Ring on her Finger

By Nickeltaffy

Disclaimer: I would like to thank Joss for the use of his characters. They are still his and will never be mine. (heavy sigh).

Synopsis: Anyone ever notice that Buffy never returned Spike's ring from when they were engaged? What if Willow's reversal of the Will Be Done spell from the Something Blue episode was not exactly 100% effective? What if Buffy was still under a spell and still considered herself engaged to a horrified Spike?

Author's note: Keep sending the reviews! It really motivates me to keep writing!

…

Chapter 21

Turning, Spike walked a few feet away from his Aunt Charlotte trying to process everything he had just experienced. His hand was to his forehead as he fought between the high emotions assailing him and his logical mind trying to make sense of this. Could this all be some sort of glamour he asked himself. But it felt so real. There were details that he had forgotten about. His mother's darker hair, the feel of his father's arms, the creature appearing in the room,… No. He must gain control of himself. Sniffing as tossed his head, Spike walked back to the woman, ready to confront her.

"So, that was an interesting little jaunt. What else do you have planned for me?" Spike glared at the woman. "I dare say you gave the Haunted House ride at Disneyland a run for its money."

"William, you must accept that you are engaged a battle that started thousands of years before you were born. You became part of it that night." His aunt admonished him.

"Or What? I'll lose my chance to be head towel boy at this magical pool house?" Spike countered.

"William, that is quite enough." His aunt responded.

"What if I don't think that's enough? Does that shock you? What if I tell you that the prissy little William you met that night doesn't exist anymore. What if I tell you that he died twenty years later in a stable on a darkened side street in London." Spike challenged the woman as he made a small lung at her. "You think you're talking to someone who doesn't exist anymore. Let me show you what your precious William has become."

At that moment, Spike attempted to vamp out in front of his aunt. The word was 'attempted'. As hard he tried, he could not bring forth the demon.

"You will not be able to bring forth the demon that is part of you in this place. He is foreign to this place." His aunt calmly stated. "He serves his purpose in the other realm."

"What do you…I am a vampire." Spike looked at the woman with shocked eyes. "It is what defines me…"

"No, William. You are much more. You only allowed the vampire to dominate you because you enjoyed the freedom it gave you." Aunt Charlotte stated emphatically.

"Well, why bloody not? It was a good time! There was nothing that could withstand my onslaught." Spike grinned as he stated the facts proudly.

"Yes, but did you ever wonder why you were so different from other vampires? Your human aspects were not subverted when you entered your next life as a vampire. It is because of our family legacy that you did not succumb to your demon. You had already accepted the ring before you were turned in that stable." Aunt Charlotte said as she approached Spike. "The ring was stronger than any vampire demon influence; with it, you became a very unique vampire. You held on to what was essentially you beforehand."

"Wait a minute. How many parts of me are we talking here? There was a part of me here with you. Another part of me was in that stable and now there's a demon part of me. You make me sound like a cheap dime store puzzle for slow preschoolers." Spike said exasperatedly as he countered his Aunt's approach. "So, you're telling me I'm a good boy now?"

"Indeed. You are complete again." Aunt Charlotte agreed.

"So, if this ring is so bloody powerful, why did it let me die in that stable?" Spike asserted.

"William, there were so many things that happened unexpectedly. The ring had accepted you that night, yes; but you did not have time to be indoctrinated on how to use it when the ceremony was interrupted. Your mother, my sister was so destroyed by the loss of her husband and family that she clung to you. Perhaps a bit too tightly, because she fettered you to her so you were never to reach your potential as a young man." Aunt Charlotte stated. "Something had to be done to release you from her."

"My mother loved me and I loved her. We only had each other." Spike answered, defensively.

"Yes. My sister was so broken that terrible night, losing so many of the people she loved. In her right mind, she would have never encumbered you with being the sole source of her happiness. Growing up, she bogged you down with her possessive hungry love that you were figuratively her prisoner. The only way for you to get out of that tight box she had pinned you in was for you to emotionally break with her." She clarified. "That is something that the sensitive human William would never do."

"So, that night, along came a spider in that stable and the ring just let me be the main course." Spike said as he grasped the situation.

"Who knows what is written in the stars for us. The ring needed a champion. At that time in your human life, your state was the farthest thing from a warrior. You needed something to awaken the fierce nature that lay within you. A demon would do that." Aunt Charlotte explained. "The ring did not interfere with you turning."

