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Author's Chapter Notes:
love this part of the story







That very night they arrived at the burnt down high school. Spike and Buffy yanked down the black and yellow Police 'Do Not Cross' line and ripped it to two pieces followed by Tara and Willow avoiding the evidence collection on the crime scene.

"So this is supposedly the location where the bodies where found" Buffy said and checked the area with a flashlight. "But if you look closer there are marks on the ground as if they bodies have been dragged, someone obviously made a huge effort to make it look as it the struggle took place here other than an other place"

Following the visible bloodstains all the way to the school, Spike said. "The drag marks are all the way from the grass leading to the basement window so the battle must have taken place inside the school"

"Okay, let's split up" Buffy declared. "I will patrol the eastern section of the school with Spike and Willow, you and Tara take on the northwestern. We meet up in 30 minutes in the lounge area and exchange info"

As Buffy passed rank-smelling slimy remains from the Mayor, she noticed how the place was completely dead silent, it was kind a creepy when you thought about it; that a place that had been so alive was so very dead now, almost like a ghost of what it used to be with all the wiggy-ness and whatever went bump in the night.

It was weird that after all these years the place still gave her the major wiggins and Snyder isn't even around anymore.

The stairs leading up to the next floor were completely wrecked in the old lounge area Buffy noticed when she directed her flashlight at it, contemplating how to get upstairs.

“Hey, you see anything up there?” she asked her vampire companion, narrowing her eyes to focus in the darkness.

Spike crouched inhaling all the smells from the remains of the building and half-heartedly glanced her way “Nothin' up there” he said standing up. "Can't smell a thing"

But Buffy wasn't convinced so she started to climb the ladder that reached three floors up, which was the only way of getting up on the levels of the school now that the stairs had completely collapsed.

Once she was up on the third level, Buffy clumsily searched after something to hold onto and frowned when she felt something gooey and flesh-y gripping her hand in response and then let her hand go so she lost her grip –

"Wait! Don't!-" but it was too late and she was airborne falling down three floors.

Spike felt that something was wrong up there as he skimmed the darkness with his predatory eyes and then the Slayer slammed into the ground with a loud crash.

“Luv, you alright?!” he panicked, crouching down by her and feet in seconds, arranging her body carefully.

Buffy mumbled a 'yes' in response but then grimaced in pain, head lulling side to side.

“Bollocks. Don't faint on me now, luv” Spike felt the bones in her neck carefully. Buffy's eyes snapped open and then she pulled away as if burnt.

“I'm fine, freaking peachy. Get off!” she shoved him away with the little force she could master at the moment and fought back tears 'cause it hurt goddammit.

"Stay still" he commanded and lit the flashlight in her eyes checking for response. “Yeah, you're fine” he huffed sarcastically and got up from his knees gracefully, whipping off his duster and carefully lifted her head so she could use it as a pillow.

“Be back in a moment, luv”

Buffy stayed still with her arms and legs askew with Spike's duster under her head while Spike climbed up the ladder and chased after whatever had attacked her.

“Found nothin' up there” Spike said sourly when he reappeared a few minutes later with his gameface on. Crouching down beside her he picked at her abs checking for broken bones until she shoved him away again.

“I'm fine, okay? Just stop it or I'll scream for a whole other reason” Buffy said agitatedly and closed her eyes in pain.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said rolling his eyes dismissing her “Can you feel your back, pet?” he said with tenderness in his voice, swiping some blood off her brow.

“Yes" she said between her teeth "And this endearing act don't suit you at all so just drop it” she said sitting up while wincing, but he pushed her right back down.

“Endearing act? Well, don't tell anyone 'bout it then, wanna keep the last of my dignity an' all that. Master vampire nursing the Slayer to health won't sound good in anyone's book and don't even consider moving" Spike only rolled his eyes and checked her for any broken pieces.

“Stop fuzzing! God what is wrong with you?” she complained in response.

“Stop movin' around or I'll carry you for the rest of the night and you don't get to argue. And for your information I wouldn't have to fuzz as you delicately put it if you didn't act all high and mighty”

“Chivalry's dead and so are you so no need to act like it, Spike. Really sweet of you to fuzz but I'll decline that offer. Now hands off the merchandise” she said succinctly, wrinkling her nose, complete with the Scarlet O'Hara attitude.

A few minutes she was on her feet, Slayer healing intact. Strolling down the basement area, flashing the light in all directions, Buffy suddenly broke the silence “So what's with the whole 'I'm so full of concern so sue me act really about anyway? I mean, it's not like I'm all curious or anything-” she quickly added at Spikes grin ”But I remember that you took care of Drusilla a lot”

“My mum” he simply stated.

“Huh?”

“You really wanna know?” Spike asked as if he didn't fully believe it, rummaging around his front pocket in the jeans for cigarettes with an arched eyebrow and an amused face.

