CHAPTER NINE: CONFRONTATION
Buffy opened the door to the training room and stepped inside, Erika slowly following her in.
Erika breathed in sharply as she saw the set-up, incredibly impressed by the room, which had obviously been set up for Buffy.
"Wow," she said under her breath.
Buffy grinned a little, despite her almost anger at Erika for not informing her that her vamped Watcher was still on the loose.
"Your Watcher did this for you?" Erika asked.
Buffy nodded. "Yeah. Giles and Xander mainly."
"Wow," she said again.
Buffy went and took a seat on the green sofa, Erika sitting tentatively next to her.
Buffy hesitated before just getting straight to the point.
"Why didn't you tell me that Ryan wasn't dust?" she asked.
Erika paled visibly and Buffy could see her hands beginning to shake.
"How did you know that?" she asked.
"That vamp that just ran in," Buffy said, "He's a friend. He just told me that I had a master vamp gunning for me, 'scept when he told me the vamps name, I knew he wasn't looking for me. He's looking for you."
"He's here? In Sunnydale?" Erika asked, jumping to her feet.
She began pacing, biting at her fingernails nervously.
"He's here. And from what Spike just told me, he's pretty hung up on killing you," Buffy said, not bothering to soften the blow at all. "Why didn't you tell me that you couldn't kill him?"
"What was I meant to say? God, if…if Giles got turned, would you be able to kill him? Could you honestly say that you could look into his eyes and thrust a stake into his heart?" Erika asked, nearly yelling.
In her frustration, the younger Slayer kicked at the punching bag, sending it spinning. She caught it and settled it down easily.
Buffy couldn't even answer.
"You couldn't do it, could you?" Erika asked quietly. "You said you had to kill someone you loved to save the world. I didn't have that. I just had to kill him. And I couldn't. I was…I was so close, but…he just looked at me, and all I could see was him."
Buffy nodded, knowing what it felt like. She had been willing to kill Angelus, but to have to kill Angel…that was one of the hardest decisions she had had to make in her life. But she had made it knowing that if she had let him live, the world would have ended.
"I walked away from him and…I came here the next day. The Council didn't know that he'd been turned. I never told them the truth about what happened and when they asked me if he'd risen, I'd told them no. I knew I couldn't kill him from the very start," Erika said.
"So you'll just let him kill you instead?" Buffy asked. "Turn you? Is that what you want? Do you want to be running from him for the rest of your life?"
"No!" Erika replied angrily. "And if he had even come near any of my friends, I wouldn't have hesitated. But he only ever came after me."
"And what happens when he gets you, huh? Then what?"
"I don't know, okay?" she replied. "I don't know what I'll do."
Buffy shook her head sadly watched as Erika sat down next to her once more.
"I can't kill him," Erika admitted.
Buffy sighed and reached over to give the young Slayer's hand a slight squeeze.
"What if I killed him for you?" Buffy asked gently.
Erika closed her eyes and leant forward, her head going between her knees. She thought for a moment then suddenly looked up.
"Your friend…the vamp that just ran in…how can you guys be friends?" she asked.
"It's a long and very complicated story, but I'll try for the condensed version. Government organisation put a chip in his head, he can't hit, can't feed, can't kill. He got really annoyed, came to us for help. We…reluctantly…gave it to him, and…he got kind of attached to us, and we kinda got attached to him too. He can hurt demons, but not humans," Buffy explained.
Erika sighed. "Don't suppose that government organisation is still around?"
Buffy shook her head sadly, truly understanding what this girl was feeling. Buffy had always wondered why she and Spike almost got along when he didn't have a soul. And it wasn't just the chip that had caused it. They had made alliances long before the chip had ever happened. Maybe Spike was just different.
"Got over-run by the demons they were experimenting on," she explained.
Erika gave a small laugh. "Poetic justice."
Buffy grinned and leant back on the sofa. "That's about my thoughts on it."
Erika put her head in her hands and breathed in deeply.
"I'm gonna hafta kill him, aren't I?"
~*~
Buffy and Erika patrolled again that night, going on Buffy's usual path. The blonde Slayer could tell that Erika was feeling particularly unsettled, something that is never good for a Slayer.
