Buffy tried to sit as casually as she could, but it felt difficult to feel casual in the principal's office – especially when that principal was Snyder. The weaselly little jerkface gave bald people a bad name. She stole a glance at the girl next to her – an ordinary girl named Sheila. Buffy only knew her vaguely. Apparently, she was one of the many underachievers of Sunnydale High. Why the two of them had been dragged before the principal, she didn't know. What the two could possibly have in common, she didn't know that either. They simply had to wait for the bitter middle-aged man to start.
"A lot of educators tell students, 'Think of your principal as your pal.'" Snyder glared at them with suspicious eyes. "I say, 'Think of me as your judge, jury, and executioner.'"
Buffy stared blankly. Helluva start.
"Tell me," he continued, his voice practically dripping with slime, "who do you think is the most troublesome student in this school?" He looked between the two girls, not caring for an answer. "Well, it is quite a match between you two. On the one hand, Buffy hasn't stabbed a horticulture teacher with a trowel."
Sheila looked so disinterested, she could've turned invisible. "I didn't stab anyone with a trowel. They were pruning shears."
"On the other hand, Sheila has never burned down a school building," Snyder said, turning his attention to Buffy.
Buffy stammered briefly. "W-well, that was never proven. The Fire Marshall said i-it coulda been mice."
"Mice," Snyder repeated, unimpressed.
"M-mice that were smoking?"
Snyder's loathsome smirk only deepened. "The two of you seem to be tied in the class-cutting and fight-starting events. You really are neck and neck here. It's quite exciting."
"What does the winner get?" Sheila drawled.
"Expelled," he replied bluntly.
Buffy's eyes widened. Sheila didn't even blink.
"Thursday is Parent-Teacher night. Your parents, assuming you have any, will meet your teachers, assuming you have any left. I've decided to put the two of you in charge of this event. You have three days to prepare the refreshments, make the banners and transform the school lounge into a habitable place for adults. This will incur my good will. And may affect what I tell your parents when I meet them. Are we clear?"
Grimacing at having to sacrifice the next three afternoons planning a get-together against her will, Buffy attempted to not look hopelessly depressed. "I'm clear," she nodded. She glanced at Sheila. "Don't you feel clear?" Sheila just looked back. "We're very clear."
"Good. Because you mess up this time, and your parents will be coming to clean out your lockers," Snyder said, clearly enjoying threatening them.
When school ended, Buffy attempted to get with Sheila as they walked out of the building. If they just worked together and coordinated their efforts, this could go fairly smoothly. "Well, it shouldn't be that hard. We can work on the banners at lunch tomorrow and figure out refreshments then?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever," Sheila sort of responded before yelling at someone in the crowd. "Hey, Meat Pie!" she shouted before walking off. Buffy followed her gaze and saw an older tattooed guy who didn't look at all like he'd want to help hang streamers.
It was a small relief that Xander, Jesse and Willow walked up to mitigate how crappy she felt. "Snyder's got you guys making party favors, huh?" asked Xander.
Good. They already knew. "His two worst students. That's what mom sees when she looks at me – a Sheila."
They watched as Sheila kissed the older guy.
"Well, Sheila's definitely intense," Xander conceded. "That guy with her? That's the guy she can bring home to mother."
"Rumor has it she set a fast food joint on fire because they foolishly put pickles on her burger," added Jesse in a tone that made it hard to tell if he was kidding or not.
"She was already smoking in fifth grade," Willow remembered. "Once, I was look-out for her."
Xander almost looked impressed. "You're bad to the bone."
"I'm a rebel," she said proudly.
Buffy pouted. "It's not fair. I'm the Slayer. That requires a certain amount of cutting and fighting. What's Sheila's excuse?"
"She's just got that weird aura about her that makes most juvenile delinquents appealing to faculty and staff," shrugged Jesse. "Yours is too subtle, and that frustrates them."
"Oh, you might wanna keep away any sharp implements when you're working with her," said Xander.
Buffy sighed as they started away from the school. "Do you think any other Slayers ever had to go to high school?"
"It's no biggie," Xander said brightly. "You'll have a nice soiree . The parents will love it. As long as nothing really bad happens between now and then, you'll be fine."
In that instant, his friends turned on him. "Are you crazy?" Buffy exclaimed. "What did you say that for? Now something bad is gonna happen!"
Xander looked between the three of their accusatory faces. "What do you mean? Nothing's gonna happen!"
"Not until some dummy says, 'as long as nothing bad happens'," snapped Willow.
"Sheesh, Xan-Man, you're like that one dinosaur that looked up at the incoming asteroid and said, 'what could possibly go wrong?'" added Jesse, shaking his head.
"What were you thinking? Or were you even thinking at all?" Willow scolded as they all walked away from him, leaving him standing in front of the school clutching his backpack.
"Well, you guys don't know," he called after them. "Maybe this time it'll be different."
That night, a sign sat innocently on the edge of town, minding its own business and doing its jobs of welcoming people to Sunnydale. It did this the way it always did – with its great big painted words "Welcome to Sunnydale". It stood guard over a park and a nearby playground, keeping a lookout for any troublemakers that might try to enter and cause trouble for the rows of houses that lined the streets behind it. It took its job very seriously – to the point the playground seemed indifferent to its presence. Stupid playground, always taking the sign for granted.
But tonight felt different. The sign stood guard as normal, keeping an eye out on the road ahead. Not many cars on the road coming and going. A pair of high beams cut through the dark, and the sign mused they were coming faster than others. Hopefully, a policeman would pop out of the woodwork and take out this punk speeding straight for it.
Straight for it…
The sign didn't think to jump out of the way. The car came into full view, left the road and plowed through the sign, smashing it to pieces and continuing on a ways before it screeched to a halt on the curb.
The sign waited for the uproar, but it never came. That dratted playground acted as though nothing happened, the lousy ingrate. In its splintered state, the sign saw the car with its brake lights on until the engine quit. It was a classic 1958 Dodge Desoto FireFlite with blacked out windows. The door opened, and the driver stepped out.
It was a no-good hooligan. Steel-toed boots, punkish outfit, long leather duster, and to top it all off was a head full of bleached blonde hair. Young looking – almost looked twenty – and his eyes sparkled of anarchy. He took a deep breath and lit a cigarette.
"Home, sweet home."
The sign wanted to give this British fool a taste of his own medicine, but in its current state, it had no choice but to wait for someone to find it and repair it. The creep drove off into the night, and the sign swore if it ever saw him again, it would give him a thorough talking to.
Spike hung back in the shadows, observing the other vampires in the factory. He could just make out the Anointed One seated on a crate, his childish legs absently swinging as he listened to the other vampires nattering on. He could see two full-size vamps – one was big and ugly, while the other was lean and a bit intense.
"The Master is dead," hissed Big Ugly. "Someone has to take his place."
"As long as the Slayer's alive," said Lean Boy, "whoever takes his place will be sharing his grave."
"Then let the soul who kills her wear his mantle."
"Can you do it?" the Anointed One asked him. Sheesh, the kid hadn't even hit puberty yet. How did he command legions with a voice like that?
Big Ugly smiled confidently. "Yes. This weekend, the night of St. Vigeous, our power shall be at its peak. When I kill her, it'll be the greatest event since the crucifixion. And I should know. I was there."
Okay, Spike couldn't pretend to just listen anymore. These guys needed some serious heckling. " You were there ?" he chuckled, stepping out of the shadows and taking them all by surprise with his presence. "Oh, please! If every vampire who said he was at the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock."
Big Ugly didn't take too kindly to his posturing being interrupted. "I oughta rip your throat out."
Spike, however, turned his back to him and strolled towards the others. "I was actually at Woodstock. That was a weird gig. I fed off a flower person, and I spent the next six hours watchin' my hand move." He chuckled absently at the memory, not even looking up as he swung his fist up, taking out Big Ugly as he charged him from behind. "So. Who do you kill for fun around here?"
The Anointed One's expression remained flat and emotionless. This kid needed rebooting, seriously. "Who are you?"
"Spike. You're that Anointed guy. I read about you. You've got Slayer problems. That's a bad piece of luck. Do you know what I find works real good with Slayers? Killing them."
"Can you?"
