Chapter 12
A vampire threw himself against the science classroom door. It didn't budge. Spike rolled his eyes at the idiot.
“Um. Door’s solid.”
“Use your head.”
He grabbed the vampire by the shoulder and shoved his head into an in-case-of-fire case. Pulling the ax out, he thrust it into the vampire's hands and continued down the hall, passing two others who were pounding on another door.
“You! Come with me!” The female vampire followed him.
He listened for activity in the ceiling, and heard movement.
Spike picked up two pieces of the window framing in the lounge and threw one to the other vampire. He went back out to the hall and listened for a moment, then shoved the pole into the ceiling. She mimicked him.
****
Buffy broke through the ceiling behind the vampire with the ax. She pulled him down with her when she dropped from the ceiling and quickly dispatched him with a stake. Her mother looked through the hole in the door. Buffy stood and peered through the hole.
“Buffy! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mom.”
“Buffy, look, uh, get out of here, okay? We'll be alright!”
“Look, just hang on for one more minute until I tell you to open the door.”
She quietly made her way to the other hall, stake in hand. Around the corner, a vampire stands with his back to her.
She heard a noise behind her. “Sheila! Where’ve you been?”
“Sorry I'm late. There's some really weird guys outside.”
“Shh! Yeah, I know. They're trying to kill us.”
Sheila picked up the ax. “This should be fun.”
Buffy crept to the other hall, Sheila behind her.
****
Spike poked more holes in the ceiling. He felt, then saw, family. “Angelus!”
Angelus had his arm wrapped around a boy’s neck. “Spike!”
“I’ll be damned!” He tossed the pole aside and greeted Angelus with a hug. A soul! Of all the people to smell a soul on…
“I taught you to always guard your perimeter. Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should have someone out there.”
“I did. I'm surrounded by idiots. What's new with you?” How long would his old mentor play this out?
”Everything.”
“Yeah. Come up against this Slayer, yet?”
“She's cute. Not too bright, though. Gave the puppy dog 'I'm all tortured' act. Keeps her off my back when I feed!” he said with a laugh.
Spike laughed, too. “People still fall for that Anne Rice routine. What a world!”
“I knew you were lying,” the boy said. “Undead liar guy.”
Angelus grabbed him by the hair and exposed the back of his neck. “Wanna bite before we kill her?”
“I haven't seen you in the killing fields for an age.”
“I’m not much for company.”
“No, you never were. So, why're you so scared of this Slayer?”
“Scared?”
“Yeah. Time was, you would've taken her out in a heartbeat. Now look at you. I bet this, uh, tortured thing is an act, right? You're not... housebroken?”
“The Master is dead. Hey, you think you can take her alone? Be my guest. I'll just feed and run.” He growled and lunged at the boy’s neck.
Spike held up his hands. “Don't be silly! We're all friends. We'll do it together. Let's drink to it.”
They slowly leaned in. At the last moment, Spike punched Angelus in the face, spinning him away.
“You think you can fool me? You were my sire, man! You were my...Yoda!”
“Things change.”
“Not us! Not demons! Man, I can't believe this. You Uncle Tom!” He grabbed the pole. “Come on, people! This isn't a spectator sport!”
They rushed at the white hats. The boy ran out the door, Angelus on his heels. Spike’s minions gave chase. He was on his way, but…
He sensed someone behind him.
****
Buffy was about to round a corner. “Stay behind me,” she whispered to Sheila.
“Buffy! Look out!”
She spun around and grabbed the ax mid-swing and hit Sheila in the jaw with the butt of the handle. Yay for training and muscle memory.
The other vampire attacked and ducked when Buffy swung the ax at him. She missed and buried the ax in the wall. The vampire smiled, thinking he avoided her blow, but then looked down at the stake protruding from his chest. He collapsed to the floor and burst into ashes.
Buffy watched Sheila run from the hall, then rushed back to the classroom door.
“Mom, now!”
“Okay, come on, let's go!” Everyone rushed out of the classroom and to the library. “C'mon! Hurry!”
“Get them out!” Buffy yelled to Giles.
“You’re coming to!” Mom said.
“In a minute! Go!”
“Buffy!”
