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Author's Chapter Notes:
A/N: This chapter contains a little more exposition in it as we see differing views on vampires. Also, Riley shows his true colors, while C. G. is the voice of reason.

Concerning Spike's "family" in this chapter: it is a little different from the series. Darla sired both Angelus and Drusilla, and Dru sired Spike, so that makes Angelus Spike's uncle.

(One thing about C.G.: he's a young Geraint Wyn Davies, of "Forever Knight" fame, in case I didn't mention it before.)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

XXXXXXXXXXX

On the opposite side from where Buffy and Spike were, Riley and C. G. sat in the Commander's jeep. He took out his cell phone and dialed the base.

"VHIP. Dr. Jenkens here," a scientist replied.

"This is Riley, code RF 7926, Password: Flotilla sunrise speaking," Riley said.

"Commander! Nice to hear from you," Jenkins responded.

"Never mind the pleasantries," Riley said. "I need you to contact my men. I can't get through to the hospital; it's a dead zone, and you're closer to that location. Tell them to meet me ASAP at this address and bring a hostile transport vehicle." The Army soldier gave out the information.

"Will do, sir," the scientist assured Riley. The latter ended the call. C. G. got out of the vehicle and checked on the weapons in the back.

"We should see if there is a nest of vampires in there," C. G. advised. "They tend to be quite communal."

Riley followed the Deputy Chief and started unloading guns, knives, and some dynamite. C. G. looked at the explosive and back at the Army Commander.

"I'm pulling rank here," he told the cop. "That sicko vampire isn't going to get away with any more deaths. We're gonna blow up the place, then sift through the wreckage."

"You can't just blow up that warehouse," C. G. said. "We have to see if there are any hostages first."

"I know that!" Riley snapped. "Once it is established that there are no hostages, that place will be totally destroyed!"

"But we may find a clue as to where the Vampire Beast is exactly!" C. G. argued. "We can't just go in half cocked."

"That fiend killed several people, including your superior," Riley ground out. "We have to hit them low, where it hurts, since the element of surprise is on our side."

"You don't have jurisdiction," C. G. responded hotly. "You also don't command me. I'm a civilian, and I don't work for you."

"But you still represent a branch of the Government, at least as far as law enforcement is concerned," Riley bounced back, "and I am a commander, so I still outrank you."

"Look, we have equal power in this situation," C. G. said, "and we have to work together on this. We don't know how many may be in there; we don't know how many victims if any are there. We're fighting blind, and this beast has always been one step ahead."

Before Riley could retort, a voice said, "Great opposing P.O.V.'s, but if we could get on with the fighting and killing, this would be so much better!"

The cop and the soldier turned to see three vampires coming closer to the jeep, their fangs extended, salivating at the prospect of a kill.

"Yeah, by all means, let's get down to business," Riley said. He kicked one vampire in the chest. The first vamp went down as C. G. threw knives at the second and third.

"You missed, retard!" one shouted at the cop.

Before C. G. could attack any further, the vampire exploded into dust. "But this didn't," a female voice said.

Riley jerked his head briefly as he went to work on the third revenant. He saw Buffy with a determined expression surveying the ground where the remains of the vampire were.

"Buffy..." Riley said, shoving the third vampire to the ground. C. G. wrestled with the second, who was a little shorter than the other two.

"Hey..." she greeted as the third vampire got up. It sniffed the air as if smelling something foul, then it turned its glowing yellow eyes on the Slayer.

"Slayer," the vampire said in a low, menacing voice. Buffy kicked it so that it was on the ground again.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" she asked. "Because I gotta tell you, I'm not with the fear on this end." The third bounced back only to meet the end of Buffy's stake. It vaporized into dust as Riley frowned, thinking on what the night creature had said.

**Slayer?** Riley thought. **What's a Slayer?**

He decided that once they finished routing out the vampires and their lair was history, he would find out what a slayer was.

"Guys, I think we have a problem..." C. G. said as more vampires came to stand behind the third one.

Buffy said, "They're the ones who have the problem: me."

