. She had a date with her vampire at the high school. Beth swiftly switched into her Slayer game face, and she took a look at her clothing in the mirror.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Specter stood in the upper stacks of the library watching her vampire sort through the Watcher's books. He was in game face so he could see the books better. The Specter watched him for a few minutes. She wished she could reveal her true identity to him, but she was so unsure of how he would react.

"Come on out, luv," Spike called out, "I can feel you there, Specter." He continued to shuffle through the books. Spike smiled to himself when the black figure melted out of the shadows and stood in the moonlight that filtered in from the skylight.

"Stealing is a bad habit. I don't think your little friend from The Bronze likes it," The Specter said in a voice harsher than her usual tones. She still didn't understand how the blond vampire knew what she was saying.

Spike's head popped up, and he turned to look at the Specter almost shyly. "Probably not." He shrugged. "It's hard to curb a century of tendencies in a few short weeks. I've already given up doing a lot of things."

"Are we going to fight tonight, Spikey?" The Specter asked. She hopped up on the research table, and she swung her legs back and forth.

"I don't think so, pet. Got a lot on my mind," Spike answered honestly but with a little bit of resignation. He enjoyed 'dancing' with the Specter He finally found the manuscript he was looking for, and he tucked it under his arm. "'ve got a vampire cult trying to sell me the Slayer. If I don't go in with the minions and scare 'em half to death, they'll just pick someone else to vamp them."

"Why are you so worried?" The Specter asked. She loved being able to ask him the quesitons. She was scared to ask him certain questions as Beth.

"Beth says she knew that bloody git, Ford, before she moved here to Sunnyhell," Spike revealed, "I worry that he won't be very nice to her if he finds her here. Believe it or not, I admire the Slayer. She didn't scream bloody murder when she found herself sitting with me when that Halloween spell wore off."

"When did the 'git' tell you he was delivering the Slayer to you?" The Specter demanded.

"Tomorrow after dark at the Sunset Club," Spike replied, "He's going to lure her there, and then 'm suppose to show up with the minions."

"Go ahead and show up with them." Beth smiled. "We'll plan a bit of a surprise for them."

~~~~~~~~~

Spike gathered the minions for a pep talk on the plan to attack the vampire club, "Alright, people, the Specter and the Slayer are going to be at this little event. You idiots are to scare the morons." Spike sighed when none of the minions realized he had just insulted them. The only decent minion among the bunch was Dalton, who was busy trying to decipher the manuscript Spike had stolen from the Watcher.

"We can't feed on the humans?" asked a pock marked minion.

"Isn't that what I just implied?" Spike rolled his eyes. "You're welcome to feed, but the Slayer or the Specter is going to dust your sorry ass."

"So, we can't feed on the humans?" asked a second minion.

"God God." Spike slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead. "NO! YOU CAN'T FEED ON THE HUMANS!" Spike screamed. He turned to his Sire. "Dru, pet, we're surrounded by idiots and morons. The minions are idiots, and the morons want to be idiots."

"I want a treat, my Spike," Dru said dreamily, "I need a treat." Dru knew that Spike's Moonlight and the Specter were one in the same. She could see the connections swimming around in his head like burning baby fishes. She knew Spike would realize it sooner or later. Dru wanted to meet the sunshine that danced beneath the moon to make sure she would treat her Spike in the manner that he deserved.

"And a special one you'll have then." Spike took his car keys out of his duster pocket and held them up in the air. "Lucius! Bring the car around."

~~~~~~~~~

Cassie walked along with Ford. She casually chatted with the boy, even though she knew she was walking into a trap. She realized the boy hadn't even noticed her friends trailing them by about a block or the black clad figure pacing them along the rooftops.

"So, no hints on what this surprise is, Ford?" Cassie flirted outrageously with the boy. In a different situation she might have found him attractive, but research had shown her group that he was using the vamp groupies to further his own goal.

"It's a secret. Otherwise it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it, Cassie?" Ford rolled his eyes at the apparently naive Slayer. He was concentrating so hard on his reward that his attention narrowed to getting Cassie to the Club. The pains in his head were getting worse every day. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on without going insane.

"Ah, here we are. I've set up a party for us." Ford gestured towards the Sunset Club entrance. He hurried over to open the door for Cassie. Ford did a small bow, and he made a sweeping gesture with one hand.

Cassie raised an eyebrow, but she entered the Club ahead of Ford. She looked over the assembled group. Cassie began to laugh. She just couldn't help herself. The vampire groupies were so pathetic in her opinion. They dressed up goth-like in what they supposed that vampires dressed like. Hell, the only vamp Cassie had ever met that dressed all in black was Spike, and at least he had the panache to carry it off.

"Why is she laughing at us?" one of the boys demanded.

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?" Cassie scoffed, "Most vamps don't dress like this." Cassie gestured to the group.

"Ford told us what Spike likes. So, we dressed to please him when he changes us," the blond girl spluttered.

"You tell her, Chantrelle," yelled one of the girls from the back of the room.

"Oh Chanty, you guys obviously haven't studied William the Bloody very well," Cassie said snarkily, "Otherwise you would know his little girl friend at the Bronze dresses just like me."

"That's enough talk," Ford growled, "Down the stairs." Ford pushed the Slayer down the stairs where she landed in a heap at the bottom.

Outside, Spike, Dru and the minions had arrived. They poured out of Spike's Desoto, and they stood staring at the club entrance.

"Remember what I said, idiots. You're only to scare the morons," Spike growled. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dru gracefully dancing towards Angel. Spike sighed as he watched his Sire flirt heavily with his Grandsire, and then he turned to the Slayer's friends. "Watcher, Red, Whelp, glad to see you could make it."

"Right behind you, Spike," Willow said bravely. This was the first time she had been up close to the master vampire. She was surprised at how human he appeared. If she saw him walking down the street like this, she would have just thought he was a punk rocker not a undead creature of the night.

"What if your minions try and kill the people inside?" Giles asked.

Spike shrugged his shoulders and said coldly, "Dust 'em." He whirled around, and he and the minions marched towards the club door. Spike stopped in his tracks when he heard the Watcher's voice again.

"Why are you doing this?" Giles asked. His curiosity got the better of him. Giles found it fascinating that a soulless vampire was going against its own nature.

"Why does a man do most of the things he does, Watcher? For her. To be hers," Spike answered. He continued to the door, and he opened it with a bang that echoed off down the street. "Come on, people. This isn't a spectator sport."

Giles watched as the master vampire and his minions descended into the club. He glanced over at Angel, and he saw that the ensouled vampire was going to be no help whatsoever. Giles gestured to Willow and Xander to follow him when a black clad figure leapt off the top of a nearby building and landed gracefully on the ground next to him. "The Specter, I presume?"

The Specter answered him in her harsh, lilting voice, but Giles had no clue what the girl said. The Scoobies, even with all their research, still had no clue what language the Specter spoke. It baffled them why Spike, of all creatures, apparently understood her. Giles was surprised when the female vampire that had arrived with Spike broke away from Angel, and she approached the Specter.

"I can see why my Spike likes to dance with you," Dru murmured, "You have fire and ice running through your veins. You think you know what's to come and what you are. You haven't even begun." Dru drifted back to Angel, and she acted as she was going to fall making him catch her. "Come Daddy. We must let Spike and his friends play their little game. We can go and play one of our own someplace else."

The Specter watched the two vampires for a few minutes before turning her attention back to the Watcher. That was when Giles noticed two things; the Specter was small, even more petite than Cassie if that was possible and the Specter's eyes glowed gold in the darkness. If Giles didn't know better he would say she was a vampire, but he knew of no records of vamps with glowing eyes.

The Specter spoke and made a gesture that Giles could only take as meaning 'after you.' Giles, Willow, Xander and the Specter walked into the Sunset Club and utter chaos. Cassie was screaming insults at Ford, the minions were terrorizing the humans, and Spike had his fangs in the neck of a pretty young blond.

Spike dropped the girl as soon as he saw the Specter, and much to the amazement of the others, he apologized. "'m sorry, luv. She threw herself at me, and I just wanted to give her a scare. Wasn't gonna drain her."

"You couldn't have scared her without the use of your fangs, Spikey?" The Specter asked. She stared at the sobbing girl at Spike's feet. Her head popped up and her eyes narrowed. "Do you want to fuck her?"

"What?" Spike's jaw dropped in astonishment. If he didn't know better he would say the Specter was jealous. "No, I don't want to shag the bint."

"What's shag?" Willow whispered. Everyone else in the room stopped to watch the vampire argue with the black clad girl. They weren't sure what the Specter was saying, but they had a pretty good idea what the girl just accused the vampire of doing.

"Shag, fuck, screw, boink, bang," Spike spat out, "Take your pick." He turned his attention back to the Specter. "Why would I want to shag an annoying little human?"

"You could vamp her." The Specter practically shook with the jealousy she felt towards the blond on the floor. Spike's fangs belonged nowhere but in her neck. She growled harder.

"Then she would be an annoying little vamp, and I still wouldn't shag her." Spike crossed the room until he and the Specter were standing toe to toe, nose to nose, and he lowered his voice to a whisper, "Why would I want anything to do with her when I have you and Beth?"

The Specter gasped in surprise. She was suddenly terrified that he knew her secret identity. The Specter turned, and she ran out of the club so fast that it appeared to the others that she had disappeared into thin air.

"Well, that was fun," Spike sighed, "So Watcher, Slayer, what do you want done with these morons?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Spike knocked on the door of Beth's apartment. When she opened it, he smiled down into her sweet face. He was glad he hadn't really done anything more than bite the blonde bint. The shagging argument with the Specter had been a bit unsettling but nothing he couldn't handle. Both he and Cassie had told the traitor Ford to leave town. He was warned that if either of them ever saw him again he would be dust. Spike had the feeling the boy would find some stupid vampire willing to sire him.

"How did the raid go?" Beth asked once the couple had settled on her couch. She tried to act nonchalant even though her stomach churned in confusion and worry over her identity and Spike's previous comments to the Specter.

Chapter 5

While Cassie and Giles battled against Ethan and Jenny/Eyghon, Beth had a little get together with Spike, Clem and Jack. The four of them talked and laughed for hours as Beth tried to learn the complicated world of poker. Jack couldn't play the game much better than Beth, but the four of them had a lot of fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike glanced between Dalton and Dru. Dalton transcribed the words out of the manuscript stolen from the Watcher with a frown on his face. The words made absolutely no sense, and the minion was a bit scared of Spike's temper. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. Dru laid out her tarot cards on the table with a frown on her face. The cards told her that Daddy was going to come soon, and then leave her again. This made the insane vampiress whimper.

"What's wrong, poodle?" Spike asked. Dru had become more and more obsessed with Angel as the days passed, and Spike had no idea what to do for his Sire. He sat down in the other chair at the table she was sitting at.

"The cards mock me," Dru cried. She swept the cards onto the floor, and she gripped her hair in her hands. "The pixies mock me, and Miss Edith mocks me."

Spike carefully extracted Dru's hands from her hair. "Tell me what you see, luv. Maybe we can figure it out together."

"The cards tell me that Daddy will come back, and the town will bleed. Hell shall be on Earth," Dru moaned, "The pixies tell me that Daddy will come, but leave us again like he did before."

"What does Miss Edith say?" Spike asked. He kept Dru's hands firmly grasped in his own.

"Miss Edith says that if I become like Daddy, I can stay with him," Dru screamed, "I don't want to be like Daddy. Unhappy forever."

"Why is your Daddy unhappy forever, luv?"

"The bad gypsies want Daddy to stay unhappy because he ate their little girl," Dru crooned.

"Maybe he's unhappy because you aren't still with him." Spike cupped Dru's cheek. "You know how much he loved to play with his favored Childe."

Dru purred and rubbed her cheek against Spike's hand. "Red was his favorite color. He loved when I wore my blood on the outside."

"Ah ha, I think I got it," Dalton cried, "Deprimere ille bubula linter."

Spike hopped up from his chair, and he grabbed the nearby Latin dictionary. He hadn't practiced his Latin in decades, and he was a little rusty. Spike wasn't uneducated by any means. He read several languages, and he spoke even more. He just wasn't up to doing any reading at the moment. Besides sitting around reading didn't go far towards scaring the minions into submission. Spike thumbed through the pages picking out the words as he went. "Debase, the beef, canoe?"

"Oh my. That doesn't sound right," Dalton said. He looked back at the page he was studying.

"Ya think?" Spike asked sarcastically. He stood behind Dalton, he gripped the minion's shoulder tightly, and he studied the book over Dalton's shoulder. "Well. Come on, now. Enlighten me.

"Well, it looks like Latin, but it's not. I'm not even sure it's a language, actually. I'm a transcriber, not a code breaker," Dalton sputtered, "If anything I would say this manuscript was written in code."

"Written in code," Spike growled, "How the hell are we supposed to get Dru's cure if we can't read what it is?"

Across the room, Dru picked her tarot cards up off the floor. Her eyes fell on the only card that fell face down. Dru got an uncanny feeling about the card, and she slowly put her hand out to turn it over. On the card was a picture of a crypt.

"Spike, come look," Dru murmured. She studied the card intently, and then she handed it to Spike when he joined her at the table.

"Is that where we'll find this key?" Spike asked.

Dru nodded.

"I'll send the boys, pronto."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Specter strolled through the cemetery at a leisurely pace. She scanned the area, but she stopped when she heard a clanging noise coming from a nearby crypt. The Specter noticed a light coming from inside the crypt. So, she went over to it, and she pushed the door open to peek in. Inside, she saw a vampire chipping away at one of the walls to expose a chamber on the other side of it. The Specter could smell Spike on the minion. Interesting. When he reached inside to grab something, the Specter closed the door, and she waited outside for him to emerge. In a few moments she was rewarded when the minion emerged from the crypt.

The Specter growled when another vampire came up behind her. When he grabbed her, she rammed her head backwards into his jaw.

"No, don't touch her," Dalton screamed at the other minion, "Master Spike will have your head."

"I don't care what 'Master Spike' says. This bitch is going down," the minion screamed back at Dalton. His speech was interrupted when the Specter flung him over her front, and he landed on the ground with a sickening crunch. The minion turned into dust before he had to chance to rise up off the ground.

The Specter looked up from her position to see Dalton leaving the cemetery. She glanced up at the sky, and she realized if she didn't get a move on it she was going to be late for her skate date with Spike. When the vampire found out she had at one time been an aspiring skater, he promised to break them into the local ice skating rink.

~~~~~~~~~~

"It hums. I can hear it," Dru waved her hand over the cross that Spike was holding on a red velvet pillow.

"This is it then?" Spike asked, "Couldn't they come up with somethin' a little bit less lethal to vamps?"

One of the minions crashed into the factory. He was the one that Spike had sent down to the local demon bar to dig up information. He collapsed on the floor, and he gasped out, "Order of Taraka."

"What about the Order of Taraka?" Spike growled. He handed the pillow and cross to Dalton, who took the items carefully.

"Someone hired them," the minion continued gasp, "An ancient vampire wants to take over the Hellmouth. He's sent the Order to take us, the Slayer's group, and the Specter out, by any means necessary."

"Just fucking great," Spike spit out, "How am I supposed to find your cure with all these damned distractions?" Spike raked his hand through his hair. "Shit, I'm supposed to meet Beth at the rink."

"You best go meet your Moonlight, my Spike." Dru dealt herself some tarot cards, and she tapped them. "She is in double danger if you don't go. They're coming to my party. All three of them, and blood will run deep if we aren't careful."

"Bloody Hell. It's bad enough there's three of us rulin' the Hellmouth. We have to have someone horn in on us?" Spike let out an exasperated sigh. "Dalton, you get with the decipherin'. The rest of you protect Dru with your undead lives. I'll be back in a few hours." Spike grabbed the three tarot cards from the table, ignoring Dru's complaint.

Spike drove to the skating rink that was past route 17. He had discovered it was always closed on Tuesdays. Spike figured this was the perfect opportunity to take Beth skating without a bunch of people bugging the two of them.

Beth skated gracefully around the rink as she practiced spins and turns she hadn't performed in several years. She was so intent on what she was doing that she failed to notice a panel on the stage being moved. Beth tried to do a crouching maneuver, but she fell to the ice and slid backwards to the edge of the stage. As she started to get up, the one-eyed bounty hunter from the Order reached down, and he put his arm around her neck.

The bounty hunter only knew that this girl was a friend of the Spike's, the creature he had his hit on. He had no idea she was anything besides a young girl that the vampire had taken an interest in before he fed on her. The hunter was surprised by the strength in the girl's grip as she tried to wrestle his arm off her neck. He tightened his grip on the girl's neck, and after a few minutes she passed out. Or, so he thought!

Spike dashed across the ice in full game face. He knew Beth had seen him enter the building, and he chuckled at her cleverness when she played dead on the bounty hunter. Spike growled loudly, and the sound echoed off the walls of the empty rink.

The bounty hunter's head came up when he heard the growling. He was a bit surprised to see his mark coming towards him, but he quickly recovered. What he didn't recover from was the girl under his hands waking up and slamming the back of her head into his nose. Her skate clad foot stomped down on his foot. The hunter howled in pain as he was dually attacked by both Beth and Spike.

Spike tackled the bounty hunter away from Beth. The hunter and Spike tumbled away from the girl, and they rolled several times. Spike sprang to his feet, and he lifted the man to his feet so he could punch him in the face. The unfazed hunter slammed both of his fists into Spike's chest. Spike flew into the wall behind him.

When Beth saw Spike hit the wall, she was pissed off. She skated towards the bounty hunter, and she launched herself at him feet first. Beth was pleased with the howl of pain that came from the hunter. Both her sharp-bladed skates ripped through his flesh. The momentum of her kick pushed the bounty hunter towards Spike, and Beth fell to the ice.

Spike grabbed the bounty hunter. He pushed the man into the railing at the edge of the ice. The hit crushed the man's throat, and after a few gasps of air and some gurgles the man fell to the ground dead. Spike reached down to pull a ring off of the man's finger, and then he rushed to Beth's side. He checked the girl over carefully to make sure she hadn't been hurt in anyway.

"Pet, I was so worried," Spike muttered. He helped Beth to her feet. "One of the minions showed up and said we're all in danger." His hands skimmed over her body checking for injuries.

"Are you okay?" Beth asked. She saw a small wound on Spike's face under his eye, and she wiped the cut clean with her finger. Beth stared at the blood on her finger before she put it in her mouth to suck her finger clean. She moaned at the taste. When she looked up into Spike's eyes she was transfixed by the desire she saw in them.

Spike's mind emptied as he watched Beth suck his blood off her finger, and his cock hardened in his pants. He gently pressed his lips to hers. Spike felt her lips soften beneath his, and her mouth opened slightly. He quickly outlined her mouth with his tongue as he waited for her to invite him in.

Beth's hands crept up Spike's chest and over his shoulders. Her fingers tangled in his hair, and she let her tongue rub against him. In an instant the kiss changed from gentle to passionate. He began to plunder her mouth with his. When their tongues began to caress each other, Beth felt her knees weaken, and she sagged against Spike.

"Beth, honey," Spike whispered in a dazed voice.

"Yeah," Beth answered, equally as dazed.

"We can't stay here," Spike said, "We gotta go warn the Slayer." He chuckled as Beth tried to understand what he had just said while in her lust filled state. "This guy is from a society of deadly assassins that are out to kill everyone that stands in the way of his ruling the Hellmouth."

"Yeah. Warn the Slayer," Beth mumbled, "Gotcha. Skates off then." Beth hobbled to the side of the rink. She allowed Spike to help her change into her street shoes.

The pair were so caught up in each other that they failed to notice they had an audience. She was a young girl of unknown descent. Her features could have come from any of a number of places in the world. She watched the pair, the male in game face, fight off the attacker and then kiss. She was startled when the male mentioned warning the Slayer about something. She was the Slayer. What was this vampire talking about? She decided to tail the couple.

The new Slayer followed the vampires at a discreet distance. They seemed to talk about nothing special, and neither one made any attempt to kill any humans. This struck the new Slayer as odd since she had always been told that vampires had no control over their bloodlust. She was surprised when the pair snuck in a secret tunnel behind the high school. The Slayer followed the pair in to the tunnel, and she was surprised when she found herself in the back of the high school library.

"Oi, Slayer," Spike called out. He didn't want to startle the occupants of the room.

"What are you doing here, Spike?" Cassie asked. She hopped up out of her chair when she saw the vampire enter the library. Her nerves calmed a bit when she saw Beth standing behind Spike.

"Order of Taraka is after all of us." Spike threw a ring on the table in front of the Scoobies. "One of my minions heard that an old vamp wants the Hellmouth. He's sent assassins after all of us and the Specter, too. Killed the one attackin' Beth tonight."

"You warned us because?" Giles asked. He stared at the young girl behind Spike when the vampire turned to take her hand and lead her into the light.

"This is Beth, Watcher," Spike announced. He saw Giles' mouth open to say something as soon as Spike introduced his companion. "Now don't go gettin' any ideas there. She knows exactly who and what I am. And she likes me anyway."

"She knows you're a vamp?" Xander asked. He couldn't believe a nice, young girl would have anything to do with Spike.

"Yes, I know he's a vamp," Buffy finally piped up. She was intimidated to be in the room with Cassie, but the living Slayer didn't even give her a second look. "He's very nice to me." Beth smiled shyly up at Spike.

"Now about this Order. My Sire's a seer, and she said there's gonna be three of 'em." Spike pulled the three cards from his duster pocket. He tossed them on the table beside the ring. "My man was one-eyed. So it's safe to say the Cyclops card was him. So we're looking for a centipede and a panther. Might not be literal though. Who the hell knows."

"The centipede guy was literal, that's for sure," Cordelia shuddered. "Xander and I ran into him at Giles's apartment today. Can I just say ewww and add an ick to that one?"

"Well, my work here is done," Spike announced, "Time to get Beth home and make sure her place has the all clear."

The Scoobies watched the vampire and his girl leave the library through the swinging doors. They each wondered what the heck the odd pair saw in each other. They seemed like a comparison of opposites.

The new Slayer stepped out of the darkness, "Wot be goin' on? She can't be de Slayer. I am de Vampire Slayer."

"What?" Everyone's response was the same.

"I am Kendra de Vampire Slayer." Kendra stood tall and proud with her arms crossed over her chest.

Chapter 6

After Spike delivered Beth to her apartment, and he checked to make sure her home was secure, he hurried back to the factory to check on Dru and the translation of the manuscript. He was glad to see that Dalton had some translated pages ready for him to read. He needed some good news tonight.

"By George, I think he's got it." Spike walked over to where Dru reclined on the bed, "We have the key to your cure, ducks. The bloody missing link, it was right in front of us."

"Yes, right in front of us," Dru murmured weakly. She turned over a card from the tarot deck that showed a golden angel flying in the sky.

"This will really piss the Slayer off," Spike muttered, "Us playin' with her boy toy."

"Maybe if we get permission to play, it won't be so bad?" Dru stuck her lower lip out in a tiny pout.

~~~~~~~~

"Spike, what's wrong?" Beth asked. She sat down next to the blond vampire. Beth was worried by the morose look on his usually contented face.

"Found out what it takes to cure Dru." Spike drew circles in some spilled salt on the table with his fingertips.

"And this is bad because?" Beth pushed Spike's drink towards him. She watched unhappily as he toyed with it instead of drinking it.

"It involves the Poofter and his blood," Spike sighed deeply, "The spell is supposed to kill him. Somehow I don't see you, the Slayer, or the Specter being too happy with me if that happens. Dru might not be happy about it either, but you never know with her."

"What happens when you heal her?" Beth asked sadly. She was pretty sure she knew what was going to happen. Spike was going to have to leave with Dru, because unlike him, his Sire had no reason not to feed.

"I'll have to take her away," Spike answered, "I have to make sure she's settled somewhere with someone to take care of her." He noticed the sad look on Beth's face. "I don't want to leave you, but I can't just let her die, Beth. Without her, we wouldn't be here together."

"I know that, Spike. It's just hard knowing my boyfriend has an obligation to another woman." Beth was busy staring down at her hands. So, she missed the softened look that the master vampire gave her. Beth gasped at the tingling shock she felt when his hand reached over to cover hers.

"'m your boyfriend?" Spike asked in a shocked voice, "Is that how you see me, luv?" He wanted her to see him that way, but he hadn't dare to hope she would look at him as a suitor. She had an eternity before her. She was still young. He wasn't sure if was open to the idea of sharing eternity with anyone in particular.

Beth nodded. She still refused to look at the male vampire. She was so scared he wouldn't feel the same way about her that she did about him, despite all the signs that were there. She knew she was young, for a vampire, but everything inside her told her that she'd met her match in Spike. He appealed to all sides of her: human, vampire, and Slayer. He was the only one that understood her as the Specter too. That had to mean something.

"Oh luv, how am I suppose to leave you now? 'll come back. I give you m' word, and m' word is m' bond," Spike whispered, "M' oath as an Aurelian I will return to you."

"I'm worried that things could go wrong, and you could get hurt," Beth whispered back "Things have become so complicated since I met you."

"Do you wish you hadn't met me, luv?" Spike asked. He was suddenly worried that Beth wanted him to leave and never return.

"What?" Beth's head finally popped up, and she searched his face. "No, never. You, Jack, and Clem are my best friends." She turned her hand over, and she laced her fingers through Spike's. "Unlife as I am is so much more complicated than my life used to be. Well, the life I had a few weeks before I was turned that is. That last month was Hell."

Spike caressed the back of Beth's hand with his thumb. "Things have become more complicated for me too, but I wouldn't have it any other way, sweets. This spell just has me torn in too many soddin' directions." He sighed. "You know it's your fault that my conscience is rearing it's head more." He wagged a finger of his free hand at her.

Beth chuckled. "Maybe that Giles guy can help you. He seems really smart," Beth offered a supportive suggestion. She knew what Spike meant about being torn in too many directions. It was hard melding the three aspects of her personality into one.

~~~~~~~~~

Spike slipped into the high school library. He was still unsure why he was coming to talk to the Watcher. It wasn't like the man had any reason to help him, a master vampire who's rep was for killing Slayers. Okay, so Spike hadn't attempted to attack this Slayer even when she was helpless on Halloween. He had helped the Slayer's group with the vamp groupies, and he had warned them about the Order of Taraka being on their tails. That was all Beth's influence. It wasn't like he was doing any of it out of the goodness of his own heart.

Spike watched the sole occupant of the library pace around in circles muttering to himself. It would appear that the Slayer's little male friend had found himself in a quandary about kissing the girl that he had hated for so many years. "'Lo, Whelp," Spike called out from the darkness.

Xander let out a little scream when he heard the accented voice. He was uncomfortable with the blond vampire despite the fact that Spike had never actively spoken to him before. The past year in the company of the Slayer had shown the boy another world that lay just below the normal one. He grabbed up the stake that laid on the nearby table. "W-what are you doing here, Spike?" Xander asked hesitantly.

"Put down the stake, boy. 'm here to talk to the Watcher," Spike drawled. He swept out of the darkness with his duster flared out behind him like a cape. "Where is he?" Spike sat down fluidly, and he put his feet up on the research table.

"Giles went to the bathroom. He should be back in a few minutes," Xander stammered bravely. He put the table between himself and the vampire even though he knew full well it would barely slow the vampire down if he decided to attack, but it was a small comfort.

"'ll wait." Spike stared at the boy until the boy blushed and looked away. He chuckled at the reaction.

Xander struggled to find something to say to the unnerving master vampire. "The third assassin is a woman. She was asking around the school about the Specter today, and she tried to shoot Cassie during the policeman's demo, too." Xander knew he was babbling, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. "We haven't seen the bug guy again, but Giles said that to kill him we have do it while he's all buggy. Cassie's jealous of the new Slayer because she hit it off with Giles, and you can tell me to shut up any time now."

"But you were tellin' me all kinds of good information there, Harris," Spike snarked, "Only thing you left out was how much you hated the cheerleader and how you're not gonna kiss her again." He delighted in the boy's babbling. He'd learned a lot from him in a short amount of time. It beat having to spend hours torturing someone for only a tenth of the information he was given freely.

"You heard that?" Xander asked quickly. He blushed slightly when Spike tapped his ear to indicate his hearing was excellent. "I didn't mean to kiss her. It was the heat of the moment kind of thing. Terror and the thought that we might die."

"Yeah, those are really good shaggin's," Spike chuckled, "The old adrenaline's pumpin' cuz you're worried it might be your last moment on the earth." He leaned in towards Xander. His voice dropped to a lower deeper one. "You feel the fast and furious pounding of two bodies slappin' together in the heat of the moment."

"What? No, no shagging, just kissing," Xander cried and jumped back from the table that he'd been leaning over to hear what Spike was saying.

"Ah well, your loss then," Spike remarked. He sat back in his chair.

"I really hate you guys! You and Angel," Xander grumbled. He finally got tired, and he sat down in the chair across from Spike.

"I can understand why you hate Peaches. He's a right ponce, but what have I ever done to you?"

"You're a vampire!" Xander stated succinctly, "And so is he."

"You're human, but you don't see me holdin' that against you, do you?" Spike shot back, "As much as this pains me to say, I have a certain begrudging respect for you, Whelp."

"Why would a big bad vampire have respect for a human? Aren't we just food to you?" Xander questioned. He found the statement by the vampire too out of odds with what he knew about vampires in general.

"You hang out with a Slayer. Probably seen more things in the past year or so than most people do in their entire lives," Spike replied, "Instead of runnin' screamin' in the other direction like sane people do, you take up the sword and meet the baddie head on."

"I'm screaming on the inside," Xander muttered. For some reason, the honest words poured out of his mouth without restraint.

"But you still meet it head on, Harris. Not many humans would dare to call Angelus an 'undead liar guy' when they were moments away from being eaten," Spike informed the boy. Although it was a lame taunt, he'd felt a shard of pride towards the boy when he first met him at the end of Angelus' clutches.

"I really hate that guy!" Xander slapped his hand down on the table. He never had a chance with Cassie because of Angel moving right in. How could he compete with tall, dark and handsome? Life was unfair.

"You're talking to the president and foundin' member here, Harris." Spike agreed wholeheartedly with the boy.

"Why do you hate him so much, Spike? You're both vampires," Xander's voice was filled with curiosity. The ensouled vampire rubbed the teenager the wrong way. The vampire never talked about his past. In fact, the group never even knew he had 'family' until after the others were already in town.

"There's only two things we have in common, Harris, and being a vampire is one of them," Spike answered, "Dru is the other."

"He told Cassie what he did to her before he turned her," Xander whispered, "It made Willow and me sick to our stomachs when Cassie told us."

Spike was speechless at the boy's admission. He was unsure how to proceed with the conversation. If he bad mouthed Angelus too badly, he might lose credibility with the Slayer. Xander saved him from having to say anything because he continued on with his rant.

"I didn't mind him at first. I thought 'good someone to help Cassie', but she fell for him right away. Then I hated him. I loved her and hated her at the same time," Xander continued on. His voice took on a strange quality, "I-I tried to rape her, Cassie, while I was possessed by a hyena spirit."

"Harris," Spike growled warningly. He wasn't sure where this was going, because obviously the teenager had something to get off his chest. However, Spike wasn't like Angelus; he didn't play with his food, and he didn't hurt the women he loved. Rape was one of Angelus' methods of pleasure that Spike never accepted or followed.

"Giles told me to pretend not to remember, and Cassie went along with it," Xander spoke as if Spike had never said a word, "She's never said she's forgiven me. Yet, when Dead Boy told her the horrific things he did to Dru she forgave him wholeheartedly, saying that it was the demon who did it, not him because of the soul."

"I'll bet the Poofter loved that." Spike rolled his eyes. "The git never did want to take responsibility for any of his actions."

"My soul was there, Spike, but the demon was just stronger. It's been eating away at me, and I don't know what to do." The boy's eyes filled with tears that he embarrassedly dashed away with the back of his hand.

"A soul isn't the be all to end all, Harris," Spike said softly, "The Nazi's all had souls, and yet their body count makes the Scourge of Europe's look like a drop in the bucket. If you want forgiveness, ask for it." He reasoned with Xander. "Not all demons are bad, and not all humans are good."

"But, you're soulless..."

"True, Harris," Spike interrupted the boy before he could continue on with his thought, "But I do know the difference between right and wrong, I just haven't cared in a very long time. Dru and I are the way we are because we were shaped by Angelus." Spike lowered his voice again. "Think about if for a minute."

Xander pondered Spike's words. Spike wasn't trying to say he was blameless, but he hinted that he wasn't always an evil vampire. Was he different when he was turned. Was that why he was different from other vampires now, helping Beth, the Specter, and the Slayer? Questions swirled around in Xander's head, but he left them unspoken for the moment.

"I'll tell you something for your ears alone. If I hear you told anyone, I'll have your guts for garters, ya hear?" Spike waited till the boy nodded his head before he continued. "I took to the freedom of being a vampire like it was second nature, and I have my place in Hell, but I never did the things that Angelus did. Before or after my turning."

"The Watcher's books say that you were a highway man and a ruffian before you were turned. That's how you got the name William the Bloody," Xander declared.

"Don't believe everything you read, Whelp," Spike chortled with glee. He was delighted to hear how wrong the Watcher's were about his history. "Shouldn't the Watcher be back from the loo already?"

"Oh, um," Xander turned red, "I kinda lied about that. He's out with Kendra finding her a hotel room. He should be back in a bit." Xander was more confident now that the vampire wasn't going to kill him.

The boy really does have a pair of stones on him. That was a big chance he took. he thought to himself. "So, besides hangin' with the Slayer, what do you do for fun around this place, Harris?" Spike asked.

"Well, mostly I listen to my parents get drunk and get beat up by the jocks when I play pool," Xander muttered sarcastically. His eyes shot to the vampire, and he studied him for a moment. "I saw you playing pool the other day. Could you, um, show me some pointers?"

Spike pondered the question for a moment. "Sure, why the hell not. I gotta go back to the Bronze after the meeting with the Watcher to walk Beth home. Suppose I could show you a few things."

"Cool." Xander felt good about himself for the first time in a long while. Maybe he wouldn't hate Spike as much as he hated Angel.

The door of the room opened, and Giles entered the library. He was surprised to find the master vampire conversing with Xander as if they were long lost friends. The Watcher knew this wasn't the norm. Spike's behavior in the past few months totally went against everything Giles had been taught by the Council. The self proclaimed Slayer of Slayers had not only not attacked the Slayer, but he had actually helped her in several instances. This made Giles wonder what the vampire was doing in the high school library apparently awaiting his own arrival.

"Spike, what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Giles asked. He moved behind the checkout counter to grab a notebook. Giles decided he wanted to record the visit for his own records.

"'ve found myself in a bit of a pickle, Watcher." Spike raised his eyebrow when he saw that Giles had notebook and pen in hand. "And I need your superior research techniques."

Giles raised his own eyebrow, and drawled dryly, "Do tell."

Spike chuckled deeply. He knew there was more to this Watcher than tweed and rhetoric. Spike dug some papers out of his duster pocket, and he threw them across the table towards Giles. He flaked the polish off his nails as he waited for the Watcher to finish studying the papers.

"Where did you find this?" Giles demanded.

"I have my ways," Spike shrugged carelessly, "I'm not a complete dolt, I'll have ya know. I need to get Dru healed and settled someplace else before we can part company."

"This little ritual of yours will kill Angel... "

"I say go for it!" Xander interjected.

Giles continued on as if he hadn't been interrupted, "Somehow I don't see Cassie being too happy with that choice."

"Hence the problem, Watcher," Spike muttered drolly, "I like the Slayer. She's got stones. Really, though, it's the reaction of m'girls that 'm worried about. The Specter is a right pistol and, Beth? Well, she makes me want to be a better man."

"You're not a man, you're a monster," Giles growled.

"Never denied that, but she treats me like a man," Spike said simply, as if that explained everything.

"Are you planning on turning Beth?" Giles asked suspiciously.

"Nope, that's not in my game plan," Spike drawled. What kind of Watcher was Rupert Giles that he didn't even recognize a vampire in his midst. "Now about this little ritual..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"They'll be here, poodle. I have the Watcher's guarantee," Spike said calmly. Since leaving the factory, Dru had gotten more and more agitated as the time of the ritual drew closer.

"My party's going to be ruined," Dru moaned, "Fire dancing. The band has stopped and sound crashes, but the flames grow higher."

"Are you sure Xander and Cordy are going to be okay guarding the door, Giles?" Cassie asked. Angel, Giles, and she walked through the door of the church's main area of worship.

Spike smirked when he saw the trio enter the building. Persuading them to help him had been easier than he had expected. He had used academic fascination to ensnare the Watcher, he used Angel's guilt against him, and he had complimented Cassie on her daring before asking her if she wished he had done it the easy way and had just kidnapped Angel to do the ritual. It was no skin off Spike's nose if Angel died. He hated the big, brooding Poofter.

Spike's smile turned genuine when he noticed the small black clad figure slip in the door behind the others. "Specter," he called out, "Come here, luv, I saved the best seat in the house for you." He'd had a feeling that the Specter would show. Somehow he felt less nervous because she was there.

Angel gaped when Spike solicitously escorted the black clad girl to a nearby seat. He was even more stunned by Dru's non-reaction to the encroachment on her territory. That had been the one reason why Angelus had never been able to approach the fledgling William for a sexual relationship. As much as Dru loved to share her body with both of the male vampires, she guarded Spike's body from Angelus like it was a temple.

"You bring the cross, Spike?" Giles asked. He moved to the front of the church, and he kept an eye on Dru.

"Right here," Spike answered. He crossed to where the cross was lying on the altar. Spike picked it up with a glove-encased hand, and he tossed it to the Watcher.

"And the manuscript you 'borrowed'?

Spike grinned at the Specter, rolled his eyes, and handed Giles the manuscript he had nicked the week before. "Let's get this show on the road. Dru says we're likely to have uninvited guests." A sudden thought occurred to Spike. "We're not going to be interrupted by that other Slayer bint, are we?

"No, I put her on the plane myself," Cassie muttered, "Got her a ticket and everything."

Spike nodded his answer, and then he turned his attention back to the Watcher. He lifted one eyebrow to indicate that it was time to start the ritual.

"Right. Right then," Giles mumbled, "Angel, go stand by Dru and take her left hand in your right hand. Then, put your other hand over her heart. Dru, please put your hand over Angel's heart."

Dru waited until Angel had followed Giles's instructions before she spoke to her sire, "Bad daddy. You ran away and left us behind." The normally insane vampiress had a rare moment of clarity. "I would have done anything for you, Sire, but now it's too late."

The two vampires stopped talking as Giles's voice filled the church as he chanted. Bright visible chords of light began to intertwine between the two vampires. Their heads flew back in shock as the light filled their entire bodies. Their faces were contorted masks of pain as the link connected them.

Cassie gasped. "Giles, are they suppose to be doing that, too?" She pointed towards Spike and the Specter.

Giles continued to chant as his gaze followed the Slayer's finger. He had to hold back a gasp and continue his chanting when he saw that the same bright chords of light linked the blond vampire with the black clad girl. Although they couldn't see the girl's face because of her mask, the look of ecstasy on Spike's face was a marked difference to that of the dark haired vampires.

The front door of the church burst open. Spike and the Specter look towards it as one person while Xander and Cordelia tumbled into the main area. When Giles said the words 'so mote it be' the bright chords of light connecting both couples disappeared.

"We got bug guy, but the policewoman is right behind us," Xander gasped for breath between words, "We're kinda not immune to bullets."

Cassie checked to make sure Angel wasn't drained by his experience before she started to issue orders. "Angel, take Xander, Giles and Cordy out the back entrance while Spike, Specter and I distract the assassin in here."

Angel nodded his head in assent, and he herded the teenagers and Watcher out the back door. He kept watch on the surroundings as they hurried along the street towards Giles's car for the return to the library.

"Daddy didn't even say good-bye," Dru said sadly. The vampiress was interrupted when the front door banged open and a red haired woman in a cop's uniform burst into the church followed by several demons.

"'ll take the bint with the gun, ladies. You get the demons." Spike launched himself at the red headed woman.

Cassie and the Specter looked at each other, and they leapt at the demons on either side of the policewoman. That left the ugly demon with slimy horns for Dru to play with. She danced gracefully towards the demon whose total attention was on the beautiful ethereal creature. The demon was mesmerized, and when Dru got close enough she was able to thrall the creature to her will. The pair wandered off to the back of the church leaving the others to their knock-down, drag-out fight.

Spike threw the policewoman into a bank of candles that he had used to light the deserted church. She threw off her jacket, which was now on fire, towards some of the ratty drapes hanging on a nearby window. The drapes went up in flame with a whoosh, and the walls caught on fire.

Bollocks. Dru mentioned fire and flames, Spike thought. He jumped towards the policewoman, who raised her gun towards him. Spike grimaced in pain as the bullet ripped through his side. He was on her before she could pull the trigger again, and he snapped her neck with a sharp twist. Spike looked towards the Specter just in time to see the demon she was fighting grab a chain off the altar and swing it a few times before it threw it at the girl.

"Look out," Spike shouted. The sound of the vampire's voice caused the demon to falter. It threw the chain at him instead. The chain hit Spike in the head, and he stumbled into the big organ behind him. He could hear Dru screaming as she rushed towards him in an attempt to save him. The old and burning musical instrument broke u a little at the impact. A moment later the organ collapsed on the vampires. The huge brass pipes rolled out towards the demon that had hit Spike with the chain.

The Specter stared at where Spike and Dru were buried under the organ. She could feel that the male vampire was still alive under the instrument, but she was unable to get close to it. The Specter grabbed the knife from her waistband, and she plunged it into the heart of the demon. She stood over the demon as she watched the organ burn, her emotions in turmoil. The heat of the fire prevented her from getting any closer to the organ. She never tested how flammable she'd be, but she was pretty sure that she'd be dust if she tried to cross the wall of flames.

Cassie had just dispatched her demon, when she noticed the Specter standing as if dazed. Cassie saw that Spike and Dru were no where in sight, and she was unsure where they were. Maybe they escaped before the fire got too out of control. Cassie raced towards the Specter. She grabbed the dark clothed girl, and she dragged her from the church. Cassie watched as the Specter stood staring at the burning building.

Several hours later, the fire finally burned down enough that the Specter could approach the church. She'd never left the spot Cassie pulled her out to earlier. She was met at the door by Dru who carried a burned and unconscious Spike. The Specter gasped when she saw the male vampire, and she pressed her gloved hand against her face.

"Do not worry, Moonlight," Dru whispered, "Our dark prince is just a little battered. I have sent my new caretaker on to my new home. As soon as our Spike is well, he will take me away. I will send him back to you when the time is right." Dru stumbled off into the darkness with her burden.

Chapter 7

Beth looked across the Bronze at Xander playing pool by himself. She knew she had to play this just right. Beth wasn't supposed to know that Spike had been hurt or maybe dead. Beth had supposed to have been home in bed on her day off. She had played the part earlier with Jack and Clem, and she felt bad that she had deceived her friends. However, Beth wasn't comfortable telling anyone her big secrets yet. She carefully arranged her features to look worried, and she crossed the club to talk to Xander.

"Hi, Xander," Beth said quietly, "Spike was supposed to come by after the ritual last night, and he didn't. I'm getting worried. Have you heard anything or seen him?"

Xander whirled when he heard the soft voice behind him. He felt shame that he had forgotten about Spike's little girlfriend. "Beth. Oh my God, nobody told you, did they?"

"Told me what?" Beth asked, "Did something bad happen?"

Xander tossed the pool cue down on the table, and he reached for Beth's hand. The night before while Spike had shown the teenager some pool tricks they had talked about the girl. Xander had already seen how precious the master vampire treated the girl, and he had heard the affection in Spike's voice when he spoke to and of the girl. Xander was slightly sickened that the Scoobies had forgotten all about the girl so quickly. They hadn't even thought of tracking the girl down to let her know of Spike's fate. Xander led Beth to the table she usually occupied with Spike.

"The ritual went fine," Xander informed Beth, "But then the assassin showed up. During the fight, the church caught on fire. Spike and Dru were trapped. We never saw them come out."

Beth finally let the emotions she had been holding in since the night before come to the surface. It was safe now to release them. Beth the girl could be hysterical. She could need her friend Jack to call her friend Clem to come take her home, give her some hot chocolate laced with pig's blood, and tuck her into bed as she still laid there sobbing. The Specter had to be strong, her emotions always in check and controlled.

"I'm so sorry, Beth." Xander wrapped his arm around the sobbing girl. "I hope to God we're wrong, but I'm afraid he might really be gone."

Beth nodded her head in understanding. She continued to sob on Xander's shoulder, and she clung to her pseudo friend awkwardly.

Xander motioned for Jack to come closer. He briefly relayed what he could to the bartender that he knew was Beth and Spike's friend. Jack understood what needed to be done, and she called Clem to take Beth home and watch her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several days passed before Beth approached Xander, again. This time her mission was of a different sort. She wanted to check on Spike. While she would have no problems sneaking as the Specter, Beth had seen how the apparent loss of the vampire had affected the teenage boy, too. Beth knew he had bonded with Spike over a mutual hatred of Angel and the mutual enjoyment of pool. She told Xander that one of the minions delivered a message to her the night before that said that Spike was alive, but gravely injured. Xander expressed instant worry, and he quickly agreed to accompany her to the vampire's lair.

The unlikely duo met after Beth's shift at the Bronze, much like she had been doing with Spike. They had a different destination in mind though than Beth's apartment. The pair silently slipped through the darkness towards the factory that Beth knew Spike had taken over from the Anointed One.

As Beth and Xander peeked inside the factory door, Xander whispered, "Do you think you can stake a vampire?"

"Yes, Spike showed me how," Beth whispered back. She held back a comment about how well she could stake vampires. She slipped inside the factory, and she extended her senses. She located Spike quickly, but she followed Xander's lead so not raise his suspicions.

The pair quickly located the master vampire. Beth rushed to Spike's side only to find him still seemingly unconscious. She couldn't feel the connection with him like she had the night before until it dawned on her she had been in Slayer mode when that had happened. The realizaton that it probably it would only happen while she was the Slayer was a disconcerting one. Beth gasped when she saw the burn marks that marred the entire right side of Spike's face.

"Oh Spike," Beth whispered, "Your beautiful face."

"M'not beautiful, m'handsome," Spike's gravelly voice broke the silence of the night.

Beth was startled by the vampire's slurred voice. She clutched Spike's hand in one of hers as she put the other one, knuckles first, against the uninjured side of his face. "I got so worried when you didn't meet me after the ritual was over." she murmured softly.

"Just a little hurt here, pet. I'll be as right as rain in no time," Spike's voice slurred as he spoke, and Beth realized it was from some sort of drugs, "Vamp healing. Up and walking again soon."

"You can't walk?" Xander asked quietly, "Oh man, that's not good." Xander was now deeply concerned for his new found friend. If you had asked the teenager just a few short days ago if he would ever consider having a vampire for a friend, the answer would have been a resounding 'no' at the top of his lungs, but now things had change.

"Harris, 's that you?" Spike turned to look at the boy. "You ask the Slayer that question, yet?"

"Yeah, I did, pal," Xander reassured his friend, "You were right. Forgiveness all around."

All three of them stopped talking when they heard a loud banging noise from outside the factory. Spike directed Beth and Xander on how to reach the backdoor, and the pair was out and gone before any of the minions were even inside. Seeing his friends helped boost Spike's morale, even as it appeared Dru behavior became stranger and stranger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beth's mind was on Spike when she arrived at her mom's to meet the new man in her mom's life. She let herself in the backdoor of the house on Revello Drive, and she found a strange man cooking dinner at the stove.

"Hi, there," he said, "You must be Beth. I'm Ted." Ted held his hand out for Beth to shake.

Beth politely took Ted's hand. She tilted her head, and she looked at him curiously. Something about him was off! She extended her vamp senses. She heard no heartbeat and no blood pumping. Beth smelled motor oil and nothing else on the man. She could see no heat coming off of him in the way she had become accustomed to noticing with both humans and demons. Even vamps had their own special heat signature to the turned Slayer.

"Beth, you're here early," Joyce's voice broke through Beth's assessment of Ted, "I wasn't expecting you for at least another thirty minutes."

"Hey, mom. Jack let me off early so I could meet your new guy," Beth replied. She removed her hand from Ted's. She moved around the kitchen gathering placemats and silverware to set the table.

"You've only set two places, Beth. Is there a problem?" Ted asked. He turned his back on the two Summers' females, and he went to the oven where he pulled out several cooked mini pizzas. He failed to see the look that passed between the two women.

"I'm sorry, Ted. I forgot to tell Beth that you were cooking. So, she probably ate dinner at work," Joyce rushed to apologize.

"Oh, where do you work, Beth?" Ted asked. He slipped the mini pizzas on two plates, and then he gestured for Joyce and Buffy to take their seats. Ted placed one plate in front of Joyce. He took his own seat, but instead of eating he stared curiously at Beth.

"I work at the Bronze as a bus person," Beth answered. She folded her hands in her lap when she noticed that Ted wasn't eating either.

"Aren't you a little young to be working in a nightclub? Joyce, how can you let her work in such a terrible place?" Ted questioned the two women. He noticed Joyce wasn't eating, and he pushed the plate a little closer. A quick flash of ire went through his face when he saw she still didn't begin to eat.

"Not getting any older," Beth muttered. She had noticed the flash of anger on Ted's face.

At the same time, Joyce said, "Beth has a mind of her own, Ted."

"Still, that just doesn't seem right."

"Well, it doesn't seem right to me that you'd date my mother and forget to tell her you're not human," Beth growled. She narrowed her eyes as she stared at the 'man'.

"What do you mean, Beth? Is he a demon?" Joyce asked. She was up and standing behind Beth before Ted had time to react to Beth's statement.

"I have no idea why would say something like that to me, young lady. I'm just as human as you are," Ted announced.

"Really?" Beth snarked. She slipped into game face. "Then explain to me why you have no blood, no heartbeat and no scent."

"What the hell are you?" Ted leaped from his chair in shock. "Joyce, did you know about this?"

"I'm a vampire, Ted," Beth snarked, "I have better than normal hearing, and of course, my mother knew about this. We don't have any secrets from each other."

"Joycie, come over here away from that deviant." Ted darted around the table to grab at Joyce, only to find his way blocked by the petite vampiress. Every move he tried to make towards the older woman was instantly blocked by the insolent little girl. Finally, Ted raised his fist and hit Beth as hard as he could across the face.

"Deviant?" Joyce yelled indignantly, "I'll show you who's a deviant." She grabbed the kitchen fire extinguisher.

Beth's head turned to the side from the force of the blow. She turned her face back towards him and growled, "Ouch. Was that supposed to hurt?"

"Get the hell away from my daughter," Joyce screamed. She smashed the fire extinguisher into the side of Ted's head as hard as she could. Joyce jumped back in surprise when his head popped off and flew across the kitchen. Joyce looked at Beth, and she asked, "Was that supposed to do that?"

"Go mompower." Beth pushed the headless body into one of the kitchen chairs. Then she turned to her mother, and she noticed the wild look in her mom's eyes. "Are you okay, Mom?"

"Nobody lays a hand on my little girl." Joyce dropped the extinguisher, and she hugged Beth. "Um, dear, we have a headless," Joyce peered that the body. "Robot in the kitchen."

"I see that, mom. Where did you meet this guy, again?" Beth walked over to pick up the head from the spot it had landed.

"He sold computer software. He redid the entire system at the gallery." Joyce grimaced at the sightless eyes staring at her. "He said it would free up my time."

"Well, this will certainly free up his!" Beth laughed. She suddenly realized she was still in game face, and she shook it off. Beth suddenly had a thought. "Mom, did you find him or did he find you?"

"He approached me in the gallery one day a few weeks ago. Why do you ask?" Joyce's voice was filled with concern and curiosity.

"Maybe he was setting you up for a robbery," Beth informed her mother, "Or worse yet, what if it was because the identity of the Specter has been discovered."

"We can't leave it here, Beth. It gives me the, how do you say it, the wiggins."

"I know that, Mom," Beth sighed as she tried to come up with a plan, "The bad thing is that the Slayer and her friends don't know I'm a vampire. They certainly don't know I'm the Specter." She tapped her cheek with her fingertips as she thought. "If I ask them for help, they'll think I was attacked because of Spike or something he did."

"We could take it to your apartment where we could stage the fight and beheading," Joyce thought out loud, "Take the extinguisher with us. You can say you came home and surprised this guy going through your apartment. You thought he was a regular burglar until you hit him over the head with extinguisher and it popped off."

"Sounds like a plan, Mom," Beth replied, "I'll get those dark drapes Aunt Darlene pawned off on you. While I'm wrapping him up, you pull the jeep around to the alley."

