Author's notes: Ok, this is set in mid-4th season Buffy. Spike has the chip in his head, but he isn't helping Buffy yet. I haven't introduced Tara, mainly because I don't know her character well enough to write for her. The same goes for Riley. Sorry to anyone who likes these characters. This is one of my earliest stories, please review and let me know what you think.
End of the Line
Xander walked along the dark street. His destination, Giles apartment. His reason, unknown.
"Actually," Xander observed, "I never seem to know much of anything these days." Giles had called him, informing him of Buffy's latest foe, a vampire going by the name of Cage. Just how do they get these corny names anyway? Cage had appeared seemingly from nowhere, to attack Buffy on her patrol. After a short but vicious fight, he had apparently melted into the shadows, but not without completing stage 3 of new-big-bad-in-town procedure, and leaving Buffy a cryptic message.
Rumour has it, girl, that you're one of the best Slayers ever called. Enjoy it. You're going to be the last.
Gimme a break.
But even so, Giles was calling all the "Scoobies" together, in hope of finding some information about their new mysterious friend. Xander was secretly hoping that they wouldn't find anything, then at least maybe he would be able to persuade Giles to purchase the newer, not so-old-that-they-get-dust-in-Xanders-face-when-being-read Watcher's Guide....if such a thing existed.
* * *
"This is hopeless." Buffy Summers declared, throwing her large book entitled "The Watcher's Guide Vol. VII" onto the table. Dust flew. Xander, suffering from a severe coughing fit, nodded his head violently.
"Now Buffy, we have to keep researching. If this, this Cage fellow was telling the truth, the world depends on our stopping him!" Giles said, his slight flair for the dramatic showing. "I know some of these volumes can be, well, tedious to read-"
"Nooo!" Xander interrupted sarcastically.
"-but we must have every small piece of information we can find on Cage if we hope to defeat him." Giles finished.
"I don't want to be in here sitting about doing nothing while he could be out there killing innocent people!" objected Buffy.
"Hey, I think I've found something!" Willow cried excitedly. They gathered round her as she began to read from the book she was holding.
"Cage, was sired in 1895 by a vamp named...hey, it says he was sired by Spike!...Ok, and he, uh, he's mainly a messenger for other demons, although it says here....oh, it says he's also known for his extremely efficient methods of torturing people for information."
"Well, you know what this means don't you?" said Buffy. "It's time to go see Spike."
* * *
Spike awoke to the sound of the door to his crypt being flung open violently. He groaned as the Slayer..who else?..marched in.
"Bloody 'ell, Slayer, can't you just sod off and leave me in peace?"
"Shut up Spike, I...need your help." Buffy said reluctantly. Spike grinned, knowing how much it must have pained her to admit that. He then dropped the grin.
"Look, I told your bloody Watcher I didn't want you to come cryin' to me whenever one of your little friends is in trouble. I'm through with helpin' you, alright? You don't bother me, I won't kill you." Buffy laughed.
"Funny, I find it more the other way round. Spike, you're about as much of a threat as Amy. Me, on the other hand..."
"I'm not scared of you." Buffy slammed him up against the wall of the crypt.
"Oh yeah? How about I take you on now, we'll see who kills who."
Spike was silent.
"Now stop acting like you're in the 3rd grade and listen to what I have to say. Do you know anyone by the name of Cage?" Spike eyes widened in recognition. "So you know who I'm talking about. Good. It seems your old buddy has been showing his face around in Sunnydale. You know, checking out the local cemetery, leaving the local Slayer death threats. You wouldn't know anything about that would you, Spike?" Buffy didn't let go of Spike as she interrogated him.
"That bloody bastard...I thought he was dead."
"You thought wrong." Buffy said coldly. "I think you'd better tell me everything you know about him."
"Piss off." Buffy shoved Spike harder against the wall.
"Wrong answer. Try again."
"Bloody hell, alright Slayer! Put me down!" Buffy slowly released Spike.
"I sired him, wanting a good laugh. Someone to torture like Angelus did to me. He must have endured every technique of torture I know, and believe me Slayer, I've had my fair share of it." Spike said, as if Buffy would be impressed. She merely glared at him.
"Anyway," Spike continued, "It must have rubbed off on him, because one day he surprised me in an attack, escaped. That bloody poof. Last I heard of him, he was being hired by master vampires all over Europe, using torture techniques he learned off me to get information from victims. As I said, I thought he was killed, not that I was surprised, cocky little wanker like that playing in a big boys game."
