Hello! I truly am enjoying this fic. Surprisingly Captain America isn't too hard to write about especially when I write him with Spike. I do hope I did him justice since this is his first time appearing in Sunnydale. Anyway, I won't keep you long, please enjoy!

(O.O)

Buffy walked to Spike's crypt with a purpose. She talked to Giles and they both agreed that the vampire is the only one she could ask about Slayers in the past since he was able to meet and kill them.

How did they die? What mistake cost them their lives? Could have their deaths been prevented?

She needed to know these things so she could protect herself and avoid sharing the same fate.

She arrived at the crypt's entrance and steeled herself for what she was about to do.

I have money. Spike will do anything as long as he gets paid. She said to herself before kicking the crypt's door open.

She entered the room and found Spike near the sarcophagus, talking to someone on a cellphone.

She was caught off guard by the sight.

"You have a phone," she said, sounding dumb even to her own ears.

"Yes, I do, just like every other bloke in this time and age. Don't look so surprised, Slayer," he said with a sneer.

This helped her recover from her original shock, before responding to the vampire with the same level of contempt.

"I was only shocked you knew how to use one. I thought vampires live in the dark ages or something," she mocked.

"Goes to show what you know. Some of us actually know how to adapt to our surroundings and are quite at home with modern technology. Which is more than I can say for you. I heard you used to flunk your computer classes back in high school," the vampire smirked at this.

"What?! No, I didn't! I'll have you know that I passed those classes with flying colors, thanks to Willow!"

"So, if Red wasn't there, you'd have been in trouble? That's quite sad, Slayer. Having to rely on your friend to get through school."

"Well, at least I went to school. I bet you couldn't even afford it back in your day!"

It was a low blow, even for her. From what she read about Spike's past, he came from a time where not everyone was lucky enough to be able to go to school. The vampire probably only knew how to read and write just so he could get by in the world. It was quite sad, but Buffy didn't dwell on that part. She was just so angry at him for questioning her intelligence.

Spike didn't respond. How could he? If he said anything about not just being able to finish school, but also attend and graduate college, it would ruin his entire image. One he had set up over one hundred and thirty years ago.

So instead of responding to her insults, Spike just asked why she was there.

"Slayers. You killed two of them," she said.

Spike gave her a wary look before answering. "I did."

"You're gonna show me how." She sent him a determined look.

Spike looked at her incredulously. Like hell, I'd do that.

He wanted to avoid this girl, not spend the rest of his evening with her, giving her the juicy details of how he killed her sister Slayers. As much as he would have liked to brag about his exploits as the Slayer of Slayers to the woman in front of him, he wasn't ready to spend any of his time in close proximity of her. Not after having that dream he had of her a couple of days ago.

"I think I'm going to have to pass on that, pet," he said, turning his back on her.

"WHAT?!" Buffy exclaimed as if she couldn't believe her ears.

Did he just decline the chance to brag about his skills and reminisce about his past kills? Was he sick or something?

Buffy was still surprised he said no, but she wasn't about to back off. She needed to know, so she could survive as the Slayer.

"Look, if you think it's a waste of time, don't worry, I'll pay you for it!" she said, emphasizing her words by showing him the wad of cash she had on her. "I just need you to show me what you did and how you killed them."

Spike pulled out his phone and began tinkering with it as if he was texting someone. "So, let me get this straight: I tell you how I killed these Slayers and you pay me for it? You get the information you want and I get rich from this information? That's what you'd like, correct?"

"Yes!"

"Well, the answer's still no," he said, looking back up from his phone to face her with a wicked grin.

Buffy wanted to hit him, but she refrained herself. She wanted him to cooperate, and as much as she wanted to punch that grin off his face, she didn't do it because that would really turn him off from helping her.

"Why the hell not?" she asked instead.

"Well, for starters, I have somewhere I need to be, so I don't have time to go with you and answer your stupid questions."

