Hope clamped her hands over her ears, her eyes clenched shut as she huddled further into the corner, silent sobs shaking her body. Even her feeble attempt at blocking out the horrible sounds around her did nothing to help. A soft whimper escaped her throat as another agonized scream ripped through the air.
Ms. Cramer, her watcher.
A violent tremble raced through her as she opened her eyes partially, nervously glancing towards the center of the room. Hot tears raced down her dirty face, causing her messy hair to stick to her cheeks. Her eyes went wide as she watched one of the vampires lift the small woman from the ground by her neck, a wicked grin on his face as she kicked helplessly, trying to get free. The other vamps in the room watched, all grinning, their kills lying at their feet, bodies littering the floor around them. Another sob escaped her throat, drawing the vampire's attention back to her.
Grinning evilly, the creature lowered the watcher the floor, shoving her head roughly to the side to expose her neck. Hope found herself pressing as close to the wall as she could, unable to peel her eyes away as he buried his fangs into the woman's neck. The small girl held her breath as the creature stalked towards her, still sucking the blood from her watcher's neck. An evil glint flashed in his eyes and he buried his teeth further into her neck… and tore it away.
Hope screamed as the warm red liquid splattered over her, the woman's lifeless body falling on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She paled as she scrambled out from under her, her body shaking violently as she stood and rushed backwards, slamming into the wall behind her.
"What's a'matter, Slayer?" The vampire said sweetly, sauntering up to her, his cool hand brushing down the side of her face as she slid to the floor. He caught her by her shoulders, keeping her on her feet. She clenched her eyes shut, shaking her head violently, yet making no move to get away. A shrill yelp escaped her lips as he grabbed her roughly by the hair, pulling her head to the side.
Her hot tears continued to flow through her closed eyes, leaving soft trails in the dirt and blood caked on her face. She waited for him to bury his fangs in her neck, waited for him to kill her. Instead, she fell to a heap on the floor, his ashes falling to the ground in front of her. Her eyes welled up and she coughed, vomiting the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Gasping for air as her body shook, she scrambled back against the wall, a thin black mist forming at the edges of her vision as she scanned the carnage in the room for whoever had saved her.
A low growl brought her attention to the opposite corner of the room. She caught a glimpse of a vampire, his yellow eyes glowing, pummeling away at the remaining vamps in the room. She strained her eyes, trying to keep them focused, but failed. Everything went black…
Hope shot up, her eyes wide and her breathing heavy. Tears fell down her face as her eyes flitted about the room, trying to figure out where she was. She scrambled up from the bed, nearly tripping over the blankets as she slammed into the corner, falling to the floor and burying her head in her arms as she began to cry once more.
"Hey…"
She screamed, scrambling away from the person who now had their hand on her shoulder. Her back smashed into the side of the bed and she watched him with wide eyes as he stood up slowly, his eyes locked on her.
"Calm down, luv. I'm not goin' t'hurt you." He said quietly, holding his hands up in front of his chest as he took a hesitant step towards her. Her eyes snapped shut and she turned her head away from him.
"No, no, no, no, no, no…." She whispered over and over, her head shaking.
"Shhh…"
She jumped when she felt his hand running over her hair and pulled back slightly. "Please…"
"S'alright, I'm not here t'hurt you. I just want t'help…"
Slowly, she peeled her eyes open and turned to face him. She inhaled sharply, her eyes going wide when she recognized the man crouched in front of her. Her body froze and another whimper slipped through her lips.
"Hey now, pet. Calm down, 'right?" He prompted, plopping down so he was sitting cross-legged directly in front of her. He studied her face for a moment, taking in the fear lingering in her bright green eyes. "You saw what I was, din't you?" he asked softly. After a moment, the girl nodded slightly. He sighed. "Right then, luv. Let's get this straight. I'm a vampire, you know that, but I'm not like those other wankers you saw earlier. I'm not goin' t'hurt you, promise."
She continued to stare at him, her expression blank.
Sighing, he stood. "I'll be right back, okay? We need to get you cleaned up."
She watched as he walked through a door, disappearing from sight. Slowly, her eyes drifted down her body, only to be met with the sight of her bloody clothes and large bruises adorning her arms. Her eyes began to water once more, but before a single tear could fall, she jumped.
"It's just me, kitten." He crooned, sitting back down in front of her. Reaching over, her placed a finger under her chin, gently tilting her head up so she was looking at him. "S'okay, alright? I'm just gonna clean you up a bit."
