Title: The Future is Now
Summary: 20 yeas after Buffy's death Spike is a key ally in the war of vampires versus Slayers. He meets a certain person that makes him face up to his past.
'Had it really been 20 years?*
Spike pulled his coat closer to his body, the snow still seeping in. Filthy London snow. People walked around him, unseeing. The devastation of the war torn country was apparent in the drabness of the city. The war between vampires and humans. And he was caught in the middle.
He had left Sunnydale after Buffy died, unable to get over her death. He had come back to the place of his birth hoping he could rest in peace. But the world had other plans as chaos started to take hold. Without a Slayer to keep the demons and vampires in check they had started to conquer. First London, attacking the council then spreading all over.
He helped. In London. He couldn't face them back in Sunnydale. So that's where he had been. Fighting the good fight in England, still torn by the fact he was righteous and soulless.
There had been times, late at night, after harrowing days that he held a phone number clutched in his fingers. But then he got over it. It was to late to go back. And he didn't want to know what other things had happened. He had let her down. Let Dawn down. Left her high and dry and alone. He hated it. It was what fueled him forward, yet kept him caught between his past and future.
He wasn't looking where he was going as he walked, he was immersed in thoughts. In what the Council had asked him to do. Before the war had broken out they wouldn't have ever thought of him as an ally. But they needed all the help they could get.
"Hey!" Spike looked up, startled. He could see the silhouette of a girl in front of him. That he had bumped into. The street lights behind her gave off a garish yellow. He looked closer.
"Get out of my way." His eyes adjusted quickly and he noticed she had a nose ring in her little nose. Then he noticed her black rimmed blueish green eyes. He took a deep breath.
"What's your problem?" She sneered. Her golden hair still sparkled despite the darkness.
"Sorry."
"You better be." He furrowed his scarred brow. Those eyes, so familiar. He grabbed her arm.
"What are you doing?" She squealed losing her confidence for a brief second. Then she composed herself.
"Buffy?"
"No. Sorry Mister." She wrenched her arm away. "Elizabeth."
"How old are you?"
Perv. Get away." She tried to go past him but suddenly fell forward and they tumbled together.
"What do we have here? A pair of young lovers." Spike looked up. At the gathering clan of vampires and judged the danger. They looked pretty young.
"Stay low and behind me. I'll take care of this." He whispered to the girl, his face changing.
Her face was an expression as he jumped up and was swallowed by the crowd. The girl waited until the attention was away from her and looked around. She grabbed a piece of broken crate from nearby, shadowed by the alley. She ripped a piece off and sprinted into the sea of people.
It seemed endless. The claws and teeth that ripped at Spike. But he liked a good fight. As he fought the numbers seemed to be falling rapidly until he was alone, well not alone, he was facing the girl with a piece of wood clutched in her hand.
"Who are you?"
"I might ask you the same question." The snow had subsided during the fight and he could see clearly now, through the darkness. The stance was so hauntingly familiar. "Faith died?"
"So you know? What are you?"
"I'm Spike." Instinctively Spike reached into the flaps of his coats and pulled out a smoke.
"So you're Spike?" She lowered her stake as he raised a brow.
"You've heard of me?"
"Maybe. We should go."
"What's this we business?" Spike shuddered. At first hope had shot through him but now, seeing this girl who reminded him so much of Buffy was alarming and frightening. Because Buffy was dead and in Heaven. He had to believe. "I have a mission."
"Why do you think I bumped into you? It wasn't a coincidence." A smug grin appeared on her face. "I'm sorry if that annoys you or whatever. We just have to be cautious. You never know. Now are we going to get the book or what?"
The book. A one of a kind book hidden up north. It held the answers to the questions of how to beat the vampires. Spike had been assigned the mission of leaving that night to go retrieve it. It hadn't been retrieved before because there were some powerful spells guarding it that no normal human could get through. He had been on his way to his car when he met this girl.
"This book must be really important, if they are taking the Slayer away from her duties."
"Yeah. It is." She crossed her arms. She couldn't have been more than 16 or 17. She looked tough but he understood the softness in a Slayer. It was her empty heart. He understood more than anyone would ever know. "I heard about you."
She sat on the edge of her seat, as far from him as she could. She rubbed her half gloved fingers together for warmth. What did his clunker need heat for?
"What did you hear?"
"Stuff. You used to be bad. And then you got neutered and you were good. And you loved a Slayer." She turned to him with distain dripping from her words. "Hard to believe."