"They're not stupid. They're important, that's why I need an answer to them."

Spike ignored her and instead said, "Second, other than your money – which I don't want or need, by the way – I see no reason why I should answer those questions of yours."

Buffy wanted to argue but there was nothing she could say to make him agree to help her. Money usually got Spike to help. If he didn't want that, what else could she offer him?

He was tinkering with his phone again, practically ignoring her presence in his crypt.

She should leave. It was pointless trying to get him to cooperate with her but her feet were rooted to the floor.

She came here because she had a close call the night before and she didn't want a repeat of that. There had to be something she could offer him that he'd be interested in.

Blood.

That's it! She could offer him her blood!

It'd be gross and weird but no vampire would ever deny Slayer blood offered freely.

"How about I give you my blood?" she asked, pulling his attention away from his phone.

Spike turned to face her and saw the same determined look from earlier.

She's serious!

"I'll fill a small cup with my blood and in exchange, you answer my questions," she said, looking a tad disgusted but her determination not wavering.

Spike finally took the time to consider the Slayer's offer. He'd just answer her questions and he would get free Slayer blood. A small amount of it, but he knew the potency of it. He'd be full for hours, maybe even a day or two. If she was willing to go that far, this must mean a lot to her.

He felt his chest tighten.

He didn't like the idea that his Slayer was willing to spill her blood over something like this. No matter that she was spilling it for him, he wasn't comfortable with it. It left a vile taste in his mouth at the thought of his Slayer being hurt, be-hurt? What's that smell?

Spike took a deep breath to smell the air before turning to stare at Buffy.

"You're hurt," he said, surprising her.

How did he…?

He pointed at his nose. "I can smell it, Luv. Is that why you got curious about how I killed those Slayers? You got a close call and you don't want to make the same mistake again?"

This time it was Buffy's turn to look away from him.

She heard Spike sigh before he finally said, "You should've said so in the first place, Luv."

Buffy looked back at him, surprised. "What do you-"

"You want to know how I bested those Slayers? Fine, I'll tell you," he said. "I was able to kill those Slayers not because they did something wrong or didn't train enough, because God knows both of them were skilled in their own right."

He then slowly walked closer to Buffy.

"No, they didn't do anything wrong. I killed them because they wanted it to happen," he said, eyes slowly glowing yellow.

"What?" she whispered. She couldn't take her eyes off of him as she waited with bated breath for his answer.

"Slayers crave death," he said.

Buffy shook her head, denying those words. "No, we don't."

He scoffed. "Every day you wake up, it's the same bloody question that haunts you: is today the day I die? Death is on your heels, and sooner or later it's gonna catch you," he said, before shrugging. "Some Slayers are ready for it. They even welcome it. They just no longer want to continue the fight. It's that final gasp. That look of peace. Part of you is desperate to know: what's it like? Where does it lead you? So, that's the secret. Not the punch they didn't throw or the kicks they didn't land. It's because they gave up. Every Slayer... has a death wish."

She stepped back from him. She didn't want to hear it anymore, because there were some truths to his words, and she hated him for it.

"But not you, pet," he said, startling her by the gentleness of his voice. "The reason you've lasted as long as you have is 'cause you've got ties to the world... your mum, your brat kid sister, the Scoobies. They all tie you here, and as long as you have those, you'll keep fighting and surviving."

He turned away from her and walked towards the back of his crypt. "Here endeth the lesson. Be sure to close the door on your way out, Slayer."

Buffy snapped out of her reverie and stared at him as he went back to tinkering with his phone. She slowly moved to leave the crypt but as she was about to step out, she halted.

"Your payment," she started, but he cut her off.

"I'll collect it another time," he snapped. "Just get the hell out of my crypt."

She knew she had overstayed her welcome and rushed out of there are fast as she could.

She got what she wanted. She didn't need to spend any more time there questioning his odd behavior.

