Down the street Buffy stormed down, an axe in hand that she had grabbed
from Giles' private collection on his way out. He certainly hadn't been in
any way to stop her. But that wasn't the point. There was a perfectly sane
reason for what was happening to her. It was some demon. And demons could
be killed. It was always some demon, and this time was no different. She'd
kill it and everything would be good and back to normal.
She twisted the weapon around in a circle once, before retaining a firm grip on the handle.
"Buffy?"
Her jaw tightened as she heard the call from behind her. But she didn't halt in her stride. This was just something she had to do. Her stride grew more purposeful as the call sounded from behind her once again.
"Buffy! Damnit, stop will you?"
A firm hand stopped her suddenly in her tracks and spun her around. Decisive in what she wanted to do, Buffy spun around with the axe in hand, aimed at the throat of the one who would dare interfere with her right now. But she should have known from the strength employed by the one behind her that this was not one without amble reflexes either.
"Buffy, what's wrong?" Buffy's eyes chilled over in the face of Riley. She felt nothing staring at him. He was almost surreal, just standing there. She went to turn away and stalk in the general direction of that demon once again.
"Damnit, what are you doing?" Again she was turned around by firm hands, but she didn't take it so easily this time. Wrenching away from his grip, she pushed him easily to the ground, from where he lay to look up at her, confusion all over his face. "Buffy..?"
"No," she said, her voice dead. "Leave me. Now."
Riley struggled back up to his feet, holding his hands up complacently when she got into one of her stances.
"Buffy, I don't understand. Why are you cutting me out like this? Did I do something?" he asked, trying to understand. None of this was making sense.
"I'm the slayer. I always knew it would come down to this. I am alone."
"You don't have to be alone. Is that what this is all about?" Riley asked, taking a careful step forward. "Buffy, I'll stand by you, through everything. You have to know that."
"I don't want -" Buffy cut herself off. "I don't want you to stand by me. I'm the slayer. In the end, the slayer is always alone."
She kicked him back, almost dispassionately, before walking away before even seeing how he landed on his ass in utter bafflement; his pride bruised more than his butt.
She just kept on walking.
*
"Hello, Slayer."
This time the tone of the voice that called to her was completely different. Not simpering or wanting to help. Not understanding or empathetic to her slayer needs. None of that. No, this voice was different; and it was one she would answer to.
"What do you want, Spike?"
"Remember when I said that as soon as you got your death wish, I would be there? That I would have me a very good day?" Spike drawled. Buffy turned and moved closer towards him at the same time as he stepped towards her.
"So Spike? What are you going to do about it then?" she dared him.
A predatory smile curved well shaped lips.
"Do, Slayer? I'm about to have me a very good day," he growled in a low, guttural tone, just before pouncing on her.
She didn't even make token resistance. That would have been playing to what Spike wanted. And even this low, she wasn't about to do that. She merely lifted her neck to give him even fuller access.
To her surprise, he suddenly laughed.
"You know Slayer, you've got more spunk than I ever gave you credit for. Doesn't mean that I'm not going to drain you..." With that, he gritted his teeth against the pain he knew was to come and drunk from her.
He growled in the agonizing pain he felt, before being surprised by more external pain. He reared up to face Buffy, then looked down at the shoulder she had punctured with her stake. Blood already welled there.
"Looks like both of us are about to have ourselves a very good day," she uttered tonelessly.
Spike narrowed his eyes, then watched as her lips attached themselves to the wound at his shoulder. Something suddenly clicked off, and without conscious thought, Spike found himself again sinking towards the skin at the slayer's neck.
This time his target was reached without such intense and illogical pain. He grinned to himself. This was the way it was supposed to be. William the Bloody. He still was a bloody animal! And he was about to prove it.
"My god, B! Gotta say, didn't picture us coming up against each other like this," a sudden and familiar voice broke into the moment.
Drowsily, Buffy pulled away from her poison of choice to stare dully at the brunette slayer.
"I mean, geez, I knew you had a hankering for vampires, but this is bad, even for you!" Faith seemed almost at a loss for words in her incredulity.
"Run, Faith. Run very far," Buffy said, in a deeper than natural voice.
Faith tilted her head to the side marginally.
"You know B, somehow, I just don't see that that's going to be happening around now. Can you really blame me for that?"
Without giving her time to respond, Faith leapt forward to attack. With faster reflexes, Spike jumped between the two slayers, preventing immediate attack.
"Sorry luv," he said, "But you just happened to interrupt something pretty personally there. You'll have to schedule your surprise attack on the slayer some other time."
While Faith was forming a reply to that, she happened to look over Spike's shoulder at Buffy, and what she saw halted her response for a moment or two.
"Not just a slayer, Spike," he heard her say in a voice she had never used before. Slowly, he also turned to a sight he had somehow never expected to see.
