"Anything?" Buffy asked tiredly, plopping down on the swing. Willow closed her eyes, concentrated, then sighed and shook her head. "Wonderful." the blond Slayer muttered, giving herself a small push and rocking gently, "Two and a half hours of walking around, and we come up completely empty."
"Except for that dead body with the spike in the neck." Willow agreed with defeat, toeing the sand at her feet. Looking forlornly at the patterns she was making, Willow closed her eyes, "I couldn't even feel much residual activity from the fight." the red head continued.
Standing once again, Buffy placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, "Wills, we're dealing with someone who was strong enough to block Amy's powers. I don't think cleaning up after themselves would be that much of a stretch by comparison." Looking at her watch, she tugged on Willow's arm, "Now come on, we may not have classes tomorrow, but we still need a few hours of shut eye."
They had made it half-way back to Giles' when Buffy stopped, patted herself down, and groaned. "I left my stake in the playground." she realized, slapping her forehead.
Willow looked over at her and rolled her eyes, "Well, we do have a few of them lying around; at our place, at Giles', at Xander's..."
"No!" Buffy insisted, "But this was Mr. Pointy." Giving her friend an apologetic look, she glanced up and down the street. It was empty, but well lit, and they were pretty close to Giles'... "You head on back without me, I'll just zip back, grab my lucky charm, and meet you back at Giles' place."
"I don't know if that's a good idea..." Willow started reluctantly.
"Hey, I'm the Slayer, remember?" Buffy interrupted, "And you're the good witch of the North. Whatever evil was lurking around earlier doesn't seem to be around anymore tonight, unless their plan was to bore me to death, so don't worry. I even promise not to go out of my way to patrol. It'll be strictly: run in, grab stake, run out."
"Okay," Willow agreed slowly, "But be warned, if you get killed tonight, I'm gonna kill you... even if I have to track down your spirit in the... the spirit realm." she threatened half-jokingly.
Buffy frowned as she thought about that one, "If you kill my spirit, does that mean my spirit's spirit will go somewhere?" she wondered aloud.
"Ha. Ha." Willow intoned dryly, as she started off towards Giles'. Turning around she gave Buffy one last warning look, "No dying." she reminded Buffy, jabbing her finger in the Slayer's direction to emphasize each word.
"You too!" Buffy called over her shoulder with a chuckle, as she started back towards the park at a jog. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten to retrieve the old keepsake after launching it at a stray vamp she and Willow had come across.
Heading straight for the playground, her eyes searched the sand, until she found the object of her search lying beside the slide. "I should probably just hang you up on the wall where I can't lose you." she scolded the wooden stake as bent to pick it up. A foot slammed into her back just before she managed to grab it though, sending her flying head-first towards the soft sand.
Grunting as she pulled herself back to her feet, she spun around to face her attacker, wondering how she could have possibly let a vamp get that close to her without having sensed anything at all through her Slayer sense.
The heel of her attacker caught her in the jaw before she could get a good look at the vampire though, and the power behind the roundhouse kick was sufficient to send her spinning back down to the ground.
On her stomach, she knew she wouldn't have time to get back to her feet before she was pinned down, so she raised herself only to her hands and knees before kicking backwards with one foot, instinctively judging how high to place the blind kick. She was rewarded with a soft grunt, and bounded immediately to her feet and turned around.
The figure, doubled over and winded from the blow, looked up and glared at her. Buffy's jaw dropped, then a wave of dread passed over her. Faith.
"Hey B, long time no see." the brunette Slayer greeted, straightening herself, and dusting some of the dust from her black jean jacket sleeve. "I'd say it's nice seein' ya again, but I'd be lyin'." With that, she gave a nod to someone behind Buffy.
Moving on instinct more than anything else, Buffy dropped and rolled under the slide, glancing around as she came back up to her feet on the other side. A group of a dozen or so vamps were coming into view from the bushes. She bit her lip as she tried mentally calculating her odds. With a partner, she might've been able to handle this no problem, but on her own against a dozen vampires and one rogue Slayer...
Turning tail, she immediately took off at a sprint. If she could get back to Giles, she could inform her onetime Watcher that their bad seed Slayer was back, which meant her dream was closer to becoming a reality... Skidding to a halt, she turned right and sprinted off again, a sinking feeling forming in her gut as she avoided running into another dozen vampires that were closing in from her intended escape route: they were going to try to box her in.
