*Tuesday evening, outside The Bronze*
Buffy was waiting for her old friend from LA, Ford. He’d shown up out of the blue, apparently in town for a few days before going to- where did he say he was going? She guessed it was some sort of Karma at work, seeing as how her Dad had gone back to LA the previous Sunday, his job finally refusing to be ignored any longer. He’d said he’d be back as soon as he could, but Buffy had heard those promises before, so the jury was still out on that one. So my Dad goes to LA, one of my old friends comes from LA. Balance in the life of me.
And if someone needed balance, that was Buffy. Ever since signing ‘the Pact with the Devil,’ as Xander kept referring to it, the number of deaths from supernatural sources in Sunnydale had been at an all-time low. In fact, apart from a would-be rapist that had been found castrated and drained, the last possibe supernatural death was that of Mayor Wilkins. She still wasn’t sure what had prompted his 'disappearance', but since it was pre-Pact, there wasn’t much she could do about it. Sometimes she even found she didn’t really want to know. Something tells me finding out why Wilkins died would lead to me having to go see Spike about the killing, either to thank him, or kick his ass. So no.
“I wonder what he’ll send next.”
Willow’s statement startled Buffy out of her thoughts about the blond menace, and made her focus on, well, the same. “An urn with his ashes?”
Willow actually looked upset at the thought. “But he’s like a super boyfriend so far, with the spa, the chocolates, and the dagger.”
“I only agreed to go to the spa because, well, we all needed some pampering, even Cordy. And my Mom and Miss Calendar had never been there, not that we had, so yeah.” She frowned slightly at herself because she wasn’t sure what her point was supposed to be. Then she remembered and went on. “The chocolates kind of ate themselves they were so good, and I can’t not use the very cool weapon just because it came from him.” She unconsciously traced the hilt through her jacket. It really is, as Giles put it, an exquisite weapon; silver too, so that much more deadly. Buffy looked out of the corner of her eye at her best friend and saw that Willow was looking very uncomfortable and excited at the same time. That could only mean it was time for-
“Buffy, what exactly do you feel about Spike?”
And there it was. The easiest and hardest question that had plagued her ever since that night in the Master’s underground church-turned-prison. Of course that didn’t mean she was anywhere near finding an answer, despite the months that had passed.
“Look, I only saw the guy like six times. Total. I mean, yeah, those were some pretty intense encounters, but it was still just six times. And most of the time it was over so quickly that it almost shouldn’t count.”
“But it did count, right? I mean you keep acting like it counted a lot.”
And there went Willow again, dotting the Is and crossing the Ts. Or was it like it had been with Angel the previous year, when Buffy hadn’t thought of anything more between them until the redhead brought it up as a possibility. Then again her meetings with Angel and the ones with Spike were nothing alike. Closing her eyes for a second to ground herself, she came back to the present instead of reminiscing about the past. “Of course it counted. Pretty much every time we met someone almost ended up dead. But let’s not forget that most of the times that someone was me. He tried to kill me, Wills.” It was slightly strange how saying that out loud didn’t really bring the sentiment of revulsion when she thought of him. Seeing him in the hospital room looking so happy that she was alive and awake had really muddled up her response. Not that she wanted to become one of those women that kept forgiving their abusive spouses, but the way he reacted, and his request for a lasting truce made her think that, given the opportunity, he would never hurt her again. Not to mention he said he loved me.
“He also saved you a lot of times. Even when he tried to-”
“Kill me. You can say it.”
“Yeah, that. So maybe he didn’t really mean it. I mean, he’s the famous Slayer of Slayers, so he could have finished the job.”
Buffy sighed deeply. This was getting her nowhere. “Look, I’ll admit that there are some strong feelings when I think of him, but exactly what type, I don’t know. I don’t even know him, so how can I-”
“Like like him?”
She her face with her palms. “Yeah, that. Maybe. I don’t know.” She raised her voice saying the last part, lowering her hands and pinning her friend with a glare that was definitely meant to stop the discussion.
Willow was looking sympathetic, but apparently wouldn’t back down. “So don’t you wanna find out?”
The Slayer snorted. “Even if I would, he hasn’t exactly shown himself, has he? He sends me all these gifts, and notes, and stuff, but where the hell is he?” She was mad, and she had every right to be, dammit!
