Girls were everywhere. Sleeping bags covered the floors, all occupied by
one of the many Potentials who had found their way to Sunnydale. I walked
through the hall way, seeing them all sleep. It was the only time when the
house was peaceful.
The problem was that it wasn't me walking here. I knew that I was dreaming, but I also knew that this wasn't my dream. I had invaded someone's sleep, and I couldn't figure out who the person I was hitch-hiking on was.
Suddenly I heard muffled sobs. Turning towards them I saw Chloe curled up near the stairs, crying as quietly as she could.
"Chloe?" I heard Buffy ask, "It is Chloe, right?"
So this was Buffy's dream.
Now that I knew for sure that it wasn't me in the body I stopped walking forward with it. Buffy continued on as I watched her pull away from me, moving towards Chloe as she tries to think of something to say. I could feel that she was about to say something when suddenly someone jumped out and tackled her, both of them fell down the stairs.
Startled, I rushed forward to see if Buffy was okay. She was lying at the bottom of the stairs, with some primitive sort of person on top of her. My guess was that she was some sort of cave woman. She held Buffy pinned in a tight hold as she whispered words that I could barely hear.
"It isn't enough."
~
I snapped up, suddenly awake. I looked around to make sure it was me and not a dream. Seeing that it was I gasped for breath and sat back on the couch, looking around the room.
There were girls here, too. Buffy had to send Xander out to buy more sleeping bags because of the number of girls that had been showing up, many led here by Giles who was once again off to find another Potential. I could see that all the girls were young, their age being made more apparent by the peacefulness of sleep. Only one other girl was the same age as me, or at least the same age as they thought I was.
Now that I was awake I couldn't go back to sleep. The dream had some meaning to it and it wasn't something I could figure out, and I knew that I wasn't meant to, but it was still annoying. So what if it wasn't my dream. For some reason I had sat in on it, and there had to be some reason for that.
Trying to calm down I got up and walked into the kitchen to start coffee. The microwave claimed that it was three in the morning. Two and a half hours until sunrise. When the coffee was done I drank it black. I was actually getting use to the bitter taste. The Scoobies kept running out of soda so I had given up on having a decent caffeine drink, and settled for what I could get.
I took the time to enjoy the silence, knowing that in a few hours it would disappear. Closing my eyes I took another gulp of coffee, letting the caffeine wake me up. The decision of going back to sleep came back to mind, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to.
Hearing someone move around upstairs I wondered who was up. The noise soon stopped, though, so I assumed it was just someone using the bathroom. Shaking my head I took another sip of coffee. It was too early to be up. If I didn't go back to sleep soon, someone would end up putting me to work. Then again, I could take a warm shower and eat breakfast without waiting in line.
Deciding on the second option I put my cup in the sink once I was finished with it. Walking back to the living room I folded up my blankets and put them away. Quickly I took a shower and got dressed. For a moment I stood still, thinking that I heard someone knocking, but the sound didn't come again so I put it out of my mind.
Going back downstairs I had a bowl of Cheerios. Munching on them I thought I heard knocking again, coming form the front door. Putting the cereal down I glanced at the clock. It was almost four. I didn't know of anyone who would be visiting, but I got up to check the door anyway.
The knocking started again right as I got to it. I paused a moment before opening the door, wondering if I should get Buffy or Willow. Then I decided that I could handle it if it was something small, and if it wasn't I could yell and wake everyone up.
Opening the door I looked outside. I didn't see anyone. Leaning out a little I looked around the yard. Glaring out at whatever was teasing me I considered looking for it. That would take me out of the house though, making me a target for vampires and other nasties. Shaking my head I began to shut the door.
"Liz, wait!" I froze. Suddenly Alucard was standing outside, looking ragged and tired. "Wait, I need to talk to you," he pleaded. I could only stare at him. He looked scared, and very weak, but it all could be an act and he was quickly recovering, beginning to look like more of his sarcastic self. Last I had known he had been locked in the basement. How had he escaped?
"How did you get here?" I demanded in a whisper, not wanting anyone to wake up and come to see what was going on.
Alucard smirked, looking away. "Well, first there was getting caught because I was left alone in a cage, being dragged back to Washington to be tortured, then escaping, followed by stealing a few piece of shit cars and throughout it all a whole lot of running," he said with blunt sarcasm.
I couldn't help but looked surprised. "Okay, what?" I asked, not sure if I was understanding him. Alucard just smiled at me. "Look, why are you here? If what you say is true, then you weren't forced to come here. I don't have a clue what on Earth went on, but you better have a damn good reason for showing up." I was completely serious and rather pissed that he would show up out of the blue. I'm sure he had his reason, maybe he needed help, but if anyone saw him it wouldn't end well.
While Alucard's smile didn't fade, it grew sad, a shadow falling over his face. He looked away from me for a few seconds while he thought. I just watched him as I leaned against the door frame, not going outside so that he couldn't harm me.
"I'm not sure why I came here," he said finally. "But I know where your Watchers are, and I can show you" That caught my interest, as he had known it would. I just didn't know if I could trust him. Logic told me to be suspicious, but my instinct said that he wasn't lying.
I looked back into the house. This really would be something to talk about with Jordan, or at least with someone. But what would I tell them? Our vampire prisoner just happened to show up claiming he knew where our supposedly dead friends were? I couldn't pass up the chance though.
Biting my lip I asked, "So what do you want from me?"
Amusement flashed in his eyes for a second before he became serious again. "Well, you wouldn't believe me if I said nothing," he muttered, "and I suppose that isn't true anyway. So why don't we start with a place to stay?"
It was starting to get light out, but just slightly. He would have to find a place to spend the day soon. Inviting him in was out of the question though. It would bring too much suspicion and I couldn't trust the guy.
"Sorry, no can do," I stated.
He only nodded, expecting that. "Fine then. I can only hang around for a little while longer, so I'll answer any questions you have," he stated before pulling out two envelopes. "From Lloyd, one to Rupert what's-his- name, and the other for Jordan, assuming he's with you." He offered them to me and I took them gladly. "Both were sealed when I got them," he finished, showing that he hadn't meddled with either letter.
I nodded, holding onto the letters. I wasn't sure what was inside them, but it was probably Watcher stuff. Jordan might not be happy that Giles also had a letter, but that was okay for now because Giles wasn't here. So we didn't have to worry about him yet. Key word there was yet. If he showed back up I'd give him the letter, and it would probably say something that Jordan would rather not have them hear.
Pocketing both envelopes I asked, "So, what happened?"
"I'll tell you," he said with a grin, "but I'm not going to talk through a doorway."
Meeting his eyes, I believed that there wasn't a trap waiting outside for me, but I had been wrong before. The fact that my instinct wanted me to trust him only brought more suspicion. Inviting him inside would have been stupid, but I really needed to know what had happened.
Alucard moved back to give me room as I stepped out onto the porch. It was a nice night, not too hot or too cold, but I felt edgy and glanced around nervously.
Alucard leaned against the house, watching me. "Nothing's going to jump out and bite you, Liz," he stated.
"No. That's what you're for, right?" I murmured without really thinking.
"Only if you want me to," he said with friendly sarcasm.
Smirking I shook my head. "Not in this lifetime."
Alucard froze for a second after I said that. I didn't so much see it as felt it. For just an instant he was on edge, then at the next moment relaxed again, even if he was still a little out of it. "What?" I asked, not sure what was up with him.
He shook his head. "Nothing, nothing," then after a pause, "what did you want to know?"
Pushing the fact that he seamed a bit shaken aside I asked. "What happened between Texas and here for you?"
Alucard stared out into space for a moment, as if arranging things in his mind so that the story would make sense. "I wanted out of the cage, so during the night when no one was around I had started trying to get one of the polls lose. The night before you were attacked I finally did it. That was the first step that saved me.
