Title: Grave Flower
Author: Bianca Masiello
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, FX, UPN, Mutant Enemy, blah blah. we know the drill.
Significant Story Note: I feel like I should make a note on Spike's frame of mind in this story as it might be hard to grasp chapter by chapter. Season 7 Spike can be best explained by Three Doors Down 'Gone'. I use this example (not only because I think it's the best rock song released in the past five years) because it captures perfectly a human soul trapped in a paradox, an ether. The line, "Part of me is fighting this, but part of me is gone," portrays Spike in as few and precise words as I could find. Much like Angel, his soul is his conscience, but it does not replace the demon that he still carries. Simply put, he's torn. Because he's so torn, Spike won't always make the best decisions. When Buffy wakes up, he knew he should have staked her. She was a monster. But he couldn't bare losing her. In a sense, he wasn't strong enough to do the right thing (and his demon is still fighting for control and would give anything to live and feed side by side with his love. Not to mention the First's naughty influence over him.) That's basically exactly what I wanted to get across. Thanks!
Walking slow along the path She dare not turn or look back The child like moon's eerie glow The light a place she dare not go May all the dark things hide and cower As she walks the path with her grave flower -Bianca Masiello
Synopsis: Set at the end of Sleeper, what if Spike had gone through with the First's plans? Touch of AU: Tara's alive, and Xand and Anya got hitched. Spuffy but tasteful in a dark way.
------
Awakening
The fight was hard. Xander ducked under a fist and tackled the vamp against a wall. Willow was busy with Tara trying to stake a strong looking male vamp. Anya had dusted one already and was fending off two more.
Xander slammed the vamp's head against the wall and pulled out his stake while she was still stunned. He rammed it into her chest.
"Damn," she breathed as she turned to dust at his shoes. Xander turned to see Anya punch a smaller female one in the face then shove her away, not paying attention to the male coming up behind her.
"Aun, no!" he tried to warn her. The blond turned around, but it was too late. The female came back and grabbed her arms while the male tilted her head to the side. But he never got the chance to bite. Anya watched as the vamp turned to dust, with Xander standing in his wake.
"Thanks." She smiled, and then smacked her head back, head butting the female vamp behind her. She struggled free and turned beside Xander to face the vamp.
Tara and Willow were handling their two just fine. "Amin tusa glassio!" Tara chanted with power. The vamps they were fighting suddenly froze in place. Willow stopped, pulled her wrist out of the male's grasp and examined it.
She glanced over at Tara who was smiling slightly. She reached out and pushed the vamp over. It went rocking to the ground and shattered into a cloud of dust. Willow got the idea and kicked hers over too. The female disappeared into its watery grave.
"Did I ever tell you, you're amazing?" Willow asked happy, they were victorious. Tara just smiled back seductively.
"You're fools! All of you." She yelled. Tara and Willow turned to see Xander and Anya pinning a female vamp against the wall.
"Actually, I think they're pretty smart for their age," Anya commented.
"Who sired you? Was it Spike?" Xander demanded.
"Yea, the bleached wonder turned us," she frowned. "Then he left us to fend for our selves. The Hellmouth is a brutal place to grow up you know," she said, her face shifted back to it's human form. "Especially now."
"Why's that?" Anya interrogated.
"The First is back to take his rightful place on the throne. Everything's in the air, demons are getting' the hell out of dodge left and right." She explained.
"The First," Willow repeated, "That sounds familiar," she turned to Tara for conformation. "I don't recall it, but we can ask Giles later." Tara nodded.
"If you haven't heard by now, god, then you're already too far behind. The end is coming, and Spike or his childe are the least of your problems." She whispered. "You honestly thought your precious Slayer was going to be able to protect you forever?" she almost laughed.
They were quiet, not sure how to respond. The vampire felt them slack around her with worry. So she took the chance. They caught her like a net as she tried to push through them. Xander and Anya slammed her back against the wall, a stake into her chest for good measure.
"Ow, damn." She laughed. "First that tramp steals Spike from us, now her friends are going to finish the job. How poetic." She struggled against the weapon in her chest, barely grazing her heart.
