Amara Time - Joan963z - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV) [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter 1: …BLINK

Chapter Text

~~~~~
Sunnydale - October, 1999
~~~~~

“That's my ring,” Spike said as he snatched it off Harmony’s finger and slipped it on his own.

…BLINK

Spike staggered as the scene around him changed, his mouth dropped open and he gasped a lung full of unneeded air. A moment ago he was in the hellmouth, pinned against the stone wall with a beam of sunlight streaming from his chest. He was burning from the inside outward. His blue eyes locked onto green eyes flooded with tears. He looked at his hand. The hand that wore the ring, he could see the outline of Buffy’s fingers branded onto it. How?

“SPIKE!” Harmony yelled.

“Harm, what? … Where? …” He was in the Amara crypt. “How did I …?

“You put on that stupid ring and spazzed out.”

There was a flash of blue light and a gaudily dressed demon appeared.

Harmony put her hands on her hips and stared at the intruder. “Who the hell are you? If you think you're going to steal my Boo Boo’s gem, you're mistaken mister.”

The demon raised his hand and stopped time, Harmony froze. Spike felt a change in the crypt as if he were suddenly someplace different without moving from one place to another. The demon turned to Spike. “I’m Whistler, agent for the Powers That Be. “How you doin’, Champion?”

“Oh, The Powers, is it,” Spike said with an ironic laugh. “Figures the Powers would be involved. Well, I’m not their soddin’ puppet! I did my part, went out in a blaze of sunlight and saved the bloody world. Let me rest.” Buffy wouldn’t and shouldn’t ever love him. He needed to let her go and find the man she deserved. He wasn’t strong enough to walk away. The pull to her was too strong. Burning in the hellmouth was for the best. He had his out and he was bloody well going to take it.

Whistler sighed. He knew he was going to have a difficult time with Spike. “No can do. The Slayer claimed you as her Champion and you accepted her claim when you let her put that glitzy bauble in your hand.”

Spike looked down, he was still wearing the amulet, it had come with him too… wherever this was. He took off the amulet and let it drop to the crypt floor then lifted his head and glared into the demon’s eyes. “She was desperate. She needed a body with a soul. I fit the bill. That’s all it was.”

The vampire was more than that to her, was he in denial or did he really not know? Whistler shook his head. “That’s not how becoming a champion works and you know it. You may not realize it but in her heart she made a decision. Look, technically it’s not the Powers that brought you back to this time. You did it by wearing both the amulet and the gem. You connected their magics. It’s a quantum mechanics thing. Particles got tangled and here you are. I know it’s convoluted, even Byzantine, a gem meant to protect a vampire and an amulet destined to save the world, got paired in the quantum realm, but as the kids say today, ‘It is what it is’.”

“Bloody hell, If you think I’m going to relive the next four years and watch her die again you're wrong. I swear I will muck up your sacred timeline if you don’t put me back and let me rest.”

“There’s no way to put you back, Champion. We’re dealing with quantum mechanics! What’s tangled can’t be untangled. Even the Powers can’t mess around with that machinery. It was set into motion by the Creator of All That Is. The existence of the multiverse depends on it humming along undisturbed. Look, the Powers are just taking advantage of this fortunate kerfuffle. The future you came from is doomed. It was thrown out of balance when all those slayers were called. The balance will careen back and forth between good and evil. Human civilization has a decade, maybe less, then it will fall. The Powers want you to keep that from happening.”

“All you have to do is keep Buffy alive, or if she does die don’t let Willow bring her back. Bonus if you can keep Willow from going dark, but even The Powers think that's a bridge too far. It was Willow pulling her out of heaven that caused this mess. So, no Buffy back from the dead will solve the problem.”

“Already know Red’s the cause,” Spike said.

Whistler watched Spike. The vampire was unique. The lights of Las Vegas had nothing on the vampire’s eyes. His emotions shone out for all to see, or at least for anyone who cared to notice. The agent could see when the decision was made. He would do it, there was too much champion in him to refuse. Whistler turned and drove a stake into Harmony's heart.

Spike’s body jerked. “What the bloody hell!?”

“That had to be done. She would have let demons know about the gem. If it’s any consolation to that soul of yours she’s not going to eternal torment in hell. She’ll be reincarnated as someone else.”

Spike looked up from Harmony’s dust. “A demon, reincarnated?” he said in disbelief.

“Okay, so not in this reality. But she’ll be a nice peaceful demon. I promise.”

“Yeah, like The Powers can be trusted.”

“Look I know this is a lot to take in. Muck up the timeline all you want. You can’t cause a paradox and you sure as hell can’t make things worse than the First flooding the Earth with turok-han. Just keep the slayer alive. Call if you need me. Oh almost forgot, don’t wear that on your finger. I recommend you put it on your toe for now. There’s no power in the setting; it's all in the gem so you can remove the gem and wear it under your skin if you want. And don’t think smashing it is a good idea. You’ll just end up back at the moment you put it on.”

“Bloody hell, I’m stuck in a soddin’ time loop?”

“For the next four years, yeah. It’s basically groundhog day until you get it right.” Whistler disappeared in a flash of blue light. He wasn’t worried about Spike. He was a champion with a soul and wouldn’t do anything truly evil.

“Bloody hell,” Spike muttered to himself. “Keep Buffy alive. The soddin’ Powers know I’ll do anything to keep her safe.”

He sat down on the floor with a sigh, resigned to his fate. He knew the wanker was right about one thing. If he wears the ring on his finger, Buffy will take it off and send it to Peaches. He took off his boot, and slid the ring on his toe. He looked around at the treasure. He decided he would take it. He could sell it and set up a trust for Buffy. He’d make it look like it was coming from the bloody council.

He laced up his boot as he thought about what he needed to do. At this time he and Buffy were enemies. He had, after all, come to kill her. How was he supposed to get close enough to keep her safe? Then it came to him. He had all the memories from the first timeline. He knew what there was to know about the bloody Initiative. He could use that to broker a truce.

He grabbed a gold cuff bracelet, he could easily hawk it for immediate cash. He smiled and dropped through the hole in the crypt to the tunnels below. He had a plan.

~~~

Spike was walking across the UC Sunnydale campus when he spotted
Buffy talking to Parker. He remembered what took place the first time around. He wasn’t going to let that wanker hurt Buffy like that again. He walked up behind her and huffed out a deep breath.

Buffy turned, her eyes opened wide when she saw Spike standing in the sun.

“Bloody hell, Summers, you have tragic taste in men. When are you going to learn that wankers like that aren't man enough to deal with a strong woman.”

“Spike,” Buffy whispered.

Spike looked at Parker and let his eyes flash yellow. “Not your fault you're too weak for a woman like Buffy.”

Parker took a step back, “I should go.”

“Yeah, you do that,” Spike said and turned back to Buffy.

Buffy recovered from her shock of seeing the vampire in the sunlight.“The gem.”

“Yeah, the gem. It came with a whole lot of baggage that wasn’t in the brochure. I don’t want to fight you slayer. I want to make a truce.”

“Why should I make a truce with you?”

“I know about the soldier boys you’ve been seein’ around at night. They’re up to no good.”

“And I should believe that because?”

“We had a truce before. I kept my word.”

“Did you? You said you’d take Dru and never come back. Yet, here you are standing in front of me.”

“Without Dru. I’ve never come back with Dru.”

“That’s a technicality,” Buffy said.

“Yeah, well as Willow would say, ‘there were circ*mstances.’ Do you want my information or not, Slayer?”

Buffy licked her lips, there was definitely something different about Spike. The way he looked at her. He didn’t hate her, and didn't want to kill her. The hostility that she always felt rolling off of him simply wasn’t there. She decided to take a chance. “Meet me and Giles tonight at the Bronze. We’ll get a table on the balcony and talk”

~~~

The day had gone well. Spike got a fair price for the gold bracelet, bought a couple of duffel bags at the Navy surplus store and packed up all the Amara treasure before the tunnel collapsed. Now there was just Buffy and her watcher to deal with.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This meeting had to go well or … it had to go well, there was no or, just the end of the world. Bloody hell, he hated this. He wasn’t meant to have the fate of the world on his shoulders. That was Buffy’s job. He was meant to have her back. Being alone was never his thing. He had his mom while he was human, then Dru, for a century. After the chip, in a weird, outsider kind of way, he had Buffy, and then Dawn. If this were Lord of The Rings, he'd be Samwise Gamgee, not Frodo or Arigon. That’s why he needed the truce, he couldn’t do this by himself.

~~~

Spike opened the door to the bronze and walked in. It was early, so he ordered a beer and went up to the balcony to score a table. He took one in a back corner, in one of the relatively quiet corners, so they could hear each other talk, but where he could still see anyone coming and going.

He sipped his beer and wondered if he could tell Buffy about the time travel and that he had a soul. Having a soul made all the difference with the Scoobies accepting Angel, and this Buffy and the watcher were hung up on the whole soul having thing. The problem was would she believe him or laugh in his face? Or maybe telling the Watcher was a better choice. The problem was Buffy hated being lied to. He was walking a tightrope. He’d have to think it through before he made a decision.

Perhaps the time loop wasn’t a curse, maybe it was a blessing. If he made a soddin’ wrong call he could just smash the gem and start again. He didn’t relish reliving these days over, but he would do what he had to do.

He sipped his beer as he contemplated his choices. He picked up a familiar scent, Red’s wolf. Dingoes Ate My Baby were playing tonight. That meant all the Scoobies would be here. Just his luck.

~~~
TBC
~~~

Chapter 2: Bronzing

Chapter Text

Giles was skeptical about this meeting. Spike, the second worst vampire in the watcher journals, wanted a truce. It seemed out of character and like some convoluted trap, and he told Buffy so.

It was a surprise to learn that Spike had come to Buffy during the whole Acathla debacle and, true to his word, kept Angelus from killing him and Drusilla from attacking her. Still, he couldn’t make THIS proposal of a truce make sense. Why would a strong master vampire, the slayer of slayers, made unkillable now that he had the gem of Amara, seek out the slayer for a truce? It was a question he intended to ask.

It was dark when Giles and Buffy got into the Citroen and drove to the Bronze. It was a weeknight so, although the place was doing a good business, it wasn’t overly crowded. Buffy noticed Spike right away, and they climbed the stairs and walked to the table.

Spike changed his seat and moved into a shadow. Giles noticed and made a silent comment to himself about what a vampiric thing it was to do. The three sat at the table silently staring at each other for a few moments, and then Giles went on the attack.

“What are you playing at, Spike? Because this truce makes no sense.”

“Maybe you should hear what I have to say before you jump to your bloody conclusions.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. If these two had their way, she would be here all night. She still had to patrol and didn’t want to waste time with male posturing. She wanted answers. “Answers first, truce talk later.”

“I need assurances you’re not just going to take all my info and throw me to the curb,” Spike said.

“What kind of information do you have?” Giles asked.

“I know what they call themselves, where their base is, who the head honcho is, and most importantly, I know what the bloody hell their mission is.”

“How did you come by all this information?” Giles asked.

“I have my sources.”

“We can't trust the information if we don’t know the source. Unless of course, you are willing to talk to us under a truth spell.”

“Bloody hell no. You’re not doing any mojo on me. The first thing you’d do is take the soddin’ gem.”

“Then give us the source,” Giles said with a glare.

So much for his mental debate. He should have known he would have to tell the truth if he had any hope of getting their cooperation.

“Bloody hell, I’m the soddin’ source. There’s no point in trying to keep it a bloody secret. I didn’t want to go into this because you’re not going to bloody believe it. I know how much the slayer hates being lied to, so here it is, why I’m here, and why I want this truce. In May of 2001, Buffy dies in an apocalypse. One hundred and forty-eight days later, Willow brings her back. I’m here to save Buffy, and if…”

“You expect us to believe the Powers sent you, The Slayer of Slayers, back in time to save a slayer?” Giles said with an ironic huff.

“Believe me, Watcher, I see your point. But Whistler said…”

It was Buffy who interrupted this time. “Whistler. You talked to Whistler? What did he look like?”

Spike gave a soft moan. “Demon, male. Looks human, in his early thirties. Wears loud clothing and a hat a size too small. Has a high-pitched voice but speaks kinda soft. Smells like a demon too. Don’t know if a human could pick up his scent, but I could.”

Buffy looked at Giles. “That’s him, that's Whistler. He said he was an agent for the Powers when he gave me the sword. The one that…”

“Buffy, are you sure?” Giles asked.

“I’m sure.”

“All right Spike, I’m willing to listen to why the Powers chose you to save Buffy,” Giles said with an ironic tone of voice.

Spike told them everything, except that he was in love with Buffy. He wasn’t stupid. The two listened without interruption until he finished. Then the questions started.

“Good lord, Spike, your level of chutzpah in expecting us to believe you sought out and won back your soul is…”

“That’s what you got from me being here… that I have a soul, not that I’m here to save Buffy’s life? Or to keep Willow from drowning in black magic and mind-raping all of us and killing two humans.”

Buffy couldn’t remember Spike using her first name before. It was the way he said it that caught her ear. There was depth to it that she couldn’t define. Something about it called to her. She made a decision. “If you have a soul, we can take a chance and make a truce.”

“There is no if, slayer. I do have a soul. You can ask Anya. Demon girl can see it. Glinda too, she can see auras.”

“Who is Glinda?” Gile asked.

“Name’s Tara McClay, guess you haven’t met her yet. She’s a witch and a student at UC Sunnydale. She and Willow become friends until Willow mind rapes her.”

“You do realize that it is easy to check if a Tara McClay is registered at the university?”

Spike scoffed at Giles. “I’m not a complete moron. I’m telling you the truth. I never lied to the slayer in the previous timeline, and I won’t lie to her in this one. Let me know when you want Anya to have a look-see. I’ll be there.” Spike stood up to leave.

Buffy bit her bottom lip. She wanted proof that Spike was telling the truth. Then it came to her. “Spike?” Buffy called. “Do you want to patrol with me?” He said he had fought by her side. If it were true, she would know soon enough.

The invite surprised the vampire. He squinted at Buffy trying to figure out what she was up to. “Sure, Slayer.”

“Buffy, are you sure that’s wise?” Giles asked.

“I’m sure.”

The three were walking down the stairs and headed toward the door when Xander and Anya entered.

Xander immediately started shouting and pointing his finger. “Spike, Spike’s here.”

“Stop it, Xander!” Buffy scolded. “We have a temporary cease-fire while we work out a truce.”

“A truce with Captain Peroxide; have you gone insane?”

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Do be quiet Xander, we need to speak with Anya.”

“Ooo, me,” Anya said as she bounced on her toes. “I’m quite good at negotiations.”

Bloody hell, he liked Anya. She deserved better than that wanker, destined to leave her at the altar.

“Ahh, yes, quite. Could we find a quieter spot to talk?” Giles asked.

Spike scanned the room. “Over there, Watcher, under the stairs is as quiet as you're going to get in here.”

~~~

“I need you to look at Spike and tell me what you see,” Giles said.

Anya turned and looked Spike up and down. “Master vampire, good-looking, strong, but not as strong as he should be. He’s lost some of his muscle mass. He’s been off of human blood for a while.” Anya turned back and beamed at Giles.

“Not as strong as he should be?” Buffy asked, incredulous. “I’ve fought him. He’s not weak.”

“Oi, she didn’t say weak. Besides, you fought me before I went off of human blood.” Spike said with a glare.

“Well, that's neither here nor there. She didn’t see what you told us she’d see.”

Spike turned to Anya. “Watcher needs you to look into my eyes and tell him what you see.”

“Absolutely not,” Anya said. “I know what I’ll see, a black bottomless pit. I’m human now, I’m not falling into a vampire thrall. Why would you want to do that to me?”

“I’m not trying to do anything to you, Anya. Spike doesn’t have thrall.” Giles huffed.

“Oh, for crying out loud, all master vampires have thrall. It’s just that some of them prefer to use their fists and fangs.” Anya said with a satisfied smirk.

“I give you my word, pet, not trying to make you take the piss. I won’t let you fall.”

Anya looked at Giles. “Okay, I’ll do it on one condition. You buy me a beer.”

“A beer?”

“I’m a thousand-year-old ex-vengeance demon, and I want a beer. The stupid bartender won’t sell me one. Well, shoe, go.” Anya said, waving her hand.

Giles pursed his lips and then gave a huff before walking to the bar and ordering a beer. When Giles returned, Anya reached for the beer. Giles held it away. “After you tell us what you see.”

Anya huffed but turned to look into Spike’s eyes. “Hey, what did you do? How? You’re a vampire.”

“Anya, please tell us what you see,” Giles said.

Anya looked at Giles. “He’s got a soul, and it’s bright. Not all dark and tortured like Angel’s.” Anya turned back to Spike. “How?”

“Demon named Lloyd.”

“Oh, D’hoffryn’s cousin. You survived the trials?” Anya asked in amazement.

“Obviously,” Spike answered.

“Do you know this Lloyd demon?” Giles asked.

“Yes, he visits Arashmahar on occasion. I dated him briefly about seven hundred years ago. He has a stone exoskeleton. He’s not very comfortable.”

“You dated a stone demon?” Xander asked.

“I was a demon, I dated demons.”

“Oh do shut up Xander, we have more important things to discuss than Anya’s demonic history. Buffy, I’d like to get a second opinion on Spike’s soul. It was granted by a demon. We need to make sure there aren't any…unexpected issues attached.”

“Good thinking, Giles,” Xander said, unable to keep from commenting. “We don’t want any Angelus-like surprises popping up.”

Spike growled. “I’m nothing like Angelus.”

“Yes… well… Nevertheless I’m going to do some research on Lloyd and attempt to find an independent source to confirm what Anya saw.”

“Fine with me. Spike said. “Are we finished here?”

“Spike and I are going to patrol, I’ll come back to give Oz support afterward,” Buffy told the group as if it were the most natural thing in the world to have the vampire accompany her.

The Scoobies were too stunned to say a word.

~~~
TBC

Chapter 3: Searching for Truth

Chapter Text

~~~

Patrol
~~~

The slayer and the vampire walked silently through the Sunnydale streets. The third-quarter moon shone brightly enough to cause moon shadows in the alleys between buildings and to glint off the plate glass windows as they passed.

Buffy’s mind raced with questions. Spike had a soul; Anya confirmed it. It was real. What did that mean? There were plenty of evil humans with souls. It didn’t make him automatically good. But there was a difference in him. She could see it in the way he looked at her, the way he said her name, and the feel of the vamp tingles in the back of her neck. All of that had to mean something, didn’t it? She snuck an occasional look at Spike and watched the play of moonlight on his platinum hair as if the dancing light held answers to her quandaries.

This proposed truce with Spike wasn’t unprecedented. Truth be told it wasn’t even unusual. She never disinvited the vampire from her home. Even after finding him back in Sunnydale having cocoa with her mom, she didn’t disinvite him. He hadn’t hurt Joyce, and she heard her mom laugh as they talked. It was a sound she hadn’t heard since the divorce. She didn’t know how Spike had charmed her mom.She didn’t know how Spike had charmed her mom. She didn’t know what they talked about. But she did notice that Joyce made sure she always had a fresh bag of mini marshmallows in the cupboard. Did he come to the house often?

Buffy shook her head. She had to look at this with a clear mind. And what Giles said made sense; why would the slayer of slayers come through time to save her life? Although, the time travel itself wasn’t a choice. But what was keeping him from just walking away? Spike didn’t seem the type to let himself be played. Except… “Grrrrrr,” she softly growled as her mind began another round of arguments. She had to stop this circular thinking.

The growl wasn’t soft enough to escape the vampire’s hearing. “Something wrong, Slayer?” Spike asked.

Buffy took a deep breath and blew it out. “You don’t hate me anymore.”

“And that’s what you’re growling at?”

Buffy stopped walking and faced Spike. “I can’t figure out what this means or why you’re doing it. Giles and I just go in circles. I feel like I’m missing something. What is it that you’re not telling us?” For a brief moment, Buffy thought she saw terror cross Spike’s face. But that couldn’t be. Nothing terrified Spike.

Spike didn’t like where this conversation was heading. It terrified him. He couldn’t let her suss out he had feelings for her. Everyone would assume this was some elaborate plan to get in her pants. He had to keep his love for her secret. He made sure to call her Slayer, never Buffy or Pet or, heaven forbid, Love. He didn’t think he slipped up. Spike shoved both hands in his duster pockets. “Personal stuff is all. Nothing that affects the mission.”

“I think it does,” Buffy said.

Spike clenched and unclenched his jaw. “I’ll make a deal with you, slayer. You let me read your diary, and I’ll tell you all my personal feelings. Or we can both keep private things private.”

“I know you have feelings for me.” Buffy didn’t know why she was so sure of it. He only used her name once in passing. And that thing with Parker could have been more to hurt Parker than to defend her. But she felt it every time she looked into his eyes.

Spike gave a loud huff and took his hands out of his pockets. He was putting a stop to this now. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he spoke. “We were colleagues, thrown into life and death situations. Feelings did develop, but I was a soulless, evil THING, and you NEVER let yourself or me forget it,” Spike said with a degree of vehemence. He turned away and began walking. It hurt to bring up all the pain of the past, but it was all he could think to do. He needed this conversation to end.

Buffy stopped for a moment and then ran the few steps needed to catch up with him. “But you’re not soulless anymore,” she said with a determined tone. She wanted answers, and she was determined to get them.

Spike stopped and turned to look into Buffy’s green eyes. He let all the anger and pain he felt from her past rejection creep into his voice. “Yeah, Slayer,” he spoke with all the tact of a wrecking ball. “I have a soul, but I’m still a vampire. You made it CRYSTAL CLEAR… I'm BENEATH you.”

Buffy stood still and once more watched his back as he moved away. There was a glimpse of the vampire she remembered in the tone of his voice, a glimpse of the pain he showed when he lost Drusilla and the anger he harbored against Angel. Did he harbor the same feelings against her? The way he said it was a verbal punch in the stomach. Is that what she did to him? If so, it only deepened the mystery of why he was willing to make a truce. Buffy sighed. She didn’t get the answers she wanted. But he was right about one thing, they had a long-term mission to carry out. She had to stay on track, she wasn’t going to get answers tonight.

Buffy was quiet for the rest of patrol. Even when they found a pair of Covox demons trying to dig up a fresh corpse, not even a quip was spoken. They double-teamed the demons. Both let the fight go on longer than it needed to, both working out their emotional stress the best way they knew how, by pounding their fists on a demon.

“Well, the evening wasn’t a total loss,” Buffy thought as she climbed into her bedroom window. “Spike has fought beside me before. He’s telling the truth about that.”

~~~
GILES APARTMENT:
MORNING
~~~

Giles hung up the phone and went to the kitchen to make himself another cup of tea. He had been up since early morning calling his trusted contacts in England along with a few demons he knew.

The information he got was contradictory. As far as the Council was concerned, William the Bloody was outclassed in his depravity by only one vampire, Angelus. He earned this distinction by killing two slayers. And alongside his sire Drusilla, he massacred two orphanages. There were no survivors in either.

A Phylarch demon, a worshiper of balance, had a very different story to tell. The adults in charge of the orphanages were worshipers of a demon called Psychophagos the Soul Eater. They sacrificed the children’s souls to the demon, who were then bound to do its bidding. As adults, they would have been sent out into the world to acquire more souls for the demon. The vampires did the world a service by granting them death.

“They couldn’t have known,” Giles said.

“The seer, Drusilla, knew.”

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose while still holding the phone to his ear. “That does not negate the fact that Spike has killed two slayers.”

“To truly know the light, one must know the dark. Who knows prey better than the hunter?” the demon priest said with a great deal of patience. This man was a watcher. He knew these things. He should not have to be reminded.

“Still, the vampire has acquired a soul. I need to know it is not corrupted by evil. Can you help me with that?”

“My people have a vaticination. The darkness and the light will come together and the world will achieve balance.”

“Dear lord,” Giles thought, “a demonic prophecy. Spike said the world had been thrown out of balance. That's what necessitated him being charged to make it right. The council wouldn’t give any credence to a demonic prophecy. Perhaps that's why I’ve never heard of it.” Giles returned his glasses to his face. “Would you be able to look at him and ascertain if he is the one sent to fulfill your vaticination?”

“It would require a purification and must be done on the full moon closest to the winter solstice.”

Giles pursed his lips. The winter solstice was December 21st. It was more than a month away. “I was hoping for confirmation sooner.”

“There is an alternative,” the priest told him. “Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan is an anagogic demon. He is charged by The Powers That Be to direct those who come to him on their true path of spiritual growth. He is the proprietor of a karaoke nightclub here in L.A. called Caritas. Have the souled one sing for him. You will have your confirmation.”

“Is it safe for me to go there?”

“It is warded against violence. It is safe.”

Giles got the directions to the bar, thanked the demon, and hung up the phone. “Good Lord,” Giles muttered to himself. If what the Phylarch told him were true and if this anagogic demon confirmed Spike’s soul was untainted by evil, he would have to accept the vampire into his life. He would have to go against all his watcher training and trust him. It was mid-morning, but he needed a drink. He went to his liquor cabinet, took out his best bottle of scotch, and poured himself a generous amount of the golden-brown liquid.

~~~
EVENING
~~~

Spike was the first to arrive. Giles was hoping it would be Buffy. He wanted to talk to her alone.

“The good stuff on the table tonight?” Spike asked.

Giles was confused by the question. “What?”

“You’ve been drinking, Rupert.” Spike tapped the side of his nose. “Can smell it. If it’s being out of a job that’s bothering you, that will right itself about this time next year.”

“The Council is going to take me back, are they?”

“Well, yeah; Buffy makes them take you back with retroactive pay. But that’s not what I’m talking about. You buy the magic shop and make a right good go of it. You get Demon Girl to work for you, and she is one savvy businesswoman.”

“I open a business establishment?”

“It has everything you need to be a proper watcher. Plenty of shelving for your books, space for research parties, and a training room for Buffy in the back.”

Giles thought for a moment. It sounded like a good idea. Plus, a magic shop would give him a window into the magic users in Sunnydale and perhaps a heads up to what may happen. “Maybe I should look into it sooner than next year.”

Spike nodded. Perhaps he just kept the watcher out of the unemployed funk he fell into in the previous timeline. But he wasn’t going to give up the opportunity for a taste of that twenty-year-old scotch. “About that drink?”

Giles considered sharing his precious bottle with Spike. He could get some information out of the vampire if he loosened him up with alcohol and played his cards right. “I’ll give you a drink if you’ll answer some questions for me.”

“As long as they’re about the mission, I’ll answer.”

“It links, indirectly, as to why the Powers chose you to fight at Buffy’s side.”

Spike was intrigued. He curled his tongue behind his teeth, tilted his head a bit, and tried to read the watcher's face. Giles had the best poker face Spike had ever seen. Spike shrugged. “I’ll listen, can’t guarantee I’ll answer.”

Giles went into the kitchen and came back with a bottle and two glasses. He poured them both a small amount.

Spike took his glass and took a sip, rolling it over his tongue and savoring the taste before appreciating the burn as it flowed down his throat. He looked up at Giles. “Ask away, Watcher.”

Giles looked down into his glass as he asked his question. “Did you know the directors of the two orphanages you attacked were demon worshipers?”

Spike squinted at Giles. “Bloody hell, where did that come from?”

“Answer the question, Spike.”

“I didn’t know until I drank their blood. What are you on about Rupert? I don’t see how that has anything to do with this mission. When did the Council suss it out?”

Giles ignored Spike's question. “You could taste it in their blood?”

“Course.” Spike continued to stare at Giles.

“You’re telling me that worshiping a demon changes a person's blood?”

“It's always about blood, Rupert. You watcher types should know that.”

“And you drank it anyway?”

“You’re bloody well right I did. Killed the demon and stole his power.”

“So, a demon worshiper’s blood is like slayer blood? It has power?”

“Bloody hell no. Slayer’s blood’s the creme de la creme; there's nothing better. But there’s no power boost. It’s a bloody strong aphrodisiac, though.”

“How long did the power boost last?”

“Bloody hell Watcher, I drank the demon worshiper's blood and killed the demon. The power he infused his followers with is mine until someone kills me. That’s why a one hundred twenty-year-old vampire was strong enough to pass Lloyd’s trials. What’s this have to do with the mission?”

“The Phylarch Demons have a prophecy. They believe that you and Buffy are fulfilling that prophecy.”

Spike scoffed. “Never heard of Phylarch demons. Bloody hell Rupert, false prophecies are like raindrops in a hurricane.” Spike turned his head and looked at the door. “Buffy’s here.”

A second later, Buffy opened the door and walked into Giles's apartment. She flopped down on the sofa and looked at her watcher. “Did you find anything?”

“I did. There is indeed a wish-granting demon named Lloyd who works out of Africa. The Phylarch demons believe you and Spike may be the fulfillment of a prophecy and…”

“Whoa, I don’t die in this prophecy, do I?” Buffy asked.

Spike gave a low growl. “Powers charged me with making sure that doesn’t happen, Slayer.”

Buffy jumped up. “So, we’re all set then. We can establish a truce.”

“Ahhh, not quite. There’s a demon in L.A. that can read Spike and ensure that his soul is untainted by black magic.”

Buffy stopped. “L.A.? We’re going to L.A.? Okay, I’ll do some shopping while you and Spike talk to the demon.”

“I’d like the three of us to have a reading. We need some clarity on the prophecy, the whole situation with the initiative, and we need to identify any forces that may be working against us with the alleged time travel.”

“It’s not alleged, Watcher. What exactly does this reading entail?” Spike asked. “I’m not letting some strange demon do any mojo on me.”

“There are no spells involved. The demon runs a karaoke bar called Caritas. Have you heard of it?”

“No, but then I’m not much for the L.A. scene.”

“A karaoke bar for demons?” Buffy asked.

“Yes, he reads his patrons as they sing. The Phylarch priest said he is charged by the Powers to set those who come to him on their true course of spiritual growth.”

“Demons and spiritual growth. Sounds oxen monoric to me,” Buffy said.

“I think you mean oxymoronic, Slayer.”

Giles cleared his throat. “Yes, well, that's neither here nor there. The priest assured me if we sing, we will get answers.”

“Bloody hell, Rupert. If you want me to sing for a room full of demons, you’re buying the drinks.”

~~~
TBC
~~~

Chapter 4: Caritas

Chapter Text

~~~
Spike refused to ride to L.A. in Giles' puddle jumper of a car. He cleaned all the empty bottles and trash out of his De Soto, scraped the black off all the windows, drove through one of those automatic car washes, opted for the VIP service with interior detailing, and sprayed the interior with air freshener (Those pine tree thingies were just too strong for a vampire’s nose.) Not even Buffy could complain. They were good to go.

Giles was a bit skeptical about Spike driving their little group to L.A. He felt as if he were between a rock and a hard place. He didn’t trust the vampire to get to Caritas by himself if he and Buffy rode in his car. Spike’s car, a classic 1958 De Soto Firedome if he wasn’t mistaken, was clean and the engine was purring like a kitten. So he steeled himself and climbed in the back.

The directions the Phylarch gave were concise and they had no problem finding Caritas once they got to L.A.

The bar was located in an older part of the city. It had once been a thriving manufacturing hub. But no longer. The buildings were nondescript rectangles, one or two stories high. Most were boarded up. Some areas were old parking lots with broken pavement and long tufts of dead grass. The area looked abandoned.

“Nice hunting ground,” Buffy observed as they got out of the car and headed for the building with the small neon sign glowing reddish-orange into the night.

“Vampires go where the people are, Slayer. I don’t see any other people here.”

The door into Caritas was metal and painted a battleship gray in contrast to the white brick building. It wasn’t necessary to turn a knob or press a thumb latch to open the door. All it took was one simple pull.

Giles was the first to enter and walk down the half-flight of stairs. Buffy followed close behind Spike entered last with a quick look back to make sure no demon was sneaking up on them.

Giles walked a few steps in, then stopped and scanned the area. Caritas was well-lit, not the dark, dank, deeply shadowed place he expected. There was music playing and a demon standing on a stage, centered on the back wall, grunting out the lyrics to Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Spike didn’t know whether to laugh or vomit. He opted for neither. He stood tall, like the master vampire he was, and scanned the area, making sure to give off the ‘I don’t take sh*t from anyone’ vibes, just the way Angelus had taught him. The wanker was good for something, but then, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Giles said the place was warded against violence, which was good because he saw two demons that he knew for sure had sworn blood feuds.

Buffy's danger signals were at DEFCON 1. She stood in a battle stance clenching and unclenching her fists.

A tall green demon with red eyes and short red horns approached them. He was dressed in a royal blue suit with a melon-colored dress shirt. His tie matched his suit. “Hello, travelers,” he said. “All are welcome here at Caritas. I’ll be your host tonight. Or any night, for that matter.” He said with a friendly voice. He turned his gaze on Buffy. “I assure you, Angel Cakes, there will be no violence.”

“What exactly happens if something does attack?” Buffy asked.

The host gave an inner cringe at hearing the slayer call his customers things, but he kept a smile on his face. “Anyone attempting violence, human or demon, would be rendered unconscious and paralyzed until he or she is removed from the premises.”

“That sounds acceptable,” Giles said. “We're here to get readings.”

“There’s quite a line ahead of you. But, I assure you we’ll fit you in.”

The music stopped, and the green demon turned to his bartender. “Aymen, Show these nice humans to table nine and take their orders.” Then he stepped away to speak with the singer.

The bartender smiled at Buffy. “Welcome to Caritas. It isn’t often we get such a pretty lady in here.” He spoke directly to Buffy, ignoring the two men.

Spike gave a low warning growl. He didn’t want a half-demon hitting on the slayer.

The bartender was startled and hung his head. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to offend.”

“No offense taken,” Buffy said with a pointed look at Spike.

As soon as they sat down, Spike ordered a bottle of their best Whiskey.

“Hold on. What exactly is your best bottle of Whiskey?” Giles asked.

“The boss keeps a bottle of Glenfiddich 26-Year-Old Grande Couronne Single Malt in stock,” the bartender answered.

Giles groaned. The bottle would cost over seven hundred dollars. “That's a bit too rich for my blood. Would you have a 12-year-old bottle in stock?”

“Sure do.”

It would cost him about fifty dollars, but it wasn’t bad for a night out. “We’ll have that with two glasses. Do you have any non-alcoholic, human beverages for the lady?” Giles asked.

“I can make fruit smoothies,” the bartender said. He was careful to direct his comments to the older human. “Got Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, and bananas. I’ll mix up any combo you want. We keep a special blender just for human drinks. No worries about beetle juice or yak urine contamination.”

Buffy turned a bit pale. “Do you have a Diet Pepsi in a bottle or can?”

Aymen turned to Buffy but kept his head bowed. It wouldn’t do to offend a vampire. There wasn’t any violence in Caritas, but that didn’t mean the vamp couldn’t wait to ambush him after his shift. “Sure, we got bottles. Would you like a glass with that?”

“No, I think I’ll just drink it right out of the bottle.” She couldn’t get the thought of yak urine, served in a glass, out of her mind.

“Oh, I don’t want to forget. If you need to use the ladies, I have the key behind the bar. We keep it extra clean. Lorne saw on that Bar Rescue show that women won’t go to a place without a clean ladies.”

“Lorne?” Buffy asked.

Aymen risked a glance up. “My boss Lorne. Don’t make any jokes about Lorne Green, the guy from Bonanza. He’s not into green jokes.”

“Good to know,” Buffy said with a smile.

~~~

They sat sipping their drinks for half an hour, but it felt more like a day and a night when Buffy had had enough of the demons grunting and groaning to the music. “Can we talk about something and get our minds off that noise? Oh, I know. Giles, have you read any good books lately?”

Spike nearly choked on his drink.

Giles glared at the vampire. “Yes, very funny. Perhaps Spike can grace us with a bit of information about some of the not-so-big bads that will be visiting Sunnydale this year.”

“Be a sight more interesting than any tomes you’ve read.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Just tell us what you know, Spike.”

Spike held out his empty glass and gave it a shake. “You want me to talk, it'll cost ya.”

Giles poured.

Spike took a generous sip, taking a moment to relish the burn before he began talking. “Don’t know all the particulars, was only there for the aftermath. A female werewolf comes to town and gets her eyes on Red’s boy. Something goes down, and the boy leaves town. Red was devastated. You lot thought she was doing okay until she did the spell.” Spike took another sip of his drink as the memories of Buffy loving him flooded his mind.

“It couldn’t have been too bad. Willow can barely float a pencil.”

“It was bad enough for D'Hoffryn to offer to make her a vengeance demon.”

“Dear lord, what did she do?”

“She made you blind, turned the boy into an even stronger demon magnet than he already is, he had hordes of demons chasing him all over Sunnydale, and …” Spike paused and took another drink. He wasn’t sure how this little gem of information was going to sit with the watcher or the slayer.

“And what?” Buffy asked.

Spike huffed. There was nothing for it, so he just blurted out, “You and I were engaged to be married.”

“Bloody hell,” Giles exclaimed. “Why would Willow do any of that?”

“She didn’t know what she was doing. When she found out, she broke the spell. What was interesting was the Scoobies reaction. Willow said sorry, baked cookies, and detailed your car. All was forgiven, and there was no mention of getting her the magic training she needed.”

Giles took a deep breath and blew it out. “That oversight will have to be corrected.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“We were really, actually, truly, engaged? Buffy asked.

“You wanted ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ for our first dance as vampire and wife.”

“That was the spell,” Buffy said as her cheeks turned a delightful shade of red.

Spike took another sip of whisky and continued. “After that, the Gentlemen came to town and stole everyone's voices. They wanted to take seven hearts. Think they took three or four before the slayer stopped them. That's when she found out Captain Cardboard was a commando, and he found out she was the slayer. Some sh*t hit the fan after that.”

“What kind of sh… um, what happened?

“You were dating Corn Fed, and he invited you to tour the initiative. You joined up. Shortly after that Walsh tried to have you killed.”

“My psy professor’s name is Walsh.”

Spike pointed at Buffy. “Give the lady a kewpie doll.”

“What’s Corn Fed’s real name? I’ll be sure to avoid him.”

Spike smiled. That worked out better than expected. “Riley Finn.”

“That’s Dr. Walsh’s TA. Is the whole university in on this?”

“No, just one soddin’, haunted, frat house full of commandos.

“Dear lord,” Giles exclaimed. “Did the ghost actually manifest?”

“No, it wasn’t a ghost. Don’t know exactly what it was. You lot didn’t keep me in the loop. I was still more of an enemy than a colleague at the time. Anyway, the house itself got cranky and grew thorn vines trapping people inside. Heard it had a wall that gave org*sms, but don’t know how true that was.”

“Bloody hell,” Giles swore under his breath. “That kind of energy has to affect the fraternity members.” Giles pulled a notebook and pen out of his inner pocket and began writing. “I need to research that. Anything else of significance?”

“Oh yeah, quite a few demons tried to fulfill their New Year's resolution. Three earthquake demons tried to open the Hellmouth. Ethan Rayne came to town and turned you into a Fyarl demon. And, long about February, the other slayer wakes up and somehow manages to change bodies with Summers. After that, it was all Initiative-related goings on. Oz came back and got caught. The Scoobies went in to rescue him. Adam woke up and put his plan into action. Oh, I forgot to tell you about the bear.”

The host approached their table. “Time to stop focusing on the doom and gloom, Sugar Plums. Let’s have some fun.” He handed each of them a pamphlet. “This is a list of our songs. I’ll need your choices in about 45 minutes so I can program the machine for you, and I’ll need to know in what order you plan to sing. I wouldn’t want a singing snafu. After that, you're up.”

The next 45 minutes crawled along as slowly as the previous 45. Giles was the first to make his song choice, Penny Lane. It seemed appropriate. He would often sit and wonder why.

Spike grumbled under his breath about there not being any Ramones songs on the list. He briefly considered, ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction’ but it had too strong of a sexual undertone. Then he saw it. ‘The House of the Rising Sun’. True, there was more than a bit of irony in the title, but it had an edge and he liked the beat.

Buffy didn’t consider herself a singer. Sure, she enjoyed listening to music, but singing in front of an audience… She ran her finger down the list. There was so much to choose from. She wanted to sing a song she knew and liked. Something she sang along to on the radio. And there it was, ‘Wicked Game’ perfect for the message she wanted to send Spike.

Next came the arguments about singing order. Buffy and Spike wanted Giles to sing first, and Buffy insisted on singing last. Spike could sense that the slayer was not about to give way. The group didn’t notice that one by one, the bar was clearing out. By the time it was their turn to sing, all the other customers had left.

The Host turned to his bartender. “Aymen, just bus the tables, then you can go. I’ll close up by myself tonight. He sat at their table and sipped his sea breeze as Giles took the stage. He said very little between performances, preferring to wait until they finished their set, and Buffy returned to the table, before commenting.

When he listened to his customers sing, he got information from three points of view, the spiritual path the singer was on, the spiritual path they should be on, while the personality of the singer hummed along in the background. He could see the pathways in his mind's eye, but he felt and was immersed in the personality.

The watcher was a surprise. He was a good man, committed to doing what was right, but he had a dark side, named Ripper. The dark side itself wasn’t surprising, everyone had one. The surprising part was that the watcher kept his Ripper persona firmly locked away, so firmly that he had developed a stutter and a tightness in his eye muscles that necessitated wearing glasses. Even so, on occasion, he did let Ripper out when needed, but he never let him completely off the leash. The watcher lived in fear of what Ripper could do should he ever get free.

Next up was the vampire. Lorne didn’t like reading vampires. They were both alive and dead at the same time. It was an unpleasant dichotomy. Spike, however, hit him hard with the first note. The vampire had a soul, a very old soul, and one that had chosen to bond with the vampire essence.

Spike's life path rolled out in his mind. Drusilla was meant to be a servant of the light, but Angelus got to her and turned her insane. But not as insane as they thought. The pixies in Drusilla’s head were agents of balance. They countered the evil Miss Edith and caused Dru to gouge out her dollies eyes. It was the pixies that whispered to Drusilla that she should make William her childe. And it was the pixies that told Drusilla about the children in the orphanages that had had their souls stolen. The nasty adults needed to have their prizes, their newly made slaves, stolen from them. Her child, William, would drink their blood and become stronger for it.

Spike was a champion. That in itself was quite a surprise. He was on the path he was meant to be on.

Last up was the Slayer. It was no surprise that she was a champion. What did surprise him was the personal message she was trying to send the vampire with the song she was singing. I was on fire, and no one could save me but you. The lyrics said. But in a different timeline, she had been on fire, twirling and smoking, and about to burst into open flame when Spike saved her.

“Life isn’t bliss, life is just this, it’s living,” Spike sang to her.

And as he sang, Lorne read him. The vampire, the demon itself was deeply in love with both the slayer and Buffy Summers. He loved all of her completely and unconditionally. Their relationship was a complete mess. But Spike never stopped forgiving her, and she, on an unconscious level always forgave him. The slayer, the vampire, the human soul William, and Buffy were connected in a Gordian knot of emotions and actions. In this case, the sword that cut the knot was time travel. Spike had been sent back to make things right.

When Buffy returned to her seat, Lorne took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be easy. “Well, all of you have had quite a rollercoaster ride.” He turned to Giles. “The human soul is pure human. It agreed to return to the vampire, it wasn’t forced by magic. The demon that returned William was simply a conduit. There’s no black magic residue. What you call the demon essence and the human soul have blended together. Spike has the soul of a champion.”

“What do you mean by blended?” Giles asked.

The host's demeanor changed from the fun-loving guy who gave people quirky nicknames and made Giles wonder if they did the right thing coming here. The demon became very serious. His voice lowered, and he was giving off solemn vibes.“Just that. The vampire was cleansed by fire. The soul called William is very old. It was ready to move on to its next level of existence. It chose to bond and achieve balance. It’s that balance of what you call good and evil, the darkness and the light, that allows Spike to be the champion that he is.”

“Bloody hell,” Spike whispered. He hadn’t expected such a definitive statement. Was that why the soul didn’t constantly burn anymore? He thought it might be the ring. But, if the soul had become one with the demon essence… He told Buffy, in the Hellmouth, he could feel it and it kind of tickled. Now, he knew it was there, but he had no word to describe it, other than to say it was a presence, a part of who he had become. He had changed. He knew it. At the same time, the soul/demon essence montage was more than a part of him but less than all of him. The best definition was that it was undefinable.

Giles sat for a moment quickly writing in his notebook. Then he looked up into the green demon's eyes. “Are Buffy and Spike fulfilling a prophecy?”

“The potential is there, but they both have free will. Whether the prophecy comes to pass depends on the choices they make and whether evil can thwart them. It will try. It’s kept this prophecy from manifesting in the past.”

Giles nodded his head. He would have to do more research. If the prophecy was thwarted in the past, maybe there is a human equivalent. He moved on, there were more immediate things he needed to know about. “Did you see anything about the soldiers that have invaded Sunnydale?”

“Enough to know you're in for a bumpy ride, my friends. They need to be stopped. They’re not just targeting demons, they’re secretly giving the human commandos demon hormones, telling them they’re vitamins to make them stronger than they should be. In reality, the pills are preparing their bodies for transformations into Frankenstein monsters. Part human, part demon. Their end game is to create an army, an invincible ground force. They have government funding for the experiments to control and use demons as fodder in war. The human/demon hybrids are a secret project called 314 after the room that houses it.”

“You knew this?” Giles asked Spike.

“Yeah, met Adam, the prototype. Knew the captain of the commandos, Riley Finn. He’s the next soldier on the good doctor's chopping block, the bastards put a chip on his thoracic nerve to make sure he complied.”

“Any insights on how to stop them?” Giles asked the demon.

“Gather as much solid evidence as you can get your hands on. You’ll need to use diplomatic channels to bring them down. The slayer and her friends can’t fight the whole army by themselves. Fear of exposure is the only thing that will stop them. But make sure you cut off the head of this monster. If you just wound it, it’ll come after you, and it won’t be pretty.”

“Is there anything else we need to know?”

Lorne told them the rest of what he saw, at least the things they wanted or needed to hear. The part about Drusilla’s pixies being agents of balance surprised all of them.

When Lorne was finished talking he made eye contact with all of them in turn. “Don’t let your guard down. These humans are vicious and devoid of empathy. They justify what they’re doing by telling themselves they’ll save lives even as they feed poison to their own people.”

~~~
TBC
~~~
Please comment. As I write this, this story is not yet finished. Comments help me to stay focused on finishing and posting new chapters ASAP. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 5: Aftermath

Chapter Text

~~~

All were silent as they walked back to the car. There was only the sound of distant traffic and the clicking of heels on the cement sidewalk. Even the night was still, as if waiting for some reaction from the trio who now knew they held the fate of the world in their hands.

Giles was gobsmacked, he felt like he'd just been hit upside of the head with a cosmic two-by-four. The host had supplied him with a lot of corroborating information. He had told himself he may have to let the vampire into his life and now he was faced with doing just that. It went against everything he was taught by the Council.

The host didn’t deny the prophecy. It was real. The information about Drusilla alone was mind-boggling. And yet it made perfect sense that the powers wouldn’t want to lose their servant. They would make use of her anyway they could.

