Chapter One by Redwulf

The car seemed to have a mind of its on as it turned off on the road to Sunnydale. The wind was blowing hard, its whistling could even be heard in the car. It had been 107 hours and 15 minutes since he last slept. But even when he tried to do so, every time he closed his eyes all he could see was the bullet going into Roland's head, then the blood… so much blood.

He was a killer now. Sure, Roland Desmond was pure scum, but that alone did not rationalize what had happened. He, Richard John Grayson, was supposed to be a better man than what he had resorted to. He was Nightwing, a superhero. He had been the first leader of the Teen Titans. He had been raised by Bruce Wayne, and some things he just didn't do.

He looked down at the cup holder between the seats and once again contemplated the bottle of Jack Daniels sitting there. The detective side of his brain knew the only reason he had bought it was an attempt to mentally escape his demons further than he could physically drive away from them. Possibly it would also give him the courage to end it all, after all Babs hated him, or at least she didn't really care. Bruce trusted him to do the right thing. Was that Bruce's tactic permission to end it all? Should he? Would that solve anything??

'No', the gypsy temper in him screamed. Yet, every time thoughts of ending his miserable existence came up, the gypsy voice got quieter. Dick Grayson had started to wonder who in the hell really needed him. Yeah Roy, Wally and the guys would miss him, Lian would be crushed, but was that - were they - truly enough. None of them really needed him, and Nightwing needed more than anything to be needed.

Sunnydale

"Spike lips, lips of Spike!" The blonde screamed as she scrambled off him. He had no idea what was going on. Only seconds before she had been declaring her undying love to him. Now, she was acting like this.

The look on her face reflected abject horror as she scrubbed her lips furiously with the back of her hand. Watching her, he felt something die inside then. Only moments ago she had loved him, but now the world - his world - had been turned upside down.

"Buffy?" He started, but her punch to his nose cut him off. He felt more than just her fist wounding him. Unwanted, the tears that had been suppressed since his turning began to fall. Once again a woman had used him then rejected him. He heard Red's voice as she kept apologizing over and over again to the woman that was supposed to be his fiancé. He felt his unneeded breath coming in ragged gasps.

As he found his way to his feet his demon surfaced. It ended here. No Mas. No Bloody More. One of them died tonight, and he really hoped that it was him. He had had enough. Spike stood again, and again Buffy swung. With the fingers of his right hand he brushed her punch across his body. His left fist connected to her temple with a vicious punch that rocked her world. For the first time since he had met her he had knocked her out, but bloody hell he was paying for it in the 'be all to end all' of migraines.

Even as he went to one knee he saw Giles charging him with a stake in his hand. Instinct more than anything else caused his right hand to reach out and clasp Giles' stake hand and roll him across his hip in a rolling hip toss. Surprisingly even though Giles was incapacitated for now, no new ache assaulted his head. Through unfocused eyes he saw the Whelp charge next, a stake held high in his right hand. All Spike thought was how much the pain would be worth it. His right foot came up in a classic front kick, catching Harris in the middle of the chest and propelling him backwards. The resulting stab of pain seemed to leave his whole body numb.

Spike could see demon bird and Red standing away from him as he fought his way off his knees and walked once again towards Buffy. Bending down Spike took her stake from the ground where she had dropped it and put it in her hand as she swayed on her feet trying to regain her senses. In full game face he lowered his face to her neck. His voice came out a pained whisper as he held Buffy's hand with the stake over his heart.

"Live or die love, your choice." He licked the neck of the slayer that magic had doomed him to love praying she would end him quickly.

The blood poured out of his ears and nose, as she looked up at him with contempt in her eyes. "NO!"

She pushed him harshly away. She was quickly regaining her strength now. "Come back when you want to live Spike." She threw the stake to the ground at his feet. "I won't kill you now; you're beneath me."

Spike stumbled to his feet and grabbed up the stake. Moving too quickly for her to stop, he ran out of the crypt and off into the night.