~~~~~~~~~

"Head, check." Beth pointed to where she had tossed the robot's head. "Body, check. Extinguisher, check. Jumble of possessions, check. You better scoot, Mom. I gotta call Xander. He can tell the Slayer and Willow about my visitor." Beth gave her mother a hug, and she ushered the older woman out of the apartment. She took a deep breath before she picked up the phone to dial Xander's number.

The phone rang several times before the teenage boy answered, "Grand Central Station, Xander Harris speaking."

Beth giggled in spite of herself. "Hey, Xander. It's Beth." She turned to look at the headless robot that laid on the floor. "I gotta problem here. I came home to find what I thought was a burglar..."

"Beth, are you okay?" Xander interrupted, "If you get hurt, Spike will have my hide." Even though he knew there was nothing he could do to stop a burglar at Beth's apartment, he did feel responsible for looking out for her.

Beth rushed to assure the boy, "I'm fine, Xander. I hit him over the head."

"Is he dead?" Xander rambled off the questions quickly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Xander, let me finish," Beth laughed, "It's kinda hard for something to die that wasn't living in the first place.." She exhaled loudly. "His head popped off, and imagine my surprise when it turned out he was a robot."

"A robot? Okay, that's not of the good," Xander exclaimed, "Why the hell would a robot be in your apartment?"

Beth could tell Xander was thinking out loud. For all the living in Egypt the boy did, he was really very sharp. He had a lot brighter mind than he let on to the others he hung out with. Beth smiled, glad that he gave her the opening that she needed. "I think he might be an assassin. I've never seen him before tonight, and I usually see a lot of people at the Bronze."

"Shit," Xander sighed, "I'll get the others. We'll be there in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Xander. Talk to you in a few." Beth hung up the phone. She spent the next few minutes wandering around her apartment making sure that all the clues to her vampirism were hidden. Beth was very glad that she kept her pantry stocked with foods for Clem and Jack. So, she would be able to at least offer her visitors something to drink besides water.

Beth paced the apartment. Time stretched out and felt like an eternity, but in reality it had only been 20 minutes when she heard a knock on the warehouse apartment's door. Beth rushed to the door, and she whispered, "Is that you, Xander?"

"Yeah. Let us in." Xander answered. His voice was muffled by the heavy door.

Beth hurriedly opened the door for Xander, and she found he was accompanied by Cassie, Willow, Giles, and a girl she assumed was Cordelia. She welcomed them into her home. As they stood around staring at Ted, Beth felt the silent urge of her absent mother to offer her guests refreshments. She got her guests sodas while Cassie and Giles took Willow's suggestion to search the body for any clues of identification.

In the robot's pockets they found the keys to his house and his wallet that contained a driver's license in the name Ted Buchanan. The address on the ID was for a nicer section of town; not too wealthy, but not too low-rent either. While they sipped their drinks, the group decided to pack the body up in the trunk of Giles's car for transportation to the high school library. It was also decided that the group should check out the address on the ID to see if any connection could be made between the robot and the Order of Taraka.

Beth brought out the drapes that she and her mother had used to transport the body from Joyce's to Beth's. She gave them to Cassie, who with the help of Giles, wrapped the body. The pair promptly stowed it away in the trunk of Giles's car. Then, Giles, Cassie and Willow piled into Giles's old gray Citroen , while Cordelia, Xander and Beth went in Cordelia's flashy convertible.

~~~~~~~~~

The group stood outside the innocuous looking house. There were no lights on, but luckily Giles had a flashlight in the glove box of his car. Giles held the flashlight while Cassie sorted through the keys until she found the right one. Cassie turned the key in the lock, and the door swung open.

Beth trailed the others into the house. She hoped that because Ted was a robot she would be able to get inside. Beth had learned accidentally that if she was in Slayer mode she didn't need an invite into a home. She breathed a sigh of relief when she entered the house without incident.

Cassie flipped on the living room light, and she directed Xander to search the hutch. Willow and Beth went into the dining room where they found a desk to search. Giles and Cordelia searched the kitchen.

"Look what I found," Willow yelled. She waved some papers in the air. "So far I've counted four marriage certificates."

"Any divorce papers?" Xander asked. He entered the room behind the .

"I haven't found any." Willow shuffled through the papers. "Whoa, 1957? Ted musta married young. Like preschool young. Here's marriage certificate for '67, another for '77, and the last is for '87. That's majorly weird that they are all 10 years apart."

Giles and Cordelia entered the dining room from the kitchen. Giles was holding a bottle, and he was studying it carefully. He looked up to see the others looking at him expectantly. "This is a prescription for Dematorin. It's really powerful, and only prescribed for the most violent of schizophrenics. It keeps you mellow and compliant, and it shares a few components with Ecstasy."

"It's neat as a pin, everything in its place. Guys, look at that rug!" Cordelia exclaimed loudly. She looked down at the floor under her feet. "It doesn't go with the rest of the decor."

Willow and Xander looked down at the rug, and then at each other. "You thinking what I'm thinking," they both said at the same time. Then they both nodded. Xander waved the others off the rug, and then he lifted it off the floor. Unsurprisingly there was a trapdoor beneath the rug.

Cassie pushed down the ladder, and it unfolded down into the basement. She climbed down first. In a few minutes, they had all descended the ladder. Cassie searched around for a light switch. When she flipped it to the on position, lights came on and nearby a record player started to play music. The group noticed that the basement had been turned into an apartment-like setting.

"Feels like home." Cordelia said, sarcasm dripped from her voice. "If it's the fifties and you're a psycho."

The group continued to look around. Cordelia flipped through some magazines while Willow opened curtains to find a fake window behind them. Giles and Cassie searched through a desk. Xander found a closet.

"Whatcha got in the closet, Ted?" Xander asked rhetorically. He opened the door, and he shined the flashlight inside. Xander's eyes opened wide. He slammed the door hard, and he backed up.

"Xander?" Beth asked, "What's wrong?"

"What's in there?" Willow questioned.

"The four dead wives," Xander answered in shock.

Cassie crossed to Xander, and she took the flashlight from him. Then, she opened the door herself. Cassie shined the light into the closet until she found the string to the light bulb. She pulled the string, and the closet was flooded with light.

"Those women could all be sisters. Just look at the preservation techniques the robot used on them. They look like they are sleeping," Willow observed. She failed to notice the strange looks she was getting. "Oh my god, it's a serial killer robot!"

Everyone was so intent on the bodies, that they didn't see that Beth had paled at the sight of the bodies. She knew why Ted had wanted her mom. She was the spitting image of the dead women. Ted wasn't an assassin or an art thief. He was just a criminally insane piece of artificial intelligence.

Chapter 8

While Cassie and Xander were fighting off the other students and the Bezoar demon, Beth as the Specter visited Spike. Spike warned her that Drusilla planned on releasing a demon called the Judge and having a party. The vampire warned the Specter that since the ritual, Dru had been acting stranger and stranger. She continually rattled on about becoming like her Daddy.

Giles walked into the library with his nose buried in a book. He absentmindedly walked behind the checkout counter. Someone clearing their throat startled him, and he looked up to find the Specter sitting at the research table, Her pose mirrored the one that Spike had used when he came to talk about the ritual to heal his Sire.

"Specter," Giles greeted the black clad figure, "Was there something you needed?" He wondered what brought the girl to his doorstep. Giles and Cassie had discussed the Specter in great length. The Slayer confided in the Watcher that the Specter didn't make the Slayer spidey senses tingle in any way. It was yet another mystery that surrounded the black clad girl.

Giles watched as the Specter tapped a note that laid on the table in front of her. He walked over to the table, and he picked up the note. On the outside of the folded piece of paper was the word 'Watcher' written in a neat, flowing script. From the slant of the letters, Giles could tell the author was left handed. He opened the note, and he began to read it.

Rupes,

Dru has it in her head that if she puts together the Judge, he will either burn the humanity out of Angel or put the humanity back into her. If the Judge removes the humanity from Angel we will all be dealing with Angelus. I, for one, have no desire to see that git ever again. It's bad enough having the ensouled version traipsing around the Hellmouth. If I am able to 'misplace' any of the parts, I will send it to you via courier.

Spike a.k.a. William the Bloody

"This can't be good," Giles muttered. Then he noticed that something had the Specter's attention. She had her head tilted as if she was listening to something. "Specter?" Giles said to get her attention.

The Specter put a finger to her cloth covered lips, and then she beckoned for the Watcher to follow her. They silently left the library and moved down the hallway until they were outside a classroom that Giles recognized as Jenny Calendar's. Inside the room, the Specter and Giles could hear her talking to someone.

"I promise you. Angel still suffers, and he makes amends for his evil," Jenny argued with guest, "He even saved my life."

"So you just forget that he destroyed the most beloved daughter of your tribe," the man growled, "That he killed every man, woman and child that touched her life? Vengeance demands that his pain be as eternal as ours is! If this ... this girl gives him one minute of happiness, it is one minute too much!"

"I'm sorry. I thought..."

"You thought what?" the man interrupted whatever Jenny was going to say, "You thought you are Jenny Calendar now? You are still Janna, of the Kalderash people. A Gypsy..."

The eavesdroppers stared at each other in amazement. This certainly put another spin on things, and Giles was greatly saddened that the woman he was falling in love with wasn't being honest with her reasons for associating with his group. Giles motioned to the Specter to follow him, and they returned to the library.

"I was really starting to fall for her," Giles murmured as he fell into one of the chairs. He smiled weakly at the Specter when she awkwardly patted him on the shoulder in consolation.

The Specter knew, as well as Beth, the pain that came from loving someone that you could not have for one reason or another. Although the seperation from the one she cared for was different from Giles', the pain was still just as real.

"Thank you, my dear. Let's get back to the Judge chap. It's a legend that he was brought forth to rid the Earth of the plague of humanity by separating the righteous from the wicked. Then, he burned the righteous down. He can not be killed, but he was supposed to be dismembered and his pieces scattered to every corner of the Earth."

The Specter made a hissing growl when she heard the information. She didn't like the sound of this one bit. What was Dru thinking? Oh right, she's not thinking. She's a looney.

Giles studied the black clad figure carefully. Again, Giles wondered exactly what type of creature the Specter was. She had a strength and a grace that rivaled Cassie's, maybe even moreso since the Specter killed the Master the spring before with what appeared to be very little effort. Her relationship with Spike, a master vampire, bordered on the strange. Considering the rumors from the demon world, that the Specter had slaughtered every vampire and demon that crossed her path until Spike.

The side of the conversation that Giles had understood between the Specter and Spike during the vampire groupie incident told of jealousy in the relationship. Yet the Specter did nothing against either of the other two women in Spike's life, Beth or Dru.

"Who are you?" Giles asked. He wasn't expecting an answer. So, he wasn't surprised when the Specter just stared at him.

The Specter shook her head. As if he could understand me, even if wanted to tell him, she huffed.

"Right then." Giles was a bit frustrated. Giles had been busy researching the connection that had occured between the two in question during the ritual to heal Dru, but no where in the research did it say anything about that any mystical connection being made by the non-participants. "Well, hopefully Spike will be able to interfere with Dru's plan to put the Judge together. The only thing we can do is sit and wait."

~~~~~~~~

Beth approached the table at the Bronze where the birthday party was going on. She carefully carried the box that Dalton had slipped to her just a few minutes before. Beth was a bit nervous because the Slayer's boyfriend, Angel, was there. Spike had warned her several times not to let him know about their connection. The last time he warned her it had been in front of Xander. For her own protection, Beth had a feeling that the teenager had told the rest of group to play it cool around Beth when Angel was there. When she arrived at the table with the box, none of them acted as if they recognized her.

"A girl in a black mask asked me to give this to you." Beth put the box down on the table next to several beautifully wrapped birthday presents.

"Oh, another present for me," Cassie said warily. She opened the box carefully. "Oh just what I always wanted a blue arm." She jumped back in alarm when the arm began to twitch. It leapt out of the box towards the Slayer, and it grabbed her by the neck.

Angel leapt to help Cassie fight off the arm. Between the two of them they were able to remove it from the Slayer's neck and return it to the box. Angel turned to Beth, and he began to advance on the girl. The gleam in his eye didn't go unnoticed by the others in the group.

Cassie saw the look of terror that crossed Beth's features when the vampire started to advance on her. She suddenly recalled the conversation with Xander where he had asked the group to keep Beth's importance to Spike a secret. She knew there was no love lost between the two male vampires, but until that second she hadn't realized how much menace the ensouled vampire could show.

"Angel, she's just the messenger," Cassie stated when she placed herself between the vampire and the young girl. A previous conversation with Giles gave her a good idea who the box was from. When the vampire stopped his advance and backed down, Cassie turned to Beth. "Sorry about that. My boyfriend's a bit overprotective. You know how it is."

"My boyfriend's the same way," Beth replied in a soft voice, "I need to get back to work."

"Thanks," Cassie answered softly. She watched Beth walk away before she turned back to her friends.

Cassie kept her eye on the busily working girl while the gang made plans for Angel to leave town with the arm of the Judge. She wasn't too happy when he decided he would take the limb to Nepal, because would be out of town for months.

Cassie told Angel that she wanted to make sure that Beth wasn't frightened anymore before they left. So, she slipped in the seat beside the girl as she took a small break.

"Are you okay, Beth?" Cassie asked, "Angel's not a bad guy, really. He's very nice once you get to know him. I'm not sure why Spike doesn't want him to know about you, but I promise I won't tell."

"Thanks, Cassie. I got you something for your birthday." Beth handed the other girl and envelope under the table. "Xander told me you liked to shop at Honey's in the mall. It's from Spike and me."

Cassie opened the envelope, and she found a gift certificate for $50 inside. She smiled at Beth, and she thanked the girl. Cassie gripped Beth's hand under the table for a quick squeeze. She was so busy thinking about Angel's leaving that she failed to notice the coolness of Beth's hand, and even if she had she would have chalked it up to the girl's job of loading the club's dishwasher.

Beth watched the Slayer and her vampire leave the Bronze. A sadness settled over her. She missed Spike's visits during her breaks, and then his walking her home. Even as a vampire, she still felt safer with him walking her home. Beth wondered if she could work a visit in to Spike later as the Specter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Specter stood with her witness on the building opposite Angel's apartment. She shuddered in the downpour, and she wished she could go home. However, she had a bad feeling that something was about to happen. She called it Slayer intuition.

Spike had sent Dalton in search of her to let her know that Dru had somehow managed to recapture the Judge's arm, and that the party was on again. Only this time it would be thrown in a location unbeknownst to Spike. Dru's insanity had slipped a bit more, and she didn't trust the crippled vamp who was unable to leave the factory now.

The Specter had urged Dalton to raid the local blood bank for Spike's meal. Somehow she had a feeling that Spke was going to need to heal as soon as possible. His progress was moving too slow, and he needed fully human blood to get better quicker.

The apartment door slammed open, and Angel came crashing out of the building. He stumbled against some trashcans that lined the alley, and he fell to the ground. Angel cried out in pain and fear as he yelled, "Cassie! Cassieee!"

The Specter watched in shock as the vampire collapsed to the ground and acted frightened. A nearby hooker noticed Angel as he laid on the ground sobbing, and she slowly walked towards him. She kept her eyes on the shadows just in case it was a trap of some kind. Her fingers shook around the lit cigarette she was carrying in her hand.

"Hey. You okay?" the hooker asked. She bent down to peer into his face. "You want me to call 911?"

Angel stood up suddenly, and he replied, "No. The pain is gone."

"You sure, mister?" the hooker asked with uncertainy. The night had been slow because of the sudden storm. So, she was hoping that maybe this guy would help a poor working girl out. The hooker took a deep inhale off her cigarette.

"Yeah," Angel growled.

The Specter's nerves crawled as the vampire spun around in full game face. She watched in stunned silence as he grabbed the hooker, and he began to feed on her. In a few moments, he dropped the hooker's body to the ground, and with a tilt of his neck he blew out the smoke he had sucked from her lungs through her neck.

"I feel just fine," Angelus growled. He was so thrilled to be finally free he failed to notice his audience. Angelus cracked his neck before he swaggered off down the street to find himself something more to eat.

The Specter leapt off the building, and she landed gracefully beside the body of the hooker. She could tell the hooker was barely alive, but she would last long enough to tell her tale to the girl upstairs still peacefully sleeping. She beckoned for her witness to join her on the street, and he scrambled down the fire escape. The Specter lifted the hooker into her arms. Followed by her witness, she went into the apartment. She laid the hooker on the floor gently before going to wake up the Slayer.

"Huh?" Cassie sat straight up in the bed. She grasped the sheet to her naked breasts as she looked into the glowing eyes of the Specter. "Where's Angel?" She rubbed her head. She finally noticed the hooker when the dying woman moaned low in her throat, a painful act to make her larynx somehow work again after it had been brutalized.

The Specter growled low in her throat. She threw Cassie her clothing, and she waited until the girl had dressed before she opened the apartment door so that her witness could enter the apartment.

"Hi. I'm Clem," the demon said to the Slayer, "I'm a friend of Beth's. Oh, and Spike's, too." He shook himself like a big dog to get rid of the excess water on his skin. "The Specter here dragged me along to check something with her. That boyfriend of yours has gone off the pig in a big way."

"No! He would never do that," Cassie denied vehemently. She looked at the Specter who was looking back at her with saddened eyes.

"We saw him, Slayer," Clem said sadly, "He drained this lady here." He swung his head towards the Specter when she growled something, and he watched as she tapped her mouth and then her wrist. "Oh, Specter says to talk to your Watcher. I love Charades. I always win."

"T-that guy had a strange face." The hooker's dying rasp sounded weak. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she gasped her last breath.

"No, Angel would never..." Cassie broke off for a moment as she had an epiphany, "He lost his soul, didn't he? He mentioned a curse, but he refused to tell me more about it." Tears filled the Slayer's eyes before a look of grim determination crossed her face. There was no way she was going to take this lying down. She had loved all of him, man and monster, but it appeared that while the man loved her, the monster did not. "Let's leave him a little prezzie. We'll put her in the bed, cover her up, and leave her there for him to find. We'll get the cops to come for her later."

Cassie saw the 'are you sure' look in the Specter's eyes, and she nodded her assent. The two girls picked up the body of the hooker and placed her gently on the bed. They both knew that the poor woman didn't deserve the death she was dealt. They both told themselves that after she served her purpose she would be treated better in death then she had been in life.

Cassie pulled the covers up over the girl's head, hiding her from sight. She hoped it would fool the vampire long enough to get the desired reaction from him. Cassie followed the Specter and Clem out into the rain where Clem said his good-byes. Cassie and the Specter made their way through town to the high school library.

"We have a problem," Cassie announced as she pushed the doors, "I think Angel has lost his soul." She was greeted by gasps.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Giles asked. He came out from behind the checkout counter. He walked towards the Slayer and the Specter, and he ignored Jenny Calendar completely. He had been holding himself aloof from the woman since he and the Specter had eavesdropped on her.

"The Specter and Beth's friend Clem saw him kill a hooker in the alley by his apartment," Cassie answered. "It was right after..." She couldn't say the words. So, she glanced at the Specter who nodded her head in agreement and understanding. "And Dru's men got a hold of the piece of the Judge. They were waiting for us."

"The Judge. Is he..." Giles asked. He removed his glasses, and he polished them with his shirttail.

"I'm sure he's active, but when we went by the factory the only one there was Spike," Cassie replied.

"Oh, damn it," Giles whispered, "What did Spike have to say?"

"He took one look at Angel and clammed up," Cassie answered, "There is some really bad blood between them two. He did tell me while Angel was searching a different part of the factory that he had no idea where Dru had decided have her little party."

"Cassie, we have to stop the Judge," Giles announced.

"You think I don't know that, Giles," Cassie huffed, "And what about Angel? The Specter here seems to think I should talk to you."

"Yes, the Specter and I overheard a conversation that happened here in the school, didn't we, Miss Calendar?" Giles refused to look at the dark haired woman.

Jenny looked startled that she had been overheard by anyone, especially Rupert. It certainly explained why he acted betrayed all day. She glanced around at the group's curious and outraged faces, and she realized she might have messed up badly.

"Yes, Miss Calender. Why don't you tell us?" Cassie's voice dripped ice cubes. If there was something about Angel that Miss Calendar knew about, she'd better spill it pretty quickly. She was in on mood for any more games this morning.

"I was sent here to watch you. They told me to keep you and Angel apart," Jenny confessed, "They never told me what would happen. Just that I had to keep him from being happy."

"Is that why you convinced him to leave with the Judge's arm?" Cassie asked. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the computer teacher.

"I'm sorry. Angel was supposed to pay for what he did to my people," Jenny cried, "You have to believe me. I swear I would've told you."

"Why don't you tell us about the curse, Miss Calendar," Cassie hissed. She advanced on the woman, and she would have slapped the woman except the Specter grabbed her wrist.

"The curse. Of course," Jenny murmured, "If Angel achieved true happiness, even just a moment of happiness, he would lose his soul."

"So, as soon as he was happy he lost his soul and he goes back to being evil?" Xander asked for clarification, "Am I the only one that noticed how illogical that is?" He raised his hand.

"What do you mean, Xander?" Willow asked.

"I don't know what I mean. It just seems illogical to me. When I figure it out, I'll tell you!" Xander muttered.

"We need to do an uninvite at my apartment, as soon as possible." Giles went behind the desk, and he grabbed one of the books. "Has he been in any of your houses?" He glanced up to see that only Willow raised her hand.

"He came by when that Ford guy was in town," Willow said, "He wanted me to find out some information on him."

"Okay, Cassie and I will take Willow home and do the spell on her house. Xander and Oz make sure Cordelia gets home safe." Giles turned to the Specter. "Are you going to be okay? Angelus knows who you are."

The Specter looked at Giles, and he could see the delight dancing in her eyes. He realized that she was planning on showing off for him. Giles tossed the Specter a stake that was laying on the table beside him. He watched as she hefted it in her gloved hand.

The Specter pointed at the work out dummy across the room that Giles had brought out for Cassie's workout. She twirled the stake like a baton a few times before she sent it flying towards the dummy. The Specter turned so she could watch the stunned expressions on the other's faces.

Stunned was an understatement when the Scoobies watched the stake pass through the dummy and bury itself completely in the wall. Sand poured slowly out of both holes in the dummy's chest. Giles hurried over to look in the hole where the stake was buried.

"Well, it appears that you should have no problems holding your own against Angelus," Giles announced. He turned in time to see the Specter give a little shrug to her shoulders. She appeared to be quite pleased with herself.

