six.

"I ... am ... not ... "Buffy puffed as she delivered lethal punches to the hapless newly-risen vampire with each furious word. "...a brainless ... twit!" She plunged her stake at the end of her tirade, growling all the while.

Anne chuckled, "Who ever said you were?"

"My high and mighty philosophy professor! 'Wee 'ave no room fo' such inane comments and deesturbing behavio' insoide this classroom, yo' brainless twit.'" She mimicked her old British professor.

"Oh god, that's an awful accent!" Anne grimaced. She placed both hands on her hips and glared, "We don't talk like that!"

Buffy laughed, "Yes you do!" She teased.

"No, we don't." She snorted.

"Yes, you do!" Buffy taunted. "You do, you do, you do!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Anne rolled her eyes.

A sudden growl interrupted them. Two burly vampires were charging towards them, a crazed glaze of hunger in their yellow eyes.

Anne stepped back, bowing graciously, " I leave you to your work then, Madam Slayer. I'll go and wait by that tree."

Buffy nodded, facing the vampires with an aggressive stance. She finished them off in less than ten seconds, dusting off her pink jeans as she moved towards Anne.

They started to walk around the quiet cemetery. "I saw Spike the other day."

Buffy glanced sharply at her. "Did you finally talk to him?" She asked curiously.

"Well, yeah. It's been two weeks since that episode at the mall, so I was afraid I would freak out if I talked to him." She shrugged. "I bumped into him while I was walking home from the north cemetery. We exchanged greetings. But that's about it." She looked at the Slayer with wide eyes, " I don't think I can do it."

Buffy shook her head. "Of course you can! All you have to do is say, 'Yo, William! It's me, your best friend Anne!' and things would fall in place."

"Buffy, "Anne sighed. " It's not that easy. Things are more complicated now."

Buffy cocked her head to one side, "Oh, fine. I guess you're right." She said in a thoughtful tone.

"I know I'm right." Anne replied emphatically. "He's a vampire now, I'm a witch with a dark past. We both have skeletons in our closets, mine are probably worse than his. I don't think this would be the time to renew old acquaintances. Especially now that I still have this problem with an old mortal enemy. This might become too dangerous for everybody. I don't want to jeopardize your lives, even his, before I worked this out."

"Don't start on that. We're a team. We're here to help each other out. End of discussion." Buffy replied firmly. "Besides, what you just said doesn't make any sense. Isn't that supposed to bring you guys closer than before? Those skeletons you were talking about should be enough to establish a bond between you two."

Anne shook her head, "No. I don't think it would. Times have changed; we've both changed. We're not the same Anne and William that once shared dreams, hopes and fears back then. I doubt we would be able to regain the same closeness we once had."

A soft rustling from behind the shadowed bushes halted their conversation. Buffy placed a hand on Anne's arm, her eyes indicating for her to step back.

With a few wary steps, Buffy peered to inspect the darkness for any signs of attackers when a black-clad body fell from the thick area of bushes, bloody and moaning.

Spike.

"Oh, my god! Spike! What happened?" Buffy hurriedly went to the wounded vampire, carefully checking for broken bones as she helped the vampire sit up.

Spike coughed, blood spurting from his lips. He replied with one painful breath, "Demons."

Buffy shot a worried look at Anne, noting the pallor in the other girl's face, "Anne, could you help me bring Spike to his feet? We have to get him out of here or the bastard who did this might still be out here looking for him."

Anne jerked into motion, assisting the vampire on his other side. She closed her eyes, stretching her senses around them. She silently cast a searching spell, trying to locate the said demons. What she found sent a cold chill run down her spine. "It was no ordinary demon. "

Buffy looked at her sharply, "What? Who did this?"

"They're gone. It was a whole pack of Death eaters, followers of my archenemy. We have to get out of here. There's no telling what they might do if they sense my presence here." She looked at Spike and swallowed, "Let's take him to my house. It's safer there." She resisted the urge to use magic to teleport them to her home.

Buffy nodded. The two of them easily carried Spike's heavy body, walking briskly for the last hundred meters or so until they finally reached Anne's residence.

Henry answered the door quickly, surveying the scene at the door with shocked eyes. They gently deposited the unconscious vampire on the living room couch.

"I'll go get the first aid kit." Anne hurried towards her bedroom.

"Can I use your phone? I have to call Angel at the mansion." Buffy rubbed her arms nervously as she looked at Spike's still form. "I have to tell him what happened."

"Okay. You can use the one at the kitchen." Anne called out from the top of the stairs.

Anne finally returned, carrying a large toolbox. Buffy joined her, informing the witch that Angel was on his way.

A wince sounded from Anne as she inspected the extent of Spike's injuries. His face was a mess, bloodied and badly bruised. One eye was practically closed from the swelling; his lower lip was split open and bleeding. Long gashes, cross burns and whip marks decorated his arms, legs, chest, and back. He didn't appear to have any head injury, nor were there any serious fractures or spinal problems. From the looks of it, the worst of the damage was a couple of broken ribs and sprained wrists. It looked like the demon responsible for this worked on him for quite some time. If anything, it was fatigue and exhaustion that made Spike collapse.

They set to work on the sleeping vampire, cleaning and treating his wounds silently, each lost to her own thoughts. Anne applied the appropriate bandaging techniques on some of the large wounds and sprained injuries, knowing that Spike would not agree on going to the hospital for further treatment.

A blanket was placed over his form, and it was then that Anne finally breathed easily. She looked achingly at her childhood friend's injured body and whispered, "How could they have done this? Why him? "

Buffy placed a comforting hand on her trembling shoulder, "I don't know. But we're going to find out. Trust me." She looked back towards Spike and said in a soft voice, "Why don't you go and get him a hot mug of blood? He'll need it."

