Disclaimer: Still don't own it. If I had tons of money I would buy it, but
I'm poor, and if I weren't it would never end.
*Tears up at thought of the end of Buffy*
I guess I'll just have to suffice with using Joss's characters to create my
own little happy zone where Buffy lives on forever.
Underestimated -
It was Saturday night, well technically it was early Sunday morning, but the slayer and her vampire, being mostly nocturnal, were still awake, lying in Buffy's bed. Tomorrow they would be driving to what used to be Sunnydale to open a portal to a demon dimension to stop Lucidus from gaining control of earth. Just another day on the Hellmouth. Seems even without Sunnydale on top of it the Hellmouth was still the center for all things bad and evil. Typical.
Tomorrow Giles would be over and would tell them everything he knew about this freaky dimension they were about to throw themselves into head first, and Buffy would put herself into total demon-fighting, Slayer mode. But tonight, she was still just a normal girl. Granted, a normal girl with super strength, currently wrapped in the arms of her vampire lover, but for the Slayer, that *was* normal. She embraced the knowledge that she would never be average, she felt safe here, as long as he was with her. As long as he didn't leave her like the rest. As long as he didn't go away again. She shuddered at the thought of losing him, of watching him turn to dust and be gone forever.
"Spike?" she said softly, intertwining her fingers with his.
"Hmm?" He replied nuzzling his head against the back of her neck and kissing it, sending shivers down her spine. Good Lord he was hot.
"Is there anyway I can talk you out of coming with me tomorrow?" she asked him tentatively, already knowing what the answer would be.
"No, pet." He said firmly without opening his eyes. He pulled himself away from her warm neck and turned her over to face him, still holding her hand tightly. "What's this about, luv?" he asked, staring deeply into her eyes the way only he could. No one besides him ever looked at her that deeply. "It's not like we haven't faced worse than this before. We've faced *much* worse, I mean we defeated the First bloody evil." He continued, pushing a strand of hair out of her face lovingly.
"I know. I realize that this isn't the worst thing we've had to face," She said looking down. "But its still risky business. It always is with these things. And I know I can't talk you out of coming with me, but I just...be careful, ok? I can't lose you. And given my history with men, it's likely you either leave me or die so-"
"I'm not leaving you, Buffy." He cut her off. "And I don't plan on dying anytime soon, I bloody well hope." He continued. "Look, pet. I know you haven't had the best luck with men sticking around in your lifetime. And I know you worry I'm gonna up and leave you...but I'm here for the long haul. I promise. I'll never leave you."
She tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to surface. "Ok." She said looking up at him before kissing him gently. He smiled at her, he was so happy. She had rarely opened up to him before, and seldom spoke this openly about her fears regarding men. He would never leave her, he had promised her that and he always kept his promises. Even if she pushed him away, he would always be there, one way or another.
* * *
The Slayer walked the streets. It was dark and cold and the wind blew harshly chilling her to the bone. She wrapped her arms around herself and walked faster down the road. The buildings around her were on fire, and car sirens were going off in the distance.
The place road seemed deserted until suddenly a man ran past her screaming "Get them off of me!!!! Get them off of me!! It stings! Make it stop!!!!" he yelled clawing at his face, there was nothing on him, but in his mind he was dying. Buffy wanted to help him but she couldn't, she had to be somewhere. She couldn't stop walking.
All around her people screamed, panicking about their greatest fears and nightmares that had been able to manifest themselves. Buffy started to run; she ran and ran and ran until she ran straight into Giles.
"Rupert, we have to stop this!" Buffy cried to him, grabbing onto his arms. "How do we stop this?!"
"Its too late now. Now we will all burn. We underestimated..." he stroked her hair, and hugged her. "So proud. She is calling to me. Don't you see her? She's not dead, she's right here" and as he spoke those words he ran away, ran straight into a burning building, following the unseen figment of his imagination - Jenny.
"Giles!!" Buffy yelled as she watched her watcher burn. All she could do was run. As she ran she saw them. Saw all of them living out their fears and nightmares on the side of the road. Dawn was crying for her mom, and willow was tearing off her own skin. "So, bad. Did. Bad. Things. Tara!!!" she cried.
Tears were streaming down Buffy's face as she ran, witnessing her friends imagine themselves into a place of death and terror, where their horrors were as real to them as the vampires they had fought every night for the past seven years. They were living and reliving nightmares, and there was nothing she could do to stop it, it was too late now. She kept running. Her legs wouldn't stop. She finally came to a familiar crypt. She kicked down the door and ran to the figure whimpering in the corner facing the wall. She spun Spike around to face her and gasped at what she saw. Blood was streaming down his face. He had been crying crimson tears of blood.
