The Circle of Slayers Series 29/35 Incomplete
Chapter 29: Finally See The Truth
By Denna at dennaseer@hotmail.com
Rated PG-13 for violence
Keywords: Buffy and Spike…what else could there be?
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon.
Jar’vees belongs to me. I love feedback, by the way.
Summary for Chapter 28: The battle continues….
Chapter 29: Finally See The Truth
Anger.
Delicious…
Grief.
Delightful.
Hate.
Absolutely scrumptious.
The emotions that radiated off the vampire were only too well received by
the Ausi in front of him. He drank them in, savoring their flavors like
well-aged wine. Indeed, there were not many people, let alone vampires, that
could feel this intensely. Spike’s emotions were so strong; they rushed to
Riley’s head and made him giddy.
Grinning maniacally, like an abusive drunkard, stared into the smaller
man’s eyes. They’d darkened and made him look more like what he was; a cold,
hard killer. How absolutely wonderful! Riley nearly giggled with glee at the
implications of this. Spike had done something to himself. A part of him was
gone.
“So you think you can kill me, William the Bloody?” he whispered, “I’d like
to see you try.”
“Then watch,” the blonde vampire grated. He drew the sword hanging at his
hip. The white metal blade flashed out and slashed at Riley so fast that
even the Ausi was taken aback. A stab of fear ripped through him as he fell
backwards.
Two things had happened as Spike drew his sword. A flash of brilliant light
and a shockwave sent Riley and Spike staggering away from each other. They
threw up their hands to shield their eyes while they sought to determine the
source of the disturbance. When the light dimmed finally, they could see a
bright pillar of light. Light that shot upwards and pierced the darkness
that shrouded Riley’s world. The walls crawled with random patterns of red.
Inside the pillar were four figures: Tara, Willow, Dawn and Jar’vees.
“Spike!” the three of them shouted, “Buffy!”
“Witches!” he shouted as he turned back to Riley. “Help Buffy while I take
out the trash.” Riley’s grin just became wider.
“We can’t get out, Spike!” came Dawn’s reply.
“The Ausi did something to the portal and now we’re sealed in here!”
Jar’vees explained.
“Let them go, Cardboard. You’re fight is with me,” he said in a low,
dangerous voice.
Riley shook his head. “And that’s why I’m not letting them go. It’s between
you and me now and I don’t want anyone getting in the way. See, this fight
is going to end with either you dead or me dead. And you do know that if you
lose, your friends over there are roasted meat and Buffy is all mine to use
as I please. And if you win, even though it’s not going to happen, you can
go back to your little fairy world where you’re still a blood sucking demon
and she’s the brave hero.”
“Spike!”
The vampire turned around as he recognized the voice coming from behind
him. “Buffy, stay back.”
“Like hell I’m staying back, Spike!” And then she was there by his side
squaring off Riley. “Don’t tell me you’re going to fight with him and not
let me have a piece of the action.”
Both Spike and Riley’s eyes went wide as they looked at her curiously.
“You…you know who I am?” Spike asked, lowering Sahalia to stare at her.
She smiled somewhat nervously. “I-I don’t know…I’m still not sure…but I
don’t want to be here anymore. And I really, really feel like kicking his
ass.”
“Now, now is that anyway to treat your host?” Riley said, holding his staff
in both hands. “I don’t think Buffy here heard the rules. This fight is
between me and…it. No girls allowed.” The Ausi shot out a hand and Buffy
went flying backwards with a shriek.
“Buffy!” The vampire rushed after her only to have a wall of light engulf
her, a wall similar to that that engulfed the others. Red light flared
around Buffy and he reached out to push his hand through-
“Don’t! Spike! No!” He froze and turned to his friends who stood nearby in
their own prison. “Don’t touch it!” Buffy climbed to her feet and stared
helplessly at him through the glowing wall.
He lowered his hand and turned back to Riley. “You really want to suffer,
don’t you?” he snarled.
“I just don’t want anybody interfering in our little contest of good and
evil, least of all the prize herself.” He winked at Buffy who stared
hatefully at him.
“What are you, a Neanderthal?” Buffy growled, “Pull me by that hair into
your cave? God, it is the 21rst century.”
The vampire turned and crossed the distance to the Ausi. “All right then.
Let’s do it your way.”
“How fun,” he responded. “And we have a captive audience and everything.
All we need is a colorful spandex outfits and a studio announcer and we
could sell it to Paperview.” He snapped his fingers and the walls
disappeared. The two columns of light pierced the darkness to show a black
floor that extended into the shadows in all directions. Gripping his staff
in both hands, he lowered into a crouch as all the amusement drained from
his face. “I’ll even give you the first strike.”
“You never learn do you?” Spike said. He raised his sword and attacked.