"So when the vampires showed up I got out of the cage and went looking for your Watchers. They weren't home, and I didn't know where they had gone, but the vampires had torched the place, and I had to get out."
"So the Watchers weren't there?" I asked, letting my hope build.
Alucard rolled his eyes. "Of course not, if they were they would have been dead by now and I already said I knew where they were." He waited for me to say something, but I kept quiet so he continued. "Anyway, the vampires waited until the house was burning and not really a house anymore. During the fire I had hid under the bathtub, which is broken by the way, and then switched to vamp face and pretended to be one of them.
"Unfortunately an old friend of mine recognized me and sounded an alarm. I ran for one of the portals that the vampires had used to arrive. Big mistake, that was, once through I was face to face with your friend Zeke and the Boss. To top it all off I was standing in a damn cage."
"So it was a trap?" I asked.
Alucard nodded. "Yeah, but it was probably meant for you."
I frowned a moment. "Well, you're not dead, so what happened?"
Alucard smiled grimly. "There's this thing about death that most people overlook. Once you kill a person you're done. They go off to where ever dead people go and your fun's over. Now torture on the other hand, that lasts, and hurts and involves a lot of screaming."
"Oh," I murmured, not really wanting to know what they did to him. He was still in one piece without any huge marks that I could see, so they probably didn't get a chance to do anything that bad. "How long were you there?"
"Bout a week and a half. It's almost insulting, the guards he put on me. Just because I didn't kill him on the first try doesn't mean I won't do it," he said sourly.
I nodded, understanding. "So when did you meet up with the Watchers?"
"I followed some tips from the locals, stole a car and drove a long way. Actually, they're only about two hours from here, but if they move from the house they're staying in the vamps will be able to find them. Lloyd pulled a favor from a group of wiccans, so he's safe for a bit," Alucard explained, "So I'm being the messenger who gives you the notes and gets back-up for the trip so that everyone can live happily ever after."
"Well, that sounds just peachy," I murmured as I considered the plan.
"Yeah, well. . .Oh, almost forgot," he said, suddenly remembering something. He pulled out a small book and handed it to me. The leather cover was old, very old. I opened it carefully and saw writing in a language I didn't know. It looked like a diary, in a way, but I wasn't sure who it would have belonged to.
"It's yours, anyway," Alucard started. "I can't translate it, but it's one of the original copies of some of the prophecies. The entries aren't in chronological order. The author just wrote down what was remembered at the time."
I ran my fingers over the words. Part of the prophecy. . . Where did he get it? And why give it to me? I continued to flip through the book, not understanding any of it. Alucard seemed to know something about it, but not enough to be helpful.
"The last thirty pages or so aren't part of the prophecy, so you don't have to waste time trying to understand them," Alucard added. "I picked it up from the Boss's library, hoping that it might help us with something."
I nodded, considering his story. It could be true, or he could be lying. But the book was old and the writing wasn't anything I had ever seen before. "How old is it?" I asked, trying to get some idea of where to start looking.
Alucard shrugged. "The writing's just under two thousand years, I'd assume. The book itself has been around longer than that, but I don't have a clue on exactly how much longer."
I blinked. "Two thousand?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
I gulped. The prophecy was that old. Who would care about my life two thousand years ago? Then again, if it was talking about the end of vampires, someone should care. "This is obviously important. Why would you give it to me?"
"Because it's yours."
I didn't understand what he was talking about, but that was okay. If this was what he said it was I couldn't turn down the help, even if I couldn't understand it at the moment. The scoobies would be able to help figure something out.
"Look, I've gotta go. There's not long until sunrise," Alucard said.
I nodded. "Yeah, thanks for the book, I'll look it over."
Alucard shrugged. "I'll be back some time tomorrow, give you some time to talk things over with the other slayer."
I nodded, not saying anything else, and Alucard turned to go. I stared after him for awhile, flipping through the pages. It must have been some spell to keep the book in tact. While the pages were slightly yellow, that was the only thing at all damaged.
I hid the book in my pocket before opening the door slowly and looking around. around and gently closed the door behind me.
"Since when do you know a vampire?" The sudden sound made me jump and I growled at myself for being so edgy. The English drawl sounded familiar, but distant. rather sure that it was the vampire of the house.
With a sigh I turned around to face the vampire-Spike-but the moment I got a look at his face I forgot what it was that I had been going to say.
He had bleached blonde hair and blue eyes, with high, pronounced cheek bones. He was going for a Billy Idol look, not one that I had ever really cared for, but it looked good on Spike. At the moment he wore jeans and a T- shirt, covered by a light jacket. The most awkward thing about his appearance was that he actually looked kind of cool.
"Elisabeth?" He asked, sounding as surprised as I felt.
"You're dead," I said bluntly, my voice staying calm, but only because I was in some form of shock.
"Of course I'm dead," the vampire snapped. "The problem is that you aren't!"
My eyes widened as I realized what had happened. "Oh god, you're a vampire!" That was extremely obvious, I just felt so stupid for not realizing what had been going on before. My watcher had said it wasn't a vampire kill, though. I had never been allowed to get too close to the coffin, but he wasn't supposed to be a vampire. My watcher had lied, about this!
"And you're pretending to be a Potential?" His voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "You shouldn't even be alive!"
"Oh it's a long story," I said, brushing off his questions before he could ask them. I began to pace, trying to get my thoughts in order, then suddenly I stopped with a groan. "William the Bloody, a.k.a. Spike. What a dead give away!"
William was looking at me like I was crazy, but at the same time he seemed to understand what I was saying. "So you're alive?" He was asking himself more than me. "but you couldn't really be a Potential?"
"No, not a Potential. . ." I started, then heard someone in the other room. Both William and I stayed quiet as we heard people get up and move around. "We really should continue this discussion later."
He stared at me for a long time before answer. "Right, later then." Then he walked off, back towards the basement. I just starred. Just like that he was gone. I felt like throwing something after him, but there wasn't anything nearby.
"Brothers," I muttered as I walked back into the kitchen.
It was still early. Who ever had woken up was probably going back to bed. That gave me plenty of time to think, but my head wouldn't decide on which vampire I had to concentrate on. It was possible that I had imagined that whole conversation with him, but why would I? The truth was more logical, in an awkward sort of way.
My brother was William the Bloody. The William the Bloody. Former scourge of Europe and companion of Anglelus. How that happened I didn't know. The stories I had heard of Spike led me to think he was an interesting vampire, one to be feared. I just couldn't picture William as anyone intimidating. Whatever happened to the love sick poet?
I shook my head. It wasn't that important at the moment. The real issue was Alucard. Jordan wasn't here, I couldn't talk to him about it, and I didn't feel too comfortable talking to Buffy. That led me to think maybe Willow or William/Spike. I had the day to figure it out though.
I began to make another batch of coffee as I considered what was going on. No doubt William was doing the same. No, wait, Spike, he was Spike here. If I called him William people would get confused. But I had other things to think about, or so I kept telling myself.
Alucard had probably made it to shelter by now as the night crowd settled down and the rest of the humans began to wake up. Carefully I planned out the days events. I would talk to everyone at the same time, probably when Buffy got back from work.
~
I didn't mind practicing with the group, but when Kennedy went on a power trip I always got a little ticked. We weren't in the army, she didn't need to be treating us like we were a bunch of mindless idiots. No offense to soldiers or anything, but they had to take a lot of crap and I wasn't up for it.
I watched as she badgered Chloe for awhile, wondering if I should do something to draw her attention away, but just then she decided to go talk to Buffy and the man she brought home with her, so I decided that Chloe could just do the push ups on her own. As always, I was ignored, which was fine. When Amanda spoke up we were sent back to training, and I continued along with the rest of the group. Soon
Willow came out, she talked with Buffy and the man who I now knew was the Principal Wood guy that kept showing up in conversations. After a few minutes they all went inside. About an hour later the training session was over and the girls split up. I took it as my chance to go find Spike. I found him in the basement, fuming over something.
