Chapter 3

"Hey Spikey," Buffy leaned in to kiss him. "Ready for patrol? Oh…by the way, how's your chest? Still sore from what that bitch did?"

Spike flinched. "I'm fine. It's almost healed…"

"Good. Let's go kill some nasties then."

Spike frowned as he grabbed his duster and followed her out the crypt on their nightly patrol. He could have sworn that Buffy was upset the other night, especially when she just left like that. He knew that women didn't tend to get over things quickly either, yet, she seemed perfectly happy today. Well, if that's how it was, who was he to complain?

Women. I'll never understand them.

One good thing about fighting on her side now was that he actually got to fight. Aside from the slayer, no humans were a challenge. One punch and they were knocked out. Boring.

Yes, fighting other demons was invigorating, exciting. So many different forms and varieties…different challenges, he never knew what he might face next.

"Not many baddies lurking out tonight." Spike observed, disappointed.

Buffy frowned. What luck, just when she was killing for some action. If this kept up she would have to challenge Spike to a fight instead…

Spike was about to suggest they go to the Bronze and check if there were any vamps lurking around over there, when he heard it.

"SSSsssslayer."

Why did that lisp sound familiar?

"Oh goody, a bad g–" Buffy froze, her eyes growing wide as a demon she recognised very well stepped out in front of her. "E…Erimoir. I k-killed you."

Buffy started to shake, remembering what Erimoir had done to her. She began to back away and bumped right into Spike. Her blood ran cold as suddenly, five more Erimoir demon's appeared. "No…." She turned to Spike. "Let's run!"

"Buffy! Wait!" Spike shouted as she took off.

"Buffy!" Spike panted, trying to keep up with the slayer as she ran like the hounds of hell were at her heals. He looked over his shoulder, and it seemed the Erimoirs were still a way back. Spike grabbed Buffy and pulled her behind a large gravestone.

"Buffy, luv." he watched as her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to catch her breath, and she looked up at him with frightened eyes.

"Buffy…." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. "Buffy…I'm so sorry. Buffy…I didn't realise you were still… traumatised over what that demon did to you. But don't let what happened make you overestimate their power. That first time…we were unprepared. Didn't know how to kill him, and I shouldn't have left you alone, even for a second…"

"Oh Spike, stop blaming yourself." Annoyance took over some of her fear. "If it weren't for you I wouldn't still be here."

"What I'm saying now Buffy is that we know how to kill them. Jab them in that freaky eye. It shouldn't be too hard, it's so big."

"Hey! You're so right. Why was I running?" she felt her face heat up. I guess it was just a unconscious reaction …for a second I thought it was the same Erimoir…It never occurred to me that there could be more of them.

"Let's go get them!" she grinned and Spike grinned back, grabbing her hand and they ran back towards where the demons were.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Buffy screamed as she bumped right into one of the demons, having been unaware of how close they had gotten. For some reason the demon gave her no spidery senses…it was like he wasn't even there. Or maybe she just needed practice.

Buffy kicked the demon as hard as she could in the kneecap hearing it crack and seeing the leg bend inwards. Some thick black fluid came gushing out.

"Eww!"

"What are these thing's made of?" Spike called to her as he struggled to take on three of them. "It's like hitting concrete."

"We don't want you, petty vampire. Sssstand asssside. It isss the ssssslayer we're after," they snarled.

Buffy wished she could beat every single one of the demons to a bloody pulp and just keep pounding them over and over again and again till there was nothing left except the blood on her hands. She was filled with fury over that place she had been sent to... almost going to some hell dimension…that was something she could never forget. She still woke up some nights, thinking that her nightmares were real and she wouldn't wake up. But there were too many of the demons here now, she was strong, but she couldn't take her time with them all.

Buffy grabbed her stake and jabbed it into the demon's eye. She stood back, waiting for it to die. Instead, she watched as the stake slowly sank into its eye, some black and green goop oozing out and dripping down its face. The demon licked up some of the foul substance with a long black tongue.

Buffy stared in amazement. Her stake had sunk into the demon's eye and now it was looking at her perfectly undamaged.

"W-what?"

The demon backhanded her sending her sprawling.

"Buffy!" Spike cried and tried to run to her, but he was surrounded.

"Spike, I tried to kill him – staking the eye didn't work!" her voice rose in panic as more of the demons appeared, advancing on her.

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"Buffy!" Giles cried in alarm as the slayer staggered through the doorway of his home, her face swelling in a bruise, blood dripping down her arms, her ankle swollen from where she had twisted it as she tried to escape.

"What have you done to her?" Giles glared at Spike who followed, looking equally as battered.

"Bloody hell watcher. Why do you always expect me to suddenly turn on her? 'sides, even if I did, I wouldn't be left standing." He smiled weakly.

"What happened Buffy?" Giles asked as helped her to the couch and went to get a first-aid kit.

"Erimoir. The demons. There are more of them. Lots. They are strong and I don't know how to kill them. Spike and I tried to fight them, but there were too many. They are too powerful, and we only just managed to escape. Giles, I don't know what to do."

"It's okay Buffy, get some rest so you can heal. Spike, you better go rest too. I'll do some research."

"Are you sure your okay Buffy?" Spike had been asking her all the way to Giles's house, as she had refused to let him carry her.

"I'm fine, Spike."

"Okay, well I'm going to go back to my crypt, I'll see you tomorrow night."

"No! You can't go back! They might still be there, in the cemetery."

Spike shook his head. "It's nearly sunup. I have to get back, don't worry; I'll go a different way. Besides…they weren't after me Buffy. They were after you."

