CHAPTER TEN: HIT ME
They were half a block away from Buffy's house when Buffy stopped walking all of a sudden. Spike turned to her, looking concerned.
"Slayer? You alright?" he asked.
She looked at him, her eyes wide and frightened.
"Hit me," she said desperately.
He couldn't help but stare at her, wondering if she'd gone crazy.
"Sorry?" he asked, trying to work out of she was serious or not.
"Hit me," she repeated.
He shook his head and stepped back. "I don't particularly fancy a migraine luv."
Her fist shot out and hit his nose. "Hit me!" she yelled at him.
Erika stepped back, not entirely sure what was going on. She was tempted to run up the street to Buffy's house and get Giles to come outside and calm his Slayer down.
"Ow, bloody hell!" Spike cried, stumbling backwards, clutching his nose. "I'm not gonna hit you."
Buffy just glared at him and swung her fist at his face once more.
Erika took off down the street, running as fast as she could to get Giles. Spike watched, hoping like hell that Giles would be able to work out what had suddenly possessed his Slayer.
"What is wrong with you Slayer?" Spike asked angrily.
She hit him again, making him increasingly madder.
"Stop it!" he yelled at her, grabbing her by the shoulders. She pushed him away from her and punched him again.
Infuriated, Spike finally punched back just as Giles and Erika arrived.
Buffy went flying to the ground. She looked up at Spike, tears in her eyes. He just looked down at her, angry that he had been provoked into hitting her. Suddenly, he realised something.
No pain.
Giles stepped forward, placing himself between Spike and his Slayer, though from the look in Spike's eyes, Spike was too shocked to even think about finishing the Slayer off.
"You didn't know about this, did you?" Giles asked.
Spike just shook his head, too shocked to form words.
"No. I mean…I haven't…I haven't exactly tested it out. Didn't really like the migraines that came with it," Spike said. He put his hand up to his head, as though he would be able to touch the chip inside.
Buffy stood up shakily, Giles helping her to stand. He could see the fear in her eyes, and he understood it. Spike had been one of her fiercest nemeses. And if his chip was no longer working, he could go back to killing.
Spike swore softly as he pulled his hand away from his head. He looked at the Watcher and the Slayers, suddenly wondering where that left him.
"How could…why would this happen now? I mean…ain't these government chip things meant to be everlasting? You'd think they woulda been made a little more durable," Spike said, a note of panic in his voice.
Buffy stepped forward and looked at the vampire. She hadn't expected him to be upset at the prospect of his chip no longer working. She looked back at Giles, tears in her eyes.
"What if it still works?" Buffy asked.
Spike and Giles both looked at her, wondering why she would ask that.
"Slayer, I just knocked you flat on your bum," Spike reminded her. "How could my chip be working?"
"Try it again," Buffy said.
Spike shook his head. "No. I'm not gonna hit you."
Erika hesitated a moment and stepped forward.
"Then hit me," she offered.
Spike looked at her and shook his head. "Sorry pet. I don't hit people I don't know," he said.
Buffy looked at him curiously. He sighed and rolled his eyes, caught out in his lie. He bounced on his feet, really not wanting to hit the Slayer who he didn't know.
"Alright, but…one condition," Spike said. "No staking me."
Buffy and Erika both nodded and Spike clenched his hand into a fist.
He quickly shot a punch at her and fell to the ground in pain, his chip going off painfully.
Buffy watched in horror and Spike's chip activated. Her knees gave way and she fell to the ground, tears coming to her face.
Spike turned to look at her as well, confusion and pain coming over his face.
Giles quickly dropped to his knees, his arms going around the Slayer, but she pushed him away.
"Don't touch me!" she yelled, scared and a little angry that this was happening.
She quickly stood up, gave a final look at the group and ran as fast as she could.
"Buffy!" Giles called after her.
He went to run after her, but Spike put his hand on the Watcher's shoulder.
"Just leave her be. She needs a bit of time."
Giles nodded reluctantly and closed his eyes, wondering just how much more his Slayer would have to go through.
The group stood there, each of them deep in thought. After a few moments, Giles looked up.
"We should get inside."
~*~
Willow and Tara looked up as they saw the group enter the room. Willow was on her feet in an instant when she noticed that the group was looking sombre and that they were missing a group member.
"Where's Buffy?" she asked, trying not to panic.
The three of them moved into the living room and sat down tiredly.
"She ran off," Spike answered when he realised that the Watcher was in no condition to explain what had happened.
"Ran off? Why?" Willow asked.
Spike hesitated, knowing that the witches were oblivious to everything that had been happening in Buffy's life since she had come back. It was only the vampire and the Watcher who knew the truth of her whereabouts, and suddenly, Spike felt the need to punish the girl who had so carelessly ruined Buffy's life.
"Came back wrong," Spike said succinctly.
Willow sat down, not trusting her legs to hold her up.
"What do you mean? What wrong?" she asked.
Spike smirked and looked at the Watcher who silently gave him the go ahead.
"She came back wrong," Spike repeated. "You and your bloody magicks."
Willow swallowed hard and Tara grabbed her hand supportively.
"She…she can't have. I mean…what do you mean wrong? She's…she's fine. She's just a little…I mean, wouldn't you be wrong if you'd been tortured in hell for months on end?"
Spike glared at the witch and stood up, moving to stand in front of her. He wanted to strangle the girl, but the headache from hitting Erika was still present in his mind.
Spike didn't miss the furious look in Giles' eyes as well, and he knew that Buffy had finally told her Watcher the truth.
"She's not fine Red," he said. "And it has nothing to do with where she was. She came back wrong because of you and your bloody spell."