Sunnydale outside the Bronze

The black car pulled to the curb, even the Hero inside needed human contact on occasion. He had a simple plan; he would get stone cold drunk and then patrol. Leave everything in the hands of fate for the first time in his life washing his hands of the need to think or feel his way through. Yeah, that should do it.

Dick Grayson sauntered into the club a bit more Robbie Malone than Dick Grayson. He was feeling loose and dangerous and it showed. It had been three days since he had taken the time to shave, and his scraggly appearance lent him a dangerous air. Moving like the Gotham predator he was, people stepped out of his way, seemingly without thinking.

//Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of hell, I am the Eldest Son of the Bat. And you really don't want to fuck with me. // This mantra rang in his mind. He heard Two-Face's gruff voice and Joker's insane giggling. What could this tiny two-bit town in the middle of nowhere have for him to fear?

Spike only ran as far as the edge of the cemetery knowing Buffy didn't think him important enough to chase now. It hurt. He was toothless, and yet they still sought to humiliate him. He didn't know what spell that they had used to neuter him, but when he found out Buffy was dead as well as her Scooby friends.

//Bloody Hell! // He couldn't even lie to himself. He knew he was well and truly whipped by a woman destined to kill his kind, to a woman that saw him as beneath him, again. The tears ran down his cheeks like a river off a rockslide. Once again, he was the joke; the one everyone thought was funny. It hurt like hell. Once again his demon fought its way to the fore; Honor demanded that he die tonight, and the Bronze was always full of young vamps. Injured as he was and with the spell to keep him from even defending himself he would be an easy kill, give some fledgling an easy rep.

The Bronze

Dick had finished his bottle of Jack and started on Jim, Jim Bean that is. Due to his lack of rest and alcohol consumption he was getting giddy, giddy but sad. Like all giddy, sad drunks he began to reflect on how strange it was really that since moving to Bludhaven, both his fighting skills and his detective skills had seemed to dwindle. However when he saw the young coed pass in front of a mirror with her older boyfriend, he realized immediately that she was a Vampire. True, he had only seen two or three but that was enough to know them. He staggered to his feet cursing his own stupidity; someone else might die because he was feeling sorry for himself. He walked by the pool table as he left grabbing a pool cue and breaking it on the way out.

Running through mind clearing exercises he again cursed himself for drinking so much. Praying he could live long enough to save one more life. He heard an animalistic roar as he opened the rear door.

Alleyway behind the Bronze.

Of all the vamps he could have met tonight it had to be bloody Harmony leading a poor unsuspecting victim back out of the Bronze. He just didn't bloody believe it! She had twenty or more Vamps with her to one victim. That was just bloody lazy and an insult to his kind. Spike saw the travesty in front of him and something inside seemed to snap. All of his insecurities, his recent handicaps, and the bloody spell - all seemed to have led him to this moment.

Fledglings hunting in a bloody pack, to paraphrase the Slayer it made him wanna hurl. With a roar he was on them, ripping off Harmony's head as he passed. Then suddenly someone stepped up behind him protecting his back.

Dick saw the white haired vamp attack the others and made a snap judgment, the kind that had been saving his life since he was 8 years old. He staked the vamp between him and 'Whitey' and stepped behind him. He began to put every bit of skill he had into watching the 'man's' back, the same way he had watched Batman's and his fellow Titans for so many years.

For Spike it was a completely new experience. Having someone guarding his back without a second thought. The warrior behind him, whoever he was, was good, possibly the best Spike had ever seen and as the fight continued they fell into a rhythm that was surprising to the Vamp. Oh sure, he and Angelus had fought side by side before, but never had it been anything like this. It was funny really; the two had dispatched most of the Vampires before Spike even noticed his head wasn't hurting. Matter of fact besides the blood loss from earlier, he felt damn good.

