Chapter 6
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Disclaimer: The characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Same goes for
any characters from Angel that should appear. Any other characters are mine and
may be used for other fanfic (Just note that they’re
mine if you use them.)
Content rating note: This fic
is rated PG-13.
Continuity note: This story takes place after Chapt. 5. The whole story takes place after the Buffy
episode “Showtime” and diverges into AU from there. It’s also a rewrite of
post-Showtime season 7 and the prequel to Summer
Vacation. Some of the things that happened in post-Showtime season 7 may
happen to some extent (and with liberties taken), and others…not so much. I
used www.buffyworld.com as my resource
for any dialog and such that I kept from the episodes. “Spin the Bottle” is the
last episode of Angel that counts as canon for this fic,
so anything that occurs after may or may not apply to this series.
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1
“We need a
plan,” Buffy said. “Who’s gotta plan?
“I- I can put a better seal on the Hellmouth, in terms of keeping the door closed,” Willow said, “but it’s nothing a halfway experienced witch or warlock couldn’t undo.”
“And I’m sure The First has some of those on it’s team, somewhere,” said Anya.
“To undo my
seal, all you would need would be some Skench phlegm,
a few candles, and the proper incantation. And then you’d have to break the
original seal again, of course. But all you need is a lot of blood or some
powerful blood, for that,” said
“Ooh, Skench phlegm – Pricey!” Anya exclaimed.
“You know, it’s too bad we can’t just make a nuclear bomb or something to drop down there and nuke the suckers,” said Xander.
“Yeah~” Andrew said, walking into the kitchen, “La Bomba.”
“Right on!” Xander said as he clasped Andrew’s shoulder.
“I could make us one,” Andrew said excitedly. “I actually have a replica already made. All I need to do is insert the plutonium and it’s ready to go.”
“You have a replica of La Bomba made? Awesome!” Xander exclaimed.
“Okay, what the hell is ‘La Bomba’?” Buffy asked.
“It’s the nuclear bomb that John Crichton made in Farscape that destroyed the heart of a Scarran Juggernaut in the penultimate episode of season four,” Andrew replied.
“Sorry I asked,” Buffy said.
“There’s only one little problem with your little plan,” Spike said. “If you nuke the Hellmouth, you nuke Sunnydale.”
“Unless…” Giles began. All eyes turned toward
him and he cleared his throat. “Unless,
“And she could that! I bet she could do that!” Anya shouted, looking from Spike to Giles.
“I- I would
have to borrow power from everyone here,”
“We can lend you power, Will. Can’t we, everyone?” Xander asked.
Everyone mumbled various answers to the affirmative. The few Potentials still milling around the kitchen shrugged.
“Now all we need is the plutonium,” Anya said cheerily.
“No problem. I already have some,” said Andrew, looking very pleased with himself.
“How did you get all this stuff?!” Buffy asked.
“I bought it with the money I made when I was a super villain,” Andrew replied.
“That’s frightening,” Giles said, taking off his glasses to polish.
“Thanks,” Andrew said.
“Sorry!” he squeaked. “Right. Because I’m one of the good guys now.”
“In a manner of speaking,” Giles said dryly.
“So, where is this plutonium, Andrew?” Buffy asked, leaning on the kitchen island.
“It’s in my room back at Mom and Dad’s, with La Bomba. Well, actually La Bomba is sitting on the display shelf and the plutonium is in a special case that keeps out the radiation.”
“And you have a radiation suit, right?” Xander asked.
“Sure, of course I do.”
“All right, well let’s gather everyone, tell ‘em the plan, and get…” Buffy paused to sigh and roll her eyes, “La Bomba.”
2
Faith lay in her cell at the Northern California Women’s Correctional Facility, looking at the moonlight through the bars on her window. She couldn’t sleep. An uneasy feeling gnawed at her. Faith sighed and closed her eyes. It’s probably just because I’m getting a new roommate tomorrow, Faith thought. Wonder what kind chick they’ll stick me with this time? At that moment Faith heard the door of her cell slide open. She sat up quickly and stood by her bed.
“Hey. Midnight inspection?” Faith asked the guard. She didn’t recognize her. Was she new?
The guard took something small out of her pocket, pointed it at Faith, and pressed the trigger. Faith looked down at her arm to see a very small dart stuck into it. “Mother fucker,” Faith said, as she plucked to dart from her arm. She took two steps before falling over unconscious.
3
Buffy and Spike followed Andrew down the basement stairwell of his house. He pulled out his house key and unlocked the door with a click.
As they walked into the room, Buffy and Spike looked around. The saw several workbenches strewn with spare parts off of who-knows-what, and many display shelves filled with Star Wars and Star Trek figures and memorabilia. Andrew went to a display shelf across the room and began looking through it. After a while he exclaimed, “Ah ha! Found it.” He held up a bullet shaped bomb, festooned with a few lights and wires. The bomb was about the size of a canning jar and had writing etched on the side of it, in what appeared to be white chalk. It said ‘Hi THERE’.
“Great. Now where’s the plutonium?” Buffy asked.
“It’s in the closet, right next to you,” he replied.
Buffy looked to her left and saw two double sliding doors. She slid one open and a few balls of dirty laundry rolled out. “Ew,” Buffy said. “Spike, I think I’ll hand this task over to you.”
“Gee, thanks, Slayer,” Spike said, giving her a good-natured smirk. Then he began digging through the closet, tossing out dirty laundry, slippers, and a few magazines.
“Studs?” Buffy queried, looking down at one of the magazines.
Spike stopped his rifling and looked at a magazine he had in his hand. It had a picture of a beefy tan guy on the cover, wearing nothing but a skimpy Speedo. Above the tan guy’s head was the word STUDS in big puffy letters. Spike shrugged, threw the magazine over his shoulder, and went back to digging through the closet.
“Um, uh, they’re- they’re not mine,” Andrew stammered, shifting his weight nervously.
“I’m not judging,” Spike said, as he continued to dig.
“I am,” Buffy said, stifling a laugh.
“N-no, really! They’re not mine. I’m, uh, storing them for a friend,” Andrew said.
“Oh, look. Here’s a Playboy,” Spike said, before tossing it over his shoulder.
“Is that one yours?” Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow at Andrew.