"Give it a rest, Spike, and just tell me why he's here." Buffy was tired of Spike and his constant moaning.
"I don't bloody know Slayer! But I tell you one thing, he's not alone. He'll be working for someone. Now can you just bloody sod off!"
Buffy silently left the crypt.
* * *
"It's almost time."
"Yes, master." said Cage. He knew it paid not to disagree with customers. Especially ones who could rip him into shreds without breaking into a sweat.
"You must bring the Slayer to me. She is needed for the ritual."
"Yes, master."
"Go, find the Slayer. If all goes to plan, she will be the last in history."
* * *
Well, that was a complete bust.
Walking dejectedly back to her dorm, Willow couldn't help but wonder how they had ever found information in the past so quickly in Gile's vague, dusty old tomes. After 2 fruitless hours of looking for additional info on Cage, Willow had officially given up.
I hope Buffy's having better luck.
* * *
Buffy was having no luck.
She had gone out on an extra long patrol, checking in all the vamp's usual spots, the factory, the abandoned Sunnydale drive-thru, the many old warehouses, but had found no sign on Cage. She tromped through the cemetery, in a final desperate search to see if Cage had returned to their original meeting place.
This is hopeless, I'm never going to find him looking around, I need to draw him out. I need to use bait, and...
Buffy's thought was cut off as, as if he'd heard her silent prayer, Cage leaped out of the shadows at her. Regaining her senses, Buffy immediately launched out with a lighting-fast scissors kick, knocking Cage far across the cemetery, landing with a powerful smack against a tombstone. However, he was back on his feet instantly, and instead of charging Buffy as she expected, he reached behind him, then blew a strange coloured powder into her face. She began to feel herself drifting, losing consciousness. Some kind of drugs...Buffy thought, as darkness claimed her.
* * *
Buffy's in trouble, Willow thought as she sat worrying on Gile's couch. She had been practising Wicca in her dorm when Giles had called her, and told her that Buffy wasn't back from going to Spike yet. Willow had quickly called Xander and filled him in, arranging to meet at Gile's apartment. After Giles and Xander had gone round to Spike's, and had eventually got him to tell them everything that he knew, they had instantly come to the conclusion that she had had an encounter with Cage. Spike assured them that Cage couldn't have killed her, he wasn't as skilled in combat as she was, he must have captured her and taken her to whoever he was working for. He had surprised them when he told them he was coming with them on their rescue attempt.
"To settle the score with that bloody poof," he told them. Giles couldn't help but wonder whether this was truly the case. After a 45 minute search with no results, Xander hit upon the idea of going to Willy's bar.
* * *
Willy glanced up nervously as he saw three of the Slayers friends-as such-enter the bar. He relaxed slightly when he saw that they weren't accompanied by the Slayer herself. But only slightly.
"Yo Willy!" Spike called. Willy was not fooled by this false act of friendship. He knew his options at this point were
- Run, get chased, beaten up.
- Deny any knowledge, and probably still get beaten up.
- Co-operate, which still left him with a small chance of getting beaten up.
Either way he was pretty much screwed.
They approached him, and made a big, threatening show of glaring at him while they sat down.
"H, hey fellas. What can I get ya?" he asked politely. The young one with the dark hair opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by a glance from the vampire Willy knew as Spike.
"Cut the crap Willy, you know why we're here. We want information. You are going to give us that information. Otherwise we are going to-"
"What my friend means is, that if you don't spill your guts, we will," the young one said. Willy swallowed nervously.
"What do you w, want to know?" Spike took over again.
"New guy in town, name of Cage. Who is he working for and where is he." Not a question. More like an order.
"Ok, here's all I know," Willy hunched over, and signalled for the three to do the same, "Firstly, he's staying in the sewers. Figures it's nice and undisturbed, no interruptions. See, Cage is working for a mother of a vampire named Solarus. This guys bad, he's been around since Moses was a little boy, know what I mean? Anyway, you live for centuries, you get around, you know? He hears about some ritual, called The Ending. This is no ordinary ritual, no, see, this ritual requires many things, which it took Solarus a hell of a long time to get. It will, if performed correctly, prevent a Slayer from being called for the rest of eternity. So, you guys can see why it would be appealing to vampires, you know, no Slayer, able to run free, do what you want, kill-"
"Yes, we get the bloody picture," said Spike calmly, though Giles could see a glint in his eyes, showing that this ritual intrigued him.
"-but," Willy continued, looking down while he polished his bar, "the one essential ingredient, which is absolutely necessary for it to work...is a Slayer's brain." He heard no response to this, and looked up.