Riley’s eyes widened as the white metal of Spike’s sword came flashing at
him with incredible, impossible speed. Even with his own inhuman reflexes,
he only barely managed to get his staff up in time to block a blow that
would have severed his head if he hadn’t. Using all his strength, he pushed
the shorter man back, sending him staggering. Then he rushed in low, aiming
for the vampire’s shins. But when the sharp tip of the staff reached the
place where Spike had been standing, he was nowhere to be seen.
A faint whistling was all the warning he had. He dove forward, pressing
himself to the floor as the blade sliced through the air mere inches above
his head. Rolling, he put a foot in Spike’s mid-section and shoved as hard
as he could, digging the heel in under the sternum hoping to slow the
vampire down.
Spike went reeling backwards, gasping from the kick to his stomach. He
caught himself and after a half-dozen paces stood there, hand pressed to his
stomach and breathing hard. His eyes glowed hatefully in the dark.
Riley pushed himself to his feet and stood facing the vampire, staff held
ready and slanted diagonally across his body. Grinning broadly, he held and
caught Spike’s blue eyes.
“Did you know that for a creature like yourself, you have very delicious
emotions? Quite the contradiction you are, Spike. Hate…hate is the tastiest
of them all and it’s just rolling off you in waves. Don’t you realize that
it only helps me? It makes me stronger.” He moved in and swung his staff at
the other man. It moved through the air so fast it seemed to disappear.
Spike’s sword was up and out to block the blow, but the shock sent him
staggering back. “Faster.” Again he swung his staff towards the vampire,
only to change directions without any loss of momentum mid-swing. Spike
barely had time to jump backwards to avoid the large stone as it cracked
into the floor at his feet. “And more powerful.” Setting his staff tip-down
on the floor behind him, he raised his hand and sent a blast of power at the
demon in front of him.
Grimacing determinedly, Spike whipped up his sword and held it upright in
front of him. His blast caught on the blade and ripped apart, passing
harmlessly on either side of the vampire, whipping at his long duster as it
passed. Riley was surprised; a normal blade should not have been able to
withstand that kind of blow. Gripping his staff with both hands again, he
lowered himself into a ready stance. It was time to take the kid gloves off
and show this pathetic vampire exactly what he was capable of.
~
The magical wind died down and the pressure on the sword abated. Spike
lowered his sword but not his guard as he saw Riley adopt his own guard
position. Sahalia had absorbed the power but had left him feeling somewhat
disjointed. The sword…it screamed out to him to let it go, to let it fight
this fight for him. He had to continually rein it in and bend it to what he
wanted to do. It was harder to do in a real battle then in a sparring
contest with Jar’vees or Willow. Wiping the sweat out of his eyes, he told
the sword to shut up and do what it was told. Then he readied himself for
another attack.
When it came, he was ready for it – barely. He jumped out of the way as
Riley mercilessly beat on him. The Ausi’s staff moved through the air to
fast to see, he had to rely on his instincts and demon reflexes to have the
sword where it needed to be before Riley’s attacks could get past his guard.
Together they danced across the featureless plain, around and between the
two columns of light that held the others imprisoned. Riley tried to drive
Spike into the one that held a horrified Buffy. She screamed as Spike’s hair
flicked through the light wall and was singed black in a flash of bright
sparks. The edge of his duster burned into an even deeper black as he jerked
out of the way, putting some distance between himself and the two pillars.
“Finding it a bit more difficult to kill me than you thought, Spike?” Riley
asked as he followed him resolutely, swinging his staff in his hand casually
as he went.
“Don’t worry about me, whitebread,” he rasped, launching into a series of
attacks that were just as fast and furious as Riley’s had been. The Ausi
fell back, easily blocking each blow with his staff. The white metal struck
the enchanted wood and sparks flashed around the two of them, lighting the
darkness like a summer thunderstorm. Growing desperate, Spike gathered
himself and brought his sword down on Riley’s staff with all the strength he
could manage. The sound nearly deafened them as the glistening white blade
tore a chunk out of the wood.
Riley’s eyes went wide with something Spike thought might have been fear.
Something human flickered across his eyes, deep within. Elation filled him
and he pressed downwards, driving the edge of the sword closer and closer to
the man’s neck.
Then those eyes narrowed, and the cold light shone again. Then that
familiar half-grin, half-smirk darkened his face. “I can understand why
you’re fighting so hard to get her back, Spike. Buffy is definitely quite
the woman. Very…energetic. I remember that very well.”
The vampire felt fear rip through his insides. “What?” he asked, his mouth
dropping open as he stared at the taller man.
“Yes. She’s quite enthusiastic. I’d be fighting to the death if someone
were to take her away from me too.”