Another group appeared before her and she slowed. Try nothing - they *were* boxing her in, and now she had no where left to run. Reaching for her knife, she took a few deep breaths and charged.
Her first swing cut the head clean off one of the vamps, and her elbow caught a second square in the face. Running her blade through an oncoming third, she spun swiftly and decapitated a fourth coming up on her left. The one she'd elbowed, now sporting a bloody nose, charged at her again, and she lashed out with a side-kick, connecting with his chest and sending him flying back into a tree.
An unexpected blow from behind sent her staggering forward though, and a kick to her right hand caused her to lose her grip on her weapon. Determined not to give in, she sidestepped a tackle, grabbing this new vampire by the back of his jacket and sending him flying into bloody-nose vamp, who was once again coming at her.
Diving to the ground and tucking into a front roll, she avoided a punch aimed at her head, grabbing the punching vamp from behind and delivering three swift kicks, one to the back of his legs, one to the small of his back as he fell to his knees, and one to the back of his head once he landed on his knees, that last kick sending him face-first into the ground, where he remained motionless.
A tackle from her right however, sent her sprawling to the ground beneath a particularly heavy set vamp. He was strong too, but she managed to twist around sufficiently to grab his head and give a mighty twist, snapping his vertebra and rendering his body limp. She was however stuck rather snugly beneath him with a whole new wave of vampires closing in on her.
Looking around frantically, she spotted her knife just to her left, and stretched for it. Her hand had just closed around its hilt when a foot stomped down on her arm, causing her to cry out in pain.
"Wow, you're really cookin' tonight B!" Faith's voice congratulated her with enthusiasm. The dark-haired Slayer came into view from further to her left and walked up to the knife that was still clutched uselessly in her hand. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" she smiled, her eyes lighting up with interest as she knelt and pried the weapon out of Buffy's hand. "I don't remember you sportin' blades." She ran a finger down the sharp edge, then turned a cold look on her fellow Slayer. "Except for the one you tried to kill me with." she spat out, before whipping her leg out and crashing the side of her foot into Buffy's temple.
The world went black as Buffy's head fell to the ground. Her last thought, strangely enough, was of her promise to Willow only minutes ago. Looked like she was going to be letting her friend down - especially if her dream was any indication of what would soon be coming up.
Faith tested the shackles one last time before standing and looking down at the blond Slayer who lay unconscious on the floor at her feet. There had been a time, a brief time, when she'd felt a kinship with the blond.
That had been back when she'd first arrived in Sunnydale. She couldn't believe that this Slayer had made friends and carried on with a life outside of her duties. That rebellious spirit had called out to Faith, made her feel less of a failure and outcast. Goodness knew Faith had rarely been one to follow the rules and do as she was told - yet here, in Sunnydale, despite all the stories she'd heard of Slayers and who they were and what they were supposed to be, she'd found a kindred spirit: another Slayer who didn't go by the books all the time.
Then they had accidentally killed a man - a mortal. Buffy had had her little network of support to fall back on, and Faith had had no one. Things had very quickly gone downhill from there. When she had met the Mayor, had she been planning on joining him, or just pretending to so she could get close to him - prove to everyone that she was still a good Slayer, despite the little slip up with that murder? She could no longer remember. All she could remember was that ole Richard had shown her an affection that she hadn't truly known since her first Watcher had died.
He'd become that parent she'd never known, the father she'd never had - and wouldn't you know little Buffy-do-right was right there in her face preaching right and wrong from her pretty castle in the sky. Well not everyone was born Slayer royalty. Not everyone had a loving mother, dim-witted though she may have been, or a group of sappy friends who were always lending a comforting shoulder to cry on - when they weren't busy getting themselves in over their head in with the slayage.
So Mayor Wilkins had wanted to ascend, who was to say he couldn't have brought a little order to the world? Who was to say he couldn't have put little snots like Buffy in their proper place? If worse came to worse, he would've at least made life far more interesting for everyone - an all-powerful demon running wild, terrorizing all those people that thought they were so special and safe just because they didn't have to go out and face the evils lurking in the night.
"You've done well, little one." Dru's voice floated over to her then, shaking her mind back to the small alcove she was standing in. "Yeah, lost a few boys though." she answered, turning to face the vampiress.
"Pity." was the only comment made as the raven-haired vampire drifted closer and knelt at Buffy's side. "Soon." she whispered to herself, as she gently stroked the fallen Slayer's cheek.