Just as Buffy was about to call it quits for the evening, she heard loud yells coming from a crypt on the other side of the bushes. Erika tensed as she heard it as well.
"Sounds like a party," Erika commented, quickly bringing out her stake from the inside pocket of her jacket.
Buffy grinned, her stake raised. "Feel like crashing?"
Erika nodded and they both leapt forward, landing in the middle of a group of ten vamps. Erika gasped at the complete deja vu of the situation. She quickly regrouped and calmed herself down.
The two Slayers shared a nod and without hesitation, they turned back-to-back and began to fight.
Buffy was a little quicker, taking out two vamps in the time it took for Erika to take down one, though the younger Slayer didn't seem to be struggling.
Her frustration at being followed by her stalking Watcher was coming out through her kicks and punches. Her fear was emphasised by the pounding that two of the vamps took before she thrust the stake home.
In the middle of it all, Spike jumped into the fray with a loud cry, throwing one of the vamps into a headstone in the shape of a cross, satisfied at the sizzling sound the vamp began making.
Buffy, a little distracted by his sudden entrance, was kicked in the stomach and sent reeling backwards, only to bump into another vamp who grabbed her around the waist. She quickly leant forward, tossing him over her shoulder and staking him as he fell flat to the ground.
Spike watched as Erika killed the vamp who had kicked Buffy, the vamp not even noticing the second Slayer sneak up behind him. His face was pure shock as he turned to dust. Spike turned quickly to the vamp who was beginning to scream in pain and staked the creature, putting it out of its misery.
Spike watched as Erika and Buffy fought with the remaining two, enjoying the sight of the two Slayers fighting. There was only one thing he enjoyed more than his 'spot of violence before bedtime'. And that was watching Buffy having a spot of violence before bed-time.
He panicked a little as he saw the second Slayer being thrown by one of the vamps, and he jumped back into the battle without hesitation. He quickly staked the vampire and turned to help Buffy finish off the final vamp.
He ducked to miss the vamps wild punch and quickly retaliated with a punch of his own. Before Spike could hit the vamp in the face, the demon crumbled to dust and Spike's fist hit Buffy's face with a loud crack.
She fell to the ground, yelling in pain.
Spike ran to her, apologising like there was no tomorrow.
"Christ Slayer, I didn't mean it, I swear. I was gonna hit the vamp, but then you dusted him, and I couldn't stop, and…"
"Spike, it's okay. It was an accident," she said reassuringly.
She stood up shakily and touched her nose gently.
"You okay?" he asked, touching her arm lightly. When she didn't brush him off he knew that he had been forgiven and she wasn't just saying that.
"Yeah, it's fine. Slayer healing. Where's Erika?" she asked.
"Here," Erika said with a groan. She stood up and dusted the stray leaves off her backside.
She walked over to where Buffy was still tentatively touching her nose.
"You alright?" she asked.
Buffy nodded. "You?"
"As always. Thank God for fast healing," she said with a smile.
Buffy grinned and looked at Spike who was staring at her, obviously waiting for something.
"Oh. Rik, this is Spike, our resident vampire. Spike, this is Erika. Don't mess with her, she might forget that you're on our side and you'll end up in one of your own ashtrays," Buffy said.
Spike smirked and shook Erika's hand. "Nice to meet you pet."
"I'd say the same about you, but…well…it's a little odd shaking hands with a vampire," she said.
Spike shrugged and perched himself on top of a headstone. "Don't worry luv. I'm not usually in the business of shaking hands with humans either, so…it's a night of firsts all round."
Buffy laughed a little and hit him lightly on the arm.
"Hey, what did I do to you?" he asked defensively.
She just glared at him and pointed to her nose. "Need I say more?"
He had the grace to look a little sheepish. Buffy looked down at her watch and sighed.
"Wanna call it a night?" Buffy asked, looking at Erika.
Erika nodded and watched as Spike jumped off the headstone.
"I'll walk you ladies home," he said charmingly.
Buffy just rolled her eyes, but let him walk with them.