"A lot faster than Nancy-boy there," Spike replied, shrugging his head at the knocked out Big Ugly. "Yeah, I did a couple Slayers in my time. I don't like to brag." That was a lie too big, and it caused him to start giggling. "Who am I kidding? I love to brag! There was this one Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion, and…" He trailed off as he sensed someone behind him, and he turned his head to look as he morphed into his human guise. "Drusilla. You shouldn't be walking around. You're weak."
Drusilla looked around with wide-eyed innocence, like she always did when they came to a new place. As he approached her, her eyes fell on the other blokes. "Look at all the people. Are these nice people?"
Spike smiled a little. "We're getting along."
Drusilla spotted the Anointed One. "This one has power. I could feel it from the outside."
"Yeah. He's the big noise in these parts. Anointed, and all that."
She approached the Anointed One, who barely reacted to her presence. Did the kid ever emote? "Do you like daisies? Hmm? I plant them, but they always die. Everything I put in the ground withers and dies." She daintily wrapped her arms around herself as she looked off into space. "Spike? I'm cold."
Without missing a beat, Spike took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. "I've got you."
She smiled that smile that made his undead heart melt. "I'm a princess."
"That's what you are."
She pricked him on the cheek with her fingernail, and a bead of blood flowed out. She reached up and licked it off. They moved closer to kiss but didn't, and instead looked over at the Anointed One.
"Me and Dru, we're movin' in," Spike said as they separated. "Now. Any of you want to test who's got the biggest wrinklies 'round here… step on up." He eyed the kid, who simply looked back impassively. "I'll do your Slayer for you. But you keep your flunkies from tryin' anything behind my back. Deal?"
The kid nodded, which Spike supposed meant he agreed. It would have to do for now.
Drusilla bowed her head down and put her hands to her temples. "I can't see her. The Slayer. I can't see. It's dark where she is. Kill her. Kill her, Spike. Kill her for me?"
He loved it when she used that word. "It's done, baby," he assured her.
"Kill her for princess?"
"I'll chop her into messes."
"You are my sweet… my little Spike."
Spike felt all warm inside, but he knew he needed to focus on the task at hand. "So," he said, looking back at the Anointed One. "How 'bout this Slayer? Is she tough?"
"Ow!" Buffy exclaimed.
Joyce popped her head into her daughter's bedroom and found her holding a hairbrush to her head. "What's wrong?"
"I spent a good part of my allowance on this new cream rinse, and it's neither creamy nor rinsey."
Rolling her eyes, Joyce continued getting ready for bed herself. "Life is hard, dear."
"Don't I know it. Is that a split end?" she asked, glaring at the hair in her fingers.
"I got the mail," Joyce continued.
Buffy barely noticed the sudden change of subject. "Good."
"Which included a reminder notice about Parent-Teacher night. Thursday."
Ah - now Buffy noticed it. "Less good," she winced.
She could see her mom reflected in the mirror. "Which you were planning on telling me about?" she asked, her tone not very happy with her.
"Oh, for…," she floundered briefly as she turned to face her, "the last two weeks."
"Uh-huh. So, what do you think your teachers are gonna tell me about?"
Oh, don't go down that rabbit hole, Buffy mentally pleaded. What could she say that wouldn't sound like a lie without having to be the truth? "Well, I think they'll all agree that I always bring a pen to class, ready to absorb the knowledge," she said as she awkwardly sat on her bed.
Joyce still didn't look impressed. "And, uh, this absorption rate? How is it reflected in your homework and test scores?"
Buffy tried to smile despite feeling sick about this. "What can you really tell about a person from a test score?"
"Whether or not she's ever going out with her friends again."
The smile sputtered and died. "Oh, that."
Joyce sighed, already annoyed. "Well, I look forward to meeting your principal."
Buffy grimaced at the thought. She knew Snyder wanted her gone as soon as possible, and he would say anything to make it happen. "Won't that be something."
Apparently sensing her despair, Joyce softened a little and sat down next to her on the bed. "Look, sweetheart. Life is more than grades and homework and not getting kicked out of school."
Buffy nodded, knowing this wasn't going to end with her getting off the hook. "I know."
"But we moved once because of you getting in trouble. And I had to start a new business, not to mention a new life in a whole new town."
"And you don't wanna do it again."
"What I don't want is to be disappointed in you again."
Okay, that stung. "Mom, that's the last thing that I want, too," she said, letting out a big sigh. "I'm trying, I really am. I just…" God, why did she have to keep all this a secret? Why did she have to have this life ? "I have a lot of pressure on me right now," she managed.
"Wait till you get a job. Sleep tight." Joyce got up and left the room.
Still feeling just sick about all this, Buffy got up from her bed and walked over to her desk. She pulled open the top left drawer, wherein she sorted through a jar of holy water, a cross, a few stakes, and a set of brass knuckles. She looked up at her reflection in the mirror. "I have a job."
The next day, Buffy joined her friends in the school lounge to put some work into the Parent-Teacher event. She had a big banner laid out over a long table that Willow helped her paint "Welcome Parents" on it, while Xander and Jesse worked on a similar banner that said "Parent-Teacher Night".
"Sheila's a no-show?" asked Willow as she painted. "She goes to this really rank bar. The Fish Tank? Sometimes they have raids… and other stuff that can make you tardy."
Buffy shrugged. Part of her didn't want Sheila around, but she also didn't want the other 'delinquent' to get in trouble. "D'you think you can help me cram some French tonight? I don't want Mr. DeJean telling my mother I'm an imbecile."
"Guess we're not going to the Bronze tonight?" asked Jesse. "Thought you were gonna pretend not to go in case Angel shows up so you could 'accidentally' bump into him." He eyed her funny. "Sidenote – you might be overthinking this."
Xander snorted as he worked on the banner. "If he does, he'll meet some other nice girl. Studying comes first."
Buffy shook her head defiantly. "We're going to the Bronze. I can study and party and do Parent-Teacher night and make my mother proud as long as I don't have to…" She trailed off when she saw Giles and Jenny come walking in. "…. fight vampires."
Giles' voice carried as he spoke to Jenny. "There is nothing in the chronicles about a-an extraneous lunar cycle."
"The Order never accurately calculated the Mesopotamian Calendar," Jenny smirked. "Rupert, you have got to read something that was published after 1066."
"Very funny."
"What's the up, guys?" Xander asked them as he swirled his paintbrush.
Startled out of his conversation, Giles took a moment to collect his thoughts. "Ms Calendar has been researching, well, uh, 'surfing' on her computer, and she's… Well, according to her calculations, this Saturday is the night of St. Vigeous."
Jesse snapped his fingers as if remembering something. "Drat! And I forgot to get everyone presents!"
Buffy grinned briefly. "Let me guess: he didn't make balloon animals."
Giles shook his head. "No, he led a crusade of vampires. They swept through Edessa, Harran, and points east."
"And they didn't leave much behind," added Jenny.
Heaving a sigh, Buffy tried to resume her work. "Well, if I survive Parent-Teacher night tomorrow, I'll see what I can do about Saturday."
Giles remained unamused. "You're being a tad flip, don't you think? This is serious."
"And getting kicked out of school is laughs-aplenty?"
"You know what happens when you let your life interfere with your slaying."
Buffy grimaced. The last thing she needed right now was a Giles who couldn't look at the big picture. "Okay, well, if my slaying doesn't get me expelled, then I promise my banner making won't get me killed, okay? Just please let me get through this week."
"This Saturday's going to need a great deal of preparation."
Jesse held up his paintbrush to point sternly at him. "Giles, with the deepest respect, I'm gonna have to ask you to chill. Buffinator's got a lot on her plate right now, so one crisis at a time. Even Slayers have to worry about blood pressure."
Giles blinked. "Well, actually – "
"And we'll be here to help," Willow interrupted.
"Yeah, I'll whittle the stakes," offered Xander.
"A-and I can research stuff."
"And while I'm whittling, I plan to whistle a jaunty tune."
Looking frustrated, Giles nodded along. "Yes, your help will be greatly appreciated, but when it comes to battle, Buffy must fight alone. You are, after all, the Slay…" He trailed off when he saw something coming down the hall, "… slay-ve. Slaves. You're, you're all slaves to the, uh, television," he fumbled.
They followed his eyes and saw – oh, joy of joys – Snyder approaching them with his usual flat expression. Without a second to spare, Giles and Jenny scampered away to safety, leaving the four kids to his annoying wrath.
