&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale Cemetery
10 pm, Saturday
"Well, bloody hell," Spike said in shock. "Granted, I didn't know
exactly how she'd react, but I certainly wasn't expecting this!" He
nudged the unconscious Slayer's shoulder with the toe of his boot.
"Now what?" Riley asked.
"We bring 'er around, that's what. It's no fun if she's gonna give up
that easy. Hey, Slayer!" He knelt down and shook Buffy. "Wake up so
we can play some more." He stood back as she began to stir, knowing
better than to be within arm's reach when she came to.
"You know, Spike, Angelus said to stay away from Buffy--" Riley said.
"Perhaps I should explain something to you," Spike said with a roll of
his eyes. "The day I obey an order from Angelus is the day hell
freezes over. This is my town, and all this was my plan. So I don't
bloody care if he wants this Slayer, he doesn't get the pleasure."
"But--" Riley persisted, and Spike backhanded him.
"If you're going to be such a pansy about it, then get lost. Cowards
are not welcome in my presence. But if you insist on following me
around like a puppy dog, do not question me, and shut the hell up!!"
The yelling must have brought Buffy out of her daze, as she opened her
eyes then. She stood up slowly, still disoriented, and saw the two
vampires. She looked to Spike, and asked, "I suppose I have you
to thank for _this_ too?" pointing toward Riley.
"Yeah, it's my little gift to you, one of many actually. Like it?" he
said with a grin.
"Why?" she asked then.
"Because, Buffy dear," Spike replied, "You Slayer, Me Vampire. The
only joy in my un-life is in tormenting you. Eventually, when you're
completeley destroyed, I'll kill you. There yet?" he added hopefully.
She looked to Riley, "You _have_ to remember, Riley. Remember us.
There has to be some part of you that remembers what we meant to each
other," she pleaded.
Riley looked at her coldly, and said, "Oh, I remember everything. I
just don't care," he shrugged.
"Too bad, Buffy. Looks like it's just you 'n' me," Spike said. "Riley
wouldn't dare defy me even if he did still feel something for
you, he knows I'm stronger than him."
Buffy turned on him then and went to punch him, but her hand bounced
off the air about six inches from making impact. "Huh?" she muttered
in surprise, a puzzled look on her face. Spike laughed at her
confusion, saying, "That's my next surprise. Looks like the spell
finally took. You can't hurt me. Nobody can hurt me."
"Magic?"
"Very good," he said, approaching her.
"How cowardly is that," Buffy challenged. "You can't beat me, so you
use magic to protect yourself?"
"I prefer to think of it," he said, grabbing her stake and throwing it
away, "like this." He grabbed her, and she struggled, but was
unable to kick or hit him.
"There's more than one way to defeat someone, Buffy. Your Watcher
should have taught you that years ago. Maybe he did, and you weren't
listening. I did beat you, by being smarter than you. I used what I
knew about magic to defeat you. Don't bloody whine to me about it not
being fair. There is no such thing as _fair_ in this world, Chit. I
won, you lost. Get over it."
Spike sank his fangs into her neck, and Buffy was powerless to fight
him.
When he finished drinking and dropped her, Riley walked over and
looked down at her. He looked up at Spike in surprise. "You didn't
kill her?"
"Of course not," Spike replied. "I said I didn't obey Angelus. I
_didn't_ say I had a wish for a slow, painful, removal from this
world," he shrugged. "Come on, I'm sure one of the Scoobies will be
along shortly to help Slutty there. You and I don't need to be around
when that happens."
Willow and Oz found Buffy five minutes later. "Buffy!" Willow yelled,
running to her friend, and kneeling beside her. "Oh, no!" she added
when she saw the bite marks. She checked Buffy's pulse and breathed a
sigh of relief. "She's still alive, but barely."
"I'll run get the van," Oz said. "Do you think you'll be okay?"
Willow did a quick scan of the area, but didn't see any demons or
vampires. "Go! We have to get her to a hospital, I'm sure the vamps
are long gone by now."
As Oz ran off Willow turned back to Buffy. "Buffy?" she shook her
friend gently. "Buffy, can you hear me?" Buffy whimpered, which was
an encouragement to Willow. "Buffy, I'm here. Oz and I will get you
to the hospital. You're going to be okay."
