Chapter 7 – Tuesday, Standard Reality

It was the day Giles had booked to return to England. He had argued with himself regarding the wisdom of his actions constantly for the past few days. His doubts had been made clearer by the apparent appearance of a Buffy from another reality, and the disappearance of his own Slayer. His decision to stick to his plans was difficult, but he really felt it was for the best. For a start, the Buffy currently inhabiting his reality didn't know him. And it had to be said that he was uncomfortable with her – especially after hearing what she did to the Giles in her reality. Knowing his own motives and personality as he did, he wondered how anyone could have believed a sixteen-year-old over him. For someone who had, in recent years at least, considered himself a pillar of the community, it rankled. The other motivation was the library of the Council of Watchers in London. Its contents were unsurpassed, and he hoped to discover a way to get everyone back to their own reality. Still, Tara, Willow and Xander were sad to see him go. In its own way, that was quite gratifying, but he was saddened not to be able to say goodbye to the young woman he looked upon as a daughter. The fact that this version of her so obviously relied on a vampire for support in her life worried him, and he knew he couldn't watch them together without commenting, so leaving was definitely for the best.

Buffy and Spike had reacted to their change in circumstances very well. It felt wonderful to no longer have to worry about vigilantes killing Spike. They could live without fear for the first time since discovering their love for each other. The other parts of the package didn't go down so well. Firstly, Buffy was saddled with a dependent teenage sister. Worse, in addition to losing her mother, this sister had lived through a time where her only other family had been dead too. Buffy still struggled with the fact that her other self had friends powerful enough to bring back the dead, and loyal enough to try. The other problem was the total lack of privacy. Buffy had been (officially) alone in the house since her mother's death. When Spike started to spend most of his time with her, they had loved the fact that they had freedom to be together without interruption. Here, they only had Buffy's bedroom, and the walls seemed appallingly thin.

What was more surprising, was the assumption of her friends that she would patrol. She had never patrolled. It was one of those things she had simply refused to get involved with. When she refused at first, her friends had looked at one another and decided to patrol without her. Without discussing her plans, she had decided to follow them to see what this reality had to cope with.

When the house was at last clear of others for the day, Buffy and Spike took full advantage of having the house to themselves, spending most of the day in bed. As soon as dark fell, Spike headed back to his crypt for a change of clothes and to see if his other self kept a supply of blood. He was upset by the fact that in this reality, he still loved Buffy, but that she didn't seem to love him. It made him feel vulnerable in his relationship, but he thought he understood. The looks that her friends gave while they were together would be enough to put most people off. They so obviously disapproved of their love. He had always known that Buffy was too good for him. She'd told him herself often enough, but the last year had been the happiest he'd ever known. And she had been happy too.

While he had the chance, he had a good snoop around. He found that the demon haunts, which were no longer viable in his Sunnydale, were thriving in this. Having said that, the demon population was not as high as he remembered it pre-Initiative. He noticed some vampires, and quite a lot of the less aggressive species of demon, which had been particularly wiped out in his reality. It was the wiping out of these demons which had really upset him. He was all for a fair fight. He enjoyed violence, but there wasn't much fun in it if it was all one way. He understood there were occasions when the strong had to prey upon the weak – in some respects, what passed for Vampire society required it. But there was always a reason for it. Normally it was a question of power – one clan wanting to dominate another. But, for him, mindless violence was only worthwhile if there was an element of danger for all parties. Of course, he hadn't had as much mindless violence in his life lately. He'd had a few skirmishes with the Initiative. He tried to avoid the vigilantes because they were human. As individuals they posed no real threat. En masse, they were dangerous. Either way, the odds weren't even enough to be interesting.

He got back to Buffy's house to find it empty. There was a note for him in her room.

Spike,

My new-found friends have decided to patrol for me! I thought it'd be fun to see how they cope. From what I hear, this was how they managed when 'I' was dead! Except that they had 'you' helping.

See you later,

Buffy

Spike was concerned by the note. He knew that there were demons in this town that Buffy's friends simply weren't strong enough for. He didn't know where they had gone, but he trusted his ability to track Buffy, so he went along too.

