Author's Notes:

So I've introduced a couple of OCs in here (which include Rex, Charlie, and K) but as you know, the rest belongs to the almighty God known as Joss Whedon. Also, sorry its been so long. Been in a bit of a block lately. But knowing you're reading keeps me going. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Ritual

K's eyes slowly flickered open. She was still in Spike's arms, fast asleep on the bed in the hotel room. The rest of the room was empty. She shifted a bit, waking up Spike.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said softly. "Did I wake you up?"

Spike smiled and shook his head. "I was already awake. Just waiting for you to get up, Pet."

K smiled back and scooted herself closer into Spike. "Was the whole thing just a dream?"

"Of course not, love. It was as real as right now."

K sighed. "But this feels like a dream."

Spike laughed lightly. "This can't be a dream. We've got to get to work soon."

"Work?"

"Yep. Slayers should be arriving at the hotel in about a couple of hours or so."

K sat up, still in Spike's arms. "We should start getting ready, then… What time is it?"

"It's around 7:30."

"In the evening? We've been asleep all day!"

"Pretty much." K got up and picked up clothes so she could go into the bathroom and have a shower. "K, what did you dream about all day?"

"Nothing at all," she said. "Really. This is the first dreamless night I've had in years. I think it's because reality has finally got it beat."

Spike laughed at her as she went into the bathroom to take a shower.

She came out in about half an hour, dressed as a Slayer instead of a young lady like the previous day.

Spike was still in bed, now watching something on the television.

"Are we going to have some sort of meeting with the other Slayers?" K asked, sitting on the opposite bed.

"Yeah. Down in the basement of the hotel. Plenty of room. Buffy will announce the information she's got, and then I'm guessing we'll get warmed up and ready before we head to the final nest tomorrow."

K nodded. Spike got up and it was his turn to go into the bathroom for about twenty minutes before he came out again, wearing similar clothes to before.

"Shall we?" he asked.

The two of them went downstairs and into the basement, where the other seven members of their Scooby gang were waiting around.

"We're waiting for the other Slayers to get here," Willow explained as K sat next to her. "We're not really doing anything. The Slayers should be here soon."

And they were there, relatively soon, and Buffy decided to start the meeting.

"So, I'm going to start with a rather cliché good news and bad news situation," Buffy started. "First, the good news is that we've figured out why this organization of vampires has set up so many nests across the country. The bad news is that it was all just one huge distraction."

Several murmurs went along the crowd, but they hushed in an instant.

"The head of this vampire organization is planning something much bigger," Buffy continued. "Willow, why don't you take over for now?"

Willow stood up. "There's a demon that doesn't have a name. It's old, one of the oldest, came directly after the Old Ones, but before the Powers that Be. It was only alive for a very short time, that's why no one bothered to give it a name or document it much. Well, the vampires wanted to bring this demon back to life."

A Slayer raised her hand. "What does it take to bring it back to life?"

"Excellent question. Now, this demon is slow. Very powerful, but slow. It takes a lot of energy to get it started. But once it gets started, well… let's not discuss it. So this demon needs three different energy sources to wake it up, and then it needs to sort of warm up, and then it'll destroy everything in its path. So the three things it needs is the demon essence of a Slayer to get the first shock in, and then for a longer-term energy source it needs the blood of a pure maiden, and for a back-up energy source they need a soul of a Vampire.

"By 'pure maiden' you mean a virgin?" asked another Slayer.

"Well, yes. And as you can see, until recently two out of three of the energy sources were difficult to find. Until recently there was only one Slayer, and no vampires will souls. But now, it's different.

"They wanted Angel to come back to the Slayer army, and then they wanted to draw the Slayer army in using these thousands of vampires."

Spike scoffed. "Oh, please. Has it got to be Angel?"

"Well, they just knew about Angel," Willow explained. "It could be you, too."

"But it's not going to be either of them," K said. "Right?"