Despite everything he just learned, he would have to stay vigilant. He couldn’t just roll over, it would be like casting their fate to the wind. He needed to do his job and keep a healthy skepticism. What was the prayer they said in Alcoholics Anonymous? God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. It was wisdom that brought balance. He knew from experience that balance was never easy.

~~~

To say that Spike was surprised by Buffy’s song choice was an understatement. The first line, ‘The world was on fire and no one could save me but you.’ hit him hard. The memories of singing, ‘She’ll walk through the fire and let it burn.’ echoed in his ears. The visions of her twirling dance for the demon, Sweet, the Scoobies, frozen in place, the scent of the smoke as she began to burn, played out in his mind. He stopped her only moments before she burst into flames. But Buffy couldn’t know any of that, it hadn’t happened in this timeline. Were the Powers sending him a message, a reminder of what would happen if he didn’t do his job? If so he bloody well didn’t need it.

He was glad the stage didn’t give Buffy a direct line of sight to their table. It gave him time to school his emotions. It wouldn’t do to let Buffy see how deep they ran.

In the previous timeline he was the one accusing her of playing a wicked game when she said he couldn’t love because he had no soul or when she came to him, needing him. She fed the love he had for her, instead of letting him rest in peace.

But she couldn’t stop feeding his love, she could never do that. With every breath, and word, and movement, she was Buffy. She would feed his love until she was dust and beyond. He knew that from experience, his love never wavered during the 147 days she was gone.

But that didn’t mean they were right for each other. She was so much better than him. She was light and love. She deserved all the best and that wasn’t him, not when he was human and certainly not now, as a vampire, a killer, and yes, a monster.

He sighed, and prayed, to whatever deity listened to vampires, for the strength to stand aside when this mission was over and let her find what she deserved.

~~~

Buffy wondered if maybe she was being too subtle with the choice of her song. Spike didn’t seem to react to it at all.

All the information about his sire, Drusilla, was mondo-bizarro. The pixies in Dru’s head weren’t evil. How could that be? She disagreed with a lot of the Council's dogma, but she had never expected something like this. Was that a contributing factor as to why Spike was so emotional? Did a sire affect what you became as a vampire? All Spike’s feelings showed in his eyes even before he had a soul. What did that mean?

When Angel came back to his apartment after sleeping with her she couldn’t see the difference in his feelings toward her, couldn’t see the hate Angelus harbored toward her. Now that she thought about it, the only time she saw joy in Angel’s eyes was when Angelus was causing someone pain.

But with Spike, emotions were as bright as flame… she saw the change instantly. He stood in the sunshine and all the hatred toward her was gone.

Nevertheless, from her point of view, he was playing a wicked game. He wanted her to think her feelings were locked in, that she couldn’t change. He had been hurt by her, and he wasn’t going to risk that kind of pain again. But now he had a soul, and not just any soul, the soul of a champion. She felt an undeniable pull to him. It felt right.

She was hit with an epiphany; she had hurt Spike and he came back from death to save her despite it. He still loved her. At that moment she made a decision. She was going to do everything in her power to show him she had changed. She was going to save Spike.

~~~
Decisions
~~~

Spike had turned onto the highway and was reaching for the radio knob when Buffy broke the silence.

“I want to have a Scoobie meeting tomorrow night and fill Willow and Xander in about all of this.

“I believe we should focus on the Initiative.” Giles said. “They are our biggest problem. All of the other information we receive tonight is inconsequential to our current difficulties.

“Spike’s going to be at the meeting. Xander and Willow will want to know why.” Buffy argued.

Spike gripped the steering wheel. If he were human his knuckles would have turned white from the pressure. It pissed him off that Buffy let the bloody Scoobies run her life. “Tell them it’s because you’re the slayer and you want me there. That's all the sodden’ reason they need.”

Buffy shook her head. “Whenever I’ve tried to keep things from them it comes out eventually. It takes too much time and energy to deal with the aftermath.”

“I’ll stick to my original feelings on this matter.” Giles said. “We should tell them I’ve confirmed Spike has acquired a soul unencumbered by dark magic, and you and he have negotiated a truce. I believe it best not to mention knowledge of the future at all. The more information they have about the previous timeline, the more they’ll want, and the more things can go wrong. It’s human nature.”

“Sure,” Buffy said with a sarcastic tone to her voice. “And just how do we explain how Spike knows so much about the future?”

Giles raised his eyebrows. “We could tell them we learned it through research, portents, and informants, the way we always do.”

“More lies,” Buffy huffed. “I don’t like being lied to; I’m not going to lie to my friends. We need to trust each other.”

Spike could see this whole conversation was going nowhere. But he knew lying was a major taboo for Buffy so he did what he had to do and caved. He’d give Buffy’s way a chance. “Okay, we’ll tell them. But, for the record, I have a bloody bad feeling about this. If any buggering thing goes wrong I’m going to smash the gem and reset.”

“What are you talking about?” Giles asked.

“Whistler said if I smash the gem I’ll end up back at the moment I put it on.”

“I assume we’ll all lose our memories of this timeline?”

“I’ll keep mine. This now will just become another past to me. Don’t want to do it, but if I have to I will.”

“Good lord, we have to figure out a way to keep our memories in case smashing the gem becomes necessary. It won’t do to keep repeating the same mistakes.”

“Good luck with that, Rupert. Whistler said this whole time travel trip was caused by quantum mechanics. He told me not even the powers can fiddle with it, the existence of the multiverse depends on it humming along undisturbed.”

“Yes, you told us about the entangled particles. I’ll need to do some research. There is a theory that some magic energies are pulled from the quantum realm. Locator spells, for example, may be possible due to entangled quantum particles. We won’t be disturbing the machine so much as getting it to do what it’s meant to do. You became tangled simply by wearing both magic objects.”

“Not exactly,” Spike said. “I was sent to this time because I burnt up while wearing the bloody amulet. The soddin’ thing saved my essence. The gem is a healing stone so the amulet sent me to be healed.”

“Do you have the amulet?” Giles asked.

“Yeah, don’t know how but it came with me.”

“I’ll need it.”

“Don’t care if I ever see that bloody thing again, but you’re not getting the Amara gem.”

Giles exhaled loudly. “I don’t believe I’ll need it. Also, for the record, I have no intention of taking the gem from you. Vampires searched for centuries and couldn’t find it. I believe there is a reason you found it, here and now, in Sunnydale.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Soooo,” Buffy interrupted, “We’ve all agreed to tell Willow and Xander everything?” Buffy was sure everything would go well. Her friends would deal.

“We should bring Anya in too,” Spike said. “She has a thousand years of demon knowledge. We shouldn’t let that go to waste.”

Buffy wrinkled her nose. “Anya, really?”

“Yeah, she’s smarter than the Scoobies ever gave her credit for and she is dead honest. Not to mention she was a bloody strong witch before she became a vengeance demon. She could be an important asset if you let her.”

“Okay, like you said if something goes majorly wrong you’ll smash the gem and we’ll start over.”

~~~
Scoobie Meeting
~~~

Xander was incredulous. “And you believe the evil dead?”

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose before replacing them. “I’ve had confirmation on every major point.”

Xander practically spit his words out. “Major points, here’s your major points, G-man. Buffy doesn’t have a sister. But she commits suicide to save her. Willow gets addicted to magic, convinces the Scoobies to pull Buffy out of heaven, mind rapes all of us, kills two people and tries to end the world. You never confirmed any of that. There’s no way to confirm a future that hasn’t happened yet.”

“She didn’t commit suicide, it was a sacrifice.” Spike growled. “She jumped to save the sodden universe. All of existence would have been destroyed.”

“You need to trust me on this,” Buffy said. “Spike’s telling the truth.”

“Spike is right, It was a sacrifice.” Anya added. She knew Xander hated vampires, but he loved Buffy like a sister. It was a surprise to her that Xander would choose his prejudice over Buffy.

Xander glared at his girlfriend. “Stay out of this Ahn.” He turned his scowl back to Spike. “And, all of existence? Really? Exaggerate much?” Xander’s hand quivered with anger as he pointed at the vampire. “No, Buffy would have thrown her fake sister into the portals. She wasn’t even real. It was suicide for her to jump when she had an alternative. Face it evil dead, you screwed up telling this story. Buffy wouldn’t commit suicide.”

Willow was appalled at what she had been told. “I’m with Xander on this. I wouldn’t do those things, Buffy. A soul doesn’t make a person good, it certainly doesn’t make an evil vampire good. He’s lying to us, He can say anything happened in the future. Don’t you see that?”

Xander took up the argument. “No, they don’t, they can’t. Anya told us Spike has thrall. Buffy and Giles are in a thrall. That's the only explanation. Giles would never trust Spike.”

Giles yanked his glasses from his face. It was pure Ripper who glared at Xander. His voice was rock steady when he spoke. “I am not in a thrall. Neither Buffy nor I are in a thrall. I am aware that these things are hard to hear, but we have no reason to believe Spike is lying to us and every reason to believe he is telling us the truth.”

Anya didn’t understand Xander’s angry denial. This situation was totally in line with something the Powers would do. And Willow going dark… Well, when good people got a taste of dark power… they were the ones to watch out for. She had seen it often enough in her years as a vengeance demon. She tried again to be the voice of reason. “Giles is right. They’re not in a thrall.”

Xander’s voice seethed with anger. “I told you to stay out of this, Anya. This is between me and my friends.”

Willow stood up, she wore her resolve face. “We refuse to be pulled into this. I’m going to find a way to break this thrall. Come on Xander, we’re getting out of here.”

~~~

The room was suddenly quiet as the apartment door closed, none too gently, behind Xander.

“That went about as well as expected,” Spike said, as he pulled off his boot and removed the ring from his toe. “You got a hammer, Rupert.”

“You can’t do that now. I haven’t found a way for Buffy and me to keep our memories.”

“Right now Red is running to her books to find a spell to erase our memories. Either way, you’re going to lose them. We can’t wait, Rupert.”

Giles nodded, Spike was right. He went to the closet and pulled out his toolbox.

Buffy was in deep denial. “No, Willow wouldn’t do that. She’s my best friend. She’d talk to me, stage an intervention. She’d try to change my mind before she’d…”

Giles handed Spike a hammer. “I’m afraid Spike is right about this. Willow is justifying her actions by telling herself we are under Spike’s thrall. We can’t take a chance, too much is at stake.”

Buffy looked into Spike's eyes. They were full of pain, pain he felt because of her turmoil. But they were honest eyes, she knew in her heart what had to be done. The slayer always knew.

Spike placed the ring on a stair. He didn’t worry about damaging the tread. This would all reset in a moment. He raised the hammer.

“No, wait,” Buffy rushed over and laid her hand on Spike’s, green eyes locked on blue. “I’m going to forget everything, so you can tell me the truth. Do you love me?”

Spike closed his eyes tight and then opened them. He licked his lips and took a soft breath. “Forever and always. God help me, Buffy, It’s always about you.”

He brought the hammer down before she could answer.

~~~
BLINK
~~~
~~~
TBC
~~~
Please comment. Comments help readers find good stories.

Chapter 6: BLINK

Chapter Text

~~~
BLINK
~~~

Spike laughed. “What the bloody hell am I supposed to do now?” this wasn’t what he wanted. Not by a long shot.

Harmony slammed the palm of her hand into Spike’s shoulder. “Snap out of it, Spike. Did you forget you’re going to kill the slayer?”

Spike looked at Harmony. Well, there bloody well was something he could do. “First things first, pet.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Look at me, Harm.”

“I’m standing right in front of you.”

Spike held up two fingers and moved them from Harmony’s eyes to his. “Be with me,” he said in the hypnotic voice Drusilla had taught him.

“What the hell are you doing, Spike?”

Spike didn't notice the flash of blue light. He continued to concentrate on Harmony’s eyes and ignored her question. “Be with me,” and just like that Harmony was enthralled. “When I take my hand off your shoulder you're going to leave the crypt and forget you ever met me. You will forget ever hearing about the Gem of…”

Harmony exploded into a cloud of dust.

“Bloody hell,” Spike glared at Whistler. “You didn’t have to do that. I was making her forget.”

“And how long will that last? There’s too much at stake to let her go, evil will use her against you.”

Spike scowled and took off the amulet, which was once again around his neck. He slid it into his pocket. There was no point in arguing with Whistler, Harm was dust. He decided to ask about something that had been bothering him. He wanted to know if being jerked around by the Powers had been going on for longer than the last few days. “Watcher thinks I was meant to find the ring, said vampires have been looking for it for centuries, since before Europeans discovered America. How’d it get here? Did the Powers put it here for me to find?”

“I don’t know, but I can tell you Amara didn’t make the ring; he stole it, along with the rest of this treasure. What happened, why are you back here so soon?”

“Slayer insisted on telling her sodden’ friends everything. Didn’t go over well. Willow flashed black eyes at me. Knew she was going to erase our memories so I smashed the gem. Why the bloody hell is Willow going dark now? That didn’t happen for years.”

“Black magic attached itself to Willow's soul when she pulled energy from the Hellmouth to re-ensoul Angelus. With every magic spell she does she pulls a little bit more. The darkness in her is growing stronger. When she was told about the previous timeline and dark Willow, she got scared. She doesn’t want to be cleansed.”

“Bloody hell, you couldn’t have told me that the first time round?”

“I can’t answer questions you don’t ask.”

Whistler knew Spike was different from the demons he usually dealt with. Demons tended to fight, kicking and screaming against the Powers' perceived injustice against them. Spike was angry when he first found out the Powers were going to make use of him, but he adapted as soon as he figured out he couldn’t do anything about it. Whistler had no false expectations about Spike. He knew the vampire would resist if he thought he had half a chance of winning. He also knew that Spike was a hell of a lot smarter than he let anyone know, and he used the underestimation of his intelligence to his advantage. This situation was going to tax that intelligence to its limit. Whistler watched as Spike took the ring from his finger and held it up, twisting it in the air and examining it from all sides.

Spike wasn’t naive. The Powers would use him in any way they could, if he let them.

Whistler watched for a few moments. He raised his eyebrows wondering what the vampire was up to, then shrugged. He’d find out soon enough. It was time to get on track, he had been sent here for a reason. “How are you going to change the slayer's mind about what she tells her friends?”

Spike gave an ironic huff and lowered the ring to his side. “I can’t. She’s set on telling them everything. Not even the watcher could change her mind. The Powers need to give the Slayer and the Watcher back their memories. It’s the only soddin’ way to avoid another repeat.”

“No can do. This is your party. You’ll have to think of something.”

“Was afraid of that.” Spike crouched down, placed the ring on the crypt floor, and grabbed a fist-sized chunk of concrete.

“What are you doing?” Whistler asked.

“Gonna smash this bloody thing and keep smashing it until the powers give them back their memories. No point in reliving the same bloody days over and over again. Powers want this soddin’ world saved; they can bloody well do their part to save it.”

Spike raised the concrete chunk above his head…

“STOP!” Whistler shouted. “Maybe we can reach a compromise.”

Spike lowered his makeshift hammer. “Listenin',” he said, but he stayed crouched and held tight to the chunk of concrete.

“The Powers will send Buffy a message in the form of a slayer dream. When you sing for Lorne he’ll warn you not to tell Willow and Xander everything.”

“Not good enough,” Spike said. “Slayer dreams are cryptic. Buffy needs to know it's her memories she's seein’. And Lorne has to tell them this is a do-over.”

The only way for Buffy to get her memories back is to entangle her with both you and the amulet. But there are consequences. The nexus point, where you’re both entangled with the gem is when she took your hand in the hellmouth. She’ll remember everything, including the blue flame that burned that scar onto the back of both your hands. That’s four years of memories, not just the few days you want her to remember. I know you won’t believe this but the Powers are trying to spare her that pain.”

“Bollocks! They’re only tryin’ to spare her ‘cause it’s in their own best interest. The wankers can’t chance her breaking again and needin’ to put herself back together.” Spike shook his head. “Can’t let her go through that again. What about the watcher?”

Whistler took a deep breath and blew it out. He looked sad when he spoke. “There’s no nexus point for you and him. He never touched you while you were wearing the gem. There’s no entanglement to work from.”

“Bloody buggering hell,” Spike said. He tossed the chunk of concrete aside, sat down on the floor, and began taking off his boot. “I’ll try it your way, Slayer Dream and Lorne. But the demon better tell them why it's a do-over and the Powers better make the soddin’ dream clear or we’ll be right back where we bloody well started.”

“Agreed,” Whistler said, and then he disappeared.

~~~
Buffy's Bedroom
~~~

Buffy woke with a gasp. She just had three, very weird, slayer dreams. The first one was a replay of her day. She didn’t understand why the Powers would bother.

The second one was a trip to L.A. where Giles, Spike, and she sang at a demon karaoke bar and then got a psychic reading from a green demon with red eyes and red horns.

The last dream was the most emotional. There was a Scoobie meeting. Buffy told Xander and Willow everything and they either couldn’t or wouldn’t deal. They stormed out of the meeting and Spike smashed the ring.

The thing about Slayer’s dreams is that they are vivid, cryptic and don’t fade away until after the event they are meant to warn about. Also, they never deal with personal feelings or circ*mstances. In the past, the dreams were only about the mission.

With these dreams, cryptic went out the window. She felt as if she were actually living them. She saw everything through her own eyes. She could feel the emotion behind every word. These dreams left her tired, as if she hadn’t slept at all.

In the dream, Giles didn’t want Spike to destroy the ring. He didn’t want to lose his memories. That's when it hit Buffy. These dreams could be memories. If Spike really did smash the ring and she lost her memories The Powers could choose to send them back ti her in the form of a dream.

Even though the dreams didn’t rise to the level of being cryptic they were still confusing. Slayer dreams had always been a heads-up of things to come. If they were memories, that was new. She would have to talk to Giles.

However, the personal information that came at the end of the dream was not something she wanted to share with her watcher. Spike said he loved her. She thought about the things Spike had told her on patrol last night. She had hurt him in the past he came from and she needed to make that better. She was not going to give in to Council dogma again. She had to show Spike she had changed. She needed to earn his trust, not just the ‘I’ve got your back in a fight’, physical trust, she knew they both had that. It was emotional trust she needed to build. She would have to go slow. She reasserted the promise she made to herself. Spike came to save her and she was going to save him right back.

~~~
Caritas
~~~

Buffy sipped her co*ke as she listened to what Lorne had to say. So far it was identical to her dream. That meant it was the usual precognitive slayer dream, not a download of memories. The dreams were a warning. She needed to rethink what she would tell Willow and Xander.

Spike sipped his whiskey and let Giles take the lead asking questions. So far everything Lorne said was the same as the first go-round. Spike couldn’t be sure that the Powers sent Buffy the slayer dream as they promised they would. She hadn’t mentioned anything about a dream. But she was already at the watcher’s place when he got there, so that was different. Also, she had avoided making eye contact with him all afternoon and evening, but she still chose to sing Wicked Game. Spike stared down at the amber liquid in his glass. He had to give up trying to figure out women. He took a deep breath and went back to listening to the green demon when he heard what he had been waiting for.

“There’s one more thing. This isn’t the first time you’ve been here.”

“I doubt I’d forget a demon karaoke bar,” Giles said.

“Spikalisious, over there has a do-over button. You’re here again because You made a decision to tell the slayer’s friends everything. Which is commendable, but not workable.

The boy’s emotional baggage is all very human, two alcoholic parents, living on the Hellmouth, and having to stake his best friend. Add to that low self-esteem… it’s not a co*cktail I’d like to drink.

The witch has been infected with dark magic. Subconsciously she wants to be the big cheese. She doesn’t want anyone or anything challenging her plan to become just that. Both your friends are afraid and that makes them dangerous. The boy’s afraid he’ll become a worthless alcoholic like his father. The witch is afraid she’ll become ordinary and invisible. You have to be careful of what you say to them. You can’t tell them about their future.

“That’s what my dream was about,” Buffy said, now she understood.

Giles was quiet for a moment as he processed everything he heard. He would have to talk to Spike about finding a way to keep their memories in case Spike had to press his do-over button again. He took a deep cleansing breath. “If that’s all, we should be going.”

Lorned nodded and stood up. “Good luck with all of this, You can find me here if there is anything I can do to help.”

~~~
Returning To Sunnydale
~~~
The ride back to Sunnydale was very different this time. Buffy listened as they discussed exactly what to tell Xander and Willow. There would be no mention of time travel and nothing about the previous timeline. Giles assured Buffy that he would find a magic teacher for Willow, one that could remove the taint of black magic from her soul.

Buffy was satisfied. “It sounds like a good plan.” Spike could tell by the tone of her voice that this was the slayer doing what was best for the mission. It was the first time since all this had started that Spike was sure the slayer was fully on board.

~~~
Next Evening:
Scoobie Meeting
~~~

“And you expect us to trust the evil dead just because he has a soul, because that worked out so well with Angel.” Xander scoffed.

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “This situation is in no way equivalent to what happened with Angel.”

“Sure, you had it checked out… BY TWO DEMONS!. We’re supposed to trust that?”

Anya put her hand on Xander’s arm. “Sweety, it was Lloyd who gave Spike his soul back. He doesn’t play games. If you pass the demon trials…”

“Anya, stay out of this,” Xander snapped with an angry glare.

“Don’t talk to Anya like that,” Buffy said. “She has just as much right to say something as any other Scoobie. She has a point.”

“I’m a Scoobie?” Anya asked.

“Ahh, yes,” Giles said, grateful for the change of subject. “The three of us discussed it on the way back from L.A. and there was a unanimous consensus that you would be a valuable member of the team. My apologies for not making that clear.”

Anya beamed and clapped. “Yay, I’m a Scoobie!”

Willow frowned, she wasn’t a big fan of Anya. She huffed out a deep breath. Buffy said every Scoobie had a right to talk and she was darn well going to say her piece. “What you’re telling us doesn’t make sense. You said that Spike got his soul back from the Lloyd demon in Africa. Anya said he’s been off human blood long enough to lose muscle mass. Yet, Buffy saw him at the frat party with Harmony and they were carrying a student they had fed from. The timeline just doesn’t fit. We’re talking about a week here. How did he get to Africa, find Lloyd, fight in the demon trials, and get back to Sunnydale, with a shiny new soul, in one week.”

“It can be done,” Anya said. “There are demon cargo companies that will transport vampires for a price. Wolfram and Hart have jets with necro-tempered glass for their clients with sun allergies.”

Xander and Willow glared at Anya.

“What, I’m just saying it could be done.”

“And you think you were just mistaken about him being off of human blood?” Willow asked in a sarcastic tone.

“Oh, no. I’m not mistaken. He’s been off human blood.”

“Then explain the half-dead guy Buffy saw him with at the frat house.”

“I didn’t see Spike that night. All I know is that the Spike sitting here tonight has been off human blood for at least a year.”

Suddenly everything became clear to Willow. ‘The Spike sitting here tonight,’ Willow looked at Giles, then at Buffy, finally she met Spike's eyes. “You came back in time. That’s how you did it.” She looked at Giles. “Did you know?”

Spike and Buffy were terrible liars. Spike, because he wore his human emotions on his sleeve and brutal honesty served the demon better, Buffy, because she hated lies. However, Rupert Giles was a totally different animal. He had Ripper and Ripper would do whatever needed to be done.

It was Ripper who removed his glasses. He didn’t polish them, he just held them at his side. His voice was calm, deep, and firm, without the hint of a stutter. “Yes, Buffy and I have full knowledge of this situation. Now I must ask you to cease this line of inquiry. It is simply too dangerous. People can die, one or more of them may be in this room. Do I make myself clear, Willow? You are not to speak of this again.”

“But…”

“WILLOW! I mean it. DO NOT speak of this again.”

“Giles is right,” Anya said. “Vengeance demons are forbidden to use time travel in granting a wish. It’s far safer to make a pocket universe, like I did when Cordelia wished Buffy never came to Sunnydale.”

“Thank you, Anya,” Ripper said with a nod. “Now, here is the way things are. Spike is here to help Buffy. We are going to accept his help. He has agreed to work within the confines of a truce. I do not demand or expect you to become his friend. You will however treat him with the respect due a colleague. If you’re unable to rise to that modicum of decent behavior, leave now.” Ripper looked around the room making eye contact with everyone. When no one got up to leave Ripper was put back in his mental closet and Giles returned his glasses to his face.

~~~
TBC
~~~

Chapter 7: Emotional Rain

Chapter Text

~~~
Meeting Fall Out
~~~

Willow was on a rant. “Oh, yeah. Let Anya talk, she’s a Scoobie now. I’ve been a Scoobie longer than her, but when I want to say something, something important, not just… “ Willow’s voice changed to a mocking tone. “Oh Giles is right and sure Buffy saw Spike with a half-dead guy, but he’s off human blood for more than a year.”

“Hay, I’m standing right here,” Anya said.

Willow glared at her.

Xander figured he'd better step in before two of the women in his life got into a catfight. “I thought we established that frat party Spike and souled Spike are from different timelines.”

“You’re missing the point, I’m a Scoobie too. But I got shut down. That’s not right. I’m Buffy’s best friend.”

Xander sighed. “That’s not … Look, we have to respect Giles' wishes and not talk about time travel.”

“Xander, I know you see it, something’s wrong. Giles and Buffy would never suddenly start trusting a vampire. He’s done something to them. I think Spike put them in a thrall.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Anya said. “They’re not in a thrall. I would have sensed it.”

Willow clenched and unclenched her jaw. “Ridiculous? You’re calling me stupid now.”

“Will, Anya never said you’re stupid.”

“What I’m saying is you’re jumping to conclusions not based on fact.”

“Okay, that's enough,” Xander said. “I’m calling an end to this. I say we do what Giles said and treat Spike like a colleague, nothing more, nothing less.”

“You’re just going to ignore what’s right in front of you?” Willow asked. “They’re keeping secrets, Xan.”

“Yes, secrets that need to be kept. Look, Willow, sleep on it. Cool off. Let rational minds prevail.”

“So now I’m stupid and irrational?”

“And with that, I say good night.” Xander took Anya’s arm and the couple walked away.

Willow stomped up her front walk and into her home. She had to do something, but what? She went into the kitchen to get a drink of water and there, hanging on the wall, was the answer. The phone. She would call Angel. Angel hated Spike. With any luck he would dust the bastard and they’d be done with him.

She smiled. She didn’t have a mirror so she couldn’t see her face. It was a wicked smile. If she had seen it, it would have given her pause, but no more than a pause. She used magic to find the number and schooled herself, from an angry, vengeful, Scoobie, into a worried friend, as she dialed.

The machine picked up so she left a message.

Willow giggled as she hung up the phone. That little twist at the end would guarantee Angel would come. Maybe even tonight.

~~~

When Angel and Wesley got back to the Hyperion the Phone on the counter was flashing.

“We have a message. Caller ID says it’s from Willow.” His hands were covered in demon ichor and he didn’t want to touch the phone.

Angel had no such reservations. He grabbed the phone and pushed the blinking button.

“Hi Angel, It’s Willow. Um, I just…well Ahh… Spike is in Sunnydale and he’s kind of wormed his way into the Scoobies. Buffy and Giles won’t kick him out…” The last sentence was said in a rush, then Willow paused and her voice changed from concerned friend to, oops I think I goofed. “Oh shoot. Disregard this message. I shouldn’t have bothered you. Buffy can take care of herself. She’s not going to fall for Spike’s mind games.” The message ended with a click.

“It’s too late to go to Sunnydale tonight,” Angel said. I’ll go first dark tomorrow”.

“Angel, are you sure? Willow is right. Buffy can take care of herself.”

“This is Spike we’re talking about. He wants to add a third slayer kill to his reputation.”

The demon ichor had gone from an unpleasant itch to a burning sensation. Wesley needed to take a shower. There was no point in arguing with Angel. His mind was made up. Apparently Buffy wasn’t out of Angel’s system. Wesley gave a mental shrug and headed for the shower.

~~~~
Light One Candle
*”It’s better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.”
William Lonsdale Watkinson
~~~

Giles had gotten up early to take advantage of the morning hours in his homeland. He talked to Athena, the head of the Devon coven. Athena had helped him recover from the aftermath of his sojourn into the darkness of his soul that was Ripper. But Giles had never found true balance. Ripper was a far too useful tool. Giles opted for keeping his dark side under control. It was a good choice for a watcher who lived on a Hellmouth, but it left him unqualified for helping others to find balance and balance was what he wanted for Willow.

A shamaness named Gabriella would come to Sunnydale as soon as a visa and green card could be arranged. Athena assured Giles that the coven would invoke the help of Gaia the Earth goddess. Athena would bring other members of the coven to cleanse Willow’s soul of the poisonous Hellmouth energy. Giles hung up the phone confident that Willow would get the help she needed. He was hopeful that she would accept her magic mentor and the spiritual cleansing. Either way, the coven would see that the taint was removed or Willow's magic abilities would be bound.

~~~
The Talk
~~~

It was mid-afternoon and Spike was out in the sun walking to the watcher’s home.

Giles had asked him to come by to discuss how he and Buffy could keep their memories in case another reset became necessary, along with establishing a plan to deal with the Initiative, and a list of the big bads that were expected to show up between now and apocalypse season.

The talk about why Buffy and Giles couldn’t retain their memories wasn’t a conversation Spike was looking forward to. He wasn’t sure how the watcher would take the news that memory retention was not doable. He couldn’t let Giles get a hold of the amulet. So he hid it in an old crypt, under a skeleton in a nice deep sarcophagus.

He took the tunnels to the mall that morning and brought a pair of Khaki slacks along with a forest green henley shirt, a pair of aviator sunglasses, and a baseball cap. Everyone knew Spike wore black so any demon seeing him walking around in the sun would think he was just another human. He couldn’t see himself in a mirror but he was pretty sure the change of clothes was a good disguise.

He couldn’t stall any longer. It was mid-afternoon when he knocked on the watcher's door. Buffy had a late afternoon class so Spike knew he had plenty of time to talk to Giles before they were interrupted.

For a moment Giles didn’t recognize the man standing at his door.

Spike took off the sunglasses. “Hello Rups, You gonna to invite me in.”

“I haven’t done a disinvite,” Giles said as he opened the door and stepped aside. “What’s with the disguise?”

“Whistler thinks it’s important I keep the gem secret. He dusted Harmony because she might mention it.”

Giles merely nodded. The dusting of a vampire, even one he knew before turning, held no regret for him. “Did you bring the amulet?”

“No.”

“Spike, I believe the amulet is the key to Buffy and me retaining our memories in case you need to destroy the gem again.”

“You’re right, it is.”

Giles let his frustration creep into his voice. “And yet you didn’t bring it.”

“I tried to extort Whistler into giving you and Buffy back your memories. He explained the consequences.”

Giles glared at Spike. “Consequences which you decided to deny us a choice in.”

“Let’s sit down, watcher, I’ll explain.”

They moved to the living room. Spike took off his hat and sat on the sofa; Giles took the easy chair. There was something different about Spike. His attitude was calmer and resigned. Whatever he was going to say, Spike was unhappy about it. Giles had never gotten the sense that Spike had any leadership qualities. The vampire was too volatile and emotional. But this Spike was a leader, it radiated from him. Giles got the impression that whatever Spike was about to tell him, his refusal to give up the medallion would not change. Giles decided it was best to keep an open mind, so he put away his anger and said in a calm voice, “I’m listening.”

“I threatened to smash the gem over and over again until the powers gave you and Buffy back your memories. That’s when Whistler explained about the soddin’ nexus point. We had to have been entangled while I was wearing the gem in the previous timeline. You and I weren’t.”

“I take it you and Buffy were.”

Spike looked down at the outline of Buffy’s fingers on the back of his hand. “Yeah, we were.”

Giles waited for a tick and then said softly. “I’ve never noticed that scar before,” he said gently.

“Got it when I burnt up in the Hellmouth. The amulet sent it back along with my memories.”

“Dear lord, are you saying you have a physical manifestation of the previous timeline?

Spike gave a nod. “Yeah, Whistler said Buffy would have one too. She took my hand while I was burning up. That’s how we got entangled. That's our nexus point. If Buffy gets her memories back it won’t be just a few days. It will be the whole four years.” Spike looked up at Giles. “I can’t do that to her, Rupert. I’ll let this whole bloody world go to hell before I make her live through that again.”

“I rather think that should be Buffy’s decision.”

Spike's eyes flashed yellow. “If I thought for one second you knew what you were saying, I’d rip your bloody throat out,” he said with a growl.

“Then tell me!”

Spike’s voice kept its growl. “The wanker’s never dug her up when they resurrected her. She had to claw her way out of the grave. That same night the Hellions invaded Sunnydale. She had to fight them. She was pulled out of heaven and dropped into hell.”

“Dear lord. I can only imagine…”

“No, you bloody well can’t, or you bloody well didn’t.”

“What are you trying to say, Spike?”

Spike took a few moments to calm himself before he continued. “After Buffy died you went back to England. Dawn was still underage. She didn’t want to live with her Dad so we kept Buffy’s death secret. Willow and Tara moved into the house and took care of Dawn. Willow had access to the money Joyce left. When she brought Buffy back the money was almost gone. I’m pretty sure she spent a good chunk of it on that soddin’ resurrection spell.

Buffy was depressed and overwhelmed. The bill collectors were on her back. You helped with that, but there was so much more. The house needed repairs.. Dawn was acting out, trying to deal with her loss. Social services threatened to take her away. Buffy was under magic attack almost daily and didn’t know where it was coming from. She still had to patrol and she had to get a job or lose Dawn. I offered to give her money but she wouldn’t take it. Buffy was leaning on you. That’s when you decided to return to England, for her own good. You told her she needed to stand on her own two feet and she’d never do it as long as you were there. You abandoned her Rupert. At her lowest point, you abandoned her. She turned to me.

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not. I wish it hadn’t gone down like that but it bloody well did. That’s not the end of it. The next year we were fighting the first evil. That’s when you returned. You told her she depended on me too much. When she wouldn’t kick me out of her life, you conspired to have me killed. You betrayed her and it destroyed your relationship. She couldn’t trust you anymore. That’s the biggest reason you can’t give her back the four years of memories. We need you, Rupert. We can’t do this without you. If you give her back her memories you’ll be just another man that betrayed her. You broke her heart, Rupert, if she remembers it, she'll never trust you again.”

“None of that makes sense. Why would I do that?”

“Because you were a bloody selfish ass, that's why. You knew she had a death wish and you couldn’t bear to see her die again, so you left. When you came back she didn’t depend on you anymore. You wanted her to do things your way, the Council's way. No vampires allowed. When she said no, you betrayed her.”

Suddenly Giles knew, he just bloody well knew, that Spike was telling the truth. The vampire was not a good liar. His emotions were too easily seen. Giles stood up. “I need a drink.” He came back with a bottle of his best whisky and two glasses. He poured Spike and himself a generous amount.

Giles was quiet for a moment, looking into his glass as if it were a crystal ball that could guide him. “I believe you. I don’t want to, but I do,” he whispered and took a large swallow.

“I didn’t want to burden you with that.”

Giles gave an ironic laugh. “That’s the soul talking. The demon would have made it hurt as much as possible.”

“Still might if you decide to act like a wanker.”

Giles nodded and sat quietly thinking as he sipped his Whiskey. He looked over at Spike. Buffy told him she had seen the difference in Spike when he approached her asking for a truce. Giles wondered where that difference came from. “Tell me about William.”

If Spike had had a mouthful of whisky he would have choked. “Bloody hell, no.”

“He must have been a good man. I can see glimpses of him in you.”

Spike never thought he would hear anything close to those words coming from the watcher, especially not today. There wasn’t anything he could say so he kept silent.

Giles sighed. “If we ever need to have this talk again, tell me I said to open the twenty-year-old Glenfiddich first.”

Spike nodded. “Will do watcher.” He emptied his glass. “Buffy will be here soon.”

~~~
TBC
~~~

Chapter 8: Dealing

Chapter Text

~~~

Buffy was happy. The afternoon had gone well. There was a plan in place for dealing with the Initiative. They made a list of expected nasties for the next two months and best of all, the whole afternoon was peaceful. Neither Xander nor Willow showed up to throw a wrench into the works. Buffy felt hopeful that her friends just needed time to process and deal and they would be back.

Patrolling was going well. Spike stayed on her left to protect her weak side. He also knew when to stand back and let her take the lead. It really was a beautiful night in every way. And then it wasn’t.

Spike suddenly stopped walking and looked into the dark. Buffy picked up the tickle in the back of her neck a moment later.

“Get away from her, Spike!” Angel growled from the shadows before stepping out into the moonlight.

“Well, well, if it isn’t, Peaches,” Spike said with a smirk.

“Oh great the ruination of an almost perfect day,” Buffy whispered.

Both vampires heard. Spike huffed a bit of a laugh and continued to smirk at his grandsire, Angel gave a low growl.

Buffy crossed her arms. “What are you doing here, Angel?”

“I got word that Spike was in town. You can’t trust him, Buffy.”

“Thanks for the info… goodbye.” Buffy began to walk away.

Angel followed, his long strides closing the distance between them.

Buffy stopped and turned. “Look, you delivered your message, now go.”

“Buffy, if Spike is in Sunnydale, he’s here to kill you.”

“I’m not here to kill her, you wanker.”

“Stay out of this Spike,” Buffy said. “This is between Angel and me.”

“No,” Angel said. “This is about Spike.”

Buffy scoffed. “If there is sound coming out of your mouth it’s about you.” Buffy huffed. “You’re the one that said. ‘You have a lot to learn about men, kiddo.’ I’ve done a lot of growing up this summer and I’ve been busy learning.

“You left me Angel, and I decided to move on. I even went on a few dates with a nice normal college guy. I’m not letting myself be dragged back into an unhealthy relationship. So go back to L.A. and the next time you have the urge to do your impression of the Lost In Space robot, ‘Danger, Buffy, danger,’ pick up the phone. I’m the slayer, I’m always in danger. Sunnydale is my town, and Spike being in town is my situation to deal with. I’ll deal. Unless you think I’m incompetent.”

“We’re talking about Spike, here.”

“No, we’re talking about your inability to let go and let me do my job and live my life.”

“Willow said he’s up to something.”

“Bloody hell,” Spike growled.

“Willow, I should have known she’d pull something like this.”

“She’s concerned about her friend,” Angel said.

“Ha,” Buffy scoffed, her voice softening a bit. “Look Angel, you got played. You have no idea what’s going on here. Giles and I made some decisions Willow didn’t like. She’s using you to get at me. Willow was out of line to call you. Please, just go back to L.A., and next time call first.”

Angel wasn’t about to give up. “The demons call Spike the slayer of slayers. He’s killed two. He wants to kill his third and he’s in Sunnydale to do it.”

“God, Angel, he has more control over his demon than Angelus ever had. This isn’t the first truce I’ve had with him. He’ll keep his word.”

“You have a truce?”

“I guess Willow never told you that.”

“It doesn’t mean anything. It just shows what I’m saying is true if you feel you need a truce.”

“Twisted thinking much?” Buffy shook her head. “I’m through with this conversation, Angel.” Buffy turned and walked away. Spike followed.

There was no point in arguing with Buffy, but there was one thing he could do. “If you hurt her, Spike, I’ll make what I did to you as a fledge feel like a Sunday picnic,” Angel called, then he turned and walked away. He’d be back in L.A. before light.

Buffy stood still and waited for Angel to leave. “What was that about? What did he do to you?” she asked.

“You don’t want to know, Slayer,” Spike said.

Buffy stepped in front of Spike and stopped him in his tracks. “I wouldn't have asked if I didn’t want to know.”

Spike huffed out a deep breath. “Did what he did to your watcher. That's all I’m goin’ to say on it.”

“He tortured you?”

Spike sidestepped and started walking. “Let it drop, Slayer.”

Buffy kept pace. “Why did he do that to you?”

“Bloody hell, because I wasn’t monster enough for him, but mostly because he could.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well that’s the soddin’ problem in' it, You don’t understand. It was Angelus being Angelus. If you think that soul will stop him then I’ll remind you it was firmly in place just now.”

Buffy walked in silence for a while. She was looking at her feet when she began to speak. “You’re nothing like Angelus.”

“Damn straight, I'm not.”

Buffy looked up with a melancholy smile and then looked back down. Her voice was soft as she spoke. “When I came to Sunnydale he would pop in and tell me there was danger. Then he would disappear. I really didn’t like him. Looking back at it I don’t know why it changed. The only real thing he did for me was kill Darla. The only time he fought beside me was when we were both attacked by the Order of Taraka.

“When I went to stop Acathla, Mom told me, if I left the house, not to think about coming back. The police thought I murdered Kendra. I felt like I had lost everything. So after I sent Angel to hell I went to L.A.. I quit being the slayer and became a waitress. I planned on never being the slayer again. But then a customer at the diner asked for my help, her boyfriend had gone missing. She knew I was the slayer because I had saved her a year before. I wanted to say no, I tried, but I couldn’t. The pull to do something was too great. It turned out demons had taken him. Like it or not I was back to being the slayer.

“After I helped her I knew I’d never be able to quit. I went back home and found that everyone blamed me for leaving. Even Mom said it was my fault for not giving her a chance to deal. I sent the person I loved to hell and all they cared about was how I hurt them. Mom, Giles, Willow, and Xander, it was all on me. No one cared what I was going through. My feelings were nothing to them. I was going to leave again when we were attacked by zombies. After we dealt with them, it was like we all pushed our emotions into a deep dark closet and left them there. Then you came back, and everything came tumbling out.

“You were different. It's like what I learned in Psych 101. Group dynamics, if you change one person in a group the whole group changes. I was trying to figure out what you were doing, why you didn’t hate me anymore. But the thing you said to Parker about me being a strong woman and he was a weak man. That helped me more than you can know. The Scoobies always say I’m making bad decisions. I thought Parker was my fault, just another bad Buffy decision.”

Buffy stopped walking and turned to look into Spike’s eyes. “I need you to know something.”

Spike tilted his head to the side. Buffy wasn’t one to tell her feelings. She had never talked to him like this before. He waited for her to finish.

“I’m trying hard to change, Spike. I don’t want to be that Buffy you told me about. The one that said those cruel things to you. You don’t deserve to be treated that way. I know I’m going to make mistakes. I know you are too. Mistakes are part of life. I just need you to know that they will be mistakes, not planned cruelties.”

“Bloody hell, slayer. Never thought I’d hear anything like that from you.”

Just then someone screamed and the two champions ran to save a citizen of Sunnydale.

~~~

After Patrol - Spike’s Apartment

~~~

Spike was restless. It was useless trying to sleep. He just didn’t trust that Willow would let things go. He was sure that the Angel situation didn’t play out the way Willow had wanted. If she ran true to form she would still be looking to fix things. Willow knows best was her motto.

Bloody hell, he didn’t want to smash the gem again. The emotional consequences were like being dragged over broken glass. But he couldn’t let Willow bollocks things up. The problem was how do you stop a magic user, one that thinks right is on her side, from using magic. He needed to find a way to protect Rupert and Buffy. Reasoning with Willow was useless. So how does a person protect himself from magic?

Back in the day, he would kill anyone that tried to cast a spell on him, but those days were long gone. Still, in his one hundred years plus of unlife, he’d seen too much of what magic could do. It always had consequences, and the thing was that magic consequences usually came with very sharp teeth.

His thoughts raced through his head, but he always came back to the same conclusion. The best way to fight magic was with magic. There had to be something better than a general protection spell. A determined witch could break one fairly easily. But what else was there?

Then the answer came to him. He closed his eyes and fell into a restful sleep.

~~~

Morning

~~~

Buffy had opted to sleep at Revello Dr. again. She didn’t want to confront Willow last night. She needed to take a deep breath and get over her anger. She couldn’t put off a heart-to-heart talk any longer. Time was when she wouldn’t confront Willow at all, she would give what happened lip service, forgive her, and move on. But that was, literally, another time. Letting things slide wasn’t of the good. Today she would go back to the dorm and have a best friend talk with Willow.

~~~

Blessed Be Magic Shop

~~~

The magic shop was half a story below street level. As Spike took the five steps down he could see in the window. The shop was much smaller than the future Maple Court magic box would be and it was packed with merchandise. The bell over the door rang as Spike entered. He stood in the sun and let the rays warm his body, as the only other customer in the store paid for her purchases and left.

The owner pulled a cross out from under the counter. “You’re not welcome here, vampire,” she said as soon as the door closed. She was a Romani, with blemish-free olive skin, perfectly manicured nails polished a deep red, dark hair worn in a thick braid that hung down to her waist, and chocolate brown eyes that seemed to dance with light.

Bloody hell, she knew what he was. Even with him standing in the sunlight, she knew. He just wanted to get what he needed and leave. He took a step closer to the counter. “I’m not here to feed. I need two protection talismans.”

“I don’t make talismans for demons.”

Spike ignored the cross and took a step out of the bright sun and closer to the counter. Not close enough to be intimidating, but close enough to let her know he wasn’t going to back down. “They’re for humans to wear.”

The woman's eyes started darting up and down over Spike’s body. “You have a soul, not from a curse. How is this possible, vampire?”

It took Spike less than a second to decide to answer any questions she asked. He needed the talismans and he didn’t want to drive to L.A. to get them. “I fought for it in the demon trials.”

The Romani seemed to consider the information. She put the cross away and then pulled a well-worn deck of tarot cards from under the counter and held them out to Spike. “Shuffle the cards and cut the deck, vampire.”

Spike did as he was told.

The woman took the cards back and fanned them out across the counter. “Choose two,” she told Spike.

The tarot cards were no surprise. Dru had a deck, which she claimed was given to her by her pixies. Spike knew with the right practitioner they were bloody accurate. The first card Spike pulled from the deck was the queen of swords, the second was the hermit. Spike waited for her response.

The Romani looked up and for the first time met Spike’s eyes. Spike knew that look, he felt it as it brushed his mind, something a human should not be able to do. The woman was a seer, and a strong one. He was sure of it.

“You wish these talismans to be used by the slayer and her watcher?” she asked.

“There is a young witch, sometimes careless with her magic. I want to make sure she doesn’t harm them.”

“You speak a half-truth. Are you aware this witch has been poisoned with black magic?”

“The three of us are aware. The watcher has contacts in the Wiccan world. He has found a witch strong enough to cleanse her.”

“She will resist.”

“That’s why they need the talismans.”

The woman nodded. “I have what you need, but they are not those that I sell to tourists. They will protect from all magics cast on the wearer. Including healing magics.” She turned, opened a cabinet, and pulled out a wooden box, intricately carved with protection runes. She placed the box on the counter in front of Spike, whispered a short incantation, and removed the cover.

Inside were two bracelets. Each bracelet had three black silk bands, meticulously interwoven and knotted into a complex pattern. Each bracelet held a highly polished copper disk.

“I wove these myself, after receiving a message from my spirit guide. The silk is not dyed, it is very rare, the worms are fed a magically infused food that enables them to spin black silk. The copper was extracted from a meteor. The magic is locked in the bracelet, to activate it, the intended wearer must place 3 drops of their blood on the copper disk. Once fastened onto the wearer they can only be removed by cutting. That will end the talisman's power.”

Spike nodded. “How much?”

“These are intricate weavings, they contain many hours of work and are made from rare materials…”

“How much?” Spike interrupted.

“Five hundred dollars apiece.”

He didn’t have that much cash on him, perhaps it was time to make a trade. Spike took a small pouch from his pocket and spilled the contents into his hand. He chose a ruby, approximately two carats in size. “Will this do?”

The Romani opened a drawer and took out a jeweler’s loop and a piece of glass. She ran the ruby across the glass, It left a clear, uncolored scratch. She picked up the loop and examined the gem. “Your payment is accepted.” She wrapped each talisman separately in tissue paper and then wrapped two red candles. She placed all four items into a bag along with an index card containing the activation instructions. “The incantation must be cast separately for each talisman,” she said as he handed him the bag.

“Spike took the bag and nodded a thank you as he turned to leave.”

“Vampire,” the woman called.

Spike stopped and turned back.

“When she tells you, believe her. The words will not come easily, they will be truly felt.”

Spike licked his lips and gave a curt nod. The bell over the door jingled as he opened it and he stepped through into the sun.

