A/N: Omg I am so sorry about the long time I took to update… I've had a slight writer's block as to how to write this chapter I promise I'll try not to take this long again. I own nothing so I'll get on with the story…

Spike: Yeah cos you don't want the readers to kill you

Me: No shit Sherlock

Spike: Well it's not my fault you took so bloody long to update.

Me: Well I COULD blame you cos you are in the story.

Spike: Yeah but it's not my fault is it? It's yours.

Me: … Shut up Spike!

Spike: Well sorry for telling the readers that you've been too busy playing on PC games to write.

Me: … You weren't supposed to tell them that! I got stuck and it was bugging me!

Spike: No it crashed and you had to reinstall it and you wanted to get back to where you were.

Me: Same thing...

Spike: No its-

Buffy: Can we get on with the story? I really wanna get that… incident… sorted out.

Spike: Why? Can't accept-

Me: ANYWAY… on with the story!!

Chapter 7 – Training

Three days later Buffy was sat in the Magic Box with Willow and Tara trying to piece together anything that might point out when the apocalypse would rear its ugly head at them. Buffy's mind was on what had happened in the training room three nights ago and it was proving difficult for her to concentrate on the books in front of her; groaning in frustration she closed the book with a snap and lent back in her chair.

'This is pointless,' she said, 'There's nothing in these books that can tell us anything we want to know.'

Tara nodded, 'I agree with Buffy this isn't getting us anywhere.'

Anya looked over from her place at the cash register.

'Why not go to some demon bars like Tala suggested the other night?' she asked; Buffy sighed, that meant a meeting with the bleached vampire she really didn't want to have.

'Alright I'll go grab Spike and we'll go raid the demon bars when the sun goes down' she said.

Buffy walked into the crypt; she immediately shrank into the shadows when she saw Spike and Tala in the middle of the crypt floor. Spike was wearing his shirt and jeans and Tala was in a sleeveless top and a pair of jogging bottoms. Buffy watched as Tala ducked under Spike's arm and aimed a kick at his legs; he grabbed her leg and knocked her other one from under her. Tala landed on her back and groaned.

'Same thing, Minion. You gotta make sure you can get out of it otherwise you're gonna be on you're back again' Spike said, he helped Tala up.

'I know, I know' she groaned; Spike raised an eyebrow.

'If you knew you wouldn't keep making the same mistake' he said, Tala glared at him. Spike sighed and looked over at Buffy.

'What you doing here, Slayer?' he asked; Buffy walked out of the shadows.

'You're good' she said to Tala; Tala smiled.

'I can hold my own in a fight at least' she said; Buffy smiled.

'Wanna spar with me?' she asked; Tala looked at Buffy.

'Ok' she said. Spike raised an eyebrow and sat on the sarcophagus and watched them as they got into fighting positions.

'Ready?' Buffy asked; Tala nodded.

Buffy made the first attack; she aimed a kick at Tala's chest that the girl managed to dodge by stepping backwards; Tala responded by leaping forwards and aiming a punch at Buffy. The Slayer spun away from it and used her foot to try and trip up the girl; she succeeded but Tala managed to keep her balance and turned to face the Slayer again. Both girls stood, breathing heavily, and watched each other for sign of another attack. Tala attacked first, this time, aiming a kick at Buffy's legs; the Slayer dodged and grabbed hold of Tala's arm spinning her round into a headlock. Tala managed to twist out of it just in time and aimed a kick at the back of the Slayer's legs; Buffy twisted away and leapt on top of the girl, pinning her to the ground. Buffy stood up and offered Tala her hand.

'You're really good' she said as she helped the girl up. Tala smiled.

'I'm glad I don't have to face you in a fight' she said; Buffy laughed.

'Well if that wasn't the most interesting fight I've ever watched I don't know what is' Spike commented walking over to them.

'Spike we need to go round the demon bars and see if any demons have information on the newest apocalypse' Buffy said as Tala went to the fridge to get something to drink. Spike nodded.

'Alright, pet. Give me a minute' he said. Buffy nodded and looked at Tala.

'You can go back to mine and hang out with Dawn if you want. I told her you'd probably be over and you can stay over if you want' she said; Tala smiled.

'Thanks Buffy' she said, going over to a small trapdoor, opening it and dropping down. Buffy frowned slightly in confusion as Spike walked over.

'Managed to sort out a bedroom for her' Spike explained as he shrugged on his duster. Buffy nodded.

'You wanna wait for Tala?' she asked. Spike shook his head.

'She'll kill me if I do. She'll be fine' he said. Buffy nodded.

'I'll see you tomorrow, Minion!' Spike yelled.

'Bye!' Tala called from downstairs as the vampire and Slayer walked out of the crypt.

Buffy followed Spike into a crowded demon bar; even after all this time of being a Slayer she was still amazed at how many different types of demons there were. She followed the vampire through the throng of demons up to the bar.