"What do you mean?" Xander asked incredulous. But she never had the chance to answer. Xander watched her green eyes dart from him to something behind him, though he never had a moment to turn around. Some thing bumped into him and he pressed the stake the rest of the way into her chest. The blond vamp turned to dust.
"Hey!" Xander turned around, but there was no one there.
------
Dawn heard them coming in the basement and quickly threw the empty coffee cup into the trash. She hopped off the table returned the spell book back to its rightful shelf as her friends entered the shop.
"How did it go?" she asked quietly. Their long faces made her frightened. Something was terribly wrong.
"What did Giles say?" Tara asked, quickly changing the subject. They were dirty, their stakes were splintered and their shoes were dripping wet as they kicked them off.
"He's coming, this week. Now tell me what happened." She started again.
"That's wonderful," Tara commented. Willow looked over at Dawn, then at Tara. "Dawny, lets sit down." Tara tried to calm her. She walked over to the table and pulled out a chair. Dawn inched towards them but wouldn't sit. The girl crossed her arms defiantly, waiting.
Xander sighed, "We found more vamps Spike sired." He explained. "One of them mentioned a big bad called The First,"
"It may be the Beneath You evil we've been chasing." Willow explained.
"So they are connected." Dawn concluded. Everyone was silent, looking down, stealing little glances at each other. "Look, you're going to have to tell me sooner or later. I'm not going to wither up and die, despite what you might think." She tried to explain. "So?"
Tara looked up at the girl, "We don't know much, we think Spike was down in the tunnel with us. He stopped one of his childe from talking to us. But it's pretty clear that Spike has Buffy. And, she's not ok." They watched Dawn reel with that information. She bent over, like she might be sick, just enough to be visible; then she straightened up.
"We had to expect," Dawn said quietly, her voice low. She would be strong, if it took every thing with in her. If it killed her. "Look, if Spike and his childe were in the same place down there, then Buffy can't be far away from that spot either." Dawn concluded. The others were surprised with her; that was a sharp deduction.
"It's dark now." Will said, "It'll be harder to look for them without running into more vamps." Xander frowned. "As much as I hate this, we need to rest and eat."
"I'm starved," Anya said quietly. Will shot her a baffled and slightly disgusted look, but that was just Anya.
"You know where you were down there? So we can go back?" Dawn questioned. She watched as Tara nodded her head yes. "Good, tomorrow then."
"Dawn," Tara said tentatively.
"No, I won't sit this one out. Buffy's in trouble, my only family, and I'll be damned if she dies and I didn't even try to save her."
------
He carried the girl up the steps and pushed the door open. 634 Hoffman Terrace, their temporary home. She moaned weakly as they walked through the frigid living room, into the hall. He pulled open the basement door and stepped out onto the platform. The room was dark and warmer than the rest of the house, the last soft glow of twilight filtering through the one covered window just above him.
He carefully walked down the steps and to the other end of the basement. His vampire vision adjusted just fine to the dark. Soon it was almost as if someone had turned a light on. The blond set the girl down on a table. She slumped against the surface. He tilted his head and reached out, brushing a bit of hair out of her face.
Then it came. The thing he'd waited for. She moved.
He turned to watch, the same blank expression painted on his face. His mouth not in any way twisted into the smallest smile. His eyes were dead, dark and cold like the rest of him. He took a few steps towards the other table where she rested. She was in the same position he'd laid her in a day ago.
She gasped, her eyes shot open. He could see her convulse, her back arched and her hands twisted. He stood next to the table, viewing her awakening with morbid fascination. She relaxed, and searched the room, her eyes wide drinking any light they could find to let her see. She began to panic. The blond sat up, pushing the blanket he'd laid on her away.
"Buffy," he called softly. Her head turned in his direction. As her eyes rested on him, all her fear drained away. She was alive again.
"Spike," she spoke with such love, he felt his chest tighten. He saw her eyes gloss over and she threw her arms around him.