(O.O)

It's been a few minutes since the Slayer left his crypt and he tried his best to ignore the urge to run after her by playing Candy Crush on his phone. He already said his piece and told her what she needed to do to keep herself alive.

He'd done his job.

But the nagging part of his brain refused to let him be. Putting thoughts in his head and letting him think that he had to at least make sure she got home alright because she was hurt and all kinds of nasties could get to her if he didn't.

Spike roared as the last of his resolve was drained because of that last thought. He shoved his phone into his pocket and strode out of the crypt in the dead of the night, following the Slayer's scent.

He continued to follow her scent until he was led to her house.

Thought she stayed at the dorms.

Spike stopped just across the street by a tree and watched the house for a couple of minutes. He could hear that everyone was still awake inside, which was weird because unless he came over, Joyce always went to bed early.

Speaking of the elder Summers lady, the vampire was surprised to see her leaving the house with an overnight bag on her shoulder. He would've approached, but she looked like she was in a hurry.

He would've ignored the scene altogether but he saw the worried look on the woman's face and- he was now concerned.

Spike stayed under the tree and watched Joyce drive away before moving towards the house's back entrance. His curiosity was getting the best of him. He felt the Slayer's presence there and knew she'd be able to tell him what was wrong with her mum.

Upon arriving, he spotted the Slayer sitting on the porch stairs. He stopped as he smelled the tears.

"What happened?" he asked suddenly.

Buffy looked up and was surprised to see the vampire.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I saw your mum leave. Got curious. What's wrong?" he asked again.

Buffy looked down at that. "I don't want to talk about it."

She was scared. Something was wrong with her mom and she had no idea how to handle it.

Spike could see her struggle with whatever it was that was affecting her, but he knew he couldn't force her to tell him what was wrong. So, not knowing what else to do, he sat down next to her and tentatively patted her back, trying to offer her at least this form of comfort.

She let him.

(O.O)

Spike hadn't seen Buffy since their little moment on the back porch of her house.

Not that he was avoiding her, he was just busy these past couple of days, so he didn't have time to check in on the Slayer or her mum- who, he later found out, was at the hospital.

The reason why he wasn't around them so much lately was that Rogers was coming to town for a visit. The man wanted to see where he lived and how he was doing without the chip. Which for Spike was just a kinder way of saying that he wanted to check up on the vampire and see if he was killing people recently.

Spike didn't mind. As long as his friend was alright with hanging out at his crypt, he had no problems with the visit.

He still took the time to clean up his place though. It'd reflect terribly on him as a host if he didn't at the very least put an effort to make his crypt seem more presentable.

It was around 7 PM when his phone rang.

"'Lo?" he answered.

"Spike?" the voice from the other end asked.

"Rogers! Where are you, mate?"

"I'm at the Sunnydale bus station. I just got here," Steve responded.

"Good. There's an indoor waiting area near the terminal ticket booth, wait for me there," he told him. "And if you encounter anyone, remember what I told you. Don't look into their eyes and decline their invitations. And if they insist and try to force you, you fight them. If they vamp out, you stake them. You did remember to bring one with you, right?"

"I remembered. But I'm still uncomfortable with the idea of sticking a wooden stick into a person."

"Trust me, that's not a person anymore. It's either them or you, mate, and I'd rather it'd be them than you. I'll be there in ten minutes. See you, Rogers." And with that, Spike ended the call and picked up his coat before heading out into the night.

(O.O)

Normally Spike didn't drive his DeSoto around town when he could just walk where he needed to go. However, he didn't want to keep Rogers waiting at the bus station alone any more than necessary. This was still Sunnydale after all, and the last thing he wanted was for people to hear on the news that Capt. America died by a fork wound to the neck caused by the local gang on PCP. So he used his car to get there faster.

As he promised his friend, he got there within ten minutes. He parked his car and went to look for him. Upon arriving in the waiting area, he found the super soldier sitting on the waiting chairs in the corner. He nearly burst into laughter after he saw the man's outfit.

