as the battles raged higher
and though they did hurt me so bad
in the fear and alarm
you did not desert me
my brothers in arms’
- “brothers in arms” by dire straits
The neon light stung her eyes, and it definitely wasn’t good for her complexion. The muscles in her shoulders and back were already forming all sorts of kinks and aches due to the cramped position she was in.
Her wrists and ankles were shackled to the chair she sat on. A solid piece of titanium. An admirable piece of craftsmanship, no doubt, but right now it was a pain in her ass.
These vampires knew how to handle a Slayer; ever since the Awakening they had certainly had enough target practice. There was a downside to everything.
*
They had stripped her off her weapons; they had even taken the cross from her neck. Her communication device lay behind her on the table, taunting her with its one-way, unanswered, request to copy her latest position.
All it would take her was to push the little button on the earpiece. Her backup should be able to locate her via GPS even without her personal response. At least that was what Willow had told her; all this tech stuff confused her.
*
An hour ago, Buffy had been captured by one of the most powerful vampire gangs in town. What had been planned as an observation mission had turned into an ugly fight, resulting in Buffy being taken hostage.
A couple of years ago, the Slayer had been the average bloodsucker’s nightmare. Now, with all the girls being Chosen, evil had upgraded its scheme. During the last few years, several Slayers had been captured and turned into vampires. The casualties of those fights hadn’t been pretty.
And now they had Buffy. Better yet, Kaileq had Buffy, one of The vampire lords around. If he got the chance to turn her, combining her strength with his... holy power-palooza. One more reason – besides the obvious wish not to die (again) – for her backup team to hurry up.
*
From what she’d learned, Kaileq was currently out of town but they expected him to back later tonight. If they didn’t get to her in time, she needed a plan B.
Buffy jerked at the shackles. The titanium scratched her skin. And that was it. They didn’t budge at all. Apparently, the vampires had done their homework.
Behind the door in her back, Buffy heard the rattle of keys, then bolts sliding back. They had brought her to what seemed like your average cop-show interrogation room; the one-way mirror in front of her revealed nothing when the door opened. Vampire.
“Room service, finally.“ She beamed her at the missing reflection.
“I’ve always wished for the other Slayers to be more like you.“ Kaileq’s voice was a low, almost sultry rumble. “The humor, the body.“ He stepped into her line of vision. They had faced each other more than once in the past, and he almost treated her with respect. Now, he laid a hand on her shoulder, the other on her knee, and leaned down to her, getting right into her face. “I’m going to have so much fun with you.“
“One more word, fang-face, and this is going to do down as sexual harassment.“ Buffy’s voice was calm, almost polite. She even smiled. All right, so her quips had been better in the past but that was the least of her concerns right now.
Kaileq chuckled, baring his fangs; the yellow of his eyes seemed to glow. “From what I’ve heard, you have a thing for vampires.”
Buffy snorted a laugh. “Please, vampires are so yesterday. ‘Sides, they were both way prettier than you.”
The shadow of a pout flickered over the vampire’s face before he regained his composure. “You have a big mouth. I think you underestimate the situation you’re in.”
“I think I got it just right. You’re the big bad vampire, I’m the helpless little Slayer. You’re going to turn me so I can be your pet.”
“That pretty much sums it up.” If Kaileq was disappointed that Buffy had figured out his master plan, he didn’t show it.
“You just forgot one little thing, Kaileq. Even if you get the chance to turn me, I’ll still have the bigger balls.”
The vampire’s hand closed over Buffy’s throat, cutting off her air. “First thing, I’ll do when you’re mine… I’ll cut your sharp little tongue out.” His fingers dug into her neck. “On second thought, I might do that just now.”
“… kill… you,” Buffy croaked, her turning an unhealthy shade of red.
“You? Kill me?” Kaileq laughed a throaty little laugh. “You and what army?”
*
Glass shattered.
Gunshots barked, echoing impossibly loudly in the small confines of the room.
The lights flickered out, dipping the room in darkness until the security lights winked to a sickly green life.