Synder eyed them critically. "You wouldn't be helping Buffy in Sheila's place, would you?" he asked the other three.
Xander, stuck for an answer, laughed nervously. "No."
"We're hindering," added Willow.
Snyder, however, almost looked gleeful despite his slack expression. "She ditched." He took a deep breath that made everyone uncomfortable. "Mm. I feel an expulsion coming on."
"Well, take care of it in the privacy of your office. We're only minors," Jesse replied, already returning to the banner on the table.
Buffy felt the blood drain from her face as she saw Snyder's joy at expelling a student shift into frustration that another student was disrespecting him. For some reason, Jesse remained totally blase about their ferrety principal's presence "Sheila's been helping us for hours," she said quickly. "Um, she just went to get some more paint."
Bang on cue, Sheila came staggering in the door – having clearly been up to some sort of tomfoolery – behind Buffy, wearing dark glasses.
Buffy immediately hurried over to her. "Oh! Oh, is there no more teal in the art room?" she asked quickly, hoping to make her play along. "I know you wanted everything to be perfect, but let's just go with what we have." She swiped Xander's paintbrush and thrust it into her hand.
Only just barely buying it, Snyder sneered. "Just make sure everything is perfect on Thursday," he said, and mercifully, he walked away.
"Thanks for covering," muttered Sheila as she immediately discarded the paintbrush. "Guy's a serious rodent."
"No problem," Buffy replied, hoping she could get some kind of cooperation out of her now.
Sheila, however, had a different question. "Did you really burn down a school building one time?"
"Well, not actually one time…"
"Cool."
Realizing this wasn't helping, Buffy tried to steer the conversation to something more positive. "I mean, I don't condone… Well, anyway, we're going to the Bronze tonight if you want to come."
Sheila waved her off. "Nah, I can't go there. You threaten one bartender with a broken bottle and you're barred for life."
Buffy nodded as nonchalantly as she could, but she shared a seriously disturbed look with the others.
The band Nickel played tonight, but Buffy didn't want to focus on that right now. She had to study her French. Willow, naturally, coached her on it, while Xander danced lamely on the dance floor and Jesse went to the bar to get the next round of snacks. "La vache… doit me… touche… de la… jeudi," she said, trying to recall the words from memory. She looked at Willow hopefully, but her friend's expression did not encourage confidence. "Was it wrong? Should I use the plural?"
"No," Willow replied. "But you said, 'The cow should touch me from Thursday.'"
Buffy shrugged defiantly. "Maybe that's what I was feeling."
"And you said it wrong."
Defeated, Buffy slumped again. "Oh, je stink."
Jesse walked up with a tray of drinks and snacks, having caught the tail end of the conversation. "Does Angel know you're talking about cows like that?" he grinned as he set everything down. "Thought you said he would be here, and I don't know what kind of soda he drinks."
"Well, he didn't say for sure. It was a 'maybe see ya there' kinda deal," Buffy explained.
Jesse shook his head as he took a drink. "Way too complicated," he sighed.
Xander came hurrying up as the latest song ended. "Guys, I'm all alone out there. Somebody has to dance with me."
"Well, we are studying ," said Willow, thinking that would put an end to the idea.
"C'mon, one dance," he pleaded. "You've been studying nearly twelve minutes."
Buffy grinned. "No wonder my brain's fried." She got up from the table. Willow started to protest, but three of them managed to drag her along with them. "Come on." She seriously needed to cut loose with all the crazy going on in her life right now.
Spike walked up to the recently-vacated table and watched the four kids dance as the band started a new song. In another time, it would've been him and Dru running out there, cutting it up, laughing and dancing for a spell before feasting on the blood of their fellow dancers. There hadn't been much of that since she'd been ill.
He eyed the contents of the table. A few soft drinks, bags of crisps and a French textbook. He helped himself to a handful of crisps before moving along the edge of the dance floor. He remembered being told the Slayer was a blonde. He definitely could see her, dancing with the two other boys on either side of her. Both boys danced like idiots, but one seemed to be really trying while the other danced intentionally badly, doing disco moves to make his friends laugh. The red-haired girl didn't move much, but smiled widely, enjoying herself. He made a mental note to give her a bite someday, even if he didn't have time tonight.
He spotted Big Ugly over at the bar in his human guise. At least the big doofus could take direction. He sidled over to him and said, "Go get something to eat." The other vamp nodded and moved off into the crowd. After giving him a moment, he saw him go off with some girl, and he turned to some other people, saying in a loud voice, "Where's the phone? I need to call the police. There's some big guy out there trying to bite somebody."
He didn't stay to hear what they said in return. He saw Buffy suddenly run from the dance floor. To his surprise, the three friends dancing ran after her. Interesting.
Out in the alley, Buffy found this big ugly vampire about to attack a young woman. She trembled with fear as he grabbed her neck and moved in for the bite. Buffy grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him off of her. He somersaulted and rolled up to his feet.
"Slayer!"
"Slayee!" she replied before doing a roundhouse kick to his face. He only flinched a bit. He swung at her, but she sidestepped the blow. She swung back, and he grabbed her arm, swung her around and threw her into a metal roll-up door. She hit it high and hard and fell to the ground, but quickly got up again. He swung again and hit the metal door with his fist when she ducks the punch.
She spotted Xander, Jesse and Willow arriving through the back door. Buffy blocked the vampire's punch and held onto his arm so she could give an order. "Get her out of here!" she shouted before turning her attention to punching the vampire repeatedly in the face.
Jesse and Willow grabbed the woman, pulling her away and out of danger.
"And a stake would be nice !" she added in rhythm with her punches.
Xander ran in to find a stake. God, if he touched one of her tampons, she may as well let the vampire kill her. Still, she kept it up, punching his face again and then his chest. He managed to get loose from her and landed a punch on her face. She went spinning down to the ground and lied there, momentarily stunned. The vampire loomed over her.
"I don't need to wait for St. Vigeous," he growled. "You're mine." He bent down to get her, and she kicked him in the face. He staggered backward as she maneuvered to her feet. Less confident now, the vampire called out, "Spike! Gimme a hand!"
Buffy looked and briefly saw a guy with bleached blonde hair, a long leather duster, and cheekbones that you could get paper cuts on observing the fight – but then, Xander ran back out with the stake. "Buffy!" and he threw her the stake. She caught it out of the air, and in a smooth, swift motion plunged it home into the vampire's chest. He didn't even have time to fall before he crumbled to ashes.
Panting hard, she heard Xander, Jesse and Willow move in around her, but they all stopped when they heard clapping. She couldn't tell if it was genuine or sarcastic. Somehow it might've been both.
In any case, this Spike gentleman stepped out of the shadows, not getting too close to them. "Nice work, love," he said in a thick British accent.
"Who are you?" Buffy demanded.
"You'll find out on Saturday," he replied, already moving away.
"What happens on Saturday?"
"I kill you."
They watched him disappear back into the shadows. In hindsight, they probably should've chased after him and attacked him, but she got the feeling that might've been a bad idea.
The girl had moves to say the least. Lots of spirit. Of course, he hadn't expected her to have a little team working with her. Those three would be fun to kill as well, he wagered. Still, he needed something else for his plan.
He came around a corner and headed down an alley outside a club. He gazed up at the sign – "The Fish Tank". Were they really that hard up for pub names in this town? He took a sniff of the air. Well, he figured, he could do worse. He bobbed his head along to the throbbing bass of the industrial music inside. He kept to the shadows as a teenage girl with black hair came stumbling out with two older gents, both in tank tops and covered in tattoos. All three had clearly had too much to drink, but they had plans for the girl.
"Alright," the girl slurred. "Which one's Dwayne and which one's Dell?" She paused to hiccup before giggling. "Don't tell me. Dell's the one with the tattoos. You guys weren't lyin' about havin' a Cadillac, were you? 'Cause I'm crazy about a Cad. Just the feel of the leather makes me wanna…"
She got out ahead of them, and Spike set to work, killing both of the men in short order and chucking their bodies in the trash. The girl would do just fine. He had to play this just right, so he kept to the shadows for now. She'd already noticed the two gents had disappeared.
"Where'd you go?" she called out. "What's going on?" She started walking slowly, looking around. "Where are you guys? Not funny!"