Her eyes continued to stare at him as he ran a wet cloth over her face, trying to wipe away some of the blood and dirt caked there. He looked down at her as he finished, giving her a small smile as he tossed the washcloth to the floor behind him.
"You alright?"
She didn't move, her eyes still locked with his.
"Come on, pet. You're gonna have t'help me out a bit here." He said, scooting a little closer. "Come on now, I'm not gonna hurt you, remember?"
She gave him a slight nod.
"Wha's your name?" He asked, tilting his head to the side as he studied the girl.
"Hope…" She whispered, almost unaudibly.
"I'm Spike." He said softly, giving her a slight smile.
All she could think to do was nod, her eyes falling to the floor as tears began to brim in them once more.
"Hey now, none of that..." Her body tensed when she felt his hand on her shoulder, but she relaxed a bit as she looked up to meet his concerned gaze. Sniffling, she crawled into his lap, burying her head in his chest as she began to sob. "Shhh, s'alright now, luv. S'okay…" He whispered, wrapping his arms around her, rocking back and forth slightly. "S'alright…"
"You hungry, kitten?"
Hope shook her head, watching as Spike sat down on the bed beside her.
"You sure? I can go get you some doughnuts or somethin'." He suggested.
"I'm fine." She assured him, giving him a small smile as she wrapped her arms tightly around the pillow in her arms.
"Suit yourself, but you should eat somthin'."
"I'm still full from the three hotdogs you made me eat last night." She said with a smirk.
"Whatever you say, sweets. I'm goin' t'get me some food." He stated, standing and heading towards the bedroom door. He halted just outside the doorway as the doorbell rang, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at the girl before heading downstairs.
Hope sighed, throwing the blankets away and standing. Yawning, she made her way across the room and flicked the television sitting on the dresser on. Flipping through the channels, she settled on some Loony Tunes reruns and plopped back down on the bed, drawing her arms around her knees.
"Hope?"
Her eyes shot to the door. Spike was standing there, a woman with curly red hair and thick glasses standing behind him. She swallowed, looking away from her and up at the vampire for an explanation.
"S'alright, luv." He assured her, taking a few steps into the room. "She's from the Council."
That's all it took. Hope shot up, nearly tripping as she stood on the bed, backing towards the wall.
"Get your things together, you're coming with me." The woman said flatly, making no move to even enter the room.
Spike glared at her over his shoulder, shaking his head at her lack of sympathy for the girl. Sighing, he turned and walked towards the bed. "Come on, pet." He coaxed, offering her his hand.
She shook her head, wrapping her arms around her stomach, clutching the sides of the black t-shirt she was wearing. It was Spike's, yes, and it fell slightly past her knees and had served as a makeshift pair of pajamas for the past week and a half. "I don't want to…"
"Don't have much of a choice, I'm afraid. They won't let nothin' happen t'you, I promise." He assured her.
"They said that last time…" she said flatly.
His arm fell to his side. "Yeah, guess they did, din't they?" She nodded. Sighing, he turned back to the woman standing in the doorway. "Where you takin' her?"
"I'm not at liberty to say."
"Bollocks. Where the Hell are you takin' her?" He demanded.
"I've told you, I'm not…"
Spike growled, slamming his hand against the doorframe just beside her head. "Tell me or she ain't goin' anywhere."
She swallowed, glaring coldly at the vampire in front of her. Her eyes fell to Hope, who had hopped off the bed and was now standing behind him, her eyes wide. Turning back to the blonde vampire, the woman relented. "London."
Spike gave her a small nod and turned to look down at the girl behind him. Hope shook her head. "I don't wanna go…"
"I know, kitten." He said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder as he tuned back to the woman. "What for?"
"Training."
The vampire snorted. "Training? She's barely eleven years old, how the Hell do you expect her to face a vampire? This is bloody ridiculous. You sodding watchers have gone off your nut, you know that?"
"She is to be trained at the Headquarters until she turns sixteen, when she will be assigned a permanent watcher."
"So you're gonna lock 'er up for five years, that it?" He asked harshly.
"We will be keeping her safe for the next five years." She shot back. "Now if you'll please excuse me, we have a flight to catch in less than an hour." Reaching past him, she grabbed Hope by her shoulder and pulled her out the door.
"I'm not going with you!" The girl shouted, trying to pull away from the woman's hold as she marched her towards the stairs. Spike stood in the doorway of the bedroom, watching as she took her away. "Lemme go!!"
"You have no choice in the matter." She stated flatly, pulling what appeared to be a small gun from her pocket.
