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Author's Chapter Notes:
A few questions answered in this one while bringing up a new one or two.
Turning

"Umph." Buffy landed hard on her rump. She looked back at the blonde female Vampire she had taking while Spike fought with the male.

It had been the same all night. She dusted the girls, he got the guys. Spike understood why and tried not to question her motives, but more than once she helped him with a male and refused help with the females. But her paranoia over one of these lady vamps turning out to be The Pure was starting to get a little ridiculous.

"I am glad I had word of your arrival, Slayer." The two blondes were circling each other, each waiting for the other to make a move. The Vampiress moved first. She leapt up and almost over Buffy, but the Slayer grabbed the woman's ankle in mid-air, pulling the undead body down hard.

While the Vampiress was stunned, Buffy lunged at her, stake in hand. Then she stopped short. She brought her foot over the Vamp's neck and held her there. Looking down seriously, Buffy asked her, "Hold on. How did you get word?"

Spike was being held from behind by the larger Vampire. With practiced ease, he did a back flip over the shoulders of the other Vamp and had him in a choke hold.

"I had heard there was yet another with a soul, but I did not believe it," the younger but more massive Vampire said while struggling to get free.

Spike pulled up the stake and pressed it through the Vampire's back. "Why does everyone keep saying I have a soul?" he said into the dust.

When he saw his lover standing with a trapped Vampire under her boot, he wondered what the hold up was. "Buffy, just stake 'er already...we need to get back to the Culture Complex."

Buffy smiled up at him. "Oh, I will, but I think I know why we're getting attacked after every turn in this town." She looked back down at the female below her boot. "Now why don't you tell my friend here what you just told me?"

The female turned her head to see the leather duster and a peroxide blonde Vampire inside it. "Traitor!" she spat.

Buffy increased the pressure on the Vampire's throat. "That isn't the story,“ She tsk’d. “Now tell him!"

The Vampire tried to move but found herself held too tightly. She soon stopped her squirming. "Old man, human. He's promised to guarantee the safety of any Vampire that kills either or both of you."

Buffy looked up at Spike, then back at her captive. "Anything else you want to share?" The Vampire shrugged. Buffy raised Mr. Pointy high. "You sure?"

Reluctantly the female answered. "We're not supposed to turn you, just kill you."

Buffy's boot didn't move. "Why?"

"I don't know. The old man just said that's how all this started." The Vampire looked back between the Slayer and the traitor. She was impatient. "I told you what I know. Now let me go!"

"Not bloody likely," Spike said. He walked towards the Vampiress and pulled out his stake.

Buffy watched him. "Wait! Spike, don't!"

He stopped just as the first layer of skin was pierced and waited for Buffy to make her move. Instead, Buffy leaned down and spoke to the Vampiress. "I will let you go, but you tell any Vamps who think they're going to take us down, that we know about the plan. We'll be prepared. Got it?"

After the female nodded vigorously, Buffy lifted her boot from the Vamp's now sore throat, and both Spike and she kept their stakes at the ready.

The blonde Vampiress jumped up and ran away into the night.

Spike watched then turned to Buffy. "Why did you go and do that for?"

They started walking and headed for the South Bank Centre while Buffy explained. "I think Quentin let it slip we were here."

Spike cocked an eyebrow. "You think he's the human she was talkin' about?"

"Yeah. The fact that they knew I was here wouldn't be a big deal, or just you in fact, but it seems we both have a price on our heads." Buffy walked along, letting Spike lead the way to the building that he in fact had only seen for the first time that night. They walked in silence while each contemplated everything happening.

"'Got a bad feelin' about this, luv. The Council wants you dead. Me? I can deal with." He pointed to himself. "Vampire," he snickered. "But you? You're the Chosen One and all." He shook his head. "Make's no sense."

Later the two re-entered the halls of the Council, they headed for Quentin's office and found that he was still inside.

"What's he do? Live in there?" Buffy asked Spike quietly. He had no answer, and they walked away to the living quarters to sleep the rest of the night away.

~~`~~

Quentin watched the screens. Once again, he had nothing of interest to watch. The hacker always seemed to keep her laptop's screen facing away from the camera's field of vision. If he didn't know better, he'd swear they knew about the hidden devices. But ultimately he knew if the Slayer had any idea they were being watched at all, she surely would have brought it up by now.

He sat and read through the lost pages of a forgotten book again and compared it with the last known scripts of the prophecy. With the help he had on the surface, he was sure the prophecy would not come to pass. If it did, everything the Council had ever been would be lost.