Anne nodded blankly in agreement, moving quickly to the direction of the kitchen.

A knock sounded from the front door. Anne moved to answer it, ushering a concerned Angel inside as soon as she opened it.

"What happened?" He asked softly, stepping cautiously towards his childe. " Who the hell did this?"

Buffy slipped an arm around his waist, feeling him trembling with restrained fury. "We don't know. All he said was 'demon' before passing out."

"A demon?" Angel raked his unruly hair with one hand.

"Well, yeah. But we didn't see anyone... or anything." Buffy explained. "I think Anne did some mojo thing and tried to see if we could locate it, but they were already gone." She added softly, "She knows who did this. Some group called the Death eaters."

Angel sucked his breath, "Death eaters? I've heard of them once." He frowned as he struggled to remember some information about them.

Spike suddenly stirred, his blanket half-slipping to the floor.

"How is he?" Angel whispered as he sat down on a large sofa.

Buffy sighed, "He'll be okay. All he needs is rest and blood." She looked at the sleeping Spike and remarked, "I think the thing that got to him the most was the exhaustion. He looks like he was tortured for hours."

"We've got to find out who did this and why." Angel grated out, his voice low so as not to disturb the sleeping vampire.

Anne quietly entered the room, a mug of blood on her hands. Her heart lightened at the sight of Angel's anger about Spike's condition. He truly cared about his childe, cared that somebody dared bring him to this state.

She moved slowly to sit next to Spike, linking her fingers to his bandaged ones. She was oblivious to the knowing look the other couple shared, she only focused on her beloved sleeping vampire.

"He'll be needing a place to stay." Angel whispered. He stood up and went over to Anne's free side. He clasped his hands together and continued in a gruff tone, "He can't go back to his crypt. Those who attacked him tonight might come back to finish the job."

Buffy asked, "Did you call Giles and the others?"

"No. But I'll probably drop by the magic Box tomorrow."

"Maybe I can stop by..."

"He can stay here."

The couple turned to Anne, watching her pale face centered on Spike's still form. "Are you sure?" Buffy asked, a trace of concern in her voice.

"Of course. I can't let them take him away from me like this." Anne blinked back her tears. "I won't let them."

Angel looked relieved. "Okay. Spike will stay here with Anne. Buffy, you better go home and rest. We have a long day of research awaiting us tomorrow."

Anne nodded and softly said, "Yes. Thanks for your help, guys."

An unusually silent Henry quietly entered the room as the couple went to the door. He slowly closed the door and latched the lock with a soft click.

A moment of silence passed. Cassie raised her troubled gaze and met Anne's teary ones, "You already know who's responsible, Madam?"

Anne's replied was soft, but clear.

"Voldemort."

******************************************

"Have you seen Spike since...?" Buffy asked softly. Angel nodded, his features stiffened. She and Angel were walking through the silent night two days later, putting a half-hearted attempt in patrolling. She weaved her fingers through his, squeezing his large hand soothingly.

Angel sighed, "I know we always complain how annoying he is, but I can't help feeling responsible for him. He was my favorite Childe, sired him and taught him everything he knows. That a gang of wizards attacked him, outnumbered, doesn't fare well with me at all."

Buffy nodded, "That was hardly a fair fight. "

Angel laughed humorlessly, "Evil, no matter what form, never considers the fairness of its actions. It's all about power." He encircled his arms around her, drawing comfort in her strength.

Buffy snuggled closer, sighing contentedly as they continued their patrol. She was about to suggest that they call it a night when a yellow light flashed from the old abandoned building behind them. It continued to flash from the inside as the ground suddenly trembled, creating small cracks on the pavement. The building seemed to sway dangerously then in an instant, everything returned to normal.

She met Angel's dark eyes, nodding her head towards the said building. They crouched low and moved quickly towards the building's entrance. They climbed the stairs and hid in the shadows to conceal their presence.

A group of monks in brown hoods were huddled in a circle, their hands linked as they performed a ritual. The swirling light surrounding them suddenly disappeared, causing them to rise in panic. One of them shouted in alarm, "She is here! There is no time to finish the protection spell! We must get out of here!"

Buffy and Angel stepped out of the darkness, still observing as the panic-stricken monks gathered their things and made to escape the building. Buffy called out, making her voice heard over their fearful cries, "What the hell is going on here?"

An instant hush stole over the huge room, the monks staring at the two intruders with wide eyes. Buffy moved towards the shock-still group and cocked her head, "What was that mojo all about? Did you conjure some beast by mistake?"

Angel spoke quietly, "Why would you need a protection spell?"

An old wizened monk approached and spoke with authority, "You cannot help us, Slayer. She has come for us, come to take the Divine Immortal entrusted upon us to protect. We must move now, or she'll find us."

Buffy asked, "Who's the divine immortal?"

The building trembled once more; the source of the quake now seemed concentrated behind one concrete wall. They all turned towards the source, both vampire and slayer poised and ready to strike if needed. All of a sudden, the wall gave way, crumbling away to reveal a beautiful blond woman in an extremely short red satin outfit. Her eyes were icy, her smirk full of malice.

She drawled out, her attention on Buffy's rigid form, " Why Slayer, it's called the key. MY key." Her eyes narrowed to slits as she glared at the monks, "And I WANT IT. NOW!"

Buffy and Angel barely had time to grab the old monk who spoke to them and run towards the side exit. Then all hell broke loose.