“You didn’t…?” Spike felt sick to his stomach.
“She has such a beautiful body. And that thing she does with her tongue…”
“You’re lying…” the vampire insisted, his strength wavering as he stared
horrified at him.
Riley remained balanced against the weakening demon, not giving any
indication he noticed the lessening pressure. “Why would I lie to you,
Spike? Sure, I had to tie her down and listen to her scream for a while. And
I had to clean up that bloody mess afterwards, but all and all…very much
worth it.” He smirked upwards at the shocked man.
Spike remained silent for perhaps another second or two. Then he let loose
with a roar full of pain and rage and attacked Riley with a new vigor. He
threw aside all logic and rained blows down on the staff that Riley held in
front of him, effectively blocking the attacks without using any energy at
all. Instead, he just soaked up the vampire’s anger and turned them into
power.
When the vampire had expended himself, he fell backwards, tears of rage and
shame tracking down his cheeks. He faced Riley, who straightened and gripped
his staff. He barely had time to dodge out of the way as the ruby whistled
through the darkness towards his head. Tripping, he rolled out of the way
and came back up – then the world exploded into a thousand pieces. Pain shot
through his skull as Riley’s staff glanced off the back of his head. He
dropped to the floor and lay still. Dimly, he was aware of someone screaming
his name…
~
“Spike!” Buffy shouted, pressed as close to the wall of light as she dared.
She could barely see him. He was just a glimmer of platinum hair in the
darkness. Riley blocked most of him from her sight as he approached the
fallen swordsman and raised his staff…the ebony ruby glittered in the
half-light, and then he brought his staff down…
“SPIKE!!!”
~
“Spike!” Willow and Jar’vees shouted in unison.
“Spike!” Dawn screamed as Tara held her close.
Across the way they could hear Buffy screaming his name, too.
There was no response from the fallen vampire. They could see the evil glee
in Riley’s face as he approached him and raised his staff. His face twisted
into the most inhuman smile they had ever seen and they drew back in horror
as the tip of the staff hurtled downwards, aimed at his heart.
~
Finally. He’d beaten that blonde idiot. It was only a matter of time, and
like usual, so easily manipulated. A few choice words and he lost all
control. In a sense, Spike had been easier to manipulate than Buffy herself.
Buffy got angry with enough provocation, but Spike…all he had to do was
simply #suggest# the things and Spike’s mind filled the rest. Almost too
easy.
But not so easy that he was going to give up an opportunity like this.
Taking his staff his right hand, he walked up to where the fool lay comatose
on the ground. He stood over the fallen man, taking in the spill of leather
of his duster over the marble floor, the handsome face with brows drawn
together in pain, the white blade that rested close to slack fingers.
Riley lifted his staff. “You lose,” he said with an inhuman grin. He
brought his staff down with all his strength, pointing at his unbeating
heart.
~
Light.
Spike opened his eyes only to be nearly blinded by the light that burned
around him.
Closing his eyes quickly against the glare, Spike sat up. Shielding them,
he opened them again carefully and let them adjust to the light.
When they finally had, he lowered his hand and blinked. A figure standing
near him was the source of the blinding light. He peered through the
brilliance and saw a face.
And drew back in shock. How?
He stared in wonder at the apparition in front of him. Petite, trim, long
golden hair, trusting hazel eyes – eyes that he saw again and again in his
dreams.
It was Buffy. He wasn’t sure if it was the same Buffy he had fought in the
Temple of Light. But here she stood. In the same white sundress he had
killer her in with her hair tied back with a maroon ribbon.
“B-Buffy?” he asked.
#I am you# said a voice in his head – Buffy’s voice. The apparition’s mouth
did not move and yet Spike knew it (Buffy?) was the one that had spoken. #I
am Sahalia#
“I…I don’t understand…” Spike said. “How can you be me and Sahalia? How can
a sword be a person?”
#You are me. You are Sahalia. You are the sword. The sword is you#
Spike shook his head and backed up a pace. “No…” he shook his head. “I’m
just a bloody vampire, all right?”
#No. You are the Sword and the Man. That is the nature of Sahalia. Set me
free and you will set yourself free as well# Those hazel eyes, the hazel
eyes he loved, pleaded with him. #Let us be what we are meant to be, what we
were created to be#
“How can I set you free? I don’t know –“ He broke off as the light around
the figure dimmed. The image of the Slayer looked around and faded a bit.
#You must set me free if you are to defeat the Ausi# The voice in Spike’s
head was growing fainter. #Lose your control and let us become one. You did
it once. Do you not remember?# The voice had turned pleading now. Then…just
as they last of the light and the figure died away, #Please…#
~
Spike opened his eyes and saw Riley standing over him, staff raised. The
cruelly pointed tip flashed downwards. He rolled to his right, grabbing up
his sword as he did so. Using the momentum provided, he brought himself to
his feet to face Riley, sword up and flashing in the eerie red light from
the pillars. The rage and hatred he’d felt for Riley just before he’d been
knocked down returned and he over-extended himself. He only missed getting
skewered by the Ausi’s staff a second time by twisting out of the way.