"Of course not. And they're not going to get any Slayers, either."

"So what's the plan?" asked a third Slayer. K made a mental note to learn of their names eventually.

"Mount up," Buffy said. "Slay the vamps before they can begin the ritual."

"And what if they begin the ritual? How do we kill the demon?"

Buffy and Willow looked at each other before looking back at the crowd of Slayers. "Well, it wasn't exactly documented how this thing died. It was probably done by the Powers that Be. We were just hoping we would slay the vampires before the demon rose, and we wouldn't have to worry about it."

"We don't have time to research it, anyway," Angel said. "And Spike and I will make sure we're not caught. Raising the demon should be near to impossible for them."

"As soon as the sun rises, we're heading out," Buffy said. "So let's all get ready."

And as the Slayers got their weapons ready, they did some warming up in the basement. K was sparring with Spike like how they had back in the Slayer HQ.

"You seem a little of your edge," Spike said as he noticed K panting heavily while fighting him. "Is something wrong?"

K gave him a small smile. "I'm just worried, that's all. I mean, they're looking for the soul of a vampire, and there are only two of them in existence. I don't want them to get you and take your soul away or something."

Spike smirked. "I should be more worried about you. You happen to have two out of three of the things you want in that little body of yours. I've just got one. You're double at risk."

"Yes, I've got the demon essence of the Slayer and the blood of a pure maiden. But so what? I bet plenty of the girls here have those, too. You're one of the only two vampires in existence that has a soul."

"D'you remember that promise I made?" Spike asked. "The one where I said we'd have plenty of more nights like the one we had before?"

K nodded.

"I don't plan on breaking that promise. You understand?"

"Yeah," K said, smiling. "I understand."

"Are we all ready?" Buffy called out to the crowd. Everyone was still. No one answered. "Good. Let's go."

So in small groups (so not to raise suspicion) the Slayers left the hotel. Angel and Spike were, of course, first, seeing as they needed to get into the blacked out car as soon as they could.

Soon, the small army of Slayers stayed in the shadow of the building filled with vampires.

"Willow, where would they be holding the ritual?" Buffy asked.

"Most likely the closest they can get to the sky. So the top floor."

"Let's roll."

But as soon as the army entered the building, they were greeted by a much larger army—an army of vampires.

"Well, well… ladies… it's so nice to see you," said the scruffy vampire up front.

"Hey, wait a minute," Spike mumbled. "I… I know you. Angel, we know him."

Angel squinted his eyes. "Charles?" he mumbled.

"Ah. And Angel. And… Spike? Well, this is a surprise."

"You know him?" Buffy asked.

"From our evil days," Angel explained. "So you're the one up to this. You always were a nostalgic one—bringing back old things into your present."

He chuckled. "Please, Angel. Call me Charlie now. And you've always helped me before, and you're going to help me again now. Or… I suppose Spike could as well. When did you get a soul?"

Spike didn't answer, he simply glared.

Charlie laughed again. "Anyway… I think it's about time we ended the small talk." He nodded once and the army of vampires behind him took one step forward.

The army of Slayers set themselves into battle position.

And before long, the two armies began to fight. There were easily three times as many vampires as Slayers, so each girl had to take on a few vampires at once.

The battle raged on, and K was already exhausted by the time she had dusted two vampires. They were stronger than most of the vampires she had fought, and were throwing punches like anything. One of them had gotten a hold of a Slayer axe and managed to give her a few flesh wounds. By the time she had killed another vampire, she was tired and dizzy, and had lost a lot of blood.

Spike was lost in the crowd, and K was starting to get a little paranoid. Where could he be? She just hoped that they didn't take him away to use him in the spell. She closed her eyes for just a moment to pray that he hadn't been taken when she felt two large hands grab her arms and trapped them to her body. Soon, her feet were lifted off the ground.

"Hey? What? Get off of me!" she yelled and squirmed. If someone didn't stake this vampire now, she was dead.

