Truths
Episode 11 (Part I)
Axel's Place:
Buffy was so happy. All she kept thinking about was the night she had slept with Spike. Not in that sense though. Spike had spent the night in Buffy's bed, just holding her. That was all that she could think about. Her friends had no clue what was going on though. She didn't tell them about the new Spike yet.
She had invited Willow over to watch movies. They hadn't done a girl's night in a very long time. Not since high school. Buffy had to try her absolute hardest to keep her mouth shut. She couldn't tell anyone yet; she didn't want to tell anyone yet.
"So are you sure that this Axel guy won't mind me being here?" Willow questioned, after the movie was finished.
"What he won't know won't hurt him," Buffy replied.
"Where is this guy anyway? I still haven't met him," Willow asked.
"Oh he's out of town on some business thing of some sort. I don't know if you'll ever meet him."
"Oh and how come?"
"I mean I don't plan on living here for the rest of my life."
"Are you telling me that you've been living with this normal guy and you haven't had any 'bondage' at all?"
"That's right," she replied.
"Come on, Buffy," Willow said, "You haven't officially dated anyone since Riley. That was a few years ago."
"I know, Will, but I'm just not into the whole dating thing. I just can't bring myself to do it. And besides, I don't want to get anyone involved in all the weirdness that we face."
"You said he slays vampires and demons for a living. He's gotta know a lot about the weird stuff."
"I just don't know, Will. I don't want to hurt anyone. It seems like I'm good at hurting guys."
"Oh…I see. But don't think that way Buffy. It's not you, it's them. You're a great girl; they just are too blind to see that."
"No don't try and make me feel better with that. I know that it's me, not them."
"Oh…"
"I'll find someone someday, Wills. Don't worry about me."
Outskirts of Haynesville:
A car drove down the road, nearing the town of Haynesville, Louisiana. The guy had never been here before, but he had to tell someone something. It was very important that she be told this information. She was in danger.
The car sped past the 'Welcome to Haynesville' sign. It looked just like the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign that he had come to know from his frequent visits there, before the town collapsed. He would never forget that last time he went to Sunnydale.
He had come to her with something important. It was something that had helped saved the world, something that his ashes should have been buried with. He thought it was his destiny to wear it. But he was wrong.
Behind this car, a large van was also heading into town. Unlike the guy in the car, the guy in the van had been to Haynesville before. As a matter of fact, he lived and worked there. He protected the town from demons and vampires. Of course, he was on his way home from a business trip.
The man couldn't wait to get back to the girl he had left at his place. He had a thing for her. He knew there was something special about her since the time he had found her in that desert. He just couldn't figure out what was so special about her. It seemed that she was surrounded by darkness and deadly secrets.
The van drove on, so did the car. Neither knew that the other was going to visit the same person, the same young woman. And that young woman had no idea that these two men were coming.
Haynesville Cemetery:
Buffy was bored. Slaying had been very slowly lately. There didn't seem to be any vampires or demons around at all. She was even more surprised at the fact that there wasn't anything lurking in the cemetery.
"If the First is here in town, where are all the minions?" Buffy questioned aloud, "There's gotta be one vampire around here somewhere."
Buffy continued walking through the dark cemetery. The moon was her only source of light. She walked past a few mausoleums and trees. Again, there was nothing.
"Bored, huh?" someone questioned.
Buffy spun quickly to the direction that the voice had come from. She was ready for a fight. She saw it. A vampire was standing under a lone tree. Her special slayer sense told her it was a vampire. She couldn't see any features due to the shadows.
"What do you want?" she replied, pulling a stake out of her pocket.
"To help," the vampire replied.
"Who are you?" Buffy questioned.
"What, you don't recognize your ex's voice?" the man asked.
"Angel?" Buffy asked.
Angel stepped out of the shadow of the tree and into the moonlight. He approached Buffy. They were both smiling.
"It's so good to see you again," Buffy told him.
"I'm glad that you're still alive and well," Angel replied, "Looks like you're doing pretty well here."
"Yup," she replied, "How's LA?"
"It's good," he answered, "I'm guessing that you heard we got the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart."
"The evil law firm?" she asked.
"Yes."
"No, I didn't know that. How'd you get it?"
"I'm not really sure. They just offered it to us and we accepted. It's a pretty nice place though."
"Not to spoil the moment, but what are you doing here?"
"Well not to be the bringer of bad news, but I have some."
"What's wrong?"
"Something has be brought forth into this dimension," Angel began, "It is extremely powerful. Buffy, this thing even has power over the Powers that Be."
"The oracles, they told me about this," she replied, "They told me that some god-like evil had been released into our dimension."
"Not god-like," Angel told her, "She is a god; a very powerful god, capable of destroying this dimension. Wait, did you say the oracles told you?"
"Yeah," she said, "Remember you told me to go visit them? They told me all about this evil god."
"Those were not the oracles speaking to you," he replied.
"Huh?"
"Buffy, my people have been working round the clock learning things about this god. They discovered that she has the power to control mystical beings, meaning anything that has direct contact to the Powers. The oracles are being controlled by her. I'm surprised that she told you so much information about herself."