Spike almost chuckled as he prepared to reveal himself. He could tell this was a little girl trying so hard to be bad. He let her see him, and she let out a shriek at his sudden appearance.
"Who are you?" she gasped.
"Who do you want me to be?" he replied.
She took a moment to compose herself. "Did you see…?"
" … those two losers who thought they were good enough for you?"
"What happened to 'em?"
Spike grinned mysteriously. "They got sleepy."
"Huh?"
"And you got something a whole lot better."
He slowly walked past her and down the alley. He gave it a few seconds, and then, he smiled as he heard her footsteps on the pavement behind him. "Hey, wait up! What's your name?"
Too easy.
The next morning, the team sat in the library, the table full of books, and Xander, Jesse, Willow and Jenny looked through them doing research while Giles conferenced with Buffy.
"Spike," the Watcher said, as if trying the name on. "That's what the other vampire called him? That's a little unorthodox, isn't it?"
Buffy shrugged. "Maybe he's reformed."
"Perhaps he went by another name in… times past."
Jenny heaved a sigh as she flipped through another book. "Well, whoever he is, we'll need all the help we can get, come this Saturday."
"So, this night of St. Vigeous deal," said Xander thoughtfully. "If they're gonna attack in force, aren't we thinking vacation?"
Willow shook her head. "We can't run, that would be wrong," she said sternly before lighting up with an idea of her own. "Could we hide?" She only got looks from everyone else. "I mean, if that Spike guy is leading the attack," she shuddered, making a noise that went, "yeeehehehe."
Jesse nodded. "The guy definitely had this thing about him. Like, an attitude I haven't seen in most vampires, y'know?"
"Well, he can't be any worse than any other creature you've faced," said Giles.
"He's worse." Everyone jumped at the new voice, and they saw Angel standing in the rear entrance, stepping out of the shadows. "Once he starts something, he doesn't stop until everything in his path is dead."
"So my guidance counselor would like him," said Jesse.
Buffy, however, had something else on her mind now that Angel had turned up. "We were at the Bronze before. Thought you said you might show."
Angel looked back at her. "You said you weren't sure if you were going."
"I was being cool. C'mon, you've been dating for, what, like, two hundred years? You don't know what a girl means when she says maybe she'll show?"
Jesse roughly cleared his throat. " Complicated …," he singsonged, earning him a look from the Slayer that he simply smiled innocently at in return.
"Uh, we do have slightly more urgent matters to discuss," Giles reminded everyone.
"Yeah, like keeping my mom away from Principal Snyder tomorrow night?" Buffy agreed.
"And not dying Saturday," added Jenny.
Giles sighed. Even with another adult in the room, he still had to be the adult in the room. "Angel, do you know if this Spike fellow goes under any other name?"
They all looked where he was, but they only saw the library doors as they finished shutting. "Okay, that's it," said Xander. "I'm putting a collar with a little bell on that guy."
Spike didn't bother turning up for the St Vigeous prayer meeting upstairs. Religion wasn't his thing. The Anointed One wouldn't be happy, but whatever – the brat needed to learn life wasn't fair. Ignoring the chanting, he popped downstairs to check on Dru. He found her bed empty and her TV off, so he peered around until he spotted her standing over her collection of dolls. She lifted one and turned it to face away. "Miss Edith speaks out of turn. She's a bad example, and will have no cakes today. Shhhh."
Spike fully entered the room, a small but concerned smile on his face. "Darling, are you going to eat something?"
"I'm not hungry. I miss Prague."
"You nearly died in Prague," Spike reminded her. "Idiot mob. This is the place for us." He took her hand and gently led her to the bed. "The Hellmouth will restore you, put color in your cheeks, metaphorically speaking, and in a few week's time…"
Drusilla lay back on the bed. "The stars will align, and smile down on us."
Spike leaned over her. "And then, God, this town will burn."
"A pretty fire!" she giggled as he rolled over her and lay down next to her. She could hear the chanting upstairs. "They're preparing."
"St. Vigeous is coming up. Should be a party." He glanced over at the girl, Sheila, still tied up and gagged with her hands hanging from a hook above her. She looked terrified.
"You should go up with them and cleanse."
Spike grimaced. "Dru…"
"The boy doesn't trust you. They follow him," she said as she sat up. "I think sometimes that all my hair will fall out and I'll be bald."
Spike sat up with her. "Never happen," he assured her. She smiled, and he couldn't resist. "Alright," he said, getting off of the bed. "I'll go up and get chanty with the fellas, but you gotta do me one favor." He got up from the bed and took Sheila off of the hook. "Eat something." He shoved the girl at her and headed out the door.
As he walked away, he could hear Drusilla's voice. "You see, Miss Edith?" she said, speaking to her doll. "If you'd been good, you could watch with the rest." He grinned as he heard Sheila give a muffled cry through her gag, followed by Drusilla's roar as she went in for the kill.
That's my girl , he thought.
The next day at school, everyone ran around in a flurry of activity while trying to prepare for all the big events that week. Willow checked the crossbow, Jenny walked behind her with extra pieces of wood to make stakes and set them on the table between Jesse, Cordelia and Xander, who whittled away. Buffy oversaw all of this while also using a large sharp machete to chop up cucumber for a vegetable tray.
"For three nights," said Giles, reading from one of his books, "the unholy ones scourge themselves into a fury, um, culminating in a savage attack on the night of St. Vigeous."
Xander tutted. "Does anybody remember when Saturday night meant 'date night'?"
" You sure don't," snorted Cordlia.
Buffy checked her watch. "Ooo! Parents start arriving in an hour. Okay, so, um, banners are in place, the lounge is comfy… What am I forgetting?"
"Punch?" suggested Willow.
"Punch," Buffy repeated before heading for the door. "I need punch!"
Cordelia, meanwhile, clearly couldn't believe she'd somehow gotten involved in all this. Neither could anyone else, for that matter. No one would own up to inviting her. Even Jesse didn't seem to know how she'd wound up in the library with them. "My fingers are cramping. How long have I been doing this?"
Jesse checked his watch. "Three minutes."
"So, can I go now? She doesn't need this many stakes. I mean, if this guy Spike is as mean as you all said, it should be over pretty quickly." Everyone stopped to glare at her, so she put on her brightest smile. "We're still all rooting for you on Saturday. I'd be there for you myself if I didn't have a leg waxing."
Deciding to ignore her for now, Buffy resumed heading for the door. "You guys hold down the fort. I'm punch bound." She headed out of the library. As soon as she was gone, Xander, Jesse and Cordelia each reached over and grabbed something off of the vegetable tray. Buffy stuck her head back in the door. "No!" she snapped, causing them to drop their snacks.
Night came all too quickly. The banners were hung, the lounge had been cleaned and the extra chairs had been lined up. Willow and Jesse dared step out into the open while Buffy doled out the punch into cups.
Jesse let out an impressed whistle. "It's like Martha Stewart is on the school board!"
"What kinda punch did you make?" asked Willow as they sidled up on either side of her.
"Uh, lemonade," said Buffy, handing her a cup. "I made it fresh and everything."
"How much sugar did you use?" Willow asked as she took a sip.
Buffy's eyes widened in alarm. "Sugar?"
Willow's face scrunched up in a comical grimace, and she put the cup down.
"Maybe you can add some more before everyone gets here," Jesse suggested.
"No, no, it's very good!" Willow insisted.
"Will, your lips are almost inside-out."
Buffy, however, decided to put that on the backburner for now and move on to the next crisis. "Okay, now all I have to do is keep my mother and Snyder from crossing paths for the rest of the night."
Willow, however, saw a familiar face already entering the room. "Hi, Mrs. Summers!" she said brightly.
Joyce came walking into the room, taking in the decorations and the snack table. "Hi, Willow, Jesse. Hi, honey. Did you, uh, do all this?"
"Yeah!" Buffy said brightly, instinctively picking up a cup. "Um, here, have some lemonade." But then, she could see Snyder, complete with a nametag, marching up the hall towards them. "Right after Willow shows you the library. I have to stay here and hostess."
Jesse cleared his throat urgently. "The library's closed for the moment," he said quickly. "Study hall, remember?"
Remembering Giles and the others working on weapons, Buffy quickly changed gears. "Oh, right! Er, French class, it is!"