“No! No! None of them are mine! I’m holding them all for a friend!” Andrew said, becoming agitated and jumpy. “They- they were Jonathan’s!”
“Finally! ‘Bout bloody time!” Spike said, as he yanked out a silver crate. He set it down and brushed a few socks off of it. There were radiation hazard symbols on each side of the crate.
“The- the radiation suit is in a duffle bag next to where the crate was,” Andrew said, glad to change the subject.
Buffy wrinkled her nose at the mess and grabbed the duffle bag out of the closet. She slung it over her shoulder. “All right, let’s go,” she said.
At that moment, the basement door behind them burst open with a splintering crack, and three Bringers charged in. Andrew screamed as the first Bringer raised his ax to Buffy and attempted to bring it down upon her. She grabbed the handle of the ax as it fell and attempted to wrestle it out of the Bringer’s hands. Meanwhile, Spike kicked the second Bringer and knocked him back into the third.
Buffy shook her Bringer around like a rag doll as he continued to hang on to the ax. Finally, Buffy kicked him away, turned the ax sharp-side forward, and brought it down into the Bringer’s chest. She gave him a couple more whacks with it, for good measure.
Spike growled and stomped the Bringers on the floor. The one on top attempted to get up and Spike kicked him in the face. The other Bringer slid out from underneath and scrambled away towards the door. Spike grabbed the prone Bringer’s ax and threw it at the retreating Bringer. It struck, embedding itself in the Bringers back and bringing him down.
Buffy threw down her ax and shook some blood off her hands. “Maybe we should bring that one in for questioning,” she said, looking towards the still unconscious Bringer.
Spike nodded his head and grabbed the Bringer by the collar. Suddenly, the Bringer sprung to consciousness, pulled a dagger, and stabbed Spike in the gut with it. Spike made a pained noise and dropped the Bringer. He backed away, with the dagger still embedded. “Son of a bitch!” he exclaimed, looking at the wound.
Andrew made a worried noise, and clutched the bomb to his chest.
The Bringer made a run for the door but found Buffy there waiting for him. She socked him in the face, sending him flying backwards. The Bringer landed near Spike, who then pulled the dagger from his gut with a wince. Spike morphed into vamp face, snarled, and stabbed the Bringer in the heart.
“So much for questioning,” Buffy said.
“Sorry, luv,” Spike said, morphing back to human face. He grimaced and placed a hand over his wound.
“I- I have a First Aid kit-,” Andrew began.
“No. No, that’s okay,” Spike said, cutting him off. “Better get back to home base, first. Before any other nasties come after us.”
Buffy nodded her head, and helped Spike up. She paused a moment to inspect his wound.
Andrew sighed, and smiled. He began to picture Spike as an injured WWII soldier and Buffy as a WWII nurse. He stood daydreaming for a moment.
“What are you smiling about, you nit!?” Spike snapped.
“N-Nothing,” Andrew replied, blinking.
Buffy hefted the case of plutonium. “C’mon, let’s go,” she said.
4
Faith woke up to find herself curled up in a dark, confined space. Damn, that must have been some powerful stuff, Faith thought as she rubbed the spot where the dart hit. She felt around and could feel wiry carpeting under her fingers. “Great, I’m in a car trunk,” she muttered dryly. She wriggled into a good kicking position and prepared to kick. She struck the roof of the trunk twice before she heard the unmistakable sound of a key being inserted into the lock, and turning. The trunk sprang open and Buffy looked down at her.
“Hi, Faith,” Buffy said, cheerily.
“What the hell?” said Faith, standing up. She looked to both sides of Buffy and saw two demon men in robes, with runes where their eyes should be, holding axes.
“I’m sorry, but you’re about to be exterminated,” Buffy said. “You’re just dead weight in that jail and it’s a real waste of Slayer power. So I’m having you killed to make way for a new Slayer that hopefully won’t go evil.”
“Hey, bitch, I’m not evil! Anymore. You can’t be serious, B!” exclaimed Faith.
Buffy motioned to the robed demons and they moved forward to swing their axes at Faith. The brunette Slayer jumped and backflipped onto the roof of the car, as the demons brought down their weapons. “You fucking bitch!” Faith yelled.
Faith leapt off the car roof towards Buffy. Buffy bobbed and weaved as Faith threw punches and kicks, none of which connected. The robed demons descended upon Faith again, and she turned to give them a couple roundhouse kicks. She pushed them back, into the trunk, and then slammed the lid down on their heads. The robed demons slumped forward and seemed to be dead. Faith grabbed an ax and chopped their heads off with it to be sure. Then she turned to face Buffy.
“Working with demons?! Taking me out of jail, where I was serving my time and being all reformed and shit, and trying to fucking kill me?! Are you the bad Slayer, now?!”
“I guess it depends on your point of view,” Buffy said.
“Well, from where I stand, I’d say you’ve finally snapped, B. All the power of being a Slayer has finally gone to your head. And I should know – been there, done that, an’ all.”
Buffy said nothing, just folded her arms and smirked.
“Well, you wanna’ kill me? Then come on. Bring it, bitch,” Faith said, stepping forward.
“Eh, I’ll bring it later,” Buffy said, shrugging. She turned and began walking away, towards the exit of the empty lot they were in.
“Like hell!” Faith said, as she began to stalk after Buffy, fists clenched and ready for a fight.
Buffy walked
faster and faster, out of the lot, and Faith followed. Soon Buffy was running
into the suburbs of Sunnydale with Faith chasing after her. A few streets from
Buffy’s home on
5
Buffy, Spike, and Andrew walked down the sidewalk, a couple blocks from Buffy’s home. Buffy was carrying the plutonium, and Andrew carried the bomb in addition to the duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Spike held a hand over the stab wound in his gut, and tried to stay alert for trouble.
Up ahead, Faith was hiding behind a rosebush. She had decided to stake out Buffy’s street, figuring that the blonde Slayer would be returning home soon enough. Faith noticed the crate, plastered with radiation hazard symbols. What the hell? Is she going to try nuking me next? Faith wondered. And why is the vampire Spike with her? And who’s that other kid? Faith shook her head and made ready to pounce.
Faith did a front flip out from behind the rosebush, and landed brandishing the Bringer ax. “All right, let’s finish this!” she yelled.
Buffy and Spike stopped and gave her a perplexed look.