"Hey, fellas, you hear me?"
The three were gone.
* * *
Buffy eyes hesitantly opened. What was she doing in this dark, horrible place...she suddenly remembered what had happened. That bastard Cage! She scanned her surroundings, hoping to get a better idea of where she was. It was dark, quiet, sound of dripping water, damp. The realisation hit Buffy in an instant. The sewers! Of course, where she would never have suspected a vampire to be staying in. That's rich, a master vampire reduced to living in the sewers.
She heard approaching footsteps and craned her head to see Cage walking towards her next to a larger man. The way Cage was acting, he was scared of this man.
"Ah..the Slayer. We meet at last." The man said.
"My mommy always said never to talk to strangers." Buffy said sarcastically, Why do all the vampires have to put on this damn irritating politeness show? Jeez...
"Be respectful towards our master, the great Solarus, lord of the darkness!" Cage cried.
"Yeah, whatever, he doesn't look so scary to me." Buffy yawned. This achieved the desired affect, it angered him.
"Insolent child!" yelled Solarus. He morphed into his vampire face. It was one of the most terrifying vamp faces Buffy had ever seen. Buffy tried to show no reaction, although it did startle her quite a bit.
"I was going to let you die quickly for this ritual, but now I think we'll give you a slow, agonizing death. After all, you don't have to be alive for us to remove your brain!" He and Cage both laughed. Buffy didn't see what was so funny. Brain? Huh?
"Come, Cage, we must prepare. Enjoy these next few hours Slayer, they will be your last!"
* * *
"Yuck!!" Xander yelled as he tromped through the sewage. He half wished he was just sitting back in his nice warm home, watching TV. I mean, yeah, they had to save Buffy and all, but this was just plain gross...
"Oh do stop whining, Xander," said Giles wearily. Spike was uncharacteristically silent.
"And what's with you, bleach-boy? Accidently bite your tongue with your fang? Cause I must say – that's gotta hurt!" Spike glared at him.
"Shut your arse, you have no idea what you're dealing with here. Cage is bad enough, but Solarus was one of the earliest vampires. He's never been defeated in battle. Ever. He's the perfect predator, cunning, adaptable, he sets a victim in his sights and doesn't stop till they're dead. You might say he's almost invulnerable." Spike finished his little speech.
Xander shut up.
"Incredible," marvelled Giles, silently. "I do believe this is the first time Xander has had nothing to say."
All of a sudden, Spike cocked his head. He smelled the air.
"What now?" asked Xander, shattering his first minute of pure silence.
"She's close."
"How do you-"
"I can smell her. Which means that Solarus can smell us. Which means he knows we're coming."
"So much for the element of surprise." Giles sighed.
Xander had a hard look in his eyes. He be damned if he was going to let those vampire bastards hurt Buffy.
"Well then I guess we'll have to rely on the element of attack."
* * *
Buffy struggled against her unmoving chains, in a desperate attempt to break them. No luck. Must be sealed with magick. She still clung to the vague hope that her friends might come and rescue her, but it seemed unlikely. They had no clue where she was. Guess this is one of those situations where sharing information might have helped. Giles was right. She hadn't learned much about the ritual, but she had learnt the gist.
- It would somehow stop Slayers from being called
- She could NOT LET THAT HAPPEN.
- It needed her brain....yuck.
Buffy wasn't sure exactly what she could do to prevent this, other than kill herself. No guarantees they won't get the next Slayer. To her, it seemed like a pretty hopeless situation. Buffy leaned her haed back against the chains in near-defeat.
"Buffy!" the unmistakable voice of Xander cut through her growing gloom. Buffy stared in the direction of the voice.
"Guys!" she cried, when she saw Xander, accompanied by Giles and...Spike??
"I am so glad to see you!" There was a pause. "Not you Spike." Spike accepted this with a grudging shrug.
"We have to get you out of here now, Buffy." said Giles.
"I can't go, I need to kill Cage!" Buffy was reluctant to just leave and save her own hide. "I'm the Slayer. It's my job to protect people from evil like Cage and Solarus. Now get me down from here." Giles reached up to try and break the chains, when-
"I'm afraid that won't be possible."
Solarus's voice echoed through the dark sewers. Cage suddenly appeared out of the shadows, grabbing Xander.
"Cage!" Spike snarled.
"Spike." Cage seemed amused. "Fancy meeting you here. What brings you to these parts? Last I'd heard you and Dru were in Mexico, scaring the natives."
