Hello! Another update for this fic. I'm milking my muses these days since I finally got time to actually continue my stories and even write new ones. In this chapter, we see the conclusion for the episode the Dark Ages.

Note: Italicized words are Buffy's personal/Slayer thoughts. Some dialogs are taken from the Dark Age, episode 8 of season 2.

(O.O)

Jenny

And today started so great.

I got an email from the school that my request for new computers was approved and was being ordered for next month. Then, my favorite aunt Sheva had responded to my email and had said she was coming to Sunnydale for a visit. And finally, I was able to get my favorite 1 cup milk, 1/2 brown sugar, a quarter choco-vanilla-cinnamon expresso because Jerry from Expresso pump finally added it to their menu.

My days had indeed started as a good day.

But it went downhill when I came to school early to make sure I was there before the students who were taking computer remedial classes under me.

The young Mr. Harris and Miss Chase opened their mouths and started complaining about taking Saturday classes was not so bad.

But then Buffy came and asked me about Rupert and I knew the days were going to get worse.

I watched the Slayer leave my classroom and I can see that my students shared my worries.

Well, I knew that we won't be able to focus in class if we don't figure out what happened to Rupert.

So I told my students that we would be following Buffy.

Xander Harris was the first to leave and was immediately rushing after his friend to the library.

The three of us, Willow, Cordelia, and I came close behind him and opened the library doors only to come face to face with an unfamiliar man. The stranger tried to make his escape past us, but Cordelia knees him in the crotch and he collapses.

"Good job!" I told her, though I knew I shouldn't encourage violence as a teacher, however, for some reason, I knew this man was bad news.

I turned to Buffy just in time to see her close the door of the cage room inside the library shut, locking up the other stranger inside.

I, of course, thought that things would be doing fine after that, and I watched as Buffy and the others put the first stranger, which I then learned was called Ethan Rayne, on a chair and were in the process of asking the man questions. But then Rupert came barging inside the library and he starts showing a side of him I did not recognize.

"You should've left when I told you," I hear the usual kind, gentle Rupert, say with a growl and I can see the threat underlying those words.

"You put these people in danger. The people I care about," Rupert said, as he continued to manhandle Ethan.

"If you cared so much about them, why didn't *you* leave town? You've been having the dreams, I know. I have. We both know what's coming," Rayne responded to him.

"What dreams?! What is going on here?!" Buffy asked. No words were more similar to my own.

"Tell her, Ripper," Rayne challenged and with that, I felt scared.

What secret did Rupert hide from us? From me?

I wasn't able to contemplate too long because before I knew it, I felt a horrible pain of something hitting my head before everything went black.

(O.O)

Buffy

I am pissed.

Not only did I lose Ethan Rayne, the guy who was responsible for introducing Spike to my Slayer half. But I then found out that Giles was hiding something from us about this Mark of Eyghon thing and had practically yelled at me to butt out.

Ha! Like I'd do that!

It seems that my Watcher didn't know me as well as I thought he did.

He should've known I would not have given up on finding out about the truth, especially since I feel that he'd be in danger if I do as he asks and leave things be.

I approached my friends in the library, ready to designate tasks to them to help out this new crisis when Spike walked into the room.

"Looks like I missed the action," he said as he surveyed the room's disarrayed state, "Just saw Rups escorting his bird out."

"Actually, you are just in time," I said to him, "We need to find out more about the new baddy we are facing."

Spike gave me a confused look.

"Shouldn't your Watcher be here for that?"

I turned away from him in irritation.

"Yeah, well, he's actually the one who's in trouble," I informed him.

He hadn't responded to my words so I thought he didn't understand. I was about to explain further what happened when Xander beat me to it.

"Ethan Rayne's back, and was spouting nonsense about this Mark of Eyghon thingy, and then some dead dude came and knocked Miss Calendar out, and now G-man is all huffy and won't tell Buffster what's the what," Xander summarize for me.

Turned back to face Spike, and a dark expression dawned on his face.

"Ethan Rayne? The guy responsible for that Halloween Incident?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Apparently, he and Giles go way back, and he's stirring trouble, or at least he's also in trouble," I informed him before turning to face my friends once again.

"So, we have work to do," I said to my friends."

I first faced Willow.

"Will, I want you to find out anything and everything you can about the Mark of Eyghon," I said to her.

Sweet Willow gave me a brave smile before answering, "I'll try the 'Net, but 'Mark of Eyghon' sounds like Giles and his books sorta deal."

"Then we hit the books," I agreed.

While Willow headed up into the stacks. I turned again to face Xander.

"Xander, how do you feel about digging through some of Giles' personal files and seeing what you can find?" I asked him with a raised brow.

"I feel pretty good about it. Does that make me a sociopath? Nah." He shrugged before heading for Giles' office.