Even among vampires he had always prided himself on his ability to track his prey. His sense of smell was acute. But when it came to Buffy, he amazed even himself. Checking the air, he knew which direction she had taken. She had a number of different smells. There was her 'at rest' smell – normally only found when she was asleep. Then there was his favourite smell – the one that said she wanted him. The one he noticed tonight was another. It said excitement of a non-sexual variety. She was enjoying herself. He picked up his speed – if she was having fun, he didn't want to miss out.

It was an old warehouse. Of course, there were lots of disused buildings in Sunnydale. It went with the territory. People moved here, found out about the strange things that happened, and left – often without even trying to sell assets first. This one was surprisingly well appointed. Inside it was bright and cheerful, but the light was all artificial. Dominic had sent an advance party of his most trusted minions ahead to Sunnydale to find appropriate accommodations for the clan. He hardly believed their report when it came. There were no organised vampires in Sunnydale. His minions said that was because of the Slayer, but Dominic hadn't given that too much credence. He believed that other clans had been scared off by the idea of the Slayer. His clan was large, powerful and all fanatically loyal to him. This last was hardly surprising considering the punishment visited on traitors, but Dominic was proud of what he had achieved. With the extra power of the Hellmouth, the clan could only grow in strength. Having inspected the quarters found by his lieutenants, he pronounced himself pleased. Those responsible for the recommendation had been relieved. It just didn't do to disappoint Dominic. There was hardly a member of the clan who had not experienced his wrath at some time, and none had any wish for a repeat performance. Those responsible for his current pleasure were to be rewarded.

He called the whole clan together. This was a nightly ritual. He enjoyed having their undivided attention as he told them of the future of Sunnydale. His speech was rousing, and that wasn't entirely because of the enforcers he had prowling around the throng of vampires. He was an imposing figure, he always had been. He had been the son of a minor French noble – long before the revolution. He had lived simply for his own pleasure, as his father had. As a human, he had prided himself on his appearance. He had been tall among his peers – although he could no longer be considered tall. At 5'10'', he was slim but well muscled. His hair was dark – almost black and his skin had a naturally sallow tone that two centuries without the sun had not completely erased. His face could have been handsome, but there was a coldness about it, an expression of absolute cruelty that could freeze the hearts of those around him. In many ways, his demon visage was less terrifying than the human mask he wore.

He explained how the warehouse was to be divided up until it could be arranged to his absolute specifications. Dominic believed in privacy for himself and a small number of his most trusted lieutenants only. The others were quartered more or less together. The only exception to this was his requirement that males and females were quartered separately. He did not have a large number of females. He was a product of his (human) generation and believed that females existed purely for the pleasure of the male. Having specified those areas, he knew none would cross unpermitted boundaries, and he decided who had access to the females. Especially since he had made an example of the last fool to thwart him. He remembered he had unfinished business in that direction and made a mental note to order the demise of the vampire who had defied him. His own quarters were a suite of offices on the upper level and this was the only part of the warehouse currently furnished. "This is an historic day for the clan. For the first time, all are together in one place. This requires a change in our habits. Our stay in this place will be long. The food supply is limited. After tonight, you are forbidden to kill your prey. All food must be brought to the pens which are being erected in the basement. We are going into farming."

Having given his orders, he sent the clan out to feed. Of course, the females did not go out to feed. Prisoners were always brought back to feed these captive vampires. And if his minions looked mainly for female prey, and didn't only use them to feed upon, it made no difference to him.

Outside, close to a cemetery, Buffy kept to the shadows. Her Slayer senses were acutely tuned to the night. Her friends made no effort to be quiet. She was surprised. Her instincts said that they were being foolish. She wondered where her sister was. She hadn't been at home when Buffy left, and she wasn't with the gang.