~~`~~

The scent of greenery seemed to soak into his every pore. Spike opened his eyes to find himself in a field. Instinctively he pulled his duster up over his head and tried to hide from the murderous sun. Crouched in a ball, he looked through the hole his collar created and tried to find the forest he knew he had just been in.

The tops of the trees were at least 100 yards away. With a fevered pace, he ran to them, still using his jacket for as much shade as he could. He ran through the field of wildflowers with preternatural speed, then found himself rolling down a hill after a misstep.

He tumbled down the gentle slope and came to a stop face up. A quick mental prayer to whoever would listen swiftly traveled through his mind as the flesh on his hand and face did absolutely nothing life threatening.

Slowly he lifted his hand up in front of his eyes. He watched the pale skin change before him. It became darker, almost..."No...it couldn't be," he said to his tanned skin. "This is bleedin' insane."

"No," the now familiar voice of the last of the Pure called from behind him.

Still lying down in the field, Spike twisted his head to see the woman. She had once again changed. Her hairline had receded halfway behind her head. In the place of missing hair were short spines protruding from her gray skin. The ridges of her brow were prominent, even more so than before. "The Slayer," she hissed.

Spike sat up, and pushed himself up to stand while shielding his eyes from a light he was not accustomed to. "Yeah. What about 'er?"

The Vampiress glided to him, her movements subtle. "Only the turning of the Slayer."

Spike's eyes were wide. "Turn 'er?!" He moved to attack the female. She sidestepped him, and he flew past her, landing with a thud onto the ground. He got up, and lunged at her.

Once again, she simply moved to the side.

"T'mure..." She sang softly onto the air.

Spike still stood at the ready but didn't move to fight. "I'm not your soddin' T'mure, and I'm not turning the Slayer."

The Pure simply shook her head slowly. "It has happened."

Spike cocked his head. "Buffy's. Not. Turned." He waited for a response.

What was left of her hair blew behind her. "The Slayer turned. I brought you forth. Revealed the missing piece."

"Revealed? It already happened? A Slayer was turned?" Spike's fragmented memory in his dream seemed to remember something, but he couldn't grasp it.

"Soon..." the voice faded, and the Vampiress was gone.

Spike jolted awake. In the darkness, he could see the pale skin of his hands and tried to remember every detail of his latest nightmare.

~~`~~

The bell rang all around her once again. Buffy rubbed her eyes like a child and decided she had to get up today. There was too much that needed to be done, figured out, researched.

She quickly showered and dressed, then walked out to the kitchen to greet her sister.

"Hey, Dawnie!"

The teen was sitting at the table enjoying scrambled eggs and orange juice. "Hi, Buffy." She sipped from her glass. "Find anything interesting last night?"

"Not what I was expecting, but yeah. Very interesting." She poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat at the table with her sister.

Someone knocked at the door, and Buffy answered it. "Spike, Giles." She stepped aside. "Good, come on in."

"'Ad myself another dream last night, pet," Spike said as he passed her. "Bloody nightmare it was."

"Spike also told me of your encounter last evening." Giles set at the table, Spike made himself comfortable on the couch. "You believe the Council wishes you dead?"

Buffy took a drink of her juice. "I don't think it's the Council. I think it's Travers."

~~`~~

"Are you sure about this?" Christian was asking for the tenth time that morning. They had both gotten up early so that they could see Dawn before Randall came for the Vampire and the Slayer.

"I'm sure.” Michelle said becoming exasperated.” Richard is going to get anything he can on Slayer lore and Vampires from the libraries, but I'm sure they have many books in their apartment right now." The two stopped in front of the Summers' apartment. "I don't want to feel like this about the Council, but we all agreed. It's wrong."

Christian nodded, and Michelle knocked on the wood door. They hadn't expected the Vampire to answer, and both were visibly flustered.

"I think it's for you, Bit," Spike said, turned around and plunked himself back on the couch when Dawn walked to the door.

"Oh, hi guys," Dawn said cheerily.

Michelle looked back again at Christian. "We wondered, um, if you'd like to visit with, um, us at my...home?"

Dawn looked at Michelle questioningly. Except for the first time the girl had come to talk to the sister of the Slayer, did she stammer, and she had a more interesting activity planned then, too. "Are you ok, Michelle?"

Christian was beginning to shake all over like a nervous school boy when he completed the invitation. "We, uh...we wanted to show you...a...new movie. We just got it here...in uh...the complex." The boy stumbled over his own words.