"Why doesn't the Specter accompany Miss Calendar home? We might need some information from her later." Cassie suggested. Somehow, she felt that none of the rest of them could be objective with the woman at that moment. "We'll meet tomorrow after class to start research on the Judge."

~~~~~~~~~

The next evening, shortly after dusk, the Specter entered the high school library. She found Cassie and her friends sitting at the research table with open books spread out all over the place.

"Did you find anything?" Xander asked. He closed the book he was reading, and he tossed it on the table. This earned him a glare from Giles.

"This book mentions the Judge." Cordelia lifted the book she was looking at. "but nothing useful. Big, scary, no weapon forged can stop him, took an army to take him down. Blah, blah, blah." Then, she too tossed her book on the table.

"We need some insight, a weak spot," Xander muttered, "All these books say the same exact thing."

"Yeah, no weapon forged and it took an army," Willow said absentmindedly, "Where's an army when you need one?" She looked at Xander curiously when he snorted.

"Whoa. I think I'm having a thought," Xander replied in an incredulous tone, "Yeah, yeah, that's a thought. Now I'm having a plan. I think I may have a way to deal with the Judge once we find him."

"What do we do?" Willow asked.

"I think I need Cordelia for this one." Xander looked at the brunette haired girl and smiled. "Oh and we may need wheels. Oz, you up to being a getaway driver?"

"Sure. Sounds like a hootenanny," Oz replied.

"Okay, we'll meet at Willow's in an hour. That'll give Cordy a chance to put on a shorter skirt," Xander replied. He smiled when she gasped. Xander knew from something the cheerleader had let slip earlier in the day that her parents were going to be a fundraiser that evening, and he was hoping they could get a little make out session in before he put his plan in motion.

"While you're doing that, the Specter and I will check to see if Angelus has found his little present," Cassie declared fiercely. The others all instantly hoped they were never on the receiving end of the Slayer's anger. Cassie gestured to the Specter, and the two girls left the library together.

Cassie cast sideways glances at the dark clad figure walking next to her. She thought it was odd that she couldn't get any vibes off the girl. The Specter's eyes glowed and yet she didn't feel like a vampire or a demon to the Slayer. She was more petite than the Slayer, extremely lithe and graceful, and apparently wickedly strong. Cassie wasn't sure she could take the Specter in hand-to-hand combat. She hoped that she never had to find out if could or not.

The Slayer and the Specter arrived outside of Angel's apartment just in time to see Angelus enter the building. The girls only had to wait minutes before a primal roar was heard from inside. The two girls looked at each other, and their eyes twinkled. They quickly flung themselves up the fire escape of the opposite building to await the departure of the vampire. They got their reward after about ten minutes of waiting.

Angelus left Angel's apartment in a very bad mood. He couldn't believe that the Slayer had the guts to play a joke on him like that, especially since there was no way she could have known he was the one that killed the hooker. His sight flew to the top of the nearby building when he heard feminine laughter. Angelus growled when he saw Cassie giggling at him with her companion.

"Bitches. I'll get you for that," Angelus spit out, "No one does that to Angelus and lives to tell about it. Maybe I'll go back to the factory and put that cripple out of his misery."

The Specter growled one word out at the vampire. Her voice was so filled with such venom that the Slayer and Angelus both gave her a startled look. The Specter removed a stake from her belt, and she twirled it much like she did before in the library. Before she could heft it at the vampire, the Slayer caught her arm. The Specter could see that the other girl wasn't ready for the vampire to be dust yet.

Angelus made his escape while the two girls were preoccupied with each other. He quickly made his way to the factory where he knew Spike was trapped. Angelus wanted to know exactly what the dark clothed girl had spoken to him. He was surprised to find that Dru had returned with her minions and the Judge.

"Those bitches," Angelus growled, "Especially that one of yours, Spike. They think they can play me, but they don't know who the hell they are dealing with. I will make them both hurt."

Spike burst out laughing, and he rolled his wheelchair closer to his grandsire. "You ever wonder why I'm the only one that's ever come up against the Specter and lived to tell the tale, Peaches?"

"Because you're a wimp and run away when the going gets tough?"

Spike chuckled, and said, "Nah Peaches, because she lets me get away."

"What the hell does this word mean?" Angelus asked. Then he pronounced the word the Specter had said to him the best he could. Angelus remembered that Spike could speak whatever the hell language the Specter used.

"Retribution," Spike answered. Now he was curious as to what Angelus had said to make her say that. "What did you say to make my girl so pissed off at you?"

"I told her I'm going to stake your sorry hide," Angelus crowed, "That really got her mad. She showed me her weak spot so easily. Maybe I will dust you just to see what she will do."

Dru sat dreamily looking at the Judge until Angelus made the last comment. She leapt to her feet, and she rushed to him shrieking. "No, you mustn't, Daddy. I will not be able to save you."

"I'm ready," the Judge rumbled. He headed out the factory door in search of a place filled with humanity.

Angelus bent down to whisper in Spike's ear. "Too bad you can't come with, huh? I'll be thinking of you."

"I won't be in this chair forever," Spike growled. He didn't want to show that he had no interest in going anywhere with his overconfident grandsire, his insane sire, and their nasty toy.

Angelus took Dru's hand, and the vampires followed out of the factory. The minions followed close behind. Spike sighed in relief. Alone at last.

The Specter watched the vampires leave the factory. She waited for a few minutes before she slipped inside with her gift for Spike. The Specter had raided the Red Cross on her way. She carefully picked through the bags, and had only chosen blood close to its due date. The Specter knew Spike would pretend to complain, but that he was always grateful that someone remembered him.

"Spike," the Specter whispered, "I brought you something." She tossed him the bags of blood.

"You can't risk coming here now, luv," Spike announced, "Thanks for the blood though. It means a lot to me that a white hatter like yourself would do this for a creature such as me."

"Don't talk about yourself like that, Spike," the Specter growled, "Your heart is not as black as you try to make it sound."

"Maybe," Spike replied cryptically.

"Absolutely," the Specter said. "I'm glad to see you aren't dusted." She reached out to touch Spike's hand.

"What did you mean when you told Angelus retribution?" Spike asked.

"If he hurts you in any way, he will have centuries to regret it. I will cut off his arms and his legs. I will keep him alive at my mercy until he begs for release from his unlife."

Spike shivered in response. No one had ever been that fierce in his name before, and it excited him.

Chapter 9

While Cassie and Willow found out that Oz was the wolf the werewolf hunter was attempting to capture and kill, Beth convinced Clem and Jack to go out on a trial date. By the end of the evening the unlikely couple was totally committed to each other, much to the happiness of Beth.

While Cassie mourned her lost relationship with Angel, Xander and Willow embarked on new ones with Cordelia and Oz. Dalton brought around a beautiful gold and ruby necklace for Beth from Spike. With the Judge blown up by the Slayer and the Scoobies, Dalton once again had free run of the factory. Spike had hidden the bookish vampire away, lest he face the wrath of the Judge.

While Cassie and Giles learned to deal with Jenny Calendar's betrayal and subsquent death, Beth began to worry about Spike being in the hands of Angelus. Dalton had told Beth that Angelus would only allow the blond vampire to be fed every other day. So, when Giles approached the factory for revenge, the Specter joined him. She only had to growl one word at the smirking arrogant Angelus for him to blanch, grab Dru by the arm and drag her screaming and kicking from the factory while Giles began to torch it. Dalton had removed Spike from the danger just moments before when the blond vampire said that the Specter was on her way for retribution.

While Cassie battled the flu and the Kinderstod in the Sunnydale Memorial hospital, Beth found out from Dalton that the group of vampires had moved to one of the mansions on Crawford Street. Spike relayed to her that he still wanted to be with her very much, but he worried what would happen if Angelus learned of her identity. Angelus made daily threats against the Specter's life. Spike was already upset that the brunette vampire was making threats against one of his girls. Spike worried that Beth would not be able to 'live' thorugh a fight with Angelus because of her fledgling status.

While Cassie and Angelus played out the tragedy of the dead lovers, Beth was busy with her classes and her job. She didn't have any spare time to patrol as the Specter. Dalton showed up at the Bronze with a private message from Spike to Beth. A smile crossed the girl's face when she read the news that the blond vampire had taken his first steps.

While Cassie and the gang dealt with swim team members turned fish monsters, Beth buckled down to study for her finals which she passed with flying colors. She was amazed at her scores considering how little time she had to study the past few weeks. She figured it was because of the help that Clem and Jack gave her. They would take turns quizzing her in-between bussing tables or handling the dishwasher.

While Cassie and Willow were finding the computer disk that had the spell to reensoul Angelus, Angelus was giving Spike a little history lesson on Acathla. Spike felt an urge to check on Beth. Hell on Earth was not what he wanted for his little vampiress. This feeling was especially strong after Angelus sent a vampire to give a daylight message to the Slayer. Spike knew that the message was a trap for the Slayer, and he was going to use it to his advantage. Angelus had the Slayer busy while Dru and the minions went on a raiding party to the high school library to snatch the Watcher. So, the mansion would be clear for him to leave to find his girls and warn them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike stepped cautiously out of the mansion. He kept his senses peeled for any of Angelus' minions that might be spying on him. He slowly made his way towards Beth's warehouse apartment. He knew that she had Tuesdays off.

When Spike arrived on Beth's doorstep, she seemed to know he had been coming. She flung the door open, and she launched herself into his arms. "I've missed you so much, Spike," Beth cried. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She dampened his shirt where her face was buring in his neck.

"Oh, luv. I've missed you, too," Spike whispered. His arms tightened around Beth, and he breathed in deep to memorize her scent. "Angelus plans on making it Hell on Earth, baby. I gotta help the Slayer defeat him before I can take Dru away and settle her elsewhere. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I know. Somehow I knew you'd be coming to say goodbye," Beth sobbed, "You wouldn't be my Spike if you weren't loyal to those you care about." Beth's face hardened under her tears. "That doesn't mean I have to like it though."

"I know, sweets." Spike stroked Beth's short curls. He pressed her pelvis tightly against his as he covered her lips with his mouth. Spike outlined her bottom lip with his tongue, and he groaned deep in his chest when she opened her mouth. He slipped his tongue inside her mouth to caress the soft, wet cavern.

Beth moaned. She hooked one leg around Spike's lean pelvis, and she cradled his cock closer to her aching core. She wiggled in need when Spike's hands dipped down to cup her ass cheeks.

Spike broke his lips away from Beth's, and he kissed her down her jawline. He whispered, "Oh luv, we don't have time, and the first time we make love I don't want it to be rushed."

Beth tangled her fingers in Spike's hair as she tried in vain to ignore the feelings he aroused and to comprehend the words he uttered. She pulled away from him, and she stood there panting. Beth's eyes filled with tears, and she gave Spike a shaky little smile before she turned to rush inside.

Spike stood alone on the street for what felt like hours. This was going to be hard on him. He just knew it would be. Spike was torn between rushing to Beth while he ignored everything else and making sure that the world was safe for the women in his life.

His choice was made easy for him when the Specter stepped out of the shadows of the alley. By unspoken agreement the pair headed down the streets of Sunnydale in search of the Slayer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike and the Specter watched from the shadows as a police officer pulled a gun on Cassie and shouted at her to 'hold it right there'. As soon as the police officer told her to put her hands on her head and threatened her with his gun, Spike and the Specter both leapt out of their hiding spot. Spike knocked the officer unconscious with just one hit to the face. He threw the police officer down on the hood of his car, and he turned to Cassie.

"Slayer." Spike smirked. "Looks like you could use some help."

"Spike?" Cassie asked in surprise, "You can walk."

"Yeah, vamp healin'," Spike replied. He looked over his shoulder at the still unconscious cop. "What's up with him?"

"Dru killed the other Slayer. They found me with the body. So, the idiots think I did it," Cassie replied sadly, "She showed up a couple of days ago saying that there is some sort of darkness going down."

"That would be your ex, and his pet rock," Spike muttered, "He's got your Watcher. Right now, he's probably torturing him."

"The Powers That Be said that Angel was supposed to stop Acathla not bring him forth," Cassie disclosed in a tight voice, "This is all my fault." She rubbed her face with her hands. "All my fault," she whispered to herself, "Jenny dead. Kendra dead. Willow's in the hospital. All my fault."

"Slayer, that's enough of that rot," Spike remarked tersely, "The gypsy girl getting herself killed was her own damned fault. She could have easily told you and the Watcher all about Angelus and his curse. Then, we wouldn't be in this bloody mess."

"What about Kendra and Willow?" Cassie asked sadly. Her eyes flew from Spike to the Specter and then back to the vampire.

"Kendra's a Slayer, luv. She knew the deal," Spike answered. He felt a bit cold saying that, but he knew he had to knock the woebegone feeling out of Cassie. He saw Cassie visibly flinch. "She did her duty, just like you are about to do yours. And as for Red? She's been with you for awhile now. She knows the risks."

"How can you be sure I will do my duty?" Cassie challenged Spike words.

"Because you're a good Slayer, pet," Spike replied.

The police officer started to moan. Cassie, Spike and Specter all turned to look at the man, and they realized that he would regain consciousness in just a few moments.

"I suggest we take this elsewhere," Cassie sighed. She motioned for Spike and the Specter to follow her. The three moved swiftly and silently towards Giles's apartment, and they kept their senses extended outward for any sign of Angelus' minions.

When Cassie entered the courtyard of Giles's apartment complex, she was knocked to the ground by a minion. Before she had time to react to the threat, she was covered in vamp dust. Cassie opened her eyes to find the Specter standing over her with eyes flashing and a stake planted firmly in her hand. She took the hand the Specter offered, and Cassie was surprised at the flash of kinship she felt with the girl. That was something new.

The Specter turned, and she spoke in her harsh but lilting voice to Spike who translated for her. "She says the rest of the courtyard is clear, but there's a demon of some kind inside the Watcher apartment." Spike added his own comment. "The minion was one of Angelus' boys. He won't get a chance to tattle on us now."

"How is this going to work, Spike?" Cassie asked.

"I'm gonna remove Dru from the equation," Spike answered. He pulled his cigarettes from his pocket, and he lit one. He inhaled a deep drag before he continued. "'ll take her to Brazil where her caretaker is waitin' for her."

"Why can't we just dust her?" Cassie cried out suddenly. She moved away from Spike and the Specter.

"Can we dust Angelus?" Spike asked in return. He watched Cassie frantically shake her head. "Thought not. I don't want to dust Dru either, Slayer. Look, 'll deal with Dru and the Specter can deal with the minions. That leaves you to deal with Angelus."

"Fine. Be ready to back me up when I make my move," Cassie stated, "But Giles had better not die." She moved to Giles' aparment door, and she disappeared inside.

"That went well, don't you think?" Spike muttered. He dropped his cigarette butt on the ground, and he ground it out with the heel of his boot. "'ve gotta get back before the Poofter misses me, luv."

"Who am I going to practice my sparring with while you're gone?" the Specter asked. She moved closer to the vampire, and she peered up into his face.

"Ah, pet. Don't make this any harder than it already is," Spike answered. He reached up to lightly cup the Specter's face through the mask. "'ve a bad feeling that getting back to you and Beth is going to be harder than I thought. Ever since that damned ritual, Dru's mental state has gone down hill."

The Specter clung to the hand that cupped her cheek. Her glowing golden eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill over. She was trying to keep her Specter identity aloof and unemotional, but it really wasn't working since her Beth identity was so broken hearted.

"No tears, pet," Spike whispered fiercely, "'ll be back as soon as I can get away." He moved his fingers to catch the crystal tear clinging to the Specter's eyelash. Something about the Specter tugged at his heart strings like Beth did. It confused him. "Keep an eye on Beth for me, will you? She's a good girl." Spike pulled himself away from the girl, and he slid into the darkness in a swirl of leather.

The Specter pressed her gloved hands to her eyes as she contemplated what had happened between her and Spike as both Beth and her secret identity. The kiss she had shared with him as Beth had been so sweet and hot that her toes had curled inside her shoes, and she had wanted nothing more than to take him to her bed to make love until the world ended. The heart of the Slayer had won out, though. So, she had changed her clothes, and she had gone to meet him as the Specter. However the fierce tenderness Spike had shown the Specter in the past few minutes caused all parts of Beth to want to run after him, rip off her mask, and reveal her all of her identities to him.

A voice startled the Specter out of her reverie, "It's not time for that yet, Specter."

The Specter peered into the darkness only to find a short, badly dressed demon wearing a battered fedora staring back at her. "Who the hell are you?" she growled, and her eyes flashed.

"Name's Whistler, kid. I'm the representative of the Powers That Be," the demon replied. He lifted his hat politely.

"You understand me?" the Specter murmured in surprise.

"Of course I understood you. I wouldn't be a very good representative if I couldn't communicate with all of the beings I come in contact with," Whistler declared softly. He didn't want the Slayer inside the apartment to overhear the conversation with the Slayer outside the apartment.

"How come Spike can understand me?" the Specter asked.

"Well, what kind of explanation do you want to hear?" Whistler inquired.

"A truthful one," the Specter growled. Somehow she knew this smelly half demon was just the type to roll his messages up in riddles.

"I can only tell you what I know," Whistler said in an informative voice, "It turns out that Spike's vampiric demon is not only the destined mate of your vampiric demon, but the mate of your Slayer, too."

"So if I hadn't died, Spike would have still been my destined mate?" the Specter demanded.

"If you allowed yourself to accept him ... yes," Whistler answered, a bit evasively. He refused to look at the Specter in the hopes that he wouldn't reveal anything in his eyes. Unfortunately, this caused the Specter to actually study the half demon much more closely.

The Specter's thoughts ran the gamut as she pondered what the demon wasn't telling her of the alternate future. "I wouldn't have though, would I?" the Specter asked sadly, "Not like I do now?"

"Not before it was too late, kid," Whistler acknowledged, "It's not time yet to reveal yourself wholly to your mate or the others. There's a new Dawn coming, Specter, and you have to be ready. You think you know what you are, but you haven't even begun." The half demon raised his fedora to the Specter again, and much like Spike before him, slid into the darkness.

The Specter recognized the last little bit of what Whistler said; the part that sounded so much like what Dru had told her. However, before she could fully think about what the Powers That Be's messenger had told her, Cassie stepped out of the Watcher's apartment.

"The sword I need is at the school library, Specter," Cassie informed the black clad girl. The sorrow for her upcoming duty palpable in her voice and attitude.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassie and the Specter walked up Crawford Street towards the mansion that Angelus had taken up residence in after Giles burned down Spike's factory lair. The two girls walked at a fairly brisk pace. They both carried swords concealed in burlap. They were both startled when Xander jumped out of the bushes that lined the hillside.

"Xander," Cassie gasped.

"Cavalry's here," Xander announced, "Cavalry's a frightened guy with a rock, but it's here." He held up the rock he was carrying, which he threw aside when Cassie offered him a stake. "That's much better," he chuckled.

"You're not here to fight," Cassie informed the boy as they started walking again, "You get Giles out and you run like hell, understood? Spike's getting Dru out, Specter is dealing with the extras, and I..." Cassie pulled the cloth off the sword she carried, "I'm gonna be busy dealing with Angelus."

Xander looked back and forth at the two girls, each of which had a sword in their hands, "That's a new look for you."

"Mine's a present for Angel. The Specter wrote that hers make her feel manly," Cassie noticed Xander's look of confusion, and she shrugged. "She said it's something Spike said to her once."

"Willow's awake," Xander said in a rush, "She told me to tell you that she's going to try the spell and to delay as much as possible. You'll know it was successful by Angel's eyes flashing, I think she said. Although personally I don't think he deserves a chance."

"But I do, Xander," Cassie simply stated as the three continued down the street to the mansion.

The Specter led the way into the mansion, and she dispatched the minions as she went. She cut the head off the vampire guarding the door just as Angelus drew a blade across the palm of his hand. As Angelus was uttering the last words of the spell to awaken Acathla, he turned his head to find the Specter staring at him. Their eyes met, and the Specter growled expectantly.

Angelus moved toward what he considered an insolent little girl, and he forgot her threat against him from before. He was surprised when Cassie stepped out from behind the petite black clad figure.

"Hello lover," Cassie drawled.

Angelus quickly schooled his features to extreme boredom, "I don't have time for the likes of you."

"You don't have a lot of time left, Angelus," Cassie smirked and winked at her ex-lover.

"Coming on kind of strong, don't you think? You're playing some deep odds here. Do you really think you can take us all on?" Angelus sneered, "Two little girls." He failed to notice the smirk that swept across the face of the vampire sitting directly behind him.

Spike stood up from his wheelchair, and he hit the elder vampire several times across the back of the head with a fireplace poker. When Angelus cried out in pain it caused Drusilla to twist around to seek out what was hurting her daddy. Spike whacked Angelus a couple more times, before he turned his attention to Drusilla. He dropped the poker and advanced on his sire. Spike pulled back his left hand, balled it into a fist, and clipped her on the jaw. Drusilla crumpled to the ground in a heap.

The Specter intercepted a minion that had moved to attack Cassie. She quickly beheaded the creature, and she allowed Cassie to move in to kick Angelus while he still laid passed out on the floor. The Specter noticed that Xander and Giles were on their way out of the mansion, but their way was blocked by several minions. She caught Cassie's attention, and the two girls kept their eye on the uncosncious Angelus as they hurried to help the Watcher and Xander.

Spike dragged Dru out into the garage. He was worried she would awaken and be pissed. So, he locked her in the trunk of his car. One down and many to go, he thought to himself. Several minions came in the side door of the garage. They expressed surprise that he was out of his wheelchair but not for long. Spike dusted them before they had a chance to say much else.

Angelus groaned when he woke up. As he rubbed his eyes he felt the blood running down his wrist. He heard a scream, and he glanced around the room only to find two of his best minions turning into dust under the Slayer and the Specter's swords. He shrank away a little when the Specter's golden eyes fell upon him until he remembered he was Angelus, Scourge of Europe, and no little girl was going to get the best of him. Angelus watched as the Specter turned her attention back to the minions, and she began to dispatch them almost too easily. Angelus leapt to his feet, and he shot across to Acathla. He grabbed the sword with his bloody hand.

The room was filled with a blinding bright light. Cassie had been crossing the room towards Angelus when he withdrew the sword from the stone. She threw her hand up over her eyes, but the light disappeared just as fast as it had appeared. Cassie could hear the sword in Angelus' hand whistle through the air as he took a few practice swings.

The Specter stood in the doorway with her hand over her mouth, when Spike came up behind her. "What's wrong, luv?" Spike asked. He could feel that something was off as soon as he got in close proximity with the Specter.

"He opened Acathla," the Specter whispered, "Willow is going to do the spell to give him back his soul. We were supposed to keep him distracted long enough."

In the room with the stone statue, the Slayer and her ex-lover squared off. They both held their swords at attention, ready to fight.

"You almost made it, Cass," Angelus sneered.

"It's not over yet," Cassie said confidently. She brought her sword up to hold the blade in front of her face.

"My boy, Acathla here, is about to wake up. You're going to Hell," Angelus boasted. He too held his sword up in front of his face.

"Well, save me a seat, big boy," Cassie quipped. She thrust her sword out at Angelus, but he quickly parried.

"How long will it be before the little witch completes the spell?" Spike asked in a whisper. He watched the two combatants move out of the main part of the mansion and into the atrium.

"Xander didn't say," The Specter replied. She started slightly as Cassie lost her sword and was thrown onto a nearby stone table that collapsed beneath her weight. The Specter advanced on Angelus, and she spoke in her harsh, lilting voice.

Spike's laughter filled the air as he translated for the Specter. "Hey Peaches, m'girl says you are so inadequate as a vampire you can't even find your own fangs in the dark."

Angelus stopped his advance on the Slayer to turn and face his verbal tormentors. The look of confusion on the dark haired vampire's face was worth it for the blond vampire.

Spike gasped for air as he continued to translate for the Specter who was slowly advancing on Angelus. "She says your breath smells like the rotting blood of gutter rats."

Cassie snorted at the insult, and she crawled cautiously towards her fallen sword. She saw that the Specter was keeping Angelus' attention away from her. Cassie grinned as the Specter turned in such a way that Angelus' back was always towards the Slayer.

Spike fell to his knees as the Specter's next insult caused him to lose all control of his motor reflexes. "M'girl says that you compensate for a small dick by using an excess of hair gel to accentuate your big forehead." Spike couldn't help himself from actually rolling on the ground laughing. He knew he wasn't going to be much help at this stage if she continued. "Stop, luv, you're bloody well cracking me up."

Angelus was about to advance on the Specter when he felt the presence of the Slayer sneaking up behind him. Before he could decide which girl was the most dangerous, the Slayer hit him in the small of the back. He lunged forward towards the Specter who quickly jumped out of the way, and he stumbled through the door back into the mansion. Angelus tripped over a still laughter-immobilized Spike and fell crashing to the floor inside the building.

Cassie followed Angelus. She gracefully jumped over Spike, and she kicked Angelus in the ass. The dark haired vampire scrambled across the floor away from the Slayer. Cassie trailed behind Angelus as she waited for him to make it to his feet.

Angelus managed to make it to his feet, but when he turned around he found that the Slayer was closer to him than he thought. He could see behind her that the Specter had gotten Spike up off the floor and appeared to be telling the blond vampire he needed to leave. Angelus' attention swung quickly back to Cassie when she swung her sword at him. He missed the block, and this caused Cassie to get a lucky blow that sliced his hand.

Cassie advanced on Angelus when he dropped his sword and held his bleeding hand. She kicked him hard in the face. This caused him to fall backward towards Acathla and land on his knees at her feet. When he looked up at her, she saw his eyes flash, and she knew his soul had been returned to him.

"Cassie?" Angel whispered, "What are we doing here?"

"Oh Angel," Cassie sighed, "We're here saving the world."

Cassie stared at the rock statue behind Angel where its eyes glowed red. Its mouth opened and a swirling vortex opened. It grew larger and began to glow red. Tears leaked out of Cassie's eyes when she realized what she was going to have to do.

"How are we saving the world?" Angel asked, confusedly.

"Don't worry about it," Cassie whispered. She leaned over, put her hand over Angel's eyes, kissed him softly on the lips, and rammed her sword through him.

Angel's eyes popped open in surprise and pain when he felt the sword enter his body. He watched as Cassie stepped away from him. Angel felt something pull at his chest where she had stabbed him. When he looked down he could see a bright light. Then he looked up at Cassie in confusion as the power of the vortex began to pull at his flesh. He uttered her name one time before his body touched the vortex, and he disappeared.

Cassie dropped to her knees, and she began to sob. She was startled when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see the concerned eyes of the Specter looking down at her. Cassie looked around for Spike, but didn't see the blond vampire. She allowed the Specter to help her out of the mansion.

The two females went to the hospital where all of Cassie's friends, including the Watcher, were gathered. When the others asked where Angel was, Cassie was unable to say anything, but the Specter spoke her first word in English to the group.

"Hell."

Chapter 10


Spike sat in the darkened demon bar. He nursed his drink while he thought about how incredibly fickle his Sire was being at the moment. Spike actually felt sorry for the poor Chaos demon that Dru had picked for her next protector. Suddenly a nearby conversation piqued the vampire's interest.

"I heard that a Slayer took down a Hell dimension all by herself," a smelly pig-faced demon said loudly. He was quite drunk and actually thought he had whispered the comment.

"I didn't think the Slayer ever left Sunnydale," a different demon replied. He wasn't quite as drunk as the first demon, but it was damned close.

"Wellll," the first demon slurred, "My cousin Bubba said that the Sunnydale Slayer is blond and is named Cassie." He took another swig of his drink. "Rumor has it this one has short curly dark blond hair and her name's Buffy."

Spike decided this girl must be the dark-skinned bint's replacement until the demon's next cryptic statements. He caught himself leaning towards the conversation.

"This Slayer was extremely skillful according to my cousin." The demon continued to slur his words and knock back drinks. This caused Spike to worry that it would pass out before he heard the rest of the information. "There was something weird about her. He only caught a glimpse of her, but he would swear she was a vamp or something."

"Ya wanna know what I heard?" a third demon interjected. He continued on after the other demons nodded. "There's a dark-haired sultry Slayer over Boston way, that's had a run in with this vamp that wants to take over the Sunnydale Hellmouth."

"There's no demon ruling the Hellmouth right now," the second demon to speak piped up, "But the Sunnydale Slayer and the Specter, with the help of William the Bloody, destroyed three assassins from the Order of Taraka that were sent after them."

Spike lifted an eyebrow when he heard his name. He put two and two together and came up with four. The vampire that was after him and his girls was on his way to Sunnydale. Spike was filled with a sudden fear for Beth. He swallowed the last of his drink, slammed the glass down on the bar, threw down his cash, and headed out the door in a flurry of black leather.

"Who was that?"

"Uh oh. I have a feeling that Sunnydale's gonna have a visit from William the Bloody," the demon hiccupped. He knew of only one demon who wore black leather so well and hair that glowed in the night it was such a bright blond color.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Giles," Cassie greeted her Watcher, "How goes the research?" She slipped into the chair at the library table.

Giles looked up from his book to study Cassie. He knew that the young girl had spent the summer feeling that Jenny dying and Angel's opening of Acathla was all her fault. No matter how much Xander, Willow and he tried to convince the girl otherwise, the feelings persisted. The person that Cassie appeared to feel closest to was Beth; the two girls were brought together by the loss of their boyfriends. Giles shook himself out of his morose thoughts, and he answered the Slayer, "Not really. What little we know about the Specter holds no clues whatsoever to her identity."

"Maybe she's just a demon who isn't evil," Cassie replied, "Look at Clem and all the demons that he's shown us over the summer whose only desire is to live in peace with humans." The entire Scooby gang was surprised to find out that it wasn't only the evil demons that were attracted to the Hellmouth.

Giles chuckled, "Quite right. The look on Xander's face when he found out the man at the doughnut shop was a demon was priceless." Before he could say anything else the rest of the Scooby gang burst into the library. Cassie was happy to see that her friends were having a good time with each other, even though she now felt like third wheel.

"Anyone have exciting plans for the evening?" Cassie asked. The other teenagers shook their heads negatively, but Giles spoke up.

"The downtown art gallery received the most interesting shipment of tribal masks from Nigeria in this last week that I've been dying to go see. One of the masks is rumored to hold the power of a zombie demon, called Ovu Mobani ... Evil Eye." Giles went to his desk where he grabbed an open book. He laid it on the table in front of the teenagers so that they could look at the picture he indicated.

"That is one ugly mask there, G-man," Xander commented. He shoved the book closer to Cordelia so she could check it out, too. "What does it do?"

"It raises the dead, which are easily killed, unless one of the zombies puts on the mask on," Giles informed the group, "Then it becomes a demon incarnate and almost impossible to kill."

"Someone actually sent this little dohickey to the Hellmouth?" Cassie scrunched up her nose. "What the hell were they thinking? So, are you going alone, or do you have a hot date, Giles?"

"Actually Beth and her friend Jack expressed an interest in the masks, and they are meeting me there," Giles said almost proudly.

"Giles, you old dog, you," Willow snarked. She earned a laugh from the other teenagers.

"What?" Giles looked aghast at the implication that he was going on a double date with two young ladies. "No, it's not like that at all. Besides, I'll have you know Jack's dating Clem, and we know Beth only has eyes for Spike."

"Just kidding, Giles." Willow chuckled, and she rolled her eyes. Then, she turned serious when she noticed that Cassie winced at the mention of Beth and Spike. "Cassie, are you okay?"

Cassie put on a fake smile, and replied, "Sure I am. In fact, I think I'll tag along with Giles and take a look at the zombie death mask."

Willow and Xander looked at each other before turning back to Cassie, and Willow asked, "How about we go with, too? That way we all can go back to the Bronze with Beth and Jack afterwards."

Cordelia started to protest, but she was cut off when both Willow and Xander shot her dirty looks. Oz just commented that it would be a hootenanny which earned him strange looks that he just shrugged off. The group broke up after they agreed to meet at the art gallery. Giles and Cassie took Giles's car, Willow went with Oz in his van, and Cordelia drove Xander in her sporty little convertible.

The gang met up outside the art gallery. They were lucky enough to get parking spots fairly close together. They walked towards the front door; Willow and Oz were in front, followed by Cordelia and Xander, and Cassie and Giles brought up the rear. A cat ambled out from under one of the cars. The stench emanating from animal was so bad that the entire group gagged.

Oz, being a werewolf, noticed that the cat was actually mortally wounded, but no blood flowed from the cuts. His nostrils flared, and he let out a menacing growl. "That cat's dead, gang. Think this could be a problem."

The group hurried inside to find Beth and Jack standing just inside speaking to a distraught woman who looked vaguely familiar to Giles. Otherwise the gallery appeared to be deserted.

"I went into my office to get some paperwork for a patron," the woman said, "But when I came out everyone had disappeared. It was the strangest thing."

Loud pounding on the plate glass windows caused the group to jump. They all whirled around to stare at the bloodied man with unseeing eyes beating on the glass. The pane began to crack beneath the man's unrelenting hits. Beth grabbed Cassie's arm, and she pointed at the two retractable security window grilles that the gallery had for the front windows. Each girl rushed towards one, and they were soon joined by the others. They got the grilles closed just as the man shattered the window.

"He's dead, too," Oz replied.

"Too? What do you mean, too?" the distraught woman said wildly.

"Calm down, Joyce," Jack said quietly. She put her arms around the woman. "Why don't we go sit in your office for just a moment and I'll get you a drink of water?" Jack nodded to the others before she led the woman away.

"What the heck is going on?" Beth asked, "That guy isn't a vampire. Even I know that." She tipped her head and used her chin to point at the man that was now joined by several other dead people. They pushed their arms through the broken window to shake the grille, heedless of the glass.

"Giles did say we were coming down to look at some Nigerian mask that makes zombies out of the dead," Cordelia pointed out.

"I said a dohickey like that on the Hellmouth was asking for trouble," Cassie snarked, "Now fan out and see if we can find it." She grabbed Beth by the arm, and the two girls began to examine placards for Nigerian masks.

The others did as they were directed, and after a few minutes Xander called out, "Found it, and it's glowing red." As the others converged on Xander and the mask, the door to the back room burst open and several zombies shuffled into the room. Giles shrugged off his coat, and he threw it over the mask. Then, he pulled the mask off the wall, and he wrapped it in his coat.

Beth directed them towards the office that Joyce and Jack had disappeared into just a few minutes before. The group pressed themselves into the small room and barricaded the door against the zombies. Cassie and Oz kept their weight against the door and Giles dumped the mask onto the desk.

Joyce stared at the mask. "First we found a dead cat in one of the shipping boxes, and then some dead guy broke the gallery window. Here I was just worried about no one liking the exhibit."

"The only way to stop the zombies is to destroy the mask," Giles informed the group, "My good woman, would you have a hammer available?"

"What? We can't destroy it?" Joyce sputtered, "It's a masterpiece of primitive art."

"If it's not destroyed and one of the zombies gets its hand on it, the zombie will become a demon incarnate," Giles announced.

"That's a bad thing, isn't it?" Willow asked. She grimaced when Giles nodded. "Hey, you could say it got destroyed in transit, or tell the cops it was a 'gang on PCP'. They'll believe that." Willow grinned when the other teenagers nodded.

Loud banging on the wall of the office announced the arrival of more zombies. While everyone's attention was on the zombies, Joyce looked at Beth, and she gave a slight nod. Beth gave her a little nod back. The silent mother/daughter connection was in full force between the two women. The looks went largely unnoticed by the others in the room, except Giles who found the exchange very odd.

"There's a hammer in the top right desk drawer," Joyce informed Giles. She closed her eyes unable to watch the destruction of the beautiful mask.

Giles opened the drawer. He picked up the hammer, but his eyes were drawn immediately to the picture of a young blond girl who looked vaguely familiar. Before he could study the picture too closely, Cassie's voice caught his attention.

"Giles, we can't hold them back for too much longer," Cassie yelled, 'There's too many of them. Destroy the mask." She and Oz pushed against the door as hard as they could.

Giles promptly forgot about the picture, and he slammed the drawer closed. He took the hammer to the mask. In a matter of seconds, the mask was a pile of splinters on the desk.

Cassie and Oz leaned heavily against the door as they panted. The zombies had disappeared as soon as the mask was destroyed. "So, Oz, is this your idea of a hootenanny?" Cassie snarked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What do you mean I can't go back to Sunnyhell, right now, Dru?" Spike snarled, "The vamp that sent the Order of Taraka's gunnin' for m'girls." He paced back and forth in a flurry of loosely controlled fury.

"The little night flowers need to bloom," Dru whispered as she danced around the room, "It's hard to grow if you're blocking the moonlight, my Spike. They need to grow strong and fierce."

"What the bloody hell are you natterin' on about, Dru?" Spike shook his head as he tried to understand his Sire's cryptic message. He exchanged a worried look with Ralph, Dru's new protector.

"They have to be ready, my Spike. You have to be ready, ready to accept them," Dru slipped into Ralph's lap, and she laid her head on his shoulder. "Like the flowers of Venus, they are, look so delicate, lure you in, and then," Dru snapped her teeth together sharply, "Snap. Traps you in, traps you in!"

"Dru," Spike growled warningly.

"But you are already trapped, aren't you, my dark prince?"

Chapter 11

Beth answered the phone on the second ring. She almost dropped the phone when she heard the voice at the other end. Beth hadn't been expecting a call from Spike, but it made her shiver with pleasure.

"Hello, luv." Spike's deep voice trickled through the phone line. "How's m'favorite girl?"

"I wasn't expecting to hear from you, and I'm doing okay," Beth answered, "I miss you."

"I miss you, too, pet," Spike said quietly. There was worry evident in his voice. "How are things going in Sunnyhell?" He figured it was best to feel Beth out on the local activities before he hit her with the news about the new threat to her life.

"Going fine," Beth answered, "I went shopping in Los Angeles. That was lots of fun." She nibbled on her lip, and she twirled the phone cord in her fingers. "Jack and I went to an art gallery opening with zombies."

"Care to run that one by me one more time, luv?" Spike chuckled. He flopped back on his bed as he tried to ignore the sounds of Dru shagging her new protector in the room down the hall. They could have at least found a soundproofing spell.

Beth laughed. "Jack and I were supposed to meet Giles to look at primitive masks, and he brought the whole gang. Then a zombie showed up and we smashed the mask to make them go away."

"Sounds like a right fun time," Spike said, "Sorry I missed it." He stopped to think about how to approach the real reason on his mind. "Sweets?"

"Yeah, Spike?" Beth answered. She heard the trepidation in his voice, and she knew whatever he was going to say wasn't going to be of the good.

"You need to warn the Slayer and the Specter that the vamp that took the hit out on us is coming their way," Spike announced, "You need to be extra careful, too, pet. They were after you last time, too."

"I will be," Beth promised in a little girl voice. Her mind raced with the news that her secret counterpart was once again on someone's hit list. Beth supposed it was the price she was going to have to pay for still doing her duty despite her undead status.

"I know you will. It's the Specter I worry about," Spike sighed, "She's the one out there risking her life all the time."

Beth suddenly felt jealous of her secret counterpart, which made her feel totally ridiculous. The question was out of her mouth before she could stop it. "What do you feel for me, Spike?"

"I've fallin' madly in love with you, Beth." Spike admitted. "From the first moment I saw you, you've been takin' over my heart."

"Me, too." Beth confessed, "But what about the Specter?"

"I don't know, luv. She's carved her own notch out in my heart. You both have qualities I love. You are sweet and gentle, while she's wild and fierce. You give me calmness while she challenges me. At times I can't be sure which of you is real. 'm confused, pet. I'm a one woman kinda guy. Maybe" Spike paused for a moment, "Oh Hell, it would be so much simpler if you were one woman."

Beth gasped. Surely Spike didn't realize just how close to the mark he was? They talked for another hour about a little bit of everything, but Beth was careful that she didn't give anything away. Whistler had told her that it wasn't time for Spike to know. When would be the right time? How much longer could she go on with her dual identities before she gave something away on accident?

When Spike hung up, he promised Beth he would call sooner next time. He said he felt like the Poofter, only calling when trouble was around. He told her once again that he missed her, and he hoped that he could be able to see her again soon. While Spike closed his eyes to try to sleep, many thoughts kept running through his mind on repeat. Something bothered him about their conversation. He knew he was missing something, but he wasn't sure what it was. He finally gave up and let sleep claim him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Specter made her rounds, but her mind wasn't really on her patrol. Instead she was busy thinking about what Beth and Spike had spoken about earlier. She was pleased that he was attracted to all sides of her, but it also gave her quite a problem. The Specter was sure that Spike would be happy to find out that she and Beth were one in the same. However she couldn't say the same about how he would feel about her secrecy. How would she be able to explain her reasons for the secret? Would he understand her reasoning?

When the Specter approached the Happy Burger, her senses tingled beyond anything she had ever felt. That included the time she had fought the Master over a year before. The Specter noticed a black limo stopped at the drive thru window, and much to her horror the restaurant employee's feet were hanging out the limo window. She was saddened that it was already too late for the young boy. From the open car window, the Specter heard something that didn't please her at all.

"The Slayer is all yours, Kakistos, but Mayor Wilkins is very displeased with your ambitious plan to take over Sunnydale by sending the Order of Taraka to our gates." The words drifted out as the car screeched out of the parking lot and down the street.

The Specter tried to catch the license plate of the limo. It was traveling so fast that even with her enhanced eyes, she was unable to catch the numbers. She had a bad feeling about this, especially coupled with Spike's warning from earlier. It was time to have a little visit with the Slayer and her Watcher.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Specter entered the alley behind the Bronze just in time to watch a dark haired girl jab the vamp that was about to bite her in the face. The vampire staggered back and allowed the girl to jump up on a crate. The girl kicked the vampire in the face just as Cassie approached the scene.

"It's okay. I got it," the dark haired girl sang out, "You're Cassie, right?"

Cassie nodded as the vampire grabbed the girl from behind. The girl snapped her head back to butt him in full in the face.

"I'm Faith," the girl announced. She twisted the vampire around and shoved it into the chain link fence.

No one had noticed that the rest of the Scoobies had entered the alley behind Cassie until Oz deadpanned, "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say there's a new Slayer in town."

The group continued to watch Faith fight the vampire for a few more minutes before the dark haired Slayer asked Cassie if she could borrow a stake. Cassie casually tossed her stake to Faith who caught it, and she promptly turned the vampire to dust. Faith handed the stake back to Cassie.

The Specter came out of the shadows. She clapped her hands as she approached the group. When she stopped in front of the group, she tilted her head to study the new Slayer. The Specter could tell this one could be trouble if not handled properly. Then she greeted each of the Scoobies with a nod of her head before she turned to Cassie. The Specter tapped her wrist and she opened her hands like a book.

"You want a meeting with Giles, Specter?" Cassie asked casually. She watched Faith out of the corner of her eye. "Tomorrow after dark, okay with you?"

The Specter nodded. Her eyes flared when she heard something behind her in the alley. The Specter looked over her shoulder to study the darkness. She had the stake out of her waistband and hurled through the air before either Cassie or the new Slayer Faith could react. Then she turned her attention back to the group.