Captain America was wearing a hooded jersey jacket, black cargo pants, a baseball cap (which wouldn't have mattered had he not worn the cap underneath the hood of his jacket). He was also sporting thick sunglasses. At night. In Sunnydale.

If Steve was trying to look inconspicuous, he failed at it miserably.

"What are you wearing?" he asked his friend after approaching him.

"I told you, S.H.I.E.L.D. wants me to keep a low profile. This prevents people from recognizing me," he told the vampire.

Spike chuckled at this. Either S.H.I.E.L.D. really sucked in stealth fashion or Steve was letting Stark pick out his clothes when the soldier went out. Seeing as his friend was wearing designer clothes, he decided to blame Rogers's attire on Iron Man, the bastard.

"Mate, if you wear that, people may not recognize you, but I assure you someone will be suspicious of you in that get-up. Lose the glasses and cap and for God's sake, pull the hood back. It's nighttime and this is Sunnydale. As long as you are with me, no one will look at you long enough to know that you're Captain freaking America," he explained to his friend before signaling him to follow him.

Steve looked confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'll explain in the car," was his only response.

Moments later in Spike's car.

"Wait, so let me get this straight: there's a spell around town that prevents people from noticing demons and the humans who are with them?" the young captain questioned, looking at the vampire in disbelief.

Spike smirked before answering. "That's right. It's why vampires in Sunnydale can get their meals without getting caught. They can lure a human to them and none of that human's friends will even notice that the person is missing. You see, once the human goes with the vamps, that person's presence is shrouded by the spell, making his companions forget that he was with them in the first place."

Steve was horrified at this. "Then people die in this town-"

"Sunnydale holds the highest mortality rate in any town on the West Coast. So yeah, a lot of people die in this town every day. And that's just from vampire attacks alone," Spike stated.

"So other demons also benefit from this spell?"

Spike shrugged, eyes staring straight at the road ahead of him, before answering. "That's right. Although, demons don't use it to lure humans to them. It's more for them to be able to walk around town unnoticed. The spell also camouflages demons and prevents people from seeing their true forms."

The more Steve learned about the spell around Sunnydale, the more he was worried about the town and its people. Isn't anyone doing anything about this? People are dying and no one is even aware of the cause! This is the sort of thing S.H.I.E.L.D.-

"Don't even think about it, mate," Spike told him, breaking his inner musing.

Steve turned to his vampire companion. Did he read his thoughts?

"First, this is a demon thing. S.H.I.E.L.D. shouldn't stick their noses in those things. Second, the spell in Sunnydale is placed here for a reason. A literal entrance to Hell is here. Imagine the panic it would bring if you removed the only thing keeping the denizens ignorant of the monsters lurking around town," the vampire told him.

"But they would be protected! They would know what to look out for and be able to protect themselves against these things," he insisted.

This merely earned a laugh from the vampire.

"Protected? Mate, vampires are twice as strong as an average adult male and some demons are even stronger than that. Letting people know of the danger won't protect them, it'll just serve to scare the humans here," Spike explained. "They'll live in fear and that will just affect their lives. Which, I'm certain you can understand, is not something you would want. Living in constant fear? You saw firsthand what it does to people, Rogers."

Steve nodded, understanding what his friend meant.

War was terrible. A lot of people died, soldiers on both sides. But it was civilians who were most affected by it. They lived in constant fear and back then he had seen what people were truly capable of when they were scared.

He understood what Spike was trying to tell him. The spell had its uses to prevent people from panicking. However, people were still dying and he didn't find it fair that no one was doing anything about it.

"Who says no one is doing anything?" Spike asked, reading Steve's thoughts again as he started to pull the car over to the side of the road.

Steve stared at the vampire in confusion.

Spike sighed before answering. "The Slayer, Steve. That's why the Slayer is in this town. She protects those people who might end up victims to my brethren and other demons."