The scene outside the warehouse dissolved into punches, shoves, jumping, fighting, and dust as vampires were shot or staked by Riley, C. G. or Buffy. Eventually, the trio took the battle inside as the remaining revenants ran into the building.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

While the trio was fighting its enemies in a different location, Spike entered the south side of the warehouse through an open window. He knew that he was probably fighting a losing battle against his sire, and Spike's undead sister and brother; but he'd rather be dust than let Wesley, Anya and Buffy die.

The revenant put all of his senses on maximum overdrive to see if he could spot Angelus or the others. The room he had entered was musty smelling and stank of the living dead. Whatever of his kind had been here, they were still in the area.

"Angelus?" he cried.

There was no sound. Spike trained his superior vision on the wall to the far right. He turned on a light switch but no illumination occurred.

"Where are you, you wanker?" he asked. "Come out where I c'n see you!"

From the dark he heard the older vampire's voice. "Oh, come now, Billy Boy! Wouldn't be sporting to let you know my whereabouts," Angelus jeered. Spike spun around, trying to localize his vampire sibling's voice.

"Stop playing games!" Spike roared. "Where are Wesley and Anya?"

"Safe, for the moment," Angelus answered. "Where is the Slayer?"

When Spike didn't answer, the other vampire said, "I can sense her. She's near. If you think you can hide her from me, it won't work."

"I know I can't hide her from you," Spike responded.

A flying leg knocked Spike to the ground. The younger vampire leaped up since he was not injured too badly. There was a flash of metal, but Spike managed to jump over the sword he had seen in the darkness.

"That the best you can do, you sod?" he asked.

Another sword movement sliced through the air. Spike unsheathed his sword and the two vampires' metal weapons clashed against each other. With each thrust of his sword, the younger vampire could feel the bloodlust pumping throughout his body. He yearned for Angelus' destruction. Spike would behead his uncle and see Angel burn in Hell before the elder vampire sliced anyone with his sword.

Spike growled a feral, animalistic sound. Angelus laughed, saying, "Looks like you don't have control of the inner beast anymore."

Spike willed himself to calm down. He wouldn't let Angelus goad him into crossing a line the evil vampire wanted Spike to cross. "I c'n control it," he said, swinging his sword. Steel clashed with steel again.

"But for how long?" Angelus asked. "I must admit, you've done well for almost 120 years, but you're slipping. Well, actually: you've slipped."

"No, I haven't, and I won't," the platinum haired vampire promised, his glowing orange eyes becoming brighter and more intense with his determination.

"Think about who you are; what you are, Bill," Angelus said, nicking Spike on the right side. "When your friends and the Slayer see the real you, they won't want to be around you. They'll fear you and they'll either destroy you or, best case scenario, you'll be forced to kill them. Either way, it's a win-win situation."

Spike's ire rose with each passing second. "They would never turn on me!" he shouted.

The younger revenant growled again, smirking with satisfaction as smelled Angelus' blood where his sword connected.

"Yeah, right, pull the other one," Angelus said softly. "Why don't you turn the tables on them? Especially the Slayer. You want her, don't you? I want her, too. We can take turns, feasting on her and bathing in her blood when we're done."

Spike pushed into Angelus so hard the other's sword fell to the ground with a clang. Angelus kicked his weapon to the side and the two traded blows.

"You don't TOUCH her!" Spike ordered, roaring. "She's MINE!"

"The Slayer's yours," Angelus mocked. "Go ahead and take her! I'll hold her and bang her while you have fun draining her dry. Here's a thought: I'll drive her insane, then make her one of us. Two Drus for the price of one!"

"NO!" Spike cried. Throwing his sword to the ground, the junior vampire wrestled Angelus to the floor.

The elder vampire bounced back, raining punches on Spike. Angel's fist connected with Spike's eye, but the punch had not blinded him.

A voice screamed in the younger vampire's mind that Angelus was winning; that, somehow, he had Spike exactly where the junior vamp was destined to be. Spike snarled, oblivious to William's inner prodding. He would not let the sodding git Angelus walk.

