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banner by dawnofme


TROUBLE

Buffy, Willow, Giles, Andrew, Dawn and even baby Joy were all heading out to LA. Carole was left behind to keep an eye on the London offices - luckily no slayers were in residence.

They weren’t very communicative, each lost in their own thoughts. They’d discussed their possible actions until they were blue in the face, Buffy refusing to accept Andrew’s instructions from Spike that if he’d been turned they were to hunt him down and kill him.

Xander had relayed the news of his and Helen’s encounter with Spike and Drusilla, how Spike hadn’t even seemed to care what happened to Dru. He could have easily avoided it by letting go of Helen instead he’d tried to bite her.

Willow had added that the prophecy had said that if turned by Dru then ALL his humanity would be lost along with his soul. She tried to make her friend realise that he’d be as evil as a vampire could be. He’d be like Angel when he reverted to Angelus, taking pleasure in hurting ones he’d previously loved.

Still Buffy refused to believe it. Not Spike - she could save him. She had before when he’d been under the influence of the First. She’d believed in him.

Giles watched Buffy as she sat staring into space in her seat. He really hoped the plan Willow and Dawn had could work. It’d be a long shot, but the only alternative was killing Spike and he didn’t think Buffy could cope with that.

The bedraggled group walked through into the arrivals hall. Joy, for once, was playing up. Usually such a happy, easy going child, she could pick up the atmosphere and added to that the boredom of the flight meant she was screaming her head off as they found Xander and Helen waiting for them.

They went out and got into the van Xander had hired, not wanting to split them into two cars. Once they were all strapped in, he set off to take them to the Council’s largest safe house. With Joy’s screaming distracting him he didn’t notice a car was following them. It drove past as they swung into the driveway and pulled up a couple of houses away. Spike got out and crept up behind a couple of trees to get a better look. He saw them all get out of the car before the metal garage door rolled shut.

Buffy! If his heart could miss a beat it would have, but it wasn’t love he felt inside him, it was loathing. She represented all he now despised, that weak pathetic human he’d been. She’d even made him weak as a vampire, mooning over her, seeking a bleeding soul for her. He saw the child in her arms, could smell its scent, a combination of Buffy’s and his own. He had a child! The demon within hadn’t registered the fact until now. He saw how Buffy held her so tenderly, soothing the child’s sobs. He knew he had found the perfect way to hurt Buffy.

Oooooooooo

They put their bags down and assembled around the large kitchen table, Joy now happily walking around exploring her new home, tears forgotten.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Xander.

“Not sure we really have one yet,” replied Giles.

“Yes, we have,” snapped Buffy, “We find Spike, we catch him and we do Willow and Dawn’s spell and bring him back.”

“Easier said than done, Buff,” said Xander.

“I know,” said Buffy wearily, “but I’ve got to try.”

“How do we find him though?” asked Dawn, “Locators don’t work on vampires and it’s a big city.”

“I’ll hit the computers and see if I can see any area with increased vampire activity. It sounds like he’s feeling pretty bold,” said Willow.

“What’s with this out in daylight crap?” asked Xander.

“We still don’t know.” This time Andrew spoke, “We don’t know of anything like the Gem of Amarra. It must be something magical. It was the winter solstice when they….. got him.” He hesitated a bit, still feeling responsible, which was fair enough since he was.

They talked a little more before Xander and Helen said they were going home.

“Going home?” asked Willow. “So you two - you’re……?”

“Yes, we’re together,” said Helen, “We were going to tell you all at Christmas but… well you know why we didn’t.”

“That’s great,” said Willow, “So pleased for you both.”

The others all added their congratulations to Willows’, there was a huge group hug, and then Xander and Helen left in their old stationwagon, leaving the van there. The others went to bed.

Ooooooooooo

Xander and Helen again entered via the door from the garage to the house. Helen stepped in first, but by the time Xander had followed her she’d been grabbed by Spike, his demonic features showing. He was holding her with her arm bent painfully back, pulling her tight against his cold body.