"Hey," I said, walking down the stairs.
He glanced up at me and nodded hello. "What's up Pet?" He asked.
I shrugged, "Nuthing much, just thought we should talk."
Spike nodded. "Yeah, we should do that." We both stood and looked at each other for a couple of seconds. Spike was the first to speak. "Start with the why you're not dead part."
I glanced away, trying to figure out the best way to start. As always I couldn't think of a tactful way to say anything. "Remember that night when I was attacked? Some strange man jumped me and you happened to walk out in time to stop me from getting killed?"
Spike nodded slowly. "Yeah, he was a vampire." He said it as a fact.
I nodded back. "Yeah. Well, you could say this is all his fault."
Spike raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"Because he cursed me so that I was stuck in a non-living, non-dead state for one hundred and twenty years," I said bluntly.
Spike just stared. It didn't look like the information was actually getting through to him. That was fine, I could give him a few minutes to figure it out. He took his time doing so. "So you've never died."
I shook my head. "Nope."
"Why would he want to curse you?"
I scratched my head, answering quietly. "Something about me being a slayer- "
"What!?" Spike butted in.
"Yeah, thought you might have that reaction." I muttered.
He was giving me one of those blank-surprised stares again. "How long were you a slayer?"
"Sense I was thirteen."
Spike was pacing now, not happy in the slightest. "Four years. You were a slayer for four years and never told me?"
I just sort of shrugged. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Not every slayer is as vocal as Buffy. You should know, you met up with two others."
Spike snorted. "I was killing them, not much time for talking pet."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. It's not like you told me everything."
"I told you the important things," Spike retorted.
Raising an eyebrow I asked, "And what was important to you? A love interest that you wrote the worst poetry about. Yes, you spent hours talking about her."
"And you never bothered to mention that vampires were real," Spike pointed out. "Found out anyway though, didn't I?"
I glared. "Hey, I had nothing to do with that."
Spike waves his hand, telling me to ignore his comment. "Sorry, luv, had a bad day," he muttered before stopping and getting a good look at me. "So you really are here. Been living in this house for what, a couple weeks? God, you were right under my nose and I never noticed."
"I could say the same thing," I pointed out.
Spike shrugged. "So, how did all of this happen? Why're you here?"
I sighed, not sure exactly where to start. "I'll skip the details. There's a bad guy after me because of some crappy prophecy that I still think he's reading wrong. I have four Watchers watching my back, three of whom are locked up with some wiccans about two hours drive from here and the vampire you saw last night is supposed to get me to them so that I can bring them back in one piece."
"Is that all?" I caught the sarcasm in his voice. "Prophecies, well, they're nothing but trouble. What's yours all about?"
I shrugged, pulling out the book Alucard had given to me and tossing it to him. "It's all in there, or so I'm told. Basically what the Boss thinks though is that I'm supposed to go and kill every vampire if he doesn't manage to kill me before the end of May."
Spike gave me a look that clearly said that wasn't possible. I nodded agreement. "And who is this Boss you're talking about?"
I shrugged. "Never met the guy. Jordan didn't want to bring him up with Buffy because she had so many problems with the First. Heck, we've had problems with the First."
Spike crossed his arms as he considered what I'd said. "So this new big bad, how's he hunting you?"
"A bunch of Wiccans and shamans doing spells, good old fashion hunting. Chances are he knows where I am though," I stated.
"So, is he a vampire or some other beastie?" Spike asked.
"Vamp," I answered. "But an old one, older than Zeke and Alucard, but that's all I know."
"Who and Who?" Spike cut in.
I silently yelled at myself for getting ahead in the story. "Zeke use to be a friend, Alucard's the vamp from this morning. Both are old, don't know their exact age."
"And the Boss has control of them?"
I frowned, not sure how to answer. "Um. . . As far as I know, and I'm going on faith with this one. Alucard use to work for the Boss, then Alucard tried to kill him, things went bad. Suddenly he shows up saving me from Zeke, who was the vamp I hung out with back when I couldn't get killed, but is now the bad guy working for the Boss."
Spike nodded. "Right, and that makes things so much clearer," He drawled sarcastically.
I shrugged. "Sorry, as I said, it's a long story." Spike nodded, understanding. He opened the book and flipped through it. "Don't recognize any of this. I'd hand it off to Giles, but he's not around."
"Yeah, I was thinking about giving it to Chris." Catching Spike's questioning glance I explained, "He's one of the Watchers. Big book worm."
"Ah," Spike said. "So when are we letting Buffy in on the secret?" He asked.
I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Tonight probably. I just thought it would be best to go over things with you first."
"Thanks, pet," Spike said as he smiled warmly at me for a moment. "It's actually nice seeing you again."
"As that I'm back from the dead and all, I would hope so. Even if you are a vampire," I said.
Smirking Spike shrugged. "Yes, a vampire with a soul. Big Bloody help I've been lately," he muttered.
"So why was today so horrible?" I asked.
Spike stared at me a moment. I could almost hear him asking himself whether or not he should talk to me. It was like a flash back in time, back when we were kids and I had asked him about some secret he wasn't sure he could trust me with. I had never shared one of his secrets though.
"Girl troubles," he said at last. A simple but blunt answer. I almost laughed. It was always girl troubles with him. Spike flashed me a glare and I hid my smile quickly.
"So, things going bad with Buffy?" I asked.
Again he was glaring at me, but he talked anyway. "Everyone one of you chits knows about it, don't you. No one keeps anything to them bloody selves in this house."
I shook my head. "We're stuck here all day, what are we supposed to do? Besides, it's obvious. You're totally into her."
Again with the glaring, but I ignored it. "You're sounding like Dawn with an accent," he mumbled.
I frowned at him. "I'm not like Dawn."
"No, but you can sound like her at times. Actually, she sounds like you, but that's another story," Spike said. He handed the book back to me. "I suggest you get someone looking into that. When you're ready to tell the Scoobies what's up with you come get me. Don't know how much help I'll be but at least I can confirm your story."
I nodded. "Thanks," I murmured. Again we shared an uncomfortable moment. Neither of us knew what we should do. Neither of us knew how much the other had changed. Sighing I decided it didn't matter. He was still my brother, even if he was a demon. I took a step forward and gave him a quick hug before turning around and leaving the basement.
Nighttime came around and I hadn't bothered changing for bed. I hadn't gotten around to talking to Buffy. Call me a coward, but I was nervous. This was the sort of thing I normally passed off to someone else. Unfortunately there wasn't anyone else to talk to everyone for me.
When the sun finally set I realized that Alucard would be showing up and I really needed to tell everyone everything before he did. So I was walking upstairs, a few seconds after Buffy and Dawn.
I got to the top in time to see Dawn open the door to the bathroom, then to hear her scream. Stopping for a moment I just stared. Buffy and Dawn were in complete shock, but Kennedy, Rona and Amanda were rushing towards them, to see what was going on. I joined in, wanting to know what was happening as well. "What happened, we heard. . ." Kennedy started, but Buffy cut her off.
"Dawn, get a knife." I paused to see what the deal was, and saw Chloe hanging from the ceiling, dead. I think my heart skipped a beat, but I was too shocked her down.
Dawn started to leave, but Chloe's voice stopped her. "Good thinking." Dawn stops, slowly turning to see a perfect image of Chloe standing below the dead body, looking up at the dead Chloe. "On the other hand, why rush? Up or down-I'll still be dead."
"You're not Chloe," Buffy says in a voice that even scarred me.
Chloe/the First said, "Yeah, well, neither is she, anymore. Now she's just. . . 'Chloe's body'"
"What did you do to her?" Kennedy asked somewhere between surprise and horror.
