A/N: This is Part Thirteen of the CLOSURE series. This is a sequel of the ENOUGH series, so please read that one first or this won't make any sense.

Still haven't heard from you. Should you be warned or do you prefer the surprise?

Disclaimer: You should know that this belongs to Joss Whedon and the parties involved in getting the show on the air.

Feedback: As you wish.

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The Gathering

The house was just as he remembered it. It only had a different color but apart from it there was no change in it. He slowly approached and sought the presence of the slayer.

He felt none of it.

It seemed that they had listened to his petition and the slayer had left.

Good.

He was in no condition for a fight. Not physically but mentally instead. Every time he saw someone from his past, a rain of memories fell upon him and it crippled his mind. He couldn't fight anyone if he was losing control and freaking out in front of her.

He knew that the slayer's friends and family'd face him, but he could handle them. He wasn't sure if the ring could protect him from magic, and it wasn't a good time to find out about it.

Spike took a deep, unnecessary breath and proceeded to knock on the door.

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The Scooby gang had planned what to do should an eventuality occur. They knew that the ring practically made Spike invincible but they had to be prepared. They had all agreed on one basic thing: They wouldn't invite Spike into the house under any circumstance.

Their lives depended on that.

Since they didn't know when would Spike choose to attack, they had agreed on staying in the Summers' household in camp for as long as necessary. They were all nervous and felt as if they were on siege.

Four adults, an ex-demon and a watcher would have to face on their own one of the most violent vampires that walked the earth. And now, he was as unpredictable as he had been when they first met him.

Each remembered the last talk they'd had with him and the picture was a bleak one.

Xander, out of them all, feared for his life. He had been the one who bothered the vampire the most. Riley had been in Spike's unlife for a year or so and he had lost his hands. Alexander Harris felt that he wouldn't see the sun again.

The knock on the door frightened them all but soon they all placed themselves on their fighting positions. Another thing they agreed on was that Anya and Dawn would be the last line of defense. Dawn was not to be harmed.

Giles nodded at them all and opened the door. He feared not, for no vampire could enter the house. A vampire that he felt knew no more greeted him.

"Spike." Giles said.

"Rupert." Spike replied. An awkward silence fell between both of them. They had arrived to a certain sense of respect years earlier and now it was on the brink of destruction. The vampire's intentions would define that feeling.

"It's been a while." Spike said. Strangely enough, Giles wasn't freaking him out. It could've been those months he spent talking every night with the watcher. Spike would never tell anyone, but he saw Giles as a surrogate father, even to himself.

"It has been, indeed." Giles said. He was also feeling uncomfortable. He felt he owed so much to the vampire but he also knew that the course of action that Spike followed was wrong. Giles didn't care much for Riley or Angel but he did care for Buffy. And logic implied that Spike's next target was Buffy.

"You lot wanted to talk, or so I've heard." Spike said, not moving or making any attempt of going inside the house.

"That depends on what you have to say." Giles said. Spike looked at Giles intently.

"I thought you'd be making the questions." Spike said, "I don't have anything to talk about."

"Why did you hurt Riley?" Giles asked.

"He had it coming." Spike answered.

"Why?"

"Had m'reasons."

"Not enough."

"I wanted to."

"Why didn't you kill him?"

"Didn't want to."

"But mutilating him was what you wanted?"

"The boy had issues with his self esteem. Just preyed on that."

"Self esteem?"

"Don't tell me you didn't notice before."

Giles fell silent for a moment and weighed the vampire's words. They had a sense to it. Riley left because he was insecure about his relationship with Buffy. He was uncomfortable with the idea of Buffy being stronger than him and not needing him as he wanted to.

However, Buffy also had something to do with their problems.

"So you cut off his hands because he left Buffy?" Giles asked. Spike's eyes narrowed and he realized that he had no answer to that particular question.

"The chip in my head for years tells you something?" Spike asked, trying to change the subject.

"You still didn't kill him. That is strange. The same with Angel." Giles continued.

"Angelus and I had some story. It's finished now."

"Angelus?"

"He has always been and will always be Angelus."

"You won't try to explain anything?"

"Why should I?"

"Buffy will hunt you then. And thanks to you she has help."

"Help?"

"Don't you remember?"

"The favorite question of the bloody century."

"Your memory is broken?"

"For the lack of a better word."

"How long?"

"Since the chip went out."

"Lobotomy."

"You betcha."

"Jean."

"Who?"

"Another slayer. Thanks to you."

"Bloody hell."

"The contracts you extorted out of the Council."

"Bloody hell."

"There are two slayers ready to take you down."

"If they try, then it'll be four to cero."

"You think so?"

"The odds are on me."

"Stop!" A female's voice was heard from behind. Dawn walked to appear into Spike's sight and she seemed angry.

"Dawn." Spike said.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked. Giles tried to stand between her and the vampire, but she remained where she was, not allowing Giles to interrupt her.

"Why wouldn't you leave me alone?" Spike answered.

"You did hurt Riley." She insisted.

"The boy's still alive. Don't bother me." Spike replied.

"You can still be the way you were." Dawn said, feeling a mixture of emotions swirl inside of her.

"Don't want to." Spike answered, "Will all questions be like this? Have I lost my time?"

"That depended on you." Giles said, coming again into the conversation, "You have not given us any reason to talk instead of fighting."

"I don't owe anyone explanations." Spike growled.

"Your reasons demand an explanation." Giles stated. Spike walked towards Giles until the invisible barrier stopped him.