As he rounded on his heel to face the enemy, another voice sounded in his
head:
#Anger dulls your reflexes, affects your judgment. Never go into a fight
angry. You’ll only lose#
Realizing he’d been an idiot to attack Riley in anger, he backed away and
cleared himself of these emotions. He wouldn’t give that creep the one up
over him again.
Riley grinned, tucked his staff under his arm and clapped. “Good job,” he
taunted, “You can teach a old dog new tricks after all. You want to learn
another one?” He grabbed his staff in both hands, settled into a crouch and
– froze. His eyes went wide in shock and he looked around himself.
This time, the hard smile belonged to Spike. “What’s the matter, G.I Joe?
Can’t do your little dimension hopping trick?” He shifted his grip on
Sahalia and took a step forward, driving the Ausi back a few steps. “You’re
right. I can learn new tricks. You see, mate, this sword has a couple little
properties: One is that it closes all dimensional portals and won’t let new
ones open up. So you’re trapped here, on your own, with little old me. How
do you like them apples?” The sword whipped up and he leapt forward,
slashing at the stunned Riley.
Riley’s eyes went wide once more as he saw the attack coming and dove to
the side. But Spike was faster than he realized, fueled now with his
confidence. The sword slashed past him and Riley stumbled back. His blue
eyes seemed worried and frightened as he regrouped himself and put a hand to
his cheek. Looking at his hand, he could see his palm and fingers stained
with red blood. There was a long cut on his cheek, stretching from his chin
to his temple.
“All right, Spike,” he growled, taking his staff in both hands and holding
it horizontally in front of him. “I’m getting bored with this. This time I
end it.” His form shimmered and a black cone shaped cloud appeared where he
had been only a moment before.
Spike stared, wondering what the wanker was up to. The cloud gathered in on
itself, like a snake gathering in on itself just before the strike . The
pointed end of the cloud came rushing towards him with surprising and deadly
speed.
Before he could think, Spike flung himself to the side, but not quite quick
enough. The pointed end scored him along his side, scorching him like black
fire. He screamed and stumbled before recovering and jumping to avoid the
next attack.
Riley – or whatever the hell that thing was – hounded him mercilessly.
Sweating with the effort of defending himself, the vampire found himself
becoming detached from the battle. His arms were swinging of their own
accord and yet it was not him, either. It was as if he were standing outside
himself, watching someone else control his movements.
Then he felt it, that strange duality that had haunted his exercises with
Jar’vees. He had perfect control of the sword but it wasn’t the way the
sword was meant to be used. He knew that now; knew it on some basic
instinctual level. What Jar’vees had taught him was wrong. Not purposefully,
but because no one who had not won Sahalia themselves could not understand
the true nature of the sword. He didn’t understand it himself. He only knew
what he felt was right.
Dodging another series of attacks, Spike retreated to give himself some
breathing room. Now that he knew what he needed to do, how was he supposed
to do it?
#What is the price, William? The price must be paid. You know what you must
give# was the answer.
He was uncertain whether it was his inner voice or Sahalia’s, but it was
true. He lowered himself into a guard position, fixed his sapphire eyes upon
the black cone that Riley had become, and gave himself to the sword. It’s
presence swelled up to fill him – and the world seemed to snap into focus
for the first time. The sword flared in his hand, lighting up the darkness
for yards, throwing stark shadows behind him and the cone.
Then all hell broke loose.
The Circle of Slayers Series 30/35 Incomplete
Chapter 30: One
By Denna at dennaseer@hotmail.com
Rated PG-13 for violence and language
Keywords: Buffy and Spike…what else could there be?
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon.
Jar’vees belongs to me. I love feedback, by the way.
Summary for Chapter 30: Spike and Sahalia become one, but when all is
finished, is it worth the price?
Chapter 30: One
“How much longer can he hold out?” asked Jar’vees through clenched teeth.
They watched the battle as it raged between the vampire and the Ausi, their
hearts practically in their mouths and wondering if this was to be Spike’s
last fight.
Willow shook hers. “I don’t know. He won’t give up, that’s for sure. This
is battle of life and death now.”
“He will win!” Dawn shouted from beside her. “After all, we’re the good
guys! The good guys always win!” Even as she gave her speech, her eyes were
dark with worry. Tara looked down at her and took her hand in hers. Her
fingers, warm in her grasp, curled tightly around hers.