Andrew startled and exclaimed, “It’s Faith, the rogue Slayer! She’s escaped from prison and gone bad, again!”
“I’ve gone bad?! I’ve gone bad?! She tried to kill me!” Faith exclaimed. “And she’s working with William the Bloody slayer of Slayers. And who the hell knows who you are?”
Buffy sat down the crate. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! I so did not try and kill you. Not recently, anyway.”
“Oh, yes you did, B! I saw you with my own eyes. You tried to have a couple Druid-demon-rejects take me out!”
Spike chuckled and said, “Oh, I know what’s going on… You’ve had a run in with The First.”
“It can take the shape of anyone that’s ever died, whether they are currently living or undead or not. And those demons you were fighting were Harbingers of the First,” explained Buffy.
“Also known as Bringers,” added Andrew.
“That’s a handy excuse,” Faith said, narrowing her eyes.
“If I was going to kill you, I’d do it myself, instead of sending two measly demons after you,” Buffy said. “The First is incorporeal, so it has to have others do its dirty work. You know I prefer to do my own slaying.”
Spike smiled and added, “Besides, I’d like to think that if she was going to send someone to kill you, she’d choose me. Since I have killed two Slayers, before.” Buffy looked at him with an incredulous scowl. “Uh, not that I’m in the business of killing Slayers, anymore, of course. Just a hypothetical.”
“Don’t you have a chip in your head that prevents you from even trying to kill me?” asked Faith.
“I don’t have the chip anymore,” Spike said.
“I had the Initiative guys take it out,” Buffy explained. “Spike has a soul, now.”
Faith started to lower her ax a bit. “So, you’re telling me he’s like Angel now?”
“No,” Spike said, scowling.
“Sort of,” said Buffy.
“I am nothing like Angel,” Spike asserted.
“Spike won his soul for the love of the Slayer,” Andrew said slyly.
“Huh?” Faith asked.
Spike sighed and folded his arms across his chest. “Long story short,” he said, “I fell in love with Buffy, gave up evil, and eventually decided to win a soul so that we could be together. Not that we are.”
Faith lowered her ax all the way. “All right…I believe you. No way would you try and pull off a story as ridiculous as that unless it were true.”
“I think I’m insulted,” said Spike.
As Faith slung the ax over her shoulder, she wondered how William the Bloody, slayer of Slayers, could up and fall in love with one. And then she remembered the body switch. Faith looked at Spike. “Did you start mackin’ on Buffy after I hit on you in her body?”
“What?” Buffy and Spike asked simultaneously.
“You know, B. When we body switched. I told Spike, while in your body, that I wanted to ride him till he popped like warm champagne, or something.”
“Oh, my God!!” Buffy exclaimed, eyes widening.
“That was you?!” Spike added.
“You thought that was really me?!” Buffy asked, turning to him.
“She was in your body! How was I to know you weren’t you. Granted it didn’t sound typical of you at the time, but you can be kind of unpredictable, luv,” Spike said. Then he turned to Faith. “Oh, and by the way, I was still trying to kill Buffy for months after that. I didn’t realize I was in love with Buffy till later, and it wasn’t anything you said. Gave me nice fantasies later on, though.”
Buffy put her hand to her forehead and sighed.
“Anyway…” Faith said as she looked down at the crate. “What’s up with the radioactive crap? And who is this guy?” she asked motioning towards Andrew.
“Hi, I’m Andrew. I’m Tucker’s brother. I released a flock of flying monkeys on the school play, and last year I was part of a trio of supervillains. But I’ve reformed and now fight alongside Buffy.”
“Translation: He cowers while we fight and occasionally makes himself useful,” said Buffy. “He does seem truly repentant, if a little delusional at times.”
“Is it just me, or is Sunnydale even weirder than when I left?” Faith said.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Buffy replied. “Come on over to my house, and I’ll explain everything. And you can tell us what the hell you’re doing here and not in prison.”
“Then, if you’re on the side of good, you can help us fight The First Evil,” added Andrew.
“Oh, swell. That sounds like fun,” Faith said dryly.
“Oh, yeah – loads of gut wrenching fun,” Spike replied.
Back in the lair of The First, the non corporeal entity took the shape of Mayor Wilkins and said, “Well, fiddlesticks! That wasn’t the way it was supposed to go at all.”
6
When they arrived at the house, Buffy shooed all the Potentials down to the basement and gathered the core gang in the living room. After Faith was filled in on the latest Sunnydale happenings, Faith filled Buffy and the others in on her kidnapping from prison.
“So, now that you’re here, are you going to stay and help us out with The First Evil?” Anya asked. “I mean, I figure we can use all the help we can get, right?” Everyone else made sour expressions at the thought.
“Got nothin’ better to do, I guess,” Faith said, putting a foot on the coffee table. “Besides, going back to jail might be a little awkward now and I figure I owe that First Evil a figurative ass beating for screwing up my stay there. I was doing a damn fine job of repenting until that bitch-ass First Evil came along.”
“Let’s hope you really were doing a ‘damn fine job’ of repenting, because I don’t want to have to deal with you later,” Buffy said.
“Think you can take me?” Faith asked.
“Perhaps we should introduce Faith to the Potentials, if she’s staying,” Giles said, as he resigned himself to having yet another loose canon in the house to worry about.
Buffy nodded her head and then called the Potentials into the room, to be introduced to Faith. After that, Buffy assigned Faith a room and everyone went to bed. It was decided that a good night’s sleep would be best before anyone attempted to work with radioactive materials.
During the night, The First came to Faith several times as Mayor Wilkins, but to no avail. Faith was unmoved by anything it had to say. Although she did swear at it a lot. And threw things.
7
The next day,
Andrew began inspecting the bomb for flaws and imperfections, while
Faith soon tired of the hectic atmosphere and retreated to the basement. There she found Spike, sitting on his cot, shirt off, and reading a book. The laundry machine was chugging away in the background. “Mind if I join you?” Faith asked.
Spike looked up from his book. “Go right ahead.”
“Thanks,” Faith said, taking a seat on the cot. She pulled a pack of cigarettes out from her pocket and offered one to Spike.
“No thanks,” he said.
“You quit?” she asked, lighting one up for herself.
“Yeah. Just smoked ‘em cause all the cool kids were doing it, anyway” he said with a wry little grin.