He punched Angelus several times in the gut and in the face. The elder vampire fell to the ground as the younger revenant pummeled him with fists. The former William the Bloody's hands were smothered in blood as he beat his older sibling to a pulp.

When he felt Angelus's consciousness slipping away, Spike growled at his success. He knew Angel wasn't dead. The demon in the junior revenant wanted revenge, but it resisted killing its family member. Despite his being an arse, Angel was Spike's uncle, and he could not kill the prick. Even unconscious, Angel's power over him was palpable. But even if Spike found it difficult to deliver that final blow, his inner devil would seek satisfaction elsewhere.

Spike would maim; Spike would torture; Spike would devour as his demon within was now fully unleashed. It had been dormant for far too long, restrained by nothing more than the inner William's force of will all these decades, but now, it would not be deterred any longer.

After leaving the bloodied remains of Angelus to whatever fate awaited him, Spike stalked through the corridors, howling, looking for anything to strike back at. He knocked down any doors that were in his way as he smelled his own kind not far away.

**Perfect,** Spike thought. He made his way down the hall toward his prey.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Running into the biggest room inside the warehouse, a new vampire had managed to escape the Slayer and her buddies. She'd managed to dust quite a few of his friends, and the humans fighting at her side had proven to be better than he'd thought. He swore loudly to no one in particular, picturing sinking his incisors into the Slayer's throat and tasting her blood.

The new vampire's ears twitched as he heard a beastly roar not three feet from where he was. The sound was followed by a pair of orange yellow eyes, set in a horrible, bumpy face. The vampire felt no fear, however; this one was one of his own. His eyes took in the feral look of the older, advancing vampire. The younger vampire's face had the look of recognition. Maybe they could take out the Slayer together.

"I know you," the new vampire said to Spike by way of greeting. "William the-"

The former William the Bloody growled, then took his fist and in a deathstrike plunged it through the new vamp's heart. The disintegration of a fellow vampire didn't register in his lustful eyes. Spike felt almost cheap; the newer vamp had not been a challenge, and he needed another to kill.

Spike sniffed and smelled humans not too far from where he stood. Making his way toward a smaller room, he tore the door off of its hinges, and paused. He saw Wesley, Anya and Willow chained to the wall. Their skin looked extremely pale and their figures were gaunt.

A closer look verified that Angelus, Darla and Drusilla had been beside them recently. The evil trio had taken the humans' blood. They weren't deceased, however; he could hear their faint heartbeats. Spike also didn't sense that they were dying the death of humans before they become vampires. As his eyes fell on Wesley, Spike purred softly. He instinctively knew that they needed help, but he didn't know what he needed to do. Spike bawled loudly, trying to wake the three humans like a dog trying to rouse its master.

XXXXXXXXX

In the room Spike had vacated, Angelus felt his bruises healing rapidly. He smiled evilly as he thought, **now we have you where we want you, Willie.** He laughed then left the warehouse.

Outside, Angelus pulled out his cell phone and dialed Darla's number. When she answered, Darla's childe said, "Baby, we've got the beast by the tail! Mission accomplished!"

In the apartment she, Dru and Angelus shared, Darla smiled a grin of ultimate triumph. **Phase one complete,** she thought. **Now, for phase two.**

"Dru, get ready," her sire commanded. "We're going out for a night on the town."

Drusilla clapped her hands, asking, "Prince William is home again? Will he be in our castle tonight?"

Darla morphed into game face and responded, "I guarantee it." Both female vampires left the apartment. They held up their arms and, letting their black magic fog surround them, teleported to their next destination.

XXXXXXXXX

Spike yowled in Wesley's ear. The young college student's eyes blinked open slowly.

"Spike...?" Wesley asked in a tired voice.

His vision started coming into focus as he beheld his friend. Although the vampire looked virtually the same, his eyes glowed with a totally beastly look. His fangs were extended, and he licked them in anticipation. The library science major took in his friend's appearance and Wesley knew instantly that Spike had changed.

He had become that which he and Wesley had always feared: a beastly vampire, with little to no memory of the man behind the demon.

Spike stared at the three captives, his mind struggling to work through the mental haze he had been engulfed in. He saw the remnants of the blood flowing through the holes his family had created in their necks. He felt his demon howling to drain the humans.