'What can I get ya'?' the bartender asked Spike.

'I'm here to get information' Spike said, leaning on the counter; Buffy leant back against the counter and watched the demons around them, she realised that there were more vampires than other demons here.

'What type of information?' she heard the bartender ask Spike.

'I hear there's sommat wants to bring on a type of apocalypse' Spike answered, 'Know anything about it?'

The bartender eyed him suspiciously, 'Why you want to know, vampire?'

Spike smirked, 'Got a score to settle with the Slayer' he answered; Buffy glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

'What type of score?'

'Well the Slayer took advantage of my chipped state a while back; I'll offer my services to whoever's trying to bring this apocalypse round in return for them taking the chip out' Spike answered, 'I can keep the Slayer busy.'

The bartender eyed him or a moment the glanced at Buffy.

'Who's that?' he asked Spike. Spike looked at Buffy and sent her a warning look.

'Childe to be' he answered; Buffy had an urge to shove his head into the bar.

'To be?' the bartender asked, raising his eyebrows. Spike laughed slightly.

'Expect me to give up good sport early? Better to break 'em as humans before they get stronger; they submit easier when they're vamps if you do' he answered; Buffy had a strange feeling he was talking about what Angelus had done to him and Drusilla. The bartender nodded.

'And you would be?' the bartender asked.

'Spike; Master of the line of Aurelius' he answered; Buffy saw a look of dawning spread across the bartender's face.

'Aurelius?' he asked; Spike smirked.

'The one and only' he said; Buffy had never realised what the name Aurelius meant in the demon world, but looking at the bartender now she had a vague idea of how feared it was. The bartender watched Spike for a few moments then nodded.

'Demon by the name of Kelsa's getting a load of demons together to help her get hold of the daughter of a Slayer; something about a prophecy or something similar. That's all I know; she's put a vampire in charge of getting some to her from this bar. He's sitting over there' he pointed to a large vampire sat at a table talking to a group of three brown, long haired demons with horns, 'Name's Jake; you want to join Kelsa go talk to him.'

'Much appreciated' Spike said. The bartender nodded and Spike signalled for Buffy to follow him; he led her to a spot by the wall.

'What was all that about wanting to get back at the Slayer Spike?' she asked with a deadly twinkle in her eye. Spike rolled his eyes.

'Oh come on what am I gonna say? That I'm helping the Slayer?' he asked her, Buffy shrugged. Spike rolled his eyes.

'Just remember this Slayer. Whilst we're here you're not the Slayer and you're set to be Sired by me, you say anything different or act any different and our cover's blown' he said. Buffy sighed but nodded, knowing it was the best cover for the time being. The three brown demons moved away from the vampire and Spike started to walk over, Buffy followed and Spike sat down opposite Jake; Buffy perched on the arm of the chair.

'Who are you?' Jake asked; Buffy realised he was bulky, like Angel and Riley, and had short dark hair. A scar ran along his cheek, pulling the edge of eye into an odd angle.

'Spike; Master of the line of Aurelius' Spike answered; offering his hand across the table. Jake took it with interest all over his face; he noticed Buffy.

'And who's this tasty little morsel?' he asked, raking his gaze over Buffy's body. Buffy's dearest wish at that moment was to walk over and stake him.

'My Childe to be and none of you're business' Spike snarled. Jake looked at him.

'Childe to be?'

'Keeping her human for sport for the time being; easier to break em as humans and then turn 'em. She's mine' Spike answered shortly. Jake's eyes went to her neck.

'She doesn't have your marks of possession' he said; Spike's eyes narrowed.

'Look mate I'm here to get information about Kelsa not for you to take my Childe away from me' he snapped. Jake looked at Spike.

'Why do you want to know about Kelsa?' he asked, his gaze going back to Buffy.

'Got a score to settle with the Slayer' Spike answered, not letting his eyes leave Jake in case he tried to make a move; 'You get this bloody chip out of my head I'll handle the Slayer while you do what you want with the rest of the bloody world.'

Jake nodded, 'I'll see what Kelsa says. If you're still interested meet me here tomorrow, same time.'

Spike nodded, 'Agreed.'

He stood up and Buffy stood to follow him when Jake's voice stopped them.

'Just one thing; how do I know you're serious about this?' he asked; Spike turned to look at him.

'Why wouldn't I be?' he asked; Jake shrugged.

'Just as a show of confidence to make sure you come back here, why don't you leave your Childe with us?' he suggested; Spike growled.

'So you can turn her yourself and claim her? Not bloody likely' Spike snarled; Jake's eyes narrowed.

'Either you leave her with us or you don't and you'll be finding yourself fighting beside the Slayer to avoid Kelsa's minions' he said; Spike growled.

'Let's talk about this, I have an idea' Buffy said quietly to Spike. Spike looked at her but nodded.