“So it was all about style, huh?”
“Pretty much. Seemed like the kind of thing bad boys were supposed to do,” Spike said, setting down his book.
“Well, I’m addicted. Don’t vampires get addicted, or are you immune to that like you are the big C?” Faith asked.
“Psychologically addicted, but not physically. I kind of miss having something to put in my mouth, but other than that, I can take ‘em or leave ‘em.”
“Hm,” Faith said, flicking her ash. She took another drag and decided to change the subject. “So, you got a soul and little Miss Tightly-Wound still won’t got out with you, huh?”
Spike looked down and smiled bemusedly. “It’s complicated,” he said.
“She love someone else? That Riley guy still around?”
“No (hopefully) and no,” Spike replied. “We had an affair before and it got…messy.”
“So you got your soul, had an affair with her, and it didn’t work out.”
“No,” Spike said with a chuckle. “The affair was before.”
Faith raised her eyebrows momentarily. “No shit?”
“None whatsoever, pet,” Spike replied.
“Well smack my ass and call me Daisy,” Faith said with a wry smile. “So did the unthinkable happen and she fell in love with your or did the other unthinkable happen and she just used you to have an ultra kinky torrid affair?”
Spike chuckled in spite of himself. “Sadly, the latter,” he replied.
“Well, well, well… Little Miss High and Mighty got her naughty on. And at your expense,” Faith said. “Now, see, that’s why I don’t fall in love. I’d rather just have my fun, no strings attached, no messy feelings getting in the way and ruining what should be a good time. You fall in love, and you get used. You forget who’s on top.”
“Can happen,” Spike said.
“Why bother?” Faith asked, leaning back.
“Can’t help it,” Spike said, still smiling slightly. “And it’s not like it has to go like that. When it’s good, it’s glorious. Had that with Dru for decades.”
“Didn’t last though, did it?”
“No. But it only has to last once.”
“You really are a hopeless romantic, aren’t you?” Faith asked, playfully pushing him on the shoulder.
“Yeah…I’m hopeless, all right,” Spike said.
8
Buffy came down the basement stairs and saw Spike and Faith sitting on his cot together. Buffy frowned. Why is his shirt off? she wondered. Buffy pursed her lips and approached them. “Am I interrupting anything?” she asked.
“Hey, B,” Faith said.
“Just chatting,” answered Spike.
“With your shirt off?” Buffy asked.
Faith smirked. Well, well, somebody’s jealous.
“Clean ones are in the dryer,” Spike said, motioning to the chugging machine.
“Oh,” Buffy said, and then added, “I hope you aren’t planning on doing all of your pants at once too, because that could be a bit awkward. And drafty.”
Spike laughed. “I’d like to think I have more sense than that, luv.”
“Well, you’d like to think that, but sometimes I wonder,” she said lightly.
“Pfft!” Spike said, and smirked at her.
Faith quirked an eyebrow, and then she smiled as a wicked idea entered her brain. “So…tell me B, would I be poaching if I made a move on ol’ Willie, here?” she asked.
“What?” she asked, frowning. “You wanna’ make a move on Spike?”
Spike gave Faith a strange look.
“Sure, as long as I’m not stepping on any toes,” Faith said to Buffy slyly, ignoring Spike’s look.
Buffy’s expression soured further. What the hell?! Buffy thought. Since when did she care about not stepping on toes?! And why is she always trying to steal my boyfriends?? Buffy suppressed the urge to punch Faith in the face and said, “I don’t think that this is the time for that now. We’ve got an apocalypse to avert.”
“So if we all survive and evil is vanquished, I can hit on him then?” Faith asked, smirking.
No! Buffy thought, as she scowled at Faith. “I’d prefer that you didn’t,” she said.
Spike turned his attention to Buffy and raised his eyebrows a bit, hopefully.
“Why not?” Faith asked, with a glint in her eye.
Buffy folded her arms and with a self-satisfied look, said, “I think he can do better.”
Faith sprang off the cot and threw her cigarette to the floor, crushing it out with her shoe. “So, you think you’re better than me?”
“Yes. But that’s beside the point,” Buffy quipped.
Well, that was vaguely complimentary, Spike thought. Then he sighed and leaned back against the wall.
Before Buffy and Faith could launch into a fight, Andrew interrupted by tromping down the stairs with Xander and Giles in tow. The latter two were carrying the crate of plutonium while Andrew carried the bomb and radiation suit. After setting the crate down, Giles pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow. “Would someone pull the table to the center of the room, please,” Giles asked.
“What’s up?” Buffy asked, as she pulled out the old plywood table.
“It’s bomb makin’ time!” Xander said, rubbing his hands together. And then he noticed the still shirtless Spike. “Ummm, why is Spike’s shirt off?”
“Doin’ my laundry. Last clean shirt got ruined,” Spike replied, pointing to the bandage on his lower right abdomen.
“Good thing you didn’t get stabbed in the leg or you’d be sitting here pants-less,” Xander said.
“Huh, Buffy said the same thing,” Faith said. “You two have the same kind of dirty mind.”
Buffy exhaled defiantly. “There’s nothing dirty about a simple observation,” she said, putting her hands on her hips.
“Yeah!” Xander added.
Giles cleared his throat. “We’ll need everyone out of the room. Except for Andrew, who will be wearing the radiation suit, and Spike, who I assume doesn’t need one.”
“Nope. Me an’ Dru toured
“Good. That is as it should be,” said Giles, giving Spike a disdainful look.
After everyone cleared out, Andrew put on his radiation suit while Spike stopped the dryer to check on his shirts. After declaring them dry enough, he put one on. “Need any help?” he asked Andrew.
“No, but thank you,” replied Andrew, his voice muffled by the suit.
Spike sat and watched as Andrew opened up a compartment on the bomb and then opened the case of plutonium. Andrew carefully pulled out a vial of plutonium and took it over to the bomb. As he was about to insert it, First!Jonathan appeared in front of him and said, “Boo!”
Andrew startled, but held onto the vial. “You startled me, ass-wipe!”
“Should you really be calling me names?” First!Jonathan said, as he morphed into Zombie-Jonathan.
“Ew! Go away!” said Andrew.
“Yeah, fuck off,” Spike added.