"Well, aint that bloody sweet? And here it is, knocking on my door, asking for my help. What if I say that I am not interested? It seems the ring really painted itself into a corner with me." Spike snapped. "Hello vampire. EVIL!"

"William, as I said before, you are so much more than that." Aunt Charlotte stated patiently.

"Alright. Let's say it's only William here. Where's the demon?" Spike challenged the severe looking woman.

….

A moment after Spike's body hit the apartment floor. A growl came from the body. Spike pulled the upper part of his body away from the floor pulling his head back. He had vamped out completely. His forehand bulged out and came down over his yellow eyes. The vampire's eyes traveled across the room measuring the people, taking in the situation as if he had never seen it before.

Buffy was kneeling next to him, looking over at him with concern on her face. Her hand was gently resting in the middle of his back. When she saw the evil face that looked up at her, she pulled back slightly. Spike sprang up, kneeling for a moment looking at Buffy with a tilt of his head as if he didn't recognize her.

"Spike?" Buffy said slowly and gently. Her voice betraying her anxiousness over the vampire.

With a roar, Spike launched himself at Buffy. She flew back with the vampire on top of her. Her head hit the floor; she wrinkled her face in pain. In that same moment, Spike reared back with his hands to head, with a guttural scream. He immediately jumped away from the Slayer as if burned. Desperately, he looked around at the rest of the humans that seemed to be surrounding him. Hunched over, he backed up slowly. It seemed that the vampire recognized the source of his pain. He flung an arm out in a wide arc to keep a distance from the humans. He whimpered slightly as the chip again fired with the defensive gesture. He staggered another several steps back away from the group. He got to the opposite end of the sofa. There was an open path to the front door. He bolted for the door to get away from the pain that these humans were causing him. He burst into vampire speed as he crossed the room and flung open the door. Sunlight came streaming into the room through the doorway. Spike backpedaled as fast as he could to get away from it and wound up again in the middle of the room. He spun around looking at the humans.

"Now listen, Bleached Wonder, we're all really tired of your..…" Xander said threateningly, as he approached

Spike growled and lunged at him, just stopping a few feet short as the chip fired again. Xander stopped mid step. Then remembering the chip as he watched the vampire react to the pain in his head, he balled up his fist in his other hand in front of him as he continued toward the vampire. Panting from the pain, Spike backed away from Xander toward the kitchen. Anxiously grasping her hands, Buffy came down to the end of the sofa which cut off that route of escape. Feeling trapped, the vampire's yellow eyes flitted from Buffy, to Xander, even over to Willow. Spike retreated until he stood at the entrance of the hallway by the kitchen. In a quick move, he grabbed a chair from the dining set and pulled it across the entrance and then turned and ran down the hall. Buffy and Xander rushed over to where Spike had been standing when they saw the door to the utility room close.

Xander turned around, raising his eyebrows.

"Yep, he's in the utility room." He announced to the room, blowing out a large lungful of air as he picked up the chair lying across the hall threshold.

The group next heard, the crash of items falling in the room. Wincing, Xander took a step to the side to look back down the hallway again.

"AND...It sounds like he's not coming out soon." Xander said, slowly shaking his head with his eyes widened and his mouth pull to the side as he turned back to the room.

Giles moved over next to Anya, a look of concern worrying his brow. He bounced the earpiece of his glasses against his chin.

"What's the matter, Giles?" Anya asked after noticing his worried expression.

"Oh, it's probably nothing." Giles stated, but then felt the need to continue. "I just have my favorite sweater back there. It is supposed to dry lying flat. I just hope Spike doesn't hang it up, it will be all misshapen."

"Yeah, vampires are known for their need to straighten up." Willow said, arching an eyebrow at Giles.

"Oh, quite." Giles responded guiltily.

Buffy turned to the group, with her arm extended down the hall.

"Did you notice that he didn't say a thing? Something's wrong. He acted like an animal. He knew the sun hadn't gone down yet, but he opened the door anyway." Buffy queried to the group, looking for any possible answers.

"Maybe… he forgot?" Willow offered as a reason.

"Hello, Vampire. I would think I would know when it was safe to go outside without bursting into flame. Buffy continued. "He acted totally surprised about his chip firing. We all know that he knows about the chip."

