OK, normal stuff: we don't own them, and we never will, which is probably a good thing because we have very different opinions on who Buffy should end up with. We're not trying to steal Joss's money or his copyrights. Honest!
Who are we? This username, DIAStrio, is, in case you can't figure it out from the "trio" part, a combined effort on the part of three people: Dana, Ivy and Sarah.
Warning: this is part of a series! It's set some time during season six. The idea is that we came up with our own stories that we thought would actually be permitted on the show. In other words, while there is slight AU (like Giles never left and Tara and Willow are still together for now, because it's no fun otherwise!) this is pretty much show-friendly stuff. We come up with the ideas together but usually one of us will have a main hand in the story. The person who had the main hand in writing the story will have their initials capitalized in the word DIAS
The writing style of these stories will probably differ from one to the next within the series, (for instance, if it has lots of sarcastic humor it was probably written by mostly Ivy, and if it has a ton of Buffy/Spike stuff there's a good chance Dana did it.) but the style throughout one story will remain consistent. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think three people with different styles each writing parts of the same fic can be a bad thing. So we're not going there. The capitalized initial in the word "dias" before the story tells you who it's more or less written by.
So, sit back, relax, and most importantly, enjoy this stuff. This is fanfiction written by Buffy lovers for Buffy lovers. It's why we're here. Review it if you like it, tell your friends if you think it's worth reading. We're doing this because we love it. We hope you enjoy reading some of our ideas as much as we enjoyed writing them down.
Ivy
You are now entering: The Into the Night Series!Volume 1: Love Hurts
Dias
It had been an exceptionally quiet week in Sunnydale. This, everyone knew, was a bad sign. Quiet was never good. It meant that in some dark corner, some big evil was brewing. Later on, the Scooby Gang reflected that they really should have known better than to get comfortable with the quiet.
The gang had been hanging out at the Magic Box all day. Willow and Tara had come in to look up some spells, but sometime during research they got caught up in a conversation with Xander and Anya.
"I'm telling you guys," Willow insisted, "Coffee is the natural choice. You get the caffeinated goodness and the sugary stuff!"
"But chocolate gives you that instant sugar rush, without the after taste. It's hyper-on-the-go, and it comes in nifty crunchable bars!" Xander retorted. Tara nodded at Xander's opinion. "He's right," she agreed, "chocolate's better."
Anya considered a moment. "You're both right. On the one hand," she held out her left hand to illustrate her point, "you've got coffee: it comes in cold or hot, plus you get the added caffeine rush that helps you ring up customers and make money faster. On the other hand," she continued, holding out her right hand and pretending to balance the two, "you've got chocolate, which gives you that nifty sugar rush and makes Xander all giggly when I-"
"Honey, why don't we go restock those candles, huh?" Xander cut in frantically, dragging her off behind the counter. They passed Giles on the way, ignoring his raised eyebrow. Before he could comment, however, Dawn wandered into the shop, plunking her backpack down at the table and digging out her homework. Buffy came in shortly after, reporting some minor slaying, and Spike had been stuck there since earlier that afternoon. Giles had been working in the basement most of the day to avoid the blonde vampire, who'd taken up station in the training room until Buffy came in.
"I'm gonna go patrol, Giles," said Buffy, partly because it was now nighttime, and partly because she was so bored.
"Alright, check back in when you're done, please," said Giles, performing his customary ritual of taking off his glasses and cleaning them.
"Okay," said Buffy, starting to walk out.
"Wait, I'm coming with you!" said Spike, apparently desperate for some way to get out of the shop.
"Fine," said Buffy, rolling her eyes. The two grabbed some weapons and left. They eventually got to Pine Creek cemetery, one of the smaller ones with lots of stone gargoyles looming in the moonlight. Buffy had never understood the appeal of those things. She wouldn't want some creepy cackling stone monster hunching over her grave. She got enough of that in real life. They looked around and saw no other vampires.
"Hmm, slow night," said Buffy, sort of disappointed. Then, almost out of thin air, two vamps showed up. "Finally, some action."
With almost no trouble, Spike beheaded the vamp that was attacking him. Buffy was having a little more trouble. The vamp had wrapped her arms around each other and was kicking her. He grabbed her stake, and then plunged it into her stomach. Buffy screamed in pain and fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Buffy!" shouted Spike, who quickly beheaded the second vamp. He dropped the sword he'd been swinging and ran over to where Buffy was lying in a pool of blood. "Come on."
"Buffy, come on." He felt frantically for a pulse, totally at a loss at what to do. She slowly woke up, then clutched her stomach in pain and moaned. "Owwwww…" she managed to say. Then Buffy's cell phone rang. Spike picked it up.