"Slayer." He said. "I'm so scared Buffy, I'm so sorry. I'm bad, dirty, evil." He said as he broke down crying his head in her lap as they now sat on the cold floor. "I love you," he said. Suddenly he stopped crying and looked up at her. "Don't be late." He said before turning to dust in her arms.
"Spike!" She cried, before turning around to see Lucidus standing in the doorway of the crypt.
"I love the smell of blood." He said. "And now, there's plenty to go around" he cackled. She felt great pain shoot through her entire body, and she screamed, struggling on the floor. The pain was unimaginable and all she could do was scream a bloodcurdling scream.
"Guess I win." Lucidus laughed before disappearing.
All of a sudden Buffy woke up in her bed screaming, the pain from her dream still lingering in the pit of her stomach. She sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed panting to catch her breath. Spike jolted awake and instinctively held on to the Slayer rubbing her back as she fought for her breath. "Shhh..." he said. "It's ok, I'm here." He assured her. She crawled back onto the bed and into his lap and cried in his arms. She let his strong arms calm her down, and she immediately felt safer. She could still feel the pain and fear that Lucidus had inflicted on her. It still endured, even after her dream had ended.
"What did you see?" he asked her softly, still holding her as tight as he could. He hated the thought that she was afraid and in any kind of pain, and was furious with whoever rendered her in this state of fear, and felt the need to get even with whoever it was. He could smell her panic like nothing he had ever sensed from her.
"I saw...." She answered slowly, "...What will happen if we lose." Her crying had slowed and the pain she felt had started to disappear, but the fright was still there. "We have to stop him. Oh god it was so terrifying, like nothing I've ever felt. Spike..." She trailed off as he continued to coo her, rocking back and forth gently.
She hated appearing weak, 'get yourself together, Summers! You're the fucking slayer! Strikes fear in the hearts of the wicked, my ass' she yelled at herself. But, she was so afraid. It was unjustifiable fear; it wasn't like this was her first dream warning her about the dangers of some big baddie out to destroy mankind. But this felt different; it felt so genuine and so awful. It was like Lucidus could horrify you just by looking at you if he wanted to. He could put the dread in your mind and let it linger, just because he had the power to do so.
"Don't worry, pet. We will stop him. I'm right here, I'll always be here." He reassured her. He had assumed this would be easy, that they would kick some demon ass like they always did, but if this demon twat had his Slayer this worked up there must be something more to him. His power must be greater than Spike had thought. Maybe they were underestimating the severity of this particular apocalypse.
Underestimated -
It was Saturday night, well technically it was early Sunday morning, but the slayer and her vampire, being mostly nocturnal, were still awake, lying in Buffy's bed. Tomorrow they would be driving to what used to be Sunnydale to open a portal to a demon dimension to stop Lucidus from gaining control of earth. Just another day on the Hellmouth. Seems even without Sunnydale on top of it the Hellmouth was still the center for all things bad and evil. Typical.
Tomorrow Giles would be over and would tell them everything he knew about this freaky dimension they were about to throw themselves into head first, and Buffy would put herself into total demon-fighting, Slayer mode. But tonight, she was still just a normal girl. Granted, a normal girl with super strength, currently wrapped in the arms of her vampire lover, but for the Slayer, that *was* normal. She embraced the knowledge that she would never be average, she felt safe here, as long as he was with her. As long as he didn't leave her like the rest. As long as he didn't go away again. She shuddered at the thought of losing him, of watching him turn to dust and be gone forever.
"Spike?" she said softly, intertwining her fingers with his.
"Hmm?" He replied nuzzling his head against the back of her neck and kissing it, sending shivers down her spine. Good Lord he was hot.
"Is there anyway I can talk you out of coming with me tomorrow?" she asked him tentatively, already knowing what the answer would be.
"No, pet." He said firmly without opening his eyes. He pulled himself away from her warm neck and turned her over to face him, still holding her hand tightly. "What's this about, luv?" he asked, staring deeply into her eyes the way only he could. No one besides him ever looked at her that deeply. "It's not like we haven't faced worse than this before. We've faced *much* worse, I mean we defeated the First bloody evil." He continued, pushing a strand of hair out of her face lovingly.
"I know. I realize that this isn't the worst thing we've had to face," She said looking down. "But its still risky business. It always is with these things. And I know I can't talk you out of coming with me, but I just...be careful, ok? I can't lose you. And given my history with men, it's likely you either leave me or die so-"
"I'm not leaving you, Buffy." He cut her off. "And I don't plan on dying anytime soon, I bloody well hope." He continued. "Look, pet. I know you haven't had the best luck with men sticking around in your lifetime. And I know you worry I'm gonna up and leave you...but I'm here for the long haul. I promise. I'll never leave you."
She tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to surface. "Ok." She said looking up at him before kissing him gently. He smiled at her, he was so happy. She had rarely opened up to him before, and seldom spoke this openly about her fears regarding men. He would never leave her, he had promised her that and he always kept his promises. Even if she pushed him away, he would always be there, one way or another.
* * *
The Slayer walked the streets. It was dark and cold and the wind blew harshly chilling her to the bone. She wrapped her arms around herself and walked faster down the road. The buildings around her were on fire, and car sirens were going off in the distance.
The place road seemed deserted until suddenly a man ran past her screaming "Get them off of me!!!! Get them off of me!! It stings! Make it stop!!!!" he yelled clawing at his face, there was nothing on him, but in his mind he was dying. Buffy wanted to help him but she couldn't, she had to be somewhere. She couldn't stop walking.
All around her people screamed, panicking about their greatest fears and nightmares that had been able to manifest themselves. Buffy started to run; she ran and ran and ran until she ran straight into Giles.
"Rupert, we have to stop this!" Buffy cried to him, grabbing onto his arms. "How do we stop this?!"
"Its too late now. Now we will all burn. We underestimated..." he stroked her hair, and hugged her. "So proud. She is calling to me. Don't you see her? She's not dead, she's right here" and as he spoke those words he ran away, ran straight into a burning building, following the unseen figment of his imagination - Jenny.
"Giles!!" Buffy yelled as she watched her watcher burn. All she could do was run. As she ran she saw them. Saw all of them living out their fears and nightmares on the side of the road. Dawn was crying for her mom, and willow was tearing off her own skin. "So, bad. Did. Bad. Things. Tara!!!" she cried.
Tears were streaming down Buffy's face as she ran, witnessing her friends imagine themselves into a place of death and terror, where their horrors were as real to them as the vampires they had fought every night for the past seven years. They were living and reliving nightmares, and there was nothing she could do to stop it, it was too late now. She kept running. Her legs wouldn't stop. She finally came to a familiar crypt. She kicked down the door and ran to the figure whimpering in the corner facing the wall. She spun Spike around to face her and gasped at what she saw. Blood was streaming down his face. He had been crying crimson tears of blood.
"Slayer." He said. "I'm so scared Buffy, I'm so sorry. I'm bad, dirty, evil." He said as he broke down crying his head in her lap as they now sat on the cold floor. "I love you," he said. Suddenly he stopped crying and looked up at her. "Don't be late." He said before turning to dust in her arms.
"Spike!" She cried, before turning around to see Lucidus standing in the doorway of the crypt.
"I love the smell of blood." He said. "And now, there's plenty to go around" he cackled. She felt great pain shoot through her entire body, and she screamed, struggling on the floor. The pain was unimaginable and all she could do was scream a bloodcurdling scream.
"Guess I win." Lucidus laughed before disappearing.
All of a sudden Buffy woke up in her bed screaming, the pain from her dream still lingering in the pit of her stomach. She sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed panting to catch her breath. Spike jolted awake and instinctively held on to the Slayer rubbing her back as she fought for her breath. "Shhh..." he said. "It's ok, I'm here." He assured her. She crawled back onto the bed and into his lap and cried in his arms. She let his strong arms calm her down, and she immediately felt safer. She could still feel the pain and fear that Lucidus had inflicted on her. It still endured, even after her dream had ended.
"What did you see?" he asked her softly, still holding her as tight as he could. He hated the thought that she was afraid and in any kind of pain, and was furious with whoever rendered her in this state of fear, and felt the need to get even with whoever it was. He could smell her panic like nothing he had ever sensed from her.
"I saw...." She answered slowly, "...What will happen if we lose." Her crying had slowed and the pain she felt had started to disappear, but the fright was still there. "We have to stop him. Oh god it was so terrifying, like nothing I've ever felt. Spike..." She trailed off as he continued to coo her, rocking back and forth gently.
She hated appearing weak, 'get yourself together, Summers! You're the fucking slayer! Strikes fear in the hearts of the wicked, my ass' she yelled at herself. But, she was so afraid. It was unjustifiable fear; it wasn't like this was her first dream warning her about the dangers of some big baddie out to destroy mankind. But this felt different; it felt so genuine and so awful. It was like Lucidus could horrify you just by looking at you if he wanted to. He could put the dread in your mind and let it linger, just because he had the power to do so.
"Don't worry, pet. We will stop him. I'm right here, I'll always be here." He reassured her. He had assumed this would be easy, that they would kick some demon ass like they always did, but if this demon twat had his Slayer this worked up there must be something more to him. His power must be greater than Spike had thought. Maybe they were underestimating the severity of this particular apocalypse.