"Nothing!" The image of Chloe insisted. "We just talked all night. Well, I did most of the talking, but Chloe is. . . I'm sorry, was a great listener. 'Til she hanged herself," The first paused to stare directly at Kennedy. "Like when you called her a maggot? She really heard that."
"Don't listen to it. Any of you," Buffy said, always the protector. I'm sure she was as scared as the rest of us, but she was just better at hiding it.
The First was playing on our fear though. "Oh let 'em. Chloe only offed herself because she knew what you're not getting. I'm coming. You're going. All this? It's almost over."
Buffy glared at the first. "We'll be here."
The First smirked. "All of you? But wait, I thought," suddenly she switched to Buffy's voice, "They're not all gonna make it. Some will die. And nothing I can do will stop that." She went back to Chloe's voice, "Hey,
I didn't say it. Be seeing you all. One by one. T.T.F.N.!" And with that she vanished into the air, leaving all of us staring at the real Chloe's dead body.
"W-what's T.T.F.N.?" Buffy asked. A little nervous.
Rona gulped before answering in a shaky voice, "Ta-Ta For Now. It's what Tigger says when he leaves."
"Chloe loved Winnie the pooh," Amanda chimed in. We were all silent for a moment.
Buffy cut through the silence. "Dawn. Where's that knife?"
I didn't wait to watch Buffy move the body, but instead helped to gather everyone into the living room as Buffy took care of Chloe. When we were finished everyone was there. Potentials filled the stairwell. They stood around or sat on the floor, wherever we could fit in. Some were crying, some comforted others, all looked terrified.
I was scared, but not in the same way they were. You'd be an idiot not to fear the First, but it was just one more thing trying to kill me. Not that big of a deal to me anymore.
We heard the kitchen door open and close. All of us waited in silence for Buffy to come in. She carried a shovel with her, it still had dirt on it. One by one everyone looked at her. She waited in silence until she had everyone's attention, then she spoke up.
"Everyone here?"
Kennedy answered, "All accounted for."
Buffy nodded before continuing. "Anyone like to say a few words about Chloe?" There was only silence.
"Let me: Chloe was an idiot." Buffy stated, ignoring the startled reactions from the group. "Chloe was stupid, she was weak. And anyone who's in a rush to become the next dead body I bury, it's easy. Just think of Chloe. Do what she did. And I'll make room for you next to her, and Annabelle."
I looked around, hiding a small smile. I agreed with everything said, but I knew that it was the wrong time to say anything. Everyone was looking so startled, Kennedy the worst of all.
Buffy went on, her voice growing angry, "I'm theSlayer. The one with power. And the First has me using that power to dig our graves." She threw the shovel down to emphasize her words. It clatters to the ground. Willow flinched, I wasn't the only one who noticed. "I've been carrying you. All of you, too far, too long." Buffy continued. "Ride's over."
Kennedy had been watching Willow, and wasn't like Willow's downcast face. Suddenly she jumped up, facing Buffy. "You're out of line!" I smirked behind my hand. If only Kennedy knew how wrong she was.
"No she's not," Willow said, voicing my thoughts in a softer tone then I would have used.
Kennedy gapped at Willow. "You gonna let her talk to you like that? Willow- She's not even the most powerful one in this room-with you here? She's not close."
Buffy confronts Kennedy. She looked calm, completely in control of her emotions, but at the same time dangerously angry. "You're new here. And you're wrong, because I use the power I've got. The rest of you are all just waiting for me."
"Well, yeah, but only cause you kinda told us to," Xander said. "You're our leader, Buffy. As in 'Follow the...'"
Buffy turned to Xander. "Well, from now on, I'm your leader as in 'do what I say'"
"Yeah. . . , but let's try not to forget we're also you're friends," Xander points out.
"I'm not," Anya pops into the conversation, drawing Buffy's unwanted attention.
"Then why are you here? Besides getting rescued, what do you do?" Buffy asked.
Anya had to stop and think before answering unsteadily, "I provide. . . much needed. . . sarcasm."
"Uh, that'd be my job, actually." Xander stated.
"You're here because you're scared," Buffy says, more to everyone then just to Anya.
"Same goes for everyone in this room," Xander agrees.
"Fine. Anya, all of you: Be as scared as you like. Just be useful while you're at it," Buffy said in her calm/angry voice.
"Come on Buffy," Willow said, trying to soften the mood. "You know everyone here's already doing everything they can."
"And the First isn't impressed," Buffy said back, almost at a yell. "It already knows everything we can do, and it's laughing. You want to surprise the enemy? Surprise yourselves. Force yourselves to do what can't be done or else we're not an army. Just a bunch of girls waiting to be picked off and buried."
Everyone just sat there, letting the silence grow. I leaned back, wanting desperately to say something but not knowing what. Quietly I sighed and looked around at faces etched with fear and confusion. I wasn't looking out the window, but I saw the face looking in, anyway. I don't think anyone else saw him, else someone would have said something, but Alucard was standing outside, watching the argument. He caught me looking, but I didn't have a chance to say anything.
Suddenly Spike stood up. Without being shy or quiet about it, he headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Buffy snapped.
Spike turned to her. "Out. Since I'm neither a girl nor waiting, all this speechifying doesn't really apply to me."
"Take a cell phone. That way, if I need someone to get weepy or wailed on, I'll call you." Buffy's words are cold as ice and they stopped Spike in his tracks.
He turned with cold fury, Buffy doesn't back down. "If you've got something to say. . ." Spike starts, his voice angry.
"Just said it," Buffy said bluntly.
"I don't need to be here." Spike states.
Buffy just stared coldly as she continued, "Keep holding back, Spike, and you might as well walk out that door."
"Holding back? You're blind. I've been here, right in it. Fighting. Scrapping." I wasn't sure what emotions were filling Spike's voice, but it was thick with them.
"Since you got your soul back?" Buffy adds onto Spike's comment.
"Matter of fact. I'm just not relishing a kill the way I used to," Spike admitted.
Buffy smirks, as if he proved a point. "You were a better fighter then."
Spike's face flashed with pain. For a moment he wasn't sure what to say, then he just burst out, "I did this for you! The soul, the changes-it's what you wanted!"
"What I want is the Spike who's dangerous. The one who tried to kill me when we met."
"Oh, you don't know how close you are to bringing him out."
"I'm nowhere near him." Spike's looked crushed and Buffy just stared on with the same indifferent look she's had for most of the conversation. Without looking away from Spike she continues, speaking to Dawn. "Get the Potentials upstairs. And break out that emergency kit."
"What are you gonna do?" Dawn asked.
"Declare and emergency."
~
~
*Peeks out from behind a corner. Slowly scoots into view* So. . . what do you think? Sorry it took a bit to get the chapter out. Funny thing, teachers actually think we should have to work. Weird eh? That and getting sick slowed me down a bit. So. . . I actually had about ten ways to do this chapter, and this is just the one I ended up writing. Chapter 8 is almost done, just needs to be edited and the like. It's just finishing the episode up. Ch. 9 will be with the watchers, ch. 10. . . haven't thought that far ahead. On to the thank yous.
Hey! New reviewers! We like you.
WhiteWolf 3: Zeke? *lots of shrugging* working on it. He might still be friends with Liz, don't know. You must remember that he's an evil vampire dude who has no reason to not kill human Elisabeth.
Hollie: Hey, a friend eh? Thanks friend! Glad you like it, I suck at spelling too. Hope you liked the rest of the story, keep reading!
Beyondthesilence: Ello, not a new reader, but I like you too. Sorry about the virus, glad your computer's back now. Again, sorry about the words and spelling mistakes. I'm working on that. Yeah, I understand how not seeing the season would make it hard. I recommend you check out the official site if you want a really brief overview. Thanks for the words, I'll try to use one or two of them in some of the upcoming chapters.