"Food...?" Spike asked, lowering himself toward Wesley. He was about to sink his canines into his friend but something held him back.

Though he lusted to taste human hemoglobin, Spike knew that he should not harm them, even though he didn't know why.

"Friend?" Spike asked curiously. Wesley nodded as much as he was able. Beside Wesley, Anya stirred.

"What...happened?" the former vengeance demon ground out.

Spike snarled menacingly at her. Wesley raised his head as much as he was able in Spike's direction. He reasoned that if Spike was remembering Anya's part in his Curse, the vampire would take matters into his own hands, and that would not be a good thing.

"Spike..." Wesley said with as much energy as he could muster. Angry, eyes turned in the younger man's direction. Spike growled; he didn't want to be distracted from his vengeance on Anya.

"Don't...hurt her," the college student told the vampire. "She's a...friend, too."

Spike sniffed Anya, much to her mortification. He smelled Wesley on her. That was enough to halt him from draining her.

Beside Anya, Willow started waking up, and as the White One saw the chains and the angry vampire she forced her mind to remember the unbinding spell that would release them from their bindings before Spike could change his mind.

Unfortunately, Riley and C. G. found the room with the humans and vampire in it. While the policeman searched for a way to free the hostages, the commander's eyes stared at the beastly looking vampire with contempt.

From his pocket, Riley took out a taser gun and fired on Spike. The vampire howled and started to advance on the army man when Buffy ran into the room. She took in the scene, horrified that she had not gotten to the room sooner.

"Buffy...Spike..." Wesley said, trying to communicate what happened. "Beast...".

Looking at the platinum haired menace with loathing, Riley thought, **I KNEW it! He's behind this, and he WON'T get away with it!"**

"Beth Anne, get out of here!" Riley said as he aimed another taser charge at the vampire. Spike fell to his knees just before three more soldiers ran into the room.

"Riley, don't!" Buffy shouted, as Riley simultaneously commanded to his men, "Take her outta here!"

C. G. crossed to where the hostages were. He unlocked the chains with a lock pick he extracted from deep inside of his pocket.

Buffy flung off one of Riley's men effortlessly but when Spike saw the woman he loved being attacked, the revenant saw red. He recovered rapidly and jumped on top of the soldier, scratching and sinking his fangs into the private's neck.

"No, Spike, don't!" Buffy yelled.

"Slayer…" Spike said, not taking his eyes off of the private. "Mate."

C. G. heard Spike's declaration, but as he examined the captives, he saw that they needed help...fast. Figuring that Buffy could more than handle herself with the vampire. When the Deputy Chief saw that the chained humans looked like they had lost significant amounts of blood, C. G. took out his cell phone and called the station. The policeman described the situation and told his men to call 9-1-1 and dispatch medical aid to the address he provided.

Reggie offered to send backup, but the Deputy Chief ordered his right hand man to stand by.

"Will do," Reggie's voice said on C. G.'s cell. He reluctantly hanged up, waiting anxiously for C. G. to tell him when he should act.

There were sounds of running footsteps as several more of Riley's men ran into the room. Spike, meanwhile, had continued his assault on the soldier. The private slumped to the ground, unconscious. The vampire now set his sights on Riley, but before the revenant could attack, he felt the pain of several stun weapons going off simultaneously.

Buffy tried to fight the army men, but she had pulled her punches so that they would not be seriously hurt. It was the pulling of her punches that resulted in her being stunned by one of Riley's men from behind by the man's taser.

The Slayer fell to the floor, knocked out. Riley backhanded the soldier, snarling, "Idiot! She's mine!"

Across from Riley and Buffy, C. G. carefully removed the chains from their wrists, and then gently laid Wesley, Anya and Willow on the ground. Not having the strength to cast any spells, the titian haired White One passed out again.

Meanwhile, Riley looked down at Spike, thinking, **now, you'll pay, beast!** He looked at one of his subordinates.

"You brought the truck?" the commander asked one of his soldiers. At the younger man's nod, Riley smiled.