"What movie?" Dawn asked.

Michelle and Christian looked at each other. Michelle turned back to Dawn. "Harry Potter?"

Dawn's eyes crinkled while she watched the strange exchange. "Is something up?"

"Oh, Dawn," Buffy said from behind her. "Go on and have some fun. We can't do much on this end right now anyway."

Dawn shrugged, then excused herself for a moment to clean up her breakfast before going with the other teens.

~~`~~

Randall watched as the lift came down to his floor while he walked towards it. The doors opened to reveal Dawn, Michelle and Christian.

"Good morning. Mr. Thornton." The three greeted.

"Ladies, Christian. What do you children have planned for today?" he asked as he entered and pressed the button for an upper floor. The lift, however, went down to Michelle's floor first.

"Movies on the telly," Christian answered.

Randall shook his head. "Not the best way for you to spend your free time, now is it, son?" He watched as Christian's entire face fell and decided to lighten the scolding. "But I suppose a few hours of pure entertainment could be good for the soul."

The lifts doors opened while the young boy's face brightened. "Yes, sir."

He watched the three youths walk down the balcony to Michelle's room before the doors closed, and the lift moved up to the floor that was his destination.

He headed down towards the door that was his goal and knocked. To his surprise, the

Vampire answered. "Buffy," the blonde called over his shoulder.

Buffy came into sight, and Randall smiled at her. "Good morning, Miss Summers."

"Randall." She smiled and nodded.

Her manner seemed off to him, but he dismissed it as homesickness. "Are you ready for today's evaluations?"

"More paperwork, mate?" Spike smirked.

"Concentration," Randall responded simply.

The Vampire and the Slayer eyed each other. Buffy walked out of the door then sang back, "I am so going to beat you on this one."

"Will not!" Spike brushed past Randall, who followed the two to the lift.

Giles, now alone in the Summers' home, stood up and closed the door as he left to return to his own apartment.

~~`~~

Tara and Willow knocked on Buffy's door. When there was no answer, they decided to head on down to the libraries. "You sure you don't mind?" the redhead asked.

"No, I was planning on spending some time in the Spell Castings Library anyway. Now I know I won't be leaving you to do nothing."

Willow looked at her lover. How or when it had stopped being a problem, she didn't know. Giving up magics hadn't been easy, but she had been even more concerned with being around someone who practiced. Somehow, it never became a problem. Mostly because Tara kept any spells she practiced away from Willow. "I still can't believe how many books on demons they have here."

The two walked together until they reached the den. From there, the doors marked each entrance, and the two split up for their separate research sessions.

~~`~~

Xander and Anya knocked on the last door and were happy to see that Giles answered.

"Where is everyone?" the young man inquired as they entered the small apartment.

"I believe Tara and Willow were going to research on dreams, demons, and spells that would release a demon from its prison." The older of the men sat back down at his table filled with papers. The couple joined him.

"So, what did Buffy find out last night?"

Giles related the story of the Vampire claiming to have been asked to dispatch of either or both Spike and Buffy, along with Spike's latest dream, to the couple. The Harrises sat back in astonishment.

Xander shook his head. "Nothing here fits. I figured they would want Dead Boy Junior dead,“ He crinkled his brow.“ Or more dead, but Buffy?"

"I'd bet all the money in the shop's register that those missing pages would clear up this whole thing in a jiffy, and not just Spike's dreams either," Anya declared. "Buffy should go get them."

Giles took his glasses off and began cleaning them. "Yes, Anya. We all agreed that would be the best route, but she can't just barge in while he is in there and demand them." He replaced his glasses. "Last night Spike heard Quentin's heartbeat from outside before and after they patrolled."

"So we need a distraction. One that will get 'All High and Mighty' out of his office."

Xander stood up. "Pipe bomb?" Then he shook his head. "I don't think any of us knows how to make a pipe bomb."

Giles watched the young man rattle off ridiculous ideas then explain to the room why they wouldn't work.

"I'm afraid, short of having Spike begin to attack the residents of this place, very little will force Quentin out. He has always been that way. He rarely leaves the confines of his office. That's why it disturbs me even more." Giles looked between Xander and Anya. "I think it was Quentin himself that went to the surface and made the offer to the Vampires."

~~`~~

Dawn sat on the couch alone while Michelle and Christian whispered to each other in the kitchen. Dawn looked around the French girl's home. It was larger and looked more lived in than the apartments she and her Sunnydale pals had been given.