"Yeah. Well." Spike gripped the steering wheel.
"You think I look like her." He almost veered the car off. Sure he had thought she was Buffy, but he never said anything.
"I can tell. It's only written all over your face. And the fact you called me Buffy." She smiled.
"You do." They were quiet. The car sputtered and complained as they made their way out of the city towards the rural parts of England. The parts yet to be reached by the modern world. It make Spike feel better, like he had stepped back into better times.
"So…"
"You were born here?"
"17 years ago."
"English."
"Yep. That would make me English. You are really weird you know that? It must be the lack of blood."
"You're funny."
"Hear you used to be before you got all lame and good."
"Complain all you want, but you'd run if I was myself."
"No. I'd kill you. That's what I do. I'm not her."
"Sure?" He turned with a lick of his lips. "You got her stubbornness. She didn't like me at first. Either."
"Then she got stupid." Elizabeth crossed her arms as Spike grabbed her shirt, managing to keep the car going.
"Let's get one thing clear girl, you don't talk that way about Buffy, and I don't leave you out here to die. Plenty of vampires, only one Slayer. You do the math." He let go, or rather she yanked his fingers from her shirt. "No one will ever be as good as Buffy. Especially you." He could tell the last comment stung, and she shrunk further into her chair.
It had been so long since he had worried about a human, especially a young one, and he forgot how quickly their feelings were hurt.
"Are you hungry? We could stop in a little while."
"I'm fine. We need to do this as quick as possible. I'm getting sent to America as soon as I get back." She paused. "They're spreading ya know. This book will help a lot but it won't stop it. Let's face it. We went to long without a Slayer like her." Spike took this as a gesture of sorry.
"I know. Been doing all I bloody well could. I bet you're going to Sunnydale."
"Makes sense. They're having trouble…That's where she lived."
"Yeah." The girl preened at her semi matted blond hair. After driving for about an hour the car started making noises and then the engine rolled over and died.
"Bollocks. Of all the bloody luck." Spike growled slamming the steering wheel. He yanked the door open and looked around. They at least had ended up in a small village. He could smell snow in the air. "I bet there's an inn. Come on." She slammed the door and started marching up the street. Elizabeth followed.
Summary: 20 yeas after Buffy's death Spike is a key ally in the war of vampires versus Slayers. He meets a certain person that makes him face up to his past.
'Had it really been 20 years?*
Spike pulled his coat closer to his body, the snow still seeping in. Filthy London snow. People walked around him, unseeing. The devastation of the war torn country was apparent in the drabness of the city. The war between vampires and humans. And he was caught in the middle.
He had left Sunnydale after Buffy died, unable to get over her death. He had come back to the place of his birth hoping he could rest in peace. But the world had other plans as chaos started to take hold. Without a Slayer to keep the demons and vampires in check they had started to conquer. First London, attacking the council then spreading all over.
He helped. In London. He couldn't face them back in Sunnydale. So that's where he had been. Fighting the good fight in England, still torn by the fact he was righteous and soulless.
There had been times, late at night, after harrowing days that he held a phone number clutched in his fingers. But then he got over it. It was to late to go back. And he didn't want to know what other things had happened. He had let her down. Let Dawn down. Left her high and dry and alone. He hated it. It was what fueled him forward, yet kept him caught between his past and future.
He wasn't looking where he was going as he walked, he was immersed in thoughts. In what the Council had asked him to do. Before the war had broken out they wouldn't have ever thought of him as an ally. But they needed all the help they could get.
"Hey!" Spike looked up, startled. He could see the silhouette of a girl in front of him. That he had bumped into. The street lights behind her gave off a garish yellow. He looked closer.
"Get out of my way." His eyes adjusted quickly and he noticed she had a nose ring in her little nose. Then he noticed her black rimmed blueish green eyes. He took a deep breath.
"What's your problem?" She sneered. Her golden hair still sparkled despite the darkness.
"Sorry."
"You better be." He furrowed his scarred brow. Those eyes, so familiar. He grabbed her arm.
"What are you doing?" She squealed losing her confidence for a brief second. Then she composed herself.
"Buffy?"
"No. Sorry Mister." She wrenched her arm away. "Elizabeth."
"How old are you?"
Perv. Get away." She tried to go past him but suddenly fell forward and they tumbled together.
"What do we have here? A pair of young lovers." Spike looked up. At the gathering clan of vampires and judged the danger. They looked pretty young.
