AU from Primeval, the story so far: As Buffy faces off with Adam, the spell is performed but the demons break through. Buffy gets distracted and tries to save her friends, but fails. Spike gets her out and they escape, parting ways. Years later they meet again, and travel together on their way to fight Adam in Washington and end the worldwide tyranny of the cyborgs. They have befriended a young couple and reconnected with Oz and Giles, and are now caught up in an army assault…..
DISCLAIMER: All BTVS characters belong to Joss, I'm just borrowing them. Couple of OC's in there that are mine.
Two chapters today, my little girl has stayed with her nan for a couple of days on account of all the snow and that we don't have central heating so she's staying where it's warm! As a result, no grabby little hands on my laptop and two chapters for you wonderful followers.
I-E-H
A flash of light and a human shaped lump hit the floor with a thump. A gasp of air and the figure pulled itself to its feet. A few steps, and it stumbled, hitting the ground again. Another gasp. A moan of pain.
Spike's head twisted and he lunged forward out of the trees, just in time to catch the figure as it fell to the floor.
Tiree had reappeared.
She was hurt from the fight but nothing too severe as the vampire could tell. Her wings were no longer in tatters, and strange markings swirled over her skin, almost moving as he watched them. Something had happened. But the girl was unconscious.
So he yelled for Buffy.
She came running, skidding to a halt as she saw the young girl in her vampire's arms. He stood with her, hoisting her so he was cradling her. Her head lolled against his chest and Buffy moved closer, checking her injuries as Spike had done.
'She's breathing. Heart is strong enough. But she reeks of magic. Something happened to her, pet.' Buffy looked up at the former blonde and nodded.
'We should get her back to camp. You alright carrying her?' She asked, knowing it was a couple of miles back to the makeshift campsite and daylight was not far off. They would make it, she hoped. They'd slept for half of the day, knowing that if anything happened, they would be woken for help. Spike had to take cover at sunrise, and Buffy had stayed with him, and the day was hot, which made the coolness of her vampire very welcome. As soon as night had fallen, they had returned to the hunt for Tiree, checking on Ryan before leaving. He had not yet regained consciousness but wasn't getting any closer to deaths door, at least.
They'd been out for around six hours before Spike had suggested they split up for an hour. It had been only thirty minutes when she heard his shout. They were outside a small park in the centre of Baltimore and it hadn't taken even a few minutes to reach him.
They headed back to the camp in silence, the Slayer mesmerised by the patterns on the girls arm that seemed to move. 'What do you think did this? Her wings aren't ripped anymore.'
'I know. And they feel right weird, I can tell you now.' Spike said, wishing for a cigarette. The camp was in sight and he was glad, he hated how things got heavier the longer you carried them. Tiree was beginning to stir and he picked up the pace.
Once back at the camp, they took their rescue into the same tent as the medical jeep was backed on to, checking on Ryan once more. He was still unconscious, but the girl opened her eyes the second she was laid down near her boyfriend. She sat bolt upright, her eyes a strange violet colour.
'Buffy.' She whispered, and the slayer came to sit next to her.
'Tiree. What happened to you?'
'I….I don't know. I was fighting a demon, I killed it, and something hit my head. I felt the floor, and something was coming at me with a blade. But then….all I could see was clouds. But not like, normal clouds.' She shook her head. 'Something spoke to me. Said I needed everything I was left for the fight. And then there was pain.' She squeezed her eyes shut. 'They said that the last slayer could not claim victory alone, that she had to be joined with the darkness to defeat the unnatural. That she needed to be linked to that which was her opposite in everything except the core of her true being.' She shivered. 'They took away my human weaknesses.' She whispered and then stiffened as she saw who was laying in the jeep behind Spike. 'Ryan?'
The vampire moved out of the girls way as she rushed to her boyfriend. 'What happened to him?' She cried, her hands ghosting over his skin.
'He got taken down. We didn't see it happen. The doctors are doing everything they can.' Buffy assured the girl, resting a hand on her shoulder.
'I should have been there. I could have saved him.' Tiree said, her hand gripping Ryan's.
An ethereal light glowed through the strange patterns on her skin and she grimaced as it grew stronger. Spike pulled Buffy away, blinking at the almost blinding light. Buffy buried her head in Spike's shoulder to shield her eyes and waited for it to disappear. As the vampire watched, the light engulfed the half breed boy and the deep wound that was threatening his life healed up. He didn't wake, but Tiree stopped glowing finally and dropped Ryan's hand with a shriek.
'What the hell was that?' She exclaimed, looking at her own hands.
Buffy looked up at Spike and smiled. 'I'm going to go and find Giles.'
I-E-H
"The last slayer can not claim victory alone, she must be joined with the darkness to defeat the unnatural. She needs to be linked to that which is her opposite in everything except the core of her true being." Giles repeated the sentence and frowned.
'I'm the last Slayer?' Buffy asked.
'I would imagine there are very few potentials left in the world. The Council is probably gone. There aren't many people left.' Spike said, wishing for the millionth time that day that he had a cigarette. Being a good guy was too stressful.
'Yeah, but Faith…she's…is she dead?'
'I don't know Buffy.' Giles replied. 'I have had little or no contact from anyone, bar your mother and that was only in the last month.' He sighed. 'We need to figure out this prophecy.'
'I thought prophecies came from books?' The slayer asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. 'And we have a distinct lack of books.'