I nodded as I watched him go. At the same time, Cordelia hopped off of the counter and smiled at me expectantly.

I raised my brows. What does she need at a time like this?

"What?" I asked, not knowing what else to do.

"What about me? I care about Giles," she said.

Okay. That's a bit surprising and weird at the same time.

"Uh, work with Xander," I told as I pointed to Giles' office.

"Well, when I say 'care', I, I mean..."

I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Cordelia..." I called with a glare.

"Okay, okay!" she responded as she walked to Giles'office to join Xander.

"What about me, pet?" Spike said with a slight edge in his voice.

He's angry.

I don't blame him.

I'm seething too.

Ethan Rayne. The bane to my existence. The man who almost ruined my tentative friendship with Spike. The man who practically stopped any kind of romantic relationship with the same vampire.

He's here, and there's a good chance that I will have to save his ass like I am going to do for Giles.

I let out a frustrated sigh, before walking to the bookcases to help Will.

"We'll help Will with those books," I told him.

Without a word, my vampire follows my lead.

My vampire? Other me pointed out teasingly.

"Shut up," I tell it.

I like it.

"Shut it."

(O.O)

Spike

I am going to kill him.

Those were my first thoughts when I learned that that Rayne bloke was back in town.

I shook that thought off immediately. As much as I wanted to, I wasn't crossing that line.

Castrate him? Maybe.

Hit him? Definitely.

But to kill him? No, I'm not adding him to the list of people I killed. Even if he did deserve it.

I didn't ask questions after Buffy explained what happened, and just joined the gang to look for more clues on this Mark of Eyghon.

I'll deal with this Rayne person once we were done helping out old Rupert.

I had been in the middle of reading through the Book of Demonic Markings and Symbols when little Red cried out her own findings.

"Ah! Aha! It's not Egyptian, it's Etruscan" she mumbled as she walked towards us with the book in hand.

Buffy and I approached her and waited for her to continue.

"I mistook it for Egyptian by the design pattern, but any fool can see it predates their iconology. Look, the Mark of Eyghon, worn by his initiates," she rambled, before turning to read the text.

"Eyghon, also called the Sleepwalker, can only exist in this reality by possessing an unconscious host. Temporary possession imbues the host with a euphoric feeling of power."

"Yeah, but what about non-temporary?" Buffy asked, clearly worried about Rupert's bird, or maybe the old man himself.

Willow continued her reading, "Unless the proper rituals are observed, the possession is permanent, and Eyghon will be born from within the host."

"Alright, so only heavy magicks are the only thing that will bring this son of a bitch born into this world. But what did this have to do with Rupert and Rayne?" I wondered.

"I'm guessing eww!" Cordelia commented.

But Red ignored her and continued.

"Wait. Hey, listen. 'Once called, Eyghon can also take possession of the dead, but its demonic energy soon disintegrates the host, and it must jump to the nearest dead or unconscious person to continue living.'"

"I still don't get what this has to do with Giles," Buffy said getting frustrated.

"I don't know about Rupert, but ancient sects used to induce possession for bacchanals and, and orgies," I told them adding my two cents to the conversation. Willow merely nodded in agreement to my statement.

The rest weren't so open to it.

"Okay! Giles and orgies in the same sentence. I coulda lived without that one," Xander said looking just as disgusted as Cordelia.

Whelp.

"Uh, wait a minute. The dead guy's all puddly now," Buffy said, looking like she had realized something.

"So the demon's gone. There was no one dead to jump into. I mean, we're all not dead, right?" Cordelia asked.

"No, no one dead," Buffy stated with a horrified look.

"But someone was unconscious," Xander finished, sharing everyone's horrified expression.

Feeling a bit lost, I asked, "What are you all yammering about?"

My question was ignored as Buffy ran towards the counter and used the phone there. A few moments later, I learned she was calling Rupert as she talked to the operator on the other line.

I waited with the rest. But I was still clueless about what was getting everyone worked up. I hadn't spoken my concern though since I can see everyone was on the edge, but it was obviously something to do with Rupert and his bird.

"Thank you, operator," Buffy said, hanging up the phone. She then turns to face us. "There's no answer at Ms. Calendar's, and Giles' phone is out of order."

The poor girl looked worried.

"I'm gonna go over there," she informed all of us as she started to rush out.

I moved to follow her but she stopped me.

"Spike, I need you to stay with them and find out more about this Eyghon monster and how to kill it. Join me once you have a better clue about what is going on," she said to me.

Her eyes though said differently.

Stay here and protect my friends in case this gets out of hand.

Was the hidden meaning behind her words.

I nodded, not knowing what else to do. But the terrible feeling that something bad will happen never leaves me.

(O.O)

Buffy

Someone was humming.

I slowly opened my eyes and found that I was lying face down on a table with my arms tied together underneath.