The First glared at Spike and then turned back to Andrew who was attempting to insert the plutonium, once more. First!Zombie-Jonathan swiped at Andrew and made various noises. “Stop it! You’re distracting me!” cried Andrew.
“Well, duh,” said First!Zombie-Jonathan.
“Hey, First Evil, bite my ass!” Spike said, while turning around and punctuating the sentence with a smack to his bottom.
The First morphed into Buffy and glared at Spike. The vampire laughed and continued to taunt the apparition. First!Buffy morphed into Decomposing-Buffy and ambled Spike’s way. The smile was wiped of off Spike’s face. “It’s your fault I died, you know,” First!Decomp-Buffy said.
“Got it!” Andrew exclaimed, as he clicked the plutonium into place and closed up La Bomba.
The First whipped its head around and said, “Dammit!” It gave Spike one last glare and then disappeared in a blink of light.
“Spike, I’m so glad you were here!” exclaimed Andrew. “Are you okay?”
Spike sat down on the cot, a pained expression on his face. “Damn First,” he said. “That’ll give me nightmares for weeks. And I already have plenty of nightmare fodder as it is.”
9
Buffy gathered
everyone into the living room, passed out weapons, and went over the plan one
more time. “First, we storm the school and slay any demons that get in our way.
Second, we gather around the seal and bleed on it till it opens. With all of us
bleeding on it, it shouldn’t take much individually. Third, we join hands in a
circle around the seal so
“Why Spike?” Xander asked.
“Because he
knows Greek and he has faster reflexes than Giles,” Buffy answered. “Next,
“We kiss our butts goodbye,” said Anya.
“It’s daylight now, so we’ll head out at nightfall. Until then, let’s all try to rest and save our energy for the battle ahead,” said Buffy.
In the dining
room,
“There, there, Red,” Spike said, patting her on the shoulder. “Buck up. You can do it.”
Spike put his
hand to her cheek and wiped away a tear. “There now, no tears. You’ll wear
yourself out if you start,” he said. “Besides,
“Look who you’re asking?” he said, almost laughing. And then he sighed. “But it would probably do more harm than good. Could just wind up screwing things up more as you fix the stuff you want.”
“True.”
Spike smiled back and nodded.
“Let’s go over the spell one more time,” she said.
“Right, then,” he agreed. “Once more.”
10
Spike lazily punched the speed bag hanging in the basement. He felt too nervous to sleep. He repeated the spell in his head, over and over, so that he wouldn’t forget where the end was and at the right moment, he envisioned throwing the bomb into the Hellmouth. “Kaboom,” he mumbled.
Buffy came down the basement stairs, looking for Spike. “Ah ha, there you are,” she said. When he didn’t answer and continued to punch the speed bag, she called out his name. Buffy walked closer to him, continuing to call his name to no avail. When she was right behind him she could here him mumbling in some language she didn’t understand. The spell? she wondered. Buffy looked down at Spike’s bottom and thought of pinching it to get his attention. Then she thought of doing much naughtier things and blushed. Stop it, she said to herself.
Spike stopped and turned around, bumping into Buffy. “Oh. Buffy… Sorry, luv. Didn’t see you there,” he said.
“That’s okay,” she said, putting on a chipper smile. “Are you scared?”
“Shitless.”
“Heh, me too.”
Spike cautiously wrapped his arms around Buffy and held her close. Buffy closed her eyes and hugged back. “Thank you,” she whispered. She wished she could sort out her feelings and tell him she loved him, right now. I know I have feelings for him. But is it love? According-to-Hoyle love? Buffy wondered.
Spike began kissing the side of her head tenderly, accidentally getting her ear in the process. Buffy let out a soft gasp. Spike released her and stepped back. “Sorry! I’m sorry! Didn’t mean to do that! Only meant friendly, comforting kisses on the head, and nothing more!” he said, his expression worried.
“I know. I know,” said Buffy, touching her ear where he kissed it. “It’s okay.” She walked towards him. “I was just startled.”
Spike remembered how she used to be startled by his barest touch, and looked down shamefully.
Buffy touched his face, causing him to raise his head and look at her. “I wasn’t startled in a scared way,” she assured him. “I’m not scared of you. I trust you now, remember?” She felt as if her heart would break, looking into his guilt-ridden eyes. “Like you trust me?” she asked.
Spike closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers. Then they embraced once more. Buffy held him tight, her lips pressed against his shoulder as she peered out over it. Then she bent her head down until her forehead rested against his shoulder instead. “I didn’t always listen to your ‘no’ either. Like on that day…when I was invisible. Heck, I didn’t even ask before I…,” she said.
“I know. I remember,” Spike replied, still holding her.
“I would listen now, you know. If you wanted me to leave right now, you’d just have to say the word,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t send her away.
“I know,” was all he said.
After a few minutes, Buffy sighed in relief, realizing he wasn’t going to send her away. “Do you want to lay down for a bit?” she asked.
“All right.”
They lay down on Spike’s cot, and held each other.
11
Night fell and the troops moved out. They descended upon the high school with cross bows, swords, spears and axes. It didn’t take long to encounter the Bringers. It took half the night for them to hack through the school, killing wave after wave of Bringers. Several Potentials fell in battle, never making it to the basement. And a several more fell during the battles down there. It was nearly daylight by the time they had reached the seal and defeated the Bringers defending it.
Everyone
gathered in a circle around the seal. Buffy took out a small knife and made a
small slash across her palm, and then she passed the knife on around the
circle. Once everyone had drawn their own blood from their palms, they held
there hands over the seal, palms down. The blood dripped onto the seal causing
it to glow momentarily and then disappear completely. Spike unclipped La Bomba from the belt Andrew had fashioned for it, and stood
precariously close to the edge of the Hellmouth. Everyone else joined hands and
As soon as the
seal began to reform, The First appeared and went from person to person in
quick succession, trying to spook someone into breaking the circle and running.
The group could hear guttural growls from inside the Hellmouth, as the army of Turok-Han worked to claw their way to the top before the
seal closed completely. Spike held the bomb over the narrowing opening of the
Hellmouth and put all his focus on
A mere second after the Hellmouth was sealed, the ground beneath everyone’s feet rumbled violently. The circle broke as everyone stumbled back and fell. Dust sprinkled down from the basement ceiling and a shovel that was leaned against the wall fell down. After the rumbling stopped and the dust settled, everyone looked around, slightly dazed. The First was nowhere to be seen.