"Angel, how do I stop this thing?"
"I'm not sure, Buffy. I don't even think you will even be able to."
The two of them were now walking along the path in the cemetery. It was growing late but neither cared.
"I've come with more news," Angel began.
"What is it?" Buffy asked.
"Spike is back," he answered.
"I know."
"You what?" he questioned, he seemed a little shocked.
"I know Spike is back and he's human," she repeated, "He's probably sleeping in the sewers right now."
"Buffy, Spike is back at Wolfram and Hart," he informed.
"Now what are you talking about?" she questioned.
"An envelope was delivered to me a few months ago. Inside was the amulet that I gave to you. It dropped on the floor and Spike appeared. But he wasn't corporeal. He's a ghost."
"No, Spike is here."
"Buffy, my people do not know exactly what has been going on. They do know, however, that this god is manipulating you."
"With Spike?"
"I would assume so. Buffy whatever you have seen over the past weeks has not been what it seems. I need to run another scan, but I'm guessing that she is creating a form of Spike from your mind."
Buffy was confused. She couldn't believe that something could have this much power. Sure she had gone up against Glory, who was supposedly a god, but this thing truly sounded like a god, something all powerful and all seeing.
"Buffy, this thing is so powerful that it even has the First Evil convinced," Angel informed, "The First has been communicating with this form of Spike and has no idea that it is not communicating with the real thing."
"Angel, I'm scared," Buffy told him.
"I know, Buffy," he replied, "And I will do my best to protect you."
He wrapped his arms around her small frame, giving her a hug. She reached her arms around him, hugging him in return.
"I need to get back to LA," he said, ending the hug, "Please keep all this to yourself. The others will find out soon enough. I will be back in a few months. In the meantime, keep safe. Goodbye, Buffy."
Angel turned and began heading off into the darkness of the night. Buffy watched as he disappeared into the darkness.
"Goodbye, Angel," she said, then began heading home.
Axel's Place:
Buffy sat on her bed, the one that Axel had been letting her use. She was trying to take all that Angel had told her in. She couldn't believe it. The Spike she had been interacting with was not the real one. It was a form that some evil entity had created to mess with her.
She knew that she couldn't confront this form anymore now that she knew what it truly was. She couldn't believe that she had grown close to something that wasn't real, couldn't believe that she had been protecting something that wasn't real. She felt defenseless, weak. How could she not have noticed?
"I'm back," someone called from the front door.
Buffy rose to her feet. She guessed she could say that she was happy to see him. In was indeed true that Axel was back from what could be called a business trip. She headed towards the door to greet him.
"Hey Axel," she said when she saw him.
"Hi Buffy," he said, "It's so nice to see you again. Thanks for taking care of this place for me."
"No problem," she replied, "How was the business?"
"It was tough," he answer, "A whole town had been invaded by zombies. They roamed the town by night terrorizing the citizens. Jason and Marie stayed to keep watch for a few weeks so that no zombies would come back."
"Well that's interesting."
"How's everything been around here?"
"It's all been pretty good actually. Nothing bad and I haven't seen any vampires."
"That's good. I guess this town has been quieting down a little. And I'm glad to here it. I need a little break."
Axel's Basement, AKA the Hellmouth:
Spike was wondering around, looking for the opening to the Hellmouth. He knew it was down here somewhere. The sooner he found it, the sooner he could open it. Hell needed to be released on earth. It needed to swallow the planet up. Unfortunately for him, one had closed up the previous year. This upset him a little.
He began moving things around, trying to find it. He was beginning to get frustrated. It shouldn't be that hard for an evil entity to find a source of evil.
"Looking for something?" a voice called.
"Just the opening to the Hellmouth, mate," Spike called, obviously not threatened by this intruder.
"So the good, ensouled vampire had a change of heart, huh?" it questioned.
"That's right," he replied, "I've changed mate. I ain't afraid of you no more. It was all an act. I had to play it out for a while. You know, get the girl to believe it was really Spike. Seems like she's on to me. I've messed up my plan a little. Guess I leaked too much information to the bint. Oh well."
Spike turned from his searching to see what form it had come to him in. The First stepped forward, in the form of Principal Wood. Spike smirked.
"So you killed off the ol' principal, eh?" Spike asked, "Now what did the bugger ever do to you?"
"Who are you?" Wood questioned.
"I'm your worst nightmare," he replied, "I know what you are. The supposed all-powerful, First Evil. You are nothing compared to me, one of the first two gods. They call me the Goddess of Evil."
Spike picked up a long metal rod and spun it around. He was amusing himself.
"I guess I must be the all-powerful one if I had you, the First Evil, convinced that I was really the souled vampire. I have power over the girl, power of you, even power over the Powers. You are all nothing compared to me. I will soon take control of this dimension. All the Hellmouths around the world will open at once and release everything inside. Earth will become Hell."
The look on Wood's face was pure horror. It was obvious that the First was terrified. And that was a definite first. It seemed like the all-powerful evil was not so all-powerful anymore.