The dining table was larger, and the furniture looked as though it had been picked out, not like the cookie cutter copies of the exact same furniture the Scoobies and she all had. The plush violet couch matched the loveseat that formed an L around the large television. The pictures and portraits on the wall all bore a resemblance to Michelle. Obviously, she was a child of the Council. How she managed to keep her accent was beyond her.

Michelle came back into the living area with Christian following closely behind. The two sat down on either side of Dawn.

Now she knew something was up, Christian never sat next to her. Usually he sat a good four feet from her. Dawn turned and faced Michelle.

"Dawn," Michelle started, "I have a confession to make." She took a deep breath. "Yesterday, I came up to your floor to invite you for a game of tennis."

Dawn looked at her curiously. "Is tennis bad here or something?"

Michelle smiled a bit at her friend. "No, it is not the tennis I am trying to confess... I... I overheard some of your discussion with your sister, the Vampire...I listened, and I..." She looked past Dawn to Christian. "We need to know...is it true? Is the Council spying on you?"

Christian cut in. "And the Slayer...is she in danger here?" The boy motioned around the room.

Dawn looked back between the two as they spoke in turn.

"My family is new here, but we all thought we were helping the greater good, the Slayer." Michelle explained.

"Even the magics we study and perfect are supposed to be of use..." Christian blurted out.

Michelle looked from him to Dawn. "But if what I heard was true that means..."

"It means we are all being lied to, and the Slayer now, and the ones to come, could all be in danger." Christian finished.

Dawn blinked rapidly, trying to take in what she had just been told and asked. What was she supposed to say? 'Oh yeah guys. You were lied to. You shoulda been there when Giles was fired for loving Buffy. Or when Angel was shot with that poison. Heck, we had to 'pass a test' to find out who Glory was, 'course that one sorta backfired on the Council, but still...'

Dawn looked at Christian, then to Michelle. "First, can I ask why you didn't ask me this upstairs?"

She turned back to Christian who answered. "Well, we thought, that is, if you are being watched, that this should be a private conversation."

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, good thinking." She looked back to Michelle. "What exactly did you hear yesterday?"

Michelle took another breath. "Your Vampire...Spike, he's been having dreams. Very unusual for a Vampire to have any dreams at all, but he has had several from what I heard." Dawn nodded to confirm her friend's statement, so she went on. "Mr. Giles believes that the Slayer and the Vampire are in trouble here, in danger, and it sounded like Mr. Travers was the one you all favored as suspect." Dawn again nodded then crossed her arms. "And there are cameras, watching you?"

"So," Dawn started, looking back at Christian, "are you going to tell Mr. Travers we know what's going on?"

Michelle shook her head quickly. "Oh no. We want to find out what's going on as well."
Christian cut in. "We talked about this a lot yesterday, Dawn, with Richard."

"Richard's the blonde right? He wants to be a Slayer's Watcher?" Dawn asked.

"Yes. It's all he's wanted his whole life," Michelle explained. "He was supposed to be our forth for tennis and was already waiting at Christian's when I went to tell him what I'd heard." Michelle hated sounding like a gossip. "You have to understand, Dawn, it made no sense, but we all knew that none of you or your friends would lie. We want to help you... however we can."

Dawn looked between them again. Was it a setup? No, she really didn't think so. "Why do you want to help? I mean, we'd appreciate it, but the Council is everything to you. If you get caught going against the Council or Mr. Travers..."

The young French girl became even more serious. "We understand the consequences. We also know the consequences of the Council's future. If you and the Slayer agree, we think we could get most of the teenagers and a few of the partially trained Watchers in on this. Even Richard said there is a lot about being a Watcher you don't learn until you graduate, and now he's afraid to find out." Michelle looked directly at Dawn. "We don't want to work for this Council, some things have to change."

Christian's now quiet voice came from behind Dawn. "There's too many secrets here, and secrets have a way of hiding the most important detail when evil is the enemy."

~~`~~

Randall compared the results again. As always, the two had been evenly matched. The exception today had been that each scored equally on each of the evaluations.

Buffy sat across from Spike, a large lavender crystal between them. Neither had budged for nearly three hours. Both Buffy and Spike began to waver as each came out of a self-induced hypnosis.

"Well...that was definitely an 11 on the weird-o-meter," Buffy said as she sat herself back up.

"Who got that one, mate?" Spike sat up halfway leaning on both elbows.

"It was a tie once again."

Buffy stood up. "So what's next?"

Randall finished his notes then looked up at her. "That will be all for today. In fact that was the last of our evaluations."