~~~

TBC

~~~

Chapter 9: Getting Down To Business

Chapter Text

~~~
Giles Apartment
~~~

Buffy turned the talisman over in her hand giving it an unhappy look. “I’m supposed to wear this all the time? It’s not very pretty. I mean it’s not exactly ugly, but…”

“Yes, well,” Giles sighed, “the instructions I got included an optional glamor spell that will make the bracelet invisible to all but the three of us. It’s tied in with the red candle. If you did want anyone to see it you would have to show it to them while your red candle was lit.”

“Wow, this witch thought of everything,” Buffy said.

“Yes, it would seem so. She was quite thorough about exactly what the talisman would do. It does have a downside in that it blocks all magic. Including healing magic spells. That is not a big concern for you, Buffy. You have slayer healing. It’s not a magic spell. The magic shield protects everything you are when you put it on. I will have to be careful, not to be seriously injured, at least until Willow is cleansed. It is a minor concern, from my point of view.”

“It’s not just Willow that Buffy needs protection from. She’s suffered magic attacks by humans and demons over the years,” Spike said.

“I want the glamor option, Giles. I’m going back to the dorm after patrol and I don’t want Willow cutting the talisman off of me while I'm sleeping.”

“In that case, we should do this now. I don’t see any point in waiting. I’m also going to partake of the glamor option,” Giles said.

“Wait a moment, What about Spike? I don’t see his talisman,” Buffy asked.

“Don’t need one or want one, Slayer,” Spike said. “I already have the gem tangled with the amulet. It’s not a good idea to mix magics, especially strong ones. I could end up an ingredient in chaos soup.”

Buffy looked and sounded concerned. “You could end up soup if Willow casts a spell on you too. I don’t want any Spike soup in my future. No soup. It’s not right that you go unprotected.”

“I am protected. If she kills me, time'll reset back to the Amara crypt.”

“What if she turns you into soup?” Buffy asked.

“The gem is on the toe of my right foot. Take a bloody sledgehammer and smash it. I’ll be back where all this started in less than a second.”

“We can do that,” Giles said.

Buffy reached out and took Spike’s hand. “I’ll talk to her tonight and make sure she understands that everything is on Giles and me.”

Spike was pretty sure it wouldn’t make a bit of a difference to Willow. She would do what she wanted to do. But he nodded and gave her hand a little squeeze. “Thanks, Slayer.” ‘Bloody hell, she really cares about me. Does the soddin’ soul make that much difference to her? Maybe it gives her permission to care without guilt. She held my hand in front of the watcher.’

~~~
After Patrol ~~~

Buffy dropped Spike off at his apartment, how weird was that? A vampire living in an apartment. The nests she took out were in crypts or abandoned buildings. He rented an apartment from a half-human, half-demon. Wasn’t there a name for beings like that, cry…mea, or cry…mirror. Were crymirrors demons? It was all too confusing. Spike assured her he was safe. It didn’t help much. They nearly ran into an Initiative patrol tonight. Luckily Spike heard them and they avoided a confrontation.

One confrontation avoided and one to dive into head first. Buffy looked at the mystical charm on her left wrist. It was surprisingly comfortable to wear.

The spell to activate the talisman had been pretty straightforward. Light the candle, and sterilize a needle in the candle flame. Prick your left index finger with said needle and place three drops of blood on the copper disk, all while Giles reads the incantation. Then place the talisman on your wrist and watch it connect itself, blow out the candle, and volià, done. They weren’t sure at first that the glamor worked, but when they showed their wrist in the mirror the talisman didn’t reflect.

Buffy got to the front door of the dorm and stopped. She didn’t know why she was apprehensive about talking to Willow. She had faced demons with far less uneasiness. This was Willow, her best friend for three years. Buffy took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and pulled open the heavy door. She can do this, she is the slayer.

~~~

Buffy opened the door to her dorm room. Willow sat cross-legged on her bed studying, she looked up when Buffy walked in. Willow wasn’t smiling, she was wearing her resolve face.

The look slammed into Buffy and at that moment, she absolutely knew that Willow was totally aware of what she had done. “Well, you got what you wanted, Angel showed up here last night. I was too pissed off at you to come back to the dorm. Why would you call my ex-boyfriend? He’s not involved in my life anymore. I felt hurt, Willow. That’s not how a best friend acts.”

“Best friends look out for best friends,” Willow said. “Angel knows Spike. I thought he could talk some sense into you. Okay so the powers sent him here, but you can’t just trust everything he says. He’s a vampire, an evil vampire. Can’t you see that, Buffy?”

“All I see is that you want your own way. Willow is always right; we better do what she wants or there will be consequences.”

“I was only giving you a reality check.”

“You could have talked to me, you didn’t have to lie to Angel to get him to come here.”

“Lie? I didn’t lie. I told him Spike was here and you and Giles…”

“Stop! You know I have a truce with Spike, you know he has a soul, and you know the powers sent him to help. You didn’t tell Angel any of that. That’s a lie by omission. You tried to undermine Giles’ and my decision.”

“I’m not sorry for what I did. You needed a wakeup call and apparently, you got one, or you wouldn’t be so pissed at me.”

“Yeah, I got a wake-up call all right. But it wasn't the one you wanted me to get. I just learned my best friend, the one I trusted with feelings I never told to anyone else, betrayed that trust. I still love you, but you hurt me, Willow.”

Willow’s resolve face disappeared and was replaced by one of surprise, then remorse. Willow’s voice changed from a tone of anger to one of pleading for understanding. “I’m sorry, Buffy. I just wanted you to see, you can’t trust Spike.”

In the past, Buffy would have caved at the change in Willow's demeanor. But that Buffy had grown up and learned some painful lessons on the way. She was wiser now and Willow’s manipulative little trick didn’t work. “No, Willow, you wanted me to fall in line with your point of view. I have welcomed your friendship, your intelligence, and your input. But when Giles and I make a slayer-related decision, it’s not your place to undermine it. Yes, Giles and I made a decision based on what Spike told us. You forgot Giles got confirmation. You forgot it was our decision, not Spike’s. I’ll forgive you, Willow, because that’s what I do. But it won’t be today or tomorrow. It’s going to take time for me to trust you again.”

“Buffy…”

Buffy held up her hand in a stop gesture. “No, I don’t want to talk about this anymore tonight. I need to get some sleep.” Buffy grabbed her toiletries bag and headed for the bathroom.

~~~
4:47 AM
~~~

Willow rolled over again and looked at her bedside clock. She had been tossing and turning all night. She just couldn’t get comfortable. Okay so maybe she did screw up calling Angel, but her heart and mind were in the right place. Spike couldn’t be trusted. She looked over at Buffy who was fast asleep. There was no time like the present. She slipped out of bed, grabbed a spell book and her magic supplies, and headed for the bathroom. At this time of night, it would be deserted. She would find a spell, one that would breed a little discontent with Spike, cast it on Giles and Buffy and tomorrow things would begin to change.

The talisman worked exactly as it was supposed to. Giles and Buffy were fast asleep and never saw the copper glow that reflected Willow’s spell back onto her.

~~~
Next Evening
~~~

The Lowell House was a busy place. The commando guys knew how to throw a party. Step one of dealing with the Initiative was a go.

Giles had called a lab technician friend and got a list of evidence they would need to prove what the black ops army was doing to its human soldiers.

The most surprising thing was that they needed to collect hair. Apparently, hair held all the chemicals the body had been exposed to. Buffy made the point that the commandos kept their hair cut very short. She would look but she doubted that the combs and brushes would have much.

Spike scoffed. “Hair doesn’t only grow on heads, Slayer. Might be able to find some on their towels.”

“Eww,” Buffy said. “That’s your job then. I’m not looking through dirty towels for men’s pubic hair.”

“You get demon blood and goo on you almost nightly and you balk at a few wet towels and curlies?”

“I’ll search the bedrooms for the pills and toothbrushes, you do the towels for the hair.”

“Can’t, you need me to pick the locks on the bedroom doors.” Spike pointed out.

“Maybe we should rethink this,” Oz said. “Buffy and Spike stay with searching the bedrooms. They’re the most dangerous places as far as being caught plus I’m pretty sure Spike is the only one who knows how to pick locks. Xander and I could do the showers and locker rooms. No one cares about wet towels. I doubt we’ll be interrupted. If we are there are plenty of places to hide. Willow and Anya can be the lookouts. They’re both witches. If a distraction is needed they’re the best ones to do it.”

Spike pointed at Oz. “Dog-boy makes a good point.”

It was decided and for once everything went without a hitch. Anya did have to do a spell to trip up a commando as he was heading toward the stairs, but the distraction worked as expected.

Oz told Willow when they were ready to leave and she did a glamor spell on the backpack the evidence was in. Willow walked out of the frat house with a beautiful beaded shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Giles met the group and they gave him all the evidence they collected.

Oz gave Buffy, Spike, and Willow, a ride to the Sunnydale caves. Spike was sure he could remember where the secret back entrance into the Initiative was located. He had used it a few times when Adam had recruited him. It led into the hidden lab behind room 314.

It took a bit of time but Spike found the door. Willow used magic on the lock and the door popped open. The lab didn’t have security cameras or alarms. Dr. Walsh didn’t want anyone snooping on her pet project.

The group was shocked when they saw Adam’s human, cyborg, demon body. But recovered quickly and got to work. Spike listened for intruders while he packed up more evidence of what the Initiative was up to. Buffy took pictures of Adam and the lab. Willow and Oz worked on downloading and wiping the computer's hard drive. Oz found an in-house email listing and he sent a worm virus to everyone on the list. It would take three days but, if it worked as intended, it would infect every computer in the Initiative before it went active and crashed and burned the whole system.

No one noticed the side glances Willow had been giving to Spike all evening. She didn’t say anything, they had a mission and she wanted to show Buffy she could be trusted. But she was going to keep an eye on Spike, someone had to.

It was almost sunrise when they were finished with their night's work and brought what they had collected from the lab to Giles' Apartment. There was already a council courier on the way. He would arrive in Sunnydale at 11:47 am flight 936. He carried an official diplomatic pouch to pack the evidence in. He would be back in the air two hours after arriving in Sunnydale and back in London fifteen hours after that. The lab work would be expedited and diplomatic negotiations to close down the Initiative would be in the works in less than seventy-two hours.

Willow was staying with Oz for the weekend, so Buffy was alone in the Dorm room. She opened the window and breathed in the cool night air. She wondered how long it would be before she could spend the weekend with Spike. But it was too early for that now. He was still calling her Slayer. But there was nothing to stop her imagination. She reached down and began rubbing herself. Luckily it was Friday night, and she didn’t have to get up on Saturday morning. She could spend all the time she wanted with her imagination.

~~~
TBC
~~~

Chapter 10: Willow, I Weep For Thee

Chapter Text

~~~
It had been four days since the Scoobies evidence collecting mission. The group was still awaiting word from the Council on the plan for closing down the Initiative.

Every evening, Spike stood outside the building waiting to accompany Buffy on patrol. Willow didn’t say a word as Buffy left the room, but it was getting harder and harder to stay quiet. Last night, she literally had to bite her tongue to keep from saying something.

Buffy looked out the window. “Spike’s here.” She tucked a couple of stakes in her waistband, a knife in each boot, grabbed an ax, and headed for the door.

“That’s a lot of weapons for one patrol,” Willow said.

“We heard that some vamps set up a nest by the docks. I don’t know how many there are, so best to be prepared.”

“A nest? You never mentioned a nest. You know Xander and I would go with you for backup.”

“I’ve got Spike,” Buffy said as she reached for the doorknob.

“I read an article that said the first thing an abusive man does is separate the woman from friends and family,” Willow said, letting her annoyance with Spike creep into the tone of her voice.

Buffy stopped and turned to her friend. Willow had been giving her the silent treatment every time she left for patrol. She had been ignoring it. She knew Willow was jealous of her spending time with anyone else. But Buffy wasn’t going to bend over backward anymore to please the Scoobies. She was the Slayer, they needed to adapt. Still, Willow’s statement needed to be addressed before it festered into something bigger. “You do realize that we live together. I’m not planning on moving in with Spike. He hasn’t done anything to separate us. Giles and I decide on the patrol circuit. He follows my lead, I don’t follow his. He knows better than to even try to boss me around.”

Willow forgot about her resolution to stay quiet about Spike and let her spell of discontent do its work. “You used to take Xander and me for backup when you cleaned out a nest.”

“It’s safer to take Spike.”

“How can you say that, Buffy? You don’t have to worry about Xander and me driving a stake into your back.”

“Let’s get this straight right now,” Buffy said, letting her anger color her voice. “I do NOT worry about Spike trying to kill me. But when you and Xander are with me, I do worry about a vamp trying to kill one or both of you. So when I say it’s safer to take Spike, I mean it’s safer for you and Xander.”

Willow scowled at her friend for a moment, then went back to studying.

Buffy huffed out a deep breath and left the room. She could only hope the coven would get their paperwork done, get their asses to Sunnydale and help her friend. As far as Buffy was concerned, they couldn’t get here fast enough.

Willow waited a few minutes and then went to the window to make sure Buffy and Spike had left. She was certain the spell she did a few nights ago wasn’t strong enough. Discontent wasn’t working. She turned away and pulled her magic supplies out from under her bed. This time, she wouldn’t pull her punches. This time, she would plant full-out fear in their mind. With any luck, Buffy would stake Spike, and they’d be rid of the sneaky, conniving, evil, bastard.

~~~
Patrol
~~~

Buffy and Spike had just finished cleaning out the vampire nest and were walking toward Heaven’s Gate Memorial Park when Buffy felt a mildly warm buzz coming from her talisman. She stopped, glanced at her wrist, and watched the copper disk glow mirror bright before it turned back to its normal state.

“Someone just did a spell,” Buffy said.

“I think you mean Willow just tried to cast a soddin’ spell on you,” Spike said.

“It may not have been Willow. You said demons and other humans cast spells on me in the other timeline,” Buffy said with a bit of a whine in her voice. “I know we kind of had a… a… a heated discussion before I left tonight. But…” Her words betrayed her, so she stopped talking and started walking.

“A heated discussion?” Spike asked.

“It was nothing.”

“Bollocks, Slayer, it sure as hell was something to her. She just cast a bloody spell on you.”

Spike was right. Buffy didn’t want to believe her friend would do that to her. She sighed, “I’ll call Giles after patrol and see if she cast one on him too.”

~~~
The Next Evening
Giles Apartment
~~~

The Council had finally called Giles to let him know what was going on regarding the Initiative.

The United States Army was not happy that a foreign organization could infiltrate one of their top-secret operations. They were equally disturbed that Dr. Walsh had gone off mission by building the Adam prototype and giving the soldiers assigned to her hormones that were not compatible with the human body.
A two-star general was assigned to oversee shutting down the underground facility along with seeing to the medical care, debriefing, and reassignment of all personnel. A council board member, acting as an ambassador from the U.K., along with a high-ranking member of the United Kingdom’s armed services, would arrive in Sunnydale tomorrow to oversee the shutdown.

Giles was assured that Adam would be dismembered and the unfortunate soldier's human remains would be given a military funeral.

Negotiations were still going on about the non-hostile demons incarcerated by the Initiative. The council had non-aggression treaties with some of them, and they were anxious to keep them in place and forge new alliances where they could. All-in-all, it would be the best outcome possible from a terrible situation. Tonight, after patrol, there would be a Scoobie meeting, and they would put all the Initiative SNAFU to rest with ice cream for all.

Xander, Anya, Willow, and Oz were the first to arrive. Spike and Buffy arrived ten minutes later. That was when the sh*t hit the fan.

Buffy and Giles knew that Willow had cast a spell on them, but they had no way of knowing what spell. The plan was to confront Willow after the ice cream party. Then Anya or Giles would do a reversal spell on Willow and end any reflected spell energy.

All was going well until Buffy and Spike walked into the apartment. Willow started to tremble as her eyes locked on Spike. Her breathing became labored, and she broke out into a cold sweat.

Oz picked up on her distress immediately. “Willow?”

“Oh, bollocks,” Spike said as the acrid scent of fear hit him.

Willow tried to raise her hand and point at Spike. She tried to answer Oz, but all that came out was a high-pitched eep. Her nose and ears began to bleed.

Oz pulled her into a hug. “Willow, it’s all right, you’re safe. I’m here, you’re safe.” He stroked her hair and looked up at Giles. “Call an ambulance!”

Willow’s shaking increased as she went into a seizure. It lasted for less than ten seconds, then suddenly her breath rattled, the shaking stopped, and she slumped in Oz’s arms.

Oz and Spike heard her heart stop. Oz howled and began to change.

Giles froze at the sound of the howl. For a split second, he was sure they were all going to die.

Spike ran over and twisted Oz’s neck before the change could finish.

Buffy rushed over to Willow's body. “NO! NO! NO! NO!” she cried.

“I don’t understand. What happened?” Xander asked.

“Willow apparently had a massive stroke,” Giles said as he stared down at the two dead teenagers.

Xander shook his head. “What, how? She’s only nineteen years old. How could she have a stroke?’

“It was obviously caused by magic,” Anya said.

“Are you saying someone murdered Willow?”

Buffy looked up at Spike. “You have to reset,” she said, ignoring Xander’s question.

Spike shook his head. “I don’t know if that will help,”

“Willow and Oz are dead. We can’t just leave them that way.”

“And we can’t keep living the same bloody days over and over again. We tried to talk to her. She did the bloody spells anyway. She brought this soddin’ mess on herself. She bloody well doesn’t care about the soddin’ consequences. This is the Hellmouth, Slayer, magic consequences have sharp teeth; Willow got bit.”

“What are you talking about?” Xander asked. “Willow didn’t give herself a stroke.”

“I’m afraid she did,” Giles said as he took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Anya looked from Spike to Buffy to Giles. “You and Buffy shielded yourselves against magic, and when Willow cast the spell, it bounced back onto her. She got a double dose. I’m right, aren't I?” she asked.

Giles blew out a deep breath and slumped into a chair. “Yes, you are. The question is now, what do we do about it?”

Buffy looked into her watcher’s eyes. Why was he even asking that question? There was only one thing to do. “We smash the gem.”

“I agree with Spike on this. We have to think this through.” He sighed and looked at the bodies. “Spike, will you help me carry them upstairs? We can’t let them affect our decision. Whatever it will be.”

“I’ll help. I don’t want Spike touching them,” Xander said with a sneer.

“Very well.” The pair carried Oz and Willow up to the bedroom and laid them out on the bed. Giles got a clean sheet and covered the bodies.

When they came back down, everyone sat without saying a word. Minutes ticked by. It was impossible to find any words to say.

But Buffy had one word that continued to echo in her mind. When she couldn’t wait any longer, she broke the silence. “Since no one else has any ideas, I vote reset.”

“I’m with Buffy on this,” Xander said. He gave a pointed look at Anya.

Anya paused. She was a Scoobie now. Giles, Buffy, and Spike trusted and believed in her. As a vengeance demon, she punished wrongdoers. Willow was the wrongdoer in this situation. True, she loved Xander, but love didn’t demand blind loyalty. True love demands you be true to yourself first. She looked at Xander and licked her lips. “I think Giles and Spike are right. We have to think this through and come up with a plan. We can’t keep living the same day over and over.”

Xander's mouth dropped open. Anya could see anger flood his eyes. “My friends are dead; I’m not going to sit here and do nothing.”

Buffy had an idea. “Give me back my memories this time.”

“No!” Giles and Spike said simultaneously.

“It’ll work. Willow was hung up on Spike having all the time travel information. If it’s me with the memories, she’ll listen.”

“Buffy, you can’t,” Spike said.

“They’re my friends. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t slept with Angel and made him lose his soul…”

“STOP!” Giles roared. “You will not blame yourself for any of this. What happened is a tragedy. But it is NOT one of your making.”

“Giles is right,” Xander whispered. “It’s not your fault, Buffster; it’s Spike’s. He’s an evil, murdering vampire.”

Giles took off his glasses and glared at Xander. It was time for hard facts to be faced. “He most certainly did not murder Willow or Oz. There are facts you are not privy to. Suffice it to say, it was Willow’s ego that caused this mess. As far as Oz goes, he was starting to turn. Spike saved all of us from a werewolf attack.

“That’s not how I saw it.”

“Then you saw wrong!” Giles declared. Xander may not have magic powers, but his conceit was just as dangerous. The boy needed to grow up and lose his infantile attitude.

Buffy growled in frustration. This was getting nowhere. She needed to call in the big guns in the form of their agent. “Whistler! Get your skan*y ass down here NOW!”

There was a flash of blue light, and Whistler stood in the middle of Giles’ living room. “Well, this is a fine mess you’ve gotten yourselves into.”

“And I know the way out,” Buffy said. “This reset, give me back my memories.”

“NO!” Spike roared. He glared at Whistler. “You do that, I swear I will smash the gem over and over again until you take them back, I bloody well promise.”

Whistler sighed and shook his head. “And therein lies our problem, Slayer. He means it.”

Buffy glared at Spike. “Take back the promise, Spike. If you don't, I swear I will hate you until the end of time.”

Spike closed his eyes tight, trying not to let the tears fall. It didn’t work. He didn’t wipe the tears away. He let them roll down his cheeks as he spoke. “And that will hurt a thousand times less than having to live through seeing the pain you’ll be in if you get those bloody memories back. I was sent to keep those things from happening. I carry those memories, so you don’t have to. If the price I pay is your hate, I’ll carry that too and thank the bloody Powers every soddin’ day for letting me.”

“I know you love me, but It’s not your burden to carry. They’re my memories. They’re my friends. What can be worse than seeing them dead when I could do something about it?”

“There bloody well are things that are worse!” Giles declared. “Things that broke you. You had to pull yourself back together. It took time; two years from what Spike told me, and even then…” Giles paused, “The return of those memories will no doubt break you again. We can’t afford the two years it will take for you to heal.”

“I don’t care; my friends are dead. If Spike can carry the memories, so can I.”

Whistler held up his hand. “As entertaining as this tragedy is, there is a solution.”

Everyone in the room stared at Whistler.

“Spike has a human soul. He has free will, so he’ll have to agree.”

“Will you give Buffy back her memories?” Spike asked.

“No. But it won’t be a walk in the park for you.”

“Don’t care. I’ll do it.”

“I would like to know exactly what you are proposing,” Giles said.

“Pull out that bottle of twenty-year-old scotch, pour me a drink, and I’ll explain it.”

Half an hour later, with an empty bottle on the table, Spike smashed the Gem of Amara.

~~~
BLINK
~~~

TBC in part 2 chapter 1 - A New Paradigm

Chapter 11: Part 2: Prologue 1&2 ~ Chapter 1 – A New Paradigm

Chapter Text

~~~
Prologue 1- Before The Smash
~~~
When Whistler explained that his solution was to have Spike find the Gem of Amara three years earlier, Spike was skeptical. “You said you couldn’t interfere with quantum mechanics.”

“I’m not trying to untangle the entanglement. I’m only changing the timeline. Drusilla’s pixies will give her a vision. You’ll go to Sunnydale and recover the gem in ‘96. Angel will never go to Sunnydale; you’ll be the vampire fighting by her side.”

“There’s one other problem,” Spike said. “I know almost soddin’ nothing about Buffy’s first three years in Sunnydale.”

Giles cleared his throat. “All you must know about the first year is, don’t let Buffy face the Master. It’s her blood that sets him free and her death that splits the slayer line. Xander does CPR to bring her back. But we can't be sure that will happen with the changes we’re making in the timeline.”

“Bollocks, watcher. You didn’t know that old bat face could break free if he got a taste of Slayer blood? It’s always the blood.”

“Yes, well, in my defense, apparently Angel didn’t know either.”

Spike scoffed. “Angelus knew. The wanker had a chance to rid himself of the slayer, and he took it. The demon and the soul are at war with each other. Sometimes, the demon wins.”

“Makes sense,” Xander said. “I had to force him to take me to Buffy.” Xander stared at Spike. He had a strange look in his eyes, one that Spike had never seen before. Xander pursed his lips and made a decision. He had to take a chance and ask a favor of the vampire. “There is something I’d like you to do when you go back. Save my friend Jessie. He got turned the first night Buffy went to the Bronze.”

“I’ll watch out for him, but there are a lot of vamps turning people in Sunnydale. I can’t be everywhere, and without knowing who turned him…”

“Darla turned him. They used him for bait to get Buffy into the tunnels.”

Spike looked at Whistler, “Bloody hell, Darla’s in Sunnydale?”

“Yeah,” Buffy said. “She came after me with a couple of really huge guns and tried to shoot me; Angel dusted her.”

Spike nodded. He would have to take out Darla. If anyone could muck up Whistler's plan, it would be Darla. The bitch had the Master's ear.

~~~
Prologue 2 – 1996 Spain
~~~

Drusilla sat at the table, lying out her tarot cards. Aside from a few pieces of jewelry, the deck was the only thing that had been in the vampire’s possession for years. No matter how careless Drusilla was with her packing, the deck was always there when they took new lodgings. Angelus had hated them; he was suspicious of the way the cursed things followed them around and how the pictures changed with each reading. He tried to burn them, even standing by the fire with a poker until they were ash. Drusilla laughed and danced as they burned. She knew they’d be back by the next sunset. The cards were a gift from the pixies; only they could take them away.
~~~
“Spike,” Drusilla called.

Spike looked up from his book. “What do the cards have to say about Prague?” he asked.

Drusilla whined loudly and looked down at the cards laid out on the table. “Something has happened to change everything.”

Spike stood up and walked to the table. “Has my Princess had a vision?” Spike had learned to put stock in Dru’s visions. Angelus and Darla often ignored them, to their regret. Spike wouldn’t make that mistake.

“The pixies say you should shuffle the cards,” Dru said as she gathered them and handed them to Spike.

Spike sat down and took the cards. He shuffled and cut the deck, then handed them back to Dru.

She held the cards, her palms flat, one on the bottom of the deck, one on the top. She looked into Spike’s eyes as she spoke. “Show William his new path.” She took three cards from the top of the deck and laid them face down in front of Spike.

Spike watched closely. Dru seemed strangely tranquil, considering how much she and Miss Edith wanted to summer in Prague. Now, the pixies are telling her something different. It was Miss Edith who usually had the say of where they hunted. When the pixies and Miss Edith disagreed, Drusilla fell apart, pulling out her hair and screaming in frustration. This evening, she hadn’t mentioned Miss Edith at all. It was rare for her to be so lucid and calm, and when those times did happen, they were short-lived.

Dru turned over the first card. It was The Lovers. But the picture had changed. Usually, the card showed the full height of a dark-haired woman and a brown-haired man dressed in Victorian clothing and standing in a perfect replica of van Gogh’s Starry Night. The lovers had clearly been him and Dru. These lovers were different. There was a close-up of a vampire’s true face. He had bleach blond hair, and his eyes blazed with yellow fire. Spike had never seen his vampire face, but he knew, without any doubt, it was an accurate picture of him. The female was young; her cheeks still had a touch of baby fat. She had bright blonde hair and hazel green eyes that danced with life. She was a slayer; Spike could feel it. In the background was a toppled green “Welcome to Sunnydale” sign.

Spike was incredulous. He and Dru were forever. “What the bloody hell is this?”

“The pixies say you’ll dance with the sunshine.”

Spike licked his lips. He had to get himself under control. Drusilla didn’t react well when he was angry. “That’s the slayer. Last I heard, she was in Japan. Do the pixies say a new one’s been called at the Sunnydale Hellmouth?”

Drusilla put her finger to her lips. “Shhh, mustn’t tell tails,” she whispered.

Drusilla turned over the next card. It’s the Wheel of Fortune resting on a pile of treasure. In the center of the wheel was a skeletal left hand wearing a gold ring with a green stone.

Drusilla mewed. “My dark knight is no more. You stood in Lucifer’s light. All I taste is ashes, circles upon circles, tangled through time. The nasty Gem of Amara and Lucifer’s light set you on this path.

Spike didn’t have a clue of what the bloody hell Lucifer’s light was. But he knew exactly what the Gem of Amara was. “Dru, are you saying the Gem of Amara is real?”

“Round like a circle within a circle. The great machine hums. Ashes, ashes, it all fell down. The gem calls, the tangle pulls, and the wheel turns. Do you want it? It wants you.”

Bloody hell, the Gem of Amara was real. Over the years, he had learned to suss out a good part of Dru’s visions. With gentle prodding, he may be able to get more information. “Why does the gem want me, Dru?”

Dru turned over the third card. It was the Angel of Death. Dru whimpered. “The nasty red witch and her wolf are dead. The whistler comes. Everything changes. My dark knight is gone, gone to the gem and the sunshine.”

Dru lifted her hand and stroked Spike’s face. “You were never mine. The pixies said I would have to give you back.

“Give me back to who?” Spike asked.

Dru began to whimper and pull at her hair. “The gem calls to you. Make it stop. Go to Sunnydale and make it stop.”

Spike knew from experience he wouldn’t get any more information from Drusilla; pushing her was useless. He took her hands from her hair and kissed her cheek. “All right, my princess,” he told her, “we’ll go to Sunnydale. I’ll make it stop.” He sure as hell wasn’t going to love the slayer and dance in her sunshine. They would dance in the moonlight. He was going to love killing her. “I’ll make it stop,” he repeated with a wicked smile.
~~~
Amara Crypt – Sunnydale
~~~
Spike pulled the ring off the finger bone and held it to the torchlight. The green stone was smooth; it reminded him of sea glass, except the color was too deep. It was most likely an uncut emerald. But emeralds were crystals and not naturally smooth and rounded. He looked at Drusilla; she was cool and calm, simply waiting. It made Spike cautious. Something felt off. When he first arrived at the Hellmouth he thought it was the Hellmouth itself causing his uneasiness. But demons were supposed to thrive here, not feel this apprehension.

Spike looked at the ring again. His unlife was going to change once he put it on. Dru said her dark knight was gone. He wasn’t going to let that happen. He and Dru were forever. Whatever changed when he put on the ring, it wouldn’t be that. He made himself a promise, it wouldn’t be that. He slipped the ring onto his finger.
~~~
BLINK
~~~
-oOo-
Part 2 - Chapter 1 - A New Paradigm
~~~
BLINK
~~~
The burning sting of the soul hit the demon hard, and he snapped into game face with a roar. He fell to his knees, screaming. “What have you done to me, Dru?” He fought the stranger who was trying to invade him.

The memories unwound in his mind, like unrolling a ball of yarn. Too fast to fully comprehend, they caused confusion and nausea. The incoming souled Spike fought for control. The younger self didn’t have a chance of winning. The older self knew what it wanted, what it craved. Souled Spike concentrated on feeding the demon the memories he knew it desired: acceptance and belonging, playing pool at the Bronze with the whelp, drinking twenty-year-old scotch with the watcher, Buffy saying ‘I love you’. The demon froze. That was all Spike needed. He slipped in and became one with himself.

Spike shook off his true face, stood up, and smiled. “Hello, Drusilla.”

Drusilla smiled back. “The pixies say you’ll take me to Daddy.”
~~~
The plan that Whistler had laid out was working perfectly so far. Step one, Spike retrieves the Gem of Amara. Step two, take Dru to New York, get Angel out of the gutter, and drinking pigs' blood instead of rats' blood.

It was step two that Spike was most worried about. It depended on convincing the great ponce that Drusilla was his road to redemption. Spike thought it would be a hard sell. Convincing Angel that the slayer was his road to redemption was easy; Buffy was his type, a young, innocent virgin. Drusilla had been that once, but in Angel’s eyes, she wasn’t anymore. Whistler was sure that he could sell it. In the end, there wasn’t any choice. Spike agreed.

Just before he smashed the gem, Buffy had looked at him with tear-filled eyes. She laid her warm fingers on his cool cheek. “What you’re doing for us, it’s real. There is a part of me that won’t forget. I love you now, and I’ll love you again.” She gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

“I love you too, Buffy Summers,” he whispered as he smashed the gem.
~~~
Spike smiled, “I’ll take you to Daddy as soon as we pack up this treasure. I’m going to get some barrel bags. Suns up, so you need to wait here.”

Drusilla whimpered.

“Listen, pet, I promise I’ll take you to Daddy. He’s in New York. We’ll leave as soon as the sun sets. But you need to wait here, Dru. I can’t take you if you don’t wait here.”

“I’m hungry. Bring me back a sales girl to eat.”

Spike knew he couldn’t lie to Dru; she would know the moment he tried. “Not going to happen, pet. But I’ll bring you some blood. Now, promise me you’ll wait here and not wander around the tunnels.”

“Miss Edith wants me to run away. She says Daddy is weak and sick. He can’t hunt. She says if I want to hunt I have to run away.”

“Miss Edith doesn’t want you to have your Daddy, the pixies do. Listen to the pixies. We’ll go to New York and make Angel strong again.”

Drusilla whimpered but nodded her consent.

Spike half expected her not to be in the crypt when he returned. But she was there. He had gone to The Alibi Room and picked up 2 bags of human blood for himself and Dru. She wasn’t happy about being denied the hunt. Spike explained that they would be able to get to New York much faster if they bagged it. Dru didn’t like it, but she drank the blood, and the two vampires packed up the Amara treasure and headed for New York.
~~~
The trip to New York went without a hitch. Spike stopped briefly in San Francisco to have papers forged that would allow him access to the human world. He set up an auction for the Amara treasure at Sotheby’s. He and Giles had gone through the treasure in the past timeline, pulling out anything too dangerous to sell, so he sorted them out once again and set them aside, along with some smaller items he would give to Joyce to sell in the gallery once it was opened.

Sotheby’s was willing to give Spike a ten thousand dollar advance on the sales. It was more than enough to get them to New York.

Now, here they were, Drusilla, Whistler, and Spike, looking down at a filthy, smelly, weak Angel.

Drusilla started a keening wail.

Spike grabbed Angel and pulled him to his feet. “What the bloody, buggering, hell, do you think you’re doing, Peaches?”

“Spike? What are you doing here?”

“Saving your peach fuzzed ass. That there is Whistler. He’s an agent for the Powers, and he has an offer that you and that tortured soul of yours won’t want to refuse.” Spike gave Angel a shove out of the alley.

The group walked to the car and then drove to a cheap motel in New Jersey. Spike and Drusilla left to get Angel some clean clothes and butcher’s blood while Whistler sold him on the plan to seek redemption by taking care of Drusilla and helping the helpless in L.A.

When Spike returned, he didn’t waste any time on small talk. “You in or out?” he asked.

“I’m in,” Angel answered.

“Get yourself out of those filthy clothes and take a shower. I’m not living with that stink, and you’re not getting any of this blood until you’re clean.” He tossed the bag of clean clothes on the bed.

“Watch your mouth, boy,” Angel said, trying to regain his authority over Spike.

Spike got into Angel’s face. “Let’s get one thing straight, Peaches,” he said, hitting the p hard. “I’m no fledge you can knock around any way you please. I’ve killed two slayers and survived the demon trials. Beating you to a pulp would be a walk in the park, not to mention a pleasure. So keep a civil tongue in your mouth, or I might decide that Dru’s hissy fit is worth it to see you bleed.”

Angel smiled. “I’m your grandsire and your better… boy. On your best day and my worst, I can beat you. Or don’t you remember, Willy?” Angel didn’t think Spike would do anything. Family dynamics were everything to a vampire. Even weak, Angel outranked him. He didn’t know this Spike was a very different person. This Spike wasn’t going to slink away.

Spike hit him in the jaw, hard. The only way to control Angelus was to best him. Spike had to let the wanker know that bullying was no longer on the table. He wasn’t going to be Angelus’ toy any longer.

Angel staggered backward, stunned by the hit. Spike didn’t give him time to recover. He advanced, pushing him toward the bathroom and then into the tub. He turned on the cold water and left the room, telling Dru to make sure he drank the blood.

~~~

One thing that Spike could count on, Angelus respected strength. The drive to L.A. was quiet. At least as quiet as it could be with Drusilla. But, as Spike had predicted, Drusilla did what her Daddy told her.

When they got to L.A., they checked into yet another cheap motel. Spike found out that the Hyperion was up for sale by the city for past taxes. Spike could use some of the money from the Amara treasure for a down payment but, he didn’t want to spend it on the poofter. Whistler promised that the Powers would tell him where more treasure could be found in the Sunnydale caves and crypts if he did this for them.

Spike was skeptical, but it was the only way to get Angel and Dru settled, so he reluctantly bought the hotel and rented it to Angel.

It turned out; that the Hyperion was occupied by a non-corporeal, fear-eating demon and one human resident. Whisler was helpful with directions on how to kill the demon. It took some doing, but they worked as a team, made the demon corporeal, then electrocuted it. The woman decided she would like to take a nap before she left to start a new life, but she died in her sleep. Spike called the authorities, saying she was a squatter. There was no investigation. The Hyperion was theirs.

The place had years of dust and dirt, so Angel and Spike hit the streets looking for minions to do the cleaning. Anyone who didn’t agree to bag it was staked. It took a month to get the lobby, offices, and all the rooms clean. There was a laundry room with industrial washers and dryers that still worked, so Angel assigned a couple of minions to wash all the sheets and blankets.

Spike and Angel went out every night on patrol. Angel was becoming well-known in the area. He was a master vampire with a reputation, the new player in town. A challenge was inevitable. Angel may not have been one hundred percent, but he was close. The win sealed his place as master of L.A.

Whistler showed up with a half-demon named Doyal. He had visions and could fight. He fit in easily, had contacts in the area, and was an asset to Angel’s team. He also had a talent for interpreting Dru’s ramblings. His presence calmed the insane vampire.

The time passed slowly for Spike, but it did pass. Buffy was called. Nothing was said to Angel. Spike let her time in L.A. play out without interference on his part. Her watcher died, Lothos was dusted, and the school gym burnt down. Then a newly divorced Joyce got an offer that she couldn’t refuse, to manage an art gallery in Sunnydale. It was time for Spike to move on.

~~~

The next step in the plan was to dust Darla. She was the only one who could muck things up. She knew Spike on sight, and if she whispered in the Master’s ear, this whole redo would go to pieces. It wouldn’t be easy. Any Aurelian vampire, including the soddin’ minions, would recognize him as a master Aurelian. He needed a way to mask his Aurelian energy signature. He wondered if Lorne had arrived in L.A. yet. He would be able to direct him on the right path.

~~~
Caritas
~~~
He found the Pylean in the building that would become Caritas. Lorne was a demon, so no invite was required. Spike didn’t waste any time talking. He started singing. “Help, I need somebody. Help, not just anybody. You know I need someone. Won’t you please, please help me, help me, help me. Yeah.”

Lorne’s head popped up, and he stared at Spike as the images unfolded in his head. He held up his hand in a stop gesture. “Well, sweet cakes, you’ve had quite a ride.”

“Yeah, I need someone I can trust.”

“That came through loud and clear.”

“I need to know if it’s safe for me to use a glamor talisman?”

“For what you need to do, yes, it’s safe. But your instincts are right. You need to stay away from strong magic.” Lorne considered the vampire for a moment. “I thought I was the guy to set demons on their true path. But you’ve set me on mine.”

“Glad I could be of service,” Spike said.

“You know I got all of it. By all, I mean the whole time traveling, odyssey. Including all the visions from your first two visits to Caritas.”

“Sorry for sticking you with all that. It was the fastest way I knew to get your cooperation.”

“No need to be sorry, sweet cakes. I am what I am. The visions come with the music, and the music is worth it.”

“Yeah, I kind of know that feeling.”

“And yet, you’re going to give up the music that’s Buffy. Don’t do it. You belong together. I’m not saying it’s going to be smooth sailing for the two of you, there will be storms of apocalyptic proportions along the way. I know you want her to be the longest-living slayer ever. She can be, but only if you're together. Without you, she’ll be miserable. The death wish will kick in.

“Bloody hell, she’s only sixteen.”

“Let her have her childhood, or at least as much of a childhood as a slayer can have. Let her figure it out. All I’m saying is, that when she comes to you, don’t push her away.”

“I’m not good enough for her. She deserves better.”

“Let me ask you this, Einstein. What man on Earth is good enough for her? Are you going to condemn her to an unhappy life and an early death because you’re not her perfect man? Like the song says, you’re the one that she wants, her heart is set on you. You better step up. If it’s any consolation, it won’t be the first time a slayer and a vampire paired up. The council put the Tento di Cruciamentum into effect to prevent it from happening. Kill the slayers off at eighteen, and they can’t find their true mate. Even if they survive, the betrayal of their watcher and the Council is more than they can live with, for long.”

“Bloody hell. I knew about the cruciamentum, never understood why they’d kill off an experienced slayer. Now it makes sense.”

“That’s all I have for you, my friend. You know where to find me if you need me.”

Spike nodded. Lorne had given him a lot to think about.

~~~
Bronze
~~~
A dark-haired Spike walked into the Bronze. He was dressed in all brown leather and wearing a talisman to disguise his look and erase his Aurelian signature. As expected, the place was full of high schoolers and a few hunting vampires. There was only one vampire he was interested in tonight, Darla. He found her in a comfy chair by a pole, chatting up a hormone-flooded male teenager. She smiled seductively and invited him out for a walk in the moonlight. Spike followed, the boy was Darla’s meal, he was sure of it. Bat Face demanded young women.

He stayed far enough back to keep Darla from noticing they were being followed.

The boy was stupid. Darla had a taste for the stupid ones. She had been a madam before the master turned her and enjoyed leading men around by their dicks. Stupid was easy, and Darla liked easy.

Spike’s vampire hearing could hear her giggle, and then a soft, sultry voice suggested they find a private spot. A few moments later, Spike heard the boy.

“Ow, hey, stop it, you’re biting me.”

Spike pulled the stake from his waistband and ran. When he got to the alley, he didn’t waste time. He plunged the stake through Darla’s back and into her heart.

Underground, the master felt his favorite childe dust. A primal scream shook the Hellmouth. Residents of the town froze or ran to prop themselves in doorways as the earth shook. The master called for his most trusted lieutenant, Luke. “Find who took my childe from me. Bring whoever it was to me. I’ll make it a slow, painful death. Don’t disappoint me in this,” he warned.

Spike got the boy to his front door and jogged back to his motorcycle. By the time Luke gathered some minions for the search and got topside, Spike was speeding out of Sunnydale.
~~~
TBC
~~~

Chapter 12: Part 2 chapter 2 – Winds of Time

Chapter Text

~~~
Giles
~~~
Rupert Giles was a watcher with a superior intellect and considerable magic ability. He was a wizard. A fact that he kept well hidden. However, some higher-ups in The Council knew of his abilities, and it was a useful excuse for assigning him to a slayer at the Sunnydale Hellmouth.

He did have some training in overseeing a slayer but no experience as a watcher who had trained a potential. Giles wondered if Council Director Quentin Travers was setting him up to fail, then dismissed the thought. He shouldn’t have. Travers had read the Pergamum Codex. The Director knew the newly called Miss Summers would die at the hands of a vampire known as The Master, just over a year after being called.

Travers did not like Rupert Giles. The Director was a traditionalist. He believed in the old ways. Good was white, and evil was black. There was no gray. Ironclad control over the slayer and The Council’s lower-ranking employees was the only way.

The Director hated the treaties made with so-called peaceful demons but saw them as necessary. To Travers, the treaties were just a divide-and-conquer strategy. He would never consider working side-by-side with any demon, no matter what the situation. He was waging a war against evil, and he gave no quarter.

Giles, however, saw grays. He believed that we lived in modern times and The Council should adapt. Many demons could be an asset if given the chance. It was a concept that was demonically evil to The Council’s hardliners.

Getting Giles out of London was an easy decision. After his slayer died, he could be easily sidelined. All it would take was a whisper in a few ears that it was his liberal thinking that got his slayer killed.

Giles was in his apartment enjoying a cup of tea and researching mystical convergence and its effect on human behavior, when a flash of blue light and a loudly dressed man appeared in front of him.

“Hello Watcher, I’m Whistler, an agent for the Powers That Be.”

Giles' mind was racing, searching for a spell to cast in self-defense, should it become necessary. “Do you have any identification?” he asked as a delaying tactic.

Whistler rolled his eyes at the absurdity of the question. He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a copy of the Pergamum Codex. He laid it on the table and pushed it toward Giles.

Giles looked at the book, and his eyes widened before his skeptical mind kicked in. “This book no longer exists. It was lost over a century ago.”

“That was never true,” Whistler said. “The Council kept their copy locked in a secret vault. Only the three highest-ranking members of the board had access to it. This is an exact copy of the Council’s volume.”

“And I should believe you because?” Giles asked.

“You’re a wizard. You know how time works. This present reality is a do-over. There are time loops, places where time was looped back on itself. They hold the history of past events. I can take you into the loops. You can view yourself, but you won’t be able to interact, those events no longer exist.” Whistler held out his hand.

Giles took off his glasses and let his Ripper persona out. “Why are the powers resetting time?” he asked in a hard, no-nonsense voice.

Whistler lowered his arm. “There were a series of mistakes made. Like falling dominos, one causes the next to fall. They were small things when viewed by themselves, but they added up. The world was doomed. But thanks to an unexpected quantum entanglement, The Powers got this chance to save this world and set things right. One of those things involves the slayer line and dates back hundreds of years.”

“You’ve given me no details,” the watcher complained.

“Come with me into the loops. You can watch past timelines. You’ll see the details and understand what went wrong.”

“I’ll know if it’s a false construct,” Ripper declared.

“I’m aware of that.” Whistler stretched out his arm. Ripper whispered a protection spell, then rose and took the agent’s hand.”

Suddenly, the wizard was aware of another self. He watched from the sidelines as his other self made decisions and took action. He watched years of a life that no longer existed. And then there was a reset, and Ripper left one-time loop for another. This Giles sat with a vampire he recognized from the first loop. Spike was telling Giles some uncomfortable truths, another reset, and two teenagers lay dead. Then it was over. Ripper didn’t know how long the viewing had taken. It could have been minutes, it could have been years. He was quiet for a moment, letting his mind process all he had seen. His intellect balked at the information overload. However, one thought came through loud and clear. “You lied to Spike. You told him you couldn’t give me back my memories.”

“It wasn’t a lie. Giving you back your memories, the way he wanted them given, wasn’t possible. What you have right now are not your memories of past timelines. You have no memories of your actual experiences; you have memories of observations from the sidelines.”

“That’s a fine line you’re treading,” Ripper said.

“I’ve trod finer,” Whistler answered. “Do you believe me now?”

Ripper thought about the question. Fact after fact coalesced and came into sharp focus. He saw the mistakes he had made by handicapping himself. The slayer needs Ripper. Was that what he was meant to learn from his observations? “I’ve made mistakes, and the world paid for it.”

“The powers are giving you a gift, a chance to wipe away your sins and human errors.”

“Tabula rasa,” Ripper whispered.

“Tabula rasa,” Whistler answered.

“What specifically do you want me to do?”

“How about pouring me some of that fine whiskey you save for special occasions, and I’ll tell you.”

Ripper nodded and went to get the whiskey. He was sure of one thing: the visions had changed him. He would no longer keep such an iron grip on his Ripper side. He would be the watcher his slayer needed.
~~~
Spike
~~~
It was after 2 AM, and the streets of Sunnydale were quiet. The bars were closed, and the human patrons were either dead at the hands of a vampire or all tucked into a comfy, warm bed.

A black DeSoto rolled into Sunnydale and plowed into the welcome sign. Spike, in demon face, climbed out of the car. His bleach-blonde hair glowed in the light of a full moon. He lit a cigarette, took a drag, and blew the smoke into a cloudless sky. “Home sweet home,” he said. The stars winked back as he finished his smoke.

Everything had changed for Spike. He was a champion with a soul, and he had an important mission. He was the vampire that would fight by the slayer’s side and save the world. This go round, the powers had chosen him.

He took down the welcome sign, not merely because it was traditional, but because he needed to do something familiar. There had been too little of it lately. He felt as if he had lost control of his unlife. He didn’t want to be a leaf blown around by the winds of time. He needed to feel there was some small part of himself unchanged. With this act, he planted his feet; he would be bamboo. When the winds came, he would bend and adapt but wouldn’t break. Bamboo knew how to hold its ground.

~~~
Buffy
~~~

Buffy woke up suddenly from yet another slayer nightmare. She wondered if they would ever stop. She didn’t want to move to Sunnydale. But with her parents’ divorce and her mother’s new job, she didn’t have a choice.

There had been a lot of stress in her life since she dusted Lothos and burnt down the gym. Merrick was dead. Pike left. Her parents had sent her to a mental hospital for observation when she told them about her calling. The only way she got out was to convince the doctors it was all made up, an emotional reaction to her parents’ failing marriage.