Dark ridges and hollows decorated the whole of Buffy's formerly human features. When she smiled, the appearance seemed even more frightful.
Spike took glory in the sight. This was his girl. What a wholly novel way to take care of a slayer. He turned around again to see how Faith was taking the show.
Her eyes were widened and she was obviously making an effort to compose herself in the face of such monstrosity. Although she had killed more than once and took relish in the dusting of local undead residence on the side, in all her work, she had never seen something like this. Scarily enough, it gave her a view straight into her own mortality; one she definitely did not relish embracing.
"Why Faith, you seem shocked," Buffy crooned. "Wasn't there something you wanted to show me? Well, come on then, I don't have all night." Again, a sly smile exposed all of her newly pointed teeth.
Against all of her self control, Faith took a step back. With toughly summoned bravado, she said, "Oh, your Scooby pals are going to love to see this!"
Buffy put a mocking hand to her lips as she faced Spike with wide eyes.
"I'd forgotten all about them! What shall they think of me?" Spike smirked. Buffy turned again to Faith. "I look forward to informing them of the news."
Faith seemed again at quite a loss. This night wasn't turning out anything like she'd expected. However, the girl knew when she was facing a losing fight, and at the moment, she was facing a very losing fight. She knew when to retreat.
"I'll be seeing you around, B. It will be a pleasure to dust your ass. A definite pleasure!" With that, Faith turned and bounded away up one of the near drain pipes and towards the roofs above.
Spike and Buffy watched her go despondently. Pulling away from Spike, Buffy's mind was already on other things. Like how she would now be able to prove one way or another what Angel was up to, now that she was on his level.
She stepped back from Spike, and strode down the alleyway that he had found her in. Using one of her new vampiric senses, she set about smelling him out; something that she had always pointed out as an utter turnoff in the past, but which she found had quite the uses in this situation.
Suddenly, a hand clamped down on her arm from behind.
"What the hell do you think you are doing, slayer?" Spike asked, surprised that she would walk away from him so fast now that she had gotten what she so obviously had wanted from him. He felt mildly used.
Not knowing or not caring about his feelings either way, Buffy spun to face him, shifting into game face as she did.
"Get off me," she growled, before turning, shifting back and continuing on her way.
Behind her, Spike gritted his teeth and set his jaw. There was something definitely amiss here, and damned if he wasn't going to get to the bottom of it. The slayer had knowingly dragged him into her mess, and now she was going to have a hell of a time getting him back out of it again if he could had anything to say about it!
She twisted the weapon around in a circle once, before retaining a firm grip on the handle.
"Buffy?"
Her jaw tightened as she heard the call from behind her. But she didn't halt in her stride. This was just something she had to do. Her stride grew more purposeful as the call sounded from behind her once again.
"Buffy! Damnit, stop will you?"
A firm hand stopped her suddenly in her tracks and spun her around. Decisive in what she wanted to do, Buffy spun around with the axe in hand, aimed at the throat of the one who would dare interfere with her right now. But she should have known from the strength employed by the one behind her that this was not one without amble reflexes either.
"Buffy, what's wrong?" Buffy's eyes chilled over in the face of Riley. She felt nothing staring at him. He was almost surreal, just standing there. She went to turn away and stalk in the general direction of that demon once again.
"Damnit, what are you doing?" Again she was turned around by firm hands, but she didn't take it so easily this time. Wrenching away from his grip, she pushed him easily to the ground, from where he lay to look up at her, confusion all over his face. "Buffy..?"
"No," she said, her voice dead. "Leave me. Now."
Riley struggled back up to his feet, holding his hands up complacently when she got into one of her stances.
"Buffy, I don't understand. Why are you cutting me out like this? Did I do something?" he asked, trying to understand. None of this was making sense.
"I'm the slayer. I always knew it would come down to this. I am alone."
"You don't have to be alone. Is that what this is all about?" Riley asked, taking a careful step forward. "Buffy, I'll stand by you, through everything. You have to know that."
"I don't want -" Buffy cut herself off. "I don't want you to stand by me. I'm the slayer. In the end, the slayer is always alone."
She kicked him back, almost dispassionately, before walking away before even seeing how he landed on his ass in utter bafflement; his pride bruised more than his butt.
She just kept on walking.
*
"Hello, Slayer."
This time the tone of the voice that called to her was completely different. Not simpering or wanting to help. Not understanding or empathetic to her slayer needs. None of that. No, this voice was different; and it was one she would answer to.
"What do you want, Spike?"
"Remember when I said that as soon as you got your death wish, I would be there? That I would have me a very good day?" Spike drawled. Buffy turned and moved closer towards him at the same time as he stepped towards her.