"Bind him, and then dump him in it," he ordered. "Take this hostile to the base!" The soldier saluted his superior.

"No..." Wesley gasped before losing consciousness. Beside him, Anya was moaning non-coherently.

"What about this one, sir?" asked another soldier, Private Jones, as he indicated Buffy.

Riley's eyes fell on his fiancé. "Put her in my jeep," he said. "She's riding with me."

C. G. cursively scanned Spike's unconscious form as the soldiers chained him, then dragged him outside. Buffy stirred before one of Riley's men could carry her to the Commander's jeep.

"Don't worry, Beth Anne. I'll see to it that this beast never sees the light of day," he told her.

Buffy regarded Riley for a moment before saying, "You've got the wrong man...well, vampire. He didn't do anything." Their eyes fell on the unconscious trio.

The army man snorted, saying, "He tried to make a midnight snack out of those three guys. He won't live long enough to crow about it." Buffy still felt slightly dizzy even though she was starting to regain control of her body via her quick recuperative abilities. C. G. decided then that he should make Riley see reason.

The Deputy Chief piped up, saying, "You don't know that. He could have taken them, but we saw other vamps here. It also could have been any one of them."

Riley stared at C. G. with an incredulous look. "You saying I should let him go?" the commander asked the cop.

The cop responded, "No, but you're treating him like an animal. He may look like an animal, but for the human he once was, you should at least investigate what's happening."

"Not on my to do list," Riley snapped. "We've found our beast. End of discussion."

Buffy stared at her fiancé. She couldn't believe that he would act like this! When had Riley turned from the perfect man into this egotistical, patronizing, arrogant, presumptuous jerk? Her mind was racing as she considered Riley's actions towards Spike. The commander had killed the other vampires easily enough. Why was Spike any different? More important, where was the army taking him?

The Slayer had to find out. She had to rescue him somehow. She knew she could use her superhuman strength and force Riley and his men to release Spike into her care, but that would raise too many questions, and she wasn't quite ready to be reveal-y girl just yet.

Riley went outside, followed by his men and C. G. The Vampire Slayer also walked outside as Riley's men loaded a stunned and bound Spike into the waiting truck. An ambulance pulled up suddenly. Medical persons put Wesley, Anya and Willow onto stretchers.

As the command was given to move the injured, Riley put his arm around Buffy and gently pulled her toward his vehicle. C. G. got into the back and mentally attacked the angles of what had happened in the case that was forming, just like he always did. Something just didn't make sense about what Riley was doing, and the cop decided as soon as he reached the station that he would find out what was truly going on.

Buffy pointedly said to Riley, "We're gonna have a talk as soon as you take me home."

Riley told her, "Once that monster is taken care of, I'll call you and we'll get together, okay?" He strapped her in after she had climbed into the front passenger's side.

As the commander drove her home, the Chosen One's anger reached an all time high. How dare he refer to Spike as a monster without verifying all the facts? How dare her former fiancé treat her like she needed protecting like she was a damsel in distress?

In that moment Buffy had an epiphany when she examined her life since the army man had entered it and realized that Riley had always been that way. She stared at the engagement ring and saw that the commander was like the diamond which twinkled in its setting.

Oh, it shined and gave off its own brilliance, but beneath the surface, it offered no warmth, no life. Something inside of her twisted and any fire she might have had for Riley turned ice cold.

Buffy wished suddenly that she could unleash the strength she knew she had on him. She wished she could inflict the pain on Riley that he had visited on Spike. He had treated the noble vampire as though he was a bug to be squashed.

That, she could not forgive. For his crime, the Slayer wanted Riley to feel the vicious sting of justice, and the agony vengeance left in its wake. She had loved the soldier as a young girl but now, it was time to let the woman emerge and put away the dreams she thought she would fulfill at his side.

Yeah, she promised Riley, Spike, and all the gods that were, I'll set things right and do what I should have done before! You are so out of my universe as of now!

When she reached home, Buffy decided, she would talk to Giles and if warranted, to her mother and older sibling. Together, they'd find a way to rescue Spike and punish Riley. They HAD to.





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