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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.





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