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Author's Chapter Notes:
Of all my two part chapters this is the one I kinda like least, only because it was so hard to spilt it so that it wouldn't be too long.

In part one, Buffy learns about being the Slayer, and comes to grips with her insecurities.

Spike discusses the uniquely evilness that is Angelus, and Joyce learns something not good about the Army Commander she recommended for Buffy.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN, PART ONE

Xxxxxxxxxx

After loading up with the weapons and supplies they'd need, the Vampire and the Slayer were off in Spike's car: a black DeSoto with completely blackened windows.

"How do you see out of this thing?" Buffy wanted to know.

"Superior vision, pet," Spike told her.

He gazed at her, hoping that she was up to the challenge she would be facing. Her training was far from completed, and even if she could defeat one of his vampire relatives, there were still the other two to be dealt with.

Buffy felt more than a twinge of fear as she thought about her first "assignment". Although Spike had trained with her, they had only been fighting for—what, a week, at the very outside? She didn't know what powers she had, with the exception of the super strength and the ability to heal faster. The teenager hoped that she would be able to live long enough to celebrate her twentieth birthday in a few months.

"Spike?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeh?" he responded.

"What other powers does a Slayer have?" she wondered aloud. "Giles told me I could sense demons and vampires. Will I be able to sense specific vampires?"

Spike thought about what he had read from the books either Wesley had managed to get for him, or from his own, ever growing library at home.

"Yeh, because ev'ry vamp or demon has their own signature. You'll be able to spot it," he answered. "One day, you'll be able to tell the difference between, say, a vamp like me, and one like Angelus without thinkin' hard about it. Remember the garden?"

Spike turned down the road toward the sign that would lead them to Sunnydale. As Buffy thought about the time she was able to sense that Spike was in his greenhouse, he went on.

"Like anythin', it takes lots of practice," he said. "Maybe Giles can teach you when you train more."

Inwardly, Buffy prayed that she would be able to train with Spike, or with Giles on many more occasions. Her mind wandered to her family; she wondered if she would ever get to see them again. True, Cordelia wasn't exactly the most perfect sister in the world; they were as different as night and day, but Buffy loved her with all of her heart and soul.

As for her mother, the girl would do anything to see her mom again, especially since it had seemed doubtful the past few weeks whether or not Joyce would survive her brain surgery.

"Pence for your thoughts, lion cub," Spike's voice cut in. "You're much too quiet." The revenant turned on the exit road leading to Sunnydale.

"I was just thinking about…" Buffy started saying, then an alarming thought occurred to her. She took her cell phone out of her purse and dialed Dr. Rupert Giles' phone number.

Although he kept his eyes on the road, Spike inquired, "Pet? Wha' is it?"

Not bothering to answer, Buffy murmured, "Home…please be home…". When she heard Giles' baritone, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Giles, don't talk, just listen," Buffy commanded. "I need you to look in on my mother and my sister."

"Buffy," Giles asked, his voice rising with concern, "what is it? You sound perturbed about something."

"I got a phone call from one of them," she told the White One. "Spike says his name is 'Angelus'."

In his flat, Giles grew white with fear. He had studied numerous books about the 'Vampire with the Angelic Face', and he knew about a lot of Angelus's antics.

"Buffy, listen to me!" Giles entreated the girl. "I promise I will look after your family, but you mustn't succumb to his summons! To break his foes, he strikes at the heart of what they care about the most!"

The girl felt a moment of uncertainty. She didn't know if she truly was the one to take Angelus or his family down. But if she couldn't, who could?

Determined, Buffy told the Advisor, "Giles, he has Spike's and my sister's friends, I can't just sit back and do nothing. Spike is with me; he'll show me what to do, right?"

Giles said sternly. "Have you considered that this is what Angelus wants? He is using the capture of your friends to draw you, and I'll wager Spike, into a battle you are not yet prepared for! The consequences could be disastrous!"

Spike jerked his head in the direction of the phone. He had heard every word. He was waiting to see if Buffy could handle what Giles was saying to her. The vampire wanted more than anything for Buffy to be on her game as the Slayer, even though another gentler side of him wanted desperately to protect her.

"Decision's yours, pet," Spike whispered. "Wha'ever happens, you are the Slayer, not him."

Buffy felt stronger by Spike's words. She WAS the Chosen One, and despite her fear, she felt that if she, Spike and whoever was called to assist her had a game plan, things would turn out okay.

She told Giles quietly, yet assertively, "We can't just let them die. We've gotta do what we can, right?" she yelled. "Besides,they have Willow! Isn't she your nurse? Suppose they use her magic, or something, to do an apocalypsy thing?"

Giles cursed inwardly. For Angelus and his vampiric family to have come so far was devastating news indeed. He thought a moment about Willow and what could happen if the vampires harmed her, or tried to harm her.... A memory of the lessons he'd learned when he had first chosen the path he was on surfaced. Giles grinned.

"Giles?" Buffy prompted over the line. "The quietness is so not helping!"

"Buffy, understand that I have the utmost confidence in you. However, at this moment, you must do as I say! Neither you, nor Spike are to face Angelus alone! I will try to summon some superior help!" he said, hanging up.

"Giles!" Buffy shouted. "Giles!" She heard the phone line go dead.

"Doesn't want us to go, huh?" Spike questioned. "Typical White Ones! Always want to run the bloody show an' never quite explain things to anyone!" If he had his way, Wesley, Anya and Willow would be released within the hour and his "family" would kiss the sun.

"Well, I can't just sit back and do nothing!" Buffy snapped. Spike nodded in agreement.

"So what's the plan?" he queried. "Can't jus' roll in an' try to beat their arses; they'll be expectin' us to do something foolhardy like that."

"Tell me about Angelus, and the others. Don't leave out a thing!" Buffy instructed.