“W-we’re alive,” Andrew said.
“And hopefully not chock full of radiation,” said Anya, standing up and dusting herself off.
Buffy stood up and surveyed the group, smiling proudly. “Well done everybody,” she said. All was silent for a moment, as the others looked to Buffy. Then a smile spread across Xander’s face.
“Yeah! Apocalypse aversion party at Buffy’s house!” Xander shouted.
“Go team us,” Dawn chimed in, clapping softly. She was still a little too shaken by all the near death to muster up more enthusiasm.
“And let us raise a glass to those who have fallen,” Giles said, as he stood and wiped the dust from his glasses with a handkerchief. The Potentials nodded their heads at Giles’ suggestion, and then helped each other up.
Spike stood on the seal, looking down at it. Even with the seal, the Hellmouth was still actively putting out demonic energy, which meant Sunnydale had merely returned to normal. Spike wondered if Buffy would need him anymore.
“Spike! C’mon! Let’s go!” Buffy said brightly, as she motioned for him to come along with the others. Spike quickly caught up and followed Buffy to the front with the other Scoobies. They walked through the building as a group, stepping over dead Bringers until they reached the foyer at the front of the school. Spike stopped at the line of sunlight while the others continued out the door.
Once outside, the knell of car alarms became instantly clear. They could see a few fallen lampposts and quite a few fallen tree branches. “Whoa,” uttered Xander.
Buffy turned her head to say something to Spike, but he was gone from her side. Oh, the sunlight! she thought. “Wait, I have to go back for Spike,” she said.
She rushed back into the school and found him heading back towards the basement. Spike heard Buffy’s footfalls and turned around. “Can’t go out that way,” he said. “Have to use the underground tunnels.”
Buffy hesitated. She didn’t want to leave him alone.
“You go on now,” Spike said. “I’ll meet you back at the house.”
“I- I could come with you,” Buffy offered.
Spike smiled and shook his head. “No, you should be with your friends right now. I’ll be all right,” he said. Then he added, “But thanks for the offer.”
Buffy turned her head to look back, debating whether to go back or go with Spike. When she turned forward again, Spike was already gone. Then she heard Dawn calling for her. “Coming!” Buffy replied, and headed back out to the entrance. She hoped that Spike knew that he was her friend, too…at the very least.
12
A TV news
report blared in the background, while Xander worked on fixing the living room
window yet again. “A 6.0 earthquake rocked the city of
“Oh, look! There’s the Magic Box!” Dawn said, pointing at the TV. “Ouch. It looks a little, uh, damaged,” she added.
“No, that’s
just the damage from when
In the
background, Giles continued to talk on the phone. He had been making
arrangements with the remaining Watchers all morning to set up a new
headquarters and training facility. “So did you put down a bid…Good, good…It
was accepted? Wonderful! And we can move in straight away?...Excellent!
I’ll return to
Buffy came out the kitchen with a cool glass of iced tea and made her way over to Xander. “Ready to wet your whistle?” she asked him.
“Thanks, Buff,” Xander said, taking the iced tea and drinking it down.
Buffy looked
down at
“Yeah, guess that spell really took a lot out of her. She’s been napping off and on, all day,” answered Xander.
Faith came down the stairs with Andrew in tow, videotaping her. “What are we watching?” Faith asked, coming into the living room.
“Just the news. Change it if you want,” Anya answered.
“Cool.” Faith grabbed the remote and sat down on the floor.
“So, you’re letting Andrew videotape you?” Buffy asked.
“I said he could as long as he kept his annoying commentary to himself. Otherwise I shove it up his ass,” Faith replied.
Buffy suppressed a snicker. “That’s what Spike told him once.”
“Great minds think alike,” Faith said, continuing to flip channels.
“So have you decided where you’re going to go?” Buffy asked. “I’m assuming you’re not planning on staying here in Sunnydale.”
“Afraid I’ll steal your thunder?” Faith asked, looking up at Buffy slyly. “Or your man?”
“What man? Buffy doesn’t have a man,” said Xander, his words tumbling out in a rush. “You better not be talking about Spike.”
“She’s just trying to annoy me,” Buffy said. “And would it really be so bad if I started dating Spike again, now that things are different?” Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at Buffy and Andrew whipped his video camera around to capture her. “Uh, just a hypothetical,” she said. After a moment of uncomfortable silence she added, “You know, speaking of Spike, maybe I’ll just go and check on him.” Buffy beat a hasty retreat to the basement. Great, I have a love that dare not speak its name, thought Buffy as she walked away.
Buffy crept down the basement stairs a little, and then sat down. She watched Spike through the slats of the railing. He was sitting on his cot, watching the old black and white TV that they’d dug out from storage. An old movie of some kind was on, but she couldn’t tell which one. If it was now or never, what would I say? Buffy wondered. Duh! You’d say you loved him, a part of Buffy’s mind replied. I probably would… if I wasn’t such a coward, Buffy thought. Why is it that just the thought scares the crap out of me?
(You are full of love. You love with all your
soul. It’s brighter than the fire…blinding. That’s why you pull away from it.)
Maybe the timing just needs to be right, Buffy thought. Maybe we could start out dating and I could work my way up from there. Buffy frowned. Getting everyone to accept it will be tough. Especially, Xander. And Giles. Maybe I’ll just wait until Giles leaves before making any moves. I’ll have enough trouble with Xander. And I don’t know how Dawn will take it. Buffy sighed.
Spike turned his head at that moment, hearing her sigh. “Looking for some time away from the hustle and bustle, pet?” Spike asked.
Buffy startled a little and then smiled warmly at him. “Yeah, I guess so,” she said.
13
The sound of jet engines roared in the background at Sunnydale Airport, as the Potentials boarded their midnight flight to England. The Scoobies waved goodbye to them and Dawn sent several of them off with hugs. Giles gathered up his carry-on and prepared to say his goodbyes.
“Remember, I’m just a phone call away,” Giles said as he approached the group.
“And you’ll come back. At least to visit, right?” Dawn asked.
“Of course,”
Giles said. He then received a hug from Dawn, Buffy,
Spike followed Giles over to the big window overlooking the runway. “Better make it quick, Rupert, or you’ll miss your flight,” he said.
