Chapter Two: Makes Me Wonder

Buffy

Five years. Five years gone since I lost Spike. Four really if you think about it, since he was resurrected through the amulet I had given him when we all went to face The First. Spike, my one true champion, and I had let him burn in Sunnydale. Angel will always be my first love and nothing could replace that, but Spike's love in me showed me that even in darkness and evil, there is hope. He was a vampire willing to have a soul, and he did it for me.

I was devastated to hear at the last minute that had come back, only to find out him, Angel, and whatever allies they had were sucked into Hell after taking down Wolfram & Hart. Willow's magic has advanced beyond our realm but it was too risky to go after them. If I had tried, their sacrifice would have been in vain.

I let him go. I let Spike go.

I was able to move on, and even able to have some fun with a guy or two. But nothing compared. Willow eventually found a way to contact all the newly awakened slayers, by sending a message through a dream. She was able to explain that the nightmares they were having were memories of past slayers, passed down to them, and all the slayer lore. Through several dream visits, we had hoped they would be able to defend their people from creatures of the night.

But here we all are in Pussahn, Ohio. After a year in Rome, Dawnie and I decided to move back to the states. We met up with the core group of the Scoobie gang: Giles, Xander, Willow, and Faith. We decided to set up a school for slayers who wish to gain more knowledge of demonic and vampire lore. Though we only have fourteen girls here, so we decided it was safe enough to enroll them in the local public school. We have another school set up in Seattle, run by Robin Wood and slayers that survived Sunnydale, including Kennedy, Willow's ex girlfriend.

I don't know what made go out and patrol Blight Cemetery tonight. Cathy and Livvi were patrolling this area, and they were experienced enough to be by themselves. I have just been itching to get out of the house. The girls think I am crazy to get all pretty when I patrol. I think it never hurts to look hot, never know who you might run into.

So I was not all that surprised to see a man take down a vampire by himself. What did shock me, however, was that the new guy had some how made his hands glow a fiery color and telekinetically slam the opposing vampire against a headstone, burning the vamp till he became dust. But the new guy seemed shock by this, especially when Cathy and Livvi used this opportunity to dust the remaining two vamps. I rushed behind the man and tapped his shoulder, then delivered and upper cut that sent him flying backwards. Then I kicked over to his back and I not-so-daintily placed a stiletto boot on his jugular.

"Hi! I'm Buffy! Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you," I say. The shock on his face melted away and a hint of a spark of light glints in his eyes. His lips curl and a low chuckle bubbles through.

"You're not going to kill me," he says.

"Oh, really?" I press my boot harder against his throat. "Tell me why."

"Because I won't let you," with that, Poo-face brought up his hands, now icy blue and misty, to my boot and pushes me off. I twirled in the air a couple of times before I hit the ground. Within a second I am back on my feet. But I can't move my feet!!

"What?" I can't move my feet and Cathy and Livvi are still hesitant about the next move.

"Not so cocky now, are you?" the stranger says. Livvi takes this moment to rush at the man with her sword. But he whips his upper torso around and shoots his left hand out in front of him. Not only the sword, but both it and Cathy's axe are flung out of their hands and they hit the ground behind them, the hilt sticking up in the air.

Cathy is the first to speak, "Are you going to kill us now?"

Livvi is quick to reprimand her in a loud whisper, "Shut it! You might give him ideas!"

The man looks over at me, "If I wanted to kill you all, you'd already be dead." With that, he just walks away. What, am I suddenly not good enough to kill? I thought to myself. Before the man was too far gone, I realize I still have my classic stake. Holding on to the sharpened end, I fling it towards the stranger, but it was no good. He simply raises a hand and the stake flies to the right and splinters against a tree. The stranger stops and glances back at me. Standing in the light from the lamp post beside a mausoleum, his face is caught in a silhouette. A haunting look has replaced the malice I saw in his eyes, and he says to me, "Don't try to follow me." Then he disappears.

"Buffy?"

I look over and see Cathy and Livvi standing at my side. The other girls that were almost-snacks to the vamps had long ago run off. That's gratitude for ya, I thought to myself. Out loud, I say, "Let's go home."

Slayer Central, 7 30am

Then next morning, while all the girls were getting ready for school, I tell the gang what went on in the cemetery. "…..and the strange part is that I could tell he has all this power, but he lets us go. It seems obvious he has killed before; he had the heebie-geebie look in his eyes that gave it away, but then he had a sad, been-there done-that and got the t-shirt look."

Giles gets up and starts to clean his glasses. He always does this when he's thinking and/or worried. "Buffy, are you sure of what you saw?"

I pout, "Well, yeah."

Giles rolls his eyes at my pout. "What I am trying to say, are you basing your assumption from your experience with Angel? And Spike for that matter?"

"What?! Where'd the hell did that idea come from?"

Xander jumps in, "Well, Buff, you have to admit this describes Angel and Spike perfectly."

"Yeah, B," Faith says. "Men with a mysterious past, running away from something dark and from themselves. I think we ought to keep an eye out for this guy, but I think you're putting too much into this in the wrong direction, Buffy."

I sigh. "You're right Faith; we need to find out who he is, what he can do, and why he's in town." Giles, Faith, and Xander buy into this and leave the kitchen where we had our meeting. Dawn and Willow, both silent throughout the discussion, remain.

"Buffy?" Dawn speaks up. "Are you ok?"

I nod my head. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"It's almost been five years since…..Sunnydale," Dawn says, still unable to say Spike's name, even at 22.

"I know," Boy do I ever, I thought. I can barely get through a night without something reminding me of Spike. I'm just now starting to keep myself from crying whenever I think of him. "Willow?"

"What do you need, Sweetie?"

"Do you think you could contact the Coven and see if there are any warlocks in the area we ought to keep an eye out for?"

Willow nods and gets up, "Sure thing, Buffy, whatever I could do to help."

"Oh, and Willow," my voices hitches a bit and Willow's eyes widens, "could you make me some hot cocoa?" Willow agrees and tells me to take a hot shower. I give Dawn a brief hug.

When I feel the hot water on my face, I cry and let myself grieve all over again.

AN: I am hoping you like this so far. And don't forget to comment.