She saw the four of them ahead, the two witches, Xander and his girlfriend Anya. They were heading for a cemetery, but were still walking along deserted city streets. The area was industrial, with warehouses along both sides. Suddenly, something prickled her Slayer sense, and she knew there was big trouble ahead. She couldn't warn the others without giving away her presence, so she crept up closer to them to be better able to react when the trouble attacked. She saw them at the same time the others did. There were six of them, all male, all in demon face. The gang froze instantly. The vampires were confident, continuing to swagger towards the group of four humans. Tara started to chant something, but the vampires just laughed and kept on coming. Their conversation included discussions of how to apportion the three women among them, and hearing the details, Tara faltered in her chant.

As Buffy watched, she became aware of another presence - one she knew intimately – Spike. Silently, he crept up behind her, putting a hand possessively on her shoulder. He had spotted the group of vampires and understood the situation without explanation. As the vampires rushed the group of humans, Buffy and Spike threw themselves into the fray. Having expected an easy kill, the vampires were dismayed to be fighting two more, who were stronger than they had expected. It still took about fifteen minutes before the fight was over. Five vampires had been dusted by that time and the sixth was lying on the ground, unable to move after Spike had broken his neck. Spike approached, straddling the vampire with an improvised stake in his hand. He held it over his heart, threateningly. "Why don't you tell us what you're doing here?"

The vampire goggled at the figure above him, but said nothing.

"Come on, you don't really want to feel this wood in your heart, now do you?" Spike's voice was coaxing.

His victim simply babbled, "N..no, kill me. Stake me, better than talking. P..pplease," he seemed to have gained some control. "Please stake me." Spike complied.

Xander immediately reacted to the situation by blustering, telling the newcomers that they could have managed without help. This just made Buffy angry. It had been all too obvious what the plans of the vampires were, and without Willow doing magic, the humans wouldn't have stood a chance.

"You stupid fools. Just how do you think you'd have managed if we hadn't come along? By now, Xander would be dead, and you three," she looked at the three women, "would be being raped or worse by that lot. You heard what they had in mind. If this is what you have to put up with in this Sunnydale, I'm just surprised the other Buffy has any friends left."

Tara was obviously shaken. "I … I know. I lost it with the chant. I heard what they were planning and I was thrown. Th..thanks for helping."

Willow looked thoughtful. "That's not normal for Sunnydale. Not every-day normal. Most days, we don't meet a vampire until we get to the cemetery and they're usually the newly risen types who don't put up much of a fight. That many experienced vampires in one group says something's changed, and I think we need to find out what."

"Yeah," Spike added. "And that thing," he motioned to the dust lying where he had left it, "was terrified. That degree of fear must be real. He was dead and I could feel it coming off him – vampires don't usually give off much feeling like that. I don't know who he's afraid of, but I think we should be very careful."

Having had a narrow escape, they all headed back to Buffy's. Once the Scoobies were safe, Buffy and Spike decided to head out to do some nosing around. This initially led to smart comments about her earlier refusal from Xander, but Buffy just told him to be quiet. She wondered why her other self put up with him.

Alone, they were able to move much more quietly. They saw several other groups of vampires, but since they were not actually threatening anyone when they were seen, they decided to ignore them and get to the root of the problem. After a while, they spotted a group which, Spike informed her, had already fed and was likely to be heading back to their base. They followed. When they identified the base as a large, modern warehouse, they tried walking around the building looking for an unguarded entrance. They found nothing promising. Through a fence, they saw a large loading bay with a dozen separate docks, each with lorry trailers attached. They lurked in the shadows until an hour before sunrise, checking on the numbers returning. What they saw was worrying. They had just decided to leave, when they heard some noise coming from the loading bay. It was surrounded by a solid fence, but there was a small gap near the closed gate. Spike went and peered through the gap. When he turned back, he looked ill. Buffy put her eye to the gap, but turned around, confused. "What is that?" she asked him, turning back to see Spike doubled up, stomach heaving.

When he managed to speak, he said, "You really don't want to know, love. But it might be the best source of information we'll get. We've got to get it back to your place – the basement probably. You ok to help?"

Buffy nodded. The thing looked vaguely human in shape, but if it was, there was something seriously wrong with it.