"Hello?" he said, frightened.
"Spike! Where's Buffy?" came Willow's voice.
Spike breathed a sigh of relief. "We're, uh, at Pine Creek cemetery. A vamp stabbed her with a stake. She's bleeding pretty badly, you have to come over here now," said Spike, desperately.
Willow sounded panicky. "All right, we'll be right there. Giles says not to move her and wait for us." Willow hung up before Spike could answer and ran out the shop door after the others, who were already piling into Giles's car. Anya locked the door behind them and then squeezed into the back seat next to Willow. Giles floored the gas pedal. "Hang on, everyone!"
The Scoobies got to the cemetery in record time, and Giles silently prayed that none of the intersections he'd run red lights at had those camera things. They all fanned out across the cemetery, trying to find Buffy and Spike. Eventually, Xander saw the crouched figure of Spike huddling over a prostrate form. He was already half way there at a dead run by the time he yelled, "Over here!" They ran over and saw that the prostrate figure was a blood-stained Buffy.
"Buffy!" shouted Xander, Willow, and Dawn at the same time. They all kneeled down and started fussing over Buffy, when Spike shoved them all away.
"Hey! Give her some space! Giles, go ahead and poke and prod and, well, other…stuff," said Spike calmly, pushing everyone away and gesturing Giles forward. Giles was stunned by Spike's action, but his concern for Buffy won out over his shock. "Um, yes, thank you." He walked over to Buffy with the first aid kit. He put some drugs on the wound, and then wound a bandage around it. "Spike, Xander, carry her to my car, we must get her back to the shop. We have a spell that can fix this." He glanced over at Willow and Tara, who were nodding in agreement and hurriedly deciding which ingredients they'd need, jogging back to the car.
"Okay," said Xander, grabbing her legs.
"All right," said Spike as he grabbed underneath her shoulders and neck, trying to resist looking at her long, pale neck.
On their way to thecar, Xander whispered to Spike, "If you did this to her, I'll torture you with everything imaginable, then I'll stake you slowly and painfully."
"Why would I do this to her? How could I do this to her? I was beheading vamps at the time, ask her," said Spike quietly. The two didn't speak to each other anymore. They eventually got her to the car and gently put her in the backseat. The gang clamored in around them, barely squeezing in, and they set off full speed back to the Magic Box.
Spike sat in the back of Giles's car with Buffy's head on his lap. They eventually got there with no one speaking at all, then they rushed inside. They put Buffy on the cleared table. She was half-awake and was moaning.
"Willow, Tara, do we have all the ingredients you'll need here?" The witches nodded and Willow gestured for Xander to come help them carry things up from the basement.
After twenty minutes of Dawn, Anya and Spike comforting Buffy trying to be helpful, and Giles trying to prevent more blood loss, Tara, Willow, and Xander came back with handfuls of candles and ingredients. Buffy had fallen asleep. Willow grabbed a book of the shelf and leafed through it, finally stopping at the page she needed. "Here. A spell for refortifying muscles, bones and skin. This should do it." Giles went over and too a look.
"Hmm, possible, but difficult. I have the utmost faith in both of you," he said at last.
They placed candles in a circle around the table, lit them, then poured some brown powder around the candles.
"Okay, Buffy will need to go to the other side of the room, then she needs to walk into the center of the circle without any help." The others looked at Tara incredulously. "It's the only way," Tara said softly.
"Come on, Buffy," said Xander, who helped her up and stood her up against the wall at the other end of the room. He walked back to where the rest of the group was standing and watched as Willow and Tara sat on either side of the circle with their arms outstretched.
"Come on, Buffy, come to the middle of the circle," said Willow.
"Um, alright," said Buffy. She tried to stand up and walk, but she started to fall over. Spike caught her in enough time before she hit the ground.
"Spike! You can't help her! If anyone helps her, the spell won't work," said Willow.
Spike thought, then asked, "Do they mean human help? Because I'm not quite human, if none of you have noticed." He look around and saw the blank looks on everyone's faces.
"Actually, that might work," said Tara after a moment of silence. "Go ahead, try it, we could always do it again." She was nodding to Willow, who nodded back.
"Okay, start right there." She pointed to the wall.
"Alright, come on, Buffy," said Spike quietly, putting her back up against the wall.
"Anytime you're ready," said Willow.
"Okay, Buffy. Step," Spike said as he helped her to move one foot in front of the other, until she was just outside the chalked circle. Then he held her up, one arm against her back in the middle of the small circle.
"Kedra Noma, Kedra Noma…" Tara and Willow chanted over and over until Buffy was swallowed of a cloud of light. Spike raised his eyebrows at Willow, who nodded. He let go of her and let her stand under her own power. Then the cloud of light disappeared and the witches stopped chanting and blew out the candles nearest them, completing the spell with a final "Be healed!"