“No,” came a whisper from beside them. Startled, they looked at Jar’vees.
“What?”
Jar’vees shook his head, horror written plainly on his face for the others
to see. He was staring at Spike so the others turned to see why. He had put
some distance between himself and the cone that was the Ausi’s true form and
had adopted a guard position; legs bent and ready to jump in any direction.
Both hands were on the hilt of the white metal sword, holding it low.
“No, he can’t do this. He’s throwing away everything I taught him!” Jar’vees
strained forward. “Don’t do it, Spike!”
Tara pulled him away from the charged light wall. “Don’t do what?”
“He’s giving up control of the sword!” Jar’vees shrugged off Tara’s hand and
whirled around. “He’s going to let Sahalia control him!”
“Spike…no…” Dawn whispered as they turned to watch in stunned silence as the
sword flared. The light blinded them as it swallowed the darkness and cast
shadows black as pitch with edges as sharp as knives.
And then all hell broke loose…
~
Where there had been two, there was now only one.
One mind.
One soul.
One will.
The Sword and the Man.
United with one purpose. One goal. To destroy his Enemy. The Enemy who had
taken what was his. The Enemy that had taken away his reason for existing.
The Enemy that had tried to kill him.
Monster. Killer. Ausi.
He would pay for what he’d done.
He would die.
And it would start now…
~
The black cone shape wavered in the light and Riley shifted back into his
human form moments before Spike attacked him with incredible, impossible
speed. He came diving in, holding the blazing blade of his sword high and
bringing it down so fast the air seemed to crack and split as it cleaved
through it. The sound it made was as sharp and deadly as the edge of the
blade itself. He only avoided his death by throwing himself backwards
desperately. Stumbling, he scrambled back, back…the blade hissed through the
air like a living thing, yearning, seeking, thirsting for his scarlet blood.
Desperately, he thrust his staff between himself and the maddened vampire’s
swing. He managed to block it, but just barely. The shock of the blade
biting into the wood was appalling. The Ausi knew it was being slowly torn
apart, but it kept its control over the man it fed on.
And still Spike kept going at him.
Thrust –
-parry-
Slash –
-block-
Feint – Thrust!
-block-dodge!
Lunge –
-parry-
Slash –
And so the two of them danced. Feeling drained, Riley reached out to draw
strength from the vampire’s emotions, and got a rather large shock. There
were no emotions to be had. No anger. No grief. No hate. Not even pain.
Nothing. There was only grim determination and stony impassiveness. Each of
Spike’s moves was expertly delivered with surgical precision. It was as if
the man had become a machine. An unfeeling, emotionless, impassive killing
machine. Riley stared incredulously into Spike’s ice-blue eyes and perhaps
for the first time since the Ausi had taken him and during the Ausi’s
thousand years of existence he knew how it was to be scared shitless.
Needless to say, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
Catching one of those precise attacks on his staff, he thrust upwards with
all his might and lifted himself off the ground, levitating above the insane
vampire and just out of reach, hoping to draw useless blows in his direction
to wear him down. He knew he was out of luck, however, when Spike ceased his
swings, dropped into a ready stance and watched him, clear blue eyes never
leaving his opponent’s face. He was still as stone. No exhaustion, no sweat,
the Ausi noted. This was impossible! How could he be doing this? He was just
a vampire, dammit!
However he was doing it, it was really creeping him out.
Exhausted more than he cared to admit, Riley sketched a quick half-circle
in the air in front of him with his staff. Hundreds of small, black cones
formed around him and flew with deadly accuracy through the air towards his
enemy.
Not a single one reached its target. The vampire seemed to be everywhere at
once.
“No!” he finally shouted. No man, even if immortal, with a single blade
could do this. And the speed…he should be getting tired by now, shouldn’t
he? Spike had great stores of strength, but he couldn’t last forever!
Desperately, he sent another barrage of cones at the maddened vampire. Still
he kept coming without any sign of stopping or slowing. The blade was a blur
of light, intercepting each cone before they could come within arm’s length
of him. And each cone that fell smoking at the man’s feet to disappear into
the black took a little bit of Riley’s essence with it.
The energy the Ausi was expending to keep himself away from the sudden
death that was William the Bloody was astounding. He could feel it draining
away quickly and he couldn’t replenish himself cut off as he was from the
astral plane. Unable to keep himself aloft, he touched down lightly and had
to jump out of the way to avoid being slashed to ribbons. Gripping his staff
with both hands, palms slick with sweat, he managed to keep the glowing
sword from drinking his blood.
Up, left, right, down, left, up, right…
Each blow was countered by a block.
He wasn’t beaten yet.
Gathering his energy, he concentrated on the ruby end of his staff and
thrust it at Spike.
