Buffy had fled the cemetery and waited, watching until Spike had left. She was overcome by the many questions her meeting with this man had brought to her mind. This Slayer, as he called himself, was he like the female Slayers her sire had told her about? She thought back to the books she had read about early vampire hunters, and the elusive vampire slayer. But, weren’t they always girls?
She needed to get hold of those books again. There must be something about him that was special, her skin prickled like never before when he'd approached her. And she knew Buffy was an odd name, but Spike? There had to be a story behind that.
Not sure if she wanted to follow him or if she needed to get to the book, she decided she’d call her sire first. She pulled the cell phone from her pocket, hit the speed dial number, and waited for him to answer.
"Hello? Are you alright?" the strong male voice on the line quickly asked. "Buffy? You there?"
"Relax, all’s well. I have a question though."
"Go ahead, what’s up?" The voice sounded a bit agitated, but willing to help.
"I met a human tonight. I young man named, Spike. Claimed to be the Slayer. Ever heard of him?" Buffy listened intently, wondering if she would be able to get any answers tonight.
"He’s in Sunnydale? Wow, that was fast. Did he attack you?"
Buffy felt her anger level rise. He had known of a slayer and hadn’t said anything to her. "You mean I’ve been here at the Hellmouth, protecting and serving, as per your request, and there’s a Slayer who is supposed to be doing it? Why didn’t you say something? No, he didn’t attack me, but he could have. I thought you said they were extinct! Not to mention, female. This one was a bit young, but definitely not female. If you want me to be an upstanding member of the Do Good Team, I expect you to keep me informed. Now, spill everything you know."
Willie’s bar was almost always crowded. Filled with many different breeds of demons, Spike found it a good place to poke around in for information.
He had managed to not let on to his job as he had mingled with the creatures there since his arrival in Sunnydale. He needed to study them, just like he had in Bedford. He pretended to be sympathetic to their lifestyle and slide into place as their friend and confidante.
He spotted Clem, an odd-looking demon with roll after roll of pale flesh covering his body. He seemed friendly enough, and Spike discovered that he didn’t feed on humans, so that was a plus. But he did imply that kittens were tasty. Kittens! No matter how much he actually found he liked Clem, he had to remind himself that he was a kitten-eating demon, therefore, evil. Clem had spotted him too and was waving at Spike to join him at his table.
Spike never ordered alcohol at the bar, not that anyone would have challenged him, but he felt he needed to stay sharp. He didn’t trust any of them.
Sliding into the booth, opposite Clem, he began the standard, "Hey, how’s it going" and waited for the right time to ask about Buffy.
A bizarre looking demon with iridescent purple skin and a multitude of horns walked into the bar and caught Clem’s eye. "Man-o-man-o-man, isn’t she lovely?"
Spike laughed at the over-fleshed demon's response. "Yeah, if you go for that sort of thing." AHA! Now tell him about Buffy, and ask all you want! "I can tell you I met a beauty myself tonight. Vamp going by the name of Buffy. Ran into her down at Restfield." He hesitated, hoping Clem wouldn’t ask him what he was doing there. "Know anything about her?"
Clem’s face lit up. "You met Buffy?! Isn’t she just adorable? She is so nice too. The whole enchilada, I tell you. She’s got the looks, the brains, and she’s so not into the evil." Clem grinned, his face turned pink as if he had a crush on her. "What would you like to know?"
"She seemed very different. Drop dead gorgeous, yes, but a non-evil vamp? Are you sure?" Spike was on the edge of his seat, as he eagerly awaited Clem’s answers.
"Buffy was turned a long time ago, by a really twisted vampire, goes by the name of Drusilla. Dru must have been certifiably insane before she was turned, and the loss of her soul made her even loonier. Dru's sire, Angel, used to be one of the most sadistic in the history of the Aurelian line. Heck, in history, period! Word has it, that Angel pulled her from a nunnery, and tortured her for weeks before turning her. Dru was never mentally fit to take care of herself, leaving Angel to take care of her for eternity. Do you know of Angel and his crusade?"
Spike’s mind was swimming. Angel... had he heard of him? He’d heard of Angelus, and the horrible massacre that he'd led through Europe for decades. Could this be the same vampire? "I’ve heard of Angelus before, is he the same?"
Clem shook his head. "Yes and no. Angelus was Angel when he was all evil and soulless. Angel is the aftereffect of the Powers That Be’s brainchild. The PTB needed a champion. One that could walk with the evil, talk with the evil, and still be strong and sure, brave and mighty. Angel fit the bill, and POOF the vamp's got his soul all snugglie wugglie back in him and he’s on the road to redemption. I’m not one to ask why they did it, but he’s been on a pretty good roll for a while in LA. Opened up a private eye business, "helping the helpless" is his motto. Think I even saw a commercial for him during the late, late movie last week."
Spike wasn’t even sure what to ask or say next. He knew of the horrible trail of death and destruction Angel had left many years ago, but he assumed that no new intel, meant that he’d met with a dusty end. Sunnydale was a wealth of information. "Wow. So Drusilla is Buffy’s sire. Where is she now? Is Buffy working with Angel? Tell me more about the PTB." Suddenly he had more questions than he had words to form them. Angel is a good vampire working for the PTB. Only in America...
Clem waved for the waitress to bring more drinks; this was going to take a while. "Ok-ok, let’s get comfy. There’s a lot to tell about these vampires. Probably some things you should know if you’re going to be hanging around the Hellmouth for a while."
Buffy listened as Angel told her about the demon skuttlebutt he’d heard. "A boy named William has apparently been called, not sure about the name Spike. The 'Watcher's Council' which hasn’t been active in years, is trying to locate him, so that they can assign him a Watcher. They have two members, one of which I think I have a relatively good rapport with; maybe I should give him a call. Apparently, this young English gent took out hundreds of demons and closed the Bedford hellmouth single-handedly. If this is the same guy, we need to get him on our side. Think how much stronger we would be, if we could add a Slayer to our list of champions."
"You know I hate that word, Angel. You may be a champion, but you’ve just suckered me along for the ride. The PTB haven’t taken it upon themselves to put my nice fluffy soul back in yet. I’ve been "helping the helpless" with you for a while now." Buffy’s lower lip automatically went into pout mode, even though there was no one around to see it.
"Your time will come, Buffy, I’m sure of it. Have patience, and continue on your path to redemption. They have a plan for all of us."