Buffy fell over on her side. Spike kneeled down and checked where her wound was. It was gone.
"It's gone," he said to the gang. They all gave a sigh of relief. "Buffy, are you alright?"
Buffy opened her eyes and looked into Spike's. For a second, it looked like she was grateful, but she noticed the rest of the Scooby Gang and dropped the look in her eyes. Buffy stood up and walked over to the group.
"Hey Buffy, you feeling alright?" asked Xander, giving her a small hug.
"Yeah, I'm feeling fine. Oh, and by the way, Spike didn't put the stake in me. It was some random vampire guy, so please don't kill him. Uh, yet."
"Yeah, I know," said Xander, "but that doesn't mean I have to thank him or anything." He glared at Spike, but not with as much hate as usual. Spike backed up a bit.
"Well, it's very late, we should all just go to bed," said Giles.
"Yeah, I guess so," said Willow. "That spell just tuckered us out." She smiled and winked at Tara, who blushed and smiled.
"I think we should go and have some sex," said Anya. Off of Xander's look, she said, "Or, we could, um, sleep. Yes, I'm very…tired." She smiled.
Buffy whispered to Dawn, "Dawn, do you have your house keys?" Dawn nodded. "Why? Aren't you coming home?"
Buffy looked to Spike, then back to Dawn. "I think I'm going to spend some time with Spike. You know, thank him for being there for me."
"I know what you're going to do. It's okay, I'll go to bed by midnight, and I won't burn the house down. Bye." She hugged Buffy, and walked out along with everyone. Besides Giles, Buffy and Spike were the last ones to leave.
"Bye, Giles!" said Buffy cheerfully.
"Um, yes, goodbye," said Giles, eyeing Spike suspiciously as he left with Buffy by his side. Giles stopped them by the door. "Buffy…" she glanced back at him. "I'm very glad you're alright." She smiled at him and followed Spike out onto the darkened street.
About fifteen minutes later, Spike and Buffy got to his crypt. He opened the door and let Buffy go in, then followed her and closed and bolted the door.
Buffy turned around. "Thanks for, um, saving my life."
"It wasn't just me, I only helped you stand," said Spike.
"But you were the one who told the guys. Without you there, I would have died."
"True," said Spike, "Very true."
Buffy looked around, avoiding Spike's eyes.
"So, what now?" Spike said as he laid himself on the bed and put his hands around the back of his head.
Buffy sat down and took off her jacket, revealing strapless ties in the back of her shirt.
"Nice outfit you got there, luv," said Spike, half-sarcastically.
"Thanks!" Buffy said shyly, looking at him and blushing slightly. She lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"So, what now?" said Spike, moving a little closer to Buffy.
"I dunno," said Buffy playfully.
"Me neither. So you don't know, and I don't know, so we should-" Spike started. Then he kissed Buffy gently on the lips. Buffy slightly pushed him away.
"What was that?" she asked.
"A kiss," said Spike. He sat up, and she sat on his lap stroking his hair.
"I know that," she said quietly.
"Then why bother asking?" Spike said.
Buffy smiled, then pushed Spike down on the bed and kissed him. Spike let her lie on top of him and pin his hands down as she kissed him. She leaned over so they were each on one side, facing each other. Buffy put her arms around Spike's shoulders, and Spike put his arms around Buffy's waist. They kissed passionately. Buffy stroked Spike's back and pulled him closer to her. Then, Buffy rolled on top of Spike and pinned his hands down again. She was just about to kiss him again when –
BANG! BANG! BANG! There was a loud knocking on the crypt door. Spike and Buffy jumped, climbed off of each other, and Spike opened the door. It was Giles.
"Giles!" said Buffy, reaching for jacket and straightening her hair.
"Uh, we were, just, um…" said Spike, throwing covers bed onto bed so it appeared no one has been in there lately.
"I'll give you a minute to, um, compose yourselves," said Giles, turning around and waiting.
"Okay, ready," said Buffy.
Giles cleared his throat and turned around. He saw Spike standing closely behind Buffy, holding her shoulder with one hand. Buffy smiled and pushed Spike away. Giles studiously looked everywhere but Spike and Buffy.
"Um, Buffy, I need you're, um, h-h-help at the Magic Box. Do you think you c-could come now?" asked Giles. He was dangerously close to reverting back to what he privately termed his "librarian stutter." He couldn't remember the last time he'd been embarrassed enough to stumble over words like this.