The shining sword was there and caught it on the blade. He watched, mouth
agape as the energy coagulated around the blade and disappeared into the
white blade. The sword glowed even more brightly and sang softly in the air
as it hung mere fractions away from his face. Riley’s eyes slid from the
deadly point to the eyes of the thing that held the sword poised to kill him
– and he knew he’d underestimated the lengths a man would go for the love of
a woman.
Realization formed a heavy, hard pit in his stomach. He wasn’t going to
survive this encounter.
He only hoped that The Mistress would see fit to resurrect him after he was
dead.
However – he wasn’t giving up yet!
With a snarl of rage, he brought his staff up under the blade, shoving the
other man backwards. Without missing a beat, Spike blocked his second attack
and turned it back on the Ausi. The cruel edge of the sword scored his left
arm high near the shoulder before he could get the staff up and between
them. He was sweating hard now, fear making it run cold down his neck and
back. He faltered, planted his foot wrong and slipped on the black marble.
The sword bit deeply into his right arm just above the elbow, drawing more
blood. He fed more energy into the ruby and thrust the staff towards the
vampire who merely ducked and brought his sword under his over-extended
guard and slashed his leg.
Twisting out of the way, Riley staggered from the pain. He was teetering on
the edge of near collapse, he knew, but he would not give up and give Spike
the satisfaction of an easy victory. Gripping his staff, he yelled and
launched himself at the vampire, aiming the huge ruby at the man’s head.
Spike blocked him with the sword, twisted and sent him sprawling. Rolling,
Riley tried to get to his feet, but slipped in some of the blood on the
floor and went down on his knees. Frantically, he forced his arms to lift
his staff above his head to catch the sword as it descended…
The magically enhanced metal struck the possessed staff just below the fork
that held the gem that pulsed the color of ebony blood – and the wood split.
Sparks flew up several feet into the air around them as the ruby splintered.
Shock from more of the physical impact surged through him. His hands and
fingers numbed from the release of energy, he shifted his grip and brought
the staff up again to catch that wicked sword.
Again the sword screamed down through the air towards him and struck the
staff, biting deep into its heart. Savagely twisting the hilt, Spike drove
the metal further into the wood. The sparkling curtain of flooding magic
engulfed them, hiding them from the sight of the captive witnesses.
Leaning his weight into the blade, Spike’s sapphire eyes bored into Riley’s
panicked ones. His face was close to the Ausi’s and he said without a trace
of humor or mockery: “You lose.” One last jerk separated the wood, leaving
Riley holding two useless sticks in his hands.
Time seemed to stand still as he stared at the remains of his staff, then
looked upwards. His eyes returned to a warm blue, the blue that Spike
remembered from long ago.
“S-Spike…is that you…” he whispered weakly, panting and out of breath,
“What are y-you d-doing here?”
Spike looked down at him with cold eyes. That bright blade that Spike
wielded with such cunning skill flickered upwards in a dangerous arc, paused
for a painful moment at the zenith of the swing before slicing downwards
with sickening speed. The actinic light of the sword was imprinted on
Riley’s eyes, as it was the last thing he ever saw – just before it bit
hungrily into his shoulder and took the life from him.
~
The only sound that broke the silence was the faint crackling of the
pillars. Five pairs of eyes stared at the streaming fountain of multicolored
sparks that had enveloped the two combatants and hidden them from view.
It was Dawn who first let out a gasp, releasing a breath she didn’t know
she had been holding. Every one of them had watched, spellbound, as Spike
had somehow gotten the upper hand in the battle with Riley. They cheered him
on as he fought the Ausi and stared in open-mouthed disbelief as the ruby of
that awful staff broke under Sahalia’s bite. The stunned silence gripped
them as the staff snapped in half.
Which was where they were now. Peering into the sparkling curtain, they
wondered what was happening behind it. Looking over to Buffy, they could see
she was equally enthralled by the scenes shown before her.
They continued staring for a few seconds more as the fountain of sparks
brightened into a pure, intense light of a magnesium flare. In the center,
they could see a kneeling figure. Forehead resting against the hilt of his
sword, hands loosely gripping the guard as it stood pointing downwards in
front of him. The light from the ivory metal cast a dim reflection upon his
face.
“Spike?” Buffy called softly. Willow, Tara, Dawn and Jar’vees looked from
Spike to her and back again.
An eternity went by as the glow from the sword dimmed and shrank back into
the blade. Then another before the vampire lifted his head. His eyes were
closed but his face was calm and impassive – quite a difference from the
pain and anger that had become his customary expression in the last few
weeks. When he opened his eyes, they saw the same familiar glow they had
always seen in the vampire’s eyes. But something was different, quietly
subtle and horrifyingly obvious at the same time.