Summer vacation was not restful. The divorce was big in her life. She had no say in what was going to happen. Her mom was frantic to find a job that could support them both. The offer to manage the Sunnydale art gallery came out of nowhere. Joyce thought it was a godsend. She was mistaken. The Council wanted The Slayer in Sunnydale where she could defend the Hellmouth. It was easy to become the ghost owners of the gallery and make Joyce a job offer that she wouldn’t refuse.

Hemery High School expelled Buffy, so she was home-schooling. Between the divorce, packing to move, and the slayer dreams she couldn’t keep up. At least the slayer gig was over. She hadn’t killed a vampire since the night Merrick died. She would be perfectly happy if she never killed another one. Buffy had no idea what awaited her in Sunnydale.

~~~
Sunnydale High School
~~~

The student body and the Sunnydale High School building were smaller than Hemery High. However, the campus was bigger. There were grassy areas with lots of sunshine and trees for shade with stone benches for socializing.

She met Cordelia, who was mean to a girl at the water fountain. Buffy had been in the in-crowd at Hemery, but she never went out of her way to be mean to anyone in the out-crowd. She just had nothing to do with them. That wasn’t mean. It was just sticking to people in your circle. But once she was called and had to drop out of cheerleading, all her so-called friends abandoned her. She became a member of the out-crowd. She saw the same shallowness in Cordelia. She wondered if she would make friends.

Buffy headed for the library to get her textbooks.

Giles came out of the book cage when he saw the young woman waiting at the checkout counter. “May I help you?” he asked.

“Hi, I’m new. I need some textbooks,” Buffy said in her perky schoolgirl voice.

“Buffy Summers?” Giles asked.

Buffy was surprised; she didn’t know how the librarian knew her. “Um, yeah.”

Giles remembered what he saw in the time loop; a slayer resisting her calling. He decided he needed to be more welcoming. “I’ve been expecting you; I’m Rupert Giles. Your new watcher.”

Buffy backed up. “No, I’m not the slayer anymore. I did my part. I’m retired.”

“I’m sure Merrick explained, you are the one girl in all the world with the strength and skills to fight evil. That simply doesn't go away.”

“I don’t care, I quit,” Buffy said.

Suddenly, the fire alarm sounded. Buffy joined the rest of the school as they evacuated the building.

Cordelia came up to Buffy. “You won’t be meeting the gym teacher today. Gym’s been canceled. There were three dead girls stuffed in lockers in the girl’s locker room.”

Giles watched as Buffy slid into slayer mode without even realizing it. “Were there any marks on them?”

“Oooo, morbid much?” Cordelia asked, then walked away when she saw her friends.

Buffy snuck back into the school. She needed to know if vampires had killed the students. Lockers were a favorite place for vampires to hide bodies at Hemery.

Buffy got angry when she saw the bite marks on the dead girls. She knew her new watcher was right. Being a slayer didn’t just go away.

~~~
Bronze
~~~

Buffy stood on the catwalk with her new watcher and a bleach-blonde hottie that Giles introduced as Spike, a vampire with a soul. He had been sent to The Hellmouth by the Powers That Be. He was also her new patrolling partner and hand-to-hand combat trainer.

Buffy looked him up and down. He was good-looking with high cheekbones and deep blue eyes. But he was slim and only average height.

“No offense, but I kill your kind.”

“And I used to eat yours,” Spike said without thinking.

“You’ve killed slayers?”

Spike huffed out a deep breath. “Was talking about humans in general, but yeah. Years ago, before I got my soul.” He wasn’t going to lie to Buffy. That road led to no good.

“How many years ago?” Buffy asked.

Giles interrupted. “Buffy, I don’t think this line of questioning is in your best interest.”

“Bloody hell, Slayer. Red’s leaving with a vamp.” Spike headed for the stairs.

Buffy looked over the rail and saw a young guy with his arm around Willow’s shoulders, steering her to the exit. Buffy ran for the stairs but bumped into Spike who was blocked by people taking their time coming up.

Spike vaulted the rail, landing in the only empty spot available, and headed for the exit. Buffy followed.

The pair started up the street only to run into Xander. “Hey, Buffy, where’s the fire? Or maybe I should say vamp-fire?”

‘Oh, Bollocks’, Spike thought. He couldn’t save Jesse, only to lose Red. “Listen, Harris, Jesse’s inside The Bronze. Go keep him company.” Spike pulled a ten-dollar bill out of his pocket. “Get yourself something to eat and stay put. Slayer and I need to get Willow.”

Xander stared at the money, then looked at Spike. “Do I know you?”

Buffy groaned. She snatched the money out of Spike’s hand and shoved it into Xander’s chest. “Just do it. Stay inside. We’ll be back as soon as we get Willow.”

Spike started jogging away. Buffy ran to catch up. “Do you even know where you’re going?” she asked.

Spike tapped the side of his nose. “Predator, pet; I can track prey.”

“Willow’s not prey!”

They had come to a main street. Traffic whizzed by, moving the air and confusing the scent trail. Spike gave Buffy an annoying look. “Yeah, well, my mind knows that, but lucky for your friend, my nose didn’t get the memo.”

“And how do you know her, anyway? We just met.”

Spike ignored the question. They crossed the street and he paced up and down the sidewalk, sniffing the air. “This way,” he said, and took off at a full run.

The vampire was fast; Buffy would give him that. They turned into a cemetery and ran between the headstones. Buffy spotted Willow up ahead and called out to her.

Willow stopped and turned. “Buffy,” Willow called back, unaware of the danger she was in.

At that moment, four vampires in game face stepped out of the shadows and headed for Spike and Buffy. Spike growled and slipped into game face.

Buffy ran to protect Willow.

The leader of the pack stopped in his tracks as he picked up Spike’s vampire signature. He held up his hand in a stop sign, and the minions behind him obeyed. The last thing the leader wanted was to piss off a master vampire. “Sorry, didn’t recognize you. You must have just gotten here.”

Spike walked up to the group, keeping his game face in place. “About that.” He pulled a stake out of his duster pocket and plunged it into the leader’s chest. The minions froze in horror. Spike staked two more before the leader’s dust finished hitting the ground.

The last minion held up his arms in surrender and jogged backward. “Hey, man. We weren’t going to steal your offering.”

Spike stopped advancing on the git. “Offering?” he asked.

“Yeah, for The Master,” the minion was confused. Shouldn’t the vampire know this? He could feel the power rolling off of him and smell he was of The Master’s line.

Buffy dusted the vampire holding Willow, and they walked toward Spike. “What’s going on?” Buffy asked.

“This minion knows where The Master is. Go back to The Bronze and make sure those two demon magnet friends of yours don’t become Happy Meals. I’ll do some recon and join you in about twenty minutes.”

“I don’t like being bossed around,” Buffy said.

Spike glared at Buffy. “Sorry Princess Pea, I’m going to do some recon. You go do whatever the bloody hell you want.” Spike pulled the minion toward an opulent-looking crypt.

Buffy scowled at Spike’s back. “Who’s Princess Pea?” she asked Willow.

“It’s a fairy tale about a really sensitive Princess. So sensitive, she could feel a pea under her mattress and couldn’t sleep.”

Buffy started walking out of the cemetery. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything,” she said, pouting.

“Yeah, it was a poor analogy,” Willow said, thereby, fulfilling a best friend requirement and hopefully establishing herself as said best friend.

~~~

When Buffy and Willow got back to The Bronze, they found Xander and Jesse being chatted up by a couple of female vampires.

“Hi, guys,” Buffy said.

The vamps glared at her. One of them flashed yellow eyes. “Get lost,” she growled at a volume that was meant for only Buffy to hear.

Buffy put on her super sweet fake smile and used her dumb blonde voice. “Well, to get lost, I’d have to leave the building. Why don’t you come out in the alley with me, and you can point me in the wrong direction.”

“Sure, I’ll show you to the alley.” The vampire couldn’t believe her luck. A jealous girlfriend that was going to walk into her fangs.

Buffy had other ideas. The vamp was co*cky, and the slayer used that against her. When the bitch held the door open, Buffy quickly grabbed her stake and plunged it into the vamp's heart.

When Buffy got back to the table, the remaining vampire was taking Jesse to the dance floor. Buffy’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the couple’s back. She turned to Xander, “That is a vampire. We’re going to circle her on the dance floor, and I’m going to stake her.”

“Are you serious?” Xander asked.

“Deadly,” Buffy answered. “Come on, before she convinces Jesse to take her to some dark corner to make out.”

Buffy’s plan worked, not perfectly, but she got the job done.

Jesse stopped dancing and looked at the pile of dust on the floor. He looked up at Buffy, “What did you do?”

Buffy’s stake disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. “I kept you from becoming a Happy Meal,” she said.

True to his word, Spike came back to The Bronze right on time. He didn’t say anything about his recon mission. Buffy didn’t ask. She knew he wouldn’t discuss it in front of her friends. Right now, she just wanted to get everyone home safe and sound.
It wasn’t a hard sell. It had been a stressful night, and they were pleased to put it behind them and go home.
~~~
TBC
~~~

Chapter 13: Part 2 Chapter 3 – Settling in

Chapter Text

~~~
Where do we go from here?
~~~

~~~
Giles’ Apartment
~~~
Giles sat in his comfy chair sipping on a glass of whiskey. The evening had gone well, considering. He had been apprehensive about introducing Buffy to Spike, but for a few moments where things could have gone sideways, it all worked out.

He didn’t have any experience with Slayers and telling Buffy that Spike was a souled vampire, sent by the Powers That Be, to help defend The Hellmouth was problematic. It was ironic that a vampire leaving The Bronze with Willow is what derailed Buffy’s objections. He will get a full report tomorrow.

Giles was no fool. He would have to keep an eye on the vampire. A soul did not guarantee good behavior. Neither did loving someone, as the time loop showed Spike loved Buffy. The world was full of people who went to the dark side due to unrequited love. This Buffy didn’t love the vampire, there were no assurances that she ever would.

Yes, he would absolutely have to stay on his toes when it came to Spike.
~~~
Buffy’s Home
~~~
Buffy turned on the shower and waited for the water to get warm. There was nothing like a nice warm shower to relax her muscles and help her fall asleep quickly.

Her first night patrolling in Sunnydale had been a hectic one. Giles wanted some watcher time with her, but that quickly turned into a rescue Willow mission. Then they went back to The Bronze to find Xander and Jesse being chatted up by vampires. What did Spike call them, demon magnets? Seriously? But somehow, he knew they were in danger. She would definitely have a sit-down no-nonsense talk with her new friends about things that go bump in the night.

The water had reached the temperature she liked, and she stepped under the spray and let it wash over her. It felt good as the knots in her muscles loosened and relaxed. She began to think about the souled vampire. He was sex on a stick. Not that she was interested; he was too old for her and a vampire. But she could appreciate a hot guy. Or was he even a guy? Did having a soul make him a guy? She grabbed the soap and began lathering her body.

Merrick had been very firm. Vampires were soulless evil things that needed dusting on sight. But Giles said Spike had a soul, and that he was sent by the Powers to Sunnydale to help the slayer defend The Hellmouth.

Still, she had questions, and she wanted answers. She would not have gone off with him if that vamp hadn’t taken Willow.

Buffy shampooed her hair as she considered the vampire she was expected to work beside. Spike had seemed… desperate? No, not desperate. On a scale of one to ten. One being who cares? And ten being desperate, she would give Spike a score of nine on wanting to rescue Willow. But that went down to a one the second all the vampires were dust. All that said to her was that Willow didn’t mean anything to him, personally. It was the mission that counted. Wasn’t that how a Slayer acted? It was what Merrick had taught her. A slayer has a mission. She doesn’t get involved with the people. A slayer fights alone.

Buffy rinsed her hair, climbed out of the shower, and dried herself off. But her mind couldn’t pull itself away from the souled vampire and her new watcher.

Spike admitted to killing two slayers, and when she asked about it, Giles tried to shut her down. Then Willow left with a vampire, and she became the mission. Still, Buffy wanted to know about the slain slayers. She yawned, finished pulling on her PJs, and slid into bed. “I want to know about the slayers Spike killed. It’s my right. So, Powers, if you want me to work with him, you better find a way of telling me what I need to know,” she said out loud.

Buffy yawned, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep. Twenty minutes later, the information she asked for came to her in the form of a slayer dream.

She was sitting in The Bronze with Spike, but he was different somehow. Dream Spike had more bravado. He was hungry, peckish, he called it. But it wasn’t blood he wanted; it was hot wings and beer. Anyone walking by would’ve thought it was two people on a date. He talked, but it wasn’t a normal conversation, he was educating her.

“Lesson the first, a slayer always reaches for her weapon. I already have mine,” he said as he briefly flashed his game face. He told her about the first slayer he killed.

Dream Buffy was angry. “You got off on it,” she said.

“And you’re telling me you don’t,” Spike scoffed.

They moved to the alley, and Spike attacked. Dream Buffy blocked every punch and then asked an odd question. “Didn’t that hurt?”

The vampire scowled. “I knew I couldn’t touch you. If there’s no attempt to hurt you, this chip they shoved in my head never fires.”

Spike switched to game face and attacked again. Before he could reach dream Buffy, he pulled back in pain. “Now that hurt,” he told her.

Dream Buffy ignored his pain. “The second slayer, tell me about her.”

“What do you want, Love, a blow-by-blow you can map out and memorize? It’s not the kicks you land or the punches you throw. Ask the right question. It’s not why’d I win, it’s why’d they lose?”

“What’s the difference?” Buffy asked.

“There’s a big difference, pet.” Spike went on to talk about the two fights he had with Nikki Wood. Then, he came to the final lesson of the night. “You can kill thousands of us and the legions of hell besides, and we just keep coming. But sooner or later, we get what we want; one good day. Your problem is you have no idea of what an artist you are.”

Buffy was confused. “Artist?”

“Death is your art. You make it with your hands. You’re just a little bit in love with it.”

Buffy was shocked that the vampire would say such a thing. She didn’t consider what she did an art, and she certainly did not love death. Being a slayer was a calling, a necessity, but not an art.

Spike continued. “Death is on your heels. Every day, you wake up and wonder if this is the day it will catch up with you. Sooner or later, you’re gonna want it. And the second” — Spike stepped into Buffy’s personal space, leaned in, and clapped his hands less than an inch from her nose. “The second that happens, you know I’ll be there. I’ll slip in, have myself a real good day. Every slayer has a death wish. Even you.”

Dream Buffy stood unmoving, her breathing was heavy. For a few moments, they looked into each other’s eyes. Spike could see the confusion; the slayer was at war with herself. He grabbed Buffy’s shoulders and moved in for a kiss. Buffy snapped out of her unblinking gaze and pushed the vampire away. She had made her decision. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

“I know you want to dance, Slayer. I can feel it.”

Buffy awoke with a gasp. She sat up in bed, breathing hard. She was trembling. It was true, Dream Buffy did want to dance with Dream Spike. The dream was more than she asked for.

She got out of bed, went to the bathroom, and splashed cold water on her face. She leaned on the sink and looked into the mirror. What was she supposed to learn from that? A slayer must always reach for her weapon and beware of the death wish?
Dream Buffy acted as if she despised Dream Spike, but Buffy could feel she was attracted to him and ashamed of the attraction. She was annoyed with him because of his honesty. She wanted to hate him. It was her duty to hate him. But his honesty got in the way. Dream Spike didn’t pull his punches. At the same time, she knew he was at The Bronze, with her, because she had asked him. He wasn’t trying to hide anything. What did that say about him? What did it say about her?

She needed to stop her mind from going in circles. The dream was too much to process right now. She didn’t want to think about it any longer. “I need to get some sleep,” she whispered to her reflection and went back to bed.
~~~
Spike’s Apartment
~~~
Bloody hell, something had to be done about the kiddies. It’s a miracle that any of them survived. They needed to pull their heads out of their asses and wake up. He was here to have the slayers back, not spend his time keeping the soddin’ Scoobies alive.

At least his recon wasn’t for not. The harvest was coming. Giles and Buffy had told him about it before he smashed the gem. Now, at least he had a plausible reason for having the information, and he knew the way into Bat Face’s lair. He would meet with Giles at the school library and talk to him about training the two whelps to fight, and it wouldn’t hurt Red to learn a little self-defense too.

~~~
Next Afternoon
High School Library
~~~
“Lo, Watcher,” Spike said as he came out of the bookshelves and sat at a table.

Giles looked up from his work. “Spike, school doesn’t let out for an hour. Buffy’s not here.”

“Know that; what I don’t know is where her training room is.”

“You’re sitting in it.”

“Bloody hell, the slayer trains here?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Yeah, it’s a soddin’ problem. There’s no room to spar. We’ll end up breaking furniture.

“I rather thought you’d spar in the cemeteries before or after patrol. Perhaps while waiting for a vampire to rise.”

“Might make do for the slayer, but what about the Scoobies? Spike asked, automatically using the name he knew from the previous timelines. “They bloody well need training.”

“Scoobies?” Giles asked with a quizzical look on his face.

“Buffy’s friends, the two whelps and Red.”

“I believe those friendships need to be firmly discouraged.”

Spike scoffed. “Good luck with that, Watcher. I’ll tell you right now, it’s not going to happen. Even if you were successful, they’d die, and you’ll have yourself a slayer with a full-blown death wish.”

“What makes you so sure they’ll all die?”

“Bloody hell, Harris and McNally are soddin’ demon magnets, and Red makes herself too damn…convenient. Sa’ miracle they’ve survived this long. Now, with all the hunters out there…The lot of them were near goners last night.”

“What are you talking about? All the hunters?”

“Old Bat Face has got minions turning minions. Probably ordered them to turn every meal.”

“Dear lord.” Giles took off his glasses and began polishing. ”I had no idea.”

“No time to be clueless, Rupert.”

Giles bristled, both at the use of his first name and at the suggestion of him not doing his job as watcher.

Spike ignored him and went on talking. “After we rescued Red, I took one of the minions and did some recon. A ritual called the Harvest will break the barrier holding The Master. Don’t know exactly when, but it’s soon.”

Giles went to the book cage and began running his finger over the spines as he scanned the titles. “Harvest, you say. Do you know what they’re Harvesting?”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Blood! They’re vampires. It’s always about blood!”

Giles glanced over his shoulder with a slight scowl. “Do you know anything about this master that is going to be set free?”

“He’s head of the Aurelian Clan and bloody old. He can’t change his face to human. Might be listed in your Watcher’s Journals as Nest. He sired Darla. Got stuck underground when he tried to open the hellmouth. He wants to bring back a demon-dominant Earth.”

“Dear lord,” Giles said, then he went back to scanning his books. After selecting three, he came back to the table, sat down, and pushed a book at Spike.

“Bloody hell, Rupert, how’d you know I read Latin?”

Giles’ head popped up. “Oh, I meant to give you…” He started to slide a different book toward Spike, then stopped as the realization of what the vampire had said hit him. “You read Latin?”

“Bollocks,” Spike swore. He hadn’t meant to let the watcher know. It was too late, now, to deny it. “Classic Victorian gentleman’s education.”

“Our journals are wrong about you?” Giles sounded confused.

“Yeah, big surprise, that,” Spike said with a huff.

The watcher in Giles was too strong to ignore an opportunity to correct journal mistakes. “I don’t understand. Why the deception?”

Spike didn’t want to talk about it. “Family dynamics.” He said in an attempt to dissuade the watcher from further questions. It didn’t work.

“I should think the family would want a gentleman, as opposed to a ruffian pulled from the street at random. Darla, Angelus, and Drusilla all seemed to be upper class. It’s who they hunted.”

Spike could see that the watcher was not going to drop the subject. In for a penny, in for a pound. “William was a mediocre ponce. I was never a good enough monster for any of them. Angelus was head of our little family. He’s Irish; it was his joy to teach the English gentleman how to be a vampire. I needed to change to survive.”

Giles was confused. “So that’s why he took on an English childe? You were some kind of a project?”

“Angelus turned me into a monster, but it was Drusilla that sired me.”

“Drusilla the mad? The council believes she’s unable to sire.”

Spike glared at Giles, he wasn’t going to talk about it anymore. “Best research the Harvest, Rupert. Buffy will be here in a mo.”

Rupert looked down at his book. But his mind was on the vampire. What kind of an effect did being sired by a mad woman have on Spike? Did it make his demon weaker somehow? No, a weak demon would never become a master vampire, and certainly not one capable of killing two slayers. Then why did he maintain so much humanity? Why was he, as the time loop showed, able to love without a soul? Spike was an enigma, to say the least. Could being sired by an insane vampire be the reason? Giles gave himself a mental shake; Spike was right, he needed to research the Harvest. There was enough time for those questions later.
~~~
When the end-of-school bell rang Buffy and her friends went straight to the library. Giles was surprised to see the group. He had expected only the slayer.

Buffy walked over to the table where Giles and Spike were sitting, giving the books a sideways glance. “So, what’s the sitch?”

Giles looked up. “Sitch?” he asked.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Sitch, situation, what’s going on?”

“Ahh,” Giles said and went on to let her know about the Harvest.

“Does anyone know what they’re harvesting?” Xander asked.

“I believe it’s blood,” Giles told the group.

“How can you harvest blood?” Jesse asked.

“That is what we are researching,” Giles told them.

“I think I found it,” Spike said, sliding the book to Giles.

Giles translated from the Latin text as he read out loud.

“For they will gather and be gathered,
from the Vessel pours life,
and out of the Crescent moon, the first past the solstice it will come,
when the blood of men will flow as wine,
when The Master will walk among them once more,
and the world will belong to the Old Ones.

Yes, That does fit.” Giles went to his desk and checked his lunar calendar. “Dear lord, It’s the day after tomorrow.”

“So, what does all that mean?” Buffy asked.

“Means we don’t have much bloody time, Slayer. The Master has a small army of minions. We need to come up with a plan to dust as many as possible before tomorrow night.”

~~~
TBC
~~~

Chapter 14: Part 2 Chapter 4 – It’s Always Blood

Chapter Text

~~~
The Harvest
~~~
“Where are you going?” Joyce asked.

“To my new friend Willow’s house,” Buffy lied. She hated lying but she had no choice. She needed to get to the Bronze. Tonight was the Harvest. “Willow’s an A student and in all my classes so she’s going to help me get caught up.” Buffy opened her oversized bag and showed her mom her schoolbooks.

Joyce smiled. “That’s good, honey, I’m glad you’ve made a new friend so quickly. Be home by ten thirty. It’s a school night.”

“Will do,” Buffy said with a smile as she slipped out the door.

Buffy, Giles, and Spike, had spent the previous night taking out as many Aurelian vampires as they could. They shot crossbows from the top of three crypts as the minions came out of the lair to feed. Buffy and Spike took turns jumping down to dust any vamps that made it past their kill zone. She hoped it would make a difference.

When Buffy got to the Bronze the group was waiting for her. They had a plan and Buffy, Giles, and Spike thought it was a good one. Buffy and Spike would wait on the catwalk, where they would have a view of the whole place. Once the attack began, Giles, Xander, Jesse, and Willow, armed with holy water squirt guns and stakes would get people out the back. Buffy would look for the vampire wearing the three-pointed star on his forehead and take him out. Spike would have Buffy’s back and dust any vampires that tried to get to her.

They were only at the Bronze for a few minutes when the crew of Vampires arrived. Spike was relieved when he counted only eleven.

Buffy’s eyes got big and her heart rate sped up when she saw the huge vamp, wearing the star on his forehead, jump on the stage and start talking. All the vamps were in game face and the Bronze erupted in screams. Some people tried to get to the exits but were stopped by the minions.

Spike remembered what Buffy had told him before this reset. He leaned over and whispered in Buffy’s ear. “He’s big, strong, and stupid. Use it against him. You can take him, Slayer. I’ve got your back.”

Buffy took a big cleansing breath. Spike could hear her heartbeat slow back to normal. She didn’t know why she was comforted by Spike’s words, she just was.

“Any volunteers?” the vessel asked.

Buffy vaulted over the rail, somersaulting in midair. She landed with a deep knee bend two feet in front of big and stupid. “That would be me,” she said in a sweet voice with a big smile as she pulled a stake out of her waistband and twirled it between her fingers.

Two minions started for the stage, but Spike jumped down and the fight was on.

Giles, in his very British way, calmly called for everyone to make their way to the exit. Some minions moved to stop the crowd from leaving. They didn’t expect to be sprayed in the face with holy water.

Xander and Jesse did just as they were trained, spray, stake, spray, stake.

Giles and Willow tested for vampires by spraying everyone who passed them. Giles staked the one vampire who tried to escape with the humans.

The fight on the stage continued. Spike was a killing machine. Not a single minion got by him. Buffy kicked the vessel away from her and then grabbed a cymbal and threw it like a disk at the big vampire’s neck. He knocked it away. Buffy picked up the cymbal stand and held it like a javelin.

The vessel laughed. “You forgot metal can’t hurt me.”

“You forgot, sunrise,” Buffy said, and she hurled the makeshift missel through the blacked-out window.

The big oaf ducked and covered. Buffy was on him just as he realized his mistake. She drove the stake through his back and into his heart. “In about six hours,” she scoffed, as his dust fell to the floor.

Underground, the Master felt his vessel, Luke, dust. He let out a primal scream that shook Sunnydale.

Buffy spread her arms and legs for balance and waited the ten seconds it took for the shaking to stop. She looked around the nightclub. All the customers had cleared out, and the vampires were piles of dust.

The team gathered around Buffy.

“You did it, Slayer,” Spike said.

Buffy shook her head. “No, I didn’t, the team did it.”

“Was talkin’ bout that big pile of dust on the stage, but the scoobies did good too.”

“Scoobies?” Xander, Jesse, and Willow asked at the same time.

“Bollocks, just forget I said anything.”

The group walked home joyful about their win. Buffy would be home by ten thirty just as her mom had asked. She was happy she won her first big slayer fight in Sunnydale. She wasn’t thinking of how many more there would be, or how soon the Master would try to rise again.

~~~
Changes Upon Changes
~~~
The Powers came through and sent Whistler with a map to a chest full of gold coins. Spike knew as soon as he found them that they were worth a not-so-small fortune. Most of the coins were Brasher doubloons, others were Napoleonic coins of the 20 and 40 franc denomination. He took them to a demon bank, not affiliated with Wolfram and Hart, and deposited the coins in a safety deposit box. Each coin was documented by the bank and insured against theft.

The bank was full service and quite excited about their new customer. It had a waiting list of potential buyers and was willing to host a private auction. Spike decided to sell two of the coins, one doubloon, and one 40-franc Napoleonic coin. The financial adviser felt more would flood the market and bring down the price.

The Auction went well. The 40-franc coin sold for just over $3000.00. The Brasher doubloon was the star, as the financial adviser assured Spike it would be. He had expected it to do well but he was floored when he heard it sold for $6.9 million. More than enough to invest, buy and equip a place for Buffy to train, and keep him in bagged human blood, cigs, and expensive whiskey.
~~~
Location, Location, Location
~~~

Spike clenched his jaw, he was getting testy. “No, I told you I wanted something in the center of the business district. This isn’t the center.”

“I realize that, Mr. Spike. However, there is ample parking right across the street. I assure you, foot traffic…”

Spike growled. “I don’t give a bloody f*ck about foot traffic. I need something in the center…” Spike stopped and got his temper under control before he wrung the stupid bint’s neck. The bitch was nearly as annoying as Harmony. “Do you have anything on Maple Court or near to it?”

The agent was a little shaken. She’d heard stories of colleagues that disappeared, or were found mauled by some kind of wild animal. She swallowed and answered with a shaky voice. “There is one property. But it’s bigger than you requested. It takes up a small city block, and it needs some cosmetic work. It has a storefront on both Maple Court and Elm Avenue. There are two apartments above the stores. There's a small parking lot on one side of the building with a private entrance to the apartments, an alley runs along the other side.”

Spike wondered if he could be so lucky, as to have the building the Magic Box was housed in, up for sale. “Show me,” he told her.
~~~
The scent of old blood was overwhelming as soon as Spike stepped over the threshold. “How many people died here?” he asked.

“There were five. They were attacked by a gang on PCP.” The agent said as she flipped on the lights.

Spike crouched down and took a look at the hardwood floor. “Blood’s soaked in, floors will have to be pulled up.”

“You could get away with covering them with a nice tile,” the agent suggested.

Spike ignored the woman. He stood up and looked around. Unlike the magic shop, this selling floor was all on one level, good for sparring, and the floor was huge. There was no back room it was all open. The ceiling was high but there was no loft. Spike knew he could do whatever he wanted to with the space. He looked at the agent. “What about the apartments? Anyone living in them?”

“Not at present. I believe there are some plumbing and heating problems and when the owner died the property was tied up in probate. There was no money for repairs and the tenets moved out.”

Spike nodded. “You got the keys?”

~~~
The two apartments had seen better days. They were both in need of paint. The appliances were old and consisted of two small white electric stoves. One kitchen had an avocado-green refrigerator. The other refrigerator smelled of old food. The cupboards were plain white and showed their age. But the worst was the upholstered furniture. One apartment looked like either a cat lady lived there or a demon with claws. The furniture was shredded and stuffing popped out all over. The second apartment was bad for a whole different reason. The furniture had absorbed the stench of stale pipe tobacco and old farts. Whoever had lived there had severe stomach problems. All the furniture had to go.

Spike knew he was going to buy the building, but he did have one more question, “What’s the address of the Maple Court storefront?”

The real estate agent checked her paperwork. It’s 5124 currently under lease to The Custom Blend Tea House.”

It was the address of the Magic Shop. Spike wondered for a moment if the Powers had set this up. He gave a little scoff, it didn’t matter. His mind turned to the tea house. He’d spent enough time in Asia to know that custom blend tea was most likely a euphemism for tinctures, tonics, elixirs, and potions.

“It’s early, the shop should be open if you’d like to see it,” The agent said. She really wanted to make a sale. This building had a decent commission.
~~~
As Spike suspected the two proprietors of the tea house were demons of Asian descent. The Hak’Zauu clan to be specific. Spike was familiar with their clan. They were a matriarchal society with a royal line that possessed seer abilities. They could pass for humans, but they were deadly fighters. In demon face, they sported four-inch black claws on both their hands and feet. The good thing was that they were not truly evil, they were worshippers of balance.

The Hak’Zauu couple knew immediately that Spike was a vampire. They growled at a level that was too low for the real estate agent to hear.

The agent didn’t hear the growl but she felt the tension. She stood very still and kept her eyes diverted by feigning interest in a display of iron and copper teapots.

Spike stepped forward, put the palms of his hands together as if in prayer, and gave a slight bow. It was deep enough to show respect but not so deep as to show deference to the couple. He held the bow as he spoke in their language. “May the blessings of balance be disposed to all who enter and partake of your tea.” Spike stood up and waited. He was ready to fight if need be.

“You speak our language,” the male demon said. The vampire had not earned the right to speak to or with the female.

Spike continued speaking in their language, making sure not to let his gaze slip to the female. “I do. I was a student of Sensei Xong Bo many years ago. I have since become an agent of balance. I am here to aid the Slayer, in her fight to maintain the balance of the Hellmouth.”

There were two things in Spike’s favor with that statement. The first was that he would aid the slayer, a female, he wasn’t demanding to be leader, the second was that he was an agent of balance, a student of Xong Bo, a Has’Zauu demon. The sensei was well known in China, his mother was head of the clan.

Xong Bo had sought Spike out to offer lessons. Spike was leery about accepting the offer, he couldn’t suss out why the demon would bother with a vampire. Dru’s pixies and Miss Edith pushed him to accept. Angel sealed the deal when he demanded Spike walk away, anything that annoyed the wanker was a plus in Spike’s book so he accepted. It turned out to be a fortunate occurrence. It was the sensei who was responsible for much of Spike’s prowess in the martial arts. Without the training, he would not have won the fight with Xin Rong.

The female demon was skeptical. She pulled a deck of tarot cards from under the counter and placed them down in front of her.

It was the male who spoke. “Cut the deck, vampire. Let the gods show us if you speak the truth.”

Spike stepped forward. He tapped the deck with his index finger one time and made a cut. He held it up to the demon couple without looking at it. Spike could see the demon’s eyes dilate and quickly return to normal.

“You have drawn the Scales of Justice,” the female said to him. “We have been told of your coming, Warrior. It is our duty to assist you in the maintenance of balance.”

Spike was surprised by that, but he quickly recovered. “It is my honor to accept your assistance.”

“We will drink tea, to our alliance, at a more opportune time,” the female said, glancing at the human.

Spike put his hands together once more and bowed. “I am twice honored. May balance be your companion.” He stepped back and turned to the agent. “I’ve seen all I need to see.” With a departing nod to the demons, he opened the door and followed the human out of the shop.

“That was surreal,” the agent said. “For a moment I thought they were going to attack us. It’s a good thing you speak Chinese.”

Spike ignored her statement and got down to business. “I want to put a purchase and sales agreement on the building. Tell the bank I’ll pay the asking price in cash if they will close in five business days and pay the closing costs.”

“I think that’s doable, but if they can’t get it done in five days, is it a deal breaker?”

“Get back to me and I’ll let you know.”

The bank was more than happy to meet Spike’s demands and the vampire became a property owner.

~~~

Spike hired a demon construction crew to do all the upgrades on the building. The company was willing to work around the clock. Giles was wary of Spike’s decision, but the crew chief worked well with the watcher and included everything Giles asked for. The dojo was finished quickly and was everything Buffy could have hoped for in a training facility. Aside from a large floor space for sparring, it had an area with a treadmill, a Bowflex, a speed bag, a heavy bag for practicing punches and kicks, and a pommel horse. The basem*nt held a target range for training with crossbows and throwing knives. One of the second-floor apartments had been sacrificed for male and female locker rooms with showers. A circular staircase had been added to give indoor access to the upstairs. The refurbished areas of the building were protected by runes and wards. All the windows had been replaced with necro-tempered glass. Not that Spike needed it, he still had the ring, but he didn’t want any demons questioning why he didn’t need it.

The dojo became Scooby central. It was less than a ten-minute walk from the high school. Xander and Jesse were both excited about their self-defense lessons, Willow less so, but she was out-voted by the other Scoobies so she followed along.

When it became apparent that the dojo was more secure and more comfortable than the library, Giles began moving his book to the new location. When he complained about splitting up his research library, Spike volunteered to get him a second set of the most common and used books for the dojo so he could keep the older duplicate set at the high school.

Giles was suspicious of where Spike was getting his money, so Spike told him it was a gift from the Powers, to be used for Buffy. The research library qualified. Giles not only found all the duplicates he needed but three rare volumes he never thought he would have the opportunity to own.
~~~
Spike decided to let Buffy handle any Hellmouth shenanigans that happened in the high school. He would help train the

Scoobies. spar with her and accompany her on patrol. If anything big came along he would help out. The decision was working well, and time passed quickly.

Spike was wrapping Buffy’s hands with sports tape when Willow asked about a boy named Owen. Buffy had her first date on Friday night. Owen would take her to the Bronze. Buffy’s voice took on a dreamy quality that teenage girls sometimes have as they talk about a boy. Buffy sighed as she told Willow, that Owen carried a book of Emily Dickinson’s poetry with him everywhere he went.

Spike was surprised the slayer was so taken with the boy. He sounded like a twentieth-century, American, duplicate of William. Spike said nothing about her impending date or the danger it could put the boy in. That was the watcher’s job. He had promised himself not to get involved with her personal life until she was out of high school. Still, it was interesting that Buffy was attracted to a poet.

Of course, the Hellmouth had other ideas when it came to Buffy’s first date. Giles had been translating the Pergamum Codex from its original ancient Greek and came across a prophecy about an anointed one.
~~~
Emergency
~~~

“Dear lord, I need to get Buffy,” Giles said as he stood up and headed for the door.

“Good luck with that, Watcher. Buffy’s on a date tonight.”

“Well, she’ll just have to cancel. Slayer duties take precedence. Do you know where she is going?”

Spike tilted his head and looked at Giles. “What’s goin' on? Somethin’ I can help you with?”

Giles huffed. He didn’t have time for this. “According to the codex, there will be five vampires turned tonight and one will be anointed. The slayer will not know him and he will lead her to her death at the hands of the Master. We have to stop the turning.”

“Let Buffy have her date, Giles. Ripper and William The Bloody can take care of this.”
~~~
They were too late. The bus had already been hijacked by the vampires. Two bodies had been transported to a local mausoleum that was taking the overflow from the city morgue. The other three were being loaded into ambulances for transport.

Spike distracted one of the officers while Ripper got a look at the police report. He was convinced that a large male, wanted for murder, was the anointed one. The pair headed for the makeshift morgue.

When they arrived at the mausoleum, the pair found themselves surrounded by vampires intent on recovering the body of the anointed one. The watcher and the vampire took out as many as they could before escaping into the mausoleum and locking the door behind them. They could hear the banging on the door as they searched for the victims of the bus hijacking.

They found the two bodies in the cremation room. Spike knew that the large man was not the anointed one but he did need to be dusted so Spike slid him into the oven and turned it on. That was one vampire that would never rise.

Suddenly the banging on the doors stopped. Giles stuck a stake into the other bus victim’s heart and left it there. She would dust at awakening.

The pair were cautious as they exited the mausoleum. The vampires that surrounded the place were gone. Instead, they found four dead EMT’s. The minions had stolen the ambulances and taken the bodies to the Master.

“At least we managed to kill the anointed one,” Giles said.

“No, we didn’t,” Spike told him. “The anointed one is a ten-year-old boy. I dusted him in the original timeline, and I’ll dust him again.”

Giles nodded. He was beginning to learn that when Spike set his mind on something, he rarely failed.
~~~
Thwarting A Prophecy
~~~
Buffy came into the dojo alone. Willow was helping the computer teacher on some project and Xander and Jessee were at the football field watching cheerleader practice. She heard arguing. It wasn’t unusual for Spike and Giles to argue over a translation. She knew they were translating the Pergamum Codex, so she shrugged off the argument and started her stretching routine.

She tried not to listen, most of the time their arguments about the translation of a word were boring. Then she heard her name, and she got curious and a bit apprehensive. In her limited experience with prophesies, they were always bad news.

“We can’t tell Buffy about this,” Giles said.

Spike disagreed. “She hates being lied to. She considers lies a betrayal of trust.”

Giles took off his glasses and began cleaning them. “Yes, but this. Buffy faces the Master and dies. It’s a lot to burden her with.

Buffy walked to the back corner of the dojo, her eyes were filled with unshed tears. “Giles?”

“Buffy, I didn’t hear you come in. Where are the others?”

“They’re not here.” Buffy looked directly into Giles's eyes. “The codex says I’m going to die?”

“Spike and I are trying to come up with a plan to thwart the prophecy. I didn’t want to say anything just yet.”

“I have a plan. It’s a good plan. I don’t go!”

It’s not that simple, Buffy. Oftentimes the things you do to avoid a prophecy are the very things that bring it about.”

“So, you’re saying that nothing can be done. It’s my destiny, written in stone; Buffy will face the Master and die.”

Spike growled. “Not on my watch, Slayer.”

“Giles just said it can’t be avoided.”

“Yes, um, well. There is a big difference between attempting to avoid a prophecy and facing it head-on with a plan to change the predicted outcome.”

“So what’s your plan?” Buffy asked.

“We don’t yet have one.”

Buffy sat down at the table. “So let’s come up with one. I’m sixteen years old. I don’t want to die.”

“Quite,” Giles said. Thwarting a prophecy from the Pergamum Codex was a monumental undertaking. It had never been done, but they had to try.
~~~
Facing The Master
~~~
The night vibrated with tension. All the minions and demons had gone into hiding, even the insects were silent. The Hak’Zaau Clan had agreed to guard the Hellmouth in case the Master managed to open it. They were the slayer’s backup plan.

Buffy told Owen she would meet him at the dance. She wore her gown, a leather coat, and had a crossbow hooked over her shoulder. Spike and Giles walked far enough behind her to not be noticed by the anointed one. Spike could follow her scent.

The anointed one met Buffy outside the crypt. He was silent as he held out his hand.
“I know who you are,” she said as she took it and walked into the tunnels. It was the first defiance of the prophecy that said the slayer would not know him.

Giles and Spike followed at a distance. Once they got deep enough into the tunnels the pair caught up. The boy turned, suddenly aware of the intruders. Spike pulled his stake out of his pocket and plunged it into the anointed one’s heart.

They continued walking for a short distance. When they came close to the barrier they stopped.

Spike leaned down and whispered into Buffy’s ear. “Are you ready to dance?”
The dance. That's what Spike called it. She'd been practicing for days, perfecting how to avoid a thrall. It took more than avoiding the vampires’ eyes.

“You have to keep the mind engaged. A vampire can’t get in if the mind is occupied with something else,” Spike told her. He got a recording of Bach’s Fugue. It was good music to fight by. It could be sped up or slowed down as needed. It was repetitive. And not too difficult to learn. It took Buffy a few hours to get used to playing the music in her head, but once she did it became natural. She smiled as she sparred with Spike. Suddenly she was sure she could do it. He gave her the confidence she needed to face the Master and win.

She took the crossbow off her shoulder and hummed for a moment. Then she was quiet as the music continued to play in her head. She stepped through the barrier and looked around. The Master gave an unheard laugh as he stepped out of the shadows and back in again.

Buffy turned slowly letting her slayer sense tell her where the Master was. Then, finally, she had a clear shot and took it. The Master knocked the arrow away as she knew he would.

“You can't hurt me with this,” he said.

Buffy was unaware of the Master’s taunts, she heard only the music. There was a plan and she was following it. When she saw him lift his hand and turn his wrist to call her forward in thrall, she let her eyes go unfocused. The music still played in her head and she took a step for each beat until she was close.

Spike put ear defenders on as Giles stepped forward and blew his air horn.

The earsplitting sound drove the Master to his knees; he grabbed his ears and screamed in pain. Buffy took a stake out of her jacket pocket and plunged it into his heart. His body exploded, as if a swarm of black horse flies took off leaving behind only a bleached skeleton.

The barrier and the Master were gone. “We did it,” Giles said as he looked down at the bones.

“His skeleton didn't dust,” Buffy said.

Giles nodded. “The bones of the very old masters can be used in a resurrection spell. They will have to be broken or the minions will try to bring him back.”

Spike picked up a large stone and slammed it down on the Master’s skull. Giles picked up several leg bones and swung them against the stone walls. When they were satisfied the skeleton could no longer be used in a resurrection ritual, Giles poured holy water over the splinters. The group watched them smoke and hiss. Then they left.

Buffy’s first stop was the library to thank the Hak’ Zaau for guarding the Hellmouth. Then she went to meet Owen, her date for the homecoming dance in the gym. It was a fitting name for the dance. The Master was dust, the Hellmouth wouldn’t open, and most of all she was not dead. She felt as if she had truly come home.
~~~
TBC
~~~

Chapter 15: Part 2 Chapter 5 - Brothers In Arms

Chapter Text

~~~

Spike turned off All My Children and poured himself another drink. This was his second time through this year, and it looks like he and Ripper made it without causing the need for another reset.

In the last reset, things went south PDQ. Spike was watching his stories, and they were preempted for breaking news. There was an active shooter at the City of Angels Mall. Spike got a bad feeling. He knew it was Buffy’s favorite place to shop while in L.A. He went down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk in front of the dojo. He shook himself closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened himself to the feel of Buffy. If she were anywhere on this soddin’ planet, he’d feel her.

There was nothing. Buffy was dead. He didn’t open his eyes, he closed them tighter attempting to stop the tears from falling. He didn’t hear or see the arrow coming, he only felt it pierce his heart. That’s when he knew it was the council.

Spike told Rupert not to tell the council about him when he made his summer trip to London. But Rupert refused to believe that a champion sent by the Powers would cause a problem. He promised no mention would be made that the champion was a vampire. Rupert was sure everything would be okay.

Spike looked at the arrow protruding from his chest, he pulled it out and gave whoever was watching the two-finger salute. He walked into the dojo and took off his boot. The wet works team was coming through the door to finish their job just as Spike smashed the gem.

Everything started over again. All the craziness with Dru and the crap with Angel. Then the first year with Buffy in Sunnydale. It all went down the same except for one big difference. Ripper!

Spike was ready to tell Giles off with a very angry I told you so, until he saw him. He wasn’t looking at Rupert Giles, he was looking at Ripper, and not just the determined warrior that accompanied Buffy the night she killed Old Batface.

Spike was a master vampire, a predator. He knew how to read people; he had been taught by the best. What Spike saw was a battle-hardened, determined, and angry warrior. It was the anger that made Spike stop in his tracks and tilt his head as he analyzed the man standing in front of him. The anger was not a hot burning fire that spread out consuming everything in its path. Nor was it an ice-cold, targeted rage, devoid of all empathy and willing to destroy anyone or anything between itself and its target.

No this was something else altogether. This outrage was born from empathy. It was cool and as hard as a diamond and very sure in its righteousness.

When Rupert Giles became a watcher, he took an oath to protect the innocent, and all those who could not protect themselves, against evil. When Whistler took him into the time loops he saw that the council violated that oath. Five innocent people died the day they killed Buffy. Those people were more than collateral damage. They were deliberately killed to cover Buffy’s assassination.

The thought repeated itself in Giles' mind. Buffy, the Council ordered Buffy’s death. The death of the young woman who was in every way, but blood, his daughter. The indiscriminate killing of any innocent went against everything the council was supposed to stand for. But this was the slayer, the council’s own… the one girl in all the world… It was more than Rupert Giles or his alter ego Ripper could ignore.

The relationship between Spike and Giles changed. They were no longer merely colleagues forced into a relationship of civility and respect due to a mutual goal. Nor were they friends, at least not the way most humans thought of friendship. Their relationship was deeper than that, they had become brothers in arms. Council dogma was gone. Neither Ripper nor Spike had a problem with doing whatever had to be done.
~~~

The point where Spike had last reset the timeline had passed. It was time to deal with new things. The Hellmouth was slowly waking up from its summer hibernation.

In the original timeline, Angel lost his soul and came after Buffy. That wasn’t going to happen. Spike had no idea what the hellmouth would throw at them, he was sure there would be more than what Whistler had shown Ripper in his recent trip into the time loops. Spike did know of two non-mystical things that he and Giles were being forced to deal with.

Jesse had moved away. His Dad was laid off when the biggest employer in Sunnydale closed. Jesse’s uncle got his dad a job on the General Motors auto assembly line in Detroit. He said his goodbyes and then he was gone. Willow did her best to cheer up Xander but nothing worked. He had lost his best friend and looked it. Spike took extra time with Xander during the summer. Teaching him the finer points of a good pool hustle, along with how to attract a girl. It was slow going. Spike knew he didn’t need a vampire friend, well past his teenage years. He needed a human peer.

Owen’s parents lost their jobs too. When Buffy got back from L.A. she was devastated. Joyce was not much help. Her advice was, “I know it hurts, dear. He’s not the only fish in the sea, another boy will come along,” while mother and daughter shared a half-gallon of rocky road ice cream.

Ripper wasn’t equipped to deal with a lovesick slayer. He tried to distract her with training. It wasn’t working.

Spike was willing to let the situation take its course. Loren had told him to let Buffy have as close to normal high school life as a slayer could have. He was determined to do that, until he had to rescue her from the third minion. That was the final straw.

“Bloody hell, Slayer, snap out of it. That soddin’ poof isn’t worth it.” Spike snapped, he knew he was projecting his feelings about William onto Owen, but he couldn’t help himself.

Buffy flew into a rage and started beating Spike’s chest. “You take it back! He’s not a sodden poof! Take it back!”

Spike grabbed her arms and backed her up against a crypt. “Stop it, Slayer! No boy is worth you avin’ a death wish over.”

“He is worth it. He’s a good guy, and it was all my fault that he left me.”

“Bollocks! His parents moved. He’s a minor; he had to go with them. I know it hurts, slayer, but no one gets through this bloody life unscathed. Only way to avoid it is to never love. That’s just not in your nature.”