“Yeah,” Buffy breathed in response.

And for once she did actually mean it, she'd never been interested in his background before except the most necessary facts in the Watcher Diaries. But on the other had the information she'd gotten at the time was barely enough to get to know your enemy, and the books left out a lot of parts, because of what she'd seen of Spike was nothing like the way books had described him.

“Your mom...?” she said, nudging him to continue, leaning back on a pillar in the old high school's corridor.

“Yeah, my mum,” Spike started, taking a long drag and placing himself on a ceiling block that was littering on the floor, clearing his throat “She was sick okay? She had this disease, Tuberculosis that made her spit blood and cough all day. Even I got sick short before Dru came along” flickering a look to Buffy he saw her eyes widen and he continued “She was all weak and fragile. You know what I'm talkin' about, you've been there yourself. I had to take care of the household since my old man had left us and the servants fled the disease”

Oh, guess they weren't so different after all, Buffy thought. “I don't know what to say” she responded silently.

“Then don't say anything” he said, eyes crinkling, biting his lip “This stays between me and you, okay Slayer?” he said, casually caressing her cheeks with his thumbs, so light and smooth that she hardly noticed that she had leant closer as if seeking comfort.

“I'm so sorry” Buffy whispered softly as she closed in, closing her eyes briefly as they shared a slight kiss before Buffy broke it off.

She rarely saw his true human side, he hid it so well under his layers after years of polishing it but now and then he opened up about his past and she saw the emotional and soft side of him. It scared her as much as she felt pulled in by it.

When they were going back into the lounge area hand in hand, Buffy thought she maybe should have asked him about his past earlier. His life as pre-Spike, maybe if she'd known about his past and what defined him as a person she would have thought different of him.

Abruptly an anguish cry cut through the silence from the gym hall.

Stopping and exchanging a brief look they barrelled in the gym hall just as several demons with grey bluish skin rose the floor in blurry clouds, one by one. Buffy took in their appearance of wicked-looking grins that went from ear to ear in open gashes, staring at them with dead eyes.

They were Greyarmers, Buffy recalled from the drawing she'd seen and as the Greyarmers stood up in their full height and howled out their hunger they turned to the Slayer and vampire with predatory instinct.

“When I don't go looking for trouble, trouble come along and finds me...” the Slayer muttered, whipping out her sword and handled over a second sword to Spike.

The doors behind them swung open and Willow and Tara entered the hall simultaneously, lifting her palm, Tara called “Regredi!” and in one motion all Greyarmers flew back and hit the ground several feet away, saving them some time as the tugged open her duffel bag, grabbing a handful japanese sais daggers and Willow a crossbow.

Buffy turned around to face them “This is obviously demonic ground, this must have been where those two girls met the Greyarmers. Let's create a circle and keep it tight" Buffy replied as they got in position.

“There are seven of them, you take on those three and me and Spike cover the rest” Buffy said before she delivered her first kick to the Greyarmer ducked a punch and spin-kicked him in the sternum where it went flying into a nearby pillar and cracked at the spine.

Tara picked up the sais daggers, circulating her hand over them, uttering a few verses they started to levitate, pointing themselves towards the Greyarmers and then went off in a violent launch, hitting several of them in the chest.

Buffy went berserk on her second Greyarmer just as it took an outrageous leap towards her and she slammed into the ground before quickly backflipping back with blinding reflexes to her feet and dispatched its head with her sword.

“Wicked” the Slayer said grinning for herself. Wheeling around another came for her and a few sais daggers flew through the air aiming for the demon that saw the daggers aiming for him and moved to the side as one of them casually ripped one of his arms and blood splayed on Buffy.

The daggers sailed though the room and then turned back sharply suddenly aiming for her.

“Tara, get them off of me!” she called as she madly darted from left and right as the daggers followed her around the room.

Tara chanted for herself as she realized that the blood that had splattered on Buffy had directed the daggers go after her and she couldn't make them stop chasing her until they hit target.

They were gonna hit Buffy and possibly kill her.

Expressing the utter despair Tara felt in a brief look with Spike he roared in response in his demon visage before charging for Buffy, pushing her out of harm's way, using himself as human shield just as the five flying daggers entered his body simultaneously.

Spike staggered back before falling to the floor where he closed his eyes he nearly hoped to explode into a cloud of dust because the pain was so excruciating. When that didn't happen, he carefully opened his eyes and found himself grinning widely when he realized that his red shirt was only bloody and that none of them had pierced his heart.

“Are you mental? Do you want to get yourself killed?” the Slayer exclaimed, squatting beside him, helping him to his feet. “You're just lucky those weren't made of wood”

Wincing Spike started to dig out the daggers from all around his front and swore over his ripped red shirt. “Bugger! This was my favorite shirt” he grumbled and whipped a bloody hand on his torn torso. With demon guise appearing in his face, he growled at the few Greyarmers still left. “Now that's it! I'm bloody through playing. Big Bad's back and from now on there's gonna be some real action around here!” whipping up his blade he let out a feral roar and attacked them with new bursting energy.