The large vampire put his mouth to her neck. "Mmm… Slayer… and… pure…"

K was waiting for her neck to be pierced, but it didn't happen. Instead, she was being lifted away from the battle and up the stairs into the second floor of the building. She tried to fight her way out, but she was too small and the vampire was too strong.

"I found one," said the large vampire as he threw her on the floor. K noticed she had landed next to something—next to someone.

It was Spike.

He lied there, unconscious and spread-eagled on the floor beside her.

"Spike!" she cried out as she put her hands to him. "Oh, God, what have they done?"

"Shut up," Charlie said. "She's a Slayer? And she's pure?" he asked the large vampire.

He nodded.

"Excellent," Charlie laughed. "We'll keep these two safe then."

The large vampire lifted her and Spike up again, and locked them in what looked like an office conference room.

"You can't do this!" K shouted, holding onto an unconscious Spike. "Those Slayers down there are going to kill you, and you won't get away with this and—"

Everything went black.

Spike blinked his eyes open. He was locked in some sort of office room, lying on the table. K was next to him, bleeding and unmoving.

"K? K!" Spike exclaimed. He held her in his arms, extremely gently to prevent any more blood from oozing out of her cuts. "Please, get up, please."

She didn't move.

"She won't get up," said a voice.

Spike shot up. "You," he spat at Charlie. "What have you done to her?"

Charlie laughed. "Nothing. Just knocked her out. She was awfully chatty. We just needed some quiet."

"You soddin' monster, I swear to God, I'm going to kill you myself!"

"You might just have to," Charlie laughed. "All your Slayers are… busy."

"What have you done to them?"

"It's what we're doing to them. Like I said, we're just keeping them busy. You see… we've got a huge army backed up here. We've got at least two hundred of us waiting for your group of about twenty Slayers. But we don't send them in all at once. No, we're trying to draw this out as long as possible, so we send in a few at a time just to keep them busy."

"And then after you've played with them?" Spike asked.

"Well, we don't want them to miss out on the show," Charlie said. "We need our newly risen demon to have some fresh meat when he arises. We're just trapping your Slayers for him to feast on later. Unless… one of us gets a little peckish." He laughed again.

"You can't do this. You understand that demon will destroy everything in its path?"

"And you're going to help, Spike," Charlie mocked.

"If you think you're getting this soul," Spike stood up, "you're sadly mistaken. I went through hell to get it, and… why me? And why her?"

"We knocked you out first," Charlie explained. "That Angel… he's a fighter. He was protecting that one blonde Slayer. What was her name? I don't remember. She was the leader. And her because… well, she was the smallest and easiest to get to. There were quite a few pure Slayers in there, but she was just easy to pick up."

"I'm going to kill you," Spike repeated.

"I'd like to see you try. Nothing in here but glass and metal. No wood, my friend. No staking, no dust."

"I could always rip your head off."

Charlie laughed again. "Soon you'll be killing her." He pointed at K.

"I will never kill her," he said. "You have no idea what she means to me."

"Aw, Spike's got a Slayer girlfriend!" Charlie said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass jar. "Do you love her with all your soul?"

Spike's eyes widened. "You're going to…"

"Just take it away," he said. "Will you still love her then?"

"I will never kill her," Spike said. "Without a soul… it might not be love, but I will never kill her. I need her."

"Rex!" Charlie called.

The large vampire entered the room. "You called, boss?"

"Yes… please help with getting one of our ingredients."

Rex pulled a small book out of his pocket and began to utter Latin. Charlie uncorked the small glass bottle.

Spike screamed in agony, like a piece of him was being forcibly ripped out of his body. He fell over, his body limp as the glass bottle in Charlie's hands glowed a faint light.

"Ha!" Charlie exclaimed. "Good work, Rex. I believe we have it."

"Can I kill him now?"

"No. He's one of us again. And besides, we need his body alive. Or else his soul will just disappear."