Willow nodded and quickly guided Joyce out of the room before Snyder had a change to come near.
Once he arrived, he could just see them disappearing down the hall. "Was that your mother?" he asked, clearly itching to speak to her.
Acting quickly, Buffy grabbed a cup and a ladle full of lemonade and turned toward him. "Here," she said before quickly faking a spill. "Oh! Oh, sorry! Um, yeah! Yeah, I was gonna introduce you, but, um, she wouldn't have said much. Y'know, she doesn't speak a word of English."
Snyder's face told her didn't believe a word of it, and he made tracks to follow Joyce and Willow. With more parents filing in, Buffy let out a worried moan and looked up at the clock. 6:15.
"Off to a good start," sighed Jesse. "Only, what, three-ish hours to go?"
Buffy gave him a pleading look. "Jess – please stay up here for a while and help me? You don't have to do much, but nametags, refreshments, menial greetings – it would take some pressure off."
Jesse chuckled and took a tray of finger foods. "Just think of me as a server on the Titanic," he said wryly before moving off to serve guests.
Buffy smiled gratefully. She could do this.
The night dragged on, with Buffy trying to keep the various parents content. They seemed happy enough with the food, but the punch being sour forced her to send Jesse for some sugar, and while they couldn't salvage it completely, they made it at least drinkable.
Then, of course, Cordelia stormed up, looking positively peeved. "Giles has us locked up in that library working on your weapons. Even slaves get minimum wage." She stopped to stare at Buffy's face.
"What?"
"You're starting to look a little slagged. What, are you just skipping foundation entirely now?"
Taking a moment to resist not slapping her out of sheer frustration, Buffy held it together. "Cordelia, I have at least three lives to contend with, none of which really mesh. It's kind of like oil and water and a… third unmeshable thing."
Cordelia nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and I can see the oil." Then, they spotted Joyce coming up another hallway, talking to Willow. "Is that your mom? Now that is a woman that knows how to moisturize. Did it, like, skip a generation?"
Jesse swooped in with a platter of food. "Cordelia, why don't you eat a tiny sandwich or three for a few minutes?" he offered.
While Cordelia indignantly took the sandwich, Joyce and Willow walked up to Buffy, who tried to look like she had everything under control. "Well," her mother said, "I believe that I have seen every classroom on campus, and just as I get there all your teachers miraculously have stepped out." Willow smiled over Joyce's shoulder, proud of herself.
But then, Buffy saw Snyder coming back into the room, and she knew she needed to act fast. "Oh! Um, but you haven't seen the boiler room yet. And, you know, that's really interesting, what with the boiler being in the room and all," she laughed nervously.
But Snyder still approached the group, and unfortunately, Joyce offered her hand to him. "Hi. I'm Joyce Summers. I'm Buffy's mother."
Snyder ignored her hand. "Principal Snyder. I'm afraid we need to talk. My office is down here."
Buffy's heart sank as she watched them depart down the hall. Willow and Jesse exchanged concerned looks while Cordelia watched with a huge smile on her face. "He didn't look very happy," Buffy sighed.
"But you did such a good job," Willow said hopefully.
"Principal Ferret is not interested in justice," grumbled Jesse. "He's a petty little power-hungry rodent."
"When they're done talking…," grinned Cordelia, "My guess? Tenth high school reunion, you'll still be grounded."
Everyone looked at her disapprovingly. "Cordelia, have some lemonade," suggested Willow.
Back in the library, Giles and Jenny continued their research while Xander kept whittling. They had been working in silence for a while when the Watcher suddenly declared, "Oh, there you are."
"There who is?" asked Jenny.
"Our new friend Spike. He's known as 'William the Bloody'. Earned his nickname by torturing his victims with railroad spikes. Very pleasant. Well, here's some good news: he's barely two hundred. He's not even as old as Angel is." He stopped, his face falling. "Oh."
Xander sat up a little straighter. "That's a bad look, right?"
Giles looked at him, clearly worried. "I think your suggestion of running away this Saturday might've been a good one. Spike has fought two Slayers in the last century, and… he's killed them both."
Out in the lounge, Buffy, Willow and Jesse could see Snyder coming back in with Joyce. She did not look happy, while he looked delighted – not a good combo. She stormed up to Buffy. "In the car, now."
Jesse and Willow could only look on worriedly as Buffy started to follow her mom out. She turns her head to look back at Snyder, who happily went around turning off the lights. Joyce waited for Buffy to join her, and they walked out of the room.
Snyder went to another switch by the back wall next to a large window and turned it off. Two vampires suddenly came crashing through the window. Buffy looked back into the room. Several more vampires followed, and they stormed in. The people inside began to panic and run around fearfully.
Buffy came back into the room. The vampires stood in line, and there stood Spike smack bang in the middle, grinning viciously. "What can I say? I couldn't wait." He launched into an attack.
Buffy grabbed a chair and threw it at him, tripping him up. She ran back out of the room and grabbed her mother's hand. She turned down the hall to the right, but more vampires came in that way, so she went the other way.
"Nobody gets out! Especially the girl!" shouted Spike.
Seeing another vampire guarding an exit, Buffy led her group in another direction. "Everybody, this way! C'mon! C'mon!" Snyder and several others ran past her as she shoved a cleaning cart into the two vampires chasing them.
Willow and Cordelia came running out of the lounge and nearly tripped over them. They headed to their right, but a vampire grabbed Cordelia and she screamed. Willow grabbed a bust from a display pedestal and wielded it back for a swing.
"Hey!" she shouted. The vampire looked up, and Willow swung the bust hard into his face, knocking him off of Cordelia. Willow grabbed her hand and pulled her into a closet. Putting a few custodial items in front of the door, they took a minute to catch their breath.
Then, Willow realized. "Wait… where's Jesse?!"
Giles, Jenny and Xander heard the commotion and came running out of the library to investigate. Giles just barely had time to utter, "What the hell…?!" before they saw Buffy's group running toward them.
"Spike and an army!" she shouted. "Look out!"
Right away, they saw a vampire behind them. Acting quickly, they ran back into the library while Buffy's group ran to the science room. "In here! Now!"
The people all ran into the room. Buffy followed them in last and closed the door as the two vampires came running into the hall and began banging on the door. Snyder and another man maneuvered a storage cabinet in front of the door as Buffy ran over to the other door and closed and locked it.
Then, of course, the power went out.
In the lounge, Spike held on to a random man he'd managed to snatch in the chaos. Lean Boy approached him. "We cut the power. Nobody got out."
"And the Slayer?" Spike demanded.
Lean Boy pointed right. "She either went that way," he said before pointing down another hall, "or that way. I saw two others."
Spike tightened his grip on the man. "You don't know?!" he snapped furiously. He heard the man whimper and glanced down at him. Sighing disappointedly, he let go of him. "I'm a veal kind of guy. You're too old to eat." For a moment, the man looked like he might breathe easier again. Spike abruptly grabbed his head and snapped his neck. "But not to kill." He faced Lean Boy with a contented look. "I feel better."
"Hey, over here!" another voice shouted. "I got one!"
Spike turned to look and saw one of the other vampires had the tall dark-haired boy in his grasp, trying to get free as the vampire started to move in for his neck. "Hold it!" Spike ordered, causing them both to stop as he stormed over. "I recognize this one. This one's mates with the Slayer." He grinned as he got a good look at him. "What's your name, lad?"
The boy swallowed. "Jesse," he answered shakily. "Jesse McNally."
Spike chuckled. "McNally? An Irishman! Me and Dru loved Ireland! Little known fact – blood goes so well with guinness."
Jesse smiled weakly. "Well, I'm under eighteen, so I wouldn't know about guinness."
"Spike, are we killing this guy or not?" demanded Lean Boy.
Spike eyed the boy and smiled. "Not just yet," he said. "He's one of her friends, and any friend of the Slayer is my friend, too." He pretended to think for a moment. "Or maybe he's just bait," he corrected, grabbing Jesse roughly away from the other vampire.
Xander and Jenny stood off to the side while Giles attempted to use the phone, but he pretty quickly slammed it back down again. "They've cut the phones," he sighed irritably.
Xander waited a moment. Usually, he found, if you just waited a little while, Giles could almost certainly come up with another workable idea if you just gave him some quiet.