'I know.' The ex-librarian said wistfully. 'One thing I truly regret.' He looked over towards the medical tent. 'How is the girl?'
'She's confused. Fine, but confused. Ryan woke up about half an hour ago.' Buffy replied, looking in the same direction as the watcher. 'Speaking of, it's nearly sunrise, hadn't you better get under cover, Spike?' He nodded, but didn't leave her side. 'I need some rest too Giles. I heard that the colonel wants to push on to DC tomorrow. We've got forty miles to cover.'
Giles nodded. 'Our camp is at the White House, which is roughly three miles from the Pentagon where the hybrids have established control. We still have to figure out how to cross the river as the bridges are heavily fortified.'
Buffy looked bewildered. 'We're going to the White House?!' She jumped up and down. 'I've never been. Think they'll let me in the Oval Office?' She asked, excitedly. Spike smiled, but his fatigue showed in his eyes.
'Go and get some rest Buffy, I will speak with Tiree and see if we can figure out this riddle.' Giles smiled and waved her off with the vampire, turning his attention to the prophecy the girl had brought back from wherever she had gone in the first place.
I-E-H
She'd never heard the voice before. It was soft and feminine and she felt calmed by it, not knowing the language it spoke. But she was comforted.
Until she realised she was alone.
She was sure she had gone to sleep on the cool marble of Spike's chest, hidden from the rest of the camp and the overbearing sunshine. His hand had been linked with hers and she was calm inside, which hadn't happened much in the last two years. Maybe Baltimore had been too easy a win, maybe they weren't going to make it after all. Had she let Spike build up her hopes too much in this war? Was she setting herself up for a major fall?
The voice changed and she understood the language it was speaking.
Death is your gift. Life is your gift. The true path is found within an enemy's heart.
She felt confused. How could life and death be her gift? Her enemy was Adam. She knew his power source was the key. That destroying him would take out all the others. But it was destroying him that was the problem. The spell that they had used before had failed and had been lost anyway. She couldn't attain the power she needed to kill him.
She was going to die.
Was that such a bad thing?
Buffy awoke with a start and immediately scolded herself for thinking that way. But then she thought back to the words in her dream. She recalled something she'd read once in that stupid Vampyre book that had haunted her teenage years. About bonds between vampires. More specifically, the claim. She'd read it several times, and looked at the pictures again and again. In her immature fantasies, she had imagined Angel would ask her, and they would be together forever.
She was such a stupid kid back then.
She had stopped caring about Angel. She wondered what had happened to Riley. But right now, she l-
Was she ready to even say it in her head? She certainly wasn't ready to say it to him. Worried he'd laugh at her, and tell her not to be stupid. She knew he could love, had witnessed it first hand with his tenderness and affection for Dru. He had cared for her, certainly cared about her, but did he love her?
She was too scared to ask.
She sat up and looked down at the sleeping vampire. He was breathing in her sleep, which seemed funny to her. He always behaved so human, even in the face of extinction. He and Angel could very well be the last vampires left on earth and they could not be any more different. This soulless creature before her, so willing to lay down his life for love. Angel would rather walk away and self-flagellate. Spike would never abandon her until death took him from her.
Yes, he loved her. She didn't need to ask. It was written all over his face.
Did she love him?
She thought, perhaps she did.
Now she just needed to know if it was enough.
I-E-H
Giles watched the sun set over the harbour, ignoring the sounds of the army camp behind him. His remaining hand rested over the almost obliterated fence as the sky darkened above him. He heard Buffy approaching, and smiled as she stood next to him and sighed.
'I'm in love, Giles.' She said, looking out towards the setting sun and the beauty of the colours splayed across the sky. This, Adam could not destroy. He had nothing with which to obliterate the beauty of this planet.
'I'm well aware of that fact, my dear. Have you told him?' The watcher asked, turning to the slayer, seeing her face lit up with the suns dying moments.
'No.' She said, not making eye contact. 'Because if I did, and he died, it would tear me apart.'
'What if I told you that meeting Spike was destined? That you two are an unstoppable force that will save this world?' Giles asked, waiting for her reaction.
'I'd tell you I'd already figured that out and it just scared me more. I don't want an epic love. I just want to be loved.' She spoke softly. She knew what he was going to say to her. He'd figured it out like she had. Somehow, linking her own soul with Spike would enable her to defeat Adam.
'What if it is the only way?' She whispered. 'I don't like not having a choice in these things.'
'I guess then you have to ask yourself, if further down the line this would have been something you had chosen for yourself?' Giles replied. Buffy chewed the inside of her mouth thoughtfully.
'I don't know. There's so much bad blood between us. But he somehow brought me back to life when he came back. He was never far from my mind before. I always wondered about him. Wondered how far he'd gotten. Mom told me he was there and others mentioned him. I never realised how important he was. But claiming….it's a forever thing. What if he doesn't want it?'
'I can assure you Buffy, Spike would not leave you. He doesn't have the capability to stop loving someone once he decides he cares for them. He probably still cares for Drusilla. He wouldn't acknowledge it on a conscious level and certainly not to you, but he is a unique demon.' Giles looked out over the water again, watching the final dip of the sun below the horizon. 'He will be awakening soon. Go to him. Be honest with him. If it comes down to it, we will find another way to defeat Adam.'
Buffy looked at her watcher, noting how aged he looked in the fading light and wishing things had been better for him, before throwing her arms around him in a hug and turning back to the camp. It was only fair they decided together which path to take.