Note: Italics are Buffy's personal/Slayer thoughts.
(O.O)
Buffy
Slaying tonight had totally been a bust.
The plan had been simple. Willow, Xander and I were supposed to lure the vamps to us and then lead them to the abandoned crypt where Giles and Ms. Calendar were waiting to perform the sunlight spell thingy. It would go 'boom' and there'd be a big pile of vampire dust. Only so far, even though we've been walking around in cemeteries for nearly five hours, there just weren't any vampires. It wasn't funny, I felt super annoyed, and my friend Xander was so not helping my mood.
"Are we sure those vamps are going to attack tonight?" he asked for the bazillionth time.
"Yes. Giles and Ms. Calendar checked it twice before we left the school," I told him, throwing up my hands in exasperation and nearly sending the stake I was holding flying off into the night.
"So how come we haven't seen a single one of them yet?" he asked in a whiny little voice.
"Well, maybe they decided not to do this St. Vigeous thing," Willow timidly suggested.
"Maybe," I mumbled, but that didn't seem right.
Xander raked a hand through his hair. "Or maybe they're just waiting for the right moment to strike. I mean seriously, guys, a night without a single vamp? Even I can tell this isn't normal by Sunnydale standards. Something must be up."
I paused, forgetting my irritation of my friend to consider his words, then shuddered at the truth behind them.
He was right. This was Sunnydale, vampire grand central station. This town never ran out of vamps, especially on a night when they a got a mystical boost in strength.
The twilight zone theme started playing in my head.
"Buffy," a voice suddenly echoed from behind us, making the three of us jump.
"Holy cannoli!" Xander yelped. He shook his finger at the souled vampire who'd surprised us. "Dang it, dead boy! Do you really have to scare us like that?!"
"Sorry," Angel said, only he looked anything but that. "You should know that I wasn't trying to scare any of you. It's not my fault you're always so skittish," he told my friend in a teasing tone that had reminded me a little too much of the bullies from school.
I clenched my hands into fists behind my back as my irritation grew. I'd been walking all evening looking for these super-powered vamps that were supposed to be everywhere, only to not meet up with a single one of them. I was exhausted, sweaty and I had mud on my newest Slaying boots. And Angel, who's been MIA for the past few days with zero explanations as to where he's been and what had happened between him and his Sire, suddenly deciding to show up and making fun of Xander was just the last straw. Anger boiled inside me and it looked like the broody vampire was about to be the outlet for my rage.
And geez, he hadn't even really said 'hi' to me yet.
"What are you doing here, Angel?" I asked angrily, my emerald eyes boring into his.
He flinched and my lips curled up at the corners in satisfaction. On the inside I was grinning wider than the Cheshire Cat.
Good. Hopefully this would teach him not to annoy an already peeved Slayer by making fun of her friends and ignoring and forgetting about her while being busy running off with another girl. Even if that girl was his Sire.
"I'm here to help you, Buffy." Angel looked at me with the sad and hurt look that always made me feel guilty for doing something to put it on his handsome face. "I thought you needed it tonight and would be grateful. I mean…I believed you'd be happy to see me because I'm happy to see you. I-I just didn't expect you to be angry with me."
Despite how annoyingly arrogant his words sounded, my resolve wavered as he continued to wear his hang dog look. I tried to stay angry at him, I really did. I'd even been thinking about kicking his butt and punching his nose a time or two. But once I saw that look, I knew I was a goner.
Stupid vampire.
I wanted to berate him, only when I opened my mouth that's not what came out.
"I appreciate it, Angel." I told him instead, making him smile warmly at me.
It was that warmth that didn't quite touch his eyes that made me angry at myself for caving to him.
That ire was what colored my next words. "But you forget how worried you made me, how scared. Angel, you shouldn't make someone who cares about you upset by disappearing like you did. I had no idea where you were and besides that stupid note you left, I had no idea what happened to you or if you were okay. I would have understood, really, had you just spent a few minutes of your precious time to explain things to me. Now, you suddenly show up, jumping out of the bushes like the boogey man, scaring the bejeezus out of us and you expect me to be happy? To appreciate your efforts? That's not how things are done, Angel. You want to help us? Well, thanks. But you shouldn't look as if I should sing your praises because of it." I stared into his eyes, surprised at how good it felt, how confident I sounded while Angel bowed his head and his shoulders slumped.
"I'm sorry, Buffy," he said and actually meant it this time. "I didn't mean to make you worry. I was so caught up in the problems that I hadn't stop to consider how you felt when I left abruptly without talking to you. Can you forgive me?"