True to his promise, Oz pulled up in the van just a minute later. He
jumped out, and helped Willow carry Buffy to it. As they sped off to
the hospital, Willow began crying silently. "This can't be
happening," she whispered. "First Xander and Anya disappear, and now
Buffy gets attacked by a vampire."
Oz reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it
reassuringly. "She'll be okay, Willow. They'll all be okay."
"Who do you think did this to her?" Willow asked.
"Well, I don't think it was Angelus," Oz answered. Willow asked, "Why
do you say that?"
"Because if he wanted to drink from her, I don't think he'd leave her
alive," Oz said.
Ten minutes later, Oz, Willow, Giles and Joyce were sitting in the
hospital waiting room. Joyce was typically panicked. "How many more
times?" she asked Giles angrily "How many more times does she have to
be at the point of death before you stop this!?"
"That's not fair, Mrs. Summers," Willow said forcefully. "Giles didn't
cause this. In fact, it's probably _because_ of Giles that Buffy has
survived for so long. So don't go yelling at him, you should be
yelling at the vamp who attacked Buffy...but you can't...because we
haven't found it....and besides, if we did, we would want to stake
it, not yell at it, because that would be silly, you know? And of
course you don't know, and I'm rambling. Somebody stop me?"
"Willow, why don't we take a walk," Oz said taking her hand.
"Okay," Willow said gratefully. As they walked away, Joyce and Giles
could hear Willow say, "walking is good, because then I won't have to
think about talking, because I'm just too upset right now to make any
sense..."
&&&&&&&&&
Spike's Mansion
11 pm
"AAAAAAH!" Cordelia yelled, doubling over in pain.
"Geez, what the hell was that!" Xander said.
"Shut up, Xander," Wesley replied irritably. "Cordelia, what is it.
What did you see?"
"She got a vision," Anya explained to Xander. "I've seen this before,
it's usually accompanied by a killer headache."
"Shut up! She doesn't remember them long, let her talk!" Wesley
yelled.
"Okay, I just have to say ow, first," Cordelia said. "And then, I know
who did this to Angel--"
"Who the hell _cares_ who did this?!" Xander interrupted. "Too bad he
lost his soul, but he's planning on torturing and killing us any
minute now. So excuse me if I'm more a fan of staking him and just
being rid of him for good--"
"Xander, shut up!" Cordy and Wesley both yelled then.
"Some blond girl performed a magic spell or something like that on
Angel," Cordy said. "I saw it, I think she went to L.A. with Faith."
"What did she look like?" Anya asked curiously. "Who Faith?" Cordelia
asked giving Anya a confused look. "You remember Faith, the skanky
other Slayer--"
"NO, the blond girl," Anya said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, well. She was short, she had kind of shoulder length blond
hair....OOOOOOOOOW!...." Cordelia screamed as another vision hit her.
"Okay, she knows Willow. She and Willow practice magic together.
You'd think that The Powers that Be could just tell me things all at
once, it would be easier and less painful," Cordy said.
"It's Tara," Xander said. "I _knew_ that she wasn't right."
"No, Xander, that was just your weird jealousy thing every time anyone
pays attention to Willow," Anya replied.
"He _still_ does that?" Cordy said in surprise.
Anya nodded, "Yeah, it's so annoying--"
"Tell me about it!"
"Ladies, please!" Wesley interrupted. "Stay on topic. So we know who
reversed the Gypsy curse, but we still don't know how to bring Angel
back--"
"Have I dropped into some alternate reality????" Xander asked. "There
_is_ no Angel. Angel's gone. Angelus is a vampire, Buffy kills
vampires. She'll kill Angelus, problem solved. Why is this so
difficult for you people to understand?"
"Okay, unless things have changed drastically since I left Sunnydale,
what you want still isn't important," Cordelia said. "Angel is one of
my only friends, the first person in my life who ever treated me with
any respect. So I'll be damned if I let you or anyone else just stake
him because Spike decided he wanted to have some fun!" she
yelled. "Now, Wesley, I have an idea on how to bring Angel back..."