'Give us a minute' he snapped to Jake and dragged Buffy into one of the back rooms; it showed signs of recent use, though what for Buffy didn't even want to start imagining.

'Something tells me I'm not going to like this idea, Slayer' Spike said as he closed the door. Buffy raised her eyebrows.

'Probably not but you're going to agree to it whether you like it or not' she said; Spike raised his eyebrows.

'What is it you plan on doing?' he asked.

'Send me with him and then come back tomorrow with the rest of the gang, but make sure it doesn't appear as if they're with you; I'll try and learn as much as I can and then we leave tomorrow saying we'll come back and talk some more another time' Buffy explained, 'Well that's the general outline of it anyway. If it looks like something bad is about to happen I can escape during the day.'

Spike raised his eyebrows, 'You do realise you've just signed your own death certificate, don't you? That git wants to turn you so he can claim you for his own.'

Buffy sighed, 'Do you think I'm unarmed? I can dust him and run.'

'He's gonna be with a load of demons pet, and with no recent marks of possession on you, you're gonna be a vamp before you can take a stake out.'

Buffy frowned, 'What do you mean no recent marks of possession?'

Spike sighed, 'You really need to learn more about vampires pet. When a vampire claims another vampire, or human whatever, the claiming bite is always redone every so often to strengthen the claim. The only claiming marks you've had are those from Peaches and Dracula, neither of them have been redone any time in the past few months. You've got no proper protection if you go in there with only a stake, Slayer.'

Buffy raised her eyebrows, 'You got any better ideas?'

'We don't go through with you're plan?' Spike suggested, Buffy glared at him. He put his hands up in surrender, 'Okay, okay.'

Spike sighed, 'The only other thing I can think of is if you let me claim you.'

'Are you completely insane?' Buffy asked, 'You expect me to let you claim me?'

Spike frowned, 'Slayer we've already said I'm going to Sire you and that literally means a claim; the claim will fade in time anyway and the one Peaches did on you is literally non existent. Only the marks are left so the only protection they'll give you is if the demons only glance at them. They'll be tasting you're blood Slayer and you can taste a claim as well as see it. If I claim you now the claim'll be too strong for them to be able to do much. Sure they can Sire you if they want to but there wont be a lot of point because my claim'll still have some presence.'

Buffy groaned, 'This is getting confusing now.'

Spike rolled his eyes. 'Get that Watcher of yours to teach you something useful about vampires' he snapped. Buffy glared at him.

'Alright say I agree to this, how long does it take for these claims to wear off and what does the claim entail?' she asked. Spike shrugged.

'The essence of the claim'll wear off in about a year or so, probably not that long. The claim'll also let me be able to sense where you are; usually you can feel strong emotions through the claim as well. Its two way and is similar to a mating claim; but a mating claim needs you both to take some blood and say you belong to each other and a load of other stuff as well, but that's not important at the moment; this type of claim is almost like a preparation for a mating claim, it binds the claimants for a while; not like a mating claim, don't worry Slayer, but similar.'

Buffy nodded slowly, 'Alright say I agree to this, you'll be able to tell if I'm in trouble?'

Spike nodded, 'You will agree to this Slayer cos I'm not agreeing to your plan if you don't.'

Buffy glared at him, 'So if I need help you'll know?'

Spike nodded, 'And I can tell where you are as well so I can get you out quickly.'

'I don't need protecting, Spike. I can look after myself' Spike snorted which earned him a glare, 'But if I need help getting out then you'll know where I am and can get the gang to help get me out.'

Spike nodded, 'Might not have time to get your precious Scoobies but I can get you out.'

Buffy sighed, 'Alright fine, but you do not use this claim to manipulate me in any way understood?'

Spike smirked and nodded, 'Understood, pet.'

Buffy sighed again, 'Alright what do you have to do?'

A/N: Sooo… did anyone expect Buffy to let him do that? No? Well it is a SPUFFY fic people! Lol. Thank you to my wonderful reviewer: Indigo Moon Star you're lovely and wonderful and I love you to bits and I baked you a cake with the characters on the top in sugar paper and it's got 'A Big Thank You' in icing on the top! I'm so proud of myself… I didn't set the house on fire while I cooked it!

Thanks to my readers I got you all chocolate chip cookies! Now all I can say is: PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Spike: Yeah before she has a panic attack and can't write… oh what a shame that would be…

Me: Oi! If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be in this story… I could have started it after Chosen when you're a pile of ashes.

Xander: Now why couldn't she have done that?

Buffy: You know I agree… why is Spike claiming me?

Spike: Well I wasn't complaining this could be amusing…

Giles: Amusing? Do you know what a claim means?

Spike: I'm a vampire.

Giles: Yes… well…

Buffy: Yeah why is he claiming me?

Me: Well if I told you that it would ruin the story!

Ciao for now!

Starsword