That belief was rewarded almost four seconds later. "Wait a minute," he said slowly, looking at the boy. "There's an old boarded up-cellar behind the stacks. You can get out that way. Find Angel. He knows about Spike. We need him."
Not a bad plan, really, but Xander took issue with it. "No, I'm not going anywhere until I know that Buffy, Jesse and Willow are alright."
" No one will be alright unless we get some help!"
He couldn't argue with that logic – as much as he wanted to – so Xander gave in and made a run for the upstairs. He would just have to have faith that his friends could take care of themselves for a while.
One of the parents in the science room paced a little to steady his nerves. "Who are those people, and what do they want?" he demanded.
"I didn't get much of a look," said Joyce, trying to remember, "but is there something wrong with their faces? I…"
"Yes!" Synder said abruptly, as if he had just thought of it himself. "PCP! It's a gang on PCP! We've gotta get out of here." He grabbed a desk, set it in front of a window and started climbing.
Buffy ran over to him, hoping to catch him. "You can't go outside! They'll kill you!" she said softly but firmly.
His response was just as firm but less soft. " You don't tell me ! I tell you !"
She didn't have time for this. She pulled him down in one swift motion with her Slayer strength and put him down on the floor like a petulant toddler. "They will kill everybody in this room. Nobody goes out, nobody comes in until I say so. Do you hear me?"
Snyder either couldn't conceive that someone knew better than him or simply didn't want to admit it. "Who do you think you are?"
"I'm the one that knows how to stop them." She looked up and walked across the room, trying to find a way into the ceiling.
Joyce grabbed her by the shoulders. "Buffy, are you crazy? Look, I know you've been accused of fighting and other things, but those guys are serious. You can't go out there."
"I know. That's why I'm going up there ," Buffy replied, indicating the ceiling. She grabbed a stool, set it on a lab table, climbed up and pushed a ceiling panel aside. She looked down to give her mom one last assuring look. "Don't worry, Mom." She lifted herself up into the ceiling.
Spike looked up and down for Buffy, holding Jesse by the scruff of the neck. To his credit, the boy hadn't tried to break free, simply going along with him as they went. He was sensible enough to cooperate rather than try to play the hero. "Sla-a-ayer!" he sang mockingly. "Here, kitty, kitty-y-y. I've got one of your friends, I'm gonna suck 'im dry. And use their bones to bash your head in." He kicked open a closet door, making Jesse jump a little. Empty. He moved on.
Willow and Cordelia still hid in their closet, the latter holding a broom for defense. Not much, but it was all they had in here.
Spike's voice rang out. "Are you getting a word picture here?"
Cordelia couldn't help herself. "Oh, God, oh, God!"
Willow clasped her hand around Cordelia's mouth to keep her quiet. She could tell Spike had Jesse, but it also sounded like he was still alive. Adding the two of them to the mix would either get him killed or both of them killed. They had to keep quiet for now until Buffy saved them.
Spike got ready to kick the closet door open when Lean Boy whispered to him. "Spike! Listen…"
They listened and heard activity in the ceiling. Spike grinned triumphantly. "Someone's in the ce-e-e-e-eiling!" he sang.
Giles stuffed several stakes into his jacket pockets, grabbed a battle-axe from the table and headed toward the door. Jenny immediately moved to stop him as he started to push his way through the barricade they'd constructed.
"Hey-hey-hey-hey! What are you doing? There are at least three vampires in that hall! God only knows how many others in the building!"
Giles looked at her fiercely. "Listen! I am the Watcher! I am responsible for her, and I have to go!" He started pushing things aside again.
"Rupert!" she hissed angrily. He looked back at her again for another debate, but then, he saw how scared she looked for him. "Be careful."
He nodded before resuming pushing. "Push these back as soon as I…"
A section of the ceiling suddenly broke open as someone smashed through and dropped to the floor. Giles lifted his ax for battle… only find Buffy coughing in the dust as she quickly got to her feet and started taking off her now-filthy outer sweater.
"Buffy! You're all right!" he exclaimed, running over.
"How are the others?" asked Jenny.
Buffy started going through her bag of stakes that Xander had made for her. "Principal Snyder, my mother and four others are locked in the science room across the hall. Willow and Cordelia ran the other way. I'm not sure where Jesse is…" She trailed off as she realized someone was missing. "Where's Xander?"
"He got out through the stacks," explained Giles as Jenny helped Buffy put crosses and stakes into the bag. "He's getting Angel."
"Good. Okay, I'm gonna take the vamps out in the hall. After that, you get my mother and the others out the same way." All loaded up, she pushed a chair under the hole in the ceiling.
"Let me help you," insisted Giles.
"Giles, my mother's in that room. If I don't make it out of here, I know you'll make sure she does."
Realizing she was right, he nodded. "Bloody right, I will. Fair enough. What's your plan?"
"Well, they split up to hold us here, so I'm gonna take 'em one on one. Set 'em up and knock 'em down." She got up on the stool and lifted herself back up, but not before sharing a look with Giles just in case.
"Watch your back!" he said encouragingly.
Joyce tried to remain calm despite everything going on. The other parents were freaking out, so she felt an obligation to be the calm one. She could hear those people still pounding on doors outside, and she dreaded to think of her daughter going up against them – or any of her daughter's friends, for that matter. Worst of all, though, Principal Snyder paced back and forth like a puck on an air hockey table, just bouncing around in different directions.
"Why don't you sit down?" she suggested reasonably.
Snyder glared at her. "This is my school. What I say goes, and I say this is not happening."
"Well, then I guess the danger's over!" Joyce snapped less reasonably.
One of the parents got up, too freaked out to think clearly. "I'm not waiting for them to open the doors. I'm gettin' out!"
"Don't be an idiot!"
Snyder practically snarled. "I'm beginning to see a certain mother-daughter resemblance." Joyce stared – how had this guy seemed so reasonable just half an hour ago? How did her daughter deal with a clown like this for a principal?
The man climbed up to the window and lifted the sash.
"No!" Joyce hissed after him. "Look, you heard what Buffy said!"
"She's a student. What does she know?" snapped Snyder. He took off his jacket and went to help the man. The two of them begin bending back the metal slats blocking the window.
Out in the hall, a vampire threw himself against the science classroom door. It didn't budge. Then, he turned to see Spike looking at him, still holding Jesse in his grasp. "Yeah," he said sheepishly to him. "Door's solid."
Spike placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Use your head," he said before abruptly shoving the vampire's head into an emergency glass case that contained a fire ax. He pulled it out, thrust it into the vampire's hands and continued on his way. He spotted a couple more vamps working on another door and pointed at one of them. "You! Come with me!" he ordered. The vampire followed them up the hall towards the lounge.
Jesse swallowed as he tried to match the vampire's stride. "You run a tight ship," he murmured nervously.
"It's all about being a leader," Spike replied nonchalantly.
In the science classroom, everyone could hear the ax being slammed into the door Joyce cast a worried look at Snyder and the other man as they got two slats bent aside.
"I did it!" Snyder grunted triumphantly. The man started to pull himself through the opening. Snyder helped, but let go when the man began to kick and scream while struggling with something outside. He watched as the man was pulled through the window and almost stumbled back down. Joyce quickly climbed up, bending the slats back and closing the sash.
Xander shuddered as he took in the dead man on the grass. He had found Angel at his apartment and followed him to the school. As much as he didn't like the guy, he had to concede that he'd dropped everything when he mentioned Spike was attacking. "You know a lot about this Spike guy," he said awkwardly, "so, um… you got a plan?"
Angel grabbed Xander by the throat and proceeded to drag him into the building.
"Good plan," Xander choked out, sounding almost like a duck.
In the closet, things had gone quiet outside. "I think he's gone," whispered Cordelia, who started to reach for the door.
Willow grabbed her hand. "He could come back!"
"What are we gonna do?"
Unable to come up with a better answer, Willow decided to go for the dramatic. If nothing else, it might convince Cordelia how serious she was. "Pray."
Buffy kept crawling through the air duct. Thank god Sunnydale High had just enough room for her to squeeze through them. Unfortunately, she realized she must be making just a tiny bit too much noise as someone threw a metal pole poke through right in front of her. Holding down a yelp, she began backing up.