Spike's eyes went wide. "Hey! What the bloody Hell is that?!" He shouted, going after them as the woman pressed it to Hope's neck. She pulled the trigger and the girl immediately ceased her struggling, her knees giving out.
"It's a sedative." The redhead explained coarsely, shoving the device back in her pocket as she wrapped her arm around the girl's waist to hold her upright and headed down the stairs. She had just swung the door open and was about to step out into the dark streets when a low growl sounded behind her. Spike was down the stairs in an instant, slamming the door shut and glaring at her.
"Give 'er here." He growled, motioning to the girl at her side. The woman just stared coldly at him, not releasing her hold. Spike's eyes narrowed. "Hope?"
"Mmm…" She whimpered pitifully, looking up at him with half-closed eyes.
"You're not goin' anywhere, 'kay luv?" He stated, his eyes not leaving the redhead. Hope managed a slight nod.
"I assure you, she is." The woman said flatly.
"You can take her, ducks, soon as you get rid of me." He challenged, smirking at her.
"I'm not afraid of you."
"All the more fun." He muttered, his face melting into that of his demon. He could hear her heartbeat speed up, her face remaining stoic. Reaching forward, he pulled Hope from her grasp, picking the girl up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, her head falling onto his shoulder. "Now get out 'fore I do something you're not gonna like."
Her eyes narrowed at him. "Fine, but let me assure you that this will not be the last you see of us. We will be back for the girl." She said, making her way to the door. "And next time you won't be able to protect her." She called over her shoulder before walking out and slamming the door behind her.
"Look forward to it." The vampire muttered, shifting the weight of the child in his arms. "You okay?" He felt her nod slightly and sighed. "Come on, let's go get you into bed."
"Where we goin'?"
"I dunno, thought maybe we'd go nick a few banks and use the money to buy ourselvesa big ole microwave an' fry the entire world. Sound good?"
"Yep." Hope said simply, looking around from her perch atop his shoulders as they walked down the dark New York street.
"You hungry?" He asked as they walked past a dimly lit pizza parlor.
"Is that the only thing you ever ask me? My stomach isn't a bottomless pit, you know."
"Well 'scuse me, Your Highness. How am I s'posed t'know how much a bleedin' kid is s'posed eat."
"I dunno, but just so ya know I don't eat every hour. Like, maybe once every four or five hours or so…I think." Sighing, she rolled her eyes. "I eat whenever I'm hungry, okay?"
"Right, how 'bout you just let me know when that is then?"
"Can do."
"Good."
"… so where we goin'?" She asked again, breaking the silence that had fallen.
He looked up at the girl, who was now leaning forward, her blonde hair falling in front of his face. "Well, unlike some people, I am hungry. We're goin' t'get s'more blood, and I think we're out of Dorito's, so we'll have t'pick s'more of them up too."
"Y'know, before I met you I didn't think vampires ain't real food."
"Most don't."
"So why do you?"
"I'm just weird."
"And then the clouds parted and God's voice boomed down upon us all." She said sarcastically. "Y'know what he said?"
"Hm?"
"Duh."
The vampire smirked. "If I din't know any better, I'd say you'd just insulted me."
"Only a lil bit."
"You know, s'not very wise to insult the Big Bad." He advised playfully.
"There's a Big Bad 'round here? Where?" She asked excitedly, grinning.
"Remind me 'kill you later."
"Check."
"William."
The vampire halted, turning to face the voice that had come from behind him. "Ow! Bloody Hell girl, leggo." He whined, swatting a hand up at Hope.
"Sorry…" She muttered, releasing her hold on his hair, her hands having grabbed at it the second she saw the group behind them.
"What the Hell do you want?" Spike demanded, pulling a cigarette from his pocket.
"I told you. We're here for the girl." The redheaded woman said flatly. Four other men stood behind her, all dressed in suits, their eyes locked on the vampire and the Slayer sitting on his shoulders. "I'd suggest you release her before we're forced to take more drastic measures."
"Drastic?" He questioned, smirking as he lit up his cigarette. "Please. I've dealt with you lot before. 'Drastic' is not a thing you do well. Best you can do is tut around pretendin' that those bleedin' books of yours contain the answers to the entire universe. Sorry, but news flash, I'm not daft. You lot can't do piddly t'me. Big Bad here, remember? And don't call me William." He added indignantly, crouching down and sliding Hope from his shoulders. She remained behind him as he stood back up, scowling.
"You'd be referring to Mr. Giles, correct?" The woman questioned.
"Yeah, what of it?"
