Part 2

Buffy hadn’t seen Spike in the last five days and began to wonder if he was still in Sunnydale. Usually he’d have come by to bother her. Or pass by the Magic Box. A part of Buffy was actually worried about him. She passed by his crypt and he still wasn’t there, “Where the hell could he be?”

Spike dumped the girl’s body two blocks away from the Bronze and walked casually towards the Scoobies’ hang out. He must have radiated power and confidence when he walked in, people parted like the red sea as he strolled through the crowded club.

He saw Red, and her girlfriend. The whelp and his ex-demon honey. But no Slayer. Spike avoided them and turned quickly towards the bar, but a dull throb in the back of his head stopped his actions. His head had been throbbing in pain during the whole drive back to Sunnydale and now he could see stars before his eyes. He kept still for a moment waiting for the nausea and disorientating pain to pass. He looked up to see the Slayer standing before him.

“Where have you been?” Buffy asked examining Spike face.

“I’ve been around, slayer.” Spike smiled at her, “I heard that something is going on over at the Collins Cemetery. Some new baddies. Should we check it out?”

“I’m going to tell the gang I’m going patrolling.” Buffy brushed past him.

Spike watched as she walked away and whispered to himself, “It’ll be the last time you ever see them pet. Better make sure it’s a proper good bye.”

“So where’d you get this information from Spike?” Buffy asked as they walked towards the cemetery.

“Harm. She heard about it.” Spike replied evasively as he fiddled with the railroad spike in his pocket. He’d always wondered why he’d kept the old piece of rusted metal. But now he understood. Symbolism. Burying this in her chest. No, her forehead. No. Yeah. Oh well I’ll decide later. He had to make sure that her watcher, Angel, and the scoobies would know that he’d done it.

“Well?” Buffy looked at him.

“Well what?” Spike asked confused.

“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” The annoyance in Buffy’s voice made him smile.

“What are you smiling about?”

“We’re here.” Spike broke the latch on the gate and they walked in.

“I was asking you why this cemetery. No one’s been buried here in the last 5 years. It’s full. There’s no room here. Are they looking for a particular body? They doing a ritual, or what? And what kind of baddies are we talking about?” She asked, looking around the empty graveyard.

“You ask a lot of questions but you never ask the right ones.” Spike started. “Did it ever cross your mind that I took out to the most remote cemetery in Sunnydale for one particular reason? Did you ever wonder why I gave you no specific details? Did you ever think that I could be luring you out here to kill you? Or get someone to kill you? Dru could be out here right now and you wouldn’t even know. Sometimes you’re just so blind.”

Buffy watched him intently as he talked, putting her senses on high alert.

“Probably didn’t even notice that I was away for a week? It should have worried you, pet.”

“Why Spike? Why should it worry me?” Buffy asked taking a step away from him.

“You know why?” Spike stepped closer towards her. And Buffy took another step back. “You know why?”

“You got the chip out?” She gasped.

“That’s the correct answer and you didn’t even use a lifeline. Wow.” Spike grinned. He was glowing with energy.

“So I guess that’s it. You’re going to try and kill me now?”

“Of course.”

“Well, Spike I can’t say that I’m not going to enjoy staking you.” Buffy quipped with confidence. I can’ believe that during all the time he was helping us he had been planning my demise all along. To think I was worried about him.

Buffy held a fighting stance, waiting for Spike to strike. But he didn’t. “So are we going to do this or not Spike?”

“I wouldn’t be rushing me if I were you. I want you to savour your last moments on this earth, before you leave it.”

“Speak for yourself.” Buffy launched a series of kicks and punches with unbelievable fury. But none of them landed on Spike. He ducked, dodged, jumped, pivoted and blocked every blow.

Buffy stopped, huffing and puffing and her eyes open in disbelief.

“See spending this much time with you has enabled me to hone in on your fighting techniques. The reason why you couldn’t hit me… I know all your moves. I’ve studied you Buffy 101 from cover to cover. It’s a requirement for my major thesis on The Ethics of Slayer Killing as Seen From a Vampire’s Perspective, an essential part in my double major in International Relations and Evil.”

“Give me a break.” Buffy replied. Her nerves were on edge. Has he really been studying me? Does he really know all my moves?

“My turn now.” Spike lashed out and hit Buffy in the face she grunted from the impact of the blow as she fell backwards. Before she could move he grabbed the lapels of her leather coat, hauled her off the ground and flung her into a war memorial monument.

Buffy then landed on the ground struggling for breath. Even with the wind knocked out of her she heard his advancing footsteps and picked herself up off the ground.

“This is going to be fun.” Spike grinned as he advanced on Buffy.

Buffy scissor kicked Spike and he dodged the blow. She quickly recovered and swept his feet out from underneath him. He quickly regained his footing. Buffy pulled out her stake and charged after the vampire. He grabbed her arm and twisted it violently behind her back. She screamed in pain. The way he was standing behind her, holding her arm was very reminiscent of Lui-Cheung. He contemplated sinking his fangs into Buffy’s neck but then looked at the scars that marred the right side of neck and thought against it. He reached for the railroad spike.

Buffy sensed a hesitation in him and brought back her head quickly. His neck snapped back from the force of the blow. He let go her and grabbed his nose. The Slayer quickly spun around knowing that the battle was far from over. Buffy gave Spike a roundhouse kick knocking him to the ground. She pounced on him, it was the perfect opportunity to take him down. That was her mistake. Spike had already been in this position with Nikki the second Slayer he’d killed. With Buffy straddling him she raised her left arm preparing to plunge the stake into his heart. But her right shoulder was already weak and in pain. He grabbed her arm and yanked it down hard, sending her into the ground. He quickly reversed positions. He was now straddling Buffy when he pulled out the rusted spike.

“This is going to be fun.” His true demon face coming forward.

He brought the stake to her heart, “It just seems fitting. Staking a slayer.”

Buffy mustered all her strength and bucked Spike off her. She quickly got off the ground but not quickly enough, Spike had already recovered. He then proceeded to backhand the Slayer sending her head first into a headstone. Buffy fought off a wave of dizziness when Spike efficiently began kicking Buffy hard in the ribs. Blood trickled from her mouth and his vampire face emerged at the smell.

Buffy grabbed his foot and kicked him in the groin. He fell to the ground hard. Buffy tried to fight off the darkness that was beginning to consume her but it was too late. She closed her eyes knowing that the stars above would be the last things that she would ever see.

He felt her grab his leg. It sent him off balance and in her last ditch effort she swung her leg up and kicked him in the groin. Everything in that brief second changed. He barely had time to register the pain as he fell backwards, his head hitting the adjacent headstone knocking him unconscious.