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Chapter 27

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Xander stood beside Buffy, nervously shifting from foot to foot. A year ago he would have been skateboarding through the halls of high school, trying desperately to impress the cheerleaders and avoiding their boyfriends. Now he was standing next to a beautiful girl who was also the Slayer, and they were about to fight against one of the most terrifying Big Bads that existed. Not to mention that he was dying to go to the loo, and had been ever since Buffy had told him the plan. A plan which involved leaving the safety of this extremely comforting barrier. And again with the loo thing.

"So what've we got planned for tomorrow?" he said. "'Coz I was thinking after the whole 'slay the devil' thing I'd be in serious need of a movie marathon. Nothing too strenuous."

Buffy wanted to smile at Xander's attempt to lighten the mood, but she could not force herself to. There was something about facing death that made her feel sick, and she was struggling to stand on her own two feet. Her first apocalypse. She almost snorted- that was something she never expected to say. Her first boyfriend, yes. Her first part-time job. Her first love, certainly. But not her first slain vampire. Not her first round of torture. Not her first apocalypse. Not her first moment of realising that she could die.

She shook her head, ignoring Xander's questioning gaze. "Let's do it."

He nodded, and started humming. Angel and Spike moved into position, but then Spike seemed to change his mind and hurried over to her. She opened her mouth to ask what he was doing, but he grabbed her firmly by the arms and pressed his lips to hers. She froze, eyes wide open, unable to believe that Spike was kissing her. He finally released her and his eyes searched hers for some sort of reaction.

"Spike, what…"

"You make sure you're there in the end so I can do that again, you hear me?"

She gaped, her body burning for more. "Y-yes."

"See 'ya later, then, love," he whispered before spinning on his heel and striding away. She watched him go with an ardent desire to call him back, but managed to refrain from doing so by attempting to return her thoughts to the task at hand. She saw the shocked expression on Xander's face and the amused smile- with a hint of protectiveness- on Angel's face. Then she returned her gaze to the woman in front of her.

"How sweet," she purred at Spike. "One last kiss before she is killed, or should I say… before you kill her?" Buffy's head shot to where Spike stood, glaring at Miss Kirly. Her eyes suddenly widened in joy. "Oh my. She doesn't know, does she, William?"

"Shut up," he snapped, clenching his fists at his side.

"Didn't tell her?" she taunted.

"Didn't tell me what?" Buffy asked, a knot of fear tying itself in her stomach. She watched as Spike and Miss Kirly continued to stare at each other, the latter smirking with apparent triumph.

"Don't listen to her, Buffy," Angel murmured. "She's only trying to rile you."

"Why would I do that, Buffy?"

"Don't." Buffy snapped, clenching her fists at her side.

"Don't what?"

"Don't say my name like you have the right," she replied, and caught the flicker of anger in the woman's eyes.

Buffy's gaze flickered to the brunette vampire, and caught his warning glance. She felt Xander's hand press softly at the small of her back, and decided to ignore the woman who had betrayed them.

"Let's do it," she said. Almost instantly the barrier was lifted. A burst of hot wind shot forth from Tara's hand and flung soldiers out of the way, creating a small path to the entrance of the hall. Xander picked Buffy up and ran faster than he had ever run in his life. Buffy felt her head go light from the sheer speed of their movements, and she only caught the briefest glimpse of Angel and Spike preventing the soldiers from following them before she was out of the hall. The classrooms passed in a blur as they sped down the corridors. Xander was careful to avoid any of the black clad soldiers searching the building, and they slid into the library a few minutes later. Neither of them saw Spike follow them.

Xander placed Buffy back on her feet, and she squeezed his hand.

"Thanks, Xand," she said.

"No probs, Buff," he replied with a grin. "Harris Shuttle Bus at your service, ma'am."

She smiled, musing over his ability to forget the perilous situation they were in.

"You better go," Xander said with a small push. "I'll stand watch."

She flung him a grateful glance and hurried over to the book shelf at the back of the library. Skimming her fingers over the various books, she stopped when she found the right one and pulled it out. The door opened with a sharp 'click' and she jogged inside, making sure that it closed behind her. Then she turned to face the darkness, waiting for her eyes to adjust. She lifted her hand and touched the wall, walking down the tunnel with her fingers brushing the stone. When she saw certain that she had gone far enough, Buffy reached up with both hands and felt the cold stone for the familiar carving.

Buffy smiled when she felt the outline of a bird, and pushed the carving in. The stone shifted beneath her fingers and there was a slight groaning as rock which had remained locked for centuries protested against the movement. A small door sprung open, revealing a hidden compartment in the wall. Buffy stared into it, not entirely pleased with the thought of reaching her hand into it. Tentatively brushing aside the cobwebs, she reached forward, recoiling at the sounds of scuttling spiders and insects. She took a deep breathe and reached forward again, this time until her whole arm was inside. Her fingers brushed against something cold and hard, and she grabbed it and pulled away from the wall quickly.