Spike shot up and smiled. "So we'll be heading back to the states now?"

Randall looked at Spike. "I'm afraid not. We need to compile the research and results. After that is done, we may need you to repeat a few of the exercises for a more complete analysis."

Buffy rolled her eyes at those words. Spike simply muttered 'bugger it' under his breath so the humans in the room wouldn‘t hear his complaint.

Buffy giggled.

Spike gave her a cockeyed look and decided to ask her something later.

Randall watched the seemingly inside joke. "Yes, well. I suspect you will be busy enough with the libraries and activities available, and, of course, you will be patrolling."

Buffy looked past the window that lead to the workout room. "Could we use that room for sparring practice?"

"Sparring?" Randall looked back at Spike. "But he can't even hit you."

Buffy chastised herself mentally, then quickly covered. "No, but I can hit him, and he defends himself pretty well. It's good practice." No need to let The Council now hitting her wasn’t really a problem these days.

"Of course," Randall agreed easily. "Consider it at your disposal."

Spike put a hand on the young Watcher's shoulder. "Thanks, Randy."

"That would be Randall." The young Watcher said with pursed lips visibly disgusted by the physical contact.

"Of course." Spike nodded then walked by the man, while smiling at his own joke.

Buffy was grinning until Randall looked back at her. Her face went serious. "He can be so childish sometimes." And she walked out, following Spike and shaking her head.

Halfway down the hall, Buffy started talking. "Spike, if I start getting all weak and lose my powers, do me a favor?"

Spike looked at her curiously. "What are you talking about?"

"The test I got when I was 18, it took my powers and involved crystals."

"Oh." Spike thought about that for a moment. Buffy weak? He couldn't imagine her any way but the way she was. "What's the favor, luv?"

"Just smack me for trusting the Council. EVER!"

"Wouldn't want to smack ya. How 'bout I yell at you a little?"

She smiled up at him. "Deal."

He smiled back at her then remembered the question he was going to ask her. "Buffy? How'd you hear me cursin' back in there?" He nodded his head in the direction of the room they'd just exited.

~~`~~

Willow was moving through the stacks slowly. The number of books was utterly unbelievable. She looked from her paper to the titles arranged by author. She took one from the shelf and added it to the growing collection in her bag.

The blonde youth moved slowly behind her, following and marking down the books she collected. Willow was getting tired of her shadow; she slipped around the next row of heavy wood shelves and waited.

The boy's head peered around and looked right into the redhead's eyes. "So. Whatcha doin'?" She asked plainly, a bright smile on her face.

"Um...I uh, do you have "Worthington's Guide to Demon Dimensions?" he flustered, looking down at his papers.

Willow saw the yellow legal pad and snatched it. One quick perusal of it told her he'd been keeping track of everything she'd selected. She looked back into his brown eyes. "Why are you following me?"

Willow listened intently as the boy whispered what he and his two friends had decided.

She listened as he confessed his calling to be a Watcher and how he was now very fearful of the Council's motives. He had heard rumors and stories for years about the Slayer and her group, how they were the worst thing for a Slayer, but that in spite of the opinion, he could not disagree more. She was the oldest living Slayer to date. He wanted whomever his Slayer was, to live a long life, to fight for as long as she could. To him, a Slayer with a long life was a precious and amazing thing.

More than once his voice rose, and he was hushed, but he continued with Michelle's discoveries of the day before. How she had shared the information with Christian and himself. Willow was shocked to say the least. This was the last thing she had thought the young man was doing. Spying for the Council, yes; trying to go against them...? "I thought you Council types all stuck together."

"We do...we are children of the Council. Michelle, Christian, and I, we want to help. And I am sure I can get a few of my course-mates to join."

He took a needed breath.

"You have to understand, we all have been raised to work for or in the Council, but, more than that, we were taught that the reason we do this is to help the Slayer, to help save the world. I can't see a reason to hurt her. She has done nothing but save us and die for us."

Willow saw the boy was on the brink of tears and laid a hand on his shoulder. "If you're serious, you and your friends...especially your course-mates, could really help."

"I am. We are."

"Well then, let's get to work."

The boy smiled. "You aren't worried? I could be an undercover Council member."

Willow smiled and remembered how unexpected help from the opposite side usually turned out. Namely a peroxide Vampire. "I'm sure."


Chapter End Notes:
Norty Quentin. I say we hang him by his toenails and pretend his head is a practice target for ... oh anything involving hard or pointy objects.



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