"I will defeat you soon enough," Spike said, now swinging the pool, "And then I will move onto the girl. You see, you are my biggest obstacle right now. And I will exterminate you."
The First had heard enough. It was in big trouble. It may have finally met its match and it certainly knew so. It couldn't stand against the Goddess of Evil. As a matter of fact, nothing could. The First, in the form of Robin Wood, disappeared slowly, still observing the vampire as it went.
Spike had dropped the rod. He'd gone back to searching for the Hellmouth opening. After searching for a bit longer, he located it. It was a seal, the seal of Danthalzar. The same one that was at the entrance to every Hellmouth in the world.
Haynesville Cemetery, the Next Day:
Buffy was really surprised. Axel still had no clue that she was the slayer. What also surprised her was the fact that he was still bent on trying to find the slayer. He had willingly allowed her to go out for a walk. But he made her bring a stake. Lucky for her, she always carried one around.
She was patrolling the cemetery again tonight. She really didn't get that much patrolling done the previous night after she ran into Angel. And she didn't think she'd run into a familiar face again. But boy was she wrong.
"Evenin' luv," Spike said, coming up behind her.
Buffy knew she had known she was being followed for some time now. She just didn't think it would be him. Actually, she hoped it wouldn't be him because she didn't want to have to confront him after what she had found out.
"Hi Spike," Buffy replied.
"Haven't seen you since the other night, luv. Where've you been?" he questioned.
"You know, just around. I've been pretty busy with patrolling and all," she answered, "I just haven't had the opportunity to stop by. I'm sorry."
"S'okay, luv," he said, "I've just missed you so much. I've missed holding you in my arms."
"I know, Spike," she replied, "I've missed it to."
The two continued walking. It seemed like they were taking the same path her and Angel had taken only the night before. Buffy's mind was clouded with thoughts about this false Spike. She knew that she couldn't reveal to him that she knew what he really was.
"You know, I try my hardest for you, luv," Spike began, stopping, "I really have."
"Spike, what are you talking about?" she asked.
"I've tried my hardest to win you over, to earn your love," he went on, "But it just doesn't seem like its working. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Calm down, Spike. Just calm down," she said softly.
That's when Spike started chuckling. The chuckling soon turned into laughter.
"You know, I've had way too much fun these past few weeks," he continued, "Torturing you. Seeing you upset is going to be so much fun."
Spike was no longer standing next to her. In his place was the form of a woman. But it was corporeal unlike the First. The woman stood slightly taller than Buffy. She had long, straight black hair and all black eyes. She reminded Buffy of the way Willow looked that time that she went all evil.
Buffy could feel the evil radiating off of this woman. She truly was the purest of all evil, The Goddess of Evil.
"I chose this form over all the other ones. I prefer this one better," she said, "It's because I look just like someone from your race."
"You think I'm scared of you?" Buffy questioned.
"You should be little girl," the woman said, "For soon Hell will be released on Earth and you won't be able to stop it. You will die."
"Bring it on!" Buffy exclaimed, "You don't seem so tough."
The woman snapped her fingers. A small crack opened in the ground. Two demons crawled their way out and stood between Buffy and the Goddess.
"Not so tough now, are we slayer?" The Goddess asked.
Buffy reached into her pocket and pulled out her stake. The demons began advancing on her. The growled menacingly. Buffy stood her ground.
"Here's your first test," the woman told her, "It was nice meeting you slayer. And this won't be our last encounter, I assure you."
And with that the Goddess of Evil was gone. But the demons were still there. They drew closer to her. They were kind of tall and their skin was green. Three long, sharp-looking claws protruded from their hands. They looked dangerous.
One demon charged her, claws slashing. Buffy just barely backed out of the way of the claws. The other one came at her, swiping, just missing once again.
"You guys are tough," she said, breathing heavily.
The two double-teamed her this time. Both sets of claws met their mark, Buffy's chest and stomach. Blood seeped through her torn clothing. Buffy winced in pain as she jumped back from another attack.
"Foolish slayer," the one demon hissed, "You cannot defeat us. We will kill you now."
The demon lunged at her, claws thrashing. Buffy dove underneath him. The demon landed face first in the dirt. Unfortunately, the second demon did not miss. It's claws sliced across Buffy's back, causing her to gasp in pain. These demons sure did not like to give shallow cuts.
The first demon reached out and slashed at her legs, slicing them deep. She gasped in pain again. She began to panic. Blood was seeping from all over as she struggled to keep on her feet. She began to feel light-headed. No doubt from loss of blood. She didn't know how much more she could take of this. Certainly, her slayer powers wouldn't make her heal that fast.
Dark spots began to appear in the corner of her eyes. She knew that she was losing consciousness and fast. She tried to hold it off, knowing that she'd be dead shortly. She had failed.
Buffy slowly dropped to her knees. Everything was becoming dark now. Everything seemed so distant. The last thing she saw was the demons approaching her, ready to attack. Her body leaned forward. And that's when everything got dark. She fell to the ground, face first. She lay there lifelessly, bleeding from her many wounds.
TO BE CONTINUED