"Faith, this is the Specter," Cassie started to introduce the two girls.

"Wicked throw you have there," Faith interrupted. "Bet I could do better."

The Specter laughed, made a comment in her harsh lilting voice, and appeared as if she disappeared before their eyes. Cassie and her friends continued to chat as if it was a normal thing. This left Faith wondering just what was going on in this weird town.

"Can any of you tell me what the hell she said?" Faith asked. She stuffed her hands in her back pockets in an attempt to appear cool and collected.

"Nope. Only one to understand her is Spike," Xander informed the new Slayer, "And he's down in Brazil with his crazy sire right now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next night the Specter entered the library through the back access. She could hear Cassie and Giles talking about some vampires that had attacked the other Slayer. When the Specter heard the name 'Kakistos' being thrown around, she prowled out of the stacks and into the library. Faith looked as if she was about to bolt out of the library until she saw the Specter, and then her face hardened into resolve not to let anything frighten her.

"Taraka," the Specter growled her second word of English ever.

"What?" Giles stared at the Specter, "You're saying that this Kakistos is the one that sent the Order of Taraka after us?" After the Specter's slight nod, Giles continued, "How do you know this?"

"Beth talked to me earlier today, Giles," Cassie answered the question for the Specter, "Spike heard about it down in Brazil. He called to tell her to be careful and to warn us."

"Who the hell is this Spike you all keep talking about?" Faith demanded to know. She blinked when three sets of eyes turned to look at her. "It was just a question. No need to get all bent out of shape."

Before Cassie or Giles formulated a reply, the Specter was already growling, and her eyes flashed. "Spike mine." Cassie and Giles stared at her in astonishment. That was an unexpected surprise.

A male voice voiced called out from the library doorway, "Somehow I don't think Beth would care to hear you say that, Specter." Xander and Cordelia entered the library hand in hand.

The Specter turned her golden gaze on the dark haired teenage boy, and she growled again, "Beth mine."

"Who here knew she spoke English?" Cordelia asked harshly.

"Yes, um, quite right," Giles spluttered, "When Spike asked the Specter to guard Beth, I assume that this caused aggressive protective feelings in her." He grabbed the notebook he kept just for his Specter notes, and he quickly jotted the newest developments down.

The Specter looked at the group, but she hid her confusion. What the hell just happened? It wasn't like she could claim herself, could she? That damned Whistler never said anything about claiming herself. If she ever got her hands on that smelly little demon she'd be wearing his ribcage for a hat. The Specter felt a sudden surge of power as the first time her vampire being and her Slayer being embraced each other. Sure, she had known she was more powerful than the average vampire or even more powerful than she had been as just the Slayer, but now she could feel the excess power radiate through her entire being; girl, vampire and Slayer.

"About this Kakistos," Giles informed the group, "It means the worst of the worst. It's also the name of a vampire so old that his hands and feet are cloven." Giles looked at the Specter. "You're sure that he's the one that got the Order after us?"

The Specter nodded tersely. She grabbed a piece of paper off the table, and she wrote down exactly what she had heard coming out of the limo window. The Specter handed the paper to Giles who immediately read the note.

"The mayor is involved, too?" Giles sighed, "This can't be good. Especially if Spike heard about it down in Brazil. Can we expect a visit from William the Bloody anytime soon?" He glanced back and forth from Cassie to the Specter, both of whom shrugged. "He's a good ally to have in a crisis."

"Guess it's just us then," Cassie declared, "We really should find Faith someplace to crash besides that fleabag motel that she's staying in." She gestured to Faith and the Specter. "Come on, you two. We need to collect Faith's things and figure something out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Look, the room's eighteen dollars a day. That's every day and roommates are extra," the hotel manager tried to tell Faith. His beady eyes flitted over the three girls, and he licked his puffy lips in glee.

"Keep your eyes to yourself, buster," Faith muttered, "I'm checking out as soon as I'm packed." She began to throw her things into her duffle bag.

Cassie and the Specter grabbed the manager. The two girls gripped his arms firmly, and they hustled him out of the room. The Specter slammed the door behind the man.

Faith paused in her packing, and she got a faraway look on her face. "He's the one who did it. Kakistos. He killed my Watcher. Actually they don't have a word for what he did to her."

"Together we can take him down, Faith," Cassie assured the other Slayer, "The two of us, plus the Specter, are a force to be reckoned with."

Cassie was interrupted by a knock at the door. When she looked through the peephole she saw the manager who acted very funny. Cassie was about to open the door when the Specter grabbed her arm and growled. At a nod of the head, the two female warriors opened the door, grabbed the struggling manager away from his captor, and pulled him into the room.

"Faith," Kakistos growled. He was immediately blocked from his goal by the other two girls. "Oh, the other Slayer and the Specter, too. Three birds with one stone. Lucky me."

Cassie slammed the door in the vampire's face. She locked it and put on the safety chain, but Cassie jumped back when Kakistos jammed his fist through the weak wooden door in an attempt to grab her.

Faith panicked when she saw the ancient vampire. The memories of what he had done to her Watcher rolled over her and caused her to start screaming. Her eyes blanked out, and she keened in terror.

Cassie and the Specter looked at each other. Cassie grabbed Faith's arm and the Specter grabbed the manager's arm. They pulled their two burdens into the bathroom where Cassie broke out the window, and she went through first. The Specter pushed the terrified manager out the window first, followed by the almost catatonic Faith. Then she climbed out the window herself.

"Let's go," Cassie yelled. She grabbed Faith's arm again. Cassie looked first one way and the other. She noticed a gang of vamps marching down the alley towards them. Cassie waited until the Specter had the hotel manager's arm before they moved as swiftly as they could down the alley away from the gang of vampires.

When the Specter came to a fork in the alley, she glanced down one and then the other before she indicated that the left one was the safest. She could hear Mr. Trick, Kakistos' right hand man, give orders to his minions behind her. The Specter motioned a warehouse doorway to Cassie, and between the two of them they easily broke the door down.

"W-what's going on?" the hotel manager stammered.

Cassie and the Specter ignored the man as they moved closer to Faith. The Specter didn't particularly like the newest Slayer, but her kind heart won out over her dislike. She grabbed one of Faith's hands while Cassie grabbed the other.

"I-I was there when he killed my Watcher, and I saw what he did to her." Faith paused in her narration as the memories overwhelmed her. "What he was gonna do to me. I tried to stop him, but I-I couldn't. So, I ran."

Cassie stroked the hand she was holding, and she whispered in Faith's ear, "First rule of Slaying? Don't die. You did the right thing. Okay? You didn't die. Now come on, do the math. One of him, three of us."

"No, I can't do this," Faith's voice became more panicked.

"Yes, you can. You're strong, Faith," Cassie said, "You're a Slayer now."

The Specter looked away from the Slayers, and she noticed several dead bodies in a corner of the room. She growled to get Cassie's attention. Then, she indicated the bodies to the blond Slayer, which made the brunette Slayer look, too.

"This is his place," Faith commented. She studied the bodies carefully.

"He drove us here," Cassie announced. Growling got her attention just as a vampire came through one of the doors. Cassie grabbed the manager, and once again the girls were on the run.

Two more vamps appeared, and they tried to head off the three girls and one idiot man who was still asking questions when he should have been running for his life. The Specter grabbed things she passed by to fling at the vampires, and soon the other girls had joined her. If the situation hadn't been so serious it would have been funny to see the vampires dodging the things coming their way. The Specter finally got tired of this type of fighting, and she took a stake from her waistband. She growled as she advanced on the vampires.

Cassie paced along side the Specter, her stake in hand. She reached her first minion that she gave a full frontal kick right in the creature's most tender spot. As he doubled over, Cassie could see his companions wince and their hand involuntarily move to cover their own private parts. The blond Slayer casually staked the hunched over vamp in the back while she moved on to the next vamp.

Faith quaked with fear when she saw Kakistos enter the warehouse. She shivered in terror when he fixed his gaze upon her. Faith backed up as the ancient vampire advanced on her.

"Faith! Don't die!!" Cassie yelled. She grabbed a crowbar lying on the table next to her, and she tossed it towards the brunette Slayer.

Faith caught the crowbar, but before she could use it Kakistos punched her hard enough to knock her into a pile of large wooden beams leaning up against the wall. When she fell to the ground, the beams fell with her. Faith cowered into the wall when the ancient vampire slowly stepped towards her. She screamed when he grabbed her by her shirt and lifted her off the floor.

The Specter growled when Kakistos' pet vamp, Mr. Trick, entered the warehouse. Something about him rubbed every one of her senses the wrong way; both vampire and Slayer. The Specter walked gracefully towards the dark skinned vampire. Her growl grew louder with every step.

Cassie leapt at Kakistos, and she attempted to stake the ancient vampire. His thick skin was impenetrable. So, it had no effect on him except to take his attentions off of Faith and to turn them on Cassie. She yelped when he grabbed her by the hair and threw her away from him.

Mr. Trick took an unneeded breath of air when the Specter kept moving towards him while she ignored the rest of the room. Something about her glowing golden eyes scared him, and that was not something he liked at all. He began to back up towards the door that he had just entered the building through. Mr. Trick ordered the minion standing with him to attack the Specter, but to his astonishment she wasn't even fazed by the distraction. She simply staked the vamp while she continued her advance.

Cassie stood up from where she had landed. She cracked her neck, and she announced, "Now that pissed me off, goat breath." She backhanded the ancient vampire, and then she punched him. When he tried to hit her back, she ducked and staked him again. The stake slid in further this time, but still not enough to dust him.

"I guess you need a bigger stake, Slayer!" Kakistos cackled crazily.

The Specter tilted her head to study the now cowering Mr. Trick. The only thing she could think about was how much she wanted the evil creature to turn to dust. She growled the word in her harsh and lilting language. Her eyes widened as the vampire crumbled into ashes before her eyes. The Specter stood there staring at the pile of cinders on the floor. That's never happened before, the astonished girl thought to herself. I wonder if it has something to do with all sides of me merging more?

Faith noticed that one of the beams had broken off and now was basically a 'big stake'. She jumped to her feet, grabbed the beam, and lifted it up onto her shoulder. While Kakistos' attention was still on Cassie, Faith rammed the huge beam through the ancient vampire's chest. She laughed at him when he looked down at the huge rod of wood in astonishment. Faith gave the vampire a little wave when he looked back up at her, and he exploded into dust. She heaved a few breaths before she turned to Cassie.

"You hungry?" Cassie asked. She continued to stare at the pile of dust.

"Starved." Faith answered. The two Slayers walked over to the Specter who was still staring at her own pile of dust. "Who's that?"

The Specter looked at the two girls, and she shrugged her shoulders to indicate that it was no one important. She followed the Slayers out of the building, but they parted company with them when they got to the Bronze. The Specter wanted to go home, take a hot bath, and slip into her cool bed where she would have pleasant Spike dreams.

Across town, Mayor Wilkins was less than pleased to find out that the vampire he had planned to be his right hand man had been destroyed by the Specter. He was especially intrigued by the eyewitness' story that the girl had dusted the vampire with the sound of her voice. The Mayor nodded to his minions, and the hotel manager who had been so forthcoming with his information for a price was nothing but a fading memory.

Chapter 12

"Faith, you mind if we swing by the Bronze?" Cassie asked casually, "It's my turn to walk Beth home." Her feet automatically took a path towards the nightclub before the dark haired Slayer could answer.

"Fine by me," Faith replied. She followed behind the blond Slayer. "Can I ask a question though?"

"Go for it."

"Why are we walking this girl home?" Faith quickened her pace to keep up with Cassie. She hadn't said anything, but she thought the Slayer and her friends were more than a little strange. She was confused as to why Cassie's Watcher allowed her to associate with the other teenagers. Faith's own Watcher had told her that she wasn't allowed to have friends.

"Xander promised Spike he'd keep an eye on her. Since Xander's out on a date with Cordy tonight, he asked me to fill in." Cassie turned into the alley behind the Bronze. She hopped up on an empty crate to wait for Beth to come out the service door. She saw the curiosity on the dark haired girl's face. "You're dying to ask. So, just ask."

"Spike's a vamp. I get that, but why are you, a Slayer, being friendly with him?" Faith asked, "And what in the hell is the Specter chick?" The Specter had rubbed Faith the wrong way the moment they laid eyes on each other. She knew if anyone could see through her carefully erected facade, it would probably be the black clad female warrior.

Before Cassie could answer, the service door opened and Beth, along with Jack, stepped into the alley. The pair quietly greeted the blond Slayer, and then, both nodded politely to the dark haired Slayer. Faith found herself walking beside the bartender while they followed the other two females.

"Did that boy, Scott, ask you out?" Beth asked. "He's kinda cute, you know." She laughed when Cassie rolled her eyes.

"I told him I wasn't ready to date yet. Not after the mysterious disappearance of my last boyfriend," Cassie answered. "Besides, his friends are a tad freaky." She scanned the darkness for any signs of demonic activity.

"How are the sessions with Mr. Platt going?" Beth knew that Giles had advised Cassie to seek out the high school counselor for some one-on-one therapy.

"He's nice enough, I suppose." Cassie waved her hand in front of her nose. "He smokes during our little talks and then sprays the nastiest air freshener imaginable to cover up the smell. It was positively ghastly." She said the last in a fair imitation of Giles' snootiest tone of voice. Cassie was interrupted from saying anything further by Dalton.

Dalton stepped out of the shadows. He was a little leery about dealing with two Slayers, but he knew that telling the blond Slayer, Cassie, about the return of Angelus the night before was probably important. It was never good to have a Slayer mad at you, not to mention either of Spike's girls.

"Slayer and Miss Beth," Dalton said softly while he kept an eye on the new dark haired Slayer. "The Souled One returned yesterday after you left the mansion. H-he is not himself. I-I had to chain him up." He stepped back when Cassie advanced on him.

"What do you mean returned?" Cassie demanded. "Is this some kinda joke?"

"No, Slayer!" Dalton exclaimed. He put his hands up as if to ward the young girl off. "A portal opened and he fell through it. He didn't speak or anything and acted feral-like."

"I'm not sure how to react to this, but thank-you for telling me, Dalton," Cassie said quietly. "I think you need to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't escape. I need a chance to talk to Giles." She motioned for Faith to follow her, and the two Slayers left Beth, Jack and Dalton behind.

Faith quietly walked beside Cassie. Her thoughts whirled in her head. Things in Sunnydale were a bit strange for the independent Bostonian Slayer. She'd let Cassie strong arm her into moving in with the blond slayer and the watcher. Cassie had spilled her life story, and Faith found it a bit surreal that their lives prior to becoming slayers had mirrored each other. The dark haired Slayer felt a deep kinship with the older girl. Faith found it a little strange that Cassie hadn't staked the vampire minion that had shown up with the message, but at this point she was more worried about her new friend than a vampire.

"Cassie, are you okay?" Faith asked.

Cassie shrugged as she twisted her face up in a slight grimace. "Yeah, I'm good. I just need to talk to Giles about Angel and all of this before I decide what to do." She turned the grimace into a smile. "Race you home."

The two girls took off running towards Giles' apartment. Neither one managed to get the advantage over the other, and their laughter rang through the night air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beth threw her keys down on the end table while she dropped wearily to the couch. Her day had been long and difficult. First, she'd discovered entirely by accident that the Mayor had a new head minion. A vampire by the name of Thor had brought along his own gang of eight minions that were now integrated with the ones already roaming Sunnydale doing the Mayor's dirty work. Then, on a routine patrol before she was due into work, she discovered a plot to kill the Slayers. When the Specter went to warn Cassie, she discovered that the blond Slayer and Cordelia were already embroiled in the plot and she and Faith had raced to help them. Last, but not least, it being Homecoming night, many of the teenagers came to the Bronze for a little post-dance partying. Dang, but dancing teenagers were a thirsty bunch.

Beth contemplated getting up for a drink of pig's blood when the telephone rang. She picked up the receiver and uttered a greeting. Her entire countenance changed from moments before. She smiled with delight at the voice that poured through the line.

"Hello, luv."

"Spike," Beth squealed. "I've been hoping you would call. So much has happened! Jack and Clem are definitely a solid item now. I got a raise at work." She babbled from one topic to another in a racing litany of sentences. "Angel's back. He just appeared in the mansion one day last week. Dalton came to tell Cassie while she was walking me home. Dalton's keeping himself really low key."

"Whoa there. Slow down, Beth. What's this about Angelus?" Spike gritted his teeth on the other end of the phone.

"Dalton still lives at the mansion. He said that Angel just fell out of a portal in the sky all feral like." Beth twirled the phone cord with her fingertips. "I wouldn't have known about it if Cassie wasn't walking me home that night."

"Bloody Hell." Spike growled. "Can't that wanker stay dusted?" He leaped to his feet to pace back and forth.

"He was sent to Hell, Spike. She didn't stake him." Beth rolled her eyes. She knew her vampire was pacing right about now. He was so predictable when he was upset.

"Hell should be full of nice fiery flames right? He couldn't have tripped into one head first?" The visions in Spike's head made him smirk gleefully.

"Spike!" Beth laughed despite trying not to. "That's not very nice. I will NOT tell Cassie that you said that. She's conflicted enough right now." She remembered the look on Cassie's face when she spoke about the cursed vampire to both Beth and the Specter. Beth was soft-hearted despite her true natures, and she wished there was something she could do to make the other girl feel better.

"Sorry," Spike tried to sound contrite, but failed miserably. So, he huffed instead, "No really, I'm not sorry. I feel bad for the chit, but I hate the wanker." He flung himself back down on his bed.

"Nothing better be wanking him, or we are going to have Angelus to deal with all over again." Beth frowned. "I swear you can cut the tension between those two with a knife. I don't know how someone like him could have gone without sex for decades." The melancholy turn of the conversation started to remind her how she'd felt before he called. "I can sympathize with her there. I know I miss you."

"I miss you, too, pet. I don't know why, but Dru's adamant that I can't come back to you yet." Spike sighed. He leaned against the headboard of his bed. He had finally got a silencing charm surrounding his room. "She's worried that you won't be able to 'bloom' with me around."

"Bloom? I'm not the flowery type." Beth pouted. "And I just want my boyfriend to come home! I want to go out on dates, and go make out at Lover's Lane afterwards. Have our friends over for parties. Have some fun along with school and work."

"Pet, vampires aren't like other normal folk." Spike was beyond frustrated that he couldn't wrap his arms around the woman he loved. "Although we can do all of those things, it isn't what we normally crave. We aren't like everyone else."

"But I really want to be, Spike." Beth sniffled. "I may be a vampire, but I'm still just a girl who wants to share with friends and be loved."

"You are loved, Beth. Don't ever doubt that," Spike growled. He rubbed his forehead while he calmed down and collected his thoughts.

"I love you, too, Spike," Beth said softly. "I'm sorry I'm not a normal vampire and want stupid, childish things."

"I never said they were stupid or childish, pet. Don't even think that wanting love makes you stupid. A vampire has a right to love just as much as any pulser." Spike sighed. "Why don't you invite the Slayer and her girly friends over? It might do you all some good to have a little party. I'm sure she needs to get her mind off Angelus, and you can make some more friends of your own. I think I need to talk to Dru again about this mess. I can't just sit here twiddling my thumbs."

"I'm scared to be around the Slayer so much, Spike. I like her, but what kind of Slayer can't tell that I'm a vampire?" Beth's worry filtered through the phone line to Spike. She'd noticed that Faith didn't seem to have a clue about her vampirism either.

"You are special, pet, and if I was there I could show you just how special you are." Spike's voice soothed and caressed Buffy's mind as easily as his hand would have caressed her cheek.

Being undead didn't diminish the survival instinct in the human half of a vampire's psyche, and Beth was afraid to find out. "What happens if she finds out what I am?"

"Who you are pet, not what. Vampires may be creatures of the night, but we are not its or whats." Spike reaffirmed his solid beliefs in the rights of vampires to exist. "After everything that has happened already, I'm sure the Slayer would see that you are a good person."

"I hope you're right, Spike because this could get really ugly if you're wrong." Beth worried her bottom lip with tiny fangs that sprouted in her nervousness.

"Stop chewing on your lip, luv. You'll ruin your pretty shirt with your dribbling blood." Spike knew Beth's habits already, and he could picture the nervous young vampiress as if he was standing right in front of her.

Beth sucked her lower lip in and licked off the traces of blood. "Smart aleck know-it-all vampire."

"Just call 'em like I see em, pet," Spike baited. He knew exactly how to get a rise out of his girl.

"You can't see me!"

"I always see you. Every time I close my eyes, I see you." Spike smiled warmly. "When I wake up in the evening each night, I see you. You are always with me." The romantic poet of his past leaked out through his present counterpart's affections.

"Wow, I wish I could make it sound as pretty as you do." Beth teased. "I bet I'd make it sound all stalkery instead."

Spike laughed gently. "It's the thought that counts." He was interrupted by Beth yawning. "Tired, luv?"

"Yeah, it was a long day." Beth yawned again. "The Specter found out the Mayor has some imported minions that made an attempt on Cassie and Faith's lives and it was Homecoming today. The Bronze was packed until closing. I'm pooped, even for being a vamp."

"I'll let you get to bed then. I'll call you in a few days, let you know what's goin' on down here." Spike closed his eyes. His heart already ached with loneliness. "You have fun partying with the Slayer."

"Okay," Beth said sleepily. "I love you. Bye."

"Love you, too, baby. Bye." Spike pushed the off button, and he tossed it onto the table next to the bed. He closed his eyes while he decided that he was his own vamp, and he didn't need the permission of his sire to go to the woman he loved. Spike jumped to his feet. He opened the dresser drawers, and he started to toss his clothes onto the bed. Then, he grabbed the duffel bag out of the closet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A FEW DAYS LATER

"Can you believe that Post woman tried to tell us that she was sent by the Council?" Cassie asked. "She must've thought we were a bunch of hicks or something because we're not from jolly old England." She looked up from where she was painting Faith's toenails.

The group of females that had gathered were as diverse as one group could possibly be. Jack, the bartender from the Bronze, was by far the oldest of the group, being in her twenties, but the other girls all seemed to be in the same age range. Cassie found Beth to be a bit baby faced and a bit of an enigma. She wondered how such an innocent girl could attract and keep the attention of one of the worst vampires in history. Well, keep her innocence around said vampire, who instead of trying to corrupt the young woman, had gone against his very nature to be with her. It was thoughts like this that made Cassie have doubts about her relationship with Angel. She gave herself a quick mental shake while she remembered her promise to herself that she'd have fun with her friends.

"Yeah, the Specter took one look at Post and began to giggle," Faith commented. "I've never seen anyone so pissed off in my life, and I'm a master at it. Maybe I'll like this Specter chick yet."

"What color was it exactly that Post turned?" Willow mused. "Puce, maybe. Or maroon." She smiled at Jack, who was painting Willow's toenails a brilliant shade of green.

"Well, it was a particularly unpleasant shade, whatever it was," Cordelia announced. Her grin turned sly. "Now let's talk about boys."

"Yes, tell us how things are going with Xander," Cassie said in return. "Did you let him get lucky yet?" She finished Faith's toenails and switched places with the dark haired Slayer. Cassie picked out a glittery shade of blue to have her tootsies done up in.

"Mr. Xander Harris still has much training ahead of him before I succumb to his advances," Cordelia answered haughtily. "There's 'How to Make Queen C Happy 101' and 'What Makes Queen C Pissed Off 202'. Those are just the beginner courses."

"What about you, Beth?" Willow asked. "Any special courses that Spike needs to take when he gets back?" She closed the bottle of nail polish she was holding, and she put it on the table.

"If there are I better come up with them quick," Beth chuckled. "He called this morning to tell me that he slipped his collar and is on his way to Sunnydale."

"You mean you guys have never done the horizontal limbo?" Faith stared at Beth. "I thought that vampires were all about wild blood-filled orgies." The dark haired Slayer blinked in confusion at the thought of a soulless vampire not being interested in the things she'd read about in the Council's books. Her other watcher had touted the book knowledge as the gospel truth.

"I don't know about most vampires, but Spike's been a total gentleman," Beth said. "Our first kiss was at the skating rink after the assassin tried to kill me. It was heavenly." She got a faraway look in her eye. "All that yummy experience."

"Yummy experience?" Willow asked. She recognized the dreamy look on Beth's face. She'd seen it in her own mirror enough times over the past six months.

"Well, he was turned in 1880, I'm sure he's got lots of yummy experience," Beth grumbled. She knew that Spike had been faithful to Drusilla, but she also knew that the blond vampire enjoyed learning new things.

"Hate to break it to you Beth, but I don't think he and Drusilla played checkers every night for 100 years." Cassie hated to bring up Spike's previous lover. She had no idea that the insane vampiress fully condoned the relationship between Beth and Spike.

"I don't think Dru is sane enough to understand checkers," Beth drawled. "She'd probably babble about the red tiles looking like blood and the black ones looking like her Daddy's heart." Beth rolled her eyes, hoping that Cassie wouldn't be offended with the vague mention of Angel.

"Or she'd start asking Miss Edith which one to move first." Cassie rolled her eyes along with Beth. The two girls had talked in depth about the Aurelian vampires over the summer. Cassie knew that Beth had some secrets of her own, but she was starting to respect the other girl too much to try and ferret them out.

"Don't ever mention that doll to Spike. He's absolutely positive it's possessed." Beth turned to Willow. "So, we've heard about Xander and Spike. Your turn. Tell us what's on the horizon with Oz the werewolf." She grinned when the red-haired girl blushed a fiery red.

"Still doing the smoochies. For a band member, Oz is a bit shy." Willow pulled a paper from her backpack laying on the floor next to her. "In fact, next Friday the Dingos are playing an out of town gig and Oz wants me to go with him. It's overnight, and I'm sorta excited and sorta scared."

"Just remember, he's probably just as nervous as you are," Jack said confidently.. "He just doesn't want to look uncool and announce it. Before anyone asks, Clem and I are doing just fine." She grinned when the others giggled at the thought of such a statuesque beauty like her dating the floppy skinned demon, but Jack knew looks didn't count for anything. Her last boyfriend had been as handsome as sin, but his cheatin' heart was as black as the devil's. "Anyway I got some mixers, no alcohol though, and I thought I'd show you gals how to make some mixed drinks."

While the other girls got up to follow Jack to the bar, Beth pulled Cassie to the side. The two girls watched as the bartender started to explain drink making basics. Then, Beth leaned over and said very quietly, "How are things with you and Angel really?"

Cassie mutely shook her head. She had no idea how things were going with the ensouled vampire. She'd never really been friends with him because of her crush at first sight, and they couldn't be lovers. The curse prohibited that idea, even if Cassie was so inclined to shower Angel with her favors again. They'd tried to talk, but things were awkward and stilted. More than anything Cassie wished that her relationship was as easygoing as all of her friend's were. She smiled sadly at Beth. "I don't know."

"We're all here for you," Beth said softly. She wrapped an arm around the other girl's shoulders. "Let's join the others. We can brainstorm on how to fix you and Angel tomorrow."

Chapter 13

The Specter stood on top of the building opposite the Mayor's office. She watched as a group of vampires entered the front door. There were seven males and three females. Unfortunately, the Specter only recognized one of them. Lennie had been one of Spike's minions with no real skills, except how to gravitate to the most powerful vamp in town. The Specter realized that the Mayor must have hired some outside muscle for whatever he had planned.

The Specter knew that the Scoobs were at the high school that night studying for the SATS, if she needed to talk to them. She snickered to herself, for once glad that she got out of some of the more stressful high school experiences by being vamped. College was going really good for her, except for her psychology teacher Maggie Walsh and her teacher's aide Riley Finn. Something about the two of them had made Beth's Slayer senses go wiggy. She had transferred to another class with another teacher within a few days. On several occasions she'd caught the pair giving Clem speculative looks. She didn't like those looks.

The Specter was about to leave when she noticed a man coming out of the building she was watching. Crap, the guy that cursed the Halloween costumes is in town She decided she needed to follow the man. The Specter tracked him over the rooftops until he stopped at the Sunnydale branch of the Milkbar candy bar factory. He got out of his car, and he went inside. The Specter decided that Giles and the gang needed to know about this. If that guy was in town again, trouble was sure to follow.

The Specter stopped in her tracks. How the hell was she going to tell Giles? She hadn't been the one to go get the costume, Beth was. She growled in displeasure. Having two personas was getting to be a pain in the butt. The Specter changed directions after she decided that Clem might be the answer to her dilemma.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"H-hello." Clem slipped into the library. He waved self-consciously at the gathered group. "Beth and Specter sent me over to let you know that guy who did the spell on the Halloween costumes is in town."

"Ethan Rayne is in Sunnydale?" Giles asked.

"Is that his name?" Clem replied. "The girls didn't know that. All the Specter could tell us was that he visited the candy factory after coming out of another building she was watching. Then, she went to Beth's. They're getting ready for Spike getting back, you know?"

"You know the Specter, right?" Cassie got to her feet. "What does she look like?" She really wanted to know who was behind the mask.

"Um." Clem blinked in surprise. "I don't know." He shrugged. "She's tight-skinned like you, and she stands about yay high." He put his hand at about shoulder level. Clem wasn't a very tall demon.

"I meant hair color, facial features," Cassie grumped.

"Oh, she's got dark hair, two eyes, two ears, a nose and a mouth. Pretty standard features for a tight-skin." Clem nodded enthusiastically.

"But what does she look like?" Cassie tried again.

"She looks like herself. You know, tight skinned, about yay high." Clem put his hand at shoulder level, again. "Has all the normal features for your kind."

"Oh, I give up."

"Thank you, Clem," Giles said politely. "Tell the Specter that we'll look into it." His curiosity about the Specter grew daily as well, but he knew when to back down on the subject. They weren't going to get any other information out of Clem.

"Okie dokie. I'll do that." Clem waved again, and he slipped out of the library.

"Great, we gotta sell candy for the band and figure out what your friend is doing in town." Cassie flopped back in her chair. "My circle of acquaintances isn't that big for the whole selling thing."

"I ran into Spike on his way into town," Xander tossed the comment into the conversation. He looked up from the book he was studying. "He bought a few bars from me."

"At least you sold some," Willow half pouted.

"Beth is gonna be happy when she gets home from work." Cassie looked both pleased and depressed at the same time. She was happy for her friend. If she was honest with herself she was a little jealous of her, too. Things with Angel were still strained, and Cassie wasn't sure how to make things better.

"I think we should go check out the candy factory and Ethan Rayne," Giles announced. He had snacked on one of the candy bars he had bought from Cassie. Fuck, he hated missing supper. The sugar was affecting him strangely, and he just wanted to get home to eat something more nutritious, and go to bed.

"Yeah, maybe we better."

The Scoobs gathered their books, said good-bye at the door, and went their separate ways.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beth couldn't get the grin off her face when she realized that Spike's car was parked in front of her apartment. She was glad she had changed out of her Specter costume at Jack's apartment. She rushed inside, stashed her black clothes in a trunk just inside the door, and she leapt up the stairs to the upper floor of the warehouse where her apartment was located.

Beth burst into the living room, and there laying on the couch asleep was her guy. She smiled indulgently when he reacted to her presence by growling possessively and rolling towards her just a little bit. Beth wanted to welcome him properly, but she realized that he'd been driving several days straight trying to get back to her. She picked up a couple of candy wrappers that the vampire had left on the coffee table, and she threw them in the trash. Then, she covered him with a blanket, kissed him on the forehead, and went in to take a nice, warm bath.

Beth laid back in the tub, letting the heat of the water sooth away her aches. She had just gotten comfortable when she felt as if she was being watched. She lifted her head to find Spike standing at the bathroom door staring at her in astonished lust. Beth noticed that the usually cocky vampire was looking at her shyly, and she wondered if he was playing a game with her. She decided to be bold and aggressive by crooking one finger at him to suggest that he join her. "Come take a bath with me, Spike," Beth cooed.

"P-please call me William. Th-that other name is so uncouth." William smiled shyly at the bathing nymph. Her short dark hair curled slightly in the humid moistness of the room. Her wide, luminous eyes and pouty pink lips made him feel like a stuttering youth fresh out of grammar school. He wanted to join her, but he chastised himself for such vulgar desires.

"William, I promise the water's wonderful," Beth said huskily. She beckoned him with her finger again.

"That would be most improper, Miss Beth." William would have blushed if he had been able. "A gentleman never joins an unmarried lady in the bath." He ached to delve his fingers under the water to caress the softness of Beth's skin.

"Well, let's pretend we're married, then," Beth said softly. She had no idea what Spike's game was, but she would play along. "It's our wedding night." She crooked her finger again. She was intrigued to see the side of Spike, even if she was confused by it.

William gulped in arousal. This pretty girl wanted him. Him! William the Bloody Awful Poet! He was sure that Beth would never laugh at his poetry. She seemed kinder than that. William smiled shyly at the girl before he pulled off his t-shirt, and he shivered under the heated scrutiny of her eyes. However, when his hands dropped to the waist of his pants, her eyes slammed shut in embarrassment. William quickly got rid of his pants, and he slid into the tub opposite of Beth.

"You can open your eyes now," William offered shyly.

"Maybe I don't wanna," Beth whispered while she kept her eyes closed. She was feeling awfully playful. "Maybe I wanna play Marco Polo." She felt around under the water until she found William's feet. Beth flowed forward in the water while she slid her hands up his legs. In a matter of seconds, she was on her knees between his legs, her mouth mere inches from his lips, and she whispered, "Marco."

"Polo," William whispered in return. He put one hand behind Beth's head, and he brought her mouth to his own. He groaned when he felt her round, pert breasts push against his chest. William pulled Beth closer, and he growled when she straddled his lap. He was startled by how animalistic and possessive he suddenly felt. He settled his hands on her hips, pulling her close to his body while he ravished her lips.

Beth looped her arms around William's shoulders, leaned further into the kiss, and rocked her pelvis against the erection caught between their bodies. She was a virgin, but that didn't make her innocent. Between sex education, her mom, and a couple of make out sessions before she moved to Sunnydale, Beth knew about the birds and the bees. Beth moaned when William's hands slid up to cup her breasts.

William struggled with his inner beast that wanted to lift Beth up and drop her on his hard cock. Somewhere in the back of his chocolate addled brain, he knew that she was untouched. This knowledge made him wait for her to make the first move. All thought processes shut down as she moved her sweet body against his, and he forgot about everything except how eager William was to make love to his Beth.

Beth kissed down William's jaw line to his ear, where she sharply nipped the lobe before she whispered, "Enough foreplay, my darling pretend hubby. I want you to make love to me. I want to truly be yours, not just pretending."

"Your wish is my command, my sweet," William whispered. He helped Beth rise to her knees. Using one hand he positioned his cock at her nether lips, and he sighed when she started to inch down his erection. He kissed her shoulder lovingly when he heard Beth hiss in pleasured pain. Then, he hissed himself when she bit down hard on his shoulder after she dropped into his lap, plunging his dick deep inside her body and past her maidenhead. He groaned at the realization that he was indeed her first. He swore to himself that he would also be her only lover for eternity.

Beth tasted William's blood where her teeth broke the surface of his skin. It took all of her control not to go into game face of either her vampire demon or her Slayer demon, and whisper claiming words over the male vampire. Beth knew that a primal instinct was very close to the surface at that moment. So, instead she concentrated on the feeling of fullness between her legs. She started to move her hips in the age old rhythm of lovers, tightening her inner muscles with each upstroke.

William gritted his teeth against the onslaught of sensations pulsating through his body. If he had been in his right mind, he might have been suspicious of the momentary flash of heat deep inside the woman he loved, but the whammied chocolate had done a good job at suppressing the intuitive demon. William was in the forefront at the moment. Like any red-blooded male, when confronted with a willing female, he didn't have any qualms about getting intimate.

Beth moaned with delight over the pleasurable pain at the apex of her thighs. She plundered William's lips with her own while she quickened the rise and fall of her hips. The myriad of sensations were overwhelming to the vampiress, and she found her body tightening in orgasm around her lover's cock. She pulled back to stare at William's handsome face while she tightened her inner muscles. Beth felt great pride when he fell over into the abyss with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ring. Ring. Ring

Beth stretched one hand out from beneath the comforter to answer the phone. "This better be good," she muttered groggily.

"Beth?" Cassie's concerned voice flowed through the receiver. "I know you're not really a daytime person, but have you or Spike by any chance heard from Giles?"

"No, I haven't. I suppose Spike and I can look for him after dark if you'd like." Beth sat up with the comforter bunched around her waist. She glanced at the other side of the bed where the blond vampire was sprawled on his stomach. The bruises and scratches on his back were already scabbed over and healing.

"You're not workin' tonight, pet?" Spike's voice pillow-muffled voice asked.

"I don't work tonight and class starts late," Beth answered Spike's question. "That Professor Walsh was totally creepy. I transferred out of her class ASAP."

"Anything we need to worry about?" Cassie's concerned voice filtered through the phone. She was worried about Giles, but if something wigged out Beth she was concerned about that too.

"I don't know. She just struck me as stranger than the usual. Well for Sunnydale, but there've been some odd disappearances on campus." Beth chewed on her lip. "The administration says that the people just decide college isn't for them and move on, but well, for Sunnydale.

"Back to Giles, okay," Cassie grumbled. She wasn't ready to tackle another problem at the moment. She filed it away for later investigation. "He might be acting kinda weird when you come across him. That band candy is making all the grown ups act funny."

"Band candy?" Beth turned to stare at the dozing vampire beside her. She remembered the presence of chocolate bar wrappers on the table when she got home last night. It was obvious that Spike had been snacking on them before she arrived. "Um, funny how?" She was nervous. Had the candy made him do something he didn't want to the night before?

"Just funny, not like their grown up selves is all. Somehow it's linked to the candy. Faith and I are going to go lean on Giles' old friend, Ethan." Cassie huffed sullenly. "We could use a little help. You have a closer relationship with the Specter. Do you think you could get her a message to come help us?"

Beth's eyes widened at the request. Dang, how the heck am I gonna get out of this one? Think, girl, think. "The Specter was called out of town on some family business, I think she said."

“Specter’s out of town?” Spike’s voice rumbled from his side of the bed. He rolled over to peer sleepily at Beth.

“Guess she wanted to give you and Spike some time alone,” Cassie said. “Anyway, me and the Scoobs are gonna go find Ethan. You and Spike find Giles and make sure he's not hurt or anything. Talk to you later."

"Bye," Beth replied in return. She put the receiver down in its cradle, and she turned to look at the vampire laid out beside her. "Sorry, Spike. You were asleep when I got home last night and then we got distracted with the smoochies. I kinda forgot about the Specter."

"I didn't realize the Specter had family." Spike wondered what could take her away from Sunnydale.

"Everybody's got family, Spike," Beth said softly. "Even me. My dad thinks I'm dead, but my mom knows... about this." She shifted into game face while she waved a hand towards herself.

"Your mum knows?" Spike sat up, and he gathered the sheet around his waist. He pulled Beth into his arms.

"Yeah, you, her, Clem and Jack." Beth nodded as she gave a wary smile. She laid her head on Spike's shoulder while she basked in his caresses. "Just the four of you know. Everybody else seems to think I'm just a girl who doesn't like the sun."

"So are you gonna introduce me to your mum, luv?" Spike kissed Beth on the shoulder.

"Someday?" Beth grimaced. "I'm not too sure mom would be ready to meet my boyfriend. Do you know what it took me to talk her into a place of my own? I had to pass my GED classes! I swear she's decided that since I'm gonna look sixteen forever, she's gonna treat me that way, too."

"I see," Spike murmured. Here was yet another clue to the oddity that was the vampiress, Beth Sowle, but before the blond master vampire could ponder longer on his girl's strangeness, she hopped out of bed. He listened to her babble happily while she put on her clothes. Spike wasn't really in the mood to go out to search for the Watcher, but the experience the night before had shaken him. He had spent over a century suppressing the nerdy poet he used to be, but something about Beth seemed to bring that side of him to the surface. Spike rose from the bed to put his clothes on, too. If there was a reason for William's predominant performance the night before, he wanted to know it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike jumped out of the way, and he dragged Beth along with him, when the squad car swerved towards them. The two vampires stared in shock at the vehicle when it ran into a light post. At the wheel with a bottle of Jack Daniels was the very person they were searching for. In the passenger seat was a pretty blond woman neither Spike nor Beth recognized.

Giles flung the car door open, and he lurched out of the car. He staggered around the front of the sedan. Giles stopped once to take a swig of the bottle in his hand before he opened the passenger door for his companion. He reached in to grab her hand, and he helped her from the car.

"Ripper." The woman pouted prettily. "I am out of chocolate." She started to play with the buttons on Giles' shirt. "If you find me some more, I'll give you more orgasms."

"Anya, my love. You are a wicked, wicked woman." Giles smirked while he waggled his eyebrows at the woman. "I know where the factory is that made the chocolate."

"You do?" Anya smiled brightly. "Oh, Ripper, you're my hero!" She finger-walked up Giles' chest while she batted her eyelashes at him.

"Hello, Ripper," Spike drawled mockingly. "What have you been up to?" He pulled Beth closer to his side as he studied the Watcher.

Giles whirled around at the sound of the vampire's voice, and his face brightened considerably. "William, old chap," he cried. "You've returned. I'd like you to meet Anyanka. She is the newest proprietor of the magic shop."

"Pleased to meet you." Spike bowed slightly from the waist. "I prefer to be called Spike."

"Williammm. SSSpikkke." Anya drew out the names while she tapped her chin. "Why does that seem so familiar?"

"Because he's the bloody Slayer of Slayers, luv." Giles put his arm around Anya's middle. He leaned in to slowly lick the arch of her ear. "And his little friend is Beth. Why a sweet little thing like that would fall for a vampire is beyond me." He chuckled when Anya shivered under his touch.

"Spike is always a gentleman with me, Giles," Beth said politely before she turned to Anya and held out her hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Anya."

"Nice to meet you, too." Anya gripped the outstretched hand before her attention was caught by one of the displays in the store windows. "Oh Ripper, look at the pretty coat. It's made out of money. I want it!"

"Then you shall have it, my dear." Giles handed Anya the now almost empty bottle of booze. He quickly grabbed a nearby garbage can, and he hurtled it into the glass. He turned to wink at the others when the window shattered. Giles grabbed the coat off the mannequin, and he handed it to Anya with a flourish.

"Thank you, Ripper." Anya nibbled on her lower lip while glancing up at Giles from under her eyelashes. "You're so manly. How about we play policeman and lady robber again?"

"Hmmm." Giles smirked down at the woman in front of him. "How about we play police woman and gentleman robber instead?"

"As exciting as that sounds, Watcher," Spike drawled. "It's not something I wish to witness in this lifetime. How about we stroll on down to Willy's for a new bottle of booze, instead?"

"Capital plan, mate." Giles grabbed the bottle away from Anya, and he swallowed the last swig. He threw the bottle at the police car. "We're needin' a new bottle."

The four strolled towards the demon bar, The Alibi Room, owned by Willy the Snitch. Giles and Anya were in front giggling like two teenagers while they made fun of people passing by. Spike and Beth followed behind with their hands intertwined. They had just settled at the bar with a round of drinks: Jack Daniels for Giles and Spike, a pink lady for Anya, and a diet coke for Beth. She pled class duty for her reason not to drink, but she was distracted from the group when a pretty dark haired woman came into the bar. She came directly to Beth and asked if they could talk privately.