"That's my girl," the First smiled slyly. "He needs you, make him believe. I'll be back soon, baby." It said, then vanished from her eyes from the spot it was standing behind Spike. She pulled back her arms still draped over his shoulders.
She was so cold. Her touch, was, dead. She glared deeply into his eyes and he had the impulse to pull away. An evil swam around her, glowed in her eyes, something so dark. He couldn't bare knowing he'd put it there.
She smiled, "That soul of yours is beautiful." His eyes flickered with emotion.
"I killed you," he said, the reality of his crime finally fell on him full weight. Buffy smiled warmly and leaned into his ear.
"Thank you," she replied softly. "You've given me so much over the years. Made me feel like no body else could. But this? I'll never be able to repay you." Her voice was honest. Spike felt her hair against his face. He'll never see it shimmer in the sunlight again. And as he though about it more, moisture rose to his eyes. He listened as she smelled the air.
"She's yours," he said quietly, letting his head turn away from her as tears rolled down his face. She smiled wickedly, glancing at his broken from once, then used his shoulder to steady herself as she stood off of the table. A strength continued to build in her bones, something that made her heart dance. It was something more than she'd ever felt as Slayer, and oh so much more wicked.
The girl was on a table near hers. She was petite like Buffy, but with raven black hair, she thought anyway. It was hard to see in the dark.
"How do you see down here?" she asked suddenly, child like curiosity dripping from her voice. Spike turned and slowly walked over to his childe.
"Focus on something, relax your eyes." She did as he spoke, her eyes fixed on the girls dark hair. And the world around her fell into place. It was beautiful, all earth's wonders shrouded in a dark rainbow the likes of which she'd never experienced.
"It's exquisite," she said breathless. "Like seeing the world through the eyes of death," she whispered. Spike had thought the same thing once or twice before, but never shared it with anyone. Drusilla would have just giggled and danced as if he were singing, she always did, and he loved her for it. Angel and Darla might have laughed at him, for a long time, and chalked it up to his old poet soul.
"Do you know how?" he asked. Buffy just studied the girl, as if she'd never seen anything like it.
"I've seen vamps feed. . . seen you do it more than once, Angelus too," she smiled at the thought. "We have to go see them." She said turning from the freshly dead girl to face him.
"And what would you do once we got to LA." He asked. Buffy's eyes flickered with possibilities.
"It's a surprise." She said gleefully. Spike shook his head.
She was so full of life, it was so unusual and. . . enjoyable, almost rewarding.
No. This is wrong. He tried to reason, but the battle was futile. He'd created this creature, and knowing that he could never kill her, he could do nothing else than take care of her. And he couldn't have imagined anything more satisfying than having her company at his side for all eternity.
Buffy watched as Spike reached out with a pocket knife and neared the lifeless girl's face. The cold metal pressed against her skin and split it open. He drew the knife along her cheek bone only a few inches.
The smell of blood struck her so forcefully. Spike smelled it too, but years of the hunt, he was able to control himself effortlessly. Buffy on the other hand, was so young. He studied her. The blonde's eyes widened ever so slightly as a growl erupted from her chest. Spike's demon stirred as she changed for the first time. Golden eyes emerging and her forehead morphed with vampire ridges.
Buffy smiled, her sharp fangs flashing in the dark. She was a thing of dark beauty and Spike couldn't help tilt his head in delight. She moved past him and lifted the limp body up, sliding behind her on the table. Buffy moved from the girl's neck on the far side, to the right where the girl's blood dripped down her face and stained her shirt.
Smelling her skin deeply Buffy breathed, "She's so warm," Then she opened her eyes and glanced up at Spike, seductive, asking for permission.
"Drink," Spike said. The remorse he felt shone through. If he truly thought about everything he'd so recently done, there would be nothing left of him but an empty shell with a dieing, trapped soul inside. And he had to stay alive, strong for her.
He loved her, after all.
She bit down with a savage tenderness Spike hadn't seen in at least a hundred years. Spike loved this woman with such a deep ferocity, he ached. She never stopped surprising him. And now, even his soul knew that he'd never be alone again.
And he liked that feeling.