The problem was that it wasn't me walking here. I knew that I was dreaming, but I also knew that this wasn't my dream. I had invaded someone's sleep, and I couldn't figure out who the person I was hitch-hiking on was.
Suddenly I heard muffled sobs. Turning towards them I saw Chloe curled up near the stairs, crying as quietly as she could.
"Chloe?" I heard Buffy ask, "It is Chloe, right?"
So this was Buffy's dream.
Now that I knew for sure that it wasn't me in the body I stopped walking forward with it. Buffy continued on as I watched her pull away from me, moving towards Chloe as she tries to think of something to say. I could feel that she was about to say something when suddenly someone jumped out and tackled her, both of them fell down the stairs.
Startled, I rushed forward to see if Buffy was okay. She was lying at the bottom of the stairs, with some primitive sort of person on top of her. My guess was that she was some sort of cave woman. She held Buffy pinned in a tight hold as she whispered words that I could barely hear.
"It isn't enough."
~
I snapped up, suddenly awake. I looked around to make sure it was me and not a dream. Seeing that it was I gasped for breath and sat back on the couch, looking around the room.
There were girls here, too. Buffy had to send Xander out to buy more sleeping bags because of the number of girls that had been showing up, many led here by Giles who was once again off to find another Potential. I could see that all the girls were young, their age being made more apparent by the peacefulness of sleep. Only one other girl was the same age as me, or at least the same age as they thought I was.
Now that I was awake I couldn't go back to sleep. The dream had some meaning to it and it wasn't something I could figure out, and I knew that I wasn't meant to, but it was still annoying. So what if it wasn't my dream. For some reason I had sat in on it, and there had to be some reason for that.
Trying to calm down I got up and walked into the kitchen to start coffee. The microwave claimed that it was three in the morning. Two and a half hours until sunrise. When the coffee was done I drank it black. I was actually getting use to the bitter taste. The Scoobies kept running out of soda so I had given up on having a decent caffeine drink, and settled for what I could get.
I took the time to enjoy the silence, knowing that in a few hours it would disappear. Closing my eyes I took another gulp of coffee, letting the caffeine wake me up. The decision of going back to sleep came back to mind, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to.
Hearing someone move around upstairs I wondered who was up. The noise soon stopped, though, so I assumed it was just someone using the bathroom. Shaking my head I took another sip of coffee. It was too early to be up. If I didn't go back to sleep soon, someone would end up putting me to work. Then again, I could take a warm shower and eat breakfast without waiting in line.
Deciding on the second option I put my cup in the sink once I was finished with it. Walking back to the living room I folded up my blankets and put them away. Quickly I took a shower and got dressed. For a moment I stood still, thinking that I heard someone knocking, but the sound didn't come again so I put it out of my mind.
Going back downstairs I had a bowl of Cheerios. Munching on them I thought I heard knocking again, coming form the front door. Putting the cereal down I glanced at the clock. It was almost four. I didn't know of anyone who would be visiting, but I got up to check the door anyway.
The knocking started again right as I got to it. I paused a moment before opening the door, wondering if I should get Buffy or Willow. Then I decided that I could handle it if it was something small, and if it wasn't I could yell and wake everyone up.
Opening the door I looked outside. I didn't see anyone. Leaning out a little I looked around the yard. Glaring out at whatever was teasing me I considered looking for it. That would take me out of the house though, making me a target for vampires and other nasties. Shaking my head I began to shut the door.
"Liz, wait!" I froze. Suddenly Alucard was standing outside, looking ragged and tired. "Wait, I need to talk to you," he pleaded. I could only stare at him. He looked scared, and very weak, but it all could be an act and he was quickly recovering, beginning to look like more of his sarcastic self. Last I had known he had been locked in the basement. How had he escaped?
"How did you get here?" I demanded in a whisper, not wanting anyone to wake up and come to see what was going on.
Alucard smirked, looking away. "Well, first there was getting caught because I was left alone in a cage, being dragged back to Washington to be tortured, then escaping, followed by stealing a few piece of shit cars and throughout it all a whole lot of running," he said with blunt sarcasm.
I couldn't help but looked surprised. "Okay, what?" I asked, not sure if I was understanding him. Alucard just smiled at me. "Look, why are you here? If what you say is true, then you weren't forced to come here. I don't have a clue what on Earth went on, but you better have a damn good reason for showing up." I was completely serious and rather pissed that he would show up out of the blue. I'm sure he had his reason, maybe he needed help, but if anyone saw him it wouldn't end well.
While Alucard's smile didn't fade, it grew sad, a shadow falling over his face. He looked away from me for a few seconds while he thought. I just watched him as I leaned against the door frame, not going outside so that he couldn't harm me.
"I'm not sure why I came here," he said finally. "But I know where your Watchers are, and I can show you" That caught my interest, as he had known it would. I just didn't know if I could trust him. Logic told me to be suspicious, but my instinct said that he wasn't lying.
I looked back into the house. This really would be something to talk about with Jordan, or at least with someone. But what would I tell them? Our vampire prisoner just happened to show up claiming he knew where our supposedly dead friends were? I couldn't pass up the chance though.
Biting my lip I asked, "So what do you want from me?"
Amusement flashed in his eyes for a second before he became serious again. "Well, you wouldn't believe me if I said nothing," he muttered, "and I suppose that isn't true anyway. So why don't we start with a place to stay?"
It was starting to get light out, but just slightly. He would have to find a place to spend the day soon. Inviting him in was out of the question though. It would bring too much suspicion and I couldn't trust the guy.
"Sorry, no can do," I stated.
He only nodded, expecting that. "Fine then. I can only hang around for a little while longer, so I'll answer any questions you have," he stated before pulling out two envelopes. "From Lloyd, one to Rupert what's-his- name, and the other for Jordan, assuming he's with you." He offered them to me and I took them gladly. "Both were sealed when I got them," he finished, showing that he hadn't meddled with either letter.
I nodded, holding onto the letters. I wasn't sure what was inside them, but it was probably Watcher stuff. Jordan might not be happy that Giles also had a letter, but that was okay for now because Giles wasn't here. So we didn't have to worry about him yet. Key word there was yet. If he showed back up I'd give him the letter, and it would probably say something that Jordan would rather not have them hear.
Pocketing both envelopes I asked, "So, what happened?"
"I'll tell you," he said with a grin, "but I'm not going to talk through a doorway."
Meeting his eyes, I believed that there wasn't a trap waiting outside for me, but I had been wrong before. The fact that my instinct wanted me to trust him only brought more suspicion. Inviting him inside would have been stupid, but I really needed to know what had happened.
Alucard moved back to give me room as I stepped out onto the porch. It was a nice night, not too hot or too cold, but I felt edgy and glanced around nervously.
Alucard leaned against the house, watching me. "Nothing's going to jump out and bite you, Liz," he stated.
"No. That's what you're for, right?" I murmured without really thinking.
"Only if you want me to," he said with friendly sarcasm.
Smirking I shook my head. "Not in this lifetime."
Alucard froze for a second after I said that. I didn't so much see it as felt it. For just an instant he was on edge, then at the next moment relaxed again, even if he was still a little out of it. "What?" I asked, not sure what was up with him.
He shook his head. "Nothing, nothing," then after a pause, "what did you want to know?"
Pushing the fact that he seamed a bit shaken aside I asked. "What happened between Texas and here for you?"
Alucard stared out into space for a moment, as if arranging things in his mind so that the story would make sense. "I wanted out of the cage, so during the night when no one was around I had started trying to get one of the polls lose. The night before you were attacked I finally did it. That was the first step that saved me.
"So when the vampires showed up I got out of the cage and went looking for your Watchers. They weren't home, and I didn't know where they had gone, but the vampires had torched the place, and I had to get out."
