Phase 24
She was silent and simply lowered the stake to the ground. Her hands stilled on her lap as she
slowly lifted her gaze to his.
In her eyes gleamed the quiet pain of unrequited emotion.
Oz was perplexed. Nancy was his rock, his steady ground. He depended on her to keep him as
sane as possible in this insane world.
She was hurt, he had hurt her, that much was obvious.
And the cause of that hurt lay unconscious before them both. His eyes traveled over the lovely
vampire. Willow. Beautiful, powerful, bloodthirsty Willow. Long ago she'd been his and he'd
fallen hard for the shy girl. He had slowly brought her out of her shell and shown her how truly
magnificent and rare she was. They had something special.
Then it had all gone to hell... literally. Now Willow and Xander reigned over Sunnydale and Oz
was part of a tiny resistance that was set to do the impossible. Yet, the worst was knowing that
no matter what happened he would never bring Willow back. His mind accepted this, but maybe
his heart...
And it was that tiny flame of hope that killed Nancy.
He tried to make it better.
"There is nothing...left between her and me. That is not Willow"he professed quietly.
She laughed bitterly. "I don't think that's the truth. Part of her is still inside. Just like in Spike"
"That's different. He is different"
"How so? Didn't you hear the first part of the story and how he used to be with her? How he
treated her? Then they fell in love but it wasn't like that at the beginning and I know that you
have thought of that. I know in my heart that you want her back even after all she's done and all
the people she has killed"
He was silent as the truth of her words reverberated throughout the van. For once he had no
witty comeback, no clever retort. Out of all the women he'd known, only Nancy could leave
him speechless.
Nancy wiped her eyes with the back of her sweatshirt sleeve. She cleared her throat in an effort
to regain her composure. With determination, she stood up and went to retrieve her weapons.
When she spoke, it was without emotion.
"I'm gonna go help Larry. You should stay with her and make sure that she doesn't awaken or
that the vamps find that we have her"
"Nancy I..." he stammered
"I don't want to hear it anymore. It really doesn't matter anyway. And if we get through today, I
won't mention it again. I'm going to forget you, that I promise you" she said steadily.
And with that she left the van. Oz looked at her retreating form knowing that she would keep
her promise. That realization caused an odd pain to settle in his heart but he didn't have time to
dwell on it as a familiar voice echoed in the emptiness.
"Now that was interesting" as cold singsong voice.
Willow.
###
She entered the cavernous room and her senses went instantly into overdrive. Giles had warned
her that the master would elicit a strong response on her part. He was something ancient and
primeval that affected the very core of her calling: instinct and origin. She had been born to face
this guy.
Buffy clenched her trusty stake harder and felt the warm familiarity of the wooden weapon. She
breathed through her nose in an effort to tame her jangled nerves.
The Master of vampires was calmly seated on a red velvet throne. In his hand he held a wine
goblet halfway filled with a substance too thick to be wine. He sipped from the goblet and
tossed the rest onto the marble fireplace to the left of him. Slowly he unfurled from his chair
elegantly and without care. The yellowish eyes focused on the young woman in front of him.
"Ahh, the Slayer I presume"
She didn't say anything and merely glared at the vampire before her. Her heart rate was going a
thousand a minute and her muscles were twitching in anticipation.
"So young, so doomed to die young. Aren't you girls getting weary of your fates yet?"
Buffy remained silent while gauging her best chance at an attack.
"Still, I sense something different about you. Some formed and treasured attachment to this
world. I daresay that I could name him, actually he is blood of my blood. The same blood that
my dear Willow has been spilling just a floor beneath us. I never thought that torturing one of
our own could be so much fun" he taunted.
Screw technique and timing. This bastard was going down now. Buffy lunged at the vampire,
her movements were whirling of violence that made the creature pull back at first before
responding in kind. Although the ancient master was not as agile as his acolytes, his strength
more than made up for his deficiencies.
He grabbed the Slayer by the shoulders and threw her several feet to crash against his throne.
Buffy's breath was knocked from her body but she was on her feet immediately. A good right
kick sent the creature sprawling on the ground but he was up before she could inflict real
damage.
But the Slayer was not deterred. She intensified the force of her attack only to find that the
Master responded in kind. Buffy was getting quite a beating but she gave it all back with
everything she had. The vampire was nothing like she'd ever faced before and she understood
the severity of the risk. This thing would most likely kill her.
But then what would happen to Spike.
It was enough to recharge her. She had to win.
Her determination made up for her general inexperience. The vampire faltered and stepped
back. She pounded his form with all her might. The creature hissed at her, his yellowed fangs
bared at her. The gesture was enough to distract her.
The Master gripped the Slayer by the throat and forced her to face away from him. Buffy felt his
fangs tearing through layers of skin at her neck. The pain of the bite traveled to her mind and
paralyzed it with fear.
**Spike...forgive me** the plea ran through her dying brain as her heart began to slow down...
###
He was cold...so very cold...like death.
Death at this point would be a kindness. He had never been a quitter but now just the thought of
tomorrow made him want to cry.
The vampire lay in his cell. He had molded his broken body into the farthest darkened corner.
The part of him that was still sane understood the futility of his actions. She could always get
him, no matter where he hid.
And the knowledge, the anticipation of the pain she could and would inflict was more than he
could withstand.
So he prayed for deliverance from a God that he never really stopped believing in even after he'd
turned away from him.
With his body in tatters and his heart in shreds he uttered one final plea.
"forgive me...Buffy"
TBC.