She had to meet with Spike. Not the way she intended, but a deal was a deal. Now, if she could only get him to stop trying to kill her for five minutes.
She came up behind him.
“Fe, fi, fo fum. I smell the blood of a nice ripe girl.”
Holding the ax, she said, “Do we really need weapons?”
“I just like them. They make me feel all manly.” He dropped the pole and stalked toward her. She dropped the ax. “The last Slayer I killed…she begged for her life. You don’t strike me as the begging kind.”
Buffy walked to the middle of the hall, watching his every move. “You shouldn’t’ve come here. We had a deal.”
He giggled. “I've messed up your doilies and stuff. But I just got so bored.” He smirked, and it was beyond annoying. “I'll tell you what. As a personal favor from me to you, I'll make it quick. It won't hurt a bit.”
“Nikki didn’t beg.”
“What?” That tripped him up. Ha!
“Nikki. Slayer? 1977? Maybe you didn’t know her name, but unless you’ve killed a Slayer since then, she didn’t beg.”
“How the hell would you know that?”
She smiled. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you. Now…I promised to hear you out about your sick sire in the alley tonight. I was going there straight after this, but since you’re here now, let’s hash it out. What do you want?”
His vamp face faded away. “Are you stupid, or just gone that barmy?”
She took a step closer. “I’m serious, I’m reasonable, and you need a favor or you wouldn’t be in Sunnydale. What kind of cure does your sire need?”
He was still staring at her, flexing his hands like he didn’t know what to do with them. The dim light was brighter than the alley, so she got a good look at him now—not bad for a punk-Goth hybrid that needed to come into this decade. He looked young, like he was turned in his twenties, and the leather coat he wore was a touch too big. She recognized it as Nikki’s coat, and it’d been a bit big on her, too.
Wonder who it originally belonged to?
He sighed. “Drusilla--”
“Get the hell away from my daughter!” Her mother had the ax and tried to look threatening.
Spike rolled his eyes, growled, and turned and left quicker than Buffy’s human legs could follow.
“Mom!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, were you making friends with the domestic terrorist?”
“Never mind… Let’s get out of here.”
The police had shown up outside.
“So, what did you and Principal Snyder talk about?”
“He said you were a troublemaker. And I couldn’t care less. I have a daughter who can take care of herself. Who's brave and resourceful and thinks of others in a crisis. No matter who you hang out with or what dumb teenage stuff you think you need to do, I'm gonna sleep better knowing all that.”
“About how long ‘til this wears off and you start ragging on me again?”
“Oh, at least a week and a half.”
Buffy smiles. “Very cool!”
****
The sun came up over the warehouse. Birds were singing. Sunlight streamed through a high window.
Spike stood by a cage. Drusilla walked to him from around it.
“Spike, did she hurt you?”
“No, baby, but…”
“Oh, come here.” She pulled his head down onto her shoulder and stroked his cheek and neck.
“A Slayer with family and friends. That sure as hell wasn't in the brochure.”
“You'll kill her, and then we'll have a nice celebration.”
His eyes were on the Anointed One. “Yeah, a party.”
“Yeah. With streamers...and songs.”
He lifted his head from her shoulder. “How’s the Annoying One?”
She pouted. “He doesn’t want to play.”
“Figures. Well, suppose I better go make nice.” He walked to the Anointed One and knelt before him.
“You failed.”
“I, uh... I offer penance.” It was hard to keep the smirk from his face, but he tried to look remorseful.
The minion spoke up. “Penance? You should lay down your life! Our numbers are depleted. The feast of St. Vigeous has been ruined by your impatience!”
“I was rash, and if I had to do it all over again...” Unable to hold the regretful act any longer, he laughed. “Who am I kidding? I would do it exactly the same, only I'd do this…” He grabbed the little brat and slung him over his shoulder.
“No!”
“…first!”
He carried him to the cage. The minion tried to stop him, but he kicked back and knocked him out. Sticking the Annoying One in the cage, he closed and locked the door.
Drusilla watched with glee as Spike started pulling the chain, lifting the cage up from the floor.
“From now on, we're gonna have a little less ritual...and a little more fun around here.”