------
Author: Bianca Masiello
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, FX, UPN, Mutant Enemy, blah blah. we know the drill.
Significant Story Note: I feel like I should make a note on Spike's frame of mind in this story as it might be hard to grasp chapter by chapter. Season 7 Spike can be best explained by Three Doors Down 'Gone'. I use this example (not only because I think it's the best rock song released in the past five years) because it captures perfectly a human soul trapped in a paradox, an ether. The line, "Part of me is fighting this, but part of me is gone," portrays Spike in as few and precise words as I could find. Much like Angel, his soul is his conscience, but it does not replace the demon that he still carries. Simply put, he's torn. Because he's so torn, Spike won't always make the best decisions. When Buffy wakes up, he knew he should have staked her. She was a monster. But he couldn't bare losing her. In a sense, he wasn't strong enough to do the right thing (and his demon is still fighting for control and would give anything to live and feed side by side with his love. Not to mention the First's naughty influence over him.) That's basically exactly what I wanted to get across. Thanks!
Walking slow along the path She dare not turn or look back The child like moon's eerie glow The light a place she dare not go May all the dark things hide and cower As she walks the path with her grave flower -Bianca Masiello
Synopsis: Set at the end of Sleeper, what if Spike had gone through with the First's plans? Touch of AU: Tara's alive, and Xand and Anya got hitched. Spuffy but tasteful in a dark way.
------
Awakening
The fight was hard. Xander ducked under a fist and tackled the vamp against a wall. Willow was busy with Tara trying to stake a strong looking male vamp. Anya had dusted one already and was fending off two more.
Xander slammed the vamp's head against the wall and pulled out his stake while she was still stunned. He rammed it into her chest.
"Damn," she breathed as she turned to dust at his shoes. Xander turned to see Anya punch a smaller female one in the face then shove her away, not paying attention to the male coming up behind her.
"Aun, no!" he tried to warn her. The blond turned around, but it was too late. The female came back and grabbed her arms while the male tilted her head to the side. But he never got the chance to bite. Anya watched as the vamp turned to dust, with Xander standing in his wake.
"Thanks." She smiled, and then smacked her head back, head butting the female vamp behind her. She struggled free and turned beside Xander to face the vamp.
Tara and Willow were handling their two just fine. "Amin tusa glassio!" Tara chanted with power. The vamps they were fighting suddenly froze in place. Willow stopped, pulled her wrist out of the male's grasp and examined it.
She glanced over at Tara who was smiling slightly. She reached out and pushed the vamp over. It went rocking to the ground and shattered into a cloud of dust. Willow got the idea and kicked hers over too. The female disappeared into its watery grave.
"Did I ever tell you, you're amazing?" Willow asked happy, they were victorious. Tara just smiled back seductively.
"You're fools! All of you." She yelled. Tara and Willow turned to see Xander and Anya pinning a female vamp against the wall.
"Actually, I think they're pretty smart for their age," Anya commented.
"Who sired you? Was it Spike?" Xander demanded.
"Yea, the bleached wonder turned us," she frowned. "Then he left us to fend for our selves. The Hellmouth is a brutal place to grow up you know," she said, her face shifted back to it's human form. "Especially now."
"Why's that?" Anya interrogated.
"The First is back to take his rightful place on the throne. Everything's in the air, demons are getting' the hell out of dodge left and right." She explained.
"The First," Willow repeated, "That sounds familiar," she turned to Tara for conformation. "I don't recall it, but we can ask Giles later." Tara nodded.
"If you haven't heard by now, god, then you're already too far behind. The end is coming, and Spike or his childe are the least of your problems." She whispered. "You honestly thought your precious Slayer was going to be able to protect you forever?" she almost laughed.
They were quiet, not sure how to respond. The vampire felt them slack around her with worry. So she took the chance. They caught her like a net as she tried to push through them. Xander and Anya slammed her back against the wall, a stake into her chest for good measure.
"Ow, damn." She laughed. "First that tramp steals Spike from us, now her friends are going to finish the job. How poetic." She struggled against the weapon in her chest, barely grazing her heart.