"The man was a disgrace to the Council, his Slayer even more so." She stated.
"You say that again and I'll rip your head from your shoulders." Spike growled.
"I'd like to see you try."
"Don't tempt me." He snarled.
"No need. Now, hand over the girl and we'll be on our way."
"Not bloody likely." Spike stated, flicking the remains of his cigarette to the ground and grinding it out with his boot.
"I assumed you would be less than willing to cooperate." The woman stated. "Gentlemen?"
The four men behind her all shifted, bringing rather large tranquilizer guns into view.
"Bloody Hell…" Spike shoved Hope back and ducked out of the way as the first man fired, narrowly missing his shoulder. Hopping back to his feet, he ran at Hope, grabbing her by her waist as she stood and making a dash down an alleyway, the girl under his arm.
"Spike, down!" Hope shouted, her eyes going wide as she watched the men round the corner, guns raised. The vampire listened, rolling to the ground as another dart slammed into the wall beside him.
"Come on, get up." He demanded, grabbing her hand and pulling her from the ground. He started to run, dragging her behind him as she struggled to keep up with him. Growling, he tightened his hold on her wrist and pulled her forward, forcing her to the ground beside a dumpster. "Stay there." She nodded, watching as he stood back up, face morphing as he turned to face their attackers.
"Just give up, William." The woman shouted, rounding the corner behind the four men.
"Where's the fun in that?" He asked smirking. A low growl sounded in his chest as he lunged forward, grabbing one of the men's guns as he fired, the shot ricocheting off the dumpster Hope was hiding behind. Snarling, he pulled the gun away and smashed it against the man's face, sending him sprawling to the ground. Dodging another dart, he took aim and fired the gun, nailing a second guy in the arm. He slumped to the ground, out cold, his gun clattering to the floor. The third fired, the dart slicing through the sleeve of Spike's jacket. "Oh, now you're gonna get it."
The red haired woman watched disdainfully as Spike pulled the gun from the third watcher's hands, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him in front of him as the forth fired. The dart buried itself in the third man's chest and Spike smirked, dropping him to the ground. He kicked out, his boot slamming into the head of the fourth man as he tried to reload his weapon. Grabbing him by the back of his neck, Spike slammed his head into the side of the building before letting him fall to the ground.
"I believe I've had enough of your games, William."
Spike turned slowly, scowling at the woman behind him. She had one of the guns aimed at his head, mere inches from his skull. "Nice work, luv." He commented. "Hope, get out of here, now!" He shouted, his eyes not leaving the woman. There was no response. "Hope?" He asked tentatively, looking past the redhead to where Hope was supposed to be hiding. He shrugged. "Looks like she got away. Pity now, ain't it?"
She fired.
Spike jumped, his eyes slamming shut as he waited for the darkness to descend upon him, pain to shoot through his skull. After a moment, he peeled them open. Hope smiled up at him, tossing the pipe she had just bashed the woman over the head with to the ground. He looked down at the unconscious watcher by his feet and shrugged, stepping over her. "Well, luv, I do believe we we're off to get some food. You hungry?"
Hope sighed, following after him. "And the answer is still no, Bleachy."
"So like, after a couple more tries at takin' me, they finally got the idea that I didn't want to go anywhere." Hope said, hoping down from her seat on the counter. "Spike talked to Travers, and they agreed to let me stay with him until I turned sixteen."
"Talked to 'em? I had t'kick their bloody arses, you nit." Spike corrected.
Hope rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine. So he beat the crap outta them until they agreed to let him play babysitter. He convinced 'em that he could keep me safe a lot better than they could, obviously, seeing as he could pummel them into oblivion." She grinned, snorting. "And if they think I'm leaving when I turn sixteen they have another thing coming."
"So they want to stick you with a watcher when you turn sixteen?" Willow asked.
"Not only that, they want to ship me off t'London." She said with mock enthusiasm, grinning.
"Why? More training?" Dawn asked.
"Well, sorta. They would send me here, but they think you'd be a bad influence." She answered, pointing at Buffy. "They really don't like you."
"I've noticed." The Slayer grumbled.
Hope shrugged. "Anyways, they kept in touch for a few years, you know, making sure I wasn't dead and all. Eventually the checkups stopped and they only called when they had info about some big evil. We got our latest call Saturday night, which brings us here. I'd tell you why and all, but I seem t'know diddly squat 'bout this demon we're s'posed to be killin'." She turned back to the vampire, smiling sweetly. "Oh Spikey, I do believe it's your turn."