"So the Watchers weren't there?" I asked, letting my hope build.
Alucard rolled his eyes. "Of course not, if they were they would have been dead by now and I already said I knew where they were." He waited for me to say something, but I kept quiet so he continued. "Anyway, the vampires waited until the house was burning and not really a house anymore. During the fire I had hid under the bathtub, which is broken by the way, and then switched to vamp face and pretended to be one of them.
"Unfortunately an old friend of mine recognized me and sounded an alarm. I ran for one of the portals that the vampires had used to arrive. Big mistake, that was, once through I was face to face with your friend Zeke and the Boss. To top it all off I was standing in a damn cage."
"So it was a trap?" I asked.
Alucard nodded. "Yeah, but it was probably meant for you."
I frowned a moment. "Well, you're not dead, so what happened?"
Alucard smiled grimly. "There's this thing about death that most people overlook. Once you kill a person you're done. They go off to where ever dead people go and your fun's over. Now torture on the other hand, that lasts, and hurts and involves a lot of screaming."
"Oh," I murmured, not really wanting to know what they did to him. He was still in one piece without any huge marks that I could see, so they probably didn't get a chance to do anything that bad. "How long were you there?"
"Bout a week and a half. It's almost insulting, the guards he put on me. Just because I didn't kill him on the first try doesn't mean I won't do it," he said sourly.
I nodded, understanding. "So when did you meet up with the Watchers?"
"I followed some tips from the locals, stole a car and drove a long way. Actually, they're only about two hours from here, but if they move from the house they're staying in the vamps will be able to find them. Lloyd pulled a favor from a group of wiccans, so he's safe for a bit," Alucard explained, "So I'm being the messenger who gives you the notes and gets back-up for the trip so that everyone can live happily ever after."
"Well, that sounds just peachy," I murmured as I considered the plan.
"Yeah, well. . .Oh, almost forgot," he said, suddenly remembering something. He pulled out a small book and handed it to me. The leather cover was old, very old. I opened it carefully and saw writing in a language I didn't know. It looked like a diary, in a way, but I wasn't sure who it would have belonged to.
"It's yours, anyway," Alucard started. "I can't translate it, but it's one of the original copies of some of the prophecies. The entries aren't in chronological order. The author just wrote down what was remembered at the time."
I ran my fingers over the words. Part of the prophecy. . . Where did he get it? And why give it to me? I continued to flip through the book, not understanding any of it. Alucard seemed to know something about it, but not enough to be helpful.
"The last thirty pages or so aren't part of the prophecy, so you don't have to waste time trying to understand them," Alucard added. "I picked it up from the Boss's library, hoping that it might help us with something."
I nodded, considering his story. It could be true, or he could be lying. But the book was old and the writing wasn't anything I had ever seen before. "How old is it?" I asked, trying to get some idea of where to start looking.
Alucard shrugged. "The writing's just under two thousand years, I'd assume. The book itself has been around longer than that, but I don't have a clue on exactly how much longer."
I blinked. "Two thousand?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
I gulped. The prophecy was that old. Who would care about my life two thousand years ago? Then again, if it was talking about the end of vampires, someone should care. "This is obviously important. Why would you give it to me?"
"Because it's yours."
I didn't understand what he was talking about, but that was okay. If this was what he said it was I couldn't turn down the help, even if I couldn't understand it at the moment. The scoobies would be able to help figure something out.
"Look, I've gotta go. There's not long until sunrise," Alucard said.
I nodded. "Yeah, thanks for the book, I'll look it over."
Alucard shrugged. "I'll be back some time tomorrow, give you some time to talk things over with the other slayer."
I nodded, not saying anything else, and Alucard turned to go. I stared after him for awhile, flipping through the pages. It must have been some spell to keep the book in tact. While the pages were slightly yellow, that was the only thing at all damaged.
I hid the book in my pocket before opening the door slowly and looking around. around and gently closed the door behind me.
"Since when do you know a vampire?" The sudden sound made me jump and I growled at myself for being so edgy. The English drawl sounded familiar, but distant. rather sure that it was the vampire of the house.
With a sigh I turned around to face the vampire-Spike-but the moment I got a look at his face I forgot what it was that I had been going to say.
He had bleached blonde hair and blue eyes, with high, pronounced cheek bones. He was going for a Billy Idol look, not one that I had ever really cared for, but it looked good on Spike. At the moment he wore jeans and a T- shirt, covered by a light jacket. The most awkward thing about his appearance was that he actually looked kind of cool.
"Elisabeth?" He asked, sounding as surprised as I felt.
"You're dead," I said bluntly, my voice staying calm, but only because I was in some form of shock.
"Of course I'm dead," the vampire snapped. "The problem is that you aren't!"
My eyes widened as I realized what had happened. "Oh god, you're a vampire!" That was extremely obvious, I just felt so stupid for not realizing what had been going on before. My watcher had said it wasn't a vampire kill, though. I had never been allowed to get too close to the coffin, but he wasn't supposed to be a vampire. My watcher had lied, about this!
"And you're pretending to be a Potential?" His voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "You shouldn't even be alive!"
"Oh it's a long story," I said, brushing off his questions before he could ask them. I began to pace, trying to get my thoughts in order, then suddenly I stopped with a groan. "William the Bloody, a.k.a. Spike. What a dead give away!"
William was looking at me like I was crazy, but at the same time he seemed to understand what I was saying. "So you're alive?" He was asking himself more than me. "but you couldn't really be a Potential?"
"No, not a Potential. . ." I started, then heard someone in the other room. Both William and I stayed quiet as we heard people get up and move around. "We really should continue this discussion later."
He stared at me for a long time before answer. "Right, later then." Then he walked off, back towards the basement. I just starred. Just like that he was gone. I felt like throwing something after him, but there wasn't anything nearby.
"Brothers," I muttered as I walked back into the kitchen.
It was still early. Who ever had woken up was probably going back to bed. That gave me plenty of time to think, but my head wouldn't decide on which vampire I had to concentrate on. It was possible that I had imagined that whole conversation with him, but why would I? The truth was more logical, in an awkward sort of way.
My brother was William the Bloody. The William the Bloody. Former scourge of Europe and companion of Anglelus. How that happened I didn't know. The stories I had heard of Spike led me to think he was an interesting vampire, one to be feared. I just couldn't picture William as anyone intimidating. Whatever happened to the love sick poet?
I shook my head. It wasn't that important at the moment. The real issue was Alucard. Jordan wasn't here, I couldn't talk to him about it, and I didn't feel too comfortable talking to Buffy. That led me to think maybe Willow or William/Spike. I had the day to figure it out though.
I began to make another batch of coffee as I considered what was going on. No doubt William was doing the same. No, wait, Spike, he was Spike here. If I called him William people would get confused. But I had other things to think about, or so I kept telling myself.
Alucard had probably made it to shelter by now as the night crowd settled down and the rest of the humans began to wake up. Carefully I planned out the days events. I would talk to everyone at the same time, probably when Buffy got back from work.
~
I didn't mind practicing with the group, but when Kennedy went on a power trip I always got a little ticked. We weren't in the army, she didn't need to be treating us like we were a bunch of mindless idiots. No offense to soldiers or anything, but they had to take a lot of crap and I wasn't up for it.
I watched as she badgered Chloe for awhile, wondering if I should do something to draw her attention away, but just then she decided to go talk to Buffy and the man she brought home with her, so I decided that Chloe could just do the push ups on her own. As always, I was ignored, which was fine. When Amanda spoke up we were sent back to training, and I continued along with the rest of the group. Soon
Willow came out, she talked with Buffy and the man who I now knew was the Principal Wood guy that kept showing up in conversations. After a few minutes they all went inside. About an hour later the training session was over and the girls split up. I took it as my chance to go find Spike. I found him in the basement, fuming over something.