"My name is RoseSeri Hassib. I am a representative from the Celestial Council." The woman held her hand out to Beth. "I know who you are, Miss Summers. Please do not worry as I'll not tell your secrets."

"I go by Beth. Buffy is dead," Beth said softly. She glanced quickly over at Spike, but she noticed that he and Giles were now in the middle of a game of darts. Beth turned her attention back to RoseSeri. "What can I do for you?"

"More like what I can do for you." RoseSeri reached into her briefcase, and she pulled out a packet of papers. "I know that you are keeping your identity and status secret, even from your mate, William the Bloody. That's not why I'm here, though. I have been hired by another pair of Immortal Guardians to purchase housing."

"Immortal Guardians?" Beth wrinkled her forehead in confusion. "What's that?"

"Oh, that's right, you don't have any idea, do you?" RoseSeri smiled at the young vampiress. "In every dimension, your mate and yourself are the Immortal Guardians. Not all the Slayers are vampires, like you are though. So far I've met the Slayer Sultana and a Slayer Seraph with her Demonic Seraph mate."

"Wow. Are you sure?" Beth whispered. After RoseSeri nodded, she continued, "That's a lot to take in, ya know?"

"The top packet of papers will explain everything for you." RoseSeri shuffled the papers around. "The bottom packet of papers gives you and your mate privileges to all to the Immortal Guardian properties in this dimension." She pointed to the addresses on the paperwork. "As you can see, there are two houses here in Sunnydale, including your mother's. There is also a hotel in L.A., a penthouse in New York, and the Jamison estate in England."

"Jamison estate? What's that?"

"Your mate's family estate, my dear." RoseSeri smile at the flabbergasted girl. "He's a vampire of means."

"Um, okay. Do I have to sign something?" Beth was confused by much of what was going on. She hoped she could talk to her mom about what the paperwork entailed.

"No, everything has been taken care of, Beth." RoseSeri raised her hand. "Everything is explained in the paperwork. My home and office numbers are on the first page. If you need anything, anything at all, call me day or night."

Beth shook RoseSeri hand, pocketed the papers, and rejoined Anya, Spike and Giles at the dartboard. When they questioned her about the visit with RoseSeri, she shrugged it off as not important, just something to do with school. Spike raised his eyebrow at the lie, but he soon forgot about it when the dart game with Giles got heated.

The next day, Beth took the paperwork to her mother, and the two women decided that it was best that they be stored at the Revello address. They took a quick look at the other Sunnydale property, but they decided that for the time being that Beth and Spike would stay at the warehouse apartment. The Slayer and her pals might get suspicious otherwise.

Chapter 14

Cassie and Faith strolled along the sidewalk towards the magic shop on the main street of Sunnydale. Giles had informed them that the newest owner of the store was a very nice young woman by the name of Anya Jenkins. The two Slayers gave each other pointed looks when the Watcher blushed profusely at the mention of the woman. This made both of them decide they really needed to meet Anya to find out what her intentions were for Giles. The two girls slipped inside the magic shop.

"Welcome to the Magic Box," Anya chirped. "Please spend lots of your money here." She glanced at the two girls. "Oh, it's you, Giles' friends."

"Yeah, we just came by to make sure you hadn't planned on leading Giles around by his nose," Cassie replied. "The last woman he got involved in was a lyin' bitch."

"Lead him around by his nose?" Anya scrunched her nose. "That doesn't sound very pleasant. Why would I do that?" She tilted her head while she tried to understand what the blond-haired girl meant.

"She means to find out if you got old Ripper by the shorthairs, demon girl," Spike drawled. He smirked at the Slayers when they gasped at his and Beth's quiet entry from the back room. "Ya know, kinda like how Beth and I are. She has me doin' her every little wish and command."

"I do not," Beth cried. She slapped the blond vampire on the shoulder. "Don't listen to them, Anya. I don't know Mr. Giles all that well, but I know from the Specter that he had a hard time after he found out about Jenny being sent to spy on you guys. It was nice to see him so happy the other night."

"Spike and Beth, did you come to spend money?" Anya smiled brightly at the two vampires. She had inadvertently figured out that Beth was a vampire before she was quickly hushed by both Spike and Beth. She learned that no one except a privileged few knew that the female vampire was anything other than a part-time college student. Anya was quite happy to keep the secret as she had been lonely since her fall from demonhood. Both vampires accepted her former status without censure, and it made her feel like she wasn't as alone anymore.

"We are interested in that wonderful incense you were telling us about the other night," Beth replied. She left Spike's side, and she hurried to Anya's before the ex-demon said anything too outrageous. The vampiress wasn't exactly sure how Cassie would react to finding out her Watcher and mentor was seeing Anya despite the fact that others in the Scoobs, including Cassie herself, were either currently dating demons or had in the past.

"Of course, Beth." Anya took the girl's arm, and she led her over to the incense display. "Patchouli is one of my most popular selling scents." She handed Beth a sample of the fragrance.

"Faith, can I talk to Spike alone for a few?" Cassie asked the brunette Slayer.

Faith nodded her consent before she strolled over to join Beth and Anya at the incense. She kept an eye on Cassie and Spike. She wasn't as sure about the bleached blond vampire as the rest of the Scoobies were.

"Spike, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Slayer." Spike waved Cassie to the front of the store next to the big plate glass window. "Ask away."

Cassie nibbled on her lip for a moment before she said, "I'm trying to be friends with Angel, but it's been really hard. Whenever I talk to him all I can think about is being careful not to make him too happy."

"Slayer, I can appreciate where you're comin' from." Spike studied the disheartened teenager. If she was anyone else, he would fillet Cassie's heart and ego for maximum pain, but he had a feeling Beth wouldn't be too happy with him for crumbling their friend's already failing self-confidence. "However, you and the poofter aren't friends. You'll never be friends."

"But…" Cassie trailed off when Spike held up his hand.

"You'll be in love till it kills you both," Spike continued. "You'll fight and you'll shag. You'll hate each other till it makes you quiver."

"I don't hate him," Cassie protested. "I just don't want to deal with Angelus again."

"Love isn't brains, girl." Spike touched one forefinger to his temple. "It's blood." He moved the hand to cover his heart. "Blood screaming inside you to work its will. The question you should be asking is if he is just in your blood or are you in his too?"

Cassie glanced to where the blond vampire's girlfriend was listening intently to the Anya. "What would you do if you had a cursed soul like Angel's?"

Spike looked at Beth, who appeared to realize that he was staring at her. She gave him a smile and a wave. Spike turned back to Cassie, and he said quite sincerely, "I'd get the sucker anchored and spend the rest of my days makin' sure my girl wanted for nothin'."

"You really love her, don't you?"

Spike smirked at the blond Slayer. "Love's a funny thing, pet. When I came here to good old Sunnyhell, I thought I knew what love was. I'm Love's bitch, after all. Then, I met Beth. She's everything I never knew I was missin'."

Cassie nodded, kissed Spike on the cheek, and replied, "Thanks, Spike. You've given me a lot to think about." She grinned at the now embarrassed vampire. "Xander's right. You're a pretty good friend for an evil, soulless vamp."

"Quit flatterin' me, Slayer." Spike chuckled. "Now, is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Eh, maybe later." Cassie shrugged. "After I figure out what I'm gonna tell Angel." She was interrupted by the door of the store being flung open.

"Spike, you should have known not to come back to Sunnydale," the leader of the gang of vamps snarled. He moved towards Spike and Cassie, letting the rest of his minions into the Magic Box.

"Well, well," Spike drawled. "If it isn't the pissant minion. Dalton mentioned you thought you were movin' up in the world, Lenny."

"The Mayor isn't happy you're here, Spike," Lenny growled. "He told me to make sure you leave town or be killed."

Faith moved to stand with Spike and Cassie. She pulled a stake from the waistband of her pants, and she tensed up for the fight. Anya went to stand by the vials of holy water. She knew that she could use them as mini bombs against the vampires. She just hoped she didn't hit Spike. Beth scrambled up the ladder to the upper stacks of the store. She wasn't happy about hiding, but something told her it wasn't time to reveal her identities to anyone in the room.

"Hmm." Spike nodded while he scratched his chin. "What if I don't feel like leavin'? I happen to like it here."

"Then I guess you're gonna be dust," Lenny bragged. He waved to his minions, and they moved in on the master vampire and the two Slayers.

Upstairs Beth watched the fight with great interest. Cassie and Spike fought with confidence while Faith relied on sheer bravado. Beth knew the dark-haired Slayer would get plenty of experience living on the Hellmouth. She had a feeling that if she had lived, and was in Cassie's place, that she and Faith would be at odds. Faith had a way of rubbing her Beth's Slayer side the wrong way.

Spike beat on Lenny, his former minion, while the Slayers dusted the others in the gang. He failed to notice one of the other vamps sneaking up behind him until he felt the creature's dust drift past him. Spike realized that no one else was close enough to him to dust the vamp. He wondered briefly how the minion had died, but a punch to the nose brought his attention back to the fight.

"Duck, Spike," Anya yelled. When the vampire complied with her command, she threw vial after vial of holy water at Lenny, who screamed in pain when the delicate glass broke against his skin.

When the ex-vengeance demon stopped her assault on the injured vampire, Spike stood up. He snarled, and he let his demon come forth to the surface. "You go back, and tell your boss that William the Bloody is here to stay."

"I don't think so," Lenny growled. He wanted to get away from the fight to heal his mottled and pocked skin. Lenny launched himself at Spike in a last ditch effort to dust the older, stronger, and more experienced vampire.

Spike took Lenny's stake away, and he dusted the minion. He glanced at Beth to make sure she was still safe before he turned his attention back to the fight. The couple of remaining minions turned tail and ran out of the magic shop as fast as they could.

"Dusting that guy before he could deliver your message doesn't work in your favor," Cassie said between huffs of air.

"What can I say?" Spike shrugged. "I don't always follow the plan. Even one of my own."

"I think their boss will get the idea when the others show up with their story," Faith said. "That guy mentioned the Mayor. Maybe we should tell Giles."

"Good idea," Cassie replied. "Let's go." She turned to the others, and she waited until Spike helped Beth down the ladder. "We'll see you later, Spike. You too, Beth. Nice to meet you, Anya. You're okay in my book." She put her hand on the doorknob.

"Mine, too," Faith agreed. She had found Anya's explanation and knowledge of the Magic Box's products very informative. She gave a jaunty wave before she followed Cassie out the front door.

Beth glanced at her watch, and she grimaced when she realized the time. "Crud, if I don't get a move on, I'm gonna be late for class."

"Backpack's in the Desoto," Spike replied. He leaned down to give Beth a quick kiss.

"Anya'll show you what stuff I want." Beth smiled coyly at her boyfriend. "If you buy it, I'll make you really happy when I get home."

"You got yourself a deal, luv." Spike grinned in return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike strolled out of the Magic Box with a sack of purchases. He tossed the bag into the front seat of the Desoto before he leaned against the hood to smoke a cigarette. He contemplated finding some nasty human to eat, but he decided against it for that night. Beth's class was only an hour and a half long. So, she'd be home soon anyway. He decided instead that he would go out the next night while she was at work.

"Master Spike?" A timid voice called out. "Please don't hurt me." An undersized chaos demon ducked out of the shadows to confront the vampire.

"Helena," Spike accentuated the name. "What brings you to the Hellmouth?" He knew that his sire had sent her little minion in an attempt to make him return to her side.

"Mistress Drusilla sent me," Helena whispered. She hoped this went well, because she had no desire to be a slime spot on the pavement. "She wants you to come back to Brazil." The small female wrung her hands in front of her body.

"I'm not goin' back, pet." Spike dropped his cigarette, and he ground it out with a toe of one boot. "I'm where I wanna be."

"Mistress says you're not supposed to be here yet," Helena whined. "The moonflower needs time to blossom." She knew Spike had a reputation for being more than a little volatile. "Mistress says you're not ready for the truth."

"Bloody hell," Spike growled. "For the last time, I'm not leaving Sunnyhell."

Helena sighed quietly. Mistress Drusilla thought that Spike's answer would probably be something similar to the one he gave. Helena pulled a small bag out of her back pocket. With her hands still behind her back, she took a handful of powder out of the bag. She quickly blew the dust into the vampire's face.

"What the hell was that?" Spike advanced on the smaller demon.

"Just a little present from Mistress Drusilla," Helena squeaked. She backed away from the enraged vampire. "I'm just going to go tell her your answer now." She turned and ran away as fast as her short legs could carry her.

"You do that," Spike shouted after Helena. "Slimy little creature. I hate chaos demons." He turned back to the Desoto, his mind now on getting home to prepare for Beth's return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beth walked down the shadowy campus walkway. She was still thinking about the poetry class she had just attended. Beth wondered if she could get Spike to recite some of the poems in that yummy voice of his. She shivered just thinking about how his accent made her skin tingle.

"Lookie what we have here, guys." A blond female vampire popped out of the bushes. She was followed by several other vampires. "A poor little girl out here all by her lonesome."

"Easy prey," one of the minions chortled. "Get her, Sunday." He and the others circled the college student.

"We've been watching you, little girl," Sunday said mockingly. "You’re always alone with no friends. Nobody will miss you."

"I think you have me mixed up with someone else," Beth replied. She knew the vamps were no threat to her. She could probably dust them with one hand behind her back and blindfolded.

"Oh no, honey," Sunday said. She moved closer to her intended victim. "I think it's you who have me mixed up with someone else." She shifted into game face, but she was surprised when Beth didn't react.

"Bet she has some good stuff to pawn," the minion chortled again. "Hurry up, Sunday. I'm hungry."

"Benji, you read my mind." Sunday advanced even closer to Beth.

"I don't think so," Beth drawled. She punched Sunday in the face, and the vampiress flew backwards into one of the surprised minions.

Beth shifted into her Specter game face. She felt her dead body surge into life, and with one small word, Sunday and her minions crumbled into dust. Beth blinked in surprise since she hadn't expected to slay all the vamps in one shot. Not that it was a bad thing by any means of the imagination. It meant no one escaped to reveal Beth's identity. She looked up in surprise when she heard voices on the pathway, and she leaped into the bushes.

"That bunch of vamps came this way, Lieutenant Finn." A man dressed totally in black, including a hood, stepped into the wide spot that Beth had just been standing.

"They're not here now, soldier." Another similarly clad man joined the first one. "They couldn't have gotten far. Proceed down the path. Keep alert."

The two men continued down the graveled path in the direction that Beth had come from class. They didn't notice that two very bright eyes watched their every move from the bushes.

Beth stood up, and she carefully stepped out of the bushes. She knew she needed to warn Spike, Dalton, and Clem about the soldiers. They were hunting vampires for some reason. If they were hunting vamps, they might also be hunting other demons. Beth would send Clem with a message about the incident to the Scoobs using her alter ego's name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SEVERAL DAYS LATER IN BRAZIL

"My Spike wouldn't return with you." Dru poured tea for her young guest. She already knew this even before her minion had gotten back from Sunnydale. "Miss Edith told me," the vampiress said matter-of-factly.

"No, Mistress Drusilla," Helena confirmed Dru's words. She glanced warily at the doll on the other side of the table. "I was able to use the memory dust on him though."

"Good." Dru poured tea for Miss Edith. "It'll last long enough for the moonflower to have time. Then, he'll be able to ferret out the truth."

"What is the truth?" Helena asked as she picked up her cup for a drink of tea.

"Don't be nosy, Miss Helena," Dru tutted. "Nosy girls get their best feature cut off. Snip, snip." She tapped the young chaos demon on the nose.

"Sorry, Mistress." Helena was scared of Dru for an entirely different reason than she had been scared of Spike.

"That's okay, dear." Dru smiled wickedly. "Now tell me all about the lovely chaos you caused in Mexico City on your way back."

Chapter 15

Spike tossed the mugger's body into a nearby dumpster when he felt the Specter's presence getting closer to him. This had been the first time he had encountered her since his return to Sunnydale, and he was quite looking forward to it. Although Spike was sure that the Specter wouldn't be too thrilled about the drained mugger, he knew the human had been a bad guy. He hadn't lied to Beth all those months before about not actively killing. Although there were times he ran across a human evil enough to make even him shudder. He didn't question how he knew these things. So, he'd taken care of the human. Spike never connected his newfound evil meter to either Beth or the Specter.

"Oi, Specter, ready to patrol?" Spike wiped the corner of his mouth as he stepped out of the shadows. He continued to move away from his kill, sure that the Specter would follow him.

"Why not," the Specter said in her low guttural language. "Where are the Slayers? Will they be joining us?"

"Nah, Cassie's out with Peaches." Spike pulled his cigarettes from his pocket. "The other one's hittin' the college. We'll take downtown."

The Specter nodded in agreement. She couldn't tell Spike that her alter ego and Joyce had come across something odd earlier while shopping for a Christmas tree that she wanted to check out. If they were downtown anyway, she could steer him towards what she wanted to check out as the Specter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Faith strolled down the wooded path. She figured that patrolling there would probably be the closest she'd ever come to college. She had no idea how Beth handled the extra schooling. She guessed classes were good for something though.

On the subject of Beth, the dark-haired Slayer just couldn't understand how the goodie two shoes had melted the heart of a bad ass vampire like William the Bloody. They say opposites attract, but that was beyond ridiculous in Faith's opinion. However, from what she'd seen, the blond vampire was completely devoted to the young woman.

Faith was pulled away from her thoughts by a slight movement in the bushes. She waited to see if the activity was demonic, but the Slayer soon realized it was humans hiding.

"It's dangerous to be boinking in the bushes around here," Faith called out. "That urban legend about the crazy, deformed man that attacks trysting lovers around isn't a legend."

There was some more rustling in the bushes.

"Or maybe you are the crazy, deformed creature." Faith pulled out one of her stakes. "Then, I have a nice piece of wood here with your name on it."

The bushes parted, and it looked like a tall, young man in a military haircut was shoved out. He hastily straightened his balaclava and ran a hand through his hair. "Hi, I'm Riley Finn," he said.

Faith looked at her stake, turning it over and over in her hand. Then she looked up at Riley, and she batted her eyelashes. "Gosh, I was right. It says 'Riley Finn' right here on this stake."

"Uh." Riley looked confused for a moment. "Oh hey, that's funny. I really wanted to ask you about crazy, deformed people. Um, how do you..." He glanced back at the bushes for a moment. "... know about them?"

Faith gave Riley the once over and came to the conclusion that he was part of the demon-hunting gang that the Specter had mentioned. She shrugged as if she was bored even though Want! Take! Have! was running through her mind over and over. "Slayer, the. Look it up."

"What's a Slayer?" Riley shifted back and forth on his feet, clearly uncomfortable under Faith's sultry gaze.

"The one girl in every generation... blah, blah, blah." Faith paused for a moment. "Although, I guess there's two in this generation."

"Psst, Finn. Time to go." A man's voice hissed from the rustling leaves behind Riley.

"Well, poo, just when we were getting to know each other." Faith pouted. "But crazy, deformed men go after gay guys playing in the bushes just as much as straight couples."

"What? No!" Riley blushed beet red. "We're not gay." He turned to snarl at the bush. "This is your fault, Graham. I finally meet a hot, sexy girl, and you make her think I'm..." The young man shuddered.

Another clean cut man shoved his head out of the bushes. He looked at Faith, and he muttered, "Ma'am, Finn's from Iowa. He doesn't swing that way."

"Says the man in the bushes with him." Faith smirked. She was pretty sure none of the military boys were gay, but it sure was fun pulling their chain.

"Time to go! Now!" said another man's voice. "Sub terrestrial hostile has been sighted over by the Dunwirth Building."

Riley shot Faith a boyish grin before he slipped into the foliage and disappeared with his buddies.

"Shit. Scare off the first cute guy you find, why don't you, Lehane," Faith muttered as she hid her stake again. "You're never getting laid again at this rate." She turned to continue her patrol.

Faith knew that Spike was downtown with the Specter, Clem was busy at the butcher shop, and Dalton was off on a task for Spike. So, she wasn't worried the demon the military boys were tracking was a friend. Hmm, might go check them out anyway. She changed directions mid stride.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike and the Specter finished their patrol of the cemeteries, and they headed downtown to check out the dead trees. Once there they jumped down into a small cavern that was deserted, but it showed signs of magical activity. They climbed back out of the hole, only to find Cassie and Angel on the surface. They watched and listened to the brewing argument from a distance as Cassie seemed more than a bit angry at the dark-haired vampire.

"Just suck it up, Angel." Cassie shook her finger in front of Angel's face. "It's not like you can bring any of those people back to life."

"I need to pay for my sins." Angel turned pleading eyes on the Slayer. "Everyone would be better off if I was dust."

Spike rolled his eyes at Angel's words. Bloody sorry ass poofter.

"Oh really?" Cassie crossed her arms, and she tapped her foot. "Exactly how will that make up for the lives you took?"

Angel shrugged, his heart heavy with guilt. He wasn't sure how to explain what he was feeling. "Look what happened with us, Cass. What if I'm that happy again? I can't let Angelus out again."

"OR you could find someone to anchor your soul!" Cassie threw her hands up in the air. "It's a stupid lame-o curse anyway."

"Cassie, it can't be that easy," Angel protested.

"Yes, it can be if you let it. You always go for the broodiest path possible." Cassie rolled her eyes. "Get your act together, Angel. If you want to be with me, you'll get your soul anchored."

Angel nodded.

"You'll forget all about this suicide nonsense," Cassie ordered. "If you really want to die, I'll be happy to do it for you." She pulled out her stake.

"Should we save him?" the Specter asked softly.

"No. No." Spike held up a hand. "I'm always up for some Angel bashin'."

Both couples were interrupted when robed men poured out of the shadows. The four warriors fell into fighting stances as the blind, mute minions of the First Evil descended on them. Spike and the Specter fought with synchronized movements, easily taking down the Bringers. The battle didn't last for long because when the Bringers realized they couldn't win they retreated.

"Spike," Angel growled at the younger vampire once the fight was over. "What are you doing here?" He advanced on the bleached blond.

The Specter stepped between the two male vampires. "Mine!" she uttered in English. "Warned you."

"That wasn't me," Angel protested.

"Then, I shall warn you. Retribution for hurting someone that belongs to me will be long and painful." The Specter waited for Spike to translate before she continued. "I will keep you alive and at my mercy for centuries."

"Centuries?" Cassie gasped.

The Specter turned to the Slayer, and she replied, "Yes, I will be protecting the Hellmouth long after you are gone."

Spike translated. He was both happy and surprised at the Specter's words.

Cassie gaped in astonishment at the black-clad female. It had never occurred to her that the Specter might be immortal. She couldn't imagine having the duty to fight evil forever.

"My fate is what it is," the Specter said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I either fight it or accept it. My chances for a normal life with kids, a picket fence, and a dog are pretty much nil." She reached out to take Spike's hand.

Cassie saw the gesture, and she nodded. Only with someone immortal can the Specter have forever, she thought. Cassie turned to address Angel. "Leave Spike alone. He's my friend."

"But..."

"No, you will not dictate who I talk to," Cassie interrupted whatever Angel was going to say. "I love you. I want to spend my life with you, but I am not your childe or your slave. I can make my own decisions."

Angel nodded, even though his expression said he didn't like what Cassie had said. He resigned himself to the fact that Cassie controlled their relationship. He knew that he had to find a way to anchor his soul, and he knew that was the only way he could be with his beloved. Angel gave Spike and the Specter a nod while he vowed to stay out of their way. They were too volatile for what he perceived as his own staid temperament.

The four supernatural beings bid each other good night. Cassie went with Angel to ensure he was really over his suicide kick. Spike and the Specter went their separate ways with the Specter hurrying home to become Beth again. Spike stopped off to have a drink at Willy's before he headed to Beth's apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How was patrol?" Beth looked up from her college homework when Spike slipped into the warehouse apartment. "Anything exciting?" She loved asking him about patrols, even though she knew what went on already. She enjoyed hearing his slant on the events of the night.

Spike leaned in to give Beth a quick kiss before he hit the fridge for some pig's blood. "Yeah, though Cassie kept the poofter from dustin' himself."

Beth rolled her eyes. She knew how much the bleached blond vampire hated his grandsire. "Well, he's just going to have to deal with you. Giles called."

"What'd the Watcher want, pet?"

"He invited us to come to a Scooby meeting." Beth frowned. "What if they discover I'm a vamp?"

"We'll deal with it then." Spike went to Beth, and he took her in his arms. "I won't let them hurt you."

"I know you won't." Beth cuddled closer to the male vampire. "I just worry is all. Now, how about you call Clem and Jack. See if they want to come over?"

Chapter 16

Spike and Beth knew there were some odd things going on in Sunnydale after two children with strange symbols tattooed on their palms were found murdered on one of the playgrounds. Then, Giles realized that the symbol meant some kind of cult was in town. So, he called a Scooby meeting, and he invited both Spike and Beth. The Specter had a standing invitation, but Beth made sure no one expected her, not even Spike.

The Scoobies met up at the Magic Box, and it was a full house. In addition to Spike and Beth, Giles, Anya, Cassie, Faith, Angel, Xander, Cordelia, Willow, and Oz were present. Spike and Angel sat on opposite ends of the room, not wanting to incur the wrath of their women if they argued.

"Since we're all here, let's begin," Giles announced. He drew a triangle on a dry erase board. Then, he drew a large U with little wings coming out each end through the triangle. "It appears this is a simple cult symbol. This is probably a problem of the non-demonic variety. We should let the police deal with it, unless we run across suspicious activity during our normal routine."

Willow grimaced as she rolled her eyes. "Mom dragged me to some meeting for concerned citizens for murdered children. Why does she give a rat's behind now?"

Anya studied the symbol carefully. "That's not a human cult, and I bet those kids aren't really dead. They incite the townspeople to go on the hunt for signs of the 'occult'." She used quote marks. "I think I need to hide some of my more controversial things away. I suggest you do the same, Rupert."

"Mom was weirding out," Willow said. "I moved all of my stuff out of the house and cleaned up my locker."

"Good thing, too," Oz replied.

"How do we find the children demons?" Beth asked.

"Faith and I could check out Willy's," Cassie said.

"Double our patrols." Faith looked up from where she had been staring at her nails. "Spike goes with the Specter chick, Cassie with Angel, and one of the other Scoobies with me."

"Sounds good," Giles agreed. "Oz, can you patrol with Faith?"

"After band practice," the werewolf said.

"Patrol in shifts," Beth suggested. "Cassie and Angel go first. Faith and Oz go next, with Spike and Specter last."

"Excellent idea, Beth." Giles smiled at the girl. "Everybody be careful. Anyone have anything to add?"

"I met one of the commandos," Faith replied. "His name's Finn. Riley Finn."

Beth gave a little grunt of disgust. "He's the T.A. for that professor that gave me the willies. They seem pretty close when I see them on campus."

"I think it's time to do some research on this professor," Giles said. "If you could do that, Willow."

"Sure, Giles!" Willow nodded happily.

"Anything for me, G-man?"

"Don't call me that, Xander. Nothing for you or Cordy to do this time."

Xander gave a disgruntled grunt. Sometimes it felt as if he was useless.

"How about Harris and I hit Willy's instead of the Slayers? You up to that, Harris?" Spike offered. "Your bird could keep mine company while we check for leads." It had been awhile since the two friends had been able to talk.

"That'd be great. Is that okay with you, Cordy?" Xander turned to his girlfriend.

"Why not?" Cordelia shrugged. "Beth and I get along fine." She had found out that the other girl was from L.A., and Cordelia loved to hear about the shopping.

Angel watched as Spike and Xander made plans together. He felt very jealous, because Xander easily accepted Spike's presence while still shunning his own company. He was the vampire with the soul. He was the one that deserved friends.

Cassie kicked Angel in the shin. "Quit brooding," she hissed. "It's your own fault that Spike and Xander don't like you."

"That's not..."

"Uh." Cassie held up a finger. "I don't want to hear it. Behave." She turned her attention back to the meeting.

"The Mayor has been unusually quiet," Giles said. "There's been no activity from him since those minions attacked here at the Magic Box."

"Too bad we didn't have an inside man," Anya mused. "Wonder if any of the minions are bribable."

"Problem with that though is someone with a bigger bribe can change their loyalties," Willow replied. She glanced around the room at the occupants. "Of course, we do have half of the Scourge of Europe here. Maybe a little bribe with a huge side of intimidation might work."

"Both ideas have merit, I suppose, but whoever went undercover would have to be very careful and very convincing." Giles looked at the group. "Someone no one in the Mayor's office would suspect to be a mole for our side."

"The Mayor considers me competition for control of the Hellmouth." Spike looked thoughtful. "He already knows I'm friendly with the Slayer and the Specter."

"No, you're too obvious of a choice," Giles agreed. "Although, Faith could easily pretend she's jealous of Cassie, or Angel could pretend to be disgruntled that Spike's now part of the group."

"I'm part of the group?" Spike had a look of astonishment on his face.

"Well, of course you are." Cassie gave a giggle. "Beth is, too."

"We need to celebrate." Willow grinned widely. "Anyone want to go Bronzing this weekend?"

The younger couples readily agreed to meet over the weekend. Spike, Xander, and their girls departed for home, the other Scoobies started to research the symbol from the children, and Giles and Anya worked on hiding the more controversial items in their magic collections.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, that was a bust," Xander complained. He and Spike strolled down the sidewalk on their way back to Beth's apartment after they checked out Willy's for any hint of what was going on in town. "Usually Willy's a font of information."

"The quiet before the storm, I'd say," Spike muttered. He pulled out his cigarettes.

"Question is, which storm will hit first. The Mayor or the ninja guys." Xander had a bounce in his walk that could only be contributed to nervous energy.

"Could always eliminate the Mayor right quick," Spike suggested.

"Yeah, but how well would that go over with the others?" Xander asked. "Besides, he's human."

"That's fairly easy to change." Spike grinned at Xander.

Xander stared at his friend as he tried to gauge how serious Spike was. Then, he shook his head and replied, "I think that's one of those things that wouldn't go over well with the girls."

"Probably right," Spike chuckled. "Let's get back to our girls."

"Yeah, while you were chatting with that Far'nik demon down in the sewer earlier, I remembered I need to pick up some homework assignments from Willow. History teacher is on an 'underground structures' kick, and I got stuck with the New York subway system." Xander shook his head.

"Killed my second Slayer on a New York subway," Spike said around his cigarette. The two friends had a deep and meaningful conversation about subways on the way back to Beth's warehouse apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike waited for the Specter on a downtown street corner. He lounged against the wall while he smoked another cigarette. The bleached blond vampire thought about how perfect his night was. First, Beth and he had been accepted into the Scoobies. Then, he and Xander had spent a fun evening of 'intimidate the locals' intermixed with rounds of pool and drinks. Now, he was about to patrol with the Specter.

Life was good.

"Spike."

The vampire whirled around to see the Specter standing several feet away. "Don't sneak up on a man like that," he grumbled as he threw his cigarette away.

"You need to pay closer attention to your surroundings." The Specter gestured for Spike to follow her. "Something weird is happening downtown."

"Lead the way, pet." Spike followed the petite female. His eyes watched her rounded ass as she walked.

"Like what you see?" The Specter looked over her shoulder at Spike.

Spike lifted one eyebrow as he gave the Specter a smirk. Of course, he liked what he saw. The Specter was one hot little number in her tight cat suit. He continued to follow along behind her.

The closer the Specter got to downtown, the more agitated she felt. When the Specter and the vampire reached City Hall they found a group of people standing around two huge stakes. Tied to the stakes were Willow and another girl that neither Spike nor the Specter recognized.

"There's no cure but the fire," the crowd chanted.

"Torch." A red-haired woman that vaguely resembled Willow stepped forward.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Willow screamed. "Do you even recognize me anymore?"

"Of course I do, sweetie," Sheila Rosenberg replied calmly. She took a lit torch from one of the crowd members.

"Please, don't do this, Mom," Willow pleaded.

"You were warning the witch!" Sheila indicated the other girl as she advanced on the wood and books that surrounded the two bound girls.

"Amy and I have a class assignment together," Willow protested. "That's all, honest."

Sheila gave her daughter a serene smile as she touched the torch to the tinder. Several of the others that held torches stepped forward to join Sheila.

"Alright, you wanna fry a witch?" Amy struggled against her bonds. "Goddess Hecate, work thy will."

The crowd stepped back in unease when Amy's eyes turned black. The energy of her spell was visible in the air.

"Before thee let the unclean thing crawl." Amy let out a scream when she realized that she hadn't directed the spell away from herself. She was suddenly engulfed in flames.

"I'll get Willow out," the Specter whispered to Spike. "Keep an eye on the crowd." She slipped forward carefully, letting Amy's magic display distract the crowd. When she got close to the fire, she darted in at a speed no mortal eye could see.

Willow felt the small, cool hands on her wrists. She turned enough to realize who was behind her. Willow glanced over to where Amy's empty clothes laid in a heap. A rat scampered out of the pile, and it ran away.

Spike sauntered into the crowd. "Well. Well. Well. Look at all the delicious Happy Meals."

"Happy Meals?" A blond woman looked around the crowd. "Where?"

"Right here." Spike gave her cheek a caress as he slipped into game face. "A sweet little morsel."

"Maybe we should go." The woman backed away from Spike in horror.

A little boy and girl appeared out of thin air.

"But you promised," the boy said.

"You have to kill the bad girls," the girl pleaded.

Spike and the Specter growled. He moved closer to the pair of children while the Specter stepped around Willow as the redhead stumbled away to avoid the flames.

Giles' old grey Citreon lurched to a stop behind the crowd. Cassie, Faith, and Giles climbed out. The two Slayers took up protective positions next to the Watcher.

"What's up?" Spike glanced at the Slayers.

"After you guys left Anya's, we looked these two brats up." Cassie jutted her chin out at the two children. "It seems Hansel and Gretel here like to incite riots just like Anya said."

"Riots." Spike grinned toothily. "What fun."

"Spike," the Specter growled. "Concentrate."

"Yes, luv."

"Ihr Goetter, ruft Euch an! Verbergt Euch nicht hinder falscen Gesichetern." Giles threw a liquid-filled bottle on the ground by Hansel and Gretel. Steam rose from the spilled potion, and the two children morphed into a huge seven foot tall demon.

The crowd screamed in terror at the sight. Spike didn't seem scary to them at all now. Most of them ran away, leaving the Scoobies, the demon, and Sheila Rosenberg.

"Protect us. Kill all the bad girls." The demon pointed at the Slayer while speaking to Sheila.

Shelia screamed in terror as she too finally ran off like a scared rabbit.

"My mom might need therapy now," Willow mused aloud.

The demon snarled at the red-haired girl. When it went to advance on her, its way was blocked by the Specter. The dark-clad female growled warningly.

The demon shook its pointy-eared head. This humanoid confused it greatly. She contained good and evil in balance. The demon snorted in displeasure, but the sound of swords leaving their scabbards distracted it.

Cassie and Faith leapt forward as one. Faith thrust her sword into the surprised demon's chest while Cassie sliced off its head. Demon blood squirted in thick heavy globs hitting both Slayers and the Specter. The three females jumped back in disgust.

"That is so icky," Cassie grumped. "I am so glad I didn't wear my new boots." She looked down at her now slimed sneakers.

"Does anyone see a rat?" Willow looked around on the ground. "We've lost Amy."

"She went that way, Red." Spike pointed towards a nearby alley. "Here, let me help you." He waved Willow over to him, and he helped her catch the human-turned-rat.

"Oh Amy, I'll turn you back," Willow promised the squirming rat. She looked over at the Slayers. "How did you guys know about me?"

"Xander remembered that you had that info on subways, and when he and Cordy got to your house they found it in shambles," Cassie replied. "They got worried and came found us."

"Yeah, mom was really adamant about the occult stuff." Willow nodded. "Well, I should get home, just in case. I'm sure her denial has already kicked in. Thanks for the help everyone." She looked past the others. "There's Oz. I gotta go." She waved as she hurried over to her boyfriend's van.

"We better get this demon blood washed off," Cassie observed. She turned to Faith, and she said, "First one home gets dibs on the shower."

"You're on!" Faith laughed as the two girls took off towards Giles' apartment.

"You best get to a shower right quick, luv," Spike said to the Specter. "Just in case it's caustic to humans."

"Might be for the best," the Specter replied. She looked down at her blood soaked clothes. "I'll be late for patrol tomorrow. I have some shopping to do it looks like." It was a little white lie to cover Beth's school and work.

"See you then." Spike stepped closer to cup the Specter's cloth-covered cheek before she disappeared almost instantaneously.

Spike waited a few minutes before he turned to Giles, and he remarked with great casualness, "Cassie's eighteenth birthday is coming up. You're not plannin' something stupid, are you, Watcher?"

Giles stared at the vampire. The Cruciamentum was supposed to be a secret. The Watcher decided he needed to stop underestimating Spike. "The Council is pushing, but I have no desire to go through with that barbaric ritual."

The Specter and I like the Slayer," Spike mused. "If she gets hurt, we won't be happy."

"Are you threatening me, Spike?" Giles asked.

"No, Rupes." Spike shook his head. "We're threatening the Wankers."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike entered the warehouse apartment. He hung up his duster, and he listened for Beth. The bleached blond vampire grinned wickedly when he heard her humming in the shower. Spike shed his clothes on the way to the bathroom.

Beth looked over her shoulder when Spike entered the shower. She just loved to see him naked. "How was patrol?" she asked.

"Hot." Spike turned on and stepped under the second spray nozzle. "Those vigilantes tried to burn Red and some other witchy bint."

"Oh no! Are they okay?"

"Well, Red's fine, but the other one's a rat now." Spike gave Beth an endearing grin when she grabbed the soap before he did.

"Sounds exciting." Beth lathered up her hands. "I miss all the fun." She pouted prettily.

"We need to be extra careful for awhile around Cassie's birthday." Spike grinned when Beth's hands closed around his dick. He clenched his fists to resist the urge to press her down to her knees.

"Why's that?" Beth gave Spike a curious glance, but continued to stroke his cock.

"When a Slayer hits eighteen, the Wankers take her powers, and then see if she can kill a vampire." Spike closed his eyes under his girl's ministrations. He missed the look of horrified terror on Beth's face.

Is that what I had to look forward to if I wasn't vamped? Beth thought wildly. She looked up into Spike's pleasure filled face, and she felt so content with her life that she felt the need to give Spike a big hug.

"What's that for?" Spike asked in surprise when Beth's arms encircled his waist.

Beth shrugged. "Just glad we're here together. I love you so much, Spike."

"I love you, too, kitten." Spike lowered his lips to Beth's in a slow, sensual kiss.

Chapter 17

Angel was worried. Cassie hadn't shown up at their appointed spot for patrol. He slowly made his way towards Giles' apartment. About halfway there, the vampire caught Cassie's scent for the first time that evening.

Angel realized that Cassie's scent was mixed with several males' scents, and that there was a faint hint of her blood. He slipped into game face, and he growled. Something bad had happened to Cassie. He was sure of it.

"Better not be those commandos," Angel snarled to himself. "I'll take that campus apart till I find her." He started off towards Giles' apartment at a faster clip than before.

Giles and Faith were startled when someone pounded on the front door. Giles glanced at the clock. Cassie wasn't expected back for a few more hours. Besides, she had a key. Giles rose to answer the door.

"Cassie didn't show," Angel said as soon as Giles opened the apartment. "On the way here, I caught her scent mixed with others. Human males."

"The soldiers?" Faith got to her feet.

"I don't know." Angel shook his head. "I haven't been close to any of them. If it is, they'll regret it."

"Cassie's eighteenth birthday is in four days," Giles said softly. "It takes two days for the strength-suppressing drugs to kick in. Although she might feel a bit off as soon as she takes the first dose."

"You think it might be the Council?" Angel asked.

Giles simply nodded. "After the Hansel and Gretel demon was thwarted last week, Spike expressed how displeased he and the Specter would be if I participated in the Cruciamentum. So, I called Quentin Travers to plead Cassie's case but to no avail. The man is set in his ways."

"Would they take matters into their own hands?" Angel asked.

"What's the Cruciamentum?" Faith asked at the same time.

"Yes, I do," Giles answered Angel before he turned to Faith. "The Cruciamentum is a test the Council devised to test a Slayer's skills when she turns eighteen. If she turns eighteen."

"By taking their powers?" Faith asked in an outraged voice. "That's sick!"

"It's barbaric," Angel said. "Has this always been the practice?"

"No, it was not." Giles shook his head. He went to the bookshelf, and he pulled out a very ancient tome. "The Cruciamentum was instituted in 948 A.D. when the then Slayer, Diane of Marius, became involved with a vampire Cladius Aurelius. However before the Watchers could test her, she and the vampire stopped an apocalypse by closing the Hellmouth from the inside."

"And the Council just kept the test, huh?" Faith looked disgusted. "Men!"

"Only one other Slayer has reached the age of eighteen in this century. That was Nikki Wood, who was later killed by our friend." Giles glanced up at Faith.

"Spike's killed a Slayer?" Faith looked shocked. She knew he was a strong master vampire, but she had no idea he was so dangerous... or so infamous.

"Two, actually," Angel replied. "Never underestimate him. Just because he is half-tamed doesn't make him any less lethal if you cross him."

"I'll give him a call. Maybe he or the Specter have some idea of what to do to find Cassie." Giles moved towards the phone. "Maybe you two could do a quick patrol to see if you can run across any of the commandos. I'd like to at least rule them out. Then, meet me at the Magic Box."

"Gotcha." Faith gave Giles a thumbs up sign. She dragged the reluctant vampire out of the apartment.

Giles punched in Beth's number, and after a few rings the young woman answered the phone.

"Hello," Beth said.

"Hello, Beth. Rupert Giles here," the Watcher answered.

"Hey, Giles. What's up?"

"Cassie has disappeared. We suspect the Council." Giles took his glasses off, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I was hoping to speak to Spike."

"He's out with Clem and Xander. Then, he'll meet up with the Specter later on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"See him?" Xander pointed at a dark-haired teenager standing on the other side of the Bronze. "That's Jack O'Toole, the local psychopath. He threatened to cut me up today just because I bumped into him."

Spike turned to stare at the boy that Xander was talking about. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Zombie."

"Again?" Xander grimaced. "What is it with zombies this year?"

"Beth told me about that," Spike replied with a chuckle. "Looks like he's leaving'. Wanna follow and see what he's up to?"

"Well, since I've got my own psychopath to protect me." Xander slapped Spike on the back. "What the heck. Let's follow him."

The three males, one human and two demons, followed the zombie out of the nightclub. They watched with curiosity as Jack commandeered a car from one of the nerdier high school students.

"He seems more alert than the other zombies," Xander observed. "They just kinda shuffled along, groaning."

"Depends on what kind of magic is used," Clem said. "If someone is looking for mindless minions it's one kind of magic, but zombies can be very much like vamps otherwise."

"Just undead though. No demon." Spike motioned his friends towards his car.

"What's the difference?" Xander followed Spike to the Desoto.

The vampire shrugged his shoulders. "Never thought about it before," he said. "Zombies have to be dead to be reanimated, I suppose. To become a vampire, you have to still be alive just a little bit to ingest the Sire's blood."

The three males climbed into Spike's car. With Spike driving they were able to easily follow Jack the zombie and the shaken nerd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is there any way you can get in touch with either Spike or the Specter to tell them about Cassie?" Giles asked Beth. The longer Cassie was gone, the more worried he felt. The Slayer was like the child he never had. All of them were really, except maybe Angel. Giles was happily involved with Anya now, but he was still deeply upset by Jenny Calendar's death.

"I might be able to catch the Specter if I call right now," Beth said in a thoughtful voice.

"Is she hard to get a hold of?"

"Sometimes. I think she goes to school or has a job someplace."

"I'll just ring off now." Giles was curious about this new information about the Specter. It could mean she was someone they knew.

"Sure thing, Giles. Bye." Beth hung up the phone. That was close, she thought to herself. I suppose I should go find Spike. She glanced longingly at her homework.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Faith and Angel moved quickly through the streets. The Slayer and the vampire were on the alert for anything unusual. They were quiet until Faith asked a question.

"Do you think it was the Watchers or the soldiers that took Cassie?"

"Watchers," Angel grunted. "I'm sure of it. The soldiers have no reason to take Cassie."

"I hope she's okay," Faith said almost to herself. "She's my first friend, you know."

"She will be," Angel said fiercely. "She has to be."