“Helen!” cried Xander when he saw her.

“Hello again,” said Spike with a smirk, “Just thought I’d catch up with me old girlfriend.”

“How did you get in?” Xander was baffled. Forget the protection spells, without an invite he shouldn’t have been able to cross the threshold.

“Well now, I’ve got me a friend who’s very good at getting me what I want. He’s somehow managed to convince your little house, don’t ask me how, that it’s really a hotel and hey ‘presto’ - no invite required. The protections spells took him seconds to disarm. He’s a descendant of the original Merlin, no less,” said Spike, unable to resist bragging.

“What do you want?” asked Xander.

“Ooh, lots of things, but first I want to do this.” He dipped his mouth to Helen’s neck and bit deep. Helen screamed.

“You bastard!” roared Xander, hurling himself at Spike.

Spike met him with a punch to his jaw that sent him reeling back unconscious. Helen managed to pull away from his grasp and ran.

Behind her Spike laughed. “Time for a bit of fun, love.”

She made it almost to the phone before Spike grabbed her. The only weapon at hand was the paper knife on the table. Her finger closed around it as Spike pulled her back. She stabbed it into Spike’s chest with all her might. He howled with pain and looked down at the hilt sticking out of him. With his free hand he wrenched it out and started to laugh.

“Good aim, pet, right in the heart. Shame it wasn’t wood, eh? Bloody hurts though. Right, where was I? Oh yes, right about here.”

The hand that had pulled the knife from his heart tore open her blouse, “Let’s see if I can show you a better time than I could before, shall we?” he sneered.

He drank more of her blood as started to drag her to the floor. It was all too much for Helen and she fainted, hanging limp in his grip. It saved her life. Spike threw her down in disgust. It wasn’t fun if she’s wasn’t screaming. He stalked through the house, smashing furniture purely out of malice. He left before either of them stirred.

Ooooooooooo

Xander came to first, groaning and holding his jaw. He struggled to his feet. He looked for Helen but she wasn’t in the kitchen. He could see spots of blood on the floor leading out of the room, so he staggered through the door and spotted Helen lying on the floor.

“Please no,” he whispered as he went to her.

She was alive. As he stroked her hair and held her hand she woke up.

“Are you okay?” asked Xander, wondering why he’d asked such an inane question. Of course she wasn’t okay - she’d been attacked by a vampire.

Helen sat up, pale and shaky. Xander helped her back to the kitchen and onto a chair. He got the first aid kit from the cupboard, cleaned the wound and stuck a dressing onto it.

“We’re not staying here,” he said, “We’ll go to the others. Willow’s got some major mojo that she can protect us with.”

They both walked to the garage to get in the car, neither in the best shape to drive but Xander got behind the wheel. He turned the key - nothing. He tried again and still nothing. He got out and popped the hood, finding the starter motor had been ripped out.

“Son of a bitch!” shouted Xander, and he slammed the hood down hard enough to make the car bounce. He felt in his pocket for his cell phone and thankfully it was still there. He ordered a cab and, whilst they were waiting for it, Helen packed an overnight bag.

Xander called the others, “We’ve had some trouble. We’re on our way over and will tell you everything then but get some serious upgrades in the protective barriers over there.”

They had the cab drop them off at the top of the drive. Willow appeared at the door, chanted a phrase and opened a doorway for them to walk through the invisible barrier, the gateway apparent by its shiny edges. Once inside Willow sealed it back up.

Soon they were all sitting in the lounge. They listened to Xander’s account in horror. Spike had truly turned evil. Dawn and Willow headed to the computers to see if they could find anything out about this descendent of Merlin, the sorcerer to King Arthur.

Buffy sat there numb. If she’d needed proof Spike was now the bad guy she’d gotten it in spades. She recalled how Spike had told Andrew that if he was turned they had to kill him. He’d known she’d try everything else first. She still hoped they’d be able to save him but knew there was a very real possibility that they’d have to kill him.

To be continued…………..





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