Buffy’s bottom lip began to quiver. “It was my fault. He said so.”

“If the wanker said that he’s more than a soddin’ poof he’s a bloody ass hole.”

Buffy’s voice was cracking as she spoke. “He said I was shutting him out. I had to, because I’m the slayer. I wanted to explain but he said goodbye Buffy and hung up.” The tears started rolling down her cheeks. “I c-called back and his d-dad said not to c-call again… He’ss n-not a sod-den p-poof.”

Spike pulled her into a hug and tucked her head under his chin. “K, pet, I take it back, the bloody wanker is not a sodden poof.”

“Buffy almost laughed, but she didn’t want to laugh. She wanted to keep crying. Instead, she raised a fist and punched him in the shoulder. “Not a w-wan-ker.”

Spike was having a hard time processing that Buffy was defending Owen. A soft-spoken, poofter poet, had been Buffy’s first love. How the bloody hell did that happen? She was the slayer. She needed a little monster in her man and Owen didn’t have it in him. Of course, Owen wasn’t a man, he was still a boy. As for Buffy, she may have the weight of the world on her shoulders, but under it all she was still a girl who wanted to be loved.

Spike scoffed. “All teenage boys are wankers, even burnt toast makes them horny.” He held her for a few moments; she didn’t try to push away. He gave a little huff. “Losin your first love hurts like hell. Feels like the end of the world. Know you need to cry. Give it all to me, Slayer. But when you’re done so’s the soddin’ death wish.”

Buffy cried for ten minutes and then pushed away. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

“Never, Slayer,” Spike said, acknowledging it was the slayer, not the girl asking the question.

Buffy nodded. They walked to Revello Drive in silence, except her mind was far from quiet. Spike, a vampire, had given her comfort. How weird was that? The thing was it didn’t FEEL weird. It was only weird if she THOUGHT about it. Spike, a vampire, let her beat his chest, tucked her head under his chin, and let her soak his shirt with tears and snot. A vampire did that for her, something the humans in her life either didn’t know how to do or didn’t want to do. She hoped it was the former. If it were the latter… if they didn’t want to do it for her… Well, the implications of that were too much to contemplate.

~~~
Into Each Life, Some Rayne Must Fall*
~~~
Ethan Rayne was a very talented and powerful Chaos Mage. He loved causing people trouble. If it wasn’t hurting him, it was fun, even more so when he was the cause. He’d always wanted to visit a Hellmouth. When an old friend contacted him to tell him Rupert Giles said it was important to get the Eyghon tattoo removed before the end of October he decided to see what Ripper was up to. After all, no good turn should go unpunished. All the better when he found out Ripper was a watcher with a Slayer under his protective wing.

Rayne stepped off the train and took a deep breath. He could smell the saltwater in the air. It smelled like home. He closed his eyes and stood still and quiet for a moment, letting his mage senses reach out to the chaotic energy of the Sunnydale Hellmouth. He could feel the vibrations roll over his skin. He smiled a wicked smile. He would lay low, get the lay of the land, and then he would have some fun with the watcher and his slayer.

~~~
Plans and Executions
~~~
School had started. Over the summer the mayor had fired Principal Flutie and hired Principal Snyder. When Buffy was involved in the accidental burning of the old science laboratory, she got on Snyder’s radar, big time. He made her and another ‘troublemaker’ responsible for the preparation of Parents Night.
~~~

It was late afternoon and all of Buffy’s team were at the dojo. Willow was at the computer station, doing homework, Xander was working out on the Bowflex, and Buffy was practicing her punches and kicks on the heavy bag.

Spike had spent the summer making as many contacts as possible in the demon community. He felt he had a good idea about the goings on in Sunnydale. The demon gossip right now was centered on the Night of St. Vigeous.

Giles and Spike sat at a table quietly talking about the Aurelian vampire’s religious high holiday. It needed to be stopped before it happened or there would be a bloodbath in Sunnydale. It wasn’t something the Slayer could do by herself. They both agreed that the best way to stop the holiday was to burn down the old factory building where the Aurelians were nesting. There was, however, one point of contention, Dalton.

Spike was adamant, that Dalton should not be dusted. He had more humanity in him than any other vampire he had ever met, plus he was bloody smart. The Master had ordered him turned so he could research how to break the mystical barrier. Spike also remembered that, in the original timeline, it was Dalton who found the ritual that cured Drusilla.

Spike thought that the ‘research buddy’ angle of his argument would win Ripper over. It didn’t.

Ripper shook his head. “We can’t trust a vampire, no matter how much humanity you say he has, he is still without a soul. He could turn on us without provocation.”

“Dalton is not a hunter. I don’t know how Nest did it, maybe he used mojo when he made him, Maybe the bastard put him in a deep unbreakable thrall, but the poof has no hunter instinct. Nest had the minions hunt for him. I had to do the same when he was researching for me.

Ripper scowled and shook his head once again. “This is a matter of trust, Spike. I simply can’t trust him and I can’t see any path to being able to trust him.”

Path, that gave Spike an idea. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes, well you’re a Champion, he is not. You have a soul, he does not. You were sent to help the slayer by The Powers That be, he was not. Do I need to continue?”

“What if he were totally under my control?”

“That kind of control isn’t possible.” Ripper scoffed.

“It is if I make him my own.”

“Are you saying you’ll make him your childe?”

“No he’s not childe material, his demon is too weak. But I can make him mine.”

“What does that entail?” the watcher asked, unable to pass up learning something new about vampires.

“I bite him, he pledges fealty to me and me alone, and he drinks from my wrist. I accept him as mine. He’ll be bound to me and compelled to obey me. Could tell him to go stand in the sun or bathe in holy water, he’d have to do it.”

“Bloody hell, you’re talking about slavery.”

“He’s a vampire minion. They crave a master. Nest is dead, he’s without one. He’ll make the pledge. We’ve got that spare room upstairs for him to stay in. You and I can work out the rules for him. Will that suit you?”

“One condition,” Ripper said. “If anything goes wrong you stake him.”

“Bloody hell Watcher, that goes without sayin’.”

It wasn’t easy separating Dalton from the nest without the other vampires noticing, but Spike did it. The factory was burnt to the ground, and The Night of St. Vigeous was stopped before it began.

~~~
Giles volunteered to chaperone the school field trip to the Sunnydale Museum. He kept the Incan seal from being broken and the mummy never rose.

What to do about the demon-worshiping fraternity that sacrificed three girls a year to the demon was another matter. All agreed they had to be stopped. Buffy volunteered to be bait. She hated keeping the college boys' true agenda from Cordelia, but she had no choice. Spike, Ripper, and Xander, timed their entrance perfectly and the fraternity, along with the demon, was taken down.

~~~
Halloween
~~~

Halloween became a concern weeks before, when Lee and Shiyun, the Hak’Zauu demons from the tea house that shared the building with the dojo, told Ripper and Spike, an agent for chaos had arrived in Sunnydale. Ripper was confident that it was Ethan Rayne but try as he may he could not locate him. They watched for the costume shop he opened in the previous timeline, but it never opened.

This time Rayne was more cautious about what he was doing. He broke into Party Town and put his curse on their costumes.

Snyder, true to form, forced the high school students to ‘volunteer’ to chaperone the younger children for trick or treat. Costumes were mandatory.

Buffy decided to have her mother alter her Little Red Riding Hood costume. Xander bought a toy gun at Party Town and wore an Army uniform he got at a church’s secondhand store. Buffy tried to get Willow to wear something sexy, but at the last minute, she put a ghost costume on over it.

When the spell took effect, Buffy was not affected, but many more children were. The Scoobies did what they could to mitigate damages. Willow managed to keep Xander from shooting anyone. Buffy broke up any fights she came across. Spike and Dalton rounded up any vampires they could find. Spike, as the only master vampire on the streets, demanded their allegiance and kept them from biting.

Ripper was sure it was Rayne who cast the spell, but he didn’t know how to find him. He went to Lee and Shiyun for help. They were able to track the spell's emanations to an abandoned storefront. One where Rayne could watch the chaos unfold.

The fight didn’t last long. Ethan was not a brawler. He much preferred to hide in the shadows and enjoy the show.

Ripper smashed the bust of the chaos demon and told Rayne to get out of Sunnydale and not come back. Ethan Rayne pretended that he would comply, but he had other ideas.

~~~
December 1997
Mom’s Got A Boy Friend.
~~~
Buffy came home one day to find Ted in her house. She didn’t like him. She couldn’t put her finger on why. Her mom was very happy.

Joyce met Ted when he upgraded the computer system at the gallery. Now he was in her kitchen cooking. Willow and Xander loved his individual pizzas and his chocolate chip cookies. Buffy wouldn’t touch them.

Buffy decided to try to make nice with Ted when he suggested playing miniature golf. It wasn’t working. The more time she spent with Ted the more her slayer sense was warning her something was very wrong. When her ball went off course she picked it up and dropped it into the hole. It wasn’t because she wanted to win, she just wanted to finish and go home.

“What do you think you’re doing, Missy?” Ted’s voice seethed with anger.

“My name’s Buffy.” She tried to get around him but he stepped in her way.

“You cheated.”

“What are you going to do, call the miniature golf police?”

Joyce walked over. “What’s going on? We’re holding up the people behind us.”

“I caught your daughter cheating. When I confronted her she was rude and sarcastic.”

“Buffy, you apologize right now young lady.”

Buffy turned to Ted. With a saccharine smile and the sweetest voice she could muster she apologized. “I am deeply sorry for telling you my name is Buffy,”

“Buffy!

Ted glared, “Your daughter lacks discipline, Joyce. You are much too soft with her. She needs to be grounded. School and home, nowhere else. She should eat her meals with the family or go hungry.”

“You’re not my father. You’re not family.”

“Buffy Anne Summers! That’s quite enough. We are leaving and when we get home you will go right to your room. You’re grounded for a week.”

~~~
The Next Evening
~~~
Ted was in the house. Buffy refused to eat his cooking so she was sent back to her room with a warning not to try sneaking down later for a snack.

When Buffy felt Spike’s presence outside she tried to open the window to sneak out for patrol. The window wouldn’t budge. It was nailed shut. She tapped on it a few times hoping Spike would hear. Spike climbed up the tree and got to Buffy’s window just as Ted burst into her room.

“I see you're not only a cheater and a disrespectful bitch, you’re a dirty little slu*t, trying to sneak a boy into your room.”

Buffy shoved Ted back. “Get out.” It didn’t move him.

Ted punched Buffy in the jaw. It sent her staggering backward.

Spike tried to open the window but it wouldn’t budge so he dropped down and headed for the front door.

Joyce was waiting in the living room, just as Ted told her to do.

Spike burst through the door.

“Spike, what?” Joyce stood up and followed Spike.

He ran up the stairs taking two at a time. “The Bloody bastard hit Buffy,” he called behind him.

The fight had moved to the hallway. Buffy had a split lip, the scent of her blood made Spike growl. He yanked Ted back; he knew instantly the thing he was holding wasn’t human.

Ted tried to turn and defend himself, but he didn’t have a chance against a majorly pissed-off master vampire.

Spike twisted his head clean off.

The robot's body hit the floor. Sparks crackled out of its neck.

Buffy was confused. “He’s a robot?”

“I beg to differ,” was the last thing Ted would ever say.

There was no need to call the police. Buffy stomped on the head and insisted they take the body to the dump that night. But first, she stopped at the dojo and got the sledgehammer. She found it very satisfying to crush the creepy robot's body before throwing it on the garbage heap where it belonged.

~~~
February 1998
A New Best Friend
~~~
Things were looking up for Xander. He made a new friend, Daniel Ozborn, but everyone called him Oz. His band, Dingoes Ate My Baby, was premiering at the Bronze. Xander wanted the Scoobies to go and support his new friend. Everyone happily agreed.

Spike sat at the bar nursing a beer on the half-pretense that he was there to take care of any vampires on the hunt and to let Buffy have a night off with her friends. The unspoken reason for his presence was to check out the new guy. He had very little memory of Oz and he didn’t want this new friendship with a werewolf to trigger another reset. The thing was, Oz smelled one hundred percent human. So he must get bitten sometime in the next two years. He wondered if Giles had any memories of how it happened. The guy was small. Spike doubted he would survive an encounter with nothing more than a bite. Werewolves were vicious, mindless eating machines.

Spike kept scanning the floor for vampires. Things had been slow since they wiped out the Aurelian nest. He knew it wouldn’t stay that way. The Hellmouth was too much of a pull. He took another sip of beer and looked back at the band. Oz was the best guitar player they had. But the boy couldn’t keep his eyes off Willow. Well, that was an interesting turn of events. He thought it might take a bit longer for things to heat up between the two redheads. It was going to be an interesting evening after all.
~~~
March 1998
It’s Rayne-ing Chaos
~~~
Ethan Rayne sat in his cheap L.A. motel room listening to the news of the mystery children’s flu in Sunnydale. A smile crossed his lips. Things were going just as planned. He had created two mystical illnesses. The first was a targeted attack on the slayer. Not an easy thing to do with her healing abilities. The second was an epidemic, fashioned as a cover. With any luck, Buffy Summers would be considered just another sick kid. Ethan laughed. He could only imagine old Ripper’s frantic research to find what disease could lay a slayer low.

Buffy was in the hospital. Her fever at 107.4 was dangerously high. If it climbed just two-tenths higher, brain damage was not out of the question. Nothing the doctors were doing was bringing the fever down.

Giles, Dalton, and Willow were desperately searching for any information about a disease that would put a slayer out of commission. Giles was sure it was mystical. There was nothing in any of the Council’s archives that told of a disease the slayer was not immune to. Not even the Black Death or Smallpox had ever touched a slayer.

Spike went to the tea house and asked for a meeting with Shiyun. He explained to her the slayer's illness and asked for her help. The Hak’Zauu princess asked several questions about the slayer's symptoms and then promised to brew a tea that would bring down the fever. She would bring it to the hospital as soon as possible. Spike could only hope it wouldn’t be too late.

Spike convinced an exhausted Joyce to go home and get a good night's rest. She wouldn’t do her daughter any good if she collapsed from fatigue. He promised to sit with Buffy all night.

Buffy went in and out of delirium. At one point she sat up in the bed and pointed at the hall. “Demon, Spike. Where’s my stake? There’s a demon in the hall.”

Spike soothed her as best he could and applied cool compresses to her forehead and the back of her neck until she fell back into a restless sleep.

It was Dalton who found the reference to the Der Kindestod demon. When it was determined that the demon didn’t cause disease, it only took advantage of it by sucking the life force from prepubescent children, that line of research was dropped.

It was early morning and Joyce had just arrived at the hospital when Shiyun came into the room carrying a thermos of tea. She spoke to Spike in her native tongue.

Spike turned to Joyce and introduced the demon. “Shiyun is a well-respected herbalist. She has brought healing tea for Buffy. She’d like your permission to give it to her.”

“What’s in it?” Joyce asked.

“Nothing harmful. It’s a herbal tea. Joyce, the doctors are trying but nothing is working. This tea won’t harm Buffy and may help her. You should let Shiyun give it to her.”

“This is my baby’s life we are talking about. Do you trust her, Spike?” Joyce wasn’t sure how much sense it made to put her trust in a man she barely knew. But right now she didn’t have anyone else.

“I trust her, Joyce. I swear to you she wouldn’t do anything to harm Buffy.”

Joyce nodded, “Alright then.” She turned and looked at Shiyun. “Please help my little girl.”

Shiyun gave Joyce a small understanding smile and took a silver spoon and a small iridescent white china cup from her bag.

Joyce watched as the rainbow colors on the cup danced around forming what appeared to be Chinese words before quickly dancing into another shape. She thought it must be a trick of the fluorescent lighting.

Spike raised the back of the bed until Buffy was sitting up. Shiyun poured a cup of tea and gently began spooning it into Buffy's mouth as she whispered an incantation.

When the tea was gone Shiyun said something in her native language. Spike translated for Joyce. “Now we wait.”

Twenty minutes later Buffy’s fever broke and Shiyun took her leave. Buffy slept for another hour before waking up.

“Buffy, how are you feeling?” Joyce asked as soon as her daughter opened her eyes.

Buffy’s voice was dry and raspy. “Like I’ve been lost in the desert for a week. Is there water?”

Joyce poured her a fresh glass. Buffy swished it around in her mouth before swallowing. “Spike, did you kill the demon, the one that was after the children?”

Giles was walking in the door as she asked. “You saw the Der Kindestod?

“No,” Joyce said, it was too much for her mind to accept that demons would hunt in a hospital. “You’ve been hallucinating dear, the high fever, it makes you see things. There are no demons in the hospital.”

Giles put his vase of flowers on Buffy’s bedside table. “These are for you, Dear.” He looked at Spike. “May I talk to you in the hallway for a moment?”

Spike nodded and followed the watcher out of the room. They walked down the corridor looking for a quiet corner.

“There may very well be a demon in the hospital. Dalton came across a reference to a demon that hunts sick children. We determined it was no threat to Buffy so we dropped that line of research. Did you see it?”

“No. I’ll stay again tonight and look for it.”

Ripper nodded, “Buffy saw it and you didn’t. The research indicated it’s invisible to anyone without a high fever.”

“Invisible to humans, I’ll put on my game face. I’ll be able to see it. It will think I’m no threat. How do I kill it?”

“Beheading.”

Spike nodded. He’ll need to get his sword.

To Joyce’s surprise, Buffy agreed with the doctors to spend one more night in the hospital. She convinced her mom to go home and come back in the morning with clean clothes for her to wear when she was discharged.

Spike sat by Buffy’s bed, his yellow eyes watching the corridor through the open door. When the demon came he looked at Spike with an eerie smile and nodded his head in greeting.

Spike stood up, grabbed his sword, and walked to the door. “Games on, Slayer. The demon just walked by.”

Buffy got out of bed and put on her robe and slippers. They were silent as they walked to the children's ward and slipped into the room.

Der Kindestod was already on top of a child, an appendage was slowly making its way to the child's forehead.

Buffy began getting the terrified children out of the room.

Spike rushed the demon and pulled it off.

The demon’s eyes burned with fiery anger. Its mouth contorted into an angry grimace as its clawed hands swiped at Spike.

Spike jumped back and the claws missed their target. He circled and looked for an opening to go on the attack.

The demon continued swinging at Spike.

Spike couldn’t keep backing away. In a moment he would be against the wall. He swung the sword and took off Der Kindestod’s arm. The scream of pain sounded like hundreds of fingernails scraping a blackboard. The children hiding in Buffy’s room slammed their hands over their ears and crouched down whimpering or calling for their mom.

The demon charged forward in a blind rage. It swung its remaining arm.

This time Spike stepped in, letting the four black claws rip open his chest as he swung his sword and took off the demon's head. The Gem of Amara healed his wounds in seconds. Spike picked up the body and took it to the incinerator. He made a second trip for the head and arm. Then he got a pail of water and a mop and cleaned up the blood. The adults wouldn’t be able to see it but the sick children would. When he was finished Buffy brought the children back to their room.

The mystery of why the night nurses didn’t answer the children’s screams was solved. The demon had somehow put them into a deep sleep.

Buffy was released from the hospital the next morning fully recovered from her ordeal.

Twenty-one days after the first report of the children’s flu in Sunnydale it stopped as quickly as it began.

~~~
April 1998
Love Hurts
~~~

Bloody Hell, Spike stomped over to his liquor cabinet, grabbed his bottle of Jack, and poured himself a glass full of his go-to comfort drink.

He slumped down into his comfy chair, threw one leg over the chair’s arm, and took a large swig. He didn’t sign up for that. Taken over by a female ghost. Forced to say those things to Buffy and Buffy was forced to say those things to him. She was upset about shooting him. He told her no worries, he survived. There had been many humans over the years that did not.

It wasn’t her fault. They were possessed by two tragic lovers, a teacher and a student. The teacher was only trying to do what society told her was right and they ended up trapped in a cycle of killing. Now, at least, they were set free.
~~~
TBC

Chapter 16: Part 2, Chapter 6 - When It Rayne’s It Pours

Chapter Text

~~~
1998
Late June
~~~

Spike was in the dojo working out on the heavy bag when Dalton interrupted. “Master, I think you should see this.”

Dalton handed Spike the newspaper. “Mayor Wilkins brings manufacturing jobs back to Sunnydale. Why do I need to see this, Dalton?”

“The company that is moving in is E.R. Industries. It could be Ethan Rayne and if…”

“Bollocks,” Spike interrupted. “He’s taken up with the mayor. Have you heard anything in the gossip pool?”

Dalton had become Spike’s ears in much of the demon community. The demons knew Spike was working with the slayer, they were cautious around him, often leaving the bar when Spike entered, but they didn’t know Dalton. They barely knew he existed. His ability to go unnoticed, or more accurately to be ignored, was an asset Spike did not let go to waste. Demons loved to gossip and they had no problem gossiping with, or in earshot of Dalton.

The minion shook his head. “Master, I’m not sure it is Ethan Rayne. It just seems like too much of a coincidence to ignore.”

“It’s him. We know Buffy’s flu was magically induced. Rayne wants payback for the beating Ripper gave him on Halloween."

“I brought it to your attention due to the initials, I know we have to investigate. But on the other hand, wouldn’t it be stupid for Rayne to use his own initials?” The question was halfway rhetorical, but Master Spike seemed very sure it was Rayne.

“Vanity, vanity, all is vanity, Dalton,” Spike quoted from Ecclesiastes as he unwrapped the sports tape from his hands. “Rayne is one egotistical bastard. Ripper will bloody well want to know about this.”

“It’s the middle of the night in London.”

Spike huffed, “Can’t be helped. He needs to know. We may need to move up our plan for dealing with the mayor, or change things around altogether.”

Spike had little knowledge of this year’s original timeline. He had come to Sunnydale to win Dru back with a love spell. He had been the slayer's enemy and knew nothing about what she was fighting. The mayor had sent vampire minions to dust him. Spike never could figure out why the mayor feared him. He had known nothing about the ascension.

Still, the mayor was starting his preparation for the ascension earlier than he and Ripper had anticipated. Ripper needed to know.

~~~

Giles was running around his family home in Bath trying to catch the cat with the bloody awful bell around its neck. Every time he got close it teleported itself to a different room. He was tired and wanted to get some much-needed sleep. But the sodding bell would not stop ringing.

Giles' sleep-soaked brain gradually returned to consciousness, The first realization to break through was that it was his phone ringing, then when he opened his eyes, he remembered he was in London not Bath. He reached out and grabbed the phone.

“This had better be good,” he growled.

Spike and Ripper had discussed that it was likely the phones at the Council-supplied quarters and his family home in Bath would be tapped. Spike knew he had to be careful about what he said.

“It’s raining in Sunnydale,” Spike told Giles in one emotionless, declarative, sentence.

Still, there was something about the tone, Giles froze for three heartbeats while the rest of the sleep cleared from his brain. It was a fully wide-awake Ripper that answered. “Is it a deluge?” he asked. The undercurrent of the question was clear to Spike. Ripper had picked up on the urgency of the matter. They were in sync.

“It promises to be.”

Ripper thought for a moment. “There’s no need to launch the lifeboats. Sandbags are a better option at the moment. The slayer is still in L.A. with her father. Calling her back while I’m in London could cause problems I’m not equipped to deal with.”

“Understood,” Spike said and hung up the phone. He turned to Dalton. “We watch and wait. Whatever plan Rayne has for the factory will take time to get up and running. Giles won’t be coming back early. He’s found something in the research.”

Dalton nodded. He didn’t understand how Master could suss out all of that from his quick conversation. But it wasn’t his place to know the why of things. He had a good unlife since Spike became his Master. If not always kind, Spike was respectful of his abilities. He knew Dalton’s limitations and never asked more than he knew the minion could deliver. Dalton was grateful not only to have work that he enjoyed, but to have a master that was not inclined toward casual cruelty. Yes, his unlife was comfortable and better than a vampire minion could expect. Dalton smiled as he returned to scanning the newspaper for anything else of significance.

~~~

The Sunnydale reports, and transcripts of phone calls, were on Quentin Travers’ desk when he arrived at his office. He sipped his cup of Earl Gray tea as he read. Something was brewing at the Hellmouth, but then again something was always brewing in Sunnydale. He may not fully trust Rupert Giles' methods, but that would be a moot point soon enough. Buffy Summers Cruciamentum was coming up in January. Plans were already in progress to ensure she wouldn’t survive.

~~~
August 1998
~~~

Buffy was going crazy. She hadn’t had a good slay since she left Sunnydale. She was supposed to be spending quality time with her dad, but Hank’s idea of quality time was handing Buffy a debit card and telling her to go shopping.

Hank had called. He was going to be very late…again, she should eat supper without him. He claimed it was due to a special project at work. Buffy suspected the special project was f*cking his secretary.

Buffy was not going to spend another night by herself waiting for a food delivery. She went into the kitchen and found the biggest knife her dad owned. She sharpened it and stuck it into her boot. She would have to find some wood somewhere to make a stake. She checked to make sure she had her key and was out the door.

She had been walking for more than an hour, heading into a sleazier part of the city when she saw someone who looked suspicious. She kept walking but looked over her shoulder as he passed. Momentarily distracted she ran into a hard body.”

“Whoah! Helps if you actually look where you’re going,” the big guy said with a smile and a friendly tone to his voice.

“Sorry,” Buffy said as she stooped down to help pick up the pamphlets, she had made him drop.

“You’re pretty new around here, you’ve got the look though.”

“The look?”

“Like you had to grow up way too fast. What’s your name?”

Buffy tensed, she knew better than to give some stranger her name, so she gave him the first name that popped into her head. “Anne.” She told him as she handed him the pamphlets she had picked up. Something seemed off about the guy. Buffy couldn’t quite place what it was.

“I’m Ken. Go ahead and keep one of these.” He handed her a flyer. He was still smiling but the smile didn’t go to his eyes.

It piqued the slayer’s curiosity, and she took the flyer. “Family Home?” she asked. The name seemed too simplistic and unimaginative.

“Yeah, we’re a brotherhood. We help homeless kids and give them a place to stay. The street isn’t a good place for a kid to be. They get old too fast. The thing that does it, that drains the life out of them is despair. Kids come here, they’ve got nothing to go home to and the street is the last stop for a lot of them. It shouldn’t have to be that way.”

The voice in Buffy’s head was screaming at her not to turn her back on Ken. She nodded and stepped back a few steps to make sure she was out of his reach before turning and walking away.

“Don’t be shy about stopping by,” Ken called after her. “I guess you’re not starving, but we’re not just interested in feeding the body. You might find something you’re missing.”

Slayer instinct took over. Buffy turned and looked up into Ken’s eyes. “Is it okay if I bring a friend or two?” That’s when she saw it. Ken’s eyes flashed. Not with light or color, they flashed with demonic joy. She had seen that look hundreds of times in the eyes of demons who didn’t know she was the slayer. It was the look of a demon that thought he just found himself an easy meal.

Ken’s smile didn’t change. The tone of his voice stayed warm and friendly. “Sure, the more the merrier.”

The slayer wasn’t fooled.

~~~

Spike was just coming back from patrol when the phone rang. He was worried when he saw the caller I D. “Slayer, what’s wrong?”

Buffy was a little startled by the concern in his voice. “I’m okay. It’s, um, I was just out patrolling…”

“You were out patrolling in L.A. without weapons?”

“No! I’m not stupid. I took a big old kitchen knife and made some stakes from a broken pallet I found in an alley. But…”

“Does your dad know you’re patrolling?”

Buffy gave a half huff and a half growl into the phone. “Dad’s too busy screwing his secretary to notice anything I do. Stop interrupting and listen.”

Satisfied that Buffy was okay, Spike listened quietly as she told him about Ken and ‘Family Home’.

“Bloody hell, slayer, sounds like a nest of demons. You’re not going after them alone.”

“I wasn’t planning on going after them at all. I was hoping Dalton could do a little research.”

“I’ll wager he’s not going to find much, if anything. I’m coming to L.A. I’ll be there tomorrow morning and I’ll bring some weapons. We’ll take them out together.”

“Spike, there’s no need for you to come running up here. I’ll have Giles notify the council when I get back to Sunnydale and they’ll send a wet works team to take care of it.”

“Bollocks! You’re pissed off at your dad and you’re so bored you’re carving stakes with a kitchen knife in an alley. The need to slay something is building up and sooner or later you’re going to blow. Best to relieve the pressure when I can have your back.”

“I was planning on looking for something else to slay.”

“Yeah, you’re going to turn your back on kids being taken off the street for Satan knows why. You’re going to wait three weeks until you get back to Sunnydale and then wait even longer. It’s going to weigh on your mind you won’t be able to sleep and you’ll go after them. It’s your nature, Slayer. You can’t fight it.”

Buffy took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay. You’re right. We’ll do some recon and if it looks like the two of us can take care of it …”

“I’ll be there by ten tomorrow morning and meet you in the lobby.”

“The doorman’s name is Bobby, tell him to ring me.”

~~~

Spike had Shiyun put a glamor on his DeSoto to make it look like a junk car. He didn’t want to risk having it jacked or stripped while he was taking care of business with Buffy. He picked her up on time and they drove to the street where ‘Family Home’ was located.

Spike parked the car half a block away and then got out and walked past Ken. The guy was definitely a demon. The scent of brimstone and iron clung to him, along with an acrid scent of demon blood. He circled back to the car and sat next to Buffy.

“He’s a demon. How do you want to handle it, Slayer?” Spike asked.

“We don’t know how many there are. I don’t want to go too far into the building. We wait for Ken to go inside and take him down in the lobby. Then we can be stealthy and check out the rest of the building. They’re keeping kids in there somewhere.”

They sat in the car waiting and watching for almost an hour before a girl stopped to talk to Ken and he took her inside.

The pair picked up their weapons and crossed the street to the “Family House’. The door was unlocked and they went right in. The demon was softly talking to the girl. Another demon came from the back and began to usher her away. Spike and Buffy attacked. They caught the demons by surprise and took them out easily.

The girl cowered in a corner and Buffy went to talk to her. Spike began searching the rooms.

“Hi, I’m Buffy. What’s your name?”

“I’m Lilly.”

“I know what you saw was pretty scary, but those guys weren’t human and they were going to hurt you. See they have dark green blood, not human.”

The girl quickly glanced at the headless body, then back at Buffy. “What are they?”

“Demons,” Buffy told her.

“It said I had to cleanse myself in that mud bath,” Lilly told her. “Is it poison?”

Buffy looked at the tiled rectangle on the floor. It was about ten inches tall and filled with what appeared to be black mud. “I don’t think so. I think they’re abducting teenagers. They probably want you healthy.”

Spike finished the search. “This floor is clear, Slayer. I don’t hear anything upstairs, but I’ll take a look.”

Buffy nodded. “You should go,” she told Lilly.

Lilly began to cry. “I haven’t eaten in two days. Ken… it… promised me a meal.”

“Well, take a look around. There might be a kitchen in the back. If you can find food take it. I won’t tell.”

Lilly nodded and left the room.

Spike came downstairs. “Upstairs is clear. Counted ten beds. We’ve killed two. The other 8 aren’t in the building. There's no sign of them keeping kids here.”

Just then there was a sound coming from the back of the house. Spike started back. Buffy grabbed his arm. “That’s Lilly. She’s looking for food.”

“What do we do now, Slayer?”

“The only place we haven’t looked is in the mud.” Buffy got a floor lamp and yanked the cord out of the wall. She wanted to see how deep the tub was, but when she tried to set it down it just kept going. She pulled the lamp out and it was clean, not a bit of mud clung to it.

The pair looked at each other. “Portal,” they said simultaneously.

“Here goes,” Buffy said and jumped into the portal.

“Bloody hell,” Spike swore and jumped in after her.

The drop was about ten feet. Four demons sitting at a table playing cards were startled when the pair dropped through. Three of them grabbed weapons and went on the attack. The fourth hit the alarm before grabbing his weapon.

The alarm screeched and Spike gave a loud war cry in an attempt to clear the pain from his ears.

The demons were brawlers with no fighting finesse at all, but their weapons were deadly. Three of them wielded a curved blade, very similar to a scythe. It was made of a midnight black metal and both champions could see the edge was razor sharp. It had the look of a weapon designed to sever heads and limbs. The fourth demon swung a very large club, also made of black metal with sharp diamond-shaped teeth protruding around its girth and along its length.

The warriors stayed out of reach dancing and twirling, they waited for their chance to land a meaningful blow.

“Hamstring them if you can,” Spike shouted.

“Great minds…” Buffy yelled as she slid under a vicious swing of the club and swung her sword across the back of the guards’ legs. His scream of pain was enough to distract the demons Spike was fighting and he quickly took off both heads with one graceful ark of his battle ax. The remaining demon screamed in rage and charged Buffy swinging its deadly scythe. Spike cut off its head before it could reach her.

Buffy hit the button on the wall that silenced the thunderous alarm. The pair crept cautiously to the factory floor. The humans continued to work under the watchful eye of their guards. Buffy signaled for Spike to circle left while she circled right. They were able to take out two guards before the last two noticed. With more room to fight than the small portal room it was over quickly. Convincing many of the slave laborers to leave was another problem altogether. Some of them just kept repeating “I’m nobody.” Buffy was insistent that she would not leave until everyone was out. She was the last one to climb through the portal and a few minutes later the mud turned to glass bricks and the portal shut down.

They managed to get all the escapees to a free clinic the next block over. Then they went back to pick up the large club and the two black scythes they had taken from the demons. All the weapons were made of demon iron. The black metal didn’t rust and held its edge. Spike remembered the troll hammer Buffy had in the original timeline. The club was a little smaller but could still kill a demon with one blow. All three weapons would make an excellent addition to their stash.

Spike had brought a change of clothes with him to L.A., he didn’t want to drive back to Sunnydale with the stench of demon blood for company. Very little time had passed while they were below, so the pair went back to Hank’s apartment and cleaned up. Afterward, Spike took Buffy out for lunch. Spike enjoyed his time in the sunlight. As for Buffy, her tension was gone. She spent the next three weeks happily shopping with Dad’s money.

~~~
September,
Senior Year
~~~

School was back in session, and it looked as if things were looking up for the Scoobies. But living on the Hellmouth was never easy living for long.

Willow and Oz were together. Spike didn’t smell werewolf until one day he did. The conversation with the stoic young man went better than Spike thought it would. It turned out Oz’s two-year-old cousin was a werewolf and bit him while Oz was tickling him. Oz, of course, did not know about his little cousin’s condition.

Oz was open to having a safe and comfortable cage, in the sub-basem*nt of the dojo, to wait out his change.

~~~

Buffy had a boyfriend, Scott. He was a typical teenage boy. Nothing special, he didn’t read poetry, and he wasn’t on any sports teams. He and Buffy started seeing each other when Scott asked her to a football game. It was working out well for Buffy. Scott came with two friends, Pete, who he had known since grade school, and his girlfriend, Debbie. Buffy was having a good time with Scott and his friends, and she was keeping her slayer duties and her social life separate. She was happy, she felt like she had figured “IT” out.

Ethan Rayne thought things were going too smoothly for Ripper and his slayer. He saw an opportunity to throw a little chaos into the mix. Pete, like his friend Scott was just a regular guy, but he was also the target of a couple of jock bullies. It was all the opening Rayne needed. He brewed up a magic potion, just for Pete.

Rayne befriended the boy, telling him of his own problems as a teenager… until he found the elixir. The elixir would make him strong. He left out the part that it would also turn him into a monster.

It started slowly, Pete, usually an easy-going fun guy, became a jealous boyfriend. At first, Debbie didn’t know what to make of it. She tried to reassure him, but the jealousy escalated. After her lab partner, Jeff, from science class was found beaten to death, Debbie got scared. But she pushed her fears away telling herself it was ridiculous to think it was Pete.

When Pete became jealous of Mr. Platt, the school counselor Debbie was required to see, Debbie played it down. Insisting she didn’t like the man and only went to his office because the school required it. When Platt was found beaten to death Debbie went into deep denial.

Oz and Willow joined Buffy, Scott, Debbie, and Pete for lunch. When the conversation turned to Debbie’s concern about failing science now that she had no lab partner, Oz offered to give her his notes from last year. Debbie was relieved. She didn’t notice Pete’s silent seething rage.

Oz met Debbie outside the cinema, handed her the science notes, and had a short conversation before heading for the dojo to lock himself up for the night.

Pete caught up with him before Oz could get inside.

“Oz,” Pete called. “Since when do you touch my girl?”

Oz didn’t have time for a confrontation, sunset was minutes away. His voice was even and unemotional as he spoke. “This is really a bad time, Pete.”

“Guess you weren’t thinking about that when you put the moves on Debbie.”

“I talked to her, yeah. But it was move-free. Willow’s my girl, Debbie’s yours. Look Pete I really have to go.” Oz looked up to the western sky. “When the sun sets…”

“You won’t be alive to see it.”

“I’m serious man. Something happens, which you probably won’t believe.”

Pete began to change into his Mr. Hyde persona.

“Then again,” Oz said with his usual stoicism.

Spike came out of the dojo. “Oz, go. Ripper and I will take care of this.”

Pete was fully changed into the Hyde monster and he charged Oz as he jogged away.

Spike stepped up and hit him hard in the solar plexus.

The monster turned on Spike. They fought, Spike, luring him into the alley where Ripper waited with a tranquilizer rifle.

It took two darts to bring Pete down. He changed back into his human face. Giles removed the darts and called for an ambulance. He told the police that he chased away a mugger.

“When Pete woke up he was furious. He tore out of his hospital room screaming in rage. Hyde was back. He knocked down nurses and orderlies screaming that he was going to kill Oz. A security officer put three .22 caliber bullets in Pete. When interviewed he told the police detective that he had no choice but to use deadly force.

The official police report agreed with the security officer, the doctors, and the nurses. The boy had been out of his head on PCP.

Ethan Rayne got a good laugh when he read the police report in the newspaper saying the boy was on PCP. It was Sunnydale’s go-to coverup. The project didn’t turn out the way he had hoped. He wanted the slayer to kill the Hyde monster. But still, a friend of hers was dead and chaos ruled the day. Even better, Ripper had no idea he was involved.

~~~

After Jesse left, Xander threw himself into his workouts and self-defense lessons. Gone was the scared boy who covered his anxiety by being the class clown. In its place was a slim, hard-bodied, and confident young man. But the Hellmouth doesn’t like change, not for the better at least. It will do what it can to go back to the status quo.

“Larry Blaisdell was a student with a secret to hide. He was a closet gay. He shoved his secret in a deep dark closet and locked the door by being a crude jerk, often making lude remarks about girls. He was also a bully. In freshman year Xander had received a black eye or two from The Blais, as he liked to call himself.
Either Larry didn’t notice the change in Xander or he didn’t care. So, when Xander bought a soda from the vending machine Larry was right there to take it from him.

The fight didn’t last long. Xander put Larry down quickly. The girls in the room cheered.

Cordelia Chase was not incognizant of what was happening around her. The girls who had witnessed Xander’s win were suddenly very interested in him. In Cordelia’s mind that just would not do. She was the queen of the school and any guy worth having, she had first.

There’s good advice in the Eagles song Desperado; Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy. She'll beat you if she's able.

The advice was too late for Xander, Cordelia had him firmly in her sights.

~~~
November
Hellmouth Dominos – They All Fall Down
~~~

The Scoobies knew that Mayor Wilkins was not human. He was an immortal looking to ascend into a pure demon. If successful he would be the first of The Old Ones to reinhabit the Earth.

Giles, Spike, and Buffy knew they couldn’t let that happen. But Giles was loth to send Buffy out with a slay order. It was one thing to know something intellectually, and another altogether to feel in your heart it is the right thing to do.

Giles believed that the Council did too much ordering without reason. They had power over the slayer and they were far too interested in wielding it. Giles felt it would be far better to work with the slayer as her partner and support team. Once the mayor’s actions proved how dangerous he was, Buffy would decide to slay him. It turned out they wouldn’t have to wait long.

~~~
The chocolate factory was up and running, thanks to a little magic help. Principal Snyder was distributing the band candy among the Sunnydale High School students.

Giles had memories from the time loop, and he knew exactly what the candy was meant to do. He could stop the Scoobies from selling their boxes, but he had no control over the rest of the school.

It didn’t take long for the adults in Sunnydale to revert to their teenage years. The Bronze was full of middle-aged adults doing the twist and the mashed potato.

The Scoobies met and formed a plan. Willow, Oz, Xander, and Cordelia would go to the hospital and guard the babies. Ripper, Spike, and Buffy would go to the factory, shut it down, and hopefully find Ethan Rayne and send him packing. He was human, but he hadn’t done anything that human law could punish him for. The slayer didn’t slay humans. Buffy felt banishment from Sunnydale was their only option.

Things at the hospital were not going well. The mayor sent five vampires to kidnap the babies and take them to the agreed-upon meeting place. It was his first payment of tribute and he wanted everything to go smoothly.

Xander, Oz, and Willow, fought the best they could, while Cordelia hid. Three vampires kept the Scoobies busy while the other two successfully abducted the infants.

Ripper got no more than a glimpse of Rayne at the factory, then he disappeared. The trio shut down the factory. They were smashing the machines when a worse-for-wear Xander appeared.

“They got the babies,” an upset Xander told them. “There were five vamps. After I dusted one they decided to take the babies and leave.”

“Bloody hell,” Ripper said. “It’s not your fault, Xander. One of us should have stayed with you.”

“Yeah, but five vamps out in daylight. No way you could have seen this coming.”

Ripper looked at Spike. “Vamps in daylight. They must have taken the babies through the tunnels. Can you track them?”

Spike smiled a wicked smile. “Can track the babies.”

~~~
Cordy was not happy, “Are you going to kill something again?” she asked Xander. Her designer shoes were ruined and the so-called tunnels smelled like sewers. But she was not about to let Xander abandon her to the street full of crazy adults. So she trudged along complaining all the way. She had to remind herself why she was dating him. She should drop him like a hot potato, but the way he kissed, and those dreamy brown eyes, and the way he shielded her from the vamps. She shouldn’t want to jump his bones, but she did.

The group stopped. They could hear babies crying up ahead. They crept forward and could hear the mayor talking into his phone. “Carol, call Dave on the Public Works committee tomorrow about sewer maintenance and repair. I have some concerns about exposed gas pipes, infrastructure, and ventilation. Oh, and cancel my three o’clock.” He hung up the phone. Are we ready to get started people?”

Chanting started. Buffy inched forward. They were at a T-junction. A large cement pipe spilled dirty water into a channel below. Four swaddled babies lay on a platform bridging the channel. Buffy stepped back “What are they saying?” she whispered to Spike.

“They’re summoning the demon, Lucronis.”

Buffy nodded and stepped back to talk to Xander. “Okay, Xander, Spike, Giles and I will take out the demons and the chanters. Wait for an opening then you and your team concentrate on getting the babies out of here. Don’t get involved with the fighting, just get the babies and get out. Climb out of the first manhole you come to. It’s still daylight, the vamps can’t follow.”

“Got it Buffster, we won’t let you down.” His team. He had a team with a job to do. He resisted doing a fist pump and quietly moved up to watch for his opening.

“Buffy went back to Spike and Giles. “Let’s go.”

Buffy stepped out holding a stake. She folded her arms across her chest. “Hey, Mayor, I think you have four little bundles that don’t belong to you.”

“Well, golly. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“And yet here I am.”

The mayor’s voice changed to a low growl. “Get her,” he said with a wave of his hand. Then he backed off into the shadows.

The fight was on. The chanters ignored it and intensified their chant.

Xander saw his opening and ran to the platform. He handed the babies off to Willow and Oz. Cordy waited in the tunnel.

The chanters reached their crescendo and a large snake-like demon came out of the cement tube and snatched up a chanter. The others ran up a tunnel.

“Buffy!,” Ripper yelled as she staked the last vampire. He pointed at the demon.

Buffy looked around for a weapon to use on the demon. She saw the broken gas line. “Spike, toss me that torch.” Buffy jumped and bent the gas pipe toward the demon. She snatched the torch out of the air and the pipeline became a flame-thrower.

Lucronis screamed as the flames enveloped his head. He quickly retreated.

“I just want to get this stink off of me,” Buffy said as she walked away.

~~~
The Next Day At The Dojo
~~~

“We need to do something about the mayor,” Buffy said. “He was going to sacrifice babies to that snake demon.”

Ripper nodded. “I agree. We can’t let this go on. He’s not human, Buffy. He falls within your jurisdiction.”

Buffy sighed. “I just wish we knew what he was up to.”

Spike, of course, knew exactly what the mayor was up to, as did Ripper. But they couldn’t tell Buffy without having to answer a lot of questions neither wanted to answer. They had both agreed it would be better not to let Buffy know about the timeline reset.

“Whatever it is it's big. You don’t pay that kind of tribute to a demon for anything trivial,” Spike said.

“Yes, quite right.” Giles agreed. “We could wait and see, but I fear the longer we wait the stronger he’ll get. I believe we need to nip this in the bud.”

“Then I don’t want to wait.” Buffy looked at Spike, “Let’s do it tonight.”

Spike nodded.
~~~
It was nine o’clock when Buffy stepped out the front door of 1630 Revello Drive. Spike waited for her in the shadow of the large tree in front of her home. No one spoke as they turned onto the sidewalk and headed toward the mayor’s mansion. It was a well-known house in the affluent part of town.

The moon was waning and only a half disk lit the night sky. The couple kept to the deep shadows and avoided the main streets. They saw no one but a demon or two. Spike could sense an occasional demon hiding as the slayer walked by. It was no surprise to Spike. His own slayer senses were screaming to get away. There was a slayer on the hunt.

After Buffy was pulled back to life, Spike had quickly learned to find the slayer warning pleasant. It meant the Buffy was alive and nearby. But tonight was different. If he had any doubts that she would be able to do this the warning that buzzed through his entire body put them to rest. There was nothing he could do, logic didn’t work, the warning was hard-wired in a vampire. So Spike shoved his hands in his pockets, put his head down, and forced his feet to keep moving, one foot in front of the other.

When they got to the mansion it was Spike's job to shut down the alarm system, or failing that, to shut down all the electricity to the building. Unfortunately, there was no access to the alarm system from the outside so they had to shut down the house.

They both knew Ripper would be doing his thing to bollocks up the phone lines. No calls would be getting through the Sunnydale lines for half an hour tonight.

Spike gave Buffy a boost up a tree that would give her access to a second-floor, side window.

Spike cut the power lines and gave a low growl to let her know it was done.

The window was locked, so Buffy used her elbow to break one of the panes and release the lock. She climbed in silently.

The house lights indicated the mayor was in his home office. Now it was anyone’s guess where he went. Spike waited in the garage in case he tried to escape by car.

Buffy was as quiet as a cat walking over newly fallen snow. The mayor's first inclination was to make a phone call, but there was nothing but static on the line. He looked at the phone, puzzled. Was this a coincidence? Was there someone in the house? He had heard a growl from outside just after the lights went out. He moved toward his desk to get his gun. He reached for the drawer when the cold sharp edge of steel cut a deep slit across his throat. Well golly, was his last thought.

It was pure slayer that kept her fingers locked in his hair and his head pulled back to open the wound as much as possible. Her voice was devoid of empathy as she leaned over and whispered in his ear, “For the babies.”

Buffy dropped the body and went to a window. She opened it and slapped the sill to let Spike know the mission was accomplished. The homeowner was dead. The barrier that kept the vampire out was gone. Spike climbed in the window. Now there was only the cover-up.

They moved the body to the living room, where there was a large gas fireplace. Spike took a can of lighter fluid from his pocket and handed it to Buffy. She emptied the can on the mayor's body while Spike broke the gas line and lit two candles on the adjacent dining room table. The pair left through the window Spike had come in through and closed the window behind them. They were nearly back to Revello Drive when they heard the explosion. Moments later the sound of firetruck sirens filled the night.