“Notes?”
Oh, crap! “Forget I said anything.” She was now frantically looking for something to distract Willow with. She so wasn’t ready to discuss the notes she kept finding in the oddest of places, bearing messages that ranged from the mundane to the so-hot-they-almost-set-themselves-on-fire. Still, it was just another way that he kept her at a distance, and no matter how old-fashioned courting used to be done in the Stone Age, she wanted to have him in front of her and- “There’s Ford!”
Willow gave her a pointed look that clearly meant ‘this is not over, Missy!’ Buffy gave a semi-apologetic grin and rushed over to introduce her old friend to her new one, hoping against hope that things would become clearer in time.
~~~***~~~
*Three hours later*
It was clear: Spike had played them all. There was a whole cult-type thing that had taken root in Sunnydale and they apparently worshipped vampires. The stupidity! Willow was kicking herself for having thought that Buffy and Spike were the soul-mates that were meant to break the barriers between vampire and slayer, between good and evil, light and dark, and so on.
There was no such thing! Ford had become involved with these guys. Idiots! They are complete and utter idiots! Idiots with poop heads filled with, well, poop! How could they think vampires are noble creatures that should be worshipped? And ohmygod, that’s almost how I was talking about Spike, not a few hours ago. Eww! Now she was tied up along with three others, Buffy and Cordy included, and they were going to apparently be used as some sort of sick bargaining chip, and then all the idiots mooning over the demons would get turned. All in all a bloody mess.
Willow was almost no worse for wear, the sleeping gas that had been sprayed in her face having done its job instantly, but just before going down she had caught a glimpse of Buffy trying to fight it and getting a 2x4 upside the head for her troubles. The Slayer was still out for the count, which only made Willow more nervous.
Movement on her left made her look away from the group of prostrating and chanting teens to see no less than five vampires stride in like they owned the place. Of course, they weren’t wearing their ‘Grr’ faces, but the way they moved and looked around, plus the paleness were a dead giveaway. Pun intended.
The newcomers walked to the teens that were almost stepping on each other in order to touch their unliving idols. Just as she was about to turn her eyes away, because of a weird sense of ‘what you can’t see can’t hurt you’ that made no sense even to her own brain, someone else walked in, using the same door as the other vampires, but moving so silently that she doubted anyone but her noticed. It’s him!
Spike had apparently sent his goons first to distract the ‘Sunset Club,’ leaving him free to do whatever he wanted in the shadows. And his blue eyes were locked on her, something in them betraying that he knew exactly who she was, despite her previous belief that he wouldn’t remember anything from what went on at the hospital except Buffy’s near-death. Then he winked and placed a finger on his lips in a shush gesture, partially reminiscent of what he had done in the alley behind the Bronze. Maybe that’s where he remembers me from.
“Initiates, we are here tonight to receive your tribute and welcome you into the ranks of the elevated.” The one talking was best described as ‘tall, dark, and handsome,’ so it was obvious why he was chosen as the mouthpiece for the crap the star-struck teens were eating up. “You will witness tonight our greatness, and share in our—“
Willow tuned out the rest of the speech that was meant to inspire people to die, while watching Spike move around in the shadows. For the ‘Master of Sunnydale’ he sure doesn’t like the spotlight. He was getting closer and her heart was about to burst out of her chest. ‘This is it! He’s going to drain me before Buffy even wakes up. God, why did I ever think he was more than an undead hottie?
She was startled by his cold hands touching her skin next to the ropes keeping her in place. “Don’t make a sound, or these idiots might finally figure out what’s going on.”
She then felt the ropes slacken and stopped understanding anything. “What is going on?” Her whisper sounded a lot louder than she thought it would be, but her control of her own voice was difficult because of the whole situation.
“I’m the cavalry, didn’t you figure that out yet?” He was speaking like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Was minding my own business, lording over vampire and demon alike when I hear some ponce was trading up the Slayer to a bunch of wannabe Big Bads.” As he talked, he finished untying her and moved on to Cordy to her right. “I just had to come to pay my respects, didn’t I?” His smirk, now that she could turn around and actually see it, was cruel and twisted, promising fire and brimstone on the vamps currently acting like cult deities on his territory.