Hey, you're right. Why was he so confused? He was so panicked. Now, he's hiding in the utility room." Xander agreed. "That's not like Spike at all. He didn't say a word, not that I'm complaining."

"Yes, I would think Spike silence would be a blessing; however in this case, I think we just interacted with Spike's demon." Giles answered and went on to ponder out loud. "There was no higher thought controlling him. The vampire was acting on base instinct."

"So, if that's Spike's demon, what happened to Spike?" Anya asked the room.

….

"Your demon resides in the other realm." Spike's aunt said simply.

"You mean those Scoobies are dealing with one hundred percent raging vampire back there?" Spike asked in a stunned manner and began to laugh. "Oh, that's too bloody good! I would love to see how Xander is handling the ferocity of a rampaging primitive vampire. HEY! They better not stake me! Oh wait, the chip will probably keep ole toothy on the leash…too bad. It could have been fun."

"William, this is not the time to be distracted. You've been brought here to learn how to defeat the Diye Cagiriyor, once and for all." Aunt Charlotte said correcting the young man. "You are to be the instrument to deny him access to our universe."

"Hey, now wait just a minute. I did not agree to anything." Spike responded, puzzled.

"Yes, you did, when you accepted the ring." Aunt Charlotte stated.

"I was five years old. How did I know what I was accepting? I would have been in the bloody Peppermint guard for Father Christmas if you asked me back then." Spike shouted. "There are laws in California that prevent children from entering into contracts..you know!"

"Different time, different place, William. Nevertheless, you accepted the ring and the ring accepted you." His aunt countered. "You must finish the task. It is what your mother would have wanted."

"Oh, dirty pool, that last bit!" Spike said grudgingly. "All right. Say that is so. Then let's get this bleedin stupid thing over! Do your worst!" Spike stood there, snarling and balling his hands in fists.

Aunt Charlotte regarded the young man standing in front of her. Shaking her head, with a small sigh, she beckoned him to follow her. As he walked beside, his aunt commented.

"I have been here a long time with the child, William. I thought the dramatics were just part of his childishness. I see that I was wrong."

Spike's eyes flitted over to his aunt as a small scowl appeared on his face. The pair approached a large pair of doors. His Aunt stopped and turned to him.

"There is someone you must meet. That person will answer your questions." As she indicated the doors and said. "You must go in alone. This is as far as I am permitted. The child, William and I have waited a long time for you to appear."

"What's this? Why can't you come with me? Surely, you are just as much a part of this as I am." Spike asked.

"I broke the chain when I said the words of the twin stars to save you and your mother. This is my punishment." She took a step toward Spike. "I will tell you this. If you are successful in defeating the creature, I will be freed. William, be strong."

She put her hand alongside Spike's face. He looked into her eyes and realized that she had been taking care of him for a long time. Spike lowered his eyes as he nodded. He turned toward the door and pushed it open and went inside. The room was very dark; there was glowing light radiating along the edges of the room, giving an otherworldly feel. At the opposite end, he could just make out what looked like to be an altar. There was an outline of a figure standing in front of it.

…

A loud howl went up from the back room. It was so unearthly that the Scoobies froze in place for a moment. Buffy turned and rushed down the end of the hall, just in front of the door to the utility room. The other Scoobies soon joined her. Buffy grasped the knob and looking over her shoulder, slowly turned it. She inched the door open slowly and peeked around the door to see inside

Spike was curled up against the far wall. He was still in vamp face, but he seemed to be staring off into space while slightly rocking his body back and forth. He did not react as the door swung open to show all the humans standing there.

Buffy crouched down as she gradually approached the distress vampire. The remaining humans stood frozen at the door, watching the scene. Once she was in front of the huddled vampire, she placed her hand on his bent knee.

"Spike?" She said quietly.

Spike face faded back to his human visage. He looked over at Buffy with blue eyes, seeming lost and unfocused. He said one word to her and then slid into unconsciousness. Buffy stood up and looked down at the vampire lying curled at her feet. Xander and Giles came into the room and stood behind her, looking down at Spike. The girls were huddled behind the men, also peering down at the vampire.

Turning his head slightly to look at Buffy, Giles asked.

"What did he say?"

"Avestan."