"Things change." Spike used the line Angel had used three years ago, when he had encountered him during the parent's night. It seemed fitting.
"They change, huh? Well, whatever. I got a deal for you. The Slayer's friends, they're dead. But you, I'm going to give you the chance to join us. We could use an experienced ally." Giles glanced at Spike to see his reaction, and he could tell the vampire was certainly considering it.
Buffy, Xander and Giles all knew that any chance they had of winning was all hanging on Spike's answer. He held their fate in his hands. Spike opened his mouth to answer.
"Yeah, alright."
* * *
I'm going to die. Buffy always knew that, as a Slayer, death came early. But she had always had a little voice in the back of her head, saying I'm better than the rest of them. I won't die before my 21st birthday, like Slayers are expected to. Guess that little voice was wrong. She looked over to see Xander, and felt a rush of pride seeing him sitting there calmly, despite how terrified she knew he must be.
"Hey." She called softly to him. He looked up. "Sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't-"
"Forget it." Xander cut her off. "Even if we had hadn't come, it wouldn't be long until Solarus came after us. And we're not dead yet. Don't lose hope." Buffy looked at Xander with an air of respect. She turned to Giles.
"Giles, if we don't make it, I want you to know that I love and respect you. You were and always have been the father I never had. You've never given up on me, no matter how much of a bitch I could be." Giles laughed softly.
"As Xander said, don't give up hope yet. There still may be a way out of this."
"Unlikely, if what Spike said was true-"
"Come. It is time." Cage began to unlock the door to the cell. Xander stood up.
"Don't try it, human. The Slayer may be needed with her brain intact for this ritual, but you're not. It would be suicide to try anything." Xander locked eyes with him, then slowly sat down.
"Don't worry, guys." Buffy tried to reassure them, but the emptiness of her words was obvious. "I'll be fine." She let Cage lead her out of the cell.
"Buffy!" Giles cried. "Take me instead!" he pleaded with Cage, but to no avail. Buffy's dying footsteps echoed down the hallway.
* * *
Buffy entered the room with Cage, still securely bound by the chains, which she had noted, seemed to be of magick origin. Solarus was standing motionless at the other end. Buffy took a look around her surroundings and realised they had come up from the sewers into an dark abandoned building. She didn't recognise it.
"Good, the Slayer is here. Then we can begin." Solarus began to chant in a tongue unknown to Buffy, which sounded like it had been a dead language for centuries. As Solarus chanted, a strong wind began to blow throughout the room. The area marked off with ancient symbols and writings began to glow dull blue.
"Now!" Solarus cried. "The brain of the Slayer!" Cage moved in, clutching a large battleaxe.
"No! It must be a cut made by the weapon of the Slayer herself!"
"Will this do?"
Spike!He stepped out of the shadows, his usual calm and cocky self.
He was holding one of Buffy's stakes, given to him by her. I should have used it on him myself, traitorous bastard.
"Yes. That will suffice." Buffy wondered where this guy had learned to talk, he sounded like the vamp version of Giles. Cage walked over, demanding the stake from Spike.
"What, you I'm going to let an amateur like you do this?" Spike asked incredulously, as if the idea was completely ridiculous. "Way I see it, I owe the Slayer plenty, this will help make up for it." Cage turned to Solarus, disbelieving.
"Master-"
"Quiet, Cage. I agree, this is too complicated a ritual to be performed by a minor." Buffy could hardly believe it, the vampires were fighting about who got to kill her! Cage looks mighty pissed, she noted.
"Now! We are running out of time!" Solarus yelled. Spike began to advance on Buffy. Time slowed down. Buffy could feel her heart beat.
Boom boom
"I'm going to enjoy this, Slayer."
Boom boom
He raised the stake.
Boom boom
"Goodbye."
Boom boom.
Then, in an instant, turned, threw it at Solarus, aimed directly at his heart! Solarus looked angry, started to scream,
"
He crumbled into a pile of dust.
With his lord and master gone, Cage summed up that the situation was not entirely to his advantage, and started to bolt out the door. Buffy flipped over, not missing a beat, picked up the stake lying on the floor, and slammed it into his retreating back. He screamed and turned to dust. Buffy looked at Spike. He grinned sheepishly.
"Way I figured it, with no Slayer around, my days would be numbered against the demons out to get me for killing my own kind. Besides. Who else would I have to piss off?"
Buffy made no expression for a moment. Then, despite herself, laughed.
"Come on Spike, let's go get the guys."
And with that, they left.