The sincerity of his apology made me all melty again. So I smiled at him when this time his smile reached all the way to his eyes. I was happy that I'd been able to make him both understand my feelings and feel comfortable enough with me to relax and give me such an honest espression in such a short time span. It made me feel special because I knew I was the only one capable of getting him, Mr. Stoic-and-always-brooding, to smile that way.
You sure about that? What about that cover-girl model Sire of his? I bet she can get him to smile in more ways than one. One part of my brain evilly whispered to me.
Eww. I thought as the images of him and his Sire doing things together ran through my mind.
"So, what about Darla?" I suddenly asked, trying to ignore the disgusting mental pictures.
"Darla? How do you know about her?" he asked, looking like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights.
I rolled my eyes at this. "She's your Sire, and the woman who you disappeared with a couple of days ago. We looked her, and the rest of your insipid little family, up. I guess that's the 'personal problem' you had to deal with, huh?" I crossed my arms, and glared while Willow and Xander were doing their best to disappear behind us.
He looked guilty, which made me suspicious.
What the hell did he do to feel guilty about?! I inwardly cried angrily.
"Yeah, she, Dru and Spike are the personal problems I had to deal with," he confirmed without volunteering anything extra. And anything resembling to the good feelings I had acquired a few minutes ago were flushed right down the metaphorical drain.
"So, since you're here, I guess it's safe to say that you took care of them?" Xander butted in looking just as angry as I was.
Huh, guess I wasn't the only one who thinks Angel is being a major poophead tonight.
"Yeah. They won't be a problem," Angel continued with the cryptic.
"You mean you dusted all three of them?" I asked as my stomach suddenly clenched hard at the thought of Spike's death and I found the sudden need to put my hand on a brick wall to keep myself upright.
"Not exactly," he said, suddenly confusing me.
"What do you mean?" I asked irritated. I was really running out of patience with his refusal to give me a straight answer.
"It doesn't matter now. All I can say is that they won't do anything remotely evil while they're here in Sunnydale."
"So they're still un-dusty?" Willow tried to clarify, earning a sharp look from Angel.
She shrunk back from the vampire and I stepped in between them. Angel was acting weird tonight. He'd teased Xander, tried to cow me, and was now vaguely threatening Willow. He'd never been this jerky to us before, despite how out of place we always made him feel when he hung out with us. He never got angry, even when Xander would called him names and insults him. It made me wonder if this sudden change had something to do with his vampire family being in town. That really didn't excuse him being an asshole, however, and he should answer the question.
"Willow has a point, Angel. Did you or did you not dust those vampires? I want a straight answer." I scowled at him with my hands on my hips. I looked him up and down. "I need to know, Angel. I need to know whether those three are a threat or not."
Rage darkened his features and I reached for my stake, just in case he suddenly decided to attack.
With the way he's been acting tonight? I wouldn't be surprised.
His eyes followed my hand's movement, growing wide as he figured out what I was doing. He took a step back and let out a deep sigh before resuming his usual 'I'm in constant suffering' expression.
"They're not a threat, Buffy," he reiterated, and stalled again.
"Why? Why would you think so? And why won't you just tell me? What are you hiding, Angel?" I asked, my voice rising with each question. I was really reaching my limit with him.
"Why do you have to know? I already told you, they are not a threat. They won't do anything to hurt anyone while they're here. You'll just have to take my word for it." His voice had gotten louder and louder, but now he dropped it. "Trust me, I know what's good for you."
What?!
I blinked in confusion, before it was replaced by anger.
Who the hell does he think he is to decide that? No one knows what's good for me but me!
I was about to unload my fury on him when a very boisterous laughter coming from under one of the shady trees of the cemetery interrupted us.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Angel growled at the shadowy figure moving from beneath the trees.
The back of my neck erupted into tingles. I shivered as I recognized who the figure was.
Spike! I thought excitedly.
Any and all thoughts of my argument with Angel were forgotten and were quickly replaced by images of the bleach blond, sexy vampire in front of me.
I'd been trying to keep myself from thinking about him all evening. If I had let myself, then I'd have just chased questions of his allegiances and possible degree of evilness round and round my head all night. Not a plus when I was supposed to be focusing on souped-up Night of St. Vigeous vampires. I still found the guy crazy hot, even if he was undead, but I couldn't let that cloud my judgement on tonight of all nights. I stared at him warily as he strutted towards us. As he got closer my hand closed around the stake in my back pocket.