“So you don’t want to be worshipped by straw-brained fashion rejects?” Queen C apparently just couldn’t keep her mouth shut for long. She also couldn’t keep quiet enough, as her comment was heard by the until-then oblivious guards Ford had placed to watch his hostages.
“Intruder!”
“The hostages!”
“The Master!”
“Bugger.”
Before the simultaneous shouts had a chance to die out, Spike leaped between Willow and Cordy and decked both boys at the same time, then produced two stakes from the inside of his duster. At the same time more vampires burst in through the door which seemed to be the only entrance point.
And Buffy still isn’t awake. Willow scrambled to the blonde’s side, trying to untie the Gordian knots that were keeping her restrained, but her fingers felt like butter, and the ropes were like steel. Looking around for anything that could help, she was able to see the amount of damage an enraged Spike was willing to dish out.
He had grabbed one of the worshipped five and was pummeling his face into a pulp, while another was lying unconscious to his left, and a tell-tale pile of dust was right next to him. His helpers had eliminated a fourth and were now keeping the teenagers to the side, demon faces to the fore, leaving just the vampire leader who was holding Ford as a human shield before him.
“You won’t harm me while I can kill this human. I heard how you got soft and wouldn’t harm these cattle.” His comments were probably meant to insult and intimidate Spike, but he just started laughing.
“Wankers like you just have no respect for their elders. I’m neither soft, nor stupid, and if you weren’t the latter, you’d know better than to piss me off. Especially in a town with an active Slayer.”
Just as if Spike had summoned her will, Buffy started coming to, starting to test out her bonds while looking around to see what was going on.
“Hello, love. Nice of you to join the festivities. I was just explaining to no-brains over here that there is no chance of him making it out of this undusted.”
“You!”
“Now, now, love, don’t get your knickers in a twist. I had nothing to do with whatever deal these ponces made with one another. They’re both from out of town and as soon as I found out I came right over to put a stop to this.” He looked straight at Willow with an intensity that made her breath hitch. “Tell her.”
The redhead swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to assure her friend. “Yeah, he untied me and was working on Cordy when they noticed him and he fought against them. He really doesn’t look like he knew what Ford was planning.”
Buffy’s eyes zoned in on the teenager that was still being held like a human shield by the last remaining vampire not with Spike, as the other two had been casually dusted by Spike while Willow was talking. “And what was your plan, Ford? Feed us to the vamps so that—what? What could possibly you possibly have to gain from them?”
“Life!” His voice sounded a big garbled due to the vampire’s hold on his throat, but he didn’t look like he was afraid. “They were going to turn me and I would live forever, not die in six months from this thing growing in my head.” He was looking at Buffy with the desperation of someone that had nothing left to lose. “Can you understand what it means for someone to find out they are going to die before they even finish high-school? I’m too young to die!”
“And I’m not?” Buffy was fuming, and it reminded Willow of how she looked when she was talking about the Master the previous year. It almost made her want to take a step back, especially when the ropes that she had found so difficult to budge started showing signs of giving way under Buffy’s power. “I got Called when I was fifteen, less than two years ago and I already almost died more times than I want to count. Even if I survive this pathetic attempt of yours, there’s always going to be someone out there looking for me, to kill me simply for what I am. Not to mention all the demons out there that have a serious yen for ending the world that I alone have to stop, because it’s my destiny. So you have a tumor? I have a sentence, and nobody out there is looking for a cure for what I have.” With that, she tensed one more time and the ropes snapped, leaving her free and panting.
Spike spotted the knife he’d given Buffy along with other items, including Willow’s and Cordy’s personal belongings, and took it, covering the distance between himself and the fuming Slayer in a few strides. “You never have to fight alone, love. I’ll always be there, if you’ll have me.” He smiled crookedly and Willow was reminded of how sad he looked in the alley. “Hell, I’ll be there even if you won’t. I ‘got your back, Slayer.”
Willow could only guess what was going on in Buffy’s mind, but her eyes kept throwing daggers at the bleached vampire. Then she snatched the knife and in one smooth move threw it over his shoulder and into the eye of the lead vampire. It didn’t kill him, of course, but it made him howl in pain and leave Ford from his grasp. Then he was turning to dust, thanks to Buffy throwing one of Spike’s discarded stakes straight through his heart.