Dick saw it almost too late. One of the vamps they were fighting had thrown a broom handle like a spear toward the warrior at his back. Without thinking he moved to intercept it, barely able to catch it before it hit 'Whitey'. As he tumbled over his partner he redirected his attack and staked two vamps.

Spike was surprised that he actually felt the man behind him moving. He turned just as the hero came forward, catching the vamp, who had thrown the spear as he rushed in with a quick staking. Spike was bouncing on the balls of his feet, loving the fight. They were down to only two vamps when the pair broke and ran.

Even as the attackers began to run, Dick was on his knees emptying his stomach. The lack of sleep, the vast amount of consumed alcohol and the sudden movements recently executed rendered him nearly helpless as he puked up his guts. When he felt the cool hand on his shoulder he looked up into Whitey's eyes and saw the amusement that danced within their ice blue depths. At that very moment, he decided that when he could stand again he was gonna punch this guy. For some reason the guy reminded him of Roy.

Spike turned to his companion even as the young man began to puke his guts out. From the smell of it, the guy had drunk a brewery. Still he had saved Spike's life and the Master Vamp couldn't help feel grateful for that, even if he had originally come here to die. He placed his hand on the man's shoulder and couldn't help the smile as the boy's face turned up. His face was a bit on the green side.

Then the rest of the man's scent hit him. He had seen and smelt this one in New York, a few years ago when the then kid named Robin was fighting some redheaded bloke that had a forehead that was even bigger than Angel's.

"Bloody Hell, where are your littler feathered shorts? You poofter." Spike couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice.

//Oh man, yeah. // Dick thought to himself. // Definitely another Harper. How could anyone deserve this? //


Riley had watched in the shadows as the two males had worked as a well-oiled machine taking down the vamps he had so painstakingly set up for capture by the Initiative. They were good, beyond good. He was hitting his wrist communicator almost non-stop trying to get help. The blonde he had recognized as Hostile Seventeen, but the unknown black headed hostile with him looked to be at least as dangerous. He was hoping back up would arrive before they turned their attention towards him.

Spike helped the other man to his feet almost laughing at the former Robin's pissed off look. The younger man was still barely able to stand.

"Wot the bloody hell were you doin' out here?" He asked as he looked around the alley.

"Trying to save him," Dick pointed at Riley, "from ending up vamp chow."

"Well…" Spike trailed off as he got a good whiff of Finn, "but you weren't in any danger were you, soldier boy?"

Spike's game face came forward as he stalked towards the cowering trooper. Dick watched as the boy pulled a Taser from his jacket, but after seeing his companion fight he wasn't too worried till he too looked around and saw the others closing on them dressed in commando gear. He was already voicing a warning for his companion when they began drawing weapons. Dick did the only thing he could under the circumstances; he body tackled the Vampire to the ground yet not quite ahead of the barrage of Taser fire.

Even the second hand electric blast Spike received was nearly enough to knock him out. Still he fought through it once he saw his friend knocked almost out. Spike grabbed the former Robin around the waist and threw him over his shoulder. He ran towards the commandoes. As they were reloading, he jumped over them careening off the wall above them to change directions. He had no idea where he was going, but he intended to get there in a hurry.

Dick fought to stay conscious as the vamp carried him. His hand flew to his pocket and grabbed his car keys; as they neared the car he hit the button and the door opened. "There," he said drawing Spike's attention to the car.

Spike made a mad dash to the car sliding in and putting Dick in the passenger seat, closing the door just ahead of pursuing gunfire.

The car started instantly and went from zero to a hundred so fast that even with his super strength Spike was plastered to the front seat.

"Bloody hell, I gotta get me one of these."

Babs hadn't yet signed on officially as Oracle when the alarm sounded. Someone else was driving Dick's car, as she turned on the visuals she became terrified when the computer informed her that a Vampire was in the car with Dick.

//Dick, what have you got your self into now? //

~tbc~

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