End of PART 9
Sunnydale Cemetery
10 pm, Saturday
"Well, bloody hell," Spike said in shock. "Granted, I didn't know
exactly how she'd react, but I certainly wasn't expecting this!" He
nudged the unconscious Slayer's shoulder with the toe of his boot.
"Now what?" Riley asked.
"We bring 'er around, that's what. It's no fun if she's gonna give up
that easy. Hey, Slayer!" He knelt down and shook Buffy. "Wake up so
we can play some more." He stood back as she began to stir, knowing
better than to be within arm's reach when she came to.
"You know, Spike, Angelus said to stay away from Buffy--" Riley said.
"Perhaps I should explain something to you," Spike said with a roll of
his eyes. "The day I obey an order from Angelus is the day hell
freezes over. This is my town, and all this was my plan. So I don't
bloody care if he wants this Slayer, he doesn't get the pleasure."
"But--" Riley persisted, and Spike backhanded him.
"If you're going to be such a pansy about it, then get lost. Cowards
are not welcome in my presence. But if you insist on following me
around like a puppy dog, do not question me, and shut the hell up!!"
The yelling must have brought Buffy out of her daze, as she opened her
eyes then. She stood up slowly, still disoriented, and saw the two
vampires. She looked to Spike, and asked, "I suppose I have you
to thank for _this_ too?" pointing toward Riley.
"Yeah, it's my little gift to you, one of many actually. Like it?" he
said with a grin.
"Why?" she asked then.
"Because, Buffy dear," Spike replied, "You Slayer, Me Vampire. The
only joy in my un-life is in tormenting you. Eventually, when you're
completeley destroyed, I'll kill you. There yet?" he added hopefully.
She looked to Riley, "You _have_ to remember, Riley. Remember us.
There has to be some part of you that remembers what we meant to each
other," she pleaded.
Riley looked at her coldly, and said, "Oh, I remember everything. I
just don't care," he shrugged.
"Too bad, Buffy. Looks like it's just you 'n' me," Spike said. "Riley
wouldn't dare defy me even if he did still feel something for
you, he knows I'm stronger than him."
Buffy turned on him then and went to punch him, but her hand bounced
off the air about six inches from making impact. "Huh?" she muttered
in surprise, a puzzled look on her face. Spike laughed at her
confusion, saying, "That's my next surprise. Looks like the spell
finally took. You can't hurt me. Nobody can hurt me."
"Magic?"
"Very good," he said, approaching her.
"How cowardly is that," Buffy challenged. "You can't beat me, so you
use magic to protect yourself?"
"I prefer to think of it," he said, grabbing her stake and throwing it
away, "like this." He grabbed her, and she struggled, but was
unable to kick or hit him.
"There's more than one way to defeat someone, Buffy. Your Watcher
should have taught you that years ago. Maybe he did, and you weren't
listening. I did beat you, by being smarter than you. I used what I
knew about magic to defeat you. Don't bloody whine to me about it not
being fair. There is no such thing as _fair_ in this world, Chit. I
won, you lost. Get over it."
Spike sank his fangs into her neck, and Buffy was powerless to fight
him.
When he finished drinking and dropped her, Riley walked over and
looked down at her. He looked up at Spike in surprise. "You didn't
kill her?"
"Of course not," Spike replied. "I said I didn't obey Angelus. I
_didn't_ say I had a wish for a slow, painful, removal from this
world," he shrugged. "Come on, I'm sure one of the Scoobies will be
along shortly to help Slutty there. You and I don't need to be around
when that happens."
Willow and Oz found Buffy five minutes later. "Buffy!" Willow yelled,
running to her friend, and kneeling beside her. "Oh, no!" she added
when she saw the bite marks. She checked Buffy's pulse and breathed a
sigh of relief. "She's still alive, but barely."
"I'll run get the van," Oz said. "Do you think you'll be okay?"
Willow did a quick scan of the area, but didn't see any demons or
vampires. "Go! We have to get her to a hospital, I'm sure the vamps
are long gone by now."
As Oz ran off Willow turned back to Buffy. "Buffy?" she shook her
friend gently. "Buffy, can you hear me?" Buffy whimpered, which was
an encouragement to Willow. "Buffy, I'm here. Oz and I will get you
to the hospital. You're going to be okay."