In her hand was a tiny vile. This must be what the biker vamp was after, she thought. But why is this so important?

She slid the vile into her pocket and closed the secret compartment, quickly glancing over her shoulder when a heavy feeling of dread settled in her stomach. Something was wrong…and it was close. She felt a sharp twinge in her stomach and bolted for the entrance to the passage, silently skidding to a stop when she heard the voices.

"Where is she, boy?"

Buffy didn't recognise the voice, and her heart sank when she realized that it must be one of Kirly's lackeys. But these guys were vampires, not the humans who had attacked them in the school. And it didn't take long for her to realize that the 'boy' in question was Xander.

"Where is who?" he asked, not even trying to keep to obvious mockery from his voice. There came the sounds of scuffling and a dull thud, following by a heavier, louder thump which made Buffy wince. Her heart was screaming for her to run out there and help her friend, but her logical mind refused to waste the chance Xander was giving her to either escape or devise a plan. There was no way she was leaving without him, so she was only left with one choice. Trade.

"Don't play dumb with me, little boy," the man hissed. "I could crush your body with my bare hands."

There was a soft moan of pain, and Buffy couldn't take it any longer. She plunged her hand in her pocket and wrapped her fingers around the vile. A moment later she threw her head back, clenched her stake in her hand and shoved the book shelf open, stepping into the library.

"And I could kill you with mine," she said, a glint of fury in her eyes.

The man blinked once, twice, and then turned to his friends with a look of disbelief and burst into deep, hearty laughter.

"You've g-got to be k-kidding me, kid," he said.

Buffy didn't listen to him, though, as her attention was riveted on the prone body of her friend. Xander was lying on his back, his face a mask of blood and bruises, and blood was pooling around his arm. It was obviously broken, and the sight of white bone protruding from the skin was enough to disband any doubts she had of being able to kill all the vampires in the room. She moved her arm slightly, drawing attention to the stake she clutched, then slipped her other hand to the band of her jeans and grasped her second stake. With barely a licker of movement the second stake had penetrated the vampire's heart and he exploded, sending a cloud of dust to descend over Xander. He lifted his head and coughed, and Buffy was relieved to see he was awake.

"I-it's her!" another vampire stammered. "The Slayer!" And he promptly burst into ashes.

"Bloody right it is," Spike said, and Buffy felt herself lighten in his presence. There was something about him that made her happy, exhilarated, and completely fired up.

"Ah. The Slayer and the vampire."

Spike instinctively stepped closer to Buffy and Xander, and they watched as the crowd of vampires parted to make way for the woman who had betrayed them. Buffy felt sick at the thought of the time she had spent listening to Kirly speak about evils past Slayers had fought, yet not realizing that she was just as bad as any evil she spoke about. She had trusted this woman to train her, to help her protect herself and her friends, and finally knowing that it was all a hoax to get her to trust the "teacher" and let her guard down. And Buffy had fallen for it.

What kind of a Slayer did that make her? She couldn't even see evil and it had been right in front of her the whole time. Kendra would have seen it, a soft voice whispered in her mind. She brushed it away, determined not to let her short comings as a Slayer get her down. Now wasn't the time for self-questioning, and Xander needed help.

"I believe you have what I'm looking for," Kirly said, her voice silky and amused.

"And what would that be?" Buffy replied, her gaze flickering to where Xander lay.

Kirly noticed her wandering gaze and smirked. "Do you really think playing with me will give your friend time to escape? I don't think so." She knelt down and hauled the boy to his feet. A groan of agony passed his lips, but he refused to cry or scream. He found his footing and kept it, willing himself not to collapse. "Think hard now, Slayer. This boy or the vile? Which one do you want more?"

Buffy pretended to actually think about it, and then gave a short nod. "Fine, then. I give you this and you hand him over."

Kirly smiled victoriously, and her eyes widened in what almost looked like lust. "Now."

Buffy tossed the vile into the air as Xander was shoved across the floor. She caught him and held him to her chest, supporting him on her shoulder. Watching as Kirly caught the object, she gently lowered him to the floor. The Watcher held up her prize, grinning madly as she stared at it. Then she seemed to remember where she was and sneered at the Slayer and her friend.

"Big mistake, girly," she said, a short laugh escaping her lips. "Some Slayer you are. You couldn't even sacrifice your friends for the world. Because, Buffy, this tiny thing will end it."

Buffy snorted. "That? A crappy piece of glass?"

Kirly rolled her eyes. "Not the vile, you idiot. It's what it holds which will end the world!"

"There's nothing inside it."

Kirly's eyes bulged, and she quickly ripped the lid off, peering into the bottle. She slowly tipped it upside down, a scream of fury echoing through the library when nothing came out.

"You little bitch!" she shrieked. "What have you done with it?"

A smile stretched across Buffy's lips, and she lifted her head to look straight into the eyes of the traitor.

Licking her lips she said, "Tastes like strawberries."

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 Oh no…what will our hero do next? Hehe, make sure you review if you want more.