Kaileq had staggered back from Buffy, and the Slayer gasped for air. She had closed her eyes instinctively, turning her face away from the sudden, yet unknown threat.
“That would be my cue, wouldn’t it?”
Buffy’s blood froze. Her entire body froze. She stopped breathing. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, every single one of her Slayer senses sprang to life.
It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible.
Time seemed to have frozen around her as well. Slowly, as if dipped in tar, she turned her head, opening her eyes.
He stood there in all his glory amidst a pile of broken glass. He had gained some more muscle since…then but was still all lean and wiry. His clothes were all black; black combat boots, cargo pants, long-sleeved shirt, and what looked like a Kevlar vest.
His features were still as sharp as she remembered, as were his eyes. Everything about him was the same except that he’d shaved his hair to a quarter of an inch shadow.
But then, that was the fun thing about vampires, wasn’t it? From the point they died as a human, they didn’t change a bit. Until they died (again), then it was a whole different deal. Or was it?
“Spike?” Buffy’s voice was hushed with utter disbelieve. She cocked her head to one side, staring at him. “What happened to your hair?”
His trademark smirk appeared on his lips, and his eyes sparkled. “It’s good to see you, too, luv. Mind if we get the bleedin’ hell outta here?”
With a furious roar, Kaileq drew Buffy’s attention back to the more urgent matter at hand. More urgent than trying to figure out how the hell it was possible that Spike had come back from the dearly departed.
The vampire roared again, rising to his full height. “Who the hell are you?”
Not favoring his opponent with an answer, Spike raised the weapon he was holding, and aimed it at Kaileq. The gun looked like any other semi-automatic weapon but when it barked twice, Kaileq howled in more pain than any bullet would have caused.
Buffy glanced over her shoulder to see that the vampire was pressing a hand to his chest. His fingertips and the part of his chest where the bullet had hit were smoldering, smoke curling from between his fingers.
“This is taking too long,” Spike murmured to himself, aiming at Kaileq’s head.
This time the bullet hit him square between the eyes. With a howl of pain and fury, the vampire exploded into a cloud of ashes.
Without hesitation, Spike let the weapon slide into the holster strapped to his left thigh. He stepped around the chair, prying the bolts out of the shackles.
Finally, Buffy snapped out of her daze when she felt his hands brush against her arms. “Spike? Are you…am I dreaming? Hallucinating? What is going on? Are you real?” She had no idea what she was saying.
She heard him chuckle behind her. “Undead and kicking. Now, can we discuss this later? I’m being heroic here.”
That being said, Buffy felt the shackles click open and her arms came free. Not losing a beat, the Slayer went right for the shackles at her ankles.
When she rose out of her cramped position, her muscles protested against the sudden flexibility. She ignored it.
“I believe this is yours?” Spike reached behind him, pulling a wooded stake from his belt, holding it out to her.
“Mr. Pointy the Third.” Buffy snatched the stake from his hand, her eyes gleaming.
She still had no idea what was going on. Maybe she was already dead (again) and going through some pre-vampirism delirium. Her rational mind told her that it wasn’t possible that Spike was there. He was dead. She’d seen him dying. First hand. He couldn’t possibly be freeing her from Kaileq’s hands. But no matter if this was real or not, she really wanted to kick some vampires’ asses.
“Let’s hunt some vamps.” A dangerous flicker brightened her features before she whipped around, grabbed her communication device from the table and left the room.
*
The place was crawling with Slayers. Well, not exactly crawling but there were at least a dozen of them. Some of them were from the first generation of Awakened Slayers, meaning they were among the first to be Chosen by the spell Willow had cast back in Sunnydale. Opposing them were about two or three dozen vampires.
“What?” Buffy almost pouted. “They didn’t leave me any?”
And then the fight was on.
*
Kaileq had set up his headquarters in a palace of steel and glass. During daytime the place must have been flooded with sunlight, forcing the vampires to stay in the depth of the building. So much for the irony.