"Yeah, soon this whole miserable town can go to hell." Faith muttered bitterly in agreement. They could all pay for the misery she'd gone through, every pathetic little one of them. She had no delusions about her own fate when all was said and done - but at least she'd have the satisfaction of knowing that Buffy and her geeky little friends would all be dying with her - and hey, they were going to go out with a bang. Nothing said chaos and calamity like a good Hellmouth beast after all.
Spike paced restlessly in the small enclosed room. He couldn't believe it; she'd left him in here alone - worse, she'd *locked* him in here alone! Memories of the sterile, white room he'd been trapped in when the Initiative first caught him filtered through his mind as he angrily pounded his fists against the wall.
Before drifting off with his beautiful goddess in his arms, he'd managed to convince himself that she'd been serious, that she really wanted to come back to him. In fact, most of his more negative and destructive feelings had toned down almost completely - but waking up alone, and *locked* in a soddin' room he hadn't asked to be brought to was bringing his anger and rage bubbling eagerly back to the surface.
Growling, he kicked uselessly at the door, again, then slumped back against the wall facing the door and glared at it. Whatever game his Dru was playing at here, he was going to be very hard pressed not to slam her against the nearest wall when she returned, and remind her, slowly, why no other vampire had dared to touch her in all the years they'd been together.
When at long last he heard the click of the door being unlocked, it took all his willpower and restraint not to rush over and yank the door open himself. Dru slipped in wearing a sly smile and rushed over to his side, crouching down until her lips were tantalizingly close to his ear.
"Are you ready to feed the Beast?" she asked, completely oblivious in her obvious glee to his current mood.
Without answering, he spun around and grabbed her shoulders, pinning her roughly between his body and the wall. "Where did you go?" he asked in a low, barely controlled voice.
"To get you your prezzie." she answered, still smiling gleefully, despite the threatening rumble emanating from his chest.
"No more games, Dru." he warned darkly, giving her a rough shake. "What the bloody hell is going on here?"
She closed her eyes and sighed, her head tilting slightly to the side, "The Hell Beast is calling for her blood," she whispered quietly, as if it were some big secret she wasn't supposed to tell. "He needs to taste her to break free, and you need to offer it, or it won't work." she confided, before opening her eyes and looking at him hopefully, "You will help me, won't you?"
Try as hard as he might, he could not refuse that look, or that desperate tone. Leaning his forehead against hers, he loosened his grip somewhat, "Of course I'll help you, baby." he relented, "Just..." he trailed off, he was *not* going to beg her to stop leaving him. He was *not* going to let himself look that pathetic in front of her, "-why does it have to be me?" he asked instead.
She didn't answer him, instead bringing her lips up to meet his. He knew somewhere deep inside that he was doomed if he didn't stop it then and there, but a larger part of him didn't really care anymore. He returned her kiss with passion, his arms wrapping themselves around her smaller body and pressing her as close to him as was physically possible.
"With the blood of the Slayer..." Dru murmured against his lips absently, before kissing her way down to his neck, "-the blood of the Child...", he felt her fangs descend and scrape lightly against his skin, "-the curse will be lifted, and the Beast will rise." She teased him lightly with her fangs, never once breaking skin, but gnawing gently nonetheless. "We'll be together again, Spike. Won't you be happy for us?" she asked, pulling back and smiling wickedly up at him.
Trying to regain his control Spike nodded silently as she took a hold of his hand and led him towards the door. There was something about all this that still wasn't sitting well with him, but he had never been able to deny his princess anything. The only question he wondered about was whether he'd be able to justify doing all this in the end.
He had wanted to kill Buffy on his own, in his own way, not while she was completely helpless to fight back. But the prospect of having Dru back at his side for the rest of eternity... even if eternity turned out to be a literal living hell? That small voice in the back of his mind asked. He wanted Dru, there was no doubt about that in his mind at all, but he wanted her in *this* world, where they could go out and wreck havoc themselves, not meekly follow the bloodied path of some hellmouth beast.
She led them out into the sewers, and Spike automatically glanced around curiously, they were almost directly beneath the old high school, if his memory served him right. Opening another almost hidden door, she led him inside, and over to a couch. This room, unlike the one he'd just come from did not have a light bulb in the ceiling to light the room, but it did shine brightly from a number of candles that had been scattered about. By the far wall, a rather large fissure in the ground had been left untouched - an opening to the hellmouth no doubt, Spike reasoned as he sat down, wrapping his arms around Dru as she sat down with him.