"Hey," I said, walking down the stairs.
He glanced up at me and nodded hello. "What's up Pet?" He asked.
I shrugged, "Nuthing much, just thought we should talk."
Spike nodded. "Yeah, we should do that." We both stood and looked at each other for a couple of seconds. Spike was the first to speak. "Start with the why you're not dead part."
I glanced away, trying to figure out the best way to start. As always I couldn't think of a tactful way to say anything. "Remember that night when I was attacked? Some strange man jumped me and you happened to walk out in time to stop me from getting killed?"
Spike nodded slowly. "Yeah, he was a vampire." He said it as a fact.
I nodded back. "Yeah. Well, you could say this is all his fault."
Spike raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"Because he cursed me so that I was stuck in a non-living, non-dead state for one hundred and twenty years," I said bluntly.
Spike just stared. It didn't look like the information was actually getting through to him. That was fine, I could give him a few minutes to figure it out. He took his time doing so. "So you've never died."
I shook my head. "Nope."
"Why would he want to curse you?"
I scratched my head, answering quietly. "Something about me being a slayer- "
"What!?" Spike butted in.
"Yeah, thought you might have that reaction." I muttered.
He was giving me one of those blank-surprised stares again. "How long were you a slayer?"
"Sense I was thirteen."
Spike was pacing now, not happy in the slightest. "Four years. You were a slayer for four years and never told me?"
I just sort of shrugged. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Not every slayer is as vocal as Buffy. You should know, you met up with two others."
Spike snorted. "I was killing them, not much time for talking pet."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. It's not like you told me everything."
"I told you the important things," Spike retorted.
Raising an eyebrow I asked, "And what was important to you? A love interest that you wrote the worst poetry about. Yes, you spent hours talking about her."
"And you never bothered to mention that vampires were real," Spike pointed out. "Found out anyway though, didn't I?"
I glared. "Hey, I had nothing to do with that."
Spike waves his hand, telling me to ignore his comment. "Sorry, luv, had a bad day," he muttered before stopping and getting a good look at me. "So you really are here. Been living in this house for what, a couple weeks? God, you were right under my nose and I never noticed."
"I could say the same thing," I pointed out.
Spike shrugged. "So, how did all of this happen? Why're you here?"
I sighed, not sure exactly where to start. "I'll skip the details. There's a bad guy after me because of some crappy prophecy that I still think he's reading wrong. I have four Watchers watching my back, three of whom are locked up with some wiccans about two hours drive from here and the vampire you saw last night is supposed to get me to them so that I can bring them back in one piece."
"Is that all?" I caught the sarcasm in his voice. "Prophecies, well, they're nothing but trouble. What's yours all about?"
I shrugged, pulling out the book Alucard had given to me and tossing it to him. "It's all in there, or so I'm told. Basically what the Boss thinks though is that I'm supposed to go and kill every vampire if he doesn't manage to kill me before the end of May."
Spike gave me a look that clearly said that wasn't possible. I nodded agreement. "And who is this Boss you're talking about?"
I shrugged. "Never met the guy. Jordan didn't want to bring him up with Buffy because she had so many problems with the First. Heck, we've had problems with the First."
Spike crossed his arms as he considered what I'd said. "So this new big bad, how's he hunting you?"
"A bunch of Wiccans and shamans doing spells, good old fashion hunting. Chances are he knows where I am though," I stated.
"So, is he a vampire or some other beastie?" Spike asked.
"Vamp," I answered. "But an old one, older than Zeke and Alucard, but that's all I know."
"Who and Who?" Spike cut in.
I silently yelled at myself for getting ahead in the story. "Zeke use to be a friend, Alucard's the vamp from this morning. Both are old, don't know their exact age."
"And the Boss has control of them?"
I frowned, not sure how to answer. "Um. . . As far as I know, and I'm going on faith with this one. Alucard use to work for the Boss, then Alucard tried to kill him, things went bad. Suddenly he shows up saving me from Zeke, who was the vamp I hung out with back when I couldn't get killed, but is now the bad guy working for the Boss."
Spike nodded. "Right, and that makes things so much clearer," He drawled sarcastically.
I shrugged. "Sorry, as I said, it's a long story." Spike nodded, understanding. He opened the book and flipped through it. "Don't recognize any of this. I'd hand it off to Giles, but he's not around."
"Yeah, I was thinking about giving it to Chris." Catching Spike's questioning glance I explained, "He's one of the Watchers. Big book worm."
"Ah," Spike said. "So when are we letting Buffy in on the secret?" He asked.
I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Tonight probably. I just thought it would be best to go over things with you first."
"Thanks, pet," Spike said as he smiled warmly at me for a moment. "It's actually nice seeing you again."
"As that I'm back from the dead and all, I would hope so. Even if you are a vampire," I said.
Smirking Spike shrugged. "Yes, a vampire with a soul. Big Bloody help I've been lately," he muttered.
"So why was today so horrible?" I asked.
Spike stared at me a moment. I could almost hear him asking himself whether or not he should talk to me. It was like a flash back in time, back when we were kids and I had asked him about some secret he wasn't sure he could trust me with. I had never shared one of his secrets though.
"Girl troubles," he said at last. A simple but blunt answer. I almost laughed. It was always girl troubles with him. Spike flashed me a glare and I hid my smile quickly.
"So, things going bad with Buffy?" I asked.
Again he was glaring at me, but he talked anyway. "Everyone one of you chits knows about it, don't you. No one keeps anything to them bloody selves in this house."
I shook my head. "We're stuck here all day, what are we supposed to do? Besides, it's obvious. You're totally into her."
Again with the glaring, but I ignored it. "You're sounding like Dawn with an accent," he mumbled.
I frowned at him. "I'm not like Dawn."
"No, but you can sound like her at times. Actually, she sounds like you, but that's another story," Spike said. He handed the book back to me. "I suggest you get someone looking into that. When you're ready to tell the Scoobies what's up with you come get me. Don't know how much help I'll be but at least I can confirm your story."
I nodded. "Thanks," I murmured. Again we shared an uncomfortable moment. Neither of us knew what we should do. Neither of us knew how much the other had changed. Sighing I decided it didn't matter. He was still my brother, even if he was a demon. I took a step forward and gave him a quick hug before turning around and leaving the basement.
Nighttime came around and I hadn't bothered changing for bed. I hadn't gotten around to talking to Buffy. Call me a coward, but I was nervous. This was the sort of thing I normally passed off to someone else. Unfortunately there wasn't anyone else to talk to everyone for me.
When the sun finally set I realized that Alucard would be showing up and I really needed to tell everyone everything before he did. So I was walking upstairs, a few seconds after Buffy and Dawn.
I got to the top in time to see Dawn open the door to the bathroom, then to hear her scream. Stopping for a moment I just stared. Buffy and Dawn were in complete shock, but Kennedy, Rona and Amanda were rushing towards them, to see what was going on. I joined in, wanting to know what was happening as well. "What happened, we heard. . ." Kennedy started, but Buffy cut her off.
"Dawn, get a knife." I paused to see what the deal was, and saw Chloe hanging from the ceiling, dead. I think my heart skipped a beat, but I was too shocked her down.
Dawn started to leave, but Chloe's voice stopped her. "Good thinking." Dawn stops, slowly turning to see a perfect image of Chloe standing below the dead body, looking up at the dead Chloe. "On the other hand, why rush? Up or down-I'll still be dead."
"You're not Chloe," Buffy says in a voice that even scarred me.
Chloe/the First said, "Yeah, well, neither is she, anymore. Now she's just. . . 'Chloe's body'"
"What did you do to her?" Kennedy asked somewhere between surprise and horror.