Rex nodded. "And the girl?"

"We'll take her when we're ready upstairs. Guard this door from the outside, and I'll go check on the progress of the rest of the spell."

The two vampires left and locked the door behind them.

Spike woke up again. He felt odd, he felt… hungry. He looked up at the table where K still stayed limp and unmoving. She was still bleeding, too. She smelled so good.

He sat on the table and held her in his arms, smelling her, smelling her blood. A Slayer's blood. He had tasted it before, and now…

But he needed her. He loved her. He was obsessed with her. He held her tighter and began to kiss her wounds, tasting the salty and warm blood on his lips.

"S-Spike?" K slowly blinked her eyes open. "What are you…?"

"They took it, love," Spike said, continuing to kiss her bloody forehead. "And you taste so… warm. And sweet. Must be all that chocolate."

"Your soul," K said slowly. "It's gone."

"Yes."

"Do you still love me? Are you going to kill me?"

"I love you, K. And I need you. I can't kill you."

K smiled slightly. "You know… you can't love without a soul. Well, you can… but it's not really love."

"Whatever it is," Spike panted, "I need you."

K pushed him away and got off the table. "Spike… I trust that you don't want to kill me right now. I know the difference between no-soul and soulful Spike isn't as radical as say Angel and Angelus… but… I feel like you're getting tempted. And my bleeding wounds don't seem to be much of a help."

Spike smirked and raised one eyebrow. "I'm not going to kill you, love."

"Don't look at me like that," K said. She couldn't suppress a tiny laugh. "It's very attractive, and you're distracting me. I'm trying to see if we can find some way out of here. If we can get out, get your soul back, and kill those vampires, then they won't be able to do the ritual."

Spike put his hand around K's waist and pulled her back onto the table. "I know another way to stop the ritual."

"Really?" K was slightly surprised. "You have a plan, then? What is it?"

Spike leaned in so his lips were barely touching her ear. "It's so simple, Pet," he breathed. His warm breath sent a shiver down K's spine. Spike chuckled. "They need the blood of a pure maiden. If we just made you… impure…"

K understood where this was going. "Um… Spike, I—mmm…"

He had begun kissing her neck as his arms were tight around her body. She admitted it felt good, even when he came around to taking her shirt off. It had been so long since she felt like this, since—

"Spike… I don't want to do this…"

"You don't?" Spike asked, moving his lips lower down her torso. "I do."

He kissed her full on the lips as she felt his hardness rub against her sacred area through their pants.

"Please, Spike," she panted as he let her go. "Please, I don't want to—"

The door flung open, and there stood Rex and Charlie, completely shocked and entertain at the act that was going on in front of them.

"So she is your girlfriend," Charlie laughed. "Well, as hot as this is, I can't have it be done. She must be a pure maiden. And… oh, will you look at the time? It's about time we get that ritual done and over with, don't you think?"

Rex threw Spike off of K, and picked up the little girl with one hand.

"In fact," Charlie said, locking Spike's hands into handcuffs behind his back, "I think I'll even let you come and watch. Just for fun."

They were brought onto the top floor of the building. K could even hear the battle raging on below her as the Slayers continuously fought the endless army of Vampires.

There was a circle with a star in it, drawn with some unknown substance on the ground. Candled burned all around them, creating the only light in the dim room. A mixture of smells filled the air like blood, dust, and burning wax.

Rex threw K on the floor promptly before her hands were cuffed together by Charlie in front of her.

"Shallow cuts…" Charlie muttered as his knife grazed K's skin, barely penetrating the flesh. The lack of pain caused by these cuts made K's other wounds burn. She barely noticed Spike being chained to the wall to her left.

"And now, Rex," he continued, dropping the blood into the circle, "please recite the incantation… and make her a Slayer no more."

Rex uttered Latin and before long, K could feel the energy being slowly drained out of her, being pulled into the circle.

"And now… let him rise!"