"Wakey, wakey. You're missing all the fun," Ethan Rayne said with a tune.

Well, someone was happy.

"What fun?" I quipped. I mean, I always do love waking up and tied up on a table.

"Your initiation," Ethan said before setting down a tray of tattooing instruments.

"You know what? I'm not really interested in joining your club," I tell him struggling.

"Too late. I already voted you in. Y'know, I hope you're not taking this personally, Buffy. I actually kinda like you," he stated.

Yeah, right! That so explains why I am strapped here, you freak!

"It's just that I like myself a whole lot more. If you think of it karmically, this is, this is really big for your soul," he continued his explanation.

I didn't like where this was all going, so I tried to struggle more with the rope.

"You know, taking my place with the demon, giving so that others may live," he finished.

I was getting angry. First, Spike with the whole Halloween incident with my Slayer side. Then the attack at school that hurt Miss Calendar and Giles. Now, this? I was beginning to think that the world would be better off without this man.

"I'm gonna kill you," I said to him, "Will that blow the whole karma thing?"

"Sweet child." He smiled at me as he picks up the tattoo ink and needle. "Now, this may sting a little just at first. But don't worry, that'll go away once the searing pain kicks in."

Then I felt a painful sensation of a needle piercing the back of my neck.

"You can go ahead and scream if you like," he said to me, ignoring all my struggles.

It took a few hours, or at least it felt like hours, of me yelling, struggling, and just plain cursing the man behind me, before Ethan finally stands up and letting me know that he had completed the new and unwanted body ink.

"Hmm. I think I missed my calling as an artist," he said, inspecting his work.

"Ethan, listen to me. This is a bad idea. You're dealing with something very dangerous," I reasoned with him, trying to appeal to any humanity he may have.

My words were ignored and he merely rolled up his left sleeve, revealing his own tattooed mark, before responding, "But it will get Eyghon off my scent."

He then picked up a bottle of sulfuric acid that made me draw breath in fright.

"Now relax. I'm finished with you. This is for me," he said before he turns a bit to the side to focus on opening the bottle.

I used his distraction to my advantage and was happy to find an exposed screw on the underside of the table. I begin scraping my ropes against it.

I, then, was startled by Ethan's scream and was horrified to see that he was pouring the acid on his skin where his mark was at.

He's insane. I thought. Why am I always stuck with the crazy ones?

This was enough to motivate me in my attempt at freedom.

It was not easy, I knew that my scrapping was paying off, as I felt my bindings loosen.

Of course, I had to stop my escape attempt as I see Ethan was no longer occupied in bandaging his burnt appendage.

"Well, I hate to mutilate and run, but-" he stopped.

Both of us turned to see a diffuse green light shine through the shop windows and the shadow of Jenny's possessed form coming to the door. The door was opened and Ms. Calendar stepped into the shop, looking like the monstrous Eyghon.

"It's your time," a deep voice passed through Ms. Calendar's mouth.

I was almost through with my ropes, while possessed Ms. Calendar approached Ethan.

I see the look of fear in his eyes. Forcing himself to stand still as my possessed computer teacher sniffed him a few times. Eyghon looked like it has realized something.

I felt my eyes widen as she turned her glowing eyes towards me.

Shoot! I thought knowing that Ethan's little plan actually worked and now I'm the monster's target.

I see my possessed teacher shove Ethan aside just as I was able to cut through the last of my bindings.

I roll off of the table and onto the floor as Jenny/Eyghon lunged for me. I kicked the table, flipping possessed Jenny onto the floor.

It didn't take long for them to get back up. Jenny/Eyghon then hold the table in her hands before rushing it at me, causing me to be pushed into some crates.

I was trapped.

Before my panic set in, Giles then barged in through the door.

"Eyghon! Take me," my Watcher yelled.

No!

Jenny/Eyghon tossed the table aside and turns to face Giles.

"Buffy, get out of here!" Giles ordered.

The monster slowly advanced on my Watcher and I screamed and got in between the two.

But Eyghon merely stretched its arm out at me, and the next thing I knew I was flying into a pile of boxes.

I tried my best to pull myself up, but I guess exhaustion was getting to me. I look up just in time to see Jenny/Eyghon grab Giles by the collar, pulling him around and down to the floor. I see then watch as it loomed over my watcher.

"I've been waiting a long time to do this," it said before bending down to grab Giles by his collar.

It was at this moment that I saw Spike running in through the door, before grabbing Ms. Calendar by the neck and pushing her to the crates behind her. I see him bang her head into one of the crates before taking her by the neck to choke her.

At that exact moment, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia run in. I see my Watcher move to stop my vampire, looking almost feral as he sees Spike choking the life out of the love of his life. I stand up, prepared to join the fray. But wasn't really certain which side I was going to fight with.

You're fighting for Spike of course. My Slayer me said in my head.