"Nothing!" The image of Chloe insisted. "We just talked all night. Well, I did most of the talking, but Chloe is. . . I'm sorry, was a great listener. 'Til she hanged herself," The first paused to stare directly at Kennedy. "Like when you called her a maggot? She really heard that."
"Don't listen to it. Any of you," Buffy said, always the protector. I'm sure she was as scared as the rest of us, but she was just better at hiding it.
The First was playing on our fear though. "Oh let 'em. Chloe only offed herself because she knew what you're not getting. I'm coming. You're going. All this? It's almost over."
Buffy glared at the first. "We'll be here."
The First smirked. "All of you? But wait, I thought," suddenly she switched to Buffy's voice, "They're not all gonna make it. Some will die. And nothing I can do will stop that." She went back to Chloe's voice, "Hey,
I didn't say it. Be seeing you all. One by one. T.T.F.N.!" And with that she vanished into the air, leaving all of us staring at the real Chloe's dead body.
"W-what's T.T.F.N.?" Buffy asked. A little nervous.
Rona gulped before answering in a shaky voice, "Ta-Ta For Now. It's what Tigger says when he leaves."
"Chloe loved Winnie the pooh," Amanda chimed in. We were all silent for a moment.
Buffy cut through the silence. "Dawn. Where's that knife?"
I didn't wait to watch Buffy move the body, but instead helped to gather everyone into the living room as Buffy took care of Chloe. When we were finished everyone was there. Potentials filled the stairwell. They stood around or sat on the floor, wherever we could fit in. Some were crying, some comforted others, all looked terrified.
I was scared, but not in the same way they were. You'd be an idiot not to fear the First, but it was just one more thing trying to kill me. Not that big of a deal to me anymore.
We heard the kitchen door open and close. All of us waited in silence for Buffy to come in. She carried a shovel with her, it still had dirt on it. One by one everyone looked at her. She waited in silence until she had everyone's attention, then she spoke up.
"Everyone here?"
Kennedy answered, "All accounted for."
Buffy nodded before continuing. "Anyone like to say a few words about Chloe?" There was only silence.
"Let me: Chloe was an idiot." Buffy stated, ignoring the startled reactions from the group. "Chloe was stupid, she was weak. And anyone who's in a rush to become the next dead body I bury, it's easy. Just think of Chloe. Do what she did. And I'll make room for you next to her, and Annabelle."
I looked around, hiding a small smile. I agreed with everything said, but I knew that it was the wrong time to say anything. Everyone was looking so startled, Kennedy the worst of all.
Buffy went on, her voice growing angry, "I'm theSlayer. The one with power. And the First has me using that power to dig our graves." She threw the shovel down to emphasize her words. It clatters to the ground. Willow flinched, I wasn't the only one who noticed. "I've been carrying you. All of you, too far, too long." Buffy continued. "Ride's over."
Kennedy had been watching Willow, and wasn't like Willow's downcast face. Suddenly she jumped up, facing Buffy. "You're out of line!" I smirked behind my hand. If only Kennedy knew how wrong she was.
"No she's not," Willow said, voicing my thoughts in a softer tone then I would have used.
Kennedy gapped at Willow. "You gonna let her talk to you like that? Willow- She's not even the most powerful one in this room-with you here? She's not close."
Buffy confronts Kennedy. She looked calm, completely in control of her emotions, but at the same time dangerously angry. "You're new here. And you're wrong, because I use the power I've got. The rest of you are all just waiting for me."
"Well, yeah, but only cause you kinda told us to," Xander said. "You're our leader, Buffy. As in 'Follow the...'"
Buffy turned to Xander. "Well, from now on, I'm your leader as in 'do what I say'"
"Yeah. . . , but let's try not to forget we're also you're friends," Xander points out.
"I'm not," Anya pops into the conversation, drawing Buffy's unwanted attention.
"Then why are you here? Besides getting rescued, what do you do?" Buffy asked.
Anya had to stop and think before answering unsteadily, "I provide. . . much needed. . . sarcasm."
"Uh, that'd be my job, actually." Xander stated.
"You're here because you're scared," Buffy says, more to everyone then just to Anya.
"Same goes for everyone in this room," Xander agrees.
"Fine. Anya, all of you: Be as scared as you like. Just be useful while you're at it," Buffy said in her calm/angry voice.
"Come on Buffy," Willow said, trying to soften the mood. "You know everyone here's already doing everything they can."
"And the First isn't impressed," Buffy said back, almost at a yell. "It already knows everything we can do, and it's laughing. You want to surprise the enemy? Surprise yourselves. Force yourselves to do what can't be done or else we're not an army. Just a bunch of girls waiting to be picked off and buried."
Everyone just sat there, letting the silence grow. I leaned back, wanting desperately to say something but not knowing what. Quietly I sighed and looked around at faces etched with fear and confusion. I wasn't looking out the window, but I saw the face looking in, anyway. I don't think anyone else saw him, else someone would have said something, but Alucard was standing outside, watching the argument. He caught me looking, but I didn't have a chance to say anything.
Suddenly Spike stood up. Without being shy or quiet about it, he headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Buffy snapped.
Spike turned to her. "Out. Since I'm neither a girl nor waiting, all this speechifying doesn't really apply to me."
"Take a cell phone. That way, if I need someone to get weepy or wailed on, I'll call you." Buffy's words are cold as ice and they stopped Spike in his tracks.
He turned with cold fury, Buffy doesn't back down. "If you've got something to say. . ." Spike starts, his voice angry.
"Just said it," Buffy said bluntly.
"I don't need to be here." Spike states.
Buffy just stared coldly as she continued, "Keep holding back, Spike, and you might as well walk out that door."
"Holding back? You're blind. I've been here, right in it. Fighting. Scrapping." I wasn't sure what emotions were filling Spike's voice, but it was thick with them.
"Since you got your soul back?" Buffy adds onto Spike's comment.
"Matter of fact. I'm just not relishing a kill the way I used to," Spike admitted.
Buffy smirks, as if he proved a point. "You were a better fighter then."
Spike's face flashed with pain. For a moment he wasn't sure what to say, then he just burst out, "I did this for you! The soul, the changes-it's what you wanted!"
"What I want is the Spike who's dangerous. The one who tried to kill me when we met."
"Oh, you don't know how close you are to bringing him out."
"I'm nowhere near him." Spike's looked crushed and Buffy just stared on with the same indifferent look she's had for most of the conversation. Without looking away from Spike she continues, speaking to Dawn. "Get the Potentials upstairs. And break out that emergency kit."
"What are you gonna do?" Dawn asked.
"Declare and emergency."
~
~
*Peeks out from behind a corner. Slowly scoots into view* So. . . what do you think? Sorry it took a bit to get the chapter out. Funny thing, teachers actually think we should have to work. Weird eh? That and getting sick slowed me down a bit. So. . . I actually had about ten ways to do this chapter, and this is just the one I ended up writing. Chapter 8 is almost done, just needs to be edited and the like. It's just finishing the episode up. Ch. 9 will be with the watchers, ch. 10. . . haven't thought that far ahead. On to the thank yous.
Hey! New reviewers! We like you.
WhiteWolf 3: Zeke? *lots of shrugging* working on it. He might still be friends with Liz, don't know. You must remember that he's an evil vampire dude who has no reason to not kill human Elisabeth.
Hollie: Hey, a friend eh? Thanks friend! Glad you like it, I suck at spelling too. Hope you liked the rest of the story, keep reading!
Beyondthesilence: Ello, not a new reader, but I like you too. Sorry about the virus, glad your computer's back now. Again, sorry about the words and spelling mistakes. I'm working on that. Yeah, I understand how not seeing the season would make it hard. I recommend you check out the official site if you want a really brief overview. Thanks for the words, I'll try to use one or two of them in some of the upcoming chapters.