“Now that the most recent apocalypse has been averted, I’ve had a chance to wonder…What is it exactly that made you go after a soul? Surely you knew all along that Buffy couldn’t love a soulless creature,” Giles said.
Spike looked down. “No, actually I had to find that out the hard way,” Spike said softly.
“What convinced you?” Giles asked, looking at Spike hard.
“It- it wasn’t just that I realized that she couldn’t love me that way…but that she deserved better. She deserved to have a good man,” Spike said, still looking down. Then he looked up and met Giles’ stern gaze. “I was a good man once…when I had the soul. Figured I could be a good man again, if I got it back.”
“Assuming you once were a good man, as you say, how would you figure that anyone deserved ‘good’ while you were a soulless vampire? Soulless creatures don’t value good,” Giles said, folding his arms.
“Maybe it was the chip. I don’t know. I started feeling…guilt,” Spike replied, leaving it vague as to what he felt guilty about. He figured that the Watcher hated him enough as it was, without knowing all the sordid details.
Giles started laughing.
Spike’s expression soured. “Yes, that’s right. Laugh it up, Rupert.”
Giles sniffed and wiped his eyes as he stifled his amusement. “You know, if you’ll recall, I suggested the possibility of a higher purpose when we first found out that you could only hurt demons with your chip. Perhaps I was right after all. Perhaps you were given a gift of grace.”
Spike stared at Giles for a moment and then he looked to the side, out the window. “I thought that Buffy believing in me later on was my gift of grace. Not that I don’t think there was a purpose to my feeling pre-soul guilt. I just thought it was more of a motivator.”
“Would you have been able to get your soul without that motivation? Would you have thought to make that choice, otherwise?”
“Good point.” Spike smiled and closed his eyes, as a tear rolled down his cheek.
“The choice was still yours, of course, and I commend you for making a good one,” Giles said, then added, “However, I don’t think you belong with Buffy. You act like an idiot for the most part and she’ll have no hope for a normal life if she’s with you.”
Spike smirked and looked at Giles. “Duly noted,” he said.
The flight attendant made the announcement for last call, and Giles turned to board the plane with the Potentials. He waved goodbye to the others and they rushed up to give him last minute farewells. After he had boarded the plane, the Scoobies stood at the big window and watched the plane take off and fly into the night.
14
The last school bell of the year rang at Sunnydale high and there was much rejoicing by students and faculty alike. Buffy watched the kids whoop and holler down the halls, through the windows of the main office.
“So the end of another year,” Wood said, coming up behind her.
“You say that like you’ve been here forever,” Buffy replied.
“Feels like it sometimes,” said Wood, managing small smile. Then it faded. “I won’t be back next year. I’m leaving town.”
“Oh?”
“I can’t stay here. Not with him being here.”
“Understandable,” said Buffy. “Where will you go?”
“Oh, I don’t know…Maybe I’ll just ‘walk the earth’,” Wood said with a sly grin.
“Like that Pulp Fiction guy, right?”
Wood laughed. “You take care of yourself, Buffy.” He held out his hand.
Buffy held out hers. “You, too.” They shook on it, and then Wood turned and went back to his office, and Buffy started to pack up the few belongings in her desk. Gee, I hope the new principal lets me keep my job…Oh well, I’ll worry about that later.
Buffy met Dawn and Xander outside the building and then they piled in his car and headed for home.
15
Willow watched the TV as it blared out a loud commercial. “You too can take an exciting adventure across the countryside in one of Fred’s RVs! We’re slashing prices, so come on down!” yelled the way-too-enthusiastic announcer. Willow turned the sound down and went back surfing the net on her laptop. It wasn’t long before Buffy walked through the door with Dawn and Xander in tow.
“Hi, Buffy,” replied Willow, looking up from her laptop once more.
“Hey, Wills. How’s it hangin’?” Xander asked.
“Okay, I guess. I was able to get that last class dropped today. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever get through another year of college, what with all the apocalypses that go on around here.”
“Don’t worry, Will. Next year is bound to be better,” said Buffy.
“I don’t know, Buff. Each year has kinda sucked more than the last, lately,” Xander replied.
“That’s not true. I think this year went better than last year. We got redeemed vampires and…uh, redeemed witches and…um…” Buffy trailed off, trying to think of more good qualities for the year.
“We have more than one redeemed witch?” asked Xander. “And I think vampire redemption is tenuous, at best.”
“I’m redeemed?” asked Willow.
“Sure you are,” said Buffy, cheerily.
“You haven’t gone evil again, at least,” Dawn added. Buffy and Xander frowned at her. “Uh, I’ll just be upstairs, rotting my brain on computer games.”
Buffy sighed then turned to Xander. “Gonna hang for supper?” she asked.
“Sure,” Xander replied, “I’m not one to turn down food.”
Buffy smiled and went for the kitchen, while Xander joined Willow in the living room and began to flip channels. Suddenly a rumbled roared through the house.
“That’s it! I’m shovin’ that camera straight up your narrow ass!” Faith yelled, as she chased Andrew down the stairs.
“Ahhhh!” Andrew screamed as he ran through the house.
Buffy sighed as they ran past her and out the kitchen door.
“Do you mind, I’m trying to bloody sleep!” bellowed Spike, from the basement.
It was at that moment that Anya came through the front door, slamming it. “Hey, Xander, I thought you and the guys were supposed to be working on the magic shop today.”
“We’re going to start on it later in the evening, when it’s not so hot,” Xander replied. “And did you ever hear of knocking?”
“Oh, whatever,” Anya said, peevishly.
“Why are you in such a hurry? Aren’t you doing well with your stocks?” asked Willow.
“Yes, but just because I have new investments doesn’t mean I want my old investment to rot,” she replied.
“Hey, Anya - How would you like a roommate or two?” Buffy asked from the kitchen. “Faith could protect you in case D’Hoffryn sends any more demon goons to attack you. And Andrew is a good little dishwasher.”
Anya thought for a moment and then said, “I’ll consider it.” She had been lonely, living back at her apartment, all alone. Although, she did enjoy the peace and quiet.
16
It was nighttime at the Summers residence, and Buffy was reading quietly on her bed. Spike had agreed to go out on patrol for her that night, so that she could have a rest. Buffy flipped a page then heard a knock at the door.
“Come in,” she said.
