The pale hand clawed at her face, the fingers ran a chilly trail down her cheek. Buffy's back was pressed against the wall of the mausoleum. The vampire's other hand was grasping her neck, squeezing her windpipe in so she could only get air in short, burning gasps. She felt her shirt tug as the vampire slid her up the structure.
"Such a pretty dinner." He half snarled.
The pressure was released, the air poured into her lungs as the vampire was knocked off his feet and she fell to the ground. Reasserting her herself she climbed back to her feet, picking her stake up as she did. Spike had his arms wrapped around the vampire's neck. With a twist he snapped it off; the head he held in his hands looked surprised...and then it looked like dust.
Spike was on her in seconds, his face furrowed in anger as he snarled, "Christ slayer, what was that? You got death on the brain?"
She brushed past him, making her way towards the metal arch that was the cemetery's exit. Spike followed her, she knew he would. He was beginning to feel to her like a puppy, loving her unconditionally, "He surprised me." She said.
"Surprised you!" He exclaimed, "He shouldn't be able to graze the floral of your pretty pretty bonnet, much less grab you by the throat." She felt his cold grip on the back of her neck. A wave of revulsion spurred her to twirl out of the way.
"Don't touch me! And I'm not wearing a bonnet."
Spike was hurt, she could see it in his face, those puppy eyes starring up at her like she just swatted him for peeing on the carpet, "It's an expression."
"No it's not."
She felt the tension twisting at her heart already and hated it. She stalked out of the cemetery, underneath the gate, feeling relief cool her heart when she didn't hear Spike pursue her.
"We're going to have to have this out eventually Slayer!" He called after her.
"No we don't!" She yelled back.
"I love you!"
"Shut up!"
The next day she was in the magic shop. She was tired. All night she lay awake trying to cool off. First the vampire nearly killed her, which had her in a near state of panic, and then Spike had to go and be all annoying. Again.
"I just don't know what to do! He won't. Stop. Pestering me!" She said.
Xander was sitting at the table with her and Giles was behind the counter.
"Well, just give him a quick thrust and all of our problems will be solved."
"Xander!"
"Oh. God! Oh, no! Eeew! I meant with a stake. Thrust with a stake. Dust. He'd then be dust. Get it?"
"Yes. Your sparkling wit stuns us all with its brilliance." Giles said dully. He was leaning over the counter over a book. He shut it. "What bothers me is this Vampire. Spike was correct when he said that he shouldn't have been able to get the best of you."
"I know he's right." She groaned, "He just was on me so fast. I didn't even see him coming. I...I don't know what was wrong with me."
"Perhaps you were distracted? Your life has been rather...hectic of late."
"Tip-toe time is over. Mom's dead. I'm dealing."
"I'm not sure you've had time to properly deal with anything Buffy. You're life is becoming chaotic. It's been one ordeal after another in a series of escalating conflicts that is unprecedented for a slayer. Every day I see you, you looked a little bit more tired, a little bit more weary. Frankly I'm more worried now than I've ever been since I've known you."
Buffy felt touched by his concern and she suddenly felt very, very comforted. "Geez Giles," She said, wiping away a tear, "Want some pancakes with that sap?"
He composed himself, "Yes. Well. Before, when you found yourself overwhelmed, as much as it grates me to say it, Spike helped. Perhaps he can be of use now as well."
"Woah! And he comes out of left field! That is a monumentally bad idea! Spike. Vampire. Evil. We are all still clear on this, right?" Xander said.
"Spike's confusing." Buffy said, "But I agree it's a bad idea. I am in some desperate need of a little R and R, but now's not the time. I've been tired before, that wasn't why this suck fiend managed to upper hand me."
"What are you suggesting?"
"I think he was waiting for me. It was a hit."
"That's a troubling thought. If that's true then that means the vampires in Sunnydale are beginning to organize. If they coalesce, and a strong enough bond forms between them, we could be facing a crisis. " Giles said.
"Oh goody, another apocalypse." Buffy groaned.
"Hey, don't be so glum Buffman. We got apocalypses down. We are the masters of the last minute save, snatching victories from the jaws of the hellmouth. Apocalypse? Hah! We mock the face of the apocalypse, to its face, with our face. We face it. And win. What I'm saying is-"
"Gist gotten." Buffy interjected.
"Well, I'm afraid it's much worse than that." Giles said. He looked very, very grim. This unsettled Buffy.
"Worse than an apocalypse?"
"The common vampire forms a bond only when it feels threatened. Usually, this bond is formed against society as a whole. But in Sunny Dale, over the hellmouth, where the supernatural historically has the upper hand, I'm afraid their ire will not be directed at a society they deem a threat, but at the person whom they feel has obstructed their natural domination."
"That was a big sentence that only Watcher brains would be able to understand." Xander said.
"It's a natural cycle that if a slayer becomes to prevalent in a specific area for a long enough time that the vampire's in that area will form a temporary alliance to dispose of the threat she imposes. Frankly, I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner."
"Wait...that means..."
"They're coming to kill me." Buffy said.
And she felt exhilarated. She felt like she has spent too long fighting Gods and snakes and whatever the hell Adam was. Her life has become a mess of huge tragedies and small victories. One responsibility after another has burdened her so much that each step she took was starting to feel like a chore. If she was a camel then it felt like the straw was on its way to break her back. But with this huge obstacle now obstructing her path, she no longer felt tired, she felt relieved. It was something she could focus on...and then destroy. If the vampire's wanted to coalesce, she was all for it. Things were about to start looking up, she could tell. A smile curved its way onto her lips as her eyes narrowed. Giles looked at her with concern and confusion, this was clearly not the reaction he was expecting.
"Um, Buff?" Xander said, also concerned, "I think she's checked out Giles."
"Buffy? Perhaps we should consider a temporary retreat. If it's too much to handle right now, we will wait. There will be casualties, sure, but there will be many more if you get into a fight you can't win."
"No. No retreat." She said with relish, "I say we send'em all back to hell."
Every. Single. One.
CUE DRAMATIC CUT TO BLACK!