"Well, if I was a covert operation headed by old men where would I be?" In a nervous gesture, Faith tapped her leg with her stake.

"Too many places to even thing about searching," Angel replied. "Vacant buildings, caverns, and caves. There are also other places like where the Master was trapped underground."

"This so sucks," Faith grumbled. "I hate not being able to do anything. It makes me antsy."

Angel nodded a simple agreement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Beth hung up the phone, Giles immediately called Anya and the others. Willow and Oz agreed to meet Anya at the Magic Box to do a locater spell while Giles and a grumbling Cordelia went for donuts and coffee from Hassib's bakery.

Twenty minutes later Faith and Angel joined the Scoobies at Anya's store. Everyone was concerned that Spike, Xander, and the Specter hadn't made their appearances either. Oz and Faith offered to go search for the missing trio, but Willow and Anya's success with the spell got everyone's attention instead.

"Anya, you, Willow, and Cordelia man the crossbows. You're the most vulnerable of the group," Giles told his girlfriend. "Faith, you and Angel take point. Oz and I will cover you."

"So, in, kick Council butt, and rescue Cassie?" Faith asked while she loaded up with weapons.

"Sounds good to me," Oz said. "My van's out back. If you guys crouch down low in the back, it'll look like Willow and I are out parking."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike, Xander, and Clem pulled up behind the parked car that they had seen Jack and the nerd get out of. They looked at the cemetery where the zombie had disappeared.

"That can't be good," Xander muttered. "Either it's brains for dinner or Jack's looking for friends."

"Probably both." Clem looked a little sick. "And people think eating kittens is gross."

"It is, but brains are grosser," Xander assured the demon with a pat on the back.

"Let's go." Spike opened the car door. "That git is up to no good."

"Well, he is a zombie." Xander got out of the Desoto. "No good and zombies kinda go hand in hand."

The three males slipped into the cemetery, and Spike went on the alert as he searched for the zombie and his victim. Once the vampire pinpointed his prey's location, he gestured for Xander and Clem to silently follow him. They soon came upon Jack doing a ritual to raise his friends from the dead.

Spike indicated for Xander and Clem to stay put before he sauntered into the clearing. "Well, well, well," he drawled. "Look what we have here. A ritual." He slipped into game face. "I hate rituals."

The human boy screamed as he took off running towards his car at the sight of the vampire.

"Well, there goes the brains of the operation," Spike said with a chuckle.

"You will pay for that." Jack pulled his knife.

"You really think you have what it take to beat me?" Spike asked in a low, deadly voice.

"You're just another vamp," Jack chortled. "Those are a dime a dozen in this town."

"Uh, Master Spike?" Dalton stepped out from behind a gravestone.

"Not now Dalton. Junior here is about to show me what a big man he is," Spike replied in a cool voice.

"Yes, Master Spike. I have an urgent message from Miss Buffy and the Specter about Miss Cassie when you finish." The bookwormish vampire leaned against the gravestone.

"Can't keep my ladies waiting. Let's get this over with." Spike gave the zombie a feral grin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oz pulled up next to the deserted boarding house where the locater spell had indicated that Cassie was being held. The two redheads made a big show of getting out of the van, opening the back doors, and getting out a blanket.

"Hey, kids, you can't stay around here." One of the men that the Scoobies realized must be a Council wet works man came around the van. "You'll have too... umph." Angel and Giles pulled the man into the van, and Anya, with Cordelia's help, tied him up with duct tape.

"How many more of you are there?" Giles asked the Council man.

"I'm not telling you a thing," the man growled in a brave voice.

"We don't have time for this," Faith muttered. "Let me take a turn at him. I'll teach him what a Slayer can do." She raised a threatening fist.

"Now, now, Faith." Giles laid a hand on the Slayer's arm. "Just maim him. If he's dead, he can't talk."

Faith gave a feral yet sultry smile. Then, she advanced on the Council operative. "Answer Giles' questions or this will get painful." She leaned in close to the man. "Because if you think I'm scary, wait till Spike gets here."

"S-Spike?" The man stammered. He'd heard the others talk about the Aurelian vampires currently residing in Sunnydale. His eyes widened when he recognized Angel. "T-there's ten more of us plus Mr. Travers and the crazy vamp for the trial."

"Good boy," Faith said as she cold-cocked the Watcher. "Let's go rescue Cassie."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While Dalton and Spike talked, Xander and Clem surveyed the damage wreaked by the fight between the vampire and the zombie. Several headstones were knocked down, and body parts were strewn around the clearing.

"That was kinda gross." Xander grimaced at the mess that Spike had made with Jack. "At least vamps clean up after themselves."

The Specter stepped out from behind a tree. She crossed her arms over her chest, and she tapped her foot.

Spike dismissed Dalton, who slipped off through the cemetery towards the mansion on Crawford street that he still shared with Angel. "Specter, luv," the bleached blond vampire drawled. "You missed all the fun."

"I see you got the message about Cassie," the Specter said.

"I told the Watcher..." Spike growled.

"He didn't have anything to do with it," the Specter interrupted with a protest.

"What did she say?" Xander demanded to know. He looked back and forth between Spike and the Specter.

"Apparently, the Council decided to do the Cruciamentum with or without Rupes." Spike glanced at the boy.

"What? I thought Giles put a stop to that thing," Xander protested. "Let's go to the Magic Box."

Spike, the Specter, Xander and Clem started off towards downtown. Each one was worried to varying degrees about Cassie. When they got to the Magic Box, they found it deserted, and an array of weapons were missing. Spike followed the Scoobies' scent to the alley where the trail disappeared. The group decided the best course of action was to wait, since the Scoobies could have been anywhere in Sunnydale.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel and Faith staked the insane vamp while Giles and Oz grabbed the incapacitated Cassie. One Watcher attempted to protest, but he fell quiet under the cold glares of Cordelia and Anya.

"You are no longer in the Council's employment if you do this, Rupert," Quentin Travers said in a cold, emotionless voice.

"Ask me if I give a damn, Quentin," Giles replied in a equally cool voice.

"G-Giles," Cassie whispered. "I don't feel so good."

"Oz, you take Angel's place," Giles commanded when he realized he couldn't carry the weakened Slayer. "Angel, come get Cassie."

The two males quickly did as the Watcher asked. Oz trained his weapon on a group of terrified, but now awake, Council members while Angel went to Giles' side to take Cassie.

"You're fired, Rupert!" Travers bellowed. He was no longer unemotional. "You will never work for the Council ever again."

"Frankly, I don't give a damn about the Council." Giles waved for the Scoobies to retreat now that they had Cassie. He gave Travers a look that promised great amounts of pain. "Sunnydale belongs to us and few well selected allies. You and yours are no longer welcome here." He turned to follow the Scoobies while he ignored Travers threats and grumblings.

The gang piled into Oz's van, and they headed back to the Magic Box. Cassie curled up in Angel's lap. The helpless one for a change.

Chapter 18

After Cassie recovered from her bout of Council induced weakness, she and Faith effectively dealt with the Sisterhood of Jhe's plan for an apocalypse while Spike grew closer to both Beth and the Specter. Drusilla's magical powder still worked its affects on the master vamp.

A new Watcher showed up in Sunnydale. He had been sent by Travers to take over for the now fired Giles. The entire Scooby gang had worried about Wesley Wyndam-Pryce being a plant by the Council to spy on them. However, when the unfortunate man was kidnapped by Balthazar and his Eliminati vampires, it was Dalton who rescued Wesley. That rescue insured the man's complete loyalty to the Sunnydale group.

There were several run-ins with the Mayor's group of vampire minions. Several more of the hapless creatures were dusted by various Scoobies. Faith came very close to killing the deputy mayor. It was only by the intervention of the commando Riley Finn that prevented a tragedy. It was due to this that the Scoobies were able to gain not only an ally in the Mayor's office but one in the soldier group too. The Scoobies bet on how long it would be before Faith and Riley would start knocking boots.

Willow had a run in with a vampire replica of herself. It freaked the red-head girl to see such an evil version of herself. Willow had a hard time reconciling with the fact that her counterpart was bisexual, even after they sent the vampire back to its own dimension.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Specter wandered along twirling her stake. Spike was running late that night due to a meeting with Dalton. The Specter realized that there were a couple of demons lurking nearby. When she confronted them, it took her very little time to defeat the first one, while the second slipped away unnoticed.

"Oi, Specter! Havin' fun without me?" Spike called out as he came upon the scene.

The Specter looked up at the vampire. She was happy to see him. While she was greeting him with a wave of her hand, she didn't notice when the demon's blood disappeared through the cloth of her sleeve and into her skin.

"How was your meeting with Dalton?" the Specter asked.

"Fine." Spike took a cigarette out of his pack. "I'm havin' him leave town for a few weeks. I heard about a gem that lets a vamp walk in the sun, among other things. I want to find it for Beth."

The Specter fought to suppress the gasp she wanted to utter. That was some present he wanted to give her. Well, that he wanted to give Beth. She was almost jealous of herself. He was proving again what a different vampire he was from the rest. Most vampires would have taken the gem for themselves. Instead, Spike wanted to give it to a woman he cared about.

Spike smirked at the jealousy pouring off the Specter. Just wait till she sees the present I have in mind for her, he thought while he lit his cigarette.

"I'm sure she'll love it," the Specter replied. She could tell the vampire was feeling a bit smug. It made her wonder what else he had planned.

"Come on, pet. Let's go find some demons to rough up." Spike breathed out a lung full of smoke.

Together, the vampire and the Specter patrolled the town. They easily dispatched a few more of the Mayor's dwindling number of vampire minions and avoided a squad of soldiers before they parted company.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next afternoon, Beth awakened slowly. She stretched her arm out looking for Spike, but she realized that her boyfriend wasn't in bed. A deep masculine chuckle echoed through the room, and Beth looked up to see Spike leaning against the door jamb.

She's so beautiful. How'd I get to be such a lucky fuck?

"Huh?" Beth stared at Spike. "Did you say something."

"No, luv. Was just admirin' the view." Spike shook his head. And what a view it is!

What the heck? I shouldn't be able to hear his thoughts, Beth thought to herself. Out loud, she said, "Me too."

"Like what you see?" Spike grinned when Beth mutely nodded. My Beth, how I love you.

Beth sighed happily. She pushed away the worrisome thought of how and why she could read Spike's mind. She decided to enjoy being able to hear his thoughts while they made love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beth slipped in the backdoor of the Bronze. Jack sat in the employee break room, and she looked up with a grin when the petite vampiress sat down across from her.

"I can read minds," Beth announced.

"Repeat?" Jack looked surprised.

"I'm serious. Think about something," Beth told her friend.

Clem has the sexiest skin folds in the world. Jack thought to herself.

Beth chuckled. "I'm sure Clem's folds are quite sexy, but I like my guys a bit more fang-y"

"Wow, how the heck did that happen?" Jack asked. She knew weird things happened in Sunnydale, but she hadn't heard of mind reading before.

Beth shrugged. "The Specter killed an unidentified demon last night."

"You know it wigs me out when you talk about yourself in third person like that." Jack and Clem, along with Joyce, were the only people that knew that Beth was also the Specter.

"I won't slip up that way," Beth groaned. "I sooo need to tell Spike, but I don't know how. He'll be so pissed."

"Probably," Jack agreed. "So tell me about the demons you... excuse me, the Specter killed."

"It was ugly and kinda brownish with glow in the dark blood," Beth said. "The only thing I can think of is to go ask Anya about them. Can I have the night off?"

"Go, silly." Jack waved her hand at Beth. "Reading minds would probably drive you insane if you hung out here tonight."

"Thanks, Jack. You're the best." Beth came around the table to hug the bartender/manager of the Bronze. "Congrats on the promotion. You deserve it."

"Go. Go. Before I change my mind."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beth wandered around the Magic Box while she waited for Anya to finish with a customer. After the person left Beth waved Anya over to the book selection. "The Specter is curious about a demon she killed last night. It was tall, kinda brown and scaly, and had no mouth."

"Interesting," Anya commented. "Anything else?"

"Uh, the blood was glow in the dark blue." Beth kept her eyes turned away from Anya. God only knows what she's thinking about, Beth thought to herself. Anya's great, but she's a little too blunt for me, especially about the orgasms.

"That sounds like the demon Azarath." Anya pulled out a book, and she flipped it open to show Beth a drawing. "That it?"

"Looks like it." Beth nodded. "So, telepathy?"

"Hmm," Anya hummed thoughtfully. "That would be a demon aspect of this demon since that's how it communicates." She pointed at the information.

Wonder if Beth could save some of the blood when she kills it. There are some rituals that call for Azarath blood.

Beth glanced at Anya. She had the sudden suspicion that the ex-vengeance demon knew her secret. "Um, Anya, what's going on? Why do you think it would be me killing the demon?"

Anya looked over at Beth. "I know you're a vampire, of course, Beth, or should I call you Buffy. I saw what you did when those minions attacked a while back."

"You haven't said anything before." Beth nibbled on her lip while she waited to hear Anya's answer.

"Your need for vengeance was quite strong when you were turned, but you took care of it yourself." Anya shrugged. "Besides it's your secret to tell. Not to mention, I think they'd freak. Every last one of them. Although for the life of me I can't figure out why they don't realize your identities."

"Well, I'm not questioning their ignorance. That's for sure." Beth grinned. "Okay, one more person in on the big secret. That's four and a half."

"Four and a half? Where's the half?" Anya looked genuinely confused.

"Spike knows I'm a vamp, obviously. He just doesn't know I'm the Specter," Beth said softly. "Now, I don't even know how to broach the subject. What if he rejects me?"

Anya patted Beth's shoulder in an awkward manner. This human stuff was so confusing after 1,000 plus years as a demon.

"How do I get rid of this mind reading thing? It's giving me the wiggins." Beth pointed at the book. "I don't like hearing people's thoughts."

"Hmm. Let's have a looksee." Anya looked at the writing. "Ah ha, they travel in pairs. You have to eat the heart of the second demon."

"Oh, yummy," Beth muttered sarcastically. She put her hand to her head when she received an influx of mental voices. "It's getting worse. Can you call Clem?" Beth slumped against the bookshelf as the voices overwhelmed her.

"Let's get you sat down." Anya helped Beth over to a chair. Then, she went to the phone to call the vampire's demonic friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clem entered the Magic Box through the back door. When Anya had called to describe Beth's problem, the kind-hearted demon was instantly concerned. She had been his first friend in Sunnydale, and she wasn't even bothered by his being a demon. Clem didn't think of Beth as being a vampire, the soul made her too human for him to see her as anything other than what she was; a wonderful person with a big heart.

"Hey, ladies," Clem said when he slipped into the front part of the store. "I tracked down the second Azarath demon. It's held up just outside town in that abandoned hotel. You know, if I didn't know better I'd think the original Psycho with Anthony Perkins was filmed there."

Beth chuckled at Clem's off topic subject. It was nice being around someone whose thoughts were exactly the same as what they were saying.

"Beth's totally freaked," Anya said. "Apparently that Professor Walsh lady is in charge of the soldiers."

"Really?" Clem's eyes widened. He remembered how much Beth had disliked the college teacher during her short stay in the woman's class.

"Yeah." Anya nodded. "One of the soldiers came in to check out the merchandise." The ex-demon had a disgruntled look on her face. "He didn't even buy anything. I hate people who don't spend their money in my store."

"All the more reason to avoid that woman," Beth muttered weakly. "Please go get that demon heart before I go insane, Clem."

"Now, let's come to a business understanding," Anya announced. She handed Clem a list of demon species. "These are demon parts that I can sell. There's a price list too, there on the right side of the page."

Clem looked at the list, and he was delighted to see that his species was omitted.

Anya pointed to one of the names. "This is the demon you're going after to help Beth. As you can see, you need the heart, but I can use the blood."

Clem nodded mutely. The price for the Azarath's blood was quite high. The blood from just one of these creatures would bring in a small fortune.

"I'll be giving the list to Rupert and the Slayers later tonight." Anya grinned with confidence. "No reason why all the demon parts should go to waste."

"Okay. I'll go get the demon. I'll be back as soon as I can." Clem looked at his vampiress friend. "Hang in there, Beth." He hurried out the back door to go find the demon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, Beth was completely cured of her demon induced telepathy. She sat in the Magic Box with the Scoobies as they discussed the eventful day at Sunnydale High.

"Jonathan tried to kill himself," Xander said. "I didn't realize he was so distraught."

"How about that lunch lady?" Cassie asked. "She tried to poison us."

"The Specter told me that Professor Walsh is the leader of the soldiers," Anya announced.

The Scoobies took the information well. They agreed to avoid the woman as much as possible.

"So the Prom?" Willow asked.

Chapter 19

"Hellhounds!" Cassie grumbled. "Why does it have to be friggin' Hellhounds?" She kicked a stone.

"We're on the Hellmouth, Slayer." Spike stepped out of the shadows with the Specter. "Hellhounds sound about right."

"Do they make good pets?" the Specter asked with a chuckle.

"Not really, luv. They require fresh brains to eat." Spike shrugged his shoulders. "I guess us vamps could keep a few, but most of the time our attention spans are pretty soddin' short."

"Fresh brains?" Cassie stared at the vampire. "I need to go to the butcher's." She hurried off towards the center of town.

"Guess Rupes figured out what was happenin' at the school social." Spike watched Cassie hurry away.

"Cassie seemed a bit distracted," the Specter said slowly.

"I heard from Harris that the poofter's leavin' to go get his soul anchored." Spike shrugged. "The Mayor's plannin' something big for graduation too. I'm gonna ask Beth to join Dalton for a few days to be on the safe side. Maybe we'll take a little holiday away from good old Sunnyhell."

"She is a vamp, you know." Sometimes Beth really hated the double life she had to lead.

"Yeah, but Beth's never seen battle. I can't believe she's Luke's childe. I wonder why he picked her." Spike sighed quietly. "I'm just glad Angelus didn't know about her. God only knows what he would have done to her."

"She's stronger than you think," the Specter assured the vampire.

Spike made a non-committal sound in his chest.

"She is. Wait and see." The Specter glanced up at the stars. "I need to get home."

"Where is home?" Spike asked curiously. He had wondered about that a few times.

"A girl's gotta have a few secrets," the Specter chuckled. Her eyes twinkled behind the slits of her mask.

"You're one massive secret, pet," Spike grumbled. "When am I going to see your lovely face?"

"How do you know my face is lovely?" The Specter stepped closer to Spike. "I could be hideous."

"I seriously doubt that, sweetness. Even if you are, I won't care." Spike changed into game face. "We can be hideous together."

"You're not hideous." The Specter giggled. "You're the prettiest vampy I know." She danced away laughing as she set off towards home and becoming Beth again.

"I'm sexy, not pretty, you bint." Spike called out cheerfully at the retreating black clad girl.

Spike set off towards the warehouse apartment he shared with Beth. He had gone a few blocks when he heard a chirping, cooing sound from the alley behind the jewelry store. Spike sniffed the air, but he didn't recognize any of the scents.

The vampire was about to step into the alley when a cat sized ball of fur launched itself at him. It cowered against his leg.

"Come here, furball," Spike said. He picked up the little demon, and he petted it. It started the chirping coo sound again.

"That's not a cat." Clem stepped out of the alley. "That's an Elb'irt demon. I didn't think they existed in this dimension."

"Seems peaceful enough," Spike replied.

"Oh they are, mostly. I bet Beth would like it." Clem grinned a pointy toothed grin. "Better than any cat or dog. They're very loyal pets. I thought it was a cat at first."

"You lose at poker again?" Spike asked. "You know alley cats don't taste the same as prime grade Siamese." He and Clem started down the street.

"I was thinking about breeding cats." Clem nodded. His folds flapped in his enthusiasm. "It was Jack's idea actually. She noticed a need here in Sunnydale for kittens. She's smart that way you know."

"Sounds like a good business." Spike tucked the furry demon under his arm. "Count me in!"

"We will. Bye, Spike." Clem gave a wave as he turned towards the Bronze where he was meeting Jack.

Within a few minutes, Spike slipped inside Beth's apartment. He realized she was in the shower.

"That girl sure showers a lot," Spike grumbled to the Elb'irt demon. "She was taking one when I left too. What can she be doing that requires that many showers?"

The water turned off. "Is that you, Spike?" Beth called out.

"No, it's the Big Bad Boogeyman here to make sure pretty little vamp girls have washed behind their ears," Spike called in return.

"Better get in here and check then, Boogeyman."

"You stay put," Spike told the new pet. He hurried towards the bathroom discarding his clothing as he went. After he shagged his girl good and proper, he would approach her about leaving town until after graduation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Beth made a show of reluctantly leaving town. Halfway to Los Angeles, she doubled back to make her appearance as the Specter at the graduation ceremony. She longed to tell Spike exactly who she was. It would be a lot easier than sneaking around as the Specter and then back as Beth.

The Specter stood above the school courtyard where she watched the proceedings with interest. She studied the students as they filed in and took their seats. She realized with a start that these were students, that if she hadn't been turned, she would be graduating with. Principal Palmetto introduced the Mayor. The man made his speech. Near the end the sky darkened, and the Mayor started to have 'growing pains'.

In front of the students, and their parents, Wilkins changed into a huge snake-like creature. The students acted stunned, but with one word from Cassie, their robes came off. Each was equipped with some kind of weapon. Together, they attacked the Mayor.

The Specter looked at the vamps that flanked the parents, and she wondered how many of them she could take out. She concentrated all of her Slayer powers. With one word she dusted half of the creatures. The Specter grinned behind her mask.

Faith led the football players, all equipped with flame throwers, towards the remaining vampires while Cassie taunted the Mayor into charging her. The other Scoobies and Principal Palmetto worked on crowd control.

Spike came to stand next to the Specter. Since it had been broad daylight up till a few moments before, he had to stay inside. He had no idea what the Scoobies had planned since he had been busy with Beth the day before, but he had to admit the chaos was a thrill.

Wesley appeared from inside the school. "The two of you should move away from the building," he said. "The plan is to trap the Mayor inside and then blow the joint.

"You been watchin' gangster movies, Head Boy?" Spike teased the Watcher.

"American television leaves much to be desired," Wesley defended himself while they took themselves to safety. "However, I've been persuaded to extend my stay in Sunnydale as Faith's Watcher. I guess I'll just have to endure."

"The girl needs someone reliable in her life," Spike noted. "Slayers can walk a fine line, and the fall to darkness can be a long journey back for them."

"Kinda like Angel?" Wesley asked. The young Watcher found the two vampires fascinating from an educational standpoint. Spike was straight forward and unsubtle. A person never had to guess at the meaning of his words nor did he hide who he liked or disliked. While Angel tended to be very closed mouthed except when it came to Cassie.

"Exactly like Angel." Spike nodded. "He's gone. Off to find himself."

Wesley made a non-committal sound. "So, it would seem but only at Cassie's insistence."

"Good. It's the least that the Slayer deserves."

A deafening kaboom echoed through the dim twilight. Giles and Cassie's plan to blow up the Mayor worked like a charm. Too bad the high school would never be the same. There was actually very little loss of life that day. There could have been a lot more. The one student casualty was Harmony Kendall who had been carried off by the one surviving vampires.

Spike was secretly thrilled to hear that Wesley was staying on as Faith's Watcher. He needed another Brit to hang with.

Beth was able to make her escape from town while Clem distracted Spike with the kitten breeding venture again. She met up with Dalton, who refused to question why she was two days late. He figured it was none of his business, and he was loyal to both Spike and Beth.

Three days later, Spike showed up at Beth and Dalton's location. The vampires enjoyed a small vacation away from the Hellmouth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The summer passed quietly for the most part. All of the Scoobies, except Xander, registered for college. Xander found a summer job in a local construction company and decided that he really enjoyed the work.

Riley and Faith's relationship continued to grow. It hit a bit of a snags though. First, Faith refused to meet Maggie Walsh. She didn't like what she'd heard about the woman. Second, she refused to stake Dalton when she and Riley ran across the vampire during patrol. It took some fast talking, and a few threats by the Slayer, for the commando to keep quiet about the vampire. Faith didn't mention Spike or his status as a Scooby. The gang made sure that when Riley met with the group that Spike was absent.

Spike found the Gem of Amara which he presented to Beth. To the Specter, the vampire gave a cache of weapons from the treasure. Spike was quite pleased when both of his girls thanked him with hugs and kisses. He noticed that they both had similar body types, but the fact that the Specter appeared alive while Beth was undead allowed Drusilla's powder to work its magic to hide the fact that they were both the same person.

Beth pretended to purchase the house presented to her months before by RoseSeri Hassib. Then, she let Spike and Clem use the warehouse for the kitten breeding business.

Halfway through the summer a half Brachen demon named Doyle arrived in Sunnydale. He was looking for Angel who he said was supposed to show up in Los Angeles. When Doyle mentioned the need to slay a vampire talent agent that used its status to lure young women in as dinner, he, Xander, Cordelia, and Cassie went to Los Angeles to eliminate the threat.

Giles joined Anya at the Magic Shop since his last job literally blew up in his face. Literally. He was quite surprised at how successful Anya had made the magic supply shop. She had even added an online site. That was something he would have never thought of doing had it been his business.

Deputy Mayor Finch was now the mayor with the mysterious disappearance of Wilkins. The didn't have any worries about the Mayor's office until the next election. The best thing he did for the Slayers and their friends was to give them special immunity if they happened to be at a crime scene. Although by the end of the summer, the chief of police and his detectives discovered that the Scoobies were the most reliable witnesses at said crime scenes.

Soon, it was time for school to start. Beth was able to take a few daytime classes thanks to the Gem. Cassie moved into the college dorms as did Willow and Oz. Cordelia's father was broke now because of tax fraud. She convinced Xander that his parent's basement sucked and they got an apartment together. While she wasn't living in the style she was accustomed to, it wasn't too hard on the young woman. As a whole, the Scoobies had enough business ventures in the works to live comfortably.

Beth and Doyle set him up in the Hyperion Hotel in Los Angeles. While he waited for Angel's return, the half-demon hired several lackeys and made contacts to start the business of helping the hopeless. Of course that was after they did an exorcism of the hotel's previous occupants.

Chapter 20

"Mistress Drusilla?" Helena, the chaos demon, said cautiously. "The confusion powder is wearing off Master Spike. Should I renew it?"

Drusilla gave Helena a dreamy look. "No, the moonlight is ready. The naughty Slayer and her friends won't hurt her now."

"What about Master Spike. He's very..." Helena searched for a word that wouldn't upset her mistress to describe the master vampire. "... um, volatile."

"He is, isn't he?" Drusilla replied dreamily. "I remember when he'd crash and bash. He would wear ribbons of blood like beautiful poetry."

"Mistress Drusilla," Helena said to jolt the vampiress out of her trance-like state. "Why now?"

"The moonlight accepts the sunlight," Drusilla whispered while she repeated earlier words. "She is ready for him as he is ready for her. They need each other to fight the hell-god."

"You don't think Master Spike will leave her do you?" Helena wondered aloud.

"Oh no. He'll be mad and pouty, but he loves her..." Drusilla's eyes focused on the chaos demon. "All of her. He will be relieved -- eventually -- that all his girls are one."

"I'm glad we're here then, Mistress Drusilla." Helena shivered. "I've heard the tales of William the Bloody."

"We all have." The mad vampiress clapped her hands. She looked at the body sitting across from her. "This one is a party pooper. I don't like party poopers."

"Of course not, Mistress. Let me go find Ralph. He'll find you a new one." Helena hurried to leave the room.

"Everything is starting to happen now," Drusilla whispered to herself. "The new dawn approaches. They think they know what she is, who she is. They've only just begun to know."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come in!" Cassie greeted Beth and Jack. "Cordy and Willow are already here. We're just waiting on Anya." She stepped to the side to let the two women into the dorm room.

Cassie's roommate took one look at the two newcomers, and she hissed ferociously at Beth. She grabbed her things from her bed before she stormed out of the room.

"Didn't I tell you she was weird?" Cassie turned to Cordelia and Willow.

"She gave me the wiggins," Beth replied. "Maybe we should have Spike come by and check her out. He's pretty perceptive about people."

"I wonder what a taparrich demon is doing in this dimension." Anya appeared in the open doorway. "They're soul suckers you know."

"My roommate is a soul sucker?" Cassie stared at the ex-vengeance demon. "Why didn't she like Beth?"

"Probably smelled Spike on Beth," Anya replied. "There are many species of demons that consider vampires half breeds because they take over a dead body. Genetically speaking they're still human."

"You seem pretty knowledgeable about things," Jack replied. She had heard about Anya from Beth, but she hadn't met the other woman before.

"When you've been around for over a thousand years, you tend to know things," Anya said. She put the bag she was carrying down on one of the desks.

"Are you still a vengeance demon?" Cassie asked. She closed the door before any of the students could eavesdrop. Besides, she was curious as to how Anya ended up in Sunnydale.

"I still have my powers, if that's what you mean." Anya covertly glanced at Beth. "Really though, I'm here just to help the Slayer."

"Which Slayer?" Cassie asked.

Anya shrugged carelessly. "Just the Slayer. Might be you, might be Faith. Hell, might be someone else. I'm just the Powers that Be's little helper."

"Cool" Cassie commented.

Only Beth realized that Anya meant her and not Cassie or Faith. This made the vampiress realize that the dark-haired Slayer wasn't in the dorm room. "Where's Faith?" she asked.

"On a date with Riley," Cassie replied. "Everybody's getting lucky except me," she grumbled under her breath.

Beth heard what the Slayer had said though, and she patted the other girl's shoulder. "Angel will be back before you know it. You know with two Slayers and the Specter, you're not tied to Sunnydale. Spike told me what the Specter said about being around to protect things here."

"That sounds cool," Cassie said dreamily. "We could move to L.A. to help Doyle. I could even transfer to UCLA."

"Okay, now that we've given Cassie a happy, can we get down to business?" Cordelia asked.

"Is that all you think about, Cordy?" Willow teased.

"Of course not!" Cordelia huffed for a minute before she pulled several files out of her oversized bag. "But I want to get it out of the way before we have our fun. First off, the kitten breeding is really taking off. Our orders have quadrupled in the last two weeks." She opened a file, took out several papers, and handed one to each woman.

"I think that's Tribble's fault," Beth sighed. She studied the paper she had been given. "He's fallen in unrequited love with that new Persian Clem got from the animal shelter."

"He should be our new mascot then." Cordelia grinned. "He makes all the demons want to buy more kittens."

"Oh, that's a good idea," Anya replied. "Wonder if I should have an animal at the Magic Box? Maybe I should order a couple of kittens to be shop cats."

"How is the demon parts collecting going?" Willow asked. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of some of those said demon parts.

"Not bad. Definitely could be better." Cassie joined the conversation. "We really need to get rid of the Initiative for that venture to pick up. Easier said than done, though," she muttered. "Faith refuses to meet Maggie Walsh. It'll be hard to get an in otherwise."

"Don't blame her though," Jack replied. "The woman sounds like a real piece of work if you ask me."

"We're good at blowing things up," Willow commented as she thought about the now vacant high school.

"We need something that isn't going to destroy Sunnydale." Anya grimaced. "I like my money and my orgasms just the way they are."

"We'll think of something," Cassie said as positively as she could. The problem was she had no idea how to get rid of a government run program.

Beth made a mental note to talk to Anya about the Initiative later. If Anya still had some of her powers maybe they could devise a way to get Walsh and the soldiers out of town without bloodshed.

"Well, now that the business is out of the way, let's have some fun!" Anya picked up the bag she had brought. "Everyone bring the fingernail polish?"

Each woman rummaged around for the polish that they had brought. Beth pulled out a bottle of black that she had taken from Spike's collection. Anya brought orange to match her lipstick. Willow brought green again while Jack brought purple, which turned out to be Clem's favorite color or so she said. Cordelia brought a rich burgundy shade left over from her massive make-up buying days as a rich kid.

The ladies settled down to paint their nails and gossip. Anya showed off the products that she had recently purchased at a sex toy party she had attended with one of the other Main Street shopkeepers. All in all it was a pleasant evening for the Scooby ladies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike moved through the house in an unending circuit of boredom. Without Beth there, he just couldn't find anything exciting to do. Not that he begrudged his girl time with her friends, but he was bored.

"Television is so bloody boring," the vampire muttered. His thoughts settled on his other girl. "Maybe the Specter is out patrolling. She's always up for a good brawl. We can hit Willy's or something."

Spike grabbed his duster. He was out the door without a second thought. If one of his girls was unavailable, maybe the other was free.

Spike hit the Specter's usual patrol route, but she was nowhere to be found. He did stake a blond female vampire that looked vaguely familiar to him. Spike wrinkled his nose as he thought about her asinine come-on line about unicorns. It made him glad that Beth wasn't a total ditz.

That train of thought got the bleached blond vampire thinking about Beth's sire. Why on earth would Luke turn her? Sure, she was one sweet little gal. That was one of Spike's favorite things about her; her innocence. However, Luke usually liked them a bit more masculine. That didn't mean that his 'cousin' preferred males. Luke had a particular type and, it wasn't petite and curvy.

Then, Spike remembered that Beth had told him that the Slayer before Cassie had staked Luke. Interesting. Wonder what Rupes can tell me about her? He changed course, and he went to find the ex-Watcher.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike entered the Magic Box. He could tell that it was just the two Watchers in the store. Wednesday evenings were always slow.

"Hey, Spike." Wesley looked up from his book to greet the vampire.

"Wes, Rupert." The vampire found a place to sit, but he twitched nervously in his seat. "I was wonderin' about the Slayer before Cassie."

"Buffy Summers?" Giles looked surprised. She was dead, otherwise Cassie wouldn't be the Slayer. He wondered why the vampire was interested in a dead Slayer. "Why do you want to know about her?"

Spike leapt to his feet. He paced around the store touching objects as he did. After a few seconds, he started to speak. "When I met Beth, I was surprised by her. I never expected to fall for someone so sweet and innocent. I am the Big Bad, after all. Slayer of Slayers and all that rot." He turned to look at the Watchers. "Let me assure you, she is sweet and innocent. She's never hurt a living soul."

"Spike, what's this all about?" Giles had a strange feeling about the conversation.

"When I met Beth, she told me..." Spike trailed off.

The room was filled with silence until Giles blurted out, "Told you what, man? Out with it." He took off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. Spike wasn't usually one to have enough patience to draw out any subject. Something was bothering the vampire. If Spike was concerned, they needed to listen up.

"She told me her sire Luke was killed by the Slayer before Cassie." Spike revealed Beth's secret in one short sentence.

"Beth's a vampire?" Wesley's jaw dropped. "Just last week I saw her in the sun."

"Gem of Amara, Watcher," Spike replied.

"Beth's a vampire." Giles sat down heavily as he repeated Wes' words, just not as a question. "Now I know why you swore to us that you'd never turn her."

"About Buffy Summers?" Spike prodded the other man.

"She was unexpected," Giles finally said after several minutes of contemplation. "She was never identified as a potential." He gave a short bark of laughter as he remembered the one report that Merrick had been able to submit before his death."

"What?" Spike and Wesley asked at the same time.

"I'm sure before he died that Merrick despaired ever teaching her," Giles said softly. "By all reports, she was the quintessential California cheerleader: blond, vapid, and into the latest fashions."

"She did kill Lothos," Wesley said thoughtfully. "That says something about her. Maybe her calling started to change her."

"Yes, she did, but apparently, she couldn't handle her parents divorce. I spoke to Mrs. Summers right after Cassie was called. Buffy Summers ran away from home in L.A. and was killed."

"She was here in Sunnydale," Spike insisted. "Luke was the Master's vessel. He had been for years. He would have never left Nest's side."

"Miss Summers was here?" Giles looked puzzled as he remembered speaking with Mrs. Summers. He was sure she distinctly said that her daughter had run away in L.A. He could only speculate on what happened. "Maybe the Master killed her?"

"If he had, wouldn't he have been able to escape without killing Cassie?" Wesley asked.

"Yes, of course. So, Buffy wasn't killed by the Master. This is the Hellmouth. There are other threats."

"Yeah, like that Finn git Faith's datin'," Spike grumbled. "I'm sure he's got some kind of gadget that picks up body heat."

"Or lack thereof." Giles nodded.

"Beth's never killed." Spike bit his lower lip. "I'm not sure why you lot can't tell she's a vamp, but it makes me thrilled she's stayed under the radar. What I want to know is now that I've revealed her status, if you're gonna treat her any differently."

"Beth's part of the group, just like you," Giles reassured Spike. "We protect our own."

"Good to know, Watcher." Spike glanced at the clock. "Beth should be home from her party soon. Talk to you later, mates." He strolled out of the Magic Box, confident that his girl wasn't in any danger from the Watchers.

Wesley watched the bleached blond vampire leave. After a few moments, he said in soft voice, "He gave up the Gem of Amara? He could have ruled the Hellmouth with it, even more than he already does."

"I can't believe we never noticed that Beth is a vampire." Giles still appeared a bit shell shocked from the revelation, despite his acceptance of the situation.

"Are the others ready to know?" Wesley asked. "She's kept it a secret for over two years."

"We'll have to wait and see, I suppose." Giles rose to his feet. "If Riley doesn't say anything, we should wait for Beth to tell us."

"I agree."

Spike walked towards home. He mulled over the information he had gotten from Giles about Buffy Summers. Luke was killed by a Slayer around the same time Cassie was killed. Therefore, he concluded that the Summers bint had killed the older vampire despite Giles' insistence that the girl never made it to Sunnydale. According to the demon grapevine, the Specter showed up around the same time. Spike wondered how it was all connected.

It was all very odd!

All thoughts of the previous Slayer fled Spike's mind when he saw Beth surrounded by several demons.

"You and that boyfriend of yours are traitors!" One demon snarled in Beth's face. "We're going to teach you a lesson."

Spike growled. The sound echoed off the buildings, and the demons looked around, startled by the noise.

"It's the boyfriend," the demon snarled again.

"You threatened my girl!" Spike changed into game face. "That's the last thing you'll ever do." He advanced on the group of demons.

"Hey, blondie! You having some problems?" Faith sauntered up. She was trailed by Riley Finn.

"Nothing I can't handle, Slayer. You're welcome to join the dance." Spike grinned unrepentantly when Riley paled at the sight of his vampiric visage.

"By the way, Riley," Faith said over her shoulder. "This is Spike. He's a vamp and another one of my allies."

"I'm hurt." Spike placed a hand over his heart. "Only an ally?"

With that the vampire attacked the demons still surrounding his girlfriend with a fierce determination.

"Picking on Spike's girl wasn't very smart," Faith muttered to Riley as she watched the carnage.

"Another one, Faith?" Riley grunted. He was still a bit upset about Faith's protecting Dalton. "I thought you were supposed to kill vamps."

Faith shrugged. "Spike and Dalton are different, I guess. If Cassie and the gang aren't freaked out over them neither should you."

Riley grumbled under his breath, but he did nothing. Faith gave the military man the one thing Maggie Walsh couldn't; sex and lots of it. He kept silent about many of the things that he had seen in Sunnydale, just so he could keep having sex with Faith.

Faith smirked to herself. She knew she had Riley by the short hairs. She watched as Spike ripped through the demons. When the vampire finished, he caught Beth up in a kiss. The dark-haired Slayer decided it was time to leave the two alone. She dragged the reluctant Riley Finn away.

In the excitement of the fight, and Spike discovering the toy Beth had received from Anya, the vampire forgot to tell Beth that he had told the Watchers about her vampiric status. Neither of the Watchers mentioned that they knew. They continued to treat Beth as they always had.

Chapter 21

Beth looked in the mirror. Her green-glowing Specter eyes flared with nervous tension. Spike was starting to question her identities. This made the turned Slayer extremely anxious. Beth wasn't sure how Spike would take the news that she was also the Specter. She hoped that his love for her was enough that he'd forgive her.

"Beth, pet, you home?" Spike's voice called out.

Beth quickly changed her Slayer visage into her vampire one. She hoped that Spike wouldn't notice the change in her heart. Beth wished she could research why she had a reflection and a heartbeat while in Slayer mode. Then, she changed into her human face.

"Here, baby." Beth stepped out of the downstairs half-bath. "Did you get Willow all moved in with Cassie?"

Cassie had dispatched her last demonic roommate with surprising ease after Anya had identified it. Then she'd asked her red-haired friend to move in with her.

Spike nodded. He went into the kitchen for some blood. He was getting used to pig's blood now, and he found himself drinking it instead of hunting. Spike had no desire to hurt his girls, although he did still enjoy terrorizing criminals.

"I have tonight off." Beth followed Spike through the hallway into the other room. She climbed up onto one of the stools where she leaned her elbows on the counter. She watched Spike putter around the kitchen.

"Oh, yeah? You wanna go do something?" Spike turned to look at Beth. Once again, he was struck by her beauty and innocence.

"The gang's going to a frat house party on campus." Beth shrugged. "I heard that from Anya. I'd rather stay home. Unless you really wanna go out?"

"Let's just stay in then." Spike leered playfully at Beth. "I'll have some alone time with my best gal."

"Cool. I'll make some popcorn." Beth leapt to her feet. "We can watch a movie."

Forty-five minutes later Spike and Beth were entranced by an action-adventure movie. At least Beth was. Spike, on the other hand, had let his mind wander. Once again he started to think about the Slayer that had killed Beth's sire.

"Did you see the Slayer that staked Luke?" the bleached blond asked abruptly.

"Huh?" Beth tensed for a moment before she tried to answer the question posed by her boyfriend. "There was a flash of blond hair, and then... I don't know. I got the heck out of there."

"So, you didn't see how she died?" Spike glanced down at Beth's dark curls when she tensed for a second time. He wondered why the petite vampiress seemed upset by the question.

"Not really." Beth tried to act uninterested, but Spike's questions worried her.

"The Specter showed up about that time too," Spike said to himself. "Wonder if there's a connection."

He's thinking too much, Beth thought. I better distract him. She climbed on Spike's lap, and she straddled him, pressing the apex of her thighs against his cock.

Spike settled his hands on Beth's hips. He could tell his girl was unhappy with his line of questioning. He vowed to get to the bottom of the mystery of Buffy Summers. Then, he succumbed to Beth's wiles.

Even as Spike sat submissively under Beth's sensual onslaught, a small part of his brain remained actively engaged over his self-imposed dilemma. He remembered Giles mentioning meeting the Slayer's mum. Just before taking a more active role in the shagging, Spike told himself he needed to look Mrs. Summers up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike didn't get to search for Mrs. Summers right away as he had planned. A female werewolf showed up in good old Sunnyhell the day after Halloween. The bitch's name was Veruca, and she set her sights on Oz.

After Oz had kicked Veruca to the curb for Willow, the bitch had the nerve to attack Willow at the U.C. Sunnydale student labs. Unfortunately when Oz had to kill Veruca to save his girlfriend, he became scared and unsure of himself. Nothing Xander, Spike, or Giles said seemed to reassure the young man. Within days of the Veruca incident, Oz left town without telling anyone where he was going. He didn't even tell his Dingo band mates.

A few nights later Spike patrolled with the Specter on their designated schedule that the Scoobies had devised to thwart the Initiative. From Riley, Faith had learned the Army had no real idea what they were doing and mainly hung out at the college and its surrounding area. The south side of Sunnydale was safe for Spike and the Specter to patrol.

"Specter, luv." Spike looked at the dark-clad woman out of the corner of his eye. "How long have you lived here in Sunnyhell?"

"Long enough," the Specter answered vaguely.

"How did Buffy Summers die? Surely you heard rumors."

"Luke killed her," the Specter's voice rang with truth. "Even as she killed him."

Spike nodded, but he could hear something in the Specter's voice that made him question her answers. Not to mention, he realized how much like Beth she sounded. If it wasn't for the Specter's heartbeat, he would think they were the same person. Little did he know he already had the truth, but he lacked enough information to connect the dots.

"Do you think Oz will be back?" the Specter asked. She was desperate to change the subject.

Spike shrugged as he took a puff off his ever present cigarette. Smoke curled out his nose as he replied, "I tried to show him about control. I think he's runnin' scared now."

"I feel sorry for Willow." The Specter's guttural voice sounded sad. "My father left us. He was busy sexing up his secretary."

"Bastard," Spike snarled.

"Thanks, Spike." The Specter glanced at her watch. "I need to get home. I have to work tomorrow." She gave Spike a wave before she sprinted away.

