Disclaimer: This story is inspired by and contains characters from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a series that is wholly the intellectual property of Mutant Enemy, Twentieth Century Fox and Joss Whedon. This story is written without permission, with no intent of infringement or expectation of profit. I am not making any money from this! This fiction presented is for private sharing only. The author's owns nothing of the actual show. No commercial and/or trade purpose is intended to infringe the copyrights registered by official parties.
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HIDDEN AGENDAS
Chapter 1: Watching.
A pair of eyes watched her as she moved down the road, tracking her as she scoured the quiet street. Following no apparent path, she weaved in and out of side streets and alleys, constantly on the look out.
Hunting.
She moved with the grace of a dancer, her laid back stance concealing her true nature. To those who were unfamiliar with this creature, she appeared to be an easy target, slight of frame and short in stature. But those who knew her, saw her for what she really was, her true self.
A predator.
Those caught unprepared suffered for it, and she used that knowledge to her advantage.
Suddenly her pace slowed, as she approached the mouth of the alleyway. Turning slowly, she looked over her shoulder, studying the shadows. From his vantage point he knew it was unlikely he would be discovered, but he lowered his body, blending in with the darkness as a precaution. A small knowing smile played across her face, as if she realized someone was watching her from the dark. Yet she didn’t pursue it. Moments later she was on the move again, her attention now focused on what lay ahead.
The cold night wind ripped through his thin cotton shirt like a knife as he dropped from the roof top half a block away, landing on the ground without a sound. He knew that she sensed a presence but that did not deter him. He had a reason for being on the street tonight. As stealthily as possible he advanced on her position. It appeared he was not the only one who felt the cold, her shoulders trembled slightly as she shivered.
Gusts of wind whipped down the alleyway, catching her long hair, which danced about her head as if it had a life of its own. Frustrated, she took a hair band from her wrist and secured it from her face, tying it in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. Seemingly satisfied she proceeded further into the alleyway.
The smell hit her with the force of a knock from a quarterback. The dank stench of rotting food, mixed in with a little urine and the sharpness of whiskey overwhelmed the street. Each time the wind rose, so did the smell. Her nose crinkled in disgust as she found herself in the center of it all.
“Gross….” she muttered.
He couldn’t help but chuckle quietly to himself as she tried to block the smell with one of the sleeves of her shirt. The smell did not bother him, he had the choice to block it out and one he wisely took.
A lone streetlamp cast its small beam onto the concrete lighting the path ahead a few meters. It was in this light that she found what she had been searching for; she had been hoping that she wouldn’t. That would have meant there was some chance things could work out better. But her discovery suggested otherwise. She had found it.
The body.
Crouching beside the pale young man she touched his neck, finding no pulse, his skin cool in comparison to her own. She was too late. Dropping her gaze for a moment, she pulled a short wooden shaft from her jeans pocket and twirled it in her hand. Moving away from the boy, she perched herself atop a stack of wooden pallets, waiting. She was not disappointed. Less than 15 minutes passed before the inevitable happened. The body began to arise.
Lifting herself from the crate, she stepped forward as he lifted himself to his feet. His head snapped towards her, a feral grin spreading across his face, his gaze staring from yellowed eyes. He made it a whole two steps before she plunged the wooden stake into his chest. Shock flashed across his face for a moment before his body exploded into ashes.
“I’m sorry Justin…” she said softly as she dropped her weapon to the ground. It clattered as it hit the pavement and rolled into the darkness.
Stepping from the shadows behind her, the man who had been following her announced his presence. “Lost your weapon, great plan there luv. You better hope you don’t run into any beasties on your way home.”
The young girl spun on the spot, a frown crossing her face. A hand lifted to her hip as she questioned him. “Spike… what are you doing here?”
The bleach haired vampire removed his cigarettes and lighter from the inside pocket of his long black duster and sparked one up. Inhaling deeply, he took a long drag before he responded.
“Got bored sitting around in my crypt, thought you might want some company.” he said with a raised eyebrow.
A look of realization dawned on her, which was quickly followed by an expression of disgust. “In your dreams Spike.”
“Always Buffy.” he responded with a smirk.
This rewarded him with a glare as she spun on her heal and walked through the alleyway and out the other end, headed in the direction of one of Sunnydale’s many cemeteries. He waited a few moments before following after her. In truth he did have some information to share that she might be interested in, he just liked watching her squirm.
“Hey wait up.” he called as he picked up his pace. He fell in line beside her, finishing his cigarette and flicking it away, extinguishing it with a firm stomp of his boot.