"No need for that, pet. As the overused saying goes: I come in peace!" He raised both hands in mock surrender.
"I'll ask you again, Spike. What are you doing here?" Angel growled in a deep voice, throaty and threatening, while his eyes shifted yellow. He bared his fangs at the other vampire.
After seeing this behavior from him, I gestured to Willow and Xander to move back away from us, so it would be easier for me to move and defend them in case I have to. My heart was racing in both fear and anticipation, because the first time since I'd met Angel, I was genuinely afraid of him. It was a strange feeling to have especially since he was supposed to be someone who's told to protect me. I always viewed him as a partner and trusted him to have my back, even though he was a vampire, I'd never truly felt that he was dangerous.
Creepy, yes, but never dangerous.
Until now.
Now as I looked at him, he didn't resemble the Angel that I know of. He just resembled a monster that I should slay. So I readied myself for the possible confrontation of two extremely powerful master vampires, that could even be more stronger because of this special Night.
"Oh, do tune down the aggression, you poof. Need I remind you that we're in the presence of the brass off Slayer that you unknowingly pissed? 'Cause either that's a stake she's got a hold of or she's happy to see me." He jerked his head in my direction, catching my eye and winking.
Angel looked alarmed, all the fight going out of him. He stepped towards me, as if he was assessing the truth in the other vampire's words. I showed Angel my stake, glowering at him. And to his credit, he looked a little ashamed. He let out a long heavy sigh and ran a hand down his face.
"What are you doing here, Spike?" He asked again, his voice tired and exasperated.
Spike snorted. "Already told you earlier. Great-Grandmummy wants me to make sure you don't accidentally off yourself tonight. You're no good to Dru dusty." He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his scarred eyebrow as if to say: 'duh.'
Angel narrowed his eyes. "I can take care of myself, Spike. I have been doing so for the last century."
"Oh, and by taking care of yourself, do you mean the time you spent half starved because you'd only munch on rats or maybe you mean the time you spent living in the sewers and forgot all together about general hygiene? Should I go on?"
"Shut up, Spike."
"Why? Does the truth hurt too much, Angelus?"
"I told you, it's Angel now."
"Angel, Liam, Angelus. You're still the arrogant wanker you've always been. You should know by now that getting your soul back doesn't change that fact. You don't see Darla, Dru and I go changing our names just because we got all souled up."
Had I heard that right? Could it be that Willow and Xander were correct?
"Hah! We were right!" Xander happily exclaimed, voicing out exactly what was on my mind and looking back at Willow for her approval. He pointed at Spike. "You guys do have souls. It's the only logical explanation for a bunch of vamps saving us the other night."
Spike huffed a sigh. "Well, if you want to be technical, then yeah, the soul did help in getting us to help you lot the other night. But you really I wouldn't put too much faith in souls, mate. I mean, take this wanker for example." He gestured at Angel. "His soul did nothing for him than to make him a broody, self-righteous git with a gigantic forehead."
The statement made Angel scowl at the other vamp while my friends both laugh at Angel's expense. While I was simply conflicted on how to react to the entire thing. I mean, I know I should get angry at the bleached vampire for insulting my boyfriend, only I was way too elated at finding out that he wasn't evil.
Now I could openly flirt with him.
I shook off the thought and got back to the current situation.
"Okay, so you guys are ensoulled, huh? How'd you end up like that?" I asked.
"Same as Angel here. Did a bad thing to a bunch of Romanian gypsies, got punished with a soul," he answered while checking out his pockets for something.
"So you're one of the good guys now?" I needed to be completely clear as to where we stood.
"Well, I usually prefer to be called the Big Bad for all Big Bads but for your sake, I'll stick to calling myself a white hat." He gave me a sexy smirk before lighting the cigarette he'd been searching for in his pockets.
"And the rest of your vampire family?" I asked, ignoring how my heart beat faster at that smirk and just sticking to making a face when he exhaled the smoke from his cancer stick.
"They're just like me, pet. Cursed and warriors for the side of good."
I nodded my head in approval, happy to at last get some straight answers.
Unlike a certain other stupid soulled vampire who thinks he knows so much about me.
I made a point of not looking at Angel.
"So what are you guys doing in town?" Willow asked, ignoring Angel as well. "Are you here to help Buffy too?"
"Naw, nothing of the sort, Red. We're actually here to ask Captain Forehead for help to save Dru. She's my Sire and got sick after being tortured by a mob in Prague. They'd mistook us for the demons that killed their women. She said that Angel's the only one who can save her, so we traveled across the pond just to find Gramps and ask for his help."