I ignored it before I watched as Willow hold Giles back.

"He's killing her!" he yelled, looking even more frantic.

"No! Trust me! This is gonna work!"

Turn my attention back to Spike, who was still choking Jenny/Eyghon. Xander helped me up, and finally, Ms. Calendar passes out in Spike's grasp. He then dropped her body, before being thrown back by a powerful force.

I start to panic as I see my vampire begin convulsing on the shop's floor. I feel myself being held back this time by Xander and in the corner of my eye, I see that Willow had release Giles, who was immediately on his hands and knees next to Ms. Calendar.

I watch Spike's face twisted and contorted, as the demons inside of him fight it out. He was thrown to the crate and hit his head. I see his face go through a few more contortions when Eyghon's ugly face replaces my vampire's. I suck my breath, worried about my Spike.

My Spike? I hear psycho Buffy in my head tease.

I ignored it and instead focus on Spike's face who was doing a back and forth shift to his normal face and Eyghon's ugly mug. Before he was thrown back against the wall.

I held my breath, and I see a metaphysical version of Eyghon being thrown out of Spike's body.

Without a host body to occupy, we all see Eyghon quickly crumble into ashes. Spike gasps and collapses to the floor. We were all running to his aid, with me, being the first to reach him.

"You knew that if the demon was in trouble it was gonna jump into the nearest dead person," I said, finally understanding what had happened.

"Yup, and I put it in danger," Spike nodded, with his usual smirk but was looking a bit tired.

"And it jumped," Willow said excitedly.

"Already have a demon inside me and knowing the bugger? It was happy to give Eygon the best ass-kicking of its life," Spike said.

"Winner and still champion," I told him with a smile.

He smiled back at me and I could feel myself swoon.

Be still my beating heart.

"Uh, I think that Ethan guy disappeared again," Xander announced earning a growl from my vampire.

I would have growled too if I wasn't so busy being happy that to have one of Spike's arms was wrapped around me, as I supported him so he could stay upright.

"Darn. I really wanted to hit him till he bled," I said.

"Get in line, pet. 'Still owe the bloke a knuckle sandwich," I heard Spike said.

"Well, at least it's over," Cordelia stated.

A few moments later, I was found walking Spike back to his place. He wasn't staggering anymore but I could tell he was pretty tired from the ordeal. I had been quick earlier to offer that I take him home. The walk was pretty much spent in silence.

At least until we were on the final block before getting to the mansion.

"I wanted to kill him," I heard Spike say.

I turned my head to look back at him and gave a questioning glance.

"It was a moment's passing thought. But my demon and soul for once agreed that the bastard needed to be dead, after what he did to you."

"I see," I said.

"You're not angry?" he asked.

"Why should I?" I stopped at this and turned to face him again.

"I dunno. I feel that you should know that. I mean, a hundred years since this soul had been shoved to me and this is the first time I really wanted to kill someone and not feel sorry if I have done it," he informed me, "Just thought it might weird you out."

It didn't really. I mean, earlier I had the same inclinations towards Rayne when I learned he planned on using me to fill his spot as a sacrifice to Eyghon.

"It's not weird," I told, "Ethan may be human but he's hurt a lot of people and I guess-I felt the same too. Wanting to kill him, I mean."

"Of course, I'd have settled with roughing him up a bit, had he not split at the end," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah. I wanted to hit him too." I smiled back.

We continued walking and finally reached our destination.

"Well, here we are," I announced.

"Yeah. Thanks for escorting me, my lady," he said to me with a teasing smile and a Gilesy accent.

"It was my pleasure, my good sir," I told him, imitating an upper crusty British lady.

Spike laughed out loud at that.

"God, Luv! Never do that again!" he said in between breaths.

"Rude. And here I thought I was the epitome of British nobility," I told him continuing to use my version of a British accent.

He laughed harder at that and I joined him. It took a moment for us to recover and when we fresh out of laughter.

"Seriously, pet, don't do that again. I should be horrified if you weren't so adorable when you do it," he said to me.

I paused at that. Adorable? He thinks I'm adorable.

I smiled widely at this.

"I think I might do a repeat in the future," I informed him.

"Just be sure to do it out of my sensitive ears."

"I won't make any promises!" I said with a sing-song tune.

"Crazy bint," he called me, his smile, not disappearing.

"Whiny Vamp," I countered.

We stared at each other.

"So, I don't think I've thanked you for tonight," I started.

"Don't mention it, pet," he said.

"I want to-mention it, I mean." I took a deep breath. "Thanks for saving me, Spike."

A light smile graces his lips.

"You're welcome, Buffy," he whispered, his eyes staring at me intensely.

I could get lost in those beautiful blue eyes.

And maybe I did because the next thing I knew, I was kissing his lips.

TBC

(O.O)