"Stay low and behind me. I'll take care of this." He whispered to the girl, his face changing.
Her face was an expression as he jumped up and was swallowed by the crowd. The girl waited until the attention was away from her and looked around. She grabbed a piece of broken crate from nearby, shadowed by the alley. She ripped a piece off and sprinted into the sea of people.
It seemed endless. The claws and teeth that ripped at Spike. But he liked a good fight. As he fought the numbers seemed to be falling rapidly until he was alone, well not alone, he was facing the girl with a piece of wood clutched in her hand.
"Who are you?"
"I might ask you the same question." The snow had subsided during the fight and he could see clearly now, through the darkness. The stance was so hauntingly familiar. "Faith died?"
"So you know? What are you?"
"I'm Spike." Instinctively Spike reached into the flaps of his coats and pulled out a smoke.
"So you're Spike?" She lowered her stake as he raised a brow.
"You've heard of me?"
"Maybe. We should go."
"What's this we business?" Spike shuddered. At first hope had shot through him but now, seeing this girl who reminded him so much of Buffy was alarming and frightening. Because Buffy was dead and in Heaven. He had to believe. "I have a mission."
"Why do you think I bumped into you? It wasn't a coincidence." A smug grin appeared on her face. "I'm sorry if that annoys you or whatever. We just have to be cautious. You never know. Now are we going to get the book or what?"
The book. A one of a kind book hidden up north. It held the answers to the questions of how to beat the vampires. Spike had been assigned the mission of leaving that night to go retrieve it. It hadn't been retrieved before because there were some powerful spells guarding it that no normal human could get through. He had been on his way to his car when he met this girl.
"This book must be really important, if they are taking the Slayer away from her duties."
"Yeah. It is." She crossed her arms. She couldn't have been more than 16 or 17. She looked tough but he understood the softness in a Slayer. It was her empty heart. He understood more than anyone would ever know. "I heard about you."
She sat on the edge of her seat, as far from him as she could. She rubbed her half gloved fingers together for warmth. What did his clunker need heat for?
"What did you hear?"
"Stuff. You used to be bad. And then you got neutered and you were good. And you loved a Slayer." She turned to him with distain dripping from her words. "Hard to believe."
"Yeah. Well." Spike gripped the steering wheel.
"You think I look like her." He almost veered the car off. Sure he had thought she was Buffy, but he never said anything.
"I can tell. It's only written all over your face. And the fact you called me Buffy." She smiled.
"You do." They were quiet. The car sputtered and complained as they made their way out of the city towards the rural parts of England. The parts yet to be reached by the modern world. It make Spike feel better, like he had stepped back into better times.
"So…"
"You were born here?"
"17 years ago."
"English."
"Yep. That would make me English. You are really weird you know that? It must be the lack of blood."
"You're funny."
"Hear you used to be before you got all lame and good."
"Complain all you want, but you'd run if I was myself."
"No. I'd kill you. That's what I do. I'm not her."
"Sure?" He turned with a lick of his lips. "You got her stubbornness. She didn't like me at first. Either."
"Then she got stupid." Elizabeth crossed her arms as Spike grabbed her shirt, managing to keep the car going.
"Let's get one thing clear girl, you don't talk that way about Buffy, and I don't leave you out here to die. Plenty of vampires, only one Slayer. You do the math." He let go, or rather she yanked his fingers from her shirt. "No one will ever be as good as Buffy. Especially you." He could tell the last comment stung, and she shrunk further into her chair.
It had been so long since he had worried about a human, especially a young one, and he forgot how quickly their feelings were hurt.
"Are you hungry? We could stop in a little while."
"I'm fine. We need to do this as quick as possible. I'm getting sent to America as soon as I get back." She paused. "They're spreading ya know. This book will help a lot but it won't stop it. Let's face it. We went to long without a Slayer like her." Spike took this as a gesture of sorry.
"I know. Been doing all I bloody well could. I bet you're going to Sunnydale."
"Makes sense. They're having trouble…That's where she lived."
"Yeah." The girl preened at her semi matted blond hair. After driving for about an hour the car started making noises and then the engine rolled over and died.
"Bollocks. Of all the bloody luck." Spike growled slamming the steering wheel. He yanked the door open and looked around. They at least had ended up in a small village. He could smell snow in the air. "I bet there's an inn. Come on." She slammed the door and started marching up the street. Elizabeth followed.