She was silent and simply lowered the stake to the ground. Her hands stilled on her lap as she
slowly lifted her gaze to his.
In her eyes gleamed the quiet pain of unrequited emotion.
Oz was perplexed. Nancy was his rock, his steady ground. He depended on her to keep him as
sane as possible in this insane world.
She was hurt, he had hurt her, that much was obvious.
And the cause of that hurt lay unconscious before them both. His eyes traveled over the lovely
vampire. Willow. Beautiful, powerful, bloodthirsty Willow. Long ago she'd been his and he'd
fallen hard for the shy girl. He had slowly brought her out of her shell and shown her how truly
magnificent and rare she was. They had something special.
Then it had all gone to hell... literally. Now Willow and Xander reigned over Sunnydale and Oz
was part of a tiny resistance that was set to do the impossible. Yet, the worst was knowing that
no matter what happened he would never bring Willow back. His mind accepted this, but maybe
his heart...
And it was that tiny flame of hope that killed Nancy.
He tried to make it better.
"There is nothing...left between her and me. That is not Willow"he professed quietly.
She laughed bitterly. "I don't think that's the truth. Part of her is still inside. Just like in Spike"
"That's different. He is different"
"How so? Didn't you hear the first part of the story and how he used to be with her? How he
treated her? Then they fell in love but it wasn't like that at the beginning and I know that you
have thought of that. I know in my heart that you want her back even after all she's done and all
the people she has killed"
He was silent as the truth of her words reverberated throughout the van. For once he had no
witty comeback, no clever retort. Out of all the women he'd known, only Nancy could leave
him speechless.
Nancy wiped her eyes with the back of her sweatshirt sleeve. She cleared her throat in an effort
to regain her composure. With determination, she stood up and went to retrieve her weapons.
When she spoke, it was without emotion.
"I'm gonna go help Larry. You should stay with her and make sure that she doesn't awaken or
that the vamps find that we have her"
"Nancy I..." he stammered
"I don't want to hear it anymore. It really doesn't matter anyway. And if we get through today, I
won't mention it again. I'm going to forget you, that I promise you" she said steadily.
And with that she left the van. Oz looked at her retreating form knowing that she would keep
her promise. That realization caused an odd pain to settle in his heart but he didn't have time to
dwell on it as a familiar voice echoed in the emptiness.
"Now that was interesting" as cold singsong voice.
Willow.
###
She entered the cavernous room and her senses went instantly into overdrive. Giles had warned
her that the master would elicit a strong response on her part. He was something ancient and
primeval that affected the very core of her calling: instinct and origin. She had been born to face
this guy.
Buffy clenched her trusty stake harder and felt the warm familiarity of the wooden weapon. She
breathed through her nose in an effort to tame her jangled nerves.
The Master of vampires was calmly seated on a red velvet throne. In his hand he held a wine
goblet halfway filled with a substance too thick to be wine. He sipped from the goblet and
tossed the rest onto the marble fireplace to the left of him. Slowly he unfurled from his chair
elegantly and without care. The yellowish eyes focused on the young woman in front of him.
"Ahh, the Slayer I presume"
She didn't say anything and merely glared at the vampire before her. Her heart rate was going a
thousand a minute and her muscles were twitching in anticipation.
"So young, so doomed to die young. Aren't you girls getting weary of your fates yet?"
Buffy remained silent while gauging her best chance at an attack.
"Still, I sense something different about you. Some formed and treasured attachment to this
world. I daresay that I could name him, actually he is blood of my blood. The same blood that
my dear Willow has been spilling just a floor beneath us. I never thought that torturing one of
our own could be so much fun" he taunted.
Screw technique and timing. This bastard was going down now. Buffy lunged at the vampire,
her movements were whirling of violence that made the creature pull back at first before
responding in kind. Although the ancient master was not as agile as his acolytes, his strength
more than made up for his deficiencies.
He grabbed the Slayer by the shoulders and threw her several feet to crash against his throne.
Buffy's breath was knocked from her body but she was on her feet immediately. A good right
kick sent the creature sprawling on the ground but he was up before she could inflict real
damage.
But the Slayer was not deterred. She intensified the force of her attack only to find that the
Master responded in kind. Buffy was getting quite a beating but she gave it all back with
everything she had. The vampire was nothing like she'd ever faced before and she understood
the severity of the risk. This thing would most likely kill her.
But then what would happen to Spike.
It was enough to recharge her. She had to win.
Her determination made up for her general inexperience. The vampire faltered and stepped
back. She pounded his form with all her might. The creature hissed at her, his yellowed fangs
bared at her. The gesture was enough to distract her.
The Master gripped the Slayer by the throat and forced her to face away from him. Buffy felt his
fangs tearing through layers of skin at her neck. The pain of the bite traveled to her mind and
paralyzed it with fear.
**Spike...forgive me** the plea ran through her dying brain as her heart began to slow down...
###
He was cold...so very cold...like death.
Death at this point would be a kindness. He had never been a quitter but now just the thought of
tomorrow made him want to cry.
The vampire lay in his cell. He had molded his broken body into the farthest darkened corner.
The part of him that was still sane understood the futility of his actions. She could always get
him, no matter where he hid.
And the knowledge, the anticipation of the pain she could and would inflict was more than he
could withstand.
So he prayed for deliverance from a God that he never really stopped believing in even after he'd
turned away from him.
With his body in tatters and his heart in shreds he uttered one final plea.
"forgive me...Buffy"
TBC.