When the firetrucks arrived they found the house fully engulphed. They could do nothing to save it. The only thing they could do was keep it from spreading.

~~~
Two Days Later
~~~
Anya walked with Cordelia across the high school campus.

“I ruined a perfectly good pair of designer shoes walking through those stinky, muck-filled, tunnels.”

Anya was getting impatient with the beauty queen. She had a quota to make or there would be hell to pay, literally, with D’Hoffrin. Ruined shoes and stained dresses were not thing she usually doled out vengeance for. But Cordelia was her best bet right now. Just one more wish and she could give up this high school persona and move the hell out of Sunnydale. Good riddance. For a Hellmouth, it didn’t come anywhere near meeting her expectations. Anya eyed Cordelia, you’d think a super bitch would come up with a good vengeance wish without being prompted. She was tired of waiting. “Don’t you wish…” Anya asked.

“No, I don’t wish, I act. I never would have started dating Xander but everything changed. He got, well, desirable. Buffy’s the one that gets Xander into all these…situations. I’m dating him, so I get pulled in. I mean, he kills things on a date. It’s all Buffy’s fault. What I need to do is remove Xander and myself from Buffy and her spooky little entourage. It’s not going to be easy, they’re joined at the hip, damn it. I wish Buffy Summers never came to Sunnydale.”

The pretty high school student's face shifted into the face of a vengeance demon. The sweet, charming voice changed to a gravelly growl. “Done,”

~~~
BLINK
~~~

~~~
TBC – Please comment. It warms my heart to hear from you.
~~~

Chapter 17: Part 2 chapter 7 - When You Wish Upon A Hellmouth

Chapter Text

~~~
Powers That Be
~~~

Ares was angry. A voluminous amount of lightning bolds shot from the tip of his spear and klaxons of thunder shook the buildings of Sunnydale.

Aphrodite came to him. “What has gotten you in such a snit?” she asked.

“We’ve lost the world,” he growled as he threw another lightning bolt.

“Impossible, William can smash the gem and reset time.”

Ares turned and looked at his lover. “He cannot. In this reality, he never found the gem.”

“How can that be?” Aphrodite asked.

“A human female made a wish to Anyanka, a vengeance demon. The demon created the reality to fulfill the wish.”

“But we still have influence.”

“Whispers,” Ares said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“Whispers may be all we need where love is involved.”

“The Slayer and the vampire no longer love each other. They’ve never met. They can do nothing to save their world now.”

Aphrodite stroked her lover's cheek and kissed his ear before whispering. “William the Bloody loves his sire,” she pointed out.

Ares' eyes opened wide and looked at the Goddess of love. Suddenly he had hope. “Can you do it?” he asked.

Aphrodite tittered. “William does not name himself love’s bitch without reason.”

~~~
Wishverse – Sunnydale
~~~

Spike snuck into the high school library through the stacks. This would be fun. Maybe he could stretch this out and get a halfway decent spot of violence in with the white-hat librarian. The idiot had angered the master enough to want him dead, so there had to be something to the pulser. He could hear voices up ahead. His first thought was an extra meal. Then it occurred to him that he should listen to what they had to say. It could be important.

“Giles,” Cordelia cried. “It’s all my fault. I made this wish…

“Please, slow down…” Giles said holding up his hand in a stop gesture. “Now tell me what’s gotten you in such a dither.”

“You have to get Buffy. Buffy changes it. It wasn’t like this. It was better, I mean the clothes alone… But people were happy… mostly… and… Wait. Why are you here? And she’s not… I mean you were her watcher.”

An amazed look crossed Giles' face. “How did you know I was a watcher? I never…” Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I want you to start again and explain everything very carefully.

~~~

Spike listened as the winey bitch, Cordelia, told her story. He sat on the floor when she finished. This whole reality was made from a wish. It sounded unbelievable, but the watcher believed it was true. He didn’t understand. He had all the memories of his life as William, and of being turned… All of it.

Spike gave himself a mental shake. He needed to think this through. The watcher was going to summon the slayer. Old Batface wouldn’t like that, especially with the factory starting up. But Spike didn’t give a bloody f*ck about what that bastard liked or didn’t like. When opportunity knocks, you’ve gotta take advantage and this was a very rare and unexpected opportunity. A plan began to form. He’d wait until the watcher makes the call to bring the slayer here, then…

“… Yes, well,” Giles said as he continued his conversation with Cordelia, “her watcher assured me he’d send her. It’s approximately a forty-hour drive from Cleveland to Sunnydale. He’ll see if he can get the Council to pay for a plane ticket. If so, she would fly into L.A. and take a connecting flight into Sunnydale. Flight 963 would arrive here at 10:32 AM. Now we wait, while I do some research on this Vengence Deamon, you mentioned. You said Anya was her name?”

Spike stepped out of the stacks. “The bint’s demon name is Anyanka.” Spike’s head was tilted and his mouth opened a bit as he observed the watcher's reaction.

Giles’ head snapped up. The bleach-blonde hair made the vampire’s identity unmistakable. “Run!” he told Cordelia. And she ran.

“Ha,” Spike laughed as his head straightened. “You know she won’t last five minutes out there. Maybe the bitch will have the good sense to hide in a janitor’s closet. But I doubt it. She put us in this mess because her shoes got ruined,”

Giles was side-stepping slowly, circling toward the counter, keeping the vampire in his sight. He’d have a chance if he could just…”

“Stop!” Spike commanded with a low growl.

Giles froze in his tracks.

“I know you’ve got a crossbow under the counter. I can see it in your eyes. Not here to kill you, or you’d be dead already. But it doesn’t mean I won’t; if it comes down to me or you, I’ll be the one walking away. So give me what I want without any nasty wood in my chest and we can both walk away.”

“What is it that you want?”

“A truce with you and the slayer.”

Okay, Giles thought, keep him talking, give yourself some time. “Why would a vampire want to make a truce?” Giles asked.

“Do you know what Great Great Grand Pappy is up to?”

Giles squinted his eyes a bit, what the hell was this? “He’s going to use the Hellmouth as his center of operation and expand his territory.”

“Well, yeah, but there’s more to it than that. Batface has a machine. Put a live person in, get out, one dead person, and about…” Spike shrugged as he calculated “… ten pints of blood, more or less. He calls it the future. I don’t like the look of his future.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Your William the Bloody. The Master’s chief lieutenant.”

Spike opened his mouth and tilted his head. “See you’ve heard of me.”

“Your escapades are well documented in the Watcher’s Journals.”

Spike scoffed. “I’ve read your Soddin’ Watcher’s Journals, right up to 1963. Found a lot of mistakes. You wankers gave me credit for things I didn’t do and left out things I did. But that’s for not right now. I need to get out of this Hellmouth and back to the real one.”

“I should think this would be your dream world.”

Spike scoffed. “Show’s what you know. The Master’s going to make Hitler look like a Sunday school teacher.”

“I should think you would prefer Hitler.”

“Hay, I’m loyal to the Crown. I was responsible for a nazi sub being turned over to the allies. I ate a bunch of the buggers myself. After Lawson and I left the boat we went behind enemy lines and ate our way across Europe dining on nothing but nazis. I did my share, but that didn’t make it into your sodden journals,” Spike huffed.

“You should have gotten an award for bravery.”

“Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, Watcher,” Spike said with an angry growl.

“But the highest form of intelligence,” Giles quickly added.

Spike laughed out loud. “Oscar Wilde. If you’re not careful, Watcher I may start liking you.”

Spike suddenly became serious. “So you need to know why I won’t betray this truce. Here’s why. My sire’s weak. She needs her sire’s blood to heal her. But Old Batface keeps him locked up, starving and tortured. My dark princess suffers. The bastard won’t make him well enough to heal her. He uses her, parades her in front of him, sayin’ how she’s suffering because of him. Makes her cry. Takes days to calm her. Been trying to get in his ear and talk him into letting my sire have what she needs. But that red bitch is his favorite and she likes torturing Angelus. Was planning to wait it out. Stay loyal until Red loses his interest. Didn’t think I had a choice. But now… Way I figure it, if I get us out of here I’ll get a chance to make her well.”

“What are your terms?” Giles asked.

“You and your white hats don’t dust me or Drusilla, I don’t kill you or any of your white hats. After that, we work together to figure out how to reverse a vengeance demon’s magic. Do your research on Anyanka, I’ll help.”

“The books aren’t in English.”

“No worries, I read Latin and ancient Greek.”

“You’re educated?” Giles asked.

“Yeah, like I said, your journals are wrong. Wasn’t a street thug when I was turned.”

Giles went to the book cage and pulled out some books. He came to the table and handed one to the vampire. He didn’t trust him but any port in a storm will have to do. He retired to his office and closed the door. If the vampire decided to attack, he would have a chance to see him coming.

~~~

Giles came out of his office. They had been reading for hours and the only thing the vampire had done was ask for paper and pen for notes.

“I’ve found something,” Giles said. “Anyanka is the patron saint of scorned women. But this wasn’t about a man.”

“Vengeance is vengeance,” William said.

Giles nodded. “It says to reverse her spell you must destroy her power center. This will reverse all the wishes she has made during the last three moons. It will also render her mortal and powerless to grant wishes. It doesn’t say where the power center is located or how to find it.”

“I saw somewhat about that.” William looked through his notes. “Got it. D’Hoffryn the lord of the vengeance demons, gives each of his demons a unique pendant as a symbol of their power.”

“We can do this then; we can reverse the wish.” Giles looked at his book. “I have all the ingredients for the summoning spell here in the library.”

“Won’t be easy. Vengeance demons are bloody strong.”

“Stronger than a master vampire?” Giles asked.

“Stronger than a soddin’ slayer, heard they can take a sword to the heart and not even wince. You’ll have to be fast. I’ll hold her as long as I can, but you’ll be the one with the pendant. She’ll go for you first.”

“We’ll need to get everything set up and choreographed.”

“Best laid plans, Watcher.”

“We’ll just have to make sure they don’t go awry.”

“This isn’t a small thing we’re doin’, there’s going to be consequences,” William said.

Giles finished shelving the books he no longer needed. “There always is.” He answered.

~~~

Everything was ready to go. They had turned down the lights and set the summoning altar so that William would have a place to hide in the shadows. Giles began to chant. The smoke from the burning white sage began to twist and climb to the ceiling in a mini tornado.

Suddenly Anyanka stood before Giles in her demon face. “Do you have any idea what I do to a man who uses that spell to summon me?” she growled.

Giles walked to the front of the altar so that he was standing toe to toe with Anyanka. “I'm not afraid of you. Your only power lies in the wishing.”

Spike slipped out of the shadows and grabbed the demon.

Giles yanked the pendant off Anyanka’s neck and turned. He picked up a summoning stone and raised it above his head.

Anyanka screamed in rage. William pulled her backward and fell to the floor, the pair wrestled for a few moments. Spike tried to roll on top of Anyanka, but she broke his hold, jumped up, and lunged forward.

Giles stood with his body between himself and the pendent. Spike had done it, giving him the precious moments he needed. Before the demon could yank him away and retrieve her power center, he brought the summoning stone down and smashed the pendant.

~~~
Blink
Sunnydale High School
~~~

“I wish Buffy Summers never came to Sunnydale.”

Anya’s human face remained. “Done,” she said. Nothing happened, she tried again. “Wish granted.” Again nothing. In a panic, she reached for her pendant. It wasn’t there. She gasped looking at the ground to see if the chain had broken. Cordelia continued to babble, unaware that she had sent this reality to hell and Rupert Giles and William the Bloody had sent it back again.

~~~
Dojo
A Few Hours Later
~~~
There was a swirl of air and the smell of ozone as a portal opened and D’Hoffryn and Anya stepped through. “Behold D’Hoffryn! Lord of Arashmaharr.” The demon kept his feet planted and turned his upper body as he looked around the room.

Ripper stood and faced the intruder.

Buffy was working out on the heavy bag while Spike held it for her. She started to walk forward. Spike placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head no, as he kept his eyes locked on the two intruders.

“You are the wizard known as Ripper,” D’Hoffryn stated.

It was pure Ripper, his eyes hard and stern, which locked his gaze on the demon. “What do you want?”

“You smashed Anyanka’s power center; she is no longer a vengeance demon. She is now as she was.”

“I have no memory of doing such a thing.”

D’Hoffryn’s voice was friendly. “Ahh, you would not. It was done inside a wish universe, which you destroyed along with her amulet. But that’s neither here nor there. Anyanka has asked me to create a temporal fold so that she can retrieve her amulet. I have refused. She is no longer mine. But you wizard are subject to the laws that govern your powers. You have taken from me one vengeance demon. She is now human and yours.”

“And if I refuse this gift?” Ripper asked.

D’Hoffryn’s voice took on an angry tone. “Anyanka is not a gift. She is not being given to you. She was taken from me by you. That makes her yours. This is a law you cannot circumvent, wizard. If you do not accept the consequences of what you have done your powers will be bound.” D’Hoffryn disappeared leaving a circle burned into the floor in his wake.

Spike laughed, he thought they had changed too much for this to happen. But then some things just resisted change.

Ripper glared at the vampire. “I could do without the laugh track.”

“You have no idea of what just happened. Human Anya is one powerful witch, with a thousand-plus years of knowledge in the pretty little head of hers. Not to mention she’s bloody smart when it comes to managing a business.”

Anya turned and looked at Spike. “You think I’m pretty and smart?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Anya is a new student at the school. She started a few days ago and she’s been hanging out with Cordelia.” So, what does the queen bee have to do with this mess?”

“She made the wish,” Anya told her.

“I should have known. I’m not even going to ask what she wished for, I don’t want to know. So, what are you going to do about this Giles?”

“There is nothing I can do. D’Hoffryn is correct. I cannot circumvent this without consequences that I have no desire to pay. There is a guest bedroom upstairs. Anya can stay there until we find something more permanent for her.

~~~
December 1998
High School Cafeteria
MOO Rising
~~~

Buffy stirred her lumpy mashed potatoes, “I couldn’t help it. Mom said she wanted to go on patrol with me because it was an important part of my life. What was I supposed to do? I didn’t know we were going to find two dead children.”

“God... Your mom would actually take the time to do that with you?” Willow asked.

Buffy gave Willow a strange look.

Willow looked a bit aghast. “That's really not the point of the story, is it?”

Buffy shook her head, “No, the point is she's completely wigging.”

Joyce walked up to Buffy’s table. “Who's wigging?”

“Uh, well, everyone. You know, 'cause of.... what happened. What are you doing here, Mom?

“I‘ve just been thinking about all of this. It's so awful. I had bad dreams all night. Did you talk to Mr. Giles yet about who could've done this?”

“Uh, yeah. He says it looks like something ritual, occult. He's still looking. We're going to add to my patrols, keep a closer eye on things...”

“Occult? Like witches? It's witches?” Joyce asked.

“Oh, there’s more to the occult than witches,” Anya said. “If it’s a ritual killing it’s most likely an evil religious order, perhaps even demons.”

“Witches and Satan worshipers. It's mind-boggling.” Joyce said. “Anybody who could do this would have to be a monster.”

~~~
High School
Next day
~~~

The school went on lockdown while the police and a group of parents went through lockers. They found something suspicious in Willow’s locker and the police pulled her out of class.

When the police finished with the lockers they went to the library.

Suddenly Joyce burst into Buffy's classroom. She didn’t apologize to the teacher for interrupting, she stood in front of the class glaring at the students. When she spoke, her voice was seething with anger. “The librarian, Mr. Giles, has been arrested for possession of contraband material. The library is shut down until further notice.” Joyce shifted her gaze to Buffy. “You, young lady are grounded. You will return home immediately after school. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Mom, but the police took Willow. Do you know what happened to her?”

“What happens to that dirty little witch is none of your business. You will have nothing to do with her!” Joyce left the room closing the door none to gently behind her.

Buffy turned to Xander. “Get to the dojo and tell Spike what’s going on.”

~~~
45 Minutes Later
~~~

Xander walked into the classroom and sat beside Buffy. “I’m sorry Buffstir, I can’t get out. Snyder has every exit chained shut with a parent guarding it. The library doors are chained up too, so I can’t get out through the stacks, and there are parents on campus watching all the windows.”

“It’s okay Xander, you tried.”

“What’s truly wigging me out big time, is that my dad is one of the people watching the windows. I don’t know what this is, but it’s not normal.”

~~~
After School
~~~
Xander and Oz ran through a ruined shopping area in downtown Sunnydale. They didn’t have time to stop and look at the damage. At some point in the afternoon a group of parents had marched through the area smashing windows and setting fires to any business they suspected was affiliated with the occult. Maple Court was particularly hard hit. The Blessed Be Magic Shop was completely destroyed. Much of the merchandise in the bookstore and music shop was demolished. The tea house had been ransacked. The walls and displays were in ruins. Tea leaves and urbs littered the floor.

When the pair got to the dojo Xander yelled for Spike.

Spike stepped up from the cellar. “I’m here, Harris.”

“The police and a bunch of parents raided the school. Giles has been arrested and we think Willow was too. I’m thinking it has something to do with those dead kids.”

“They’re not dead kids,” Anya said as she walked into the dojo and hurried toward the stairs. “It’s a Paranoia Demon, commonly known as the Hansel and Gretel Demon. I’ve seen this a few times in the last thousand years. The mobs have already started forming. I’m getting out of town before the burning at the stake starts.”

“Bollocks,” Spike said, “I should’ve known. The wankers hit the tea house.

“So, what do we do?” Oz asked. “I’m not leaving Willow in their hands.”

“I’ll talk to Shiyun, she and Lee are safe downstairs. if anyone knows how to kill it, she will. We have magic supplies in the safe. But the tea house is a total loss.
~~~
Buffy was sent to her room as soon as she got home. She left her bedroom door open, and she could hear her mom on the phone non-stop for hours. Just at sunset, the doorbell started ringing and Joyce welcomed people into the house. About ten minutes later Buffy was called downstairs and taken into the living room.

“All this nonsense with the occult, Rupert Giles, and that dirty little witch Willow has to end,” Joyce said.

“Mom, do we have to do this now? I mean…” Buffy looked at all the people standing around. They were all strangers.

“Yes, right now.” Joyce looked over Buffy’s head and nodded.

“But,” was all Buffy had a chance to say before something hard hit her head and she lost consciousness.

~~~

Shiyun knew the demon Spike was talking about. “It cannot be killed while it is split into the children,” she told him. “We must brew a potion that will force the demon to take its true form. Only then will the paranoia break and the adults see the demon as it truly is.”

“We will need your kitchen,” Lee said.

Spike nodded and Shiyun went to get the herbs she would need. “How do I kill it,” Spike asked.

“Once it shows its true self it can be beheaded,” Lee told him.

~~~
Spike paced while the potion brewed.

Oz went to the police station to see if he could find out anything about Willow. He knew she was in the building; he could smell her. The station was locked up. The police were refusing entrance to anyone. It was a little after sunset when Willow and Giles were brought out of the station. They were cuffed at both their wrists and ankles, and both wore a gag. It was obvious that Giles and Willow had been beaten.

Oz growled but stayed hidden. It wouldn’t do him any good to attack now. He would have to wait for an opening. He followed the police caravan by scent until he realized they were heading for the high school then he went to the dojo to let Spike know and to pick up some weapons.

Xander went to Revello Drive to watch Buffy’s house. He was there when all the people started arriving. He didn’t like it. When Buffy was carried out of the house unconscious, he took a chance.

As soon as Joyce’s car drove away he jogged up to one of the visitors. “Oh, damn! Looks like I missed the party.”

“Nah,” The guy said. “The real fun starts at the high school.”

“Thanks,” Xander called as the guy drove away, then he headed for the dojo to let Spike know.

~~~
When Spike, and the rescue team, got to the high school they found everyone in the library. Buffy, Giles, and Willow were tied to stakes. The tables and chairs had been broken up and piled up around their feet. Parents were tearing pages out of Giles’ books to use as kindling.

“Mom, please, you don’t want to do this,” Buffy pleaded.

“I have to Buffy. Don’t you see, you’re dirty and the only way to cleanse your soul is with fire.” Joyce said as she dropped a lit match onto the pile of crinkled paper.

Shiyun and Lee pushed through the crowd and sprayed the two children with the potion.

The children hugged each other as they changed into their true form and screamed. “Kill them, kill the evil ones.”

The parents froze for a moment as the paranoia broke, then someone yelled fire and they all rushed toward the door.

Oz, Xander, and Spike had all they could do to hold their ground as panic reigned. As soon as he could Spike gave a hard shove to one of the parents. He fell on the fire screaming. Spike paid no attention he went for the demon.

Oz and Xander pushed at the crowd when it thinned, they made their way to the stakes to cut their friends free.

“Free Buffy and Willow first,” Giles yelled as the fire crept closer to his feet. Buffy, Willow, and Oz jumped over the flame as Spike took off the demon’s head.

Xander hacked franticly at Giles ropes. One of his pant legs caught on fire just as a janitor arrived with a fire hose. The flames were quickly extinguished, and Giles was set free.

~~~
There Are Always Consequences
~~~
~~~
Later That Night
~~~
Spike found Buffy sitting on her back steps, her head in her hands. “You okay Slayer?”

“My mom tried to burn me at the stake, how can that ever be okay?”

Spike sat beside her on the step. “Wasn’t your mom, was the demon.”

“I know that, in my head… I know that. I really do. But… I can’t help feeling that she’s my mom, something in her mom-ness should have stopped her. Something should have said, that’s my little girl I’m not going to kill her.”

“You’re mom’s not the first parent this has happened to. She’s as much of a victim as you were. She’s probably up in her bedroom right now asking herself why she didn’t stop.”

“Right now Mom is sleeping off an alcohol binge. She wouldn’t even look at me.”

“That doesn’t sound like Joyce.”

“She drinks too much, she just hides it well. She goes to that book club once a week and always comes home drunk.”

“Buffy, I didn’t know. But that’s a separate issue. Your mom loves you.”

“This isn’t the first time she’s… dismissed me. I tried to tell her about Ted. But she took his side every time. What is it about me, Spike? Why aren’t I good enough?”

“Fraid I can’t follow you around that corner. There is no soddin’ way any of this is your fault. You live on a Hellmouth, Slayer. Bad things happen.”

Buffy leaned her head on Spike's shoulder. “I’m the Slayer. I’m supposed to keep bad things from happening.”

“Bollocks! You’re not omnipotent. Sometimes you can keep bad things from happening, but most times you have to deal with the bad things that do happen. It’s the way this bloody world works.”

Buffy sat quietly for a while her head still on Spike's shoulder, but he wasn’t pulling away and the silence didn’t feel awkward, so she sat and took what little comfort she could. After a few minutes, Spike put his arm around Buffy’s shoulder. She cuddled in a bit and sighed. “How did you get to be so smart?”

“Been alive a bit longer than you and undead a lot longer than that.”

“So tell me, smarty pants, when do my feelings catch up with my brain?”

Spike chuckled and gave Buffy a little hug, “Still waiting for that to happen myself.”
~~~
TBC

Chapter 18: part 2 chapter 8 - Head on

Chapter Text

~~~
January 1999
Giles’ Apartment
~~~
“Why did you call this meeting with just the three of us?” Buffy asked. “Shouldn’t the Scoobies be here?”

“It’s imperative that this remains between the three of us. No one, and I mean that Buffy, not your mother nor Willow can know this. Your life, Spike’s, and mine may depend on it.”

“OH… Kay…,” Buffy said and then made a zipper gesture across her mouth.

Giles went to his desk and pulled a small leather case out of the drawer. He came back and sat at the dinner table. “This arrived by special currier from the Council yesterday.” Giles unzipped the pouch and opened it. It showed an old-fashioned syringe with a needle and three vials of a pale yellow liquid.

Spike gave a low growl. But not low enough to escape Buffy’s hearing. “What is it?” she asked.

“It’s an organic compound of muscle relaxants and adrenal suppressors.”

“I don’t understand Giles. Why would the council send that to you?”

“There is a rite of passage…”

“BOLLOCKS!, Spike snarled. “It’s not a bloody rite of passage…”

Giles held up his hand in a stop gesture. “You’re correct. It’s a ritual.

Spike gave a low rumbling growl. “A ritualized assassination.”

“Spike, we will get nowhere unless you allow me to explain.” Giles waited, when it became apparent Spike would remain quiet he continued. “Its true name is Tento di Cruciamentum. However, the Council refers to it as a rite of passage and requires every slayer that reaches the age of 18…”

Spike interrupted… again. “You’re not doing it, Slayer.”

“Indeed she is not,” Ripper said to Spike. He turned to Buffy. “We have a plan.”
~~~
Forty-five Minutes Later
~~~
“So let me get this straight. You want me to memorize all these crunchy-mental stories from the Watchers Journals so the Council will cancel the ritual thingy?”

“Yes, if the slayer knows about the ritual it becomes void.”

“You can’t just tell them I reported the dreams to you?”

“I doubt that they would believe me. I wouldn’t be the first watcher that tried to defy the Council about this.”

“I don’t get it, Giles. You do know I have homework from my non-slayer life? Plus, I have to study for the SATs. Why not fake giving me the drugs and I’ll just kill the vampire? It’s a lot easier than memorizing all this.” Buffy asked looking at the thick folder.

“The council would do a blood test, to make sure I’ve given you the correct dosage. As for memorizing the folder, I’ve no doubt that Travers himself will come to Sunnydale to question you about the dreams.”

“If this doesn’t work, if they don’t cancel the soddin’ thing, I’ll call Whistler,” Spike told her.

“Who is Whistler?”

Buffy had never met Whistler in this timeline. He hoped he wasn’t causing her to ask questions he didn’t want to answer. He just wanted to reassure her the plan was good. “He’s the agent from the Powers That Be that sent me to help you.”

“I thought we weren’t going to let the Council know about you?” Buffy asked.

“Whisler won’t mention me, Slayer, and I’ll stay out of sight while they’re here.

“You two are going to a lot of trouble to keep this thing from happening. What are you not telling me? Spill!”

Ripper rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was trying to remain composed for his slayer’s sake. “It is an arcane and barbaric ritual. It should have been discontinued a century ago.”

Spike huffed. “It bloody well never should have started.”

I don’t see what could be worse than telling me the Council wants to assassinate me. Stop being avoidy guys and spill! Buffy huffed.

Ripper saw no reason to lie to Buffy. “I talked to a trusted colleague in London. It seems the Council has acquired the vampire, Zachary Kralik. He was insane and a serial killer before he was turned. There is only one reason why the Council would not dust such a vicious and dangerous vampire outright; they plan to use him in the Cruciamentum.”

“Wow, Travers really wants me dead.” Buffy looked at Giles. “Have I done something wrong? Am I not good enough?”

“Bloody hell, Slayer. You’re turning eighteen. That’s all the reason the soddin’ wankers need.”

“Why now? Buffy asked. “What does turning eighteen have to do with it?”

“I had hoped we could avoid this conversation, perhaps delay it for a later date.”

“I think it’s been delayed long enough, Giles. If the Council wants me dead, I want to know why.”

“It’s not you, Buffy. It’s the slayer, any slayer.”

“Not helping. I want to know what you’re not telling me, and I want to know now.”

Giles and Spike exchanged a look.

Buffy crossed her arms and glared at her watcher. “I’m getting testy. In a few seconds you’re going to be slammed against the wall if you don’t start talking.”

Giles cleared his throat. “Reliable records start about 500 BC during the height of the Greek civilization. Slayers, of course, go back even further, to the beginning of civilization itself. But I digress.
“Slayers are human and being human they desire a mate. But a normal male is not… ah… suitable. In ancient Greece, there was a clan that worshiped Aris, the Greek god of war. These men were warriors who volunteered to be turned and become a dhampir, half vampire, half human, you’d call them day walkers. We do know they kept their souls and their humanity. They were the warriors that protected the temples, the oracles, the seers, and the healers. They were also the preferred mates of the Slayers. The mystical bond between the slayer and the dhampir gave the couple long lives and they had many children. The Council keeps it a well-guarded secret, but they believe all the potentials, and there for all modern slayers come from the Dhampir/Slayer line.”

“So I’m related to these guys?”

“I believe so, yes.”

“Okay, but I’ve never heard of a dhampir. Do we even have day walkers?”

“No, the council hunted down and killed the last of them a thousand years ago. They also destroyed the secret of how they were made.”

“So what does that have to do with the here and now? Why want me dead?”

“There is a prophecy. It says that a slayer will find her mate, a vampire with a soul, They will fight side by side. There will be an apocalypse and the vampire will Shanshu. The dhampir line will be reborn and the Slayer will be set free. The Council believes the last part, the slayer being set free means the Council will cease to exist. They have a vested interest in keeping the prophecy from being fulfilled.”

“So the Powers sent Spike to be my Vampire mate. And if the Council figures it out they’ll kill both of us and maybe you for not reporting it,” Buffy said to Giles.

Giles nodded.

“I need time to process all of this.” Buffy said.

“I wish I could say take all the time you need. But I don’t think we can afford more than two days.” Giles warned.

Buffy stood up. “I’m going to go find myself something evil to kill.”

“Do you want me to come with you, Slayer?” Spike asked.

Buffy took her coat from the coat rack; she didn’t turn when she spoke. “Not unless you can do it without me knowing you're there,” and she went out the door.
~~~
Ten Days Later
~~~
“Where will you go?” Buffy asked as Spike packed his bag. She knew he had to leave or hide. The Council was arriving tomorrow.

“San Francisco. There are a few used bookstores that Giles wants me to check out. Got a list of books he’s been looking for. He thinks they may have them or know where to find them. Bonus, I’ll stop in at Ghirardelli’s. We can have a chocolate celebration once those wankers get their asses out of Sunnydale. Giles and I have our burner phones. If you need me I’ll be only a phone call away.”

Buffy gave him a small smile. She walked over and put her hand on his arm. Spike looked up into her eyes. There was a question in those blue eyes. Buffy could see it. “Be careful… Please.”

“No worries, Slayer. Musty old bookshops and a chocolate store. Not much danger there.”

“That’s when it pops up, when you least expect it.”

Spike chuckled and patted the hand that was still resting on his arm. “I promise you, I won’t let any nasties sneak up on me.”

“I know you’re going to dust Kralik before you leave.”

“Did Giles tell you?”

“Buffy shook her head. “No, It’s the only thing that makes sense. I just want you to know…do what you have to do. Whatever it is, I won’t judge… I trust you, Spike. They want me dead. I want us to be the ones left standing when this is over.”

Spike nodded his head. He couldn’t say anything. Buffy had just given him permission to kill Kralik’s guards if he had to. He knew that was a big step for her.

Buffy’s eyes remained locked on Spike’s. She could see the emotions running through them. Should a vampire show emotions in their eyes? They were supposed to be a blank slate. On the other hand, the eyes are the windows to the soul and Spike did have a soul. She bit her bottom lip. She wanted to tell him that she had feelings for him, but her throat was too tight, and the words wouldn’t come. Maybe this wasn’t the right time. Instead, she gave his arm a little squeeze and leaned in.

The kiss on the cheek Buffy gave Spike was light and warm and over much too quickly. She stepped back, turned, and walked out the door. God, he loved that woman.
~~~
The Next Day
~~~
Quenton Travers was not a happy man. All his plans were going to hell. Well, he wasn’t going to let that happen without a fight. Those damn progressives on the board wanted to call off the Cruciamentum as soon as the reports came in that the Powers were warning the Slayer in the form of dreams. The idiots not only wanted this Cruciamentum shut down they wanted it stopped altogether, in perpetuity. Quentin wasn’t having it. He wouldn’t put it past Giles to help Miss Summers fake the slayer dreams. Giles wasn’t going to get away with it. There were valid reasons for the rite. It’s the way things have been done for centuries. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it! He would stand by the idiom.

He wasn’t going to let this trip go to waste. He didn’t trust Giles. The wizard was up to something, he could feel it in his bones. The things the seers have been telling him were disturbing. The bumble-headed spy he assigned to the Hellmouth was useless. He hadn’t gotten a bit of pertinent information from him.

Thankfully he had the perfect excuse to come to Sunnydale with the best wet works team the Council had to offer. Kralik would arrive tomorrow by special transport, then plan B would be put in motion. It would all seem like an unfortunate accident.
~~~
Next Day
~~~
“How many times do you expect me to answer the same questions,” Buffy asked.
Director Travers gave Buffy his best ‘I’m the boss you’re not’ look. “Until I am satisfied,” he answered.

“Or I’m dead from boredom? I’m done.” Buffy got up and turned to walk away.

“SIT DOWN!” Travers demanded.

Buffy stopped and turned around. Something in his tone of voice had set off her spidey sense. “What did you say to me?” she asked as she looked into his eyes. What she saw there gave her the shivers. There was only ice-cold resolve in those eyes. The end justified the means. Quentin Travers was a fanatic.

His voice seethed with anger. “I… SAID…SIT…DOWN!”

Buffy laughed. Travers’ face turned bright red.

“No.” Buffy said and hurried out the door.

~~~
Plan B
~~~
Joyce thought the two well-dressed men who came into the gallery were customers. She couldn’t have been more mistaken. They pulled tranquilizer guns out of their jackets and shot Joyce and the clerk. Joyce fell to the floor with a hard thump, hitting her head and leaving a blood smear on a marble carving as she fell. The men didn’t care that she was hurt. They had orders and they obeyed those orders without question.
~~~
Gone Awry
~~~
It wasn’t hard to find the house the Council intended to use for the Cruciamentum. Spike had an army of friendly demons that he could call on when needed, either in payment for the vampire’s help in the past or the promise of help when needed in the future. They didn’t like the Council with its slay first and ask questions, never, teachings.

It was ironic that the house the Council had chosen for the Cruciamentum was the same condemned house that he and Buffy had brought down in the original timeline.

Spike watched from down the street while the workmen made sure all windows were adequately boarded up. Now they were adding a metal security door to the front. Just as they finished with the door a black van pulled up. They took an unconscious woman out and carried her into the house.

Spike knew it wasn’t Buffy. He couldn’t see the woman’s face but he was sure it was Joyce. That is the only thing that would get Buffy into the house. Spike was enraged that the Council would use Joyce in that manner. Joyce was an innocent. She did not live in Buffy’s world of witches, vampires, and demons. He would make them pay for their indiscretion.

He didn’t need an invite into the house. No human lived there or held a lease. Spike picked the lock and went inside making sure the door would not lock behind him.

The house was quiet but not silent. Spike could hear the floor squeak as he walked, and some scuffling noise coming from the basem*nt. He came to a room with two battery-operated camp lights along with a folding card table, a deck of cards, two folding chairs, and a cooler on the floor. In a corner was a large wooden crate with a small sliding door at head height.

Spike went over and pulled the door up. Kralik smiled at him. “Let me out of here, there’s good eats.” Spike didn’t answer.

Kralik was chained around the waist, with cuffs at both hands and feet attached to the chain. He had very little movement of his arms. Spike punched through the wood box and drove the splintered board into Kralik’s chest. The vampire turned to dust and the chains fell to the floor with a loud clank.

The two guards had just finished tying up Joyce when they heard the noise. The pair crept silently toward the stairs. But not silently enough. Spike could hear their heartbeats pounding in their chest and the footsteps as they started to climb the creaky stairs. He put out the camp lights, he didn’t need them. He and waited. He felt no compassion for the men. They were here to kill Buffy and now Joyce. The two women he cared about the most in the world. He made it quick and painless, snapping their necks, before they knew what they were up against. He would have liked to make it painful, but he could smell Joyce’s blood. Getting to her was more important. He went downstairs to find her.

Dirty rags had been piled up to make a pallet for her to lie on. The scent of Joyce’s blood mingled with the smell of the rags made Spike gag. She had been restrained with duct tape. He took a knife from his boot, cut her free, and carried her out of the house.

Spike knew he had to get Joyce to a hospital. The head injury could be serious. But taking her to Sunnydale Memorial would let the Council know what happened. Spike was sure they would kill her to cover their asses. Driving her to L.A. would take too long. Then he got an idea. He made sure she had no ID on her and took her to an alley. Then, as any good Samaritan would do, he called the police to report a mugging and an injured person. He waited out of sight to make sure Joyce made it to the hospital than he called Giles on the burner phone.

When Giles’ burner phone rang he jumped. Spike was the only one with the number. He wouldn’t call unless it was an emergency.

“Yes,” Ripper answered.

“Jane Gallery is at Memorial with a head injury. Wet works went dry.” Spike hung up.
Ripper understood the code. The Council abducted Joyce and she was injured. He took the SIM card out of the phone and smashed it. Then he headed to the sub-basem*nt to wake up Dalton. He could get to the hospital through the tunnels and find out Joyce’s condition. Dalton knew how important the Summers women were to Spike. He could be trusted to do everything he could to make sure Joyce got the care she needed.

When Ripper got back upstairs Buffy was punching out the heavy bag. “Buffy, you need to come with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere with anyone,” Buffy answered.

“You need to hear this,” Giles said. His voice was firm but without anger.

Buffy looked up and she knew it was Ripper talking to her. He held one finger across his mouth to signal silence. Then he turned and walked out of the dojo. He couldn’t talk here. There was a good chance that the Council had the dojo bugged or at least watched.
Buffy followed, pulling the sports tape off her hands and balling it up as she walked.
~~~
They were silent as they turned into Green Lawn and sat down on a concrete bench. They had a clear view all around. Ripper was sure they were not followed.

It was Giles who reached out and took Buffy’s hand. “The Council abducted your mother…”

“What!”

“Spike has already rescued her. I don’t have any details, but I do know she was injured and is currently at Sunnydale Memorial as a Jane Doe.”

“Giles, I have to get to the hospital.”

“You can’t. The Council doesn’t know she’s there. Her life is in danger. I wouldn’t put it past Travers to order her killed to cover up the abduction. I sent Dalton to check on her. He’s going to claim to be her husband and say both of them were the victims of a mugging and that their valuables and ID’s were stolen. He’ll give one of the false identities we have in the computers for just such an emergency. She’ll get the care she needs. Dalton is smart and devoted to Spike. He knows how much you and your mother mean to his master. Most importantly, the Council doesn’t know Dalton exists. Your mother is as safe as we can make her.”

“When can I see her?”

“I don’t know Buffy. Right now we need to go into hiding.”

“Spike said he’d call Whistler if things went bad.”

Spike and I are incommunicado. He may have already called Whistler, but, honestly, at this point I don’t believe it will do any good. To pull your mother into this… Travers is out of control.”

“The burner phones?”

“Have been burnt.”

Buffy nodded her head. She felt helpless. She needed something to punch. But this wasn’t a punch-it situation. “Where will we go?” she asked.

“We’ll go back to the dojo and take the tunnels to Shiyun’s home. We’ll stay there until it’s safe. From there I can make some calls to my friends on the Board of Directors. Once they know that your mother was pulled into this they’ll call Travers back to London.”

“How long, Giles? I have to get to my mom as soon as possible.”

“If Travers obeys the call back…twenty-four to thirty-six hours.
~~~

Travers was livid. He was not going back to London. All he needed was a witch to do a locator spell to find Giles and the Slayer. He had two men left from the wet works team. This was salvageable. He had to keep the prophecy from coming to fulfillment. He picked up his phone and began to dial. Suddenly there was an ear-splitting high-pitched squeal from the phone and a flash of light. An olive-complected man with high cheekbones, a slim straight nose, curly brown hair with light brown, almost blonde, hi-lights, and ethereal blue eyes, stood in front of him. He wore a white silk toga open at the chest, showing perfectly sculpted pectoral muscles. To say the man was beautiful would be an understatement.

“Do you know who I am?” the man asked.

“I do not, nor do I care. Leave now!” Travers commanded.

“I am Ares, the Greek god of war and one of the Powers. You have been sent warnings to leave what is mine, the Slayer, alone. Your plans have been thwarted by one who represents me on the Earth plane and yet you still persist. You broke the rules and pulled an innocent into this, her mother whose life even now hangs in the balance.”

“Leave! You have no right to interfere with the human world.”

Ares ignored the outburst. “You declared war on the Powers when you failed to heed our warning. The timeline has already been reset once when you killed the slayer. We cannot allow this world to fall. We cannot allow your behavior to persist. A sanction has been given to me. Quentin Travers, you have been found guilty of breaking your oath to the Powers, to defend and protect the innocent.” Ares pointed his spear at Travers, a bolt of light flashed from it and hit the director in the chest. Quentin Travers was dead. The coroner’s report would say he died from a sudden, massive, heart attack.
~~~
Aphrodite the goddess of love appeared in Joyce’s hospital room. “It is not your time,” she said. “Those that love you have prayed. The key will need a mother’s love.” She reached out her hand and touched the bandage. “Let my grace fill you, may you give hope in the dark times, may you find strength to persevere and protect, may you be an example to others and bring light into their life.” Aphrodite smiled and left the room. Shortly after the goddess’ visit Joyce woke up.
~~~
36 Hours Later
~~~
Buffy and Joyce sat in the hospital room listening to the doctor.

"I was quite worried about you Mrs. Summers. You have made a remarkable recovery. However, we did find something on the X-rays. It’s a small shadow, 3mm, about half the size of a pinky fingerprint. It is something we need to watch. I would like you to come back in three months for another X-ray. Most of the time these things are benign. But if it shows growth we’ll need to talk treatment. If you have any symptoms such as migraine headaches, phantom smells, difficulty picking things up and, or, holding on to them, slurred speech, or anything out of the ordinary, call me immediately.” The doctor handed Joyce his card.

Joyce took the card and smiled, “Thank you, doctor.”
~~~

Buffy sat on her back steps. She really needed to talk to someone. It had been two days since Travers's body was found. Giles was in London. A new director needed to be elected and the watcher was called to testify that the Powers had sent the slayer dreams. It could determine who would be elected, a conservative, who would uphold the status quo, or a progressive who would modernize the Council. Buffy had been concerned that her watcher would have to testify under oath until Giles assured her that Ripper would have no trouble lying for the greater good.

Spike was patrolling while she spent time with her mom. She wasn’t sure she had made the best decision about taking the night off. But Joyce wanted to have a mother-daughter talk. It seemed Hank not only canceled her birthday trip to the ice show but was not going to have her visit over the summer. Not even for a weekend. Buffy was devastated. It seemed like a total rejection. Her dad never spent much time with her in L.A. but would a weekend kill him?

Spike walked into the backyard. “Mother-daughter talk didn’t go so well?” He could see the pain in her eyes.

“The doctors found a shadow on Mom’s brain. They said they have to watch it. Mom won’t even talk to me about it. All she wanted to talk about was Dad. He left a message on the answering machine. Now that I’m eighteen the court order of taking custody of me for the summer is no longer in effect.” Tears rolled down Buffy’s cheeks. “He doesn’t want to see me, at all.”

Spike took a deep breath and sat down beside her. “Bloody hell. You don’t deserve that.”
“It doesn’t feel that way.”

Spike remembered Joyce’s death. Finding the brain tumor early meant there was a chance to save her. “We’ll make sure Joyce gets to a good doctor. I’ll lie to her if I have to and tell her I can smell something wrong. We’ll make sure she has a good doctor, not one of those Sunnydale wankers. I’ll drive you up to L.A. or San Francisco myself. We’ll ask the watcher to find out where the best neurologists are.

You’d do that for us?” Buffy asked.

"Now you listen to me, Slayer. I’ve been soddin’ everywhere, met all kinds of people and demons, but you’re the only one I’ve met in this bloody world that’s pure and good and light. Wherever you go, slayer, and whatever you do you always bring your light and chase away the dark. Of course, I’d do it for you. That and a lot more. As for your dad, he’s as blind as a bat for not seeing what a gift you are and an idiot for not cherishing you.

Buffy scooched over and laid her head on his shoulder. “Don’t put me on a pedestal, Spike. People on pedestals always fall off. But thanks for saying it”

~~~
May 1999
Prom
~~~
The night was magical. At least it was after Buffy and Spike killed the hell hounds Tucker sent.

It had taken some doing but Buffy and Joyce convinced Spike to be her date. He was drop-dead gorgeous in his black tux. Once Spike committed to being her date he went all out. He bought an orchid wrist corsage, he wore a white rose boutonnière and he rented a limo for all the scoobies.

Anya didn’t have a date so Spike made sure she was included. He paid for a gown and bought her a corsage of yellow roses to connote friendship. Anya was so touched she cried. “You’re the least evil man I’ve ever met,” she told him.

“Oi, you take that back,” Spike fake growled.

At the photo booth, Spike paid extra for a group photo of all the scoobies, including Giles. Anya demanded that Giles stand with her for her prom picture. At first, Giles resisted, but Anya leaned over and whispered in his ear, and he gave in.

But the end of the night turned out to be the best. It seemed that all of the awards had been presented when Jonathan stepped up to the mic.

“We have one more award to give out... Is Buffy Summers here tonight?”

“Right here,” Spike shouted as he waved his arm over her head.

Jonathan nodded. “This is actually a new category, first time ever, I guess there were a lot of write-in ballots... and, uh, the prom committee has asked me to read this.

“We're not good friends. Most of us never found the time to get to know you. But that doesn't mean we haven't noticed you. We don't talk about it much, but it's no secret Sunnydale High isn't really like other schools. A lot of weird stuff happens here.”

“Zombies,” a student yelled.

“Hyena people!” another student hollered.

“Snyder,” a third student called, and then it was quiet. No one could one-up Snyder.

Jonathan gave a little laugh and then continued in a serious voice. “But whenever there was a problem or something creepy happened, you seemed to show up and stop it. Most of the people here have been saved by you, or helped by you, at one time or another. We're proud to say that the class of '99 has the lowest mortality rate of any graduating class in Sunnydale history.”

Suddenly the gym was full of applause and cheers.

Jonathan paused before picking up where he left off. “And we know at least part of that is because of you. So the senior class offers its thanks, and ...gives you, uh, this...It's from all of us…” A female student walked across the stage and handed Jonathan a flamboyantly decorated child’s size umbrella. “and it's got written here: Buffy Summers. Class Protector."

Buffy is nearly in tears as she makes her way to the stage amid clapping, cheers, and whistles. Jonathan bent down and handed her the umbrella. Buffy turned and mouthed a thank you to the crowd.

The cheering stopped and the last dance was announced. Spike came to Buffy and smiled. “May I have this dance, my lady?”

Giles walked up beside the couple. “Here, let me hold that for you,” he said.

Buffy handed him the umbrella and Spike took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

The song was Amazed by Lonestar. Spike took Buffy into his arms tucked her under his chin and pulled her close. Then he started to move. He led her around the dance floor not only with the hand on her back, but with his whole body. Buffy closed her eyes and listened to the song. Her body fit against his like a piece of a puzzle. She didn’t know how but she knew every step, they were in perfect sync to the music.

Spike started to sing, it was a whisper in her ear.

“I don't know how you do what you do,
I'm so in love with you,
It just keeps gettin' better.

I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side,
Forever and ever.

Every little thing that you do,
Baby, I'm amazed by you.”

Buffy’s heart pounded and she stopped breathing.

“Breathe, love.”

She took a breath and looked up into Spike's blue eyes.

They continued moving to the music as he spoke. “I’ve been waiting till you graduate to tell you how I feel. I’m not going to force you into anything. If you say yes we’ll go slow. If you say no, I’ll still have your back in a fight. Colleagues, friends or more, your choice. You don’t have to answer tonight. I can wait, love.”

Love, he was calling her love, not slayer. Her throat clenched, but she could do this. She couldn’t let this moment pass. “Yes, with you by my side, forever and ever,” she whispered back.

Spike hadn’t expected an answer so quickly, he didn’t know what to say, so he did the only thing he could think of, he started singing again.

“Every little thing that you do,
I'm so in love with you,
It just keeps gettin' better.

I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side,
Forever and ever.

Every little thing that you do,
Baby, I'm amazed by you.”

When the music ended Buffy raised her head and on the dance floor, in front of everyone, Buffy kissed Spike.

She knew life with Spike wasn’t going to be easy. There would be the council to deal with. There would be bumps in the road and slayer road bumps tended to be small mountains. She didn’t know what lay ahead, but she knew whatever it was she and Spike would meet it head on.
~~~
TBC
~~~

Chapter 19: Part 2 Chapter 9 – Is there life after High School?