"What do you mean?" Xander asked incredulous. But she never had the chance to answer. Xander watched her green eyes dart from him to something behind him, though he never had a moment to turn around. Some thing bumped into him and he pressed the stake the rest of the way into her chest. The blond vamp turned to dust.
"Hey!" Xander turned around, but there was no one there.
------
Dawn heard them coming in the basement and quickly threw the empty coffee cup into the trash. She hopped off the table returned the spell book back to its rightful shelf as her friends entered the shop.
"How did it go?" she asked quietly. Their long faces made her frightened. Something was terribly wrong.
"What did Giles say?" Tara asked, quickly changing the subject. They were dirty, their stakes were splintered and their shoes were dripping wet as they kicked them off.
"He's coming, this week. Now tell me what happened." She started again.
"That's wonderful," Tara commented. Willow looked over at Dawn, then at Tara. "Dawny, lets sit down." Tara tried to calm her. She walked over to the table and pulled out a chair. Dawn inched towards them but wouldn't sit. The girl crossed her arms defiantly, waiting.
Xander sighed, "We found more vamps Spike sired." He explained. "One of them mentioned a big bad called The First,"
"It may be the Beneath You evil we've been chasing." Willow explained.
"So they are connected." Dawn concluded. Everyone was silent, looking down, stealing little glances at each other. "Look, you're going to have to tell me sooner or later. I'm not going to wither up and die, despite what you might think." She tried to explain. "So?"
Tara looked up at the girl, "We don't know much, we think Spike was down in the tunnel with us. He stopped one of his childe from talking to us. But it's pretty clear that Spike has Buffy. And, she's not ok." They watched Dawn reel with that information. She bent over, like she might be sick, just enough to be visible; then she straightened up.
"We had to expect," Dawn said quietly, her voice low. She would be strong, if it took every thing with in her. If it killed her. "Look, if Spike and his childe were in the same place down there, then Buffy can't be far away from that spot either." Dawn concluded. The others were surprised with her; that was a sharp deduction.
"It's dark now." Will said, "It'll be harder to look for them without running into more vamps." Xander frowned. "As much as I hate this, we need to rest and eat."
"I'm starved," Anya said quietly. Will shot her a baffled and slightly disgusted look, but that was just Anya.
"You know where you were down there? So we can go back?" Dawn questioned. She watched as Tara nodded her head yes. "Good, tomorrow then."
"Dawn," Tara said tentatively.
"No, I won't sit this one out. Buffy's in trouble, my only family, and I'll be damned if she dies and I didn't even try to save her."
------
He carried the girl up the steps and pushed the door open. 634 Hoffman Terrace, their temporary home. She moaned weakly as they walked through the frigid living room, into the hall. He pulled open the basement door and stepped out onto the platform. The room was dark and warmer than the rest of the house, the last soft glow of twilight filtering through the one covered window just above him.
He carefully walked down the steps and to the other end of the basement. His vampire vision adjusted just fine to the dark. Soon it was almost as if someone had turned a light on. The blond set the girl down on a table. She slumped against the surface. He tilted his head and reached out, brushing a bit of hair out of her face.
Then it came. The thing he'd waited for. She moved.
He turned to watch, the same blank expression painted on his face. His mouth not in any way twisted into the smallest smile. His eyes were dead, dark and cold like the rest of him. He took a few steps towards the other table where she rested. She was in the same position he'd laid her in a day ago.
She gasped, her eyes shot open. He could see her convulse, her back arched and her hands twisted. He stood next to the table, viewing her awakening with morbid fascination. She relaxed, and searched the room, her eyes wide drinking any light they could find to let her see. She began to panic. The blond sat up, pushing the blanket he'd laid on her away.
"Buffy," he called softly. Her head turned in his direction. As her eyes rested on him, all her fear drained away. She was alive again.
"Spike," she spoke with such love, he felt his chest tighten. He saw her eyes gloss over and she threw her arms around him.