"Um, yeah, sure," Buffy said. "Bye Spike." She gently kissed him and started to leave with Giles, completely missing the stunned look on her ex-watcher's face. The two walked out, leaving Spike alone in the dark crypt.
The two walked outside and closed the door. They decided to go out for ice cream. After that, Buffy decided to check back in on Spike. Giles reluctantly followed. They reached his crypt, realizing that the door was slightly ajar. They opened it slowly, and they saw something they weren't expecting. Spike was tied to his coffin, gagged, and blindfolded.
There was a demon standing over Spike, cutting Spike's arms slowly with a dagger. It only took five seconds for Buffy to run up to the demon, grab its dagger, and behead it. Then she walked over to the coffin and untied Spike.
"Spike, what the heck was that? Who was that? Why were they here?" she asked frantically.
Spike stretched his muscles for a second, then said weakly and panicked, "I owed thisdemon three hundred kittens from a game of poker. Apparently, I passed his due date. He was torturing me, said he was going to kill me slowly. Luckily, you showed up in enough time."
Buffy kissed Spike gently, then drew back up punched his nose, making him fall backwards off his coffin.
"What the bloody hell was that?" he shouted, nose bleeding.
"Gawd, Spike. You are so freaking stupid!" shouted Buffy, who stormed out of the crypt fuming. She shouted to Giles, "That is the last time I save his butt!"
Giles, completely at a loss, followed Buffy, who stormed up to a headstone and kicked it in two. Giles winced and carefully approached her.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" shouted Buffy, not in pain, but in anger.
Giles sighed and sat Buffy down on the next one-piece headstone. "Now, what's going on?"
"Nothing…he saved me…we kissed. Nothing more!" she said loudly.
Spike snuck out into the darkness and sat unseen by Giles and Buffy behind a headstone.
Giles stared at Buffy for several moments. "K-k-kissed? Y-y-you a-and S-S-Spike?" He sat down on a headstone facing Buffy, trying to let the shock run through his system. Buffy rolled her eyes, got up, and stormed off. Giles suddenly chuckled, and Buffy stopped dead in her tracks. She was laughing too.
"Gotcha, Giles! It was all a joke!" Buffy said, with a loud but half-fake-sounding laugh.
Spike stood up and walkedout from his hiding place. Buffy and Giles saw him, then stopped laughing.
"Spike, leave. Now," said Buffy angrily.
Suddenly, Giles got a strange look in his eyes, what Buffy recognized as the cool danger she'd privately termed "his Ripper look." Without so much as a hesitation, he spun around, pulled out a throwing dagger, and threw it straight into Spike's shoulder.
"GAH! BLOODY SODDING HELL!" screamed Spike, holding his shoulder. "What was that bloody for?"
"If you EVER touch her again…" Giles said, taking out his lighter and flicking it on and off casually as he spoke to Spike, "you'll wish that dagger had hit your heart. Leave. Now."
Spike ran into the darkness, saying to himself,"I can only take so bloody much." Buffy and Giles ignored him as he ran off.
"So, Giles, want to go to the Bronze? I'm feeling Bronzy."
"Um, yes, sure. But I'm not going to dance," said Giles.
"Meet you there at 10?" asked Buffy.
"Um, yes. I'll go and change," said Giles. "See you later then."
"Cool! See you later!"
Giles walked home and got a change of clothes, while Buffy started walking toward the Bronze. Spike had been standing behind some trees, watching Buffy and Giles talk.He stood there for a few moments, and then followed in Buffy's direction. Buffy stopped and looked up at the stars, unaware that Spike stood a few yards away from her. She continued walking, and Spike did the same.
"Man, it's a great night," she said, and took off her jacket. Buffy walked by some bushes and heard someone moving. She stopped and looked around. Spike made himself invisible by hiding in the trees behind Buffy.
"Who's' there?" she asked to the air. Buffy shrugged and continued walking, as did Spike. He followed, long distance, with tears building in his eyes.Buffy thought about Spike and then pushed the thought out of her head and kept walking.
Giles got dressed and decided to take the long and scenic way to the Bronze. He headed off down a random street, humming, not noticing a lot around him. Suddenly a tall, dark, figure passing the alleyway in front of him caught the corner of his eye.
He stood rooted to the spot. He couldn't mistake the figure. It was the one that had haunted his every nightmare for the past three years. "Angel."
The tall vampire disappeared behind some bushes. Giles didn't hesitate any longer. He sprinted down the street, desperate to find what he knew would be the object of the vampire's desire. Buffy.
Suddenly, the tall figure came out from behind some bushes and tapped Buffy on the shoulder. Spike stopped, watching. Buffy jumped and turned around.
"…Angel?"
Continued in September, Volume 2: Love Isn't Enough