He looked over at his friends and those brilliant eyes slid over them,
seeking another. Finding her hazel eyes, he raised his right hand like a
casual wave.
“Hello, Slayer,” he said with a weary but triumphant grin.
Tara, Willow, Jar’vees and Dawn broke into hearty cheers. Tara caught Dawn
around the waist and swung her around in joy. Dawn squealed in delight and
hugged her. Jar’vees pounded Willow on the back, a bit too hard as she
rubbed her back painfully but managed to smile brightly back.
They cheered as Spike got to his feet, holding Sahalia loosely at his side.
His steps were slow and careful as he approached Buffy’s prison, but he
carried himself with pride. Gradually, the four grew quiet as the lovers
stared into each other’s eyes, hazel into blue. The air between liquefied
with the heat and pressure contained in those stares. As he reached the
wall, Buffy backed up into the center of her cage, well away from the
barrier. Never taking his eyes from hers, Spike raised Sahalia until the
blade was horizontal and level with his shoulders.
Jar’vees took a step forward, hand outstretched, a cry on his lips. Tara’s
hand on his shoulder stopped him. Looking back at her, his angry retort died
on his lips as the Wicca shook her head, commanding him to be silent.
Reluctantly, Jar’vees nodded and they turned their attention back to the
vampire and the Slayer.
Spike’s arms tensed and the blade swung outward in a perfect arc,
intersecting with the light wall and smashing through it. With a sound like
breaking glass, the wall shattered into a million, shimmering, red fragments
that sparkled and dissolved into the shadows.
~
Sahalia clattered to the floor, as Spike’s arms were suddenly full of
blonde Slayer. They went around her tiny form and hers went around his neck
and her small, hot mouth found his and latched onto him. He lifted her off
her feet and crushed her to him, swinging her around and around as he
devoured her. The tears of relief and euphoria that ran down his cheeks
mingled with hers. Her hands clenched into his hair, but the pain was
nothing compared to the sheer joy he had at having her back in his arms.
Finally, she pulled away and looked into his eyes. “It’s about damn time
you got here! It’s been days since I’ve had a decent meal!” The happy smile
and joyful tears on her face took the sting from her words.
The blonde vampire looked into her eyes questioningly. “You remember? Your
memories are back? All of them?”
She nodded. “I remembered just a few minutes ago. How could you leave me
here alone so long?”
Spike leaned his forehead against hers and kissed her. “Buffy, do you know
how long you’ve been gone?”
“It couldn’t have been more than a week…” She saw his eyes cloud with pain.
“It’s been five, luv. Five soddin’ weeks I’ve had to live without you.” He
pulled her forward and hugged her fiercely. “Five, long, horrible weeks,” he
gasped, unable to keep back his sobs.
Buffy couldn’t speak for a moment. “S-Spike…” she whispered, running her
hands through his hair and holding him close while she rubbed her cheek
against his. “Oh God, Spike…that long?”
He nodded, eyes closed tightly. “I’ve missed you so much, Buffy,” he said
quietly. “I don’t ever want to go through that again, luv. Ever.”
She pulled away and kissed him. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to. I promise,
but you have to promise me too.”
“I promise.”
“Hey!” someone yelled. They started and Spike turned, not wanting to let go
of Buffy just yet. Standing there, looking very happy for them, was Dawn. “I
know you two want to be alone, but do you think you could pry yourselves
apart for a few seconds so you could get us out of here?” Willow tried to
act disgusted, but the wide grin on her face ruin the effect. Jar’vees
looked…enigmatic.
Buffy blushed a deep red. She looked over at Spike and burst out laughing.
Spike stole another kiss before setting her down on her feet. Retrieving
Sahalia from the floor, he swung the sword high over his head. With a great
roar, he charged the pillar.
“HEY!” Jar’vees and Willow scrambled backwards away from the wall, Willow
dragging Dawn and Tara with her. The sword flashed as Spike leapt and
slashed at the pillar. Again, the energy wall crackled and split into a
thousand fragments of light that rained down on the four outside.
When the last of those fragments had fallen and burned out like a spent
flare, the four straightened and looked up. “What the hell did you think you
were doing?” Willow shouted as she approached Spike. But the smile still did
not waver.
“Buffy!” Dawn launched herself at the Slayer, who caught her and held her
close in a tight hug. “You’re okay! God, I was so worried.” The girl found
her cheeks wet with tears as she held her fair sister.
“Dawnie,” Buffy whispered, “Thanks for coming to my rescue.”
The girl pushed herself away and shook her head. “It wasn’t me. Willow and
Tara were the ones to get you through and Spike was the one who won Sahalia
to find you.”
“And Spike who fought and defeated Riley,” Tara said, embracing Buffy. When
Tara let go, she quickly found herself surrounded by Willow holding her so
tightly she couldn’t breathe.