“God, I love watching you work!”
Spike’s face was sort of glowing with what Willow thought was a lot like pride for Buffy, while the Slayer herself looked like she was preening for just a second. Then she caught herself and looked disdainfully at Ford. “I’m sorry for your diagnostic, but you were about to have the lives of everyone here on your hands. That means you are a criminal, and according to the rules of the pact I have with Spike, you’re free game.”
Ford was looking bewildered by everything that had just happened and was just standing there, gaping at the Slayer.
“You saw what happens to vampires that step out of line: they dust. That is what you wanted to become, a soon to be pile of nothing. Now I suggest you get out of here, and out of town, before you find out what Spike’s vampires do to humans who step out of line. Go!”
Ford started stumbling towards the stairs that led to the single door out of the basement they were all in, his face white as a sheet, but Willow couldn’t find it in her to care much. Maybe he would make it out alive, only to die, as he’d said, six months from now. Maybe he’d find another vampire somewhere else to turn him, or maybe he would become someone’s meal when he wasn’t careful, but whatever happened, it seemed like a fitting punishment for what he’d tried to do.
“And what of them, Slayer? What’s the sentence for this group of worthless sods?” Spike was pointing to the trembling group of teens that seemed to have been snapped out of their ideas about what vampires were in the face of the violence that had just happened.
“They were accomplices and you caught them, so what do you think?” The way Buffy spoke was deceptively calm, but Willow knew her well enough to realize it was just a trick. The Slayer was coiled like a spring, ready to take on Spike and his helpers if she needed to, but she apparently was curious to see what Spike thought.
He started to chuckle as he approached the cowering group. “By all rights they should be fair game too.” He started counting off his fingers. “They’re clearly too dumb to live; they were clamoring to be turned not ten minutes ago; they were willing to let three people die in front of them to ‘earn’ it; and last but not least they’re pissing me off with all their whining and whimpering.” He let his hand drop and lost all mirth from his face. “Shut up!”
His shout coaxed some even more pitiful sounds out of the cowering wannabes. One pale girl started crying. “I don’t want to die! Please, we didn’t know. It’s just that we have no other place to go, no family, no anything, and this was the only thing that gave us any hope. Please, please, just—”
Spike took one more step towards her and drew himself up to look even scarier than he was. “I said ‘shut up,’ the grown-ups are talking.”
Willow could see Buffy strain and she guessed that had Spike taken one more step, she would have tackled him, starting a fight that Willow wasn’t sure who would win. Luckily Spike didn’t take the extra step, instead turning around and looking straight at Buffy.
“So as I was saying, by rights, they’re mine, but consider this another gift to you, Slayer I give you their lives, pathetic as they may be.”
Willow could tell Buffy was trying to act cold, but some small tell-tale signs, like a brief widening of the eyes, and a breath she took like she’d been holding it in the whole time showed she was more touched than she let on.
“Great, just what I need. And let me guess, I’m also supposed to find them a place now, or what?”
“That’s up to you, love. I’m going above and beyond simply by not slaughtering the whole lot. A pound for strays run by vampires could only lead to… accidents.”
“I know.” Buffy hesitated a second and seemed to be fighting an inner battle. Finally there was some sort of winner. “Thank you, Spike, I won’t forget this.”
“Don’t mention it.” He then made a signal to his men and they all started moving towards the stairs.
“Spike!” Buffy’s shout startled everyone. “We need to talk.”
His face softened in a way that Willow found adorable. “I know, love. What do you say we meet tomorrow, your choice of venue?” He smirked and added. “Public place, though, don’t fancy stepping into the mama bear’s den just yet.”
“Expresso Pump, eight o’clock.”
“It’s a date, Slayer.”
He was gone by the time Buffy managed to utter “this is not a date!”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
As you might figure out, the timeline from here on out won't be strictly canon. Some things will come sooner than they did on the show, some later, some not at all. I figure that the power dynamics shifting so much would cause a ripple effect and attract or deter various occurences.
Anyway, this is yet another chapter sans-beta, so I hope it's not too bad.
Anyway, this is yet another chapter sans-beta, so I hope it's not too bad.
Chapter End Notes:
I will be marathon-posting a few chapters, please take a look at the rest, too