"So Spike? What are you going to do about it then?" she dared him.
A predatory smile curved well shaped lips.
"Do, Slayer? I'm about to have me a very good day," he growled in a low, guttural tone, just before pouncing on her.
She didn't even make token resistance. That would have been playing to what Spike wanted. And even this low, she wasn't about to do that. She merely lifted her neck to give him even fuller access.
To her surprise, he suddenly laughed.
"You know Slayer, you've got more spunk than I ever gave you credit for. Doesn't mean that I'm not going to drain you..." With that, he gritted his teeth against the pain he knew was to come and drunk from her.
He growled in the agonizing pain he felt, before being surprised by more external pain. He reared up to face Buffy, then looked down at the shoulder she had punctured with her stake. Blood already welled there.
"Looks like both of us are about to have ourselves a very good day," she uttered tonelessly.
Spike narrowed his eyes, then watched as her lips attached themselves to the wound at his shoulder. Something suddenly clicked off, and without conscious thought, Spike found himself again sinking towards the skin at the slayer's neck.
This time his target was reached without such intense and illogical pain. He grinned to himself. This was the way it was supposed to be. William the Bloody. He still was a bloody animal! And he was about to prove it.
"My god, B! Gotta say, didn't picture us coming up against each other like this," a sudden and familiar voice broke into the moment.
Drowsily, Buffy pulled away from her poison of choice to stare dully at the brunette slayer.
"I mean, geez, I knew you had a hankering for vampires, but this is bad, even for you!" Faith seemed almost at a loss for words in her incredulity.
"Run, Faith. Run very far," Buffy said, in a deeper than natural voice.
Faith tilted her head to the side marginally.
"You know B, somehow, I just don't see that that's going to be happening around now. Can you really blame me for that?"
Without giving her time to respond, Faith leapt forward to attack. With faster reflexes, Spike jumped between the two slayers, preventing immediate attack.
"Sorry luv," he said, "But you just happened to interrupt something pretty personally there. You'll have to schedule your surprise attack on the slayer some other time."
While Faith was forming a reply to that, she happened to look over Spike's shoulder at Buffy, and what she saw halted her response for a moment or two.
"Not just a slayer, Spike," he heard her say in a voice she had never used before. Slowly, he also turned to a sight he had somehow never expected to see.
Dark ridges and hollows decorated the whole of Buffy's formerly human features. When she smiled, the appearance seemed even more frightful.
Spike took glory in the sight. This was his girl. What a wholly novel way to take care of a slayer. He turned around again to see how Faith was taking the show.
Her eyes were widened and she was obviously making an effort to compose herself in the face of such monstrosity. Although she had killed more than once and took relish in the dusting of local undead residence on the side, in all her work, she had never seen something like this. Scarily enough, it gave her a view straight into her own mortality; one she definitely did not relish embracing.
"Why Faith, you seem shocked," Buffy crooned. "Wasn't there something you wanted to show me? Well, come on then, I don't have all night." Again, a sly smile exposed all of her newly pointed teeth.
Against all of her self control, Faith took a step back. With toughly summoned bravado, she said, "Oh, your Scooby pals are going to love to see this!"
Buffy put a mocking hand to her lips as she faced Spike with wide eyes.
"I'd forgotten all about them! What shall they think of me?" Spike smirked. Buffy turned again to Faith. "I look forward to informing them of the news."
Faith seemed again at quite a loss. This night wasn't turning out anything like she'd expected. However, the girl knew when she was facing a losing fight, and at the moment, she was facing a very losing fight. She knew when to retreat.
"I'll be seeing you around, B. It will be a pleasure to dust your ass. A definite pleasure!" With that, Faith turned and bounded away up one of the near drain pipes and towards the roofs above.
Spike and Buffy watched her go despondently. Pulling away from Spike, Buffy's mind was already on other things. Like how she would now be able to prove one way or another what Angel was up to, now that she was on his level.
She stepped back from Spike, and strode down the alleyway that he had found her in. Using one of her new vampiric senses, she set about smelling him out; something that she had always pointed out as an utter turnoff in the past, but which she found had quite the uses in this situation.
Suddenly, a hand clamped down on her arm from behind.
"What the hell do you think you are doing, slayer?" Spike asked, surprised that she would walk away from him so fast now that she had gotten what she so obviously had wanted from him. He felt mildly used.
Not knowing or not caring about his feelings either way, Buffy spun to face him, shifting into game face as she did.
"Get off me," she growled, before turning, shifting back and continuing on her way.
Behind her, Spike gritted his teeth and set his jaw. There was something definitely amiss here, and damned if he wasn't going to get to the bottom of it. The slayer had knowingly dragged him into her mess, and now she was going to have a hell of a time getting him back out of it again if he could had anything to say about it!