Now that night had fallen, everything was illuminated by hundreds of halogen lights. Railings, stairs and galleries lined each side of the main room: a huge open space with a gleaming marble floor.
There was absolutly no rational explanation as to why a vampire and his goons would choose a place like this to stay but then, since when did anything that had happened in the last couple of minutes make any sense whatsoever?
Buffy grabbed the first vampire at hand (Spike not included) and landed a heavy jab against its chest. He reeled backwards but couldn’t put enough space between him and the Slayer. In a flash, she was on him, pummeling away at him before piercing his heart with Mr Pointy the Third.
“I so needed that.” She brushed the hair from her face, a triumphant grin forming on her features.
She turned back towards Spike. Although all around them, young women were trying to get the upper hand against the vampires, he stood there, leaning against the railing, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He had the strangest expression on his face.
He eyed her almost curiously, studying her as if he hadn’t seen her in years. Which, for itself, was true; and yet still… a chill ran down her spine when their eyes met.
People always say that the moment you die, you see your life flash in front of your eyes. Buffy had died twice and she’d never re-lived anything. Now that she was facing the vampire she had thought to be dead for a decade, she was. Compressed to the size and force of a blow to the head, it hit her. Everything.
Everything they had ever been through; the bad and the worse and the few good moments in between flooded her memories. For the second time tonight, everything around her froze. And then she knew. She knew that he was real, that he was back from the dead, that she wasn’t dreaming the same dream she’d had over and over again during the last ten years.
She had no idea if or how this was possible. And right now, she didn’t care. She would need to consult with Willow and Giles on that later. But right now… she was happy. Confused as hell but happy.
“You do realise that this is a rescue, right?” he interrupted her thoughts. “Now would if you be so kind and actually try to get the hell out of here, you can do the staring later.” With that, Spike grabbed her arm, pulling her along down the gallery and towards a flight of stairs that lead down to the lobby.
*
They had trained the Slayers well. Despite their common source, none of them had the same amount of power. Some were better in martial arts; other would make a sniper look like an amateur. Over the last couple of years, Buffy and the rest of the newly formed Slayer’s Council had tried to let each one of them develop their own kind of skill. And in fights like this, they saw the pay off.
By the time Buffy and Spike exited the building, the vampires had been reduced to ashes. Amongst the Slayer squad there were only minor damages: a few cracked ribs, one broken nose and some bloodied hands. Kaileq might have been powerful but somehow Buffy doubted by now that his power meant physical strength.
*
Buffy drew in a deep breath when she pushed the front door open. The temperature had fallen since the vampires had taken her, and in her almost flimsy top, a chill ran down her spine and arms.
Her communication device had miraculously survived all the beating and the kicking, and the Slayer plugged it to her ear. It took the headquarters less than ten seconds to respond when she finally pushed the button.
“Hey, it’s Buffy. Thanks for the back up, was about time. Yes, we are all alright. No casualties. Yeah, we’re coming back in. See you in a few.”
On the far side of the road, four headlights came to life, and two black vans pulled up to the curb in front of the building. “Ladies, saddle up. Let’s get back to HQ.” On her command, the girls got into the vans, those with injuries were helped by the others.
One van had already pulled away; the other one was waiting for her to get into the passenger seat. She hesitated, busying herself with brushing vampire dust off her clothes. She knew she had to ask a question.
Once more, she drew in a breath then turned to Spike who was just securing his weapon in its holster. Her heart skipped a tiny beat when she looked at him. Something in her mind still told her that this couldn’t be real, that Kaileq had already bitten her and she was hallucinating. The other part knew that it was very real. Unbelievable but still real.
“You coming along?” she asked after almost a minute. The words felt weirdly heavy on her tongue.
“Got my bike just around the corner. I’ll catch up with you at HQ.” He sounded business-like, almost cold. And with that, he left her standing there, heading down the few steps to the sidewalk and around the corner of the building.
Buffy stared after him in utter disbelieve. If it was even possible, she was in even more disbelief. What the hell was going on here?
***