The young captain's eyes widened at this. "But she's just one girl!"

"Oi! Watch your mouth!" Spike snapped, surprising the super soldier. "She may be just one girl but that girl has saved this world more times than you or any of your little Avengers combined. And she's been doing that since she was fifteen. So mind your tongue when you talk about her."

Okay, that had been an unexpected reaction from him, Steve thought.

From what the vampire told him of this Slayer, she was the one he blamed for the way his unlife had turned from bad to worse. However, by defending her like that, Steve was beginning to question the sort of relationship his friend had with the girl.

"Come on," the vampire said, getting out of the car.

Steve stared dumbfoundedly after him before following him out of the car.

Once he got out, he saw that a group of young men and women, plus an older gentleman had approached his friend.

"I knew I recognized that monster machine you call a car! What are you doing here, Fang-Breath?" One of the young men in the group asked his friend, earning Rogers' immediate ire.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do I need your permission to be here, Whelp? I thought this was a free country and I'm allowed to drive my car around town like any other man here," Spike sneered.

"Unfortunately for you, you're not a man, Spike," the first man's well-built companion said. "So, I suggest you take that junk of a car and get out of here."

To make a point, the larger man pushed the vampire back toward his vehicle, and that was the last draw for Steve. He walked up to his friend's assailant before grabbing him by the shirt and pushing the young man back with barely controlled force.

The young man staggered a few steps back before being caught by his companions. Steve glared at the two bullies.

"I guess no matter what generation, bullies are always going to be around," he said.

"Who the fuck are-" the young man stopped, his eyes widening as he recognized the man in front of him.

"Son, I don't know what you've been taught in school but I do know that it's not fair to gang up on someone and decide for yourselves where he does or doesn't belong," he said to the group.

Everyone was shocked. They knew this man. This was the man who helped save hundreds of people at the incident in New York. He was also a legend in the last world war. A true hero.

It was-

"Captain America!" the first man exclaimed, looking both excited and nervous.

His other companion, on the other hand, saluted.

"Sir!" he said, and Steve immediately realized that the kid was either trained by the military or had served.

"At ease, Soldier," he said.

"Don't even think about it, Whelp!" his vampire companion yelled at the first young man, who, Steve just noticed, had pulled out a phone and was about to take a photo of him.

"Why the hell should I listen to you, Deadboy Jr?"

"I'd rather you didn't, son. I'm not supposed to be seen in public," Steve told the boy because there was no way a man would carry such an immature expression in front of their idol.

"Oh! Of course, Capt. America, sir!" The boy exclaimed, hiding his phone away.

Steve nodded before he turned his attention to the rest of the group.

"I know that you all are probably wondering what I am doing here. I mean, I'm more surprised that you all recognize me," he said before turning to his friend. "I thought you said the spell around town would prevent people from recognizing me or even noticing me."

Spike sighed in exasperation. "It does. But if you go out of your way and show yourself to people, especially to these lot, who are familiar with the supernatural things around town, then, of course, they'll recognize you!"

"So, there is a loophole to the spell," he muttered, before turning his attention back to the group. "Well, it can't be helped. I would just ask you to keep this quiet."

The two men nodded eagerly, as well as the women in the group. However, the older gentleman wasn't so willing.

"While I can understand your need for secrecy, Capt. Rogers, sir, I believe we at least deserve to know why you are in town," the Brit said.

He was about to answer but was stopped by the red-haired young lady with them by providing her own assumption on the reason for his visit.

"Oh! Are you here to check on the meteor that fell near the park earlier?" she asked.

"Meteor?" Steve repeated.

He didn't know anything about any meteors falling in Sunnydale, but the incident in New York was still fresh in his mind. It wouldn't be good if he ignored such news without checking it, because it could belong to something extraterrestrial and could cause a problem later.

"He's not here to check any kind of rock from space. We're here because we were going to get a drink at Willy's," his friend answered with a growl.