"Who do you think you are to judge me?" Spike hissed. Giles didn't step back but he didn't move.

"You can't do what you did and expect to get away clean." Giles said. Spike smirked and shook his head.

"You soddin' idiot." Spike said, "You all think you are better than me?"

The whole Scooby gang then stood behind Giles, bearing weapons and showing a united front.

"We don't behave like animals. Yes." Xander said. Spike then began laughing his cold laughter.

"I'm now the animal?" He asked.

"You tried to kill us all many times." Xander stated, and ran a finger through the scar in his face, "Even after you worked with us."

"It didn't matter to you that I worked with you, why should it matter to me?" Spike asked. Xander's mouth shut down at the question. He couldn't answer to that.

"You can't do the things you did, Spike." Willow then pitched in, "It was obvious that sooner or later Buffy would come for you."

"The worst part is I think that you knew." Tara said, "You knew this would happen."

"You stupid idiots." Spike hissed. Everyone shut up and raised their weapons. They felt like standing in the zoo and as if they were teasing the tiger in its cage.

"Threats won't cut it, Spike." Giles said. Spike's eyes flared yellow and a low growl began in his throat.

"You demand explanations of my actions, fine." Spike growled, "I'm a vampire. It's what I do. I can't believe I tried to behave like you soddin' humans."

"So you accept that you behaved no better than an animal." Giles stated. Spike's growling grew in intensity and he stared at him.

"Listen to your words, watcher, you condemn me for the things I did to your precious slayer and yourselves." Spike said, now pacing like a caged beast, "But you all have your own sins."

"What are you talking about?" Giles asked.

"You condemn me for acting like the vampire I am. You condemned me for trying to be good. You punished me for things I did years ago and you punished me for showing the slayer what I felt." Spike growled, feeling the rage boiling inside of him. The sight of the group in front of him was bringing back memories, and not pleasant ones.

"You can't expect us to…"

"Shut up!" Spike shouted, interrupting Giles in the middle of his sentence, "I know I am a vampire. I know I am a monster. I like behaving like one. It's my nature. But let's see the nature of humans, shall we?"

"The nature of humans?" Giles asked, gripping his battle-axe hard, keeping it hidden behind the door.

"Oh, yes, from what I've heard and seen, all of you haven't been all perfect with your precious slayer." Spike stated.

"What do you mean with that?!" Xander shouted from behind them all. Spike smiled and showed his fangs a bit; his eyes still glowing golden with yellow sparks.

"You all did something to the slayer as well, idiots." Spike said, "One way or another, you all have been as mean to her as I was."

"You're fucking crazy." Xander barked out, "We have never done the things you did to her."

"Really, stupid boy?" Spike asked, "From what I've seen, you have hurt her even more than me."

"What?!" Everyone asked.

"I fought physically with her. My intention was to kill her, not to hurt her." Spike stated.

"Oh, that's so very clear." Xander joked.

"Each one of you have done something to her, and you know it." Spike said, "I could make a list of it. You, Giles, the wise father, you left her when she needed you the most. Willow, her best friend, with your spells that never work out, you robbed us all of our memories and almost killed her sister. Anya, who cursed the whole town and killed more men than I ever did. Xander, the useless idiot who is always against what she says. How many times has she saved your sorry ass, you useless piece of shit? Dawn, her sister, who always ran away and got into more trouble than she's worth it, and even you Tara, you almost got her killed when you made demons invisible. And finally, the most evil thing you could do to her. You ripped her out of heaven without even bothering to know where she was. Want to still hold the card that I tried to kill her?"

All the scoobies were shocked at the words the vampire told them. He gathered all the things that the group had done in the past, and it was true. Each and every one of them had done something to Buffy.

"And yet, you still judge me and condemn me when I acted the way I was supposed to act. I worked for your understanding, not your forgiveness. Have any of you actually asked for the slayer's forgiveness for all the shit you've pulled these years?"

Each and every one of the scoobies thought about it for a second. They would have asked for her forgiveness, and it's certain that she must have given it.

But there was a certain truth about it.

"You're twisting the things that happened." Xander said, "Just like with Adam."

"Oh, and I certainly forgot about that demon you summoned, boy." Spike hissed, "How many lives were lost on Sunnydale that day? Did you count? Or where you so busy still remembering how many times I tried to kill you?"

"You know that's not what I wanted to…" Xander began, but he knew that he had no excuse for that. Soon, all the scoobies where remembering the things they had done. It was true. Each and every one of them had done something that hurt their friend, one way or the other.

"So there, people." Spike said, "You filled your mouths with your insults to me, but you have never seen the way your actions hurt the slayer."

The feeling of despair was soon felt on the house. The whole gang didn't know what to do.  Spike, on the other hand, was as desperate as they all were. The memories whirling inside his head were too much for him to take. He had gone defensive immediately and he was still feeling cornered, even if he was the one standing on the outside. He chose to retreat, turning around and walking away when he smelt something that he hadn't smelt before.

A soft odor still lingered on the house. A soft mixture of a flowery scent, mixed with a perfume he hadn't smelt before. But on top of it all, an odor that he had identified so long ago, an essence that embodied so many things that affected his life.

Vanilla.

"You are still a master manipulator, aren't you?" A female's voice was heard. It was followed by two different heartbeats that Spike identified, approaching him from behind.

How had he missed that?

He turned around slowly and his eyes fell on a sight he had erased from his mind.

"Slayer."

End of Chapter.