She managed to find her way back to the science room, peering down at a vampire almost finished chopping through the door. He stepped around the corner to warn another vampire. "Hey! Guard the door! I'm almost finished!" When he went back to chopping, Buffy took her chance. She broke through the ceiling behind him, pulling him down with her as she dropped from the ceiling and quickly dispatched him with a stake.
When the ash cloud cleared, she could see Joyce looking through the hole in the door, but mercifully, she couldn't see much of anything in the dark. Buffy got up and looked through the hole. "Buffy! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, mom."
Joyce looked back over her shoulder for a moment. "Buffy, look, uh, get out of here, okay? We'll be alright!"
Buffy nodded. "Look, just hang on for one more minute until I tell you to open the door."
With a nod from her mother, she quietly made her way to the other hall, stake in hand. She peeked around the corner and saw the other vampire standing there with his back to her. She heard a noise behind her and looked at…
"Sheila!" she cried in a whisper. "Where've you been?"
The ne'er do well girl gave that sardonic smirk of hers. "Sorry I'm late. There's some really weird guys outside."
"Shh! Yeah, I know. They're trying to kill us."
Sheila, with remarkable acceptance of the situation, picked up the ax and smiled. "This should be fun." Not about to look a gift ally in the mouth, Buffy slowly headed back to the other hall.
Jesse watched, under the guard of one of the other vampires, as Spike continued poking the poles into the student lounge ceiling. The noises had stopped a while ago, and he wondered if he was only doing this to quell his frustrations. He remained quiet, seated on the floor against the wall, when Angel suddenly burst into the hall, dragging Xander behind him.
"Jesse!"
"Xander!"
Spike turned at the new arrivals. "Angelus!" he exclaimed cheerfully.
"Spike!" Angel replied, his game face on.
"I'll be damned!" Spike tossed his pole aside and they greeted each other with a hug and a laugh. Such a weird sight.
"I taught you to always guard your perimeter. Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should have someone out there."
"I did," Spike snorted. "I'm surrounded by idiots. What's new with you?"
"Everything."
"Yeah. Come up against this Slayer yet?"
"She's cute. Not too bright, though. Gave the puppy dog 'I'm all tortured' act. Keeps her off my back when I feed!" Angel laughed.
Spike chuckled, too. "People still fall for that Anne Rice routine. What a world!"
Jesse looked between them, almost fascinated. If Angel was bluffing, this was one helluva bluff. Xander, however – he wasn't sure if he was in on the plan or not. "I knew you were lying," he grunted as Angel gave him a squeeze to shut him up. "Undead liar guy."
Angel grabbed him by the hair and shirt and held up his exposed neck. "Wanna bite before we kill her?" he offered – much to Jesse's alarm.
Buffy and Sheila prepared to round the corner. "Stay behind me," she whispered. Sheila nodded, and she went into the other hall and quietly made her way to the vampire, holding her stake up and ready.
But then, she heard Giles' from down the hall call out to her. "Buffy! Look out!" She spun around and grabbed the ax from Sheila in mid-swing, now seeing she had a vampire face – Giles had spotted her from the library door window. She swung the ax around and hit Sheila in the jaw with the butt of the handle. The other vampire, having heard the commotion, attacked and ducks as Buffy swings the ax at him. The ax got buried in the wall. The vampire smiled as he straightened back up, thinking he avoided her blow, but then looked down at the stake protruding from his chest. He collapses to the floor and bursts into ashes. Buffy looked over at Sheila and watched her run from the hall, then rushed back to the classroom door.
"Mom, now!" she ordered.
Joyce immediately opened the door, leading the others out. "Okay, come on, let's go!" Everyone rushed out of the classroom and into the library, Snyder pushing his way to the front. "C'mon! Hurry!"
"Get them out!" Buffy ordered Giles.
The librarian nodded obediently, but Joyce hung back. "You're coming, too!"
But Buffy was already running. "In a minute! Go!" she cried as she rushed off.
Joyce watched her go, horrified. "Buffy!"
Jesse winced as Spike brought him over by the scruff of the neck once again. "I haven't seen you in the killing fields for an age," he was saying to Angel.
"I'm not much for company," Angel replied.
"No, you never were. So, why're you so scared of this Slayer?"
Angel looked a teeny bit affronted. "Scared?"
"Yeah. Time was you would've taken her out in a heartbeat. Now look at you. I bet this, uh, tortured thing is an act, right? You're not… housebroken?"
"I saw her kill the Master," Angel replied. "You better watch yourself. She's dim, but she's good, too." He gestured towards Jesse. "I see you got the tall one of her friends."
Spike chuckled as he put Jesse in a headlock. "McNally? Yeah, we've become right pals, haven't we?" he said to his captive.
Jesse struggled to breath in his grip. "You've got a friend in me," he gasped out, making the two vampires chuckle.
"He's got spirit, I'll say that much for him," Spike remarked.
"He's got more than that," Angel said knowingly. He paused dramatically. "He's the one that staked Darla."
The chuckle slowly died in Spike's throat, and he looked between Jesse and Angel in bemusement. "This one?" he asked. " This one staked your old lady?"
"Right in front of me. Ran her right through."
Spike looked at Jesse again, as if trying to see if he had some hidden quality that made him capable of doing something like that. "Bloody hell," he said quietly before holding him out. "And he's still alive? Would've thought you'd have killed him in a heartbeat."
Angel shrugged. "The Slayer got in the way. Like I said, she's tough. You think you can take her alone? Be my guest. I'll just feed and run." He bared his fangs and bent towards Xander's neck.
Jesse reflexively tried to intervene, but Spike's grip didn't weaken as he held up his free hand. "Don't be silly! We're all friends. We'll do it together. Let's drink to it."
He abruptly brought Jesse 'round so he could chomp into his neck, while Angel proceeded to do the same to Xander. Just when his fangs seemed to make contact, though, he abruptly launched Jesse into Angel and Xander, causing the former to lose his grip on the latter, and the two boys went crashing into each other at his side.
"You think you can fool me?! You were my sire, man! You were my… Yoda!"
Angel glared at him. "Things change."
"Not us ! Not demons ! Man, I can't believe this. You Uncle Tom !" He grabbed the metal pole from the floor and yelled at the onlooking vampires. "Come on, people! This isn't a spectator sport!"
The vampires roared and attacked. Seeing they would serve no purpose beyond being fang fodder, Jesse and Xander barged out the door behind them and ran. Angel followed as the other vampires gave chase.
Spike growled as the crowd fled the scene. Of course he knew about Angel's soul. Of bloody course he did. How could anyone not? He'd dared to hope that maybe he'd gotten short of it in the intervening years, or maybe he'd at least overcome it. But no – he'd given into it. Joined forces with the Slayer.
And that McNally – he'd seen the bite marks on his neck. Faded, yes, nearly gone, but there. If the kid really did stake Darla, he figured those were hers. Granted, he never thought much of Darla, and increasingly less so as the years went on, but he knew what she meant to Angel, and for him to not kill the man who dusted her on the spot… He shook his head. He really was too far gone.
But then, his thoughts were interrupted as he sniffed the air. A smile split his face, his fangs glistening in the dim light. "Fe, fi, fo fum. I smell the blood of a nice ripe…," he paused, turning until he saw her, " … girl."
She stood there, wielding an ax, looking absolutely gorgeous as she glared at him. "Do we really need weapons for this?" she asked.
Spike shrugged. "I just like them. They make me feel all manly." Then, he dropped the pole and slowly stepped toward Buffy, who dropped the ax. "The last Slayer I killed…," he said quietly, "she begged for her life." Okay, not strictly true, but he loved a good story. "You don't strike me as the begging kind."
She slowly walked toward him, unafraid. "You shouldn'ta come here."
"No. I've messed up your doilies and stuff. But I just got so bored." He smirked. "I'll tell you what. As a personal favor from me to you, I'll make it quick. It won't hurt a bit."
But her expression didn't change. "No, Spike. It's gonna hurt a lot."
Oh, he liked her. As a vampire, he naturally hated her for being the Slayer, but oh god, he almost hated to kill her for the fun this could be. Ah well. C'est la vie. He hurled himself at her fast, and she was ready.
Outside, Angel dealt with two vampires while Jesse and Xander tried to defend themselves from another. Xander had found a pair of metal trash can lids, and they used them as shields to protect themselves from the attacks. Angel managed to throw one of his vamps into the other, and with them dealt with, he saved the two boys from the third one, knocking him on his ass. Realizing they were outclassed, the three vampires retreated.
