This chapter contains violence and coarse language.

Less than a Demon

Buffy touched the tops of gravestones as she walked through the cemetery staring blankly ahead. A gust of wind blew and sent shivers through her body. Everything feels real. The grass between my toes, the air and the smells are so refreshing. If this is really hell, why aren't my limbs being torn off? Maybe it's just playing with me. Waiting until I feel happy and secure, then bam, I get staked through the heart, and I fall in a pile of dust. It would be poetic.

Spike was gazing at Drusilla from behind. Her slender body moved hypnotically under the moonlight. They had been inseparable. Killing and feeding on the helpless together, but then there was Buffy and his world wasn't so straight forward anymore. When she died, it left a hole inside of him. He could only wonder if having Drusilla back was going to fill the void.

"Spike."

"Huh?" He turned to Dawn who was walking beside him.

"Fifty seconds," she said smirking, "that's how long you were staring at her without blinking. Are you two going to get back together? Because you better warn me if you guys are gonna go on a killing frenzy again."

"I don't know," he raised an eyebrow, "it's none on your business anyway."

"Well, you've got one freaky taste in women that's for sure. I mean, she actually thinks she's Buffy, how nutty is that?" Her last words went unheard as Spike walked ahead pulling his coat off.

Buffy suddenly felt something soft fall on her back.

"You look like you're freezing." As he put the coat over her shoulders, his fingertips grazed her skin. She flinched and looked at him with uncertainty. He looked genuinely worried about her and it calmed her restlessness.

"Thank you," she muttered pulling the coat tighter around her chest. It was strange. Getting attention from Spike in the body of the woman he once loved passionately. Was this going to be her life now, to live in some alternate reality with a vampire she pitied and loathed in her past life? The thought frightened her, and she decided to avoid eye contact. "How long was I dead?"

Spike didn't know how to respond to the strange question. He assumed Drusilla was talking as her alter ego. "I guess news about the Buffy bot spread quickly."

The Buffy bot? Her memories of the events before she died were still a blur.

"Listen, whatever spell was cast on you to make you like this, I'm gonna fix it. I know a witch and she'll make you better again. You remember Willow? Bookish type, red headed girl. Well she's a bad ass wicca now. . ."

Willow.

Memories of her best friend and the others were coming back to her in fragments. Xander, Giles . . . I wonder where they are. I wish I could see them, but they wouldn't know who I was. Dawn doesn't realize it. She's afraid to even talk to me. If she's even real.

She heard a rumble in the distance that pierced the silence so harshly, it made her heart jump. A group of demons on motorcyles blared down the barren street howling and flailing pole-like objects above their heads. They drove over the sidewalk and onto the cemetery grounds heading straight for them.

"Dawn!" Spike shouted. "Take Dru with you and barricade yourselves inside!"

"You're going to take them all on?"

"Will you get going!" he said pulling her arm.

Dawn saw the crypt at a hundred paces away and started running towards it. She glanced at Drusilla, "Comon!"

They are coming. They are coming to take me now. Buffy remained standing, showing no fear of danger. She wanted to die again. She wanted to go back to the warmth and clarity of the place she was before.

"Dru will you get out of here!" Spike shouted running towards the bikers. He grabbed a fist-sized rock from the ground and threw it at the closest biker nailing him in the head and sending him crashing into a tombstone. In seconds, they were all around him, tearing up grass and growling like a pack of dogs. Two of the demons continued forward heading straight for Drusilla, one of them holding a bat. He swung and hit her in the face knocking her down. The pair laughed in amusement and were now chasing Dawn.

"You fucking bastards!" Spike jumped and tackled one of the surrounding demons to the ground causing the motorcycle to crash into another demon. He wrapped his hands around the monster's head and ferociously twisted, snapping its neck. The remaining demons were charging at Spike with weapons in hand. He grabbed the crowbar from his victim and faced them, ready to unleash his fury.

"Uh oh boys, I think the vampire's mad because we snatched his dinner!" barked one of them.

Buffy opened her eyes and immediately felt a painful throbbing through her face. Blood was streaming everywhere. Her head was spinning and her vision was completely blurred. She heard muffled screaming but couldn't focus on what direction it was coming from.

A demon was holding Dawn in the air by the neck. She kicked and clawed but his strength was overwhelming. His comrade was watching the sight with equal pleasure.

"H—elp! Drusil—BUFFY—" Dawn gasped.

Dawn! Buffy's eyes widened, and she sat up quickly. Stumbling to her feet, she wiped the blood from her face and started running towards the screams. She could barely keep herself upright she was so disoriented, but it didn't matter because her sister was calling her. She was calling Buffy.

The on looking comrade spotted the woman he had just knocked down, running at him with immense speed. "Oh so you want another taste of this?" He howled and revved his machine forward, priming his bat for another swing.

Buffy felt a burst of power suddenly flow through her, strengthening her muscles and feeding her every stride. She could see clearly now. The bat swung for her head but she grabbed it with both hands and pulled taking the demon down in a wild tumble until he lay flat on his back. He looked up and saw the face of a vampire staring down at him.

"N—no! Wait!" the demon cried. Buffy raised the bat and slammed it over his head smashing his skull.

Dawn was nearly out of breath and could feel herself blacking out.

"Aw, is that all the show you have for me?" the demon sneered. He was enjoying himself too much to hear the scuffling of feet behind him. The bat connected with the side of his jaw with a loud crack and he toppled off his bike releasing his grip from Dawn's neck.

"Dawn, are you alright?" Drusilla said placing her hands on her sister's shoulders. Dawn appeared hesitant to respond it first, but soon nodded, coughing uncontrollably.

"Look out!" Dawn shouted. Demonic hands wrapped around Drusilla's neck.

"Thought you had me huh? Now I'm going to choke the life out of the both of you. Nice and slow," he said licking the blood from his lips.

"Let go," Spike growled as he grabbed the demon from behind and threw him to the ground. He jumped on top of him and plunged a metal bar into his heart. Spike stood up and kicked the motionless body. "You two, alright?" he gasped.

"Yeah," Dawn breathed.

Spike knelt in front of Drusilla. "Damit Dru." He used the bottom of his white shirt and patted the blood from her face. He caressed her cheeks and smiled, "I'm not losing you again."

Buffy gazed at Spike. His face was battered and large gashes on his cheeks were streaming blood, yet there was love and compassion in his eyes. Even though it wasn't meant for her, she appreciated it all the same. The tenderness of it was sweet, and she smiled back. She couldn't pity him. She couldn't think of him as that heartless, soulless demon. Right then, at that very moment, he was almost a man.