“Hey, Buffy…can I talk to you for a bit?” Willow asked, opening the door slightly. At Buffy’s affirmative Willow came in and closed the door. She had a handful of computer printouts.
“What’s up?” Buffy asked.
“Well, I was thinking…I got some money from my parents this year, for books and clothes and room and board, that I didn’t use because I hardly went to school and I lived here and…I thought maybe it would be nice to take a vacation…all of us.” Willow spread the computer printouts across the bed. “I- I have some rates and brochures of places we could go. And they’re having an RV sale down at Fred’s RVs. They have lease and rental options. That way we could take Spike, since we could control our mode of transport.”
“You can really afford all this?” Buffy asked.
“W-Well, no…maybe not all of it, but…” Willow looked at Buffy hopefully.
“I could use a break from Sunnydale too, but…who would protect Sunnydale while I’m gone?” Buffy asked.
“You could have Faith watch it,” Willow said.
“She probably wouldn’t want to go on a trip like this anyway,” Buffy said, starting to smile.
Willow smiled, for the first time in a long time, a smile of simple joy. Then she began detailing her plans for the trip more fully.
17
The next day, the plan was presented to the group, except for Spike, who was sleeping. Xander was enthusiastic…until he realized Spike was probably coming with them. But even that couldn’t dampen his enthusiasm for long. Dawn was very excited. She hadn’t been on a family vacation in ages. Faith had no interest in going and was willing to stay behind and babysit Sunnydale. She declared the idea of going cross country in a Winnebago to be “beyond lame, even for this group.” Andrew wasn’t really invited and was actually not too disappointed. He’d been obsessed with filming “A Journal of Faith the Reformed Vampyre Slayer,” lately. Anya also declined to go. She wanted to oversee the reconstruction of the Magic Shop, especially since Xander was handing over the overseeing of the project to someone else.
Once the matter of who was going was settled, for the most part, Willow led Buffy, Dawn and Xander into the dining room to go over her initial itinerary. After she was done, the floor was opened to questions.
Xander raised his hand. “How are we going to go to daytime places if Spike comes along?”
“I’ve been doing some thinking and some researching, and I should be able to work something out for Spike,” Willow replied.
“Assuming he wants to come,” Dawn added.
“If Buffy’s going, he’ll want to go, too. You know he will,” said Xander.
“I’ll ask him tonight, and then we’ll know for sure,” Buffy said.
18
When Buffy came down to the basement, that night, she found Spike gathering arrows for his crossbow. “Hey, what’s up?” she asked.
“Just gathering ammunition for patrol, pet. Assuming we’re going on patrol tonight,” said Spike.
“Sure, but can I talk with you first?”
“All right,” Spike said, leery. Maybe the time had finally come for him to go.
“How would you like to go on vacation?” Buffy asked.
“Huh?”
“With me and Willow and Dawn and Xander, in a big RV across country.”
Spike stared at her a moment and then burst out laughing. “Good one, Slayer,” he said between laughs.
“It could be like a big first date…uh, but with other people along, I guess,” Buffy said, looking up and shrugging her shoulders.
Spike stopped laughing and stared at her again. She’s kidding? Surely she’s kidding…Or maybe not. Maybe…, Spike thought, hope tempting him.
Buffy blushed and laughed nervously. “We never went on a real date did we? Huh?”
Spike should his head, dumbly. He couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed because her joke got the better of her, or if she was serious.
“So...Wanna come?” Buffy asked.
“Ok,” he replied, still stunned.
“Great!” Buffy said, and hugged him.
She just might be serious! Spike thought. A goofy smile came over his face, as she hugged him
Buffy sighed
and closed her eyes as she continued to hug him. I love you… I guess I just can’t help myself…This time it will be
different. This time it will be
different.
Spike sighed and then willed himself to stop smiling and talk sense to himself. Don’t get your hopes up. She might be flirting, but that doesn’t mean she’s really serious. Don’t get all excited now.
Buffy released him and said, “I’ll go let Willow know you’re coming. Then we’ll patrol.”
Spike nodded his head and Buffy turned to go upstairs.
19
When Buffy got to the top of the stairs, she was met by Willow, who was giving her a sly smile. Big first date, huh? Willow queried, by way of telepathy.
Buffy blushed and closed the basement door. “Uh...” Buffy stammered.
I’m not judging, Willow sent.
Really? Buffy asked, sending back. How can you not? When you know all the sordid details of what happened before?
But it’s different now, right? You wouldn’t
be using him…
Buffy shook her head ‘no.’
And he would never attack you again…
Buffy shook her head ‘no,’ again.
You don’t think it’s twisted? Buffy asked.
No more twisted than Tara taking me back after I violated her mind. After I mended my ways, of course. Although that turned out to be kinda temporary after she died. Willow sighed. I guess what I’m saying- what I’m thinking, is: Forgiveness is good. He’s different, you’re different, and I just want some happy to happen to my friends. So if you want to date him again, I’ll support you.
Thanks, Will, Buffy sent, and hugged her.
Besides…this is juicy! Willow sent.
Buffy released her and backed up. Juicy?
This is juicy, juicy gossip! Willows eye’s gleamed, and the sly smile returned.
You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?!
I promise not to tell anyone, if that’s what you want, sent Willow.
Or talk about it? Not till we’re on the trip, anyway. I don’t want gossip to put the kibosh on our vacation, do you?
All right. Willow sniffed. But it’s not going to be easy. She winked.
At that moment, Spike came through the basement door, crossbow in hand. “Ready to go?” he asked Buffy.
“Yes, I believe I am,” Buffy said, and hooked her arm around his. Spike gave her a funny look.
“Did anyone ever tell you, you’re a shameless flirt?” Spike asked, walking her to the door.
“Please! You’re one to talk!” Buffy replied.
“Since when have I flirted lately? I don’t think I’ve flirted all year!” Spike exclaimed, as he shut the door behind them.
---
The End
Grrrr! Arg!
---------------------------------------------
Author’s Coda:
Now, if you like, you can read
the continuing adventures of Buffy, Spike and the gang in the sequel Summer
Vacation. Just keep in mind that Summer Vacation was written before this
story (despite it being a sequel), and so the writing may not be quite as good,
or, whatever. The sequel is NC-17 for spuffy hijinks, if that helps you decide, any.
Cheers!
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