“Don’t ever do that again!” Willow scolded before letting go.
“Aww…too bad…” Buffy said sarcastically, smiling even wider.
“Try to keep your girlfriend under control, okay Spike?” the redhead as she
turned around to face the vampire and extended her hand to him. Spike
sheathed Sahalia and shook her hand, though with a cold offhandedness that
would have made her wonder if she had not been so distracted. “Great job.”
Spike smirked softly but just as quickly turned to Buffy. “Buffy…” Spike
said as he saw her start and look at him strangely. “What’s wrong, pet?”
“You…something’s different…” she peered at him curiously, worry etched upon
her features for the briefest moment.
“I’m still me…” he said in an indifferent tone.
“There’s something different,” she said. “What happened to you while I was
gone?”
“That’s a long story,” Willow said, breaking the tense moment between the
two, “Let’s get back to the Temple before we get into lengthy conversation
mode. Any ideas on how to do that, Jar’vees?”
“You’re asking me?” Jar’vees answered, giving the witches a sidelong look.
“Isn’t that your area of expertise?”
“Do you mean you don’t know how to get us back?” Tara asked.
“Don’t worry, you guys. I’m pretty sure we can find a way.” Dawn said,
still staring at Buffy.
“What are you talking about?” Buffy demanded. “And who’s this?”
“This is Jar’vees,” Dawn said, taking care of the introductions, “He helped
us get here. And in so many other ways.” Jar’vees nodded and smiled at
Buffy.
“I’ve heard so much about you, Slay-Buffy,” he said, taking her hand and
shaking it.
“I’ll bet. Don’t believe everything you here,” she muttered.
“I mean what I heard about you from Spike.”
Buffy blinked and looked at Spike. “Well, that you can believe. Just as
long as he doesn’t say anything about…uh…never mind. I’m just glad that
Spike took care of Ri…Riley!” Buffy shouted in horror. “Omigod, Riley!”
Buffy turned and looked frantically about, trying to look for him. After a
while, she thought she noticed a crumpled form a shock of red on his pale
skin. She ran over to the form and covered her mouth as she saw the gaping
hole in her former lover’s neck.
“Oh God…Riley…” she whispered, tears leaking out from under her eyelashes.
“I’m so sorry…” She couldn’t say anymore as she started crying in great
heaving fits. The others saw the body and turned away.
Spike slid up impassively behind her. “I didn’t have a choice. I had to
kill him. Riley was dead long before the Ausi touched him.” The lie came
easily as he remembered the shaking remnant of the former Riley cowering
before him. He remembered slicing his neck open and a thrill went down his
back at the memory.
“But…” Dawn whispered, “Wasn’t there a chance? I mean, he could have been
saved-“
“No.” Spike answered, stonily. “It was too late.”
The others didn’t speak anymore as they stared at Buffy sobbing over his
dead body. Spike moved past her and searched through his pockets, not caring
for the carcass. He just wanted to find was he needed to find. He found the
silver armband and lifted it up, bringing it over to her.
“This belongs to you. I should have known he would have taken it from you.”
He took her left arm and fastened the band around her wrist. Buffy was
trying to regain composure of herself and tried not to look at Riley’s body.
If she did she would throw up.
She stared at her wrist instead and at that beautiful armband. She quickly
slipped into Spike’s arms as her tears and hitched breath slowed down.
“D-did he suffer much?”
“No.” #But I wish he did#
“We still have to get back to the Temple.” Willow announced after a long,
uncomfortable silence.
“I can help there,” Spike said, as Buffy wiped her tears away.
All eyes were on him. “How?” Tara asked.
The vampire unbuckled Sahalia, and held it out. “This.”
“Spike, Sahalia #closes# portals-“ Jar’vees started.
The vampire shook his head. “Would you listen to me for a change? It closes
them when the sword is drawn. In the scabbard like this, it won’t affect
portals. But you said you needed a link to perform your compass-spell right,
Red? Like the way you used our Soulbond and Buffy’s hair?”
“Yes, but I still don’t see-“
“What Soulbond? What hair?”
“I’ll explain later, pet,” Spike said, “Sahalia is linked to the Temple. It
returns there when it’s wielder dies. Isn’t that what you said, mate?”
Jar’vees smacked his forehead. “Oh yeah! You’re right. Good job, Cujo.”
The others stared dumbfounded at the vampire. “Will it work?” Buffy asked
quietly.
Tara nodded. “Yes.”
“Then let’s get out of here. I don’t think I can stay here any longer.”
Buffy shivered as she took one more look behind her at Riley’s empty,
bloodied body. She looked at Spike’s cold eyes and the darkness around her.
“I want to be out of here now.”