His face was mottled with bruises, and his right eye was still slightly swollen from a few nights ago. Glory had almost killed him, tortured him for hours and he had let her do it. He had resisted giving her the one thing she wanted. The identity of the key. Dawn. Had Buffy forgotten that already? He sure as hell hadn’t. And he hadn’t forgotten her visit to his crypt that night either.
Pretending to be the robot version of her self, she had slyly questioned him, extracting the information she wanted. She had needed to know her sister was safe. And Spike had bought it, thinking he was talking to the robot. That was until she kissed him. The feel of her lips on his had given away the truth. And she had thanked him. He couldn’t deny that his hope that one-day something may happen between them grew in that moment, but for now he was content with her gratitude. The chance that love would blossom between them was a slim one, he knew that, but it wasn’t going to lessen his efforts to prove himself to her. He wasn’t on a schedule here. Eternity stretched before him. He just had to be patient, something he wasn’t renowned for. But he could learn.
A man can change…
“What’s the hurry slayer… you got a hot date tonight?” he inquired, trying his best not to sound jealous, and feeling that he failed miserably.
Buffy stopped in her tracks and her face fell for a moment, and he instantly regretted his words. Soldier boy Riley Finn had only left a few weeks ago, and she was obviously still feeling the sting from that loss. Whilst Spike was glad the guy was gone and out of the slayers life, he knew that Buffy missed him being around, even thought she didn’t mention him much. Actually that was probably the biggest indicator. The momentary sadness in her eyes was quickly replaced with anger and he tried to apologise.
“I didn’t mean…”
“Save your breath.” she interrupted. “I’ve got work to do.”
She began marching off on him again and he reached out to slow her, grabbing her arm at the elbow. “Buffy…” he urged trying to stop her.
She responded by snatching her arm away from him and slamming her elbow up into his already battered face. Spike swore under his breath, a hand reaching up to touch his face, hissing when he realized his nose was bleeding. Again.
“Leave me alone Spike…”
The slayer walked off into the night, leaving the vampire behind clutching at his re-broken nose.
~~~
The key slipped easily into the lock and twisted silently. Buffy opened the front door and stepped inside, dropping her satchel on the floor as she closed the door behind her. It hit the floorboards with a THUNK and she instantly regretted being so careless. She might have woken Dawn.
Ascending the stairs to the bedrooms she passed by Dawn’s room and pressed herself up against the door, listening for any sounds of movement. All she heard were her sisters quiet snores. Feeling a little more relaxed she continued down the hall to her bedroom.
Once inside, she began peeling the layers of her dust coated clothing off until she was standing in her underwear. A loose singlet replaced her bra, which she combined with a pair of pyjama pants. She combed her hair, looking at her tired reflection in the mirror and wondering why people even bothered going outside at night anymore.
It had been a quiet night for patrolling, something that was uncharacteristic of Sunnydale. But the night had not been uneventful. Two stakings, one a newborn… Justin. Buffy had been walking past the Espresso Pump when a girl had ran screaming from an alleyway, calling for her boyfriend who had been attacked. Buffy had calmed the girl and taken off in the direction she had pointed out. After a few hours had passed with no sign of him, Buffy had feared the worst, which she subsequently stumbled upon in that alleyway. No body meant he couldn’t explain his disappearance to his girlfriend… she was going to be devastated.
Buffy sighed, again wondering why people continued to flock to the town. But she knew why, high mortality rates meant that property prices were low, which encouraged all types to settle down here, and most never saw the dark side of the town until it was too late. To the ignorant it was a picturesque town. Yet to the enlightened it was seen as a sleepy town by day, a dangerous place to venture at night. Her hometown sure had its quirks.
Sunnydale was located on top of a Hellmouth, which acted as a beacon attracting all types of creatures, some more dangerous than others. Tonight she had only come across vampires.
Yawning, she stretched her arms out and then padded over to her bed. Drawing back the blankets, she slipped in between the sheets and switched off her bedside lamp, the room filling with darkness. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
~~~
Spike hadn’t meant to bring up soldier boy, hadn’t meant to cause her pain, but he had. And the effect of his completely innocent words had shown immediately. After the elbow to his nose, he had intended on catching up with her and giving her a piece of his mind. And he had almost caught up with her a few minutes after she had run off, a biting comment on the tip of his tongue when he noticed how dejected she looked. Her shoulders were slumped and she looked…. defeated. So instead of starting another war of the words, he had hung back and watched her as she made her way home.