True to his promise, Oz pulled up in the van just a minute later. He
jumped out, and helped Willow carry Buffy to it. As they sped off to
the hospital, Willow began crying silently. "This can't be
happening," she whispered. "First Xander and Anya disappear, and now
Buffy gets attacked by a vampire."
Oz reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it
reassuringly. "She'll be okay, Willow. They'll all be okay."
"Who do you think did this to her?" Willow asked.
"Well, I don't think it was Angelus," Oz answered. Willow asked, "Why
do you say that?"
"Because if he wanted to drink from her, I don't think he'd leave her
alive," Oz said.
Ten minutes later, Oz, Willow, Giles and Joyce were sitting in the
hospital waiting room. Joyce was typically panicked. "How many more
times?" she asked Giles angrily "How many more times does she have to
be at the point of death before you stop this!?"
"That's not fair, Mrs. Summers," Willow said forcefully. "Giles didn't
cause this. In fact, it's probably _because_ of Giles that Buffy has
survived for so long. So don't go yelling at him, you should be
yelling at the vamp who attacked Buffy...but you can't...because we
haven't found it....and besides, if we did, we would want to stake
it, not yell at it, because that would be silly, you know? And of
course you don't know, and I'm rambling. Somebody stop me?"
"Willow, why don't we take a walk," Oz said taking her hand.
"Okay," Willow said gratefully. As they walked away, Joyce and Giles
could hear Willow say, "walking is good, because then I won't have to
think about talking, because I'm just too upset right now to make any
sense..."
&&&&&&&&&
Spike's Mansion
11 pm
"AAAAAAH!" Cordelia yelled, doubling over in pain.
"Geez, what the hell was that!" Xander said.
"Shut up, Xander," Wesley replied irritably. "Cordelia, what is it.
What did you see?"
"She got a vision," Anya explained to Xander. "I've seen this before,
it's usually accompanied by a killer headache."
"Shut up! She doesn't remember them long, let her talk!" Wesley
yelled.
"Okay, I just have to say ow, first," Cordelia said. "And then, I know
who did this to Angel--"
"Who the hell _cares_ who did this?!" Xander interrupted. "Too bad he
lost his soul, but he's planning on torturing and killing us any
minute now. So excuse me if I'm more a fan of staking him and just
being rid of him for good--"
"Xander, shut up!" Cordy and Wesley both yelled then.
"Some blond girl performed a magic spell or something like that on
Angel," Cordy said. "I saw it, I think she went to L.A. with Faith."
"What did she look like?" Anya asked curiously. "Who Faith?" Cordelia
asked giving Anya a confused look. "You remember Faith, the skanky
other Slayer--"
"NO, the blond girl," Anya said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, well. She was short, she had kind of shoulder length blond
hair....OOOOOOOOOW!...." Cordelia screamed as another vision hit her.
"Okay, she knows Willow. She and Willow practice magic together.
You'd think that The Powers that Be could just tell me things all at
once, it would be easier and less painful," Cordy said.
"It's Tara," Xander said. "I _knew_ that she wasn't right."
"No, Xander, that was just your weird jealousy thing every time anyone
pays attention to Willow," Anya replied.
"He _still_ does that?" Cordy said in surprise.
Anya nodded, "Yeah, it's so annoying--"
"Tell me about it!"
"Ladies, please!" Wesley interrupted. "Stay on topic. So we know who
reversed the Gypsy curse, but we still don't know how to bring Angel
back--"
"Have I dropped into some alternate reality????" Xander asked. "There
_is_ no Angel. Angel's gone. Angelus is a vampire, Buffy kills
vampires. She'll kill Angelus, problem solved. Why is this so
difficult for you people to understand?"
"Okay, unless things have changed drastically since I left Sunnydale,
what you want still isn't important," Cordelia said. "Angel is one of
my only friends, the first person in my life who ever treated me with
any respect. So I'll be damned if I let you or anyone else just stake
him because Spike decided he wanted to have some fun!" she
yelled. "Now, Wesley, I have an idea on how to bring Angel back..."
End of PART 9