The fight continued for a few minutes. Buffy didn't want to say it out loud, but he was pretty good. She ducked a punch and landed four of her own in a row. Spike grabbed her arm and shoved her into the wall. She slid down it quickly, and his next punch went right through the wall. She got behind him and kicked him high and hard in the neck.
"Now, that hurt!" he snapped. He pulled his arm out of the wall, ripped a stud out with it, and swung it into Buffy's face. She flew back and landed on the floor, stunned. "But not as much as this will." He stood over her and wielded back the stud to slam it into her, but he got hit in the head with the blunt end of the previously discarded fire ax. He went sprawling to the floor and looked up at his attacker.
Buffy followed his gaze. Joyce stood above him with the ax in her hands, ready to swing again. "You get the hell away from my daughter!"
While Spike, clearly startled by this intrusion, held the stud above himself to protect against any blows, Buffy got to her feet, ready to stake him if he tried something. He was still in the shadows, so her mom couldn't see his vamp face, but at this point, she was ready to blow her cover if it meant protecting her mom.
Spike finally relented, grumbling to himself. "Women!" He got up and ran through the lounge and out the broken window.
Buffy caught her breath, and she noticed just how hard Joyce was breathing, too. She put a hand on her shoulder. "Mom… what…?"
Joyce let out a breath and dropped the ax. "Nobody… lays a hand… on my little girl," she panted. They embraced, and Buffy felt like maybe tonight hadn't been so bad after all. She looked out the window thoughtfully.
Police swarmed the area, searching for any sign of the hooligans who had caused all the trouble. The Police Chief walked across the campus, giving his officers their orders to perform. Once certain he had everyone doing their jobs, he crossed the yard to Principal Snyder, who waited patiently. "Hello, Bob," he said in his usual professional tone.
"It's over. They all got away," said Bob. "I got a body inside, and I got another one on the south lawn. And it looks like he was pulled right through the window."
Snyder shook his head. "I told him not to go through that window."
Bob eyed him for a moment, but decided not to call him out on the obvious lie. "I need to say something to the media people."
"So?"
"So? You want the usual story? Gang-related? PCP?"
Snyder regarded him with a knowing expression. "What'd you have in mind? The truth?"
Bob knew he had a point, but it still felt weird covering this sort of thing up. "Right," he said at last. "Gang-related. PCP." Snyder nodded, and they went their separate ways. It was nights like tonight that Bob really hated life on the Hellmouth.
Xander and Jesse tried to keep up with Angel as they made their way around to the front of the school. "So, when you guys were about to munch on our necks, why didn't you attack him before he attacked you?" Xander asked.
"I told you," Angel replied. "I couldn't make the first move. I had to see if he was buying it or not."
"A-and if he bit me, what then?" asked Jesse, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"We would've known he bought it." They both stared at him, but Jesse saw the faintest twinkle in his eye and almost laughed.
"Well, look at you with a sense of humor."
Angel rolled his eyes, but he smirked nonetheless as they carried on.
Xander, however, had one more question. "Hey, what's the deal with you being Spike's sire? What's a sire?"
Buffy smiled as she spotted Angel nearby with Xander and Jesse talking animatedly to him, and him looking like he was almost enjoying it. She also spotted Giles leaving with Jenny holding onto his arm, both of them looking exhausted. She continued on with her mother as they headed for the car.
"So, what did you and Principal Snyder talk about anyway?" she asked hesitantly.
Joyce took a deep breath. "Principal Snyder said you were a troublemaker," she replied, and Buffy looked down in shame. "And I could care less," she continued, making Buffy look back up. "I have a daughter who can take care of herself. Who's brave and resourceful and thinks of others in a crisis. No matter who you hang out with or what dumb teenage stuff you think you need to do, I'm gonna sleep better knowing all that."
Buffy almost felt like she was going to cry, just to know that despite everything, her mother was proud of her. "About how long till this wears off and you start ragging on me again?" she asked just to make the moment less sappy.
"Oh, at least a week and a half," Joyce smiled.
"Very cool!"
With a chuckle, they got in the car, and they drove off, the rest of the police cars finally turning off their disco lights and going in different directions. Not a bad Parent-Teacher night, for sure.
She still couldn't shake the feeling she'd forgotten something…
Willow stared in disbelief as Cordelia continued to pray. She'd been at this for nearly two hours. God, this girl could talk.
"And if you get me out of this, I swear I'll never be mean to anyone ever again. Unless they really deserve it. Or if it's that time of the month, in which case I don't think you or anyone else can hold me responsible…"
Willow leaned her head against the wall despairingly. Could Spike just show up and kill them already? "Ask for some aspirin."
"And can you please send some asp… Hey!"
Morning came as per usual, and the sun came up over the complex where the vampires gathered. Sunlight streamed in through a high window. Most of it had been kept out with huge shutters that the other vamps set to work closing.
Spike stood by a small cage, still stewing over last night. So close, yet so far. Had her right in her grasp, but the blasted maternal instinct had thwarted him. Still, he had to give them credit – even her mother could fight with the best of them. Trying to look on the bright side, it meant the chase could continue a little longer. As much as he wanted to kill her, he loved the idea of fighting a Slayer long-term. The last one had taken more than one try, after all, and he'd still got there in the end. He just had to enjoy the ride.
Drusilla walked around the cage to him, her eyes wide at the large bruise on his forehead. "Spike, did she hurt you?"
Spike nodded reluctantly. "I was close, baby," he sighed. He hated to disappoint her.
But she simply took him in her arms and held him close, soothing him. "Come here," she whispered, stroking his head.
"A Slayer with family and friends," Spike sighed. "That sure as hell wasn't in the brochure."
Drusilla spoke only in reassuring tones. "You'll kill her. And then, we'll have a nice party."
Spike nodded along, noting the Anointed One and Lean Boy, not to mention the other surviving vamps all glared at him from the other side of the room. "Yeah, a party," he murmured.
"With streamers and songs…"
Spike kept his eyes on all the other eyes looking like they wanted to fry him. "How's the Annoying One?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation on track.
Drusilla followed his gaze to the little tyke. "He doesn't want to play," she said sadly.
"Figures." He pulled away from her and steeled himself. "Suppose I better go make nice." Summoning the little self-control and the even-less maturity he had within him, he walked as hungdog as he could before the Anointed One. Under all their expectant gazes, he reluctantly got down on one knee and bowed his head.
"You failed," the Anointed One said, stating the bleeding obvious.
"Yeah, I, uh, I… offer penance," he said as respectfully as he could.
"Penance?!" repeated Lean Boy disbelievingly. "You should lay down your life! Our numbers are depleted. The Feast of St Vigeous has been ruined by your impatience!"
"Should I forgive you?" asked the Anointed One, sounding very much like he wouldn't.
Spike struggled to hold it together. Damn, these guys had some serious sticks up their behinds. "I was… rash ," he forced out of himself. "And… if I had to do it all over again…"
He could feel the smile on his face, and he just had to laugh. Oh, he couldn't do it. These losers were stuck in the Dark Ages. They needed a change in management.
" Who am I kidding ?!" he laughed, enjoying their bemused faces – and the Annoying One's blank face – as he got back to his feet. "I'd do it exactly the same, only I'd do this first!"
In one fell swoop, he snatched up the Annoying One over his shoulders and carried him like a roll of carpet towards the cage. Lean Boy attempted to attack him, but he gave him a fierce kick to the chest without even stopping. He slammed the boy in the cage, locking the door before he could get out. He grinned at Drusilla, who started to grin back, liking where this was going.
He grabbed a nearby chain and started to pull, and with each violent tug, the cage jerked into the air – towards the sunlight. "From now on," he declared loudly, "we're gonna have a little less ritual ," he paused, and the cage stopped just a little bit out of the sun's reach, "and a little more fun around here!"
One final tug, and the cage jerked up right into the sunlight. Spike and Drusilla smiled at each other as His Annoyance went up in flames, his cries warped by his body exploding into dust. They crossed to each other, taking each other's hands.
"Let's see what's on TV," he smiled, and he led her over the stunned Lean Boy, who simply stared in shock at the empty cage, wisps of smoke curling off the iron in the early morning sun.