"Oh," was Willow's only reply. She sounded disappointed. I wasn't sure why, but truthfully I felt the same way. It would have been awesome if he'd come to town because of me, like Angel had.
Ego, much?
I crushed those illogical feelings. I mean, why would I feel such a thing in the first place? It's not like I've known him long enough to actually expect anything out of him.
Spike was giving me a sly look as he continued to take drags on his smoke. "Although, since I am already in town I wouldn't mind lending a hand to the local Slayer and her friends. Assuming she's alright with that?" He watched me from under his long lashes, all sexy and expectant.
I refrained drooling, but just barely. Then I stared into his deep blue eyes that reminded me just how different he was from Angel. His eyes were so human, alive and vibrant, so different than any vampire I've met, that it made me want to trust him immediately. But I shouldn't determine who he was just by the look of his eyes, no matter what that saying goes about them. I can never be a hundred percent sure about the kind of person he was, or if I should trust him just by looking in to those blue orbs.
I don't know him well enough to determine that, I reminded myself.
But, ooh, you want to… Naughty brain told me.
I really needed to quit this. Angel was my boyfriend. I'd barely started solving the mystery of the first souled vampire I'd met; I shouldn't be thinking about another one. I was getting irritated at myself and my lack of self-control. Lately I'd been going nuts: fighting with Angel and dancing like a slut with a stranger I never even met.
Not like that stranger was all that bad…
"Aaaahh!" I yelled, throwing up my hands.
Something was seriously wrong with me. Ever since that fateful night at the Bronze, I'd not been acting like myself. It was like I had another person or thing inside of me making me behave all irrational. I was getting worried. I really need to talk Giles about this. This wasn't natural. It could even be dangerous.
Willow placed her hand on my arm and I looked up into her worried face. "Buffy, are you okay?"
"Huh?" was my mouth's stupid reply.
"I asked if you're okay. You kinda just screamed at Spike for no reason."
I glanced around. Everyone was looking at me like I'd grown another head or something.
"Sorry! I was thinking of something annoying and well-I was frustrated-and thus explains the screaming and the phasing out and-"
"Don't worry about it, pet," Spike said cutting off my babbling. Amusement shone in his eyes and I blushed in embarrassment.
"Yeah, don't fret about it. Spike always did have a way with women that made them scream even before he bedded them." Angel was glaring daggers at Spike. I know that he was trying to insult Spike in attempt to make me feel better, but I don't really cared much for the gesture, in fact I was too busy being speechless from the words 'scream' and 'bedded' being used in the same sentence in reference to the other soulled vamp.
I sighed. I was hopeless.
As I attempted to cool myself down, the argument between the two vampires started to heat up.
"Oh, please, Angelus, quit turning the tables. Everyone knows you're the one who loves to make women scream. Turned you on, it did." Spike said to Angel, smiling smugly before he continued: "The only reason mine ever did holler was because I was so damn good looking they'd climax before I'd even touched them."
Angel snorted. "Didn't seem like that to me, Willie. If memory serves me right, you could barely pick up a good prey before the night ended. Dru and I had to share our food with you just to keep you from starving."
"You're getting senile, old man. You're starting to forget quite a lot of things. Remember Paris? I brought home a group of ballerinas for you to chow on. Oh, and let's not forget that boarding school in Russia and that orphanage in Austria. Seems to me I have a better record of getting our small little family fed than you ever did." Spike was right up in Angel's face now.
"Oh, please, boy. You weren't you alone. Either Darla or Dru was with you, or is it you that's forgotten. Well, except in Paris, of course. Though I'm quite certain I was the one who got those lovely women to come with us that night."
"You?" Spike laughed. "I was the one doing all the talking! You were too busy fantasizing about the prima ballerina to come up with any reason for them to follow us!"
"If I hadn't invited the lead to join us the rest would have never gone along with it!"
"Pish! They'd have joined us with or without their leader! And it wasn't you who invited them, I did that!"
"That's-"
"Enough!" I roared. Both vampires sputtered to a stop. Willow and Xander had gone green from all their stupid reminiscing, while I'd found my stake back in my hand.
It made me sick. Not just by the wicked deeds they did but also at the fact that the two didn't seemed to be as disturbed by what they'd done as I thought they should be. Shouldn't their souls be preventing this century old pissing contest?
I didn't know Spike well enough to make a proper judge of his character, maybe he walked around guilt-free but actively trying to redeem himself. Angel, on the other hand, was usually haunted by what he'd done.