He left before she could stop him.

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Spike stumbled into his crypt, aching all over. All I need is some bourbon and a little lie down and I'll be right as rain.

He froze when he saw a small doll propped up next to where he slept.

"Miss Edith wanted to visit Spike," a voice giggled.

"Dru." Spike snarled, a bad feeling washing over him. "Dru," he whipped around and she was there. "You did it didn't you." His voice was filled with fury. "You summoned them. You sent them after Buffy."

"Rrrruf," Dru barked at him, like a dog. "Naughty Spike, still thinking about the slayer."

"Dru, I will kill you if you harm her. Call your demons off."

"But they are my pets Spike….you left me…you left me all alone…."

"Dru…" he couldn't help feeling a twinge of sympathy. "Dru, I only left you because you turned against me! You turned to Angel and away from me. Hell, you almost let Angel kill me with that demon…"

"Spike," her eye's glistened. "That was because even then you were thinking about her."

Spike was quiet for a moment. "I wasn't…."

Drusilla changed her tone, wrapping her arms around Spike and running her hand through his hair gently. "Don't worry Spike. I will make it alright in the end." She kissed him and then disappeared, leaving the doll behind.

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"So what you got for me Giles?" Buffy asked the next afternoon as she woke up after sleeping for most of the day.

"Ah, Buffy, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Now give me info."

"Well…I've been searching through all my resources," he indicated the piles of thick dusty tomes around him. "There is very little on this demon."

"What do you mean 'very little'."

"I haven't been able to find much about them at all except a few pages declaring they are very ancient demons who will serve the person who summons them, and if they have no current mission, they bury themselves deep in the earth where they have the ability to lie dormant for thousands of years. There is no information as to how to kill them though."

"Well I say we need bigger weapons for one thing." Buffy walked over to the wall where Giles displayed swords. She took one of them down, "this should do nicely."

"Ahh…Buffy I don't think…."

He never got to finish the sentence. In the next moment, the window exploded, glass shattering everywhere and in burst an Erimoir demon.

"Sssssssslayer!"

"Hey!" Buffy exclaimed, glad to be holding a large weapon. "You damaged Giles window, you're so going to pay for that."

The demon growled, stalking towards her on long thin legs. Buffy waited till it came closer and tried to take a strike at her. Lightening fast, she dodged the swipe, bringing the sword around and slicing into the demon's arm. The sword was even sharper than it looked, and to her surprise, she cut right through the limb. Blood, darker than black ink spurted out, splattering the walls and dripping onto the floor. The arm itself dropped to the floor and then sank into it, disappearing.

Buffy looked smugly at the demon. "Let's see how good you are with only one arm, shall we?"

The demon just smiled, looking at her.

"Why are you staring….is it my hair?" But it was Buffy's turn to stare as the demon's arm grew back, right before her eyes. I really hate demons that can do that…

Well at least there was only one of them around at the moment and she wasn't going to let it beat her to a pulp this time. "Stay back, Giles," she warned launching herself at the demon, kicking and slashing at it with the sword as best and as hard as she could. It seemed to be working, she managed to cut off one of its legs and sent it crashing to the ground, and the more limbs she damaged, the slower it took to regenerate. But the Erimoir wasn't dying.

Then she heard it, a whisper in her mind, a feeling like fingers caressing her brain. Look at the eye…look into it…you know you want to…

She did…. she suddenly had this overwhelming urge, and overwhelming curiosity to look there…to give in and just gaze deep into the whirling abyss that was the demon's eye.

The air around her began to feel solid, slowing down her every move.

Must…not…look…must not look! She chanted over and over to herself. The effort it was beginning to take not to look was starting to wear her out…

"Buffy!" she heard Gile's voice in the distance. She could see the demon rising above her, reaching out to her; she was only just managing to block its attacks. Then there was a sickening sound as Giles shoved a blade horizontally through the demon's stomach, slicing it in two. It let out a long piercing screech falling to the ground.

Buffy relaxed for a second as the tugging on her mind stopped.

"R-right then." Gile's said anxiously. "That should take it a little longer to heal. I think we ought to be going."

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"Buffy, luv are you okay?" Spike gasped in concern as he walked into the school library later that night. "I went to your watchers and saw the mess there…"

Buffy explained what had happened. "I don't know where the demon is now, or how fast it will be able to track me again, or even how many of these Erimoir demons there are. But one thing I know for sure is we have to work out how to kill them, and form a plan fast."

Willow and Xander were already flicking through piles of musty old books, researching. Buffy was just trying not to panic. She was the slayer; she had to set a good example for her friends. But Spike could see her inner struggle, and he understood better than any of her friends how much she wanted to kill these things. He knew what the demon could do. Spike put his arm around her reassuringly as he lit up a cigarette. "We'll win this thing Buffy, you know we will."

Buffy smiled weakly, grateful to have Spike at her side, and wondering what it would be like without him there. Just that thought was enough to make her feel sick.

"Hey evil dead guy, how about you quit trying to get into Buffy's pants and contribute towards saving her life instead?" Xander snapped, indicating the books around him. "And by the way, there's no smoking in the library."

"Oh yeah? Why don't you stop me?" He deliberately took a long drag of the cigarette exhaling slowly.

"Why you – " Xander rose from his chair.

"Hey…wait a second…" Spike had taken his smoke out of his mouth and was looking at it thoughtfully.

"What is it honey?" Buffy asked.

"I think I just realised how to kill the Erimoirs."

Hehe, it's prolly really obvious :P Next chapter coming soon :)