"That's my girl," the First smiled slyly. "He needs you, make him believe. I'll be back soon, baby." It said, then vanished from her eyes from the spot it was standing behind Spike. She pulled back her arms still draped over his shoulders.
She was so cold. Her touch, was, dead. She glared deeply into his eyes and he had the impulse to pull away. An evil swam around her, glowed in her eyes, something so dark. He couldn't bare knowing he'd put it there.
She smiled, "That soul of yours is beautiful." His eyes flickered with emotion.
"I killed you," he said, the reality of his crime finally fell on him full weight. Buffy smiled warmly and leaned into his ear.
"Thank you," she replied softly. "You've given me so much over the years. Made me feel like no body else could. But this? I'll never be able to repay you." Her voice was honest. Spike felt her hair against his face. He'll never see it shimmer in the sunlight again. And as he though about it more, moisture rose to his eyes. He listened as she smelled the air.
"She's yours," he said quietly, letting his head turn away from her as tears rolled down his face. She smiled wickedly, glancing at his broken from once, then used his shoulder to steady herself as she stood off of the table. A strength continued to build in her bones, something that made her heart dance. It was something more than she'd ever felt as Slayer, and oh so much more wicked.
The girl was on a table near hers. She was petite like Buffy, but with raven black hair, she thought anyway. It was hard to see in the dark.
"How do you see down here?" she asked suddenly, child like curiosity dripping from her voice. Spike turned and slowly walked over to his childe.
"Focus on something, relax your eyes." She did as he spoke, her eyes fixed on the girls dark hair. And the world around her fell into place. It was beautiful, all earth's wonders shrouded in a dark rainbow the likes of which she'd never experienced.
"It's exquisite," she said breathless. "Like seeing the world through the eyes of death," she whispered. Spike had thought the same thing once or twice before, but never shared it with anyone. Drusilla would have just giggled and danced as if he were singing, she always did, and he loved her for it. Angel and Darla might have laughed at him, for a long time, and chalked it up to his old poet soul.
"Do you know how?" he asked. Buffy just studied the girl, as if she'd never seen anything like it.
"I've seen vamps feed. . . seen you do it more than once, Angelus too," she smiled at the thought. "We have to go see them." She said turning from the freshly dead girl to face him.
"And what would you do once we got to LA." He asked. Buffy's eyes flickered with possibilities.
"It's a surprise." She said gleefully. Spike shook his head.
She was so full of life, it was so unusual and. . . enjoyable, almost rewarding.
No. This is wrong. He tried to reason, but the battle was futile. He'd created this creature, and knowing that he could never kill her, he could do nothing else than take care of her. And he couldn't have imagined anything more satisfying than having her company at his side for all eternity.
Buffy watched as Spike reached out with a pocket knife and neared the lifeless girl's face. The cold metal pressed against her skin and split it open. He drew the knife along her cheek bone only a few inches.
The smell of blood struck her so forcefully. Spike smelled it too, but years of the hunt, he was able to control himself effortlessly. Buffy on the other hand, was so young. He studied her. The blonde's eyes widened ever so slightly as a growl erupted from her chest. Spike's demon stirred as she changed for the first time. Golden eyes emerging and her forehead morphed with vampire ridges.
Buffy smiled, her sharp fangs flashing in the dark. She was a thing of dark beauty and Spike couldn't help tilt his head in delight. She moved past him and lifted the limp body up, sliding behind her on the table. Buffy moved from the girl's neck on the far side, to the right where the girl's blood dripped down her face and stained her shirt.
Smelling her skin deeply Buffy breathed, "She's so warm," Then she opened her eyes and glanced up at Spike, seductive, asking for permission.
"Drink," Spike said. The remorse he felt shone through. If he truly thought about everything he'd so recently done, there would be nothing left of him but an empty shell with a dieing, trapped soul inside. And he had to stay alive, strong for her.
He loved her, after all.
She bit down with a savage tenderness Spike hadn't seen in at least a hundred years. Spike loved this woman with such a deep ferocity, he ached. She never stopped surprising him. And now, even his soul knew that he'd never be alone again.
And he liked that feeling.
------