Erika bit her lip, having little to no idea what the argument was about. Buffy had left out a lot of slaying stories, due to time constraints and not wanting to share too much with someone she barely knew. She looked at Giles who was looking almost catatonic, worry stretched across his face.
"There's nothing wrong with her," Willow yelled, standing up suddenly, hating that Spike was looking down at her.
They were standing eye-to-eye, glaring at one another with hatred.
"Oh really?" Spike asked arrogantly. "Then tell me…why can I hit her?"
Willow paled. "Maybe your chip doesn't work properly."
Spike smirked at her. "Oh it works. I can prove it if you'd like," he said, almost willing to endure the migraine if it meant he got a shot at the witch.
Willow quickly moved away, putting herself behind the coffee table and closer to Giles.
"She's…she's not a demon," Willow said.
Spike shot her a look of complete hatred.
"You knew that she could come back wrong?" Spike accused.
Willow floundered for the right words to say. Spike jumped the table and grabbed her by the throat.
"Yes or no Red?" he asked angrily. "Did. You. Know?"
Willow hesitated but felt Spike's fingers begin to tighten around her neck. She pushed him away, half with her own strength, half with magic.
"There was a slight risk, alright?" Willow said.
Tara and Giles looked up at her, Tara gasping slightly.
The quiet witch stood up and left the room, heading towards the kitchen without another word. Erika quietly followed her, knowing that whatever was about to happen was really none of her business.
Giles stood up and looked at her.
"You knew that she could come back wrong, and you still went ahead with the spell?" Giles asked, wondering how he had ever trusted her above all the others.
"The risk was tiny, I swear," she said, moving backwards. Her back suddenly hit the fireplace, and she watched as both Spike and Giles advanced angrily.
"What is she?!" Spike yelled.
~*~
Tara sat at a chair at the bench, staring blankly at the wall. She looked up as Erika came in as well. Tara gave her a small smile.
"Tell me it's not always this tense around here," Erika said, taking a seat next to Tara.
Tara sighed and shook her head. "No, it's not. You just picked a pretty bad time to join the Scooby Gang."
Erika grinned at the expression. "How long have you been part of it?"
"A little over a year," she replied. "It's usually a lot less hectic. Sort of."
"Sort of?" Erika repeated.
Tara hesitated but knew that this girl was going to find out everything in one way or another.
"The anger's usually centred elsewhere, not inwards. But…lately…ever since Buffy came back, everything's been…tense," Tara explained.
Erika looked at her curiously, somewhat excited by the fact that she might finally find out what everyone meant by Buffy coming back.
"Uh…where was she?" Erika asked.
Tara looked at her, a little shocked that no one had really explained what had happened to Buffy even though everyone had been mentioning it that afternoon at the Magic Box. No wonder Erika had looked so confused, Tara thought.
Tara stood up and moved around to the other side of bench. She opened up the bottom drawer and took out a scrapbook. It belonged to Giles, though the group had claimed it as official Scooby property when Buffy had died. No one had thought to give it back to him since Buffy had come home.
Tara opened the book to the back pages. She found what she was looking for and slid the book over to Erika.
Erika read it silently and looked up, now completely bewildered.
"This is Buffy's obituary."
Tara nodded sadly. "She died. About six months ago."
Erika looked down at the scrapbook again, making sure she hadn't been reading wrong.
"Is she…she's not a vampire is she?" she asked.
"No. She uh…she was killed by…well, it's hard to explain, but it was mystical energy. Uh…her younger sister Dawn is a key of sorts. A ball of energy that opens up the portals between dimensions. Dawn's blood opens them, and when her blood stops flowing, it closes them. Except, Buffy and Dawn have the same blood, so…Buffy closed the portal in Dawn's place. And…we brought her back," Tara explained.
"How?"
"Magick," Tara said simply.
Erika breathed in sharply. There was a whole other side to this slaying gig that she had yet to find out about. Ryan had only really taught her about the demons and vampires. He had mentioned magicks as a part of what he had yet to teach her, but he had never had the chance.
"So what went wrong?" Erika asked.
Tara shrugged and wiped a tear from her eyes. "I don't know," she replied miserably. "Will said it would work but…none of us even thought to question it. We just wanted her back."
Erika sighed and looked down at the scrapbook again. There were photos and drawings and silly quotes written throughout it. She turned to the front of the book went through page by page, slowly learning more about her fellow Slayer, and, somehow, learning more about herself in the process.
------------------------
Willow backed up further against the fireplace.
"I don't know," she said, suddenly feeling a very real fear of being killed by two of the people that she trusted most in the world.
Giles stopped and looked at her in disgust.
"You don't know?" he asked quietly, his voice filling with rage.
Willow ran past them both, putting herself closer to the front door.
"She's not evil, I know that much," Willow said.
The front door suddenly opened and she looked to see Buffy walk through the door, her face dirty and tear-streaked. Willow breathed in, wondering if she would come out of this in one-piece. It was one thing against Spike and Giles but another against a Slayer.
Buffy stepped forward and Willow tensed, preparing for a fight she knew she could never win. Buffy looked as though she was going to yell, but she just looked sadly at her friend and walked past her, going up the stairs.
Giles watched her as she took the stairs slowly, the room suddenly becoming overly silent.
Spike rubbed his face and looked at Giles.
"You should go up there, mate," he said quietly.
Giles nodded his agreement and tiredly moved up the stairs.
Spike sighed quietly and shot Willow a final look of disgust before walking into the kitchen, leaving Willow alone with her thoughts, something far scarier than Spike's words of hatred.