Trying to push his feelings of uncertainty to the back of his mind, he kept his eyes focussed on the door, watching as a shackled Buffy was led into the room by a dark-haired mortal, who looked suspiciously like that Slayer Faith, whom he never had met, personally.
Leading the blond Slayer to the fissure, the brunette looked over at Dru and waited. Buffy turned her head slowly to follow her gaze, and her eyes briefly met with Spike's.
"We're having our party now," Dru smiled happily from her place on Spike's lap, "-all the guests are here."
Turning around to face him again, Dru brought her lips down upon his, as if to provoke the Slayer, which Spike thought was fairly ridiculous since he and Buffy didn't even like each other, but the passion of the kiss soon got the better of him. He stood with her slowly, their lips still pressed together, their arms still around one another, until Dru pulled away, leaving her forehead pressed up against his. "It's time lover. The blood of the Slayer must be offered to the Beast." she purred softly, stepping back as Spike turned a cool gaze towards Buffy.
Faith stepped to the side slightly as Spike approached, handing him a small, ornate dagger, and he circled her slowly, dragging the tip of the blade along her neck, careful not to break skin, his mind a whirl. Could he do this? Could he kill this Slayer like this? Bleed this child? He mentally frowned as he stopped in front of her, keeping his face carefully expressionless. Lifting her chin with the flat side of the blade he studied her again; she was no child. Not anymore anyway. No, she had grown into a young woman.
'With the blood of the Slayer, the blood of the child...' he repeated silently to himself... child, child, child... *childe*...
"The chip?" Buffy whispered, a knowing look in her eye despite the question.
"Hasn't been a problem for a while now, pet." he told her, his emotionless tone giving nothing away. The more he thought of this whole situation, the less sense it made, "I've only been waiting for the perfect opportunity." he paused, and looked down into her eyes. "I swore you'd die by my hand Buffy." he admitted as looked away, his mind turning over the possibilities as he continued to stall.
He felt like slapping himself when another answer to this whole mess occurred to him; 'the curse will be lifted, and the beast will rise'. Not once had Dru ever mentioned that it would be a Hellmouth monster - he had simply assumed. She'd called it a *beast*, and on the Hellmouth, a beast could be so much more than just a physical monster. There were definite Hellmouth energies about to be unleashed, that could explain the demon influx, but he of all demons should have known better. Nothing was ever as it seemed where mystical energies of any kind were concerned.
As one realization led to another, he felt his world crumble, 'we'll be together again' she had told him, 'won't you be happy for us', 'the curse will be lifted', 'the blood of the childe'. He'd assumed she was talking about the two of them, but now... was this all some scheme to get her precious daddy back?
'Why does it have to be me?'
'With the blood of the Slayer, the blood of the Childe, the curse will be lifted and the beast will rise.'
Biting back his anger and heartache, he forced himself to continue speaking, "I also swore you'd be my first kill once the chip wasn't a problem." he told her with only a hint of regret. Nothing had ever gone according to plan for him - not since coming to Sunnyhell all those years ago - he'd been a fool to think this time would be any different. No, Buffy wouldn't be his first kill, but... "Finally, I swore that you would be my third Slayer." those last words were spoken so quietly, he wasn't sure if she'd heard them. Faith - he would kill Faith first, get his Slayer kill, then Dru...
He brought the knife up to her chest and leaned forward slightly, as his free hand gripped her shoulder. "I really am sorry about this Slayer." he whispered sincerely, for her ears alone. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and waited.
If the pain he was feeling right now wasn't so overwhelming, he might have laughed at her defeated expression. As it was hurt and rage were waging a war for dominance in him right now, and amusement was about the furthest thing on his mind.
His Dru, his dark goddess, his princess, his black queen, the love of his immortal existence - she would've sacrificed him along with the Slayer just to get Angelus back. Devastated did not even begin to describe what he was feeling at that moment.
"Run for the door, don't look back, and don't let anyone draw your blood." he hissed into Buffy's ear, releasing her and giving her a shove towards said door. Her eyes flew open in surprise, but he ignored her as he launched the blade at the dark-haired Slayer. It imbedded itself nicely in her chest and she staggered slightly, an equal expression of surprise on her face, before she fell to the ground. "Go!" he shouted menacingly at the blond Slayer, before turning his attention to the vampiress who was shrieking angrily and charging towards him.
He watched from the corner of his eye as Buffy fled the room, then steeled himself for what was to come.
End of Part 6/7
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