He gave the chain a final strong pull and the cage was lifted into the sunlight.
The kid screamed. He started to burn.
Drusilla smiled at Spike. He smiled back. She came to him and he took her hand. They stepped around the unconscious minion left for the sun and continued deeper into the building.
“Let’s see what’s on TV.”
Nothing was left of the Annoying One but smoking ash.
****
A month of school behind Buffy already. Spike hadn’t popped up since Parent-Teacher night, which she relayed a carefully edited story to Giles about. He and Kendra didn’t need to know about Spike’s existence unless it was necessary to kill him, though…
How long would it take him to figure out Kendra was the Slayer in town? He was the Slayer of Slayers, after all, and why the Guardians felt he was so important, she still didn’t know. Lillian was sympathetic about Buffy’s interrupted chat, but she wasn’t giving up details “for the sake of the future and your free will”.
Ugh. How was she supposed to make the right choices when she didn’t know what the wrong ones were?
Today was a field trip day. She and Xander and Willow were walking in past the rose gardens, which were much more interesting than crusty old archaeology lectures.
“This is so unfair.”
“You want an exchange student?” Willow asked.
“A lot of parents are doing it this year. It's part of this whole cultural exchange magilla. The exhibit, the dance...” Xander said. “I think the exchange student program's cool. It's a beautiful melding of two cultures.”
“Have you ever done an exchange program?” Buffy asked.
“My dad tried to send me to some Armenians once. Does that count?”
They climbed the steps to the building entrance and the cultural exchange exhibit. “I don’t want someone invading my space, but it would’ve been cool to meet someone from another country. Some place exotic. I have more time on my hands now, you know, and…”
Cordelia walked past Buffy. “Ooo! There's mine! Sven. Isn't he lunchable? Mine's definitely the best,” she said, looking at a brochure.
“What’re you lookin’ at?”
“Pictures of our exchange students. Look. Hundred percent Swedish, hundred percent gorgeous, hundred percent staying at my house! So, how's yours? Visually, I mean.”
“Mom didn’t ask for one.”
They stopped at the end of a row of display cases. Buffy saw Rodney scraping a mask.
“What’s he doing?”
“Uh, that's Rodney Munson. He's God's gift to the bell curve.” They watched Rodney growl at a classmate. “What he lacks in smarts he makes up in lack of smarts.”
“You just don't like him 'cause of that time he beat you up every day for five years.”
“Yeah. I’m irrational that way.” Poor Xan.
“I better stop him before he gets in trouble.”
“I got it. The non-violent approach is probably better here.” Willow went to Rodney.
“I wasn't gonna use violence. I don't always use violence. Do I?”
“The important thing is you believe that.”
The docent herded everyone to the next section. “Welcome, students. We shall now proceed into the Incan burial chamber. The human sacrifice is about to begin.”
Done talking to Rodney, Willow let their chaperone teacher know to keep an eye on him while Buffy and Xander walked on. When it came to institutional rules, Willow always had to side with the right thing, even when it made her a nark. Buffy hoped that wouldn’t bite her in the ass one day.
She looked back…Kendra was bringing up the rear again. She suspected the poor girl was still suffering culture shock, though they’d tried to make her feel welcome. Kendra had been in independent study since identified as a Potential, so the whole school thing was completely foreign, and then she was in a foreign country on top of that. And there was always that other thing of being a Watcher-trained stick-in-the-mud who thought it should be all-Slay-all-the-time and no questions asked, sir.
“Isn’t it nice being out of the classroom?” Buffy asked.
“Just another waste of time. I should be training with Mr. Giles. My duties are to study in the day and hunt the vampires at night—this is all a distraction.”
“Kendra, if you never live, you’ll never understand what you’re fighting for.”
“The Slayer’s sacrifice lets the whole world live. I am not more important than billions of innocent people and never will be. If you’d known that, maybe you wouldn’t have died.”
“Hey. There was a prophecy involved, okay? See how well you prevent one when it comes for you.” Bitchy, stake-up-her-ass Jamaican—
“Buffy. The bus is that way?” Xander said.
“Coming!”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Some dialogue from "School Hard" and "Inca Mummy Girl".