Chapter Text

~~~
It was Summer vacation, this was the first summer Buffy was staying in Sunnydale. Giles, Anya, and Willow had gone to the UK. Giles to check on his family’s estate and to make an appearance at the Council headquarters, Anya was accompanying him. Willow went to Deven to study with a coven.

Dingoes Ate My Baby, had gained some local notoriety, so the band was touring the area. They had gigs lined up for most of the summer. Oz came back during the full moon, then he was off again.

Xander, with the help of Spike, bought a decent used car and went to visit Jesse in Detroit. It was his graduation gift to himself, seeing as his parental units just shrugged the whole graduation thing off.

Joyce was busy with the gallery. It was tourist season at the beach and the gallery was getting a lot of foot traffic. Anya had suggested she set aside a part of the selling floor for folk art done by local artisans. It turned out to be the biggest draw. Many of the local artists were demons, but their craftmanship was impeccable and Joyce had no trouble selling their work.

Shiyun and Lee did not want to wait for the tea house to be refurbished after the mob trashed it, so they opened a place across the street and a few doors down. It had sewer access so the Scoobies could still get from one place to the other unseen.

Since the Blessed Be Magic Shop was burnt out by MOO rioters there was no full-service magic supply shop in Sunnydale. Spike encouraged Giles to open one now that his days as high school librarian were over. Giles had the time loop memories of the Magic Box so he agreed. Spike was overseeing contractors fixing the destruction done by the MOO mob and the store would be ready to stock when Giles got back from the UK.

Buffy missed her friends, she still had Spike, but… Things hadn’t progressed much since prom night. Sure they held hands and they kissed, but it never advanced to light petting. She knew Spike got aroused but he always pulled back.

Buffy was frustrated. “Why do you always do that!? She grumbled.

“I said we’d go slow, love. Just keeping my word.”

“Slow? If we were going any slower we’d be going backwards. I want faster.”

“You’re eighteen years old and human, love. I’m older and a vampire. If we start down that road I’m going to want more, a lot more. Need to know you’re ready.”

“I know you love me Spike and I have feelings for you, deep feelings. You’re in my heart. And the prophecy…”

“Stop right there, Slayer. Cause that’s the bloody problem. That soddin’ prophecy. I want you to be with me for me, the way I want to be with you for you. I don’t give a damn about the prophecy.”

“It’s not just the prophecy. I know you, you’re a good man.”

“Bloody hell, Slayer, I’m not a man at all, I’m a vampire.”

“You think I don’t know that? Hello, Slayer here.”

“I killed two humans because they were a threat to you, and I didn’t lose a wink of sleep over it. You need to know that.”

“I do know it Spike, they weren’t innocent. They came to Sunnydale to kill me and then they took my mother and nearly killed her. I don’t feel any grief over their deaths. I told you I wouldn’t judge. Is it bothering you that you killed them?”

Spike laughed, he shook his head and looked into Buffy’s eyes. “The only thing that’s bothering me, love, is that I didn’t get to kill the other two.”

Giles said they were a wet works team. When they go on a job it’s to kill someone or something. They crossed the line, abducting Mom. I’m not naive, not anymore, not since the Cruciamentum. I guess that’s the irony about all of this. It did turn out to be a rite of passage for me. I grew up. I can see Ripper when I look at Giles. Ripper is the kind of man that can make the hard decisions. The decisions that other men hide from. He’s not wrong to make them. The world needs men like that. You’re a man like that, in a vampire’s body with the soul of a champion. You want me to see you as you are. I do see you. You’re my champion and it’s not because some prophecy says so. It’s because you killed the two men that hurt my mom and regret not killing the other two. It’s because you helped Xander get a car so he could go visit Jesse. It’s because you made sure Anya got to go to the prom. It’s because you built a cage so Oz would have a safe place to stay when he turned wolfy. It’s because you refused to let Dalton dust. Do you need me to go on because there’s a whole lot more?”

“No, love, reckon you made your point.”

“I do want you because you’re you. So can we go faster?”

Spike gave Buffy a sexy leer. “Think I can manage a bit faster.”

~~~
September 1999
~~~
It had become apparent over the summer that the demon community considered Spike the new Master of Sunnydale. The Slayer fought on his right side. When Spike stood back and gave Buffy the kill the demons saw it differently. They saw the Master sending the Slayer into a fight while he stood aside. It was the behavior of a Master.

The community was convinced that Spike was responsible for taking out the old master, the Anointed One, and the Mayor. When the Council came to Sunnydale and Spike took out two of their human warriors, when they dared to harm a woman under his protection, all doubt about the souled vampire was gone. Peaceful clans came forward and asked him to mediate disagreements. That’s when the full realization of his place in the community hit Spike.

On one hand, it wasn’t a job he wanted, but he knew if he didn’t step up some other demon would. He had spent years in Sunnydale making alliances. He hadn’t expected this, but he wouldn’t and couldn’t turn his back on it.

Spike needed a home fit for the Master of Sunnydale. He quickly became frustrated with his house hunting. Either the location was too far from the center of town, the grounds were too small or undefendable, or the mansion itself was too small.

There was only one property in Sunnydale that met all his needs. It was the mansion that Angelus had taken over in the original timeline. Spike hated the place. It had too many bad memories. But the mansion and grounds did need work. He decided to tear out the overgrown bushes and dead flower beds and raze the interior. He’d make it into exactly what he wanted. He had the dosh. Spike bought the place, and the project was underway.

There were, however, more complications. The Initiative was coming to Sunnydale. He needed a way to keep the clans under his protection safe, and to stop the Initiative sooner than the Scoobies had in the previous timeline. It was one thing to be called Master, it was another to be and do what the demon community expected.
~~~
Summer was over. All of Buffy’s friends were back.

Willow was excited about all she learned from the coven and they had invited her back to Devon for winter break.

Oz was still Oz, stoic, observant, and totally in love with Willow. The pair were happy together.

Xander was glad he got the chance to visit Jesse. But when he got back his parents had rented out his room to his uncle, another drinking buddy for his dad. All his things had been moved to the basem*nt and he was informed he would have to pay rent.

Cordelia had moved to L.A. to pursue an acting career, and surprise, she landed a sitcom. But that meant Xander was girlfriendless. Luckily Xander and Oz, started up their friendship as if there had never been a pause.

Xander was lost when it came to what he wanted to do for work. Spike remembered that in the original timeline, Xander turned out to be a very talented carpenter. A demon cabinet maker owed Spike a favor and Spike got Xander an apprenticeship. The pay wasn’t much but it would cover rent. He earned a little extra by helping out at the Magic Box, and the gallery, when shipments needed to be unpacked or heavy work needed to be done.
~~~
Something was going on between Giles and Anya. The two were shagging. They were discrete in front of the Scoobies but Spike could smell it on them. He was happy for them; Giles was a much better match for Anya than Xander. She didn’t deserve what happened to her in the original timeline.
~~~
It was move-in week at UC Sunnydale. Joyce had insisted that Buffy spend at least one school year at the dorm, just for the experience. Buffy would have preferred to move in with Spike, but Spike felt it was too soon and agreed with Joyce that she needed at least one year of being on her own. But he would be there to support her. It was a compromise, but Buffy couldn’t fight both Spike and her mom, so she settled.

Spike was helping Buffy move into the dorm. The DeSoto was stuffed, both the back seat and trunk held as much as it could. It was dusk when they got to campus. Spike was carrying a large box of clothes and Buffy had her lockbox of weapons when they made their first trip to the dorm room. Buffy could hear Cher singing ‘Believe’ coming from the room. She managed to get the door open and walked in followed by Spike. The second Spike crossed the threshold he picked up the scent of a demon.

Spike put down the box quickly. Keeping his back between the weapons chest and Buffy’s roommate he bent down and took out a sword, then turned to face the demon in game face.

“Spike what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Buffy asked.

“She’s a demon. A soul eater from the smell of her.”

The demon’s eyes began to glow red. When she spoke it was in a deep gravelly voice. “And you’re a vampire, with a soul. Who knew I’d have such a treat.”

She charged, coming in low, trying to knock Spike off his feet. Spike was ready for her. He sidestepped, swung his sword like a golf club, and took off her head.

Buffy realized her door was still open and quickly closed it. “How am I supposed to explain this?” she asked.

“I’ll take care of the body, love. Tonight, after everyone is asleep, I’ll drop her out the window and then dump her in the woods. If anyone asks, just say she went out while you were moving in. She never came back. It’s not like you knew the bint.

“Yeah, that should work.”

Spike picked up the body and put it in a closet on the demon’s side of the room. “We have to finish moving you in, pet. Can’t let it look like anything happened.”

“And the blood?”

“It’s green. You dropped your container of pea soup. No one will think it’s blood.”

Buffy nodded. “Okay, I’ll clean up the blood, you unload the car.” It wasn’t how she wanted to spend her first night at college. Such was the life of a slayer. She had hoped things would change now she was no longer over the Hellmouth. But the cosmos had other ideas.

~~~
October 1999
~~~
The Magic Box Grand Opening was a huge success. Anya literally danced as she counted back the cash register. Everyone else was too exhausted to move.

When Anya was finished and put the money in the night deposit bag she went to Rupert and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh Rupey,” She said. “We made one thousand seven hundred fifty-six dollars and seventy-five cents on our first day!” Then she gave him a big kiss.

Everyone was surprised except Spike.

Giles decided the cat was out of the bag, there was no use trying to hide it. Besides the children were now adults. They should be able to handle two people in an adult relationship. “That’s wonderful, Dear,” he said as he gave Anya’s cheek an affectionate stroke.
~~~
Classes were going well. Willow had moved in as Buffy’s new dorm mate and Buffy had been hit on by two guys. Some dreamy-looking guy named Parker told Buffy all the tricks to maximize her meal card. Buffy was friendly and listened to his life story until he asked her out. As soon as Buffy told him she had a boyfriend he was gone. Turned out that Parker was a player.

The other guy was Buffy’s TA, Riley Finn. He proved more difficult to discourage. When she told him she had a boyfriend he said there was nothing wrong with a little healthy competition.

“I don’t cheat on my boyfriend,” Buffy said.

“I don’t see a ring on your finger, Buffy. The truth is I'm thrown by you. I can feel my skin humming -- my hands, my... every inch of me. I've never been this excited by a girl and I'm not trying to scare you, not gonna force myself on you but I am by God not gonna walk away.”

Buffy had to let the nice girl persona go and let the inner slayer out. “I said no! Walking away is exactly what you’re going to do. Or you could limp away if you don’t get out of my face now.”

“Maybe we could go have coffee and talk this out,” Riley said.

Buffy kicked him in the kneecap. Not hard enough to break anything but hard enough to put him down.

Riley yelled and fell to one knee. “What did you do that for? We’re just having a friendly conversation.”

“I said no, you weren’t listening. Get in my face again and I’ll break your kneecap.”

Buffy walked to the Dean’s Office and reported Riley fin for sexual harassment.
~~~
Spike called a meeting of all the clan elders and their seconds. He filled them in on exactly what they were up against with the Initiative. There was no way for the demons to defend against tasers and blasters. No one was to go out between the hours of ten and two at night, the Initiative’s patrolling hours. He outlined his plan for taking them down, but it would take time. The important thing was that the clans be kept safe. They grumbled a bit, but in the end, they would obey the Master.

Spike decided the best disinfectant was sunlight. He and Buffy started taking out one Initiative patrol a night. Spike found that the Gem of Amara protected him from tasers and blasters. That made it easy to knock out the commandos take off their masks, take pictures, and confiscate their weapons. They also took hair and blood samples and sent them to a private lab.

They were able to get into room 314 through the secret back entrance. Spike was right about it being too early to show what they were doing with Adam, but Giles suggested that pictures, as the project progressed, would be invaluable.

When they had enough evidence, it was sent to the Council, just like they had done in a previous timeline.

The curfew worked and the peaceful demons under Spike's protection were not taken.

By the next morning, the photos would be distributed all over Sunnydale and on the internet.

Maggie Walsh was livid. Her commandos, some of the best trained soldiers in America, could not find and take down their attackers. The articles that accompanied the photos on the internet were leaks from inside the Initiative. There was no other explanation. Things were falling apart.
~~~
November 1999
~~~
The evidence had been sent to the Council, but Giles had heard nothing. The Initiative was still in operation. Buffy was impatient.

“Are you sure the Council can handle this?” Buffy asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. They're all right when it comes to the rough stuff, a little ham-handed but they get it done. But this stuff, bureaucracy, pulling political strings, paperwork... this is where they're the best in the world. They can kill with a stroke of the pen,” Giles told her.

“One night the commandos disappeared. There were no more patrols. The frat house was empty.

The next morning UC Sunnydale had a bomb threat and a large area around Lowell House was evacuated. The Earth shook when the bombs went off. A large part of the campus collapsed. The initiative’s underground base had been destroyed.

Spike had done it. Not one single demon that obeyed his curfew had been taken.

One week after the explosion Giles received a communique from the Council. “The Initiative has been permanently dismantled. The Council has nominated you for Knighthood for your exemplary service to Queen and Country.”

Giles knew that it was a done deal. No one nominated by the Council was ever passed over. “I feel like you and Buffy deserve this more than I do,” he told Spike. “I was just the contact person. You’re the ones that did the hard work.”

“A vampire and an American woman. Don’t think that’d fly Rup’s. But I do appreciate the sentiment.”

“We’ve come a long way, us two, haven’t we.”

“That we have, Watcher.”
~~~
One Week Later
~~~
“Look all I’m saying is you’ll be able to keep a better eye on Willow if you start a coven,” Spike said.

“There’s a problem with that. I’m a wizard, not a warlock.”

“You’re a magic practitioner. You and Anya could bring it up with Willow and I think it’s time we tracked down Jonathan and Andrew. The sooner we get them with us the less chance Warren has of getting his claws in them. They’re the ones that cast spells on Buffy.”

“Maybe you’re right, I’ll talk to Anya and call the Devon coven. Perhaps they will want to send one of their members here for a bit, and the two covens could have a hive relationship. It would be good to have them to call on.”

“That sounds like a good idea. In a past timeline, they were going to send someone to help Willow, but we had to reset before the witch got here.”

The first thing they taught Willow this summer, was how to protect herself from getting poisoned by Hellmouth emanations. I believe they will want to teach Jonathan and Andrew as well.”
~~~
Dojo
~~~
Can I talk to you in private? Oz asked.

Spike nodded, he was pretty sure he knew what Oz wanted to talk about. “Sure, let’s go upstairs and have a beer.”

When they got upstairs Oz settled onto Spike’s couch and Spike took the easy chair. Oz was quiet, he sat forward, elbows on his knees, rolling the beer bottle between his palms.

“Is this about the new werewolf in town?” Spike asked.

“You know about her?”

“Master of Sunnydale, not much that gets by me.”

“Oz nodded. “I’ve felt a pull to her since I first set eyes on her. I’ve been trying to be her friend. I thought we were, but… tomorrow night is the full moon. I asked her to come in and be safe. She’s refused. Call of the wild stuff…you know what I mean. But I’m afraid someone is going to get hurt or killed. Anyway, I was thinking, Giles has the tranq gun. I thought maybe we could…”

Spike held up his hand. “To what end? Do you want us to hold her in the cage for two days and three nights? Plus, if you go in the cage with her, you know what’s going to happen.”

“I bought some manacles,” Oz said. “I’ll chain myself in a crypt somewhere. I just don’t want to see her hurt.”

How long has she been a wolf?” Spike asked.

“About a year longer than me.”

“Then she knows the ropes. Has she come on to you?”

“Yeah, but I told her Willow was my girl. She understands I’m off limits that way.”

Spike knew better. He didn’t have memories about why Oz quit college and left Sunnydale in the original timeline, but he knew demons and he could put two and two together. “Oz, Veruca is a female werewolf, she is looking for a mate and she has her sights set on you. She’s going to go after Willow. When she does, Buffy or I will have to kill her. I need you to understand that.”

“No,” Oz said. “I made it clear I’m not interested.”

“I’ll talk to her, let her know about the commandos, warn her off Willow, and offer her the cage. If she agrees to come in, all’s well. If not… Buffy and I will do what we have to do when she comes for Willow.”

Oz bit his bottom lip. It was a huge show of emotions for the usually stoic young man. But Spike said it again, when Veruca goes after Willow, not if. In his heart, Oz knew Spike was telling the truth. When necessary he was brutally honest with the people in his pack. The wolf in Oz knew he, Spike, and Willow were pack, Veruca wasn’t. “I understand,” he whispered.

The talk with Veruca went as Spike feared it would. She refused the offer of sanctuary. Oz came to the dojo minutes before sunset. He looked into Spike’s eyes. “I’m depending on you to keep Willow safe,” he said.

“I won’t let you down.”

Willow spent the night at Spike’s apartment. Veruca picked up her scent and howled in the parking lot. She began scratching at the door. A werewolf's claws are strong enough to cut through metal.

Buffy took a battle ax, she went out through the dojo and walked around to the parking lot. She didn't want to kill her but she understood there was no stopping Veruca. Even if they darted her tonight she would keep coming back.

"Hey, over here," Buffy called.

The wolf howled and charged Buffy.

Buffy stood her ground.

Veruca jumped, aiming for Buffy's throat.

Buffy sidestepped and swung her ax. The blade cut deep into the werewolf's chest and sliced into her heart. Veruca fell to the ground dead.
~~~
It was Wednesday, boys' night out at the Bronze. Xander was dancing with a pretty girl he had chatted up. Oz and Spike were playing pool.

“You’re a little off your game tonight. What’s bothering you?” Spike asked.

“Veruca said something to me that’s been weighing on my mind. She said we’re wolves all the time. I know I have a stronger sense of smell now. My hearing and sight are better. So in a way, that’s true, and I did have the pull to her. But I don’t know what all that means. When I turn I don’t have any memories or control. I don't want to be like her. You knew Veruca would come after Willow, and you were sure I'd... If we were locked up together. I love Willow. She's the one I want to be with.”

“You want control.”

“Yeah, you have it. How did you do it?”

“Vampires and werewolves are very different. But if you want help with control Shiyun and Lee are the ones to ask.”

“Do you really think they’d help? I hardly know them.”

“From their point of view, you want to step out of chaos and into balance. They’ll help. I’ll introduce you tomorrow.” It looked like Oz wouldn’t have to leave town to find the answers he wanted.
~~~
December
~~~
~~~
Dorm Room
~~~
Buffy woke up with a gasp. She just had a very weird Slayer dream. She kissed Spike and he made the sun go down. And a spooky little girl was singing outside the huge clock tower. This was definitely a Slayer dream.

Buffy looked at her clock. She didn’t have to get up for forty-five minutes, but she had classes this morning. The sooner she told Giles the sooner he could start researching. She got up and made the call.

Giles knew the Gentlemen were on their way.

Buffy spent the night with Spike. They didn't make love, but he held her and it was wonderful. When she woke up the next morning without her voice, she and Spike went to the clock tower. The minions with their loose-arm straight jackets were formidable fighters. It was a tough fight up the stairs and getting to the box. Spike smashed the box and Buffy screamed. The Gentlemen’s exploding heads were an ick factor, but the scream got the job done.
~~~
January
~~~
Giles was waiting for the earthquake that would signal the Vahrall demons were going to attempt to end the world. He had destroyed the Word of Valios as soon as he learned it was dangerous. They wouldn’t be able to use the Sacrifice Of The Three ritual, but they could do something else.

Spike had his network watch for the arrival of the Vahralls but they never arrived. Score one for the good guys.
~~~
February
~~~
Forming the coven was easier than Giles thought it would be. Jonathan and Andrew were very happy that their magic abilities were noticed, and they were invited to join. Willow had joined the Wicca club at UC Sunnydale, but was disappointed. Giles encouraged her to keep attending with an eye on anyone whom they could invite to round out the coven. It didn’t take long for her to notice Tara. The shy witch was happy to make a new friend and join the coven.

The Deven coven sent a witch named Lilly. She had a warm personality and enjoyed working with young people.

Anya was very happy. She felt after one thousand years of relying on vengeance magic, her witch skills had gotten a little rusty. This was a perfect way to expand her circle of friends and get her magic skills up to par.
~~~
March
~~~
It was apocalypse season and not a big bad in sight. Even the little bads weren’t making themselves known. Buffy wondered how much of it was Master Spike. He had somehow got the vamps to stop killing and turning people. It had been weeks since she staked a newly risen fledge. He also put a catch-and-release policy into effect. According to Giles, a lot less people were dying of neck trauma. Buffy wasn’t happy with catch and release but Spike said until they had a reliable source of good-tasting blood that was the best he could do. He assured her he had his people working on it.
~~~

From Ethan Rayne’s point of view it had been far too long since he threw a bit of chaos into Sunnydale. He had been away fulfilling chaos contracts. After all, he had to earn money to fund his unpaid adventures. But now he was back and his calendar was clear. He felt safe with the protections he had in place, so roaming around Sunnydale and stirring things up felt like a great idea. But first, he needed to resupply his magic ingredients.

The Blessed Be Magic Shop was gone, no doubt a victim of the Paranoia Demon he had summoned. That was the thing with chaos; it was by definition uncontrollable. Sometimes it caused a bloody inconvenience to him. But there was a new magic shop in town. Ethan headed for it.

There was a very pretty woman behind the counter. Ethan smiled, if he played his cards right he may just be able to get a discount.

He handed her the list of what he needed and began chatting her up. The woman was all business. She wasn’t exactly impolite, or cold, but she wasn’t warm either. She wrapped each item in white tissue paper and rang up the order. He handed her a credit car under the name of Ray Easton. He was signing the receipt when Ripper came out of the back room. Ethan froze. He was invisible to locator spells and his glamor talisman changed the way he looked, but he knew he reeked of magic. Ripper was a strong wizard. He could feel magic. He had no idea that Ripper owned the magic shop.

“Anya, Dear,” Ripper called as he read a ledger without looking up.

Ethan quickly signed the receipt and turned to go.

“Come back soon and spend more money,” Anya called in her cheery voice as the door closed behind the mage.

Ripper looked up with a smile and walked forward. He stopped abruptly, his nostrils flared. “Who was that man that just left?” he asked.

Anya looked at her receipt. “Ray Easton, he had quite a large order. Why do you ask?”

“He left a magic taint behind.”

“Rupy, we run a magic shop, most of our customers are going to have a magic taint.”

“Not that strong and not… pestilent. I’ll have to talk to Lee and see if Shiyun has picked up any new players in town. Spike should probably have Dalton keep an ear out for any gossip about Mr. Easton.”
~~~
That was close, Ethan thought. He would have to get his spell done quickly, tonight would be good.
~~~
Next Morning
~~~
Anya reached out to stroke Rupert’s morning wood. This was her extra horny time of month and to stave off full-blown PMS she needed to begin her day with an org*sm.

Something was wrong. That didn’t feel like Rupert. Anya opened her eyes and jumped out of bed screaming. “Rupert you’re a Fyarl Demon!” She grabbed the pillow and started hitting him with it. “How could you let this happen.”

Rupert jumped out of bed and tried to tell her to call Spike but all that came out was Fyarl grunts and growls. Giles went over to the phone and pointed at it. “Oowel, oowel,” he said.

Anya got the message and called Spike. She didn’t take the time for any niceties, she just blurted out, “Rupert is a Fyarl Demon.”

“Bring him to the dojo, I’ll get Shiyun,” Spike told her.
~~~
Shiyun brewed an elixer that would unravel transmogrification spells. Rupert drank it and was back to his human self in less than half an hour.

“This has to stop,” Anya said. “My Rupie can’t give me org*sms when he is a Fyarl Demon. Our parts don’t interlink.”

“We’ll try another locator spell. Rayne has to be in Sunnydale. The spell had to have been air-born. He was close by when he cast it, it’s the only explanation.” Giles said.

Anya watched as the locator spell failed. “Does it always do that swirly then poof thing?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s exactly what it does,” Giles told her.

“He’s wearing runes,” Anya said. “They make him invisible to locator spells. Not even the Powers That Be or the Senior Partners can see him.”

“Runes?” Giles asked.

“Yes, they have to be tattooed onto the body. It’s painful and time-consuming, but it works if you want to stay hidden,” Anya said.

“So how do we find him?” Spike asked.

“Skip tracing, the way credit card companies find customers that don’t pay their bills. This spell he did on Rupert took a very specific mixture of ingredients. I could check my Magic Box receipts to see if anyone has purchased them recently,” Anya suggested.

The receipt check didn’t take long. There was only one person who had purchased the correct supply of magic ingredients, Ray Eastman.

“I remember him, he was very flirty, and Rupert said he left a petulant taint behind.”

“Then he can be tracked by scent,” Spike said, as he grabbed his duster. I’ll talk to Shen, he’s the head of the Eis Poni Clan, their tracking abilities put a bloodhound to shame, and they can scent magic. If he’s in Sunnydale, we’ll know within an hour.”
~~~
Evening
~~~

The Eis Poni had come through and found Ethan Rayne as he knew they would. Spike Couldn’t get into Rayne’s apartment without an invite, but that didn’t mean other demons couldn’t.

The Ishyroi were the strongest warriors in Master Spike’s alliance. There wasn’t any escape for Rayne. They would bring him to the Master of Sunnydale and he would pay for his crimes against those under the Master's protection.

There had been an argument with Buffy. Rayne was human. They couldn’t kill a human.

“Bollicks,” Spike said. “You gave him his chance. He was told to stay out of Sunnydale after the Halloween chaos. Do I have to remind you of how many children died because of the epidemic he caused? He’s a mage by choice, which means he answers to supernatural laws.”

“But he’s human,” Buffy said. “He knows we can find him now.”

“I have to agree with Spike on this,” Ripper said. “I know Ethan, he will come back. It’s in his nature to cause chaos.”

“I’m the Slayer, I can’t let Spike kill a human, and I know I can’t do it,”

“Yes, you bloody well can!” Ripper said with an edge to his voice. “Spike has worked hard to form alliances with the demon clans in Sunnydale. We and they are under his protection. If Spike fails to punish the interloper the alliances will fall apart. We do not live and function in a purely human society. All of us are involved in supernatural forces that the human world is unaware of and couldn’t understand if they were aware. Ethan Rayne chose to live in that world. He has chosen to attack us repeatedly. As Master of Sunnydale, it is Spike's right and responsibility to bring Ethan to justice, and we are going to allow it.”
~~~
The mansion wasn’t finished so Spike was holding court in an abandoned warehouse near the docks. He needed the large space. It was filled with members from every clan.

Rayne struggled as he was dragged toward Spike. The demons growled and cheered. Spike held up his hand. The room fell silent.

The demons had brought in two folding tables and pushed them together to form a stage. Spike stood tall as Rayne was forced to kneel at his feet. Spike was expected to make a speech. He considered listing all of Rayne’s magic attacks but decided against it. This speech was for the demons. They needed to know that Spike had zero tolerance for attacks on those under his protection.

“Ethan Rayne, Chaos Mage, you have harmed one under my protection. As the Master of Sunnydale an assault on Rupert Giles is an assault on me.”

Spike motioned to the demons holding Rayne and he was pulled to his feet. Spike grabbed a fist full of hair and yanked Rayne’s head to the side. He slipped into game face and bit into Rayne’s neck. It was a vicious and painful bite. Rayne screamed and the demons cheered.

The warm human blood filled Spike’s mouth and he knew the moment he tasted it that Rayne worshiped a demon and that demon had boosted Rayne’s magic strength. Spike couldn’t stop drinking. He needed to drain the mage to keep his Master of Sunnydale status. He had no choice. He had to take whatever boon the demon had given Rayne and claim it as his own.
~~~
Scoobie Meeting
~~~
“Well, we can assume whatever the demon endowed Rayne with it wasn’t physical,” Giles said.

“Not necessarily,” Anya disagreed. “He’s gained back the muscle mass he lost from being off of human blood.”

“Yes Dear, but Rayne was human and Spike drained him.”

“It would take more than one human,” Anya looked at Spike. “Wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, it would take more than one.” Spike said. “I could taste power when I drank Rayne’s blood. But he didn’t seem strong. Of course, he wouldn’t be against the two Ishyroi I sent to bring him to me.”

“So to recap,” Xander said. “We have a demon that may or may not come after Spike for eating one of his worshippers, and Spike drank blood infused with some kind of power, and we don’t know what it is or how it is going to affect Spike, except he's already gained some muscle mass. Good times on the Hellmouth.”

Everyone around the table was quiet. There was nothing they could do now but wait.
~~~
TBC
~~~

Chapter 20: Part 2 Chapter 10 Joyce, Dracula, Dawn

Chapter Text

~~~
Summer 2000
~~~
Spike was rather proud of himself. He came up with a plausible lie. It occurred to him that if Anya, an x-demon could see he had gained muscle mass after ingesting Ethan’s blood, other demons could too. He decided to add another boon to the blood. With the help of Giles, he faked an accident. Then he told the demon community that he had accidentally discovered that holy objects and the sun no longer burned him. Walking in the sun, without worrying about the gem being discovered gave him a sense of freedom he never thought he would have.
~~~
Giles had researched the best neurology hospitals in the area and found that there were two.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA rated #5 with an overall score of 88.4 out of 100, and UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, Rated #2 with an overall score of 96.9 out of 100.

Both Medical Centers had excellent nursing staff, above-average patient experience, and excellent advanced technologies. However, UCSF had more patient services, whether Joyce would need any remained to be seen.

Joyce reasoned that Cedar-Sinai was closer and she didn’t want a long car ride.

It was Spike who disagreed. “Nothing but the best for the Summers’ women. I said I’ll take you. If you don’t want a long road trip, we’ll fly up to San Francisco." And that was that. Buffy agreed and Joyce couldn’t fight both of them.

Joyce had to wait a bit for the appointment, but the time had arrived. The Hellmouth was in its summer hibernation, however the gallery was quite busy. Giles would be looking after the Magic Box and Anya was going to oversee the gallery while Joyce was away. Spike assured Joyce that there was no one better than Anya with a retail business, so Joyce took a deep breath and accepted the situation.

Spike assured Buffy and Joyce he would take care of everything to do with transportation, they weren’t to worry.

The morning of the appointment came, and Spike showed up at the front door in a pair of charcoal gray dress slacks, a white button-down shirt open at the collar, and a black leather jacket. His hair was loosely jelled and stylishly mussed. His scuffed-up biker boots were gone, and, in their place, he wore a pair of black dress shoes. He looked like he could have stepped off the cover of Gentleman’s Quarterly.

“You look, wow,” Buffy said.

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Slayer. In my day, ladies were escorted by gentlemen, and gentlemen dressed the part.”

Joyce smiled, “I don’t think her knickers are in a twist, and you do look quite the gentleman.”

Spike’s wardrobe was not the last surprise of the day. He also rented a private jet and a limo complete with a driver to chauffeur them around San Francisco.

Joyce objected to the extravagance.

“Got the dosh and not much to spend it on. If I can’t spend it on the two most important women in my life, what’s the point of havin’ it at all?” Spike told her.

Joyce put her hand on his arm and leaned in. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered, “I love you too.”

It wasn’t something he had expected to hear, and he certainly hadn’t been fishing for it. He did the only thing he could do; he pursed his lips and gave Joyce a curt nod. If he tried to speak, he would have broken down in tears.

~~~
UCSF Medical Center
~~~
Joyce, Buffy, and Spike were waiting in the exam room when the doctor walked in.

“Hello, Mrs. Summers, I’m Dr. Baker, the doctor said extending his hand to Joyce. “And who do we have here?”

Joyce gave the doctor a warm smile. “This is my daughter Buffy.”

“Miss Summers,” the doctor said, offering his hand. Buffy smiled and shook his hand.

“This is a dear friend of the family, William,” Joyce said, realizing she didn’t know his last name.

Spike offered his hand before the doctor had a chance to. “William Aurelian,” he said in an upper-crust British accent.”

“Mr. Aurillian,” the doctor said with a warm handshake then he turned to Joyce. “Mrs. Summers…”

“Please call me Joyce,” she interrupted.

“Of course, Joyce. I’ve looked over the two CAT scans Sunnydale Memorial sent along with your medical records. I'm afraid I have some unpleasant news. The shadow on your brain has grown. It is aggressive, we need to do a biopsy.”

Buffy gasped and the blood drained from her face. Spike took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. “It’s why we came here, Love. Your mom’s in the best hands she could possibly be in.”

Dr. Baker continued. “It’s still early, but we need to be aggressive in treating this. We can do a laparoscopic biopsy. We'll run a DNA test on the tissue. It gives us the best information to decide on a successful treatment. It is a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure. I have an opening at five PM tomorrow. We’ll have the results Friday and can talk about treatment at that time.”

“All right,” Joyce said. “As William said, I'm in good hands.”

“You’ll need to talk to Peggy before you go. She’s down the hall, first cubical on the right. She’ll get you pre-registered and give you all the paperwork and instructions you need. We’ll take good care of you Joyce, I promise.”
~~~
Spike had the chauffeur drive them to the Fairmont Heritage Place in Ghirardelli Square. Spike walked up to the desk and informed the clerk he had reservations for a three-bedroom suite.

The building was a converted old chocolate factory. Spike thought the furniture was a bit boxy, but the rooms were clean and comfortable, with ocean views. The suite had a sitting room with a large screen TV and every pay station you could want. There were boutique shopping and dining outlets, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Outlet, and they were within walking distance of Fisherman's Wharf. Buffy was in heaven.

The three went sightseeing and shopping during the day. Evenings, Buffy and Spike held hands, took romantic walks along the wharf, and watched the sunset before returning to the suite to spend time with Joyce. Friday came quickly, the appointment was for three o’clock. Once again, they found themselves anxiously waiting in Dr. Baker's office.

The doctor came into the room and shook Joyce’s hand. “How are you feeling, Joyce?” he asked.

“The same. Please just tell me what you found.”

“Okay, we’ll get right down to business. I can’t say the news is good, but it is not the worst either. You have a "low-grade glioma, it is a cancerous brain tumor. The technical name is Oligodendroglioma. We have good reason to believe it started right where it is located. That is to say, it’s not a metastasis from another cancerous spot in your body. Now for the best news that I can give you. Because of the type of tumor, it is and because we caught this early you are an excellent candidate for Stereotactic radiosurgery, or SRS. It is non-invasive and done as an outpatient in one day.

“That’s it, no chemo?” Joyce asked.

“The chances are very good you won’t require chemo. We target the tumor and bombard it with radiation. The tumor’s DNA is disrupted, it starves and dies. There is no cutting, we don’t have to shave your head. With a small tumor such as yours. It is usually completely gone within months.”

“What are the chances of developing an aneurysm with this procedure?” Spike asked with his upper-crust accent.

“Extremely unlikely. I can’t say impossible, but I can tell you that as the tumor dies the blood vessels that feed it shrink away.”

“Spike nodded. ‘No aneurism, Joyce will live. Buffy and Dawn will keep their mom.” He took Buffy’s hand and squeezed it. She didn’t have the memories of Joyce dying but he did.

“Just one day of radiation and I’m done?”

“Most of the time is prep and programming the computer. The radiation itself is between twenty minutes and one hour. Since you're coming from…” the doctor looked at his paperwork, “Sunnydale, I suggest you do a sleepover. We need to wash your hair in a special shampoo. You will have to wear a headframe for the procedure. It allows us to properly aim the radiation. We’ll freeze the area and attach the frame with four screws. You’ll need to have a CAT scan, so we know where the tumor is in relation to the frame. Then you wait, visit with your loved ones,” he smiled at Buffy, “while we do the math and program the machine. After receiving the radiation, the frame is removed, and you can go home. You’ll come back in six months for another CAT scan, and we’ll see how well it worked.

“What are my chances that this will work, Dr. Baker?” Joyce asked.

“I can’t give you numbers, but I can tell you that your prognosis is very good.”

Joyce nodded, “How soon can it be scheduled?”

“You’ll need to talk to Peggy. She has my schedule. But if you like, we can call you if we get a cancellation.”

“People cancel their brain surgery?” Buffy asked.

“Sometimes, it can’t be helped,” Dr. Baker said.

Eighteen days later Joyce returned to the hospital and underwent the procedure.
~~~
Transylvania
~~~
Dracula sat impatiently drumming his fingers on the ancient, polished wood arm of his throne. His minion approached and fell to his knees, his head bowed in supplication. He knew he would be lucky to survive the next few minutes. He had unpleasant news to deliver, and his master was not beyond killing the messenger.

“Report,” Dracula snapped with an angry growl.

The minion remained kneeling with his head bowed. “The slayer is in Sunnydale. I have confirmed that she has passed her eighteenth birthday, there was no Cruciamentum.”

Dracula leaned forward. “The Council always conducts the Cruciamentum. Why did they give this slayer a pass?”

“According to the demons on the Hellmouth, they did not. The slayer is under the protection of William the Bloody. The demons believe he is responsible for stopping the ritual and for the killing of Quentin Travers.”

“William the Bloody,” Dracula scoffed. “He’s a brawler, the slayer of slayers, good in a fight. But draining Travers... impressive to get that close. Did the demons say how the vulgarian stopped the ritual?”

“He stopped the Cruciamentum by killing the vampire Kralik and two of the Council’s wet works team.” The minion cleared his throat. He couldn’t let a misconception stand. If the master found out he would be immersed in holy water. “Master, I beg your forgiveness. I was unclear. The demons believe Master William to be responsible for the death of Travers, but it was not by his hand. The director died of a massive heart attack.

“Still, something is missing. The Council should have stopped at nothing to dust William, he killed their own. What is it you’re not telling me? Tell me all of it,” Dracula hissed.

The minion licked his lips. This was the part that could get him dusted. This was the part the master would not like. “William the Bloody is Master of Sunnydale. He has made alliances with all nine clans living on the Hellmouth. He has killed the chaos mage, Ethan Rayne.”

Dracula was silent for a long moment. It was unbelievable that the vampire he knew could have done such a thing. “Are you sure it was Ethan Rayne and not some other chaos mage impersonating Rayne?”

“I’m sure Master. William the Bloody held court and drained the mage. He has claimed the power with which the demon Dredgorgan had blessed Rayne. The Aurelian is stronger and walks in the sun.”

Dracula was deathly still for a moment and then he threw back his head and laughed.
~~~
September 2000
~~~
The vampire was acting weird. He stood still with his hands up in the air waving an envelope. “Master Dracula sends his regards to Master William the Bloody,” he shouted repeatedly.

Spike put his hand out on Buffy’s arm. “Don’t stake him, Love.” He walked forward and the minion stopped yelling and dropped to his knees. He still held the envelope high above his head. It shook like a leaf in the wind.

Spike snatched the envelope from the minion and looked at it. It was written in an old-fashioned flowing script, addressed to William the Bloody. The paper was high quality. Spike turned the envelope over, it was sealed with wax and imprinted with Dracula’s signet ring. Spike looked down at the trembling minion. He grabbed him by the back of his collar, hauled him to his feet, and staked him. He called over his shoulder to Buffy, “I’m going to the Magic Box and talk to Ripper, see if we can figure out what this is about.

Buffy was confused, “Isn’t Dracula a work of fiction? I mean Dracula, how lame is that?” She asked as she followed behind Spike.

“Dracula’s real, I want to know what the bloody hell the bastard is up to.”
~~~
Magic Box
~~~
Spike opened the envelope as soon as he got to the Magic Box. The message was a simple two words, “You win,” signed by Dracula. He handed Giles the letter and counted the money. There were eleven one-pound notes in the envelope.

Giles handed the letter back to Spike, “Seems straightforward enough. He owed you money and he’s paid it.”

“Nothing Drac does is straightforward. He’s either playing mind games with me or he knows something I don’t. Either way, I need to know. He wouldn’t have sent the eleven quid just to pay off his debt.”

“What could he know that has anything to do with us?” Buffy asked.

“That’s what I need to find out,” Spike said. “I think I need to visit Lorne.”

“Who’s Lorne?” Buffy asked.
~~~
Caritas
~~~
Spike decided to go to Caritas alone. It was early afternoon when he arrived at the bar. Lorne was still in his robe when he came to the door and let Spike in.

Spike was concerned about what Lorne would tell him and he didn’t want any demons overhearing. He needed information about Rayne and Dracula, he was well aware that the explanations of their actions could be volatile. He finished singing and waited.

“Well, that was a revelation. Seems you have been quite busy this go-round. The Powers intervened to prevent another reset. It was Ares that killed Travers and Aphrodite healed the wound Joyce got when she was abducted. You can’t count on them intervening again. They did it to prevent a repetitive time loop.”

Spike nodded. “I told the buggers if they wanted to save this world, they bloody well better do their part. Did you see anything about Rayne and Dracula?”

Lorne gave an inner cringe at Spike calling the Powers, buggers, but he could see why Spike felt that way. He may call them worse after he told the vampire what he saw.

Lorne took a sip of his coffee and began talking. “Rayne was a strong mage, but he was also egotistical and selfish. He wanted more. He knew to get more power he would have to steal it. He started researching and he came across a chaos demon called Dredgorgan. He had once been an immensely powerful demon with an army of worshipers spreading chaos across the land. He ruled for centuries. Then a king's army, backed by champions from the Powers That Be, conquered the army and banished the demon. Dredgorgan’s army was struck from the world and the demon lost his power. Weakened, alone, and without worshipers to summon him he could do nothing but wait in his cave until he was again summoned to the earth plane.”

“Rayne,” Spike whispered.

“Rayne,” Lorne agreed. “The powers had the opportunity to use him, so they led him to discover Dredgorgan. Rayne was crafty. The sacrifices he brought to the demon were weak. When the demon wanted more Rayne told him he was doing the best he could. He wasn’t strong enough to do more. The demon gave him some power, but not much in the beginning. Dredgorgan didn’t have much to give. But it was something. It continued like that. Ethan brought slightly stronger sacrifices after each power boost. Slowly Dredgorgan got stronger. He was ready to start building his army. Rayne knew he had to drain the demon before he got any stronger. He took all he could from the chaos demon. Dredgorgan is only a shadow now. A cloud of dread that hovers in his cave. Not dead, but forever trapped in shadow.”

“Bloody hell, that’s the energy I consumed?”

“Yes and No,” Lorne told him. “Energy cannot be destroyed, but it can be changed, manipulated, and built into something different. You’re a champion of the Powers That Be. To the Powers, Rayne was no more than a conduit. As you drank his blood the Powers turned it into a boon that would fit you and the mission you're on. You now have the strength of a three-hundred-year-old master vampire.”

“Bloody hell, Lorne.” Spike went into game-face for the first time since drinking Rayne's blood and looked at his hands. He had two-inch claws. He shook off his face and watched as the claws disappeared back into his hands.

“That’s not all, sugar plumb. Your strength, speed, and thrall ability have increased, and you can pull shadow around you.”

Spike nodded; it would take him a minute to process all that Lorne had told him. “So, I’m not going to go insane or grow a tail?”

“No, and it is permanent, You’re their champion. You’ll never develop a bat face like Nest. The claws will grow but you can keep those trimmed if you want, so no worries there.”

“And Dracula, how does he fit into all this?”

“Dracula wanted Buffy. He wanted the prestige it would give him to have a slayer in his harem. He also knew about Rayne and wanted to take his power. He had been hunting the chaos mage for over a year and could not find him. When you became Master of Sunnydale, made alliances with the nine clans, stopped the Cruciamentum, and drained Ethan Rayne, he knew you were too strong to go against. The message, ‘You win,’ was an acknowledgment that he will not challenge you for Buffy. The eleven quid was an acknowledgment that you are now his equal.”

“So, no mind games?” Spike asked.

“Well, the message was cryptic, but he knew you would have resources to figure it out. There’s something else that came through.”

“I’m listening.”

“Dawn is not only made from Buffy, she is also made from you.”

“No, it can’t be. Why would they use a vampire to make her? She is human.”

“Originally the monks made a clone of Buffy. They planned to integrate her into Buffy’s life as her identical twin sister. They took the slayer essence out and replaced it with the key energy. But the vessel wasn’t strong enough, the clone had no cellular cohesion and it fell apart. The Monks realized they were making a mystical being and it needed a mystical component to give it the strength to hold the key. With the permission of the Powers, they took that essence from you.”

“Is that why Dawn felt a pull to me?”

“And you to her. She needed protection. Who better than a slayer and a vampire destined to become a champion?”

“But things are different in this timeline,” Spike said.

“Yes, you’re already a champion and you have foreknowledge. But it will still not be a walk in the park, angel cakes, evil will push back. Everyone’s memories will be replaced, except you’ll have two sets. The wolf is the only Scoobie that will understand and remember Ben is Glory.”

“Anya?” Spike asked.

Lorne shook his head no. “She’s human now."

“K than; I’ll be ready,” Spike said, and he meant it. He wasn’t alone anymore. He would save all the Summer’s women. If not, he would smash the gem and try again.
~~~
Dojo - Next Afternoon
~~~

Spike was sitting sipping his mug of blood and thinking about what Lorne had told him and the plans he and Ripper had talked about when it happened. Buffy and Dawn walked into the dojo arguing about some sisterly thing.

Spike stared as Dawn walked over and dropped her book bag on the table. “What?” she asked. “You’re looking at me like I have chocolate smeared on my nose.”

“Sorry, Niblet,” Spike said as he tried to stop staring at his daughter and shake off the effects of the new memories. “Just got distracted, Dalton says there’s a new big bad in town.”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “There's always a new big bad in town, and you and Buffy always take care of it,” she huffed as she walked to the fridge and pulled out her after-school snack.”

That was her, Dawn, his daughter, and the same teenage hormone bomb that she was in the original timeline.

He wondered how soon after her arrival it was that Buffy found the Dagon Sphere, rescued the monk, and had her first encounter with Glory. This was it, the climax of his mission, to keep Buffy from dying. He wanted to get the whole thing over as soon as possible. He wished he could put the demon clans on it today. But he wasn’t sure Glory had arrived and jumping the gun on this was a bad idea. He needed to make sure Glory and Ben were in town and then he would pull out all stops. Doc would have to be taken out too. Lorne said evil would push back, Doc was the most likely pusher, and there was the army of knights to deal with. Spike stood up. He needed to talk to Giles.

“Hey! Where are you going? You promised to help me study for the test on Romeo and Juliet,” Dawn complained.

“I’ll be back,” Spike told her.
~~~
Spike found Giles in his office going over a merchandise order. He didn’t bother with small talk. “Dawn’s here,” was all he said.

Giles looked up at the vampire. “Why? I thought we all agreed she’d be more comfortable studying at the dojo.”

“Ripper, do you remember Whistler?” Spike asked.

Giles put down the order form, took off his glasses, and stared at the vampire. There was an edge of anger in his voice as he spoke. “I have no memory of a Whistler, and how do you know about Ripper? I’ve never told anyone.”

“It’s Ripper that’s looking at me right now. You told me once if we ever needed to have this conversation again, I should tell you to pour us a glass of that twenty-year-old Glenfiddich you keep hidden in your apartment.” Spike waited for everything to click. It didn’t take long. No one could accuse Giles of being slow-witted. A moment later the anger that had been directed at him was gone, but Ripper remained.

“What is it?” the watcher asked.

“We’re time travelers, sent back to save Buffy’s life. Your memories have been replaced by a group of monks who have their own agenda.”

“But your memories haven’t been replaced,” Ripper stated.

“I’m the primary time traveler, Everyone else came along for the ride. The powers gave you some memories of past timelines because I can’t do this without you.”

“I take it Buffy doesn’t know about the do-over?”

“We agreed not to tell her this go round.”

Ripper considered what Spike had said as he looked into the vampire’s eyes, something he knew he shouldn't do. It went against his Council training of dust now and don't ask questions, ever. But there was no blood lust in Spike's eyes; there was only a question. Was the watcher going to help him or not? Ripper made his decision. “Wait here,” he said and left the office.