I'd never seen him like this before. The puffed-up, aggressive and competitive vampire in front of me was not someone I recognized. He was rude, mean and sounded way too sure of himself. This arrogant creature was the complete opposite what I considered my Angel. If I didn't know any better, I would have said he was an entirely different person. It made me wonder whether the sensitive and caring Angel I knew even existed or if he was just a lie the animal in front of me had created to make me like him.
No! Angel wouldn't do that! He's kind, helpful and was chosen by some higher being to aid me. He's the hero type. He wouldn't do such a thing to me. He loves me too much, or at last I think he does. He wouldn't lie to me. He wouldn't hide anything from me because boyfriends and girlfriends don't lie to each other. His strange behavior is just because of his family visiting that's all. I tried to reassure myself.
But deeper part of my mind already knew the truth: there'd always been something about Angel that didn't sit well with me. I'd always thought it was because of the whole vampire thing, but I don't seem to have the same problems with Spike. Maybe it was because I'd already been open to the concept of a good vampire with a soul.
Nice try, it's because he's a hottie.
That voice again. I was close to screaming again. I really needed to talk Giles.
Anyway back to going back, I can call it a hunch, female intuition or whatever, but the truth of the matter is that I had never trusted Angel to be completely honest with me before, and everything tonight that'd I witnessed seemed to confirmed that I was right. The guy was hiding a lot of things from me, and his behavior tonight was just proof of that.
"What the hell is wrong with you two?" I snapped, stepping between the vampires. "Talking about those things! You have souls now; you're not supposed to be competing with each other about who's done more evil. You certainly shouldn't be doing in front of the Slayer and her friends! My staking arm is getting twitchy!"
"Tell 'em, Buffster!" Xander cheered me on. I shot him a smile over my shoulder.
Guess Xander has more guts than I give him credit for
"You're one of the good guys now." I looked straight at Angel's eyes, making sure he got the silent reprimanding message, before turning my attention to Spike's baby blues. "If you really want to help us, you two need to stop this stupid argument. No more 'I was the better evil vampire' from either of you. We've wasted enough time as it is. Who knows what sort of damage the vamps in town have been doing since we've been standing here. Let's get our wits together and find the bad guys. This Saint V thingy is still going on. Giles and Ms. Calendar are waiting." I spun on my heel and marched off, waving at everyone to follow me.
Spike caught up to me and fell instep.
"You meant Saint Vigeous, didn't you luv?" he asked. "Your lot know about it then?"
"Yeah. Heard it's a big vamp thing. A night that gives you guys a boost in strength and stuff. Ms. Calendar even called it the 'night of attack,' 'cause I was supposed to be attacked in numbers." I shrugged. "Although, I'm beginning to think it's a hoax since we've been walking around all night and haven't seen a single vampire besides you two."
"Well, at least you got the power boost part right. The rest of it's wrong though." Spike had lit another cigarette and was blowing the smoke out of the side of his mouth opposite me.
"What do you mean?" Willow asked from behind us in a tremulous voice.
"The Night of Saint Vigeous is indeed a big thing to vamps, only not to every single vampire around. To get the power boost there's a hell of an involved ritual to go through."
"Wait? There's a ritual?" I blinked in surprise. "Giles and Ms. Calendar didn't say anything about that."
"They must've read it from one those Veruvian books. The wanker who wrote them always did have his accounts wrong when it came to these things. Anyway, yeah there's a ritual. It takes a week to perform but the results are exemplary. The Annoying One was mucking about with it when we offed him. Brat was too much of a traditionalist if you ask me." Spike took a long drag on his cigarette.
"Whoa!" Xander gasped. "You were the one who dusted the Anointed One?"
"Yeah, I killed him, while Darla took care of most of his followers. She and Dru were always better at massacring minions than I was. I tend to enjoy the challenge of a more difficult prey. Anyway, going back, Saint Vigeous can't happen without the ritual, and the final rituals can't be done until the moon's at its highest peak." He paused to look above us at the bright full moon, which had started to slip towards the horizon. "It appears that the ritual's time limits have already past. Once the ritual's completed, the vampire gets a power boost which lasts of more than one night. It's why St. Vigeous and his crew were able to do so much damage back in the day. Their extra strength lasted for an entire month."
My eyes widened at this newest information. It seemed that Giles and Ms. Calendar missed a lot of things about this event. I imagined what would have happened had the Anointed One and his men had completed the ritual. They would have leveled Sunnydale and moved on to bigger and better places and taken those down too. Thank god Spike and his family had taken care of that.