Which is where he was now… on her front lawn. He watched from the shadows of the trees as she slipped inside her house.
Three cigarettes later, her bedroom light switched off and he turned on his heel and began walking back to his crypt.
~~~
Buffy stood amongst a field of daisies. Dawn was running ahead, laughing as she collected a bouquet of the pretty flowers. “Come on Buffy…” she called, her laughter ringing out again.
Giving chase, the slayer weaved in and out of the flowers, following the laughter. But the faster she pursued Dawn, the further away she became. “Dawn… slow down…” Buffy called, but her sister didn’t respond, she just laughed some more.
Panic rose within Buffy, her heart thumping against her rib cage as she began to frantically search for her sister. Her arms pumped up and down as she ran faster and faster until she began to feel nauseous from the speed. The flowers lifted from their roots and began spinning around her, the momentum growing as her panic rose. It felt as if the world was moving like a jumping castle, her feet sinking into the earth with every third step as the ground gave way. The strength of the shaking worsened and Buffy’s panic raised a notch.
Earthquake… her panic stricken mind screamed at her. She had to find her sister and get her to safety.
“Dawn! Where are you…”
A scream rang out and everything stopped. The world stopped shaking and the roses fell from the sky, falling like missiles as they hit the ground. Then she saw her ahead. Dawn was standing a few feet in front of her, and Buffy gasped in terror when the reality of what she was seeing hit her.
Dawn was clutching at her abdomen, pain etched across her face. She lifted a hand to examine it and found it to be covered in blood. Fear etched across her face as her hand fell limp beside her. “Buffy…” she whispered, her voice strangled in her throat as she gasped for air. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed in a heap amongst the ripped up daisies.
“DAWN!” Buffy screamed, as she dove to the ground beside her sister.
~~~
Buffy’s eyes flashed open and she instantly knew something wasn’t right. She moved to her side and almost rolled over a shoe. What is a shoe doing in my bed…? She thought for a moment, before she realized that she wasn’t in her bed anymore. She was on the floor. She had tossed and turned so much in her sleep and thrown herself out of the bed.
Using her elbows to lift herself into a seated position, she tried to recall the details of her nightmare. The images were slowly beginning to fade, but the look of terror on her sister’s face stuck with her. That expression, that look, had been too real.
Wanting to ease her worries, Buffy slipped out of her bedroom and walked down the hall to her sister’s room, opening the door slightly. Dawn was sound asleep. Closing the door she tiptoed back to her room, fixed her blankets and climbed back into bed.
~~~
Buffy wasn’t the only personally not sleeping well. Alone in his crypt in Restfield Cemetery, Spike tossed in his bead, haunted by his dreams.
~~~
“Buffy I love you….” he declared. He waited anxiously for her reaction; even though his mind screamed for him to turn on his heal and run before the inevitable train wreck that would be her response arrived. He needed to know the truth, needed to hear it from her.. And the truth he got. Buffy tipped her head back, her golden hair cascading over her shoulders, and laughed.
“You have got to be kidding me Spike…. I mean come on… what on earth made you think that YOU would have any chance with ME?” she replied.
Dropping his gaze to the floor he started to stammer, and when he looked up again he found him self on his knees, crouched before a brunette in a white and lavender silk dress, hair up in a quaff and long white silk gloves on her hands.
“Whatever gave you the idea that your affections would be returned William…?” said the haughty voice.
“My poems… you knew they were about you yet you did nothing to discourage me.” he said softly. “Please… I have better ones, let me read something to you.”
The brunette stood up and waved him off. “William I do not want your affections. I do notice you, and I cringe. You are beneath me.”
“Cecily…” came his breathy voice, on the verge of tears. But she was gone.
Another brunette woman, appeared from the shadows, and she smiled at him, her yellowed eyes fixated on his neck.
“The stars are singing to me and they tell me the pretty yellow bird is going to lose her wings…”
William raised to his feet and ran off.
~~~
Spike sat up in his double bed and rubbed at his forehead. “Bloody hell.”
~~~
A pair of eyes watched from the shadows, peering into the double story house on Revello Drive. The slayer was sleeping soundly in her bed, completely unawares as to what was happening right beneath her nose. All of the pieces were falling into place… it was just a matter of time before all the elements that were required aligned. And when that happened, it would be time.
The slayer would die.
Soon.
~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: This fic is my baby, the first piece of fiction I've ever written. So I hope you all like! Comments would be greatly appreciated.
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!