Spike watched the Specter's hurried departure with worried eyes. Something was going on, and he felt the need to figure out what it was. On the way back home, he stopped at a pay phone to look at the phone book because he didn't want to raise Beth's suspicions. There were six listings with the last name of Summers.

Spike dug out a handful of change that he placed on the little metal table. He called each number, and he asked for Buffy. Only one, a J. Summers, recognized the name. The lady on the phone informed him that her eldest daughter had died three years before. Spike made the normal sympathy sounds before he apologized for bothering her.

After he hung up, Spike wrote the woman's address down on a piece of paper that he shoved in an inside pocket of his duster. Revello Drive wasn't all that far from his own street. Maybe he would give it a quick look-see one night.

Spike strolled home, keeping his eye out for trouble. He hadn't seen Dalton for a few days. He hoped the other vamp hadn't run into the Initiative. Spike decided he needed to check up on the minion the next night.

When Spike slipped into his house, he realized Beth was in the shower. Even as he shed his clothes to join her, he wondered what his girl could have possibly done to warrant another shower.

Chapter 22

“Remind me again why we’re having Thanksgiving at our house?” Spike asked Beth.

“Because we have the most room.” Beth gave Spike a smile. She handed him some silverware to put out on the table. Just then the telephone rang, and she went to the other room to answer it.

Spike set the silverware out as he listened to Beth with half an ear.

“You made it there okay?” Beth asked softly. “Nothing happened?”

Spike paused in his task. He didn’t know of anyone that they knew to be out of town for the holiday. He continued to listen, hoping for a clue as to who Beth was talking to.

“It can’t be that bad,” Beth muttered. “I mean if I survived visiting Aunt Darlene so can you!”

Now Spike really wondered who Beth was talking to. She so rarely spoke of her family. At least she didn’t to him.

“Yes, I’ll go check to see if Janice called you.” Beth sighed. “I know you’re worried about her. It’s not fun to be in the hospital when it’s not a holiday. Tell Mom not to worry about anything.”

Spike suddenly realized that maybe Beth’s family actually lived in Sunnydale too. Of course he understood why she hid them though. While he had turned his mother because of his love for her, despite having to stake her shortly thereafter, other vampires like Angelus killed their families out of hatred or just for the hell of it.

“I have people coming over in a few. I have to go, pumpkin belly. Talk to you later.” Beth hung up the telephone.

Spike came to the door of the dining room. “Who was that, pet?”

Beth gave Spike a startled look. “Just someone from school. No biggie. You ready for everyone to descend on us?” Just then the doorbell rang.

“Doesn’t seem to matter if I’m ready or not. Someone’s here.” Spike let Beth think that he believed her little fib. “Table’s set.”

“Well, go answer the door.” Beth shooed Spike towards the front door.

Spike sauntered through the house to the front of the house. He threw open the front door. “Happy Thanksgiving and all that rot,” he shouted, his arms open wide in greeting.

Xander and Cordelia stood on the front porch. They both rolled their eyes at Spike’s antics. “I brought dessert.” Cordelia held up the cake box from the local bakery.

“Beth’s in the kitchen, cheerleader.” Spike directed the dark-haired woman towards the back of the house. After Cordelia went in the direction indicated, Spike asked, “So, Harris, who do you think will win the big game?”

The two friends launched into a conversation that involved every male that arrived after that. Clem, Wesley, and Spike were cheering for the underdog while Giles and Xander were cheering for the fan favorite. The girls were all in the kitchen gossiping when Faith and Riley finally arrived.

“Hey, come on in here, Finn,” Xander waved the other young human into the living room. “Tell us whose side you’re on.”

“You guys want some munchies?” Jack peeked her head into the room. “Beth has some chips and dip.”

“Bring it on, luv,” Spike spoke up.

“I’ll let her know.” Jack went back into the kitchen.

Soon, Beth came out with a tray of tortilla chips, potato chips, salsa, and dips. She put the tray down on the table. Beth went to Spike’s side to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Riley glanced down at the tracker watch on his wrist. He knew that Clem and Spike were demons, but he was surprised when he realized that Beth was a demon too. He pointed at the young woman, and he gasped, “She’s a vampire too. What is going on here?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Xander shouted. “Beth’s not a vampire.”

“What’s going on in here?” The other females burst into the living room after they heard Xander’s bellow.

“Finn here says that Beth’s a vamp.” Xander pointed at Riley. “He shouldn’t lie like that.”

“Well, about that… “ Beth cleared her throat. She stepped closer to Spike. “I am a vampire.”

“What?” Several Scoobies looked at her in surprise.

“I thought you said you would never turn her,” Cassie accused Spike.

“He didn’t,” Beth said softly. “I was a vamp before Spike came to Sunnydale.”

“Why did you hide it from us?” Willow asked. “Were you scared we wouldn’t like you?”

Beth nodded slowly. “I never figured out how you all didn’t figure it out. Spike knew the second he saw me way back that first day.”

Xander sat down in confusion. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Beth, because he did. He just didn’t like anyone to keep secrets. Secrets led to bad things. It was always like that.

“No biggie to me.” Faith shrugged her shoulders. She glanced at Giles and Wesley. “You two don’t seem all that surprised.”

“Spike spilled the beans a few weeks back,” Wesley replied.

“Hey, I saw you out in the sun just last week,” Cassie said suddenly. “If you’ve been a vamp for so long how was that possible?”

“Oh, Spike gave me a ring that let’s me go out in the sun.” Beth smiled slowly. “He’s the best really.”

Xander got to his feet, and he put his hand out to Beth. “You’ve always been an alright friend, Beth. I’m glad you’re part of the Scoobies.”

Beth took Xander’s hand. “Thanks, Harris.”

“You can’t be serious?” Riley looked around at the Scoobies. He couldn’t believe they hadn’t freaked out even more than they had. “Faith, another one?”

“Do you want to get laid tonight, Finn?” Faith glared at her fuck buddy. “If so, shut your mouth and sit down.”

Riley noticed that everyone was looking at him expectantly. He had this sudden vision where he tried to leave and the Scoobies jumped him when he tried to escape. He knew they would never let him tell his buddies in the Initiative about Spike and Beth. Riley sat down abruptly, he crossed his hands over his chest, and he pressed his lips together. Not only did he not want to be another Sunnydale statistic, he so wanted to have sex that night with Faith. She was such an inventive lover.


“Well, since we averted yet another disaster, may I say dinner will be ready in about an hour?” Beth made her escape to the kitchen. She was followed by Anya and Jack. The other Scooby females stayed with the menfolk to keep Riley in line.

“You okay, Beth?” Jack asked softly. She knew her friend was quite shaken over the revelation of her vampiric status despite Beth’s outward calmness.

“Yeah, I think so.” Beth glanced towards the living room. The television was going quite loudly by then, but she dropped her voice anyway. “Anya, we have to take out the Initiative right away. I got the oddest feeling from Riley.”

“How so, Beth?” Anya looked at her friend in concern. “Was it some kind of Slayer intuition?”

“You’re a Slayer?” Jack asked in disbelief. “Like Cassie and Faith?”

Beth bit her lip, and she nodded. She gave Jack a small smile. “Surprise.”

“Any ideas on what to do with the Initiative?” Anya asked softly. “As I’ve said before, I’m here to help you in any capacity that I can.”

“I think I need to think on it,” Beth replied. She moved over to the counter where she nervously started to stir a bowl of mashed potatoes that she had sitting there. “They’re still humans. I can’t just kill them, but they need to be out of Sunnydale.”

“Guess that means blowing them up is out of the question?” Anya asked.

“Yeah, I’d say so. Can you get me the milk out of the fridge?” Beth stirred the potatoes a few more times. “I just wish the Initiative would get what they deserve.”

Anya nodded to herself. Wish granted, she thought to herself. With the exception of Mr. Finn, of course. A Slayer getting orgasms was a happy Slayer after all. Now Anya just had to wait a few days so that Beth wouldn’t realize the connection. It wouldn’t do the turned Slayer any good to realize exactly what had happened. She also had to come up with a plan to have the good Mr. Finn far, far away from the Initiative when her plan finally saw fruition.

“What are you thinking?” Jack whispered to Anya.

“Little old me? I’m not thinking anything.” Anya gave her friend an innocent look. “I’m a good girl!”

“Sure you are,” Jack scoffed. She turned her attention back to Beth. “What do you need us to do, sweetie?”

“Oh, um, check on the turkey I guess.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours later, the last of Spike and Beth’s guests had trickled out of their house. The two vampires were sitting in the living room watching television when Beth said softly, “I need to go give my friend an assignment that she missed last week. I should be too long.”

Spike turned to look at Beth. “That’s fine, luv. I’ll just stay here and watch the telly.” He turned his attention back to the screen.

“Great, baby.” Beth kissed his cheek before she got to her feet. “It’s just a few blocks away. I’ll be okay.”

Spike nodded absently. Although truthfully, he was already planning on his course of action. He would follow Beth to see where she was going this late on a holiday. A few seconds after Beth left the house, Spike was ready to leave himself. He was out the back door, and he trailed behind his girlfriend. As she said, where she was going was just a few blocks away. Spike watched as Beth slipped inside a house on Revello Drive.

“Why is that address so familiar?” Spike muttered to himself. He searched his pocket for his cigarettes. When he went for his lighter, he found the scrap of paper from a few days before that had Buffy Summers’ mother’s address on it. Spike glanced at the scrap, and he smacked himself on the forehead. “No wonder it’s familiar, but what is Beth doing going into that particular house? Unless…”

Spike found himself lost in thought. Could Beth and Buffy be the same person? If Beth was Buffy why hadn’t she told him? Didn’t she trust him? Spike growled as he dropped his cigarette on the ground. He crushed it beneath the heel of his boot. He needed time to think. Spike decided to go visit Dalton at the mansion.

Chapter 23

Spike had planned on confronting Beth with his newfound speculations, but a trio of baddies by the name of The Gentlemen came to town. What no one realized, except Beth, was that all three of the resident Slayers had dreamed about these nasty fellows. Beth had so few Slayer dreams since being called that the dream had freaked her out. Beth had always hated weird dreams even before she had been a Slayer.

It was during this time of silence that the Initiative had a confinement breach. Practically every soldier and scientist was killed in the breakout. The only exceptions were Riley Finn’s company who had been out on maneuvers in the nearby desert area. Anya kept it to herself that she was the cause of the said breach.

After Cassie and Faith had slayed the voice stealing Gentlemen, there was no time again for Spike to confront Beth. In the aftermath of the Initiative disaster, there was a surplus of demons to slay for the Scoobies and their allies.

Willow went to a Wicca meeting at the U.C. Sunnydale campus where she met a nice girl. She didn’t tell the other Scoobies about Tara Maclay, but she suspected that Spike and Beth knew she was getting closer and closer to the girl. Tara and she had been together when the Gentlemen struck and again during the next incident where a trio of demons tried to open the Hellmouth that still resided under the burned out skeleton of the high school.

When Willow introduced Tara as her girlfriend, Anya and Beth were the first two to welcome Tara with open arms. Of course, Willow did the whole thing at the Bronze where she knew there would be less likely to be a public reaction to her news. The get together was interrupted by a girl named April looking for her boyfriend Warren.

Beth tilted her head as she studied the strange woman. “It’s another robot. You don’t think it’s another Ted do you? Looking to kill this Warren guy?”

Xander turned to look at the newest robot girl. “Well, there’s one way to find out.” He walked over to April. “Hey, ma’am, are you planning on hurting this Warren guy?”

“I love Warren. I would never hurt him,” April said matter-of-factly. “Do you know where Warren is?”

Xander shook his head. “Have you looked him up in the phone book?”

April shook her head. “That wasn’t part of my education. Nowhere in my sex files does using the telephone apply.”

“Guess Warren doesn’t like phone sex, huh?” Xander chuckled. He waved at the group of friends. “How about we help you find this Warren guy?”

“I must find him soon. My battery needs to be recharged.” April looked at the group of friends. “Your help would be acceptable, but I need to find Warren Meers right now. He is my boyfriend.”

“Gotcha.” Xander led April over to the Scoobies. “Cordelia, honey, why don’t you call information and see if you can find Warren?”

“Thank you.” April looked around. She tilted her head when she got to Spike and Beth. “These two are different than the rest of you. Are they like me?”

“No, they’re vampires,” Cassie replied. “You know, the undead animated by a demon.”

“Oh, okay, that’s nice.” April got a faraway look on her face. “Have you seen Warren? I really miss him, you know. He’s so good in bed.”

“Sounds a bit like Anya,” Spike whispered to Beth. He hadn’t forgotten the conversation that had gone on at their house during Thanksgiving. He had never realized how raunchy females could be as he was a Victorian gentleman when he was alive, and back then, sex just wasn’t talked about.

“Yeah, she does,” Beth giggled. She was glad Spike was talking to her again. He had been so distant since Thanksgiving, and she had no idea why. She hoped he was feeling better now. After all, Christmas was only a week away. Beth had a really nice gift for him to unwrap.

“Two robots in just over two years. Wonder if Sunnydale attracts geniuses or something,” Willow mused. “I’d love to get into her circuits. Ted’s were quite advanced considering how old he was.”

“There’s no Warren Meers,” Cordelia said. “There is however a Betty Meers over on Winchester Street.”

“Betty is the name of Warren’s mother,” April said happily. “She is a very nice lady. She will know where Warren is.” She rose to her feet.

The Scoobies watched as the robot hurried across the Bronze.

“You think we should follow her?” Beth asked.

Just then April picked up a large man who had tried to pinch her butt, and she threw him through a paint covered window.

“Oh, yeah,” Cassie replied. “This could be bad. Faith, Riley, Spike, you come with me. The rest of you make sure that guy is okay.” She and Faith went towards the door, with Riley trailing behind.

“Meet us at the Magic Box when you’re done,” Xander told the blond Slayer.

“Right. You be careful, luv.” Spike gave Beth a small nod before he followed the Slayers and Captain Cardboard. He knew she could take care of herself if what he suspected was true, but he still felt the need to keep her safe.

Xander herded the remaining Scooby women towards the injured idiot. He refused their help of course, but at least they tried. After a few minutes, they left the Bronze too. Willow and Tara walked in front holding hands, while Xander had both Cordelia and Beth on his arms. Xander saw the envious looks from several men as the group strolled down the sidewalk towards the Magic Box.

“Xander’s going to get a big head over this,” Cordelia observed.

“I guess it’ll be your job to pop it then,” Beth giggled. She playfully hit Xander’s arm with her hand when he let out an indignant gasp. “We love you, you know that right?”

“I suppose.” Xander rolled his eyes at Willow and Tara when they glanced back over their shoulders at him.

It didn’t take the group long to make it to Anya’s shop. They slipped inside and spread out as they waited for her to complete a sale. Anya followed the customer to the front door, and she turned the open sign to closed.

“Where are the Slayer’s?” Anya looked the group over. “And Spike and the soldier?”

“There’s another robot in Sunnydale,” Willow said quietly. “She was looking for some guy named Warren.”

“Warren Meers sounds so familiar,” Cordelia said. “Now where have I heard that name before?”

“Spike and the Slayers went after the robot,” Beth said with a shrug. “While we’re waiting why don’t we have look over the books for the businesses?”

“That sounds good.” Anya nodded. She went to the counter where she kept the books on the demon parts business. “Just today I received a request for Far’nik testicles. This will be a job for Spike and Beth, of course.” She placed the book on the counter.

“Why is that?” Xander asked.

“Far’nik demons live in the sewers because they breathe methane gas.” Anya wrote some information down on a piece of paper which she then handed to Beth. “This is the address of the manhole closest to their lair.”

Beth looked at the paper for a moment before she put it in her purse. She dipped her head in thanks to the shopkeeper.

“The kitten breeding business is going really well,” Cordelia replied. “We will have to expand very shortly. We’re running out of room, and we need some employees.”

“Well, Dalton is hopelessly bored,” Beth said. “We could ask him if he wants to help.”

“Good idea,” Cordelia replied. She grabbed some paper and a pencil to take notes. “Can you talk to him, Beth?”

“Sure thing.” Beth nodded. “It would be my pleasure.”

“No one is using the Initiative area,” Xander said. “We could convert that for kitten breeding and demon parts storage. I haven’t seen the inside, but I bet Riley could help.”

“It’s worth looking at, but I think I’d much prefer working above ground.” Cordelia wrinkled her nose.

“It was just an idea, sweetie.” Xander gave Cordelia a smile.

The group continued to brainstorm for ideas of where to place their expanded business. They decided to explore the abandoned Initiative area along with several other vacant buildings. They had plenty of capital in which to invest in the expansion.


The door of the shop swung open and Spike limped in. He was followed by Cassie and Faith, who had Riley between them.

“What happened?” Beth rushed to Spike’s side. She helped him down the stairs, and she helped him sit down.

“We found out why that git Warren abandoned robot-girl,” Spike replied. “It seems he found himself a real live girl to shag.”

“How did you get hurt, baby?” Beth asked. She went for the first aid kit.

“April, that’s the robot’s name, by the way, wasn’t too happy to find that out.” Cassie crossed to Beth, and she took a few first aid items from the other woman. “She tried to kill both Warren and the new girl. We got beat up stopping her.”

“Did you remember to hit her with a fire extinguisher?” Beth asked in a serious voice.

Cassie chuckled. She remembered Beth’s tale of hitting Ted with an extinguisher. “No, I hit her with a Spike though.”

“Is that why he looks so thrashed?” Beth glanced at Spike.

“Unfortunately, but we did win in the end. Thank God!” Faith dropped into a chair beside Riley. “I think I need a vacation.”

“You and me both, sister,” Cassie replied. She went to Riley and started to clean him up.

After the injuries were fixed up, the business discussion started anew.

Chapter 24

Christmas came to Sunnydale just as it did to everywhere else in the world. Spike and Beth were back on track ever since Spike decided it didn’t matter to him who Beth was before she was turned. She was still the same sweet, innocent vampiress that he fell in love with when he first came to Sunnydale. They had spent Christmas Eve making sweet love followed by several rounds of raunchy shagging. All in all, Spike thought it was the best Christmas that he had ever spent on the planet.

New Year’s Eve found the entire Scooby gang, and all of their allies, having a party to celebrate the incoming year. The only person not totally happy was Cassie who missed Angel terribly. She had a date with a young college boy named Parker, but when said boy tried to hit on Beth, he found himself at the fangs of a very disgruntled Spike. It took both Buffy and Xander to calm the grumpy vampire down.

Beth and Cassie’s birthdays were within days of each other, and that in itself was cause for another celebration. The party was interrupted by the arrival of a Fyral demon which Spike almost immediately declared was Rupert Giles. While Cassie and Faith were off looking for Ethan Rayne, who they had determined was the culprit of the transformation, the other Scoobies tried to ignore the fact that Anya pulled Giles into another room for orgasms. After Rayne left town again with his tail between his legs, things settled down, but not for long.

The Specter was patrolling alone. Spike had a poker date with Clem at Willy’s Alibi Room. However, the Specter wasn’t too upset. She had a lot to think about, and that required alone time. The Specter knew she needed to tell Spike all about herself. The sooner the better if the truth be known.

The Specter fought and killed a vampire in the warehouse district close to where she used to live before she and Spike moved to their house. As she stood looking down at the dust, she heard a shout.

“Hey!” A security guard ran up with a flashlight, which he shined in the Specter’s face. He took in her mask, but he had seen weirder things in Sunnydale than a gal in a mask before. “If you’re looking for one of those rave things, I’m afraid you’re too late. I ran a bunch of kids out of here last night.”

The Specter gave a small shrug to indicate that she didn’t care.

“You know, if it was my call, I’d let you do whatever you want. It’s not like anyone’s using this place or nothin’. But they just don’t pay me enough to argue with the boss.” The watchman looked around.

The Specter turned to leave the way she had come. Behind her the guard leaned over, and he picked something up off the ground.

“Oh, hey, miss don’t forget your… whatever it is.” The guard held out a glowing ball. “Guess glow balls are the in thing this year.”

The Specter took the ball from the guard with a shrug. She had no idea what the thing was, but she could feel a supernatural air about it. She decided to take the item to Anya, and maybe she’d know what it was.

The next day Beth wasn’t thinking about the glowing ball that she had discovered the night before as the Specter. She was at the hospital with Joyce who she had found on the floor of the kitchen passed out. While there, Beth ran into the security guard, but he wasn’t the same man that he was the night before. Something had made the man go crazy overnight. This had every part of Beth worried. Was there a new epidemic happening in Sunnydale?

After Beth got Joyce settled at home, and checked up on Dawn at Janice’s, she went out as the Specter again. It was time to investigate the warehouse a little closer.

When the Specter slipped inside the warehouse, she found a monk tied up to a chair. She blinked in surprise as she was not expecting to find anything like that. The monk was semi-conscious, and she hurried to loosen the ropes that bound him. When he grunted in pain, the Specter tried to make him feel better, but to no avail. She let out a guttural grunt as she turned to grab her attacker’s neck.

“I’m not stupid,” the Specter grumbled.

“What did you say?” The blond haired woman gave the Specter gave a withering look. “I mean really, speak the native language.” She threw the Specter across the room.

The Specter crashed into the brick wall with a tremendous amount of force. She rose to her feet with a growl. She glanced at the monk for a minute before she gave a feral grin that she knew her opponent couldn’t see behind her mask.

“My town, my rules,” the Specter grunted in English. Then, she dashed towards the monk, grabbed him, and crashed out the window in just a few seconds, leaving behind a flabbergasted Hell-God.

As the Specter and the monk escaped across the parking lot, Glory had a major temper tantrum resulting in the destruction of the warehouse that buried her beneath tons of rubble.

“Stop, please,” the monk moaned. He was in so much pain.

The Specter pointed towards the street to indicate that they needed to keep going.

“My journey’s done, I think, Slayer.”

Beth stared at the monk in surprise. How did he know her secret?

“Yes, I know your secret. You must protect the Key.” The monk coughed as he sank to the ground.

“Protect together?” The Specter sank to the ground next to the monk.

“No, I am dying. The Beast did too much damage. You and your mate must protect the Key together.” The monk coughed again. This time there was blood. “The Key is energy. It’s a portal that opens the door…”

“Glow ball?” The Specter asked.

“No. For centuries it had no form at all. My brethren were its only keepers. Then the abomination found us. We had to hide the Key. We gave it form and molded it into flesh … made it human and sent it to you.” The monk grabbed the Specter’s arm. “She is fashioned from your flesh and that of your mate. She is your sister in name only.”

Beth reached up and pulled off her mask. She stared down at the monk before she changed into her vampiric visage. “Our memories?”

“We built them.” The monk could feel his heart slowing down. “She’s helpless. An innocent now. We couldn’t give you an infant, and she couldn’t be your childe in the other way. The Key would never tolerate the impurity of a vampire demon.”

“But…” Beth was unsure of what to say.

“You cannot abandon her. She belongs to you.”

“Mine!” Beth growled. She could feel all three sides of herself merging into one as she uttered the word that claimed her daughter as part of her family.

Across town at Revello Drive, Dawn sat up from where she was writing in her diary. She felt something go through her very soul. “What the hell was that?”

At Willy’s bar, Spike stopped in the middle of raking in his winnings. He shuddered for a moment as he wondered what the hell just happened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beth stepped into Betty Meers’ house. She let the woman lead her down to the basement where Warren was sitting in from of a television playing with a Playstation gaming system.

“I need you to make me two of your robots,” Beth said. “I’ll pay you good money for them.” She handed Warren two files. One was marked ‘Joyce Summers’, and the other was marked ‘Dawn Summers’.

Chapter 25

To say that Beth was distracted was an understatement. She had so much on her plate there were times she didn’t know if she was coming or going. She had work, school, Spike, the worry about her sick mother, the worry about her sister-child the Key, and patrolling as the Specter. She was currently chasing a vampire through a mist shrouded cemetery. The Specter shouted out the word she used to dust vamps. As her prey dusted her cry of victory turned to one of pain.

Spike followed the Specter at a leisurely pace. He knew she needed some tension released, although he didn’t understand why she was so tense. When he heard her shriek of pain he dropped his cigarette and ran up to find her. Spike let out a gasp of outrage when he found the Specter slumped over a gravestone with an arrow in her back.

Spike rushed over to the black clad girl, and he carefully rearranged her. “This may hurt, luv.”

“Just do it.” The Specter hissed in pain when Spike broke off the arrow. “I feel funny. The tip is dipped in something.” Then she passed out as the bleached blond vampire removed the wooden shaft from her flesh.

Spike lifted the Specter into his arms. He had no idea where she lived. So, he took her to the house he shared with Beth. After he laid the Specter on the couch, he stared down at the mask covering her face. It would be so easy to take the damned thing off and finally know her identity. Instead he listened to her heartbeat, which suddenly stopped. Spike grabbed the Specter’s shoulders, ready to start CPR. Then, he heard her whispering.

“Spike, get the first aid kit,” Beth whimpered. She hurt like she had never hurt before in her life.

“Beth?” Spike let go of the Specter’s shoulders, and he ripped off her mask. “You’re the Specter?”

“Surprise?” Beth whispered. Her eyes fluttered shut. “I’m feeling funny again.”

Spike dipped his finger in the blood that was pooled on Beth’s stomach. He sniffed the red liquid first, and then he tasted it. There was something foreign in her blood.

“Anya, I need you,” Beth whispered.

Spike stood up to go call Anya, but she appeared in the living room with a pop.

“Oh, good, you finally know that Beth is the Specter,” Anya said. Then she looked at Beth. “What the hell happened?”

“Someone shot her with an arrow.” Spike took off his duster, and he threw it over a nearby chair. “The tip was laced with something. I need your help.”

“So she was in Specter mode when she was shot?” Anya had a concerned look on her face.

“Yes.” Spike returned to Beth’s side.

“I’ll be back.” Anya popped out of sight.

“It hurts,” Beth moaned. She was starting to feel feverish. She gasped for breath. “Do you hate me, Spike?”

“No, I could never hate you, pet.” Spike moved to take Beth onto his lap. “You mean everything to me.”

Beth put her head on Spike’s shoulder. “I’m not just a plain old vampire, you know.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that out with the heartbeat and everything.”

Beth huffed through her nose. “Yeah, I don’t understand that part. I guess that’s why you don’t hear of many turned Slayers.”

“Probably not,” Spike chuckled.

“You knew?”

“I figured it out when you went to your mum’s house.” Spike adjusted Beth in his arms. “I was pretty brassed off for awhile, but I decided I love you no matter who you are.”

Beth sighed. “Buffy Summers, undead vampire Slayer at your service. I love you too.” She let herself slip into the darkness that was pulling at her.

“Beth?” Spike asked in a worried voice. “Don’t pass out on me.” He shouted into the air. “Hurry the bloody hell up, Anya!”

“Hold your horses.” Anya was back with a book in her hand. “Very few poisons affect vampires as you already know.” She opened the book.

“Beth’s more than just a vampire, though,” Spike protested. “She’s a bloody turned Slayer.”

“I know that. I was sent to work with her wasn’t I?” Anya glared at Spike. “Now tell me how the poison tasted.”

Spike tilted his head to the side. “It was sweet tasting.”

Anya flipped through the pages of the book. “Okay. It’s one specifically made for turned Slayers then. It says here that the only cure is the blood of her mate.” She looked up. “Well, I guess that’s you big boy. The side affect will be that she is very amorous.”

Beth groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She put her mouth on Spike’s neck. “My mate,” she mumbled into his skin.

“That’s my cue to leave,” Anya said. “As much as I’d love to stay and watch you two do the horizontal mambo, I don’t think Beth would be too happy with me.” She snapped her fingers and the book disappeared. “I wonder if Rupert is free for some orgasms.” Then, she too disappeared.

Spike rose to his feet with his precious burden in his arms. He took Beth upstairs to their bedroom where he laid down on the bed with her. “Come on, Beth honey. You need to bite me.” Spike put Beth’s face up to his neck. “Get better for your Spike.”

Beth’s vampiric visage automatically shifted forward. She sank her teeth into Spike’s flesh, and she let her mouth fill with his powerful, coppery blood. Then, she shifted into her Specter persona before she pulled away, and she growled, “Mine.”

“Yours.” Spike nuzzled against Beth’s neck in return. He waited for permission which was her hand behind his head pressing his face into her skin. Spike sank his fangs into her soft, fragrant skin. The taste of her blood that he’d had before had only been a hint at the depth of her flavor. “Mine,” he growled.

“Yours.” Beth pressed her body closer to Spike. She grappled at his shoulders as she tried to get even closer to her newly acquired mate. “Too many clothes.”

“Yeah, I agree.” Spike pulled away from Beth, and he pushed her black Specter shirt up out of his way. He noticed that her wound was almost healed. Spike kissed the area before he returned to her neck which he nipped as he pushed the shirt over Beth’s head. “You’re so beautiful, luv. I just adore your Specter eyes.”

“I guess they’re really Slayer eyes,” Beth said. The two of them didn’t even notice that she wasn’t speaking English.

“Yeah.” Spike moved to the end of the bed to take off Beth’s shoes and socks. Then, he moved to the middle to shove her pants out of the way too. He took note of the fact that she hadn’t worn any panties that day. Spike pulled Beth’s legs apart, and he fell between them with his mouth level with her wet, pink pussy. “That looks good enough to eat.”

“Please,” Beth whined. She raised her hips in an attempt for some closer contact. “I’m not above begging, you know.”

“I know you’re not,” Spike purred. “I just love that in a Slayer.” He leaned down to lick the sweet offering from bottom to top. He continued to lick and nibble until Beth pleaded for completion. It was then that he latched his mouth onto her clit as he shoved three fingers into her heated pussy. He hadn’t realized she’d be so much warmer as the Specter.

Beth let out a cry of pleasure as she climaxed. She pumped her hips, trying to suck Spike’s fingers farther into her pulsating core. Beth whined when the fingers disappeared, but she was happy again when Spike slammed into her body. She screamed in ecstasy when he latched onto his previous bite while he pumped his prick long and hard into her cunt.

The turned Slayer and the vampire spend the night sucking, fucking, and exchanging blood. In the morning they both knew there was going to be plenty to talk about.

Chapter 26

“Your Mum and sis live here in Sunnydale, right?” Spike smoothed one hand up Beth’s side to cup a pert breast. He leaned in to nuzzle her neck, and he mock snarled into her ear. “Someone’s been hidin’ secrets from her man. I think some punishment is in order.”

“Spike.” Beth shivered in anticipation. Sex had grown so much more intense since her vampire boyfriend had found out she was a Slayer before her death.

“Your punishment is to be…” Spike paused for dramatic affect. “… introducing me to your Mum and little sis.”

“Spike!” Beth bleated out the male vampire’s name. “That’s so not what I had in mind!”

“Oh yeah, pet? What kind of naughty thoughts were you entertainin’? Maybe some of this?” Spike adjusted Beth’s body, and he slammed his hard cock into her pliant body.

Beth gave a sigh of relief. Feeling Spike’s shaft push in and out of her sheath was nothing short of heaven for the turned Slayer. She loved him beyond reasoning, and she felt compelled to tell him as often as possible.

“I love you!” Beth cried out when Spike pushed extra hard against the sweet spot inside her pussy.

“Love you, too, Specter.” Spike buried his fangs into Beth’s flesh. He took in her cool, savory Slayer’s blood. He wondered how after being a vamp for so long she could still taste like a Slayer. Then he had his answer when Beth shifted into Slayer mode.

Beth clenched her muscles around the intruding cock. It felt more than intruding to her. It was as if he was invading everything about her.

“Mine,” Spike growled. He gripped Beth’s hips as he pressed himself tightly against her to empty his cold seed deep within her willing body. “All mine: woman, vampire, Slayer.”

“Yours, all of me is yours, Spike,” Beth cooed. “But you came too darned fast. I didn’t get anything.” She stuck her lip out.

“Pouty. Gonna get it.” Spike leaned over to nibble the offending flesh. Then he rolled over on his back, and he wiggled his tongue at Beth. “Why don’t you just crawl on up here, and sit on my face?”

“But I’m all nasty now,” Beth protested.

“Doesn’t bother me, pet.” Spike leered at Beth. “Unless the Slayer’s too chicken to climb up on a vampire’s face for her pleasure.”

“Who are you calling a chicken?” Beth stuck her tongue out at Spike. Then she did what he told her to do, and she enjoyed herself immensely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mom?” Beth ducked her head inside the 1630 Revello Drive house. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

“Honey, I wasn’t expecting you this evening,” Joyce called out. “I’m in the kitchen.”

“Uh, I kinda need you to invite him in.” Beth looked over her shoulder at Spike.

“You’re finally bringing Spike over to meet us.” Dawn bounced down the hall from the kitchen. “That is so cool.”

Beth rolled her eyes. “I thought you were supposed to go to Janice’s tonight?”

“She cancelled at the last moment.” Dawn huffed in disgust. “I guess a group date with R.J. is better than movies with her best friend.”

Joyce came out of the kitchen drying her hands. “You really brought your boyfriend by to meet us? Does he know?”

“Yeah, he knows.” Beth opened the door wider to reveal Spike standing on the porch next to her. “I kinda got hurt on patrol last night.”

“Buffy, are you okay?” Joyce’s voice instantly changed to being very worried.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Spike, this is my Mom Joyce, and the brat is my sister Dawn.” Buffy smirked at Dawn when the younger girl stuck her tongue out at the vampiress. “Mom, Dawn, this is Spike.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Spike ducked his head almost shyly. He had never been introduced to a girl’s family before.

“Please, come in, Spike.” Joyce stepped back to let her daughter and her guest enter the house. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“All good I hope,” Spike drawled. He really liked the Summers’ women. They smelled nice, and they seemed to be treating him with respect. He looked around the house, realizing it was almost like Buffy’s home. “You have a nice home.”

“Oh, he is polite,” Joyce murmured.

Buffy giggled. “Of course he is, Mom. He is a Victorian gentleman after all.”

“Oi, I’m no gentleman,” Spike protested. He sauntered past the women, pinching Buffy on the ass as he passed her. When he reached the living room, he flopped down on the couch.

“Ass.” Buffy muttered. “He’s just being a big turd tonight.” She turned to smile warmly at Joyce. “So what’s for dinner, Mom?”

Joyce and Dawn chuckled at Spike’s antics. Having heard all about him from Buffy, they knew he was just pulling their chains. They could tell that Spike and Buffy really cared deeply for each other.

“If you’d given me a call, dear, I could have gotten some of those wings and blooming onions that you said Spike likes so much,” Joyce replied. She called out to Spike, “I hope you like Italian, Spike.”

“Anything is good, Mrs. Summers,” Spike said in return. He smirked at the three Summers women still standing in the living room doorway.

“Well, get up off your lazy ass, and let’s eat then.” Buffy spun on her heel, and she went to the dining room where she made sure there was another place laid out on the table for Spike.

Joyce and Dawn went into the kitchen to get the lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. After everyone was settled in the dining room, and the food had been served, Buffy asked her mother how the last visit to the doctor had gone.

Joyce put down her fork. “They want me to go to Scottsdale, Arizona to the Mayo Clinic. The doctor says that they would have a better chance of doing the surgery successfully.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” Buffy looked concerned.

“I suppose.” Joyce pressed her lips together for a second. “But it’ll mean Dawn has to be taken out of school, and she can’t afford to miss any.”

Buffy glanced at Spike for a minute before she quietly said. “That won’t be a problem, Mom. There’s this wicked strong demon out there that’s after my family, even if she doesn’t know who you are. I’m having robot boy make me duplicates of you and Dawn.”

“You’re doing what?” Joyce stared at her daughter in disbelief.

“It’s the only thing I could think of.” Buffy glanced at Spike again. “Spike can tell you how lifelike the robots will be. Nobody will know the difference. I swear. You and Dawn can go to the clinic and be safe. The robots will go to school and work at the gallery. It’s a win-win situation.”

“How come you didn’t discuss this with me before? If the demon is wicked strong, won’t you be at risk too?” Joyce asked.

“I didn’t want to worry you.” Buffy looked down at her hands. “I figured I’d tell you after the robots were finished.”

Spike knew why Buffy wanted the robots. She had kept nothing from him after they were mated, except the fact that Dawn was the Key and actually belonged to both of them as she wasn’t sure what his reaction would be. Spike took Buffy’s hand under the table, and he squeezed it tightly.

“That’s so cool!” Dawn chortled. “I can miss school and still get good grades. You’re the best big sis ever.”

“You can’t tell anyone, you know?” Buffy said. “Janice would spill it all over school.”

“I know.” Dawn scrunched up her nose. “I don’t care. It’s cool anyway.”

“When will the robots be completed?” Joyce went back to eating, not as disturbed by the fact that she’d be replaced by a robot as she should be.

“I talked to Warren this afternoon.” Buffy nodded. “He told me they’d be done by Friday. I was totally surprised he got them done so fast. It’s only been two weeks.”

“How will we do this? It’s not like we can leave in our own car?” Dawn looked around at the other curiously.

“Well, if we do it at night, Spike can drive you down to Los Angeles to the airport. The one nice thing about Sunnydale is the fact that everyone ignores what’s right in front of their faces.” Buffy shrugged. “The only person we have to worry about is Mrs. Neilson across the street.”

“Yeah, she likes to prune her roses at odd hours of the night.” Dawn whirled one finger around one of her ears in the universal sign for crazy. “I’m actually surprised that she hasn’t been munched on by a vamp already.”

“This is the Hellmouth, Nibblet. Maybe she’s a demon?” Spike suggested.

Dawn considered this idea. It had plenty of merit, and she nodded her head in agreement. “Actually, we could tell everyone we’re going away for the weekend,” she said. “That would give Buffy a bit longer to work things out with this Warren guy.”

“Good idea,” Buffy told her sister. “That would work out perfect.”

“I’ll let Mrs. Neilson know all about it,” Joyce said.

“What are we supposed to tell the Slayers?” Spike sat back in his chair.

“Pick up some more cats while you’re in Los Angeles. Just tell them you’re getting new stock,” Dawn replied around a mouthful of garlic bread. She saw the surprised look on Spike’s face. “She did tell us everything you know.”

“Sounds good. It’s a plan then.” Buffy nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Friday, Warren called Buffy to tell her that the robots were finished. When she got to his house, she was quite pleased to find that the bots were so lifelike that if it hadn’t been for her vampire hearing she never would have suspected that they weren’t human.

Joyce and Dawn got off to Scottsdale without a hitch, Spike brought back some prime specimens from Los Angeles, and the robots were able to take over their assigned roles on Monday with nary a problem. Everything was going fine for Buffy and Spike. Not so for Cassie, though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassie was surprised by the knock on her dorm door, and her Slayer senses told her that it was a vampire. Not just any vampire either, but Angel. When she opened the door, Cassie just stared at the ensouled vampire with a wary gaze.

“I got the soul anchored, Cassie,” Angel said softly. “I did it so we could be together. I love you.”

“Angel?” Cassie’s voice was filled with hope.

Chapter 27

“Angelus is back,” Spike growled at Buffy when they neared the back entrance of the Magic Box.

“Cassie must be happy then,” Buffy replied. She linked her arm through Spike’s arm.

Riley stepped into the alley from a dark shadow. He gave the two vampires a dirty look before he attempted to swagger off towards the meeting place.

Buffy wrinkled her nose in disgust. “There’s another vamp whorehouse in town for us to burn down. Honestly, why would he go there if he has Faith? We’ll never be friends, but she’s not a bad person.”

Spike shrugged. He had no idea why the big git was cheating on the dark Slayer. “The Specter and I should invite her along when we do our spot of arson, just in case he’s in need of rescuin’.”

Buffy nodded in agreement. “So, a date to patrol tonight?”

“Sounds good.” Spike ducked his head to give Buffy a fast kiss on the lips. “Let’s go find out what this meeting is about.”

Together Spike and Buffy entered the back of the Magic Box. In the front room of the store they could hear some voices they didn’t recognize.

“She’s a demon,” a male voice snarled. “Tara Maclay, you get your ass over here right now! I’m your father, and you will obey me.”

“What’s wrong with demons?” Willow asked. “Some of my best friends are demons.”

“What kind of demon?” Anya asked before the man had a chance to answer the red-haired witch.

Spike and Buffy strolled into the main shop area of the store. They looked around at the different tableaus in the room. Anya and Giles stood behind the glass counter that held the most precious of magical ingredients, Angel and Cassie were standing between Tara and Tara’s family, and Faith and Riley were off to one side. Wesley wasn’t present as he was off on a fact finding meeting for Buffy that no one but he and Spike knew about. Xander and Cordelia were absent who, out on a much needed date.

“What does it matter what kind of demon she is?” Tara’s father glared at the people spread across the room.

“Because we don’t care if she’s a demon,” Willow said. “Look at all of us. We all look human, don’t we?”

“Well, I hope you all enjoy hanging out with a disgusting demon,” a pretty girl in the back said, her voice dripping with loathing.

As one, Anya, Spike, Buffy, and Angel slipped into their demonic visages.

“So, what kind of demon is she?” Anya asked again.

“Or is this just some kind of ploy to keep the women in your family suppressed?” Spike gave Mr. Maclay a leer. “I almost like you.”

Tara’s family stepped back in terror. This wasn’t what they were expecting at all. They had expected to easily intimidate Tara to leave her friends and come back into the fold.

“I’m kinda hungry, Angelus,” Spike drawled. “I got dibs on the blond bitch in the back.”

Angel wrinkled his nose. “You always want the choicest treats, William.”

“I’ll take the old man here,” Buffy said with a chuckle. “You can have beardless there, Angelus.”

The Maclays turned to rush out the front door at the thought of being eaten. They had a shoving match when they all hit the exit at the same time. The Scoobies weren’t all that surprised when the blond girl won the fight by pulling one man’s facial hair and kicking the other one in the balls.

“And don’t come back! I’ll give you some vengeance if you do.” Anya marched to the front door to slam it closed. She turned the open sign to closed since it was that time anyway.

“Idiots,” Spike muttered. “Like we’d eat them.” He wrinkled his nose in repugnance. “I much prefer veal. I almost wish they’d run into some of Sunnydale’s finest citizens.”

“Wish granted, almost.” Anya said softly. She couldn’t wait for the Maclays to meet up with Clem.

“Y-you all d-defended me,” Tara said softly. “Why?”

“If you’re a demon, I’m a monkey’s uncle,” Cassie replied. “You guys were so cool. They were so scared.”

Riley gave a private sigh of disgust. He wanted to get Faith away from this crazy bunch of … he couldn’t really call them people. Half of them were demons of some kind. One more visit to the vamp whores, and he’d be ready to work on convincing his girlfriend to leave Sunnydale for good.

“We should make sure they make it out of town all right and proper. Wanna have some fun, Angelus?” Spike glanced over at the older vampire. “Show those gits why we’re called the Scourge of Europe?”

“You two know each other?” Riley blurted out.

“Spike and Angel are both descendents of the Master, the vampire that killed Cassie and allowed the Slayer line to be split,” Giles replied.

“Vampires,” Riley spat out with venom.

“Yeah, vamps, Captain Cardboard. Don’t know why you’re protestin’, you like vamps well enough.” Spike gave Riley a stony glare.

“What are you talking about?” Riley looked as innocent as possible.

Spike tapped his nose, but before anything else was said, the front door blew open. Glory the Hell-God marched in with the body of a dead monk which she threw down in front of the group.

“Where is my Key?” Glory screamed. “This little worm confessed that it was turned human and given to the Slayer as a sister. Give me my Key.”

Buffy tightened her grip on Spike’s arm when she saw the demon she had fought before had entered the store. When Spike glanced down at her, Buffy nodded slightly to let him know she recognized the demon.

“I don’t have a sister.” Cassie looked confused. She glanced over at Faith. “Do you have one you never mentioned?”

“Nope.” Faith shook her head. “No sister here either.”

“You lie!” Glory advanced on the group. “One of you Slayers has my Key, and I want it.”

“No, we don’t.” Cassie glanced at the other woman’s dress and hair. “My God, who did your hair? That is the worst perm job I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Dress is a knockoff too,” Anya replied. “Whoever sold it to you lied about the maker.”

“It’s a genuine Gucci,” Glory insisted. Why weren’t these people scared of her? She was a Hell-God, and they were insignificant humans.

“You just keep telling yourself that,” Cassie said with a nod.

“Your arse is lopsided too,” Spike put in. “I’ve seen some lopsided arses in my day, but yours is the mushiest I’ve seen.”

Buffy hid her mouth behind her hand as Spike insulted the bitch that had attacked her two weeks before. Inside she was a bit scared when the woman mentioned that she knew that the Slayer’s sister was the Key. Buffy was glad that she had the robots replace her mother and sister the previous weekend.

“One of you bitches is lying, and when I find out which one, you’ll be sorry.” Glory glared at the Slayers.

At that moment, Willow and Tara together let loose a spell that made the Hell-God disappear. Not that any of them knew that was what the creature was. Tara seemed to be fine, but Willow’s nose started to bleed.

“Take her in the back room, Tara,” Giles said quietly. “Call Serina, and have her come by.”

The two witches obeyed the Watcher. Tara helped Willow to the other room where she settled the red-head on the couch. Then, she made a call to the Coven witch.

“That demon was kinda powerful, wasn’t she?” Cassie looked over at the other Scoobies. “Do you think she could be the one that the Specter fought the other night?”

“Could be.” Spike nodded. He had relayed the Specter’s fight with said demon a few days before he had learned her true identity… or rather all of her identities.

“I wonder if I should contact the Council?” Giles pondered quietly. “I still have some friends on the inside that won’t tell Travers about our questions.”

“Maybe you should. I mean, a demon looking for a Key that’s a Slayer’s sister? That’s kinda far out even for Sunnydale.” Faith nodded her agreement with Giles. “Maybe they can tell you which Slayers have sisters.”