When the closest Greyarmer lunged for him Spike swung for its head, decapitating him and ducked a kick from another as the sword entered its heart and went for the next.

Tara ran to the far east of the gym hall followed by a Greyarmer hot on her feet, Willow shot one arrow successfully in the chest but that hardly slowed it down. It lunged for Tara just as she screwed her eyes closed repeatedly mumbling a few verses in latin.

The Greyarmer were hit by a wave of magic and before it could even begin to react its flesh and innards exploded in the air and littered the floor.

“Whoa, Tara” Buffy stated impressed.

“Willow taught me that” Tara nervously grinned as Willow helped her to her feet and they shared a brief smile, before Tara turned her head to Buffy. “Buffy, I'm so sorry, I aimed and then I couldn't stop them from coming at you” she said breathlessly. "I directed them to hit everything Greyarmer and when their blood got on you the daggers went after you instead"

“I know Tara. We're cool” Buffy said, wiping her forehead, grinning turning to rest of the gang. "So I guess the Axe is still no see. We might have wiped out every single one of those Greyarmers but we still haven't got the sword. Without any evil protecting the weapon we are one step closer to finding it, kinda smart to keep the sword on an other location than the location they inhabited" Buffy muttered.

"We should contact Giles about the weapon, he might find more clues about its whereabouts and in Anya's own words must be here in Sunnydale" Willow concluded.

"Yeah, but still the Greyarmers are only footmen" Spike interjected. "They must be obeyed by a Master, so someone must have summoned them. So long story short we have to find who summoned them in the first place. That person could be the very key of finding that Axe"

"Point. So let's ditch this place already. Dawn is expecting me"

Buffy woke up the next morning and squinted into the crisp sunlight from the window. Facing the warmth she smiled for the first time in a long while before she turned her head to where her sister lay sleeping. Disengaging from her she turned to look at the
red clock as it ticked away by the bedside table.

The sun shone in through the windows like any sunny day in any idyllic Californian town and the birds sang but Buffy knew better because when the sun went down, the nasties would come out and play.

Her bleary eyes scanned the bedroom while she rearranged her hair in a messy bun, letting a few loose golden tendrils fall around her face before descending down the stairs.

Sitting by the table was Willow, her red hair covering her face as she was reading a book.

"Morning, Willow"

But it wasn't Willow.

A red haired boy with freckles stared her straight in the eyes and spoke "You remember me, don't you Buffy? Oh, don't worry, you will. This face will be the last one you see after I've killed every single one of your precious friends. I want you to watch me as rip limb by limb from their bodies and then I have a special hell waiting just for you, my sweet little Buffy"

Buffy's mouth hung open as she tried to figure out a response, but nothing escaped her mouth, it was as if she were unable to speak.

Looking around the kitchen she noticed several bodies lining the floor, among them Willow and Dawn. Buffy crunched down beside them and found her voice again as a scream tore from her throat. She laid her head down on Dawn's lifeless body and as she saw her life being torn apart.

Panting in her bed Buffy scrambled to sit up, wrapped in her red sheets. Turning to her side of the bed Buffy reached out shaking for her glass of water and drowned it all down with one big gulp. "Damn Slayer dream" she muttered shockingly before getting dressed before walking down the stairs.

Willow closed her laptop just when Buffy appeared in the kitchen. "Is everything okay with you?" she said taking in the stricken look in Buffy's eyes.

“Peachy with the side of keen, only not” Buffy said, sitting down by the island wincing slightly "Had a Slayer dream. A bad one with the capital B"

“Oh, I could ask Tara to make a potion for insomnia so you'll sleep better, I know she'd be happy too”

“I thought you guys didn't speak anymore" she arched an eyebrow “Whatever. I'd really appreciate that, Wills” she smiled.

“So, what is our next step?” Willow said, all ears.

“Well, first of all I'm gonna call Giles about the Greyarmers. See if he's got something" Ten minutes later, Buffy put the phone back on its cradle and exited the living room. She strode in the kitchen just as Willow looked up from her demonology book.

“You know back when Jennifer Calendar was around? She told Giles about a crazy monk in Cortona who presumably knows all about these Greyarmers, but there is a catch. No one can get in touch with him” Buffy said.

“Great, because we really need this guy. There is nothing in the books” Willow responded, pushing the book away from her, sighing.

“I asked him if someone had been successful and what was our best chance of getting him to respond. He said we could try a tracking spell. I'll take on patrolling tonight and see what I can find, I know that there is something bigger at stake and I just have to figure out what is really going on” Buffy said determinately exiting the kitchen.




Chapter End Notes:
tbc ofc.



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