Spike could hear Ripper telling Anya he had important Council business to go over and did not want to be disturbed. When he came back into the office, he was carrying a chair for Spike and a bottle of 12-year-old single malt whiskey. “It’s not the twenty-year-old Glenfiddich, but it will do. My memories tell me you’re a trusted colleague. But I never would have told a colleague about Ripper or the Glenfiddich. We’re more than that, aren’t we?” Ripper asked as he took two glasses out of the bottom drawer of his desk and poured a generous amount of Whiskey into each.

Spike took a deep breath and blew it out. He didn’t realize he had stopped breathing until he started again. “We’re brothers in arms,” he said quietly.

Ripper nodded and handed Spike a glass. “Tell me everything.”
~~~

Chapter 21: Part 2 Chapter 11 Ben is Glory - Glory is Ben

Chapter Text

~~~
Shiyun was a princess of the Hak’Zauu’s destined to become Queen of her clan. The Great Creator had gifted her with, high intelligence, magic abilities, and the seer abilities of the royal line. Her teas, potions, tinctures, and elixirs were well thought of by her people and her reputation had been slowly growing on the Hellmouth.

Her clan worshipped balance and the same gifts with which the Great Creator had gifted Shiyun could become curses if used improperly. Self-esteem and self-confidence could become arrogance and hubris, two traits that could not be tolerated in the Hak’Zauu’s leaders.

When Queen Ming Yue noticed her daughter’s asteism something had to be done. Shiyun was sent to the Sunnydale Hellmouth to help the slayer and her champion maintain world balance. It would not be an easy place to live, but Queen Ming Yue had foreseen that the Hellmouth would teach her daughter humility.

It was the night of the new moon. All was quiet on the Sunnydale streets when an evil energy suddenly vibrated through the town. Something incredibly old, terribly dark, and extraordinarily strong, had arrived at the Hellmouth.

Shiyun sat with both hands wrapped around the small handle-less teacup. She suddenly felt quite small as she realized this evil could not be fought alone. Tomorrow, when the sun rose, she would go to the humans and join the coven. In one moment of clarity, Shiyun had learned humility.
~~~
Three Days Later
~~~
Spike was frustrated. He had no trouble finding Dr. Benjamin Wilkinson, the hell god Glorificus’ vessel. He thought the kill would be quick and easy. After all, he was a master vampire. He had hunted humans for over a century, but the Hellmouth had other ideas. He stalked Ben twice and both times Glory had appeared.

Glory’s minions were guarding Ben. The first night he pursued the doctor he killed one of the minions. They immediately sent out a warning howl and Ben became Glory. Spike ran and Glory followed but Spike lost her when he ducked into an alley and pulled shadow around himself. It took him hours and a full pint of blood to get his strength back after using his new preternatural speed to save him from a beatdown.

The next night he couldn’t get near Ben at all. Five minions were shadowing Ben once he finished his shift at the hospital. Ben never made it to his car. Spike didn’t know whether the minions were hyper-alert or Glory was hungry. It didn’t matter, Glory came out and went looking for a meal. There was nothing Spike could do. He had hoped he could take care of everything himself and not call the demon clans into it. He didn’t want to answer questions and expose Dawn to danger.

He decided on a plausible lie mixed with as much truth as he could tell the clans.

Spike called a meeting and with the help of Ripper, he sold the lie. Glory needed the blood of a virgin, Hellmouth energy, along with a mystical artifact to open a portal to her home world. The problem was that at the current alignment of the stars, not only a portal to one dimension would open, but portals to all dimensions would also open. The dimensions would bleed into each other and be destroyed along with all life in the universe. The nine clans understood and agreed to help. After lengthy discussions, and a few intense arguments, plans were put into place.

The humans could not remember that Glory lived inside of Ben. Spike and Shiyun did get them to accept magic was at work and they needed to trust the demons to kill Glory. It was a hard sell for Buffy. She gave in when Spike pointed out they needed her to slay the demon and Glory worshiper Doc.

At first Buffy gave a begrudging acceptance of her role. After the meeting Spike told her in the original timeline, he had thought Doc was dead after running a sword through his heart. With a frog-like tongue that could grab weapons out of a human’s hand and a strong tail that could knock even a slayer off her feet, the demon was not an easy kill. It was Doc who climbed to the top of the tower and cut Dawn to open the portals, even after she had defeated Glory on the ground.

Buffy went into slayer mode and learned everything there was to learn about the demon. It turned out that Doc was a Rana Demon, and death was by cremation. A half Brackin demon, Tony, owned a funeral home with a cremation oven. A plan was made and set into motion.

Tony parked his hearse a block away and Buffy entered Doc’s magic shop. The fight didn’t last long, Buffy was one pissed off Slayer and she wasn’t in the mood to play. Doc tried to take the sword from Buffy’s hand with his tongue, but Buffy was ready for that trick. She sidestepped and sliced off his tongue. With a second swing of her sword, she took off his head.

When it was over Buffy signaled Tony. He took the body away and put it in the cremation oven. When he turned the oven on the severed head began to scream. Tony walked away, put on his headphones, and listened to some heavy metal rock music.
~~~
Taking out Glory required a vastly different strategy. Spike needed the help of the Ishyroi demons. They were the best fighters in the nine clans. They also could fight flawlessly as a pack.

A plan was made and put into action. The Ishyroi would take out Glory’s minions one by one. Without minions to bring her food, Glory would weaken. The Ishyroi may not be able to kill Glory, but they could wound her once she was in a weakened state.

Once the minions were gone the Ishyroi attacked the hell god as a pack. Glory was overwhelmed. These were not weak humans. She could not brush them away with one sweep of her magic, not when she was desperate to feed.

Glory pushed the frontal attack away. But the pack attacked from behind and hamstrung the hell god. She fell to the floor. From there it was only a matter of time. Every time Glory pushed one demon away two more would rush in with a cut to an arm or leg, or a stab to her torso. Soon Glory was too weak to fight, and a nearly dead Ben came forward. It was quick after that. Tykin, the pack alpha slit Ben’s throat. It took less than a minute for the wounded human to bleed out. The human and the hell god were dead.
~~~
There were a lot of discussions, heated and very heated, on how to deal with the Knights of Byzantium. They were, after all, a human army. Spike did not want to get into an all-out war, that was his line in the sand. Buffy and Ripper agreed. They just wanted them to decide to leave.

As much as Spike disliked magic, he could see no other way. The Sunnydale coven would do a spell that would make humans sleepy and open to suggestions. It wouldn’t affect the demon communities. There was no getting around it. The Spell had to be cast on Sunnydale, the whole community. The only humans immune would be inside the casting circle.

The night came. The moon was full, and the streets were eerily quiet as Spike and Oz and a small mix of the demons from the nine clans made their way to the knight’s encampment.

Spike put the two shamans into a thrall and left them with the belief that they had seen the green key light escape into the heavens. The key was gone and unattainable. He then went to the General and left the same belief along with a drive to leave Sunnydale. The group stopped the spell as soon as they got back to the magic shop. Now all they could do is wait and see if Spike’s new thrall upgrade was as good as he hoped.

It was just after nine AM when Spike received a report that the knights were pulling out of Sunnydale.

It was done. They beat Glory and Buffy was alive. The Mission was over.
~~~
June 2001
~~~

College was over for the year and the Hellmouth went into its summer hibernation. After some parental talks with Joyce, Buffy moved in with Spike. As a compromise to not moving back to Revello, she agreed to work at the gallery unloading deliveries and lifting and moving anything heavy. Dawm split her time between the Magic Box and the dojo.

Buffy and Spike spent evenings walking hand-in-hand through the streets and cemeteries of Sunnydale before retiring to the mansion to make love. Life was good, and for the first time since being called, Buffy had a sense of peace.

“I like summer, It’s always so quiet. No vamps to stake, no demons to fight.” Buffy said as they walked through the mansion door. She turned to kiss Spike and then pulled away. “Dawn wants to go up to Disney Land for a long weekend. Do you want to come?” she asked Spike.

“of course, Pet,” he answered and pulled her into a kiss.
~~~
They were back. It was the first vacation Buffy had taken since being called and she was tired. She needed to rest, but Giles had called a Scoobie meeting, and he wasn’t willing to postpone it.

“Okay, Giles, what’s so important you couldn’t let me sleep in for one day?” Buffy asked as she stifled a yawn.

“While you were gone, I received a call from the Council. They’re sending another watcher to the Hellmouth.”

“NO!” Buffy roared as she jumped out of her seat. “They are NOT replacing you.”

Giles held up his hand, he tried, unsuccessfully, to suppress a smile at Buffy’s defense of him. “That is not his purpose. He is coming to write his doctoral dissertation on life on the Hellmouth. The council feels it could be helpful with setting up non-slayer posts on some of the less active hellmouths.”

“Are you sure?” Buffy asked.

“As sure as I can be at anything the Council does.”

“Which is not very,” Buffy muttered as she slumped down in her chair.

“Do you know the wanker?” Spike asked.

“Only by reputation. He’s said to be brilliant, first in his class. Graduated with his Bachelor’s Degree, magna cum laude. He also has some magic abilities, and he has asked to join our coven.”

“He’s a warlock?” Buffy asked.

“A mage,” Giles corrected. “However, the Council feels with proper magic instruction he may be able to gain a wizard’s abilities.”

“Do you have a name?” Spike asked.

“Wesley Wyndam-Pryce”

“Bollocks,” Spike growled.

Buffy's head snapped to look at Spike. “Do you know this guy?” she asked.

“Know of Roger Wyndam-Pryce. Likely his Da.”

“How would you know Roger?” Giles asked.

“I studied Slayers for a hundred years, and when you study Slayers, you study the bloody Council.”

“Hey guys, spill. What’s got you all grrrr?”

Spike and Giles looked at each other. Spike shook his head, got up, and started pacing. “All I know about Wesley is his academic record and he has some magic talent.”

Spike stopped pacing and glared at the watcher. “The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree,” he quoted.

Buffy slapped her hand on the table. “I want answers now!”

Giles took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Roger Wyndam-Pryce is a hardline traditionalist.”
“Another words, he sees slayers as tools, not people,” Spike growled.

“He’s not coming to be my watcher.”

“And just how long do you think it will take him to report Rupert to The Council for losing control of his Slayer?” Spike asked.

“You think he’s coming to spy on us?”

“He’s no doubt been instructed to send regular reports,” Giles said as he massaged the bridge of his nose.

Buffy's eyes narrowed and her voice was hard. “We manage The Hellmouth. He’s here to do his doctor art…something,” she said with a flourish of her hand. “If he thinks he can take over he’s got another think coming.”
~~~

Chapter 22: Part 2 chapter 12 - Revelations

Chapter Text

~~~
August 2001 - Dojo
~~~

A blue light flashed, and Whistler stood in front of them.

Spike growled. “The mission’s over, sod off.”

“No can do,” Whistler said. “There is a loose end that needs tying up or someone very special will die. Her name is Winifred Burkle. She’s trapped in a demon world called Pylea. She needs to be rescued and you’re the only champions available.”

“Do you know this guy?” Buffy asked Spike. She had no memories of meeting Whistler in other timelines.

“Yeah, his name’s Whistler; he’s an agent for the Powers That Be.”

Buffy looked at the strange demon. “You want us to spend our summer on a hell world?”

“No, three days tops,” Whistler promised.

Spike scoffed. “Yeah, like we can believe that.”

Buffy gave Spike an elbow nudge and shivered at the memory of the hell dimension she rescued people from in L.A. If there was someone trapped on a hell world, and she could bring her home then she would do it. “What’s so special about this girl?” she asked. Not that it mattered to her, being human and trapped was reason enough in Buffy’s mind.

Whisler knew Buffy was already on board and gave her a half smile. She’s a mathematical genius. She’s figured out the equation to open portals.”

“She’s a key?” Buffy asked.

“No, not the way you mean it anyway. Dawn uses blood to open a portal. Fred does it with math equations that represent sound. The harmonics open a portal.”

“Bloody hell,” Spike said. He knew that if that information got out the girl would be targeted by anyone that wanted to exploit her.

Buffy wrinkled her nose. “Portals can be opened by a harmonica?”

“Not a harmonica… harmonics. A specific sequence of sounds causes an energy flux, and a portal opens, but only at specific places where ley line can be harmonically manipulated. Blood magic portals don’t have that restriction.

“So, she’s not using magic,” Spike said.

“No, she’s not. Just that beautiful brain of hers. But it will look like magic to anyone who didn’t know better.”

“We’ll do it,” Buffy said.

For this mission, you’ll need Lorne, he’s Pylean and he can be your guide. The new watcher Wesley Wyndam-Pryce needs to go too, for magic backup.” Whistler dropped a book and a large brown envelope on a nearby table. “This will give you all the information you need. The Powers will open the portals for you. The incantations are in the book.” There was a flash of light and Whistler was gone.
~~~
Pylea Mission Meeting
~~~
Buffy slammed her hand on the table and glared at Wesley.

Spike began rubbing small circles on her back. “Pet, it’s all right.”

“No, it’s not,” Buffy said. “We’re going to a hell world, and he doesn’t believe in himself. I can’t have a team with a member who's so full of self-doubt.” Buffy got up from the table and walked away muttering, “I can’t do this.”

Wesley slid his chair back, “I’d better go.”

“No, you bloody well will not,” Spike growled. “What you’re going to do is pull yourself together and stop this rot of trying to convince yourself you’re not a useless sod.”

Ripper gave a loud huff. “What Spike meant to say is that the Powers want you on this mission for a reason. They believe you are the right fit. You need to believe they made the correct choice.”

Wesley looked at the wizard. He could feel the power rolling off him. It was the first time in his life that someone believed in him and told him to believe in himself. It was a revelation.

Spike could see the emotions play across the young watcher’s face. He made a decision. “Buffy had a slayer dream about you.”

Wesley’s head snapped to look at Spike. “What?”

Spike’s voice was calm but firm. He knew how to reach someone when they were falling apart. He'd done it enough times with Dru and a few times with Buffy. This would be the first time he’d talk to a man this way, but it seemed that the principal was the same. “She saw that you become a valued member of our team. We were going to let nature take its course, but here we are. The Powers have other plans. Like it or not you’ve just been thrown into the deep end and the Slayer needs you to swim like our lives depend on it, because with or without you she is going on this mission.”

Wesley blinked. This wasn’t what he had expected from the two men. No matter how hard he worked, he had never been anything but a disappointment to his father. His mother tried to comfort him, but she never said his father was wrong or that she was proud of his accomplishments.

These men gave him something he had never had before. They believed in him. Were they being honest? One of them was a vampire. All that he had learned from the Council was that Vampires didn’t have true feelings they were mimics, liars, and vicious killers. But in his brief time here he saw that Spike was a respected friend and colleague to Rupert Giles. Wesley knew that Giles was not a man to be trifled with. He was, if not universally well-liked, well respected. Giles was the kind of man who blended his honesty with tact, not cruelty, as was his father’s wont. Even if his mind told him not to trust the vampire, he knew he could trust Giles. He came to a decision, one that only a man who had metal could make and stick to. He wouldn’t let them or the slayer down.

Spike watched as the emotions played across Wesley’s face. He was the hunter of men. He could tell with one quick look who would be an easy meal and who would fight for their life. The young watcher changed before his eyes. He saw the muscle tension go from slumped to hard and strong. He saw the expression in his blue eyes change from self-doubt to surety. “There’s the man the Slayer saw in her dream,” he told Giles.

Wesley looked at Ripper and spoke in an authoritative voice. “I can assist you in making the protection talismans you suggested. We don’t have maps of Pylea. We’ll need to do a firefly spell to locate…”

Spike held up his hand. “Whoa, let me get the Slayer. She needs to hear this.”
~~~
Caritas
~~~
“I don’t think I can express how much I don’t want to do this,” Lorne said.

“We need you. You’re the only one who knows anything about Pylea. We want to get in and out as quickly as possible,” Buffy said.

“That may not be easy. There are a lot of things on Pylea that will want to kill you.”

“That’s why we need you,” Spike said.

Give me two days to notify my patrons the bar is going to be closed. I don’t want to come back to a burnt-out shell.”

“See you in two days,” Buffy said.
~~~
“Do you trust that demon,” Wesley asked as they walked to their car.

“Known him longer than I can say. He’s never lied to me.” Spike told him.

Wesley took a side glance at Buffy. She didn’t seem to be concerned so he took a deep breath and accepted the inevitable. This trip to the Hellmouth was turning out to be more of a learning experience than he had expected.

~~~
Pylea
~~~
They went through the portal and landed on a beach. Spike groaned. He had rented a four-wheel drive SUV for their trip. There was no way he was going to risk his precious DeSoto on a hell world. He knew the SUV could get over rough terrain. He hoped they could cut down their walking time as well as protect themselves from any large nasties that were about. Pylea, however, was not cooperating.

The problem was they landed on a narrow stretch of beach. There was an ocean on their left, a tangled forest that reminded Spike of a mango swamp on their right, and about a mile down the beach was a cliff face. They would have to back up through the portal to get home. They couldn’t risk getting stuck in soft sand if they tried to turn around.

Lorne got out of the car and looked around. “Well, pop tarts, this is a fine mess we’ve gotten ourselves into. Our best, and in my humble opinion only, way off the beach is to climb the big rock over there.”

“Yeah,” Spike said. “I don’t fancy goin’ into that swamp.”

“Me neither,” Buffy said. “My spidey senses are screaming red alert.”

“As foreboding as that cliff face looks, I think it will be easier than hacking our way through that swamp,” Wesley remarked as he pulled the backpacks out of the trunk.
~~~

The rock climb wasn’t as hard as they thought it would be. It was a steep climb, but there were only a few places where they had to find handholds and toeholds.

Once they got to the top Wesley did his locator spell and the firefly took off heading due west. That was fine with everyone. They were putting the swamp behind them.

After walking for over an hour they came to a road. Spike could smell a nearby town, and he could hear a cart with a squeaky wheel heading toward them. The group hurried across the road and hid in a stand of trees as the cart went by. The firefly was heading for the town. It was decided that Lorne would do some recon and see what he could find out. The only reason Winifred would be in that town was if she was captured.
One-half hour later Lorne returned. “It looks like Winifred was in town stealing supplies,” he said. The firefly left town and I came back to get you.

The group was careful to circle around the town unseen. They were away from the road now and had been walking for another hour when they saw a large rock outcropping. The light was heading straight for it.

The outcropping was an easy climb. When they got near the top the light darted behind a crack. It was the opening of a cave.

Buffy looked at Spike.

Spike nodded and whispered, “I can hear her heartbeat.”

Buffy said, “I’ll go.”

The opening was small, like crawling into an igloo. It quickly opened into a chamber approximately the size of Buffy’s bedroom. Buffy stood up and looked around. The walls were covered with luminescent mathematical equations. Off to the side, facing the wall, stood a painfully thin Winifred, muttering to herself and painting more equations.

“Hi,” Buffy said in a friendly speaking voice.

Winifred snapped around with a gasp, her eyes wide, gulping air. She was obviously terrified.

“It’s, all right,” Buffy said, putting her arms up as if to surrender. “We’ve come to take you home, to Earth.”

Winifred’s breathing slowed a bit. “Do they still have tacos?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Buffy answered. “Tacos, and pizza, and Chinese noodles. We still have all that.”

“When do we leave?”

“Well, it’s quite a walk back to the car and we don’t …”

“You have a car?” Winifred interrupted.

“Yes, for multiple people to get through the portal, you have to be surrounded by metal or you get separated.”

“Oh, I never thought of that.” Winifred turned around and started muttering to herself as she read the equations on the cave wall.

“Winifred,” Buffy called. When the young woman didn’t answer Buffy walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Winifred.”

Winifred turned and looked at Buffy as if she had forgotten she was there. “Call me Fred, everyone does. At least they did when there was an everyone to call me.”

“Fred, I’m not alone. I’ve got three people with me, and we need a place to spend the night. Can they come in?”

Fred looked around. “Do you think there’s room?”

“I think we’ll be okay. But one of the guys is Pylean. He came from Earth with us and he’s going back with us. He’s a good guy so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“I’m not a cow,” Fred said.

That statement made no sense to Buffy, but she decided to play along. “No, you’re a human being.”

“Does he know I’m not a cow?”

“He knows you’re Winifred Burkel from Earth.”

“I’m not going to be a cow.”

"I promise you; you’re not going to be a cow. Can the guys come in now?”

Fred licked her lips. Her eyes were locked on the cave entrance as she nodded her head.

Buffy called to them.

Spike was the first to enter quickly followed by Wesley. That’s when everything changed.

Buffy didn’t believe in love at first sight. She was firmly in the love is a seed camp. Love wasn’t instant, love grew. You had to get to know someone. Learn that they were trustworthy before you could love them. That took time.

Except this time, it didn’t. As soon as Wesley and Fred laid eyes on each other it happened, BAM, like a lightning strike. Buffy froze in place, for a second her lungs couldn’t pull in air.

Lorne came into the cave. “Cuddle Doves, if ever I’ve seen them.” He whispered.

Spike tilted his head and stared at the couple. “That’s why the Powers wanted Wes to come along, I’d wager.”

~~~

Buffy had thought that Fred would feel uncomfortable with Lorne. But all it took was some reassurance from Wesley and she was…well… not quite relaxed, but she was okay. She babbled constantly about tacos, with an occasional peppering of the luminescent paint she made and her math equations.

Wesley decided to copy as much of Fred’s wall writings into his notebook as he could. He silently cursed himself for not bringing a camera. Fred told Wes they weren’t important, they didn’t work.

Fred was surprised when Wes told her that at least one of them did work because that is how Lorne got to Earth.

Fred looked at Lorne. “You went through a portal?” she asked.

“Yeah, Sweet Peach. I owe you a debt of gratitude. I’ve got a good life on Earth.”

“I’m not a peach,” Fred politely informed Lorne with a broad smile. “I’m from Texas so I’m a red grapefruit. Peaches are from Georga.”

"Calling you red grapefruit just doesn't have the same feel."

Fred tilted her head as she sat on a rock and continued babbling. "The bluebonnet has been the Texas state flower since 1901. There was a flower war between the cotton plant, the pear cactus, and the bluebonnet. A bunch of women, the National Society of Colonial Dames of America, are the ones that nominated the bluebonnet. Everyone was sure the cotton plant would win. But the women wouldn’t give up and on the day of the vote they put a floral arrangement of bluebonnets on every politician’s desk and the bluebonnet won. Maybe you could call me Bluebonnet if you're very partial to nick names that is.”

“Wow,” Buffy said before Fred could start babbling again. “That was a great story. But we need to get some sleep now. We have a long walk to the car tomorrow and I have to pee.”

“Oh, I’ll show you where to go,” Fred said.
~~~
The floor of the cave was a bit crowded when you eliminated the places with rocks sticking up from the floor. Buffy slept in Spike’s arms. “I love you,” Spike whispered in her ear after her breathing told him she was asleep.

In the morning everyone had a trail bar and a bottle of water for breakfast, and then they were off. After they crossed the road and got far enough away from the town, Wesley did his firefly locator spell using carpet fibers from the trunk of the car. Everything went well until they came to the cliff. Everyone was worried about Fred. Her shoes were beaten up and weren’t up to a climb down on the steep rock face. Sure, Fred was used to climbing the smooth weather-worn rocks that led to her cave, but this was totally different.

After some discussion it was decided that Buffy was too short to carry Fred, her feet would drag so Spike would carry her on his back. He was the strongest man. Wesley would stay close by to help.

It was slow going, but apart from some scrapes they got down the cliff without incident.

The car, however, was covered with purple leaches. Apparently, they liked the taste of paint. Loren warned everyone not to touch them, the slime was poisonous. Wesley did a spell that burned off the slime and gave the buggers a nasty shock. They dropped off the car and the group used their weapons to push them out of the way. Spike was glad he purchased the extra insurance at the rental agency. The finish was ruined, it looked like it had been through a sandstorm and then burned in the sun.

Wesley said the incantation to open the portal, everyone got into the car and returned to Earth.

The group stopped at Taco Bell, for a lunch of tacos, before dropping Lorne off at Caritas and heading for Sunnydale.
~~~
The first order of business upon returning to Sunnydale was to get Fred settled. It was decided that the best place for her was the Crawford mansion. The second floor, where the bedrooms were located, was quiet and Fred would have her own bathroom. She could ease back into life on Earth.

Buffy called Tara and asked her to pick up some personal supplies, a comb and brush, shampoo and conditioner, Toothbrush, toothpaste, and makeup along with some clothes. Buffy had to guess at a shoe size but was not surprised when she got it right.

Wesley stayed by Fred's side and answered any questions she had about new technology, like the flat-screen TV and his new cell phone. He explained that Spike insisted that everyone on Buffy’s team have a cell phone, she would be getting one soon.

“I’m on Buffy’s team?” Fred asked.

“If you want to be.”

“But what would I do?”

“Whatever you’re best at.”

“I’m good at math and I like to build things.”

Wesley took her hand. “You’ll fit in. They have a way of making room for people and making them feel welcomed. They did it for me. But they won’t force you. They’ll help you get reoriented to being on Earth, and then you can decide for yourself if you want to stay or go.”

“I already know what I want. I want to be with you.”

“That’s what I want too,” Wesley said and then he pulled her into a kiss.
~~~
Patrol
~~~
Buffy knew they had to talk. The problem was getting the conversation started.

“What is it, pet. Is something bothering you?”

“I was just thinking of Pylea. Something happened. You held me.

Spike tilted his head. “I hold you every night now.”

“Yeah, but when you held me there, in a cave, on another planet… When I was in your arms, I felt like I was home. I guess what I’m trying to say is that wherever you are, that’s my home. It was a revelation.”

“It's the same for me, love. When you're in my arms, I'm home.”

They walked back to the mansion, hand-in-hand. It wasn’t that anything had changed, but somehow something had, she had. Buffy wondered, if they hadn't gone on a faraway mission to a hell world, would she have ever realized how deep her feelings for Spike truly were?

Spike was her home, he always would be, just as she knew he would always have her heart.
~~~
Buffy woke from the slayer dream with a gasp.

Spike was catapulted out of sleep from the scent of her fear. He hugged Buffy to him and looked around the room for whatever the danger was. He couldn’t see anything. “What is it?” Spike asked.

Buffy’s heart was pounding, her breathing was heavy as she spoke. “The Council, they’re coming. They want to kill us.”
~~~
TCB
~~~

Chapter 23: Part 2 Ch 13 - Dark Council, Dark Ops

Chapter Text

~~~
The Backroom Of The Magic Box
~~~
“Buffy, are you sure it was a slayer dream and not a run-of-the-mill nightmare?” Giles asked.

Buffy gave a loud annoyed huff. “Yes, I’m sure Giles. I know a nightmare from a slayer dream. I don’t understand why you’re questioning it. We knew Wesley’s presents could be a problem.”

“This isn’t Wesley’s doing. He didn’t have postage stamps for his first report, so I offered to post it for him. He wrote his second report before leaving for Pylea, I posted that one as well, after magicking them out of the envelope and reading them, of course. I assure you there was nothing in either of them to warrant sending a wet works team after you and Spike.”

“Something’s got their knickers in a twist,” Spike said. “Smart money says the Council has found out about Buffy and me. Perhaps a seer foresaw the fulfillment of the prophecy. “

“Ordinarily I would say that that was a strong possibility. However, after the death of Travers, the Council is under new leadership. I know Harcourt personally. He is a progressive and is instigating changes in the Council. So much so that many of the old conservative hard-liners have resigned in protest. It just isn’t within keeping with the present political atmosphere of the Council to assassinate the slayer.”

“Bloody hell, Ripper, those old wankers are not ones to go quietly into their good night. They’re used to having power, they’re not going to give it up without a fight,” Spike pointed out.

Ripper looked into Spike’s eyes. Suddenly he understood who Buffy saw in her dream. “They’d need money.” He jumped up and went to the phone. He had the number he wanted on speed dial. It took a few minutes for the international call to go through. “This is Rupert Giles. I need to talk with Director Harcourt Emsworth.” A moment later. “No, I don’t want to leave a sodden message…. I am Watcher to the Slayer, and this is an emergency…. I don’t care that he is in a bloody meeting. I’m calling from the Hellmouth, PUT ME THROUGH!” he demanded.”

Thirty seconds later Harcourt picked up. “Hello, Rupert. What’s the emergency?”

“I have reason to believe that the Council will shortly come under attack, instigated by the members that recently resigned. You need to put security on high alert.”

“Hold on Rupert. Ladies and Gentlemen, my apologies, please clear the room. I have a priority incident I need to deal with. I trust I do not need to remind you that nothing said in this room leaves this room. Northcott, bring security to level one. No one in or out of the building without proper identification as current employees.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m taking this on speculation, Rupert. Would you mind telling me exactly what your intelligence is based on?”

Buffy had a slayer dream. In it, six elderly men dressed in tweed sat around a table and decided to send a wet works team to assassinate the Slayer.”

“Dear lord, Rupert, I give my word that didn’t come from me.”

“A point I have spent a good part of the morning trying to make with my slayer.”

“How accurate are her slayer dreams?”

“They’ve always been very accurate, if a bit cryptic. However, during our discussion, it was pointed out to me that the resignees would not leave without a fight. They need money to pay a wet works team. I’m assuming that at least some of them would have extensive knowledge of Council finances. I doubt that they will stop there. They will get to the newly called slayer first and establish a new Council. If that plan fails, they will simply kill the new slayer until they succeed. Meanwhile, they will be culling any members that don’t agree with their outdated ways.”

“Dear lord, Rupert, has it really come to this?” Harcourt took a loud deep breath as he rubbed the bridge of his nose and considered what his friend had told him. “I must assume you are correct in your assessment. I need to terminate this call and meet with security. Is there anything you need from the Council? I can send personnel or supplies, anything within my power. All you need do is ask.”

“Whatever you can do to stop this will be appreciated.” Ripper paused a moment considering what to say to the untested director. Harcourt was going to be put through the fire. The continuation of the Council depended on his actions. Tough decisions would have to be made, both in London and here on the Hellmouth. “I feel obligated to tell you that if a wet works team comes to Sunnydale, they will not leave alive. That’s not a threat, it's not even a promise, it is a statement of fact.”

“I’d expect no less from the slayer or her team. Do what you must do, Rupert. You’ll get only support from the Council.”

Ripper hung up the phone. He had vivid memories from the time loop of Buffy being assassinated under the orders of Quentin Travers. Now the hardliners were trying it again. “Harcourt will do what he can to stop this,” he told Spike and Buffy.

“Do you think he’ll stop them?” Buffy asked.

“No,” Ripper said. He was sure Harcourt's efforts would fail. He may not know the names of the men Buffy saw in her dream, but he knew their resolve. Plus, this was the Hellmouth. They had come so far. Evil was pushing back.

Spike stood up. “We will stop them. I’ll call a meeting of the nine demon clans. Nothing will move in Sunnydale without my knowing until this is over.”

Buffy looked up at Spike. There was sadness and resignation in her eyes. She knew the clans would do more than just watch for a black ops team. “Tell them if they have to kill a human make it fast and clean, no torcher. That’s the slayer’s way. They’ll understand that won’t they?”

Spike gave Buffy a curt nod. “They’ll understand it and respect it,” Spike told her. Then he was gone, and Buffy heard the bell above the front door ring as he left the building.
~~~
The Wet Works Team
~~~
Ralph Dryden was not a handsome man. He had a light English complexion with dark hair that always showed a beard shadow on his face. He wore a perpetual scowl, and his brown eyes were hard and cold. His father had been a British Royal Marine Commando and wanted his only son to follow in his footsteps. Ralph did not disappoint. He spent twenty-five years in the Royal Marines. Upon retiring he was contacted by The Watchers Council and offered a job in security. It seemed to be a good fit until he learned he would protect the world from little girls who had gone wild. Slayers, the Council called them.

His first job was tracking down and bringing in, or killing, a rogue slayer. He scoffed at sending three men to capture one little girl. But he did what was required, updated his affairs, and ensured his will was in order. What he didn’t do was check his attitude. Two men on his team died on his first mission. He never underestimated a slayer again. Since that mission, he hadn’t lost a single man.

Now he was being sent to take out Buffy Summers, said to be the best slayer there ever was. It was an off-the-books mission. He was told she was cavorting with demons. He didn’t care. He was testing himself against the best and he would win.

First, he needed to put together a team. A four-man team was the way to go, he was sure of it. If the slayer were aware he was coming, he always assumed she would be, she would expect a three-man team. That left him to be the ghost, able to go, unsuspected, wherever he wanted.

First, he would need a sniper. Fred Beckwith was the best the Council had to offer. There were few in the world that were better.

Next, he would need a weapons expert skilled in all the weapons that a slayer was trained on as well as hand-to-hand combat. Heath Slora was the man he wanted to have his back.

Last he needed a warrior mage. As a rule, Ralph didn't trust magic. However, he had worked for the Council long enough to know that it had a place, at times a particularly useful place. Fitzroy Quiller would round out the team nicely.
~~~
Ralph needed to requisition the team’s converted armored car from the Council’s motor pool. It wouldn’t be difficult. He knew the guards and they knew him. An off-the-books mission was not unheard of. All it would take is showing up and driving away. He didn’t expect the building to be on lockdown and his badge to be canceled.

Harold Wyndam-Pryce had told Ralph the director wanted plausible deniability on this mission. He was to do nothing that would lead investigators to think the director had any knowledge of the mission. he couldn't have the guard call the director to confirm the mission, so Ralph did what he needed to do. A quick punch to the solar plexus followed by an uppercut to the chin knocked the guard out. Ralph picked him up, put him in the back of the armored car, and drove to the airport where a private transport to Los Angeles waited. From there the team would head to Sunnydale. They would get off the highway fifteen miles out and come into the town from the desert. Ralph was sure they would not be noticed. The team would do what needed to be done and be gone before anyone knew they were there.
~~~
Spike’s meeting with the nine demon clans was successful. Spike was confident that the clans recognized how important it was to work together to thwart the rogue council. A plan was formed. Each clan played to its strength. Demon sentinels were stationed at every conceivable entry into Sunnydale. Demons that could blend in with humans were stationed at the airport. Demons who loved the cool ocean were posted at the docks. Others who could camouflage themselves to look like rocks or desert scrub were posted at highway exits and desert back roads. Even the tunnels and cave systems were not overlooked. Spike was confident, that not even a new ant colony could enter Sunnydale without his knowledge.

There was, however, one concern. All the clans agreed that the six humans that ordered the assassination had to be permanently stopped. Spike knew that the Powers would not interfere with their decision. They had killed Travers for ordering Buffy’s death. Spike felt as if the six were dead men walking. He was sure Ripper would see the necessity of it, he was equally sure Buffy would not.
~~~
As soon as the meeting was over, Spike went to the magic shop to fill in Giles about the plan.

“We need to get all the scoobies and Joyce out of sight for the next three days. It should be over by then, Spike said.

“We’ll have to be vigilant for more than three days,” Ripper pointed out. “When they fail, they’ll try again, most likely by engaging the Order of Ta’Raka.”

“It won’t come to that,” Spike said with such surety that Ripper was puzzled by it.

“How?” The wizard asked.

“We have the clan of Hora’mensaje on our side.”

Giles knew exactly what the Hora'mensaje demons could do. They were telepaths capable of invading a human's mind and reading their thoughts. To Ripper, there was a name for it, mind rape. For a wizard, it was a sin against his own soul to inflict it on another. He wouldn't be doing it. but still, it gave him pause. “You promised the Slayer no torcher,” Ripper pointed out.

“We’ll ask them for the information first and let them know the consequences if they don’t comply. If we have to extract the names of the six men who hired them, we’ll shut down their pain center,” Spike told him.

“That’s a fine distinction you’re making.”

“It needs to be done. We both know it, and so does the slayer. I promise you, Ripper, if they give us the information the telepaths won’t touch them.”

Ripper didn’t say a word. He merely nodded. Spike was right, they could not live constantly looking over their shoulder.

The phone call came through the Magic Box, Giles took the call, but the man that hung up the phone, removed his glasses, and turned to look at Spike was pure Ripper. “A wet works team truck was stolen from the Council’s motor pool. The guard was abducted and left at Heathrow. Ralph Dryden, considered the council's best operative, is heading the team. Harcourt doesn’t know who else is on it. Best guess is there will be a sniper and a warrior mage. Dryden won’t underestimate us. They’ll be here within twelve hours.”

“Did you get a description of the stolen truck?” Spike asked.

“There are only two, both the same. A red armored car with right-hand drive, and no commercial markings. It will, however, have American plates.”

“If they’re transporting an armored car the jet will be too big to land at Sunnydale Municipal. Most likely they’ll land at LAX and take I-5…”

“Dryden’s an X marine,” Ripper interrupted. “It would be no trouble for him to come into Sunnydale through the desert. He’ll have terrain maps and aerial maps fifty kilometers out from the Hellmouth.”

Spike gave Ripper a wicked smile. “We have them, Ripper. It’s hard to hide a big red armored car, no matter how they try to sneak in. Buffy, Dawn, and Joyce are at the mansion. Best you get there now. I’m going to tell the clans what we learned then I’ll join you and we wait.”

~~~
12 Hours Later
~~~
Ralph Dryden stopped on a hardpack desert road and got out of the truck. He was five kilometers out from Sunnydale; it was time to split up. The plan was simple. Dryden would backpack, off road, into Sunnydale, and the rest of the team would stay with the truck and go to the agreed-upon staging area and get things ready for their mission. Dryden would do recon and meet up with them in two hours.
~~~
Kofi Zev was a teen-age member of the Hora’mensaje clan, and he wanted to make his family proud. This was the first time he had been asked to help defend his home and he took his sentinel duty very seriously. He stood tall and strong in the desert, wearing the glamour of a Joshua Tree.

He had been stationed off-road in a place unlikely to encounter a dangerous human, yet, in the distance he could see one coming. It took a great deal of mental discipline to keep his glamour in place as he sent a telepathic message to his father that the human was on his way. The boy was told not to engage the human, there was another clan whose job it was to capture the assassin and bring him in for questioning.
~~~
When Spike had the mansion remodeled, he knew, as master of Sunnydale, he would eventually need a place to hold prisoners. So, he had the servants' quarters turned into a mini prison. There were four cells, an interrogation room, and a guard's room where doors, microphones, and cameras could be controlled. This was the place he brought the three operatives from the truck.

Their interrogation by Keir of the Hora’mensaje clan was a disappointment. All they knew was that they were on an off-the-books mission to take out the Slayer, her Watcher, and whatever demons had corrupted her. Spike had been hoping for the names of the Dark Council members who hired them. But the only name they had was Ralph Dryden.

The call that Dryden was found came in telepathically. Two Ishyroi demons were sent out to intercept him and bring him back to the mansion. He hadn’t come quietly, he fought hard, but he had no chance against two Ishyroi. Their fighting abilities, when well-honed, were on par with the Slayer or Spike. Dryden had some bruises and a few cuts that were washed and bandaged before Spike, Ripper, and Keir, came into the room to have their talk with Dryden.

Spike sat down across from Dryden. “Fred Beckwith, Heath Slora, Fitzroy Quiller,” Spike watched as Dryden’s pupils pulsed with each name. “Your team is dead, Ralph. What we know is that you were sent here to assassinate the Slayer, her Watcher, and any friendly demons. So, here’s the deal. I’m going to kill you, there’s no getting around that. However, I made a promise to the Slayer that I wouldn’t torture you. Here’s where you have a choice. You can answer my questions, or I’ll have that telepath demon over there go into your brain and extract the information. I’m told it’s not a pleasant experience.”

Dryden’s face didn’t change. He sat perfectly still, without so much as a muscle tick.

“First question. “We know six Council members sent you here. We want their names. Don’t try lying to me. I already know who three of them are.”

“Eat sh*t, William the Bloody. You’re not going to get anything out of me. Buffy Summers is a whor*; she deserves to die.”

Spike jumped up and grabbed Dryden’s face. “Buffy Summers is the only reason you don’t have ten smashed fingers and two missing ears right now.” Spike dropped his face and turned to Keir. “Do it.”
~~~
The only name they could extract from Dryden was Harold Wyndam-Pryce, Wesley’s father. It was enough. The name was sent to London via the Hora’mensaje’s telepathic link. Harold would be found and the names of the other five conspirators would be extracted. Contacts in the demon community of London would take care of the problem. It would all be over very soon.

Some demons felt Wesley was a problem that needed to be eliminated. Spike told them that Wesley had been closely watched since coming to Sunnydale. There was no evidence that he was part of the conspiracy against the Slayer. He assured the clans that if that changed, he would take care of the problem personally.

When Wesley’s mother called to tell him, his father had died suddenly, Wesley flew back to London, taking Fred with him. He stayed for a month arranging the funeral and helping his mother get the family’s affairs in order. When Fred and Wes returned it was obvious that the couple had become quite close.
~~~
Four Months Later
~~~
Spike was holding the heavy bag for Buffy when he felt it. He let go of the bag and walked to the dojo window.
Buffy followed him. It wasn’t like Spike to just drop what he was doing, not unless something bad was coming. “What is it?” she asked.

“Not sure. Feels…” That’s when he saw him, Lawson.

Buffy was confused. As soon as the vampire saw Spike his face broke out in a huge smile. His pace picked up and he stepped into the dojo. Spike was equally happy to see the vampire. He pulled the big guy into a manly hug and patted him on the back before letting go.

“You’re looking good Captain America,” Spike said.

“You too, Chief. I heard you were the Master of Sunnydale. Thought I’d come by and see if you had a place for me.” Suddenly the vampire’s face lost its smile and he looked at Buffy.

Spike gave a little chuckle. “That feeling that makes you want to run like a bat out of hell is the slayer warning. This is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She’s my mate so hands off.” The last part was said with a good-natured tone of voice.

Spike turned to Buffy. “This is Lawson, my adopted childe.”

“Mam,” Lawson said with a nod.

“Call me Buffy,” she told him. “I didn’t know vamps adopted other vamps childer,” Buffy said.

“Unusual circ*mstances, Love.”

“I’d love to hear about those sometime. As for having a place for you here. You’ve got one as long as you obey the rules.”

“Rules?” Lawson asked.

“Simple enough,” Spike said. “No eating the townies. We have reliable sources of blood. I have contracts with professional donors. I donate their blood to the hospital, and they donate their unneeded older blood to me. In addition to that I have contracts with private meat packers to buy their blood. It’s mostly venison, we do get an occasional bear or wild boar. I also bankrolled a sea otter exhibit at the zoo. In exchange, they sell me otter blood. Add a teaspoon to animal blood and you won’t be complaining about the taste. It makes even the pig swill they sell at the butchers taste palatable.”

“Sounds like you have it covered,” Lawson said.

Buffy stood up. “All this blood talk must be making you hungry. I’ll get you a mug.”

Spike and Lawson watched Buffy go. “So mated to the Slayer. Another unusual circ*mstance story?” Lawson asked.

“You bloody well have no idea.”

“I was worried about Dru kicking me out. It never occurred to me you’d be master of a Hellmouth with a slayer in residence.”

Buffy came back with two mugs of blood. She sat them on the table in front of the two vampires. “There is something you should know Lawson. We don’t kick vamps out of Sunnydale. You obey the rules or you’re dust. No exceptions, not even for Spike’s childe.”

“I was a sailor when I was turned. I only kill the enemy. Americans aren’t the enemy.”

“I don’t want any misunderstandings, Lawson. If you obey the rules you have a home here as long as you want one. You’re family so you can stay at the mansion. There’s plenty of room.”
~~~
Scooby Meeting
~~~
“We’ve been through this before,” Ripper said. “You claimed Dalton and things have worked out with him. But Dalton is a minion. From what you and Buffy tell me, Lawson is your childe. He is independent in a way that Dalton isn’t.”

“He’s trustworthy, Rupert.”

“Yes, to you, his sire.”

“Bloody hell, if I tell you this it can’t go any further than this room. This is highly personal.”

“You have my word,” Ripper said.

“It happened during World War Two. I was captured and put on a Nazi sub. I escaped and let the other vamps out. We fed off the crew. They surfaced and were boarded by Americans.

“They planned to take the sub back to America. I don’t know all the particulars. What I do know is the sub was deep and half the American crew was dead. They called for help. Next thing I knew, Angel, my grandsire, was there, he came in through a torpedo tube. Lawson knew how to fix the engine. But there was still a Nazi aboard. He sabotaged the engine and stabbed Lawson, it was a fatal wound. Angel, with a sodden soul, turned him. Lawson, a newly risen vampire saved the day. He fixed the engine.

“Instead of dusting us, same as he did to the other vamps, he put us off the boat twenty miles from shore. Perks of being family, I guess. We had to swim for it and stumbled into a fishing shack to wait out the day. Lawson was new and starving. When night fell, we went hunting. That’s when it became obvious that Lawson was made wrong. The only thing I can think of is that Angel’s soul interfered with the turning.

“I don’t turn people. But Lawson was already made, and that wanker made him wrong. So, I drained him and remade him. He was better, still a bit off, but then I was never monster enough for Darla or Angelus, so I didn't think anything of it. We stayed together; we made our way across Europe. I was going back to Drusilla. Lawson insisted we eat only Nazis. I didn’t argue. It didn’t take long before we picked up intel and started thwarting their plans. We earned a name, Dämonen des Todes.”

“Demons of Death. Bloody hell, you were telling me the truth when you told me you did your part in the war.” Ripper said.

“Yeah, I was. But when we got back to Dru she had a hissy fit. She wanted me to dust him. She said he was wrong. I could usually calm Dru with a touch or a word, but there was nothing I could do to quiet her when it came to Lawson. Miss Edith wanted him gone. What Miss Edith wanted Miss Edith got. Lawson went off on his mission to help the Allies. I ran into him a couple of times when Dru and I broke up for a bit. He never changed. For him, it was always about the mission. Sometimes things get hardwired into a vamp. That’s what happened to Lawson, He craves a mission the way most vamps crave violence.”

“I think we owe him a chance,” Buffy said.

Ripper thought about what Spike had told him. The vampire was a war hero. Still, he wasn't one hundred percent sure about Lawson. He never could be. His watcher training ran too deep. But he had already let two vampires into his life. Would a third make that much of a difference? It was Giles who sighed. “All right. But he’s your responsibility, Spike.”
~~~
Epilogue - One year later
~~~
The alarm went off and Spike growled. He didn’t want to get up. He still had the taste of Buffy in his mouth and her warmth filled his body. It was like that every morning now. They would make love, sleep, and wake in each other’s arms.

However, today was different. Wesley and Fred were getting married. Buffy, Dawn, and Anya would be Bride’s maids and Spike would be Best Man, with Xander and Oz as ushers. Tara and Willow were flower maids. Giles got ordained for a day and would marry the couple. All the festivities were taking place at the mansion. There was lots of work to do.

Spike hired a catering service to set everything up, but it was Xander’s and Anya’s job to make sure it was done right. It was Spike’s job to take care of the Groom for the day, and it was Buffy’s job to see to the bride’s needs.

The couple would honeymoon on the Virgin Islands and return to the Cleveland Hellmouth.

Now that Sunnydale was under Buffy’s and Spike’s control, things had been picking up in Cleveland. It needed a Watcher and with Lawson at their side, it would be a good team. Fred was honing her portal skills and Wesley would soon reach a Wizard's level with his magic. For Lawson, it was the perfect long-term mission. With Buffy and Spike only a portal away, if or when an emergency arose, they were a perfect fit.

~~~

The day flew by, which made Spike very happy because now he got to hold Buffy in his arms and dance under the moonlight. “I love you,” he whispered into her ear.

Buffy sighed, “I love you right back.”

They both knew there were some major bumps in the road ahead. The prophecy said the Slayer would find her mate and she had. Both their lives had changed. Wesley told them that Shanshu may refer to the cycles of life. They were single, now they were mated. Could it be that simple? All the couple knew right now, this moment, they were loved and life on the Hellmouth was good.

~~~
END
~~~