Although Spike didn't say it, he thought, **too bad we don't have a soddin' year to talk about my poofy sibling! His doin's could fill up a bloomin' book!**

"Well, for one thing, he's got ninety plus years over me," Spike began. "The wanker's about 240 if he's a day."

"Giles talked about him toying with his foes," Buffy mused. Spike nodded again.

"'E does," the benevolent vampire confirmed. "Gets his jollies from torturing them. Look a' me. Instead of jus' killing my mum and sister, li'l bit, he makes 'em suffer an' then puts them where I could find them, especially Dawn. Remember I told you how he arranged 'er?"

Buffy shook with anger as she remembered the account Spike had told about his sister's corpse buried under roses in a specific position.

"I'm trying to forget," she muttered.

Spike commented harshly, "I'll never forget every sodding detail of who he is! He doesn't just hunt an' feed like other vampires; everythin's a game to him! When he kills, he needs to show his cleverness. I remember one time when I traveled with him, Darla an' Dru before I raised enough capital to sail to the 'States. There was this female victim o' his. She was married an' not very bright.

"They had just fed on her, but instead of just throwing her sorry bum to the ground like most vamps do after feedin', Angelus places her in her husband's bed an' arranges her so she's holdin' a chrysanthemum in her hand no less, knowin' full well that the bloke would come home soon."

"Did he kill the man, too?" Buffy asked.

Spike shook his head, saying, "No. The sorry git watched wi' us from the shadows in the bedroom as the husband returned. He saw his wife on the bed. Didn't know she wasn't breathin' at first. But when her husband came closer an' shook her, he knew she was dead.

"The poor bloke screamed an' then ran out of the room. I tried to do somethin', but Darla held me fast with her magic smoke. I couldn't do naught for the husband. When the human came back with a pistol an' blew his brains out, the Irish sod just laughed along with Darla an' Dru."

Buffy felt her stomach turn with grief for the couple Spike told her about and intense hatred for the vampires who had caused it all.

"All the more reason to make all three of them the next candidates for a Dustbuster!" Buffy shouted.

"Not that easy, pet, but I like your resolve," Spike commented.

Spike pulled up a few blocks away from the warehouse. Buffy started checking their weapons and supplies. The revenant told her more about Angelus, Darla, and Drusilla, saying that he and Buffy shouldn't announce their presence by driving up to the evil trio's dwelling.
Buffy's only response was to grunt as she ran off the list of things they had. Spike's confirmed that they had all they needed. Wordlessly, Slayer and Vampire went closer to what was their first and could be their last battle.

XXXXXXXXXX

During the time Buffy and Spike were on the road, Joyce stared up at the moon through her big window in her living room. She wondered if her doctor would let Buffy off early that night so that they could have a quiet dinner.

The mother of two made a wish that her family and the town would survive the terror that was the Vampire Beast. She had seen the news reports of yet another victim, and the police department was up to its neck according to the latest report dealing with the disappearance of the police chief, Maggie Walsh. Joyce hoped rather than believed that she would be all right.

The middle aged mother went to the phone and dialed Buffy. Her daughter's cell phone rang, but she was not picking up.

When the messaging function came over the receiver, Joyce willed her voice to be calm as she said, "Buffy, baby…I need to know you're okay. I'm just…I'm worried about you. Please call me when you get this message."

Joyce sat on the couch, turning her back on her window. She reached for her glass of water on the table by the door when she felt it wobble a little.

**That stupid leg! I really should've gotten this table fixed a while back!** She admonished her inner self.

She ran her hand under its base to see if maybe she could lock the leg back into place at least temporarily until she could take it to a carpenter or a furniture repair shop. As the woman's hand skimmed under it, Joyce felt a cool metal object.

Removing her glass of water and setting it on her coffee table in front of the couch, Joyce turned the smaller table over. Her eyes were confused as she saw a foreign device resembling a disk attached to it near its leg.
She went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife from the utility drawer.

She ran the knife under the table until the object pulled free. Staring at it, Buffy and Cordelia's mother saw some faded writing on its side. Before Joyce could see what the writing meant, Cordelia came down the stairs.

"Mom! Do we have any more of the leftovers from the time Giles was here?" Cordy wanted to know. She spied Joyce out of the corner of her eye and came closer.

"What are you doing?" Cordelia asked, peering at the device in her mother's hand.

"'Delia, could you get me the magnifying glass in my desk by the computer?" Joyce requested.

"Sure," Cordelia told her mother. Presently, the dark haired beauty returned with the magnifying glass and handed it to her mother.

Joyce ran it along the writing, and gasped when she saw who had made the device. Property of the United States Army, the writing read.

Riley! Joyce thought. She said in a low, broken voice, "Why didn't he tell us about this?"

"What are you talking about, mom?" Cordy asked. Joyce held up the device so that Cordelia could see it more closely.

Her mother answered bitterly "It's a bug that happens to belong to the Army. Riley must have bugged the room the last time he was here, or maybe even before that. He's probably been listening to everything said in here!"

Cordelia shrieked, saying, "WHAT? But…isn't that illegal? Can't we get a habeas corpus, or something and sue his butt?"

Joyce thought about the action they needed to take. Her eyes blazed with fury as she considered how Riley had treated her, and her family, with no respect for their privacy, and no respect toward her enough to at least ask her about bugging her home.

And Buffy was going to marry someone like that; someone who didn't believe in people handling their own problems without having someone else horning in. She decided that when her youngest got home, Joyce would advise her to keep looking for a decent man.

Anyone who would do what Riley had done, the mother decided, was capable of anything devious, and Buffy would avoid him with a ten foot pole if SHE had anything to say about it.

"I need to contact Riley, and talk to him about this!" Joyce said, visualizing the earful she would give Riley when next they met.





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