"If this Vigeous thing only happens to the vamps who did the ritual, and Spike stopped it from happening when he killed the Anointed One, that means there's no super powered vamps that are gonna be attacking us tonight!" Xander sounded relieved.
"Looks like it, Xan. Guess there was no point in all the preparing we did after all." I laughed.
"Don't be too sure about that, Slayer," a gruff voice echoed around us.
The owner of the voice appeared out of the woods that surrounded the cemetery that we were currently walking next to. The hulking vampire was accompanied by the nine of the meanest looking vamps I'd ever seen. There was a dark mist surrounding them. Their demon faces were thicker and harder looking than usual, their fangs were bigger and sharper and their ember eyes shone bright and harder than diamonds. Frankly they were terrifying. The leader was the scariest of the bunch. He was this big muscle-ly guy that was even taller than Angel. He had clean cut hair and wore a very tight fitting wife-beater that showed off his huge muscles. The look was completed with fatigue pants and combat boots. He looked like a commander from those old Vietnam War movies. Only with fangs and bumpies.
Oh, boy. I should've taken Xander's suggestion of vacationing somewhere far away more seriously!
"Better start praying, Slayer, 'cause only God can save you now," the leader sneered.
"Now, that's where you're wrong, mate," Spike stepped up beside me and flicked his cigarette butt into the street. He blew the last puff of smoke out through his nose, reminding me that I had a bad-ass vampire fighting on my side too. "God's not the only one who can do miracles around here. You'd be surprise at what one Slayer, two ensoulled vampires and a couple of kids can do to that little army of yours."
He said the last part with such conviction that even though I knew we weren't that strong of a group, I suddenly felt confident that we would win this fight.
"Hey, I remember you!" one of the super-powered vampire henchmen exclaimed while pointing at Spike. "You're with that blonde vampire bitch who's been all over town asking about the Slayer and her pet: the traitor Angelus. I heard you've been killing vampires and other demons."
"Ain't just a rumor, you pillock. I do hunt and kill demons. Including the Anointed One. And the vampiress you just called a bitch? She's family and I don't take it lightly when some random fledgling calls her names. So I'd tread carefully or I might just give you a firsthand demonstration on how I can kill a Fyarl demon with my bare hands." Spike's eyes shifted to yellow for a second.
The menace in his voice caused the minion to back away in fear. I melted on the inside watching Spike. He had this air of danger and confidence around him that was intoxicating. It made me grateful that he was on my side.
The vampire leader bayed with laughter, forcing my attention back to him. "So you're the vampire responsible for bringing down that brat? Wonderful! I had wanted to thank you for doing that! Everyone thought that that boy was so special just because he was chosen by The Master. Fools. He was but a mere fledge and wouldn't even know how to control real power if it was given to him! I, on the other hand, have been ruling over this town's underground for years!" The big vampire thumped his chest. "That child thought he could take over because The Master chose him! Idiot! I'd wanted that brat dusted ever since he stole the loyalty of some of my people, and you did that! You dusted the boy and his minions! I applauded you for your work and as payment, I've decided to let you go. Leave this town and take your family with you. There's no place for you here."
Ugh. Arrogant much? Who's gave you the idea that this was your turf?
"Wrong again, mate. Firstly, I ain't a coward, so it's insulting that you're even offering me a free pass to leave without a taste of a good fight. Secondly, you can't tell me to leave town since you ain't got no power over me, you overgrown prat. Thirdly, this ain't your town. The Hellmouth belongs to the Slayer, and you're stupid to even think she'd just hand it over to you." Spike patted his pockets and reached into an inside pocket of his coat.
Yup, this vampire had officially made my 'Top 5 Most Favorite Men of All Time' list.
A vein on the forehead of the bulky leader looked like it was about to explode. He pointed a thick finger at me. "Well, it's a good thing the Slayer's gonna die tonight, asshole! I'm going to end her and then make you regret you were ever turned!"
"I don't think so," Spike said calmly. There was a twang as a bowstring snapped. Spike had shot an arrow from the miniature crossbow, that he'd been concealing in his coat, at the leader of the vamps.
At the last second the vampire leader jerked one of his minions in front of him and the arrow thudded into the unlucky vampire's chest. He crumbled into dust. Snarling, the vampire leader gestured to his minions.
"Kill them!" he snarled. "Kill them all!"
The battle began.
(O.O)