“We should split up on patrol, Faith.” Cassie turned to her sister Slayer. “We can’t afford for her to catch us together until we figure out what is going on.”

“Right, guess I’m with you, blondie,” Faith told Spike with a grin. “Hope you and the Specter can keep up.”

“Don’t worry about us!” Spike noticed the disgruntled look on Riley’s face. It was obvious to the vampire that the corn fed Iowa boy was not happy with Faith’s choice of friends.

“What about me?” Riley demanded. “I’ve been patrolling too.”

“I don’t think patrol needs four of us.” Faith looked thoughtful. She knew that Riley was jealous of the others for their supernatural powers. She tried to point out the fact to him that neither Xander nor Cordelia had any special powers. She gave the others a wicked grin. “Cass and Angel need a chaperone though.”

“We do not,” Cassie protested.

“Whatever!” Faith held up one hand. “I call ‘em like I see ‘em.”

“I have other stuff I need to do.” Riley stiffened when Spike and his vamp girlfriend looked at him. His mind wandered to when his vamp bite obsession had started. One night after patrol, when Faith deserted him for a hen party. So, he had been out alone for a drink when a vampiress had hit on him. Before he could stake the creature, she had bitten him. Riley couldn’t believe how turned on he had been by the act. He had fucked Faith into the mattress that night.

Just one last time, Riley thought to himself. Then, I’ll be ready to convince Faith to leave this whacked out town.

“Well, if that’s what you want.” Faith gave Riley’s hand a squeeze of reassurance even though she was confused by his actions. First he protested about patrol, and in the next breath he brushed it aside. “Should I come by your apartment after patrol?”

“Not sure I’ll be home.” Riley shrugged. “You can try.”

“The Specter and I will meet up with you over by Murphy Street.” Spike glanced at Buffy. “We haven’t patrolled that part of town lately.”

“Us either.” Faith nodded.

“Looks like things are all set then,” Cassie said. “We have two patrols, and Giles will call the Council.”

“Sounds good to me,” Giles agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Faith watched Spike and the Specter closely. She could only understand half the conversation between the two, but it seemed to her that the two were even closer than usual. Faith wondered what Beth thought about her guy patrolling so closely with another female. Then, she dismissed it as none of her business.

Spike stopped about a half a block from a deserted house that wasn’t as deserted as it should have been. He waited for the Specter and Faith to join him. He silently pointed down the street to the big, muscular vampire standing guard outside the building.

“Don’t see that very often,” Spike whispered. “Most vamp brothels try to hide under the radar.”

“He looks like one of Ri’s military buddies.” Faith studied the vampire bouncer. She missed the knowing look Spike gave the Specter.

“You knew them better than us,” Spike replied. He took out a cell phone, and he punched in some numbers. “Clem will be by with some flammables. After we clear the place out of customers and kill the vamps, we’ll burn the place to the ground.” Then he placed the phone back inside his duster.

“Last one in is a rotten egg,” the Specter said slyly to Spike. She moved quickly to appear in front of the vampire bouncer. With a tilt of her head and a quick guttural word, she dusted the creature.

“It’s no fair,” Faith said as she came up behind the black-clad woman. “You move faster than me.”

The Specter smirked under her mask. She knew it was part of her enhanced Slayer that let her move so much quickly than a normal Slayer. It was like her Slayer part and her vampire part worked hand in hand to make her faster, stronger, more powerful.

“Stick together,” Spike commanded. “Be careful.” He pulled a stake out of each duster pocket.

Together the three supernatural warriors swept up onto the house’s porch. A swift kick from a booted foot had the door off its hinges. The door crashed down on another muscle bound vampire that looked like another military grunt. Spike leaped onto the door, and he grinned down at the other vamp with a feral grin on his face.

“Where’s the head honcho?” Spike growled. He bounced on the door a couple of times.

“Upstairs, main bedroom,” the grunt grunted.

“Specter, darlin’, your turn.” Spike leaped off of the door.

The Specter took Spike’s place on the door, and with one word she dusted the vampire. She still preferred hand to hand combat, but there were times when dusting with a word came in handy. She leapt after Spike as the door fell to the floor to cover the swirling pile of dust.

“That’s a bit anti-climatic,” Faith complained. “You will leave something for me to kill, won’t you?”

The Specter looked over her shoulder, and she winked at Faith. “Don’t worry, Slayer. You’ll be plenty hungry and horny when you go see your boy toy,” she said in a whisper.

Faith had no idea what the other woman said, but she had a feeling it was about Riley. She followed Spike and the Specter up the stairs. At the top, Spike sniffed the air carefully, and then he pointed at the door at the end of the hallway. The three warriors moved quickly and quietly towards the room.

Spike knew that Finn was behind said door. He could hear the vamp in charged talking to the idiot ex-soldier. As they got closer, Faith could hear the vamp too.

“Come on, Finn. You have no idea the freedom that’s in store for you. With your knowledge of the Slayers and their little friends, we’ll be able to eliminate them. We’ll rule Sunnydale together.”

“Riley!” Faith surged ahead to push open the door. She laid horrified eyes on the scene inside the bedroom. Graham in full game face stood staring at Riley who was sitting half naked in an arm chair with vampire whores sucking on both arms at the elbows.

“Ah, it’s one of the Slayers.” It appeared that Maggie Walsh’s death hadn’t taken at all.

Chapter 28

“Faith, help me,” Riley muttered. His heart ached two-fold now. The chip that was buried deep inside his pounding organ fired and misfired over and over. Walsh had some kind of control device that controlled his body. The other ache was from the look of horror that crossed Faith’s face when she saw the vamp whores sucking on his body.

Walsh turned demon yellow eyes on Spike and the Specter. She pointed a finger at the dark-clad girl. “You! You’re supposed to be dead. I found a specific poison for a bitch like you… A turned S…”

The Specter and Spike both launched stakes at the ex-military scientist. She dusted before she had a chance to reveal Buffy’s secret. Spike and the Specter looked at each other as they both wondered how Walsh had figured it out.

Luckily for them, Faith was too engrossed with her boyfriend to hear Walsh’s words. Her expression turned from hurt to angry in two seconds flat. She was across the room with two stakes appearing as if she pulled them from thin air, and she had the two vampires sucking on Riley dusted. When she got closer, Faith could see the older bites that littered Finn’s body. She had wondered why he had started wanting to fuck in the dark.

“Baby, I don’t feel so good,” Riley gasped. His eyes rolled up in his head as he passed out.

“He’s lost a lot of blood, Faith,” Spike said. “And his heart’s acting erratic like.”

“Walsh put chips in our hearts to control us.” Graham in full game face entered the room. “When you dusted her, it broke the control.”

“What’s wrong with Riley?” Faith didn’t take her eyes off her boyfriend. Now his breathing was erratic also.

“Get him down to the street. Call 911, and tell him your boyfriend collapsed,” Spike commanded. He grabbed up Finn’s shirt and tossed it to Faith. He motioned for the Specter to help him move the tall ex-soldier.

“How do we explain the bites?” Faith asked dully.

“Tell them you were gonna meet him someplace, and when he didn’t show you went looking for him. He was attacked by a bunch of wild animals,” Graham replied. “I had the pleasant job of looking over the police reports for Walsh. I certainly know all the ‘code’ words now.” He wiggled his fingers in the air when he said the word ‘code’.

The Specter turned to look at the newcomer. There was something about him that was different from other vampires. He certainly didn’t have the bloodlust on him that other fledglings seemed to have. She wondered briefly if he knew her secret identity, but then it was time to move Riley outside.

After the ambulance came and took Riley, with Faith by his side, away, Clem arrived. As they stood watching the deserted building that had housed the vampire whorehouse burn to the ground, Spike glanced over at Graham.

“What happened to you, mate?” He knew that Graham hadn’t been a vampire when the Initiative had been destroyed.

“Walsh caught me coming out of a store downtown and turned me,” the soldier said in a quiet voice. “I don’t know why I didn’t feel much different after I died. It’s weird. Other than a need to drink blood, and stay out of the sun, I feel exactly the same as before.”

“I know the feelin’,“ Spike replied. “How’d she figure out that the Specter’s a Slayer?”

“I don’t know, but Riley was telling her all about your little girlfriend,” Graham replied. He tilted his head with a concerned look on his face. “I think she had some info on Slayers that she never told the rest of us.”

Spike and the Specter looked at each other for a moment before the bleached blond male spoke again, “You can stay in Sunnyhell as long as you don’t munch on the natives. The Specter doesn’t like it much, and she’ll dust you with a simple word.”

Graham nodded his agreement. “I ran into your friend the other day. Dalton, I think his name is. He wanted to hire me to help with the cat breeding business.” He shook his head. “Weird business, even for this town.”

“You have to admit, it makes us a lot of money.” Spike shrugged. He gave Graham the address to the mansion where Dalton lived. He figured they would make decent room mates. “The next Scooby meeting is Tuesday at the Magic Box. Dalton doesn’t usually come, but you might want to so we can let the others know not to stake your arse.”

“I’ll be there.” Graham shifted out of game face finally. “I hope Ri’s okay. He’s not a bad guy, just not too sure of himself these days.” He strolled off towards Crawford Street.

“Is Angel at the mansion?” the Specter asked.

“No, I think the magnificent poof moved back into his apartment for now.” Spike shook his head.

“Can we go home now?”

“Sure thing, luv. Race you there.” Spike took off at vampire speed.

Buffy giggled behind her mask before she took off after her mate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re going to England for a week?” Anya asked softly. She sighed when Giles gave her a nod. “Well, I guess I’ll just get use to long distance teleporting then.”

“I’m sorry, my dear.” Giles cupped Anya’s cheek with one hand. “I was unable to get Reginald Bey on the phone. His colleague in the archives said he was here in the states at one of the medical centers. Scottsdale, Arizona, to be exact. I have to go to England to find out who that woman is.”

“I understand,” Anya agreed. “I just don’t like it.” She went to the counter where she shuffled through some papers. “I have a box of crystals to unpack. That’ll keep me busy for about an hour.”

The bell above the door jingled as the Scoobies entered the store, and Xander tripped over Giles’ suitcase.

“Are you going somewhere, G-man?” Xander asked as he picked himself up off the floor.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “Well, of course, doofus. Why else would he need a suitcase?”

The Slayers and their boyfriends came in a few minutes later followed by Spike, Buffy, and Graham through the back. The meeting started after Graham’s vampire status had been introduced to the group.

“To get any information on our opponent I must go to the Council’s door step.” Giles took off his glasses. “As I told Anya, the man I wanted to talk to in the archives is away.”

“How long will you be away?” Willow asked.

“A week at the most,” Giles replied. He put his glasses back on.

Willow turned to Anya. “If you need any help, Tara or I can come over.”

Tara nodded in agreement.

Anya looked at the witches with a small smile. They were both very helpful, even if Willow sometimes wanted the more expensive ingredients. Of course now that Serina was there teaching both Willow and Tara about their magic, ingredients were being paid for.

“When this crisis is over, Angel and I are moving to Los Angeles,” Cassie announced. “I’d really like you to come with us, Giles.”

“So, you’ve decided to transfer to UCLA?” Willow asked.

Cassie nodded before she turned to Giles and Anya. “I’ve thought long and hard on this. With Spike, the Specter, and Faith here, it’s time to move on. Heck, I think Faith could go to some other hot spot too. The Hellmouth is protected enough.”

“Can you give Anya and myself time to talk about this?” Giles held his hand out to Anya.

Anya glanced at the other Scoobies in a covert way to look at Buffy. She knew she was supposed to help the turned Slayer, not Cassie. This could be a conflict of interest.

“I think that we might leave Sunnydale too,” Faith said. “I agree with Cassie. Spike and the Specter are more than enough to control what happens in Sunnydale. I’m feeling a little obsolete.”

“Woah, that’s a lot to take in,” Xander said. He looked around at the others. “I’m not sure how I feel about all of this. I’m pretty much a hometown boy.”

“Me either,” Cordelia replied. “I’ve always wanted out of Sunnydale, but I’ll go where ever Xander wants to.”

“I guess we all have a lot to think about while Giles is away.” Willow grabbed Tara’s hand.

“The spot Serina liked for the coven is closer to Los Angeles than Sunnydale,” Tara whispered. “We could transfer to the UCLA main campus too.”

Willow nodded her agreement. “Yeah, there are a few classes that we wanted to take that aren’t offered here in Sunnydale.”

“Are you okay with all this, Spike?” Cassie asked the bleached blond vampire. “I’ll only be a phone call away if you and the Specter needed help.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Most master vamps have empires that are much larger than good old Sunnyhell. It’s the Hellmouth that makes it so volatile.”

Giles nodded his agreement. “It looks like everyone has some decisions to discuss while I’m away in England.”

“The good old Motherland,” Spike chortled. “Bring me back some Wheatbix. It gives the blood texture.”

Buffy wrinkled her nose. “It’s disgusting if you ask me.”

“Ye of undiscerning taste.” Spike grinned at his girl. “I guess we’re done today?”

Giles looked at his watch. “Yes, I need to go. My plane takes off from LAX in five hours.” He turned to Anya again. “Drive me to the airport to catch the shuttle?”

“Of course.” Anya hurried to get her purse and coat. “Willow, can you and Tara look after the shop while I’m gone?”

“Absolutely,” Willow said as Tara nodded. She shooed Anya and Giles out of the store.

The other Scoobies filed out of the Magic Box with many things on their minds. They couldn’t believe it was time to break up their team. They all knew that there needed to be a meeting to discuss the kitten breeding business that they were all invested in. Only Spike and Buffy were thinking about what kind of information Giles would find in England.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joyce looked up when the nurse entered the waiting room. There were only two other people in the room, both men. One was an older white-haired man, and the other was closer to Joyce’s age.

“Mr. Pitt, you’re up next,” the nurse told the white-haired man. “Mr. Bey. Ms. Summers, the doctor is running a little behind. I apologize for the delay.” She ushered Mr. Pitt out of the room.

Joyce went back to her magazine.

“It’s always hurry up and wait with these doctors, isn’t it?” A pleasant voice with a British accent broke through Joyce’s reading.

“Seems that way.” Joyce glanced at the man. He had long dark hair, dark eyes, and full lips surrounded by a dark mustache and goatee.

“Reginald Bey, at your service.”

Joyce looked for a moment at the long fingered hand held in her direction. She cautiously put her own hand out, and she gasped in surprise when Reginald leaned over to brush his lips against her knuckles. “J-Joyce S-Summers,” she stuttered.

“A pleasure to meet you, Joyce,” Reginald drawled. She blushed so prettily, he wondered what else he could do to make her blush. “Are you from Scottsdale?”

Joyce shook her head. “Sunnydale, California.”

Reginald’s eyes widened in surprise at the information imparted by his new acquaintance. This lovely lady was from the Hellmouth? His friend Rupert Giles lived in Sunnydale. It was a small world. “I have a friend currently in Sunnydale, a Mr. Rupert Giles.”

Joyce gave Reginald a calculated stare. She wondered how this man knew Giles. She avoided Giles as much as possible; not wanting to have him connect her and Buffy in any way. “Yes, we’ve met a few times. He owns the magic shop with Ms. Jenkins. In fact a friend of a friend mentioned that Mr. Giles is going to England this week for research purposes, from what I understand.”

“Really? A friend of a friend, you say?” Reginald looked interested.

“Actually my daughter, but he doesn’t know she’s my daughter.” Joyce dropped her magazine, and she put a hand over her mouth. “Oh, I probably shouldn’t have said anything to you about Buffy.”

Reginald swallowed the lump out of his throat. Summers? Buffy and Summers together reminded him of his old friend Merrick who had died at the hands of Lothos several years before. His Slayer’s name was Buffy Summers. How was it possible for her to be still alive? A terrible thought dawned on Reginald, and it must have shown on his face because Joyce started to speak again.

“She still the same, you know? She’s still Buffy.” Joyce’s hands twisted in her lap. “If you don’t know she’s not… you know… living, you can’t tell.”

“Joyce, turned Slayer’s are not the same as other vampires.” Reginald’s voice dropped to a whisper. “There’s only been a few in the history of the Council. They are unable to reconcile their separate parts and usually dust within the first few months of being turned.”

“Oh, that’s terrible. I’m so glad Buffy has Spike then,” Joyce said happily. “I’m pretty sure she has accepted all her parts. I’d hate to lose her.”

Reginald cleared his throat. “If I promise nothing will ever get back to the Council, can we go out to dinner and speak about your daughter? I’m ever so interested.”

Joyce eyed the dark-haired Brit. “I suppose, but just remember if I’m unhappy, Buffy’s unhappy. If Buffy’s unhappy, Spike’s unhappy, and you don’t want to make him unhappy.”

“You have yourself a deal.” Reginald smiled brightly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anya returned to the Magic Box intent on unpacking the crystals just as she had told Giles she would. When she got to the store, Willow, Tara, Serina, Spike, and Buffy were still there chatting about the Slayers’ decisions to leave Sunnydale.

“I think we’re going with Cassie,” Willow said. “She’s been my best friend for a long time now.”

“I’ve never been there, but somehow I ended up owning a hotel in Los Angeles.” Buffy glanced out of the side of her eye at Spike. She had mentioned that they owned other buildings besides the house there in Sunnydale, but she didn’t know how he’d react to letting Angel stay in one of them. “Doyle says it’s not in the best of shape, but it’s plenty big. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy for the company.”

“That would certainly help on the rent.” Willow nodded.

“I don’t want to leave Sunnydale,” Anya said with a pout.

“W-with your p-powers it’ll be easy f-for you to r-return to Sunnydale,” Tara observed in a quiet voice.

“That’s true,” Buffy agreed.

“But what about my store?” Anya wailed.

“Why not open another branch in Los Angeles?” Spike suggested. “The witches here will need supplies.”

“Oh, excellent idea,” Serina replied. She smiled at Anya. “Look at it this way, whatever Rupert wants to do, you’ll have an answer for him.”

Anya sniffled a little. “Yeah, I do. Thanks.” She went over to put her purse away. “I need to unpack that box of crystals.”

“Do you need help?” Willow stood up. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about crystals. I saw a spell for a sunshine ball that required a crystal.”

“Let’s take a look,” Anya replied. She didn’t mind Willow asking questions about the stock, as long as it got paid for when it was used. The two women went to the storeroom to work.

Ten minutes later, Spike and Buffy heard a crash in the storeroom. They both jumped to their feet to rush into the room in question. Once they got there, they realized that something … or rather someone… was in the store room with Anya and Willow.

“He was trapped inside one of the crystals,” Willow gasped when she saw the vampires. “He’s really strong.”

“I want ale and babies to eat,” the troll roared. “Aud, provide me with these things.”

“Odd? Who the heck is he to call us odd?” Willow looked exasperated.

“I am no longer your servant, you worthless pile of ogre excrement,” Anya shouted. She turned to look directly at Buffy. “His power is in his hammer.”

“Right.” Buffy looked at Spike. With a nod, the two vampires leapt at the troll.

“Get ready, Willow,” Anya cried out. “As soon as they have the hammer, send him away.”

“Any particular place?” Willow backed up to the wall. She scooted over to the door where Tara and Serina had just appeared. She knew together that the three of them could banish the troll.

“No, just get rid of him.”

“Grab the hammer, luv,” Spike yelled. The troll hit him in the chest with one meaty paw, and Spike went flying across the room.

“Nobody touches my boyfriend,” Buffy snarled. It took all of her energy not to shift into Slayer mode. So, she settled for vampire mode. She leapt at the troll, grabbing the hammer as she went past him.

“Now!” Anya yelled.

The three witches raised their clasped hands and together they said, “Be gone.”

“Aud.” The troll pointed at Anya. “You’ll regret this, I promise.”

The troll vanished from the storeroom, leaving Buffy holding the hammer in her hands.

“You know him?” Buffy lifted one eyebrow.

“That was Olaf. He’s how I got started in the vengeance demon business.” Anya gave a shrug. “I have no idea how he got stuck in a crystal. Last I heard he was terrorizing a small town in Siberia.”

“Any other exs we need to worry about, demon-girl?” Spike drawled. He had picked himself up off the floor by then. “Some warnin’ would be great.” He stretched, making the cartilage all over his body pop.

“I may have upset a few people over the years.” Anya looked unconcerned. “I am over 1100 years old you know.”

“Well, we have this nifty hammer.” Buffy smiled brightly. She turned to set the weapon on a shelf. The shelf broke under the weight of the hammer, and it fell to the ground. “Wow, that’s heavy.” She picked the hammer up, and she leaned it in a corner.

Chapter 29

One week later, Rupert Giles stepped off the shuttle in Sunnydale. He blinked in the brightness of the mid-day sun. He looked around for the mad-dog, just to see if the old adage was true, but the only thing he saw was Xander leaning against his car waiting for him.

Unbeknownst to Giles, the man he had wanted to talk to in England and couldn’t was at that moment wining and dining the late Slayer’s mother. Reginald had more than mere tomfoolery in mind though. After a week of quiet conversations, and wonderful dinners, with both Joyce and Dawn, Reginald Bey was in love for the first time in his life. The Summers women were captivating.

“Hey, G-man.” Xander waved. “I’m here to take you to the Magic Box so you can show and tell what you learned.”

“Don’t call me that!” Giles strode over to the car, and he put his suitcase in the back seat. “I’ve got some good news and some bad news. Let’s get a move on.” He slipped into the front seat where he waited for Xander to get behind the wheel.

“What’s got your panties in a wad?” Xander asked as he got into the car.

Giles sighed. He knew it wasn’t Xander’s fault, but the young man irritated him with his flippancy sometimes. “Nothing you’ve done, Xander,” he said quietly. “What I found out at the Council about our opponent was not encouraging.”

Xander nodded in understanding. He started the car, and the drive across town to the Magic Box was quiet as each man’s thoughts about the impending meeting. Once they reached their destination, they both went inside to find all of the others waiting for them including: Clem, Jack, Dalton, and Graham.

Giles looked around at the group. He took off his glasses, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Well, I have good news. I found out that the creature we’re fighting is called the Beast or Glorificus. The bad news is she is more than a demon. She’s a Hell-God.”

“A Hell-God? How on Earth did that happen?” Anya looked concerned.

“She made the other Hell-Gods, Ptolmony and Calypun, mad enough to get her kicked her out of their dimension.” Giles sighed. “Unfortunately there’s really no way to defeat her. This Key that she wants that is a Slayer’s sister is a puzzle too. There’s just too many of them to know which one is the Key.”

“What do you mean, Giles?” Cassie asked.

“The three Slayers before you and Kendra each had at least one sister. One of them had two. We simply don’t have time to figure out which sister is the one that Glory’s looking for.”

Spike turned to look at Buffy. She was looking down at her lap, her knuckles white as she struggled not to move them. You have to tell them, the male vampire attempted to use the mating claim to relay the message. They need to know the truth.

Buffy looked up at Spike. She could hear his voice in a faint whisper in her mind, urging her to spill her last secret to the Scoobies. She knew they needed to know, but she was scared. If she said it out loud, Buffy was worried that the Hell-God would go after Dawn.

How can they help us or protect Dawn if they are clueless, Spike urged. They’re our friends. I’ve never had friends before, pet. I really like it.

“Well, should we warn them?” Cassie said. “That way they can at least go into hiding or something.”

Buffy looked up to study the faces of the people around her. The only ones she wasn’t too sure about were Angel and Riley, but she knew that Spike wouldn’t let either of them hurt her. She knew she couldn’t let them scare those other women with the thought of a Hell-God chasing them. Not a single one of them deserved that.

I love you, Buffy. Spike thought to his mate. I’ve loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you. I probably would have if you had been alive.

Buffy chuckled under her breath at that thought. She was sure that though Slayer Buffy had warmed up to the bleached blond vampire that her human side would have fought her attraction long and hard if she had just been the Slayer instead of a vampire too.

It’s time. You know who you are at last. You know what’s to come. Whistler’s voice echoed in Buffy’s ear.

Buffy rose to her feet. “There’s no need for that,” the petite vampiress announced. “The Key is quite safe.”

“Beth? How do you know this?” Giles turned to look at Buffy.

“Hello, Mr. Giles.” Buffy put her hand out. “I’m Buffy. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’m very pleased to meet you.”

In a state of shock, Giles clasped Buffy’s hand to shake it. He was totally flummoxed by the vampiress’ revelation. Was that what made her so different than other vampires?

“But you’re dead!” Angel rose to his feet. Now that he knew she was the girl he had caught a glimpse of in Los Angeles all those years before he could recognize her.

“Yeah, I kinda got that when I woke up all fangy.” Buffy nodded.

“Tell Rupes the rest, luv,” Spike urged.

Buffy swallowed with nervousness. She allowed herself to shift completely into Slayer mode. Her eyes glowed and small fangs descended. Buffy spoke in a guttural voice. “I’m the Specter.”

“You’re the one that threatened me!” Angel growled. He took a step towards Buffy.

“I can dust you with a word,” Buffy snarled in return. “The threat still stands. You touch my mate and there will be retribution. I’m as immortal as you are.”

Giles studied the faces of the others scattered around the room. Most were in a state of shock, but a few were merely curious. He wasn’t surprised that Jack and Clem knew Buffy’s identities. They were her oldest friends here in Sunnydale after all. The one that he wasn’t expecting to know the turned Slayer’s secret was Anya. Giles turned to his lover and uttered her name, “Anya?”

Anya sighed. “Yes, I’ve always known who and what Buffy is. I was sent here to help her and Spike. They are the Immortal Guardians. Other Slayers will come and go as the line now runs through Faith, but they will always guard this Hellmouth.”

“How do you know this?” Cassie asked.

Buffy shifted out of her Slayer mode. “We’re not the only ones. I’ve talked to RoseSeri Hassib about the others a few times. Not all of us are vamps from what she says. It depends on the circumstances really. There are other guardians in other universes and dimensions.”

“Well, good at least we know which sister to protect,” Faith replied. She wasn’t too fazed by the news. In fact, it seemed to make a few things make more sense, like Spike’s closeness with the Specter and Beth.

“I’ve already got that covered.” Buffy extended her senses to ensure there weren’t any eavesdroppers. “I went to Warren and had two robots made. They are currently managing the art gallery and going to school in Mom and Dawn’s places.”

Giles gave Buffy a startled look. “Did you have blond hair before?”

“Yeah, why?” Buffy nodded.

“I saw your picture during that horrible zombie incident. I didn’t even connect the dots.” Giles slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. “It was right in front of me, and I never saw it.”

Buffy shrugged. “I know. I don’t understand it either. Mom said Reggie has a theory that I’m more in tune with the Slayer, and that part hid me from everybody.”

“Reginald Bey?” Giles stared at the turned Slayer in astonishment. “How ever did they meet up?”

“Guess he’s there at the same place as Mom having his own medical emergency.”

“We need to come up with a plan to fight Glory,” Cassie said, trying to get the focus back on task. “Any ideas, Giles?”

“The time of the convergence is in several weeks, but without the Key the time can pass without any consequences. However, I don’t think that Glory will allow that to happen.” Giles gestured to Anya to bring over his briefcase. “There are one or two weapons that might help us.”

“We don’t even know how to find her,” Cordelia said. “Are we just going to take out an ad in the paper?”

“Not a bad idea, provided it could work.” Spike turned to Clem and Dalton. “Go nose around Willy’s.”

“Good idea, Spike,” Clem said. He gave Jack a kiss on the cheek to assure her that he would be careful. Then Dalton and he left the shop through the back door.

“What gave you the idea you’re in charge, William?” Angel muttered.

“The fact that you and your Slayer are leavin’ this burg for greener pastures,” Spike sneered. “The Specter and I are taking over this little patch of Hell and makin’ it our own.”

“I ran into Glory down by those warehouses by the docks.” Buffy tilted her head in thought. “She had one of those monks held prisoner there. He’s the one who told me about the Key.”

“It’s a place to start,” Cassie agreed. “But her state of dress when she dropped by to see us both times didn’t scream homeless person.”

“No, it didn’t.” Cordelia looked thoughtful. “I’m pretty sure the dress she was wearing was a Versace knockoff.”

“And you know just where those are sold in town, don’t you?” Faith drawled.

“Well, of course I do.” Cordelia gave the dark Slayer a haughty sniff. “It pays to know who can afford the real thing and who can’t.”

“Well, that’s your job to check out the knockoff stores then,” Giles said, looking up from his briefcase. “You and Xander see if you can get an address on Glory.”

“I’ll go with you,” Jack said. “I’m willing to wear knockoffs. I need a few dresses for work anyway.”

“Ugh. Somebody save me,” Xander groaned. “I hate shopping.”

“Buck up, mate,” Spike chuckled. He reached over to clap his friend on the back. “Once this threat is over, we’ll let the gals have a nice little hen party for themselves.”

Cassie snapped her fingers between the two chatting males. “That’s all fine and dandy, guys. Back to the Hell-bitch?” All of a sudden she didn’t feel like the ‘head’ Slayer anymore, and she didn’t like it.

Giles took a picture of a glowing ball out of his briefcase. “If we had this, it would help knock Glory’s power down.”

Buffy gave the picture a cursory glance. “The guard at the warehouse gave me that thingie. I gave it to Anya.”

“It’s downstairs in the lead room,” Anya replied. “I didn’t know what it was. So, I didn’t want to try and sell it.”

“Really?” Giles looked back and forth between the two women. “You have the Dagon’s Sphere?”

“Is that what it’s named?” Buffy shrugged. “I was just calling it the Glow Ball of Fun.”

“You know, if one of us let it slip we know which Slayer’s sister is the Key, we could lure Glory to a meeting spot,” Cassie said in a thoughtful voice.

“What if she wants proof?” Buffy sat down by Spike. “I’m not that comfortable letting her see the Dawnbot.”

“I agree, but at least the Dawnbot isn’t as fragile as your real sister,” Cassie pointed out.

“I guess.” Buffy didn’t look too enthusiastic about the idea, but she conceded that it was a good plan. “So, anymore ideas in your briefcase, Giles?” She craned her neck to look.

“Anya told me about the incident with the troll.” Giles pulled out another paper. “I believe the hammer that you took from him can be used against Glory.”

“What about us?” Willow asked.

“Get together with Serina.” Cassie turned to her friend. “You’re my big gun, Will. I need you to be able to vanquish Glory like you did the troll.”

“In my studies, I found the mention of a dimension that has a portal in, but none out.” Giles pulled yet another paper out of his briefcase. “It sits just past the dimension of Quor-toth which is almost impossible to get out of, but it can be done. The dimension I’m speaking of would be the perfect place to send Glory.” He handed Willow the paper with the information on it.

“Sounds good. Now, who is going to do the luring?” Cassie looked around at the group.

“I’m the newest.” Graham stood up straighter. “It should be me. They’ll believe that I’m a double crosser. If Clem and Dalton can come up with the right intel, we can make sure that the right ears hear what we want and none of the wrong ears.”

Some of the group continued to make plans for the next few hours while the others went out to do their appointed tasks. Xander ended up having to carry both Cordelia and Jack’s shopping bags, but after he saw Cordelia slip into the lingerie store he shut his mouth and let the ladies shop. They were able to come up with a penthouse address for Glory and some man named Ben.

Clem and Dalton hit pay dirt, not at Willy’s but at the Rusty Beaver, a demonic strip joint outside of the Sunnydale city limits. There they found one of Glory’s minions drinking himself into a stupor.

Chapter 30

Murk sat staring into his glass of beer at the bar of the Rusty Beaver. He wasn’t broody. No, the minions of Glory were never broody. That would simply never do for the beautiful, wondrous Hell-God otherwise known as Glorificus. However, when she wasn’t happy, the minions weren’t happy either.

Murk glanced sideways when a handsome, clean cut vampire slipped into the seat beside him. The vampire raised one hand to the bartender to bring him a beer. Murk went back to gazing at this drink.

“I know where to find what you’re looking for.”

Murk jerked around to stare at the vampire. Did it just say what he thought it said? Could this unclean, filthy creature know how to find the Key.

“The name’s Graham Miller.”

The bartender came up and put down a beer in front of Miller before he returned to the end of the bar where he watched the onstage dancer.

“You know who the Key is?” Murk whispered. His eyes darted back and forth as he looked at the other demons seated around the strip joint.

“Yeah, I was able to convince the Slayers I wasn’t a threat.” Graham took a drink of his beer. “I heard them talking. I’ll give you the information for a fee. I want out of Sunnydale, and I need money.”

“You’re a vamp. Just take what you want,” Murk suggested.

“I’m about to double cross the Slayers, stupid.” Graham glared at the minion. “I’m not just a muscle bound jock. I know I’ll need to lay low for a few decades.” He took another drink of his beer, and then he stood up. “I’ll be back tomorrow for my answer.”

Murk watched the vampire stroll out of the strip joint. He had to admit Miller was very calm and collected for someone about to rat out the Slayers’ biggest secret. Murk knew he needed to talk to Glory. He too left the Rusty Beaver.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next night, Murk waited for the vampire Miller to arrive. Her majestic, gloriousness was thrilled when Murk had come back to the penthouse with information that a vampire knew where the Key was situated. He let out a sigh of relief when Miller sauntered into the strip club. The vampire gave the girl on stage a brief look before he crossed the room to where Murk was seated.

Graham sat down beside the scabby minion. “Well?”

“She is pleased.” Murk nodded. “She will give you a million dollars for the information, but we need until tomorrow to collect it.”

“Excellent.” Graham mentally cheered. “Meet me at the vacant lot at the southern edge of town tomorrow night at ten. I’ll only give the information to Glorificus herself.”

Murk was excited. Soon they would all be going home. He sure missed home; the smells, the foods, the females. “Thank you. Thank you. My beautiful, glorious One will be so happy.

“Glad to be of service.” Graham got to his feet, and he left the way he came in.

On the stage, Buffy watched Graham leave the strip club. Within minutes, the Hell-God’s minion departed too. Buffy nodded to one of Clem’s half-breed cousins whose job it was to follow the shorter demon.

“So, Spike, we’re square?” Bernd ‘the Zoof’ Achen, so nicknamed for the sound of his allergic sneezes to the kitten poker currency, and owner of the Rusty Beaver, glanced over at the bleached blond vampire who was avidly watching the girl jiggling around on the stage. “I let your girl dance for you, and now my kitten I.O.U.s to you are gone?”

“You bet.” Spike turned to give the other male demon a grin. He ran his tongue along his bottom lip. “Who knew my innocent little Beth had such a naughty streak?”

“Well, that innocent has attracted quite a bit of attention,” Bernd replied. He pointed at the group of Fyral demons that were hooting and hollering at the petite vampiress gyrating on the stage. “I can tell you there are some Fyral females gonna be happy tonight.”

Spike’s eyes narrowed. “They won’t be a problem, will they?”

“Nah, they know better than to harass any of my girls. I know their mates personally anyway.” Bernd let out a laugh. “Those boys don’t want to get on my bad side.”

“Well, it isn’t like m’girl and I couldn’t take on a herd of Fyrals.” Spike leaned back against the bar.

“Well, if your girl ever needs a new career, give me a ring,” Bernd replied. “She’s a natural.”

“Maybe,” Spike said softly. “When there aren’t any more maniacs trying to end the world.”

“Hmm, guess that means never, I suppose.” Bernd sounded disappointed. Then, he brightened considerably. “Maybe you’ll enjoy the results so much you’ll ask her to dance again. Just give me some warning so I can advertise.” He gave Spike a wink before he strolled off.

Spike watched as Beth slinked off the stage. She gave him a come-hither look, and he hurried backstage to collect his prize.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Graham leaned against his car as he waited for Glory and her minions to show up. Lying on the hood was a file filled with pictures of the Dawnbot going about her everyday business. The ex-soldier hoped that the Scoobies were successful this night because he really didn’t want to live in a hell world where food was scarce.

Graham knew Riley was across the street on the rooftop with a sniper rifle to take out the minions. Good old Riley wasn’t his first choice as a sniper, but their choices where limited. He also knew that both Slayers and all three Aurelian vampires were somewhere close. He could feel the zing of their presence beneath his skin, but he had no idea where they were hiding. Graham was sure that the two humans, Giles and Harris, were parked down the street in a car with darkened windows.

Graham glanced up from his musing when a car pulled up behind his own. Out of the back seat poured more of the scabby little minions while a dark-haired man stepped out from behind the wheel. Before Graham could say a word, the other man transformed into a blond-haired woman. The astonished vampire was barely able to keep his shock under control.

“Do you have the information?” Glory demanded.

“Right here.” Graham reached over to tap the folder. “Do you have the cash?”

Glory snapped her fingers, and Murk pulled a briefcase out of the car. He brought it around to the front of Ben’s car where he laid it on the trunk.

“Right here, vampire.”

“Open it. Let me see the cash.” Graham waited while Murk complied. “It’s been great doing business with you, but I don’t think the Slayers are going to be too happy about this.”

“I want my Key,” Glory screamed. “I don’t care what the Slayers want.”

“That’s too bad.” Cassie melted out of the darkness. “But to be honest, we don’t care what you want either.”

Faith stepped out across from Cassie. She gave the Hell-god a disdainful sniff. “No wonder the Queen C said you’re a fashion reject. I’ve seen homeless hags dressed better than you.”

“I have something for you, Glory.” Cassie pulled the Dagon’s sphere out from behind her back. She held it out towards the Hell-God.

Glory let out a scream. “Where did you find that thing?”

“That’s an interesting skin you hide inside, bitch.” Buffy appeared as if out of nowhere. She held the troll hammer in her hands. “I have something for you, too.” She attacked the Hell-God as two arrows flew through the air towards the scabby little minions.

Murk let out a scream as two of his compatriots fell down dead with arrows straight between the eyes. He dropped to his hands and knees, scrambling away from the scene. He was stopped by two pairs of black clad legs blocking his escape.

“Looky here, Angelus,” an accented voice drawled. “I believe we found ourselves a runner.”

“Looks like a crawler to me,” another voice drawled.

Murk looked up to find two vampires grinning wickedly down at him. He whimpered in fear as he knew who these vampires were; half of the Scourge of Europe weren’t demons to be trifled with.

“Just like a minion to abandon their master during a fight.” Spike kicked Murk aside.

“Good thing he isn’t one of mine,” Angel snarled. “I never took too kindly to deserters.”

“Well, from the looks of it, it won’t matter. Glory’s going down.” Spike pointed to where one of the Slayers held the Dagon sphere while Buffy took care of the Hell-God with the troll hammer. “I think this fight is going to be a bit anti-climatic, Angelus. Nothing for us vamps to do but watch our women work.”

“The Slayers don’t realize that the Hell-Bitch is wearing another body,” Angel observed.

“Kill the host, kill the bitch.” Spike nodded. “Not exactly difficult, but the Slayers might object to killing an innocent. Good thing the witches are going to send them to a hell dimension.”

“Good thing. Otherwise I say what the Slayers don’t know won’t hurt them,” Angel replied.

Two more of Glory’s minions fell dead as arrows zinged through the air. In the building across the street, Riley watched the proceedings with a jaundiced eye. He had no idea what his purpose was for, but he carefully squeezed off a shot at the creature that Faith was deftly keeping the glowing ball away from by playing catch with Cassie. When the bullet hit Glory, it didn’t kill her, but she did stagger backwards into Buffy’s range. One hard hit to the side of the head, and the Hell-God fell down to her knees.

From their vantage point, Tara and Serina helped Willow open a portal to the hell dimension just beyond Quor-toth. It appeared in front of Glory, and Buffy shoved the Hell-God though the whirling vortex with the head of the troll hammer.

Murk saw the portal, and he dived towards it, hitting the center just before it closed up behind himself and his Mistress.

“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Spike snarled. He strolled over to Buffy, swept her up in his arms, and kissed her for all he was worth.

“That was almost a bit anti-climatic,” Cassie said.

“None of us died. So, I say it was just perfectly climatic,” Faith said hotly, her eyes glued to the smooching vampires.

“I think they have the right idea.” Cassie bounded over to Angel, and she engaged him in a lip lock like Spike and Buffy.

“Some girls have all the luck,” Faith muttered. “Hurry up and get your ass here, Ri.”

Chapter 31/Epilogue

Things quieted down in Sunnydale as they always did after an averted apocalypse. The Scoobies started to break up into groups of who was staying in Sunnydale, who was going to move to Los Angeles with Cassie and Angel, and who would be going to New York City with Faith and Riley.

After much discussion between Giles and Anya, they decided to go to Los Angeles with Cassie. There were many business opportunities to be expanded on with the demon parts sideline and the kitten breeding sideline. Anya planned on opening a second Magic Box in Los Angeles, possibly even in the Hyperion Hotel where they would meet up with Doyle and Gunn, a street fighter that had joined the half-demon in helping the hopeless. The Sunnydale magic shop’s management was still in question, but Anya was sure she could come up with something. It was soon after they moved to Los Angeles that Giles surprised Anya by popping the question in the middle of a long research session while trying to fight the demonic law firm Wolfram and Hart.

Xander and Cordelia pretty much had the same discussion as Giles and Anya. After much thought, they decided they would stay in Sunnydale with Spike and Buffy. Both of the humans enjoyed the vampires’ company. Cordelia had thought about becoming an actress in Los Angeles. After much thought, she decided that she would rather be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. She promptly joined the local theatrical society where she was cast as the lead in their latest play. Xander went on to take over the construction company that he had been working for since graduating high school.

Of course, Clem and Jack stayed in Sunnydale, as did Dalton. All three conceded that they were friendlier with Spike and Buffy than any of the other Slayers. Jack continued to manage the Bronze while Clem and Dalton worked hard at the kitten breeding business. Dalton even started to date one of Clem’s half-breed cousins who looked more human than demon.

Willow and Tara decided to move to Los Angeles also, especially since Serina’s coven would be closer to that town than Sunnydale. However, they assured Buffy that if she needed any magic done, to be sure to call them. It wasn’t really all that hard for the two witches to leave Sunnydale since they really didn’t have any friends outside the Scooby circle anyway. Willow’s parents didn’t even notice her most of the time. Willow didn’t fall into the darkness that could have easily overwhelmed her, but sometimes it was a struggle for the young woman, especially when Wolfram and Hart kidnapped Tara for some nefarious plan. Thankfully, the other Slayer teams showed up to save the day, making the law firm very careful with their dealings with Angel and Cassie’s team.

Joyce returned from Scottsdale with a clean bill of health. She brought Reginald Bey back with her, much to her daughters’ delight. Buffy and Dawn enjoyed ribbing their mother on her choice of men. In fact, after seeing the Mummy movie, both girls took to calling him Ardeth since he looked a lot like the actor who played the Med-jai warrior. Interestingly enough, Reginald offered to act as Buffy’s Watcher in lieu of her not having one which she gratefully accepted. The robots were put away in storage, just in case they were needed again. They never knew when they might need a diversion. Reggie and Joyce never married, but they agreed to a soul binding ceremony instead.

Dawn grew up much like any other teen. She had teenage loves, only one of which had to be staked by her sister Buffy. During high school she dated a jock named R.J., but he dumped her when he left for college. Oz returned to Sunnydale by then, more in control of his werewolf. After graduation, Dawn went to college out of state, and the werewolf followed along at Spike and Buffy’s assistance to keep an eye on the young woman. Trouble seemed to follow Dawn where ever she went. It was during this time that the ex-Key and the sardonic werewolf fell in love, eloped to Vegas, and got married.

It was soon after this that Buffy finally told Spike that Dawn was really their daughter. He was shocked, but he readily accepted the truth. Although, he ‘punished’ his mate for her one last secret. Everyone was shocked to find out that the punishment included their own soul binding ceremony and an elopement to Las Vegas where they were married by a demonic Elvis impersonator

Wesley and Graham each on their own came to the conclusion to go with Faith and Riley. Wesley went in the capacity of Faith’s Watcher while Graham offered to be the Slayer’s resident vampire. Little did either of them realize that they would have to soon deal with Riley Finn’s unflagging jealousy of anything supernatural again. After a few months in New York it became apparent that Riley’s addiction to vampire bites hadn’t died with Maggie Walsh. Faith put on a brave front, but her friends knew she was hurting long after Riley left the scene. During a sojourn to another dimension, both Wesley and Faith met the loves of their lives. Graham stayed footloose and fancy free for the most part.

Spike and Buffy of course continued to patrol the Hellmouth. Apocalypses came and went, but they still were so strongly in love they made everyone around them gag with some of their antics. Buffy was more relaxed now that the whole truth was out in the open, and she started to act more like the young woman she was instead of hiding it behind a façade. Several years after the fight with Glory, Spike’s past came back to haunt him in the guise of one Robin Wood, son of Nikki Wood, the Slayer that Spike killed in 1977. Wood was unclear as to why so many people were being hoodwinked by the bleached blond vampire, and he made several attempts on Spike’s life until he met up with the Specter. It was after this terrifying experience that Wood gladly went to New York City at Reggie Bey’s insistence where he became a vital part of Faith’s team, including her lover until she made the dimension jump where she found her true love.

Things weren’t always as easy as they appeared by a long stretch. Warren Meers still became a problem for the Sunnydale Scoobies, but Spike had no problems disposing of the young man. It was a fact he hid from Buffy for several decades, not wanting to bother her with his foray back into killing humans. A nasty human named Caleb came to Sunnydale. He was a sick psychotic that preyed on women, blaming them for all of his lusts and the evils of the world. Like Meers, he too was removed without bothering the immortal Slayer. Spike took Angel’s advice to heart. What the Slayer doesn’t know won’t hurt her, but it would sure make her life that much easier.

The End