Steve knew that Spike was still pissed at what the two men tried to do to him earlier. He was quite certain that his friend was close to actually hitting the two idiots for the way they treated him. Even he had to admit that he also wanted to take a swing at the pair earlier. But he swallowed his anger because this meteor business seemed more important.

"Actually, Spike, I think I would like to see this place where they said that the meteorite landed," he told his friend, giving him a meaningful look.

Spike glared at the super soldier. This wasn't part of their plan for the evening and he didn't like the idea of spending any extended amount of time with the Scoobies and Captain Cardboard.

However, he recognized the look in his friend's eyes. It was the same look the man gave him when he convinced him to join his little band of misfits, the Howling Commandos, for a short period of time to infiltrate a Hydra bunker, where Dru was held captive. It was the same determined and unwavering look that the vampire knew he couldn't deny.

Fuck! I guess that drink will have to bloody wait, he thought as he agreed to join the group.

"Great!" Red exclaimed enthusiastically before introducing herself to Rogers. "I'm Willow Rosenberg, by the way, and this is my girlfriend, Tara Maclay."

Glinda gave a little wave.

Steve stared at the two women in surprise.

So same-sex couples are accepted in this time and age. That's good to know, he thought as he nodded respectfully at the two.

"And the big doofus over there is my best friend, Xander Harris," Willow gestured to the boy who tried to take his picture earlier.

Steve put a big effort to not glare at the boy who insulted his friend, and instead offered him his hand for a shake because he was decent that way.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, no! The pleasure's all mine, sir, Captain America, sir!" the boy responded, shaking his hand with great fervor.

He heard Spike snicker from behind him but he resisted the urge to elbow the vampire to stop.

"Xander, you can stop shaking his hand now so I can get my turn with him," the blonde woman with them said.

"Oh! Sorry," the boy said, sounding sheepish as he released his hand. "Anyway, this beauty here is my girlfriend, An-"

"Anya Emmanuella Jenkins, nice to meet you!" the woman introduced herself, cutting off her boyfriend while giving him a good handshake.

"Pleasure, ma'am," Steve said before turning to the last two people of the group.

"My name's Sgt. Riley Finn, sir!" the one who pushed Spike said, offering his hand for a shake.

While Steve usually showed respect to fellow soldiers, this Riley ticked him off after seeing what he did to his friend earlier, so he opted to ignore the hand and merely gave a nod in acknowledgment.

Sgt. Finn. I'll remember to do a background check on him, Steve thought before turning to the oldest in the group.

"Rupert Giles," the Briton said.

"Pleasure, sir," he responded.

"Well, now that all of you know each other, let's get to this meteorite site so we can finish early," Spike interjected.

"Who says you're coming with us, Blood Breath?" Xander asked with a sneer.

Unable to hold it anymore, Steve snapped. "Okay, before I go with you guys, let me make one thing clear," he held a finger up to the group. "Spike's my friend. I hear anyone utter another insult towards him, you will hear from me, and let me tell you, I pack a mean punch."

He gave Xander a meaningful look that made the boy cower behind his girlfriend.

"As for why he's coming with us, that's because I want him there. I don't know about you guys, but I would rather have another super-powered ally by my side when I decide to explore an unknown item that fell from the sky. New York should've taught you that there are threats outside of Earth, ones that are not easy to deal with without any powers or back-ups with fighting experience. Do you have any complaints?"

When he didn't get a response, he turned to Willow.

"You said you witnessed where the meteor fell, right?" he asked her gently.

The redhead nodded. "Tara and I saw it."

"Good, then you two can lead us there," he said, gesturing to the girls to move ahead of the group.

Both women smiled at the gentlemanly gesture made by the Captain, before doing what was asked. Steve and the rest of the group followed close behind.

TBC

(O.O)

And that's that. I hope it was okay. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks again for reading and supporting this fic. Until next time! Bye~